Beach Therapy

Today (or How I Cooked My Way to Exhaustion)

2012-02-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

Here are some images from my day. It was... busy. Friday night and this morning were our mega-trips to STOCK the pantry and freezer. And then I cook for a day to be able to take it easy for about a month :) Good trade, right?

This is actually from last night's trip to Sam's Club. And I didn't get it. But this WILL BE my birthday cake... or heads will roll! Chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting with chocolate pieces all over the top. YUM!

The best chicken EVER. Garlic, rosemary, salt liberally, lemon slices and juice, drizzle w/veg oil. Roast about an hour. Let sit in juices!!! at least 30 minutes before slicing. I use this chicken as a meal on its own, for quesadillas, for chicken alfredo, and for chicken and noodles. I let it cool and cut into appropriate sized chunks. Bag, tag, and freeze. Thaw or use frozen :)

Sorry it's sideways. Blogger won't let me rotate it. 2 trays of chicken fajitas :) Ready to throw in the oven.

Ground beef for tacos, sloppy joes, Hamburger Helper, or quesadillas. Used some of today's 10lbs to make a shepard's pie (below) and 2 trays of stuffed shells (jumbo pasta shells, cheddar cheese, meat. Top w/spaghetti sauce) All of it went into the deep freeze to use in the next month :)

Shepard's pie: meat, peas, corn in a gravy, topped with mashed potatoes.

Beginnings of potato soup. Also includes some chicken, onions, and garlic. Cooked chicken, onions, and garlic first. Added homemade stock (made from Xmas turkey) and potatoes. Boiled/simmered for about 30-45 minutes. Ran through the food processor, added some milk and LOTS of cheese :)

Lots of potato soup for the freezer. Already ate one of the small containers on the left for dinner tonight.

Potato soup MUST be served in a bread bowl. Or a bread mug since this chunk was a funny shape :)

So today was crazy busy - here are the numbers:

12 chicken breasts roasted (about 4 meals worth)
2 trays of chicken fajitas
10lbs ground beef yielded:

1 Shepard's Pie
2 trays of stuffed shells
5 gallon sized bags of ground meat

1 giant pot (approx 10-12 servings) of Potato Soup w/chicken & cheese

Cooked for 3 hours
Shopped for 4 hours
Ready for February :)

The bonus is tomorrow? I can veg (and grade papers...)

So there is a glimpse of one of my tricks. What are your tricks to get healthy meals on the table quick?

Strangeness - An Account of My Hives (LONG!)

2011-12-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

Fair warning: This post will probably be a big downer. Read at your own risk. ALSO: It is L.O.N.G.

I've been having lots of issues since my last post. Most of them are physical, which leads to mental and emotional complications. I'm not in a good place, mentally or physically, as 2011 draws to a close. I'm feeling extremely frustrated - and absolutely scared out of my skull. Here are some details.

I've been under a fair amount of stress at work this semester. So when I broke out in hives in early November, I kind of wrote it off to that. Then I realized it may be an allergic reaction to an herbal tea (sad panda!) I got rid of the tea and hoped for rapid improvement.

There was some - but never for long. I consulted my mom (a retired nurse with 41 years of experiences in ALL kinds of places) who advised me to go on Claritin around the clock. Combined with some good lotion (shout out to @EucerinUS for their awesome products!) and oatmeal baths and benedryl creams and hydrocortisone creams... I reached a point of live-ability. I wasn't cured or really even better - but I could function on a day to day basis.

Then I got sick. Initially it was a cold but it turned into a sinus infection. Off to the doctor I went, where I recounted my issues (we think it was the chamomile in the tea). The doctor was a sweetie and prescribed me a 5 day course of Zithromax and orders to keep taking the claritins. This was Saturday, December 10.

Sunday evening we played games as a family and I noticed my mouth felt strange. The family commented that it looked like I'd been smacked in the lip. Sure enough, over the course of a few hours, my bottom lip, cheek, and top lip started to swell. I called my mom who told me to call the doctor on call for my practice. I felt bad (even though it was only 8:30 on a Sunday night) but I called. The doctor called back almost immediately and asked all sorts of questions. I was told to stop the Zithromax immediately and to take both a Claritin and some benedryl. He said to call his office the next day to check in and to go to the ER if the swelling didn't respond to the extra meds.

By mid-day the following day, the swelling was gone. I checked in with his nurse and all was well. Until Tuesday night, December 13. I felt the swelling start in my top lip that night. I took benedryls and claritins and went to bed with an ice pack. But in the morning my lip was no better. It was so swollen that there were blisters on the inside of my lip (near my teeth) from the swelling and stretching. I went to work and did the best I could. Finally, after the pestering of my students and colleagues, I called the doctor's office. I got someone to cover my class and left.

This was possibly the fastest doctor visit of my life - no waiting to be called, hadn't even finished paying my copay when they called me back! I entered the exam room and chatted with the nurse - and when she left the doctor immediately came in. We chatted and she looked me over. She gave me another Rx - this time for a short acting anitbiotic, while keeping our fingers crossed that I wouldn't react to it. And she gave me a steroid shot - to help me cope with the Zithromax reaction and boost me over the hump. It worked! Within 24 hours I felt great - very little itching, no swelling, and my cold symptoms finally cleared up.

I went to Walmart that Friday (16th) and got some Zyrtec. I added it to my routine which looks something like this:

6am (school days) - shower, slather with lotion, hit hive-y areas with benedryl cream and hydrocortisone cream, take a claritin
all day - my creams and lotions are within reach - on my desk, night table, in my purse, lunch box, school bag, coat pocket.
9pm (or bedtime) - more lotion and creams, Zyrtec, and sometimes a single benedryl (even though I know lots of info online says don't take them together, I've had to)

I found another great Eucerin product - it is amazing. I've been using it every other day as a total body wash - including a shampoo. It is called Eucerin Calming Body Wash Daily Shower Oil. Some folks complained of a bad scent - honestly I can't tell any scent at all. And realistically, if it worked, it could smell like a garbage dump for all I'd care. The lotion I use is called Eucerin Calming Cream. It is nice and thick and covers well. The only drawback for both these items is the price - the body was was $7 and the lotion was $10. One giant tube of lotion lasted a month, with heavy use... I can't say how long the body wash will last.

So, where am I now? Well, after having been on the Zyrtec and Claritin combos for almost 2 weeks, I was in a good place. I forgot my claritin on Xmas day and had a really bad time. I've started having angioedema (swelling related to deep hives) in recent days as well as hives breaking through the meds. My mom convinced me to go off meds and see what happened. Well, I didn't even make it 24 hours. By hour 20, I was itchy and red on my legs and it only got worse. At about hour 23 I took 2 benedryls and a zyrtec. Today has been a fight to get the meds back into my system and to keep from scratching.

I know I need to see a doctor. But I also know most tests doctors run will come back with false results due to the amounts of meds in my system. So I'm stuck in a bad place. I've eliminated anything new from my diet... now I'm looking at old stuff whose ingredients may have changed. I'm looking at things like eggs as potential culprits. I gave away or tossed many of my Xmas gifts from my students - because I'm SCARED. I'm worried about what might be the next thing that makes the reaction worse... bad enough to send me to the hospital. And that makes me worry about MONEY. Testing and doctors and medicines take lots of it. And I'm terrified that the doctors will uncover the root cause of my hives - and that it will be something awful. (Do you KNOW how many diseases and conditions have HIVES as a symptom? Here's a partial list: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, celiac disease, even some forms of breast cancers! Stay away from Google!)

I looked for a funny cartoon or image... but there isn't one. And honestly, there's nothing funny about what I'm going through. If you would - do me a favor. Any info you have, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant - please pass it along. I need to connect with some folks who have experienced chronic hives - and who have come out the other side. Thanks.

For grins and giggles (videos of ME!)

2011-10-04T18:29:00.003-04:00

I was at a workshop today (and again tomorrow) when I got a text message that my first class was "out of their minds." Gotta love that! So after talking to a colleague on the way home, I decided to make a video to be shown to the students tomorrow. And I had so much fun making that one, I decided to make one praising my other 2 classes for behaving appropriately. Enjoy the videos - and please pardon my:

crazy facial expressions (bug eyes anyone? and why does it look like I talk out of the corner of my mouth???)
slightly crooked appearance (stinky old tripod!)
accent
wild curly hair

Let's hope tomorrow is a better day for the one class and another fantastic one for the other 2!

Fall TV

2011-09-28T20:50:00.002-04:00

So, in an effort to lighten the mood around here, whatcha watching on TV these days? I've gotten hooked on Criminal Minds (Thanks A&E!) and NCIS (Thanks USA!) I like watching these shows in syndication - they are constantly running marathons (great for exercising to at the YMCA) and I almost always have a "new" show to watch. This works out well for me, as a teacher - shows to watch and papers to grade.

I'm also thoroughly addicted to Mythbusters. That season starts tonight! So does Criminal Minds. So my DVD recorder is set. NCIS is on Tuesdays, no conflicts. I'm also enjoying Bones, thanks to TNT marathons. That season doesn't start on Fox until November 3rd. Although I'm excited by the promos - Bones and Booth finally got together, now I'm hooked into seeing where they end up!

I also have rediscovered that I like CSI (Las Vegas!) with characters other than Grissom (shocker.) I've been watching reruns of that and enjoyed the premiere with Ted Danson last week.

So, do you see the pattern that I see? Crime/murder shows and science/techy stuff I could use at school.

What are you watching this fall? Anything I should try out? I've got Mondays and Fridays open, as well as Saturdays and Sundays. I don't stay up late but I can record stuff. Gimme some ideas! Please?

#bedtime and #bedtimesucks

2011-09-26T19:36:00.002-04:00

Those were the hashtags I used last night as I live tweeted our bedtime battle. We all got kinda relaxed over the summer - the kids are older (10 and 8) and we let them stay up later. It got out of control when we went to the beach. Since returning (early August) Katy hasn't fallen asleep in her bed OR stayed in her bed for the whole night. Once school started, I would BEG her to come in my bed so we could all get to sleep. Let's face it, 8 year olds need more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep. (And I couldn't fight her at bedtime for hours and hours each night.)

Fast forward to Saturday. DH came and sat in my office and I ended up venting my spleen on him. I just let it all go. (It has been building up for quite a while.) He acknowledged that we had some real issues that needed to be addressed. So we planned out a family meeting. (I'll have to blog that separately. It was.... interesting.)

So the plan developed at the family meeting was this:
8:00 Showers
8:30 Nightly reading
9:00 Lights out, I sit in the hall in my comfy chair while the kids fall asleep

We moved the chair, my laptop was charged, and I downloaded some e-books just in case. And I commenced to tweet some of my hardest parenting moments to date. (I'll lead off with a few tweets from Saturday and earlier Sunday to set the mood...)

The tweets tell the tale. We were at it for 3 hours (after the final tweet, DH and I swapped one last time - after I password locked Katy's computer. I had taken some Tylenol PM and don't remember much.) Unbelievable!

Thankfully, I had some great friends on Twitter sending support from all over the place - @LiberalGranola, @3catsandababy, and @CarelessCampers were wonderful. Knowing that there are other parents out there, going through similar stuff at one time or another really helped me stay strong.

I'm hoping tonight will be ever-so-much better - after all, can it really get worse?

No, wait! Don't answer that!

(You can follow the action for the next few nights by following the #bedtimesucks hashtag. It doesn't appear to be used often and really suits the situation.)

First Day of School (a month late)

2011-09-25T11:45:00.006-04:00

The girls' first day of school was August 25th. Here are the pictures I took that day. (Better late than never!)

Katy, first day of 3rd grade

Erin, first day of 5th grade

Coping. Or Not.

2011-09-11T23:16:00.000-04:00

How do you cope with feeling like a failure? It has been hitting me hard lately. I just don't think I'm doing what needs to be done for my 8 year old, Katy. I'm missing something. She's so much like me, that might be part of it. She has this need to fight me on every. little. thing. Bedtime has always been an issue with her - since she was just a little squirt she's fought and argued and whined and complained. For years we sat with her. Then we were able to move to sitting in the next room. Then, finally, she seemed to be over it. We had several years of pretty decent bedtimes - still a few problems here and there, but never for more than a few nights at a time.

