Sunday Expert

At church Sunday morning we sat behind one of the lectors. She was a young woman and she read the second reading. The second reading contained many references to God, saying His name often during the reading. Zoe was sitting quietly next to me watching and listening the woman read. At the end, the woman left the ambo and came back to sit down in the pew in front of us. At this point Zoe turned to me and asked me, "Do you know a lot about God?" I stuttered, "Yes, I guess I do." She then asked, "Why don't you go up there (pointing to the ambo) and talk, then?"

Fun Monday - Crush!

My assignment came from Jo beaufoix over at http://www.jobeaufoix.com/

It is this: I want to know about your first ‘celebrity’ crush. You know, the one you fancied from that band, or that film, or who read the news, or who won Gold at the Olympics.

I thought really hard about this, and either I wasn't crazy about that many celebs, or I'm blocking the embarrassing memories of my first crushes. So, the two that I could some up with are John Taylor from Duran Duran and Rick Springfield.


I drew a picture of Rick Springfield in art class in 6th grade when we had to do a portrait of someone in charcoal. I think I still have it in a box in the basement. I remember that I took my sister's record album cover to school to use for the portrait.


I know I got a big poster of John Taylor in seventh grade for my birthday. that went up on my bedroom door. I loved Duran Duran, and of course loved John. I was a bit of a follower at the time! The first picture is of John when I had a crush. This second one is of him now. He's still quite tasty!



I do not have a scanner and therefore cannot show you any photos of myself at the time. Sorry!

MMMMMuffins!

I love to bake. My kids love muffins. We have them often. I make homemade and muffins from a mix. I like them both, especially flavors that I have a hard time making from scratch (like almond poppy seed, yum!) So I decided to share my kids' favorite muffin recipe with you. Now, it's probably their favorite because it is almost like dessert. But, it's sooo good.

One thing I love about making muffins from scratch is knowing exactly what ingredients go into the food I'm feeding my family. No preservatives or agents designed to prevent settling/ caking/ foaming, etc. It also gives me the chance to healthy up a recipe. Don't get me wrong, these muffins, with one cup of sugar and a stick of butter, are not health food. But, with a few simple changes to the recipe, they can be better for you.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins (Healthier Version)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 medium carrot, finely shredded
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or line with paper cupcake liners 18 muffin cups.

2. Combine the flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Stir to combine.

3. Add the eggs, milk, melted butter and shredded carrot. Stir until just blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared muffin pans. Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; 15-18 minutes. Cool in pan for five minutes. Remove and cool completely.

Yield: 18 muffins

If you don't want the healthier version, substitute all purpose flour for the whole wheat flour and omit the carrot. I figure any way I can get extra fiber into my kids diet is worth it, even if it's just a little whole wheat flour in a chocolate muffin. The carrot was a last minute inspiration after realizing my kids love zucchini and carrot muffins when I make those. The key is using the finest shred option on your grater. The carrot shreds just melt right into the muffin and are not noticeable. My kids had no idea I had put a carrot in the batter.

Fallen Off The Face Of The Earth

Hello again! It's been a while since I've blogged. It happened for a number of reasons, none of them very good excuses or very important. Blogging doesn't come completely naturally for me. I read other people's blogs and so many say they kept multiple journals as kids and blogging's just a natural extension of that need to write. For me, I was a kid who liked the idea of journaling. I can't tell you how many notebooks I'd start writing in only to abandon it one to two weeks later. So, I had a little fall off the blogging wagon, so to speak. I am going to try and be faithful and get back to regular posting. This is my start.

Makes Me Smile

Today we went out to buy my youngest daughter shoes for Easter. We found cute white ballet flats and bought them and moved onto the next store. As I was checking out at the second store, Zoe asked me, "Why did we buy Easter shoes if today is St. Patrick's Day?"

Nothing gets past Zoe!

Fun Monday

Our host for this week is Nikki over at My Husband Calls Me Weird.

Our assignment: I don't know about you, but my family is great at creating strange words that only we know the meaning. Some were created when the kids were first learning to talk, others came about when our tongues were twisted and the word came out funny. Either way, the words stuck and we still use them in our daily conversations. What created words does your family use?! Please share the story behind the word if you remember. If you don't have a made up word then tell us about the unspoken way you communicate with someone. Do you and your significant other have a look that means "This party is boring, lets split" or do you have a look that your kids know means their butt is in serious trouble? Please share!! And a picture of the look would be very entertaining!

So here are my entries:

1. Shalilla Wipers - when my son was little he called anything vanilla "Shalilla", the wipers part is for wafers - therefore vanilla wafers

2. You Missed It! - okay, this really isn;t a made up word, but my family uses it all the time, with emphasis on the You and Missed. My middle daughter would often point things out while we were driving, and if we didn't see it, she would inevitably tell us, "YOu MISSED it!" We now use it for all the time when someone misses something or doesn't get something.

3. Misappear - Again, from my son. When things went missing, when a character wasn't on the TV screen, when Uncle Kevin does magic tricks, things misappear - meaning disappear

4. Passamasquawtee - this isn't one that I actually use, but my husband and his siblings use it. It means F*ck You. Their family is Irish, and they had learned the gaelic "Pog mo thoin" which means "kiss my ass." They couldn't remember it, though, and while trying to they came up wth this word. Now if one of them says "Pog mo thoin," the other responds, "Passamasquawtee."

