Spring and Summer Activities

Sam is signed up to take piano lessons! I'm so excited. I was looking at our on-line neighborhood newsletter and found someone offering piano lessons. We've been looking for a while now. I tried to get a hold of this same lady earlier in the year, via e-mail, but she never responded. I even asked someone in the church, who was too busy. So I saw a new ad by this same lady and tried again and she responded immediately. I'm not sure what happened before. The great news is that she is in our neighborhood and is only a 6 minute walk away. I've never had Sam walk anywhere by himself. He's 10 years old so I think he is ready. His lessons are every Tuesday for $16 a half hour, which seems to be the going rate. We'll walk him the first time or two, until he feels comfortable doing it himself. I still have to get some books for him. She suggested the Lesson book (1A), the Theory Book and the Technic Book from the Alfred series.

Swim lessons have started at the local Civic Center and the kids LOVE it!! I think this will be great preparation for swim team. I might even have them go another session after this session because they are a couple of years older than everyone else in the group and I think are a little ahead of them in skill. That's OK, I purposely put them in a more remedial group because I wanted them to learn the basic skills the right way.

Doing these things for my kids has made me so excited and fulfilled! Yes they both were in Scouts and sports, but these are the things I have put off because I felt too overwhelmed with Ben and Mary. It makes me feel so good to focus on these areas for Sam and Abby. To see their excitement as they head for swim lesson is SO worth the money! Ben and Mary are still going to be a handful. At swim lessons, we are in the bleachers, watching, and after about 10 minutes, Mary is begging to be in the pool with Abby. It escalated and we had to take her out of the pool area. Luckily, Ted was with me on the first lesson and he took her. Next time, I'll be by myself. I probably won't be able to watch, but it's only a half hour and I got to see the first two, so that's OK.

In addition to Swim Team and Piano this summer, we hope to do some camping. We've made plans to go camping at Injun Joe Campground near Hannibal, Missouri over Memorial weekend. My two sisters plan on going with their families as well as my mom and dad. It should be fun! Over the Fourth of July, we'll to Eminence, Missouri where we camp at Harvey's Circle B Campground. We camp with a group of friends and it is a lot of fun! At the end of July, we plan on taking our big trip to Door County, Wisconsin. We've heard a lot of great things about it. We'll stay for a week. I'm hoping our camping will be a better experience than it was last year. Ben and Mary were NOT easy. They are a whole year older this year, so I'm expecting more maturity from them and hoping things will be easier.

Oops I Did It Again!

OK. Breathe. I just bought another clamshell cooking device. It all started with the Quesadilla Maker. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't like the way it was hard to shut. They made it with these ridges that form the tortilla into wedges. Well, if your filling was on the "ridge" than it was very hard to close. I still like it but I can only have quesadillas so often and it's just not very often. The next clamshell I purchased was the waffle iron. I really enjoy this one too and who doesn't like waffles? We still use this one fairly often (even though it's a pain to clean). Anyway, you know I'm on this cooking craze...watching Food Network and all. Well, I started thinking about how cool it would be to have a George Foreman Grill. This got me thinking about the flexibility of a panini press and I ended up getting something that does both!! On e-Bay of course. It's a remanufactured item so I didn't pay full price ($60 instead of twice that amount).

I actually like remanufactured items because their cheaper, they've been fixed on their weak point, and had to pass the standards of a new one before selling it. This particular grill/press is the Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler. It comes with interchangeable plates, one with the grill lines and one that is flat. I'm really excited to try and make panini (I want to put an "s" on the end but "panini" is already plural). I love a good hot sandwich. I love them at Penn Station, Bread Company (Panera Bread), Subway and Quizno. Soon I'll be able to make my own!!

I've been looking up recipes from Bread Co's very own Lemon Artichoke Chicken...YUM...to philly cheese steaks. I found one cool recipe for a Grilled Chicken Pesto panini. It looks so good, I'm sure it'll be the first one I make.

