Sideways Snow

It's snowing sideways today.  It is extremely cold out right now.  The high is to be in the teens with wind chills putting us in the single digits.  I guess the good news is that it rained last night, melting the ice that was on our driveway and sidewalks.  Not that everything isn't extra-slick right now.  

We decorated cookies with the kids last night.  Reagan kept asking for the "salt" to sprinkle on her cookies. Everyone had lots of fun and ate too many cookies (or maybe that was just me).

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone.  It's been way too long since we've seen most everyone. 

Molly threw up on Friday night, but seems to be OK now.  And, (I say with my fingers and toes crossed) no one else seems to be affected by whatever caused her upset.  

Ben's Uncle

Ben's Uncle Jim (married to Kathy, 2nd oldest in Ben's Mom's family) died late Sunday night.  He was shoveling snow.  We haven't been in frequent communication with them, so I don't know for certain, but I believe it was entirely unexpected.  

He retired from the GR Fire Department less than five years ago.  He was 63.

He was a kind man, and my heart is aching for his family right now.  He will be missed.

November 30

So, today, despite Ben and I still not functioning so well, went pretty well, I think.  I made dinner and cleaned up afterward.  It was chili, and the kids even ate it, except Liam, who has been complaining of a stomach ache for the last two days.  

I was thinking about kitchen clean up while I was cleaning up.  It is a strange thing.  I heard Rachel Ray make a comment about "cleaning the stove at the end of the night," and for some reason, it struck me that I don't think it ever occurred to me to clean up the stove at the end of every night.  Now, I would wipe down the top, etc., but I never touched the burners until they were, like, sick.  Perhaps I shouldn't admit this.  If I am on top of my game, usually doing FlyLady, my stove burners would get cleaned once a month.  Do you know how much yuck builds up on stove burners in a month?  Not nearly as much as when I'm not on top of my game and go longer than that for cleaning....Anyway, the other night, I had a paper towel in my hand--and I don't use paper towels often, just for cleaning gross stuff.  There was plenty of clean paper towel left from whatever I had originally used it for, so I thought I'd reach down around the burner and give it a wipe.  The burner pan was just barely warm, and there was a lot of gross stuff in there.  It wiped right out.  So, Duh!, it occurred to me that if I just wiped the burners out every time I used them, I'd never have to spend hours scrubbing the darn things out again.  Stupid, I know.  Maybe I knew that once, but somewhere along the line, I forgot.  I think all the years of cooking on rental stoves, it didn't occur to me, but you would think sometime in the past six on my own stove I would have figured it out.  

I remember Mom telling me once that when you do dishes, you should then wipe down the stove and the counters.  I don't remember hearing about burners.  Of course, when we were kids, we had an electric stove....

We lit the Advent wreath tonight.  I usually fumble around the first week of Advent and don't manage to get us going for a few days, so I'm proud of getting it done.  I have especially failed here when Advent starts, as it does this year before December.  We also drew an activity from a bag (I wrote them all down last year, and, somehow, we never did more than a few, if any).  Liam drew one.  I think he put the first one back, but then he drew, "Make snowy candle holders."  So, he and Molly made "snowy" candleholders by putting stickers on some recycle bin jars, painting them with glue, and sprinkling salt on them.  Killian wasn't interested.

Molly also went outside for probably close to an hour wandering about the yard in the heavily falling snow.  We looked out back at her to see her snowboarding down  the hill on one of the boys' snowboards!  Once Liam saw that, he had to join her.

Other activities in our Advent "to do" bag:

Paint or draw a Christmas picture and send it to someone special

Watch a Christmas movie in bed

pop kettle corn and share some with the neighbors

bake cookies and share some with the neighbors

make hot chocolate

shovel the sidewalks

bundle up and go for a walk around the block

listen to Christmas music

do something nice for your parents (heh, heh)

do something nice for your brother(s) or sister(s)

write a letter to someone telling them why they are special to you

sing Christmas carols with your family

Play a board game with your family

watch a Christmas movie

Go for a drive to see Christmas lights

camp out around the Christmas Tree

There are more, but I'm not remembering them right now...Anyone have other ideas?!

One more find!

We also picked up a kid's snowboard from Freecycle listed at $60.00 new on Amazon.

The kids are excited about that one!

So...

Today's the Dill/Allen Thanksgiving celebration, and I'm at home in my pjs nursing a cold, and Ben's upstairs laying on the couch with ice on his back.  Pretty sad.  I suppose we at least delay holiday pounds this way, eh?

I am happy to say that the cold has at least moved out of my upper sinuses, so today I can keep my eyes open.  I have finally reached the place where I don't just keep feeling increasingly worse, which is improvement, trust me.  

Julie's post about her Goodwill scores reminded me that I haven't posted my own.  I'm trying to make sure that I make regular stops at ours, though my bet is that our Goodwill receives donations nothing like Goodwill in Plano must.  

Anyway, finds of note:

A nappy-headed Barbie beauty head, with nails and hot/cold water color changing makeup and nail polish.  We washed and conditioned her hair (well, I did), and it actually came out looking pretty good.  Molly loves it, and it was $1.99.  I wasn't terribly excited about it until I saw that they go for $30+ in the stores.  And, you can bet I'd never buy one for that price.

a bag of cool plastic animals to stick in stockings, 99 cents.  Ben mentioned that they were probably painted with lead paint, but I suppose the chances of that are just as good if I bought them at Meijer.

A pair of Quicksilver snowboarding pants with neoprene inserts for the knees and bum for Killian, $4.99.  I didn't know their value until I did some searching online, and I cannot find the EXACT pair, but they appear to run somewhere in the $90.00 range.

A Land's End longsleeved playdress for Molly, in great condition, $1.99. And it's purple (that gets points from Molly).

I've also found a few nice dress shirts and polos for Killian, as well as a couple of pairs of pants, but I'm having trouble with sizes for him, and he's very particular, so I don't know if they will work out or not.  

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday.  We miss you.

Catch Up!

I really don't have much time to fill you all in on what I've been up to.  I have a big stack of papers to grade (a virtual stack, but a stack, nonetheless).  I've been trying to declutter and reorganize my house, no small task, as I haven't really done anything of that nature since before Reagan was born and I had nesting hormones helping me out (and no, no hormone help this time).  

We are growing, and our house is not, so it is time for some major restructuring of how things are set up here.  I've purged quite a bit, transformed the storage space under the stairs into a pantry and toy storage area (one that is accessible, not just tossed in there).  I had to move the kitchen hutches so that we can all sit at our kitchen table (Reagan was starting to feel a bit left out over in her high chair).  

Things are still not completely how I want them yet, and I have to work like heck to keep from losing ground.  It's getting blustery outside, though, and it is good to focus on our warm, cozy home.  

Molly turned 5 last week.  She had her ears pierced.  I will post pics sometime.  They are almost heartbreaking, but she now insists that it really didn't hurt, and she has beautiful "diamonds" in her ears.  Here's hoping we can make it through 7 and a half more weeks of 3-times-a-day ear cleanings.  

Smoke and Mirrors

You know, I would say this no matter who won the election.  I am reminded about how truly disillusioning the whole election process is.  There is way too much slippery, cagey crap that goes on.  I am disappointed that at a time that we have supposedly come so far that the vote comes down to the color of someone's skin for many.  

There is a lack of solid facts presented to the public.  The average person really has no idea what the issues are and where the candidates stand, in my estimation.  I once read that people only retain about 10 percent of what they hear.  10 PERCENT!  Add that to media misinformation, lopsided reporting, and politicians skilled at leaning one way or the other wherever they see fit, and there's not much hope for an informed public,  is there?  

Just an aside, here's an interesting thing I saw months ago.  

October Grocery accountablility

Yes, other people are adding up votes, I'm adding up grocery trips.  Technically, I've titled this "October Grocery...", but our fiscal month runs from the 15 to the 15 of every month.  So, we're still on October.  I almost quit, but I figured it would be a good learning experience to write it all down and see exactly what we bought and how much we spent.  For real.

Today:

Nov. 4, 2008

Meijer

Here's the sad part.  I really didn't need to go to Meijer.  I just thought that I'd see if they had any good leftover Halloween candy.  I grabbed two bags, but then didn't buy them at the last minute.  what I did buy:

3 bottles laundry detergent on sale

1 bag of Jet-Puff Marshmallows (in case of fire, LOL)

bananas

baby wipes

Goodnights

Toilet paper

=36.65

We are low on laundry detergent and TP.

