a first!

tonight jack checked out his first book from the adult section of the library: a book on the history of arrow heads! that's our boy! ;)

and on a side note, i won another MOTY {you know, mother of the year award}--we went to bed last night at 9:30....forgot to tell jack to go to bed.......woke up at 11:30 to him asking why we were both asleep. yup he was up. yup he finished his book. yup it was way late for him :) he was tired today but BONUS that he got 6 points today and 100% on his test! :)

conversations

"mom how much money do you and dad have?"
this started our 15 minute mini lesson on money as we drove into town this evening. we started out with discussing it is not polite to ask others about money and even more rude to share or boast about your own money. we talked about money privacy. we talked about who you can share with and who you can't. we talked about saving, borrowing, credit vs debit, credit cards, mortgages, paychecks, etc. the boys asked questions--lots of good questions. i gave them my two all time money rules to follow: (1) do not spend more than you have and (2) do not ever carry a balance on your credit card--pay it off each month. even at the tender ages of 5 and 7, i felt our conversation was excellent and meaningful. here's to starting the boys out right with money!

my reminder for tonight

patterns?

luke puked. why am i not feeling crazy anxious? is it because i think he might have puked from gagging? is it because i think he might have puked from all the runny nose crap that has gone into his tummy? is it because i am more "regulated" from working our regularly and my anxiety is down? is it because it does not really matter and puke is just puke?

i mean i am sitting here typing almost 100% calm.....probably at 94%. sure i asked him 2 times as i tucked him in if he was feeling okay. i also laid down extra blankets for easy clean up. but what parent wouldn't?  i washed my hands. i gave him a bucket. i left him to sleep.

i wish i could find a pattern in my anxiety. lately i have been a bit calmer. i am not complaining--just want to identify things that are helping me. :)

soccer gal!

i am now into my 2nd season of soccer--each season lasts about 6 weeks. last week i had two goals. tonight i had three goals and one assist! josh says all balls that go into the net count but for full disclosure i must say that one goal was a good goal, one was a wam bam kick it hard, then roll on the ground and got lucky as it went into the net and the third was a deflection off my shoulder as i turned to shield my face. the assist was legit :) 

jack's creation

awesome job buddy! pure talent!

the things they say...... :)

 

Luke: "Mom you know 7 is a difficult age..... but 3 is way worse"
Me: "Oh yeah..... what makes you say that?"
Luke: "Well Jack is sassy but Carter {our small friend} is way sassier" 

where does Luke come up with these things??? Oh probably from listening to me.... :D oops!

shoveling saturday

reading! it's magic!

oh lukers! we are so proud of you--tonight you read your first FULL book--hop on pop (board book version)! we are so proud of you! your eyes just twinkled with the magical feeling brings! we know how much work you have put into learning to read--keep up the great job buddy! love, mom and dad

talents

tonight luke shared with me a few of his "top" talents. in no particular order:
**pig snorting
**break dancing
**doing the splits
**giving the best hugs in the world
**driving tractors


when i asked why reading wasn't on his list, his response was "i am just not really good at it quite yet!!". i smiled and told him that i was glad that he added quite yet because i know he will be an excellent reader and will read to the moon and back.

keep up the excellent skills luke!

like we needed a reason to read

 

since the start of THIS school year and based ONLY on the books that jack has tested on, he has read 1,001,873 words. the books he has tested on average to a 4.0 reading level and he has 94.7% accuracy on his tests! he has 141.5 points. at 50 he "earned" a pizza party with the principal..... at 100 he "earned" a trip to DQ. now he waits to get his prizes since others have not reached the points yet. good thing this boy is not externally motivated and just likes to read! he has just earned the "advanced reader three" award ;) go jack go. read jack read.

GOAL!

that's right folks--tonight i made my first goal EVER of my young 32 1/2 years!!! WOOO hoooo :) not only did i make one goal........... i made TWO!

can you believe it! i have joined a women's indoor soccer league!

NEED to try!!!

soft pretzles!

Carol DeNise Oakley Here it is Soft pretzels
Prep time: >2 hours
Bake time: >10 minutes
Yield: 12 large soft pretzels

Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 and 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups all purpose flour
(do not sift the flour)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP. vegetable oil

Also needed:
1/4 cup baking soda
2 cups hot water
1/8 cup coarse kosher salt

Directions:
1. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast & 1 tsp. sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy/foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, mix together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar & salt. Make a well in the center, add the liquid yeast mixture. Mix & form into a dough. If mixture is too dry, add water 1 TBSP at a time. Knead dough until smooth, takes 7-8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl & turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 450 F

4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.

