what ktdid... and didn't

Granny's Peach Cake

2011-08-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I mentioned making Granny's Peach Cake on facebook. Maybe it's everyone's abundance of peaches or just a fondness for a rather hard-to-come-by delicacy, but I had several requests for the recipe.

Last year, I posted about a very special cookbook / memory book that my mom gave to them women in our family. This collection of my great-grandmother's recipes is quite a keepsake with it's pictures and memories, but it's a valuable resource, too. The front cover boasts a picture of one of Granny's best loved recipes - her peach cake - and just the other day, I had such a craving for it that I decided to make it myself. This was the first time I had made it, and it turned out wonderfully (I called Mom first to find out if she had any pointers since she has made it quite a few times). I've added her tips to the recipe below.

Granny's Peach Cake
the recipe is actually for her Basic Sweet Dough and can be adapted for several types of fruit, but Granny almost always made it with peaches...

2/3 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
6 TBSP shortening
For those of you who aren't used to such (ahem) old-fashioned recipes, scalded milk just means that you heat it in a sauce pan until it is about to boil but then you don't let it boil. And, yes, you need to do this part. Once the milk is scalded, remove from heat and add the sugar, salt, and shortening to the sauce pan and allow those ingredients to dissolve and melt. Set aside.

2/3 cup lukewarm water (hot from tap, will be lukewarm once you add other ingredients to it)
2 TBSP sugar
2 pkgs dry yeast
Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water and allow it to dissolve. Mix and set aside, waiting for the mixture to "bubble," showing that the yeast and sugar are interacting.

Place the milk mixture in mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid and it works just fine. Granny, of course, did it all by hand...). Add the yeast mixture to the milk mixture. Make sure your milk mixture has cooled a bit as you don't want it to kill your yeast concoction. In all reality, by the time you've reached this point, it should be just fine.

3 beaten eggs
6 cups flour
Add the beaten eggs slowly until mixed along with one cup of flour. Gradually add more flour (about one cup at a time) until the dough is the right consistency to knead (elastic but not too sticky). At this point, I've switched to my dough hook. Depending on you mixer, you can allow the mixer to do the kneading. I still prefer to knead for about 5 minutes with my hands - helps me to "feel" that the dough is right.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled (about one hour).

Once the dough has risen, divide it in thirds (approximately. see below) and roll out thin. Place rolled out dough on 1" pans (jelly roll, cookie sheet size) forming an "edge" with the dough along the outside. Place sliced peaches on top (can also used sliced apples or plums). Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Cover with towel and allow to rise again, for one hour.

Bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Makes approximately 2 - 1"x11" pans and 1 - 9" pan.

I baked mine for a little more than 15 minutes. You don't want to over bake this! Just let the edges get golden brown. Serve warm (or cold!) sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Some other tips...
- for me, 3 peaches was enough to make one cake
- I only wanted to make one cake, so I rolled out the extra two portions of dough, placed them on the proper pans, covered them with wax paper, and then put them in the freezer. They will be ready the next time I have a few peaches on hand. Just allow to thaw and rise once fruit is on top.

Try it! Don't be scared off the by scalded milk, yeast, and rising parts... it is actually very easy and not nearly as time consuming as it sounds.
Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tip

2011-07-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am an organizer. (I know, I know, you're shocked...). I like order and am a firm believer in "a place for everything and everything in it's place." Noting that my house is usually in some semblance of order, people often comment that I'm "lucky" that my kids are also neat.

First, let me say that "luck" has nothing to do with it. Just like with eating, sleeping, reading, and (insert desired action here), my response is, "They did not come out that way." The truth is, kids are kids, and they need to be taught. They need to be taught how to eat, how to sleep, how to read,... and how to be neat. (This could be a whole other post, but I will refrain for now).

Second, my kids are not all neat. Each of my four children have very distinct personalities - a blend of Chuck and me with a smattering of where-in-the-world-did-that-come-from. They have their "neat" moments but they are kids - and they would much rather adopt the "leave it where it lands" mentality of organization.

What works for me does not necessarily work for everyone, but we have incorporated a few rules in our house that helps keep us all sane.

1) Put it away. It's pretty simple, I know, but a lot of people never get their kids to this place (it also applies to adults!) If you got it out, put it away. If you are finished with it, put it away.

2) Help in the clean-up process. Every now and again, Chuck and I will announce a "whole house clean-up." It takes less than 10 minutes. The kids have to stop what they are doing and go through the main areas of the house (kitchen, dining room, living room, family room) and look for things that are out of place. Might be Dad's shoes, Mom's book, Tucker's cars, Patrick's sketch pad, etc - you get the idea. But regardless of whose it is, they put it away. I think this is important because it builds accountability and community. Plus, I've often made the point that I put away a lot of things that aren't mine.

3) Make common areas common. Because we live in a rancher, our kids rooms are not far from the living areas of the house. For that reason, we don't have a play room. We also don't allow them to keep toys in the common areas. They can bring toys, games, etc into the living areas, but when they are finished playing, the toys go back in their bedrooms. This is important to me, because it means that our house does not look like it has been overrun with children. Our house looks like we all live in it, but it does not look like the kids have taken over and pushed us out.

4) Limit the amount of "stuff" kids have. This is a hard one - one that causes some of us to get a bit defensive. But, the truth is, we all have way more stuff than we need (if you are on a computer reading this, then - yes, you fall into that category). I'm not saying it's wrong to have stuff, but I do think we need to teach kids, from a very young age, how to manage their stuff rather than be controlled by it. Here is the method we use: Our kids have a certain amount of space in their bedrooms - closets, bins, shelves, baskets, etc. When that allotted space is full, no more stuff. That means, when a birthday is coming, I might remind that particular child that they need to make room for new things. In fact, before Christmas, I usually facilitate a mass purging. The kids have learned to decide what is important to them, what they really play with, and what has value. They also decide if something should be thrown away (the itty bitty pieces of happy meal toys) or donated. Sometimes they designate a younger cousin or friend to "inherit" the toys. Other times, we donate to a local charity. But, through this process, they have also learned to give to others. They've even begun to comprehend the spiritual principle that you can not receive (physically and spiritually) unless you have first given.

5) Limit the amount of "stuff" adults have. Ok, this one might be even harder. I think we can all agree that kids will best learn what their parents model. The same things I ask of my kids, I maintain in my parts of the house. No new kitchen gadgets unless there is a place and a need for them. Nothing new in a full closet or drawer, unless something has been taken out to make room for it. It's not easy, but it is simple. And I enjoy not feeling like I'm being overtaken by my house.

These methods really can be effective. For some kids, it will mold the way they naturally keep their own space clean. For others, it may only "contain" their mess for as long as they live in your house. But, you would be surprise how well it works. Just the other day, Chloe came to me and asked for a laundry basket. I handed her one but asked why. "Oh, Lucy and I really need to get rid of some stuff. Our room is getting too crowded."

Be still, my heart.

Tuesday's Tip

2011-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

I assume that not a lot of men read these posts (except for my husband who humors me when I need an audience...), but, in any case, this is a post that won't apply to the male persuasion.

Ladies, today's tip is simple. Do yourself a favor and get a good bra... that fits.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but, at the risk of sounding a bit too Oprah-esque, I believe there are quite a few women out there who are wearing the wrong bra in the wrong size. A few years ago, I was one of those women. (Truth is, 4 kids later, I didn't always recognize my chest let alone know what size bra it needed.) One day, a friend I had not seen in some time came for a visit, and I couldn't help but ask if something was different.
"Did you lose weight? Are you working out?"
Her answer was funny... but got my attention. "Nope," she answered, "Just found the right bra."

I thought about it, and later that summer while shopping at the Leggs, Hanes, Bali... outlet, I took advantage of the free bra sizing service they offer. They told me the proper size I should be wearing and then suggested bras with the features I most needed. I walked out of that store amazed at what a difference the right bra made. My shirt fit differently. My entire outfit looked different. My posture had changed. It was the quickest and easiest diet I had ever been on.

Here are a few pointers I'd offer...
1) Get over the awkwardness of being sized. You don't have to strip down to nothing. It's easy and fast.

2) Don't get hung up on a particular size. Quite often women are amazed at what size they actually are (whether it be how small or how large). The truth is, you will look best in the proper size - not the size that you want to believe you wear. Also, wearing the right size can often help to "diminish" a larger chest or "enlarge" a smaller one. They don't call it WonderBra for nothing...

3) Consider features you may not have used before. To this day, I swear by the wonders of underwire and a molded cup. Ladies, you all know it's true - after several years and a few kids, it can take origami strategies to put a bra on. Do yourself a favor: choose a bra that holds it's shape when your body can no longer do the job.

4) Be ready (and willing) to make an investment. I'm not talking hundreds of dollars. But a good bra will cost more than the $7.99 special at Walmart. If that one works for you, that's fine - but, usually, there's a difference - and it shows. Shop at the Leggs outlet - and you'll find that the bras are significantly marked down (to about $20- $25) and they often are combined with other discounts and offers. Consider that the right bra will make your shirts fit and take off about 5 - 10 lbs. It's worth it.

I got no tips...

2011-07-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have tried to think up some witty Tuesday's Tips... but it's just not happening. Truth is, I've been too busy living tips. Like...

- lots of grilling and easy dinners for our fast-paced summer schedule

- lots of grilling and easy dinners for lazy, HOT summer days when I don't want to be in the kitchen

- crazy advertisement-scouring, deal-finding back to school shopping

- going through the kids' school folders

- organizing the kids rooms / purging / simplifying (some of this is still on my To-Do list)

- reading for fun, reading for work, reading for both

I am sure there are others, but I just can't think of them. This fall marks my official return to the classroom (as I will actually have a classroom), although I am still part time. I will barely be part time, in fact, I'll most likely be there all day, but it's part time. The kids have spent a few days in my classroom while I work on organizing and planning. Fortunately, much of this can also be done at home, but there is just soooo much to do. I have to admit, I had no idea how much I missed teaching. Working is, well, work, but - then again - so is being at home. So, I've just moved my location and restructured my schedule a bit.

Making my transition a bit easier this fall is the fact that all 4 kids will be in school (yikes! how did that happen?). Even more convenient is the fact that my kids' school, my school, and our home are all within 7 minutes of each other, so I have easy access to all three. Tucker is ready for kindergarten and the older three are excited to have him there. I can only imagine what this year will look like.

For now, I am doing lots of reading. I just finished The Hobbit and have moved on to Johnny Tremain. I'm still trying to squeeze in some fun, summer reading - especially since I bought myself a Nook color. What a fun toy! (and, yes, I can admit that it is a toy - but it's a pretty handy one).

In addition to planning to teach totally new material for 4 preps, it's been a summer of vacation, kids, gardening, library, and pool time. We (mostly Chuck) have lots of VBS prep ahead, the two older kids will have a week of sleep-away camp, and Chuck and I will be traveling to Minnesota for a wedding. And with all this, I am amazed at how often I hear one of my children randomly say, "I'm bored!" Really? How? When? Gosh, I remember those summers...

That said... time for another trip to the library.

Tuesday's Tip

2011-05-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

We love to eat salad around here. Even the kids like it (well, most of them...). In an attempt to keep things simple, however, I am in favor of making one big salad that we can serve throughout the week. It beats incessant cleaning and chopping and slicing every night at dinner.

Here are a few tricks to keep that salad fresh all week long.

1) Always store your salad in a ceramic bowl (not plastic!!). I am sure there is a good reason for why this works, but I don't know it... It keeps my salad fresh, so I do it.

2) Place a slice of bread on top of the salad. This one I understand! The bread draws the moisture from the salad and keeps your lettuce and other veggies from getting soggy. (Incidentally, this also works when storing cookies. Storing them in an airtight container with a piece of bread will keep them soft). No need to replace the bread - I can often use the same piece for up to two weeks.

3) Avoid adding high moisture veggies until you are ready to serve. For example, I never keep chopped tomatoes in my salad. Cucumbers also can create a big soggy mess. If you cut the seeds out of them, they will last much longer in a week's worth of salad.

When you are ready to store your salad, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge.

You will eat more salad if it is always ready and on-hand :)

Tuesday's Tip

2011-05-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

I enjoy cooking and baking, but I don't pretend to be professional or even an expert. Basically, I cook to keep my family fed (ok, maybe a bit more than just that...), but I bake for fun. I enjoy it. And I especially enjoy learning techniques that make the baking / decorating experience fun rather than frustrating. Because, seriously, no matter how good the end result is supposed to taste, an all-out-battle with a layer cake can seriously ruin my appetite.

I realize there is a good chance that most of you have happened upon these techniques before. You may already be using them. Like I said, I don't claim to be any kind of cake decorator or pastry chef. Still, I am grateful for the little things I have picked up along the way and thought someone else might be, too.

Ok...

So, for the past 5 years, I have made this cake every year. For my Grandma. Grandma loves lemon anything, so when I stumbled upon Paula Deen's recipe for Lemon Layer Cake, I knew I had to give it a go. And, boy, was it worth it. This cake is amazing... but it is labor intensive and uses a whopping dozen eggs from start to finish (yikes!). The good news is that my neighbor keeps me stocked with fresh eggs and all the work with the double boiler combined with zesting and juicing lemons gives me a great upper body workout.

I love the idea of displaying a great cake on a cake stand, but I hate it when the cake stand or plate is messy by the time the cake is decorated.

So, I use 4 pieces of wax paper like this...

You don't want to cover the plate with one big piece of wax paper, for two reasons. First, you can't get it off the plate when you're done. And serving your cake on a plate covered with wax paper is about as aesthetically pleasing as sitting in Marie Barone's living room. Secondly, if the plate is covered in wax paper, you can't do this...

That little dot of filling helps to keep your cake from shimmying around the plate as you decorate it. Now, here is the partially assembled cake. This cake has filling in between each layer. But, notice that each layer is not even. It is important to consider that as you assemble - alternate your layers so that all the thinner parts are not on one side. Then, be sure to place your final layer on upside down - it gives you a flatter surface to decorate.

The filling then covers the entire cake...

And then the cake is frosted. This frosting is amazing.

See how the filling and frosting have left a mess on the plate?

Well, when you gently pull those pieces of wax paper out from under your cake, you are left with a very clean cake stand!

And then you can focus on the perfect finished product, instead of the mess underneath.

This beast of a cake barely made it under the cake dome. Whew!

It made it safely to our Mother's Day dinner at my sister's house. And it was so good. And so worth the 4 hours it carved out of my Saturday. Grandma loved it, and I am enjoying the fact that some of it is still in my kitchen...

They make me a mom

2011-05-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

These are the ones who make me a mom... not all of who I am, but a very big part.

Patrick's arrival into my life 9 1/2 years ago changed everything. But he made it so easy. Low-maintenance, low-drama,... but this kid is anything but ordinary. I love his passion for learning and for doing what is right. Of all my children, he is the most like me, and I yearn to protect him from "our" weaknesses. I'm realizing he will have to discover and overcome them for himself...

My Chloe Joy. She is such a wonderful person to have around. Although her people-pleasing nature is something she will have to learn to use in moderation (rather than let it control everything), she really does desire to keep the peace. I love watching her so effortlessly strive for excellence in everything she does. Never have we had to "encourage" her to do a better job.

Lucy is the least like me... but none of my children has taught me as much about myself as she has. She is full of life and excitement over the simplest things. She is passionate about everything she encounters, whether it be people, fun, food, or sleep. Sometimes I get tired just watching her go.

And then there was four. Tucker completed our little family like the period at the end of a sentence. He seemed to add everything that was missing - including a strong-willed personality. I embrace his all-boyness, even as I am trying to teach him to how to control it. He is turning into a man by leaps and bounds.

Ok, so obviously, he's not my kid. But, let's face it, I wouldn't be a mom without him. I love Chuck for the husband he is to me, the father he is to our children, and the man he is, regardless.

slacker...

2011-04-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not... but my poor neglected blog would say otherwise.

Life has not lent itself to blogging, although I've spent my share of time around the house. I am now 2 1/2 weeks post-surgery (3 weeks on Wed) and am feeling really good. I have to admit, I expected the recovery to be much faster than it was. I know, I know... I heard it from everyone: "You just had surgery! Give yourself time." There is something about a laparoscopic outpatient procedure that makes me feel like I should have just bounced right back. Apparently, that's not the case. I was very grateful for everyone's input - the advice of those who have had the surgery as well as all my RN friends was amazingly helpful.

I am happy to be back to the land of the eating... without pain (!)... but even more excited to be back to a somewhat regular activity level. I did not realize how different I would feel - after 6 months of that "normal." The pursuit of a new "normal" is still in progress, but at least it's progress.

Despite being a bit more tired than usual, I'm back to work, back to housekeeping, back to running kids all over, back to yard work (slowly...) - and, hopefully, back to blogging. But, let's not go crazy.

Tuesday's Tip

2011-03-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

So, here it is - a new tip. Once you get over the shock that I'm actually posting one, read on!

These days, my menu options are few. And, though my low-fat diet has evolved into my non fat diet, I am now dealing with persistent pain that doesn't seem to care what I've eaten. So, a nonfat liquid diet has become a friendlier way for me to "eat."

I really enjoy anything that tastes like something - so smoothies are a great option.
This makes me happy...

This, not so much...

Am I the only one out there who avoids using appliances like the blender because they are a pain to clean? (gosh, I hope not...) I hate trying to precariously get all the gunk out from around those menacing blades... because, the truth is, I've almost maimed myself more than once cleaning a make-your-life-easier-until-you-try-to-scour-it kitchen gadget. Don't even get me started on the mandolin...

So, here is how I clean my blender. Maybe you already do the same thing!

I add a bit of dish soap...

Then fill it about 1/3 full with water...

Put the lid back on (seriously, don't forget that part) - and turn it on. Start slow and then turn it up. The blender itself does the cleaning. A few pulses at top speed will also get the lid clean!

In less than a minute, my blender is clean and I can enjoy that smoothie... and I have all my fingers.

Where have I been?

2011-03-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't intentionally avoided blogging. In fact, most days, I think about it... and then never quite seem to find the time to actually sit down and do it. My lack of posts haven't been for lack of material. I mean, with 4 kids, jobs, church, family, health, and various other activities there is always plenty to say. But maybe that's just it - there's so much to say, and, really, who wants all the gory details? Most often, a facebook status here or there seems to fit the bill. Not to mention, blogger's insistence on being stupid when it comes to posting pictures had made my Tuesday's Tips next to impossible. I think I've found a way around that, though, so... more to come!

I'm really appreciative to all of you who have been following and encouraging me as I've dealt with the whole gallbladder issue for the last several months. Here's a quick summary of where I've been and where I'm going:

Nine years ago, within a week or so of delivering my first child, I noticed terrible pains in my stomach that would come and go. My doctor told me I had GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and told me to avoid acidic foods and eating before bed. He also prescribed mild acid blockers. After a few months of following those rules, I gave up because they didn't make a bit of difference. And, since then, I've endured occasional flare-ups (intensified with the birth of each child) and lived off of tums when necessary.

