It's the day after Christmas and I'm sitting here at the table looking out to the beautiful white snowdrifts that cover our backyard. I confess that I like the whole idea of a white Christmas and yes, I like the song and movie of the same name too. When I was younger I would always get mad if we had a brown Christmas. One especially cruel year we received several inches of snow the week before the holiday and then it promptly warmed up and was all melted by the big day.
This year we were promised not only a white Christmas, but a huge snowstorm burying the whole state white Christmas. I know several of my friends were none too pleased with this forecast since it would prove difficult for travel both for family members or for themselves in the effort to spend this day with loved ones. Sad to say, I was actually looking forward to a big storm with lots of snow. I'll admit the timing sucked a bit but I did get my white Christmas.
So what did we actually do??? Well, I spent the last few days before the storm watching the weather reports to make sure this was for real and not just meteorologists using up air time. Thankfully I had finished all my gift shopping so I did not have to worry about the last minute panic shopping some poor folks had to do. I also made sure that the teacher gifts went to school on Monday or Tuesday. I decided to do the grocery shopping with the thought of having Christmas dinner at home instead of in Yankton. I called it the back-up food. Hubby did decide we should do turkey instead of the pork roast I bought so the roast is in the freezer. By Wednesday we were prepared so all we had to do was sit and wait.
Christmas Eve day dawned cold and grey with a small amount of white stuff having fallen the night before but this was truly the calm before the storm. I took the kids outside to burn off extra energy and was very thankful my neighbor has a snow blower so I didn't have to spend 30 minutes shoveling the end of my driveway. The loving husband had to work but got off early enough to run into Sioux Falls for a few last minute things and to pick up our pizza. We decided to go to the 6 pm Mass since that was the Children's Mass. By then things were pretty icky out and they were soon going to be closing the interstates. Our church is only a few miles from our house and in town so we were OK. The kids did really well sitting through the service. We decided to sit right down in front so everyone could see what was going on. Andrew loved singing the songs and he sat there with his book on his lap "reading" along. When it came time for the sermon, the priest decided to call all the children up front and sit and talk to them about the Nativity scene and the meaning of Christmas. He was asking the children questions and they were giving answers. My moment of pride was when Matthew said he learns about Jesus from his mom and dad and I'm not sure why but Carolyn said she learns about Jesus in school---maybe she's confusing the religion lessons we do with Matthew at home. My moment of wanting to slide under the pew came when Matthew decided to tell the priest he had a song about baby Jesus and then proceeded to sing it to him. I don't know what he sang but the priest seemed impressed and the congregation gave him applause. When I asked Matthew where he learned this song he told me the words were in his brain. After the service was over we stopped and looked at the dancing lights. There is a house that is decked out with 100,000 lights and choreographed to music a few blocks from our house so we make a point to visit several times during the month. After we got home it was then time to get the kids settled down and into bed. That took a while. Carolyn was too excited to sleep and kept asking when Santa Claus was going to get to our house. Andrew decided to be a huge turkey and not go to bed until hubby finally took him upstairs around 10:30. I then made a mad dash for the stash of gifts and "Santa" stuff in the spare bedroom.
When it comes to buying Christmas gifts, I'm on top of it and I'm usually done a few weeks before Christmas. When it comes to wrapping said gifts...well that's usually done as last minute as possible. I hate wrapping gifts. If I could stuff everything into gift bags I would but small children love ripping open gifts so wrap I must. I did buy decorated gift boxes so I compromised and wrapped the toys and then put the clothing into the boxes and gift bags. I also wrapped the loving husband's gifts too since I know he wrapped all mine. I find that doing the wrapping and filling the stockings late Christmas Eve while watching some sort of Christmas concert or church service is quite enjoyable. Hubby came down later in the evening and we finished watching the Pope do Mass from Vatican City. We then spent another hour or so flipping channels watching bits and pieces from the various 24 hour marathon showings of different movies. It was close to 3 am when we finally decided to go to bed.
Matthew was the first to wake up Christmas morning and that was a little before 7. Carolyn was up about a half hour later. They both wanted to wake Andrew up but thankfully hubby convinced them to not do that. Andrew woke up about an hour later on his own and was quite cheerful. After he got up then the opening of the presents commenced. I tried not to go too overboard with the toys for the kids. Andrew got a total of 2 toys and Matthew and Carolyn got 3. I got one item for all the kids to share..it is called a wobble board. It is a balance board somewhat like a Wii board but it has colors on top and you have to tip the colored part to the floor in order to play the game. Hubby got himself a gun safe earlier this month and called it his gift from me. I suck at getting him gifts so I was more than happy to let him do that. I did get him a few small items from the kids so he had something to open.
During the chaos that was gift opening, the kids handed me three gifts of various sizes. The first one was long and flat. The loving husband had framed the shooting target I had shot back in September. How sweet. The second was an average size box. I opened it and the USPS bag inside and found the t-shirt I wanted. OK, not the exact one but even better. After I got my black belt I told the loving husband I wanted a t-shirt that said "black belt mom" on it. He decided that the shirts from the online stores implied that my kid was the black belt so he found a different site and created a shirt that said "This mommy's a black belt". How cute. Both of those gifts were kind of expected since I did tell the husband I wanted to frame my target and I wanted to get a t-shirt. It was the third gift that totally blew me away.
The box said peanut butter granola bars and had an odd rattle to it like a gift card was inside. My brain was thinking i tunes or JC Penny's. What came out when I opened it was white ticket that said Minnesota Vikings in purple along the side. It took a moment to comprehend exactly what it was I was holding in my hand and then it hit me. A GAME TICKET!!!!!! At that point all I could say was "oh my" and "I'm gonna cry". The wonderful amazing incredibly loving husband had bought me a ticket to see the Vikings play the New York Giants at home in the Metrodome. The game is next Sunday so I'll have a whole weekend of no husband and kids while I head over to Minnesota. I have friends in the area so I have a place to stay and things to do. I'm sooooooo excited.
After the gifts we fed the kids cinnamon rolls and then dressed up and headed outside to dig ourselves out. I got some nice shots of the kids playing in the big snow mounds. We have wonderful neighbors who own snow blowers so some of the big plowing was done for us. No travel was advised and the interstates were closed so we were snowed in. Good thing I bought back up Christmas dinner. The turkey was great. The kids spent the afternoon playing with their new toys and watching Christmas specials on TV. Later that evening hubby went back outside to shovel more snow since it was snowing and blowing most of the day. We had waffles for supper and the kids ate way too much candy. All in all it was a great day.
Well Christmas has come and gone. Carolyn wants Santa Claus to visit tonight but I reminded her he only visits on Christmas Eve. We still have to do Christmas with Jim's family since we were not able to do it on Thursday or even today. We also have to go to Chamberlain on Monday to meet my folks. I'm hoping the roads are cleared by then and we can travel safely. Now that I got my white Christmas I'm good for this year. We got dumped on and have about 18-19 inches of the white stuff. More, if you measure the snow drifts. I'm hoping that's the last snow storm we get this winter. I also want good traveling weather this week and next, especially next Saturday.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Christmas story
It's Christmas Eve and soon we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We will go to church and hear the story of His birth and celebrate this miracle.
Now we all know the Christmas story, it's pretty familiar...Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem and she gives birth to Jesus. Shepards follow the star to the stable and tell everyone the good news. Three wise men show up and give gifts... I happen to like the version in the Gospel of Luke the best but they all are pretty good.
Now of course these events were written down hundreds of years after the actual event and they are a composit of the oral stories that were told. In the spirit of Christmas I have decided to give my take on this wonderful story. Please know that I mean no disrespect to the original authors or to this story.
First we have Mary. She's just sitting there minding her own business when out of nowhere the angel Gabriel appears and tells her that God has chosen her to be the mother of His child. I'm sure Mary is asking herself what herbs were in the tea she was drinking. She listens to what Gabriel tells her and agrees to God's plan even though it means becoming an unwed single mother--not a very popular career choice in those days.
Fast forward to the dinner table that night. I'm thinking the conversation went something like this. "Mom and Dad, you're not gonna believe this but an angel named Gabriel visited me this afternoon and you know those prophesies we read about in the Torah, the ones about God sending a Messiah? Well not only has God chosen me to fulfill them but in 9 months you're gonna be grandparents." Yeah, that's a real conversation starter.
Next, we move on to poor Joseph the fiancee. He hears this news and I'm sure he's thinking that his wife to be has been listening to a few too many Roman storytellers. It's either that or craziness runs in the family and they conveniently forgot to mention it to him when they were drawing up that marriage contract. He's going "I'm outta here" and starts making plans to quietly break the contract and look elsewhere for a new wife. Is it any wonder God has to tell him in a dream that no, Mary is not crazy and no, you can't get out of your marriage, and yes, she really is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. He wakes up and does the right thing and takes a wife and gets ready to be a father.
Now here is where things get really fun. Thanks to Julius Cesar, Joseph and Mary have to make a long journey via donkey just to be counted. I'm so glad that all we have to do is fill out a form and mail it in. I'm sure the last thing Mary wanted to do was spend hours at a time sitting on a donkey for days on end. I really feel for these two people. They finally arrive tired and hungry only to find no place to stay. This was before telephones and the Internet so advance reservations were unheard of back then. They go from place to place begging for a room. Not even the plight of a very pregnant mama to be will soften the hearts of these innkeepers. Thankfully there is one guy who at least lets them bunk down in the stable. I'm sure he probably charged them for the "privilege" too.
Well at this point Mary has the baby. Now I wonder if she had to go through labor like the rest of us women do. If God cursed us with painful childbirth because of Original Sin and Mary was born without Original Sin (according to the Catholic Church) would she be exempt from the long and painful labor? I'd like to think that when the time came God commanded Jesus be born and He appeared instead of poor Mary all alone and in pain with only her husband (and hopefully a midwife) present. At any rate the new baby had to have been cold since it does get quite chilly at night. The only items he got to wear were whatever rags and blankets Mary packed to take with her. But at least he was loved and had a place to sleep even if he had to share it with animals.
The last part of this story involves a group of shepards out doing their job. Suddenly a group of angels appears and tells them that the really neat star they have been admiring is actually a marker and if they follow it they will be amongst the first to see the new king. After the angels leave I'm betting those guys looked at each other and said "you saw that didn't you?" Perhaps they asked themselves if maybe it was the wine they had drunk for supper that caused them to see things. In any case, they decided that what the heck why not go and check out this child the angels spoke about. I'm sure Mary was happy to have guests, even if they were strangers. I'd like to imagine her showing off this little baby, eyes full of pride to these simple shepards telling them yes, he is the Messiah and yes, you can hold him.
Twelve days later when the Wise Men arrived, the gifts got much better. Hopefully, the couple sold those gifts to pay for the trip to Egypt they had to take due to the very real and very mean king who wanted to see the baby dead.
This story is possible because of three very important things. They are belief, acceptance, and obedience. The first and most important is belief. Mary believed that the angel was from God and she was chosen to fulfill the scriptures. Joseph believed that what was told to him in a dream was in fact God speaking to him telling him not to abandon Mary in her time of need. The Shepard's also believed. They made the choice to listen to those angles and leave their sheep and follow a star in search of a baby.
The second thing is acceptance. Mary accepted the will of God and accepted the challenge of motherhood. She had to know how difficult this task was going to be and she did it without complaint. Joseph had to accept the fact God chose him to fulfill His role as the earthly father Jesus needed. I'm not sure if he is the patron saint of adoption but he should be. Imagine how he had to feel knowing the child his wife was carrying wasn't his and yet he was expected to raise and love this child as if he was his own. The shepards were willing to accept the news of the birth but I'm sure they spent time questioning whether or not they would be believed.
The last thing is the most important and that is obedience. Mary obeyed God's command and put her faith in Him. She was his faithful servant and even though she was given a very unreal set of circumstances, she obeyed and fulfilled the role God had designed for her. Joseph was put in a very unfavorable situation but he still obeyed. It would have been very embarrassing for him to admit that his intended was pregnant before they were married and I'm not sure how many people would believe him if he said that not only was the child not his, it was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was God's son. He had every right to walk away and not look back but when God told him that he was needed, Joseph obeyed. The shepards listened to the message given to them by the angles and they obeyed and did as they were told which was to spread the word that the Messiah was here.
Well there you have it, my version of the Christmas story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I want to wish all of you a very merry and Blessed Christmas.
Now we all know the Christmas story, it's pretty familiar...Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem and she gives birth to Jesus. Shepards follow the star to the stable and tell everyone the good news. Three wise men show up and give gifts... I happen to like the version in the Gospel of Luke the best but they all are pretty good.
Now of course these events were written down hundreds of years after the actual event and they are a composit of the oral stories that were told. In the spirit of Christmas I have decided to give my take on this wonderful story. Please know that I mean no disrespect to the original authors or to this story.
First we have Mary. She's just sitting there minding her own business when out of nowhere the angel Gabriel appears and tells her that God has chosen her to be the mother of His child. I'm sure Mary is asking herself what herbs were in the tea she was drinking. She listens to what Gabriel tells her and agrees to God's plan even though it means becoming an unwed single mother--not a very popular career choice in those days.
Fast forward to the dinner table that night. I'm thinking the conversation went something like this. "Mom and Dad, you're not gonna believe this but an angel named Gabriel visited me this afternoon and you know those prophesies we read about in the Torah, the ones about God sending a Messiah? Well not only has God chosen me to fulfill them but in 9 months you're gonna be grandparents." Yeah, that's a real conversation starter.
Next, we move on to poor Joseph the fiancee. He hears this news and I'm sure he's thinking that his wife to be has been listening to a few too many Roman storytellers. It's either that or craziness runs in the family and they conveniently forgot to mention it to him when they were drawing up that marriage contract. He's going "I'm outta here" and starts making plans to quietly break the contract and look elsewhere for a new wife. Is it any wonder God has to tell him in a dream that no, Mary is not crazy and no, you can't get out of your marriage, and yes, she really is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. He wakes up and does the right thing and takes a wife and gets ready to be a father.
Now here is where things get really fun. Thanks to Julius Cesar, Joseph and Mary have to make a long journey via donkey just to be counted. I'm so glad that all we have to do is fill out a form and mail it in. I'm sure the last thing Mary wanted to do was spend hours at a time sitting on a donkey for days on end. I really feel for these two people. They finally arrive tired and hungry only to find no place to stay. This was before telephones and the Internet so advance reservations were unheard of back then. They go from place to place begging for a room. Not even the plight of a very pregnant mama to be will soften the hearts of these innkeepers. Thankfully there is one guy who at least lets them bunk down in the stable. I'm sure he probably charged them for the "privilege" too.
Well at this point Mary has the baby. Now I wonder if she had to go through labor like the rest of us women do. If God cursed us with painful childbirth because of Original Sin and Mary was born without Original Sin (according to the Catholic Church) would she be exempt from the long and painful labor? I'd like to think that when the time came God commanded Jesus be born and He appeared instead of poor Mary all alone and in pain with only her husband (and hopefully a midwife) present. At any rate the new baby had to have been cold since it does get quite chilly at night. The only items he got to wear were whatever rags and blankets Mary packed to take with her. But at least he was loved and had a place to sleep even if he had to share it with animals.
The last part of this story involves a group of shepards out doing their job. Suddenly a group of angels appears and tells them that the really neat star they have been admiring is actually a marker and if they follow it they will be amongst the first to see the new king. After the angels leave I'm betting those guys looked at each other and said "you saw that didn't you?" Perhaps they asked themselves if maybe it was the wine they had drunk for supper that caused them to see things. In any case, they decided that what the heck why not go and check out this child the angels spoke about. I'm sure Mary was happy to have guests, even if they were strangers. I'd like to imagine her showing off this little baby, eyes full of pride to these simple shepards telling them yes, he is the Messiah and yes, you can hold him.
Twelve days later when the Wise Men arrived, the gifts got much better. Hopefully, the couple sold those gifts to pay for the trip to Egypt they had to take due to the very real and very mean king who wanted to see the baby dead.
