Happy New Year Everyone

We spent our New Year's Eve celebrating with our friends and neighbors. We gather at our neighbor's house, about 60 of us, and celebrate with our kids at nine o'clock. Our neighbor is the stickler for time and as you walk in the front door she has posted on the wall, as well as two other places in the house, the itinerary for the evening. Last year she not only had the itinerary posted but she also had all of us 'signed' up for jobs to help out. While we didn't mind helping with the events, we did rib her a bit for being super organized and this year I noticed that she didn't have us assigned to a particular job but just recruited us as needed. So tonight the itinerary went something like this:

5:00 - people arrive buffet dinner and appetizers start

6:30 - Dance Studio back yard

7:00 - Piniatas at front drive

8:45 - Preparations for New Years (pass out champagne, sparkling cider, and noisemakers)

9:00 - New Year's Celebrations

9:30 - Fireworks at corner of street

The kids have a blast and she borrows our outdoor firepit and the adults stand around and drink while the kids play out in the yard. We all bring a food dish and everyone has a great time. What is even better about it is that we are all home by 10:30 and to bed early. What cracks us up is the itinerary. We joke about it but it keeps the party moving and because we are all friends we don't mind.

This year was like the others. The best place to be on New Year's Eve, with friends and family and kids.

Happy new year all! I hope you are surrounded by your family and friends this year.

How to remove wallpaper border

The best way I have found to remove wallpaper border from my walls is to use a hot steam iron. I get it started with warm water from a rag or sponge and then get the iron (yes the same one I use to iron our clothes), plug it in and heat it up to steam then I use a wet rag and place it on the iron and then begin to steam the wallpaper. When it gets nice and hot and wet you start to pull and for the most part it comes off in one big piece.

Okay, not my idea. It was my husband's. Great job hubby! I let him finish the job for me.

Why, you ask am I removing wallpaper border? And, sister, which room am I redoing? It is my bathroom. I was cleaning it and thinking how gross it was and then impulsively began to pull at the border which I was sick of anyway. I did that yesterday and today I painted it with left over sage green from my mom's leftover paint. I have one more coat to do and then the husband will hang a new light fixture that we had from the last time we redid the bath (five years ago).

Pictures will come when it is done!!

Just a few last minute things

I have never been so organized for a trip than this one. The trailer is almost all packed. Food is packed, clothes are packed for the kids and I am almost done packing me. Beds are made, kitchen floor is clean (thanks to my son tonight), and just have a few last minute things to tidy up and get in the trailer. Really we just need to get our toothbrushes that morning, pillows, and the coffee maker and we are set to sail.

I watched a special on Food Network last night about the giant gingerbread house, the lights down main street, and the holiday extras they put into making our experiences "magical". I tell you I took NOTES while watching it! I am WAY more excited than the kids are.

We got them all matching tshirts (well ones for us too) and I am going to give them to everyone the morning we leave so they can wear their Mickey shirts to school that day. I am wearing mine too!! Too fun...

So I have finished addressing our Christmas cards and they are stamped and will go in the mail tomorrow and I packed my address book and will be sending out post cards while we are there. I am hoping that Disney has wifi somewhere and we can use our laptop to up load a few pictures to you all via email. If you want to be on my email list, email me your address if you don't think I have it.

Wow, the adrenaline of excitement is running through my veins right now and I can FEEL it!

And for this trip we got our handy-dandy housesitter to stay here while we are gone. He loves it here because we have a big backyard for his two ginormous German Shepards. Unfortunately he doesn't always find all the land mines in the backyard and the kids find them later, tracking it in the house! Yuck! Oh well, we still love him.

So much to do so little time...

It always happens this time of year. I feel the pressure of making sure I haven't left anyone out and making sure that the house is decorated and somewhat clean. Well this year the pressure is on even harder and because of our impending trip we have had to be ever dilligent about getting things we want to get done done. We have crammed a months worth of work into a two week period.

But I have good news. We are just about done. But just when you think you are done someone drops a bomb on you. So last night my husband and I were out shopping and he mentions that what he REALLY wants for Christmas is a new laptop computer AND he would like the gift presented to him early and not under the tree on Christmas morning. So no buying it off the internet (most likely the cheapest place to get it). So I call up my best friend who works at Circuit City. She says no problem she will help me get a laptop with her discount. Yippee. Now that is efficiency working for me. So I am meeting her today to get the laptop. Word to the wise (or not so wise): unless you have a most fabulous wife who will forgo decorating the last of 6 (count them 6) Christmas trees in the house to run out to get you a last minute gift, don't wait till the last minute.

Our fun filled 8 days in Disney World is coming to a start quickly. The count down is on!! Our advent calendar has quickly become a count down to Disney calendar. The kids are more than excited and there are times it seems that they are floating on the ceiling. We are shopping for snacks and food for the trip today and getting laundry done. Tomorrow is the beginning of packing the trailer.

A month ago I made reservations for where we will be eating during our stay. We have the dining package so all our food for two full meals is included. We will have a 'walk up' meal each day and a "sit down" meal. For the walk up meal we each get an entree, drink, and dessert. For the sit down meal we get an appetizer, entree, drink and dessert. Salad comes with most entrees so it makes it a four course meal. Wow. So all we need to take is food for most breakfasts, one dinner, and snacks. (Oh we get one snack each day per person in the parks also). We are eating with the princesses one night, with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger another night, we are eating at the Grand Floridian (fancy), Wolfgang Puck's Restaurant, and at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, Toy Story Pizza Planet (Woody and Buzz hang out around there), and at the Trail's End Restaurant in our campground.

You know, I think I am more excited than the kids right now!

My Daughters

Today, Allie said that she wasn't having children of her own that she was going to the store where mommies drop off their babies they don't like and she was going to get one of those babies. (Her words not mine). I told her that she would be a great mom and that I thought it was great that she was going to adopt a baby. Caroline came in about then and Allie asked her if she was going to have a baby and Caroline said, "no, I am going to be a bug expert!"