5. I was over reading Mariposa's Fun Monday entry and it reminded me of one more word. When I was little I had an Uncle Ed. For some reason when I said his name it came out "Honky Ed." To this day he still greets me as "Honky Heather" and he's still my "Honky Ed."

And there you have it!

It Just Makes Me Laugh

I know I shouldn't find this funny, and I know it probably reflects poorly on my parenting, but Zoe did something today that just made me laugh.

Every Friday I babysit one of my friend's daughters, we'll call her M. She is three, exactly one year younger than Zoe. They get along well and play together a lot. This afternoon they were playing Barbie and M said, "Pretend her is going to sleep." When she got no response from Zoe, M repeated herself, "Pretend her is going to sleep," at least four or five times.

Zoe, who was busy trying to put feet on her sister's Bratz doll (don't judge!), finally says in an exasperated voice, "Okay, go already!"

Sounds a lot like me when I'm forced to play Barbie. Ooops!

Holy Birthday Cake, Batman!

My now four year old daughter wanted a Batman cake for her birthday. I have always made my kids cakes, as per their request, so Zoe's choice this year was no different. In fact, I was pretty excited about it. It's not often a little girl picks a superhero for her birthday theme, so after I was sure that she really wanted Batman decided to make my own invitations as well as the cake, of course.

My first thought was that I wanted the invitation to be as girly as possible, but to include Batman. After several failed attempts to find Batman stickers depicting the old Batman (the one I grew up with, or at least not the newer stylized "The Batman".) Unfortunately I had no luck with that, but found some neat "Tha Batman" confetti at my party store and decided to use that on her card. The results were a pink and white scalloped card with Batman in the middle. I was really happy with how they turned out.

After completing the invitations I focused on the cake. I had several ideas of how I might make the cake when I decided to search eBay. Sure enough, there was a great pan from 1977 of Batman complete with faceplate. I won the auction and eagerly awaited the pan's arrival. When it got here I knew I had made the right decision in buying it. It was in perfect condition, although the faceplate was faded somewhat.

Two days before the party I baked the cake. Zoe helped me mix and 30 minutes after putting the batter into the well greased and floured pan, it was done and ready to be unmolded. I flipped it over onto the foil covered cake board and it unmolded perfectly. As it cooled I whipped up another cake that I baked in two 8-inch round pans. Brendan and I had decided that since his brother's and sister's birthdays were so close to Zoe's that we should surprise them with a cake of their own. We decided to keep it in the Batman theme, so they would match Zoe's cake nicely.


I made lemon buttercream frosting for the two round cakes and frosted each one. I then rolled out my marshmallow fondant I had made the night before, white for Elizabeth's cake and yellow for Kevin's cake. The cakes covered flawlessly and were ready to be decorated. I had a bat cookie cutter for Halloween that worked perfectly for the bat symbol. I cut a pink fondant bat for the white cake and a black fondant bat for the yellow cake. After placing them I felt the white cake needed to be girlied up a bit, (and I wanted to try some new flower fondant cutters I had gotten) so I made some pink flowers and added them to Elizabeth's cake. I loved the results.


The next morning I made my vanilla buttercream frosting for Zoe's cake. I made more than the directions called for because I didn't want to run out midway into decorating. I began covering the cape in royal blue stars when the girls swarmed me like gnats. After about a zillion questions on what I was doing and when was I going to switch colors and am I going to put frosting on his face, I remembered why I usually decorate their cakes at night after they are all in bed. But, I soldiered on and finished decorating Batman around lunch time. I was so happy with how it turned out, but more importantly Zoe was excited for her cake. My son told me it looked just like in a book, a huge compliment from him. My husband also loved it. He had had a similar cake as a child, and is considering asking me to make this cake for him for his birthday this year.


I made the chest plate the night before out of fondant and loved how it looked on the cake. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with how the cakes turned out this year. I can't wait to find out what cake Zoe will want for her 5th birthday.

I've Been Awarded!

My friend, Alison, over at RDH Mom, has awarded me the "You Make Me Smile" award, my first ever award! Thanks Alison! I have recently gotten to know Alison through her blog and think you may enjoy reading what she has to say. Her adoption Journey series are especially compelling.

Thanks Alison! Now who to pass this on to?

I'd like to give it to:

Nikki
Brendan

Happy 4th Birthday, Zoe!

It was four years ago that I had you, my third child, my second daughter, my baby. You have always been such a good little girl, a happy and cheerful baby, a sweet child. Your curly hair gets compliments daily, often from strangers at the grocery store. Your good natured humor leaves you with a smile on your face most of the time, and with a frown for only moments. You see the bright side of things and are eager to help whenever possible. You are loving, smart, and unbelievably adorable. I love you. Happy Birthday.

Fun Monday

Our task was to choose five memorable movie lines and tell who we would say them to today. IT Guy is our host today, so head over there and check out other Fun Monday Movie Lines!

I had a little bit of a hard time picking all of my lines. While I enjoy movies, they have never played a large part in my life. My husband and his siblings recite movie lines all the time, the most my brothers and sisters and I ever did was sing the Heat Miser and Cold Miser songs from "The Year Without A Santa Claus." But, after I sat down to think of my favorite movies I found five memorable lines, though I'm not sure I could use them all in my real life. So here goes . . .

1. "Are you crazy? A man in a really nice camper wants to put our song on the radio! Gimme a pen, I'm signin'! You're signin'! We're all signin'!" - Lenny to his bandmates in "That Thing You Do"

I really don't know who I would say this to, but it makes me smile whenever I think of it.