This story is possible because of three very important things. They are belief, acceptance, and obedience. The first and most important is belief. Mary believed that the angel was from God and she was chosen to fulfill the scriptures. Joseph believed that what was told to him in a dream was in fact God speaking to him telling him not to abandon Mary in her time of need. The Shepard's also believed. They made the choice to listen to those angles and leave their sheep and follow a star in search of a baby.
The second thing is acceptance. Mary accepted the will of God and accepted the challenge of motherhood. She had to know how difficult this task was going to be and she did it without complaint. Joseph had to accept the fact God chose him to fulfill His role as the earthly father Jesus needed. I'm not sure if he is the patron saint of adoption but he should be. Imagine how he had to feel knowing the child his wife was carrying wasn't his and yet he was expected to raise and love this child as if he was his own. The shepards were willing to accept the news of the birth but I'm sure they spent time questioning whether or not they would be believed.
The last thing is the most important and that is obedience. Mary obeyed God's command and put her faith in Him. She was his faithful servant and even though she was given a very unreal set of circumstances, she obeyed and fulfilled the role God had designed for her. Joseph was put in a very unfavorable situation but he still obeyed. It would have been very embarrassing for him to admit that his intended was pregnant before they were married and I'm not sure how many people would believe him if he said that not only was the child not his, it was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was God's son. He had every right to walk away and not look back but when God told him that he was needed, Joseph obeyed. The shepards listened to the message given to them by the angles and they obeyed and did as they were told which was to spread the word that the Messiah was here.
Well there you have it, my version of the Christmas story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I want to wish all of you a very merry and Blessed Christmas.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Christmas yummies
My friend Jackie posted a blog about 7 foods she totally loves during the Christmas season. She challenged all of us fellow bloggers to make a list of our 7 faves and post for all to see. So here is my list of 7 (or so) Christmas yummy foods.
1. Cookies I totally love cookies and I seem to go through a lot more this time of the year. My personal favorite is oatmeal chocolate chip. I have a great recipe that I got from a cookbook my mother in law gave me some years ago. I have also found through trial and error that going half butter and half Crisco seems to produce the best results. When I'm not doing oatmeal chocolate chip I do peanut butter, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, or sugar.
2. Green bean casserole Is there any more perfect food than this?? I prefer the french sliced in my casserole but the regular cut works ok too. My version has me using extra mushrooms, less milk for the cream soup (makes it richer and creamier) and those lovely crunchy onions in the middle and on top. I actually had the chef prepare this version for the buffet at my wedding.
3. Mashed potatoes I'm a spud lover. I love just about anything that comes from a potato, lefse (for those that are not of the Scandinavian heritage it is a flat bread made from potatoes), potato chips, french fries, potato oles, buttered new potatoes..and the list goes on and on. Over the years I have been able to cut down on the need for gravy. Of course, the more butter the better. Yes, I can tell the difference between box and real but if the box version is flavored that's ok. However, if you wanna do Christmas dinner right then boil and mash and don't forget the milk and butter.
4. People puppy chow I used to not really like this when I was younger. However, once I came upon a recipe that worked for me and with a few tweaks, well lets just say I have changed my ways. I usually make this for hubby's co-workers and the bowl always comes back empty. I also like to give it as a gift to others and it seems to be well received. My puppy chow involves using the Hy-Vee brand of Crispix cereal and milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and I use extra powdered sugar to coat everything. Don't forget to use creamy peanut butter since it melts so much smoother that chunky.
5. Chocolate Well actually, I could do a 7 list of just chocolate things but I'll just lump them all in this entry. Hersey's Kisses top my list of seasonal chocolate. They taste the same in December as they do in October or March but it's the pretty red and green wrapping foil that does it. Same for the red an green M&M's. Also on the list are those wonderful Advent Calenders they sell that have 24 or 25 little windows that you open up each day in order to count the days till Christmas. Chocolate every day, now that's what I'm talking about.
6. Pizza Yes, this is one of my stranger items but it does have a nice story to it. For quite a few years my family would go out for pizza on Christmas Eve after church. Great tradition, except for the year almost everyone got sick from the pizza but even that is a special (tragic but still special) memory. I still like to do pizza on Christmas Eve whenever I can, even if the loving husband likes to do the traditional oyster stew.
7. Candy canes Oh wonder of all wonders the candy cane. I look forward to these lovely sweet happy treats. I know they are the same thing as those little round peppermint candies you can buy but it's just not the same. There is something about hanging them on a tree or putting one on a package as a decoration or even wrapping a brown pipe cleaner on it and gluing eyes and a nose to make Rudolph that brings out the kid in me. I don't put them on my tree since they would be gone in a matter of minutes, eaten by the kids. They also serve a very useful purpose...you use it as a stir stick for the hot cocoa.
Honorable mentions
My oatmeal scotchie bars A few years ago I accidentally bought a package of butterscotch chips. Hubby is not all that fond of butterscotch and neither am I but I was not about to waste a perfectly good package of chips so I just made the bar recipe on the back of the bag. It turns out that the rest of my extended family are HUGE butterscotch lovers and these bars disappear whenever I make them
Coca Cola Cold I do a post without mentioning this wonderful drink? Now admit it, you were singing "I'd like to teach the world to sing... I'd like to buy the world the Coke and keep it company..." in your head weren't you? If that one is a little too old then think polar bears or the Santa trucks. Either way, nothing says Merry Christmas like a nice cold Coca Cola.
There you have it, my list of 7 or so foods that I love this time of the year. If you have any questions or want a recipe then let me know. I love sharing.
1. Cookies I totally love cookies and I seem to go through a lot more this time of the year. My personal favorite is oatmeal chocolate chip. I have a great recipe that I got from a cookbook my mother in law gave me some years ago. I have also found through trial and error that going half butter and half Crisco seems to produce the best results. When I'm not doing oatmeal chocolate chip I do peanut butter, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, or sugar.
2. Green bean casserole Is there any more perfect food than this?? I prefer the french sliced in my casserole but the regular cut works ok too. My version has me using extra mushrooms, less milk for the cream soup (makes it richer and creamier) and those lovely crunchy onions in the middle and on top. I actually had the chef prepare this version for the buffet at my wedding.
3. Mashed potatoes I'm a spud lover. I love just about anything that comes from a potato, lefse (for those that are not of the Scandinavian heritage it is a flat bread made from potatoes), potato chips, french fries, potato oles, buttered new potatoes..and the list goes on and on. Over the years I have been able to cut down on the need for gravy. Of course, the more butter the better. Yes, I can tell the difference between box and real but if the box version is flavored that's ok. However, if you wanna do Christmas dinner right then boil and mash and don't forget the milk and butter.
4. People puppy chow I used to not really like this when I was younger. However, once I came upon a recipe that worked for me and with a few tweaks, well lets just say I have changed my ways. I usually make this for hubby's co-workers and the bowl always comes back empty. I also like to give it as a gift to others and it seems to be well received. My puppy chow involves using the Hy-Vee brand of Crispix cereal and milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and I use extra powdered sugar to coat everything. Don't forget to use creamy peanut butter since it melts so much smoother that chunky.
5. Chocolate Well actually, I could do a 7 list of just chocolate things but I'll just lump them all in this entry. Hersey's Kisses top my list of seasonal chocolate. They taste the same in December as they do in October or March but it's the pretty red and green wrapping foil that does it. Same for the red an green M&M's. Also on the list are those wonderful Advent Calenders they sell that have 24 or 25 little windows that you open up each day in order to count the days till Christmas. Chocolate every day, now that's what I'm talking about.
6. Pizza Yes, this is one of my stranger items but it does have a nice story to it. For quite a few years my family would go out for pizza on Christmas Eve after church. Great tradition, except for the year almost everyone got sick from the pizza but even that is a special (tragic but still special) memory. I still like to do pizza on Christmas Eve whenever I can, even if the loving husband likes to do the traditional oyster stew.
7. Candy canes Oh wonder of all wonders the candy cane. I look forward to these lovely sweet happy treats. I know they are the same thing as those little round peppermint candies you can buy but it's just not the same. There is something about hanging them on a tree or putting one on a package as a decoration or even wrapping a brown pipe cleaner on it and gluing eyes and a nose to make Rudolph that brings out the kid in me. I don't put them on my tree since they would be gone in a matter of minutes, eaten by the kids. They also serve a very useful purpose...you use it as a stir stick for the hot cocoa.
Honorable mentions
My oatmeal scotchie bars A few years ago I accidentally bought a package of butterscotch chips. Hubby is not all that fond of butterscotch and neither am I but I was not about to waste a perfectly good package of chips so I just made the bar recipe on the back of the bag. It turns out that the rest of my extended family are HUGE butterscotch lovers and these bars disappear whenever I make them
Coca Cola Cold I do a post without mentioning this wonderful drink? Now admit it, you were singing "I'd like to teach the world to sing... I'd like to buy the world the Coke and keep it company..." in your head weren't you? If that one is a little too old then think polar bears or the Santa trucks. Either way, nothing says Merry Christmas like a nice cold Coca Cola.
There you have it, my list of 7 or so foods that I love this time of the year. If you have any questions or want a recipe then let me know. I love sharing.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sour cream sugar cookies
I have a secret to confess..I like cookies. I like to make them, I like to bake them and I like to eat them. This time of the year finds me in the kitchen making holiday treats for friends and family. Usually I do my oatmeal chocolate chip or peanut butter or even a snickerdoodle since they seem to go over pretty well. As for the much beloved sugar cookie?? I have to confess, I am not a fan of the roll out the dough and use cookie cutter kind. For some strange reason I have never really liked those oh so cute frosted and decorated staples of every holiday dessert platter. I don't know if it is the texture or taste but they just don't do it for me. No, it's not the work needed to do the cookie, but I will admit there is a lot more preparation and time needed than any of the other cookies. I just think it comes down to taste and over the years I have found very few frosted and decorated cookies that actually tasted good. They are either too heavy or too dry or too hard (my most common complaint) or too cakey for my liking. However....give me a soft warm drop sugar cookie and I'm in cookie heaven. Yes, there is a difference between the two. The rolled out version is a firmer dough that must be chilled and rolled out onto a flat surface so the individual cookies can be cut out of the dough with some form of cookie cutter. The drop version is a softer dough that can be "dropped" from a spoon onto the cookie sheet and pressed flat with the bottom of a glass. It is this type of cookie that I like to make and eat. Courtesy of Betty Crocker is this wonderful delicious recipe. For the record, I use regular sour cream and I would advise against trying the fat free version.
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking POWDER
1/2 tsp baking SODA
1/2 tsp salt
Extra sugar in a bowl
To make:
Set oven to 350
Mix 1 cup sugar, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and egg.
Stir in remaining ingredients except bowl of sugar.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into bowl of sugar, roll gently, until completely coated.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten to about 1/2 inch with bottom of a glass.
Bake 7-8 minutes or just until set.
Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.
Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking POWDER
1/2 tsp baking SODA
1/2 tsp salt
Extra sugar in a bowl
To make:
Set oven to 350
Mix 1 cup sugar, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and egg.
Stir in remaining ingredients except bowl of sugar.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into bowl of sugar, roll gently, until completely coated.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten to about 1/2 inch with bottom of a glass.
Bake 7-8 minutes or just until set.
Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.
Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Undeserved gift
Saturday was a busy busy day. Well all Saturdays are but this one was start to finish full of things to do and places to be. Of course if Mom had been able to get this weekend off we would have met up in Chamberlain for our gift exchange and holiday time together but that has been rescheduled to the Monday after Christmas. Instead it was off to Yankton for a birthday party for my niece Raelynn.
The birthday party was not scheduled to start until 2 and it was ok if we could show up a little late since we did have to travel a distance to get there. The loving husband takes Hapkido classes twice a month and this Saturday was one of those days. He needed to be in Brookings by 10 for the two hour class. Brookings is one hour north of Sioux Falls so even if he left a few minutes early he would not get to Sioux Falls til 1 and Yankton is an hour and a half south of us. Complicating matters was the loving husband's Christmas gift I (he) got him. It was a very large and heavy gun safe. It was at Sam's Club and needed to be picked up. Jim's mom has a pick-up so he planned on driving the truck back, picking the safe up and dropping it off at our house and then taking the truck back the next day. After much debate and deliberating we came up with a plan of action for the day.
The plan was for him to do class and meet up with me and the kids at the Wellness Center and we would take both vehicles down so I would not have to drive back to Yankton the next day and pick him up after he gave the truck back to his mom. While he was at class I would get the kids ready and go to the Wellness Center and do the cardio box class at 10:15. We also offer our help to any of our fellow Tae Kwan Do students on Saturdays after the cardio class is over so if our usual 2 takers showed up I would do a short help session and then take the kids and feed them and be back by 1 or so and hopefully be ready to take off for the party.
As we all know, the best laid plans never play out as we want them to. When the loving husband left all children were awake....and that was about it. Weekends usually mean pancakes and eggs for breakfast but I really did not have time to make pancakes so I just did 2 minute microwave scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast instead. I wanted to have the kids dressed and fed and out to the car by 9:30ish or no later than 9:45 because it is a 20 minute drive to get there and another 5-10 minutes parking and getting 3 kids signed into the nursery. I quickly realized the kids did not share my time frame of events. They were stuck in slow mode with zero sense of urgency. Repeated attempts to persuade child A,B,or C to sit at the table and eat the food and please put on the clothing I have set out for you fell upon deaf ears. Did I mention this was a pool party so I also had to make sure I had every one's swim suits, towels, and swim diapers packed along with my gym bag and the birthday gift too. Yeah, it was one of those mornings.
During the time I was attempting to heard cats (wrangle children) my stress level started to climb. The closer I came to realize there was no way I was going make my timeline and would miss the class the crabbier I got. All I wanted to do was leave and no matter what I did or did not do I could not get things going in the manner I wanted them to. I began to do what all stressed out crabby people do, blame someone else. As I was going from task to task and back to task A and back over to task C and so on and so forth I started to mumble and grumble to myself under my breath. They were not nice mumbles and grumbles either. I was on the "poor me" road and having my very own pity party. Poor me has to do all this work and poor me has to get the kids ready and poor me has to pack things and poor me etc. and etc. Of course while "poor me" was getting elevated to martyrdom the not so loving husband was being demoted to the doghouse. It's HIS fault that..... and why didn't HE...... and doesn't HE realize that I.... and you get the picture. Don't worry, I never once picked up the phone and communicated my feelings to him, I know sometimes it's better to leave some things unsaid. I'd also like to say that the loving husband was the only target of my irritation but of course that would not be telling the truth. Sad to say my tone was quite sharp with the kids as I tried in vain to get everyone dressed and loaded. Poor Matthew, he seems to sense when I'm stressed or in a bad mood and he acts out. He was picking fights with Carolyn and of course she was playing right into it and Andrew decided to protest wearing clothes. I think I lost count of how many times I snapped at the kids and elevated the yell level up to playground level. It was not pretty.
At some point in all of this I realized I was indeed acting like a selfish spoiled brat with my whining and complaining. Unfortunately for me even though I realize what I'm doing I don't always make myself stop. It's like watching a train wreck, you know it's gonna be messy but you just can't look away. Knowing I was behaving horridly, I offered apologies to God for my thoughts and actions. Nothing fancy or formal, just basically your "I'm so sorry God, I know I should not be doing this I really am sorry." Just so you all know, I don't do the formal prayer thing very often. I usually just do the look up and talk to God method of communicating. I find that if I just start speaking to Him like I would to a person in the room with me I convey my thoughts and feeling so much better than if I try to kneel down and bow my head. I knew I was stressed and taking it out on others and all I could hope for was to make it through the day without causing further distress on others and ruining every one's day.
Well I made it to the Wellness Center too late for my class so I instead did a quick work out. That did make me feel better and the half hour I spent with the 2 red belts was very productive. I was still a little on the crabby side and not looking forward to the long drive with the kids but compared to the morning I was much much better. Due to the time and lunch efforts we decided to meet at a nearby Burger King and the loving husband agreed to stop by Taco John's to get us something tasty. We both are not huge fans of either McDonald's or Burger King so if possible we do TJ's and the kids do burgers.