This past October, I had a flare-up that didn't go away. I tried another 2 week course of acid blockers. No relief. I raised the head of my bed and stopped eating 4 hours before bed. No relief. After about 2 months, I decided to see my doctor (a different doctor than the one I was seeing 9 years ago) who told me, yes, it was reflux, BUT to make sure - ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound. The bloodwork came back negative for H-pylori (a bacterial stomach infection) but the ultrasound revealed gallstones (or, as my GI doctor said, "a bag full of stones"). From there, I was referred to a surgeon who agreed with the diagnosis but still referred me to a gastroenterologist who would do an endoscopy to "make sure" there wasn't anything else going on (ie, "maybe you really do have reflux"). He also advised that I follow a low / non fat diet for the gallbladder as well as a low acid diet for the reflux, and he prescribed the strongest acid blockers known to man.... - just in case. After a few days of taking the acid blockers, I was in more pain than I had been before, so I stopped those. I also stopped the low-acid diet. Both steps revealed what I had suspected - fat was the problem, thus pointing more to my gallbladder as the source of my pain.

Each time I was referred to a new doctor, I faced a 3-4 week wait for the next step, but I have to say that I really saw the favor of God at work. There was always some one who would put me first on the list to be called in case of cancellations (and the multiple snow storms opened up all kinds of appointments for me). So, almost 2 months sooner than expected, I had an endoscopy which revealed no reflux damage and no ulcers. That is not to say I am not having any reflux (they really seem to like that diagnosis) or won't in the future, but the doctor did agree that the results did not show 9 years worth of reflux damage. Meaning, all along, my gallbladder has been the source of my problems and not any other ailment. After all that, it was agreed that the next step is laparoscopic surgery to remove my gallbladder - but not until the first available opening on March 30th.

At first, I was a bit discouraged by that date - after all, it had been over four months of dealing with this pain, and consequently, an incredibly limited diet along with little to no appetite. Upon second glance, I realized that the date actually is quite perfect - right at the end of the quarter (meaning no grading while I recover) and right before a week long spring break (meaning very few missed days of work).

Ideally, it would have been great if this could have been diagnosed before I went back to work 5 months ago... especially since it's been an issue for almost the last decade. For now, I'm sticking to a virtually fat-free diet and eating very little, and, for the most part, that manages the pain. Still, I choose to see God's hand in all of this. No, He didn't make me sick... nor does He want me sick. But He is able to work through the limitations of my flawed humanity and our nation's health care system to get me timely appointments and a conveniently scheduled surgery. And He is teaching me about myself - about self-control I didn't know I had and tolerance I didn't know I was capable of. And, I'm grateful for that.

and for your birthday...

2011-03-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Chloe is definitely my most sensitive and intuitive child. She is always very aware of how people are feeling and, usually, acts accordingly. So, I wasn't that surprised when a few days ago, she started asking me what I wanted for my birthday and, also, started asking if she could have access to her money. As usual, when she asked me what I wanted I quipped, "World Peace..." which, of course, frustrated her and caused her to reply, "What do you want that I can buy you?" And, that led to another conversation...

When she came home from school yesterday she had a few cards that she and her friends had made me - all very sweet and thoughtful. But I couldn't help but laugh when "gift certificates" fell out of each one...

That girl knows how to make me laugh...
Happy Birthday to me :)

Before and after pics... finally!

2011-02-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while. And, honestly, that hasn't been by choice. Blogger, for whatever reason, has not been so friendly when it comes to uploading pictures - despite my daily efforts. I have no idea why it is cooperating now, but I figure I'd better capitalize on the opportunity. Here you go...

As promised (although it was so long ago, I'm sure no one remembers), here are before and after pics of our family room. The room wasn't so bad "before" - it actually had come along way. But there were several elements that didn't really "go", so our efforts were to make the room a bit more cohesive.

Here is before...

and here is after...

this is the area that is set away from the family room (across from the woodstove / entrance)

There are still a few things I want to add. You'll notice the space above the couch with the mirror is a little lacking. We're still looking for the right lighting options there... But it's nice to have the room done and feel a bit more intentional. And I really like the red wall!

a Norwex testimony

2011-01-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's tip was about natural, green cleaning. I know there are a lot of varied opinions out there on the topic, so I thought I'd give a real life testimony of one of those cleaning options.

As I mentioned, I am new to Norwex products. Their primary product is a series of antimicrobial microfiber cloths that can clean anything... including the human body. Today, I was talking to a friend who is also a Norwex consultant because I had some questions about how to best use the products. She was reminding me of the varied uses of the Enviro Cloth (their standard cleaning cloth), mentioning that it can even be used to remove old carpet stains. The beauty of these cloths is that no cleaner is involved - just water. I immediately thought of a stain on our living room carpet. Grandma says it has been there forever (long before we moved in)... and it has driven her crazy, because, although she used every product she could find, nothing would take out the stubborn stain.

I decided to give my Enviro Cloth a try. And, because I knew some would be skeptical, I took before and after pictures of the stain.

This stain is very dark and large; Grandma says she often wonders why I don't put something over it to cover it up. I wet my Enviro Cloth, wrung it out, and liberally applied my own elbow grease as I went to town on the stain.

After a few minutes, the stain looked like this...

For real. Can you believe that? No chemicals. No cleaners. No steam cleaning carpet machine.

When I was finished, I rinsed the cloth clean and hung it up to dry.

As I've mentioned, I have nothing to gain. I'm not selling anything. But you may want to look into these products!

Right now, I'm actually looking for more stains...

Tuesday's Tip

2011-01-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

Most of my tips involve simple, efficient, cost-effective living. So, you wouldn't be surprised to know that my house is usually quite clutter-free. Beyond that, however, I work hard at keeping my house clean. I am not a germ-a-phobe, and you can bet that my children have licked their share of grocery cart handles (why, oh why, do they do that?) Still, a house is not clean just because things are put away. Unfortunately, I've also learned that, quite often, using every-day cleaners and household products to "clean" our homes makes them just as dangerous as if they were germy and bacteria covered.

For the record, I am not selling anything. I am not associated with any organization or company. But, I feel very strongly that we should be aware of what we expose ourselves and our children to. As a society, we work hard at removing toxins and chemicals from our vegetation, water supply, foods, and air. However, recent studies show that some of those same toxins are brought willingly into the home in the form of cleaners and beauty products.

Two years ago, I decided to make a healthier choice for my family. I didn't change their eating habits. I didn't institute a work-out regime. I simply switched to chemical free house-hold products. No, my house is not completely chemical free - but it's a lot better than it was! As I mentioned, I am not affiliated with any particular manufacturer, but I have used the products of 3 main companies and have been very pleased.

Shaklee introduced me to a safer way to clean. Their basic cleaner (Basic H) is used as a concentrate to create 3 different types of cleaners - everyday cleaner, window/mirror cleaner, and degreaser. The concentrate is so powerful that you use literally drops or teaspoonfuls in a 16 oz bottle of water. I have had my concentrate for two years now and have barely put a dent in the bottle.

Melaleuca is similar to Shaklee in that it offers a variety of concentrated cleaners. It's key ingredient is melaleuca oil (more info can be found on the website) and is marked by a distinct smell. Unlike Shaklee cleaners which are odorless, Melaleuca products leave a "clean" smell which some people prefer.

I have, most recently, discovered Norwex. Their main products are a variety of microfiber cloths that are antibacterial because they are made with silver (a naturally antibacterial substance). The cloths can be used dry or with water and actually disinfect surfaces.

In addition to household cleaners, each of these companies also have Personal Care products (shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc) as well as typical household items (dishwashing detergent, hand soap, etc). Shaklee and Melaleuca also carry a notable line of vitamins and supplements.

The websites offer all kinds of information about how their products are different from typical cleaners... and how they meet safety standards and regulations (rather than just advertise it). They also tell why household toxins are so dangerous - contributing to everyday ailments, such as asthma, that we assume we're just "born with." If you are interested in learning more, check out the websites. And if you want even more information, I can put you in contact with someone who can answer your questions or help you get the products for yourself.

I do not use these companies for all of my household cleaning and personal care needs. But I do use them for quite a bit. Concentrated cleaners with reusable bottles means I go through a lot less cleaner and, consequently, save money. It also means I throw away a lot less waste and wash fewer chemical poisons down my drain to be released back into everyone else's soil and drinking water. Regardless of your political or religious stance, we are called to care for this planet. So, if I can use my money and resources in a way that keeps my family healthy and promotes overall environmental health, why wouldn't I do that?

Tuesday's Tip

2011-01-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today's tip is compliments of my resourceful and ingenious husband. And, although it may not be terribly exciting, it has saved me a little hassle in the kitchen.

We don't have a garbage disposal, so we don't let food go down the drain in our sink. However, I hate (HATE) food residue in my sink. (I like a clean sink...) So, for me that mean, hoping the food all got caught in the little drain stopper thingy and then picking it up and running it to the trash can, hoping for no drips. But then one day, I saw Chuck do this...

Instead of cleaning up the food afterward, he uses my small handled colander / strainer. After scraping most of the food into the trash, he empties and rinses the bowls and plates over the the colander. Then, he dumps the entire contents in the garbage. Such a great idea, I now do it, too.

The result: a clean sink and no yucky clogged drain!

Tuesday's Tip

2011-01-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year celebrations! It's always nice to take a break from normal routine and spend some extra time with family and friends.

Post-holidays is a popular time for money-saving (due to the all-too-often over spending done at Christmas). I've noticed others sharing their penny pinching techniques, so here's one from me:

Quite often, stores print additional information on your receipts - besides your purchase information. It may be to inform you of future sales or to ask you to participate in a survey or drawing. I have learned to look closely at these receipts, because some stores offer great coupon discounts on theirs. Usually, the store asks you to call or visit a website where you will answer questions regarding your visit, but at the end of the survey, you will be given a code which turns that receipt into a coupon.

Payless, Bath & Body Works, and The Children's Place are a few of my favorite stores which offer these types of promotions. The best part is that, usually, these coupons can be used in conjunction with other store offers (The Children's Place will often allow you to combine several offers for fantastic savings!). Another favorite, Ikea, prints an actual amount at the bottom of your receipt to be used towards future purchases. No survey is necessary - just purchase with a debit card, and you will receive back a small percentage. It's not much, but it adds up and can be combined with others.

Saving money takes some effort, but quite often opportunities are very simple to find. Just keep your eyes open!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

As a Christian parent, I am aware that educating our children according to our faith is not always easy. Time is a scarcity for many families. If you have children of varying ages, it can be hard to find ways to communicate on everyone's level. And, sometimes, parents aren't even sure where to start.

Over the summer, I came upon the book of Proverbs in my daily reading and, as I made my way through the book, couldn't help but notice how much of the book was easily applicable to children. The plan that resulted was simple. I made note of all the verses that I felt could easily be explained and applied to a child and then copied each verse on a 3x5 card. A hole punch in each corner and a binder ring and I now have a set of Proverbs for my kids.

I use these in the morning as we wait for the bus. We drive to the bus stop and often wait for a few minutes. I read one proverb each morning and let each child comment - then we discuss what it means and how we can apply it to our day.

Consider a "stack of Proverbs" for the new year. Even if you don't think of yourself as "religious" or very spiritually motivated, consider taking your child through the book of Proverbs. It is a great introduction to the Bible, and the wisdom found in it is universal. You just might learn something, too.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-12-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

I guess this tip is more of a recipe... but it falls in the "tip" category if you have kids that you are forever trying to feed without using the same old tired food options.

Personally, I refuse to indulge picky eaters. I married one, and 12 years later, he has learned to not only eat but to enjoy foods that he always said he'd never touch. And, occasionally, he thanks me for broadening his culinary horizons - and he also agrees that our children's whims regarding taste and texture only sets them up for bigger issues in the future. So, our kids are learning to eat just about anything. Yes, they each have their preferences, which we keep in mind (ie, Chloe doesn't like nuts in her food - so we won't make her eat desserts with nuts, but we also don't make extra desserts. With that in mind, she has discovered that, if she really wants to eat something, the nuts don't bother her that much. Hmm...)

For all of those reasons, I'm not a big fan of "kid friendly foods" in place of "real food." I don't make a separate meal for the kids at dinner. But, when I find a recipe that incorporates a kid-favorite, it makes a nice compromise.

Mac N Cheese Lasagna is one such compromise.

I like this recipe because it's simple. It uses boxed macaroni and cheese (not my personal favorite, but the kids always think they're getting a treat). It feels like a real meal.

recipe... for a 9x9 or 8x8 casserole / baker
1 pkg macaroni and cheese (Kraft or otherwise...), prepared according to directions
1 1/2 cu. spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb cooked ground beef
1 cu. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

Quite simply, you prepare the mac n cheese, brown the beef and mix with the sauce, layer the two ingredients two times (starting w/ a bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan), then top with the cheeses. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through.

For an even more grown-up version, add peppers and onions to your sauce and try using more meat (or sausage!).

Try it... they'll like it :)

Tuesday's Tip

2010-11-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

Today, I offer a timely and oh-so-important tip. This tip was requested a month or so ago when I put out an APB for ideas, and I thought it was a great one.

Gift ideas for teachers...

Now, please believe me when I tell you that my recent return to the classroom has nothing to do with this topic. Actually, my husband - the other teacher - has fueled this conversation for years. And every year, we laugh about the gifts that teachers get.

Being a teacher, being married to a teacher, and hanging out with teachers, I've gathered quite a few opinions on what makes a good teacher gift. And, truthfully, every teacher is different, but there are a few tips that may help. You may want to consider these as you do your holiday shopping :)

- Just because a teacher has a particular hobby or interest (ie, a sports team, a particular animal) does not mean that they want every object imaginable within that particular theme. For real. The worst bit of trivia that ever got into the hands of Chuck's students is the fact that he likes the Steelers. Along with the hateful banter, he has received every Steelers Christmas ornament that has ever been made. Seriously. I finally told him to stop bringing them home - which is why he has a Christmas tree in his classroom that is totally decorated with Steelers ornaments.

- Full time teachers have more than just one classroom full of students. Even on the elementary level, the students often switch teachers for their various subjects. So, each teacher could possibly receive gifts from 60 - 100 students. Yes, this ends up being a fun and incredibly generous out-pouring from students... but it can also be a lot. Keep your gifts simple!

- Food gifts are nice because they are consumable. But you don't need to send a large tin of said food item, because, as I mentioned, it can add up to a lot of food. Small samples are nice, though.

- A framed picture of your child may seem very sweet and sentimental. But remember - your child is one of many, and each teacher gets a new crop of students every year. There is only so much shelf space.

- Teacher knick-knacks are fun and oh-so-easy to use as gifts. They are especially good gifts for first year teachers. However, those who have been teaching for a while already have a lot of that stuff - just take a look around their classroom!

- Find out what your teacher uses and help replenish their supply. Does she use felt-tip markers for grading? Does he use motivational stickers or stamps on papers? Is she a post-it junkie? These are great gift ideas that will most definitely be used and will save the teacher money.

- Don't give scented gifts unless you know that it is a scent the teacher likes! Apple cinnamon candles are an incredibly popular gift for teachers, but I had one on my desk while I was pregnant with Patrick, and - to this day can not stand to be anywhere near one. Besides, you need to know if your teacher has allergies or gets headaches from strong smells. By the way, most schools do not allow teachers to burn candles.

- My sister, who is also a teacher, has shared stories of parents who admittedly could not afford a gift but sent her a nice card instead, sharing how much they valued her as their child's teacher. She says that those cards are worth more than the token gifts that the parents would have given.

- If you really want to purchase a gift that is specific to your teacher, find out what they need / want. Room moms often collect money for one large class gift and even ask the teacher at the beginning of the year if there is something significant that she is saving for (for the classroom or for herself).

- Consider giving your gift before the class party. Students' gifts to teachers are always fun and very generous, but it's hard to appreciate them individually when they come all at once. Chuck has often said he doesn't have time to open them, so he does it at home, but he loves it when the kids bring in gifts the week or two before Christmas. It helps him to make more of a connection between the child and the gift, and it also spreads out the fun of the holidays just a bit more.

- When in doubt, give a gift card! I know that people often don't like gift cards because they are impersonal (and because they make it very clear how much you spent...) - but a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card is sometimes a better gift than the "teacher mug" that cost you $10. Not to mention, those $5 gift cards can really add up... :)

- That being said, don't be too specific with your gift card unless you know the teacher's tastes (a DD card won't work for a non-coffee drinker). Target, bookstore, and teacher supply store gift cards are always a hit!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-11-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

from here on, i'm thinking "tuesday's tips" may be in name only. for the record.

this seems to me like a tip that may not need to be shared, but someone once enlightened me with its use, so i am guessing that someone out there may benefit from it.

i hate to find this when i'm cleaning up after a meal.

it happens to all of us - no matter how nonstick a pan is (or was) it just happens. but, rather than soaking and scrubbing and soaking again, there is an easier way!

add water. that's it. just add a little water to your messy pan.

then turn the heat back on. way on.

as the water heats up (and starts simmering), use your appropriate utensil to stir up the gunk that has adhered to your pan. i always use nylon or wood/bamboo to preserve mine...

once all the stuff has been dislodged (it should only take a few seconds), pour the water from your pan, and find this...

you just saved yourself (or your husband or designated child) quite a bit of elbow grease :)

in a nutshell...

2010-11-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

i've been meaning to do an update post for awhile... but was too busy living life to actually write about it. here goes nothing...

this fall has been much more hectic for our household. we added soccer to our schedule - something new for patrick and chloe. it has been a lot of fun, but having practice two nights a week plus a mid week church service really filled up our evenings. saturday morning games have been great, though, and i am very grateful to the family members who have filled in for me or chuck when we weren't available to get somebody somewhere.

on top of soccer, chuck and i attended 3 weddings in a one month span - the third being my youngest sister's. plotting out babysitting and scheduling to make it all happen was interesting but we made it through, and had a great time at each one.

in addition to back-to-school, soccer season, weddings, and church life, chuck is also in the process of completing his masters. this semester he is completing 2 grad courses and a practicum. he will be so glad when it's all over - he is so busy, and consequently, so am i. we're trying to focus on the end result - no more grad work and a completed masters in educational administration. yay!

last weekend, on top of halloween / fall party activities, we celebrated chloe's 8th birthday. she had 17 girls over friday evening for a party (fun - LOUD - but fun...). in the midst of that 4-party weekend, my cousin called me with a job opportunity at the local Christian school where she works. although i wasn't looking for a job, i have been thinking about what i'm "going to do" next year when all 4 of my kids are in school. this particular job completely fit my availability and need for where i am right now - part time (3 afternoons a week) in a Christian school (meaning my current educational status is sufficient) located 7 minutes from my house (so i am still accessible to my children should they need me). and, although, tucker is still home, several friends and family members have been incredibly gracious to "hang out" with him in the afternoons that i work.

so, that's it. i signed my contract yesterday and i start teaching this afternoon. here we go...