In addition to the panini, I can treat it like a George Foreman and grill hamburgers, chicken, veggies, pancakes, eggs, and quesadillas! I might as well get rid of that useless quesadilla maker. One reviewer mentioned warming up tortilla roll-ups. The options are endless! Unlike my other clamshells, this one has an adjustable top so you can cook a thick sandwich on it and it will still rest properly while cooking. Another reviewer mentioned it was great to take camping. I'll be sure to do that! Your meat cooks much quicker because it is getting heat on both sides.

I'll have to take a picture of what I make and post it. And I'll definitely let you know how it tastes! I'm already picturing lunch with a friend and a good hot panini sandwich. Mmmmm..

A Snapshot

What's at the top of my to-do list?
This week is busy with activities:
--The kids started their swimming lessons today
--Ted had Men's group tonight
--Wednesday I will help set up for the Art Fair at school and Cub Scouts is in the evening
--Thursday night is a night out with my grade school friends
--Friday night is a family get together for March birthdays (mine included) on my side of the family
--Saturday is a Family Reconciliation service and that evening we have a celebration of March birthdays on Ted's side.
--Sunday is my monthly all day crop day.
Anything I accomplish on top of all of this will be a bonus.

What have I accomplished?
--I'm on a healthy kick again. I don't know how long it will last, but it started with giving up soda for lent. Then I got motivated to give up chips, ice cream, cookies. I've been successful except for a Girl Scout cookie here and there. I'm trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. Yes, you've heard it before...I'm trying again. I've stocked my pantry and fridge with my favorite healthy foods: cottage cheese topped with pineapples (yum), granola bars that have nuts and fruit and not as much sugar, cashews (OK, they are high in fat...will find some better nuts...soy?), dried fruit (raisins so far...but I want to experiment), mushrooms, green beans, green leaf lettuce, chicken, whole grain crackers, grapes, strawberries, apples. I'm watching Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller on Food Network for ideas. The only problem is that our favorite local custard shop has reopened. YIKES!!! I hope I can indulge every now and then...but for now I am staying away. Ted is amazed at my resolve. The other day he brought home donuts...my favorite is the creme filled. I told him NOT to bring it home. I did not have one donut! The ice cream in the freezer is sitting there. I am NOT eating it. The kids are eating all the Girl Scout cookies. I've had maybe 5 total in the 10 days we've had them (that's good for me!!!).

What's bugging me?
--Ben's night wakings. Sometimes he ends up in our bed. One night I went to the Living Room to sleep. I've never let kids sleep in our bed. We are trying to curb this by encouraging him to sleep on our floor instead. Then I can sleep. The biggest thing is when he takes any sort of nap, he has trouble going to sleep at night. He has fears that ebb and flow. Luckily, they have leveled out right now and aren't so bad.
--Not enough time with Ted, we are too busy. I want another date night!!

What have I said I was going to do but I haven’t?
--I really wanted to start walking on the treadmill in the evenings...but we seem to have too much going on then. The best time to work out is during the day and I can't do that with the kids. Maybe next year when Ben is in preschool...

What's my latest obsession?
--Cooking!! Food Network!!
--Thinking about PTO next year, when I'll be President. What changes will I make? What will be hard? What will be fun? Will I survive it without getting overly stressed?

What's been making me happy?
--Again...the warmer weather. Ted finally got sand for our sandbox and the kids have been enjoying playing in it. I love it when the kids play outside and get exercise and fresh air.
--Ben and Mary seem to be less clingy lately...but they are making messes around my house!!

I'm OK

Guess who was sitting in the backseat, behind the driver. Me. The car looks pretty bad...huh. Well it took us all by surprise when we heard a loud crash. The sound gave me a headache minutes later. Other than some lower back aches and a sore neck, I was fine. Thank God! My parents didn't have anything wrong with them at all! I guess the big diesel pick-up just pushed us....really hard. The car took the brunt of the impact, so we were fine. I guess these automakers know what they are doing!