October 26, 2008

Brown Sugar 1.34

Powdered Sugar 1.34

Bread .99

2 lbs. shredded mozz 7.98

crackers 2.50

ice cream 2.50

=22.22

10/23

Costco

Garbage bags

5 lb. mozz cheese

Box of pretzels for NY trip

2 bags Halloween Candy

1.5 gallons vinegar

tortillas

25 lb. flour

4 lb. butter

54.48

Shoot.  I have two Costco trips (apparently these items were spread over two trips)... Ben must still have some of the receipts.

40.76

I am missing a couple of receipts (both mine and Ben's). I do have totals from my bank account, but sadly, I  cannot say what I bought (I have no memory anymore, I swear).  How bad is that? Among the items, I know are:

Goodnights 

Campbell's chicken noodle soup for Killian's lunch when everyone was gone.  

hot dogs, buns, and doritos

pretzels (for boys' snacks)

grapes

buns for French Dip sandwiches

onion

10/27 16.39

10/27 23.88

11/3 .80 ?

11/3 16.33

11/3 17.54

11/4  7.45

11/3 5.69

Most of these were Meijer purchases, so I have to confirm they were, indeed groceries and not something else. At least one of them may be gas. In fact, I am pretty sure either the 16.33 or 17.54 is gas.  I bought gas on Friday, but it didn't show on my bank statement until 11/3.

OK.  Totals.....(WINCE)......630.96.  Perhaps it's 615 or so if one of those is gas.  What was that I said about keeping it under $400?  Dang.  

So, obviously, there needs to be absolutely no more spending for the next two weeks or so.  We are more than done.  We have food here.  I just have to get on top of it all and prepare it.  I need to make granola bars for the boys to take for snack.  We're out of the "snacky" stuff, so I need to make some now.

Good Grief

Molly has been begging me for half the day to make her hot cocoa.  I just looked up a recipe on the computer and headed to the kitchen to start making it.  As I got to the kitchen, Molly said, "Mom, look what I did!" I turned to see her and smacked left eye first right into the wall where it (barely) sticks out into the kitchen walkway.  Now my glasses are really wonky.

It's Saturday.

Ben drove his car to NY to attend little Coleman Cypher's baptism.  He is da godfadder.  He took his mom and Breanne and Liam and Molly with him.  He first offered Killian the opportunity, but Killian opted not to go, so he asked Molly if she wanted to go, and she did.  They left on Friday morning.  On Thursday  night, Ben ran to the store, and while he was gone, Molly bawled.  She said, "I'm going to miss  you, Mama."  "Can't you come with us?"  "I'm going to miss you sooo much."  

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."  

"I want to go; I'll just miss you."  

By the time Ben got home, she was no longer crying.  She told Ben later that she was crying, but that she would be OK now.  Last update, she's been perfectly fine, even at bedtime, so apparently, she got that out of her system.  Too funny.

So, yesterday, I was home with just Reagan while Killian went to school!  I hung around with her, and cleaned the boys' room.  I am trying to do some decluttering, so I grabbed boxes for Nora, the Rainbows, and Kaleb.  Girly stuff to Nora, Pokemon and Little People to Rainbows, and boy stuff to Kaleb.  Not a lot, mind you, but every little bit helps at the moment.

Killian and I watched TV last night.  Today, we made a brief visit to Meijer to pick up batteries for the Wii.  (The charging stations are a must for Christmas this year).

Reagan is saying "Bed,"  so I better take her there!  I also have to fill you in on our awesome visit with Jenny on Thursday! 

Liam

Last week, the girls and I went to Liam's classroom to attend a "publishing party." The kids had all made books with pictures (some with chapters!) and were sharing their accomplishment.  Liam's book was called, A Day at Grandpa's Farm.  He didn't give any details specific to Grandpa's farm, but he worked really hard on it, and it was very cute. 

Today, we got a letter from the art teacher saying that she would like Liam to share his pastel drawing at the board of education meeting next week.  How cool is that?  I haven't seen the picture, but we'll be sure to post one when we do.  I also need to bake a batch of cookies to help with the refreshments for that meeting.  (My donation of treats is totally unrelated to Liam's recognition....I think;). )

October Grocery Accountability--Meat

Here's what Ben got at Meijer:

hot dog buns

parchment paper (we ran out)

ground beef (about 9 lbs.)

2 whole pork loins (@4 lbs. each)

1 bottom roast (beef) (@3 lbs)

4 lbs grapes

2 packages beef brats

2 packages cheddarwurst

1 jar mayo

$77.45 (included in the running total in the Aldi post)

I suppose we could just do without anything else this month.  That would probably be the wise way to go, eh?  I have to think about this a bit.  I don't know that we can manage without a few  things, but maybe we can keep it under $400?   Hmmmm.  I have a hard time not buying the huge bags of whatever at Costco, though, simply because that is the best price on something we will use up, YK?

Healthy Chips

Molly asked for cereal for breakfast, along with some "healthy" chips. 

"We don't have any healthy chips," I tell her.

"Yes, we do.  The ones with the green spots."  

Those are sour cream and onion.  

October Grocery Accountability--Aldi Trip.

Well, I'm disappointed.  I don't know what I expected.  I've been to Aldi's plenty of times in the past.  There are still plenty of good deals to be had there, but there were a number of things that have definitely gone up.  The thing that kills me, is some things are still printed at a lower price on the package (every package has a price printed on it somewhere), but they have been marked up.  Maybe I'm mistaken, but it would seem to me that the fact that the price is marked on the package is telling us that they paid a particular price for that item, and so it shouldn't be marked up, right?   

Part of my problem is that I am a bit of a food snob.  I don't want preservatives, colorings, or high fructose corn syrup (and, yes, there are reasons to avoid it, though a recent PR campaign would try to convince us otherwise).  I nearly passed up the spaghetti sauce, and then went back and got a couple of jars, but the Meijer brand is not far off on price (especially on sale), and it doesn't have HFCS.   I am frustrated by the fact that it is so difficult to find real food without crap added in, and that it requires 1)searching to find it, and 2)more money to buy it.  

Anyway, here's what $143.71 bought at Aldi's:

2 packages String cheese spirals

12 14.5 cans chicken broth (not great stuff--I need to make my own)

4 lbs. ground turkey

Honey Puffs cereal (like Honey Combs)

2 boxes Bite Sized Shredded Wheat

Frozen peas

Moo Tubes (like Gogurt.  Disgusting.)

Premium OJ

2  juice concentrate

2 packages fresh broccoli crowns

3 pack green peppers

2 onion soup mix

4 packages wide egg noodles

2 brown gravy mix

1 can cranberry sauce

2  turkey hams

1 boneless ham

2 jars pasta sauce

1 32 oz. bag pinto beans

1 32 oz. bag navy beans

2 boxed mac and cheese

2 1/2 lb. bananas

2 lemons 2 limes

12 tomato sauce (8 0z)

6 tomato paste (8 oz)

Instant Corn Masa

2 garden salad mix

1 caesar salad mix

liquid soap refill (this smells better than the Meijer brand of the same style--I need to return the Meijer stuff).  

2 bags Party (Chex)mix

tomato ketchup

2 lbs. brown sugar

4 packages cream cheese

4 yellow cake mixes (planning on gooey butter cake for Thanksgiving!)

2 devil's food cake mixes

Wheat Thin-type crackers

Decorated paper plates (these were 2.19 and said 99 cents on the package) these are pretty flimsy

Deluxe American cheese slices (dropped in the cart when I wasn't looking)

6 cans 15 oz. pumpkin

1 package instant vanilla pudding

2 jars salsa 

1 Bottle Chardonnay

2 packages chocolate chips

1 can evaporated milk

1 jar dry roasted peanuts

cooking spray (canola--I think canola is awful, but sometimes spray oil just makes life easier).

1 can tomato juice

6 16 oz. sour cream

1 can cream of celery soup

Some of the things on here are not things I would normally buy, but they are for new recipes from the meal plan I mentioned.  I didn't buy cheese, flour, or sugar there because all three are cheaper at Costco (at least last I was there).  Obviously, I have to buy in bigger quantity there, but these are things we tend to use a lot of anyway.