Tuesday's Tip

2010-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

ok, so this doesn't count as a new tip - but, blogger finally decided to let me post pictures. so, since i was a slacker and did not post yesterday (honestly, i didn't even realize it was tuesday til i crawled my way into bed - but more to come on all that later), i've opted to repost last week's tip with the missing pictures. thanks for being merciful :)

loved, loved, loved the suggestions i got from everyone last week. keep 'em coming. i'm looking forward to writing about each... or discovering a tip to share.

today's tip builds on an exisiting, fabulous tip from sarah over at short stop. and because it involves food and saves time and money, it's one of my favorites.

a while back, sarah posted a recipe for homemade beer bread. it is a super easy recipe, based on the boxed bread mixes you can buy at specialty stores and from certain home-party food retailers. when you buy pre-made bread mixes, you are paying for convenience as much as taste and name, and while i am a big fan of convenience, i am not always willing to pay the price. caring for a family of six on one school teacher's salary doesn't allow for convenience with a price tag. so, when sarah taught us all how to make homemade beer bread (skip the $8 a box cost and fancy packaging and skip right to mm mmm good), i was happy to try it.

not surprisingly, it was delicious and fast and cheap. seriously, the 6 ingredients required you will always have on hand, and although the recipe calls for beer, it is equally good with any type of soda (i've tried coke, ginger ale, and sprite). i love being able to make bread from scratch for an every day meal.

so, you may not be surprised that i decided to make it even easier. i thought, "if a manufacturer can box these dry ingredients, why can't i?"

i lined up all FOUR dry ingredients,...

put them in a bowl,...

and then poured it in a ziploc bag. tough, huh? then i repeated this process a few more times.

as a result, i now have four bags of beer bread mix in my pantry, ready for the next time i want fresh bread with dinner.

one little step i added was to sift the ingredients. i did this, simply, by placing my small strainer / sifter inside the large ziploc bag and pouring the ingredients into the strainer and sifting it right inside the bag.

no mess, no hassle. now it's really ready to go.

oh, and don't forget to write any extra steps / ingredients on the bag. that will save you the step of finding the recipe when you're ready to throw it in the oven.

enjoy :)

Tuesday's Tip

2010-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

yes, i took last week off (wow - to those who noticed)...

although i do have a tip in mind for this week, i first have a request. my creative well is running dry (although in an effort to streamline everything, my life sometimes looks like one big tip - and that is not necessarily a good thing), soooo... i am asking you for inspiration!

what is an area of life / home where you could use a tip? yes, i realize i'm opening myself up for all sorts of mockery and jokes, but i know there are legitimate requests out there. i'm not promising i have an answer, but i love doing the research to find the answers. i'll keep a running list of your questions and try to work my way through them.

and.... go!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-10-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

as promised, here is the recipe for the mashed potatoes to accompany last week's meatloaf.

my family loves mashed potatoes. i like them. but because i don't love them like chuck and the kids do, i just don't think to make them as often (besides, there is all that peeling and chopping... and instant does not fly in this house). last week, however, i made mashed potatoes that made my family smile.

some also felt compelled to show me what they were enjoying so much. (sorry for that...)

they love seeing this on the table...

and this on their plate...

and after they gobbled up their potatoes and emptied the serving bowl (no leftovers that night), i finally had to tell them.

"i tried a new recipe for the mashed potatoes. what did you think?" i asked.

"Great!" "we loved it!" "make them again!" is what i heard in return. even chuck agreed.

"well, i'm glad you liked them... but i should tell you. they weren't potatoes," i confessed.

- silence -

"those mashed potatoes were actually cauliflower."

they looked amazed and impressed and a little betrayed all at the same time. but they gave me permission to fool them again.

the idea to substitute cauliflower for mashed potatoes came from my mother. she had heard it somewhere and tried it - and fooled my sister and father in the process. so, i decided to give it a go.

here is how i did it...

it is surprisingly just like making mashed potatoes. however, instead of cleaning and peeling and chopping potatoes, i just broke up a head of cauliflower. then i boiled it until it was soft (like if you were to serve it as a vegetable.)

the only real difference from here on is that i prepared the mashed potatoes in the food processor instead of the mixer. it makes the final product much smoother, thus hiding any tell-tale chunks of cauliflower.

i added the same ingredients that i typically add to my mashed potatoes, with a few exceptions.

i always add milk or cream as i go (instead of using a set amount). same with butter.

but i also added some parmesan cheese (for great flavor).

and, per my mother's suggestion, i added 1 egg.

then, for the sake of texture, i also added a cup of instant mashed potato flakes. now, i'm not sure that was necessary, but i didn't want to completely shock my family if the finished product didn't turn out as i expected.

and, although the picture does not say so, i added salt and pepper.

once the mashed potatoes were creamy and blended, i poured them in a casserole dish and topped them with shredded cheese and bacon bits (i usually finish my mashed potatoes this way when i don't have gravy to accompany them). then, i placed them in the oven (350-ish) for about 20 minutes. this helped them to "set up" and take on a more "mashed potato" consistency.

well, it worked.

even i, knowing full well what i was eating, thought it tasted remarkably like mashed potatoes.

and it was a vegetable!

my husband was completely impressed, and the kids thought the whole thing was pretty funny. we're looking forward to trying it again.

as we were cleaning up dinner, patrick was finishing up and commented that he liked the bread (a store-bought, nothing special, loaf of bread).

"thanks," i answered. "it's cauliflower."

they'll never trust me again.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-09-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

i love meatloaf.

i never realized til i was an adult how odd this was, as i've learned that most people don't use "love" and "meatloaf" in the same sentence. but my experience has only been positive, so i love to make meatloaf... especially for people who say they don't like it.

as a bonus, i'm including my recipe for meatloaf (the tip will follow towards the end).
the reason i think most people are not meatloaf fans is because they've only ever had dry, flavorless meatloaf. the reason i love it is because i grew up with a mom who knew how to make it... and now my kids will tell anyone that meatloaf is one of their favorite meals.

here is how i make it:

Meatloaf
2 - 2 1/2 lbs of ground meat. i suggest using half lean ground beef, half ground turkey. do not use all ground turkey as it does not "set up" well; and all ground beef tends to come out too dry.
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
2 TBSP ketchup
salt
pepper
onion powder

Meatloaf Topping
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground mustard (although, in a pinch, i've used dijon mustard)

Directions:
- combine milk and bread crumbs and set aside until the bread crumbs have absorbed all of the milk
- combine meat, egg, ketchup, and bread crumb mixture. use your hands! they are truly the best tool, although the pampered chef mix n chop works well, too.
- add about 2 tsp of onion powder (or more if you like).
- salt and pepper like you mean it
- shape in the form of a loaf and place in shallow greased dish (13x9 works well) or follow my tip below
- add topping (which has been mixed well)

bake at 350 for 45 minutes - 1 hour (depending on how large your meatloaf is)

i promise this meatloaf will be moist and flavorful... no need for gravy!

however,... here is something to make it a bit different.
every now and again (or if i'm short on time and don't want to wait an hour for dinner to cook), i cook my meatloaf in muffin tins!

here are the meatloaf muffins before they went in the oven.

i only show them pre-baked, so you can see that they come out of the oven much the same size (another reason lean meat is the way to go).

not only does cooking meatloaf this way speed up the whole dinner process (they are out of the oven in about 20 - 25 minutes), it adds a fun presentation to the table. for kids, they are the perfect serving size. it also ensures just the right amount of topping for everyone's portion (something we don't take lightly in our house).

try it! maybe you love meatloaf, too.

ps) next week's tip is this week's side dish - amazing mashed potatoes you'll want to try.

they do grow up fast

2010-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

yes, the kids do. but today i'm talking about the dog.

on september 11, parsley had her first birthday. you may be disappointed (or relieved, depending on your perspective) to hear that we did nothing to celebrate. i love pets and, specifically, love my dog - but certain lines are most definitely drawn.

still, we are very happy to enjoy the addition she is to our family.

and we like to think that she is happy with us.

i didn't forget... i just didn't mention it

2010-09-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

i've been dealt a hefty dose of mom guilt over the last month. don't get me wrong, i'm the one dishing it out... to myself. but still. ugh.

case in point, - i did not mention my oldest's birthday! no, no, no,... we celebrated it. but i never got around to documenting it. here goes...

patrick joseph turned 9 on september 6th. it's still hard for me to consider that. have i really been a mom for nine years? has he really gotten that tall and mature and smart?

patrick is in 3rd grade this year and has come face to face with personal responsibility. there are days that this is not so pretty. but i'm proud of his attitude - "i can do this mom. this is so different from last year, but i can do this." i can remember him making similar statements when he was learning to finish his dinner, learning to read, learning to tie his shoes...

as a nine year old, patrick is a man of few interests - but those interests are intense and run deep. he is always reading, always building, always drawing, and always writing - something. currently, he's in the process of developing characters and plot for another story - maybe this time he'll push past a story and turn it into a book.

one thing that patrick has never been is athletic. he was always too busy with books. but, in the past year, he noticed that all of his friends were always playing something, and he finally announced to us, "i don't really care about soccer, but if i'm gonna play with my friends, i'm gonna need to learn how to play soccer." so, he asked us to put him in soccer camp and on a soccer team. i was a little apprehensive - i mean, he was ready to go up against kids who have been playing since they were 4 - but he was sure that he wanted to do this. he is currently halfway through his first soccer season and loving it. i'm so proud of him for pushing himself to do something that was not comfortable or easy - simply for the purpose of challenging himself. he's really growing up.

but most days, he's still just this little face.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-09-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

don't bother planting a vegetable garden unless you're gonna do something about the deer.

seriously.
it will end up looking like this...

the scraggly things on the left used to be tomatoes. the scraggly things on the right used to be bell peppers. the leafy, yet fruitless, things in the middle are eggplant. apparently, deer are not big fans of eggplant. they'll eat the blooms but not the fruit. i had one little ripening eggplant and this is how i found it...

teeth marks! little baby deer teeth marks on my little baby eggplant. ridiculous.

this is just one of the culprits...

yeah, yeah, he's cute and all. but he's not the only one. he is only one in a larger party of deer - all varying in size (to which all the poop in my yard can attest). apparently, they thought it would be a good idea to eat all of our produce and then leave the remains of said meal scattered throughout our yard. graciously, i've not saved you a picture of that.

now that there are no veggies to eat (and since they've eaten all the promising buds off all of grandma's mums - she was not a happy camper), they've since moved on to eat all the fallen acorns and hickory nuts -giving the squirrels some much needed competition. don't even get me started on the squirrels.

chuck and i are working on a strategy for better protecting next year's garden. but, to those of you who are eagerly awaiting the first day of deer season, i say "happy hunting."

in search of

2010-09-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

that's all i've got. i know i'm looking for something. i have no idea what it is.

life is good here. i could complain, but i won't. there's always stuff, but stuff isn't always bad. it just is.

i've been caring for my 18 month old nephew while his parents are away for their anniversary. he is happy and beautiful and fun. but he needs me in ways that my four surprisingly independent children do not. although it is a change of pace, i do not mind this. it reminds me that people have needs. that even my children, who can wipe their own noses and get themselves dressed and take their own showers, still have needs. and it's made me stop to consider what those needs might be. as a mother, have i allowed my role to be defined by a list of physical needs that must be met? am i meeting their emotional, mental, and spiritual needs? am i even aware of what those needs might be?

my awareness of my children's needs only leads me to question my proficiency at meeting my husband's needs. like any other person, those needs change from week to week, month to month, year to year. it's not hard to slip into auto-pilot when it comes to him either - to meet those needs that i'm aware of - but to overlook the more subtle, changing needs that i haven't bothered to notice.

of course, assuming i am aware of and striving towards being a need-meeter at home, i am led to ask, "what about others?" most of my friends are busy need-meeters in their own homes... but that doesn't change the fact that they, themselves, have needs.

and, then, there is extended family.

and church.

and...
well...
me?

i can't have this conversation with myself without coming face to face with my tragic flaw of always seeing stuff instead of people. i see the people... but i see them in terms of what they need from me... what i need to do for them,... what need they have that i have not yet met. and, so i feel stuck.

but it's all good. these things remind me that life is about more than just me.
seeing the needs of others keeps things in perspective.
and still there is a nose to wipe, lunches to make, a bathroom to clean, an email to send.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-09-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

this breezy 70 degree weather makes me ready for fall (i won't even pretend like it is fall, because i know that there's a sultry 90 degree day out there waiting to bite me in the butt sometime in october) still, fall feelings make me think of fall food - and nothing says fall food like sweet potatoes.

i love to eat sweet potatoes, but i'll admit that there was a time when i avoided them simply because i hated the thought of preparing them. for some reason, peeling sweet potatoes is incredibly challenging. but then i learned a little trick that changed all of that.

scrub your sweet potatoes and cut them into big chunks (seriously, bigger is better). then boil them (leave the skins on) until they are cooked - about 20 minutes. once they are done, strain them in a colander and allow them to cool for a bit. once you can handle them, simply pull the skins off - they will basically fall right off in your hand. simple!

now that you have a pot of cooked sweet potatoes, might as well whip up a batch of Sarah Short's sweet potato casserole. you'll be glad you did!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-09-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

we can only get so far into "back-to-school" before someone starts sniffling or aching and needs to stay home. with four kids, it's the way it goes. i've been blessed with very healthy children, but we still have our occasional sick days. when patrick started kindergarten (4 years ago...) the parents had to attend a meeting where we learned the ins and outs of the school. at that meeting, the school nurse shared an interesting piece of advice - one that has served us well - and i thought i'd pass it along.

because some children tend to interepret sick days as a day off, it is important that children who stay home sick don't have too much fun.

ok, that doesn't sound quite right. but it's true. i'm not talking about a child who has a raging fever or violent stomach bug - clearly, that child needs to be home and as comfortable as possible. but you know how your kid wakes up one morning and they are a little sniffly and a little achy and a little moody - but not out and out sick and you just aren't sure what to do? unless i know my little darling is attempting to pull a fast one, i tend to give them the benefit of the doubt - with the condition that staying home sick means staying home. sick. in bed. resting. all day.
yes, i feed them.
yes, they have a toy or two.
yes, they can read.

but - no tv, movies, running around with their little brother.
if you're too sick to be in school, you need to be in bed and get better!
and... if you're too sick to go to school, you're too sick for that evening's activity (soccer practice, birthday party, etc).

sometimes, that reminder is enough for that same little darling to make an impressive recovery and grab her book bag. and sometimes they agree to my terms. usually, i'm glad i've kept them home - as a fever sneaks in or the child dozes off and on all day proving that they really did need the rest. but there have been times when the sick child spends the greater part of the day begging to get up and play... or, better yet, begging to be taken to school (that always makes me laugh).

either way, making a sick day truly a day for resting and recovering will usually prevent a child from feigning illness in an attempt to stay home.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

this is not a flashy, fun tip. but the beginning of the school year always beckons me to greater organization and efficiency as i end up pulled in multiple directions. and, as much as fall is my favorite time to be in the kitchen baking, i don't like to feel trapped at meal time. here are a few tips to make dinner time a little easier on you.

buy in bulk but freeze in smaller quantities. a big package of 24 chicken thighs is a great idea until they are all frozen into a solid chunk and you only need 6 of them. divide up your meat into family sized portions when you return from the grocery store, so that when it's time to prepare your meals, you don't have to thaw out large quantities of meat. this works especially well with ground meat.

before you freeze, marinate.  this takes the above tip one step further. as you divide up your chicken into freezer bags, pour in some marinade. not only will your meat be divided in appropriate portions, it will also be pre-seasoned and ready to go.

cook meat, then freeze.  if you have the time and inclination, the next time you buy 5 lbs of ground beef, brown it all (even mix it with onions / garlic / peppers, etc) and then divide it up into however large a portion you would usually use for your family's meals (think chili, spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc). once the meat is thawed, you won't need to worry about cooking or seasoning it - just add it to the recipe at hand.

cook meat, then freeze. part 2.  for a while, i found myself avoiding recipes that required cooked, cut up chicken because i never had any on hand... and i never had the time to prepare the chicken and the meal. of course, leftover chicken works for this. but my favorite thing to do is to buy a chicken, cook it in the crock pot, bone it, and portion and freeze the boned / shredded chicken in freezer bags. a small chicken will yield several cups of chicken - usually enough for 2 casseroles / meals. you can take it one step further and save the broth that is left in the crock pot. put it in a large bowl in the fridge until the fat congeals on top (sorry... that sounds so gross). then carefully scrape the fat off and you'll be left with virtually fat-free chicken broth. again - dump it in a freezer bag and you've got one more common ingredient waiting for you in the freezer.

prepare and freeze veggies.  of course, i've mentioned this before. but beyond tomatoes and peppers, you can shred carrots and zucchini and squash and freeze them for baking purposes. you could also chop and saute onions and garlic so that they are instantly ready to be added to your meals.

make and freeze meals. this is the most obvious tip... one that many people already do. but there are days when the knowledge of a casserole in the freezer can rescue you from the brink of insanity... or make your weekend just a bit more relaxing.

do you have any tips to add to this list?

somewhere between valium and a scented candle

2010-08-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

i begin writing this knowing that there is a very good chance i won't get to finish. that's why i haven't gotten much further than my weekly Tuesday's Tip. regrettably, life doesn't slow down for my need to write about it. neither do my kids.

blogging went from being a mystery to a guilty pleasure, but now it is an illusive luxury - something i wonder if i'll ever get to enjoy again. when i actually take the time to sit and write, i don't often finish my thoughts because my "audience" has simply broadened too much. venting isn't an option when too many people may read with the ever-popular "is she talking about me?" question lurking in the back of their minds. (the answer, btw, is no, i'm not. i never am.) of course, what began as a sahm's ramblings is now open to male readers, which i'm fine with... but it occurs to me that men don't want to know about pms and other such stuff that i wouldn't mind getting off my chest. (see,... "chest" - maybe i shouldn't have written that). honesty isn't always the best policy.

but, i've never been one for writing fiction... and my life doesn't always play out as a self-help piece, either. whining isn't an option, because, as you may know, whining-blogs top my list of pet-peeves. so, here i am.

i spoke with my doctor last year about that feeling of insanity that hits me once a month (sorry, guys...). i'm sure she meant to be helpful, but she wasn't.
"maybe you could light a candle and try to relax?" she offered. really? are you kidding me? on some days, i'd be more likely to light the house on fire...
"well, some women take valium." ok, clearly we're not connecting here.

so, here i stay. somewhere between valium and a scented candle. i need to write about it but am not sure i can put it out there without feeling like i shouldn't have. really, i have nothing to hide. but, in real life, people find out what they want by getting to know me. what they don't know about me remains a mystery because they've chosen to keep their distance.

blogging has changed that world, though...
now we can lurk without a trail.
read without commenting.
collect information to disclose without the guilt of gossip.
it's amazing how technology has fully opened up lines of communication all while allowing us the comfort of our firmly built walls. i never thought i'd mind.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-08-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

this summer has not been my garden's finest hour. last year, i was up to my eyeballs in tomatoes and zucchini. this year, not so much. we have been blessed by the abundance of others' produce, though, and i'm grateful.

one of the biggest food challenges of summertime is using up all the fresh foods before they go bad. here's what i do with my peppers when they start to look a little "iffy."

as you can see, these bell peppers have seen better days. i could either throw them away or find a way to incorporate them into that day's dinner...

instead, i cut out the bad parts...

then i chop everything up to "recipe size"

and place it all in a freezer bag.

not only does this prevent me from having to throw away the veggies that i forgot to use, but it also helps me keep a recipe necessity ready and on-hand in my freezer.

this also works with tomatoes (i believe...) and just yesterday i chopped up several jalapenos for the same purpose (although i should have worn gloves because my fingers are still tingling).

give it a try - store a bit of summer in your freezer :)

Tuesday's Tip

2010-08-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

i'm still enjoying my sand / shell art. this week's tip continues the sea shell theme.

part of the fun of going to the beach, i think, is all the stuff on display there. this year, we saw tons of jelly fish as well as lots of crabs, fish, horseshoe crabs... we even found a blowfish. the dolphin swim by in large groups and the pelicans are always fun to watch.