2. "Ahh, home crap home!" - Walter in "Money Pit"

I'd definitely say this to my husband (maybe I did!) when we were selling our second home and we had to fix a whole bunch of stuff before hte new owners moved in. We had a contractor who wouldn't show up, would leave gaping holes where doors used to be, we had to have a radon removal sevice installed and things like garage door springs were breaking literally weeks before we had to move out. We couldn't get out of that house fast enough.

3. "I believe one should fight for what one believes. Provided one is absolutely sure one is absolutely right." - Mark Thackeray in "To Sir, With Love"

I would say this to anyone who is passionate about something, probably my friend Marie, who is doing amazing work in the pro-life movement.

4. "There's children throwing snowballs / instead of throwing heads / they're busy building toys / and absolutely no one's dead!" - Jack Skellington in "A Nightmare Before Christmas"

I'd probably say this to my husband every night he walks in the door (providing the no one's dead part was true!).

5. "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." - Maria in "The Sound Of Music"

I would say this to my friend Heather who is experiencing difficulties with her sister-in-law. I would say this to anyone who needs a boost and is feeling down or disappointed.

Hope you enjoyed my movie quotes. I know it was fun to think about my favorite movies and come up with these memorable lines. Maybe I'll try to sneak one into my conversations this week.

The Hard Realities Of Growing Up

I have been busy all week preparing for Zoe's 4th birthday party this weekend. It is just going to be family, but I still have a lot of work as I am preparing brunch and three cakes for about 15 people and need to get the house clean and the food made.

I still can't quite believe she's going to be four years old. For over a year now, she has been using the potty (no more diapers, here!), sleeping in a big girl bed, and not wearing bibs. It's been quite a transition for both of us.

After three kids, Brendan and I have been methodically getting rid of most of our baby stuff. Yesterday that included selling Zoe's crib. Because she and Emma were so close in age (19 months apart), we had two cribs. Emma used the one we bought Ian when he was born, and Zoe used a hand-me-down crib from my father-in-law. We decided to keep the crib we bought, for our future grandbabies, but the other one we no longer needed. After over a year of storage in the basement, we finally took some pictures of it and put it up on Craigslist to sell. Within a day we had a few takers. Brendan arranged for a "showing" and the woman who came, a soon to be Grandma, bought the crib.

We were pleased with how things turned out. Zoe was not. Brendan had brought the crib upstairs so the woman could easily look at it. Zoe asked us why her crib was upstairs. We told her we were going to sell it because she didn't need it anymore. This brought tears to her eyes and she said she didn't want to sleep in her big girl bed anymore, that she wantd to sleep in her crib. We explained that she was too big for her crib now. This only led Zoe to exclaim that she wished she were still a baby so that she could sleep in her crib again. It was so pitiful and sweet at the same time.

The kids went to bed and about 15 minutes later our doorbell rang. The buyer came in and looked at the crib. I was upstairs in the office trying to make an Easter card when Zoe tearfully came in asking if the lady downstairs had bought the crib. I said she had, and Zoe burst into tears. I took her into the hallway where her dad was helping the woman take the crib to her car. Zoe watched sadly as the crib left. She cried genuine tears of sorrow for the loss of her crib. She was miserable and my heart ached for her. When I layed her back down to bed, she said she would think about sleeping in her crib until she died (she's a bit melodramatic!).

After I went back to my cardmaking I couldn't help but think how funny and interesting growing up is. Here we are, getting ready to celebrate her 4th birthday with a Batman cake and Tinkerbell plates, preparing her for preschool next year, truly one of the first major signs that a kid is growing up, and she is mourning her crib, her time of being a baby. She is getting older, and there is nothing she or I can do about it. I guess that is difficult to deal with.

I Stand Corrected

When my sister, Leanne, and I were kids we ate a lot of Cheerios. My mom did not buy sugary cereals, so we usually had Cheerios, Corn Flakes and Grape Nuts in the house. We both hated Grape Nuts, and Corn Flakes were fine, but Cheerios was definitely our cereal of choice. (We also did not get a hot breakfast, it was cereal, that's it.)

My two brothers on the other hand were big Grape Nuts eaters. Leanne and I not only thought they sounded disgusting, looked disgusting and tasted disgusting, but that they also emitted a horrible smell when my brothers ate them. There was nothing anyone could do to get us to eat Grape Nuts.

Our feelings were echoed by my brothers when it came to eating Cheerios. Never would a Cheerio enter their bowls. They also complained regularly that Cheerios stunk. They rarely missed an opportunity to tell either myself or Leanne that our bowl of cereal smelled terrible and to move away from them.

Well, fast forward 25 years and while there still are no Grape Nuts to be found in my household, my two daughters (though funnily enough, not my son) are big fans of Honey Nut Cheerios. My son even complains from time to time that his sister's cereal stinks. I just waved it off and figured it was a boy/ girl thing.

Until today. Zoe sits behind me in the car and today was eating Honey Nut Cheerios dry. As we were heading to school, the smell of Honey Nut Cheerios wafted forward towards my seat. It was not a nice smell. I might even dare to say that it stunk.

And now I'm forced to do something most little sisters would never do. I have to admit my brothers were right, Cheerios do stink.

A Night Out!

I had the most amazing evening yesterday. Three days ago my father-in-law calls and tells us he has two tickets to my brother-in-law's play for Thursday night. I thought, "Great, but will we be able to get a babysitter?" And my dear husband called his mom and voila, we were going out to see a play on Thursday night!