Of course, the next battle was figuring out how I was going to make it to pick up the kids. It was my "Mom's Day Out" day and I decided to go with my parents on their lunching outing for my brother's birthday. The lunch was great and the ride home uneventful, until my dad paused in his lane before merging onto the main road and then WHAMM!! Just like that, we were stranded on the side of the road with a totaled car (and the person who hit us parked behind us...boy is that awkward). Anyway, being stranded today is nothing like it was just 15 years ago, when we didn't have cell phones. We got busy calling the police, AAA, and Ted so he could come pick me up. After the police arrived, so did Ted...my Knight in Shining Armor. He came in time to take me back to my car at my mom's, do Ben and Mary's pick-up, and then the carpool for full-time school. My dad stayed and waited for the pick up. I went home and slept for 2 hours.

My soreness has since gone away. I'm so happy I have a camera phone so I could also document the accident scene and send it to any person who might be interested...All from the phone!! Technology...what did we do before???

Mary Went Poop on the Potty!!

Wednesday...I was in my room with Mary, when she was complaining about poop. I thought she wanted a diaper change. I went to change her diaper and there was no poop. I immediately thought that the poop was bothering her and she still needed to poop. I asked her if she wanted to poop on the potty chair. She said, "Yes"...so I took her to the little potty. She grimaced and pushed and then stood up! She was done! Just like that! I praised her and her poop. "Great job, Mary!" Loud enough for Ben to hear. He comes in the bathroom to observe, along with our 3 year old neighbor from across the street. Mary seemed somewhat disgusted by the poop, but I'm hoping my praises dashed her negative thoughts. I had her dump the poop in the potty.

After success like this, I'm encouraged to put underpants on her, so I did. I asked her many times, "Do you want to go potty?". NO! And then of course, she peed in her pants. She's 2 years and 4 months. I don't feel a need to rush this. Sam and Abby both started training when they were 3 and they trained in less than two weeks. No pull ups at night. Ben has been much more difficult. He'll be 4 in May and is still not ready to poop on the potty. Mary has now pooped and peed on the potty. When we take showers together, I have Mary go potty on the potty chair before taking a shower. She goes every time. But sometimes, when I suggest it, she says NO. I'm thinking I need to pull out the m&m's. She needs more incentive. I'll probably do the full blown training either late spring or early summer.

Last night, Ted and I were talking and I told him I feel so close to edge of this toddler stage. So close to losing the diapers and wipes. It seems that when you get rid of the diapers...so many other things go with them. Your child seems older, more capable and more reasonable. The naps soon fall away too, which may seem like a sad thing...but I look on it as gaining more flexibility. And I haven't had a break with Mary's naps anyway, because Ben has abandoned his naps for a while now. With young children, every year is a year of change. Ben will be in afternoon preschool next year. No Mom's Day Out. I'm sure I'll use that time for errands with only one little one child in tow instead of two. The following year will be the biggest leap with Ben going into full time Kindergarten and Mary into preschool. Wow. But now I'm jumping ahead of myself. I need to just take one year at a time...or rather one day at a time.

"Mom" Moments

I call a "Mom" moment those moments that only a mom gets herself into. They are the moments that you find yourself in when you shake your head in disbelief and don't know whether you should laugh or cry. I guess it's not just a Mom moment but also a "I can't believe you do business this way" moment.

This morning I was calling Macy's because they under billed us for our dining room furniture. Yes, you heard me right...UNDER BILLED. They somehow counted our down payment of $866 twice! When I called I was disappointed to discover a greeting from an automated voice recording. I first had to enter my account number and then the last four digits of my social security number. They gave me all my options of what they THINK I might be calling about, but none of them was "You under billed me!". So at the end of the options you are to speak and say "more options" if you hadn't heard the one you want yet. The kids are not being quiet, but I managed to be heard over them as I said in my most clear way of speaking, "More options".