Tenth Anniversary

I knew I loved my husband...and every day I love him just a little bit more. But on Wednesday evening my love grew just a little more than normal. Our anniversary was Thursday but Wednesday evening he gave me an anniversary gift.

An iPod!! Not just the normal one but the "touch" one with the touch screen. It is exactly like the iPhone but it doesn't have the phone capability. OMG!!! I totally love it!!

I am currently downloading my favorite music, internet bookmarks (yes I can surf the net wherever there is wi-fi!), photos and more!

It is the most modern piece of technology in our house and it cost more than our desktop computer did just two months ago.

Boy do I love him.

A Project Finished

Check out my finished project here.

Our Christmas Card

Can't decide which one to send...

Dinner

If this looks good then go to Whitney's Cooking!

Nothing new to post today.

Just more of the same today. Soccer practice in a little while. That will end soon. Fix dinner. Work on gifts for Christmas. Bath and Bed.

Speaking of Christmas it is coming up quickly this year. Part of me says ahh it is far away from now and the other part says oh my, here it is already...

We are decorating early this year and I hope it will get everyone in the family very excited. We have wonderful plans this holiday and the kids and adults alike are counting the days. We will be decorating next weekend if all goes as planned.

We have decided to remodel the living room, dining room and kitchen this year and had the contractor out for an estimate. The estimate came back so much lower than we expected that we can also enclose our porch and make it a sun room at the same time. I can't wait! We won't feel so segmented in our house anymore.

Don't forget to check out Whitney's Cooking! New recipes almost daily...

A cold rainy day and voting

Today is election day and the kids have the day off. It is cold and rainy outside so they can't go out and play. We finally turned the heat on in our house. It is now nice and cozy warm. I just posted some comfort food recipes on Whitney's Cooking. Meatloaf and Mac and Cheese! Yum. I think we are going to have stew tonight for dinner. I am thinking about making it in the slow cooker with yeast rolls.

I don't think many people will be voting today. That is a shame because at least once a year we get to perform one of our fundamental ways of participating in a democratic (representative) government. This is exactly what our forefathers wanted us to do; participate in our governmental process. And now people will allow the weather, rain particularly, to determine whether or not they will vote. They truly take for granted our fragile form of government. Remember all the purple-dyed fingers? They were happy to finally be able to vote. I teared up at their proud faces as they voted for the first time fully in their own decisions. For us, ah a little rain, maybe we won't go to the polls...

My husband voted this morning earlier and he said there were no lines and that many people were running unopposed and there was one seat that no one was running for. I asked him if he wrote his name in and he said no. But if the position looks interesting I may write my name in. We will see what happens. Most of the election is for local and state positions.

Dad's Recipes

I have begun sorting through my father's recipes. I started posting them on my Whitney's Cooking blog. Check it out. So far we have a Potato casserole trio and his world famous spaghetti sauce. PS. Click on the link on the sidebar!!!

Donate Rice

A friend emailed me this link. Click on it and play the vocabulary game and the more you get right the more rice they will donate.

Easy way to improve your vocabulary and help others!

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Nicholas

Nicholas told me last night that his pirate that I made him looked like Tigger dressed up in a costume. He said the arms and legs looked like Tigger. Too cute! Photo of the pirate is here.

My Ghools!!

My three ghools!

Allie

Nicholas

Caroline

I'm in purple and my neighbor is in black.

A bunch of us gather together and canvas the neighborhood trick-or-treating! We take a cooler with adult beverages in it on a wagon that we pull. The kids run from house to house and we all walk together!

Happy Halloween!

"It's a spooky kinda day..."

Last night I finished the pirate doll for Nicholas and I gave the little guys to my little monsters this morning. Caroline LOVES her ghost, Nicholas his pirate and Alexandra her Pumpkin! Tonight they will dress up and I will take lots of pictures. Their costumes are perfect for them. My orderly/rule follower guy (Nicholas) is a police officer, my "princess"(Alexandra) is Jasmine, and my "superhero" (Caroline) is Violet from the incredibles. Caroline said last night at dinner that she told everyone in the class yesterday what she was going to be for Halloween but they didn't understand her. When she says "Violet" it sounds like "Pirate" with her speech difficulties. So last night she got in her costume and I took a picture of her and printed it out for her to take in to SHOW everyone what she is! She truly is a super hero!

Here is a picture of the pirate I finished for Nicholas!!

Scroll down for pumpkin carving pictures!!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins today!!

Wanna see where I work?

Here it is...

This is the view from my desk which sits in the "back" of the classroom by the door. This is looking toward the left and the other is toward the right.

Notice the windows with the bars. The board that I use is a state of the art "Smartboard". It is hooked to my computer and I can project the computer screen up on it by my LCD projector mounted at the ceiling. I can touch the board and control the computer like a touch screen. It is pretty cool and the kids love to come up to the board to use it. I also have a regular white board that is on the right side of the room. The tables are weighted and weight a ton. The chairs are made of a durable plastic and are one piece.

For the most part it is a pretty normal classroom. I can't have too much stuff out sitting around. There is no bulletin board as we can't really use staples. The kids come in to class in small groups of 8-10. They are mixed in age and grade levels so they area all usually taking a different social studies course. I teach about 10 minutes to the whole group and then they begin their individual work, independently. In the first 10 minutes I tend to think of it as similar to Jay Leno's monologue. I stand up in the front and talk for a minute about whatever is on my mind. Recently it has been my frustrations in playing the McDonald's Monopoly game on the Internet. (Windows 98 vs. Vista) Then I instruct about some little topic, many times it is a skill of some sort or we watch CNN Student News for current events. Then they get settled in their books. They each have assignments on the regular white board that I didn't take a picture of. I walk around and help them out or sit with one person and instruct on a specific event in history or a concept.