Recently she's been terrible, horrible, no good, very bad. And I feel so guilty for saying that. But it is the worst it has EVER been. And I just can't handle it. Sometimes I just want to run screaming from the house, instead of deal with her. 5 nights a week it is just me @ bedtime. DH works evenings - but often (even on school nights) she's still up when he comes home. And on school days she's getting up at 6 - I just don't know how she can be awake for almost 18 hours a day. And on nights when DH IS home - those are the worst. No matter how calm I try to stay, he's got some comment about how I get her worked up and how I shouldn't worry about it and how I should just leave her be. That eventually she'll get tired and go to bed earlier.

I've tried tiring her out (YMCA to swim/exercise.) Just made her more of a monster (even more over-tired.)

I've tried taking away important things (computer, Internet, TV, DS, fun family stuff.) She just cries and whines more.

I've tried (to my shame) spankings. Then she cries about her butt hurting.

I've tried the opposite - sweetness and light, loving, calm. I've even sat with her, laid with her - kept her company so she won't be "lonely." (One of her current favorite excuses for why she can't go to bed.)

I've tried music. She just waits until the cd has played through to come downstairs. (False hope, anyone?)

But she still doesn't go to bed without a fight. (Correction, she will go MAYBE once a week without a fight - no way to predict which night, so I can't ever bank on tonight being THE ONE. Until it is and it is over.)

I'm trying so hard. All I could do tonight was lock myself in the bathroom and cry. She just stood in the hall and asked if I was crying and WHY was I so upset.

I don't know how to cope with this. But I've got to find a way. How can I not cope with this wonderful, spirited, brilliant, little girl? I love her so.

End of Summer Highlights

2011-08-21T17:57:00.000-04:00

This has been quite a summer! We've kept busy and the girls didn't mangle each other too badly. However, EVERYONE has been grumpy the last few days. So much so that I'm more than ready to be back at school! I'm tired of doing things for everyone and tired of negotiating everyone's battles. The girls are on each others' last nerve. Annoying things aside, we've had a great summer. Here are some recent highlights:

Lots of self portraits this summer. The girls have discovered photography - WATCH OUT!

Several marathon games of Mono-poly (Katy's silly.)

Harry Potter Night!

A few lost teeth!

Don't ask. Just don't.

It was a good summer but I'm glad it's done. What did you do this summer?

When You Can't Find What You Want...

2011-08-14T17:26:00.000-04:00

Sew it!

Some of my earliest memories are of my mom in front of her sewing machine. It seemed like she was always whipping up things for me to wear. Since I've been an adult, she's sewn a few things for me (dresses in college, nursing tops and dresses as a new mom) but nothing recently. I asked her to teach me the basics - and she said yes!

So here is a little timeline for you, followed by pictures.

The girls and I arrived Thursday at noon. We met for lunch. Then my dad took the girls to the pool while my mom and I shopped for fabric and notions (I already had the patterns.)
Thursday night we discovered we made a mistake with our fabric purchase, but we were able to make it work. We cut apart the patterns and organized our pieces.
Friday morning we shopped at Hobby Lobby (got the right amounts of fabric!) We also hit Target and Kohls for shoes for the girls and me.
Friday I went to lunch with my dad then returned to learn to sew. Girls went to the pool with Grandpa. We cut the fabric for the first dress.
Friday night the first dress is mostly together. We hit a few snags and had to stop and let the dress sit overnight.
Saturday we didn't do much more than fiddle with the first dress all day. Girls went to the pool with Grandpa again. Finally got dress 1 hemmed and finished at about 10pm. We cut the fabric for dress 2.
Sunday my mom did all the sewing for dress 2 - it was a more complicated pattern. I went to lunch with my dad and the girls. Then when he took them to the pool, I kept my mom company and was available for fittings as needed. Dress 2 was actually much simpler and more straightforward with WAY less modifications needed.

As promised...

Dress 1: Retro Butterick 4790 Misses' Wrap Dress

Dress 2: Simplicity 2884 It's So Easy Misses Dresses

Added placket in the "v"

Crossed the straps

I'm excited for school to start! I'm planning to wear a little sweater/shrug with both dresses to cover my arms/back. When I actually wear them, I'll post pictures :)

What do you do for clothing? Do you find the styles and fit you like in the stores?

Vacation Pictures!

2011-08-09T23:25:00.000-04:00

I made a quick movie in Picasa and uploaded it to YouTube. Enjoy!

Toes in the Water...

2011-08-03T12:45:00.000-04:00

Enjoying our vacation to the Nth degree! Took oodles of pictures and enjoyed playing with them in Picasa. I was planning to upload them but the wifi is SO SLOW! So you'll get a sample with more on Sunday (when I'm home with my speedy wifi!)

End of NaBloPoMo - Reflection

2011-07-31T08:10:00.002-04:00

Wow, I can't believe I've done it! Those who know me IRL know that I have a bad habit of starting things and not following through. It is one of my weaknesses - I get brilliant ideas but never finish the project.

I'm proud to say I finished this one! And I've learned a bunch - about myself, about Blogger, about Twitter, about writing for myself and not stats, about commenting on other's blogs.

I'm a geek girl at heart, totally in love with tech and what it can do. And I love to see my site stats. It is so cool to see how people find my blog and what they are reading. At the same time, I have to step back and remember that my blog is for me - it is my place to vent as well as my place to talk about things that interest me. I can share stories and pictures of my kids. I can talk about what I've read, what I'm doing in my home and at work.

Thanks for coming on this journey with me. I can't think of a better way to have spent a portion of my summer!

I'll be back in a week - we're off to the beach. I'll try to schedule some posts for you to enjoy!

Vacation Preparation!

2011-07-30T07:20:00.001-04:00

So this is what I have to overcome in order to get ready for the beach tomorrow...

towels, sheets, clothes, bathing suits - Oh My!

Why, oh why did I let this happen?!?!?!

And I've got to pack my clothes, supervise the girls packing, and see about finding beach toys and pack the truck. Oy!

Have you got vacation plans for this summer?

This Moment: What We Did This Summer

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by Amanda at SouleMama.

Bonus Post! Classroom Pictures

2011-07-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

Here is a slideshow of my new classroom. Please forgive me for the blurry shots - not sure what happened. It is definitely a work in progress! I'm amazed at how much got done in just 2 days! I can't wait to get back in to put up bulletin boards, posters, etc.

New 6th Grade Classroom - In Progress!! on PhotoPeach

Curly Girl!

2011-07-28T14:52:00.000-04:00

At the end of the school year (early June) I found a book at the library that inspired me to make a change. I have naturally curly hair that I've struggled with all my life. Here are a few representative pictures of me - my hair was almost always frizzy and hard to control.

I've been on NaturallyCurly.com before - there are some good tips and tricks. I've seen people talk about the CG method. I found the answer in this book:

A-mazing! I've struggled with my hair for so long, I have a hard time finding it beautiful. I want curls like THIS! I'd love to be able to grow my hair long and not have it look awful.

I've found my curls. And I adore them. Here is a shot from just a few days after I started the Curly Girl method.

Who knew my hair could do ringlets???

And here I am today - after working in my classroom for 5 hours. My curls still look great!

Please pardon the cheesy grin, my daughter insisted. :))

So what is the big secret? What's the trick? Here's what I go by:

Shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo only once a week (possibly more often after chlorine pools or an extra sweaty day)
Conditioner and lots of it! Use some to "wash" the hair and scalp and rinse. Then apply more and let it sit. Rinse some of it (for me, especially from the scalp as it makes me itchy and flaky) but leave some in the ends of the hair.
Apply gel when hair is sopping, dripping wet.
Don't use a towel or a brush (although a brush or a comb is fine on wet hair if you are detangling.) To sop up water from my hair I use an old long-sleeved t-shirt wrapped around my head. (Think something like Aunt Jemima.)
Keep my hands OUT of my hair! No fussing with it as it dries or afterwards. Sometimes the gel is a little crunchy so after it is dry I'll flip my head upside down and "scrunch" the curls. But that's it!

There is an awesome YouTube channel run by Sarah (aka WaterLily716) that can answer all your questions. Between the book, website, and YouTube, life as a curly girl has never been better!

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Moving Day

2011-07-27T07:20:00.003-04:00

Today is bittersweet for me. I'm excited to try something new but I really liked 4th graders. So I leave you with some pictures of what my 4th grade room looked like for this past school year. *sigh* It certainly won't look like this next year!

Can I get away with this in 6th grade?

View from the door

Behavior Star (6th grade rotates classes, no need for this. What do I do with the star???)

View from the window (near the star, above)

Cubbies - probably not doing bins, definitely not doing book boxes for 70+

I know some things will stay the same. But it is the things that are changing that make me sad. Like my beautiful star. I love it! It's metal, so magnets stick, and I painted it nice, bright red, white and blue.

What would you do with that lovely star in your own classroom?

Library Lists: What I'm Reading Now

2011-07-26T13:37:00.000-04:00

So my Shelfari is over in the right sidebar. If you're into stuff like that, I highly recommend it. I get such a kick out of reviewing and listing books I've read - not to mention stuff I'd like to read (if I can ever get my hands on it.) Here are a few things I found (or finally got on hold!) last week at the library - I've hardly touched them! For some reason (headaches much?) I've not read as much this week...

When Did I Get Like This by Amy Wilson - hilarious, this has been recommended by many online in recent days. I'm enjoying it, but I have to read it in small doses - it makes me miss those baby days!
Real Leaders Don't Do PowerPoint by Christopher Witt - Since I'll be teaching 6th graders, I think I need to step away from my PPT addiction and develop my leadership/speaking skills. I started this last night and it's kinda dry... not sure if I'll read the rest or just skim.
Nerds by David Anderegg, Ph.D. - Also started this last night. Hard to describe, it is basically about nerds, geeks, why they get stereotyped, but why we need them in society. Interesting but also dry.
The Pioneer Woman - Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond - Next on the list to start, I read her chronicles online and of course we know how the story ends, but I'm interested to see how it got translated from blog to book.
Bossypants by Tina Fey - Not as "lol" as I thought it would be, I'm still enjoying reading about a strong woman who is making things work in as a professional and mother.
Maverick Mind by Cheri L. Florance - this is the story of a mother who is trying to keep it together with her 2 older kids and a son with strange behaviors. Slow at the beginning, it is getting better as I keep reading. I really want to know what his actual diagnosis ends up being - very interesting and makes me feel extra lucky as a parent.

I usually spend waaaaaaay too much time with trashy romance novels - escapism at its best. I'm looking at doing a book challenge with my students in the fall and I want them to see that I'm reading a VARIETY of stuff. And so I don't have to be embarrassed with all my "kissy books" (thanks to Katy for that.)

What are you reading?

Weekend Wrap Up - 7/25

2011-07-25T09:29:00.000-04:00

Saturday we cleaned.
Sunday we went to the pool.
Sunday night I stayed up until 2:30am after laying in bed all evening with a headache.
Amazingly I'm not a zombie right now!

That was our weekend.

Ok, ok, you know I can't leave it at that. (Although don't we want to sometimes?) Instead, I've got a treat for you - I FINALLY got the camera out while we were at the pool. Here are some shots from yesterday, as storms were building up and thunder was rumbling.

What did you do this weekend?

End of the Month Menu

2011-07-24T11:23:00.000-04:00

Ahh, we are nearing the end of the month! For me it means posting for NaBloPoMo is almost over AND that it is almost time for our annual pilgrimage to the BEACH! This time next week, we'll be on the road and you'll be gifted with a scheduled post to finish out the month. Where did the time go? This month has flown by!

Here's our menu for this week:
Sunday - Pork Quesadillas (pork left-over from last night)
Monday - Pizza Cups
Tuesday - Gramma's Chicken (aka Hidden Valley Ranch chicken)
Wednesday - Hamburger Helper
Thursday - Fajitas
Friday - ?
Saturday ?-

On the activity plan for this week is nothing much - relaxing, pool, and moving me into my new classroom on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm actually hoping I might get in on Tuesday to start packing things - we'll see!