this year, as i mentioned last week, was also great for shells. it just seemed that the tides brought in an abundant variety of shapes and sizes. of course, the kids and i had fun collecting buckets full. but this year, i decided to snap photos of them, as well.

now, seriously, i'm no photographer. i don't even aspire to become one. i wouldn't even go so far as to say that it's my hobby. i don't have multiple lenses. i couldn't tell you which camera i own unless i quickly glanced at the front of mine. that being said, my camera is always close by, always charged, and always emptied of recent pics to make room for more. i have a digital that i love and i've taken the time to really figure out what it can do and how to best use it (admittedly, i have lots left to learn).

so, when i saw all that the beach had to offer this summer, i quickly switched to the "macro" setting on my trusty digital and went to town.

just changing the angle of the camera can create some interesting shots, too...

and the water, itself, is interesting enough...

i'm not sure that i'll do anything with these pictures... but i could! printed in large sizes, they would look nice framed. they would also serve well when making fun photo gifts (think calendars, mugs, etc.) for the beach lover. i could go on... i could show you more photos. but i'll stop.

my final "use" for shells this year is a little outside the box, but one that works just as well. year after year, inevitably, the treasures my kids collect get pitched at some point because, as you may guess, i can only fill so many vases. this year, i gave my kids the assigment of collecting shells that we could send to some friends in the midwest whose kids have not yet seen the ocean. my friend amanda lives in arkansas, has 3 young children (and is expecting 2 more!), and a beach vacation is not on her horizon. we are sending a package to her kids filled with shells, rocks, and sand, along with notes and pictures from my kids explaining what the beach is like. we are hoping they have fun with the stuff we found... and can enjoy something we are "finished" with.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-08-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

i feel like it's been forever. two weeks off from anything can do that to you. we enjoyed our beach vacation, but even while away, my mind was working. and one day, while walking along the surf collecting shells, a friend asked, "so, do you have any tuesday's tips for what to do with sea shells?" funny you should ask. this one's for you, bethany...

depending on which beach you visit, shells can be a rarity. this year, they absolutely littered the coastline.

last year, i made it a point to only collect shells with a bit of purple on them. this year, my goal was to find perfect shells - unbroken and classic.

i brought home 2 large ziploc bags filled with treasures. then, as an afterthought, i had my sister bring back a few bags filled with sand.

i rinsed my shells...

i also cleaned them. (call me compulsive, but i don't want the odor of decomposing sea creatures emanating from my center piece. i'm just sayin...)

they dried completely...

and then i got to work.

chances are, you have lots of decorative glass containers around your house. most people have vases or even mason jars that will gladly serve double duty for decorative purposes. if you don't, however, check out the dollar store. or, if you're fortunate enough to live near an Ikea, stop by. seriously, you haven't lived, if you haven't browsed that store at least once. this project gave me a great excuse to visit my nearby Ikea (thank the good Lord for placing one a mere ten minutes away).

now, i realize there are a ton of artistic ways to use sea shells. i mentioned last year's collection of purple shells. this picture doesn't justify their color, but i like the idea of a color theme when using shells. it works.

because this year's shells were more about their shape and form, i wanted to showcase them a little bit differently. here's what i came up with...

with the exception of my trip to Ikea (which was really an unnecessary indulgence for me), this was free art. i love taking full advantage of what nature has to offer... without bordering on overkill. using sea shells, subtly, adds a neutral touch of class to your home while reminding you of your fun on the beach.

i love the idea of using all of what the beach has to offer so much that this tuesday's tip will continue next week...

Tuesday's Tip

2010-07-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

my son, patrick, reminded me this morning that it was tuesday and i needed a tip to write about. i was kinda stuck and a little preoccupied with all the vacation stuff i had facing me, so i was very grateful when leann suggested i talk about how i prepare for vacation. no pictures this time around, so you'll have to use your imagination... :)

i know that this is one of those things that is very specific to your situation and destination. we have four kids and like to take a week long beach vacation each year... and with paying the expense of renting a beach house, it is imperative to me that i plan and pack our meals in such a way that does not kill our budget.

each year, the people we share a home with changes. some years, we're in a house full of families so, splitting the dinner responsibilities becomes a piece of cake. this year, however, we're sharing a house with chuck's parents, so dinner falls on me. in a perfect world, vacation would mean that i'm not cooking or doing anything (except lounging and reading...) don't get me wrong, i don't mind feeding my family... but a break is nice every now and again. i've found that a little preparation before hand makes my vacation much more enjoyable.

1) keep breakfast and lunch simple. some people like to have big breakfasts, and that is cool, too - just don't overdo it! make it fun. i let vacation be when the kids have the fun foods for breakfast - poptarts (gasp), fun cereal, etc. this year is the first year we don't have to work around nap time (hallelujah!) so our plan is to make sandwiches and take them along to the beach or pool.

2) shop at home. i do not like to do the bulk of my shopping at our vacation destination. i simply can not justify spending more on groceries i can get for less at home. i do some bulk shopping for snacks and drinks (i hit discount / surplus stores for special bargains). certain things i buy "there" - milk, bread, eggs, etc - but non-perishables i like to take along.

3) make your dinners ahead. we'll have 6 dinners. 1 is a dinner out, and 1 is a leftover night; that leaves me with 4 dinners to prepare. i plan meals that i can make ahead, freeze, and transport easily in the cooler. this afternoon, i made all 4 meals - beefy mac (a meat/pasta casserole), meatloaf, lasagna, and taco meat (we'll buy all the accoutrements "down there"). when you plan ahead and have all your ingredients on hand, it doesn't take that long! in fact, kinda makes me wonder why i don't do that more often...

4) make / bake snacks.  this is always a nice treat. my kids have requested Muddy Buddies, a vacation favorite. it's easy and transports well. i also like to take cookies, just because they are unexpected in the middle of summer. i'm not a big fan of baking in 90 degree humidity, but when i have homemade cookie dough in the freezer, it's not such a chore. just wait for a cooler day!

5) take what you know won't be there.  this is easier said than done, because usually you don't know what won't be there til you get there and can't find it! however, there are certain things that are good to pack, such as:
   - a good knife. i hate getting in a rental house kitchen and not being able to find a good, sharp knife.
   - salt and pepper! yes, you can just pick them up at the store, but you can also slap some tape over your own salt/pepper shakers and pack them. think ahead regarding any other spices you may need. yes, the local grocery store will have them, but spices can get pricy - why buy them when you have a whole container at home?
   - hand soap. usually, beach houses have 4 or 5 bathrooms - quite a luxury for most of us. but don't forget what each of those bathrooms need! (hand soap, tissues, toilet paper)
   - coffee filters. i never forget the coffee - but those filters are also pretty important :)
   - any specific pots/pans necessary to make a certain dish. yes, most kitchens are fully stocked, but if you absolutely must have a large stock pot for dinner #3, bring one along.

ineviteably, we make the 7 hour trek only to discover that we've forgotten something. it's ok. the nice thing about civilization is that we can usually find what we need. it's also good to realize that some of those things we don't really need for the week. and we just do without. and then we relax.

Tuesday's Tip - let's review

2010-07-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

i've been thinking about the tips i've shared thus far... and contemplating new ones.
so far, we've dealt with rotten bananas, static-y hair, and plant babies.
i've suggested ways to clean the sink, clean the coffee maker, clean toothbrushes, and clean strawberries.
we've found new uses for christmas cards and baby teethers and the coffee left in the coffee pot.
i've shared how i streamline lunch making and the ever-chaotic morning routine.
i've even indulged myself with a few favorites - like coconut rice and the library.

so, now, i'm curious.
do any of these tips work for you? have you been able to tweak them and make them your own?
efficiency is only efficient if it works!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-06-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

every parent loves to look at the beautifully and carefully completed schoolwork their child brings home every day. (feel free to insert sarcasm where necessary). it's fun to see what they've done that day or mark their progress from earlier in the year. the dilemma most parents face, however, is what to do with all those papers day after day. i've come to the conclusion that most parents fall in one of two categories: 1) keep every blessed scrap of paper that Junior ever touched and 2) throw those crazy papers away as fast as they leave their folders.

admittedly, i'm a keeper. when my kids were little and i was knee-deep in baby books (and, trust me, 4 kids in 4 years will have you knee-deep in baby books), i held on to everything. by the time each one was 2 or 3, i realized this was simply not practical, so i refined my strategy so that i was only keeping the "stuff" that held a certain meaning. i'm big on "firsts." i also like the things that made me laugh - for example, patrick's very first drawing titled, "a duck spitting juice." he was only 2 and the sketch remarkably looked just like a duck spitting juice. we were not surprised when patrick quickly emerged as the artist in the family.

once the kids started school, the amount of those little paper treasures grew exponentially, and i realized that i needed a plan before i became known as the-mom-under-that-stack-of-paper. what i do works for me, so i thought i'd share it. if you have a system, great! if you don't, find one. really, people, it's eat or be eaten out there... we all need a plan.

every year, i keep a folder for each child in school. i do not keep every paper that comes home. i keep a lot - but not all. any paper or piece of artwork that catches my attention (because it was so good or so bad or just amusing) goes in their folder. i also hold on to anything that they were particularly proud of.

at the end of year (ideally), i get those folders out and let the kids "review" their year. surprisingly, they get very excited about this.

they enjoy taking a look at assignments they had enjoyed or projects they were proud of. ultimately, someone is impressed by the progression of their handwriting or some other skill.

this is the artwork patrick was most proud of from this year. every time he sees it, he remembers, "everyone thought i traced it, but i didn't!"

sometimes they find awards that meant a lot...

and they remember activities that were a lot of fun...

it's fun to hear them re-read the stories and papers they wrote...

after browsing through their folders, sometimes we thin them out a bit, but we end up with a collection of papers that sums up their year. when the folders are ready, we get "the boxes" out. see, as much as i like to keep and collect, i still hate clutter, so there has to be a plan even for our neat pile of folders. for me, that plan involves big, labeled plastic tubs that can be stored in the basement.

each child has their own bin, and in those bins we keep special childhood memories.

here is chloe's:

these bins aren't very full, because the kids are still young. but in chloe's bin, i have her school folders, her first year calendar, the bonnet she wore for her dedication, and her favorite book from when she was a toddler.

it's funny how much the kids enjoy going through all these old memories. they each grabbed their "old" books and ran off to read them. looking over papers from previous school years is also a big hit.

patrick found his turkey hat from his kindergarten thanksgiving party. as he tried it on, he happily declared, "it still fits!" you wouldn't think it matters to him... but he got such a kick out of that.

there are, of course, other strategies for storing kids' artwork and school memories. when patrick was in his draw-15-pictures-a-day phase, i would scan the best on to our computer and keep them in his own file. i've since done the same for the others. i've heard other people talk about keeping art portfolios for their children's best artwork. sometimes, framing a particular piece is a great way to showcase their talent and show them that you are proud of the work they've done. our kids get to have one thing on the refrigerator each week. at the end of the week, it gets filed or pitched... and they've come to learn that throwing out their work doesn't mean it wasn't good; we appreciate it and move on.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-06-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

this week, i couldn't decide between two tips. i promised coconut rice, so that's what i'm posting this week. but tune in next week for some ideas on what to do with a year's worth of school papers and art projects!

i love coconut. admittedly, i go through weird flavor obsessions. no joke, a couple months ago, i was putting blue cheese on everything. but i like experimenting with different flavors in regular foods - makes for a nice change of pace. coconut rice is nothing new to many asian menus, but it's not as common in western foods. you don't have to love coconut to love coconut rice, because the flavor is pretty subtle. and, if you're totally anti-coconut texture, you don't have to add any coconut at all - but give it a try - the texture of the coconut is practically undetectable amidst all that rice.

this recipe began with one i found online, but i tweaked it to make it mine...

Coconut Jasmine Rice

1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp sea or kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
2 cups jasmine rice (washed and drained)
if you never have before, you MUST try jasmine rice. it is amazing. and so very different from every day white rice that we americans use in everything. in fact, i've given up on "normal" rice forever.
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (shake can to mix well before opening)
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cups coconut flakes
1/4 - 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup diced bell pepper (i like using red, yellow, and green for color)

heat butter in a medium sized, heavy saucepan. when melted, add brown sugar and salt, stirring until dissolved. add rice, turning heat to high, and stir until all grains are evenly coated. * add coconut milk and water, stirring well. when boiling, immediately cover with tight fitting lid, turning heat to medium-low and simmer undisturbed for 20 minutes. remove from heat but do not open lid for 10 minutes. seriously, the key here is leaving that lid ON. every time i've made it, it works perfectly.

while rice is cooking, toast coconut flakes on a dry skillet over medium heat. stir / move frequently to avoid burning. remove from skillet as soon as coconut is golden brown (about 2 minutes).

after rice is cooked, add coconut, pineapple, and peppers. stir well and serve!

* the first few times i made this, i noticed "crunchy" pieces in my finished product. i finally realized it was bits of brown sugar that had clumped together. the next time, i was careful to use my wooden spoon to break up all clumps after i added the liquid. chuck later informed me that those "crunchy" pieces were one of his favorite parts. either way, you can't go wrong.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-06-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

this one will be quick and painless...

if you have kids, you can't even get near summertime without hearing about your local library's summer reading program. of course, it will depend on your specific public library system, but most require that children read a certain number of books (10 for school-age children) within a specific time period during the summer. sign them up and return their completed book list by the end date (mid August).

there are all kinds of fun coupons and bookmarks - and usually a cute bag - that accompany the sign-up process. my favorite thing, though, is that the kids get a free book when they finish the program! last year, my kids participated in Harford County's summer reading program, but were disappointed that all their school friends went through Baltimore County (i'm not sure why it bothered them so much). so, this year, i signed them up for both. that means, 2 free books at the end.

of course, i happened to stop by Barnes and Noble this evening and was asked if i wanted to sign my child up for their summer reading program. the incentive? a free book upon completion, of course. so, i grabbed 4 blank forms...

recording their books on these forms gives my kids a sense of accomplishment during the summer... but this summer it will also land them 3 free books each. that's 12 new books in our house by the end of August.

i am sure there are lots of other reading incentive programs out there, as well as other fun free summer activities. (my bonus tip: free movies at regal cinemas!) do a quick check in your area and see what you can find. and then get back to me, so i can use it, too!!

safe in the tourist trap

2010-06-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

last week, my mom and i (along with two of her friends) took the megabus to new york city. although i've been to nyc on a few other occasions, this was purely a tourist's endeavor. we walked through time square, stood in line for discounted broadway tickets, took in a 2:00 show, and enjoyed a nice dinner in the city. i even stopped to pick up a few souvenirs for the kids.

somehow, i had always felt as though being a tourist was not quite enough. visiting big cities (even though, yes, i've lived on the edge of one my whole life) has never been my cup of tea. and when i'm there, i've often felt as though i should look like i belong. i hear friends talk about missing the city life or loving their current city of residence... and, although i never quite got it, i always felt a little less mature for not wanting the same thing.

this trip cured me, i think. i enjoyed walking the busy sidewalks and looking up a little more often than i needed to. and, although the perfect tourist trip would have been completed by the presence of my trusty digital camera, i was glad i left it behind. instead, i got to really watch what was going on... and appreciate what i saw.

i saw a city that is completely and utterly resilient.
where a cab driver can maneuver his car in a ridiculously small space simply because that's all that is there.
where the guys on the sidewalks who sell maps and bus tours at penn station pull out a handful of umbrellas when it starts raining and start selling those.
where a perfect stranger who is walking confidently to her destination can pause, without missing a beat, to give directions to two middle aged women who can not find Lincoln Center.
where street vendors don't give up because they're being ignored... they just yell louder.
where mothers push strollers covered with clear plastic shields because it's raining... but they still have to get where they're going.

and, i guess what amazed me, is that no one is bothered by any of this. because it's life and it's what they do.
in the suburbs, i avoid going places where i may have to parallel park.
and rain may be grounds to stay home for the day.

and, thankfully, that's ok... because i don't need to adopt city life to prove that i, too, am resilient. for the first time, i realized that going somewhere and relishing in someone else's strengths is just one more way of appreciating this amazing country we live in. and if a city-dwelling tourist ever has a burning desire to come get a good look at the suburbs of Baltimore county... well, i'll be here to show him around. in the meantime, i'm happy to simply remember every time i use my Starbucks NYC souvenir mug.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

quite honestly, i could get several weeks' worth of tips out of today's post.

i'm not a magazine reader. i love magazines. i love the idea of magazines. but for some reason, i just don't remember to read them.

however, there is one magazine that i consider an investment. if you haven't yet discovered Real Simple it could very well become your best future investment, as well.

it's a magazine that is devoted to efficiency and time savers and money savers and multiple uses for household items. (can you tell why i love it?) but it's practical advice extends past the concrete with articles like, "how to write the perfect note" and "etiquette for how to confront."

of course, Real Simple is online and their website offers a variety of resources. one of my favorite monthly articles is a column called "New Uses for Old Things" and can be found here on their website. i won't give you a run-down of everything you can find there (because it would take way too long) but the latest issue suggests using Crocs as hanging planters... cute and worth considering as your kids outgrow them.

you can also become a fan on facebook.

check it out and let me now what you think!!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

today's tip is actually a follow-up to a tip from a few weeks ago...

my friend amanda suggested i try making pb&j sandwiches ahead of time and freezing them for greater school-lunch-making efficiency. i loved the idea. in fact, i loved it so much, i thought i'd try it with other types of sandwiches. it worked amazingly well!

here are a bunch of lunch meat / cheese sandwiches (yes, i sometimes use the little sandwich rolls because it breaks the monotony of the same ol' bread but is small enough for my not-quite-famished kids to handle).

once made, the sandwiches go right back in the bread bag and are kept in the freezer. i also made a bag of pb& honey and pb&jelly.

my kids report that their sandwiches have tasted fine and are never frozen or soggy. in fact, when chloe saw me making lunches the other day, she was surprised to see me putting a frozen sandwich in her lunch box. she was even more surprised when i told her i had been doing that for over a week.

lunch time has never been so easy! give it a try...

ahoy, lucy...

2010-05-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

like any mother, i see a little bit of myself in each of my children.
patrick has my analytical, serious nature.
chloe and i both avoid confrontation and like to keep the peace.
tucker likes things a certain way and is willing to fight to see it done that way (hmm... does that sound like me?)
when it comes to lucy, i have to dig a bit deeper.

having to search for similarities between me and my 3rd child speaks more highly of her character than it does of mine, let me assure you. i think the reason we seem so different is because that girl is just plain fun. for real. in some ways, it's embarrassing to admit that i'm not... but, like i've mentioned before, i know what i am, and i know what i'm not. i can have fun, but i don't see myself as fun. on the other hand, if i had to identify the word in a person, i'd choose her. sometimes it's annoying to a person with my - ahem - tendencies. but, usually, it's just entertaining.

her latest pursuits had me lurking outside with my camera...

she's got this things for pirates.
pirates.
i don't know why. she hasn't watched any pirate movies lately. or read any pirate books. she used to have a thing for peter pan and, now that i think of it, recently asked me if she could watch it again.
but i have no idea what would possess her to hang this particular work of personal artistic expression on her door (complete with phonetic caption):

or make this hat and flag (which, incidentally, she named "jolly roger"):

and then recruit her brother to commandeer the back yard castle:

i love that she feels no obligation to be a certain way or play with certain people. she has mentioned everyone in her class as a "best friend." and she really means it. i'm amazed at her ability to see the good, fun side of everyone... even the people some of us (ahem) might find annoying. i pray that she keeps that quality - that ability to unconditionally love anyone in her path.

i mean, really... who doesn't love lucy?