The weird stuff: I have to flip mentally from Ancient World History to Modern (1500 to present day) World History, American History, and US Government in a flash. I can be helping someone with the definition of a complex civilization or why mummies in Egypt pulled their brains through the nose with an instrument that looks like a fish hook to answering questions about the electoral college, then to the first battles of the American Revolutionary war and back again. I have to count pencils going out and being collected each class period. When a child breaks a pencil lead we have to find the lead that got broken off. I can't use paper clips, real adult scissors, or leave my stapler out on my desk. I can use staples in paper only when absolutely necessary and then I have to be ever vigilant about watching the kids who have staples in their papers. We can only use pencils, not pens, not mechanical pencils. The kids can only use yellow legal pad paper. They can't use regular notebook paper to write on AND I have to give it out one sheet at a time. I have to report every doodle on every paper, book, or table.

A majority of my students go to school intermittently when not locked up with us. Therefore, they often won't get much credit for the work they do in our school. They do get credit for the time they are with us, don't get me wrong but when they go to a new school after they leave us it is up to the new school to decide whether or not to give the kids credit for their work with us. Knowing this, I often will work specifically on lifetime skills that will help them in real life and not require them to memorize massive amounts of bogus info that they won't ever use. I am not stupid and I do realize that most people don't love history like I do and I don't hold it against them.

Oh, did I say I love my job?

Turkey Time

Last year in January, I came across a huge sale on leftover turkeys. They were 16 cents a pound and I decided to get one. The one I chose was 22 lbs and cost something like 4 bucks! Kenneth went through the freezer on Saturday morning and announced that the turkey was still residing in the freezer and suggested that we cook it. So we thawed it out and had it for dinner tonight. Man, the house smells amazing! Just like the holidays!! What a great start to the holiday season.

Here's how I prepared it. I cleaned him out and dried him off. I put him in a Reynolds Turkey Bag and melted a stick of butter, added a teaspoon of minced garlic, several sprigs of fresh thyme, a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a several shakes of pepper. After mixing it all together and letting it cook for a second, I poured the mixture all over the top of the turkey making sure that the thyme sprigs were all on the top. I tied the bag and stuck him in the oven for 3 hours until his button popped. I let him rest before cutting.

If you have never cooked a turkey in a bag you will find that he is juicy and delicious. He isn't dry at all and often when you attempt to move him from the pan to a platter he will completely fall apart. Now that is the sign of a juicy turkey. In the bag there is no more basting every 30 minutes and you don't open it at all while cooking. Now you can't really put more than vegetables in the cavity. If you put stuffing in it you will find that it just turns to mush. So leave the cavity either empty or just put some rough cut vegies in there like carrots, celery and onion.

I served it with red skin mashed potatoes, broccoli, and rolls. I didn't want to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner because it wasn't Thanksgiving.

Update on "the experiment"

I tried it and the results were average. I put it in the oven on 350 for about 30 minutes. Cakes usually take about 40 minutes to cook so I figured that I would see something in 30 minutes time. 20 minutes into it I couldn't stand it so I checked and it still looked like dry cake mix on top and nothing going on underneath. At 30 minutes nothing had changed and I started searching for some recipes on line similar to this.

One recipe said to take a large can of mixed fruit, a dry cake mix and mix the two together and bake. Mmm... that sounded good and also gave me the idea that it needed to mix together a bit. Another said to mix the cake mix with eggs only and put on top. Eww. Another said to put butter pats on the top. I remembered that one of the guys said to pour some butter on top. So I went in the kitchen, pulled it out of the oven, kinda chunked the mix into the now-hot peaches beneath and I put a half a stick of butter in the microwave and melted it and then poured it on top and stuck it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. When I pulled it out it was looking much better. It was slightly crunchy on top and the cake mix now looked more like baked cake and the peach juice was bubbling all around the edges. I let it cool down a bit and after the kids went to bed I spooned some out and heated it back up in the microwave oven and then scooped some vanilla ice cream on top.

It turned out more like a cobbler than a cake. It was all gooey underneath with moist cake on the top with some crunchies from the butter.

Would I do it again, you ask? Yes, I would if I were serving it hot with ice cream that same night.

So here is the recipe...

One large can of fruit in juice
One box of yellow cake mix
1/2 stick of butter

Pour the fruit and juice in the bottom of a baking dish. Layer the dry cake mix on top evenly. Melt the butter and pour on the top all over. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. You will know when it is done when it looks like cobbler. Let cool slightly before serving with ice cream.

An Experiment

I was talking with some co-workers and we were talking about how to make "Apple Betty". The conversation moved to an easy way to make a fruit cake. The men explained that you take a can of fruit in juice, put it in a baking dish. Then take a box of cake mix and pour it on top. (Yes the dry cake mix). Then put it in the oven and bake. The other gentleman said that he does it all the time with his boy scout troop in a dutch oven while camping. He said it works. The third gentleman then chimed in and asked me if I was going to make one. I said, "I'm game. Will you eat it if I bring it in tomorrow?". He agreed as he loves anything that I bring in to share. It is in the oven now. I will let you know how it turns out.

The Ghost

I started the purple fuzzy monster and I didn't like it so I decided to do a ghost. I got some white yarn and started on what I thought would look like a ghost. I finished the first side and it turned out to be a triangle. It didn't look like a ghost at all. I then got on line and started looking for bell patterns. I found one and started to work it up and it didn't look like a ghost at all. Then I started playing around and voila, I got my ghost. I added eyes and a smile and there he was. A few arms and we had our ghost.
Now I am off to work on the pirate and I will have all three done before Halloween.

20th High School Reunion

Last night was my 20th high school reunion. It doesn't seem that long since I graduated but it has been 20 years they tell me. I certainly don't feel that old! I am not real sure why I was nervous but I was. I didn't RSVP until the very end and even yesterday I had thoughts about not going. But as I told my husband when we went to his, if it is bad and we want to leave then we will go and have a nice dinner somewhere. As it turned out we arrived around 7:45 and before I knew it, it was midnight! Everyone looked just the same. Some of the men had turned grey and some had lost some hair. The ladies really all looked very much the same. I would have recognized them in a heartbeat at the mall. Speaking of which, I am not sure why I don't run into more of them. Most everyone there lived still in Richmond. We have spread out a bit but I was surprised to find out many still live within the same high school district that we lived in growing up.