As for today, we are off to the pool again. I'm going to get the family set up then I'm going to exercise. I took Friday and Saturday off, so I need to get back in the habit. I'm not sure what to do about exercising while at the beach next week. Maybe just the hike to and from the beach will be enough. :)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Saturday AFTERnoon

2011-07-23T18:23:00.000-04:00

Here you go! Proof that we cleaned up the house. The girls were remarkably good about it too. Everyone pitched in and helped out. No one got grumpy, pissy, or otherwise hard-to-deal-with. Successful day, all around!

Katy's Room After

She likes her corner, can you tell?

Yay! Clean living room! Maybe I'll actually spend time in here...

You don't take your life in your hands in the library any more...

Erin's Room After

She's likes her reading corner too, eh?

Saturday Morning - Before

2011-07-23T11:07:00.000-04:00

Today is our semi-monthly "Big Clean" day. Usually this results in me doing all the work and feeling pissy. However, the girls decided they wanted their rooms rearranged - so they are fully involved. Here are some before shots, so you can appreciate the after shots later. (Yes, my girls trash my house and I refuse to pick up after them hour-by-hour. Don't judge me.)

Library - Girls' computers, Katy's mess

Library, Girls' computers, different view

Living Room

Erin's Room

Katy's Room

I'll be back later today with pictures of the finished products. Keep your fingers crossed!

This Moment: Katy Got the Camera...

2011-07-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by Amanda at SouleMama.

Baby Pictures!

2011-07-21T07:20:00.004-04:00

My second post yesterday inspired me to go back in my archives and look at pictures of my babies. They were taken in the days BEFORE digital cameras - so the following pics were all 35mm shots that my mom scanned into the computer. So the quality ain't great - but oh, looking at those sweet baby pictures is still a wonderful thing! Enjoy!

Erin, approx. 12 weeks?

Erin, approx 6 mos.

Katy, approx 4 mos.


Katy, approx 6 mos.

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but from birth, the girls were actually quite different - both in looks and in personality. (Actually, they were completely different even before birth, but that is a story for another time.)

I know lots of you have digital baby pics - how about readers with older kids? Show me yours and I'll show you more of mine..... :)

Flashback - January 2001

2011-07-20T12:19:00.000-04:00

Below is a story of a time when I disagreed with a doctor (pediatrician specifically.) It was inspired by this post by Casey over at Babble. Initially it was a comment on her post, but it turned into something more. :)

When my first daughter was born, we began seeing a pediatrician I had interviewed before the birth. All seemed good - she supported breastfeeding, attachment parenting, etc. Erin was born almost 3 weeks early and was small-ish - but did well from the first. She initially had trouble latching and she also had a very weak suck reflex, but once we sorted it out, she was awesome.

By 3 weeks old, she had surpassed her birth weight (6lbs 8oz, after falling as low as 5lbs 5 oz) and I had had help from my midwife, a home nurse, and LLL. At 3 weeks, her ped. told me I should not let her nurse longer than 10 minutes per side and that she should get both sides while nursing. All because Erin wasn't following the "curve" of what the ped expected - even though she had made WONDERFUL weight gains. Well, this was against what others had told me - and what I had seen myself. When pumping in the early days, I had seen the differences in the "foremilk" and "hindmilk" and knew that it took Erin AT LEAST 15 minutes to get to the good, fatty stuff.

To make matters worse, the ped insisted I bring Erin back in a week for a "weight check." She even tried to insinuate that if gains weren't made according to her expectations bad things would happen. I cried all the way home. I had felt proud of myself and my baby before the appointment - we had both come a long way in 3 weeks! After crying to my husband, I called LLL. The leader there told me to trust my instincts - feed Erin however felt right - one side, both sides, on schedule, on demand. So I did - one side per feeding for as long as she wanted, feeding on demand both daytime and nighttime. That was pretty much all I did for the next 5 days.

When we went for the weight check the next week (which wasn't a full week - original visit was a Thursday and weight check was a Tuesday) I made my husband take time off work to come with us. No way was I facing that old bat alone! I loved the nurses - they knew why we were back and coo-ed and loved all over me and the baby. One even commented that Erin looked significantly bigger. Well the doctor came in and asked how the feeding was going. I didn't respond - I just asked that we weigh Erin. Turns out that baby girl had gained about 15 ounces (!) in that short time - the doctor didn't know what to say. She asked again about feeding - and then I responded.

I told the ped. how I had spoken to LLL after our last appointment and about the info and support I had received. I told the doctor that I appreciated her expert care and concern but that I was not going to take her breastfeeding advice. I explained how I had been nursing Erin and how it was obviously working. The doctor agreed that Erin was doing well but urged me not to listen to LLL about the differences in milk!

At this point, I politely asked the doctor if we were done. We were, so I packed up and we left. I'm happy to say we never went back - we moved shortly thereafter, but even if we hadn't I would have found a different pediatrician.

As parents, we have to learn to trust our instincts. I learned this lesson early - I'd only been a parent 3 weeks when I was called on to disagree with an "expert." But this lesson was an important one - it gave me confidence in myself as a mom and it gave me the courage to research on my own and to find my own trustworthy experts. And looking back I'm glad I learned this lesson over something as relatively minor as feeding on one side or both side - and when my daughter was too young to know any different.

Wordless Wednesday: Bug Eyes

2011-07-20T07:53:00.002-04:00

Library Lists: Waiting

2011-07-19T07:20:00.001-04:00

I've worked through several books this week but am not ready for a trip to the library. I'm hoping I can hold out long enough to get a few of my books that are on hold. I get into big "moods" and tear through Amazon, blogs, and Shelfari looking for recommendations. Then I flood the library system with hold requests. In a small library system like mine, this drives the librarians CRAZY. The librarian actually told me not to put so many books on hold since, "You could never read them all if they all came in sweetie." Gah! I love older folks - they have interesting stories to tell - but I loathe when they make assumptions about me as a reader (or as a mother, wife, etc.) *oops, stepping off the soap box now*

So here are the books I'm looking forward to - some are on hold with my library and some are merely wishes on Shelfari since my library doesn't own copies.

Bossypants by Tina Fey - I'm next for this one! Yay!
Divergent by Veronica Roth - #2 on the list
Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay - #2 on the list
Night Game by Christine Feehan - wish
In Other Worlds by Sherrilyn Kenyon - next on the list from the NC Digital Library
Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty - next on the list from the NC Digital Library

I'm hoping some of these come in soon - I'm anxious to spend more time reading!

Weekend Wrap Up - 7/18

2011-07-18T08:14:00.001-04:00

We had a pretty laid back weekend! Friday and Saturday I had wicked headaches, so I didn't do much. We did hit Target on Friday - Advil, Tylenol, and exercise was enough to banish Friday's headache. Saturday we played a family game of Monopoly! The girls managed to get property sets early and Katy prevailed in the end. Friday and Saturday were both cloudy and much cooler - I actually wore jeans to Target on Friday night.

Sunday dawned cloudy but I held firm to the plan - POOL! The girls needed the exercise and I needed some Vitamin D (aka sunshine!) We even managed to bring the husband along - whoa! Mark this day on the calendar! He usually poo-poos trips like this, preferring to stay home and play on Second Life. We guilted him into it though, and he willingly came along.

This is where I'd insert the great pictures I took and maybe a video of the girls coming down the slides. Except, I can't. I completely forgot to take pictures! However, maybe you'll enjoy this picture...

Because that is what my husband and I look like. Yep. Who'd have thought you could burn that fast? The girls are only slightly pink. So, we're sticking with the "pool everyday" plan for the remainder of the week, but everyone will get SLATHERED in sunscreen before leaving the house - and I'll be sitting in the shade until at least Wednesday.

Overall, a good weekend. Would've been great if not for the headaches (and a few minor meltdowns from Katy!) What did you do this weekend?

Weekly Menu and Activities

2011-07-17T08:04:00.006-04:00

This week is going to be "Eat From the Freezer" week in our hungry household. We're firmly in the "mid-month" budget crisis. I'm planning quesadillas, hamburgers, possibly chicken soup, definitely chicken alfredo, and maybe pancakes and bacon. All easy meals because this week is also going to be POOL week! We missed the pool this past week because Katy had a nasty case of swimmer's ear. That is all cleared up - so we're going to try to go to the pool every day. The kids are SO much easier to handle when they've gotten a) out of the house and b) some exercise.

Other big activities this week will include a trip to Michael's (yay for email coupons!) and a trip to Belk's (yay for snail mail coupons!). We'll also hit the library one morning. Other than that, I plan to clean the house. Even though I saw this on Pinterest:

via Pinterest

It just HAS to be done. I've spent the weekend (well, Friday and Saturday) run down with a monster migraine. I'm hoping to get caught up a little bit at a time on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Maybe the idea of pool in the afternoon will get the kids motivated to help!

Have you got any kid-tested ways of getting them to clean up - and not whine? How about budget-friendly meals? Headache fixers? I'm all ears! Leave your suggestions in the comments or find me on Twitter!

Ye Olde Walnut Tree

2011-07-16T07:20:00.001-04:00

So, yesterday's This Moment post shows how thrilled we were to have the huge walnut tree over our driveway taken out. Here are some pictures to help you understand why we were so happy:

This is the tree after the Stormy Thursday. You can see where there are gaps - by this point, we had lost about 10 good sized branches from this tree in a span of 2 weeks. I was afraid of parking my car anywhere near the tree - I got lucky twice and didn't figure to get lucky again!

Here are branches from that tree... they fell during that big storm and landed on our outside stairs - a solid 20 feet or more away. Scary!

And lastly... see those little green ball looking things? Those are walnuts - and they are killer on unwary feet and ankles. They live to make you fall and they LOVE to clog up the lawn mower. (They also loved to fall onto the roof rack of my Suburban where they'd get stuck. As we drove around town we'd hear them "thumpa-thumpa-thumpa" as we turned, sped up, slowed down, etc. Amusing but annoying too!)

So, we were glad to see the end of the tree. I'll miss its shade but I won't miss feeling terrified that this storm might be THE one. Rest in peace, old walnut, you did your job!

My girls tried to count the rings - but the wood was too dark!

This Moment: Good Riddance!

2011-07-15T07:16:00.000-04:00

Random Thoughts

2011-07-14T07:51:00.000-04:00

I've not been sleeping well - probably because there are too many thoughts rattling around in my brain. I'm hoping that tonight will be better if I blog them out. Here's my brain, as a blog post!

So I spoke to my principal yesterday and it looks like I'll be changing grade levels. This is great - I'm working with a fantastic colleague again and teaching my favorite subject (do you need 3 guesses?) But I'm anxious too - after all, this is something different - a change - and I don't always handle change gracefully. I spent some time today with that colleague and on my own working on getting organized. I'm feeling a lot better!

I also am so happy I got Katy her ear drops! She's had a draining ear for a week - swimmer's ear, from swimming in the lake near a friend's house. That tubing trip of a few weeks ago came back to haunt us! We went to the doctor on Monday and were prescribed some ear drops. After going to Walmart to wait on the drugs (and wait and wait some more) we discovered it was going to cost us $126 AFTER insurance! Insurance was only going to pay about $7! I politely refused the drops (Walmart lady was shocked at the price and didn't blame me). I called the doctor's office yesterday (Tuesday) morning right at 9am. The nurse was horrified and said she'd get right on it. So I waited a few hours and called the pharmacy at Walmart. Nothing. Waited a while longer, nothing. Waited some more, nothing. Called doctor again at 4:30 - she checked and said it would be called in right away. Waited until 8:30 to call pharmacy again. Can you guess? Yup, nothing there. I was so mad!

Luckily for the doctor's office, I had an early class this morning. I couldn't call and hassle them about the drops. When I got home, I debated who to call - the doctor or the pharmacy. I decided on the pharmacy - and SUCCESS! The drops had been called in this morning (Wednesday) and were ready to pick up. YAY!

So I'm feeling better - those have been two big things that have kept my mind whirling. Now, of course, it is bedtime for the kids and Katy is up to her tricks again. She frustrates me - she got to go roller skating tonight and she got to stay up an extra half hour. So she thanks me by acting like a brat. Disobedient, defiant, and downright mean - hitting, name calling. It is a sure sign she's overtired. I know I sure am! Two nights of bad sleep have worn me down.