So, I've already spent over $350.  We need a couple of things in addition to the above cheese, flour, and sugar, and I'm not sure how much more that will be.  We have plenty of food, though; that's for sure.  I'm wondering with the things we will be buying that we won't need more of for awhile if we will be able to spend less next month, or if there will just be other things that we don't have to buy every month that we will need to buy.  Pffft.

I still need to list Ben's Meijer trip.  Then I'll tell you what we plan to do with all these groceries. :) 

Running total: $388.41 not including the McDonald's.

October Grocery Accountability--Ugh.

So, if I totally fail at spending less this month do I just stop typing about it and pretend it never happened?  Are you paying attention to see what I do?  Last night, we ate McDonald's.  It was almost 7:00.  I actually had thawed hamburger in the fridge, but was thinking it was for soup, and for some reason, didn't even think to make it into something else quick and easy (say, sloppy joes?).  What a dope.

Ben also made another trip to Meijer's, which I will list later, for meat.  There were some good sales on meat this week, and, as much as I would like not to be buying meat from Meijer's, it works for the moment.  So, I need to sit down and adjust our menu and Aldi's list appropriately.  Hopefully, I can still keep us pretty close to the $350 mark.

We'll see.  Maybe it was too big a goal since we typically spend $500-600 a month.

Darn it.

So, I decided last night that it was time for me to get to the Y.  I am in a funk that I was only beginning to climb out of when I got pregnant with Reagan.  I think it is highly  related to hormones, but also likely managed with diet and exercise.  I'm not doing well on either count, and  something's got to give.  I have always found that when I am in good physical shape, I am less likely to crave (or perhaps more able to control cravings of) junk.  I've been in this place for a long time, and it is not good.  Something has to change.  

So, off to the gym this morning.  I nearly called off, as Molly was coughing a bit.  Ben told me to take them anyway--lots of people do.  Whatever she has tends to only cause problems in the morning anyway, because now there is no cough.  I packed sippy cups, diapers, extra clothes, and wipes, and some grapes and pretzels for a snack.  I packed my bag, including earphones.  Molly was excited to go.  Reagan didn't know what she was in for, but I explained to her what was going to happen, and we knew Molly would be there.

I dropped them off.  They talked about Reagan going to the toddler area (and I had actually signed her up for the BabyZone, but I told them that she would probably do best with her sister.  I told Molly to keep an eye on Reagan and make sure she was OK.  

I went to the locker room, changed my clothes, pulled my hair back, and went upstairs to the treadmills.  It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to start the thing, but then I walked for about 12 minutes when I was called to the KidZone over the intercom.  Reagan had apparently been crying for most of the time since I left.  She was in the ToddlerZone with Molly when I walked in.  When I went to pick her up, she didn't recognize me at first because my hair was pulled back and I wasn't wearing my glasses.  She would not look me in the face after I picked her up.  I took her back to the locker room with me and gathered up my stuff.  She kept crying, and was so upset, a woman in the locker room asked if she had hiccups.  We went back to the KidZone to get Molly.  Reagan started crying more because she thought I was taking her back.  

Molly told me on the way home that she forgot to stay with Reagan.  I don't know if they moved her to the ToddlerZone because she was crying or if she started crying because they  moved  her to the ToddlerZone.  

Anyway, it's frustrating, and the fact that she would not look at me for a good twenty minutes after I got her was heartbreaking.  Why does this have to be difficult????

Oh, and BTW, when I went back to get Molly, there was a little boy and his baby sister (probably Reagan's age or a little older) trying to get out of the KidZone.  There is a magnetic door, so you have to hit a button (above the head of an adult) to open the door.  When people were walking in and out, they were trying to get out.  The boy actually went out, and his sister started crying for him, and then he ran back in.  The women working were apparently oblivious to this going on.  He wouldn't have been able to actually leave, as the woman at the desk would have stopped him before he left the outer gate.  

October Grocery Accountability--Extras

25 lbs. Oat Groats $19.26 plus $1.98 for two packages of Sundrops.  

1 case Seventh Generation diapers.  Let me explain this one...I like to buy these diapers when we use disposables.  I had decided that while trying to cut the budget, I would not buy these anymore.  Someone online at Amity Mama apparently won $250 worth of Seventh Gen diapers from Amazon.  Because she didn't use them, she sold cases of the diapers for $35 shipped. That's 8.75 a package, which is less than I usually would pay for Huggies.  

These should last us into the new year.  

October Grocery Accountability--Meijer trip

So, there were a few key items on sale at Meijer yesterday, so Ben went with my list and took the kids (except for Reagan, who took a nap) to the store while I cleaned.  I'm really starting to wonder if we're going to be able to keep it under $350.  I keep adding more things to our list.  I have to do some serious thinking before we hit Costco and Aldi's later this week.  

I tried a new granola recipe last week, and everyone seems to like it (hooray!), so hopefully, we can ride with it for a bit and skip the box cereals the boys have been eating since school started.  I have 25 lbs. of oat groats coming from the co-op, and just in time as I just ran out (except for 1 cup) making another batch for the week.  I was hoping I had enough to do another batch of the granola bars (which were also a hit), but that will have to wait until they come in.

Soo...Meijer: $42.82.  

Running total: $127.51  (including Halloween candy and bandaids)

3 packs kid's bandaids (on sale for 99 cents!)--these are for stocking stuffers (shhhhh).  Maybe those don't have to count in the grocery budget.

2 lbs. turkey ham (lunches for Ben and Liam)

2 big bags of Halloween Candy (that wasn't on my list, but Ben thought we'd better start stocking up).  

6 packages Ramen noodles (the kids are Ramen fanatics *sigh*)

Paper towel

bendy straws (I don't know why, but these are a must when drinking smoothies).

1  2 liter diet Pepsi (Ben's ONLY vice ;) )

2 boxes tissue

Frozen veggies--broc, mixed, peas & carrots (should have waited on these for Aldi's, but we'll need some of them before then, and I don't like Aldi's broc--too many stems) $1 a bag

diced tomatoes

Bleach

hand soap

sandwich bags

bacon (2 packages)

Most everything was on sale, and the bacon was on my Aldi's list for $1 more than we spent.

Thanks, Ben!!!

October Grocery Accountability--How Low Can We Go?!!!

Ok, I will admit, my purpose here is not to inflict pain and suffering when it comes to food.  I do want to spend less money.  As mentioned before, I plan to implement a menu plan this week that hopefully will mean a reduction in grocery costs mainly by buying at Aldi's.  

I am going to track how much money I spend on groceries.  If I post it here, I'm a bit more accountable, eh?  Maybe you all don't need to know what we're eating or spending money on, so feel free to delete at will.  All posts on this topic will have the same title, so you can easily skip them, how's that?

I have a grocery list compiled, and over the next few days, I will do an inventory of what I have already at home so I'm not buying stuff I don't need. 

Today, we took a trip to pick up raw milk.  We do this about once every three weeks, exchanging with a couple other people from our town.  When I do this, combine errands, also stopping at the farmer's market (primarily for eggs at this point), apple orchard, and bakery outlet (otherwise known as the day-old bread store).  

So, here's what we spent:

Farmer's Market:

$14.50--5 dozen eggs and 3 cookies.

Orchard: 61.50 (yeeouch!)--$46 for 1 gallon of maple syrup (2 dollars more than what I paid in April or May), $10 for 1 bushel of apples (seconds), $4.50 for a gallon of apple cider, and whatever's left for a little apple full of apple cider for Molly (Reagan was sleeping).  

Bread Store:

$8.69--2 loaves TX toast, 2 bags pita bread, 2 bags bagels, 5 loaves of bread (Molly kept grabbing bread, and I lost track), 1 package of hamburger buns, and, true confession time, 3 packages of Hostess-type cupcakes and a box of powdered doughnuts (only .59!).

I could have done better.  The impulse crap needs to stop.  If I'm going to combine all these trips, I need to pack us a lunch and/or snacks (and hopefully not all garbage).  I doubt I'll be picking up apples again for awhile, but we occasionally stop a couple of other places when we're making the rounds.  The boys are taking their lunches most of the time now, so we should have stuff on hand that will make that easy.  