So to anyone out there reading this and thinking that their reunion is coming up and it questioning whether or not to go. GO! You will find that you will have a really good time. I can't wait until the next one now!!

When all Else Fails...

use Italian Salad Dressing. Or if you like a good Ken's Caesar does well too. No, I am not talking about eating salad. I AM talking about marinades. Italian salad dressing is great on fish, chicken, tuna, pork and turkey. It is also great on shrimp! You can also marinade most kinds of vegetables if you are going to grill them. I am talking about zucchini, squash, onions, eggplant, and even fresh green beans. What a versitile item!!

Crazy Hat Day

Yesterday was "Crazy Hat Day" at the Logos church group. This was Alexandra with her crazy hat that we made and the butterfly wings that she got at dinner the other night.

Our local sports bar has "kids eat free" night every Tuesday night. They put in a kid friendly movie on the big screen TV's in the restaurant side of the place and keep the sports on in the bar area. It is a fun crazy night. There are tons of kids and the movie is playing loud and they have a guy "uncle bert" who comes around to the tables and makes balloon animals and such.

Applesauce

Because we went apple picking two weeks ago, it seems that all I am cooking right now is applesauce. I have made a ton of applesauce in the past two weeks. It should keep my family happy until next summer.
Here is my recipe:
I take about 10 cups of apples peeled, chunked and cored, about 3-4 cups of water. Put all in a big pot and cook on medium high heat until the apples are soft. Stir often! Once the apples are soft mash them with a potato masher. If you like smoother applesauce then put in a food processor and mix until smoothness desired is achieved. Add about 1 to 1/2 cups of sugar and about a 1/2 TBS of cinnamon and stir. Taste. You may want to add a bit more water if it is too thick, you may want to go light on the cinnamon until you taste it and then add some more. Fill canning jars and process in a water bath for about 10-15 minutes.
The chunky style is great served warm with pork chops or ham. The smoother, cold stuff is great, well, anytime!

Another New Blog

I have contacted Lion Brand website and asked them to please look at their blogs that they have on their site. They have approximately 7 blogs and only one blogger is writing at all. I asked them to consider adding other bloggers to their site and to consider me as one of them. They responded with a very nice email stating that they are redoing their site and will be making changes in the spring time including adding and deleting their bloggers who don't write. They asked me to contact them in the spring and they would be happy to consider me.

With that said, I thought it would be wise for me to begin my own blog of my handcrafts for two reasons. One, if they consider me they will need something to look at and this blog would be an excellent example of what kind of material they would get from me. Two, I do so much handwork (almost nightly I pick something up) that it would be a great outlet for you all to see much of my work and my thought process in completing it.

So do check it out. Remember that I have just begun this blog and there isn't much on there right now but it will bulk up quickly.

www.whitneyshandwork.blogspot.com

Couple photos of the Beach!

Here are a few photos of the beach for you. It was very nice and the weather was great. We got a new camera, as you may have guessed by now. It is great and can take video too.

We go to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and my step-mother still owns my father's house down there. We go when the house is not rented and this summer weren't able to go because of that. So we had to wait until the Fall to get our beach time. Unfortunately we can only spend a weekend because of school.

Nicholas Sells Popcorn

Want Some???

Allie gets a haircut!

Allie got her twice yearly hair cut yesterday evening. Her hair was well below her waist and it was time for a trim. So I pulled out the scissors and started chopping away. I cut 3 inches off and it brought her hair back up to the top of her pants waist. This way she doesn't have to pull it out of her pants when she is getting dressed.

I asked her today if anyone noticed her hair cut. She said not one person.

How to Cut Fresh Pineapple

Many people are afraid to buy a fresh pineapple because they don't know how to properly cut it. It is quite simple if you follow these steps.
1. Cut the bottom off about 1/2 inch from the bottom, then cut the top off. Now you are left with the spiny outside and a very flat bottom so it doesn't roll around.
2. Next start cutting off the spiny outside from top to bottom about 1/4 inch in. This way you get most of the seeds out too. Just go around the outside cutting in small strips the outer skin and spines.
3. Then, look at it from the top and you will see the round core in the middle. For chunks begin by cutting large strips one the sides from top to bottom cutting away from the core. You will cut 1/4 of it first then turn it 1/4 turn and cut again straight down, then turn and cut and turn and cut the last bit. This will leave you with a square core if you did it right.
4. Take the large chunks that you just cut and slice them as small as you like. Trim off any outer spines that you didn't get when you "deskined" it.
5. If you want circles then cut the pineapple sideways and then use a small knife to core out the inner core. If you have a small round cookie cutter that will work too but they are very hard to find.

My oh My...

So it has been quite a while since my last confession and I wonder what I have been doing since then.

Here is the long and short of it. Soccer, soccer, apple picking, soccer, scouts, OT therapy, soccer, soccer, and then we went to the beach. The beach was fun but short. It is still there though not as much anymore. We played putt-putt and had a great time.

Caroline on Kenneth's shoulders picking apples.

Like my Pixie?

So what do you all think about my Weather Pixie? She is on the sidebar. She will tell you all what kind of weather I am having currently. She stays current and updates her outfit according to the weather.

Like her? Want one? Just click on her and she will take you to the site were you can personalize your own Pixie!!

Progress

Today we set out to try to accomplish some cleaning today. So we started with the living room. Now we don't use this room except for holidays and birthdays. It usually ends up a catch all room from time to time and we have to clean it out when we want to use it. It is supposed to be our "formal" room. We have a white couch in there along with white patterned wing chairs and our piano. Today it was easy to clean as there wasn't much in there that wasn't supposed to be there. I began with a quick removal of all things not belonging in the room and then began vacuuming. I then decided that we needed to rearrange the furniture. It took three trys to get it right and I am pleased with the results. I will have to post a picture for you all to see.