After eating it was time to make travel arraignments. I have the DVD player in my van but the loving husband has the "daddy's car" factor. I don't know why the kids like to ride in the Malibu but they do. I expected Matthew and Carolyn would opt for the car but Andrew has now decided that he needs to do what the older kids do and made it a point to open up the door and sit in Jim's car sans car seat. That meant 3 votes for daddy's car. I happily helped load the booster and car seats into the Malibu. I kissed the loving husband bye and off he went.
I got back into my now empty van, looked up and said 'Thank you for the incredible gift you just gave me Lord". Alone, by myself, solo, oh the wonder, oh the joy, oh the indescribable feeling of happiness. I had a whole hour and a half of just me and whatever radio station I wanted to listen to. No breaking up fights, no listening to whatever annoying DVD the kids picked (and fought over) to watch, no having to answer strange questions or remind someone that "poop" or any form of the word is not appropriate conversation. This was exactly what I needed.
As I was driving to Yankton, I wondered in amazement at how I had been so blessed to get this precious alone time. I really did not deserve to be rewarded for my morning behavior. If one of my children had acted the way I did they would have received some sort of punishment or consequence. By all rights I should have been in the van with all children enduring the trip and all the misery I would have assigned it. Yes, I needed the break, and yes I could have asked the loving husband to take all children but no, I would never have done that. Crabby as I was I would never in a million years suggested to the loving husband that I wanted to drive solo just to get a break. I'm not sure why I don't always ask for the help, maybe it's my pride or the guilt I would feel "dumping" the kids on daddy. Either way, God knew what I needed and even though I acted horridly and reverted to a child's level in my petty (and unfounded) complaints, he still gave it to me. I took that time and de-stressed. I recharged the batteries that had been so worn down and adjusted my attitude. I had been shown mercy and compassion when I deserved reprimand and punishment so I let gratitude take hold of my heart. As a parent I hate it when my children whine and complain endlessly and go on and on and expect me to fix things for them. Actually, it drives me nuts when they do that and all I want to do is get rid of them ASAP. It still boggles my mind that I can do the same things the kids do and instead of driving God crazy and making Him want to brush me off at the first opportunity He listens to my complaints, looks into my heart and does what He can to fix it. My parenting skills suck compared to His, but I also strive harder to be more like Him when it comes to parenting. I can parent my children the way He parents me. I know it's hard and I'm going to make mistakes but at least I know He has my back.
ps. In case you were wondering about the rest of the day, it went great. The party was loud and chaotic with lots of crazy kids running around and then we got to go swimming and we had a blast. I even went down the HUGE water slide but that's a different post.
The birthday party was not scheduled to start until 2 and it was ok if we could show up a little late since we did have to travel a distance to get there. The loving husband takes Hapkido classes twice a month and this Saturday was one of those days. He needed to be in Brookings by 10 for the two hour class. Brookings is one hour north of Sioux Falls so even if he left a few minutes early he would not get to Sioux Falls til 1 and Yankton is an hour and a half south of us. Complicating matters was the loving husband's Christmas gift I (he) got him. It was a very large and heavy gun safe. It was at Sam's Club and needed to be picked up. Jim's mom has a pick-up so he planned on driving the truck back, picking the safe up and dropping it off at our house and then taking the truck back the next day. After much debate and deliberating we came up with a plan of action for the day.
The plan was for him to do class and meet up with me and the kids at the Wellness Center and we would take both vehicles down so I would not have to drive back to Yankton the next day and pick him up after he gave the truck back to his mom. While he was at class I would get the kids ready and go to the Wellness Center and do the cardio box class at 10:15. We also offer our help to any of our fellow Tae Kwan Do students on Saturdays after the cardio class is over so if our usual 2 takers showed up I would do a short help session and then take the kids and feed them and be back by 1 or so and hopefully be ready to take off for the party.
As we all know, the best laid plans never play out as we want them to. When the loving husband left all children were awake....and that was about it. Weekends usually mean pancakes and eggs for breakfast but I really did not have time to make pancakes so I just did 2 minute microwave scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast instead. I wanted to have the kids dressed and fed and out to the car by 9:30ish or no later than 9:45 because it is a 20 minute drive to get there and another 5-10 minutes parking and getting 3 kids signed into the nursery. I quickly realized the kids did not share my time frame of events. They were stuck in slow mode with zero sense of urgency. Repeated attempts to persuade child A,B,or C to sit at the table and eat the food and please put on the clothing I have set out for you fell upon deaf ears. Did I mention this was a pool party so I also had to make sure I had every one's swim suits, towels, and swim diapers packed along with my gym bag and the birthday gift too. Yeah, it was one of those mornings.
During the time I was attempting to heard cats (wrangle children) my stress level started to climb. The closer I came to realize there was no way I was going make my timeline and would miss the class the crabbier I got. All I wanted to do was leave and no matter what I did or did not do I could not get things going in the manner I wanted them to. I began to do what all stressed out crabby people do, blame someone else. As I was going from task to task and back to task A and back over to task C and so on and so forth I started to mumble and grumble to myself under my breath. They were not nice mumbles and grumbles either. I was on the "poor me" road and having my very own pity party. Poor me has to do all this work and poor me has to get the kids ready and poor me has to pack things and poor me etc. and etc. Of course while "poor me" was getting elevated to martyrdom the not so loving husband was being demoted to the doghouse. It's HIS fault that..... and why didn't HE...... and doesn't HE realize that I.... and you get the picture. Don't worry, I never once picked up the phone and communicated my feelings to him, I know sometimes it's better to leave some things unsaid. I'd also like to say that the loving husband was the only target of my irritation but of course that would not be telling the truth. Sad to say my tone was quite sharp with the kids as I tried in vain to get everyone dressed and loaded. Poor Matthew, he seems to sense when I'm stressed or in a bad mood and he acts out. He was picking fights with Carolyn and of course she was playing right into it and Andrew decided to protest wearing clothes. I think I lost count of how many times I snapped at the kids and elevated the yell level up to playground level. It was not pretty.
At some point in all of this I realized I was indeed acting like a selfish spoiled brat with my whining and complaining. Unfortunately for me even though I realize what I'm doing I don't always make myself stop. It's like watching a train wreck, you know it's gonna be messy but you just can't look away. Knowing I was behaving horridly, I offered apologies to God for my thoughts and actions. Nothing fancy or formal, just basically your "I'm so sorry God, I know I should not be doing this I really am sorry." Just so you all know, I don't do the formal prayer thing very often. I usually just do the look up and talk to God method of communicating. I find that if I just start speaking to Him like I would to a person in the room with me I convey my thoughts and feeling so much better than if I try to kneel down and bow my head. I knew I was stressed and taking it out on others and all I could hope for was to make it through the day without causing further distress on others and ruining every one's day.
Well I made it to the Wellness Center too late for my class so I instead did a quick work out. That did make me feel better and the half hour I spent with the 2 red belts was very productive. I was still a little on the crabby side and not looking forward to the long drive with the kids but compared to the morning I was much much better. Due to the time and lunch efforts we decided to meet at a nearby Burger King and the loving husband agreed to stop by Taco John's to get us something tasty. We both are not huge fans of either McDonald's or Burger King so if possible we do TJ's and the kids do burgers.
After eating it was time to make travel arraignments. I have the DVD player in my van but the loving husband has the "daddy's car" factor. I don't know why the kids like to ride in the Malibu but they do. I expected Matthew and Carolyn would opt for the car but Andrew has now decided that he needs to do what the older kids do and made it a point to open up the door and sit in Jim's car sans car seat. That meant 3 votes for daddy's car. I happily helped load the booster and car seats into the Malibu. I kissed the loving husband bye and off he went.
I got back into my now empty van, looked up and said 'Thank you for the incredible gift you just gave me Lord". Alone, by myself, solo, oh the wonder, oh the joy, oh the indescribable feeling of happiness. I had a whole hour and a half of just me and whatever radio station I wanted to listen to. No breaking up fights, no listening to whatever annoying DVD the kids picked (and fought over) to watch, no having to answer strange questions or remind someone that "poop" or any form of the word is not appropriate conversation. This was exactly what I needed.
As I was driving to Yankton, I wondered in amazement at how I had been so blessed to get this precious alone time. I really did not deserve to be rewarded for my morning behavior. If one of my children had acted the way I did they would have received some sort of punishment or consequence. By all rights I should have been in the van with all children enduring the trip and all the misery I would have assigned it. Yes, I needed the break, and yes I could have asked the loving husband to take all children but no, I would never have done that. Crabby as I was I would never in a million years suggested to the loving husband that I wanted to drive solo just to get a break. I'm not sure why I don't always ask for the help, maybe it's my pride or the guilt I would feel "dumping" the kids on daddy. Either way, God knew what I needed and even though I acted horridly and reverted to a child's level in my petty (and unfounded) complaints, he still gave it to me. I took that time and de-stressed. I recharged the batteries that had been so worn down and adjusted my attitude. I had been shown mercy and compassion when I deserved reprimand and punishment so I let gratitude take hold of my heart. As a parent I hate it when my children whine and complain endlessly and go on and on and expect me to fix things for them. Actually, it drives me nuts when they do that and all I want to do is get rid of them ASAP. It still boggles my mind that I can do the same things the kids do and instead of driving God crazy and making Him want to brush me off at the first opportunity He listens to my complaints, looks into my heart and does what He can to fix it. My parenting skills suck compared to His, but I also strive harder to be more like Him when it comes to parenting. I can parent my children the way He parents me. I know it's hard and I'm going to make mistakes but at least I know He has my back.
ps. In case you were wondering about the rest of the day, it went great. The party was loud and chaotic with lots of crazy kids running around and then we got to go swimming and we had a blast. I even went down the HUGE water slide but that's a different post.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Shop til you drop
Thanksgiving is now a fond memory. Oh what a fun day. The total number of people was just over 100 and there were very few leftovers. I was actually planning on posting photos both on this post and my Facebook page but my main computer has been acting up lately and frankly, I didn't trust it to actually download the photos without locking up so sorry to say to those who participated in the crazy Schwarz family photofest...maybe at a later date. By crazy I mean my niece and nephew were striking all sorts of unique poses and when it came time to take actual pictures of my mother in law with her children and grandchildren well let's just say we got a few strange looks from others as we tried (I mean we really tried) to assemble a sensible and typical pose. I have a great shot of two of my nephews with their elbows resting on top of my head, a couple of "holding a big fish" poses with the same enterprising individuals and there now exists a great cleavage shot of me thanks to someones offhand comment about where my wonderful 16 year old nephew was actually aiming when he was taking pictures of the grown-ups ( it is amazing how fast a camera can snap a picture when the subject is joking around). Not to be outdone I have a great photo of the loving husband and myself. If you look real closely you can see we each posses a pair of rabbit ears courtesy of my sister in law who miraculously did not appear in said photo. We did get a few keepers but oddly enough I never managed to get one of our family, just one of me and the loving husband.
In addition to eating and playing photographer I did manage to get gift ideas from those on my Christmas list. The Sioux Falls paper is full of Black Friday ads and all it takes is for people to page though and make comments. A few carefully placed sheets of paper later and those who needed the lists went home happy. The ads were carefully packed up and transported back home with us so I could come up with my shopping strategy.
At the gathering, I am one of a very few who actually participate in the Black Friday shopping madness. I get the looks and comments from those who wonder why on earth I get up so doggone early and go forth into the shopping madness. Years ago, both before kids and before moving to an area close to major shopping, I too was one of those who questioned the sanity of anyone wanting to do Black Friday. Not anymore.
When we lived in Michigan we were about 2 hours (including traffic) from the mall so I was forced to do any Christmas shopping on weekends which I HATED so I was always trying to buy gifts in October or November but no one had any idea what they wanted for Christmas so I was always guessing or trying to find it locally. A real pain in the butt if you ask me. When we first moved back to South Dakota we were about 3 hours north and west of Sioux Falls but we did have a small mall in Aberdeen along with a few big box stores so I could at least shop during the off-peak hours or in the evenings when it wasn't so busy. Yankton is about an hour and a half south and west of Sioux Falls so it wasn't practical to do early shopping when we were down visiting for Thanksgiving.
All that changed when we moved to Brandon 5 years ago. Brandon is about 20-30 minutes drive from the mall depending on traffic. Sioux Falls also has a lot more shopping choices than just about any other town in a 200 mile radius ( 350 if you go west) so I can actually look at the Black Friday ads and realistically visit those stores unlike years past when I could look but only shop at about 5 stores max. The first year was more of a curiosity thing than anything else. The loving husband had taken the day off as vacation so I decided that what the heck I could get my fat butt out of bed and take care of a few gifts while the kids slept. I decided that hitting JC Penny by 5 was doable so I set the alarm and off I went.
The store was not as busy as I had imagined and the racks were still full of items. I have since found out that the kids clothing gets picked over quite quickly so the earlier the better but on that first shopping trip I still managed to get clothes for the kids that fit. I also found gifts for others on my list too. I kept finding things that were on doorbuster sales so they were 50-70% off . Items that I would never even consider because of cost suddenly became affordable. This was fun. I approached check out and although I still had to wait in line, it was not nearly as long as it would have been several hours later. I got my purchases rang up and then looked at my receipt...and the thrill hit. I had saved over $200. Not only did I save a big chunk of change but I had wiped out over half of my list in less than an hour and didn't have to chase after two small children. This was better than fun....THIS WAS AWESOME!!!! I collected my free snow globe and free donut hole and off I went to do more shopping. By the time I got home, Jim and the kids were finishing breakfast and it was just after 9 and I was done. Thus began the love of Black Friday.
I'm not sure if it is the fact I like to shop or the high I get when I find that great deal but Black Friday is more fun than hassle. Now to be fair I do have to put in some work beforehand but that is totally worth it. To do Black Friday right requires planning and strategy. First is to know when the stores open so you can pick a start point. Second is to decide what it is that you really really want. Third is to find out where else they sell it in case your first choice is out. Fourth is to map out a general time frame of where it is you plan on going and what it is you are going to buy. There are things that are out of your control like traffic, parking, and line waiting but if you know what it is you want when you enter the store then you spend a whole lot less time in there which give you more time to get to the next destination. I confess that I'm not a total die hard stand in line for hours freezing my butt off kind of person. I did do Toys R Us once and decided never again. It just wasn't worth the wait for the items I did buy. One year the loving husband got up at 3 and stood in line to get a great deal on our flat screen TV. He first started at Best Buy but quickly realized that he was not going to get one of the magic coupons so (because he did his homework) he jumped in the car and headed over to Lowes where he was one of the lucky 8. I willingly stayed home and ventured out late (6am) so he could get it. I will laugh because after he got the TV he was asking if I needed him to go anywhere else for gifts. He got the shopper's high.
This year my sister in law Julie decided to try the shopping. We got to JC Penny's at 4:15 and people were already walking out with bags. We spent about an hour or so shopping and I have to laugh because when she saw how much she saved she got the shopper's high. Our longest stop was Old Navy which in years past has been one of my shorter stops. We (I) made a shopping mistake by standing in line together for close to an hour. What we should have done was split up and one of us gone out to another store while the other stood in line. Yes, that's what people do on Black Friday. We could have been done shopping a hour earlier if we had done that...oh well.
All told we spent about 7 hours shopping and went to 9 different stores. Julie finished all her shopping and I got about 95% done. Some of the items on my gift list either needed to be purchased from certain web sites or did not need to be bought right away (gift cards). Next year I'll be on my own again since my wonderful sister in law only gets that day off every other year but she has told me that she'll be back again. As for me...I can't wait until next year.
In addition to eating and playing photographer I did manage to get gift ideas from those on my Christmas list. The Sioux Falls paper is full of Black Friday ads and all it takes is for people to page though and make comments. A few carefully placed sheets of paper later and those who needed the lists went home happy. The ads were carefully packed up and transported back home with us so I could come up with my shopping strategy.