5. When risen, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface & divide evenly into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope 12-14 inches long and twist into pretzel shape. Once all the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place 6 pieces evenly on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes until browned.

Best served warm!

to try :)

my sis in law LOVES breakfast, loves sweets and loves things she can throw in the oven.....so i figured i should try the recipe out below to see if it is a keeper. if so, it will make a perfect "welcome baby symo" present when baby comes and the {2nd time around} new parents are exhausted and needing a meal to heat up.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 10 hours

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 loaf day old french bread
• 12 oz. Neufchatel cheese (aka 1/3 less fat cream cheese)*
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, divided
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no thawing necessary if frozen)
• Zest of 1 lemon**
• 10 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 5 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
Blueberry Syrup
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch (use 2 Tbsp for thicker syrup)
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no thawing necessary if frozen)
• 
  

Directions

• Cut 1/2-inch off both ends of bread and discard (or eat). Cut loaf into 1-inch slices then cut each slice into 1-inch cubes (I cut the loaf in half first then kept the cubes from each half separate so it would be easier to determine half). Spread half of the bread cubes into an even layer in a buttered 13 by 9-inch baking dish, set aside remaining bread cubes.
• In a small bowl, using an electric hand mixer, blend together Nuefchatel cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together lemon zest and 1 Tbsp sugar. Using a rubber spatula and a clean fingertip, spread Nuefchatel cheese mixture over bread cube layer in baking dish. Sprinkle blueberries over Nuefchatel cheese layer then sprinkle lemon zest mixture evenly over blueberry layer. Spread remaining bread cubes into an even layer over top of blueberries.
• In a blender, blend together eggs, milk, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining 1 tsp vanilla on low speed until well blended, about 10 seconds. Slowly pour mixture evenly over top of bread cubes in baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
• The following morning, remove baking dish from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees during the last 10 minutes of resting.
• Remove plastic wrap. Cover baking dish with aluminium foil and bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue to bake 25 - 35 minutes, until golden brown (if it is becoming too golden brown but isn't cooked through then you can cover with foil again during the last few minutes of baking). Allow to rest 5 minutes, then cut into servings and serve warm topped with blueberry syrup and sweetened whipped cream if desired.
• *Regular cream cheese would also work, but I'd recommend likely thinning out the cream cheese mixture with 1 to 2 Tbsp milk to make it a more spreadable consistency.
• **After zesting lemon, reserve it in a Ziploc bag to juice the following morning for use in the blueberry syrup.
For the blueberry syrup:
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together granulated sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cold water and lemon juice. Mix in blueberries. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat slightly and allow to gently boil for 2 - 3 minutes until thickened and blueberries have burst, while stirring constantly. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
• 
  

oh what a memory!

so today on facebook i ran across this gem:




true story! everything really is funnier when you cannot laugh. :) the following is evidence of that............not quite kosher but funny ;)

so when i was 16 years old, my grandma j passed away. {total side note but she was an amazing woman! i loved her dearly}. naturally my emotions were running high--when i was happy, i was happy and when i was sad, i was sad. the evening of my grandma's visitation we had a prayer service. the siblings (my dad and his brothers and sisters) sat in the front row with their spouses. the grandkids (including me) sat in the 2nd row. during the service, my dad passed gas and i could not help it--i knew i could not laugh but it was SO DARN FUNNY. i held it in as long as i could and then worked on making my laugh sound sad. i literallly had tears {of laughter} running down my face as did my cousins. needless to say, us grand kids did not get to sit by each other at the funeral ;)

just playing around

selection

 

i am one of "those" moms--the ones who don't care if their kid snacks. i figure it they are hungry, they should eat something. i try to keep a {semi-healthy} large selection of snacks that they can pick from. these choices also are for lunch and school snacks. i like to keep it all in one location (drawer) that they can easily reach. when they were little, i had less options but also included kid friendly cups, plates, and silverware. that way, they could also set the table and/or prepare their snack in a bowl. now that they are bigger {and can climb on counters, chairs, etc} they don't need the plates and bowls so close at hand. i like that i provide choices and that they have to decided if they are hungry or not. even with an "open" snack drawer, we've really only had a few nights when the kids were not hungry for supper. 