We moved the couch from one side to the other and put the wing chairs opposite the couch. The piano is still at the far wall. Now, we only took out one piece of furniture which was a sofa table but the result was a much larger looking room. I think it was from the rearranging not the removal of the table.

I am so pleased with our results I think I will just live in that room only and not bother with the rest of the house. Unfortunately, the computer resides in a messy room. Tomorrow I really hope to tackle another room.

Fall Schedules

This year we signed the kids up for fall soccer. Last year we didn't and had intended to use the free weekends to go camping but we never did that so this year we went ahead and signed them up. All three a playing and that means two nights a week we have soccer practice and then most of the day on Saturday we have the games. It is good that the games are all at the same location so we literally pick up our chairs and move them from field to field on Saturdays.

We also have started back to church from our hyatus. Sunday school has started and the kids really enjoy that. It was good to be back last Sunday. While we were there we also signed up for their "Logos" program for Allie, which is an afterschool program from 4:30-7pm on Wednesdays where they do arts and crafts, activities, lessons, children's choir, and have dinner. It will be nice because the others have soccer that day and Allie gets bored hanging out on the sidelines just waiting around.

At church we also signed up for Kenneth and I to participate in their "supper club" which meets once a month with 3 other couples and we have dinner together centered on a theme. I figured that it was time to meet more people and this was a great way to do it.

Moving on, Monday, Nicholas had cub scouts and they had signups for a camping trip and we got our schedule of cub scout events for the year. Man is our calendar filling up.

Caroline announced that she wants to do Girl Scouts this year and she will be a Daisy. Yeah, we will squeeze it into the schedule...somewhere.

So, I have now done exactly what I didn't want to do and that is fill our week with activities all the time. It really just seems like that and isn't really that. With three kids they each have two things that they do each week. But when it is all together, Kenneth and I are running raged just trying to keep up.

Okay, before you all tell me "just wait until they are teenagers", I know!! I am waiting but hopefully I will be a bit more organized....not.

Lessons Learned

My grandfather passed away last week at the age of 90. There were a few lessons that I have learned from him that I thought I would share.
1. It is better to listen well then to speak well. My Pop-pop always listened to us. He usually didn't give his advice right away but he let us work through situations and learn from our mistakes and our accomplishments. Then he would tell us what he really thought.
2. Always stay active. Up to his death he was an active man. Slower in pace as the years piled on but active still. He played golf through his eighties and even got a hole in one and he played bocce ball and traveled.
3. Set your goals and make them happen. In the 1990's he got cancer and fought through it with surgeries and treatment. He set a goal that he would live to see the year 2000, and became healthy again and accomplished it. Then after my grandmother died in 2004 he set another goal to travel to the Panama Canal. This past March he took a cruise through the canal and loved it.
4. Take time to watch the sunsets. You see them a zillion times but they are beautiful each time and oh so different. His house on the river has a porch where he would sit and watch the sunset each evening. They mark a beautiful life.
5. Err on the side of patience. The good things in life will come if only you are patient.
He was the most patient, kind and considerate man I have ever known. He will be missed greatly in this world.

New Blog to Check Out!

I found this new blog and I think it is great. This guy, Jimbo, hand carves crochet hooks. I love to crochet and I am DEFINITELY going to bid on one!!

He has declared September 12th "International Crochet Day" and I think it is a great idea. Much of our historic handcrafts are falling to the wayside. It is so much easier to go to the store and buy a $5 pair of mittens but it is so much nicer to receive a pair of handmade mittens. We in our fast society are rushing out to the store and just buying what we need and not taking the care, love and time into making exactly what we want! I will always support handcrafts and will always practice them in my home.

So head on over to:http://jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com/ and check him out. By the way, he is "raffling" off a crochet hook. Scan down to August's blogs and find his entry for the contest. You will see that I entered!!

Back to School

When I was a kid I remember the weeks prior to returning to school. Now, of course we were at the beach for most of the month of August and we would return the Sunday a week before school began. Mom would return to work the very next Monday, as she was a teacher so she started the week before school began. We would spend much of that week out shopping and getting our school supplies and a new outfit or new shoes for school to start. In the weeks prior to this week while we were at the beach I would scour the fashion magazines, teen magazines, and newspapers to figure out what I wanted. I loved new school supplies, the new notebooks, pencils, and markers. We didn't use a book bag or back pack back then but I remember as a kid thinking about what lunch box I wanted. I had a Holly Hobbie lunch box and a Peanuts one. It was such an exciting week.

Nowadays, that week has turned into a month long series of sales. I have been collecting school supplies for my kids for the past several weeks. Nothing goes on sale at the same time and they never are at the same store. Walmart will have crayons on sale, Office Depot will have glue, Staples will have pencils. My kids are barely involved in the process anymore.

While I don't mind having the super sales and getting packs of pencils for a penny, I do miss the excitement that no longer exists. The biggest excitement we have had was back to school day (or really half hour) where the kids get to take their supplies to school and meet their teacher. It is a madhouse at the school for a half hour but the kids really enjoy it.

Does anyone have anything that they do to help get that sense of excitement back like we had?

Alexandra Quits School After 1st Grade

Last night Alexandra announced at dinner, "Mom, I've been thinking and I don't think I am going to go to school this year."

Kenneth looks at me with a look like, "so, what are you going to do with this one honey?"

Nicholas stops eating in mid bite and looks with wide eyes as if to say, "oh no Allie you have done it this time."

Without missing a beat (and you all would be so proud of me), I say, "okay, if you have really been thinking hard about this and you are serious about not going to school this year, then you don't have to go."

"Really? I can stay home?", she asks.

"No you can't stay home because you aren't allowed to stay by yourself yet, and since Daddy and I have to work you can go with Daddy to work everyday." Kenneth still keeps silent.

"Now of course, since you aren't going to be in school anymore then you will have to start paying rent here and helping out with the bills, so it will be important for you to work hard so you can earn enough money to help us out."