We went to the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oakbrook for "Jeeves Intervenes," a Jeff recommended comedy. The theater is an intimate affair, seating only 52 audience members. The show itself had only six characters, and that was all it needed. As I sat watching the show, I realized how much good quality theater is out there for the taking, if only one wants to find it. The small venue was inviting and allowed for a truly up close and personal look at the actors as they played their parts.

At intermission we were discussing how it felt as though the audience was in the room with all the actors (the entire play takes place in one sitting room), like we were on a couch on the other side of the room. It's not something you can experience at the big productions. I have enjoyed many high quality large productions of plays, but this was really enjoyable in a different way. There weren't any amazing set changes, the costumes were simple and suited the story, and the story is fast paced, perfect for a smaller audience. The dialogue was witty, funny and sharp.


When it has been a long time since I've seen a show I forget how much I love live theater. I grew up going to shows like "Annie", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Oklahoma", and "Starlight Express", to name a few that my parents took my brothers and sister and I to as kids. Since being married, my husband and I have continued to go to shows when the budget permits, but it's been awhile. Last night reminded me again how important and fun it is that we keep going to live theater. It's something I want my kids to experience, too.

All in all, a wonderful night out, even if we did have to eat McDonald's in the car on the way.

By the way, my brother-in-law is the one on the left in the picture.

Wisdom From My Three Year Old

While watching a Superfriends episode from the 80's, my daughter noticed Firestorm's anger and sadness over Superman's apparent death. She said to me, "Mommy, he's always mad. That's why his smile is upside down."

Different Languages

I don't think I speak five year old girl very well.

For example: This morning I said, "Time to put shoes on." Meaning, put your shoes on it's time to go to school.

My five year old daughter must have heard something like, "Go ahead. Go get your doll, put a new outfit on her, then bug your little sister for two minutes. After you do all that, then it would be a good time to put your shoes on so we can get to school on time."

I was a five year old girl once, so I'm not sure how I lost the ability to speak her language clearly, but I obviously have.

Fun Monday

Mariposa is hosting this week.

Our task is as follows:
(1) Please share to us how the NAME of your BLOG was made? I can't wait to hear interesting funny stories!

(2) Please share to us (in words or photo, though a combination of both will be a bonus!) your favorite/ most common dish!

1. I named my blog Heather's Recipes for very boring reasons. My husband had been blogging for several years, and I decided I wanted to give it a try. I thought that I'd post a recipe weekly, and other musings as I saw them. I figured the recipe would help me post regularly. It did at first, but then I just posted recipes very sporadically. ANYWAYS, I picked The title for my blog because Heather is my first name and I like to share recipes!

2. I do not have a picture of my best dish, but will share the recipe with you. I had a hard time picking, so I asked my husband, and he mentioned my Golden Delicious Apple Tart, my Sweet Potato Casserole, and my Country Chicken Kiev. I was thinking about my Baked Ziti, but in the end I realized that the Country Chicken Kiev is probably one of my best dishes, one I'm proud to serve to company and make for special occasions.

So, here's my recipe:

Country Chicken Kiev

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. salt
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup cooking wine
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried parsley)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, garlic salt and salt. Dip chicken in butter, then roll in crumb mixture to coat. Place in ungreased 13 in. x 9 in. pan. Add wine, green onions and parsley to remaining butter. Pour over chicken. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Hope you enjoy it!

The Difference Between Men And Women

I was watching the Oscars tonight with my husband and Cameron Diaz came on to present some award. As I watched her talk I couldn't help but noticed how pronounced her cheeks were. I just kept seeing cheeks the entire time she talked. So I said to Brendan, "Her cheeks are SO defined."

And he says, "I was just thinking that her arms are so defined."

So, I rip my eyes away from Cameron's cheeks long enough to realize that to see her defined arms involves moving my head down to her chest area, away from her head area. Of course he denies any inference that the reason he was looking at her arms was because he was looking at her breasts.

I'm not sure I believe him.

How Many Socks Can One Man Have?

This is a question that must be asked! How did my husband acquire 19 pairs of navy blue or black socks? How long has it been since I've done laundry that all 19 pairs are folded and sitting on my bed waiting to be put away? And for goodness sake, does my husband even have socks on his feet today? (And if so, what color are they?)

Thank you. I just needed to get that off my chest.

Zoe Cooks Again

Yesterday Zoe pulled out her Strawberry Shortcake Cookbook again and pored over the pages of all the recipes she might be able to make. After looking through it on her own, she brought it over to me and we talked about some of the recipes. She really wanted to bake again, so we decided on a Blueberry Pound Cake recipe. While she went to speech yesterday, I picked up some fresh blueberries and flour and when she came home we set to work on her recipe.


She measured, mixed, and poured ingredients until the batter was ready to pour into the pan. Together we brought the pan to the oven and I popped it inside. After cleaning up a little and some Dragon Tales for Zoe, the cake was still not ready. The little chef needed a nap, and I kept my eye on the cake. It came out beautifully and tonight we will be enjoying this cake for dessert with a little vanilla ice cream.

Watch the video to hear Zoe say the name of her creation.