Tuesday's Tip

2010-05-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

i enjoyed hearing about all of you washing your strawberries. my apologies to those of you i grossed out. i still hold to the fact that the public deserves to be educated. still, we've all been eating dirty strawberries all along, and if you've determined that strawberry dirt will factor into your pre-determined amount of dirt consumption, have at it. feel free to walk on the wild side.

this week's tip takes me back to my love of recycling odd items around the house.

how many of you still have these lying around?

if you don't have kids, you may not recognize them. but anyone who's had a teething baby knows what they are. these rubbery water filled toys are meant to be frozen (or kept cold) and then given to a pitiful teething tot with sore gums. my kids used them. they served us well.

the tip is that they still serve us well. i still keep these little guys in the freezer because they are the perfect ice pack when someone bangs a lip, bumps their head, or bruises a shin. i love them because they have handles, they don't make a mess as they melt, and they are reusable!! i just throw them in the dishwasher and then back in the freezer for the next inevitable catastrophe.

patrick just used one this morning on his puffy eye. no injury - just woke up with a puffy, allergy-irritated eye. thank you, baby teether thingy.

ironically, we use these nifty gadgets more now than we did when our kids were teething.

the evolution of mama pig

2010-05-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since i've talked about the kids. it's not for lack of material - they give me plenty to work with.

lately, i've especially been noticing growth in chloe. it's funny,... she's only 7, but sometimes it feels like she's lived and changed a lifetime. i guess that's what makes childhood so amazing.

chloe has never liked an audience. maybe that's not true. she's never liked an audience if she feels like they are being amused or entertained by her. that feels like the same thing, but it's not. she has always been very aware of what people think about her. very aware. she once overheard our pastor laughing with someone and interrupted to ask him if he was laughing at her. she was only 3. similarly, she's never been a big fan of us sharing stories about her with other people. and i'm not talking about bad stuff; i mean the cute things. she just gets embarrassed really easily.

chloe is not shy. she loves being around people. one of her favorite parts of kindergarten was enjoying all the playground drama. (if you only have boys, you may be unfamiliar with this term. trust me. it's very real.) but still, she thinks a lot about what others are thinking. i can remember being amazed at how self-conscious she was at 2 1/2 yrs old when she had her notorious mixer incident which left her partially scalped and quite traumatized (i don't even have a blog entry to refer you back to. it was that long ago) despite all the pain, she was most horrified at what people would think of her bald spot. at 2 years old!

you can imagine how surprised i was when 2 Christmases ago, she decided she wanted to play the part of Snoopy in our Jr. Church version of the Charlie Brown Christmas play. she told me it was because she wouldn't have any lines, but Snoopy clearly stood out - having to bark and wear a dog costume. she loved it, though, and totally played it up.

as her first grade year has progressed, chloe has really grown. although she loves all the interaction with her friends, she doesn't seem quite as consumed with doing everything just like them. (she recently told me she didn't want to wear her hair in a side ponytail because that's what all the girls in her class do. i was both impressed and grateful...) so i wasn't totally shocked when, several weeks ago, she made this announcement: I'm going to be Mama Pig.

every year, the first grade does a musical production of the three little pigs called The Three Piggy Opera. since patrick was our first 1st grader, we were unaware of this special event until he came home last year and told us he had earned the part of the Big, Bad Wolf. anyone who knows patrick knows how ironic and comical that assignment is, but that's a whole other post. he did a great job, singing the part of the wolf, and we enjoyed the show. the entire 1st grade participates, but there are about 8 main parts that tell the story while the rest of the 60+ first graders sing in the chorus.

when chloe made her announcement to our family, patrick immediately told her she wouldn't be able to do it: "that's the biggest singing part! you have to learn the longest song! it's so hard to do!"
she was not deterred but rather seemed more determined as she simply responded, "i don't care. i'm gonna be Mama Pig."

you can only imagine the excitement in our house when, a couple of weeks later, following auditions and lots of waiting, she came home with the news: I'm Mama Pig!!!

we've since heard her practice the song. we all know the song. she's picked out the dress she's going to wear. she's been reminded of the audience that will be watching. she's ready. i'm so excited to see her perform - not because she'll be better or more special than any of the other first graders, but because i know how far she's come.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-05-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

i think i should up the status of this post from "tip" to "public service announcement." i feel very strongly about this one. read on...

a few weeks ago, chuck sent me an email forward (he works with women. there are a lot of email forwards) about how to properly clean strawberries. i rolled my eyes (like i do when i look at most forwards) but decided to see what they had to say. apparently, there are tiny "strawberry bugs" that look a lot like strawberry seeds and like to camouflage themselves on the fruit. hmm... i'm not that squeamish, but it motivated me to "properly clean my strawberries" the next time i bought them.

i'm going to share the process below. you'll be happy to know that i never found any bugs... but what i did find might surprise you. it surprised me!

this is how i, and most people, clean their strawberries. we rinse them. we rinse them well.

the approved method takes it a step further.

fill a bowl with warm, soapy water. (i use toxic-free dish soap...)

place your strawberries in the soapy water, letting them soak for a bit and then rubbing them gently to clean them.

once the strawberries have been cleaned, remove them from the soapy water and rinse them in a colander.

wait. did you catch that?

look at the water that is left behind!! unfortunately, i don't feel like this picture even does justice to the amount of dirt and debris that was left behind by my strawberries.

the next step is to cut off the tops of the strawberries, just below the stem. some people prefer coring, and i guess that's ok, too.

this process left me with a bowl full of clean strawberries. it also left me with a little more peace of mind. true, a little dirt never hurt anyone. and, i know there's a statistic out there about how many bugs we will inevitably consume in our lifetime. but i'm grateful that this time, i wasn't the one feeding the dirt or the bugs to this face...

and i think he is, too.

just in case you are curious, here is the link to the official how-to-clean-your-strawberries place:

http://www.star-k.org/cons-appr-vegetables-videos10.htm

Tuesday's Tip

2010-05-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

i love extending the life of "stuff." i realize i run the risk of sounding redundant by saying that, but it bears repeating. the idea of finding multiple uses for things and re-using items appropriately thrills me. seriously. i was recycling before i knew how cool it was.

you may be surprised to discover that this philosophy has carried over to my plants. every fall, i make a game out of seeing which plants i can get to survive til the spring. incidentally, if you keep pansies in planters and leave them out all winter (even with three back to back blizzards), you will have new growth in the spring. amazing. they aren't perennial - they just re-seed very easily... and are quite hardy. i've been known to find tiny sprouting pansies in the grass under my hanging planters which i will carefully dig up and transplant into a garden or container. i know, i know... but, why not?

i really love playing this game indoors, too! for a while, i wasn't having much luck with houseplants... but then i started working with the ones i had and discovered a few truths.
- no matter how well cared for, some plants just get old and need to go
- changing a plant's location in your house can give it a boost
- even a dying plant has something to offer

here are a few examples:

this is a Spider Plant - a very normal house plant. i like them because they are easy to grow, hard to kill, and very full and pretty. but i love them because they have babies. look closer...

see the tiny spider plants hanging from the big plant? you can leave these on the spider plant as part of the plant's fullness, or you can start brand new spider plants with it. here's what i do...

the babies are carefully cut from the mother plant and then placed in water (here, i have 2 babies in each bowl). try to arrange them so that only their bottoms / roots are in the water. they can live like this for a very long time (or until you are ready to move them) but the idea is to keep them in water til they grow a small root system. once that happens, plant each in a small planter and keep them well watered.

this "baby" is about a year old. she is doing very well, but started out just as tiny as the ones pictured above. in fact, she's almost ready to be moved into a larger planter and hung in a window. and that's good, because after a while, even that big, healthy mama plant will start to look a little "tired" - but not before sprouting lots more babies. incidentally, the big mama plant pictured at the top, started as a tiny baby from a plant i had kept for years. now look at her!

another favorite of mine is the Wandering Jew plant. Wandering Jews are more of a vining plant and are fun because of their purple color. here is my original Wandering Jew:

she's not pretty. in fact, she's on her last legs, which is why she hangs from a window in my bedroom where no one has to look at her. it's ok, though, because she's served me well. Wandering Jews are soooo easy to regrow. occasionally, it will lose a "branch" or vine. they can also be cut off. place several cuttings in water, like this -

over time, but rather quickly, these vines will start to root and will grow longer. you may prefer to keep them in water as they are pretty this way. in fact, the ones below have been in water for quite a while:

as long as their container stays full of water, they do very well. they also like sun but don't need to be in direct sunlight. this is a good example of a plant that you may want to rotate throughout the year - a fresh location or varied amount of sunlight is a nice change of pace for the Wandering Jew.

once your plant is very full, like the one above, it may be time to plant it. here is a Wandering Jew that i started from just a few vines from the original:

she is very pretty and full, and although there are occasional dead leaves or dying vines, they can easily be removed. i like to snip vines from this one as she is getting bigger - it keeps her from getting too overgrown and keeps my houseplant population growing.

there are others! i won't bore you with all of them, but try your hand at fostering some "babies." what a great way to extend the life of your plants!

Tuesday's Tip

2010-04-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

it's no secret that i'm a big fan of efficiency. i'd do anything to save time and do a job better all at once. my poor children are now subject to my bouts of time-saving strategizing. i don't think they mind that much... in fact, it's made their lives a little easier.

weekday mornings could potentially be the craziest part of my life. some days they are. but, i've taken great strides to avoid the daily chaos that could take place before my 3 older children hit the bus stop.

everyone knows you should do as much preparation as possible the night before. i try. i do. sometimes it doesn't happen. but when it does, my mornings are so much easier.

so, each night i like to:
- set out everyone's clothes
this is a good idea, especially with girls, because it allows me to avoid morning wardrobe drama. for some reason, the drama factor is higher in the morning than it is in the evenings.

- make sure book bags are packed, folders filled, papers signed, etc.
this seems like a no-brainer to me, but there is nothing like searching for lost library books five minutes before i'm ready to run out the door. IN FACT, my rule is that school library books must stay in book bags. that helps a lot.

- make lunches!!
i think a lot of people do this. it's just smart. but sometimes, by the time i've made and cleaned up dinner and snack, i don't want to be in the kitchen. i really have to discipline myself to make lunches the night before. i've employed the kids as helpers, though. chloe will single-handedly pack everyone's lunch, and that is a big help. my friend, amanda, gave me another helpful tip, though. she has a friend who makes all her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the beginning of the week and then freezes them! she says they are thawed by lunch, so all you have to do is pop them in the lunch boxes. genius! i'm wondering if the same thing could work for turkey/mayo sandwiches that my kids love so much...

- have kids select breakfast
i realize this pushes me right out of the "organized" bracket and into "slightly anal," but like i said, i'd do just about anything to make mornings easier. some of my kids are prone to breakfast drama (as in, i don't eat breakfast), but if they choose what they'll eat the night before, they don't seem to have a problem sticking with it in the morning.

as you can see, i have the breakfast options on the fridge (it's foam paper on magnet strips) so i can change them depending on what we have on hand (and what i feel like making). then the kids move their letter magnet to the option they choose. somedays i don't do this. but some days i do... and i like it.

you can also see the list of "things to do" in the morning. i debated doing this since all the things on this list seem pretty obvious, but i'm surprised at how often i see my kids checking the list to see if they've done everything.

there. that's what i do. what time-saving tips do you have for making mornings better?

in an effort to redeem myself

2010-04-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

thanks for letting me vent. i honestly wasn't really that irritable... it's just that somedays, that's all there is to say. i'm prone to "stuff" so letting it all out every once in a while is rather therapeutic.

the good news is that those days come and go... but they go! praise God that every day is new. with that, i'll report the following:
- my contacts and eyes are back to normal.
- the refrigerator is no longer suffering from overcrowding, and i'm making pizza for dinner tonight. and there was much rejoicing.
- tucker's quiet times have improved since that spanking. amazing how that works, huh?
- despite my attitude towards the haircut, it did exactly what a good haircut is supposed to do.
- i still love The West Wing. oh, and we are getting into season 4 of Lost. good times. but i am also trying to get back into Farmer Boy for chloe's sake. she's wondering why my bookmark isn't moving.
- although my sunflower seeds are still not sprouting, my spinach seeds are! a little redemption in the dirt...

this is not Tuesday's Tip

2010-04-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

i don't have one.
i don't feel like coming up with one.

i'm bored and busy all at the same time.
my left contact has been irritating me for a few days (ever since i opened a new pair), so i opened a new "left." it's still bothering me. maybe it's my eye. maybe it's not.
i need a hair cut. i'm getting a hair cut tonight. i usually look forward to those. not today.
i had to spank tucker to get him to be quiet for quiet time. i hate that. i hate that i am the downer to a 4 year old's good time.
i've been watching old episodes of The West Wing. i really, really love that show. i've just started season 3 (it's what i do while i fold laundry, etc - my down time). lately, it's my escape from reality. sometimes i'd like to jump inside someone else's for a while. i know that the grass isn't any greener over there... but i wouldn't mind trading problems for a bit just so i can remember that mine aren't that bad. some days i just get tired of staring at them. you know?
we're having leftovers for dinner tonight and i don't care how anyone feels about that. the refrigerator needs my help, and it's the least i can do.
all the seeds i planted in my seed trays this year did not sprout. they did nothing. nothing. this is not a big deal, and yet, somehow, it has morphed into a metaphor for my life and i'm letting it drag me down to the trash heap where those seed cups will end up.

feel free to leave me a Tuesday's Tip as long as it does not involve a cliche about how "we all have those days."

Tuesday's Tip

2010-04-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

know what you know and know what you don't know. and don't apologize for either.

i've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and although it is not a nifty organizational trick, i think it bears mentioning as a noteworthy tip for women everywhere.

there's an unspoken expectation, sometimes self-inflicted and sometimes not, for moms to be superwomen. interestingly enough, i think most moms are! each of us have been equipped with an amazing amount of skill and talent to do something. too often, i think we focus on the particular skill we don't have.

let me give you an example. for a long time, i've been putting a bit of expectation on myself to learn to sew. i don't sew. i never took home-ec, my mom never taught me,... i just don't do it. i do a lot of other stuff - i cook, i garden, i organize, i teach, i write - i just don't sew. this made me feel like i was not quite complete. i don't know why. i don't have any real need to sew. everything i've ever wanted to do with a needle and thread, i've figured out - or i've found someone who could help me. that was my big revelation. yes, knowing how to sew would be a good thing. i may even learn some day. but, for now, i'm not less of a mom or homemaker because i don't. in fact, i've learned that knowing someone who does do the things i don't do, is just as good.

it's freeing to know that i can call a friend who is good with a sewing machine and say, "hey, i'd really like a new valance for my girls' bedroom, but i know i'll never get anywhere trying to do it myself. can you help me?" there is no shame in that. it doesn't make me weak to admit i'm not good at something. because, you know why? i'm good at other stuff. and sometimes, i get a phone call from someone saying, "hey, my closet is a wreck and i don't even know where to start. can you help me organize it?" and i do.

i help you. you help me. in the process we learn from each other and grow a bit. a co-op of supermoms, if you will. because no one wants to be super alone.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-04-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

i don't know about you, but i always think twice before i grab those flip-flops for the first time each spring. i'm not vain (or paranoid) enough to believe that everyone is staring at my feet, but i just like them looking a bit more... appropriate before they are all exposed and out there for the world to see. but i'm old fashioned. i still wear panty hose, too.

in a different life, i may be the woman getting weekly pedicures and manicures... but that's not my world. and, honestly, i'm not so sure the frugal part of me would allow such indulgences even if money (and time) weren't an issue. but they are - and because i believe that the lack of money and time are never excuses, i have a solution!

i do not keep my nails painted all the time. the winter (cold, wood heat, and constant washing) is a bit too harsh on my skin and nails. instead, i just moisturize like crazy and save the fancy stuff for nicer weather. here's my routine, however, for when i'm ready to move out of socks and into sandals.

first, you need a pumice stone.

these are not expensive or hard to come by - check your local drugstore or walmart - but they make all the difference in the world if you have rough, dry feet. i keep mine in the shower and every so often (more often in the summer) use it to smooth out the rough or calloused parts of my feet. don't overuse to the point of cuts or irritation... but you'll be surprised at a what a difference it can make! after that, i often use a body scrub of some sort to continue the process. i don't have a favorite, or i'd let you know.

i always try to coordinate this with an evening shower for the following reason: after your shower (or after you've soaked and scrubbed your feet), generously apply a very rich cream or lotion. i recommend lay it on thick by bath and body works.

you may have a favorite already, but you want something that is so rich that you feel like you can't really rub it all in - the kind where you don't want to touch anything afterwards. in fact, vaseline works in a pinch. another good one is mary kay's extra emollient night cream. it's meant for the face, but does wonders on dry feet and hands, as well. no matter what you use, be sure to apply generously and then put on a pair of clean socks and go to bed! easy enough... but when you wake up the next morning, you'll see the difference. i promise, it's the easiest and cheapest pedicure ever. from that point on, you can maintain by applying the lotion and socks at night as often as you can and by using the pumice as needed.

now, if you want to step up your pedicure to involve color, that's not so hard. i don't know about you, but i find that my the color i put on my toes always lasts longer than the color in my fingernails. so, i don't mind the bit of time it takes to apply nail polish. what i do hate, however, is how, once i apply the color, i feel trapped by toes that won't dry! let's face it, most of us don't have time to sit around and wait for our toenail polish to harden. and, heaven help you if put it on right before bed - you wake up with sheet imprints on what you thought were glossy lacquered toes. so irritating... (can you tell i've thought about this way too much?) thankfully, i've found a solution to this problem, too.

i discovered Rimmel nail polish.

seriously, i threw out all my nail polish and now use only rimmel. extreme? maybe. but, for me, if nail polish does not dry quickly in the 2 minutes i took to actually paint my nails so that i can get back to making dinner or folding laundry or driving someone somewhere it just isn't worth it. but besides that, if the quick drying polish chips off the first time i wash dishes, it also isn't worth it. somehow, rimmel has managed to meet both my needs (and very affordably, i might add). and, honestly, knowing my nails may last the week makes it worth the effort it takes to carve out a few minutes of my day.

maybe this seems like a lot of consideration for something so frivolous. maybe. but i have a feeling that i'm not the only one out there fighting this battle. any one else wanna come clean?

Tuesday's Tip

2010-03-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

i have been waiting to post this tip for several months now but thought it would go best with the onset of spring.

clearly, coffee is one of my passions. and nothing says spring like exchanging a few hot coffee drinks for cold ones. everyone has their favorites, but i really like a good iced coffee. nothing gives you a kick in the pants like iced coffee... and i think because it's usually stronger (since it's been around for a bit) and you can drink it so much faster. an all around good combination.

for these reasons, i always have iced coffee on hand at home. there's nothing to it... no extra cost or effort. you just need to be a bit proactive! here's the trick... you know how every morning (or whenever you make coffee), there is usually a bit left over in the pot that you end up dumping out when you rinse out your pot? instead of pouring that little bit down the drain, pour it in a pitcher that you can keep in the refrigerator. every time you make a pot of coffee, add your leftovers to that pitcher. i'm always amazed at how quickly i can fill a pitcher without having to make any extra coffee. now, there are times when i will make an extra large pot of coffee (or a separate pot!) for the sole purpose of making iced coffee. but this system works well because it's making good use of what you already have - eliminating waste and furthering your resources. always a good thing!

now, when it comes to serving your iced coffee, here a few more tips. first, be sure to stir the pitcher every now and again (and empty it every so often to start over) because, like tea, coffee does end up with some residual "sediment." par for the course, yes, but not something you want to find in your glass. also, if you prefer sweetened or flavored iced coffee, simply add flavored creamer to a glass of ice and then add your iced coffee. stir briskly and then, if you can, drink with a straw! ok, so you don't have to use the straw, but i always enjoy cold coffee beverages better with a straw AND your teeth will benefit (and be whiter) without the extra exposure to the coffee.

bottoms up!

and so it goes...