I listened to more options ranging from: "my address has changed" to "give me a detailed history of my payments". I tried the history of payments. That didn't help, so I had to go through the whole call again. The second time I called the kids were closer to me and as I was speaking to the darn machine, Ben asked me a question. The automated voice said, "I'm sorry, we didn't understand your last request, please repeat." I wanted to say, "JUST GIVE ME A LIVE PERSON!! I HAVE CHILDREN AND CANNOT GUARANTEE A QUIET HOUSEHOLD WHILE YOU DECIPHER WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU!!!" I tried hitting "O" for Operator because I heard once that that will almost ALWAYS give you a live person. They didn't understand that either. Finally, I went through all the trees of options of why I might be calling and the last option was to talk to a live person. YES!!! I get through and then they tell me they are not open yet. I need to call between 9am and 5pm. Yes. And then I'm sure I will NOT get through. The line was busy the last time I tried. I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU MONEY!!! DON'T MAKE IT SO DIFFICULT!!

Ok. I'll stop yelling. It just feels good. Now I have to go do playground duty. I will keep you updated on this saga.

Cooking Machine

I've been a cooking machine lately. Even when there are leftovers, I've been ignoring them and making more meals. It's because I had some new meals I wanted to try. I'm easily triggered by nudges around me. My friend, Theresa, asked me if I had some good Slow Cooker recipes to give her. I realized that I didn't! One Christmas I asked for Slow Cooker cookbooks and didn't try ONE recipe in the book!! I perused my 3 slow cooker cookbooks and found 3 recipes I would try myself and sent them to her. Then I decided to write all the ingredients for my shopping list so I COULD try them myself. I tend to get into boring meal habits of having the same, old, predictable stuff. Every now and then I love to shake things up and try something new. Granted, the kids don't always like my new endeavors, but I don't want that to keep me from experimenting. I just add sides that I know they will like.

Here are the 3 meals I chose:
Ham with Cheesy Potatoes
Serves 8
1 bag (28 ounces) frozen diced potatoes with onions and peppers, thawed
2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)
1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of celery soup
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
3 pound fully cooked smoked boneless ham

1. Spray 5-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix frozen potatoes, cheese, soup and sour cream in cooker. Cut ham in lengthwise in half; place ham on potato mixture.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 5 to 6 hours or until potatoes are tender.
3. Remove from cooker; place on cutting board. Gently stir potatoes well before serving. Cut ham in slices; serve with potatoes.



Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast and Stuffing
Serves 6
4 cups herb-seasoned stuffing cubes
¾ cup chicken broth
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup frozen chopped onions (from 12-ounce bag)
2 to 2 ½ pound pork boneless loin roast
1/3 cup apricot jam
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Spray 3 ½- 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix stuffing, broth, apricots and onions in cooker. Place pork on stuffing mixture (can brown in skillet beforehand). Mix jam and vinegar; brush over pork.
Cover and cook on low heat setting 7-8 hours or until pork is tender.
Remove pork from cooker; place on cutting board. Stir stuffing before serving. Cut pork into slices; serve with stuffing.


Brazilian Saffron Chicken and Rice
Serves 6
3- 3 ½ pound cut up broiler-fryer chicken
¾ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tbs olive vegetable oil
½ cup chopped fully cooked smoked ham (3 ounces)
1 med onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 med red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth
1 package (8 ounce) yellow rice mix or (chicken flavored rice mixed with ¼ tsp turmeric)
1/3 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil until brown on all sides; drain. Place chicken in 3 ½ to 4 quart slow cooker. Top with ham, onion and bell pepper. Add broth.
Cover and cook on low heat setting 5 to 6 hours until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
Remove chicken from cooker. Stir rice mix (dry) into mixture in cooker; return chicken to cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting about 1 hour or until rice is tender. Serve chicken and rice with olives.

I just tried the Ham with Cheesy Potatoes and they were very good. Although, I think I prefer my ham with a sweet glaze. Sunday night I plan on trying the Apricot Pork recipe.

Motherhood

My aunt sent me this article. I LOVE it. I'm trying to keep all these moments with my kids alive. I already look at pictures of Sam and Abby as little ones and it feels like a separate life. It reminds me to kiss them a lot, tell them I love them often, and be "present" to them and less distracted. This article is something I would have liked to have read before the first two when I was more uptight and worried. Now I'm much more laid back. Read on!


An essay by Anna Quidlen

To my friends, who are all wonderful mothers...enjoy!
Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When-Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded,"What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.