At the gathering, I am one of a very few who actually participate in the Black Friday shopping madness. I get the looks and comments from those who wonder why on earth I get up so doggone early and go forth into the shopping madness. Years ago, both before kids and before moving to an area close to major shopping, I too was one of those who questioned the sanity of anyone wanting to do Black Friday. Not anymore.
When we lived in Michigan we were about 2 hours (including traffic) from the mall so I was forced to do any Christmas shopping on weekends which I HATED so I was always trying to buy gifts in October or November but no one had any idea what they wanted for Christmas so I was always guessing or trying to find it locally. A real pain in the butt if you ask me. When we first moved back to South Dakota we were about 3 hours north and west of Sioux Falls but we did have a small mall in Aberdeen along with a few big box stores so I could at least shop during the off-peak hours or in the evenings when it wasn't so busy. Yankton is about an hour and a half south and west of Sioux Falls so it wasn't practical to do early shopping when we were down visiting for Thanksgiving.
All that changed when we moved to Brandon 5 years ago. Brandon is about 20-30 minutes drive from the mall depending on traffic. Sioux Falls also has a lot more shopping choices than just about any other town in a 200 mile radius ( 350 if you go west) so I can actually look at the Black Friday ads and realistically visit those stores unlike years past when I could look but only shop at about 5 stores max. The first year was more of a curiosity thing than anything else. The loving husband had taken the day off as vacation so I decided that what the heck I could get my fat butt out of bed and take care of a few gifts while the kids slept. I decided that hitting JC Penny by 5 was doable so I set the alarm and off I went.
The store was not as busy as I had imagined and the racks were still full of items. I have since found out that the kids clothing gets picked over quite quickly so the earlier the better but on that first shopping trip I still managed to get clothes for the kids that fit. I also found gifts for others on my list too. I kept finding things that were on doorbuster sales so they were 50-70% off . Items that I would never even consider because of cost suddenly became affordable. This was fun. I approached check out and although I still had to wait in line, it was not nearly as long as it would have been several hours later. I got my purchases rang up and then looked at my receipt...and the thrill hit. I had saved over $200. Not only did I save a big chunk of change but I had wiped out over half of my list in less than an hour and didn't have to chase after two small children. This was better than fun....THIS WAS AWESOME!!!! I collected my free snow globe and free donut hole and off I went to do more shopping. By the time I got home, Jim and the kids were finishing breakfast and it was just after 9 and I was done. Thus began the love of Black Friday.
I'm not sure if it is the fact I like to shop or the high I get when I find that great deal but Black Friday is more fun than hassle. Now to be fair I do have to put in some work beforehand but that is totally worth it. To do Black Friday right requires planning and strategy. First is to know when the stores open so you can pick a start point. Second is to decide what it is that you really really want. Third is to find out where else they sell it in case your first choice is out. Fourth is to map out a general time frame of where it is you plan on going and what it is you are going to buy. There are things that are out of your control like traffic, parking, and line waiting but if you know what it is you want when you enter the store then you spend a whole lot less time in there which give you more time to get to the next destination. I confess that I'm not a total die hard stand in line for hours freezing my butt off kind of person. I did do Toys R Us once and decided never again. It just wasn't worth the wait for the items I did buy. One year the loving husband got up at 3 and stood in line to get a great deal on our flat screen TV. He first started at Best Buy but quickly realized that he was not going to get one of the magic coupons so (because he did his homework) he jumped in the car and headed over to Lowes where he was one of the lucky 8. I willingly stayed home and ventured out late (6am) so he could get it. I will laugh because after he got the TV he was asking if I needed him to go anywhere else for gifts. He got the shopper's high.
This year my sister in law Julie decided to try the shopping. We got to JC Penny's at 4:15 and people were already walking out with bags. We spent about an hour or so shopping and I have to laugh because when she saw how much she saved she got the shopper's high. Our longest stop was Old Navy which in years past has been one of my shorter stops. We (I) made a shopping mistake by standing in line together for close to an hour. What we should have done was split up and one of us gone out to another store while the other stood in line. Yes, that's what people do on Black Friday. We could have been done shopping a hour earlier if we had done that...oh well.
All told we spent about 7 hours shopping and went to 9 different stores. Julie finished all her shopping and I got about 95% done. Some of the items on my gift list either needed to be purchased from certain web sites or did not need to be bought right away (gift cards). Next year I'll be on my own again since my wonderful sister in law only gets that day off every other year but she has told me that she'll be back again. As for me...I can't wait until next year.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
I'm thankful for....
Yesterday I blogged about the actual Thanksgiving day feast and activities and today I'd like to actually write about what I'm thankful for. I know that the next few days will be busy busy so I doubt I'll find time to look at e-mail much less sit down and actually compose thoughts. OK, for those who know me the thinking thing is a little of a stretch but at least I try.
I'm thankful for.....
Waking up each morning
in a bed
located in my own bedroom
situated in my house
that has heat,
electricity,
running water both hot and cold,
and indoor bathroom facilities
along with a kitchen that has working appliances
including a refrigerator that has food in it
and a pantry stuffed with items that are not always the most healthy .
I'm thankful for.....
A loving husband
who is and always will be
the love of my life.
And the most awesome
wonderful,
caring and faithful
father any 3 children will know
Who has a job in this tough economy
that earns enough
to provide for the basic
and not so basic
necessities of a happy home.
I'm thankful for...
Motherhood
so challenging and stressful
yet so wonderful and rewarding
all at the same time.
Three unique and special beings
with love in their hearts
and laughter in their lives
each one different than the other
yet similar in so many ways.
My love knows no boundaries
my heart has no limits
and each is as special to me
as any priceless artifact or buried treasure.
I'm thankful for....
Friends
both old and new
Some have been there for years
others a few months.
They listen to me
they give advice to me,
laugh with me
cry with me,
and pray for me.
I would not be
the person
I am
without
their love
and support.
I'm thankful for...
God
and his son
Jesus.
It is though Him
that I
find the strength
and the energy
and the wisdom
to make it through
even the toughest of days.
I'm thankful for...
The men and women
who choose
to honor the rest of us
and fight for the
freedoms
we take so much for granted.
Because of them,
I can worship
God
in any way I want.
I can write a letter
to the editor
and not worry
about living to see it printed.
I have the right
to express my political opinions
by going to the polls
and voting.
I even have the right
to protest
and denounce
what my government
has decided to do
if I don't agree with a law
or policy.
I'm thankful for...
The air I breathe,
the water I drink,
the warm sunshine
and cloudy days
that makes
rain and snow possible
and the promise that
tomorrow's generations are working
to fix the problems
today's generation
and the ones before
have created
both locally
and globally
I'm thankful for...
The end of a day
and the promise of tomorrow
falling asleep
safe and secure
with a full tummy
and warm clothing
and the knowledge
that
I
am
loved.
I'm thankful for.....
Waking up each morning
in a bed
located in my own bedroom
situated in my house
that has heat,
electricity,
running water both hot and cold,
and indoor bathroom facilities
along with a kitchen that has working appliances
including a refrigerator that has food in it
and a pantry stuffed with items that are not always the most healthy .
I'm thankful for.....
A loving husband
who is and always will be
the love of my life.
And the most awesome
wonderful,
caring and faithful
father any 3 children will know
Who has a job in this tough economy
that earns enough
to provide for the basic
and not so basic
necessities of a happy home.
I'm thankful for...
Motherhood
so challenging and stressful
yet so wonderful and rewarding
all at the same time.
Three unique and special beings
with love in their hearts
and laughter in their lives
each one different than the other
yet similar in so many ways.
My love knows no boundaries
my heart has no limits
and each is as special to me
as any priceless artifact or buried treasure.
I'm thankful for....
Friends
both old and new
Some have been there for years
others a few months.
They listen to me
they give advice to me,
laugh with me
cry with me,
and pray for me.
I would not be
the person
I am
without
their love
and support.
I'm thankful for...
God
and his son
Jesus.
It is though Him
that I
find the strength
and the energy
and the wisdom
to make it through
even the toughest of days.
I'm thankful for...
The men and women
who choose
to honor the rest of us
and fight for the
freedoms
we take so much for granted.
Because of them,
I can worship
God
in any way I want.
I can write a letter
to the editor
and not worry
about living to see it printed.
I have the right
to express my political opinions
by going to the polls
and voting.
I even have the right
to protest
and denounce
what my government
has decided to do
if I don't agree with a law
or policy.
I'm thankful for...
The air I breathe,
the water I drink,
the warm sunshine
and cloudy days
that makes
rain and snow possible
and the promise that
tomorrow's generations are working
to fix the problems
today's generation
and the ones before
have created
both locally
and globally
I'm thankful for...
The end of a day
and the promise of tomorrow
falling asleep
safe and secure
with a full tummy
and warm clothing
and the knowledge
that
I
am
loved.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thanksgving
Well this is the week. On Thursday I will gather with a very large group of Jim's family members and celebrate this wonderful holiday. This is something that his mother's side of the family has been doing for a lot of years. The hall in Lesterville, SD is reserved and that is where (depending on the year) roughly 100-120 family members gather to give thanks and reconnect with each other. The first time I went I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of individuals milling around greeting each other, laughing and talking all at once. Before the meal begins, the whole group gathers in one large circle with each family unit standing next to each other. We then start at 1 and go around the circle until every member is counted. Those who are not present at roll call but will be in later that day are also counted. After roll call is taken then we hold hands and sing the Lord's Prayer (it is a Catholic gathering) and then a Thanksgiving prayer is said thanking the Lord for the blessings of this year and remembering those who can't be here and those here in spirit. After that is done the eating begins.
I could do pages and pages recounting all of the wonderful stuff there is to eat. Yes, we have the turkey(s) and mashed potatoes and dressing (Let's just say it's not Stove Top Stuffing) and ham too. As you can imagine, this is a potluck affair so there is a multitude of items set out for all to enjoy. Usually I do a green bean casserole and Jim does the sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I've also been known to contribute a dessert or two, but not pumpkin pie..they have quite a few pie makers in the family. Because this is the Czech/German side of the family there are koliches (tasty pastries) to eat and dumplings too and a big dish of sauerkraut to put on the mashed potatoes (oh, I LOVE that). Those that don't do much in the way of food usually bring the beverages. I'm still amazed that for all the alcohol setting out, no one gets plastered and very few kids sneak a drink. There is of course tons of pop and juice drinks for the non-drinkers.
After stuffing ourselves silly, the fun begins. Usually the kids play some version of tag or hide and seek, If the weather isn't too cold or the outside too muddy then a football game of some sort takes place along with any other outside type game that kids might like to play. For those inside, there is the annual Trivial Pursuit game or some sort of card game. I think we have photos of one of our children sitting on a lap learning how to play poker. For the past few years we have brought the Sioux Falls paper with us and let individuals look over the ads. Just in case someone is still hungry, there are a few big bowls of chex mix both sweet and salty to snack on along with any veggies left over on the relish trays. Did I mention we have lots of food? This is the time photos are shared and babies admired and exciting news is announced. For quite a few years hubby and I were the subject of much ribbing as to when we would announce our engagement. We did announce one pregnancy (Carolyn) at this event and Andrew was only a few weeks old when he made his debut. I still laugh at how we set the carseat with a sleeping Andrew down on a table in front of my Mother-in-law asking her to watch over him for a few minutes while we got the coats off the other 2 kids and the food over to the serving area. When we returned a few minutes later he was being shown off as the newest grandchild and youngest participant. It seems we add new members every year.
As the afternoon wears down and the leftovers are again warmed up for anyone wanting another meal people start to trickle out. Soon there are only a handful left and they finish the job started by the early comers and wash the dishes, put the tables and chairs away, and clean the floor. Good-byes are said and the lights go out. Another year will have passed. Oh what fun and exciting memories. I can hardly wait.
I could do pages and pages recounting all of the wonderful stuff there is to eat. Yes, we have the turkey(s) and mashed potatoes and dressing (Let's just say it's not Stove Top Stuffing) and ham too. As you can imagine, this is a potluck affair so there is a multitude of items set out for all to enjoy. Usually I do a green bean casserole and Jim does the sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I've also been known to contribute a dessert or two, but not pumpkin pie..they have quite a few pie makers in the family. Because this is the Czech/German side of the family there are koliches (tasty pastries) to eat and dumplings too and a big dish of sauerkraut to put on the mashed potatoes (oh, I LOVE that). Those that don't do much in the way of food usually bring the beverages. I'm still amazed that for all the alcohol setting out, no one gets plastered and very few kids sneak a drink. There is of course tons of pop and juice drinks for the non-drinkers.
After stuffing ourselves silly, the fun begins. Usually the kids play some version of tag or hide and seek, If the weather isn't too cold or the outside too muddy then a football game of some sort takes place along with any other outside type game that kids might like to play. For those inside, there is the annual Trivial Pursuit game or some sort of card game. I think we have photos of one of our children sitting on a lap learning how to play poker. For the past few years we have brought the Sioux Falls paper with us and let individuals look over the ads. Just in case someone is still hungry, there are a few big bowls of chex mix both sweet and salty to snack on along with any veggies left over on the relish trays. Did I mention we have lots of food? This is the time photos are shared and babies admired and exciting news is announced. For quite a few years hubby and I were the subject of much ribbing as to when we would announce our engagement. We did announce one pregnancy (Carolyn) at this event and Andrew was only a few weeks old when he made his debut. I still laugh at how we set the carseat with a sleeping Andrew down on a table in front of my Mother-in-law asking her to watch over him for a few minutes while we got the coats off the other 2 kids and the food over to the serving area. When we returned a few minutes later he was being shown off as the newest grandchild and youngest participant. It seems we add new members every year.
As the afternoon wears down and the leftovers are again warmed up for anyone wanting another meal people start to trickle out. Soon there are only a handful left and they finish the job started by the early comers and wash the dishes, put the tables and chairs away, and clean the floor. Good-byes are said and the lights go out. Another year will have passed. Oh what fun and exciting memories. I can hardly wait.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chocolate chip cookie brownies
Sorry for the lapse in posts...life gets so busy sometimes. I thought since the festival of the really huge bird was around the corner I'd post one of my favorite dessert recipes. This is super easy and only requires a few ingredients and surprise surprise does not involve pumpkin or graham crackers.
To make:
1 box of family size brownie mix (13 x 9)
1 package chocolate chip cookie mix
Chocolate frosting
Ingredients needed:
water
vegetable oil
3-4 eggs depending of brand of mix and type of brownie (cake vs. traditional)
1 stick of butter
Set oven to 350
Spray bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Prepare brownie mix according to directions. Spread in pan.
Make cookie dough according to directions on package.
Drop cookies by rounded spoonful into the brownie batter; press down lightly.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out almost clean.
Cool completely and frost with chocolate frosting.
There you have it folks, an awesome take with you totally delicious dessert. If you want you can make the frosting from scratch but the canned stuff works just as well and is a lot easier to take with if you are traveling to some one's house. You can also use frosting other than chocolate if you don't want to go for the chocolate overload. If you buy the Betty Crocker brand of chocolate chip cookie mix the recipe is located at the bottom of the package but like I said earlier, any brand works. Enjoy!!!
To make:
1 box of family size brownie mix (13 x 9)
1 package chocolate chip cookie mix
Chocolate frosting
Ingredients needed:
water
vegetable oil
3-4 eggs depending of brand of mix and type of brownie (cake vs. traditional)
1 stick of butter
Set oven to 350
Spray bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Prepare brownie mix according to directions. Spread in pan.
Make cookie dough according to directions on package.
Drop cookies by rounded spoonful into the brownie batter; press down lightly.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out almost clean.
Cool completely and frost with chocolate frosting.