"Okay," she says, "I can work with Daddy."

Kenneth then says, "We will drop off Nicholas and Caroline at the bus stop in the mornings and the you and I can go right to work." (for those of you who don't know, Kenneth does lawn care and maintenance, so this isn't a desk job but manual labor mostly.)

And I add, "You don't have to wait for school to start to start working for Daddy. He has a job tomorrow and you can start then." She smiles and agrees.

This morning at the breakfast table, Kenneth reminds her that she is working with him today and she said she remembered. They, then worked out a fair payment schedule and an hourly rate.

Two hours after they left to trim some bushes at a customer's house they return. Allie walks in and gives me a big hug and says I am going back to school now. Nothing else was said.

We were willing to play this out, even though it didn't take us long to convince her that school was the best choice. We were even willing to go as far as not sending her to school on the first day of school and having her work with Kenneth, but luckily she saw the light early.

Baby Seals

I asked my sister to help me today to come up with a topic for a blog entry. I said anything and she gave me "baby seals". I said, "okay, baby seals it is."

This subject, I thought would be difficult for me as I don't live near a place where seals inhabit. I did go to San Francisco several years back and went shopping on a dock overlooking the harbor. It was a beautiful, yet windy day. We wore sweaters and were still a bit chilly but I didn't want to wear a jacket for fear of having to carry it around. The shops were nice but I don't remember anything special there, and I didn't buy anything. I do remember walking towards the water and letting the wind hit my face and enjoying the briskness of it. There were seals lounging on the floating docks around this shopping area. They were making these great noises and some of them were wrestling around with each other. It was fun to watch.

I usually don't think about this area much nor really the shopping on the dock, however it all came back to me two years ago when I heard a news story about a woman and her three young children. Apparently the children were missing and later they would be found and she would be arrested for murder. The story was so horrific to me that it brings me to tears just thinking about it.

On chilly, but sunny day this woman and her three babies, the oldest just 6 years old and the youngest just 9 months, were out on a dock similar to the one that I was on shopping. The woman stripped the children down to no clothes and one by one and tossed them in the water. She later states that they wanted to go swimming. She later is found to be mentally ill. Each child, though, stripped down and tossed in the 50 some degree water. There were other people on the dock that day but no one either saw her or for whatever reason stopped her.

I just don't understand how someone could hurt a child. I don't understand how a mother could toss her children in the cold water. I don't understand how no one saw her or stopped her. I read so many news articles of adults harming or killing children and in our times now it seems to be common. Even the TV dramas like ER, Law and Order, CSI, and such almost enjoy making a child injury, murder, abuse, etc, show because they know they will get the ratings as people will watch it. I had to stop watching ER because there were too many children on it. I can't watch Law and Order any more for the same reasons. I truly believe that if we allow our TV networks to air shows like this then we are only making these types of crimes "acceptable" and we are conditioning our children to not find it horrific and shocking when these types of things occur in our society.

It is just sick and sad.

Instant Messaging

Our first computer that was hooked up to the internet or had the capability was in 1992. I had bought a computer with graduation money from College. It had a 102 mb harddrive, and that was an upgrade. It had Windows 3.0. Then I upgraded to 3.1 when it came out. I was on AOL as soon as it came out and I was one of the ones who paid BY THE HOUR! There were months that my AOL bill was quite expensive. I want to say it was $9.95 for the first 5 hours or something like that and then you had to pay for anything over that. It was dial up and the internet was fairly safe. One of the fun things on AOL was the chat rooms and I would spend a lot of time there, just chatting away. Then we had Instant Messaging. Wow... what fun when my college friends also got on AOL and we could talk online!

I loved it when AOL went to just a monthly service charge and you could be online as much as you want. Well there wasn't much out there other than what AOL had on their servers. But as time went by more and more websites were being formed and you could truly start surfing the net.

When we moved into this house, my husband was now in the IT profession (before he was a tennis pro) and he set up our computer and internet to go straight out to the net using netscape. I literally went through AOL withdraw. I tried to set up an AIM account and it didn't do much for me and eventually I found that life without AOL was fine and I found other websites to surf. But I missed instant messaging.

Life goes on and a few upgrades to the computer, no more dial up but now a cable modem and DSL. I still find myself on the computer a lot and hadn't missed anything since blogging.

However, a friend of mine mentioned that we could instant message each other through MSN. We both have Hotmail and they have recently been doing some upgrades and boom there it was in my face yesterday. So I did what it said, followed the directions, and downloaded the necessary programs and BOOM I now have instant messaging capabilities.

Wow, I didn't realize I had missed it so much. It is a good thing that I can't access it at work (tried), because I wouldn't get anything done otherwise.

Visit from an old friend (also titled, "The Bird Weekend")

My old friend from college came to see me. Well, there were two reasons she came, one was to see me and the second was to retrieve a theater chair that she won on ebay and had me pick up for her. So she arrives about 12:30 and I open the front door and she steps in to give me a hug. We are in mid-hug and all of the sudden I hear a flapping of something right by my ear and brushing my hair. I exclaim, "What was that?", loudly and slightly frightened.

She says, "It hit me. I felt it on my neck."

"Do you think it was a bat? It must have been a bat." Now I am becoming concerned. "Did it come in the house?"

Shakey voice, "I think so.", she says.

"KENNETH!!!", I scream, knowing that I could possibly wake the house up but now there is a bat in my house, and I am not sure I care.

Kenneth comes down the stairs a bit groggy from being asleep for the past hour. "What, oh hi Lel" he says.

We explain the story and at first he doesn't seem ready to believe us until Lella says it might be better if she stayed in a hotel. He goes and gets a flashlight, leaving the two ladies, trembling now in the hallway where this animal could very well be. He returns a few minutes later with a large flashlight and hands it to me and he closes the kitchen doors blocking off the rest of the house from the kitchen, or was it the kitchen from the rest of the house? Anyway, he then sends ME up to check out the kids rooms and close their doors. I look at him funny, ME? I wonder, and then exclaim "why me? I don't really want to find it and what do I do if I do find it?" He doesn't answer and pushes me up the steps.

