Share My Bliss

Another fun family math game

2012-01-26T21:09:00.001-05:00

We call this one Pioneer ~

Materials needed:

graph paper
a die
2 pencils

Set up:

We are pioneers traveling west to claim land for our families. We make 5 trips to stake our claim on 5 plots of land. (Yes, I realize this isn't historically accurate - this is math, not history!!) The person with the most land at the end of the 5 trips wins.

Play:

player 1 rolls the die for this example we'll say is was a 3. The player will then draw a horizontal line that is three blocks long. player 2 rolls and draws a line the same number of blocks as the number rolled. Other players continue. Once everyone has had their first roll, player 1 rolls a second number. This example we'll say a '2'. Player 1 now starts at the end of their first line and draws a vertical line 2 blocks high. This creates an L shape. Draw a matching horizontal and vertical lines to create a rectangle. You've now fenced in your claimed acreage ~ but you have to know how much you have!! So you must write out the following math sentence under your square: 3 x 2 = ___ Once each player has taken a second turn, you've all completed your 1st trip west. (At which point whomever had the most would take a moment to gloat, though that's not the point of the round ;-)You get 4 more trips - completed in the same manner. When all 5 trips have been taken and all of your math sentences have been completed, each player adds up their grand total from all 5 trips. The player with the most acreage overall at the end of the 5 trips is declared the winner.

Does this make sense? It was great fun with minimal prep work. And the competitive drive certainly kept my little person playing longer than they ordinarily would be - and doing other people's math fast so they would know straight away if they'd won or not. I hope it has a similar effect in your home :)

2012-01-17T08:34:00.001-05:00

Soon my family and I are heading out to Great Wolf Lodge. We are all thrilled to go get in some water park fun in the middle of winter :) Except this means ~ I'll be in a swimsuit way before I'd intended. I'm still a weight watcher girl - 3 years in March woohoo!! So I imagine I'll be just fine... but in the meanwhile I'm consoling myself with this doctored up weight watcher dessert: Smart Ones chocolate cake, fresh strawberries and fat free whipped topping. Boy, this watching what I eat is hard, huh? What's your favorite almost sinful dessert?

Menu Plan week of 1/15

2012-01-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

Sure has been a while since I've posted menus, huh?

The school yummy lunch of the week is: coconut carrot rice pudding & fruit salad from Vegan Lunch Box cookbook.
My work yummy lunch of the week is Napa cabbage rolls w/ mizo soup ~ yes, I enjoy my own yummy work day treats. Recipes from Raw Food for Everyone.

Dinners for the week are:

Sun: baked pork chops, veggies & potatoes

Mon: French bread open faced Philly cheese steaks, fries & veggie

Tues: Daddy junk food night since I work late ~ hotdogs, veggie plate

Wed: (from the freezer ~ Once a month cooking cookbook) Calzones w/ spag sauce & broccoli salad from Raw Food for Everyone

Thurs: Chicken alfredo & spinach, orange & sunflower seed salad

Fri: Pizza (I'd love to stop this tradition but the kids LOVE it)

Sat: Chicken soft tacos & Southern caviar

That's what we're eating this week, how about you all? Sometimes I think - I wonder if the authors of these cookbooks would be completely horrified by the way I integrate their healthy recipes into our meal plans that also include things like Philly Cheesesteaks... Can you imagine? I apologize to all of the vegan, vegetarian & raw food cookbook authors out there!!!

New library rule:

2012-01-11T06:50:00.002-05:00

All kilts must be at least finger tip length.

If it weren't necessary we wouldn't make it a rule. Just saying...

sprechen sie deutsch?

2012-01-10T06:48:00.002-05:00

Me neither. But my hubby does, or should I say did? He took German in highschool and then lived there for a couple of years as a young adult. That was years ago though and he no longer considers himself fluent. Though every once in a while he'll share a fairy tale or some other randomness that creeps into his brain. And you know how you never really know what will stick with your kids and what just goes right by them? Some apparently stuck along the way...

Last Friday my kindy kid decided he only spoke German. He knows 2 sentences in German: Hello, my name is Hanzel; and Will you help me with my rucksack?

He made it through the morning only repeating those sentences in response to questions. He had every intention of continuing throughout the day. I thought it was hilarious... and so did my husband... and most of my friends. Though I did have one friend that thought perhaps I should have discouraged him as it would be disruptive in school. This brings up an interesting thought for me...

The day or two prior to this the kindy class had recesses canceled so they could work on paragraphs. Now I am a little old school in my relaxed 'it's kindy' viewpoint so I'm used to thinking things have gotten crazy when others are in full agreement. But I think we can all agree that full day kindy kids need their recess more than they need to work on paragraphs! I think the little guy was just going to his own little happy place where I wasn't going to disturb him.

Apparently he kept the act going for quite a while at school and his teacher was tolerant. So parents - how involved do you get in your children's behavior? Would you have discouraged little Hanzel?

Need some green?

2012-01-04T06:51:00.000-05:00

Try sprouts! We're at that time of the year that I really start to miss the fresh stuff of summer. I know I can't be the only one. It's a perfect time to sprout some highly nutritious yummy goods right on your kitchen counter. I received this sprouter from my wonderful step daughter for Christmas and love it. I've had other styles in the past as well, such as the self watering levelled style and a plain ol' mason jar. Each one has had it's advantages and disadvantages, so in the end whatever one you choose you can't lose.

The above sprouts are alfalfa which the folks over at sproutpeople.org don't seem really very keen on alfalfa but I love it on sandwiches. It is a great replacement for lettuce in the cold of the winter. I'm ready to branch out though... I'd love to have kids adventuresome enough to try out the sprouted breakfast cereals but I don't think we're there yet... instead I think perhaps we're Sprouted Bean Rice Pot people.

Are you a sprouter? What do you sprout? I appreciate any and all recommendations to keep us moving in a forward direction.

Our Family's 2012 Patron Saint

2012-01-01T08:12:00.001-05:00

This year again we've decided to have a Saint selected for us. Our saint for the year is....

St. John of Capistrano

Last year was St. Sebastian who helped us in many ways. We used this random saint generator to select our saint. That might seem weird - trusting a random generator - but I think it's perfect! We trust that whatever saint we receive will lead us by the example of their life story to a closer relationship with God. Every saint is extraordinary by definition. Let me know if you try it out and who your family's patron saint for the year is.

My first batch of yogurt

2011-12-31T10:16:00.000-05:00

And I feel like a rockstar :-) I used instructions provided from The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather.

Here's the basics, of course all accredited to Ms. Mather, though I must admit that due to my personality quirk, I NEEDED to read everything I could find on yogurt making before I actually did it. Some books just scared me. Her directions are straight forward and don't make me think that I'll had poisoned myself and our family when I'm finished ~ winner!

You need:

8 c milk

2 t plain cultured yogurt

Warm milk to 115 degrees in pot over low heat. Add cultured yogurt and stir well. I failed here.. or when I put it in jars because some of my jars are runny and some are thick. Pour the mixture into pint or quart size canning jars and set into a roasting pan filled with 2 inches of hot water.

Place in oven with the door closed and only the light on for 6 to 8 hours. Lid and refrigerate when finished. And it really worked!! I had some for breakfast and haven't needed to be rushed to the ER :) Sweet success.

Now I'll admit, I'm not a huge yogurt eater. My kids are though - which is what prompted this little activity. But now that I have all of this yummy plain yogurt, I want to EAT it!! So how do you like your yogurt?

Family Fun

2011-12-30T06:24:00.001-05:00

We had a great day together as a family doing..... MATH!! That's right, I said it. Here were our favorite games:

Guess my number. One person picks a number between 1 & 100. Other players take turns guessing. The only allowed answers are either: Your guess is less than my number OR Your guess is greater than my number.

Shut the box. Draw a tic tac toe grid and number 1 - 9. Roll 2 dice. Total amount. Build that number using your tic tac toe grid. Each number can only be used once so cross them out as you total. For example: you roll a 9. You can choose to cross out either: 9; 1 & 8; 2 & 7; 3 & 6; or 5 & 4. If you have already used the numbers necessary to build the number that was just rolled then you must pass. The first person to use all of their numbers wins.

Change in my pocket. Gather an assortment of coins. One player selects between 2 and 4 coins and places them in their pocket. They then say to the other players: I have 20 cents in my pocket but only 2 coins. What are they? And the other players guess. The number of coins can vary based upon your age and skill.

Pokemon - oh it can be a math game with all of that adding, subtracting & multiplying!!!

We didn't get to Math War today. Perhaps tomorrow. Just too much fun with the couple we did I guess! Hope you all have fun too!

FO: DVD holder

2011-12-29T06:13:00.001-05:00

One of my other fun gifts this Christmas was One Yard Wonders which just awesome!

I'm sure there are some other fabric junkies out there with stashes of yard cuts that were purchased just because you loved them. Or I'd be working on another project and love the fabric so much that I'd buy an extra yard just because... Well now I have a whole heck of a lot of becauses!!! I couldn't resist getting to work on something - yes even with the quilt in progress and the new dress form to dress up.. I know, lack of focus!!! I've recently started P90X again and thought this would give me a little boost of motivation. Or perhaps it's just my justification to myself for following a whim.. either way I now have fab DVD pocket storage that makes me happy & makes me feel like it won't get broken sliding in and out of the cardboard. There's another book Fabric-by-Fabric One Yard Wonders that hubby gave to me as well. I'm looking forward to trying some of those out as well.

I must have been good!

2011-12-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

Santa sure must think highly of me this year, as I've been spoiled ROTTEN! As proof of how very excited I am, I'm not even hesitating posting this picture of me in my jammies on Christmas morning.

What is that under that paper?

Could it be?

Why, yes! It is a dress form!! I've wanted one for so long. I remember stalking sales for them when we first got married. Then kiddos came along and most of my sewing was for them or quilts, certainly not for me! But they are getting older. The girl child will still allow cutie patootie skirts and dresses but has resorted to jeans and comfortable shirts for school. And lets face it, it's just not as much fun sewing clothes for boys. So skirts and dresses for momma are back on the machine ~ well along with random household projects ;-) And my hubby must remember all of that hard core stalking we used to do... Bless that man. He is a treasure :-)

Just Peachy

2011-12-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

You know you're in the right spot when Mary is there to great you, right?

We have had an extremely fruitful day :) Our quest to get our peach tree some friends began a couple of months ago. We learned first of all that we made a some big mistakes with our first tree.

1st - mail order. I know right?! The shame. We actually purchased a tree through a mail order company. We were lured with heirloom tomato plants, then tacked on a peach tree. I think there was some special involved that tipped our decision, though that could just be my attempt at justification.

2d - planting in the spring. The mail order company boasted that they knew the best time for each item to be planted. Each item arrived at a different time, right when it needed to be planted. So when it arrived, we planted it ~ right in April.

Why not the spring you ask? Well, in other places, spring is a great time to plant - or so I've been told, I'm obviously NO expert. The spring and summer give the tree time to build reserves to make it through a harsh winter. Here in the south that's a bad idea. The summers are hot, humid and harsh. They beat down a poor baby tree before it even gets a chance to gather itself. As it turns out DECEMBER is prime fruit tree planting time here. That way the tree can gather itself and take hold before the summer pounding. So as December is coming to a close we found the pressure on to get those trees into the ground!