There you have it folks, an awesome take with you totally delicious dessert. If you want you can make the frosting from scratch but the canned stuff works just as well and is a lot easier to take with if you are traveling to some one's house. You can also use frosting other than chocolate if you don't want to go for the chocolate overload. If you buy the Betty Crocker brand of chocolate chip cookie mix the recipe is located at the bottom of the package but like I said earlier, any brand works. Enjoy!!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
3 years
You came into my life.....
It was love at first sight.....
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I watched you change....
and grow....
Oh what a fun ride it's been.
Happy 3rd birthday Andrew.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The meeting
Today was the day. It was the meeting I have both been anticipating and dreading at the same time. Andrew will be turning 3 next week so legally the Birth to 3 program and the school district have to test him and decide what to do about services before that birthday. Because of our family history, Andrew was given both the standard developmental testing that would occur when a child ages out of the Birth to 3 program and Autism testing. This past month I have been taking Andrew over to the school for that testing and filling out evaluations and questioners. All told Andrew was given 10 different tests or evaluations
The first part of the testing was the full-scale developmental evaluation. This measures the language skills , gross and fine motor skills, and cognitive development. The test took a little over an hour. Andrew was tested by one of the Early Education Teachers, the Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist. He was also observed by another speech therapist who is also the Autism consultant. He was required to do a series of tasks such as pointing to a correct object or stack blocks or answer a question appropriately. I was not present for the PT and OT or speech part but Andrew was cooperative and did pretty well without me.
To save time I was given a bunch of checklists and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale and Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale to fill out and bring back. It was also decided that Andrew would do much better if the testing was broken down into smaller chunks of time so the Autism testing that would normally take 2-3 hours was broken into one session to do the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) test and another to do the interview/intelligence testing. Andrew was also observed during MOPS when he was in the MOPPETS room. Normally the child would be observed during class time but since Andrew does not go to school or daycare we needed a setting where he was with a group of children.
I have filled out most of the checklists and tests before so this was not unfamiliar. Even so, it still was a challenge since I was being asked specific question about my child and some of them I could answer many different ways. He's 2 so how am I supposed to answer questions on whether or not he makes and keeps friends or if he shares his toys with others. I did have my Birth to 3 speech therapist and occupational therapist help me with some of the questions since they can be more objective than I can. In addition to the paperwork, I was asked a series of similar questions both by the Psychologist and the Autism consultant. The actual testing was very similar to what the developmental testing was. In the case of the ADOS, Andrew was observed doing tasks very close to what he did the week before. To an untrained person it really looked like Andrew was playing games with the tester. The main difference was he was being judged on different criteria. The observers were looking for specific behaviors that he would or would not do. Did he make appropriate eye contact, did he interact with the people appropriately, did he play with the toys appropriately, when given a certain situation, did he react appropriately....you get the idea. He only had two meltdowns so I was pretty pleased.
The third series of testing involved more questions and asking Andrew to do more educational type things. These were the IQ and intellectual ability tests. This part was pretty easy since all I had to do was answer yes or no and when I hit 3 No's we moved on to the next section. At one point I had to leave and take Carolyn to OT so I left Andrew there. He did just fine although according to the psychologist, Andrew discovered that the puzzle pieces had numbers on the back of them so he started to focus on the numbers and not the puzzle pieces themselves.
So after all that testing was completed, the team would then meet and interpret scores and determine if Andrew met criteria for both the Early Childhood Special Education program and Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is where I totally love the Brandon Valley School District. They are smaller than the Sioux Falls District and more progressive when it comes to special services. Because of that my children have had success getting services that if we had been in Sioux Falls would not be available. This is not a knock on the SF school district, they are still a great district but they also have a lot more special needs children competing for a limited number of spaces so the test scores of my kids would probably be too high to qualify for SF but do qualify here. If Andrew did qualify for services then he would enter on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and that would be reviewed yearly until he no longer qualified for Special Education Services.
So fast forward to today. Carolyn has speech and OT from 9:15 to 10:15. The plan as has been all month was to leave after transportation picked Carolyn up and then be back home by 10:20. This morning my phone rang at 9:15, it was Lisa the Early Education Coordinator who was in charge of Andrew's meeting. I told her no, I did not forget the meeting, transportation had not showed up yet. A few phone calls later and I find out Carolyn's driver forgot to pick her up. No, I don't want the Transportation secretary to come and get her, I'll just take her over myself. Needless to say I got there 20 minutes late. I apologised to all who had shown up on time. So with even less time than usual, the meeting began.
The PT and OT were the first to speak since they had kids to see and did not want to run late. That part of the meeting went very well. Andrew is on track with the majority of his gross and fine motor skills. There were a few problems here and there but overall they were pleased. Amy, the OT was thrilled when she discovered Andrew possessed the proper pencil grip and the ability to write correctly on paper (both Matthew and Carolyn struggle with this and with the fine motor skills needed for handwriting). Both OT and PT were pleased with Andrew's abilities and he scored in the normal range so he does not need their services.
Speech went next. Overall Andrew did wonderful. He improved in scores since the first evaluation at 18 months. He tested out in the normal range. A lot of time was spent on the speech stuff since it is such a huge part of the overall evaluation. This is the area Andrew has had problems in and is the area all my kids struggle with. As far as speech goes, there are several components that get scored. Andrew is scored on how well he knows words, how well he understands words, and how well he speaks and pronounces words. Trust me, there are lots of sentences and paragraphs dedicated to the language scores in his evaluation. The language part that deals with how Andrew responds to directions and questions is a whole other set of numbers. Andrew still has delays in certain areas of language such as spontaneous speech ( intitating a conversation) and social language (having a back and forth conversation). Andrew also has problems answering certain questions appropriately or following complicated directions. I'm not too surprised. He did qualify for speech services and will get therapy 2 times per week.
The biggest part of the meeting was the discussion of the developmental scores and the results of the Autism testing. This was the confusing part. All the information is tallied and scored and put out in the report and the Psychologist goes through and reads both the scores and what they mean. Because we were so time limited, he tried to skim over and compress things. According to the report, Andrew did not meet criteria for a specific learning disability or developmental delay. That made me very happy. What that meant was according to the test scores, Andrew is functioning in the normal range for a child his age. Things were looking up.
When it came to the Autism scores things got even more confusing. Andrew does not show "typical" behavior. He does have the speech/language difficulties that would be associated with the disorder but does not have the social impairment that would normally be seen. However, he does love numbers and letters...a lot. I will admit to being on the "huh" side of confused when all the test scores were being interpreted so I'm not quite sure how to explain things so I will just wing it. According to the Psychologist, they too had difficulty with how to score and rate Andrew. He has a family history of ASD and in order for something to count at least 2 people had to observe the behavior or action. Because of his young age, some of the data isn't the best indicator. He ended up meeting the criteria for the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. Basically, he functions very close to someone with Aspergers Syndrome but does not meet the criteria for that diagnosis. Aspergers kids don't have the language and speech delays, have social impairment issues and are usually focused on a narrow topic or item. Andrew has speech and language delays, is OK in the social skills department, but is obsessed with letters and numbers. He also appears to have a normal IQ. OK, I'll go with that.
To sum things up, this meeting went almost like I expected it to. I was surprised that Andrew got the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. I expected that he'd get he *Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified diagnosis that Carolyn got but I guess since he has no real delays that does not apply. Am I surprised he's on the spectrum? No, not really. Am I disappointed or upset? Once again I have to say no, I'm not. I knew Andrew had huge odds stacked against him when it came to escaping any type of Autism diagnosis. He's a boy and has 2 older siblings diagnosed. I'm just happy Andrew is not developmentally delayed or more severely affected by the disorder. *PDD-NOS is considered an Autism Spectrum Disorder even though it does not have Autism in it*
Because of the need for speech services and his ASD diagnosis Andrew did qualify for the preschool so he will start on the day after his 3rd birthday which is this Wednesday. He will have the same teacher Carolyn did so I don't have to worry about meeting a new teacher. I know Andrew is going to have so much fun. Preschool here he comes!!
The first part of the testing was the full-scale developmental evaluation. This measures the language skills , gross and fine motor skills, and cognitive development. The test took a little over an hour. Andrew was tested by one of the Early Education Teachers, the Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist. He was also observed by another speech therapist who is also the Autism consultant. He was required to do a series of tasks such as pointing to a correct object or stack blocks or answer a question appropriately. I was not present for the PT and OT or speech part but Andrew was cooperative and did pretty well without me.
To save time I was given a bunch of checklists and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale and Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale to fill out and bring back. It was also decided that Andrew would do much better if the testing was broken down into smaller chunks of time so the Autism testing that would normally take 2-3 hours was broken into one session to do the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) test and another to do the interview/intelligence testing. Andrew was also observed during MOPS when he was in the MOPPETS room. Normally the child would be observed during class time but since Andrew does not go to school or daycare we needed a setting where he was with a group of children.
I have filled out most of the checklists and tests before so this was not unfamiliar. Even so, it still was a challenge since I was being asked specific question about my child and some of them I could answer many different ways. He's 2 so how am I supposed to answer questions on whether or not he makes and keeps friends or if he shares his toys with others. I did have my Birth to 3 speech therapist and occupational therapist help me with some of the questions since they can be more objective than I can. In addition to the paperwork, I was asked a series of similar questions both by the Psychologist and the Autism consultant. The actual testing was very similar to what the developmental testing was. In the case of the ADOS, Andrew was observed doing tasks very close to what he did the week before. To an untrained person it really looked like Andrew was playing games with the tester. The main difference was he was being judged on different criteria. The observers were looking for specific behaviors that he would or would not do. Did he make appropriate eye contact, did he interact with the people appropriately, did he play with the toys appropriately, when given a certain situation, did he react appropriately....you get the idea. He only had two meltdowns so I was pretty pleased.
The third series of testing involved more questions and asking Andrew to do more educational type things. These were the IQ and intellectual ability tests. This part was pretty easy since all I had to do was answer yes or no and when I hit 3 No's we moved on to the next section. At one point I had to leave and take Carolyn to OT so I left Andrew there. He did just fine although according to the psychologist, Andrew discovered that the puzzle pieces had numbers on the back of them so he started to focus on the numbers and not the puzzle pieces themselves.
So after all that testing was completed, the team would then meet and interpret scores and determine if Andrew met criteria for both the Early Childhood Special Education program and Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is where I totally love the Brandon Valley School District. They are smaller than the Sioux Falls District and more progressive when it comes to special services. Because of that my children have had success getting services that if we had been in Sioux Falls would not be available. This is not a knock on the SF school district, they are still a great district but they also have a lot more special needs children competing for a limited number of spaces so the test scores of my kids would probably be too high to qualify for SF but do qualify here. If Andrew did qualify for services then he would enter on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and that would be reviewed yearly until he no longer qualified for Special Education Services.
So fast forward to today. Carolyn has speech and OT from 9:15 to 10:15. The plan as has been all month was to leave after transportation picked Carolyn up and then be back home by 10:20. This morning my phone rang at 9:15, it was Lisa the Early Education Coordinator who was in charge of Andrew's meeting. I told her no, I did not forget the meeting, transportation had not showed up yet. A few phone calls later and I find out Carolyn's driver forgot to pick her up. No, I don't want the Transportation secretary to come and get her, I'll just take her over myself. Needless to say I got there 20 minutes late. I apologised to all who had shown up on time. So with even less time than usual, the meeting began.
The PT and OT were the first to speak since they had kids to see and did not want to run late. That part of the meeting went very well. Andrew is on track with the majority of his gross and fine motor skills. There were a few problems here and there but overall they were pleased. Amy, the OT was thrilled when she discovered Andrew possessed the proper pencil grip and the ability to write correctly on paper (both Matthew and Carolyn struggle with this and with the fine motor skills needed for handwriting). Both OT and PT were pleased with Andrew's abilities and he scored in the normal range so he does not need their services.
Speech went next. Overall Andrew did wonderful. He improved in scores since the first evaluation at 18 months. He tested out in the normal range. A lot of time was spent on the speech stuff since it is such a huge part of the overall evaluation. This is the area Andrew has had problems in and is the area all my kids struggle with. As far as speech goes, there are several components that get scored. Andrew is scored on how well he knows words, how well he understands words, and how well he speaks and pronounces words. Trust me, there are lots of sentences and paragraphs dedicated to the language scores in his evaluation. The language part that deals with how Andrew responds to directions and questions is a whole other set of numbers. Andrew still has delays in certain areas of language such as spontaneous speech ( intitating a conversation) and social language (having a back and forth conversation). Andrew also has problems answering certain questions appropriately or following complicated directions. I'm not too surprised. He did qualify for speech services and will get therapy 2 times per week.
The biggest part of the meeting was the discussion of the developmental scores and the results of the Autism testing. This was the confusing part. All the information is tallied and scored and put out in the report and the Psychologist goes through and reads both the scores and what they mean. Because we were so time limited, he tried to skim over and compress things. According to the report, Andrew did not meet criteria for a specific learning disability or developmental delay. That made me very happy. What that meant was according to the test scores, Andrew is functioning in the normal range for a child his age. Things were looking up.
When it came to the Autism scores things got even more confusing. Andrew does not show "typical" behavior. He does have the speech/language difficulties that would be associated with the disorder but does not have the social impairment that would normally be seen. However, he does love numbers and letters...a lot. I will admit to being on the "huh" side of confused when all the test scores were being interpreted so I'm not quite sure how to explain things so I will just wing it. According to the Psychologist, they too had difficulty with how to score and rate Andrew. He has a family history of ASD and in order for something to count at least 2 people had to observe the behavior or action. Because of his young age, some of the data isn't the best indicator. He ended up meeting the criteria for the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. Basically, he functions very close to someone with Aspergers Syndrome but does not meet the criteria for that diagnosis. Aspergers kids don't have the language and speech delays, have social impairment issues and are usually focused on a narrow topic or item. Andrew has speech and language delays, is OK in the social skills department, but is obsessed with letters and numbers. He also appears to have a normal IQ. OK, I'll go with that.
To sum things up, this meeting went almost like I expected it to. I was surprised that Andrew got the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. I expected that he'd get he *Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified diagnosis that Carolyn got but I guess since he has no real delays that does not apply. Am I surprised he's on the spectrum? No, not really. Am I disappointed or upset? Once again I have to say no, I'm not. I knew Andrew had huge odds stacked against him when it came to escaping any type of Autism diagnosis. He's a boy and has 2 older siblings diagnosed. I'm just happy Andrew is not developmentally delayed or more severely affected by the disorder. *PDD-NOS is considered an Autism Spectrum Disorder even though it does not have Autism in it*
Because of the need for speech services and his ASD diagnosis Andrew did qualify for the preschool so he will start on the day after his 3rd birthday which is this Wednesday. He will have the same teacher Carolyn did so I don't have to worry about meeting a new teacher. I know Andrew is going to have so much fun. Preschool here he comes!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The doughnut
The following is a small part of a conversation that occurred between me and Carolyn this morning before she left for school. * means the name has been changed
Carolyn: "I want to take the donut to school for snack today"
Me: "You can't take the donut for snack, it's not a healthy snack"
Carolyn: "Yeah, it's got nuts on it and they make George* sick"
Me: "You're right they can make someone sick but George isn't in your class but there might be other kids with allergies"
More chatter occurs about other things...
Carolyn: "Why can't I take donut to school with me?"
Me: "I don't know. Why can't you take donut to school with you?"
Carolyn: "Nuts make people sick with allergies. I wanna take goldfish crackers to school for snack."
Me : OK.
I then proceed to make a small snack bag of goldfish crackers and in the process notice the aforementioned doughnut is not in the box or even in the kitchen....
Me: "Carolyn, go get the donut and bring it back to me. You're not supposed to take it downstairs."
Carolyn: "OK mommy...." disappears down the basement stairs.
A few moments later there is a great commotion as the wails of an extremely outraged and upset Andrew filter upstairs.
Carolyn: "Here you go mommy."... as she is handing me a half-eaten donut.
Me: "Let me guess, you gave the donut to Andrew to eat and then went down and took it away form him."
Carolyn: "Yes, mommy."