We Are Officially A "Webkinz" Family

The Webkinz craze has been going strong for over a year now, from what I understand. I have neighbors and friends and brothers and sisters whose kids all have Webkinz. They told me all about them and how the kids could go on the computer and take care of their Webkinz. I even had a friend log onto her computer while I was visiting and show me how her kids played on Webkinz. It looked cute, but upon hearing how the membership is good only for one year, whereupon the end of that one year you must either pay to continue using the website or buy another Webkinz, I decided I wasn't that interested. I figured my kids could jump onto the next fad.

Yeah, I know, it was (and is) the hot toy right now, but my kids weren't asking about it, at all. I figured if they weren't asking about it, I certainly didn't need to start it with them.

At Christmastime, when some of my kids' aunts and uncles called for suggestions and asked about Webkinz, I explained that my kids didn't have any yet and weren't asking for any. I said they would probably enjoy it, but it wasn't something they had requested. My one sister-in-law even said to me, "Well, if they aren't asking, I'm not going to be the one to start it!"

I thought we'd made it through the holidys safely (no Webkinz) when on December 29 my brother, Emma's godfather, presented her with a pink poodle Webkinz. Emma was excited because she had heard of them, but I don't think she knew what she could do with them. So when we came home from Ohio we logged her onto Webkinz and she was hooked. Before Webkinz, she played the computer very sporadically. Since Webkinz, she and her brother compete for time on the computer after school.

Then Ian wached Emma play with her pink poodle at Webkinz, and decided he might enjoy having one of his own. So after adding up the dollars and coins in his bank, he declared he wanted to buy himself a Webkinz. So on Superbowl Sunday (I think) he went and picked out a tree frog. He payed for it and brought it home. He couldn't log on that day due to a computer restriction, but on Monday after school he wasted no time getting online to register his tree frog. He played quite regularly initially, but eventually missed his regular websites and now plays at Webkinz a few times a week. Emma still plays almost everyday.

And soon, Zoe will be getting one for her birthday from her Aunt in Ohio. I guess Webkinz is here to stay for awhile.

Old Times

I was inspired by Heather over at Dooce to look through some old videos of the kids. Unfortunately, our camera was small and couldn't handle much video and we didn't really know what we'd ever do with the digital video, so there is not a lot. (Pictures - millions, videos - almost zilch) (Something I'm sure they'll take us to task over as they get older.)

But here are two blasts from the past. The first one is Emma apparently helping with the laundry. This is from May of 2003, so Emma is not quite 9 months old.


The next one is Ian doing what he does best, jumping around, acting silly and kicking invisible bad guys. This one's from November of 2003, making Ian a little over 4 years old. If you look carefully in the mirror you can see Brendan taking the video and Emma watching him.

Valentine Dessert Preview

Here's a little sneak peak at the dessert I made for my family for Valentine's Day. It's called Heart Brownie Cupcakes. They were very easy to make and came out so cute. You can find the recipe here.

Cover Songs

9 FM (92.5, 92.7, and 99.9 in the Chicago area) is playing all cover songs today, for an "Under the Covers with 9FM" for Valentine's Day. I've listened for about 40 minutes and I'm absolutely loving it. Some of the songs I've heard this morning are "Venus" by Bananarama (c'mon, you know you like it!), "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" by Three Dog Night, "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz, "Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau (I LOOOOOVE THIS SONG!), "I'm a Believer" by Smash Mouth, and "Kiss" by Tom Jones (an amazing version of this song!). It's a lot of fun, so if you get a chance take a listen today.

On a side note, my kids seemed to be embellishing on a cover song of their own and have been singing it nonstop lately, especially my three year old. It is from the popular "Jingle Bells Batman Smells" song, however they have their own spin on the lyrics.

Their version goes something like this:

Jingle Bells. Batman Smells.
Robin laid a gun.
He shot his butt in a Pizza Hut in 1941.

Somehow I like the original a lot better.

Snow Ice Cream

I have had a request to post my Snow Ice Cream recipe by one of my readers. And since I have so few readers, I wouldn't want to do anything to disappoint them. So, here is my snow ice cream recipe.

Well, actually it is going to be a description because I don't really follow a recipe when I make this.

Snow Ice Cream

Fill a big bowl with snow. (Clean snow, please!)
Add half and half or whipping cream and stir until the texture of melted mushy ice cream. (I add a little at a time, it's always easy to add more, but not easy to remove it if you add too much.)
Add sugar to taste, probably between 1/2 cup and 1 cup.
Add about a capful of vanilla extract.
Mix, taste, and add more half and half or sugar as needed.
Top with chocolate chips or sprinkles if desired.

The original recipe I used was here. This just uses milk, and if you don't have whole milk it won't taste very good, in my opinion. It also uses a bit too much vanilla. I love the taste with half and half, very creamy. I tried making it with evaporated milk but did not like it at all. Someone suggested using sweetened condensed milk, which I've never tried, but sounds promising. You probably wouldn't need to use very much sugar if making it with the condensed milk.

Anyways, give it a try on your next snowy day. Your kids will love it.

Zoe Says Her Z's

Zoe started speech this school year. She goes twice a week for an hour at a time with four other kids. She loves her teacher completely, and therefore loves going to speech every week. They focus on a letter sound each week, and we practice words at home every day. She has improved tremendously and our ability to understand her is so much better than when she started.

This weeks sound was Z. A special one for a girl whose name starts with Z. Her teacher made a big point out of letting Zoe and all the kids know that this sound was a special one because of Zoe's name starting with it.