We also decided that our next most important choice is to find a local provider of local trees. We did this as well and the prize in the crackerjack box is the super knowledgeable garden guy. He was great helping us to not only select our peach trees but also gave us some great hints for maintenance on our other peach tree.

I should also note that in light of my focus of employing my neighbor, the guy probably thought I was a little weird. I kept asking are you sure these are local? Is this company owned by a local PERSON? Finally, Mr. Rodney says, "The owner is a nice guy. He lives right down that street," while pointing to his left. I've checked and it's true. I'm thrilled to have found a local hardware & garden center. Sure the lye for my soap making costs about a buck more per can, but I think it's worth it!

A day in the life of a librarian...

2011-12-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

I became inspired by GreenBeanTeenQueen's post about a day in the life of a youth librarian post here. I know that most folks have absolutely no clue how library folks spend their days... *gasp* I don't get to read all day. This day is not a typical day... this was the final day before the Christmas holiday break. We will be closed for 4 days! In 4 days our book drops will be over flowing... so much so that the book drops themselves won't be able to conain all of the returns. I will be going in on Saturday just to empty them to try and keep them from overflowing. Since I'll being "working" a bit this weekend, I went in a bit late today to compensate. Also just to give you an idea of different duties, GreenBeanTeenQueen is a childrens librarian. I am the Head of Circulation at a small branch library. Without further adieu...

9:30 - 10:30 Morning book drop and in processing some newly acquired books

10:30 - 11:00 Social media updates. We blog and facebook to engage and inform our patrons. I'm thrilled that this is part of my job description.

11:00 - 11:30 Another round of book drops

11:30 - 12:00 Chat with branch manager about plans for summer reading... yep our summer reading program planning is well underway.

12:00 - 1:00 Adult services planning. Some research, some reading, a sales pitch and perhaps some new exciting programming.

1:00 - 2:00 lunch My lunch room seems to mirror other libraries in that it's a room of folks eating and reading together. My lunch reading selection is The Nearby Feast.

2:00 - 2:30 Cover the Circulation desk as we all work to have every cart clear to handle the massive amounts of books we'll be receiving on next Tuesday.

2:30 - 3:30 Transits. Georgia has the PINES system in which library books move within the system in transit bins. This gives patrons access to resources throughout the state as opposed to only those available within their home library. Today brought 5 large tubs full of books either returning from out of system requests or coming in to fulfill one of our patron's requests.

3:30 - 5:00 Accept and sort donations for our Friends of the Library lobby sales while watching the circulation desk. This includes technology assistance with WiFi access, internet access, & copier. Today also included helping one of our "special" patrons. Every library has them. The patrons that appear to be boarderline mental health concerns. They can become aggressive, highly irritated and disruptive. We get the joy of keeping them library appropriate and still meeting their needs. I also had the joy of helping the woman who is convinced we received her library book back and decided to not check it off of her account. Perhaps we have a stash of books that we've just decided to hide instead of check in?

5:00 - 5:15 Restock employee snack stash.

5:15 - 5:30 In processed another round of new books :)

5:30 (should be until 6) prep for closing. Shut everything down. Help patrons with last minute requests.

I say should because today at 5:45 we realized that a juvenile's parent was not returning to retrieve her child. This particular patron has demonstrated some irratic behavior in the past. The juvenile is old enough to be within the library without a parent so it wasn't an issue until it became apparent that the parent wasn't returning. After numerous calls to all available contact numbers, the library plan for unattended minors comes into effect. This involves law enforcement. It breaks my heart for the sweet, responsible child. The branch manager of course is the responsible party in these situations, but it's required that a second supervisor stay as well. The children's specialist was kind enough to cut me loose so I could come home and celebrate my husband's birthday :)

So that's a day in my life. I love it. Every single second of it. I am blessed and grateful that I get to do the job of my dreams every single day.

Remember Lautzy Handmade Soap?

2011-12-21T07:35:00.002-05:00

Boy, do I miss those days. For those new here, I used to own and operate Lautzy Handmade Soap. It was an all natural skincare company. I made everything: soap, lotions, bath products. All of it was made completely by hand from scratch. I loved it! Then life dealt us a perfect storm: hubby retired, I returned to work and eventually we moved many states away to a tiny little house. We've settled into our new home. We've even started to return to some of our old ways. All of this must being triggering nostalgia in more than just me. Just today my hubby says, "You know we finally have the perfect set up for your soap company. If you want to start it back up after you graduate, the kids and I would fully support you." After I graduate.... seems like forever, but truly, it should just be next year at this time. The possibilities after that are endless... I've lost my focus... back on track...

I made these little packages of chocolate soap as gifts for my co-workers.

So if you've made it this far in the post, you are up for a treat :)

Be the first to comment and I will gladly send you off a chocolate soap bar free of charge!

It's a yummy bar of all natural, handmade soap. I use the finest grade of coconut, palm and olive oils. And what would be a chocolate bar without cocoa butter, right? Big ol' dose of that too. Cocoa powder lends a hand as the colorant. The only ingredient not 100% natural is the chocolate fragrance oil ~ but I think that yumminess is worth it!

Merry Christmas!!

Does your neighbor have a job?

2011-12-20T07:40:00.000-05:00

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665567/bruce-nussbaum-this-is-the-dawn-of-indie-capitalism

Here's a great article about how we - you & me - control the economic future of our country. With whom we choose to spend our money, determines whether we build our local wealth and employ our neighbors or not...

My week in pictures...

2011-12-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

Oh how I struggle to get together posts... Today I take the easy way out.. just a weekly recap:

Apricot crepes. I love crepes but have always sucked at them. These turned out pretty well. Perhaps I'll make more. At least I gave the pancake guy (hubby) a day off :)

Gingerbread. I love it. I just don't think it's the holidays without it. But I'm the only one who totally loves it in our house. So I share with the neighbors. Hope they love it too. If not then my gingerbread is the neighborhood version of fruitcake. They all act very appreciative at least :)

Finished object: My orange & grey plaid skirt. I love it because I put in pockets. I did learn that I must totally suck at taking my own measurements. I am an ok seamstress but always have to alter patterns for the perfect fit. In this skirt I had to completely eliminate the waistband. It just didn't fit :( Perhaps I measured my natural waist instead of where I wanted the skirt to fall. I am extremely high waisted by nature. Think Erkel.

My next quilt. Remember months and months ago I posted a Wordless Wednesday of these strips? Well after other random projects I finally got to the point of cutting them. Perhaps in another 6 months I'll have a picture of a couple of them sewn together. LOL.

Home making is a full-time job...

2011-12-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

but nothing says only Momma can do it!

After 10 months of being back to work outside of the home, I've come to the conclusion that I sure did a lot before! For me home making includes all the tasks that make a house a home: meal planning and preparations, cleaning, decorating, and family event planning. But let us not forget all "special" event logistics: birthday parties, celebrations and scheduling household maintenance ~ like plumbers! That's a whole lot of "stuff"! You'll notice that I don't include any childcare activities in home making. Home making is making a house a home. Caring for your own children is parenting. For me, these are two separate things.

So I've come to realize, perhaps for my own sanity... that while home making is a full time job, I'm not the only person in this house capable of doing these tasks! It's not only ok, but completely beneficial to divvy these tasks up... some to my husband sure.. but more importantly *gasp* to my children! Yes, my children are expected to be little part-time home makers. And why not? Isn't that the point? At some future date, I hope that they are successful enough to earn their own homes. They should know how to 'make' them, right?

So yes, they have routine chores... sweeping the floors, dusting, sorting recycling. But I think the value in all of this is to reach beyond chores. Home making is much more than that! They can help with decorating, celebrating one another, planning family events, and much more. You know what this means? It means our family has become much more participative, though not always cooperative ;-) It also means that I'm thankful to see another positive result of my returning to work. I truly am blessed.

2011-11-24T11:28:00.001-05:00

All warm nostalgia deleted due to shoveling poop out of the chicken house. I'm thinking we'd be better off to fry up some chicken instead of turkeys later!

2011-11-24T10:09:00.001-05:00

Hello hunting season! The smell of gun powder is causing nostalgia :)

The one that got away...

2011-11-21T13:39:00.002-05:00

This year our watermelons were planted toward the fence. We kept pulling back vines as to not become a nusiance to our neighbors. Apparently one snuck over into their yard anyway. I was taking an inventory of the work we need to do to our gardens over the winter and something caught my eye through the fence ~ a watermelon on the loose. Oddly enough, they didn't eat it. Certainly it's gone bad by now :(

One of the upcoming changes was digging 3 new flower beds on the veggie side of the yard for bulbs ~

One perk of working late, is I come home and the work is already finished :) The bad part of that is that it's already dark before I get home. I haven't gotten my hands really dirty since the time change. I think it's beginning to affect my mood!

FO: Quick & Easy Cardigan

2011-11-20T13:37:00.001-05:00

I whipped up this cardigan last weekend from some sale fabric. It was so easy. I took the idea from this book: Sewing in a straight line that I picked up at the library. It really is just a bunch of squares and rectangles sewn together with straight lines. 4 hours start to finish ~ which includes washing, drying & wrestling little hands out of my project ;-) There were tons of other simple and easy projects listed but I was veered off track with another fabric that was also on the sale rack. An orangy grey plaid. Which is going to one day become my new favorite skirt. I say some day because each project I do these days happens in about 20 minute increments. I'm sure you other mothers know how that is!!

Truly sharing my bliss...

2011-11-15T07:36:00.000-05:00

I love to create. I rarely have time. I've been blessed over the last couple of months with a couple of forced opportunities. My first choice was soaping!! Those of you that have been around for a while remember LautzySoap. The little business that could... boy o boy do I miss it. I didn't realize how much until I whipped up this batch of oatmeal cinnamon soap in prep for a soaping workshop. Tonight I get to offer a soaping workshop at the library. I can't wait! Tongihts soaping menu: chocolate Mmmm.

Halloween week lunches:

2011-11-04T06:50:00.000-04:00

This week we had a sickie in the house so my spare time and ambition were at a minimum. I made the best use of the items we had available on hand for fun lunches. I think we scrounged around ok, all in all.

We had english muffin mummies on Monday. These packed amazingly well.

Pizza in a box was another ~~lazy~~ quick lunch that was easily thrown together.

Lessons I've learned over the past couple of weeks:

While many cook books say that kids don't mind eating food cold that is usually warm, my kids don't like it at all!! Items such as chicken nuggets, meatballs etc either need to be warm or not at all. We're going with not at all but this is definitely impacting the recipes we can use. For the record, I love cold chicken and french fries but apparently that's not a trait that I've handed down.

Fresh fruit is best. But there will be times that fresh has gone bad or isn't available... in those times canned fruit is my friend. I'm building a stockpile for just in case times!