Shortly thereafter Andrew comes stomping up the stairs very upset. He goes immediately to Carolyn and proceeds to smack her and yell "NO" at the top of his lungs. I quickly separate the two and divide the doughnut up and hand Andrew his half back. All goes quiet.
Welcome to my world.
Carolyn: "I want to take the donut to school for snack today"
Me: "You can't take the donut for snack, it's not a healthy snack"
Carolyn: "Yeah, it's got nuts on it and they make George* sick"
Me: "You're right they can make someone sick but George isn't in your class but there might be other kids with allergies"
More chatter occurs about other things...
Carolyn: "Why can't I take donut to school with me?"
Me: "I don't know. Why can't you take donut to school with you?"
Carolyn: "Nuts make people sick with allergies. I wanna take goldfish crackers to school for snack."
Me : OK.
I then proceed to make a small snack bag of goldfish crackers and in the process notice the aforementioned doughnut is not in the box or even in the kitchen....
Me: "Carolyn, go get the donut and bring it back to me. You're not supposed to take it downstairs."
Carolyn: "OK mommy...." disappears down the basement stairs.
A few moments later there is a great commotion as the wails of an extremely outraged and upset Andrew filter upstairs.
Carolyn: "Here you go mommy."... as she is handing me a half-eaten donut.
Me: "Let me guess, you gave the donut to Andrew to eat and then went down and took it away form him."
Carolyn: "Yes, mommy."
Shortly thereafter Andrew comes stomping up the stairs very upset. He goes immediately to Carolyn and proceeds to smack her and yell "NO" at the top of his lungs. I quickly separate the two and divide the doughnut up and hand Andrew his half back. All goes quiet.
Welcome to my world.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
This post sponsered by...
As some of you may know, the FTC recently decided to require bloggers to disclose whether or not they were given compensation (either money or free stuff) in exchange for mentioning said product or service in their blog. For some odd reason --at least to me--quite a few bloggers and media persons are upset. Cries of unfair and government intrusion are being written all over cyberspace and in the printed media. I of course am wondering why the big fuss?? It seems only fair that those who write about a product or service would be obligated to let the rest of us know that their love of "Comfy Butt Toilet Paper"springs from the fact they receive several cases of the stuff a year and in return promise to only wipe with it and write endlessly about its heavenly softness.
Now I know that most of us who blog do it as an outlet or to pass information on to family and friends. Many blogs I read are small and have less than 100 followers. Some do have ads on the side but most don't. As a rule I personally do not read the celebrity gossip blogs or political blogs or any blog written by a movie star, actor, musician, or 15 minutes of fame idiot. I would assume that the FTC rules would apply more to those blogs of the latter category than my little rinky-dink blog. A grayer area of course are those so called travel blogs, movie blogs, restaurant blogs and blogs on wedding and pregnancy sites. Personally, if I read a gushing account about how the blogger spent a wonderful fun-filled carefree vacation in Las Vegas I would want to know that said blogger got the trip paid for by the ritzy 5 star hotel with the intention of writing about how much fun she or he had. Same goes for the bride to be that can't say enough about the zit cream that saved her wedding day or the mom to be who just loves her support pillow. I would assume that the movie goer or restaurant eater paid for the meal or movie but if they were given the stuff free with the assumption a good write up would follow then of course I would want to know that before plunking down my hard-earned money.
The last category of bloggers who are probably most outraged are those who I will call
"ad-whores" They are the ones who write an "informative" blog and focus on products and services that they use and find useful. These are the bloggers companies sit up and take notice of. The intent of many of these writers is to see if they can get companies to send them coupons or free stuff as a "thank you" for using their products and services. To be fair, there are those honest folks out there who use items and services and truly love them and willingly write accolades. However, in my humble opinion, I think that I as a reader should know if the blog I'm reading is sponsored by companies X,Y an Z. I"m pretty sure that's why bloggers and companies are so up in arms. It's not that they can't write a positive and glowing opinion about a product, it's the fact they are getting compensation to blog about the product and they can make it seem like they use the product out of the pure love of their heart. That my friends is just plain unfair not matter how you look at it. I really don't mind reading about how wonderful "Flower Power Water" tastes. I wouldn't mind if I got a free sample of the stuff to try. I will even disclose in my blog that I received a free bottle of the water and tried it. However....just because I got it free does not mean I'm going to absolutely love it. If I get a free sample of "Delicious Discriminating Deli Delights" lunch meat and I feed it to the kids and they and I decided that I could make a sandwich using the contents of Trina's litter box that would taste better then by all means I'm gonna write it. But of course that's just me.
In closing I'd like to add that if certain advertisers want to send me free stuff then I won't say no. If you are Coca Cola...please please send stuff. I'll acknowledge you. I'll change my background to red and white and post photos of me happily drinking an ice cold delicious Coke. If you're Taco Johns..same offer except I'll change to yellow and black and post me eating potato oles.
OK, now I'm just being an ad whore. Or is it product slut?
Now I know that most of us who blog do it as an outlet or to pass information on to family and friends. Many blogs I read are small and have less than 100 followers. Some do have ads on the side but most don't. As a rule I personally do not read the celebrity gossip blogs or political blogs or any blog written by a movie star, actor, musician, or 15 minutes of fame idiot. I would assume that the FTC rules would apply more to those blogs of the latter category than my little rinky-dink blog. A grayer area of course are those so called travel blogs, movie blogs, restaurant blogs and blogs on wedding and pregnancy sites. Personally, if I read a gushing account about how the blogger spent a wonderful fun-filled carefree vacation in Las Vegas I would want to know that said blogger got the trip paid for by the ritzy 5 star hotel with the intention of writing about how much fun she or he had. Same goes for the bride to be that can't say enough about the zit cream that saved her wedding day or the mom to be who just loves her support pillow. I would assume that the movie goer or restaurant eater paid for the meal or movie but if they were given the stuff free with the assumption a good write up would follow then of course I would want to know that before plunking down my hard-earned money.
The last category of bloggers who are probably most outraged are those who I will call
"ad-whores" They are the ones who write an "informative" blog and focus on products and services that they use and find useful. These are the bloggers companies sit up and take notice of. The intent of many of these writers is to see if they can get companies to send them coupons or free stuff as a "thank you" for using their products and services. To be fair, there are those honest folks out there who use items and services and truly love them and willingly write accolades. However, in my humble opinion, I think that I as a reader should know if the blog I'm reading is sponsored by companies X,Y an Z. I"m pretty sure that's why bloggers and companies are so up in arms. It's not that they can't write a positive and glowing opinion about a product, it's the fact they are getting compensation to blog about the product and they can make it seem like they use the product out of the pure love of their heart. That my friends is just plain unfair not matter how you look at it. I really don't mind reading about how wonderful "Flower Power Water" tastes. I wouldn't mind if I got a free sample of the stuff to try. I will even disclose in my blog that I received a free bottle of the water and tried it. However....just because I got it free does not mean I'm going to absolutely love it. If I get a free sample of "Delicious Discriminating Deli Delights" lunch meat and I feed it to the kids and they and I decided that I could make a sandwich using the contents of Trina's litter box that would taste better then by all means I'm gonna write it. But of course that's just me.
In closing I'd like to add that if certain advertisers want to send me free stuff then I won't say no. If you are Coca Cola...please please send stuff. I'll acknowledge you. I'll change my background to red and white and post photos of me happily drinking an ice cold delicious Coke. If you're Taco Johns..same offer except I'll change to yellow and black and post me eating potato oles.
OK, now I'm just being an ad whore. Or is it product slut?
Monday, October 12, 2009
I did it!!!!
Look, we match!!!!
About as traditional a shot as I could get.
After two and a half years of practice and training, one completely grueling and rigorous test, three missed board breaks, two separate re-break attempts, and one heartbreaking failure.......
I FINALLY BROKE THE BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing to it really, all I had to do was believe in myself and shut that little voice up that was telling me not to do this. Special thanks to the loving husband who decided that Styrofoam was the key to learning this break. Yes, it looks pretty funny holding a piece of Styrofoam and breaking it but by doing that I was able to get over my fear of the board hurting me and I was able to concentrate on the proper stance and form needed to do this break. It still took 3 tries but this time I did the break with only the loving husband and the instructor in the room with me after class had finished. I had much less nervousness and I had an inner feeling of confidence. When the board actually did break--I could tell by the sound it made--and the top piece fell on the floor, I dropped the other piece and did what could only be called the "Cindy Squeal" while jumping up and down. The clapping I heard came from the other Black Belts and instructors who were assembled in another room for a meeting. They of course had been watching the whole time but my brain didn't know that so the nerves never got to me. Unfortunately, the members of my Sioux Falls class were not able to attend this class in Brookings so they did not get to see this event.
To be fair, the self-hold knife is still an icky, nasty, horrible break, but it does look pretty cool when done correctly. I'm done with this break for now but in a few years when I test for second degree I can't say for sure that this won't be a break I need to do again. I really hope not because...
I HATE DOING THAT BREAK.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Mmmmm.....banana bread
I came across this recipe for banana bread a few weeks ago and tried it. It is super easy and the bread turns out wonderful. I don't add nuts but I'm sure you can add walnuts or almonds. I did try adding whole flax seed and it didn't turn out too bad.
Easy Banana Bread
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
Mix all together. Put in greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.
Easy Banana Bread
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
Mix all together. Put in greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Congratulations sweetie, I'm so (sob) happy for you.
Well this past Friday was our chance to re-test and earn our black belt. As I mentioned in my previous post about our testing we are allowed to re-try those board breaks we missed during the test and if we make the break we get the belt.
Our former instructor was going to be teaching a class in Brookings and wanted us to do our board breaks that night. This is a class that all adult and Jr. black belts are invited to attend. A select few colored belts are also invited. Because myself and hubby are still red belts but tested for the black we were eligible to attend. I had actually gone up to Brookings two weeks earlier for class and the loving husband volunteered to watch the kids since we got too short of a notice to find child care. Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law we were both able to attend this time.
Also attending class that night was our current instructor and her husband, along with another black belt from our class. Unlike the last class where I was the only Sioux Falls student (and oldest participant) there were 5 of us and hubby was now the oldest participant. It was nice to have familiar faces.
The class was 2 hours and we practiced techniques that I knew and learned some new ones. Although not as intense as testing, we still had a workout. It was fun and there was much laughter. At the end of class we were allowed our re-tries.
Hubby had one break to do..the twin kick. That is the one where you have to break 2 boards without letting your feet touch the ground between kicks. Hubby's first try broke the right board but not the left and his second try broke the left but not the right. I could see the frustration on his face and I was worried that he might not get it on his last try. With a lot of effort and determination he broke on the third attempt. Oh, I was so happy for him. I jumped up and hugged him.
My turn was next and I had to do that same break. Unlike the loving husband who hates this break and struggles to do it, I don't mind it. The only reason I couldn't get this one during testing was my legs were too tired and my uniform was sticking to me which made it difficult to get the strength and speed to do the break. I also was too brain dead to remember how I did the break during my red belt test. Anyway, I lined the boards up, took position, and nailed it on my first try. One down, two to go. My next break was the evil sadistic self-hold knife. I hold the board with one hand and strike it with my other hand. My first attempt did not go very well and my nerves started to get the best of me. My former instructor was oh so supportive and was giving me encouragement but I kept telling her I could not do the break. I was telling her that because my my body was shaking so bad I could not hold the board. Even the loving husband could see my hands shaking and he was several feet away. Thankfully Miss Jen decided to let me do the other break and come back to this one. My third break was the palm strike through the board. This was the break I missed at testing but then when I was told what I did wrong I corrected it and broke the board but did not yell so it did not count. After a few minutes of instruction on how best to do this break I made my first attempt. It would have worked great except for the fact my belt somehow got in the way and the end of it was on the board so when I smacked it my hand hit soft cotton instead of hard wood...oops. My second try was much more successful. Two down one left.
Officially we get 3 tries to break the board. Since out Master Instructor was not present the rules could be bent a little. I was having a very difficult time getting the mechanics of this break down. I made several attempts with no luck and then in an attempt to bolster my confidence, Miss Jen gave me a smaller practice board to try to break. She was hoping that if I broke the little board I would break the big board. Several tries at that was still not very productive. She then decided to show me how to do the break by doing it herself. She tried but could not get her board to go either...so much for the "I'll show you how" technique. Finally she said that I got one more try. If I didn't get it then I had to wait until the next time she was in town to teach class. I grabbed my board, took position, shut my eyes, and smacked the thing with all I had in me. The sound echoed all though out the room.
IT
WAS
STILL
UNBROKEN
Miss Jen did check for cracks but there were none. The only thing broken was my heart. I wanted so much to make this break. I wanted so much to stand there amongst my husband, friends, and peers as an equal, a Black Belt. I wanted so much to finish what I had started, to finally achieve what I had worked so hard these past two years for. I wanted that same rush of adrenaline and excitement that Jim had felt earlier. I wanted to be done with that break.
Instead, I watched as my loving husband stood and got his belt. I tried to smile. tried to be happy for him. I clapped and hugged him and told him I loved him and that I was so proud of him. I meant every word I said. Inside I was dying, all I wanted to do was be alone and let the tears fall. The pain was so much more than the obvious physical pain of repeatedly hitting a solid wooden object. It was the internal emotional type. The kind that teams feel when their opponent scores the winning point(s) in the final second or a candidate feels after losing a very close election. I felt like the worlds biggest loser.
Afterwards, the other members of my class came over to console me and to remind me that they too had problems with this same break. My current instructor in a wonderful attempt to cheer me up informed me that none of the other ladies present made their breaks and got their belt on the first re-try so if I had gotten my belt "then we'd have had to kill you" ( cheerfully said of course) My former instructor told me that next time I do the break I get my 3 tries and if I don't make the break then she tries and if she fails I get as many re-tries that evening as it takes for her to break her board.
It's taken a few days but I'm OK with myself. I did skip my Weight Watchers meeting though. I decided that I could not handle any more disappointment this weekend. I don't know if I lost or gained any weight but I really did not want to sit through a meeting if I either did not lose anything or gained and have to clap for those members who met weight loss goals. As for my hand...well it's pretty sore. The whole side of my right hand from pinkie to wrist is swollen and blueish. I don't think I broke anything but I bruised quite a few things. I'm hoping that in a few weeks I can re-try my break. And this time
I WANNA BREAK THAT %^#!*$@ BOARD!!!!!!!
Our former instructor was going to be teaching a class in Brookings and wanted us to do our board breaks that night. This is a class that all adult and Jr. black belts are invited to attend. A select few colored belts are also invited. Because myself and hubby are still red belts but tested for the black we were eligible to attend. I had actually gone up to Brookings two weeks earlier for class and the loving husband volunteered to watch the kids since we got too short of a notice to find child care. Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law we were both able to attend this time.
Also attending class that night was our current instructor and her husband, along with another black belt from our class. Unlike the last class where I was the only Sioux Falls student (and oldest participant) there were 5 of us and hubby was now the oldest participant. It was nice to have familiar faces.
The class was 2 hours and we practiced techniques that I knew and learned some new ones. Although not as intense as testing, we still had a workout. It was fun and there was much laughter. At the end of class we were allowed our re-tries.
Hubby had one break to do..the twin kick. That is the one where you have to break 2 boards without letting your feet touch the ground between kicks. Hubby's first try broke the right board but not the left and his second try broke the left but not the right. I could see the frustration on his face and I was worried that he might not get it on his last try. With a lot of effort and determination he broke on the third attempt. Oh, I was so happy for him. I jumped up and hugged him.