All right, this is one long, rambling post. But maybe rambling here will help me sleep. Let's find out, shall we?

What do you do when you can't sleep?

Wordless Wednesday: Daughters

2011-07-13T07:24:00.002-04:00

Library Lists: Must Go Today!

2011-07-12T06:55:00.002-04:00

So I never made it to the library last week - that means I'm working on books from about 3 weeks ago. For me, this is amazing. I usually read so fast that I can rarely go longer than 2 weeks. But I've been doing this little thing called blogging! And not just here - I've been writing daily over at my professional blog too! And I've really, REALLY enjoyed it. Even when all I do is whine. But I'm feeling kind of stagnant, so here are some topics and titles I'm hoping to read ASAP.

Topics:

Sewing - I've finally been bitten by the "sew your own dresses" bug, especially since I can't afford to purchase ANYTHING from the neat etsy/online stores. So I'm hoping to get a few sewing/clothing books to get me started. I know how to make a straight seam on my sewing machine, that is about it.
Parenting - if you've read my Twitter stream recently, you know I'm going through a rough patch with Katy (8yo.) I love her dearly, she's my soul in child form - maybe that is why we butt heads so often. I'm at my wits end with her. I'm hoping to find some books to help me recover that "I'm a good mom" feeling when I loose my $hit (aka mind, sanity, peace, etc.) Cause I can't keep loosing it on an hourly/daily basis. Not good for anyone.
Professional - I learned of a great author today, Laura Robb. She's written many books geared for upper grades teachers of reading, science, and math. I'm hoping to find a few of her books so I can bone up on some new strategies for next year. I'd also love some books about technology stuff - any suggestions?

Titles:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - I had seen this on the NC Digital Library site a few weeks ago. And I passed on it! Now, I saw a review and book trailer at Epbot and I want to read it! Sadly, I must wait - I'm #33 out of 38 on the waiting list.
Just see this list from Erin at the state that i am in - she's got several on there that I've heard about. I'll have to see if I can get lucky at the library! (Errrr, that didn't sound right... I don't mean *lucky* I mean... oh, you know!) When Did I Get Like This?, Bossypants, and Divergent all sound good.

So, what are you reading this week? Anything good?

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-07-11T07:23:00.001-04:00

This weekend was a good mix of busy and relaxing. Here's the short list.

Friday - met a friend and her son for dinner at Chick-fil-a. Afterwards, we went to the YMCA. The kids played while we exercised. Then we all went swimming. Great evening.

Saturday - baseball! I wrote a whole post on it here.

Sunday - slept late, wrote blog posts, talked to my mom, did some baking (brownies-from-a-box and homemade oreos from Smitten Kitchen. yum) had a mini-meltdown (me) dealing with the defiant, disrespectful behavior of a certain 8 year old. I'm really feeling frustrated and alone. I just don't know how to deal with the lack of support in dealing with Katy. I want to give up/give in but I know that will just make things worse. *sigh*

So, how was your weekend?

Take Me Out To The Ball Game - Harry Potter Night

2011-07-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

This is a story best told in pictures. Mostly because it is 12 hours later and I still feel hot, tired, and sweaty. :)

So originally, the game was supposed to begin at 7pm. However, one of the games from the day before was postponed due to - Thunderstorms! (Gosh, I'm tired of those!) So today's game was billed as a "double-header" when it was actually a game and a half. First pitch was at 5, gates opened at 4. First 1000 fans got a travel mug. Which is why we arrived at 3:45! We got tickets and waited around for a few minutes...

Then we made it inside. The girls wore their costumes for about 30 minutes and then decided they were HOT. Shortly after they removed them, a very nice man from the baseball team came and asked the girls if they'd wear the costumes later to do a special event after the 5th inning in the second game. Of course, they were OVER THE MOON and said yes.

Katy decided to have a picture taken with Conrad Crawdad. He had seen them in their costumes and pretended to be scared. (Erin is apparently of an age where taking pictures with mascots is not cool.)

Then it was time to chase Conrad across the field. Usually they do this after the game - but today, they did it between the 2 games. There weren't many people at the first game, so the kids had less competition.

Mmmmm, a ball park dinner - hot dogs, chips, fries, and soda. Is there anything better?

Then, apparently some wizards-in-training got a little annoyed. They snuck off to the concessions area to battle it out.

This effect was a total fluke, caused by some sneaky sun. Cool!

They felt better afterwards, and deigned to have a picture taken with their Mom. Although, notice the wands at the ready?!

And now the time had arrived - the "special event" time. What would they do?

Getting instructions. Brooms are involved? "Don't trip girls!!!"

Flirting? My girls? Well, he WAS kinda cute!

Nervous energy? Gotta talk, talk, talk!

And so, here are the clues: brooms and baseball field. Here is a video - Katy obviously was so excited she completely forgot what she was supposed to do!

How hilarious was that? You can hear me say, "God bless her!" when Katy gets redirected. She got mixed up again at the end - I think she was going to sit in the dugout and wait out the rest of the game! She did NOT want to leave the field.

So, what was their prize?

Widescreen edition of HP Year 6! Movie night!!!

And by now, the game was drawing to a close. The Crawdads won both games (woot!) and everyone was hot and tired. But - Fireworks!! Extra special bonus, as these are usually done on Friday nights (but remember? Friday's game got rained out!)

Many thanks to the Hickory Crawdads for such a great experience! A very fun evening with great entertainment and great food.

(The Hickory Crawdads don't know who I am and couldn't care less. They didn't give us tickets, food, or anything else. I just wanted to share with you how much fun we had at their ball park. You should check them out if you're in the area!)

Stormy Thursday: A Story with Pictures

2011-07-09T07:53:00.000-04:00

So, late Thursday afternoon the skies darkened. My weather crazy daughter, Katy, kept me updated on the forecast: "We'll be in red and maybe orange, Mom. Shouldn't be too bad."{It turns out that we actually went through the worst of the storm, purple on the radar. If I'd known this at the time...} She loves to track storms with the radar and she's really good at predicting what will happen. Red and orange on the radar generally mean some thunder and lightning, and some rain. We need rain. (Gosh, does that sound like a statement from my 92 year old granny or what?!)

I started dinner and puttered around. When I entered the bathroom, I heard annoying tapping on the glass. I couldn't imagine what was making the noise, so I pulled back the curtain. And saw hail. Grape sized hail. And rain pounding so hard, you couldn't see out the windows.

And then we noticed the wind. I stood in the hall, near the basement doors, and looked down the hall out the living room windows. I couldn't see the 4-lane road that is about 15 feet from my front door. I couldn't see it y'all. It was so strange! Almost as soon as I noticed that, the rain eased up and I noticed the wind. I had already texted my husband to warn him of the storm. He comes home from work for dinner each night and it was getting time for him to be heading out. I did NOT want him in this mess. As I walk closer to the windows to study the wind (and decide basement or no basement) my phone rang. Husband said I was being silly, it wasn't raining at the plant at all. I told him to be careful and that it would be shortly.

After watching the wind and remaining rain, the girls and I decided that the basement wasn't necessary. (I'll admit to being more afraid of their ensuing panic than the actual storm.) The girls realized that the rain had leaked in all around Erin's window a/c, so we cleaned up that mess. I checked the other a/c units in the house and found that the one in my room had leaked some too. I went to finish dinner and wash a few dishes.

That's when I noticed that the garbage can (today was garbage day so it was out near the street) was on its side on the far side of the road. I watched it and waited for the rain to stop. I mentioned it to Katy and she offered to go get it. She took Erin with her out the back door. Almost immediately they were back: "Mom, I think a tree fell down!"

My heart dropped - my Suburban is parked under a tree and I hadn't once thought to check it. Thankfully it was fine - the branches that came off the walnut tree amazingly missed it! In total that one tree lost about 8 branches, all at least 4 inches in diameter. They were healthy branches too - laden with leaves and green walnuts. This is the 2nd time in about a week that the tree has lost branches. I think it is time for it to go.

My husband arrived home and we ate dinner. We heard fire trucks and thought there must have been an accident because of the storm. Katy walked passed the front windows and realized that across the street from us a huge (walnut?) tree had come down and blocked a driveway and part of the 4 lane road. The firemen were out cutting on it and dragging it out of the road and off the power lines. (Which, YAY for having power lines on our own side of the street!) Katy was thrilled when I told her to take some pictures (at the bottom of the post.) I chatted with our neighbor and her kids - they had taken refuge in their basement with their dogs.

So in looking around the yard, we realized that we've got about another 10 branches down as well as many shingles. The landlord is going to have to do some work around here. We're planning to tell her tomorrow when we pay the rent.

And so, this is the story of a stormy Thursday evening - lots of excitement. We don't understand how we didn't hear all the branches and the tree come down. Guess that tells you how hard it was raining and how windy it was! Here are Katy's pictures, taken from our porch.

A backhoe, Mom!

The branches in the driveway/back stairs

shingle and branches in the side yard

From the walnut tree in the side yard - are we seeing a pattern here?!?!

This Moment: Cooperation not Conflict

2011-07-08T07:47:00.002-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by Amanda at SouleMama.

About Me - the Lazy way!

2011-07-07T07:54:00.000-04:00

Full Name: Beth (Short for Elizabeth and that's all you're getting)
Age: 33
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Piercings: Both ears, one in each
Favorite Flower: anything I don't have to grow myself

Tattoos: No
Heritage: Irish, German, English (mom's side, dad's side is unknown since we haven't traced back that far)
Best Personality Label: Techie

Your Fave Stuff
Song:
Artist/Band:
Celebrity:
TV Show: Mythbusters and Criminal Minds (for now)
Movie:
Food: Chocolate!
Drink: Coke
Alcoholic Drink: Margaritas

This or That
McDonald’s or Burger King: McD's
Chocolate or Strawberry: Chocolate
Coke or Pepsi: either, gimme sugar and caffeine
Singing or Playing Guitar: sing, in the car only
Summer or Winter: neither (Fall)
Football or Basketball: Football (only for the high school/college marching bands)
Last Person Argued With: Keith (husband)
Hugged: Katy
Kissed: Katy
You Texted: Keith
Thought About: Erin

Holiday/Vacation
Best: Beach!
Worst: Camping
Future: Cruise

Have You Ever
Smoked: nope
Kissed a Friend’s Guy: nope
Got Completely Drunk: maybe
Danced in the Rain: nope
Watched the Clouds Go By: all the time (at recess with my students)

Do You Believe In
Ghosts: Maybe
Witches: No.
Wizards: No.
Magic: Maybe

Music
RnB: rarely
Hip Hop: no
Rock: depends
Indie: no
Pop: Some.
Heavy Metal: try not to
Folk: maybe
Classical: yes
Country: yes
Other: teenie-bopper stuff my kids like (that I try to ignore)

Do You
Shower Daily: Yep.
Brush Your Teeth: Yep.
Wash Your Face: Yep.
Wear Jewelry: Wedding ring

Wordless Wednesday: Draw Your Own Conclusions

2011-07-06T06:32:00.001-04:00

Library Lists

2011-07-05T08:18:00.000-04:00

We typically go to the library at least once a week in the summer. I drive people crazy because I absolutely devour books. I love to read. My tastes range from juvenile fiction/nonfiction (for my daughters or students) to education related nonfiction and romance novels. I can't list everything I read (although I did a few years ago) so I've decided to use this nifty new website to help me stay organized!

I've set up an account - one for personal/professional reading and one for my classroom library. As I read books (mostly from my public library) I'll add them. Periodically, I'll try to remember to tell you about the best ones. You can see what I'm reading/have read recently by looking at my shelf over in the sidebar. ------>

Another place I have discovered to get e-books from is the North Carolina Digital Library. I stumbled on this one day a few weeks ago. Our library doesn't offer any ebooks on site - and they only recently started offering audio-books that weren't on tape or cd. This is super exciting to me, as I have a back-up now in case I run out of things to read and the library is closed. (Our libraries have funky hours due to budget issues.) This hasn't been such an issue this summer, as I have more free time to go to the library. But during the school year, this has caused me some major sadness. Also, I'm looking forward to installing the software on my computer at school - then I can download the ebooks there and use them as read alouds (there is an astounding array of books - my romance novels, juvenile fiction, semi-current nonfiction.)