Favorite Meals:

2011-11-01T01:13:00.000-04:00

This week the favorite meals were for the adults :) Hubby and I just loved these two meals to the point we were like that old car commercial, trying to beat each other to the left overs. Luckily I'd cooked for an army, like usual! One meal was an old favorite: Kale w/ white beans & tomatoes. The other was a new favorite: Beef and beans w/ noodles.

First up: My lunch. Kale w/ white beans & tomatoes, which I always serve with garlic bread on the side to bribe the kids!

Super easy & quick~ especially when ya buy the pre-washed packaged kale:

1T olive oil

1 big bag kale

chicken stock

garlic

mustard (spice not prepared)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

shredded Parmesan cheese for topping

Heat the oil in a pot. Add garlic. When you can smell it, add chicken stock about 2 inches deep in the bottom. After it warms add kale in big handfuls. I like to add mustard at this point, but apple cider vinegar is good too. Let each handful cook down enough to add more. Stir regularly. Once all the kale is cooked down a bit and is a dark color, add tomatoes and beans. Heat through. Sprinkle with Parmesan... Mmmm.

Even easier ~ just dump all this stuff in your crock pot

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef browned with a diced onion

2 cans beans, rinsed and drained. I used kidney and white.

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 family size can of tomato soup & a full can of water

garlic

salt & pepper

Set on low for the day. Just before serving cook whole wheat egg noodles. Spoon beef & beans over noodles.

I'm still struggling with serving fast nutritious meals to my family since I've returned to work. I think I'm getting better..

Heavenly Halloween Pumpkin Seeds

2011-10-30T13:13:00.001-04:00

It might be that I'm the last pumpkin carver of the season and the rest of you have already roasted your seeds. If that's the case then save this for next year... it's THAT good!

After wahing and drying pumpkin seeds throroughly, drizzle with:

4 T melted butter
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t salt

Stir seeds to coat evenly. Roast in 275 degree oven for between 15 to 30 minutes depending upon your oven. Stir every 5 minutes and check for doneness. When the seeds are lightly browned they are finished.

Enjoy!

Lunch mission week 2

2011-10-23T19:58:00.000-04:00

The mom mission: get these kids to eat lunch!! Week 1 was a huge hit. The corn dog muffins were gobbled up!! Unfortunately, we had to resort to pb&j last week due my not having time to grocery shop. We had a fabulous weekend camped out with girl scouts at Camp Low ~ the view from my tent:

The lunch idea originally for this weekend was these little roasted veggie poptart type of things... almost a pastie without meat. BUT hubby said, seriously? They aren't ready for that yet. I think he's right....

So our plans for the week are:

Homemade lunchable lunch. : meat shapes, cheese shapes & crackers

This version contains pumpkin & leaf shapes and whole wheat crackers. My kids are also crazy for those fried snap peas... which do NOT count as a vegetable even though they are green.
That's my plan... hopefully it's as big of a hit as the corndog muffins!

Did you love the Hunger Games?

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

Yeah me too..

I raved and raved about it until everyone around me read it too. They all agreed. Now I find myself raving again... I haven't reached the end, so perhaps I'll regret it. I doubt it.

This book is AWESOME!!! It's futuristic without being too sci-fi. It boldly confronts body image issues, environmental responsibility and just pure adventure. This is the first in the series that includes: Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras. The uglies are teens awaiting a surgery at 16 that makes them all perfectly beautiful. All their dreams come true. Why on earth wouldn't everyone want that? You might be surprised...

As the Hunger Games, this series is young adult. Thus far it seems very appropriate for a young audience, though my disclaimer is I'm only 1/2 way through... I'll keep ya posted.

My Mom Mission...

2011-10-11T09:19:00.000-04:00

which I don't feel I can refuse to accept.... is to get these kids to eat lunch!!! Initially when they returned to school they gobbled up the cafeteria food. Of course it was gross junk food. Then their digestive systems went into revolt and they decided it wasn't worth it. So we started packing. The honeymoon stage of the sack lunch wore off quickly. Now the excitement of their friends is sooo much more entertaining that the food in front of them. I recall going through this a bit with my oldest when she first started school But I was a stay at home mom then, so I had time to make the prettiest little lunches. That's not the case now....

So I'm looking at incremental steps.... I want them to be eating food like over at the veganlunchbox blog. It's fun, nutritious and certainly takes care of any digestive revolts... But I'm a realist... my kids routinely surprise me with their finicky appetites. Which our house rule is: eat what is in front of you or go hungry... thus my skinny kids. Well and in my defense they do take after their skinny father.

Back to the mission at hand ~ a portable, fun lunch that the kids will eat. Hopefully nutritious though I'm willing to work my way there... And something that I can make a batch of to send over a couple of days of lunches instead of specially prepared each night. And tastes good cold. This mission seems trickier by the breath. This week's offering:

Corn Dog Muffins. Diced dogs baked in corn bread muffins. Today's lunch also included a round of cheese, snap peas & a gerber preschooler fruit snack. Cross your fingers.

Waste not want not: bagel chips

2011-10-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

Use up those leftover bagels! I used wheat bagels here... I'm thinking of trying this with blueberry or cinnamon raisin swirl for a sweet twist.

Bagel chips -

Preheat oven to 425. Slice left over bagels about 1/4" thick. Place bagel pieces in a ziploc bag. Drizzle with olive oil and seasoning. I used ranch popcorn seasoning - which was delicious but certainly not 'natural'... other options might be garlic powder, cumin & chili powder. Or just salt and pepper... a little rosemary... whatever fits your fancy. Pour out on a foil lined baking sheet and stick in the oven. After about 5 minutes toss the chips around so they brown evenly. They should be done around 12 minutes or whenever they make the kitchen smell delicious!

Family fun destination - Ocumlgee Indian Mounds

2011-10-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

Our family spent this beautiful October Saturday hiking at the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds in Macon, Georgia. The park is gorgeous anytime of year, but fall is wonderful for hiking in Georgia. Visiting the park is free as well as the visitor center which details the archeological finds and people who built these mounds. It's a great family field trip. If you are going to make a special trip, plan on September. That's when the festival is held. Traditional crafts, demonstrations, dancing... just amazing from start to finish.

Life Lesson

2011-10-06T06:26:00.000-04:00

One night this past summer my little man was resisting bed time. I'm talking crying, body jerking that came dangerously close to flopping on the floor, sometimes even stomping feet. Let me tell ya, I felt the exact same way. It'd been a long day for both of us. He had spent the day climbing hay bales, chasing chickens and probably slinging rocks into the pond. I had spent the day in hard physical farm labor. My patience for his resistance of bed time was at an all time low.

I cycled the little guy through the shower... him crying or whining the whole time. We managed to get his jammies on and say prayers with some degree of reverence. The final step was teeth brushing. He drug his feet and complained. I had totally had it by this point, this is not my proudest parenting moment... so be warned.... I stomped into the bathroom. "At least when your crying, your mouth is open. Now I can brush your teeth myself." I loaded the tooth brush with toothpaste and commenced scrubbing each little tooth until it shined. Sure his resistance escalated a bit from the previous whininess to a more urgent panic... but let's face it...he'd alternated between whining, crying and foot stomping for the last 45 minutes. I paid him no mind... I had a job to do. This little person was too exhausted for his own good. This little boy needed bed STAT. So I helped him rinse his mouth and explained that if he could talk without whining or throwing a tantrum, I'd love to hear what he had to say.

"That's my sister's toothbrush." He said.

Well there ya go... here's your lesson. If you whine and stomp your feet about every little routine thing, the rest of us don't know when you have a valid complaint.

2011-10-03T09:04:00.000-04:00

I picked this book up in search of a light fun loving read. My last book The Tulip and the Pope was wonderful!! But nonfiction and I felt dealt with very weighty topics such as faith, vocation, life purpose, etc. So I needed something with some whimsy, excitement, and lots of warmth.

This read was spot on. Kate is in her mid-thirties looking for love. She has a life that many would dream of: plenty of money, great career, a body women half her age would envy. But she wants love.... and she doesn't believe that she has to settle.. she truly wants it all and develops a plan to get it.

Jake is someone that thought he had it all at one time. The marriage went south and he decided to opt out of life. Choosing to return home to small town life and help his brother with his business. Luckily for him, he has charm in spades.

Content wise, it's pretty pg until the late middle to end. Some scenes would do well to leave more to the imagination ~ though I have learn to skip and skim until the subject matter returns to a more pg level. I read this was the author's first book. It makes me curious as to whether the graphic content increased or decreased as her writing matured.

I already loved this book and this author when I found this... which just cemented her place on my favorites list. You might feel the same.

Fall Food Fun

2011-10-01T01:25:00.000-04:00

Dessert Acorns :)

Hershey kisses

Keebler fudge dipped shortbread cookies ~ original recipe called for mini nilla wafers but my store was sold out. And well, on this day I was all about the immediate gratification of happy kids so I improvised.

Chocolate frosting to glue

broken pretzel pieces

Just attach the flat side of a hershey kiss to the underside of mini cookie with frosting. A little glue to hold on the stem... voila! It is done :)

I borrowed this idea from the September issue of Family Fun Magazine. And while this wasn't part of a muffin tin - it certainly is muffin tin worthy!!

Library question of the day:

2011-09-29T20:31:00.000-04:00

Phone patron: Do you all still lend out books there?

Me: Yes, just bring in your card.

Phone patron: With all the talk of computers, I thought the book was dead.

Hey, on the upside - at least she recognized that the library offers other services than lending out books. Note, she said the book was dead, not the library. Can we get away with a small victory in that?

In defense of my coolness...

2011-09-28T02:15:00.004-04:00

See those pants over there at clothed much? They are called 'pegged' pants!!! And all you young folk that have poked fun at me ~ you know who you are ~ that thought I was making that stuff up can look and weep. Because I am obviously just a tad bit cooler than you thought... perhaps even cooler than you, because I'm so with the trend, I'm a head of it.... by years.

BTW - doesn't she just make adorableness within reach? One day, using items that don't cost the equivalent of my left arm... I could put together some cute outfits of my own!!

~ and now just like with the defense of one's own sanity... if you have to defend your sanity, you probably aren't... if I have to defend my coolness, I'm probably not.... I'll return to my regularly scheduled blogging of all things mom.

Nearly 2 pounds!!

2011-09-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

I love, love, love roasted broccoli. I take off the stems. Toss with old bay seasoning. Spread out on a foiled baking sheet. And stick in a 350 degree oven until it starts to brown all over. I stir once or twice. Depends on how much your doing, for how long it takes maybe start checking around 20 minutes.

Last Saturday I did about a 2 pound batch - though that weight included the big broccoli stem which I didn't use for this purpose. I put it in a bowl to share with the family. Unfortunately snitch by snitch and bite by bite... I ate the whole stinkin' batch myself. Seriously... Eh could be worse. I could have eaten a pound of chip chop ham ... which is a story for another day.

Thrift with fashion?

2011-09-23T21:34:00.000-04:00

One thing I've learned over the last year is to maximize my wardrobe with some accessories. A basic wardrobe goes much further with some belts, scarves, and funky shoes.

Here's a fun youtube video to conquer those scarves...