I find nothing, thankfully. And when I return to the downstairs hallway he convinces us that it must have flown out and that it realized that it wasn't flying away and we must have deflected it from coming inside. There is nothing inside the house. We reluctantly, and may I repeat, reluctantly believe him. We want to believe him. But we also don't want to wake to a bat sucking our blood or hanging upside down in the morning from a curtain. Shivers run up my back and Kenneth heads back upstairs to bed.

I look at Lella and ask, "would you like a glass of wine?" She says something like "hell yeah".

I open the kitchen door and am greeted by a little bird standing on the floor in the kitchen. I let out a shreak and when I scream I startle the bird and he starts to fly and then I start screaming again. It was all I could do to get the door shut again. Thank goodness it wasn't a bat! But there is a bird in the house.

Kenneth returns with Caroline's butterfly net and her safari hat. (see picture) He devises a plan to trap the bird in our back hallway and catch it but the plan involves me too. I have to hold up a sheet in the doorway to the family room so he doesn't go in there. I hold the sheet he scares the bird, Lella sits quietly in the living room thinking of many excuses why she should go to a hotel. The bird flies down the hallway, flaps up against the sheet, I start screaming again because the sheet is now flapping on my head and face, and then "THWAP". Nothing, no sound, no flapping, no screaming.

"Got it." Kenneth says.

"Got what?", I ask.

"The bird. I got the bird. It's okay you can come out now."

"No way. Get it out of the house now!", I say.

"Really, Whitney, I've got it. I was a tennis pro you know. Come look at it."

"Tennis pro? What does that have to do with it?", still behind the sheet.

"I caught it in the net. Get out here and look at this thing. He is little." Reluctantly I pull down the sheet ever so slowly and there it was in the net.

Next thing to do, obviously was get the camera. We call Lella in and she responded something like, "I don't need to see it. I'm okay. Don't want to see it." But with more prodding she came in and checked it out too.

What an exciting entrance!

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop!

This past weekend we celebrated my grandfather's 90th birthday. He is doing well and had a great time having his family celebrate with him. He enjoys watching my kids play in the pool and he has a running joke with Caroline my youngest. He tries to kiss her and she likes to run away. At first she was a bit frightened of him but now it is a game. I am sure he will have many more birthdays.

More Bugs...This time not so happy ending

A few days ago my middle daughter Allie found this on our back door. Yes the door we all go in and out many times a day.

You guessed right, it is a Black Widow Spider. It had a nice web and had caught some dinner for it.

Alexandra guessed right away what it was and we were impressed that she identified it. It made for an easy learning lesson for the kids.

"Do not touch these spiders, Caroline. They will bite you and make you very, very sick. Do not squoosh these spiders, they may bite you before your squoosh them. Do not pick them up, do not catch them. Do not go near them!"




"Caroline, are you paying attention?"


This spider met his demise.

Of Bugs and Butterflies

This summer I have been battling with Caroline over bringing bugs into the house and then letting them out to "play" with her. Today, Alexandra caught a Monarch Butterfly in our yard and they put it in the butterfly cage. Caroline then, apparently took the cage to her room some time today and decided to let him out to play with her. A little while ago she came to me, "Mommy, I can't find my butterfly."

"What butterfly, honey?", I ask.

"The one we caught and put in the cage.", she says in her cute little voice.

"You caught a butterfly?"

"Allie did and we put it in the cage."

"Well, where is the cage?", I ask.

"In my room.", she says.

"Isn't the butterfly in the cage?", thinking uh-oh.

"No".

"Did you let him go outside?", I ask cautiously, knowing the answer already.

"No I let him in my room. He loves my room and so do I. He was flying around my room when I lost him." That is what I thought.

So we go to her room and start looking for the butterfly. The door to her bedroom was already open when we got there and I begin thinking this butterfly could be anywhere in our house. Thankfully after only 30 seconds I found the butterfly alive and well. I called to Allie to get the net and told Caroline to watch him and not open the door. Like a good Mommy, I ran to get the camera.

When I return to her room I find her showing the butterfly her bat that she made in bug camp! (first picture)

The last picture is her catching the butterfly in the net to return him to his cage. He is currently all snuggy in his cage with plenty of fresh flowers to eat and some grass on the bottom.

While this story is cute and has a happy ending, this summer we have been graced with sharing our home with "pincher bugs", ants, worms, and snails. Some we have found, some we haven't yet. Although each bug gets to play with Caroline in her room and with her toys.

"What I did this summer"

Tomorrow is my last day of freedom before I return to ... jail. Well, not jail for me but I work there. I teach at our county juvenile detention center, aka, juvenile jail. We return to work a month earlier than "regular" teachers and we work the entire month of June whereas other schools get out the first or second week in June. So tomorrow is my last day of summer vacation.

If I were to have written an essay, entitled, "what did I do this summer". I would be hard pressed to come up with anything interesting. So let's see.

Things I did this summer:
1. Went to the pool with the kids, almost everyday.
2. Got up early and drove kids to and from various camps everyday all summer break.
3. Went to the movies and saw, Rattatouille and Over the Hedge.
4. Went to Talbots twice and bought $650 worth of clothes on huge clearance. (clothes for me and all three of my kids)
5. Went to the Smithsonian Institute Natural History Museum. Rode the Metro in to DC from Springfield. Yes, on the way out of town I stopped by the Talbots Outlet Store and bought some great buys there too!!
6. Knitted half of a sweater, crocheted 4 potholders, and a doily.
7. Made a scrapbook for my mother with all her old pictures.
8. Participated in the neighborhood 4th of July parade which ended at and involved a day at the pool.
9. Harvested copious amounts of squash, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. from our garden. Pulled weeds, planted and sprayed for pests.
10. Canned and cooked a lot!!
11. Did considerable amounts of laundry.