I've got to wrap this post up, there is a terrible t-storm brewing! Thank goodness for wireless internet and laptops with good batteries! Have fun reading! What are you currently enjoying?

Independence Day

2011-07-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

I'd like to ask your forgiveness upfront. This post will be full of me whining and complaining. I won't be offended if you skip out entirely. Here is a really great video you can watch instead: Life After Death by PowerPoint. It is a hilarious look at all the things you shouldn't do with PowerPoint.

I wish I could write a really clear post about why I want to make today MY Independence Day too. Mostly though, my brain is just full of frustration and annoyance. I'm feeling very put-upon these days. Since this is for my own benefit, let me list the ways...

Cook meals (always dinner for 4 and usually lunches too)
Clean up after meals (almost always dinner dishes, sometimes dishes from lunch too)
Wash clothes, towels, etc.
Sweep, vacuum, mop the floors
Clean bathrooms
Clean up the clutter
Hound the kids to do their own cleaning
Hound the husband to help
Buy the groceries
Plan menus
Discipline/Encourage the kids

I could go on - we all know the story. What makes me any different? I work as a teacher, so from August to June I'm always on the go. I've gotten better about getting things done at work so I don't bring home stacks and stacks of things to do. My husband works too - but here is the critical difference: he works 2nd shift, from 2pm to 11pm. He recently changed his schedule (used to work 4 to 11) so he can now come home for dinner with the family.

Sounds great at first glance. Except now it means instead of cooking simple meals for the kids and me, I'm expected to produce meals with multiple parts, served on real dishes (not paper plates!), and to have it ready to eat when he walks in the door. Then I'm expected to clean it all up (alone) so he can go back to work. So you'd think on the weekends he'd cook meals (he is off on Saturday and Sunday.) Nope, still all me. He will do the dishes (eventually) but often I come and do them so that I can cook the next meal.

If he's home during the day, you'd think he could pitch in with the household chores, right? Nope, he's far too busy playing the virtual game of "Second Life." He's gotten to where he spends upwards of 5 hours a day on it. Probably many more, since he often stays up late and gets up very early just to play.

I wish I could declare my independence from being the only family member who cares about meals, groceries, clean clothes, and having a clean house. I'd love to go "on strike" and let them fend for themselves. But I know myself too well - I don't think I could do it. I just don't think I have the support structure to pull it off. I feel so frustrated and alone sometimes. I'm trying so hard and just can't any more. I don't want to look back on this summer and feel like it was torture, but that is how it is shaping up to be.

I could continue, but I think I've complained enough. I'm sorry - I wish I had a better way to vent this stuff, but hey - it IS my blog. I can complain if I need to. I'll try to cook up a happier post for tomorrow.

Weekly Organization

2011-07-03T10:20:00.001-04:00

Here are a few things I've come up with over the years to keep myself and my family organized.

Featured in our kitchen is our menu planner. We modified the idea from here: The Amazing Mess.

As a teacher, I've always got pocket charts laying around. They are usually in Target's Dollar Spot bins in July and August. The meal items are written on paint chips with Sharpie. We had an initial brainstorming session and made about 20 chips. Then as time went on, we added to it. Usually on Saturday mornings (before grocery shopping) we'll make a menu for the following week. It has been a life saver for me - really helps me stay organized. On days when there are after-school meetings or activities, I can think ahead and plan something simple. It works great!

Another big helper has been our giant wall calendar. It is featured in the dining room. This is because it stares my husband in the face while he makes the girls lunches on school days. This way, he can't say he didn't know to pick them up, come for lunch, etc. The girls have started writing notes on it as well - about TV shows to watch, things to do, friends coming over, etc. I just wish there was a way to save the pages instead of tearing them off. The pictures turned out pretty good though, maybe that is a viable option for saving.

I posted about our schedule a few days ago. Here it is, hung up and being used! I posted it at the bottom of the stairs, so when the girls come down in the morning, they see it first thing. And posted next to it is their behavior charts - so they can do those last thing at night before going up to bed. And we had a major schedule win Friday night - my 8 year old went to bed at 10:45, with no fussing, and didn't come down 15 zillion times. She slept until 10am Saturday! 11 hours - I'd say all her late nights finally caught up to her!

So, what you see are a few tools I'm using to keep us chugging along this summer. What do you do to stay organized?

Inconsistent and Unfair = No Way to Run a City Pool

2011-07-02T09:56:00.001-04:00

In our county, there is only 1 public pool. It isn't free. We went once before and had a great time. Aside from not having a lounger (you have to rent one!) it was great. The girls passed a swim test (thanks to a patient lifeguard) so they could go on the slides. I managed to get comfy with no lounger and settled in to read.We lasted a solid 2.5 hours before the skies darkened. We headed home excited to come again.

Today was the day! We were excited and ready to hit the pool. The girls were antsy to take the swim test again (yes, they have to RETEST every single visit) and I brought my own lounger this time. Except this visit got off to a different vibe right from the start.

"There's no outside food or drink. If we see it we will TAKE it." That was said in the most polite southern twang you can fathom - but it was rude! The lady pointed at signs - I agreed to take the cooler back to the car (even though the last time we came, I had the exact same cooler and no one said a word and I saw no signs.)

So we paid ($3 per kid and $4 for me) and went off to get settled. The girls got wet and splashed some. I took the cooler back to the car. I came back and they told me they were going to do the swim test. I agreed and proceeded to set up my stuff. I just got settled, book in hand (wishing for my Coke!) when they came back, in tears. Turns out it wasn't the same lifeguard as last time. She passed one kid and failed the other.

I had promised the girls to make a fuss if needed. After all, they might not be the next Olympians, but my girls can swim and paddle well enough to get out after the slides. After discussions with the lifeguard (who was very young, impatient, and quick to refuse to allow a retest) I went to discuss things with a higher up. I found the Asst. Rec. Dept. manager. She was pleasant enough - but she wasn't going to budge. Refused to even see the ridiculousness of having kids retest each visit! I stayed calm but got louder as our conversation went on. She finally realized she had to do something to placate me: refund my money or give my kid another chance. I knew she wouldn't budge on the swim test issue - I could see it in her attitude (which, while pleasant, was one of "I know better than you do.") So I continued to reiterate my points (paid money, took snacks back to car, passed test last time, not fair to kid) until she offered the refund. I jumped on it. Took back my $10, packed my kids up (they were already ready to go!), and high-tailed it. We had seen some folks we knew - one followed me and asked what was up. I briefly explained and she was outraged as well.

In the car on the way home, we all 3 vented - and I began composing a letter in my head. At that point, I wasn't sure if it would go to the rec dept or to the newspaper. I just needed to tell someone! In the end, I wrote to the head of the Rec Dept. I feel they need to know why the pool has problems making money - inconsistency and unfairness. Here is what I wrote (names and identifying details removed, of course.)

Greetings,

First I would like to express how pleasantly surprised I was by our first visit to the City Pool. We really enjoyed our time - the facilities were great and my kids loved the slides. It was well worth the money. We were considering buying punch cards so we could come often.

Unfortunately, today changed our opinions. We will not be back to the City Pool. On our first visit I very openly carried in a cooler bag with snacks and drinks. No one pointed out signs or told me I couldn't. Today I was politely told that there could be no outside food or drinks or they'd be taken. That startled me, but I agreed to put the items back into my car. I wonder though, what if my family had health/dietary issues? It is unfortunate that personal food items aren't allowed, even with an inspection. But I understand that some people won't follow rules.

What really bothered me today was that the swim tests are not done in consistent fashion. On our first visit, my daughters (ages 8 and 10) were given a little coaching before being "passed" on their test. Both can swim and paddle well enough to come off the slides and get to the side of the pool. Today, someone different gave the test. With no coaching and very little patience one of my girls did not pass her test. The other did - and both my girls have fairly equal swimming/paddling skills.

This, of course, upset my girls. After speaking to the lifeguard (who referred me to the concessions stand), I spoke to some other folks. They explained that there wasn't much that could be done, that the lifeguards watch the pool and slides. It is the lifeguards who must be comfortable with the skills of the kids. I understand all that - but how do I explain to my child why they passed last time but not this time? It just isn't fair.

All the folks I spoke to were very pleasant (and I tried to stay calm as well) and somewhat understanding. The asst. manager finally offered to give me my money back - and I took her offer. It is simply unacceptable to me that I'm paying my hard-earned money for an afternoon at the pool - and then one of my kids can't go on the main attraction.

I feel that the Recreation Department needs to consider a more formal, consistent way to test the swimming abilities of kids. Perhaps do swim tests at the top of the hour only and record names (perhaps via the parent's driver's license number or some other way) in a notebook so the kids only have to test once per season. Or at the very least, have the same person do the tests all the time. Or even allow kids to retest after practicing - it is an intimidating thing to swim the width of the pool twice. It makes me sad to think there are other kids who passed once and not the next time simply because of inconsistent procedures.

Thanks for your time and for one great visit to the pool. I appreciate that City opened it this year.

Sincerely,

So, did I over-react? Maybe. But you try explaining to an 8 year old why she can't use the slide when she did last time. She was ready to kick the lifeguard's butt. And the 10 year old was no better - it isn't as much fun when you are doing something alone. Do I expect any kind of response - nope. I figure it'll just go straight to her "trash" folder in email.

So we are looking (again) for swim options for the summer. And really the only other option is the YMCA. I'll have to call them tomorrow and see what we can work out. They have a fantastic pool in a nearby town. I'm not sure if it is included in the regular membership or not. If it is, it will be worth it - the family monthly fees are listed as $64. This is about 6 trips to the city pool (fewer if my husband had come.)

I'll keep you posted!

Fun on the Lake

2011-07-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

We were invited to join friends on the lake yesterday. The day was awesome and we didn't get sunburned - double awesome.

Here are some pictures from our fun - swimming, enjoying the boat, and tubing! My fraidy-cats actually loved tubing. I even overcame my initial "ick - fresh water" feelings and swam with the girls. (Sorry no pictures of that, I was the unofficial photographer.)

Without further ado, here they are (including some crap-tastic videos as proof that my girls went tubing.) (To make them look a little better than camera-phone pictures/video, I did an Animoto with them. Enjoy!)

Summer Schedule aka Their Summer is Ruined so Let's Add Torture!

2011-06-29T23:20:00.000-04:00

For inspiration:
http://blog.wantingwhatyouhave.com/2010/06/summer-schedule-for-kids.html
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/06/summer-schedule-for-kids.html
http://prettyorganizedpalace.blogspot.com/2009/06/summer-schedule-for-kids.html

Can you guess my Google search terms?

The last several weeks have been torture for me - I was finalizing school stuff so the kids were home with DH. Sounds good, but he lets them basically do whatever. Then they went to Gramma's house. Again, sounds good. But they were borderline terrors (for the first time, usually angels.) Add in afternoon/evening/bedtime tantrums and almost constant bickering and I knew we were in desperate need of a schedule.

And so, here it is:

Yup, I'm rockin' the "leftover from school" pocket chart. Our schedule is color coded - teal means the item is a non-negotiable. Pink means they have choices. I listed as many as I could think of - I'm sure after some over-reacting (along the lines of, "That's ALL WE CAN DO?!?!") we'll add as many more things as they want. The activities are also color coded. Purple are the choices for quiet time - Any of those can happen IN THEIR ROOMS. Which I'm sure will also lead to some over-reacting. The orange-y Active choices can happen during the rest of the day, and the quiet ones can to.

I'm hoping this goes over well. I'm going to show it to the husband tonight. Then he and I can show it to the girls *together.* Even though I know full well he hates schedules, maybe in the name of family peace, love, and happiness (and my sanity!) he'll go along this time.

I'm considering adding a behavior chart as well. We used one when the girls were small and I'm thinking it would work well again. Chart could go from Friday to following Thursday and reward/consequence would revolve around the pool. Since we have to pay to go, it is an extra special thing this summer. I'm thinking for each spot without a mark/stamp/sticker (for every negative) 5 minutes out of the pool. Sounds good, yes? I might work on that next!