Up until this point, Zoe has never said a Z sound. I prompted, modelled, and repeated it over and over for her to no avail. I decided not to worry about it assuming the sound would come when she was ready. That time was this week, Tuesday.

Zoe came home from speech able to say her name beautifully. Up to this point she has always said her name as "O E" Saying the sounds of the O and E but omitting the Z sound. I have always thought it was endearing and embraced it knowing someday it would end. In fact just this past spring my sister riled Zoe up by pronouncing her name wrong. Leanne would ask Zoe, "What's your name?" And Zoe would reply, "OE" To which my sister would say, "OE. Your name's OE?" Zoe would then place her hands on her hip and indignantly say, "No, it's not OE, it's OE!" It was just about the cutest thing I've ever witnessed.

So this week, Zoe has said her name starting with a Z sound. I am really proud of her. She doesn't always do it, but that will come. Just as Emma no longer calls her brother Ina and Zoe doesn't call him Eeee Eeee anymore, Zoe will probably stop calling herself OE within the span of this year. I am happy to see it, but I know I will miss my little OE, too.

This One's For My Husband

Stumbled across this blog of a man named Johnny Castuciano. His illustrations blew me away. I came across this particular one and knew I had to post it for my Batman loving husband to see. So, this one's for you, Brendan!

Super Bowl Wings

On Sunday we prepared for the upcoming Super Bowl viewing by preparing lots of good food to munch on during the game. The kids look forward to the Super Bowl because we essentially eat junk food for dinner and get to sit in front of the TV while eating, a true rarity in our home. Brendan and I look forward to the Super Bowl because we get to eat all manner of yummy foods that we normally don't indulge in. Oh, and of course, we like watching the game.

This year's game was excellent. Exciting all the way through and the team I was pulling for won. I didn't get to see a lot of the first half because I was busy putting together our culinary delicacies, but what I watched was fun and I knew I'd get to watch more of the second half.

The most exciting part of the game for me was my hot wings that I made for the very first time. I followed Pioneer Woman's recipe for wings and was thrilled and amazed with the results. The wings looked and tasted just like you get at a restaurant. And since Brendan and I rarely eat out anymore, especially at a wing joint, this was a great discovery. Right here at home, I could make our very own wings - and they're awesome. My only regret is that I got rid of that Fry Daddy I received as a shower gift 12 1/2 years ago. It would be so handy now that I can make good fried food.

Sledding Saturday

Saturday was a busy one for us. Okay, it was moderately busy for me, but my husband did a lot of work and was very productive. I went to the grocery store (by myself!, it's Saturday remember) while Brendan stayed home and began the monumental task of helping Ian clean out his room. They went through almost all of his toys and books and got rid of some stuff and agreed on which items should go downstairs to the basement. Then Brendan moved Ian's train table down to the basement which immediately made my eight year old son's room look like a big boy's room. Brendan put together a desk and a new bookshelf and Ian's room was officially transformed from little boy's room to big kid's room. It looks great though I have to admit there were (and are) a few wistful pangs in my heart as I looked around at his new room.

After all this is where the sledding comes in. The whole family suited up to go out to the sledding hill by our old house. The girls have never been sledding, so there was a lot of giddy excitement as well as nervous curiosity. I filled a thermos with hot chocolate, grabbed some chocolate chip cookies and pretzel rods, and added an extra pair of gloves for each kid to a canvas bag while Brendan loaded the van with the only two sleds we own, a pink one I bought for a dollar at a garage sale and a Little Tikes orange kiddie sled designed mainly to pull toddlers around in the snow.

We took a quick drive out to the sledding hill, parked, and unloaded all three kids and both sleds from the van. The kids watched all the other families flying down the hill and marched a little quicker over the snow to get to the hill. We trudged up and Ian immediately took the first ride down. I suggested that Zoe try riding down in the little sled and she happily agreed. I ran down the hill in case she wiped out or otherwise needed me, but she did amazing! It was a thrill to watch her giggle with glee as she raced down the hill. As soon as she stopped at the bottom it was, "Again! Again!" So I pulled the sled up for her and she flew down the hill over and over again until it was time to go home. She only stopped for some hot chocolate and a pretzel rod. Ian and Emma enjoyed the sledding as well, but clearly didn't want to have to take turns. I made it worse when I insisted on going down the hill once by myself. After all, it's been many years since I went sledding and wanted to get in at least one run by myself. Brendan and I each got in a few runs with the kids before it was time to go.

It was definitely a lot of fun. I think Emma summed it up best. "Can we do this again next winter?"

Psssssst. I've Got A Secret

Hi. I've got a secret. I went to the library today and picked up a book I put on reserve last week. I've started reading it already. I'm enjoying it, even though it is not the best written book I've ever read. I've been wanting to read this book for a while, since I saw it advertised several months ago. But, I didn't want to buy it, and I didn't really want anyone to know I wanted to read it. Then it hit me. The library. I can get it for free and read it and enjoy it. So I did get it, today.

The book? It's called "Jonathan's Story" and its about some characters from a soap opera I've watched on and off since 7th grade. I starting watching Guiding Light back in 1985, and have followed it loosely ever since. I don't watch it in it's entirety ever, because it just doesn't fit into my shcedule. But, I watch enough bits and pieces to know whats happening, and I watched enough to see this book advertised at the end of the episodes.

At first I thought, "Who would want that?" And, "Who would spend money on that?" But then it started to grow on me. I wanted it. Me.