2010-03-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

nothing terribly exciting or blog-worthy going on here. and, yet,... here goes.

i am enjoying the Little House books but have been forbidden by chloe to move on to the next book until she has caught up. lucy has also decided to join us and is starting the first book. patrick and tucker are enjoying watching the series with us, but that's about it!

parsley and i are going to the vet in a bit. she's had diarrhea for almost a week now, and i have no idea why. i tried changing her food back to the "good stuff" but it didn't help. thankfully, she's housebroken enough to only do the deed outside. regrettably, however, she only has the urge to do said deed in the middle of the night. several times. so, every other hour, she whines and cries, until i drag myself out of bed and take her outside. and then we repeat that process until morning. this has made for a long and tiring week. add to that the fact that i woke up yesterday with a very stiff and sore neck... good times.

thankfully, we have a pretty easy weekend ahead of us. the kids are spending tonight at my parents' house, so chuck and i are hoping to put a big dent in season 2 of Lost. i am actually pretty excited about that. tomorrow morning is a staff meeting for church... and those are always fun, too.

i wish i had a bit more energy to make this day more productive, but i'm not seeing that happening. maybe more coffee?

maybe.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-03-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

i realize i'm preaching to the choir with this one. but just in case...

embrace your local library. for real. i realize the value of this tip is largely dependent on what state you live in (thus determining how much money your library has to work with), but chances are your library offers things of which you're not yet aware!

when i lived in pennsylvania, our county library was little more than a double-wide trailer, which is why i then discovered the joys of used book stores (but that's a whole other tip!). here in maryland, however, the library system is quite complex and accommodating. when my four children were all pre-schoolers, i avoided the library in an attempt to preserve the peace and quiet that i felt other readers deserved. however, i soon learned that i can still enjoy the library without even having to take my little noisemakers in! i browse and reserve all my books online. i even get an email to let me know when my books are available and then others to inform me that they are almost due. i am also able to renew materials online. to make this whole system even better, my library (and many others) has a drive-thru window that has hours beyond the normal library hours so that i never have to get out of my car.

now, i will say that it took me a while to discover all this. i had grown up in the baltimore county library system but only recently discovered that the harford county library is the place for me. and, until baltimore county stops charging for dvd rentals, they won't get my business. it's amazing! i can rent movies and video games for free. and, if i'm willing to be a bit proactive, i can make sure they have what i want ahead of time so that they are ready to be picked up when i want them.

beyond free movies, i can also "rent" audiobooks online which can then be uploaded to my ipod or mp3 player. and another service i have not even used yet is all the free workshops and classes the library offers. there are all kinds of fun classes for kids, but there are others for adults - and they are not all book related. i've seen quilting, gardening, video gaming, dancing, etc all offered at my local library.

one final perk is that, although the library system works on a county-wide basis, it is interactive with every other system in the state. which means that when my son discovers some obscure Star Wars novel which can not be found anywhere (except Amazon for $80), my local library discovered it 2 counties over, requested it, and emailed me two weeks later to let me know it was ready. i like that.

keeping up with Chloe

2010-03-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

chloe is seven and growing up in ways that constantly amaze me. sometimes i look at my children and am forced to recognize that they are no longer toddlers or even preschoolers... they are becoming, well,... people. part of letting children become people, i'm learning, is allowing them to make choices while still, very subtly, guiding those choices. sure, dictating their every move is still possible, but i don't think that is the wisest option in the long run.

recently, i spoke with chloe about choosing some good books to read. she was not making inappropriate choices, but i felt that she wasn't really choosing anything. being an avid and very good reader at such a young age has its challenges, believe it or not. the books that are written for K-2 are typically easy readers. since she had read those in preK, finding something that was challenging and yet age-appropriate has not been easy. i don't feel the need to completely censor everything, but i also don't want my 7 year old daughter only reading books about teenage girls and dating. we'll have enough of that. some day.

so, i decided to try a different approach. patrick and chuck have enjoyed reading the same books and then discussing them for some time. (patrick, of course, is another story. presently that boy is reading his second book by Tolkien. he's a machine.) doing this allows chuck a good starting point for discussion with patrick, as well as allowing him a window into what he's reading. so, in similar fashion, i told chloe that if she would read the Little House books, i'd read them with her. she gladly accepted the challenge and has enjoyed trying to stay ahead of me and talking about the parts that have caught her attention. interestingly enough, i never read these books as a child, so now i get to enjoy them as well. her added bonus is that we are also renting the tv series from the library, one disc at a time. the kids are all loving them. and, truly, it's nice to be able to return to something that is just a bit simpler... and safer.

catching up with the rest of the world

2010-03-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

so, i've felt as if i've dropped off the face of cyber-earth lately. nothing major going on... just life. but sometimes that's all it takes.

something fun that's been taking up our free time is watching Lost, a series that everyone else seems to follow. although we feel a bit behind the times, chuck and i have enjoyed watching such a suspenseful series this way. we can watch it instantly with Netflix - no commercials, no waiting for the next episode. and, honestly, i don't know how the rest of you have waited it out each week. this show is killing me! we're hoping to finish season 1 tonight... but that's about 5 episodes. hmm...

vegas or bust... (or plan B... but either way...)

2010-02-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

we leave tomorrow!
although chuck and i are not exactly "Vegas people" we are "get away for a few days" kinda people, and this trip is coming at a great time...
for those of you who don't know, we are heading to Las Vegas for a children's ministry conference (for real!) at the Church of South Las Vegas. seems like an odd place to hold such a conference, but the itinerary really looks great and they've given us great accommodations! we are staying at Southpoint, leaving bwi tomorrow and returning home on sunday. my incredibly generous mother in law is arriving today to stay with the kids for the duration for our trip. i really think they'll have a great time with her, and i know that chuck and i will enjoy a few days away. he has been really busy lately. this week is his school's science fair, which he and another teacher are running this year. on top of that, he's been taking online grad classes which require paper after paper after paper. he's wondering if he'll be able to slow himself down enough to relax. i think he'll be fine...

i've had a few friends give me some pointers as to what we should see while in Vegas. thankfully, we don't need to spend a lot of money to have a good time, and it sounds like there is lots to do just by "seeing the sights." even better, the forecast predicts weather in the mid to upper 60s and that sounds great right about now. i've decided to enjoy this for all it's worth... especially since it comes right around the same time as my birthday. but even for all the fun stuff that goes along with the trip, at this point, all the down time in the airport and on the plane is what sounds the most appealing. all that time to SIT and do nothing... unless i feel like it. what a luxury.

btw, i'll have more to say later, but the book i just read was really very good. check it out if you get the chance...

have a great week, everyone!

keeping on

2010-02-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

blogging has presented me with mixed feelings lately. i'd love to whine about it... but as i've long since vowed not to use my blog as my own personal pity party (that gets old really fast) i'm going to brush past it.

there. i'm done.

today marks Day 11 of being snowed in with chuck and the kids. with the exception of last friday night when we ate at arby's and sunday when we made it to church, we have been in this house. i am not tired of chuck. i am not tired of my kids. actually, i have rather enjoyed it - like an unexpected vacation. however, just like at the end of any vacation, i am ready to get back to my ordered, structured life. the kids miss school and are ready for a change of scenery. as i type this, they are doing school, because, even though we don't homeschool, we are firm believers that we, as their parents, are responsible for our children's education. i'll leave it at that. for now.

rather than feel trapped in my own home, i've tried to see this as an opportunity to focus inward for a change. no, i have not gone crazy working on home projects (although chuck did get 2 walls spackled and painted!)... but i did get to spend some extra time in the kitchen and have tried several new recipes and have a few meals in the freezer as a result. that's a good feeling.

focusing on the inside of my house has allowed me to really get a closer look at my children, as well. sometimes, the everyday pace of life doesn't provide as many opportunities to be intentional about parenting. two blizzards in one week, however, does! here is what i have learned.

patrick, at 8 years old, is balancing the illusive line between being a young child and a young man. i had been noticing a difference in his attitude (patrick has never been blatantly disobedient, so parenting him can be challenging if we are not looking for the subtle stuff...) and chuck and i agreed that it was time he be held to a higher level of expectations. the mom in me has a hard time with this - seeing him be pushed, at times, into manhood (boy, get your coat on and get out here and help me shovel!) but i trust his father and agree that i want patrick to turn into a man like chuck rather than a woman like me. the result is an aspiring young man who is starting to think more about others than he does about himself.

having 7 year old chloe at home with me has been very eye opening as well. typically, she is my child who flies under the radar - never bothering us with problems because she does not enjoy being the center of attention. ironically, though, she seems to have the best sense of humor and is so dry that she can put either one of us in our place without even cracking a smile. i love that about her. even more, i love that when, on occasion, she throws out a sarcastic comment at the wrong time, she'll quickly say, "i've gone too far, huh?" man, i love her. she and i were talking this past week and i asked her what bothers her the most. she told me she gets freaked out being in the same room with any arguing. she gets nervous when someone in her class is being corrected by the teacher or if her friends are fighting. in fact, she told me that she'd rather be on stage in front of a hundreds of people than be present during a disagreement. i've always known that she is the peace keeper in the family, but it's been interesting to discover that one reason for this is that she'd rather give in than cause conflict. i can certainly identify with this part of her personality, but i am trying to teach her that sometimes it's ok to disagree.

lucy is embracing 5 and is so good at it! as always, she loves life and wants to experience every last bit of it. however, she seems to really be trying to grow up a bit. the older she gets, the more sensitive and less silly she becomes. this is a problem when her 4 year old brother knows every last button to push to set her off. we've been teaching her that allowing him to make her cry makes him her boss because she's giving him power. it's a hard lesson to learn... but she's getting there. one surprising aspect of lucy's personality is how when the house gets a little too chaotic (emotionally) she runs around trying to clean up. as fun-loving as she is, she loves to see things in their place. whenever i catch her doing this, she tells me she's practicing to be a mom. i don't know how to feel about that... especially if she thinks that's all i do!

4 year old tucker is growing up fast. having been raised by us and grandma has had its blessings and challenges because he has learned where to run and hide! as he is growing out of toddler-hood and into childhood, he is learning that he is responsible for his choices... which means that he will have to sit at the table for an hour and a half to eat dinner, he can get himself dressed, and he will not win in a verbal battle with his parents. by far, tucker has been our most strong-willed child - so, at times, we've had to step up our parenting intensity a bit. it's been good, though, because he's starting to self-correct and just avoid the bad choices altogether. he is still fascinated by numbers and spends most of his time trying to figure out who's number (age) is bigger and how many more years it will take him to get to another perosn's number. by far, though, tucker's most exciting bit of progress is that he is now reading! we're working our way through the Victory Drill Book and other short vowel story books, and he is working on mastering his first ring of sight words. we're so proud of him, and reading has been a great way to help him grow up.

chuck and i have really enjoyed the time we've had together as a family and as a couple for the past week and a half. i decided to resist the temptation to get sick of being stuck with my family... and i'm glad i did.

Tuesday's Tip - kinda...

2010-02-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

this year for christmas, my mother gave this to everyone in her extended family. using her apple publisher, she made a book Granny - her and her sisters' grandmother. the book contained pictures and memories and, most importantly, recipes. granny was known for her amazing cooking... and mom didn't want anyone to forget.

i thought this was a really great idea, because, in a day and age, where life seems to only be about progress, i think it is very important to preserve memories. not everyone is a scrapbooker or an on-line photo-book-maker. but there are other ways to keep memories alive. it may be through simple photographs. maybe it's a box of memorabilia. it could be a quilt or a shadow box. most simply, it can be in the form of stories told and retold. no matter how they are preserved, memories deserve a place in our lives and should be revisited often.

one of my mother's favorite ways to revisit Granny's memory is by making her Sour Beef and Dumplings. i recently mentioned this on facebook and had a few requests for her recipe. i have to admit, i've never made it. for now, mom is the one to keep this memory alive. but one day, i imagine it will be my turn... and i'll be ready.

Granny's Sour Beef and Dumplings

4 lbs lean beef cubes
1 tbsp pickling spice tied in a cloth
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Place all the above ingredients in 1/2 and 1/2 vinegar and water to cover. Soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Cook until meat is tender. Thicken with 6 - 8 ginger snaps dissolved in cold water.
Taste: if too sour, add water
   if too sweet, add vinegar
   if too thin, add ginger snaps

Peel 5 lbs of fresh potatoes and push through a sieve or ricer. (you can also mash them by hand). Let cool completely.
Add 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
   1 tbsp salt
   1 cup flour
   4 beaten eggs
Work together with hands.
Toast 4 slices of bread and cut into cubes. Roll dumplings into large ball with some bread cubes in the center.
Bring large pot of water to boil (do NOT salt water). Drop dumplings into boiling water. Once they come to the top, boil 5 minutes and then remove.

Some of my mom's comments...
as a younger girl, i always thought this was such an ordeal to make. mostly, it takes planning since you have to soak the meat and you need cheese cloth for the spices. i learned to always have cheese cloth in my kitchen drawer, pickling spice and ginger snaps in the cupboard, and i cook mine in the crockpot. it's a great aroma to come home to after church on sunday...

Tuesday's Tip

2010-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

we are in the midst of cold and flu season, and anyone with more than one person (especially more than one CHILD) in their house will tell you that germ-preventative measures are priceless - no matter what they are. well, today's tip is one of the best when it comes to keeping the germs at bay, and it is practically cost-free and effortless (a great combination). this tip was given to me by our school nurse as well as our dental hygienist. both recommended we soak our toothbrushes in listerine (or any other such disinfecting mouth wash) after anyone has been sick. our hygienist told me that no matter those little gadgets out there say, you can NOT sterilize your toothbrush. you can, however, sanitize them. and that is exactly what i do.

i like this idea so much that i soak our toothbrushes once a week. i do it when i'm cleaning the bathroom (a good way to remember). it doesn't take much listerine - and i just leave them to soak until we're ready to use them that night. sometimes, if we're dealing with a lot of sickness in the house, i store the "infected" individual's toothbrush in the mouthwash until they are healthy.

"she is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."

2010-01-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

thank you, louisa may alcott, for that bit of truth. i'll be the first to admit that my brain has been turned by books... more often than not. i'm sure i'm not the only one. still, people ask me all the time, "when in the world do you find time to read??" i guess that's a fair question. and there have been phases of my life where i have not picked up a book for months at a time. really. but if i were to be perfectly honest, i am happiest when i am in the middle of some book - so, i make time to read. i see it as an investment in my mental health. reading can be a great escape... and sometimes a mental escape can be just as effective (and affordable) as a physical retreat. however, with four children and a busy household, my approach to reading has changed a bit. there was a time i could lose myself in between the pages of a novel for hours at a time. lately, i don't do anything for hours... except maybe sleep - and even that isn't always completely dependable. now, i keep a book handy and read during those "in-between" moments of my day: waiting at the bus stop, waiting for water to boil, waiting for the dryer to finish, waiting for the commercials to be over... you'd be surprised how much reading you can get done during 5 minute intervals all throughout your day. sunday afternoons still offer a nice chunk of reading time... if you can resist that sunday afternoon nap.

i just finished reading Sarah by Marek Halter. i love historical fiction of any kind - and i think i've read books from all eras. lately, i've really enjoyed fictionalized accounts of biblical characters, especially women. halter wrote a trilogy in which he tells the stories of three such women. what i like best about this book is that the author does not pretend that just because the people are from the Bible they are refined and polished. rather, the story tells of characters who are barely civilized - very raw and uncultured by our standards. and yet, they are real and relatable. i look forward to reading the remaining two books in his Canaan Trilogy.

today, i'm planning on starting the Harmony books. i had heard them compared to Jan Karon's Mitford series which i loved. i read this entire series (plus several other books) during the first trimester of my pregnancy with tucker. seriously, i think i cleared 11 books in less than 3 weeks. talk about an escape from reality - i have tried every anti-nausea medication known to man but nothing gave me a break from morning sickness as much as sitting perfectly still with a good book (and a belly full of protein... when i could keep it down). but i digress... the mitford books are charming and entertaining and endearing and so well written. i loved them so much that i also listened to the audio books last year (enjoying audio books while running errands can make your most mundane tasks so much more bearable) and was able to introduce them to my children. patrick, especially, loved them and i think he'll enjoy reading them one day, too. i am in the midst of collecting the series (ie, looking for them cheap in various and sundry places) and think that by the time i have all of them i'll be ready to read them again! so.... i'm really hoping that the Harmony books are just as good. i'll let you know.

and, lest you think i am purely a self-indulgent reader of fiction, i also have at least one non-fiction book i'm reading at any given point. i just picked up She's Gonna Blow by Julie Barnhill. i find that parenting and marriage books keep me reading, since they are most applicable right now.

so, what are you reading these days?

Tuesday's Tip

2010-01-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

don't let your schedule control you...

learn to control your schedule.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-01-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

today's tuesday's tip is brought to you courtesy of my sister, laura.

i like this tip because it's a good christmas follow-up... and it involves using something you already have (instead of buying something). laura takes old christmas cards (like the ones she received this year) and cuts off the front pictures to use them as gift tags on next year's presents. you can make these gift tags as small or as large as you want and then simply use a hole punch to make a place to thread ribbon through and attach to your gift. this is a great plan for when you run out of those nifty little sticky-gift labels and (if you're like me) refuse to buy more and simply resort to using a ball-point pen to label gifts. yes, i do that. reused cards make gifts look a bit more special but won't cost you a thing. and that's important to me. it's not that i don't like to spend money on gifts... but the actual wrapping and tags, which are quickly disregarded and thrown away, are not where i want the bulk of my finances to go.

another reason this tip works for me is because it gives a second use to christmas cards. i enjoy sending cards. i send a lot (much to my husband's amazement: do we know that many people??) but, again, during a season when money is burnt up as quickly as the wood in my woodbox during these 20 degree winters, i don't like spending the bulk of my resources on christmas cards. granted, they are usually appreciated, but they serve a rather short-lived purpose. this year, i actually ordered our christmas cards in july simply because i found a really great deal. laura's reminder to find another use for these friendly hellos stretches their value a bit more.

let me 'splain. no, there is too much. let me sum up.