Leave your comments and summer scheduling suggestions below! I'm always looking for new ideas!

Oh my - a post that rambles and doesn't make sense, even to me.

2011-04-08T23:37:00.000-04:00

I am so bone-deep tired. Of many things. But mostly of upheaval and chaos in my family. You may know a bit, from following me on Twitter. I need to get some things off my chest - today was a rough day.

Katy has been sick all week. She's got the crud Erin had last week (cough, fever, snot.) We've had such a string of good days - over a week and a half, that I guess I've gotten a little spoiled. Today was rough from the beginning.

We're seeing a family counselor, trying to understand what is going on. After meeting with us on Tuesday, she feels a lot of it is rooted in the girls (Katy specifically) not getting enough attention. I agree, to a point. I feel most days, I do a pretty good job of giving them all sorts of attention (mostly good!) The slacker, to me, is my husband. He's big into "Second Life" and it pretty much takes over real life sometimes. He's gotten better in recent weeks, but still doesn't put much effort into our family life.

Anyway, about today. After school, we came home and the girls relaxed for a bit. I planned a trip to Walmart and Sam's to get a new mower and a few other items. We grabbed some dinner (ooo, yummy chicken from Wally-world!) By the time we got to Sam's, Katy was pushing buttons. I tried to stay strong, but caved to her promises to do better. I got her a dang slushie (and I shouldn't have! #Momfail!) and we came home. The picking, pestering, and all out P.I.T.A. behavior continued off and on ALL. EVENING. LONG. It culminated in a yelling match when she refused to go to bed (after being allowed to stay up late.)

I am struggling. My daughter at different moments this evening, was sweet, kind, loving, and generous with her sister. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was angry, mean, and hateful. Katy got all kinds of good, positive attention tonight - snuggles, tickles, and game playing on my bed. I don't understand what is going on! And I'm ashamed to say, I'm having a hard time liking my kid right now. Seeing her hurt her sister just tears me up inside. I feel like I'm failing them both - Katy by not knowing what she needs, and Erin by not "protecting" her from her sister's meanness.

Don't misunderstand me - I adore my kids! I love them so much, it makes feeling like a failure that much harder to deal with. They are just so amazing to me - I can't imagine my world without them in it. But at the same time, I'm wondering how to get through the next hour, day, weekend, week without loosing my mind.

ps. If you've had any experiences with kids who react adversely to medications (with changes in mood and behavior) please get in touch with me. I'm convinced that may be part of our current issues. We've dealt with Claritin and Zyrtec (2 weeks ago) and Delsym (currently.) You can find me on Twitter, I'm @shrinkingbeth.

Learning About Photography

2011-02-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

I am at a teacher retreat and one of our main points of focus is sharpening our digital photography skills. Here is one of my first efforts. This is a fountain and pond in front of our complex.

Look for more pictures in the days to come!

Wordless Wednesday (or maybe Wordy Wednesday)

2011-01-05T20:18:00.001-05:00

It's late on a Wednesday night, but here it is.

She was making snow angels on the day after Christmas.

She lost tooth #4 today. She pulled it herself.

She was a real PITA this afternoon, then sweetly apologized at dinner for her "atrocious behavior." (her words)

She's 7 3/4 but she'll always be my baby.

I Heart Faces | Best Face 2010 Contest

2011-01-03T17:58:00.001-05:00

When I saw the details for this contest, over at I Heart Faces, this is the picture that immediately snapped into my head. I adore it, in all its amateur glory.

I love her eyes, the beginnings of her sunburned nose, her relaxed smile. Wonderful!

For more faces from 2010, go check here:

The Post In Which I Whine and Complain so Maybe I Can Feel Better

2011-01-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

I need a moment. I have a lot weighing on my mind and heart. I need to stomp my feet, cry, and have a little pity party. I need to mourn the probable loss of a friendship.

It breaks my heart; it makes me sad to think of all the times we had.

You made me laugh and you made me cry.

And all that I can do is sigh and wonder why.- Author Unknown

This quote begins to express the feelings floating around in me. My dear friend, like a sister, dropped a bomb on us about 2 weeks ago - she was moving out. She had not planned to tell us at that time, but her son blabbed. This was Betrayal #1. Her date for moving out? December 31. Betrayal #2, since she had obviously been planning this for some time, without dropping a single hint so we could plan for our family.

She went out of town the next day and I worked hard to make peace. We resolved several things, including a shared cell phone account (which was almost Betrayal #3.) She returned to town and my daughters left the next day. She barely said 5 words to me. Did not ask about Christmas, would not make plans to celebrate her birthday or New Year's Eve.

Then, as she packed, I noticed things start to disappear. It started small: 4 rolls of paper towels I purchased while she was out of town (she hasn't contributed to the household pantry in about a month). Then my cutting board and pizza cutter. After a denial about the cutting board, it mysteriously re-appears. I opt to ignore the pizza cutter and towels, trying to keep the peace. Betrayal #who cares.

Now the largest. We made our arrangements for cable, internet, and phone. That was a debacle - she hadn't actually canceled the current service, as it was in her ex's name. She simply made new service orders for her new place. So when I spoke to 2 different people at the cable company, on 2 different days, I was told CLEARLY that I should keep the modem and the technician would deal with it on Tuesday. There was even a memo put on the accounts to that effect.

Today, when my DH and I went out and about, we felt the urge to disconnect the modem. Call it the gift of foresight. We stuck it in our closet and went on our way. When we returned home, sure enough, she had been up to our computer. We got the modem back out and went to reconnect it. Lo and behold the cable from our brand-new router to the modem was GONE. I had unplugged it from the modem and LEFT IT in the router - so it was ready to reconnect. It was obvious that she had taken it - it certainly couldn't grow legs and walk away.

In a short string of texts, she denied everything and continued to harp about turning in the modem. She did admit to looking for the modem, but of course, it was not in the computer room.

Betrayal #irrecoverable

I'm done. I spoke to DH and told him I want to just go buy our own modem, even though the cable company is bringing us one on Tuesday. He said no, we aren't going to give in to her. He said he would barricade the door and call the cops if she tries to take it.

Have mercy. Isn't it enough that she is stringing us along with getting her crap out of the house? She still has a full bedroom of stuff, a full closet, 2 couches, a fridge, and a washer and dryer - not to mention a crap ton of stuff in the basement. And of course, she isn't going to contribute to the January rent - so she is getting free storage of her stuff, for all intents and purposes.

So, just to purge this out of my system, once and for all, here is a bulleted list:

I'm keeping the modem, you can have it Tuesday afternoon after the tech comes.
I want all your keys to the house. Including the ones you gave your ex and your in-laws.
I want your bedrooms emptied, ASAP. It is completely unacceptable that my family is living in the chaos you have created.
I want your couches out of the living room.
I want your washer, dryer, and fridge out of the kitchen. (Chaos thing again. My washer and dryer is coming on Tuesday.)

Whining over. Lets hope spilling my guts makes it easier to cope.

This Moment - Unexpected Event

2010-12-31T05:40:00.001-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, hop over to SouleMama over at http://www.soulemama.com/ and add your link to the comments.

Sneaky girl didn't tell me it was loose! This is tooth #3. Pen for size reference. So tiny!

This is my chance....

2010-12-29T21:50:00.001-05:00

to organize the kitchen to within an inch of its life!

But now that the opportunity is here, I'm stuck on where to start. I tweeted my dilemma, but now I'm hoping to get more input if I give more details (and pictures!)

We'll start with pictures since I'm very visual :)

And here is a cheezy floorplan I made in Paint. To give an idea of the layout, it is a funky shaped room. Forgot the window over the sink. And it goes without saying, it isn't to scale :)

There are 2 fridges in the pictures. Only the one in the floor plan will stay. There might also be a brown cabinet and doggie stuff in the pictures. That will all go. I'm left with the items in the plan. The fridge currently blocks off a door to the back porch that we don't use. We'd like to keep it blocked, either with the fridge or our chest freezer (currently in the basement.)

There are open shelves on either side of the window/sink. They aren't well utilized, what are your ideas?!?!?!

There is no pantry, so food has to go in cupboards. Most of our dishes are kept in the dining room in a cabinet. I need storage and organization ideas for all the other stuff: food, pots/pans, crock pots, cooking utensils, etc.

Help! My previous kitchen was TINY and organization wasn't an issue - you just put things where there was room, lol. This kitchen needs to be husband proof and kid proof - I've got an almost-ten year old and a seven-and-a-half year old.

And the caveat(s):

free is good (we're so broke, it ain't funny)
not in the mood to paint (it isn't about looks, it is about function)
rearranging is fine if it leads to more function
FREE!!!!!

Thanks for your help! I'll post more pictures after :)

Wordless Wednesday - White Christmas!

2010-12-29T06:29:00.001-05:00

I linked up over at Angry Julie Monday! Go check it out!

Christmas Surprises

2010-12-26T17:32:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We always use the old 8mm video camera to tape the chaos. It is fun to go back and watch later. This year, I've burned it to DVD and managed to upload my most favorite moment to YouTube! Yay me! Enjoy this moment with me... pay close attention to facial expressions (and you might want to turn down the volume, it gets shrieky!)

I loved having the chance this Christmas to really surprise the girls. They were completely convinced they weren't getting any kind of big, fancy gift - money is tight. Also, a week previous, a good friend of theirs got a DS - I explained to them that they shouldn't expect that. They were disappointed, but fine.

I loved this moment!

This Moment

2010-12-24T12:29:00.001-05:00

Wednesday evening

Save Me!

2010-12-23T09:13:00.000-05:00

From myself. Seriously, the stress of everything is driving me to eat. One night it was chocolate frosting on graham crackers. One afternoon it was the rest of the lava cake. Another was chocolate chip cookies. Chips will do in a pinch, as will just about anything else (cheese, crackers, old Halloween candy) I dread making Christmas cookies with the girls - more to nibble. My self-control is gone. Stress -->Eating-->Not loosing weight and feeling crappier about myself.

I know what needs to be done. Exercise. But I'm just feeling so relaxed and lazy that I can't face it. But I know I've got to...

Anyone out there fighting the same battle? Should I torture my daughters and make them do it with me? *evil cackle* Anyone out there willing to be an exercise buddy? (Since mine is out of town and moving out)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our version of the "Elf on a Shelf." Who should be called "Mama's Miracle Maker."

Changes are a Comin'

2010-12-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

I don't post much information about my personal life. For many reasons, I prefer to keep certain things to myself. But there is a big change coming and I'm going to need a place to vent/spew/whine/cry/pout.

We are currently living with a friend of mine and her son. On Saturday, they dropped a bomb - they are moving out January 1.

This leaves me feeling shocked - but it also explains a LOT of her strange behavior recently. I'm working on my feelings - shocked, bitter, hurt, and angry - and moving toward a better place. I'm looking to find the positives about the new situation. I'm not going to let this disrupt my vacation and holiday.

Have you ever been blindsided by a friend? How did you manage to move on and not ruin the friendship?

What a day

2010-12-18T20:16:00.000-05:00

Without going into too many details, because that always seems to cause me more problems....

We are entering a new phase in our household. For the last year we've been sharing a house with a friend and her son. We found out today that they are moving out January 1.

We are super close (or I thought we were) and I'm feeling kind of upset by this. I foresee many changes in the next few weeks. My entire support network is crumbling around me.

Back to life as a loner/homebody.

What a suck-tastic day.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone out there a happy holiday season!
Stay warm (or cool, if you prefer.)
Relax with family and friends (or work hard if you'd rather.)
But most of all, enjoy yourself! (I hope no one argues that one!)

Not sure what it means

2010-12-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

but my home scale reads 160!! and since that is the scale I've got, we'll go by it. And maybe aim for a little more weight loss. Because, I'm not convinced that I've lost 10 pounds in about a month.

In better news, I've been eating better/less this week and have exercised 3 times. Yay, me! Let's hope I can stick with it - I've picked up a cold that is making me feel icky.

Yes, this is short, but I'm tired and cold. Off to bed for me!

Happy, happy, joy, joy - Christmas Cards again?