But here's my problem. My husband. He reads voraciously. He reads authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Michael Chabon. I once bought him a Norman Mailer book for a present. I think if he sees me reading this book I am going to get a look of incredulity from him. I think he will shake his head and smirk. I don't know if I can take that, but I want to read my book.

I've got it!! If I read it instead of watching one of my reality shows I might be able to redeem myself. Now, which one to get rid of? That's a tough one.

What To Do On A Snow Day

My kids had a snow day off from school on Friday and we took full advantage of it. After everyone was informed of the no school knowledge (my husband went out to shovel the driveway without informing my son, so as soon as I got downstairs I was met with begging to turn the TV on to check the school closings), we settled down into relaxing and not changing out of our pajamas for a few hours. By mid-morning, the girls and I were looking for something fun to do, so we made chocolate chip cookies. I used to use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag until I found this recipe, and now this is the only way I make cookies. The cookies turn out thick and delicious and full of chocolate chips. Anyways, if you are looking for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe, look no further.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla. Mix. Add flour, oatmeal and baking soda to creamed mixture. Mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield:4-5 dozen

As the girls and I were making cookies, Ian went outside to play with two of the neighbor boys in the snow. They stayed out until their socks were wet and then asked to come inside to our house. After removing all their snow gear, they ran upstairs to Ian's room to play. After about ten minutes the girls just could not resist checking on the boys. I learned that Emma already has a great grasp on what 7 and 8 year old boys like. She knew she couldn't go up empty handed to see the boys, or she would probably be met with a loud "Get out" from her brother. So she stood outside Ian's door with her little sister for support. Then she knocked loudly and asked, "Who wants to see a dog poop?" Sure enough, the door opened and the neighbor boys looked out long enough to see Emma demonstrate how Tanner the Barbie dog poops when you lift up it's tail.

Finally, after the neighbors went home I whipped up a batch of snow ice cream. This has fast become a winter tradition when I discovered a recipe for it about three years ago. Now as soon as snowflakes start falling each winter I am met with the question, "When can we make snow ice cream?"


It was definitely a memorable snow day, the kind I like best.

P.S. I apologize for including a picture of a pooping toy dog with my recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

Snow Days

If you live in the Chicago area, you are probably at home with your kids for the first snow day of the school year. If you don't know about this website, you should. It is the WGN Radio site that lists all closings and delays. It's where I went first thing this morning (at 5:30 AM) to check and see if my kids' school was closed. With more than 1000 closings today, it's much faster than waiting for the crawl across the bottom of the TV screen.

Sibling Rivalry

I have three kids. I expect a little rivalry, one-upmanship, jealousy. However this morning I dealt with sibling jealousy as I'd never imagined I would.

Emma woke up at 4:30AM with a fever and complaining of a stomach ache. She was up until 6:15AM, when she fell back asleep on the couch. At 6:30AM, her big brother Ian ambles downstairs. When Emma wakes up at 6:40 he tells her she has to come eat breakfast. Emma comes into the kitchen informing her brother that she is not going to school today because she is sick. Instead of compassion from her brother she is met with idignation and anger. "But it's a uniform day!!" Ian protests. "She's missed more days of school than me. It's not fair!!!"

I explained that Emma has a fever and was feeling like she was going to throw up. This does not deter Ian. "Well, I felt like I was going to throw up last night. After you made me eat that meatball, I felt sick. Meatballs taste gross."

His last ditch effort came as a plea. "Can you make me something to eat that will make me sick next week?"

I imagined a lot of different situations I would deal with when I embarked on this journey of parenthood. Never once did I imagine this particular scenario.

I Know How You Feel, Elly!

Today's "For Better or For Worse" by Lynn Johnston sums up what so many stay at home moms deal with. Luckily, my husband is not like this, but I have fielded this question from other women. Elly's reaction is pretty much like I felt everytime I got that question.


If you don't have kids or do have kids but work, don't ever ask a SAHM this question, especially if she's a new mom.

Why We Can't Have Anything Nice, Part 2

Back in August I explained how my kids pulled the door off of our entertainment center. Luckily, my handy husband was able to glue it back together and today it looks no worse for the wear. Fast forward to this morning. I am brushing my teeth when my youngest comes in and explains that she didn't do it, but that she was trying to throw the towel up and it broke. OK, something broke, not a new occurrence at my house. Then I get worried. She was trying to throw it up, but it broke. That's what she said. What could she be trying to throw up to put on something. Then it occurs to me. The towel bar in the kids bathroom.

I rinse off my toothbrush and head to the kids' bathroom. There is my middle daughter preparing to brush her teeth like nothing has happened. The only problem is that behind her is the towel bar hanging precariously out of the wall on one end, with towels still half attached to the bar. I calmly ask what happened. Emma explains that she was just throwing the towel up to put it on the rack when it all came crashing down. Riiiight. I again, calmly ask if maybe she grabbed the towel rod. She said she did.

I clean up what I can and know that someone's going to have some explaining to do tonight when my husband gets home. The worst part is that we weren't going to paint the kids bathroom because the color on the walls when we moved in miraculously matched well with the shower curtain and towels I had bought before we moved in. Now, Brendan's going to have to patch the walls with some spackle, re-anchor the screws for the towel bar, and reset it all. That's going to need a little paint touch up, I think. The second worst part is that my poor husband has to live with this not only from the kids, but from me, too. In the past four months I have broken the passenger side mirror on our van, broken off the plastic piece that covers the flash on our digital camera, broken a snowman mug, and almost broke our garbage disposal. Like mother, like daughter I guess.