2010-01-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

100 points to anyone who identifies that reference.

either way, summing up is going to be a better idea than explaining the last few weeks.

of course, the holidays are always a busy time... and we've enjoyed every last bit.

the kids enjoyed the 2 ft of snow we got right before christmas - giving them just one day of school that week. chuck and i had lots of fun shoveling and longingly watching our neighbors using their snowblowers. thankfully, one of them helped out with the end of our driveway at one point. still, i can't help but wonder if maybe that's on chuck's list for the future.

i really enjoyed watching the kids experience christmas each year. we had everything ready to go on christmas eve, so we had lots of time to sit around and enjoy each other. christmas morning was pretty stress-free, too. the kids seem to be developing a true appreciation for watching everyone open their presents as well as opening their own. they were pretty patient - and appreciative. and that is something that takes time!

one of my bigger challenges this christmas was working and traveling with a 3 month old puppy. parsley had been learning the ropes at our house but was not demonstrating the best manners when it came to other people. as a puppy, she's full of energy - but beyond that, i have a feeling she's rather high energy. she did well with all the traveling - and with being in different places. i had to spend quite a bit of extra time walking her while we were away in an attempt to wear her out before putting her back in her crate, but it was kind of nice. and... our many walks also helped to keep off those dreaded christmas pounds that usually find their way into my jeans. all in all, a good deal!

experiencing the chaos of christmas and visiting friends with a puppy is a lot like experiencing it with a newborn - it takes a lot of extra time and effort. and i came away from the last few weeks wondering if i was making any progress with this dog at all. my multiple trips outside to have her use the "potty" were spent watching her eat snow... only to come inside and do her business on the kitchen floor. frustrating, to say the least. any little freedom would get her so hyper that i was keeping her crated as much as possible. all the while, i was reading any advice i could find... only to see that i was doing all the right things. such information should be comforting, but i guess i was just being a bit impatient. (imagine that!) thankfully, the holidays - and all their excitement - came and went, the kids went back to school, our "normal" schedule resumed, and parsley turned 4 months. amazingly enough, that combination of events had a magical effect on our pup, and she seems to have turned a corner. she seems to really "get" her housebreaking regime (with a few puddles here and there) and has even earned quite a bit of supervised freedom to run around in the house for most of the day. as i write this post, she's on the floor with tucker and kyle and is peacefully chewing on a bone instead of chewing on them. i feel so proud.

for all of you non-dog people, i apologize for all of the extra info. anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows that these things are big deal. and, regardless, i'm pleased to see our lives return to some sense of normalcy.

on another note, this weekend, my family will finally be celebrating our christmas. nothing like getting around to it 2 weeks later. ah, well, when you have 5 siblings with 5 different families and lives it's not as easy as it used to be! my mother is trying to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing... but this is a first for her. i've decided that any christmas celebration that takes place after new year's will from now on be referred to as Festivus. and there will be the airing of grievances. a good time will be had by all, i'm sure.

i still need to upload all our christmas pictures... but i figured i'd wait till all the christmases were over. we also, finally, had our family pictures taken - for the first time in 5 years, meaning that we now have a complete family picture. complete with tucker, that is.

hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far... and that you are enjoying the return to normalcy.

Tuesday's Tip

2010-01-05T06:07:00.001-08:00

we're a people who love our coffee.

a drive through any american town will tell you that. if you can't find a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, you're sure to stumble upon a McDonalds, sporting their "McCafe."

just ask the 108,000,000 american coffee consumers in the US. it is reported that 54% of americans drink coffee daily. these days, i'm not sure if there's anything that such a large majority of us have in common. so, it stands to reason that we would spend billions of dollars on our dark habit each year.

i've learned, however, that a good cup of coffee doesn't have to cost you $4 a cup; nor do you have to leave the warmth and comfort of your own home to get it. personally, i don't think you need to pay an arm and a leg on fancy equipment or gourmet beans, either. invest in a decent coffee maker (and by that, i mean one that makes a super HOT pot of coffee) and find the brand of coffee you like. i'm a big DD fan but there are other brands out there that are also good (and not as expensive). aldi sells a bag of coffee they've aptly named "donut store blend," complete with pink and orange lettering, that tastes pretty similar.

many of you may remember last year's quest for my perfect coffee maker. i'm not sure if it exists, but i decided that the key is finding what's right for me. in my case, it was the hamilton beach summit brewstation. i love it. makes my coffee fast and HOT and even beeps when it's done. but it has another nifty feature, which brings me to my final factor in making good coffee at home. it reminds me when my coffee maker needs to be cleaned!

you see... right next to the time - it says "clean." brilliant. not that i wouldn't remember on my own - i learned a long time ago that a clean coffee maker makes even the cheapest coffee taste better. but it's nice to be reminded so that i make sure it happens on a regular basis.

first, let me say, that i learned early on from my mother to never put your coffee maker parts in the dishwasher. (or many other appliance accessories, for that matter) regrettably, and much to my mother's occasional irritation, my father has not learned this same lesson. handwashing the carafe (if you have one; this one does not) and filter basket helps to maintain the integrity of your appliance, thus making it last longer. she also taught me, however, that a clean carafe is not the same as a clean coffee maker.

you can buy coffee maker cleaners from different manufacturers, but i've never used them. good old fashioned vinegar and water does the trick for me.

fill your coffee maker with equal parts vinegar and water and then turn it on. the odor won't be as aromatic as a pot of coffee, but it does the trick. when it's finished, pour it out and refill the coffee maker with just water, and run it through again. once that is finished, i clean out my reservoir (or carafe, in "normal" coffee makers) by filling it with warm soapy water and allowing it to soak for a bit before using a brush or sponge to give it a thorough scrubbing.

the result is an amazingly fresh pot of coffee. fresh enough that you'll remember to clean it out the next month.

Tuesday's Tip

2009-12-22T14:34:00.001-08:00

well, i debated as to whether or not to have a tip this tuesday. but the one i thought of seemed fitting, so here it is:

know when to not bother posting.

really, this works with all sorts of things. you can have wonderful ideas and clever schemes, but sometimes, even time-saving methods are not as productive. i'm a big lover of schedules and lists, but i've learned that spontaneity (shudder) and flexibility are just as valuable. for example, when i decided i would post Tuesday's Tips, i was determined to do it every tuesday. even the tuesday before christmas when no one is bothering to read anyone's blogs. then, i thought about it, and i realized that doing so would be counter-productive. anyone with a blog knows that they get quite neglected over the holidays. mine sure does. so much so that my husband, after reading my last few ignored posts, decided to leave a comment - only he did it in my name since he doesn't have an account, making it look as though i was commenting on my own blog in an effort to make it seem read by someone. it made me laugh.

enjoy your christmas... and throw caution to the wind.

i'll try.

4 days and counting

2009-12-21T04:38:00.000-08:00

watching our christmas chain wane this year has almost been surreal... i realize that the busier one is (or feels), the faster far-off dates seem to approach. but, 4 days! wow...

the amazing two feet of snow we got over the weekend has really added a fun and atypical feel to our christmas this year. while we've always dreamt of a white christmas, our maryland reality has usually been a 50 degree christmas. so the added thrill of snow to our already excited week-before christmas house has brought it all to a new level. the kids and chuck are home today which means they now have only 2 days of school this week - great for them... but if these kids don't get out of the house, i'm never gonna get their presents wrapped! usually, we do it in the evenings once they're in bed, but they've been staying up later since they haven't had to get up early in the mornings and i've been exhausted by bedtime! in the past, i've had all the presents under the tree by now... oh well. the slow addition of gifts day by day seems to add to their excitement and anticipation. (yes, my kids' presents show up under the tree before christmas morning...)

my shopping is done... with the exception of a few gifts for my side of the family with whom we are not celebrating til january 9th (so i have time). i know there are a few odds and ends i still need to pick up before friday, but it always feels like there is something else that could be done. cookies are made; i even remembered the loaves of breakfast bread in the freezer that i wanted to use for the holidays.

on friday night, the kids and i waited outside for our local fire company to drive by with santa. we weren't exactly sure what time they were coming, and since they don't drive all the way up our hill, we had to walk to the corner to make sure we didn't miss it. it was cold. pre-snow cold. and right about the time we decided to give up and go back inside we heard the sirens approaching. i'm not sure what was more exciting - the fire truck on our street or the candy canes, but they enjoyed the fun of it all. tonight, we're taking our annual trip to the mall - for no other reason than to experience the mall at christmas. we never have any real shopping to do, but my family has been doing that since we were kids, and it's a fun way to see each other and hang out.

the further possibility of snow on christmas day adds another bit of excitement but it also leaves us with the possibility that we'll be home-bound for the first time. depending on how bad the weather is, we may not be braving the 4 hour drive through the mountains to be with family that day. not sure what that will be like. different. very different.

i feel abnormally laid-back about everything this year. oh, i'm excited, but i don't feel uptight - and, unfortunately, that word has described me all too often in the past. the fact that i tend to gradually prepare for big events, helps... but i've been thinking a lot about my christmas last year. and, after everything i went through last year at christmas, doing all this on two able-bodied feet seems to be no big deal. i'm not saying a broken ankle is a major health issue... and my ultimate lesson in that instance was that an injury is nowhere near as devastating as poor health, and for that, i'm grateful.

every year, i try to see past the fun stuff of christmas (which i don't downplay or dread - it's FUN!) to learn a lesson. and, something i've thought a lot about this advent season is that my joy is not dependent on my circumstances or on the people in my life. it's dependent on me and my choice. and, today, i choose joy!

peace, please. just peace.

2009-12-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

technically, this is not an orginal post - and if you've followed me since my xanga days, you may recognize it. but i was feeling contemplative, and this still sums it up...

i've been thinking about christmas...and how everyone kinda places some magical value on the holiday - not in a cheesy, commercial way - but in the honest-to-goodness-christmas-is-an-amazing-time-of-year kinda way. and i've decided that people think more about....everything...at christmas-time. pleasures are more joyous and pain is more devastating during the holidays...for whatever reason. so, i'm guessing it's for that same "magical" reason that people think more about "peace on earth, goodwill toward men." i mean, ultimately, that's something we want all the time, right? and yet...our material christmas lists seem petty and immature compared to others' lofty requests for peace on earth, so much so that we feel almost guilty for saying what we really want on christmas morning. i'm not gonna lie,...this has always annoyed me. for better or for worse, christmas has become a time when we give gifts, and i enjoy that. i think we can have both - i do. so, this year, i've thought a lot about peace on earth...and how the whole concept is just too big to get my head around and, so consequently, i give up and get annoyed. i mean, yes, ultimately, peace is from God and our prayer for world peace is one we give to Him. but, then it occurred to me, that having or contributing to peace on earth doesn't mean i'm responsible for solving each world crisis one by one. for me, peace on earth means peace in my house...peace with my family...peace in my sphere of influence. so, this year, that's my christmas wish - something that i can really grab hold of and work towards. what an amazing gift to give eachother - to let go of each and every grievance and disagreement...and just have peace. and not just to be put down and then picked back up after the holidays - but to really let it go; to remember that our love for eachother and for righteousness is so much more important than the pain we may experience at the hands of those around us. simply, that is what peace is. and yes, it comes from Jesus, but more importantly, it comes when we let Jesus work through us.

so that's it. that's my christmas wish. all i really want is peace.
and a GPS.

what i read

2009-12-17T05:14:00.000-08:00

i know that there are bad books out there... but i'm getting annoyed at how frequently i seem to be reading them. generally speaking, i find that an author who is listed as "bestselling" will be worth reading... on some level. not so in this case. in fact, i decided that if this particular author is a bestselling author, that holds out a lot of hope for anyone who wishes to be the same. and that, my friends, is about the only good thing i have to say about this particular reading experience.

the story is simple... kinda. a 20-something girl on her way back to her childhood home for christmas discovers a man in the middle of the road dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier. the man claims to be from that era, somehow lost in time. after much doubt and confusion, the girl and her family decide to try to get the guy back to his time. of course, in the meantime, they discover that their home just happens to be his childhood home. and then, coincidentally, they discover secret diaries that belonged to his sister in the attic (even though they'd lived in the house for 30 plus years. good grief). on top of that, the father (a mad scientist-type) and the mother (a hippy, anything's possible Catholic Wiccan - what the heck???) join forces to come up with a potion and radio frequency that will transport the lost soldier back to 1776.

the ridiculous story would have possibly been more palatable had the writing not been so trite and cliched. about a quarter of the way through, i knew i did not like the book but refused to stop reading simply for curiousity's sake - i wanted to see how much more ridiculous it could get. the snow storm of rose petals at the end sealed the deal.

i thought christmas fiction would be a nice "feel-good" addition to the holiday season. i'm not doing trying, but i really hope my next pick is better!

Tuesday's Tip

2009-12-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

this is one of my favorite tips for this time of year, and i'm pleased to say that i came up with it all by myself.

nothing says winter like static cling. and nothing says static cling like little girls' hair (or little boys if you don't buzz 'em short like i do). when my girls were toddlers, i couldn't figure out what to do about their crazy fly-away hair in the winter. so i started carrying dryer sheets.

let me explain.

here is lucy, with a not-so-horrible case of static cling hair.

as you can see, a quick rub of the dryer sheet all over her head, and the static is gone. i actually keep them in my winter coat pocket and i've started putting them in my girls' coat pockets, too. they even come in handy when you've got static issues with pants or skirts and slips (or am i the only one out there who still wears a slip?)

many thanks to my little model. she may have a calling... what do you think?

what i read

2009-12-10T10:59:00.001-08:00

laugh all you want, but i am that person who actually reads books on how to properly raise a dog.

cesar millan is also known as "the dog whisperer" and can be seen on the National Geographic Channel on friday nights (or every day at 2:00 pm). i had seen enough of his show to know that he was the one i wanted to emulate with our next pet. chuck and i have had several pets, but i really wanted to know as much as i could this time around. and, honestly, this is just me. i love to research... anything. if it's something i'm interested in, i will read and research til i feel properly educated. so, having a new puppy, it made sense that i'd try to find a good book on getting her started on the right foot... or paw.

this book is a fantastic one to read when you are ready to introduce a puppy to your family. his techniques may not seem to be what most people would want to do with their pet, but cesar's approach is to not treat your dog like a human member of the family (which is what most people tend to do) but rather a pack member with you as the pack leader.

just as with raising children, raising dogs is all about consistency. we've now had Parsley for one month, and i have to admit that there were days when i though, "oh my word, what have i gotten myself into. this dog is crazy." but, now, four weeks later, i am happy to report that, no, she's not crazy. she's a puppy! and with very consistent and (usually) patient instruction, she is really making great progress. she is completely crate trained (meaning she will not pee or poop when she's in her crate) and she uses the pee pads with some accuracy while penned in the kitchen. she's even starting to master he walk on the leash with minimal tension (and this is a big deal...). i'm really proud of her and of our progress.

the kids are doing exceptionally well, too. i've been able to instruct them with what i've learned, and they are all doing a great job becoming mini-pack leaders. each of them can say "no" or hold their hand out and she will respond by sitting or stopping most of the time.

thank God for resources like this book!

happy birthday, tucker!

2009-12-09T05:55:00.001-08:00

i can hardly believe my little boy is 4 today. to some degree, i say that every time my kids have a birthday. but watching your youngest grow so fast is a bit unsettling.

lately, i find that he’s correcting me when i talk to him as if he’s “little.” and sometimes he’s the one teaching me the grown-up lessons.

like last week... he and i were on a quick shopping excursion to target to hit up some extra-appealing christmas deals. he was relatively patient while i searched for the right gifts (and then tried to hide them so he wouldn’t see them...) i promised him a snack if he was cooperative while i shopped, and he obliged; so we stopped at the target cafe on our way out. cookie for tucker. pretzel for me. as he sat and took tucker-sized nibbles from his giant cookie, all i could think about was how much i had to do that day... and how eager i was to get home and do it. my pretzel was gone in an embarrassingly short amount of time, but he was not even a quarter of a way through that cookie. i tried to encourage him to eat faster. i suggested he take it home with him. finally, i asked, “are you done yet?” to which my not-quite four year old son answered, “mommy, it’s not a race.”

huh...

true.

it’s not a race.

about the same time, i noticed an elderly woman in a wheelchair nearby, waiting for her freshly ordered starbucks drink. i thought about the life she may have lived... children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. i bet she thought they’d never get out of diapers, never stop fighting, never pick up their dirty clothes, never finish their dinner. and then, suddenly,...

it’s not a race.

maybe if i slowed down a bit, it wouldn’t seem to go by so fast.

maybe.

happy birthday, tucker...

Tuesday's Tip

2009-12-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

you'd think that with christmas coming, i'd have some kind of festive, yuletide tip. but, no.

rotting bananas. that's all i got...

i don't know about your family, but i seem to have a hard time figuring out who's gonna eat what when. one week, we don't seem to use up more than two loaves of bread. the next week, we've finished three in four days time. same thing with bananas. one day everyone wants one... the next day, i couldn't pay them to eat a banana. and this is what happens. i catch a glimpse of my fruit basket out of the corner of my eye and see this:

oh well... i guess i could just throw them out. but i don't. i don't feel as bad for misjudging the week's need for bananas if i can come up with some kind of use for the poor spotted, shriveled things.

so, instead of tossing them, i remove the peels and place the mushy bananas in a resealable freezer bag, labeling the bag with how many bananas are in it. then i put the bag in the freezer until i'm making something that requires bananas.... banana bread, banana muffins, banana pancakes,... smoothies. because it seems that whenever i have the desire to make one of those things, i don't have enough ripe bananas on hand. not anymore... i've got a few bags in the freezer right now.

Tuesday's Tip

2009-12-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

admittedly, this is not the most exciting of tips, but i'm hoping it's a bit more intriguing than sink cleaning.

if you have children, you've probably at some point made the decision to not tell your child of an upcoming event because you know that all you'll here from then til the "big day" is, "how many more days til ______?" that is why we use chains!

the idea came from my teaching years. i don't know of any teacher who hasn't used a construction-paper chain for something. it's a classic classroom christmas decoration, but i loved using them as countdowns, removing a link each day as we anticipated a big event (usually a break or summer vacation!). my kids now love them for the same reason.

this is tucker's birthday chain.

i usually make the chain about two weeks before the event (although christmas's chain goes up a bit earlier). each morning, the child wakes up and takes off a link - watching his chain get smaller and smaller as his birthday nears. this helps to cut out the inevitable, tireless barrage of questions: "how many days til my birthday?" it's also a great visual reminder for the rest of us that something is coming.

with four children and annual events like christmas, first day of school, last day of school, vacations, etc, these chains come in handy all year long. we're hoping to make our christmas chain tonight!

what i read

2009-11-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

well, i guess cleaning sinks doesn't thrill everyone else as much as it does me. better luck next week.

since i've been posting what i'm reading, i thought i'd try to give a quick review of what i've read. i just finished Cecilia Ahern's There's No Place Like Here.

i had read PS I Love You and really liked it (and not just because i loved, loved, loved the movie), so i thought i'd give another book by her a try. i did not love it. in fact, i'm not really sure i liked it. but you know that feeling when you're reading a book you don't want to put down and you eagerly wait for all your work to be done and the kids to be in bed so you can go read that book? yeah, well, i wasn't feeling it. in fact, i was feeling something more like, "i gotta finish this book so i can move on with my life." i know, i know, i'm allowed to not finish but i refuse. because sometimes books like this surprise you and then you're glad you stuck with it. i kept waiting for it to get good... but it was just too far-fetched for me.

i'm not a big fan of fantasy... and i think she was trying to combine contemporary chick-lit fiction with fantasy. the protagonist, Sandy Shortt, has an obsession with finding lost things and somehow ends up in this alternate universe where all the lost things go. i guess that sounds interesting, but there were too many loose ends left "undone" by the end. and i really never felt like the main character learned or grew through the challenge of the story.

oh well. i think i'd still like to read another of Ahern's books... just to give her a chance to redeem herself. if any of you have read her stuff, do you have suggestions?