Which was completely inspired by a post turning a scarf into a belt over at clothed much which was easy and adorable but I can't find quickly to link... so it looks like you'll just have to enjoy the modest fashion blog and look for it on your own :)

A new favorite quote:

2011-09-22T21:49:00.000-04:00

Illiteracy is a plague, a heavy "handicap," which comes in addition to that of hunger and other miseries. With illiteracy, not only is some aspect of the economy and politcial life at issue, but the

very dignity of the human being.

~ Pope John Paul II from Angelus prayer, Castel Gandolfo, Italy

Found in For The Children: Words of love and inspiration from His Holiness Pope John Paul II... you guessed it... found on my library shelf :)

I can't look either?!

2011-09-18T21:14:00.000-04:00

No, I can't.

I hear women talking about their responsibility to dress modestly to help men to not sin. What about men? If one more man trots down my street shirtless on their daily run, I'm gonna throw a rotten tomato at them!!!

Custody of the eyes isn't just for men.

Us women need to practice it as well... and it can be tough! So I'll keep myself covered and keep my custody of eyes... but I'm gonna keep my tomato thrower fully locked and loaded...

Peggy is that you?

2011-09-17T22:55:00.001-04:00

Do you remember this post about how much I love my volkswagen? Boy was I wrong. This car has been the biggest mistake EVER & has turned my husband into Lou Holtz:

Ya see our VW has experienced 2 epic mechanical failures in 4 weeks. One of which, the timing belt going out at 80,000 miles (instead of making it to it's scheduled replacement of 100,000 miles) - tore out the whole engine. Per the maintenance tech - this is epic failure... 20,000 miles early for a routine maintenance replacement is a rare quality concern.

We believed him... hubby's last VW made it to drinking age (21 in Ohio). He bought "Nick" a VW golf brand new right after he got back from his first tour overseas. He drove that car w/o air conditioning 250,000 miles through Oklahoma, Texas and every other make ya sweat til ya get swamp butt southern location. The only thing that ever went wrong with that car was the blower went out around 150,000 miles. Brian decided to just spend his fridgid Ohio winters scraping inside and the outside of his windows. In 2008 Brian retired from the ARMY. To commemorate the event, we retired "Nick" too. Of course the next car was a VW Jetta. You just couldn't argue with the track record of that old Golf.

Well, until you meet our Beetle and Diane A ~ VW's 'Peggy'. You see after getting confirmation that indeed our beetle was a dud, Brian called VW and got 'Diane A.' She didn't really want to talk to him or hear his concerns. So he asked to talk to someone else. She refused. It appears the only person working in customer service at VW is Peggy... er Diane A. At first I laughed at this... but sadly it's been confirmed. My hubby has contacted VW via email and received back a snotty "per our conversation" email from Peggy... er Diane A. She says he can't speak to anyone else. It appears she is indeed the only person working at VW... I just wish she had Peggy's attmept at an english accent.

In the meanwhile, I'm sad for my dear hubby who has preached the value of a VW from sea to shining sea ~ and congratulated friends on their first VWs. Only now he realizes that "Nick" was a diamond in the rough.

Religious Ed Text

2011-09-17T22:12:00.000-04:00

Well, we've decided and ordered Seton's religious texts. You can find the Kindy book here and the 4th grade one here. We chose Seton over Faith & Life for a couple of reasons.

First, because after spending a year with Seton last year and then sending my child to school this year, I've come to learn what an advanced and strong curriculum they offer. They are INTENSE in all things, religion is their base so I know I can trust it.

Second, what my daughter loved and missed about Faith & Life was the little kid friendly activities: coloring, drawing, etc. That's not what all of 4th grade would be about.

Finally, Seton requires only 1 book purchase per grade. Saves money too.

We don't expect to get them for a week or two, but we'll keep ourselves busy practicing our rosaries.

Transitions...

2011-09-12T06:58:00.001-04:00

Back to blogging? Back to school? Back to life? Whatever... I'm blogging :) The kids are in school & we have some fun things going on that we wanted to share.

Our first to share is that the only complaint my children have about public school is that there is no religion class. Praise Jesus!!! We've done something right!! They want to have their homeschool religion course back. I sorta doubt that they'll be up for more "lessons" after school... but really how do you say no to a request for religious education?

We are debating between Seton which I loved and Faith and Life which my children loved. I guess we'll have to decide soon... I'll keep ya posted. In the meanwhile we are preparing for Michaelmas!!!

Upon entering the church, my husband selected St. Michael the Archangel as his patron saint. Obvious choice as a soldier right?

We will begin our preparations on September 26th with fasting and making decorations just as suggested over at Domestic-Church . If you've read this blog long, you've seen this link before. I love their fridge art section and lenten and advent activities. If you are planning your own family Michaelmas celebration, I'd love to hear your ideas. I'll share ours as we go..

For the love of books!!!

2011-08-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

Since all I really wanna talk about lately is books & I don't really have time for blogging... I'm taking a blogging break. I intend to spend a bit more time over at LibraryThing chatting up the books :) It's free, just so ya know! I'm ShusherJen over there if you're already there too... I'm just getting started :)

Summer Reading Post Script

2011-08-07T14:19:00.001-04:00

I finished Summer Reading last evening and it was completely satisfying. The ending wasn't exactly what I would have wanted or everything I predicted, BUT it fulfilled the build up of the story. The recommended reading and talk of the classics reminded me how much I loved some of those books... My Antonia... or really my absolute favorite The Great Gatsby. They really are much more enjoyable when you don't have a high school english lit teacher attempted to disect the whole thing... or maybe that's just me.

Makes me wonder what are your classic favorites?

There's still time for Summer Reading!

2011-08-06T08:05:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, I haven't actually finished this book yet... but it's that good that I want to share it with ya before the summer is out. The setting is the Hamptons - gotta be in the summer right? The story focuses on three women somehow involved in a summer reading club. One hosts it, one leads it and another is the hired help that serves the group. The three slowly uncover juicy bits from their pasts while coping with the present. All the while leaving me anticipating their futures. Another bonus for us bookworms ~ the book group actually reads some good books! I love the conversation and there are some books on the book list that I haven't read yet... so I'll add them to my reading list. Well after some of Hilma's other books. I'm already scouring the library for more from Hilma Wolitzer!

Sisters of Holmes County

2011-07-28T07:38:00.000-04:00

I love, love, love the recent rush of Amish books. They remind me of home. Ohio has a considerable Amish community and they were often around our small town or surrounding areas in their buggies, selling at farmers markets, and don't forget the Amish restaurants!!! Due to the stress lately I just felt an intense desire to be "home"... so I picked up the Holmes County Series from Wanda Brunstetter. I've not read anything for adults by her before, but the kids and I enjoyed her "School's out!" for kids.

There is also a book 3. The stories are very charming. At times the plots can get very predictable, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. But her ability to make the relationships come alive more than makes up for it. Brunstetter certainly captures the essense of human existance, whether one is Amish or not ~ working together, building relationships and coping with hardships are events we all have to deal with!

I have not yet gotten to book 3. It's a grand debate within myself. I like how book 2 ended and so I'm content. However, I love that each book in the series focuses on another sister as opposed to concentrating the entire series on one main character. For me, this means that each book isn't just more of the same, each offers something unique and of value to itself.

Whether I make time for Book 3 A Sister's Hope within the 2 week school break or move on to Maze Runner will have little to do with my enjoyment of the series and more to do with the persuasive speech of my hubby :) He's just finished Maze Runner and the sequel and can't stop chattering about it. Either way, Wanda Brunstetter has joined my minds group of faithful authors that I know I can pick up any book and enjoy the read :)

Menu 7/23

2011-07-22T22:39:00.001-04:00

So menu planning has taken on a whole new dimension now that I'm a workin' woman. Most days I arrive home around 6:30 - the absolute LAST thing I want to do is whip something up... I wanna enjoy with my kiddos!!! So we've found some solutions - 1. crockpot... face it, I've always LOVED my crockpot... now I love it and need it... 2. preplanning... not everything needs to be done in the 20 minutes before we actually eat it... 3. Hubby is learning to cook ;-)

Sat - Crab cezear salads

Sun - grilled pork chops, german potato salad, veggie (note extra potatoes cooked for Monday's dinner)

Mon - crockpot meatloaf, mashed potatoes & green beans

Tues - macaroni & cheese (prepped night before & hubby just needs to pop in the oven when he gets home) broccoli (Little Pixie's favorite meal night :)

Wed - Shrimp tacos, salad (prepackaged veggies are my current crutch)

Thurs - Out for a big pizza party night!!

Fri - Turkey reubens w/ a veggie tray

So there are my little survival secrets ~ what are yours?

Lost in translation

2011-07-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

We spent another weekend at the farm in Tennessee. We love it there, just wish it were under better circumstances. It does give us lots of giggles....

The kids were heading down to the barn. Hubby and I were headed in different directions. We were to be close enough to hear if someone needed help, but not so close that we'd be able to eyes on supervise. So just to safe I gave the peptalk of how we are a family and a team and look out for each other... stick together... yada yada yada. Little reminders of rules.... do we climb on tractors - no. do we climb to the top of the hay & jump - no. And what do we do if someone gets hurt? Run for help - yell for mom or dad and run to the house.

I should add here that just last week we had to teach the kids the concept of "uncle" ~ when wrestling, when the person you are wresting yells uncle then that means someone is hurt, or "gives" ~ it's one of the words that is serious and demands action.

So back at the barn... I'm in the garden and hubby is at the polebarn. The kids are just over the hill at the barn and I hear a cry/scream. I freak out and start running to the barn, as does hubby. We meet up at the top of the hill just as little man rounds the corner screaming, "Uncle! Uncle!!!"

It took us a bit to catch on, but apparently what happened is little pixie fell in the gravel and tore up her knees. She was crying and little man ran for help ~ screaming the one word he learned was the designator for someone is hurt and this is serious.... "uncle" Bless his heart... life lessons are like noodles... ya throw 'em at them but ya never know what will stick... something stuck alright... I'm just not so certain it's what I'd intended.

Yummo lunch

2011-06-28T07:51:00.000-04:00

That somehow looks like dog food in this picture but it was really great!!

Honest it's yummy & easy:

2c. bulgur wheat
2c. water

Pour water over bulgur wheat and let sit for 1 hour. Stir.
Meanwhile chop:

cucumbers
onions
tomatoes

stir veggies in and add:

Lite Italian salad dressing

to desired moistness. Serve over

Spinach.

Enjoy!

Just the sweetest...

2011-06-27T06:59:00.004-04:00

That's what Simple Catholic Living is for bestowing upon me the Sweetest Blog award :) Stop by and see her at some point. I'm sure you'll be delighted!

So how this works is that I now need to share 7 pieces of information about myself that aren't commonly known and give 15 recommendations for Sweetest Blog awards... So here goes:

1. I love peanut butter. Over the top, it makes my mouth water, eat it off of a spoon... do anything for it, love it.

2. My husband has the true green thumb in the family, I just tag along.

3. My mom is one of my heros.

4. I waffled for years between becoming a massage therapist or a librarian... really.

5. As a kid I lived off of chicken potpies and pepsi - gross!!!

6. I was pulling fireguard in the army the night Tupac was killed. I was able to break the news to the rest of my section.. I wasn't ever a Tupac fan but he sure did elevate my status for a couple of weeks ~ may his soul rest in peace.