might not work for you but works for me and is on the "few" spots in my life that i am laid back ;) 

love for mom

 

going on six days of full blown, on my bed, drag out sick. bleh. what was a small tickle in my throat last tuesday turned into an irritating sore throat with fever thursday and on sunday morphed into a full look alike of darth maul red and white version in my throat. let's just say that i am not good at having a sore throat. i had an antibiotic but the doc was sure it was not strep. pain was bad but it was not until last night, when i could not even swallow my own dang spit, that i went to ER. thank heavens i did--i got good pain meds and a yucky tasting but extremely effective numbing "jelly like drink". pain is better today. fever is better. i am really hoping to be at work again tomorrow. 

most of all i hope to be able to love on my caregivers soon--jack, luke and daddy--who brought me these beautiful flowers. luke is having a hard time without getting hugs from me--he has a hard time not bounding in to snuggle me and i knew he was really having a hard time today when he said, "i love you mom even when you are really really sick". i sent an email to his teacher today (friend of mine) and asked her to give him a hug from me. she responded that he just lit up :) 

the only caretaker whom i have been able to love on is max. she has not left my side the entire time--night and day. good dog :) 

caretaker

my caretaker who has not left my side while i have been sick. i am still in bed (bleh!) and she is still beside me. dogs are powerful and loving.

hydration

thank you jack-o for keeping this mama hydrated. for some odd reason, 7 up is the only thing that actually feels "okay" on my throat. we have set up so jack can have email at home--on his "phone" {josh's old phone} using the wireless in our house. this has worked well today as i have emailed him when i needed something. love that boy! 

star wars dork mom

life's journey

i am so excited for my beautiful friend melissa's life journey! first i shared in her engagement excitement here.

 

 

 

then i shared about her wedding to chris excitement here!!!!!   and HERE!!!!  AND HERE!!!

AND NOW i can share that they are going to be parents!!!!! baby c is due mid july!!! :) oh i am excited to be an auntie again!!!!

anytime i have a friend or family member prego, i like to post what worked for us......but may not work for them but at least they are some ideas they can think about :) 

1. Babies who cry in the middle of the night after three months are NOT hungry--they just have learned that when they cry someone will come in. Our pediatrician in MN was AWESOME--she gave us this tidbit of advice and it changed our life! She said that when kids cry in the middle of the night after three months old, they are NOT starving and need to be fed....instead they are crying as a learned behavior. Her solution to this was to let them cry 15 minutes the first night before going in to soothe the baby--DO NOT FEED. 2nd night, let baby cry 30 minutes before soothing--DO NOT FEED. 3rd night, let baby cry 45 minutes then soothe--DO NOT FEED. 4th night should not wake up. As parents, this is HARD but well worth it as Jack was a GREAT sleeper as a BABY!

2. Play the SAME cd at night as baby falls asleep! This has technique has been awesome for us! MY own doctor (one I had as a teen) gave us this tidbit when we took Jack there our first Christmas with him (croup...nasty to travel with a 4 month old baby who has croup). We started with Luke immediately (around 1 month)--push play as you rock, feed, etc. He now hears the music start and knows it is time to get in bed! Both boys use the same CD so when we travel, they hear the music and no matter where we are, they get into bed and fall asleep FAIRLY easily (not always awesome but pretty good). This has helped us as we have traveled over the years--it has also helped us when the kids wake up in the middle of the night--we soothe, check on them etc. and then push play...music puts them right back in "time to go to sleep" mode!

3. Relax--kids are resilient! Mistakes happen.....like when Luke fell off the dryer (ER trip....was okay)..... and kids survive!

4. Mylecion (GAS X) drops are a new mom's best friend!!!! Jack was a SUPER fussy baby! He cried ALL of the time and seemed to always be in pain--rolling his legs up into a ball. Our friend Chris finally told us her secret for her twins--Mylecion drops! These things cannot hurt the baby! When in doubt, give the reccommended dosage--within 10 minutes Jack was usually much happier and calmed down!

5. Bordeaux Butt Paste---AWESOME diaper rash cream!!!! WORTH the MONEY!!!!!

6. MOM GUILT.....so powerful! Find a friend who will listen to you cry, share, scream, etc.! There are times when you need to just let out your thoughts and feelings and this is VERY healthy! You are not a bad mom! Mom guilt can be a VERY powerful feeling--Taking care of yourself DOES NOT make you selfish--it makes you a good mom who is healthy!!!!!

I am sure I will think of more later....and hope to add them as I think of them.... this allows all of my newbie mom friends to hear my thoughts without me pushing them down their throats :)