12. Installed a new vanity in our downstairs bathroom. (Well my husband installed it, I just stood there and looked pretty!)

13. Oh yeah, I read five books too!!

I can't think of anything else. My boss asked us to all bring pictures of what we did this summer when we return. I think I am just going to refer them to my blog.

Welcome My Friend and Country GAL

My friend and former co-worker, Sharon, has just started a blog here on Blogspot and I think we all should give her a big "Howdy!"

She is quite an entertainer with her bits of wisdom and stories about a city gal turn country wife and momma! Her stories at work used to make me laugh so hard I would cry and my sides would ache.

She has decided to share her stories and wisdom with us all on her blog.

So check her out and comment on her blog with a big "howdy"!!

http://whatsupwithus-vial.blogspot.com/

Any time you want to return to her blog I have it on my list of blogs on the sidebar.

Update on the "No TV" thing...

We DID survive the no TV day yesterday... well, my husband cheated. Once the kids went to bed he turned on the TV and we started watching Glen Beck. About 20 minutes into it I realized that I was feeling guilty about watching TV, plus my bowl of ice cream was finished. So I got up and checked my email and then announced that I was heading up stairs. Kenneth barely heard me. So I said to him, "See, this thing sucks your brains out too".

He came up right after me and we ended up turning on the TV again to watch the weather report.

The kids didn't mind so much about no TV day but they did ask a couple of times. Caroline wanted to watch a video she had borrowed from the library on bugs, Nicholas wanted to watch the new SpongeBob episode, and Alexandra wanted to watch a DVD "High School Musical" which she has seen a zillion times. Each time my answer was the same, "not today."

We will have another no TV day and I need to work on Kenneth about not watching after the kids go to bed.

A "NO TV" DAY...

Today is a "no TV" day in our house. The kids have recently gotten their brains sucked out by sitting in front of the TV for 3 and 4 hours at a time. I can't move them and when I ask them to do anything they literally don't move. They have become limp green beans.

So today I have declared it a "no TV" day in our house. In the three hours that my middle daughter has been awake she has asked me three times if she can watch TV. I tell her "N-O!". She isn't happy about it but hasn't whined yet either. Right now she is stringing beads on the back porch watching workmen take down part of a tree in our neighbors yard. Now isn't that better than getting your brain sucked out by SpongeBob Squarepants?

What a Beautiful Week!

This week couldn't be more perfect in any way. If I had my perfect climate, temperature, weather, this would be it. All this week it is sunny and in the low 80's for a high. The humidity is lower than normal and it doesn't really get hot until late afternoon like 3ish. There is a slight breeze blowing and these big cottonball clouds scattering the bright blue sky. If only it could be like this all summer...

New Blog and Corn Salad Recipe

I have decided to begin a new blog specifically for cooking, baking, and canning. I really enjoy them and have had several people ask for recipes or comment on my cooking. I thought it might be fun to have a blog specifically geared for that. So I am sending you to my other blog for the recipe, but first here is a little 'teaser' picture of the corn salad.

http://www.whitneyscooking.blogspot.com/

Come visit me there!!

Don't worry, I will still be writing on this site too. I have so much more to share than just cooking!

OH My!!!

We went to dinner tonight over at my mother's house. We had tacos and fajitas. Mom made a corn salad that was to die for. It had corn (shaved off the cob), green pepper, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Italian salad dressing and a bit of sugar. She said she got it off www.allrecipes.com. I will get the recipe and post it.

Update on Laundry and other random thoughts today

I have diminished my pile of laundry. I did 10 loads on Wednesday evening and a bunch of loads on Thursday. The problem with us is that if we don't take the clean clothes out of the dryer and fold them immediately then they stay wherever they are put. I can't put them back in a laundry basket; I can't put them on the couch to fold later. I can't put them on the bed to fold later. If I put them anywhere other than folded and in a drawer then they are forever in their spot. The kids are good about takin the clothes up to their rooms and putting them away when I ask, and my husband is great about shlepping towels and our clothes up the steps. When the family works together then things get done. Otherwise the pile will stay on top of the dryer or in a basket or on the couch FOREVER!

Oh, we had a momentous event today too. We finally installed a new vanity and sink in our downstairs bathroom. We have had the vanity and sink for over a year now and it has been sitting in the laundry room waiting to be installed. Kenneth finally did it and he did a GREAT job! It looks awesome and gives us so much storage in the bathroom now. Yippee!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Frederick, Maryland to pick up a piece of equipment that my husband bought for his business. It is a leaf vacuum.

Recently I have been thinking about trying my hand at thread crochet. I have found a few sites on the internet that have patterns for vintage doilies. These patterns are the original patterns from the 1940's through 1960's. They are pretty cool and I want to start out just making a doily that I can use on the wingback chairs in my living room. I want to put them on the arms which are gettin a little threadbare. Does anyone know of a good pattern that would be fun to start with?

Procrastination...

My kids are gone this afternoon roller skating with grandparents and I had hoped to get some laundry done.


That is the heap that has gotten down to the laundry room. Yes, that is a 55 gallon trashcan full of laundry too. There are overflowing baskets in each of the kids' rooms and a big heaping mound in my bathroom that has yet to come down. We got lucky about a year ago and got a second dryer which helps tremendously with the speed of doing the laundry. But to just make myself start... A friend of mine once asked me if we were the cleanest family or the dirtiest family. Right now, we are the dirtiest!

So what do I do as soon as the kids leave? I start canning! Good girls can when the kids are away!! Or, at least I want to think. So the laundry sits but look what I made...



Squash relish! YUM!! This is the same recipe that 2 Lambs Farm posted about a week ago. She didn't chop up her squash and she made hers with yellow squash. I made mine the same way as she did with her recipe, except I substituted zucchini squash for the yellow squash and I chopped mine up in the food processor just before putting them in the jars. WOW! It tastes soooo good. Just like pickle relish and the veggies are crunchy. Her recipe made 5 1/2 jars!