OK, so grand total for today:  $84.69.  Not a great start when I only want to spend $350 this month.  Obviously, most of this stuff will last us well beyond a month, but that doesn't so much help the bottom line right this minute.  Oh, and I almost forgot, $2.75 for an extra half gallon of milk.  Consider it ice cream, and it doesn't sound so bad, eh? ;) 

If I had skipped the junk, I would have saved $4.33.  Which, doesn't sound like much, but when you consider that for a box of doughnuts, 3 cookies, some cupcakes, and a cup of  apple juice, we could have had 1) another gallon of apple cider or 2)nearly a whole 1/2 bushel of apples! (And we wouldn't have eaten that garbage!).

Anyway, I need to go.  I've successfully not been cleaning!  I did set out the bread dough and pull cheese out of the freezer for pizza, so at least dinner's on it's way.

OOyyyyy....

So.  I had this idea that I would take off early today so that we could get the milk picked up and get home and clean the house.  I  got the girls in the van and packed it up, set off, and realized when I went to plug in the TomTom that Ben  had it.  I called Ben to confirm, and he told me he'd be home shortly because he was going to go to help out in Liam's classroom.  So, we turned back home, hitting the bank to deposit a check and get some cash for the farmer's market, then waited for Ben.  So, about 10:30, we're off on a series of errands.  First, the farmer's market for eggs.  We also picked up a bag of 3 cookies for Molly, as we had done this on a prior trip, and, of course, she was convince she needed them again.  She was rather grouchy today, and put out that I refused to buy a bag of 6.  Later, I explained to her, 1)she did not need 6 cookies (even to share, as she told me that was her plan), and 2) we can make almost a whole batch of cookies for even the $1 we spent on 3 cookies.  Next time, we won't buy them.  

After the farmer's market, we headed on toward the farm where we have a cow share.  Near there is an apple orchard, and we stopped there and picked up a bushel of apples.  I wasn't going to get that much, but decided with all those apples staring at me that it would be good to make applesauce.   We left, and I remembered I meant to look at their maple syrup.  I had checked the one stand in the farmer's market that had it today, and wasn't thrilled by their prices.  We stopped at the next orchard (about a block from the one we usually visit).  A quart for $15.00.  Nope.  So, we went back and picked up a gallon of syrup at the first orchard.  

Then, on to the milkhouse.  Almost as soon as I had things set up to start pouring milk into jars, Molly insisted that she had to go to the bathroom and couldn't hold it any longer.  I left everything sitting, and drove her over to the other barn where there is a bathroom.  We could have walked, but she was in quite the hurry, and there were some really mean geese in the yard right near where we would have walked.  So, then, we drove back to the milkhouse and finished with getting milk (for us and 2 other families).  

I stopped and bought gas at a station that always has cheaper gas, for 3.18 a gallon.  The pump kept clicking off, so I bought $10 worth and quit.  Then, about a mile later, I saw another station that had gas for 3.10!  No worry though, I still did better than in my town, where it had dropped from this morning's 3.39 to 3.33 when we got back.

I missed my exit heading home, and remembered I wanted to stop at the bread store anyway (just a little further down the road).  We stopped at the bread store.  We drove back home (about 20 minutes), stopping to drop off milk for the people we exchange pick up with.  While I was getting the first person's milk out of the cooler, I flipped a carton of eggs and broke about 4.  

So, I came home, unpacked all the stuff, rinsed out the coolers, and cooked up the four eggs that had cracked (consider it lunch--Reagan ate at least one).  And now it's 2:50.  And I'm tired.  And Reagan slept for a bit in the car on the way there, so she won't be taking another nap lately, but she still definitely wants to nurse.  

I think I have to go drink some iced tea so I can stay awake and hopefully at least get a little cleaning done before everyone gets home.  I guess I also still have time to pull out bread dough for pizza (thank goodness).  

Molly

Molly and I were coloring today in her giant Strawberry Shortcake coloring book.  She told me she needed black for Strawberry Shortcakes "hustles."  

"Her buckles?"  I ask.

"No, her hustles," she insists, pointing to the bottoms of her shoes.

"Oh, her soles, " I say.

"Yes, but I call them hussoles."

Reagan

Reagan's reached that point that little ones seem to reach when they just start spitting out words right and left.  "Butter," "Bread," "Mouth," "Nose," "Crying."  She is quite the character.  I have to get some video of one of her many little dances--the one I am thinking of we'll call "The Bobblehead."  ;)

Aldi's/Menu Planning

I met a new neighbor (she actually lives on the court behind us--Nachez, not Peach Tree) a week or so ago, and she mentioned that she does much of her shopping at Aldi's.  Her mentioning that got me thinking that I need to start shopping there again.  I used to shop there frequently when we lived in Grand Rapids, but I've only been there a few times in the last six years (yes! Six Years!) since we moved here.  

Then, last week, a friend mentioned this website.  It contains shopping lists, menu plans, and recipes for meals made entirely from Aldi's ingredients.  So, I've planned out an October-November menu (running October 15-November 15) and made up a grocery list using the ideas here and a few of our regular favorites.  One of her lists has prices on it, but they are likely not spot-on considering the price increases of late, but as I progress here (and actually get over to Aldi's), I'll let you know.  Here is another link to a PDF file of a flyer available at Aldi's that lists most of their prices.  This one is actually from Grand Rapids, but it is from April, so I kind of doubt it is still current.  

So, next week I will be going shopping for the month.  I have a pretty good handle on Costco prices, so for stuff like cheese, I'll be watching to see if I can get it cheaper there.  I'm hoping to drastically cut our grocery budget this month.  I will also let you know how we like the recipes and ingredients.  Aldi's actually has a double-your-money-back guarantee if you don't like their products, so I suppose there is really  no risk in giving them a try. 

I have already made Chewy Granola Bars and Banana Muffins from the snacks menu, using honey instead of corn syrup.  Next time I will likely use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose as well.  My ingredients were not from Aldi's, as I have not been there yet, but the end result was yummy! 

It's a Small World

This weekend, we went down to St. Joe to visit Ben's Mom and Breanne.  We also saw Kate and Adam and their Kaleb and Joel and Laura.  We were hoping to see Ben's Grandma, as we haven't seen her since around the 4th of July, I think, but, unfortunately, she was not home.  It was a good visit nonetheless, and we spent some time on the beach this morning too, and that was lovely.

As Dad may remember, Ben's mom  has a good friend who has a husband who just retired from Whirlpool.  He had a boat constructed so that he can sail around the world.  He is currently doing trial runs off the East Coast, I guess, but we were talking about his plans, when Ben's Mom (I'm just going to give that all caps, because that's what I call her, LOL) mentioned that his trip is being logged on a blog titled, "Twas Brillig Here."  Ben and I both looked at her, and said, "Like Jabberwocky?  (Maybe she can give us a link???)

"Yes," she told us. "He wanted to name the boat Jabberwock, but it was already taken."  

ROFL.   Guess who has a boat named Jabberwock out of St. Joseph, MI???? Pffft.

Pictures!

These are crappy pics from my camera, but fun nonetheless.  Here's Liam and his missing tooth. My "Witch's Kitchen" jars, candles and grapevine basket with pinecones and leaves, kitchen cabinet, a pic of the whole  shelf in the kitchen, (don't mind the pink and blue wallpaper-ugh), my tomato sauce can re-do, our pumpkin jars, and last night's dinner!

The basic 5-Minutes a day bread recipe is great for pizza dough! I also learned a new trick.  I've been struggling with getting the pizza on the stone.  So, make the pizza on parchment paper on a cookie sheet with no edges.  Slide the pizza, parchment and all, onto the pizza stone.  In about 5 minutes, the pizza will be done on the bottom, and you can just pull the parchment out so that the pizza is directly on the stone.  Why go to all this trouble instead of just baking in on a cookie sheet?  I am telling you--the stone makes all the difference!  YUM!  It looks like the picture of the shelf is covered up, but you should be able to click on it and see it.

The Post that is going to get me banned from the computer...