Tuesday's Tip

2009-11-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

i like a clean sink. i'm not neurotic about it, but i will not leave bits of food and gunk in my sink. not to mention, the dirtier you leave a sink, the harder it is to clean when you "finally get around to it..."

today's tip is one i've developed over a few years of finding the most effective (and easiest) way to keep my kitchen sink clean.

here is my sink "before." not that bad... but it can look better.

here's what i use: vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water. these are things most of us have on hand, but they are also a more natural way to clean . i don't exclusively clean with all natural products, but i try to use them when i can.
start by dumping a good amount of baking soda in your drain (both, if you have a double sink). i probably use about 1/4 of a box. use your fingers to work the baking soda into the drain, then pour a good amount of vinegar down each drain (maybe a cup or two). quickly place the stoppers back in the drain - this allows the vinegar and baking soda to react and clean out the pipes. both ingredients also work to remove odors (and i hate any kind of odd odor - especially in my kitchen. multiple pregnancies seem to have left me with an incredibly acute sense of smell. it totally annoys my husband).

after the vinegar/baking soda combination has had a few minutes to sit, remove one stopper at a time and pour boiling water down each drain (placing the stopper back in the drain). i usually pour the water down my lesser used sink drain first and quickly stop it while i open the other drain. the second sink will sometimes appear to be clogged but really it's just a combination of the "stuff" working and the slight vacuum that's created from stopping up the other drain. this picture isn't so helpful, but you get the idea.

now that the drains are clean, it's time to scrub the sink. again, i choose more natural cleaners, but that is really up to you. here are two that i like and use often - from Shaklee and Melaleuca.
both companies make great non-toxic cleaning products as well as health and personal care items. and their stuff is super concentrated so you don't need much. that bottle on the left i have had for 2 years now... and i use it often.

this time, i used a bit of shaklee's Basic H concentrated cleaner. and i mean a bit. a couple drops in each sink...

add more hot water to fill the sink just an inch or two.

use your sink scrubber (doesn't everyone have one of those???) to scrub the sides and bottom of the sink while it is filled. i like to use a cloth to wipe down the counters while the sink is filled with hot, soapy water. you can even spot-clean your floors (with a separate cloth). remove the stoppers and scrub the drain and the stoppers well.
the result is a clean sink in less than 10 minutes!

Tuesday's Tip

2009-11-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

in an effort to be a bit more purposeful with my blogging, i'm trying out a theme on certain days. for now, i'm starting with tuesday's tip. over the years, i've stumbled upon and, consequently, accumulated a number of helpful household tidbits that i think are share-worthy. hope you find them helpful, too!

so, for today...

i finally have a set of matching glasses. this may not seem like a big deal, but when you start out small (with mismatched furniture and kitchenware), eventually having an actual "set" of anything is an accomplishment. i was happy to get rid of my hodgepodge collection of McDonald's and Burger King "collectors items" as well as random dollar store plastic tumblers. i like drinking out of glass.

the only problem with having a set of glasses is that when you have company, everyone's glass looks the same. this is great when you're setting your table. but what about after dinner when the table is clear and everyone wants to hold on to their drink? well, today's tip is totally credited to my ingenious husband. he has so many good ideas, and this one is one that we use over and over.

he grabbed the handful of those various colored rubber bracelets that had been collecting in our daughters' dress up drawer. you know,... they started out as only yellow - but now every cause has its own color and matching bracelet. it turns out they are perfect for marking drinking glasses. they are stretchy and, because they are rubber, won't slip off. we liked the idea so much that we officially commandeered the girls' bracelets and now keep them in a kitchen drawer for this very purpose.

if you don't have these rubber bracelets (or little girls who collect them), they are not too hard to come by. i'm not sure where exactly to buy them. around here, they just pop up like odd socks. however, if you do have little girls who have an "eclectic" collection of jewelry, try using their little elastic beaded bracelets. they especially work well on glasses that have a any kind of ridge or lip along the bottom. you could even break out the crafty bead set that their well-meaning family member gave them for their birthday that you stuffed onto the top shelf of their closet hoping they'd forget about it so you'd never have to endure the chaos of tiny hands trying to coordinate threading a 3 mm bead onto a piece of elastic all the while dropping them all over your floor and losing them in places like under the refrigerator and dining room table only for you to go skidding to your demise when you step on the forgotten pieces later that same day. well, i digress. clearly.

still, you should try it. it works :)

a new era

2009-11-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

well, this has been a long time coming.

i love dogs. i mean, i really love dogs. when we took our youth group on a missions trip to mexico, we made a border stop at walmart to stock up on gifts for the local children. the group bought crayons and candy. i bought dog biscuits for all the strays i had heard would abound.

early in our marriage i stressed chuck out every time we took a walk and i’d stop to talk to the neighborhood dogs. he was sure i’d get mauled.

suffice it to say, our 11 years of marriage has involved lots of pet-related debates, as well as on and off pet ownership. this time, it’s the real thing.

because, this time, i got MY dog.

i had been thinking about what i wanted. and what chuck did NOT like about dogs. he can’t stand the hair. and the poop. i told him there was not a bald, constipated dog breed out there. and if there was, we wouldn’t want it. but i know from childhood experience that there are small non-shedding dogs. (small dogs make small poop). so, a few months ago, i told chuck i had been thinking. and he totally surprised me by saying that he had been thinking, too.

so, i moved forward with the necessary research... knowing exactly what i wanted. and then, he shocked me even more by saying, “katie, you always loved that your parents actually bred dogs when you were a kid. why don’t you do that?” so, i did some more thinking. and some more research. (i like to research).

this week, we agreed that the time was right. i found the right dog... at the right place... for the right cost. and today, i made the drive with a wad of cash in my purse.

we joked about the fact that i was negotiating with a man whose last name was “stoltzfus” in lancaster county who had a distinctly pennsylvania dutch-sounding accent. but, i know from experience that not everyone named stoltzfus in lancaster is amish, thank you very much (i can just hear them now...) not to mention, what amish dog breeder is going to be advertising on the internet and taking phone calls.

well, i’ll tell you who - because i found him. tucker and i drove an hour north on winding country roads only to arrive at a farm. a farm that also had a one-room school house on its property. a farm with no electrical lines running to its house. and a buggy in it’s driveway. after a few minutes in the driveway, an amish woman about my age came out and told me that amos would be in from the fields in a few minutes. man, i can not tell you how much i wished i had brought my camera... except that, yes, i know that cameras are a no-no with the amish... but, come on. the irony.

so, after a few minutes, amos did indeed come along with a wiggly parcel wrapped in his coat. we chatted, i handed over the cash, he handed over the pup... and tucker and i made the hour long drive home... dodging buggies as we went.

the puppy is adorable, of course, but definitely smelled like an amish, farm puppy. the first thing we did when we got home was give her a bath. pictures and details will follow... but first, i’m waiting for my kids to come home from school and meet their surprise. they have no idea!

i’m still not exactly sure how the amish are on the internet...

stuck between a blog and a hard place

2009-11-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

i haven't been posting a lot lately.

it's not for lack of ideas. or things to say. i have lots of them. let's face it, i'm full of them. however, i'm stuck.

writing has always been my outlet. those who have known me the longest can attest to this. my hidden stash of spiral notebooks and bound journals can also attest to this. and while i was never particularly secretive about this hobby, i have always been rather selective about whom i would allow to read my "stuff."

somewhere in the last 5 years, technology forced out my handwritten journals and introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging. and i liked it. somedays it let me tell funny stories about my kids. other times it served as my outlet for the day's frustrations. then, on very rare occasions, it became my virtual soapbox. when i began, i blogged to a very small community of bloggers - fellow moms, mostly sahms, who could feel my pain - or, at least, laugh at it.

then came facebook. facebook has linked me to everyone, everywhere, all at once. and i like it. for someone who strives for efficiency at all costs, it has consolidated all my efforts to make contact and keep in touch with people from my past and present and has even allowed me to make new friendships. it's an amazing thing. but now i'm stuck.

being connected with everyone everywhere means that my "audience" is not what it used to be. and you know what i mean. say it on facebook and it's out there. for good. and anyone who didn't see it will be told by everyone who did. sometimes this helps to keep us informed. however (and this is more often the case) it can also contribute to the ever growing cyber-rumor mill. even admitting that pushes me precariously to the very edge of my non-confrontational comfort zone. and THAT is my problem.

i am a people pleaser. i like people to be happy - happy, in general, yes, but happy with me would also be fantastic. this doesn't work so well in a social network as accommodating as facebook. i've seen seemingly innocent status messages spark 100 comment-long debates. others complain to no end about other's "stupid application notices." i find myself wanting to send people messages telling them how to "hide" the things that bother them, simply because the tension becomes too much. i know, i know,... i sound like a pansy. maybe i am.

unfortunately, though, this has transferred itself to my blogging. throughout my day i think of things i'd like to write about... but then i also think about the gauntlet any such blog must run once it's out there. and suddenly, the way i handled my 5 year old at breakfast this morning is being read by other moms, yes,... but it's also being read by far away family friends and church leadership and random teenagers as well as the child's aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. i realize that none of that changes what did or did not take place at the breakfast table, but it does give one the feeling of having placed one's self under the microscope.

ok, so, yes, that's what blogging is. and, no, i don't have to make my blog accessible to everyone. but then that opens up even more controversy. let's say my blog is only read by other moms. let's even limit it to sahms. the amount of judgment and criticism (albeit, innocent and well-intentioned) within that audience is enough to induce a bout of writer's block. oh, i still know what i want to write about. but i have a hard time figuring out exactly how to word it.

consider these possible topics:

we debated over whether our 8 year old son should read this well-known series...

what??? you let your child read that?

what's to debate? just be glad he's reading.

the kids have been sick. we went to the chiropractor...

are you kidding? a chiropractor?

so, then we had our flu shots...

flu shots?? are you crazy?

the kids picked out really cute costumes for halloween.

halloween, huh? we'd never let our kids do that...

but we took them to church for a halloween-alternative party...

halloween alternative? why do you need an alternative to dressing up and getting candy?

i'm tired of fighting with my 5 year old about what she wears to school...

children need to express themselves without restrictions.

fighting? with a five year old? my children know better than to argue with their authority figures.

no, as a matter of fact, our kids don't play any sports or take any classes.

what do they do, then? they need time for themselves and to be involved in competitive activities...

last sunday, i took my daughter to a birthday party...

a birthday party? on a sunday? hmm...

so, i am thinking about doing "X" but i need to see what my husband says...

what your husband says? you're a grown woman!

should you really be doing anything else? your family is your priority.

i could go on. and honestly,... none of these things are meant to target any one specifically (although i've gone back over this a few times, nervously wondering if i've worded it right or if anyone will find this post offensive... seriously, it's an illness) i've come to the conclusion, however, that many of us have the same thoughts. the rest of you just don't dwell on it for unhealthy amounts of time. i mean, we can call it "social networking" but aren't we making ourselves very vulnerable when we put all manner of opinions and thoughts and feelings "out there" to not only be read by the 20 people we talk to on a regular basis but also the boy we went to kindergarten with and mom's work friends and cousin Ann's boyfriend and the church secretary and... you see my point.

of course, all this only means something if you actually care what people think. and i can hear that now... "why do you care so much???"

well, i don't know.

but i do.

and i don't think that's bad.

but i think i need to learn to be able to write without fear.

and share even when it might challenge what someone else thinks.

but first, i may need a stiff drink.

what? you drink???

see what i mean?

happy birthday, chloe girl

2009-11-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

maybe this is 3 days overdue... but i didn't want to miss a chance to say happy birthday to my girl. chloe turned 7 on sunday.

what a young lady she is becoming. she is our peacemaker, our stability, our extra set of hands. she makes her momma proud when her dry wit puts her daddy in his place, and yet she is incredibly compassionate and nurturing.

even though her sister's injury stole the show on sunday, chloe didn't mind. she's always been one to fly under the radar and not draw much attention. for the most part this is a good thing... although those types can be more challenging to discipline as their issues are more "subtle."

a perfect example of who chloe is can be seen in how she received one of her birthday gifts. our children are rewarded monthly for good behavior in school (assuming they have had no discipline issues in the classroom that particular month). last month, patrick told me he wanted to use his october money to buy a birthday gift for chloe. i thought this was very thoughtful of him... even if his idea of the "perfect gift" for his sister was a star wars figure. so, i took him shopping the day before her birthday and he searched high and low for a "girl" figure - sadly, they are hard to come by, so he settled for some jawas. he insisted it's what she would want.

and she was really very excited as she opened that gift - because she knew he was excited to give it to her. she enthusiastically responded to the somewhat unorthodox gift and spent some time examining them and checking out their cool gear.

what patrick doesn't understand, of course, is that, while chloe does play star wars with him, she really doesn't care all that much about having star wars toys of her own. because what she really values is playing with him. having arrived only a short 13 months after her brother, chloe has always followed very closely after him in everything. she rarely challenges his leadership or preferences. when we suggest that patrick play something she likes, he says, "but she likes to play with my stuff!" and, at that moment, chloe usually has a little smile on her face that says, "it's ok... i don't mind."

don't get me wrong. there are moments when she puts her foot down and throws out a little drama...

and there are also moments when we tell patrick to go play polly pockets with his sister (just because...) - and he shrugs his shoulders, picks up a little blond toy, pretends she's ahsoka or qui-gon jinn, and moves on with life.

i love her...

here we go again...

2009-11-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

yesterday was chloe's 7th birthday. however, in true chloe-fashion, she gave up the spotlight for another family member. yes, we celebrated. there was dessert and presents. but most of the attention went to lucy... and her chin.

on saturday night, after returning from our church costume party, we were eager to get the kids showered and put to bed. chloe and lucy were the last to get cleaned up and were supposed to be drying off when i heard some commotion. it sounded like laughing but quickly turned into crying. further investigation led me to chloe comforting a rather distraught lucy. chloe said, "i told her to stop fooling around, but she fell and hurt her mouth." apparently, she had slipped and landed on the tub floor. her mouth was fine, but her chin had not fared so well. the one inch gash was gaping open. not pretty. so... chuck got her dried off and dressed as i began the ordeal of calling and waiting on hold for our insurance to give the approval for the few stitches she would need at Patient First. we taped her wound closed, and lucy and i got back into the car to go out.

thankfully, the approval came, and Patient First was not busy. we were in and out in less than a half an hour. the more interesting details are better told by lucy, so you'll have to wait for her next video installment. for now, a close-up will have to do...

it's the little things...

2009-10-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

those of you who have followed me for a while, heard about the evolution of my kitchen. chuck spent nearly two years updating our kitchen, and i love it. even though it was "done" there were still a few finishing touches it lacked - mainly hardware and a curtain. recently, we added those finishing touches and i'm so pleased with the result.

here is the "original" finished kitchen...

and, now, here is my current kitchen... complete with a few changes.

there is no denying it. chuck does some good work. i am so pleased every time i walk into that room. ironically, when he's in the kitchen, all he sees is the ceiling - the only thing left to "do."

tucker's current state of affairs

2009-10-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

aside from the last update, i feel as though my blog makes it look like i only have one child. i mean, really, do i even have 2 daughters? i'm very happy to care for any of my children in need of my attention, but lately, my life seems to revolve around a certain 3 year old. he's needed it. for now, though, i think he needs a break. i need a break. anyone who gets undivided attention for over 2 weeks is bound to have issues.

yesterday, i took tucker to his 2 week post-op appointment with the surgeon who performed his tonsillectomy. the good news is that his throat is healing right on schedule and tucker is free to return to his normal activities and menu. the not so good news is that our sleepless nights may not end any time soon. ever since his surgery, tucker has woken up screaming several times a night. yes, we adjusted medication. we've tried everything. the doctor informed me that the nighttime problem should be resolved in about six weeks. SIX weeks. SIX WEEKS? what the heck? i don't really know why he's having such a hard time... but apparently this is normal (?) following this procedure. great. last night i was up with him 4 times before he went more than an hour without screaming. and he's not even awake. how do you reason with a sleeping, screaming three year old? oh well...

as a way to celebrate his clean bill of health, we decided to let tucker decide what we'd eat for dinner last night. not surprisingly, he opted for mcdonalds (and, consequently got his mother out of cooking dinner, bless his heart). he was so excited for that burger and fries... til the first bite hit his throat. his eyes popped open and he grabbed his neck. "it hurts my throat!" he cried. chuck and i just looked at each other thinking, "huh,... maybe he isn't always making it up..." before we could swap his happy meal for soft serve, however, he was back in his seat taking deep breaths and saying, "i can eat this..." and he did. despite whatever discomfort it caused, he sat there and got every last bite down. either way, it was encouraging. it was good to see him eat, because the last few weeks has made our little boy even tinier than usual. it was also encouraging to discover that, although some foods may not feel great going down, he can eat them. so, the next time he comes to my dinner table, takes one look at my dinner, and dramatically whispers (after having gobbled up a bag of goldfish crackers) "i can't eat that. it hurts my throat..." i'll know he's full of bunk.

patrick's journey continues

2009-10-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

last sunday, chuck and i had the pleasure of watching our oldest child be baptized. the whole thing was supposed to happen over a month ago, but it was postponed several times. our church performs baptisms every so often... as the need arises, so to speak... and because we don't have a baptismal, they perform them at a local creek. it's a fun kinda authentic way to do it,... except when copious amounts of rain flood both said creek and its bank causing the warm august baptism to actually take place at the chilly end of september... in a swimming pool. ah well, either way, it works, you know?

as children's pastors, chuck and i had talked with the kids at church about what baptism means and whether or not they were "ready." several decided they wanted to be baptized,... but by the time it actually took place, patrick was the only kid standing amidst all the adults. (the numerous schedule changes threw a few off, i think).

being the only child present, he opted to go first, but decided that keeping to the ladder was his best option. man, i love that boy. safety first.

i am really proud of his decision... and glad that he asked lots of questions first and then followed through despite what everyone else did. i look forward to watching him continue on this journey...

tucker and the tonsils...

2009-09-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

i document. it's what i do. chuck makes fun of me for recording our family events rather than actually experiencing them. in the case of tucker's tonsillectomy, it was not my intention to document - i just figured i'd get a before and after shot. ironically, chuck took most of the pictures this time.

tucker's journey since last thursday has been challenging for all of us (although, i suppose physically, he is recovering right on schedule).

as he was prepared to go back to the OR, chuck read tucker's favorite book...

once he and daddy were fully changed, he definitely knew something was up. leading up to this point, he kept saying, "i don't want my tonsils out. i want to keep them."

although tucker clung to chuck before the surgery, he only wanted me afterwards. of course, he wasn't exactly coherent...

we were glad when he fell back to sleep on my lap, because every time he woke up he was not happy.

in fact, he was pretty miserable.

i can only imagine what it must feel like to "go to sleep" feeling fine only to wake up feeling like someone drove a truck down your throat. he kept telling us he was choking.

he refused to drink or try any popsicles (mainly because he HATES cold foods). all he really wanted was to go home. the nurse finally told him he could go home as soon as he started eating and drinking. to that, he responded, "give me that popsicle."

the ride home was a somber affair...

once home, however, chuck plopped his mattress right in front of the tv and granted him free access to the wii. this distracted him for the greater portion of the day.

he even got to nap there!

he looks peaceful here.

unfortunately, waking up is much harder than falling asleep,... and for the last several days this entire process has repeated itself every time he wakes up.