2010-11-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas - the tree, the lights, the baked goodies. Generally I love everything about the season except the cards. Last year we were gearing up for a move and didn't even send cards. And most other years, cards don't get sent until AFTER Christmas! So this year, I'm excited to be using Shutterfly's cards. I can kill two birds with one stone - get a photo card so I don't have to get prints of pictures to include in a tradidtional card.

Also, since the basement is scarily full of stuff, I won't have to go hunt the one box of 100s that has the old cards in it. Sneaky, huh?

So, there are several cards I like. Here they are, in no particular order:

I like this - I can use several photos and include a message. Then just sign, seal, address, and mail it!

I love the list idea - easier than composing an actual letter and fun too. Only 2 photos though, so I'm not as sure of this one as the other.

This is totally my girls right now. One minute, they love each other and the next - hatred. Or at least nagging, lingering annoyance. I've already got some perfect pictures to go here too. But the amount of red is throwing me off. It isn't my favorite color and kind of doesn't go with some of my picture possibilities.

The great folks at Shutterfly also have a huge variety of other cards, calendars, mugs, invitations, and even New Year's cards. (which might be something else for me to consider, since we always seem to be late with the cards...)

The best part for bloggers is that they are giving away 50 free cards to folks who take some time to do a write up - like me and you! So scoot on over there right now and sign up to get your own! Any blogger can do it - no matter how small (or nonexistent) your readership is!

Totally and Completely the wrong time for this...

2010-11-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

but I'm starting a weight loss journey. And I might as well use this blog to write about it.

At the doctor on November 4th I was 170 pounds. I am 5 feet 5 inches tall. My BMI is approximately 28. I am overweight by about 25 pounds.

I haven't thought about how I will do this. I've got some ideas. I am going to commit to it, here on my 0 readers blog: I'm going to loose this weight! Even with little support, I'm going to do this! I have to, if I want to be healthy for my daughters.

Another Not Me! Monday

2010-02-08T19:10:00.000-05:00

wherein I will not admit that I neglected my health to the point where I am now super sick - nope not me! I did not ignore a cough for 2 weeks (because I felt fine other than hacking up a lung.) I did not work myself into a case of the flu AND pneumonia. Nope, not me!

Now I am not sitting home, for 3 days, with a hugely high white cell count, feeling very sick and sorry for myself. Nope, not me!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Not Me Monday

2010-01-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

This will be short. There is no way my husband and I were so busy with moving, painting, etc. that we bypassed our daily showers for several days. Nope, not us. We know that when we start to smell ourselves, it is not time to just change undies and add more deodorant. Nope, if we start to smell ourselves, we shower.

There is just no way I say!! Not me and my husband!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Not Me Monday

2009-11-23T16:37:00.000-05:00

Not much happening in this neck of the woods, I'm afraid. We've had some rainy, cold days! Supposedly the sun is going to reappear tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

I just returned from the kitchen. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, I feel like a true chef - I've made my own cranberry sauce! From fresh cranberries! And it was so delightfully tart - I can already taste it on juicy turkey...mmmmm

Well, you want the recipe? That is fine and dandy, head over here.

Of course, I would NEVER deviate from the recipe. Nope, not me. And I would never puree and strain out the lovely bits and pieces... no way!

I'll keep you posted! Even if the cranberry sauce doesn't set properly, it will fantastic for dipping as opposed to scooping. I'd never confess to having a back-up either (a can of the jellied stuff isn't in my fridge!) No, not here! ;)

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Stay tuned - next week I'm involving my kids! I figure 5 days home, together, will provide plenty of "Not me!s" to go around!

How cool is this?

2009-11-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is what we got to see land this morning....and then take off with a bunch of our teachers/staff on board!
And admire at recess!

Saturday Sunshine

2009-11-16T19:04:00.001-05:00

We had a lot of fun at the park on Saturday afternoon. Just us girls. I would love more afternoons like that, but I think our days of not-cold weather are numbered. It is mid-November after all!

What did you do for fun this weekend?

Not Me Monday

2009-11-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

I totally didn't have a Not Me Monday... nope! But here are some thoughts that might have occurred to me, if I had actually had a Not Me Monday.

I would never take secret pleasure and enjoyment in listening to my daughters' Hannah Montana songs while in the car alone. Nope, would not rock out to Rock Star on the interstate at 70mph. No, only while in the car with the kids....
I would never consider taking the day off on Thursday and Friday last week just because I'm not feeling well now. I'd use the time to go to the doctor of course, but wouldn't make myself a 5 day weekend (Veteran's Day, Thurs, Fri, etc) just for that.... No, not me!
I also wouldn't plan my lessons through Thanksgiving so I can have nothing to do daily and can hang out in my pajamas. No, not me. This teacher never stops...

Those are some Not Me Mondays that I'd never do (or at least never admit to!)

This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. MckMama has been a little too busy this week though. Her precious baby boy is in Boston having surgery right now. Something I've definitely done today and all last week was pray for them. Go check on them and send them prayers and hugs!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

Include Isaiah and his family in your prayers tonight. Details tomorrow, maybe.

Cool!

2009-11-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that this week Google was helping celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. At the link below, you can see all the logos that were used (different ones in different countries.) Also, there are links for other special days from October and through December that Google has recognized. There are even archives to see!

Very interesting, especially ones celebrating things from other countries. I could see using these to inspire some research projects.

What is your favorite? Can you guess which one is mine?

Enjoy the link! (http://www.google.com/logos/)

Teacher's Day Logo, Poland

Oops...

2009-11-08T18:58:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed NaBloPoMo last year. It got me into a blogging groove. I had the cruise to post about. I completely didn't tune in to the idea this month! So, I've missed 7 days... but from here on out, I'll post daily. Today, a summary of some things going though my brain.

What makes a good parent?
What makes an effective parent? (Is there such a thing?)
What do you do when you are starting to feel like your spouse isn't on the same parenting page anymore?
How do you deal with an incredibly brilliant kid who has learned to manipulate one parent against the other?

Hopefully in the next few days, I can give my input. I'm really bothered by these questions and the path my brain wants to take...

Have a great Monday! And enjoy what is left of Sunday night too!

Very funny!

2009-10-16T20:55:00.000-04:00

The Husband Song

Not me! Monday

2009-10-05T17:40:00.000-04:00

This is my first Not Me Monday post. This weekend had several Not Me! moments. For example....

I would NEVER go camping, arrive late in the evening when it was dark, and then fall and sprain my ankle within 10 minutes of arrival... Nope, not I said the fly!
I wouldn't dare come home on a Monday afternoon at 4pm and wonder if it was too early for one of these:

Mike's Hard Pomegranate Punch

This might possibly be a savior for some other hard working mama - but not me said the flea.

Go check out some other Not Me Mondays over at MckMama's blog. She created this and it sure is fun... especially if you are like me and haven't done anything! :)

Your Opinions Please

2009-08-05T21:54:00.000-04:00

Haven't done this before! I'm working on deciding what my "Meet the Teacher" outfit will be. Please tell me what you like the best!

Option 1: Red jacket with red, black and white dress

Option 2: Red jacket with navy tank and khaki skirt
Option 3: Red Jacket with navy tank and skirtI'll see if I can add a poll to the right side. Otherwise, cast your vote in the comments :)

Decision must be made by August 20th! Thanks for your input!

Busy Days

2009-08-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

We've gotten back into a routine now, after 2 weeks at the beach. Those were wonderful, idyllic weeks... I've got a lot of pictures to share.

For now, we've got a bunch of things to do. I'm in my final week of freedom. Erin is going to the eye doctor tomorrow. We are going bowling and having a pizza dinner on Thursday. Sunday we are going to make try #2 to go to the water park. And that finishes my summer!

Next week I'll be in staff development all week. I'm very excited about this, as I got to choose my classes. I'll be learning about EOG strategies, Content area writing, Formative Assessment, and Quest Atlantis. Then I have a Friday and Monday free to do whatever (which means NOTHING!) and Tuesday starts my meetings.

The girls have until 8/25... lucky ducks!

I'll admit, I'm curious...

2009-06-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

“Curious people are interesting people, I wonder why that is.” Bill Maher

I've been checking my stat tracker frequently and have noticed a large number of hits from one place. The IP resolves to Riverside, California. I'm talking 12 hits in 12 days - multiple hits per day not one per day. Veeeerrrry interesting! C'mon! Who are you? I'm dying to know what you are looking at or looking for on my blog. Satisfy my curiousity please.

C'mon, how can you deny this sweet puppy dog face? (Nope, not my puppy but it sure is cute!)

Getting Started

2009-06-11T22:29:00.000-04:00

Now that school is finished I can get started on my sample unit. I'm really excited - I've got some good ideas. I'm using for inspiration a theme and unit I had trouble teaching this year. I wish I could have found some easy resources for it - it is encouraging me to do a great job on this. If nothing else, I'll have these ideas to use next year!

School is out! Hip Hip Hooray! Enjoy your summer!

Exciting Opportunity

2009-06-04T17:50:00.000-04:00

I've been given an exciting opportunity. I'm going to be able to submit a sample unit to a major educational publisher. If accepted, I'll be hired to do freelance writing for them! I'm SO excited! This is exactly the thing I like to do - I'm always making things to use in my classroom. Now, perhaps I'll get paid for them. It would be nice to have a little extra cash to go into the "Beth Fund!"

Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted on the status of the unit - but no details! Keep your fingers crossed!

Very cool tool

2009-05-30T22:48:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking about a change in hairstyle this summer. I found this cool site at iVillage:
http://beauty.ivillage.com/hair/hairstylefinder
You can upload your own photo and play around with it. I've done myself and will now do both the girls - I'd like to see what they look like without bangs. I foresee many wasted hours here. :)
Have fun y'all!

Sing it with me now....

2009-05-26T19:15:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, go away.
Come again some other day.

Seriously, there are 3rd graders (and lots of other kids and teachers) who need recess! We were supposed to have a baseball game tonight (our first) but it got rained out. No phone call, just unrelenting rain. Drizzle, sprinkle, downpour, we've seen it all tonight.

And in looking at the forecast, there isn't any change for the rest of the week. *mighty groan*

Hopefully it will clear up before the next field trip on June 4th. That already got rained out once. Pray!

Progress

2009-05-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

The first night went ok! Of course, Keith came home not happy about the job, but that is ok too. The second night was fun all around. The girls and I hung out until LATE at a friend's house, playing Wii and eating pizza. We arrived home about 10:45 and Keith came home about 11:35. The girls were ecstatic of course. And Keith was much happier - says the job isn't so bad and he will definitely stay. At least until after we go to the beach :) He works again tonight but has the whole day to spend with the girls.

I'm going to lounge around until lunch time (which is fast approaching) and then drag them all out to practice baseball (if it isn't raining.) I hope you all enjoy the long weekend with your families!

Celebrate!

2009-05-21T20:24:00.000-04:00

There is much to celebrate - stolen items recovered, testing over, and Keith got a job!! Yay! He is working his first shift right now, he won't be home until 11:30. We'll see how it goes, it sounds promising - the boss already ok'd the 2 weeks off to go to the beach in July. *whew* But I'll probably take the kids to Atlanta by myself for the 4th of July.

Time to go, the girls and I are going to bed early tonight. I expect some tears, as certain people are missing their Daddy. The first reaction was, "Well who will brush my teeth and tuck me in tonight??" How pitiful is that?

It isn't that time but....

2009-05-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

I found this and it is too cute. I'll post it now and use it again when De-Lurking Day comes around again (January 10, 2010?)

Post and tell me what your plans are for the summer. Anything good?

Totally Cool

2009-05-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

I found a couple new websites I plan to use this summer. They look
really good! Here are the links:
http://www.test4free.com/assessfam.asp
http://www.mindsprinting.com/msfree/

The first is reading stuff. The second is math and reading. Both
the girls have completed assessments on both websites and they seem
fairly accurate. I think the math was off somewhat for my youngest,
but that is fine. The second website lets parents "Fast Track"
skills that come up as a lesson but that aren't needed.

We ought to have lots of fun with these this summer! Who needs to
buy workbooks?

Summer Plans

2009-05-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

We are busy making summer plans. The girls want to go to the waterpark, I'm looking forward to the beach, DH wants the beach as well. We're also planning to visit my parents over 4th of July weekend, as my mom is running in a race.