No, I haven't been on here since my last post, just popping back in.  I've been coloring with Molly and trying unsuccessfully to get Reagan down for a nap.  I pulled out some bread dough to sit and warm up to make pizza crust from tonight for dinner (so, I'm not totally slacking today).  Anyway, Ben has been threatening to ban me from the computer because I read too much crazy stuff.  ANYWAY, I popped in to a blog (Casaubon's Book)  I read a lot.   I haven't read it at all this week until today, and I've only read her first post from this week.  

Basically, if you didn't already know, the financial world is going to Hell in a handbasket.  At the same time, there are other things to be concerned about, that, in a number of people's estimations, mean that the world is going to change.  A lot.  I post this here because I know some of you whom I care deeply about read this.  You may think me a nut, but I think a little forethought rather than wishing we had done something after we no longer can is in order here.  If everything works out well, the market gets all fixed up, the housing market booms again, we move seamlessly from ever-decreasingly available, ever-increasingly expensive forms of energy to unlimited sources like solar and wind power, prices don't go out of control, and well-paying jobs are forever abundant here in the US, then, well, it wasn't necessary.  But if not, don't ya think we should do what we can to make things as easy as possible for ourselves?

Anyway, enough ranting.  Feel free to email me if you would like to discuss this with me further...I'm likely to be cut off from internet access from now on, LOL.

More links (in addition to the above):

Justice Desserts

The Oil Drum

Will add more as I can.

Soo, I've been doing some research, and with some reviews in hand (gotta love the internet), I have revised my initial list.  I think I will be requesting these films from the library or watching out for them on the tube:

Witches

Nightmare Before Christmas

Corpse Bride

ET (remember, this took place on Halloween???)

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Wallace and Grommet)

Monsters, Inc.

Harry Potter (the first one)

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Escape to Witch Mountain

Adding:

Ghost Dad

GhostBusters (1) (fast-forwarding the weirdness at the end?)

You'll note I've dropped:

Addams Family

Twitches

HalloweenTown

Beetlejuice

Hocus-Pocus

Young Frankenstein

I dunno....what do you think?

October Film Festival

I decided this year, as the kids are getting old enough, to have an "October Film Festival." I have been thinking hard about family-friendly movies for us to watch a couple times a week in the Halloween spirit.  I will be doing the same with Christmas movies in November and December (if I can find some to go along with Thanksgiving somewhere in there, I will). This will be on the cheap, as I am assuming I can get most of these from our library, so, as long as I return them on time, it will be free.  

Here are the titles I'm considering.  I'm looking for stuff that's not *too* scary (we have someone who's very sensitive to the idea of ghosties at our house...).  I'd also like to avoid anything with too much cheesy budding teen romance too, as it is still a bit much for us.  

Hocus Pocus

Witches

Disney's Haunted Mansion

Nightmare Before Christmas

Corpse Bride

ET (remember, this took place on Halloween???)

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Wallace and Grommet)

Addams Family movies

Monsters, Inc.

Harry Potter (the first one)

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Others to consider, but I haven't seen them (anyone?)

Young Frankenstein

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Escape to Witch Mountain

Twitches

HalloweenTown

Any I've missed?  

Disney has pronounced October "Wiz-tober" and is showing a Halloween movie every night, and ABC family has 13 days of Halloween.  I don't know what's on their playlists.  I imagine

a few on our list will be there. Beetlejuice is in there, and the boys have watched it before, but I'm not really crazy about it...It gets kind of weird in places.  I don't know.

And, while I'm on the topic of movies, the Dove Family Film Festival is running again.  If you have kids, you should check it out!  There are some good movies showing in the next few weeks.  Kids are free, and adults are $2.50.  I think Mom and Dad and Jenny and Willis saw Madagascar with us one year during this.  Hopefully, we will catch one or two of these between now and the beginning of November (How can we pass up $5 for a movie in the theater??) I may have to convince everyone we can pack snacks in the diaper bag (no body really likes to do this, but, yes, I'm cheap when it comes to stuff like that).  Too bad Jenny's not around to go to movies with me.  I'll bet she'd do it without blinking. ;) 

Liam

Liam lost his first tooth today.

 Molly and Reagan and I spent a couple hours at the library for library story time.  

Reagan missed her nap today, and is probably about to take it now. 

I made some Halloween decorations today.  It's kind of goofy because we never seem to have visitors at our house these days, but we're (at least I) am enjoying them.  Maybe I'll take some pictures for everybody to see.

Reagan and the Gecko...

Reagan is quite enamored of the geckos in the boys' room.  She climbs the dresser drawers so that she can sit and watch them in their tanks.  She also calls any insects she sees "geckos."  There was a fly in the house this weekend.  Whenever she saw it, she would say, "Gecko!" Then when it flew away, she would hold up her hands and ask, "Go?"  (That's "Where did he go?")

When a cricket jumped into the house through the sliding glass door, Reagan was ecstatic about the "gecko," and quickly nabbed it.  When we made her put him outside, she was very distraught, calling, "Gecko," through the window.

Today, we could hear another renegade cricket in our living room.  When she heard it chirping, she looked up, and said, "Gecko!"  She then tracked it behind the couch.  I pulled the couch out a bit for her, but it got away.  A bit later, she had him.  I haven't been able to convince her to put it outside.  She cries and fusses.  She is carrying it around, looking lovingly at it, and showing it to us, telling us, "Gecko."

Kelly the Kitchen Kop: The Oiling of America - Sally Fallon talks about Saturated Fats

Here's some really interesting info on cholesterol.  Please read.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop: The Oiling of America - Sally Fallon talks about Saturated Fats

I'm still here...

I'm sitting here on hold with Blackboard Tech Support.  I talked to them yesterday too, about different issues.  About two-thirds of my students are also unable to log into our new great resource that came with the textbook creating lots of unhappiness.  Of course, as soon as I finally get to talk to someone, I click on the item I'm getting a database error with, and it works.  After about 6 tries.  Ugh.

So, I'm a bit frustrated right now, and I can't even fathom how my students are feeling at the moment.

The kids are doing well.  Molly has been demonstrating lately that she is a bit of a type-A personality with regard to some things.  She has organized our entertainment center and my pyrex shelf.  Unfortunately, I cannot seem to get her to organize her toys....

Reagan cracks us up daily with her infectious smile and love of dance.

Killian is working hard at school.  He seems to be enjoying it.  He is a very loving and sensitive kid.

Liam seems to be enjoying himself.  He is so sweet.  He always looks for me to give him a hug right as the bus arrives. 

The first week of school...

Well, here we are, Friday, September 5.  How did that happen?  We have faired the first week of school.  I didn't get as much done as I had hoped.  I can see that it is going to take some time for me to get settled into new routines.  

Killian loves his new teacher.  He is enjoying seeing kids he has not seen in awhile.  He tells me, though, that school is stressful.  On Wednesday night, when I was helping him with his homework, "Everyone keeps pushing me and pushing me to do the best that I can do, and it's not fair!"  That one made me laugh.

Liam is enjoying himself too, but he is a bit stressed too.  He has a wonderful teacher who is very helpful and has updated us daily on what's going on, which is nice, because getting any info about Liam's day from him is like pulling teeth.  Mrs. Hoogerland taught before being moved to 2nd grade, and she was Killian's teacher.  We like her a lot.  She is rather a liberal, and Ben was concerned a couple of years ago when Killian came home singing Hilary Clinton's praises, but we both agree that she is so good with the kids that we have to let that slide...

Molly and I had a great first day of homeschool preschool.  We had circle time.  We made a nature notebook and went for a walk.  We will be doing that again today.  The last two days have not gone as I had planned, but I think we'll get the hang of it soon.  On Wednesday, Molly spent most of the day with the neighbor girl, Kendra, first here, and then at her house.  

Interfering with our getting into the proper swing of things has been some canning.  I made peach jam on Tuesday afternoon, and some chunky peach preserves which had to be refrigerated overnight twice during the rest of the week, finishing them up yesterday just in time for Ben to come home early and make some pickles and pickled peppers.  The peppers were beautiful.  Sadly, one of the jars broke in the water bath.  It was kind of funny because we were all coughing because boiling vinegar and hot peppers is a bit hard on the respiratory tract.

Ben only did 1/2 a bushel of pickles and a couple jars of peppers.  He was going to get a bushel of pickles, but they didn't look that great.  It was really a good thing because 1/2 a bushel was really all that was doable by bedtime.