My turn was next and I had to do that same break. Unlike the loving husband who hates this break and struggles to do it, I don't mind it. The only reason I couldn't get this one during testing was my legs were too tired and my uniform was sticking to me which made it difficult to get the strength and speed to do the break. I also was too brain dead to remember how I did the break during my red belt test. Anyway, I lined the boards up, took position, and nailed it on my first try. One down, two to go. My next break was the evil sadistic self-hold knife. I hold the board with one hand and strike it with my other hand. My first attempt did not go very well and my nerves started to get the best of me. My former instructor was oh so supportive and was giving me encouragement but I kept telling her I could not do the break. I was telling her that because my my body was shaking so bad I could not hold the board. Even the loving husband could see my hands shaking and he was several feet away. Thankfully Miss Jen decided to let me do the other break and come back to this one. My third break was the palm strike through the board. This was the break I missed at testing but then when I was told what I did wrong I corrected it and broke the board but did not yell so it did not count. After a few minutes of instruction on how best to do this break I made my first attempt. It would have worked great except for the fact my belt somehow got in the way and the end of it was on the board so when I smacked it my hand hit soft cotton instead of hard wood...oops. My second try was much more successful. Two down one left.
Officially we get 3 tries to break the board. Since out Master Instructor was not present the rules could be bent a little. I was having a very difficult time getting the mechanics of this break down. I made several attempts with no luck and then in an attempt to bolster my confidence, Miss Jen gave me a smaller practice board to try to break. She was hoping that if I broke the little board I would break the big board. Several tries at that was still not very productive. She then decided to show me how to do the break by doing it herself. She tried but could not get her board to go either...so much for the "I'll show you how" technique. Finally she said that I got one more try. If I didn't get it then I had to wait until the next time she was in town to teach class. I grabbed my board, took position, shut my eyes, and smacked the thing with all I had in me. The sound echoed all though out the room.
IT
WAS
STILL
UNBROKEN
Miss Jen did check for cracks but there were none. The only thing broken was my heart. I wanted so much to make this break. I wanted so much to stand there amongst my husband, friends, and peers as an equal, a Black Belt. I wanted so much to finish what I had started, to finally achieve what I had worked so hard these past two years for. I wanted that same rush of adrenaline and excitement that Jim had felt earlier. I wanted to be done with that break.
Instead, I watched as my loving husband stood and got his belt. I tried to smile. tried to be happy for him. I clapped and hugged him and told him I loved him and that I was so proud of him. I meant every word I said. Inside I was dying, all I wanted to do was be alone and let the tears fall. The pain was so much more than the obvious physical pain of repeatedly hitting a solid wooden object. It was the internal emotional type. The kind that teams feel when their opponent scores the winning point(s) in the final second or a candidate feels after losing a very close election. I felt like the worlds biggest loser.
Afterwards, the other members of my class came over to console me and to remind me that they too had problems with this same break. My current instructor in a wonderful attempt to cheer me up informed me that none of the other ladies present made their breaks and got their belt on the first re-try so if I had gotten my belt "then we'd have had to kill you" ( cheerfully said of course) My former instructor told me that next time I do the break I get my 3 tries and if I don't make the break then she tries and if she fails I get as many re-tries that evening as it takes for her to break her board.
It's taken a few days but I'm OK with myself. I did skip my Weight Watchers meeting though. I decided that I could not handle any more disappointment this weekend. I don't know if I lost or gained any weight but I really did not want to sit through a meeting if I either did not lose anything or gained and have to clap for those members who met weight loss goals. As for my hand...well it's pretty sore. The whole side of my right hand from pinkie to wrist is swollen and blueish. I don't think I broke anything but I bruised quite a few things. I'm hoping that in a few weeks I can re-try my break. And this time
I WANNA BREAK THAT %^#!*$@ BOARD!!!!!!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
7 Wonderful Kitchen gadgets
My friend Jackie did a blog post about the 7 kitchen gadgets/items she could not live without. She then challenged fellow bloggers to name their 7 items and either leave them in the comment section or do a post about them. I chose the post so here goes:
1. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer--I got it as a wedding gift and have used it, used it, and used it even more. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a new one soon. I've lost count of the hundreds of cookies, cakes, meringues, and frostings I've made during the years. I've never tried making bread but maybe someday I'll use the bread hook attachment.
2. My silicon baking mats-- These things are AWESOME!!! I have one 9 inch and two 11 inch and they are a baker's dream. I use the smaller one when I make biscuits, rolls, french fries, or chicken sticks. No messy greasy clean-up and the food always comes right off. The two larger sizes are perfect for cookies. I never have to worry about spraying the pans or burnt cookies. When I'm done baking I let the pans cool off and put them away and a quick wash of the mats and that's it.
3. My commercial grade baking sheets-- I got these as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. These are the type of pans that kitchens in restaurants and hospitals use for baking. They are heavy and sturdy so they'll never warp or rust.
4. My Pampered Chef rolling pin combo-- I finally broke down and recently purchased this. It is a small double ended rolling pin. The purpose is to roll dough out in pie pans, baking dishes, or onto pizza pans. It's easily held in one hand and non-stick so there is no stopping and "readjusting" or spending 20 minutes trying to press sticky dough out evenly. I don't know why I waited so long.
5. My Melamie mixing bowls-- These are so much lighter than my other sets of glass bowls. I can't microwave them but I don't need to. I can grab one for those quick mix-it-ups like pizza or pie crusts or brownies ( can't use the mixer) or dry ingredients for cookies and cakes. It is a lot easier to dump the dry part in when the bowl doesn't weigh so much. They are also a cute shade of red so I can put food in them and use them as serving dishes too.
6. My meat fork thermometer-- I actually bought this as a gift for the loving husband but I think I use it much more than he does. After all how else am I supposed to know if the chicken breasts or pork chops are done? It has settings for beef, burgers, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, veal, lamb, and potatoes.
7. My "cake" carrier-- This is supposed to be used to transport a 11x13 size cake or at least pan of that size. I bought it this past summer to carry a cake out to Minnesota for a baby shower. I was able to put two unfrosted layers along with the ingredients for the frosting and my icing spatulas in this. It also works great as a cookie holder. I can fit at least 4 dozen in with no problem. I don't have to worry about the cookies getting smashed up during transport. Later this year it will be used for puppy chow.
Well that's my list. Let me know if you like it or not. What's on your fave list??
1. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer--I got it as a wedding gift and have used it, used it, and used it even more. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a new one soon. I've lost count of the hundreds of cookies, cakes, meringues, and frostings I've made during the years. I've never tried making bread but maybe someday I'll use the bread hook attachment.
2. My silicon baking mats-- These things are AWESOME!!! I have one 9 inch and two 11 inch and they are a baker's dream. I use the smaller one when I make biscuits, rolls, french fries, or chicken sticks. No messy greasy clean-up and the food always comes right off. The two larger sizes are perfect for cookies. I never have to worry about spraying the pans or burnt cookies. When I'm done baking I let the pans cool off and put them away and a quick wash of the mats and that's it.
3. My commercial grade baking sheets-- I got these as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. These are the type of pans that kitchens in restaurants and hospitals use for baking. They are heavy and sturdy so they'll never warp or rust.
4. My Pampered Chef rolling pin combo-- I finally broke down and recently purchased this. It is a small double ended rolling pin. The purpose is to roll dough out in pie pans, baking dishes, or onto pizza pans. It's easily held in one hand and non-stick so there is no stopping and "readjusting" or spending 20 minutes trying to press sticky dough out evenly. I don't know why I waited so long.
5. My Melamie mixing bowls-- These are so much lighter than my other sets of glass bowls. I can't microwave them but I don't need to. I can grab one for those quick mix-it-ups like pizza or pie crusts or brownies ( can't use the mixer) or dry ingredients for cookies and cakes. It is a lot easier to dump the dry part in when the bowl doesn't weigh so much. They are also a cute shade of red so I can put food in them and use them as serving dishes too.
6. My meat fork thermometer-- I actually bought this as a gift for the loving husband but I think I use it much more than he does. After all how else am I supposed to know if the chicken breasts or pork chops are done? It has settings for beef, burgers, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, veal, lamb, and potatoes.
7. My "cake" carrier-- This is supposed to be used to transport a 11x13 size cake or at least pan of that size. I bought it this past summer to carry a cake out to Minnesota for a baby shower. I was able to put two unfrosted layers along with the ingredients for the frosting and my icing spatulas in this. It also works great as a cookie holder. I can fit at least 4 dozen in with no problem. I don't have to worry about the cookies getting smashed up during transport. Later this year it will be used for puppy chow.
Well that's my list. Let me know if you like it or not. What's on your fave list??
Monday, September 14, 2009
Nice shootin Tex
I'd like to start this post out by saying that when it comes to things guns and shooting...I don't do them. It's not that I don't like shooting or anything, I never grew up shooting guns or hunting and as a result can't hit a target (moving or still) with any degree of accuracy to save my life. If I had to hunt to feed my family...well we'd either starve to death or become vegetarians. That being said I married into a family that is not only into to all things gun they are very good at shooting too. My father in law was a lover of not only shooting but of guns as well. He had the most extensive knowledge of the type and history of just about any pistol, rifle, or muzzle loader ever made in the last 200 years. He was an excellent shot and instilled his love of shooting and marksmanship skills into his children. My loving husband grew up shooting and over the years became very good at the sport and still competes at a very high level of target shooting. He has won state championships in several states over the years including South Dakota where he has been the state champion these past 6 years. He prefers to compete in prone position which is where you are laying on your stomach and shooting at the target but he can still do pretty well if he has to shoot standing up or in the kneeling position.
My father in law passed away unexpectedly in 2002. For the past 7 years the family has held a shooting match in his honor. It is a day where friends and family come out to the local gun range he helped create and shoot the guns he loved to shoot and have a fun and relaxing time. This year due to time and budget constraints the match part was dropped in favor of a "just come out and shoot" format. On Saturday the family and friends gathered on a picture perfect day for some fun and guns. There were quite a few people out there and all had a good time. Not wanting to spend hours chasing small children (mainly Andrew) off the firing line I opted to come down to Yankton later in the day towards the end of the shoot. The weather was perfect. Sunny and clear with virtually no wind (most unusual for SE South Dakota). I got there around 5 pm just as things were winding down. Matthew and Carolyn did great. Matthew played with one of his second cousins who as about the same age and Carolyn wandered around with her pink earmuffs on. Andrew was a little more tricky but he discovered the gravel and spent time putting it in his hair. After visiting with people I decided that I wanted to shoot some targets. Hubby has this really awesome gun that he bought a few years back. It is a .22 caliber rifle but it is the type of gun used specifically for target shooting and does not look like a hunting rifle but more like the gun you see during the Olympic competitions. It is called a single action bolt because you can only load 1 bullet in at a time and must manually close the action before shooting and open the action after shooting to release the spent cartridge. This is different from the typical .22's hunter's use which are semiautomatic because you can shoot more than one shot with out having to stop and reload. For those who don't know what a .22 caliber is..it's the size of the bullet used in the gun.
There were other guns available but I really wanted to shoot the gun owned by the loving husband so I made sure to let him know I wanted to shoot the last round of targets of the day and on his gun. The gun range is equipped with benches that look very much like school desks. There is a type of shooting called bench rest. This sport has the shooters putting the gun on the table part and shooting from a sitting in a seat position. This is the type of shooting we were doing so I did not have to try and lift up and hold and balance 16 pounds of rifle with mounted scope. That gun is really heavy and it has a really touchy trigger--as in touch it and the gun shoots. Once the match started, hubby came over and helped me get the gun set up. He pointed it at the correct target and showed me how to dial the scope up or down so the little cross hairs of the scope were right on the x spot in the middle. Remember I have no clue what I'm doing. The targets I was shooting at were 100 yards away. To put that into perspective..on a football field I would be standing on the goal line at one end and my target would be on the goal line at the other end of the field. Up close these targets look huge but from 100 yards away they are really small and you do need a spotting scope (think telescope) to see what you are shooting at. The sheet has 3 targets on it. The target itself is a little larger than a dinner plate. There are 10 rings each worth 1 to 10 points depending on where you hit them. The first target is for sighting in or practicing. You can shoot as many shots as you want. These are not counted for score. You are allowed to shoot 10 shots on the other 2 and those count. The maximum score on the target is 200. There is a spot in the middle the size of a quarter that is known as the x spot. Shots in this area are worth 10 points plus an x. In the event 2 shooters shoot the same score, the x count is used to determine who the winner is.
Having shot at these targets in years past both on hubby's gun and other guns I knew that I had to take things slowly and concentrate on keeping the gun pointed straight and not make sudden moves or touch the trigger too soon. All it takes is a small move while firing the gun to make the shot hit the wrong part of the target. More times than I care to remember I have put my finger on the trigger and the gun went off before I had a chance to aim it. If I was lucky the shot hit the 6,7, or 8 ring and I got points but usually those were the shots that ended up on the top or side of the target well out of scoring range. Weather plays a big part and a little wind blowing at the wrong time can push the bullet off track and you don't get what you aimed for. I took my time and concentrated and tried to make each shot count. I shot at total of 25 bullets. 5 on the practice target and 10 each on the other 2 targets. I had no idea how well or poorly I was doing. I only hoped that I wouldn't embarrass myself or the spouse.
When the time limit was up and the line was safe we all headed down to pick up our targets. Hubby wandered over to mine first and was standing there looking at it when I walked up. He had a kind of strange look on his face..a cross between shocked and amused. I asked him if I did OK and "did I hit the black part". The black part is where the higher scoring numbers are. Jim turned to me and said "you shot a 200" He was quite impressed..and I was completely blown away. I looked at the targets in disbelief. As I looked closer and as people around me started to count the holes it became apparent that not only did I clean the targets but the second target was as close to a perfect target as a person could shoot. 9 out of the 10 shots were either inside the x ring or touching the line. The first target was also clean but I only had 6 shots in the x ring. What I thought was amazing though was the 5 shots on my sighter target were also in the 10 area with 3 of them being X's. Out of a total of 25 shots fired all 25 hit the center of the targets and 19 of them were in the x range. There are very few experienced shooters who could create a target like that and even fewer total amateurs like me. This was the once in a lifetime event.
So I ended up with the best target of the day and the highest score of the day and the most impressive shooting of the day and probably the proudest spouse of the day. If this had been one of the previous matches where plaques were awarded for the best Mens, Ladies, and Juniors scores or for a host of other things I would have had my very own plaque to put on the wall but this year we decided not to go through the hassle of timing the matches and scoring the targets and posting the scores or buying awards. Also hubby decided not to shoot as he was busy helping everyone else with their shooting so I didn't even have the satisfaction of beating him at his own game. I'm pretty sure there is a 98% chance that I would have beat him if he would have shot a target but I guess I'll never know. What I do know is that this was a one time fluke and due more to the performance of the gun and ammo than the skill of the shooter. I'm not gonna delude myself into thinking that I could do this competitively or that next year I'll do as good or better. All I know is that I kicked butt and made the hubby proud of me.
My father in law passed away unexpectedly in 2002. For the past 7 years the family has held a shooting match in his honor. It is a day where friends and family come out to the local gun range he helped create and shoot the guns he loved to shoot and have a fun and relaxing time. This year due to time and budget constraints the match part was dropped in favor of a "just come out and shoot" format. On Saturday the family and friends gathered on a picture perfect day for some fun and guns. There were quite a few people out there and all had a good time. Not wanting to spend hours chasing small children (mainly Andrew) off the firing line I opted to come down to Yankton later in the day towards the end of the shoot. The weather was perfect. Sunny and clear with virtually no wind (most unusual for SE South Dakota). I got there around 5 pm just as things were winding down. Matthew and Carolyn did great. Matthew played with one of his second cousins who as about the same age and Carolyn wandered around with her pink earmuffs on. Andrew was a little more tricky but he discovered the gravel and spent time putting it in his hair. After visiting with people I decided that I wanted to shoot some targets. Hubby has this really awesome gun that he bought a few years back. It is a .22 caliber rifle but it is the type of gun used specifically for target shooting and does not look like a hunting rifle but more like the gun you see during the Olympic competitions. It is called a single action bolt because you can only load 1 bullet in at a time and must manually close the action before shooting and open the action after shooting to release the spent cartridge. This is different from the typical .22's hunter's use which are semiautomatic because you can shoot more than one shot with out having to stop and reload. For those who don't know what a .22 caliber is..it's the size of the bullet used in the gun.