7. I must blab too much bc trying to find 7 things about myself that noone knows is hard!!! ~ I guess everyone probably already knows that about me.... so I'll try 7 again...

7. I get mad when I sleep in because I've missed out on some hours in my day, life... whatever.

Now for my 15 recommendations:

1. A Modest Fashion Blog What I wear, what I do, and why
2. Amonst Lovely Things
3. A Woman's Place
4. Cleaning Up Clutter
5. Charming the Birds from the trees
6. Concordia Classical Academy
7. Giggles, Wiggles and Wonder
8. Happy Catholic
9. JDaniel's4mom
10. Slightly Crunchy Catholic
11. The Accidental Homeschooler
12. The Reedlet Roundup
13. The Weed Family
14. Totus Tuus Family
15. (Weight Watchers Blog) Leading the Weigh

Summer Fresh

2011-06-25T18:54:00.000-04:00

Ya just can't beat the freshness of your own garden goodies, right?

Today's pickin's included:

Some tomatoes, 2 eggplant, a green pepper and a small zucchini.

This inspired the following dagwoods for dinner:

The eggplant, pepper & zucchini were all grilled. Combined with swiss cheese and sliced tomato on garlic bread it was mighty tasty :) Just some cheesy penne as a side to woo the kids. ~ didn't work as well as I would have liked. But I think that has more to do with the empty bag of chocolate chips I found on the counter... Can you imagine a whole bag of chocolate chips in about an hour? No wonder they all have belly aches. Hopefully that was a learning experience and not the beginning of lifelong gluttony!!

Garlic follow through

2011-06-17T07:11:00.000-04:00

Our garlic was harvested a week or so ago. It's not big and huge but I guess it was ready. I think it's because I started with just plain ol' cloves from the grocery and not seed garlic. Perhaps this year I'll get my butt in gear and purchase some high quality seed garlic. We're still thrilled though. I want to eventually have enough to make some braids to hang in my kitchen or give away. But I'm going to need some more cloves!

Our summer of free range children...

2011-06-09T13:25:00.002-04:00

We are suburbia. We live on a 1/3 of an acre in a great neighborhood. We are close to all of the greatest schools, shopping and work. We have many blessings and we enjoy them.

My hubby grew up on a farm with all of the freedoms that allows. Due to some family circumstances, we are spending a lot of time on his parent's farm in Tennessee. It's not the family farm he grew up on.. yet it still has all of the wonder. It's amazing to me how much my children and even I change once we step foot out there. It's like we let the kids out of the coop. We hit the property line and instantly little pixie wants out of the car. She has to race us down the lane to the house. Or drive - just the golf cart though!!! Little man has to climb the haybales - to the rafters no less!!! So high, the only way to get him down is to send the dog up!! I find myself allowing them freedoms that I would NEVER allow at home. At home I have to watch them. At the playground I have to make sure I know where they are. At home the house has enough windows and the yard small enough that I can see them everywhere... and they aren't old enough to roam the neighborhood in packs like we used to growing up.

Meet Willie ~ Little man was sure he was going to kick him in the butt until he met all 1200# of the big black angus.

At the farm I can set them free to learn from their own mistakes. For example if you chase the momma cat into the hay so you can take her kittens, you'll come back with scratches. If you flop around at the top of the hay, you'll probably end up coming down fast. But chances are, you'll have a big cousin who will pick ya up and dust ya off... check for wounds and send ya on your way. And there's already been those moments that bond siblings together in secrecy - some how my youngest wandered back to the house covered in grease and walking with a gimp. No one's fessing up. But I'm guessing they learned to never do ~ whatever *that* was ~ again.

Emotionally, it's a tough summer for all of us ~ especially my hubby's family. All I can do is pray hard for them all and focus on the fact that my children will remember their free-range summer with fondness for the rest of their lives.

Wordless Wednesday: Our harvest: small but steady.

2011-06-01T06:05:00.002-04:00

When it happens it will be too fast..

2011-05-31T07:48:00.000-04:00

Words of wisdom:

When it happens, it will be too fast.

Unexpected tragedy doesn't hit by appointment or when you have a break in your calendar. It hits when you least expect it. Prepare before hand. Have a central location for financial documents and wills (business of life stuff). Share information with your spouse and listen when they are telling you - insurance due in 6 mo - check, spent a bajillion dollars on the new lawn mower - check, it has a warrantee - check!! Above all else, make sure they always know how much you love them. When tragedy hits, there's too much going on to focus. There's the business of life and the emotion of life - each one battles for your time and attention when only one thing matters - the person that you love.

When tragedy happens you'll desperately want time to slow down so you can get your ducks in a row and treasure the time that you have. But you can't slow time down... so do it now before you need to do so. It's a life lesson that someone else has learned recently, that has made a profound impact. We are creating our emergency binder with wills, financial information, insurance information and any end of life considerations. It's not the fun date night activity that we'd like to be doing, but I don't think we'll ever regret it.

more little challenges..

2011-05-28T02:31:00.003-04:00

Remember how I've said that I prayed for little challenges to come along that will prepare us for the transitions ahead? I've totally had a week that is a continued answer to the prayer... sometimes it sucks. But it's part of what we need right?

The first is an extended family emergency that required me to put some perspective on the work/family balance. I LOVE my job and the folks that I work with. BUT my family has to come first - so if I need to drop everything and go - then I drop everything and go. You know the best part? My job is filled with people that understand and support that decision. Thank the Lord that I have that benefit. I've been in positions before - and know others are still in those positions - that it would have meant risking unemployment.

Second is completely separate from the first, but they are listed together just by virtue of being in the same week. *Lucky me* As an adult sometimes I think - kids problems are just kids problems. I have an urge to say this is just a big deal to you because your young. When you are older you'll have more perspective. But in reality, when someone is thoughtless or treats your feelings with total disregard ~ it hurts whether you are 8 or 80. I think the behavior sucks, but I'm thankful for the reminder. I think it will help me to be a more sympathetic ear. And just incase I'm reading Queen Bees and Wanna Bees, I'll post a review when I'm finished.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should....

2011-05-27T08:23:00.003-04:00

My public service announcement is for parents today. Every parent is storming the library with test scores in search of summer reading on their kid's reading level. Awesome. I'm glad you are excited about reading. I'm glad your kid excels at it. I'm even more enthusiastic that the library occurred to you as a destination to support this skill development. Where's the but....

Just because the test monkey says your early elementary student can read young adult books doesn't mean s/he should.

I'm not censoring you or your kids. You bring it up, I check it out. That's my job. But I am not afraid to ask mom or dad whether they are aware of content variation in juvenile and young adult books. Just because a kid can read it, doesn't mean they are emotionally mature enough to digest it. I mean really, I'm in my 30s and I enjoy reading young adult. Do you really want your 2d/3d grader reading what I'm reading... The Hunger Games, Twilight, Peaches...

So thus goes my new summer rant of:

All reading serves the purpose of building skills.

If your child is a S level and picks a Q or U level book - don't freak out! Let them read for the fun of it. It's summer reading... the text books are shut for the year. Reading in and of itself is a valuable activity. Enjoy it!! You and your kids will have a great summer and they will still somehow be ready for the following school year.

**Now the only thing left to do is determine if it's my inner librarian, inner homeschooler, inner bookworm or some combo of all that has the knee jerk reaction... because I'm sure at some point I'll have to just shut her up and check out some books.

Found on my library shelf..

2011-05-07T07:39:00.000-04:00

I'm in love with this book. It caught my eye because of the Ohio connection of course. It is hilarious and inspiring. Here I thought that I was finding a little obscure diamond in the rough... haha, I laugh at that now!! There was a movie made in 2005... which will be my next quest.

The book itself is about a determined woman who supported her family on the random contests that were so popular in the 50s. As a family of 12, you can bet there's a lot of action and humor. What surprised me was the independence of the 50s housewife with the alcoholic husband and the inspiration it provides.

If it's not on your library shelf, it's worth shelling out your own $$ for :-)

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

2011-05-03T07:51:00.000-04:00

Great feel good read. One of the few Young Adult books that I've read in a while that I felt is written for young adults specifically in mind. There's no darkness or dispair. Real life events, sure. Three girls from different worlds all coexisting in a small Georgia town. Their paths cross and they find harmony. Great summer read for sure!!! There is a second book as well but I haven't gotten there yet.

Weekly Menu for 5/1

2011-05-01T15:17:00.000-04:00

We are enjoying the fabulous weather. I think you can tell by the transition to warmer weather foods :)

Sun - egg salad sandwiches, chips, veggies

Mon - burgers, fries & veggies

Tues - (mom's workin' late so daddy's cookin') chicken nuggets & mac and cheese

Wed - Beef & snow pea stir fry with soba noodles

Thurs - grilled fish & veggies

Fri - pizza for family movie night

Sat - shrimp po' boys w/ salads

Sun - baked beans & corn bread

Nothin' fancy, I considered not even posting since it more of our usual.. but figured you all would like to see that other folks eat the same ol' tired stuff too!! Maybe it'll make ya feel better ~ OR you'll have pity and post your favorite quick warm weather meals Hmmm now there's an idea!!!

Waiting on Normal

2011-04-28T07:02:00.000-04:00

I just finished this book which I loved. It's a juvenile work of fiction aimed at the ages of 9 -12. In my mind it's become a fictional, kinder, gentler Glass Castle. The main character is a 12 year old girl, Addie, who lives with her single mother. The mother is preoccupied by her own goals, desires, ambition and is unable to properly care for her. I love the definition of normal that she gives. Normal is knowing what to expect next. Doesn't seem to matter whether the next is good or bad. Just having the ability to predict the next is of great importance. And really isn't it for all kids? It's a great book for kids & grown ups alike. When I picked it up at my local library, I had no idea it was such a loved book. Google it and you'll find reviews, videos ~ you name it! It'd be a great book to use for a book study or report as there are just so many resources available.

I feel as though I should put this disclaimer in the review as I know a lot of folks in my audience that this will be important to: There is a homosexual couple as main characters in the book. It doesn't actually represent it as a positive or negative. It just is. In my opinion no harm or foul. The book as a whole does not have any questionable content or language. I enjoyed it.

Happiness is a ton of strawberry jam...

2011-04-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

As with all things, we have a little back story.... We had a groupon for a great u-pick place near by. So on my birthday I declared jam weekend!!! We spent my actual birthday picking 13 pounds of strawberries Mmmm.. for only $9 *sweet*. Then the next day we washed, mashed and cooked up some jam. But we didn't plan ahead well enough I guess... or we just had different plans. You see I'd never canned jam before and wasn't sure of my recipe. Hubby grew up watching his mom can everything out on the farm. She didn't do anything little. Everything was BIG batches. So while I wanted to do a small batch to test the recipe.. hubby declared that double the work. "Let's just do it once and get it over with" ~ he says.