The new school year has started for me, too.  I am teaching a class I haven't taught in awhile--the 2nd freshman comp course (Advanced Composition).  Things aren't really rolling yet, but they will be soon.  I've been answering emails and trying to make sure everything is in order.  

I killed the broccoli and basil starts I had.  I started trying to get them out in the sun.  They weren't growing, despite vigilant watering and getting them in the sun.  I suppose I should have just put them in the ground.  Maybe that would have made the difference.  I dunno.  But, anyway, since they weren't in my sight several times a day, I neglected to water them.  And they fried.

Well, I'm off.  I have much to do.  I spend way too much time floundering in the morning because I have so much that I need to do that I struggle with where to start.  I need to just dive in!

Corn...

I should note, Ben bought a bushel of corn and put it up.  I did little more than shuck a few pieces (very few) and put the corn into bags after he had blanched it and removed it from the husks.  

I think I might have to have him get some more for us to eat on the cob this weekend.  It is amazing stuff.

Summer's end

So, here we are, the last week of summer vacation.  Killian and Liam are headed to 5th and 2nd grade at Meadow Ridge, respectively.   Today, I baked some pumpkin muffins for them to take to school for snack.  Also on my list to make: chocolate syrup (you know, some without high fructose corn syrup and nasty chemicals), so they can take chocolate milk with them in their lunches.  I am hoping they will take lunches from home, but they're not too excited about that.  We begged our parents to let us take our lunch to school.  Killian and Liam are quite fond of the school lunches.  Why, you may ask?  Aren't school lunches notoriously gross?  This  

is the first month's menu.  Cheese pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, walking tacos (that would be fritos with taco toppings poured on top), nachos, cheese breadsticks.  Yeah, that's why they want to eat school lunches.  

Seriously?  

I told Killian he could pick one day a week to eat school lunch.  He's not happy.  We still have to address this issue further....

I have convinced Molly that she needs to be homeschooled for pre-school.  It sounds downright silly, but I guess more kids are in preschool these days than are not.  I actually got a curriculum because I need a list telling me what to do.  If I could get a curriculum for my whole life, it might be good for me some days--just tell me step by step what to do. :0P 

What is it about 10 year old boys that they cannot play video games without yelling at the tops of their lungs...?

I ordered some new shoes last week for the kids.  We don't really do the new school clothes thing here.  I suppose that doesn't really become an issue until they're teens, particularly if they're boys (I hope).  But, both boys are ready for the next size in tennis shoes.  I may actually have to buy another pair for Killian for gym, but I think he has at least a few weeks if not a month or two in one pair.  We can sometimes pass shoes on to Liam, and we've had some really nice ones that have barely been worn by Killian, but his feet are much wider, so he often needs new ones.  Today, I also ordered long underwear for all of the kids and some good warm socks.  I wouldn't have ordered them right now, but I needed to get a new jacket for Killian, and they were a good deal.  I'm hoping we can keep the thermostat a little lower this winter.  It's not that we cannot afford heating, but why spend the money if you don't have to?  It's kind of like the whole A/C thing this summer.  It's supposed to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  You're not supposed to be able to wear shorts all year round. :)

In the meantime, I'm also delving into holiday planning.  Yes, I'm crazy.  These are my favorite sites for inspiration and that life-curriculum I mentioned ;)(sorry for the over-use of smileys):

Christmas: Simple and Beautiful | Magical Holiday Home

Organized Christmas

I spent some time looking at Christmas music on Amazon yesterday, and I found some cool CD's I think we need to add to our Christmas collection this year (we love the Christmas music).  One is a CD of antique music box music.  I also requested a couple of things from the library, so we can preview them and see if we actually want to purchase them.

I hope to start some fall decorating next week~Fall is my most favorite season.  I like the beginning of winter and the holidays, but I'm generally done with winter by mid-January.  Maybe new long johns will help.

Oh, and here's some lunch box inspiration.

Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

Oh!  And I made corncob jelly.  Is that not hilarious?  We bought a bushel of the most awesome sweet corn we have ever tasted and put some of it up.  Since we had the cobs, and I had recently read something about such a thing, I decided to give it a try.  I am not sure that the corn cobs actually impart much flavor, or if the main taste is Sure-Jel and sugar, but it's actually pretty good.  It will work on a sandwich.  

OK, I think I've typed enough for a while!

Oh, but a garden update.  We still have tomatoes trickling in.  I don't know if we're ever going to have enough at once to actually make anything.  Four of the snap peas I planted and replanted have come up, as have the spinach, lettuce, carrots, and radishes, and some of the radishes look ready to pull.  I am thinking of making potato salad.  I love radishes in potato salad.  My broccoli starts still look pretty sad.  I haven't put them in the ground yet.  Same of the basil....

Thrifting

So, yesterday, we met up with Ben for lunch at Red Robin.  Since we were in the general direction, I stopped by Salvation Army.  A few weeks ago, the last time we were in the area, I stopped at Goodwill (they are both within a couple of miles of one another).  At

Goodwill, I found two pairs of pants for Killian, a polo shirt for Killian, and a dress shirt for Killian.  Also 3 pairs of capris and a nightshirt for me and a long sleeved shirt for Molly.

After going there, I wondered why on earth I have not gone to any thrift stores in years.  I do believe I am going to make an effort to go at least once a month and/or when the kids or I need anything BEFORE we go shopping anywhere else.  Now, don't get the wrong idea--I don't spend a lot of money on the kids' clothes.  I frequent garage sales, swap clothes with Julie, buy stuff on extreme clearance or used online, and Ben's mom is always finding awesome little things for the girls (and sometimes the boys) on super clearance or at garage sales.  Oh, and don't forget the birthday and Christmas gifts that always come along from grandparents, aunties and unclies.

So, anyway, at the Salvation Army store, I found about 5 t-shirts for me (which I desperately needed), 2 sweaters, a long-sleeved t, and a skirt for me, a couple t-shirts for Killian, another pair of pants for Killian (still a bit long, but he will be wearing them soon, I'm sure), a Pikachu t-shirt for Liam, and two cute shirts for Molly.  Also, not necessary, but due to Molly's insistence, an Ariel mermaid pillow, a Barbie insulated lunch bag, and a doodlebear.  Oy.

Maybe "desperately needed" is not correct.  No, I did not desperately need them.  In fact, I did so not desperately need them that I have continuously put off buying anything for quite a long time.  However, having some nice t-shirts to replace the ones I've been wearing for the last few years is a real boost to me.  And, it would not have been if I spent a load of money on them. 

I also found a great-looking crib mattress to replace the one currently in the crib that is probably 20 years old and downright disgusting.  I had decided I would likely not replace it, due to the fact that we won't be using it much longer, but didn't realize I would find one at Salvation Army for 14.00.  I cleaned it with soap and Thieves' Oil and set it out in the sun when we got it home. 

So, perhaps I shouldn't  publish all of this.  Somehow there is a stigma attached to buying things used, I know.  But, consider this:  New things cost more than just money.  New mattresses off-gas yucky chemicals.  New clothes do too.  No one would know buy looking that what we bought was not bought new.  Some of it even still looks new.  New clothes are often made in less than ideal conditions for workers.  The money I paid for these is not going to supporters of cheap labor, questionable governments, massive worldwide shipping (and pollution).  Why use the world's resources (and mine) for something that already exists?  

Anyway, I'm quite pleased, and I can't believe I didn't go sooner.  I was never opposed to going, I just never did.  

Cyber Conference

So, today I attended an inservice for work on my home computer.  They used a live chatroom with voice and text capabilities.  While I listened in, I did the following:

Folded laundry

nursed Reagan

requested the new text for my class

How cool is that?  I have a couple more sessions to attend today and tomorrow.  Can I just say what a tremendous improvement this is on the traditional day-long inservice?  I haven't been to an inservice in years due to perpetually nursing a baby.  Not that I've missed them terribly, or anything.  But, it is nice to feel like I'm actually fulfilling work obligations.

:)

Chinese Gymnasts

So, this is bothering me.  Yeah, I know, the Chinese women (girls) gymnasts are not the corn-fed, drive-thru frequenting women of American gymnastics.  The genetics are different; the environment is different; things couldn't get much more different, likely.  