There were other guns available but I really wanted to shoot the gun owned by the loving husband so I made sure to let him know I wanted to shoot the last round of targets of the day and on his gun. The gun range is equipped with benches that look very much like school desks. There is a type of shooting called bench rest. This sport has the shooters putting the gun on the table part and shooting from a sitting in a seat position. This is the type of shooting we were doing so I did not have to try and lift up and hold and balance 16 pounds of rifle with mounted scope. That gun is really heavy and it has a really touchy trigger--as in touch it and the gun shoots. Once the match started, hubby came over and helped me get the gun set up. He pointed it at the correct target and showed me how to dial the scope up or down so the little cross hairs of the scope were right on the x spot in the middle. Remember I have no clue what I'm doing. The targets I was shooting at were 100 yards away. To put that into perspective..on a football field I would be standing on the goal line at one end and my target would be on the goal line at the other end of the field. Up close these targets look huge but from 100 yards away they are really small and you do need a spotting scope (think telescope) to see what you are shooting at. The sheet has 3 targets on it. The target itself is a little larger than a dinner plate. There are 10 rings each worth 1 to 10 points depending on where you hit them. The first target is for sighting in or practicing. You can shoot as many shots as you want. These are not counted for score. You are allowed to shoot 10 shots on the other 2 and those count. The maximum score on the target is 200. There is a spot in the middle the size of a quarter that is known as the x spot. Shots in this area are worth 10 points plus an x. In the event 2 shooters shoot the same score, the x count is used to determine who the winner is.
Having shot at these targets in years past both on hubby's gun and other guns I knew that I had to take things slowly and concentrate on keeping the gun pointed straight and not make sudden moves or touch the trigger too soon. All it takes is a small move while firing the gun to make the shot hit the wrong part of the target. More times than I care to remember I have put my finger on the trigger and the gun went off before I had a chance to aim it. If I was lucky the shot hit the 6,7, or 8 ring and I got points but usually those were the shots that ended up on the top or side of the target well out of scoring range. Weather plays a big part and a little wind blowing at the wrong time can push the bullet off track and you don't get what you aimed for. I took my time and concentrated and tried to make each shot count. I shot at total of 25 bullets. 5 on the practice target and 10 each on the other 2 targets. I had no idea how well or poorly I was doing. I only hoped that I wouldn't embarrass myself or the spouse.
When the time limit was up and the line was safe we all headed down to pick up our targets. Hubby wandered over to mine first and was standing there looking at it when I walked up. He had a kind of strange look on his face..a cross between shocked and amused. I asked him if I did OK and "did I hit the black part". The black part is where the higher scoring numbers are. Jim turned to me and said "you shot a 200" He was quite impressed..and I was completely blown away. I looked at the targets in disbelief. As I looked closer and as people around me started to count the holes it became apparent that not only did I clean the targets but the second target was as close to a perfect target as a person could shoot. 9 out of the 10 shots were either inside the x ring or touching the line. The first target was also clean but I only had 6 shots in the x ring. What I thought was amazing though was the 5 shots on my sighter target were also in the 10 area with 3 of them being X's. Out of a total of 25 shots fired all 25 hit the center of the targets and 19 of them were in the x range. There are very few experienced shooters who could create a target like that and even fewer total amateurs like me. This was the once in a lifetime event.
So I ended up with the best target of the day and the highest score of the day and the most impressive shooting of the day and probably the proudest spouse of the day. If this had been one of the previous matches where plaques were awarded for the best Mens, Ladies, and Juniors scores or for a host of other things I would have had my very own plaque to put on the wall but this year we decided not to go through the hassle of timing the matches and scoring the targets and posting the scores or buying awards. Also hubby decided not to shoot as he was busy helping everyone else with their shooting so I didn't even have the satisfaction of beating him at his own game. I'm pretty sure there is a 98% chance that I would have beat him if he would have shot a target but I guess I'll never know. What I do know is that this was a one time fluke and due more to the performance of the gun and ammo than the skill of the shooter. I'm not gonna delude myself into thinking that I could do this competitively or that next year I'll do as good or better. All I know is that I kicked butt and made the hubby proud of me.
Target photos
Target #2 score 100-9x
Target #1 score 100-6x
Sighter target 5 shots (I think)
Total score for the targets is 200-15x. The five practice shots don't count.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Summer's over
Wow, I can't believe Labor Day is over. I guess this marks the unofficial end of summer. Of course there really wasn't much "summer" around here anyway. I think this was one of the coldest summers on record. Not too many steamy 95 plus days to write about. I'm hoping next summer is nice and hot. Yes. I know be careful what you wish for. Last time I made a weather wish was when we moved from Missouri to Michigan and I openly wished for 5 feet of snow....that Jan we got 4 feet. Don't worry all of you who live in or near the state of SD...I only want a few 95 plus days with lots of sunny and 85's thrown in for good measure.
So what did I do with my 3 day weekend?? Well we cleaned carpets. Yes, it was that time of the year again. We usually rent a steam cleaner a few times a year and make our carpet change colors. OK, it's not that dirty but you get the meaning. We rented the cleaner Sat afternoon and spent that evening and the next morning shampooing. Well the loving husband did the actual shampooing and I vacuumed and picked things up and washed walls and windows. It is amazing how much time we have now that we are not dedicating every spare minute practicing Tae Kwan Do. We still found time to take the kids to the pool and swim and on Monday my friend Tobi stopped over with her family. They were geocaching and wanted to know if we were interested. What is geocaching? It's kinda like hide and seek meets hiking. You download locations of caches along with GPS coordinates and then you try to locate them. One of the caches they were looking for was less than a mile from my house. Hubby stayed behind but I took the kids and off we went. I happen to live near a state park and the bike path connects with a hiking trail a few blocks away so we set off to enter the park and look. Now the funny thing about GPS...it will tell you coordinates but won't let you know if there is a direct route to them. The cache we were looking for was quite near my house but because rules dictate that they be on public property or public access places, we ended up walking a lot further than the coordinates said we would. If we could have cut through a yard and gone directly into the park it would have been much shorter. The kids had lots of fun tramping though some really long tall grass and looking all over the place for a very tiny object. I finally found it, on top of a pine cone hanging in a tree.
After we got back home Andrew passed out. Poor kid was pretty tired. After he woke up we went out to visit a co-worker of Jim's who had a baby a few weeks ago. I forget how tiny newborns are. Rachael picked little Jennifer up and all I could think was "my gosh she's little". I just love holding newborns. They are so cute and snuggley and they make those adorable baby sounds. Holding the little one I had a bout of "baby craving" but it quickly passed. The kids had fun playing with Samantha. Jennifer's big sister. I had to laugh at hubby....he's just so a dad. He was holding the little one and she was completely passed out and the picture of contentment. I actually had to remind him that we needed to be going and give the baby back. He even commented that he would have considered/had a 4th if I wouldn't have done the surgery after Andrew. He did however say that the whole 2 am waking up thing was not something he wanted to repeat. And no, there will be no new additions to our family unless they have 4 legs and fur.
We had a very fun and relaxing weekend. The only things we did not get done was the lawn (it really didn't need to be moved) and the salsa. We have the stuff but did not get around to making it. I'm thinking tomorrow.
So what did I do with my 3 day weekend?? Well we cleaned carpets. Yes, it was that time of the year again. We usually rent a steam cleaner a few times a year and make our carpet change colors. OK, it's not that dirty but you get the meaning. We rented the cleaner Sat afternoon and spent that evening and the next morning shampooing. Well the loving husband did the actual shampooing and I vacuumed and picked things up and washed walls and windows. It is amazing how much time we have now that we are not dedicating every spare minute practicing Tae Kwan Do. We still found time to take the kids to the pool and swim and on Monday my friend Tobi stopped over with her family. They were geocaching and wanted to know if we were interested. What is geocaching? It's kinda like hide and seek meets hiking. You download locations of caches along with GPS coordinates and then you try to locate them. One of the caches they were looking for was less than a mile from my house. Hubby stayed behind but I took the kids and off we went. I happen to live near a state park and the bike path connects with a hiking trail a few blocks away so we set off to enter the park and look. Now the funny thing about GPS...it will tell you coordinates but won't let you know if there is a direct route to them. The cache we were looking for was quite near my house but because rules dictate that they be on public property or public access places, we ended up walking a lot further than the coordinates said we would. If we could have cut through a yard and gone directly into the park it would have been much shorter. The kids had lots of fun tramping though some really long tall grass and looking all over the place for a very tiny object. I finally found it, on top of a pine cone hanging in a tree.
After we got back home Andrew passed out. Poor kid was pretty tired. After he woke up we went out to visit a co-worker of Jim's who had a baby a few weeks ago. I forget how tiny newborns are. Rachael picked little Jennifer up and all I could think was "my gosh she's little". I just love holding newborns. They are so cute and snuggley and they make those adorable baby sounds. Holding the little one I had a bout of "baby craving" but it quickly passed. The kids had fun playing with Samantha. Jennifer's big sister. I had to laugh at hubby....he's just so a dad. He was holding the little one and she was completely passed out and the picture of contentment. I actually had to remind him that we needed to be going and give the baby back. He even commented that he would have considered/had a 4th if I wouldn't have done the surgery after Andrew. He did however say that the whole 2 am waking up thing was not something he wanted to repeat. And no, there will be no new additions to our family unless they have 4 legs and fur.
We had a very fun and relaxing weekend. The only things we did not get done was the lawn (it really didn't need to be moved) and the salsa. We have the stuff but did not get around to making it. I'm thinking tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wal-Mart scavenger hunt
Yesterday I felt the need for a Wal-Mart run. I try and avoid going on a weekly basis and wait until I have several items of need before venturing forth into the "money sucking" store. After all, one can not go into Wally World and get 1 or 2 items without "needing" 25 0r 30 more. I figure if I have 10 or so things that I'm out of I'm much less likely to go on a spending bender. I will be sooo happy when the new Target opens up next month. It is just up the road from this Wal-Mart so now I won't have to drive all the way to the southern end of Sioux Falls when I need to get something Circo. I'd like to point out that I do 98% of my food shopping at a grocery store, usually Hy-Vee so it's not like I'm forced to go shopping at Wal-Mart or Target, I just like paying a little less for the non-food items like soap and cleaning supplies.
Anyway, the reason for my trip was to find a container of some sort for Carolyn to take juice to school. Wal-Mart does sell really cheap boxes of juice that I do buy on a regular basis but they always seem to be out of them when I do stop there and now I have to provide snacks for both Carolyn and Matthew on a daily basis so it is getting a little expensive to do pre-packaged snacks and juice. I figured if I bought a big container of juice and filled a small bottle and then bought a big box of crackers and filled little bags I could save money and the environment. Little did I know that later in the day Carolyn would come home with a wet backpack. Why was it wet? She decided to save her box of juice for later and put it back in the backpack (after she had opened it of course) along with the animal cookies she didn't want to eat. It didn't take very long to hose out the mess inside the backpack but the binder full of papers was another story. Now I know why I had the urge to find a spill proof container.
I decided to do Wal-Mart after Carolyn went to school so I would only have to deal with 1 kid. The upside was it is easier to keep track of 1 vs 2 but the downside is afternoon is nap time and I needed to get in and out before the fatigue meltdown occurred. Andrew decided that he wanted to look at the pretty flowers they had over in the lawn and garden area so we looked and went in that door instead of the main entrance. Normally this would not be a big deal except this Wal-Mart is in the process of remodeling. I found out as we were leaving that the very nice greeter hands you a map of the store so you can find your way around. There is no greeter when you go in through the lawn and garden entrance. I have not been in the Wal-Mart since the end of July when I bought school supplies so I was totally and completely lost. Andrew was following me and soon discovered a Hannah Montana guitar toy that he liked playing with so I gambled and gave him the toy and put him in the cart. Thank you Hannah Montana, he stayed put and didn't complain the whole time. I looked at my list and off I wandered. Everything was in different places and in the process of being moved so the diapers were in one location but the diaper wipes were in a completely different area. It took FOREVER to get around. I had to walk up and down different aisles hoping I was in the right area and could find the item I was looking for. I'm very glad I made a list or I would have walked out and gotten home and then realized that I had not purchased item "X" and now I need item "X" so I have to go back and get item "X". I'm sure that when everything is finally done the store will be a better place to shop but right now I'd rather sit in traffic and get stuck behind a stinky truck than go back and shop there. As for the Hannah Montana guitar toy, I distracted Andrew and lovingly placed it on a shelf for another lucky person to find. Oddly enough the one item I came for, the container for juice they did not have. They had a few leftover lunch boxes but now days lunchboxes or lunch packs do not come with thermoses so all you get is an overpriced insulated bag or backpack or whatever shape they are in. They did have some crayon shaped containers but they were bulky and I don't think Carolyn could have unscrewed the lid and poured the juice out without making a huge mess. I tried a few other places today with no luck. I'm hoping to find something before the end of the week. Wal-Mart was out of the juice boxes and I only have a few left in my pantry. I guess the worst case senerio is I send Capri Sun and hope Carolyn figures out how to get the straw in the pouch. I hope Wal-Mart gets things figured out by next month.
Anyway, the reason for my trip was to find a container of some sort for Carolyn to take juice to school. Wal-Mart does sell really cheap boxes of juice that I do buy on a regular basis but they always seem to be out of them when I do stop there and now I have to provide snacks for both Carolyn and Matthew on a daily basis so it is getting a little expensive to do pre-packaged snacks and juice. I figured if I bought a big container of juice and filled a small bottle and then bought a big box of crackers and filled little bags I could save money and the environment. Little did I know that later in the day Carolyn would come home with a wet backpack. Why was it wet? She decided to save her box of juice for later and put it back in the backpack (after she had opened it of course) along with the animal cookies she didn't want to eat. It didn't take very long to hose out the mess inside the backpack but the binder full of papers was another story. Now I know why I had the urge to find a spill proof container.
I decided to do Wal-Mart after Carolyn went to school so I would only have to deal with 1 kid. The upside was it is easier to keep track of 1 vs 2 but the downside is afternoon is nap time and I needed to get in and out before the fatigue meltdown occurred. Andrew decided that he wanted to look at the pretty flowers they had over in the lawn and garden area so we looked and went in that door instead of the main entrance. Normally this would not be a big deal except this Wal-Mart is in the process of remodeling. I found out as we were leaving that the very nice greeter hands you a map of the store so you can find your way around. There is no greeter when you go in through the lawn and garden entrance. I have not been in the Wal-Mart since the end of July when I bought school supplies so I was totally and completely lost. Andrew was following me and soon discovered a Hannah Montana guitar toy that he liked playing with so I gambled and gave him the toy and put him in the cart. Thank you Hannah Montana, he stayed put and didn't complain the whole time. I looked at my list and off I wandered. Everything was in different places and in the process of being moved so the diapers were in one location but the diaper wipes were in a completely different area. It took FOREVER to get around. I had to walk up and down different aisles hoping I was in the right area and could find the item I was looking for. I'm very glad I made a list or I would have walked out and gotten home and then realized that I had not purchased item "X" and now I need item "X" so I have to go back and get item "X". I'm sure that when everything is finally done the store will be a better place to shop but right now I'd rather sit in traffic and get stuck behind a stinky truck than go back and shop there. As for the Hannah Montana guitar toy, I distracted Andrew and lovingly placed it on a shelf for another lucky person to find. Oddly enough the one item I came for, the container for juice they did not have. They had a few leftover lunch boxes but now days lunchboxes or lunch packs do not come with thermoses so all you get is an overpriced insulated bag or backpack or whatever shape they are in. They did have some crayon shaped containers but they were bulky and I don't think Carolyn could have unscrewed the lid and poured the juice out without making a huge mess. I tried a few other places today with no luck. I'm hoping to find something before the end of the week. Wal-Mart was out of the juice boxes and I only have a few left in my pantry. I guess the worst case senerio is I send Capri Sun and hope Carolyn figures out how to get the straw in the pouch. I hope Wal-Mart gets things figured out by next month.
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