So we get to work... only to find out our largest pan isn't big enough. So we had to split the almost all combined recipe into halves... unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective)... the split was unequal. So we have 1/2 the jars of thick strawberry jam and 1/2 the jars of strawberry syrup ~ which I might add is fabulous on homemade waffles :-) So the bad news is I don't have jam for all of my friends like I'd hoped. But good news is that sometimes mistakes make life sweeter!

Wrapping it up & dragging it out...

2011-04-20T10:33:00.000-04:00

We are at the weird time of year that I feel like we are wrapping somethings up and dragging others out... but it's our speed and we're sticking to it :-)

One of the benefits to homeschooling for us has been the ability to work through subjects at different grade levels at our own pace. Somethings like reading are my little pixie's forte so she's always whipping through it. Others like math are ~~the painful torture that we endure~~ savored so as to fully digest the material before we move on. Which brings us to the end of the year in which some items are wrapped up months before others. We usually use that as an opportunity to double up on other subjects to get through those quicker as well. But still we will not double up math.. we will do it all summer. And while that sounds like I'm dredding it, I actually think it's a good thing.. or so I tell myself repeatedly throughout the day... The weaker subjects should be consistantly practiced so as to not lose any over long breaks. We should definitely have enough material to cover that concern :-)

But to celebrate what we have finished ~

English 3 for Young Catholics. I LOVED it. It was thorough. It covered writing, speech and grammar. The repitition of sentence diagramming was a great active way of reviewing parts of speech and sentence structure. Little Pixie wasn't a huge fan of it compared to First Language Lessons. She preferred a more oral approach to English, but I think that's just more of the difference of 2d grade to 3d grade.. not necessarily one curriculum to the other. She did enjoy that the lessons were again bite sized and quick to work through. She found the topics of interest. If we were homeschooling again next year, Seton English would be a keeper.

Mapping was a favorite from the start. The only reason we weren't finished in December is because Little Pixie realized there was only one mapping workbook and wanted to savor it. This must be a very good program. I did very little with mapping other than checking the worksheets - no teaching, she rarely had questions... this was a "car-schooling" activity. She seemed to do very well on the map reading section of the standardized testing we just completed. She commented that the structure was very similar to her workbook. Again this is something we would continue with if homeschooling were in the plan for the future.

It's probably all this dragging butt stuff we'd really like to give up... so you won't see those posts for a while!

Children Learn What They Live

2011-04-15T22:30:00.002-04:00

So here's the story that caused me to pick up this book today... and I'm not saying I'm proud of it.

After a day of solid fighting and total disrespect I had each kid in a neutral corner. Kids and mom needed a time out. After we all calmed down, I informed them that we were all going to work out the extra energy we had by cleaning the house. After all we have energy to fight, we have energy to clean. Just as I finish my parental speech, I look up to see my daughter's eyes roll and lips mimic me silently. Well Hot cross buns!!! I've never felt so capable of hurdling my kitchen breakfast counter and wringing her little 8 yo neck. I told her so and then commenced to wearing that butt out with chores.

Later, a large mosquito followed hubby in from the garden. It circled Little Pixie and disappeared. She began panicking that it was on her back ~ Is it on me?!? she yells ~ twisting and turning to try and actually see her own back. In my mommy brain I envision myself, hands on my hips, rolling eyes and silently moving my lips in hysterical mime. But I resist. Hopefully that last shred of maturity pays off one day.

Anyway, the book is based upon this poem:

Children Learn What They LiveBy Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Sad day..

2011-04-12T06:41:00.000-04:00

At homeschool park day last week my children "rescued" 3 caterpillars. They were those adorable fuzzy ones that make the ugly tents in the trees (Eastern Tent Moths) and turn into even uglier moths. They loved them and I milked their existence out for every possible drop of science..

We had a scare last Thursday when they were forgotten outside overnight. They became sluggish in the cold and I feared the worst. So did my little people, they cried and cried. But we warmed them up and they lived to see show and share at preK. Hurrah!!!

But sadly, Wiggly met his demise yesterday. The other two had already cocooned up but Wiggly was days behind them. The kids discovered he'd curled up and refused to move. The sobbing was heart wrenching. Somehow Hubby is always out of the house when these things happen so I was on my own to handle the arrangements. We crafted headstones ~ yes 2 so we didn't have to argue about what goes on it. Each child declared their never ending love. And we buried him out front between the mums ~ that thankfully have regained their vigor after the great aphid invasion of 2011.

To finish the whole day off, my Little man ran into the kitchen before bedtime and declared, "I miss Wiggly but he's not really gone. I'll hold him in my heart."

Million posts in one :-)

2011-04-11T13:38:00.000-04:00

There's a smile on my face and a song in my heart.... here's all the reasons why:

1. Little Pixie had her chorus performance this weekend. She was BEAMING. Seeing her so happy and loving what she's doing is just the kind of a boost a tired momma needs.

2. Chorus practice is now over :-) I know she loves it. But we really need the time to get school finished for the year. That extra hour really makes a difference.

3. Little Pixie has been so mature lately that we allowed her to get her ears pierced. She's been begging for years. But we thought pierced ears was a very big kid thing to do and wanted her to demonstrate responsibility first. She's so proud. It's heart warming to see her get a glimmer of the self satisfaction of actually EARNING something BIG.

4. In addition to peeling chorus practice from our schedule we've peeled track as well. Which means today is the first day since February that our family hasn't been rushed in the evenings. When we woke up this morning I informed the kids that after school work was finished we had absolutely NOTHING to do except WHATEVER they wanted. Little man nearly wept with joy ~ and so did I.

5. I have maybe 4 projects left and my semester will be over. It's so close I can taste it. Which is why I must go... I hope to complete one now :-)

I hope your weekend is equally filled with joy & Good News!

Royal Wedding Magic

2011-04-06T07:43:00.002-04:00

I have a dear friend in England who is a great UK book hook up. We share a love of all things literary. She sends my kids the greatest packages of goodies. The most recent box held two books that are getting dibs called all around.

My grandmother would be over the moon with this book! I know this instant that it would be wrapped in acid free paper and put up. Never to be loved, cut or played with. I guess she's worn off on me because I am really fighting that urge.

This one I think really is for me ~ and I can't wait to try it out. BUT my little is calling dibs!! She loves it. She has BIG plans. I'm not so sure. But we'll give it a crack maybe after this semester ends the first week of May.

Did you watch Princess Di & Prince Charles' wedding? I recall getting up at 4am or something and gathering around the tv with my mom & sister to watch. It was just magical. Some how I'd forgotten that magic and not fully embraced this wedding with my daughter. I'm glad this package arrived before it was too late. I still have time to share in some of the magic with her.... now to decide what to do... what will you all do? Anything?

Bite Sized Challenges

2011-04-05T07:02:00.001-04:00

We made the decision a couple of months back to begin praying for little challenges to arrive one at a time. We prayed that the challenges would be things that we needed to learn or overcome to make the current transition easier. Boy o boy when you pray for something like that boy do you get it! BUT we also had the blessing of getting those challenges one at a time instead of all at once ~ which really would have done me in I think.

Some examples:

We had hubby's earlier health challenges that required my acceptance that I really do need to accept help from those around me when necessary.

My little pixie had the experience of being reprimanded by an adult that she doesn't know. She's so sensitive and quiet that this doesn't happen often. But hello, heading back to school, this will definitely be something she encounters!

We've had lessons in our children being exposed to influences that we don't allow ~ we talked about it and they are no worse for the wear but do understand why this won't be a habit.

We've learned how our religion is recieved outside of our little circle of like minded folks. Including the necessity that our children not only follow our guidelines but understand them. When well meaning adults challenge those beliefs, our children are well prepared with nonconfrontational but unwaivering answers.

And really can you have a girl without the concern of teaching them how to deal with girls that shoot daggers? We've found this behavior to be present in the homeschool community but not nearly to the degree that we had it at school. But we've had the opportunity to discuss these behaviors, what to do about them and that they are really more a reflexion of that person and not ourselves.

And this week we get 2 challenges ~ lucky us!!

1. How hubby and I will balance our new dual working status to make sure we coordinate the best possible care for our kids. They have commitments. We have commitments. It's just a big puzzle that needs pieced together.

2. This is also the time that the rubber meets the road. I say that my kids come first. I need to make sure that my every action proves this, to include being fully present when we are together and available whenever necessary.

And finally, I'd appreciate your prayers in the next challenge: which is the selection of a homeschool supportive teacher for each of my children next school year. With them returning to school, I have the fear of the anti-homeschool teacher that spends her time searching for the gaps in my children's education instead of celebrating their strengths. Since we are returning to public school, I don't personally have a hand in selection BUT prayer helps all things!

Transitions again...

2011-04-04T16:23:00.001-04:00

I've been at home for 2 years now and am now returning to work. It's an odd transition of sorts because everyone here has only known me as a stay at home mom. I think it's part of my identity to them. However, in my self perception the return to work is a return to what had become our dream. When my hubby and I were newly married we would fantasize about what life would be like in 10 years. He would be retired. We'd hopefully have children. We'd live some place different. We'd be a 2 parent household (as opposed to the 1 parent household we often seemed to be with his many TDYs), I'd have the opportunity to "be" whatever it is I wanted to be. At the time we thought that meant becoming a corporate accountant somewhere... but in practice it meant becoming a wish coordinator ~ which might I add totally trumped corporate accountant as far as dream jobs go.

So back to today's real life... the move to "some place different" threw a wrench into our fantasy life. But as often happens in real life, we pulled up our boot straps and created our new normal. Which has finally gone full circle to our comfort zone of my working part-time, hubby working and kids in what we believe is a great school.

What makes this so interesting is the difference in friendships. You know the girl scout tune...

Make new friends,

keep the old,

one is silver and the other gold.

My silver friends see me and my children as starting a new life ~ and have mostly been great in supporting this grand adventure. My golden friends are taking a deep sigh of relief with me. They recognize this is a sign that we have finally settled in enough to return to normal. I find the whole transition and everyone's perceptions of it very interesting. Though sometimes, I think, it'd be more entertaining if it were happening to a character in a book & not actually me.

Weekly Menu for 4/3

2011-04-03T21:02:00.000-04:00

Ahh... made it through my first week of work and guess what.... We are all no worse for the wear!! We had a great week... thanks in no small part to an awesome child care provider :-) Anyway, onward and upward.. this week's menu:

Sunday: Hotdogs, cauliflower & carrot blend

Monday: Chef Salads (build your own) ~ really just my excuse to eat those French's Onions on something other than green bean casserole. I love those things!

Tuesday: Ham & Scalloped potatoes from the crock pot w/ broccoli ~ supposed to be in the 60s so it's a good day for some comfort food

Wednesday: Veggie pizzas

Thursday: Sandwiches, chips & carrots ~ another track night. Boy o boy... we love watching our little pixie run but will be soooo thankful when the season is over!

Friday: gonna have to be out... skating & t-ball pictures all surrounding dinner time.. looks like I might get to that new Catfish place!!

Saturday: Greek Orzo Casserole w/ salads

Grown up clothes

2011-03-31T07:20:00.000-04:00

This week is my first week back to work at a "real" job. I worked as what felt like a paid volunteer for a weight loss company for a while and LOVED it. However, my career aspirations are to be a librarian when I grow up... so it made sense to find a job in a library as I work through library school. I know, I'm pretty quick. It's astonishing.... So this "real" job inspired me to get out of my mommy clothes and start wearing more career clothes. Which inspired my reading.....