But there is no way all of those girls are 16.  Is there???  There is one, I am unsure of her age, who looks to be about 8.  She still has baby fat.  Ben said she looked like Molly's age, but I was guessing 8 or 9.  Crazy.

So, I just got around to Sarah's Question...

Without spending much time in thought (meaning: this is likely not anything poetic or earth-shattering), here is my response:

Sarah, I'm just now reading this. What do I want? Well, if I can get beyond the want for sleep ;0), I want my children to be happy and healthy, to feel at peace with themselves and their lives. I want to live in such a way that I feel no regret. I want for my children to be capable, strong adults who love themselves and others fully. We live in such a questionable time....I want to gain the knowledge and share with others what we need to be able to live, hopefully comfortably (though I'm not sure that the meaning of that word will always be what it is today...), come hell or high water, so to speak...How to achieve that? Well, that's another story, isn't it?

Flash Flood

Ugh....I emptied the filter on the washing machine last night and forgot to screw it back in.  So, this morning, I threw a load of sheets into the washer, walked away, and came back to a flooded laundry room.  :(

Other stuff...

So, Julie kindly pointed out to me that I haven't posted a blog since July 25, and Sarah asked if we'd sizzled away without our air.  And while I'm posting hyperlinks to other people's blogs, I should just go ahead and note that today is Jenny's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Girl!  Hopefully, you've already found our video message to you on Facebook!

Yeah, I've slacked off on the blogging, and no, we didn't sizzle away.  When things heated up last weekend, the air went back on.  I did continue hanging laundry last week, though, managing a whole 8 loads, including a load of towels which I first put in the dryer for about 15 minutes before hanging on the line (I heard this helps with the crunchy).  They weren't too bad, but I didn't have any non-dryered towels with which to compare.  I'm guessing that, like I've found with dipes, so long as they are generally alternated with line-drying and going into the dryer, they won't get horrible.  My other thought was, there is only a short window here during which line drying is actually feasible, so I think we can live with it for that time.  I have only put 2 loads out this week because of threat of rain (it actually only rained once for a short bit, but, anyway...).  I haven't done much laundry this week though, because I did a lot over the weekend. 

Tonight, the boys and Molly and Ben are out fishing again.  They are really enjoying it.  And I can't complain about a little (relatively) quiet time around here.

Oh, and more news!  On, I believe, the 25th of July, Molly and Craig Cypher welcomed baby boy Coleman!  He was 10 lbs. 2 oz. and born via c-section (so a good 10 days early, I think!).  A big, beautiful little boy!  

Also last week, I planted two little rows of carrots and radishes and some spinach and lettuce.  All of them are sprouting.  My baby broccoli in the window is looking rather spindly.  I'm hoping I will still be able to use it. It's starting on a second set of leaves, so I'm hoping it will start getting a little heartier and I can just plant it deeply.

We shall see....

I am doing lots of reading on gardening, etc. of late.  I want to talk to Ben about plans for here.  I don't know how long we will be here.  I want to do more planting, perhaps some dwarf fruit trees or something, but those would be rather a waste of time if we will not be here for a lot longer.  I know the thought would make Ben twitch, but I'd love to have a few chickens for eggs, even possibly to take in for processing(not going to touch that job!), but they are not allowed in this zone.  

Some of this comes from a question of the stability of our current way of life in this country.  There's lots of talk "out there" that would suggest that we need to learn to live differently.  I can't say though, that that's all there is to it, because, really, this is always how I have imagined I would live.  It seems the healthiest and most true way of life--to live within the seasons, eat food at its freshest, know where it comes from, what's in it, how it was processed.   Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't step off the grid unless by force, but I'd like to live in a way that left us able to live without whatever if we had to.  Yeah, I'm likely a nut, but there are nuttier folks out there! ;)  Even if things stay the way they are--the price of gas goes no higher, global warming is a myth (and I'm in no way convinced that it's not), and the dollar continues to carry on or even recover--I really believe that it can be nothing but a service to our children to learn that they don't have to rely upon the grocery store for food and that joy and happiness don't come from stuff (not that we don't enjoy stuff....).  Anyway--it's possible that rain that they keep saying is going to happen, and didn't predict today is on it's way, so I need to go get the laundry off the line.  Ben and the kids are headed back from the lake

Good, old-fashioned fun

OK, not old-fashioned, old-fashioned, but old-fashioned meaning the way we used to have fun.

Last fall, we uncovered a box sealed and labeled that had been through four moves with us.  Its contents were purchased shortly after we graduated from MSU for an afternoon of fun and packed up and moved with us as I headed to South Bend for grad school, we took full-time "real" jobs, had a baby, moved to Grand Rapids, had another baby, moved to our current home, and had two more babies.  I suppose we were distracted.  We moved on to other sorts of fun, forgetting about the box.  

Last October, we cleaned out our garage.  It was, really, the first REAL cleaning done since we moved in five years prior.  We threw out some of the original owners' trash stashed up in the rafters and around the garage.  We pulled out boxes we had not seen since we moved in and stashed them about the garage.  

It was kind of interesting,  much of the stuff was of our lives prior to children.  Stuff we've had no need for since our lives became child-centered.  Music, incense burners, books...and one box full of white cotton t-shirts wrapped in rubber bands and twine and three packs of Dylon cold-water dye (Indian red, yellow, and navy blue).  I'm pretty sure sometime between South Bend and Grand Rapids, I traded off another that was in the bag--green.  And, a size 6 one-piece outfit made from white sweatshirt material had been added to the box.  There was also a hand-cranked meat grinder in there, but, anyway....That was just something I'd picked up that I thought we might want someday, and it happened to fit in the box.  We opened it up, noting that we had wrapped marbles into the t-shirts.  I don't know whether we had heard of this technique, or just thought it up on our own and were intending to try it out, but some 10 years later, here was the unfinished project.  We set it on the shelf in the garage, open, noting that we should use this stuff soon.

So, a year later, we finally pulled it out.  I also pulled a few white t-shirts from the kids' drawers and a size 3T white one-piece sweatsuit blank from Reagan's stash.  Ben went to Ace Hardware and picked up a bag of rubber bands, and we tied up what wasn't already done.

So, the next day (Sunday) we did our dying.  As it turns out, after all is said and done, the results were, well, less than spectacular.  The kids were less than enthused except for a few brief minutes in the activity.  But, there are a few funky-looking nightshirts for the kids to wear for the next few years and a story to tell behind them.  I suspect we won't be doing it again until our kids are teens, and maybe not even then, depending on the fashion trends.  My favorite tiedie source (The Color Farm) needn't worry about losing me as a customer anytime soon.  Her stuff is art, anyway, so it's in a totally different league.

At least there's no longer an undone project sitting in our garage.  :)

Summer...

So, the last couple days we've turned off the air in our house.  It hasn't been as hot as usual, so we'll see how we do when it warms up later today, but it is cool at night.  We usually run our A/C pretty much full time, so this is a new thing for us.  I haven't discussed it with Ben, so I don't know his opinion.  But, something about having the house opened up, and wandering outside after dinner, when the house seems to be at its hottest as the setting sun blares into our front door.  Going to sleep without blankets.  Enjoying the breeze through the window or outside in the back yard.....It feels like....summer.  Is that stupid?  I think it has surfaced my childhood definition of what summer is or something.  I tend not to want to put the air on again, unless it gets unbearable outside.  Also motivating was our last electric bill...about 3 times the usual.  

Julie motivated me to actually start using my clothesline for drying clothes, and I have put about 4 loads up this week.  I would have done more, but it rained on Tuesday.  I will put more up today.

What's that smell?

As we were driving to the dentist for a small filling for Killian, Molly complained of a smell in the air.  "What's that smell?" she asked.  

"What does it smell like?"

"Dirty socks.....Yucky...REALLY yucky...tart....and...the smell of a factory that makes TOILETS!"

Balance?

In the interest of a bit of balance, in addition to making heart attack rolls, we've got some lovely little sprouts peeking up.  Crappy picture, but the sprouts in the egg carton are baby broccoli plants, and the little bitty plants in the pot

are baby basil plants.

Our tomatoes aren't looking so hot, but we actually have a few ripe grape tomatoes and got to eat some last night.  Actually, I ate them, not "we." ;)

We have ONE lovely pepper growing on our two pepper plants.  We never seem to have much luck with pepper plants.  I still haven't put any seeds in my little garden plot, but I'm thinking about snap peas, carrots, and the aforementioned broccoli.  If there's room, I might also plant  some lettuce or spinach.  Soon...