We're also going to "do school" as the girls say. They have learned so much this year and I don't want them to backslide. We'll read a lot and go to the library once a week. The girls have asked to have "flip-a-cards" at home! How funny is that! Considering they haven't flipped a single card ALL YEAR!

Which reminds me, DH and I would like to get them something special for this accomplishment - any ideas? We can't decide what would be appropriate! We never dreamed they'd do it, even though they have talked about it all year. Ideas needed please!

On that note, I'm off to eat chocolate and vegetate. Catch you later!

Sincere Apologies

2009-05-14T19:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers,
It has come to my attention that certain things posted on this blog were inappropriate. I apologize if you were offended or hurt by them. I have made every effort to remove the offensive items from my blog. Please notify me by leaving a comment if you find other offensive items.

Again, please accept my apologies. It won't happen again.

Yours,
Beth

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2009-03-17T19:17:00.000-04:00

No words tonight, too sick. Enjoy pictures instead.

There are no words to describe this beauty.

2009-03-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

Sunday Night

Monday Morning

What's Yummy?

2009-02-22T18:42:00.000-05:00

This is a question Katy would go around and ask when she was very tiny. She'd walk around with a notepad and writing instrument (always changed!) and pretend to take your order. Then she'd disappear off to her play kitchen and cook up the opposite of what we asked for.

I can now answer, without any doubt, that STEAK is yummy! We had the most wonderful steaks tonight. I'll describe the process while the pictures download off the camera.

I've had a hankering for a nice chunk of red meat for a while. Today at Wild-Mart I picked up a family pack of eye of round steaks. 6 nice size steaks for $10. Not bad - works out to 2 dinners and 2 lunches (with the left overs). We could probably have made 3 dinners.

Here is my process: Alton Brown, Steak Your Claim.

You should know by now that I'm going to turn to Alton on this. He teaches so well! I watched his episode on YouTube of the same name. And basically followed his instructions exactly, keeping in mind that I wasn't cooking an inch thick rib eye - my steaks were just between a half to three-quarters of an inch thick.

I had DH dig the cast iron skillet out of the camping box and reseasoned it while the steaks marinated. Alton didn't do this, but I felt like it. I read a few recipes and felt *gasp* that I liked Paula Deen's idea of using bourbon (whiskey leftover from New Year's!) with some fresh cracked black peppercorns, kosher salt, sugar, and some various other spices (chili power, paprika, and X leftover from the last BBQ rub chicken I did.)

The skillet went into a 500 degree oven while it preheated. The steaks came out of the fridge and I trimmed the edges of the tough membrane on them. They came to room temp just as the oven reached 500. I pulled out the skillet and set it on a high burner. When it started smoking, I turned the heat to medium high and laid the steaks in. I seared them for about 30 seconds on the first side then flipped them. The 2nd side got about 20 seconds then the whole thing went into the oven (which I turned down to 450). I let them go about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, then flipped them. oooooo Boy did they look good. I let them go barely another 3 minutes then pulled them to temp. They were perfect - just over 150 which is on the well side of medium. They went on a plate with the pan juices to rest. Just look at this:

Oh, hurt me mama! DH whipped up some onions-and-mushrooms for his steak as well as some mashed potatoes for everyone. And then we feasted. I didn't get a shot of the whole feast, but here is another, wholly gratuitious shot of my sliced steak.

Of course, the kids wouldn't touch it. And I didn't argue or force them. Heaven forbid they discover how delicious it was!

Another Tag. This one is neat too.

2009-02-14T21:17:00.000-05:00

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. On shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag a bunch of friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
Chrome (Trace Adkins)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Songs About Me (Trace Adkins)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Picture to Burn (Taylor Swift)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Suds in the Bucket (Sara Evans)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
I Wanna Talk About Me (Toby Keith)

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Boondocks (Little Big Town)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Leave the Pieces (The Wreckers)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Hot Mama (Trace Adkins) (Am laughing so hard here! Rule 3!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Mockingbird (Toby Keith)

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Lot of Leavin' Left To Do (Dierks Bentley)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I Got My Game On (Trace Adkins)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Arlington (Trace Adkins)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Perfect (Sara Evans)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Little Bit of Life (Craig Morgan)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Rough and Ready (Trace Adkins)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Ladies Love Country Boys (Trace Adkins)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Honkytonk Badonkadonk (Trace Adkins)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Settlin' (Sugarland)

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Sunshine and Summertime (Faith Hill) (Too perfect!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
International Harvester (Craig Morgan)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Holler Back (The Lost Trailers)

If you're reading this, I tag you!

Tagged. Twice. They're Long. Sorry.

2009-02-13T19:27:00.000-05:00

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile (in Notes) replacing my answers with yours.

Tag people to do the same thing.

If I tagged YOU, it's because I want to know more about YOU!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Nope.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
about 2 weeks ago. check the countdown in my sidebar.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
no

4. FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
turkey.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
2 girls

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
absolutely.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
see #6

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
unfortunately, yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
heck no.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
coco puffs

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
nope

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
vanilla with chocolate sauce

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE
body language/attitude

15. RED OR PINK?
pink

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF
My hair, sometimes. Other times, my skin quality.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
ummmmmm, no one

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
sure.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
no shoes :)
pale blue plaid pj pants.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
food network.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
pink is good

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
chocolate

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Lois.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
sure.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
none of them.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown.

28. EYE COLOR?
brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yup.

30. FAVORITE FOOD
see #10, 23 (chocolate)

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
happy.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
don't have a clue, would rather read a book.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
beige

34. Summer or winter?
summer.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
kisses if chocolate :)

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
duh?

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
doh?

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Edge of Darkness by Cherry Adair

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Dell logo

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
TV? I was sleeping.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
daughters loving each other and not fighting, SILENCE!

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES
Beatles.

44.DO YOU HAVE ADHD?
Sometimes I wonder, but no.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Sleep anywhere, anytime.

46 WHERE WERE U BORN?
Lubbock, TX

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
IRC Chat Room

==================================================================
And Another!

1.YOUR REAL NAME:
(If you are on Facebook with me, you know this already. If not, too bad for you.)

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother and fathers middle names)
Leonette Louis

3.NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Leon William

4.STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
BowEl (oh lordy!)

5.DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Polar Bear

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Kay Lubbock

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Blue Root Beer

8.FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Elen

9.STREET NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Vanilla Chocolate Chip

10.SKANK NAME: (1st pet's name, street you grew up on)
Tigger Spring Day

11.GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of first name plus 'izzle')
Eliizzle

12. YOUR GOTH NAME (black, then the name of one of your pets)
black tigger

13. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
**Chocolate (no fav. perfume)

Random Bits of Blog-Worthiness

2009-02-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Not much happening around here.

Katy is having her tubes put in on Tuesday so hopefully no more ear infections, ever.

I had a cute girl chat me up in the bus rider line Friday after school. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Sit criss cross please, I don't want to trip on your feet.
Girl: What is that? (points to my clothes)
Me: That is a sash, see I'm using it as a belt. (Friday was "Go Red" day and I was wearing a red shirt and belt.)
Girl: Cool! I like that. You've got real fashion sense!
Me: Thanks! I wish I'd had some red shoes to wear too.
Girl: Yes! That would have looked GREAT!

This conversation just made me crack up! She was so, so serious the whole time!

Big new about Katy coming tomorrow - I must get the camera cord back from a certain someone first!

Happy Monday everyone!

Here I go again

2009-01-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

falling off into the "Blog-muda Triangle." Sorry, as always there has been a lot going on at home, school, and with friends. The home the usual but the friend stuff is hard. I can't blog about it since it isn't happening to me.

I can find an exact date but now (or recently) it is National De-Lurking Week. I have a dilemma. How can you ask readers to de-lurk when you haven't got any readers?

For future posterity, de-lurk now please :) If not for me, then for my future readers who will say, "Boy, she sure didn't have a "following" early on, did she?" And for this cute graphic:

Very Cool

2009-01-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

Wish I could sing like her, I'd do it daily :)

A Tease

2009-01-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Here are a few photos of our delicious ham. A fully illustrated guide to making it will come tomorrow.

There are PLENTY of leftovers. Any ideas?!?!

Ham I am

2009-01-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

I'm making a ham for our New Year's Day feast. I've tried in the past. One was ok, the other was yucky. Hopefully, this year's will be different - I'm using Alton Brown's recipe!

Here it is - I'll post tomorrow with my results and photos along the way. I'll twitter today about how this goes... fingers crossed here!

City Ham

1 city style (brined) ham, hock end *Important note at the end!*
1/4 cup brown mustard
2 cups dark brown sugar
1-ounce bourbon (poured into a spritz bottle)
2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies

Heat oven to 250 degrees F.

Remove ham from bag, rinse and drain thoroughly. Place ham, cut side down, in a roasting pan. Using a small paring knife or clean utility knife set to the smallest blade setting, score the ham from bottom to top, spiraling clockwise as you cut. (If you're using a paring knife, be careful to only cut through the skin and first few layers of fat). Rotate the ham after each cut so that the scores are no more than 2-inches across. Once you've made it all the way around, move the knife to the other hand and repeat, spiraling counter clockwise. The aim is to create a diamond pattern all over the ham. (Don't worry too much about precision here.)

Tent the ham with heavy duty foil, insert a thermometer, and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature at the deepest part of the meat registers 130 degrees F.

Remove and use tongs to pull away the diamonds of skin and any sheets of fat that come off with them.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dab dry with paper towels, then brush on a liberal coat of mustard, using either a basting brush or a clean paint brush (clean as in never-touched paint). Sprinkle on brown sugar, packing loosely as you go until the ham is coated. Spritz this layer lightly with bourbon, then loosely pack on as much of the crushed cookies as you can.

Insert the thermometer (don't use the old hole) and return to the oven (uncovered). Cook until interior temperature reaches 140 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.

Let the roast rest for 1/2 hour before carving.

*Cook's note: A city ham is basically any brined ham that's packed in a plastic bag, held in a refrigerated case and marked "ready to cook", "partially cooked" or "ready to serve". Better city hams are also labeled "ham in natural juices".

Mission: Accomplished!

2008-12-31T19:02:00.000-05:00

I've had the pesky "2008 Things to Do" in my sidebar since late last year. Since it isn't 2008 after the next few hours, a few things gotta change. That is one of them.

2008 Things to do

Read, Read, Read - Done!
Start Reading Workshop in my classroom Due to circumstances beyond my control, this one did not happen. I HATE it that I'm not trusted to do what I believe is educationally sound for my students. That's another post.
Keep my cool when my daughters push my buttons! Better than in the past.
Keep a reading list Done! This will be saved to a Word document for posterity. I've counted the number of titles! Are you ready? I read 155 different books this year, not including re-reads of old books. Wow!

So, all in all, this has been a successful year. My new goals for 2009 are in the sidebar now. Let's see if 2009 is as good to me as 2008!

Happy New Year everyone!

As promised

2008-12-29T23:50:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from our Christmas Feast:

Our Alton Brown Turkey -
Yes, I may have prematurely slapped on the Turkey Triangle - but a pale turkey is better than a dry, burned one! Also, Alton, can you PLEASE add the turkey triangle to the print recipe?!?! Had an argument with my husband over the necessity of the triangle. Which is what sent me to YouTube. It is worthwhile to go on YouTube and watch Good Eats episodes of Alton making the turkey. Very helpful to see him do it and then do it yourself. :) Very helpful for making pesky husbands GO AWAY too!

My Sweet Potatoes and Pioneer Woman's Whiskey Glazed Carrots
I was not pleased with the way the carrots turned out. Will try again at New Year's feast.

Our table - Yes the heathen brought his can of pop to the table instead of putting it in a glass!

Family Portrait

Erin on left, wearing red and black dress. Katy on right, wearing red dress and pink pants. Take immediately after dinner to capture the tryptophan-induced calm :)

The mess! Finally got all those dishes done - 4 days later!
And this is just PART of the mess. At least this year I got to use my fancy new kitchen. Remember that craziness?!?!?!

Time to get ready for our New Year's Ham!!!