Which I must be the last person who hasn't read it. But it's funny, witty and I'm enjoying it. I also started following some fashion blogs and here are my favorites, if you'd like to check them out...

http://www.9to5chic.com/

http://aworkingmomscloset.blogspot.com/

http://anewoutfitaday.blogspot.com/

http://ashleygettingdressed.blogspot.com/

http://foundinmycloset.blogspot.com/

http://www.clothedmuch.com/

http://www.mixmatchfashion.com/

There are a few more, I'm short on time so I can't even make this pretty :-( But enjoy!!

Life changes & stress... all by His grace alone

2011-03-27T14:54:00.000-04:00

So today it hit me in church... that point where life changes collide with stress and you no longer are responsible for your actions. It might be something huge or it might be something small... but there's always a breaking point. Today I hit mine... Which instantly reminded me of a book I read in 9th grade. It was a road trip with just my mom and I. My uncle was very ill. My parents were in marital struggles. I was in teenage angst. And I think my mom just threw her hands up in exasperation and we quit life for a week. It was totally awesome.

I read Shirley Maclaine's Out on a Limb . There's been lots of chatter about this book for years for various reasons and I'm sure some folks have really had some life altering lessons that they've taken with them. The only scene I truly recall is her hitting her breaking point in elementary school. Something small happened and she just lost it. She began giggling, then laughing, then almost cackling until she literally fell over, desk and all. The principal had to call her mother and send her home because she couldn't stop laughing enough to regain control and rejoin her class. This was nearly me today, sadly in Mass.

Just one final aside before I move on to the actual point... I spent yesterday typing up schedules, maps & instructions for my husband & child care provider for the week. It's my first AND ONLY 40 hour week for training at my new job. I didn't realize how much I actually run in our household and how much we all will rely on God's grace alone to make it through the week. I thought about how it seems every week I kneel and pray for God's grace for a successful week. Sometimes I think yikes, maybe I should slow down or work harder at prayer or self control... that my sheer dependence upon God's grace for survival used to feel like a fault. But today, I realized not just in cognitive ways, but whole heartedly, that my reliance on God's grace isn't a fault... it's most important strength.

So after the prayer for grace... I look over to my son who was up all night with ear infection #2 :( Who is attempting not to nod off. He's chosen to maintain alertness with what appears to be isometric stretches which struck me as the exact stretches as the dart throwing athletic date in those Zoosk commercials:

I lost it. Tears... shoulder quivers... I regained my composure enough to not be excused... by God's grace alone. But I have thankfully laughed a lot of that stress right out of my hair!

Reason #648 why sometimes life sucks...

2011-03-24T09:46:00.000-04:00

Little pixie has been working so hard at track. She has a total love/hate relationship with it. She loves being part of a team and loves the long runs. She hates going to practice 3 nights a week and doing speed work (which I fondly call chummers and TOTALLY hate as well). So why is this reason #648 on why sometimes life sucks? Well tonight is little pixie's first big meet against another team. She's been super psyched up about it for weeks. She's ready to really do her best... then in the parking lot - a misplaced step - whammo bammo:

She's a gimper :-( Sometimes you're super excited & totally prepared and circumstances suck the fun right out of it.

Student News

2011-03-24T07:54:00.000-04:00

This week I am using CNN Student News to get us out of the house on time. When everyone is up, eaten breakfast, practiced personal hygiene and is actually ready to leave the house ~ then I turn it on. They don't even realize what a treat their current events curriculum is ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: @!#$ Aphids

2011-03-23T01:31:00.002-04:00

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-aphids.htm

Modesty... inspired

2011-03-22T08:17:00.000-04:00

So I am F-A-R from a fashionista... but I do follow some modest dress fashion blogs to avoid the frump factor. I thought you all might enjoy knowing that April is Anti-Frump month :-) So in prep for that I'll show what I'm wearing today ~

As you can see I could use some anti-frump help ;-) But I am thrifty :-)
blue shirt - hand me down
yellow tank - Kohl's
skirt - had forever... can't recall

But I do love my comfy rocket dog shoes ~

But they hardly make me a fashionista... more a comfy, chasing kids, nursing one with a bad earache, student, haven't slept in days-ista.

Ode to Mrs. Bentley

2011-03-21T12:42:00.000-04:00

My 6th grade teacher was passionate about teaching. She was soooo much fun to have.. well unless you failed to live up to your potential. She wasn't afraid to tell you that you were smart and she expected you to show it. I loved her. Now I've passed one of my favorite memories of her on to my own children.

The nutty, nutty numerator.

Mrs. Bentley was a professional teacher. She was always dressed very nicely and carried herself with dignity. Not to say that the other teachers were all schlumps but they just didn't have that spit shined characteristic Mrs. Bentley had. That is why the behavior I'm about to describe was such a big deal. Mrs. Bentley pushed our desks together and climbed right up on top of them. She took her regular long purposeful strides back and forth across the little runway that she had created for herself. She kept asking in her booming voice, "Well what do you think of this?" Of course we all had our wide eyes and slack jaws - too stunned to even respond. Even Timmy - who had a wise answer for everything! Eventually she stopped dead center with both hands on her hips - "I'm nutty! I'm on top of the desks and I'm absolutely nutty!!! ~ and so is every numerator because numerators are always nutty and on top!" We figured out it was ok to cut up and all totally lost it with hysterics.

So it wasn't quite as easy to duplicate this here at home. We ended up clearing the kitchen counters and the kids walked back and forth. Totally stunned it was allowed and vowing to not tell Dad who would flip his lid. The sneaky factor helped give the same emotional catch as Mrs. Bentleys impromptu runway. And my kids can now without a doubt let you know that the numerator is on the top of the fraction :-)

Thanks Mrs. Bentley for this and so much more ~ where ever you are!

Menu for week of 3/20

2011-03-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

Nothing fancy at all...

Saturday: pizza & bowling :-) Oatmeal scotchies for dessert.

Sunday: Something from the grill, baked potatoes, broccoli

Monday: (track night) "man beans" from the crock pot and possibly some no-kneed bread from Mother Earth News ~ but probably cornbread from the bread machine

Tuesday: (track night) grilled fish & steamed veggies ~ I've taken to grilling my fish on my george foreman grill and it's so quick & easy. It makes me wonder why I ever cooked fish any other way.

Wednesday: (T-ball night) Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, salad & garlic bread

Thursday: (track meet night so we have to be there even earlier!!) Sandwiches, veggie sticks

Friday: (horseback & family movie night) cheese pizza, some sort of veggie

Saturday: popcorn shrimp, veggies & maybe sweet potato or squash fries ~ whatever looks good on the produce run.

As a little fun aside ~ since I'm returning to work and our evenings are so busy, we've started our buddy system again. Each night one of the kids helps me cook dinner and the other helps Dad clean up. Not only are they learning to cook, but those times of just quietly working together are the times that they seem most ready to really talk.... or maybe I'm most ready to listen. Either way, I love it and so do they :-)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

2011-03-18T13:16:00.001-04:00

I just finished this book off the other night. Honestly I think it is a must read for any adult children of alcoholics. Jeannette completely captures the chaos and hilarity ~ often mixed together ~ that comes from substance abuse. Her life is an extreme case of chaos and an inspiring tale of triumph. But her retelling is not one of pity or whoa is me.. it's completely endearing. She's captured the essense of childhood memories that seem ludicrous yet totally accurate at the same time. I completely envy her ability to do so.

This isn't a book that toots her horn about how capable her and her siblings are or ravages her parents with bitterness. But it's not exactly light reading either ~ there were some parts that rendered me sleepless. But the end result is I've hugged my kids a little tighter and laughed a little more.

Little Funny...

2011-03-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

So if you recall in my last post I mentioned always driving the speed limit and folks getting impatient behind me. Well I learned yesterday that my speedometer is 5 miles per hour off... so I was really always driving at least a good 5 -7 miles per hour under the speed limit. Which in specific terms means I could have been driving about 19 mi per hour in the 25 zones. Hmmm... I'd probably been mad too!

I thought it felt a little slow, just figured it was the new car. :-)

What's all the hype about hypermilling?

2011-03-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

Do you hypermill? I originally read about it in Mother Earth News and it seemed like a great idea for trolling around our small town. Originally I was driving a 4 door pick up truck. Gas prices are soaring and I'm a cheap-o so we purchased this cutie patootie afore mentioned granola carrying VW bug to cruise the kids around town in. And due to this purchase, I feel more pressure than ever to demonstrate what a wonderful choice it was with concrete fuel savings! So I'm a hypermilling wanna-be now inaddition to a librarian wanna-be :-p I found this article on hypermilling that is soooo far beyond anything I'm willing to do for safety sake. But I have found the following techniques to really impact fuel usage:

Always drive the speed limit. (duh right)

Anticipate stopping. ugh another duh right. ~ You see the light is red. Slow down. No reason to accelerate all the way up to stop.

When the light turns green, it's not a race to the speed limit. We don't have to go 0-60 in 3.2 seconds.

No idling. Skip the drive through and go in.

Be patient. Yes it's totally irritating when the person in front of me has no clue where they are going and are driving 5 -10 miles under the speed limit. But if they are looking for a turn, eventually they'll take it and be out of my way. There is no reason to get all miffed and fly around them (wasting gas!)

Which brings me to - let the impatient person that takes personal offense to my driving the speed limit get miffed and fly around me. Especially in a school zone - which happened yesterday. My son was fit to be tied. He demanded I call the police that someone was speeding and crossing the yellow line in a school zone. Me too.

Lump together errands.

So has gas prices changed how or what you drive?

To know me is to know how much I love my bread machine...

2011-03-16T04:07:00.001-04:00

Inspired by Suzyq's post I tried out something new in my bread machine.

Lost in transition

2011-03-15T03:47:00.001-04:00

I don't handle transitions well. I don't get worked up consciously it's more of a physiological thing. Subconsciously I get spun up and it doesn't even occur to me until I go to attempt sleep. I struggle to drift off.. not that I'm busy thinking about things... I'm just busy not sleeping. Which brought about my next thought...

Good stress is still stress.

So even exciting changes for the better can "feel" stressful. Which is why we are all going to work on some stress relieving activities, such as: play dough, water play, bubble baths, dancing like we're crazy, knitting...

What are your stress relievers?

Garden, early spring.

2011-03-14T04:18:00.002-04:00

This bed is being prepared for our eggplants. The ground is still a bit to chilly for them so we're heating it up with the black plastic. The white pot has my mint that is recharging itself after a long winters nap. The little bit of green that you see there are rainbow pepper plants.

Mostly all you see here are snap dragons :-) We learned a lot last year in our trip to Colonial Williamsburg. We need more pretty flowers in our garden!! So this year we have them. You'll notice little popsicle sticks at the end of the beds. Those mark our bulbs - the hyacinths & crocuses are just starting to bloom as well. I don't know that our gardens will be beautiful in the way you would consider landscaping but they will be colorful & hopefully fruitful. This bed is designated for snap peas.