Pure Evil in 5 minutes a Day

I made these last night for desert from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day Cookbook that I keep raving about.  They were pretty stinking good, but not something we need to make on a regular basis for sure.  Ben said they caused him chest pains, LOL.

Mundane Ramblings...

For those wondering, Reagan, in fact, was not such the artist that she managed to cover herself so thoroughly.  That is all Molly's work. ;)

Ben has had to work late the last couple of nights.  He has a big quote that needs to go in.  He tried to bring his work laptop home and work on Tuesday night, but discovered he could not access the database he needed, so the last two nights, he's come home for dinner and then headed back to the office, not getting home until after midnight.  Yesterday morning, he had to be in Douglas at 6:00 am, so he had to leave the house at 5:00 am.  Poor guy.

Last night, I was going to make penne alfredo, but when I called Ben, he didn't sound enthused, and I knew the kids would not be.  Sadly, we decided on McDonalds.  After we ate, I decided that I wanted to go out and dig up some more space in our garden plot for a mid-late summer planting.  I think it was the sweet tea.  I rarely drink caffeine. So, I dug up a little spot, putting some of the sod in a couple bare patches in the lawn.  It looked like a decent size when I was digging it.  Molly and Reagan helped.  Killian kept coming out and asking when I was going to come and lay down in my room and watch TV with them (our M.O. when Ben's not home).  I told him they should come outside, but they weren't interested.   So, I dug a rectangle, or sort of a rectangle, about 2 X3 feet, I suppose.  I turned the soil in it after we peeled off all the grass and poured in a bunch of purlite I happened to have sitting there.  I need to get some other additions, but I had that on hand.  When I got done, the area looked tiny.    Darn it.  But, following  square-foot gardening guidelines, it should work well enough.  I will clear a bit of grass that connects the existing garden to the new area, and there should be plenty of room for some snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce.  Yum.  Hopefully, they will do well.  Our tomatoes don't look very good, though there are a couple of grape tomatoes that should be ready to pick today (Yay!).  After our romp in the dirt, Molly insisted on a couple of rounds of tag using grass roots to tag each other, so we ran around the yard a few times, and then Reagan and Molly were dumped in the tub.  Once I got them out, I jumped in the shower, something

about  which Reagan was not terribly happy.  It was late then, after ten.  We all cuddled (and poked and fussed) into bed and watched Ace of Cakes, which Killian has been asking to watch for days, and went to sleep.  

I harvested and dried some mint yesterday.  

I have some tiny little basil seedlings popping up in little pots on my kitchen windowsill, and I think that is what prompted my need to dig.  I'm going to try to track down an egg carton--I had a couple just recently, and I don't know if I tossed them or put them in the recycling bin--and start some broccoli seeds today.

I also got some house-cleaning done yesterday, though there is still much more to do.  

I added a new link to my websites list.  It is Casaubon's Book: Sharon Astyk's Ruminations on an Ambiguous Future.  It is rather interesting, and I've only read small portions of it so far.  It is slightly less doomsday-predicting than some, though it is still reminiscent of that thinking.  She presents practical reasons for conducting our lives in sustainable, prepared ways in addition to "the sky is falling" stuff.  And, being my father's daughter, I have a tendency to want to live sustainibly without reliance upon outside sources as much as possible anyway.  If that should be of assistance in living in the future, or if learning how to do things in order to live that way is of assistance to my children's well-being in their future, then all the better.  Thankfully, I have Ben to keep me in check.  Be assured, he won't let me step off the deep end any time soon.  

Anyway... Enough.

Sooo...

I'm officially obsessed with Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I took a picture of some of the bread and when I find my camera....I will post it.

In the meantime, Molly pulled out some art supplies today.  I let her go to town.  I was helping Liam with some math work when she told me that Reagan was painting herself.  Thinking that she was likely painting her hand or arm, I let it go for a few minutes as I continued with Liam.  Then I stepped into the kitchen to see a member of the Blue Man Group sitting on my kitchen table.

In case you were wondering, this pic was taken with my phone.  Reagan's a pretty good painter, don't you think?  She even got the back of her head.  There was glitter too.  Thankfully , it all washed off without any apparent discomfort to her eyes.  There's still a little glitter in her ear.  

Glorious!!

I had a nap this afternoon with wee Reagan at my side, er, more like attached to me, but anyway...a nap is a nap is a nap!

What I said about the pizza dough, yeah, I was wrong.  This IS the one!  The key is the stone (well, that along with this recipe, because I've made pizza on a stone before).  I got one today at Meijer.  It was $15, and I had a coupon for $5 off a $15 housewares purchase, so, there you go.  I got it and baked my GLORIOUS bread (I picked up the book at the library today, and I may have to buy it).  It is seriously the best bread I've ever baked, and the absolute easiest!  How great is that?   I then  baked up the pizzas that I had the parts to in the freezer.  Ben was going to grill steak, but I ate lunch late (after my  nap), and wasn't up for steak.  

Now, we're off to watch a movie (at home), and are waiting for a batch of brownies to finish baking in the oven.  Yeah, we heated up the house today, but it's been worth it. :) 

Three-Nine

Can you believe it?  Today, I am thirty-nine.  

In other birthday news, Reagan and Nora had half-birthdays yesterday!  Reagan is now officially 18 months, and Nora is 6 months!  Shout out to Nora!

This morning, Ben got up at about 6:00 am, went to the store, came home and did the enormous pile of dishes that I never got to yesterday, despite being home all day.  Something about keeping one eye closed all day makes the other one want to be closed too, LOL.  My eye is improving.  I am taking some homeopathy and drops.  I did not leave the dishes until my birthday so that Ben would feel obligated to do them.  But he did every last one of them AND put them away, and there were a lot.  Then he fixed me breakfast--a yummy egg bagel sandwich (an eggel, as the local bagel shop calls them).  He's a good man.  There were also some doughnuts and candles and a few gifts: A bunch of seed packets I had in an envelope upstairs packed nicely into an old tin lunchbox that I bought at a garage sale from Molly ;), a pair of earphones for my ipod (Ben bought an I-pod for me some time ago, and the earphones that came with it are not at all comfortable), and a $25 Itunes gift card, so I can get some tunes legitimately.  Don't tell Ben I would have been thrilled if all I had was breakfast, let alone all the dishes done too.  Dishes are, like, the bane of my existence.  I think I inherited that.

So, today Ben is going to show me how to work the I-pod, because I'm too lazy to figure it out on my own (not what he said, that's me talking).  And, we're going to hang out.  We haven't done that in awhile with all the goings on the last few weeks, and I have been very much looking forward to it.  

Say, did I mention how great Ben has been the last few weeks?  Despite being burdened constantly with back pain (which he doesn't like me or anyone else to talk about, BTW), he helped enormously with the kids when Julie and her crew were here--coming home from work and then getting us out to the park one evening and wading in the creek catching crawdads and other creatures (he did the wading, not Julie and I), and again, out to another park to do some pier fishing (he took care of the bait and casting and all that jazz), one night after fun in our back yard, washing ALL of the kids' feet in the tub, and taking two fishing trips with the boat by himself with a handful of kids.  Oh, and I shouldn't forget a couple of trips to Costco to stock our kitchen and restock the popcorn chicken that the kids devoured.  Then, he spent a great deal of time (which he was happy to do) preparing for Jeremy and Marlene's wedding ceremony, working every day these last weeks, and having packed evenings and weekends, and doing all the driving to Chicago and Wolcott.  He set up the tent before I even realized he was doing it, helped Dad with the outdoor shower construction, gave Molly a shower and put her into fresh pjs after a day of romping with kittens, and got the boys and Molly settled into the tent while I removed my contacts and got ready for bed.  Then, the next day, he took down the tent, rolled up all the sleeping bags and air mattresses, and packed up the van.  What the heck was I doing?

Anyway, as I said, he's a good man.  I'm lucky to have him.  I don't say it enough.  I love him dearly, and more every year.  Can you believe that this is the twenty-first birthday I have spent with him?!  We have now officially been together on this earth longer than we've been apart.  It's a wonderful life.