Our two raised beds from last year. You can see they are rimmed with annuals and bulbs as well. The bed on the right holds zucchini plants. The one on the left holds tomatoes. We have a cucumber bed as well but it stands empty, except for a few flowers.

And the peach tree we planted last year has survived!! It was touch and go last year. We've learned that we should never plant a baby tree in late spring in Georgia. The harsh heat of the summer just beats it down. But our baby tree has lived to see spring and it's first blossoms!!

Aw, nuts!!!

2011-03-13T16:17:00.000-04:00

We picked up these "peanut bushes guaranteed to sprout" at the Jimmy Carter Historical Site on our trip to Plaines, GA. What do ya know? They sprouted :-) We are the right climate so the approximate yield per the package instructions is 100 per plant. How fun is that? Maybe asking St. Sebastian for his intercession was the key!

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

2011-03-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

So I'm researching some library and technology issues and of course twitter is a hot topic. It seems very appealing for keeping up with organizations and even celebrities... I'd love a little bit of inspiration from Kirk Franklin here and there... But what about us normal folks... I find it hard to believe anyone cares that I'm knitting socks or researching disaster preparedness for libraries. Do you tweet? Who do you follow? Friends, local news or organizations, celebrities?

Yeah!!! and Boo...

2011-03-11T07:55:00.001-05:00

All wrapped up in one. I've had a week like that! For example:

I accepted a new job ~ yes I've totally mentioned it already but I'm excited can you tell? ~ Yeah!!

But the training week is 40 hours away from my little people... ~ Booo....

I applied for a fellowship opportunity to attend a conference out of state. It's an awesome opportunity for a lowly, poor grad student.

And I found out today that I got it!!! ~ Yeah!!

But the allocated amount is not enough to cover even 1/2 of my expenses ~ Booo.. (**which I'd like to add is not a boo to the conference or their generous offer to assist grad students... only that I can't attend**)

Here's a switch-a-roo for ya though....

I have to leave my current job that I just LOVE, Love, love the people at ~ Booo...

But they don't need me for the next 2 weeks anyway so I won't miss another ball game or track meet!! ~ Yeah!! (My new job is very kid activity friendly though many more hours... must be a little blessing from God :-)

Take a literary adventure

2011-03-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

While working on a project I found this really cool database ~ A Literary Map of Africa Search by genre, author or country. You can narrow by language too ~ which is a must for me and my monolingual offspring. The children's genre search provided quite an interesting return.

Or you can visit the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Database just for fun.

No Facebook for Lent..

2011-03-10T14:39:00.000-05:00

and I'm already twitching... but I am being soooo much more productive & present in everyday life. I find that I have status updates dancing in my head. How sad is that... so here are the current snip-its in my brain..

I just bought a new to me (used) Volkswagen bug. When I adjusted the steering wheel, granola fell out of the steering column. Is that cliche or what?

Could those winds outside be winds of change? Momma has a new job :-) The hours are shorter than my job in Ohio so it should be a good fit. But it means life is a changing here!!

Everything Ben

2011-03-08T22:19:00.000-05:00

Ya ever spend time at the Library of Congress archives? There is a lot of good stuff in there... Here's what I found for our Benjamin Franklin class. Enjoy :-)

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/franklin-home.html

Fat Tuesday!!

2011-03-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

Picture lifted from Dunkin' Donuts site to share the full yummy goodness with you.

We celebrated the start of Fat Tuesday with a morning run to Dunkin' Donuts :-) Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday the start of Lent. We hope to start our day with a 7 am Mass... which I am posting here to keep me accountable.

For Lent this year I am going without Facebook, which I did last year too. It was tough but serves its purpose to sacrifice better than going without sweets. Sweets, I love... but going without is something that I'm used to doing. It's not a struggle or really that uncomfortable. Facebook... oh yea, that's a lot tougher... and frees up time for additional prayer.

So why the sweets? My Pixie gives up chocolate - which is HUGE for her. I'm just riding along Fat Tuesday for emotional support. How about that for a mom that goes above & beyond? ;-)

Bringing it down a notch

2011-03-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

I loved this post over at I'm the accidental homeschooler AND I love the Duggars. So I thought I would implement some new guidelines to get ourselves under control. The children have gotten a bit out of hand with normal kid stuff and I've gotten out of hand with the yelling mom stuff. And how often do we think - I wouldn't yell if you didn't try to hit your sister!!! But following the fine Duggar example I decided that we would work on one item at a time. Starting with:

We don't raise our voices in our house.

Guess what.... when mom doesn't raise her voice neither does anyone else. Well.. sometimes they do, BUT then I just say, "Remember, we don't raise our voices in our house." And they stop... no screaming, yelling, tattling from across the house... those all require raising voices.... and we don't do that.

Thank you Duggars for another sparkling demonstration of how we should lead by example. I try to live by the parenting technique that we teach our children to show us respect by treating them with respect... turns out I needed a little reminder about "inside voices" too.

A bit concerned...

2011-03-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

about all the traffic my last post has generated... turns out "FAT GIRLS" - in all caps is a popular google term... and when the googler figures out my post is about a book.. my blog doesn't retain much interest. Yikes.

Conversations with a Fat Girl

2011-03-01T21:05:00.003-05:00

This is what I'm reading now... I picked it up at the library to have a light and fun read following The Other Wes Moore. I thought it would be a nice compliment... boy, oh boy I did not realize how much it would continue the reflection on life choices started by Wes Moore.
Let me say first that Conversations with a fat girl is fiction, it has its laugh out loud funny minutes and way too many four letter words. But I love it... why, because I've been the fat girl. I've worn too many clothes sweating through a summer so my jiggle doesn't get confused with my wiggle. I've sold myself short and helped others to do the same because I didn't have the confidence to believe in myself. Maggie speaks to my inner fat girl. Now perhaps your one of those chicks that have never had to worry about these things... well bless your heart ~ I'm working on my southern ;-) My guess is you still have some insecurities - who doesn't... and you'll still enjoy Maggie's commentary on life.

My favorite scene - her sister signs her niece up for a ballet class. The teacher says to bring her in full ballet dress. Mom dresses her up in pink tights, leo, tutu and even a matching wand. Little girl is thrilled, so is mom. Upon arrival mom discovers that full ballet dress means black leo and pink tights. Mom feels horrible and says to little girl, Are you ok with how your dressed? She gives her the option to not going into the class assuming that she'll be insecure in her unique dress. Little girl responds that she's ok with it as long as the other girls are ok with what they have to be dressed in. The wonderful confidence of little girls, different isn't something to be embarrassed about - it's better! I love that... In fact this book makes me want to stamp my foot and demand my own pink tutu and wand and be completely secure in that choice.

The Other Wes Moore

2011-02-27T17:17:00.000-05:00

The Other Wes Moore: One name, two fates was one of those books that I couldn't put down. The first section is tough, both boys end up fatherless. They both maneuver tough streets and adolescent challenges. As a mother, I kept falling back on what did mom do... how present were they? how tolerant were they? One thing that I noticed is that successful Wes Moore had a mother that did not give up control of her household. She knew she was in a fight for her son's future and she was going to pull out all of the stops to do all that she could. The other Wes Moore's mother didn't love him any less. He didn't appear to be neglected or forgotten. His mother just seemed to not have as full of an arsenal to battle the pull of the streets for her son's future.

The author Wes Moore refers to Colin Powell's My American Journey as a book that inspired and influenced him. I love this book and passed it on to my husband who enjoyed it as well. So if you haven't read this, add it to the list!!

Sorry I wasn't able to make this a read-along... I gobbled it up much too fast. But I'm always up for chatting about it :-) So post away!! This book inspired me to think about my will to influence my children's futures and to never give up on them.

My boy Wes..

2011-02-27T01:01:00.000-05:00

So did ya get the Wes Brown book? I just started it, and it's so troubling that I can't read it at night. I spend the evening stewing about these boys!! I've heard the saying, "Better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6." It seems the word "better" must be defined... I'm feeling the urge to assign this reading to some adolescent boys and parents of adolescent boys ~ well and some adults I know too.

The Damascus Way

2011-02-26T00:41:00.001-05:00

So I finished this book the other night and am just having a hard time finding the opportunity to blog about it. I'll make is simple and sweet:
Things I love:
*It's a great reminder of what early Christians and still some Christians have to go through to just be Christian ~ something too many of us take for granted.
*I love Jacob and can completely identify with the internal struggles. He struggles between choosing an easy life that many would love versus a rough life that feels right. Through prayer and trust in God he realizes that he doesn't have to make a choice. He only has to wait for God's plan to unfold.
*I enjoy the suspense of the book. I never thought of myself as a suspense reader, but my last couple of books seem to have me sitting on the edge of my seat. This one was by far more of a quiet suspense in that I didn't stay awake for days on end attempting to get to the end already... but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable..
*I love love stories. This one has many :-) ~and they aren't all predictable.

My only hesitation: the new believers sure did mature in their faith awfully quickly. It was a bit difficult to totally buy into. Perhaps for some the simple act of prayer and accepting the Lord is enough to rectify all wrongs, correct their lives and put total trust in the Lord. But for the rest of us complete and total handing over of our lives to the Lord's will is a struggle taken in babysteps over the span of a life time. Having said that, this quality of the book may make it less believable but no less enjoyable :-)

That's a cotton pickin' garden alright!

2011-02-25T01:53:00.003-05:00

During our Jimmy Carter buffet the kids picked up some cotton at his boyhood home. Cotton is just one of those things that is EVERYwhere... like corn in Ohio. So they wanted to plant it. We're starting a unit on plants so I'm going with it...

They dug through the cotton and pulled out 4 seeds.

We've decided to stick it in one of the front beds as well. Now mind you we did no research whatsoever on these plants. We probably planted at the wrong time, depth and location. But that's part of the fun I guess. We do have ourselves much more together with the peanut plants ;-) But that's another post.

They faithfully water them & the remainning weeds! Wish us luck!

Well look who decided to show up.

2011-02-24T06:53:00.000-05:00

Just the start of spring weather and who should arrive, but parsley from last year! This is really neat because well one it came back at all. And two because poor parsley didn't do so well last year. The basil plant got way out of control and crowded the poor little guy out. But when we began preparing the beds this year we found Mr. Parsley hiding under some of the basil debris. We've relocated him to the front of the house. Remember I have that whole plan to secretly allow FOOD to grow in my flower beds this year - starting with herbs and garlic. Parsley will be our 2d addition. The garlic is growing nicely already so I have high hopes for the plot.

Team building

2011-02-23T09:00:00.004-05:00

Boy Oh Boy.... My going back to school has been an exersize in team building for our family. I've always said that we are an awesome team, but lately everyone has been stepping up to the plate a little more and it is sooo appreciated!!! Hubby has started being the Saturday morning breakfast guy. It's sooo wonderful. He makes pancakes!!! Can you believe it? After ummm 11 years of marriage of my making 3 meals a day, hubby has starting cooking!! But his pancakes are a huge hit. Not only are they delicious but he makes shapes too!! Kids are just tickled and so am I!!