Fun Stamps

I was at the post office yesterday buying stamps to mail some letters to some friends as well as some bills. I bought some pretty flower stamps for the cards to my two friends and asked for a book of Forever stamps for the bills. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Marvel Super Hero stamps and impulsively asked the teller to throw a book of those into my order as well. I hadn't really looked at them, but having two comic book lovers in my house, I thought they'd be fun. And they are fun, but they suck, too.

See, my husband is a DC comics fan. His favorite character is Batman, but he reads a wide variety of comic titles. Because of his interest in comics, I have learned a lot about superheroes that prior to marrying him I knew very little about. I have used this knowledge to impress mostly fourth graders who were my students when I used to be a teacher in my former life. I used comic books to teach a whole lesson on the proper use of quotation marks. I spent an afternoon (okay, 15 minutes) discussing who would win in a showdown between Batman and Superman. I even impressed a few of the more well read kids with my knowledge of the names of the three Robins. But through all this I learned that the main difference between a DC hero and a Marvel hero was that Marvel relied heavily on mutants, while DC developed their characters from many varied backgrounds.

So why do I think the Marvel stamps suck? They put two female characters on the sheet, neither of them big stars. They're just there because if they put all men someone would bitch and moan that they didn't use any female characters. The first character is Spider Woman. Spider Woman? Who has ever heard of her besides comic book geeks? I mean seriously, no one knows Spider Woman. The other character was Elektra, and I don't think anyone had heard of her until Jennifer Garner played her in the "Daredevil" movie. DC has Wonder Woman, who clearly stands on her own as a well known superhero and as someone I'd want to see on a postage stamp. On the DC stamps they also used Supergirl, who I know wouldn't exist without Superman, but again, at least people know her. They didn't use but could have also made a Bat Girl stamp, also a better known character than either Spider Woman or Elektra.

Then lets look at the other players on the stamps. Most are fairly big names, well known guys until my eyes fell upon The Sub-Mariner. Who? This guy is a big super hero and deserves a stamp? Really? There was not one other Marvel hero they could have picked that someone who is not a comic geek would know? In this stamp contest DC wins hands down, and not just because my husband has a framed set of the DC heroes stamps over his dresser.

Cupcakes and 1/2 Birthdays

Ian's half birthday is tomorrow, so I made cupcakes to send into his class to celebrate. He requested my Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream frosting, a real favorite at my house.

Last year I made him cupcakes frosted to look like baseballs and basketballs. This year he didn't ask for anything specific for decorations, so I decided to try and make lego bricks out of marshmallow fondant for the tops of the cupcakes. Ian loves legos, and it seemed like a "cool" third grade kind of decoration.


They turned out pretty well for my first time attempting fondant legos. From across the room, they look quite real. Get closer, and you can see that they are not very uniform. Ian was happy with them, though, so I am too. (Luckily Ian's class is small, so we have a few extra for dessert tonight!)

Save Your Toilet Paper Tubes

So both my girls were home sick yesterday. Zoe had a low grade fever and Emma had a nasty cough. But they were both playing together and having a lot of fun. As I finished straightening my hair in my bathroom I looked in the cabinet under my sink and decided it was time to clean a few things out. The easiest thing to get rid of that took up a lot of space was the 20 or so empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes I was saving for an art project with Emma's kindergarten class that never panned out.

Knowing my two girls would LOVE this treasure trove of garbage, I packed them into a bag and went into their room where they were playing cats. I asked if they would like the bag of tubes and they enthusiastically shouted, "Yes."

I went back to organizing when Emma burst into the bathroom with a toilet paper tube around a paper towel tube. She told me that if she squeezed the outer tube and moved it up and down, it made a neat sound, like and instrument. She then detailed for me how she was going to make a bunch of other instruments. She ran off happily thinking of all the things she could do with over 20 toilet paper tubes.


About a minute or two later she burst in again with a paper towel tube in hand, with one end covered in toilet paper. I suggested that if she used a rubber band the toilet paper would stay in place for her to create more. We couldn't find any rubber bands and decided that hair bands would work just as well.

Next thing I know Emma has drawn a face on her paper towel invention and declares that it is a boy. Zoe wants one, too, and so we wrap more toilet paper around another tube, but it has to be a girl, with long toilet paper hair this time. Emma forgets all about the musical instruments and makes several more toilet tube people, including a baby named Madeline by cutting a tube in half. She draws clothes and crowns on paper, cuts them out, and tapes them to her tube people. She even makes a tower for the princess to be stuck in, a TV, and various food and utensils to eat the food with.


I was both amazed and amused by all the creativity oozing out of my girls. Not only that, but this activity which involved very little of my help took up 1 1/2 to 2 hours of the morning. The girls were getting along wonderfully, and having a ball playing with their new "toys."

I guess I better get busy saving some other garbage for a rainy day, who knows what they'll do with it?

The Post in Which I Bitch

I am a SAHM. That's a Stay At Home Mom for the few people out there who don't know their acronyms. I have been a SAHM since June of 1999, when I finished my last year of teaching and waited for my first born to come in July. I have provided babysitting services to friends and neighbors at different times in the last 8 1/2 years of being home, but otherwise have not worked outside the home.

This year, after all those 8 1/2 years of having kids attached at the hip, hand, breast or ankle, I finally got two hours a week guaranteed to myself. The two oldest are in school full time, and my youngest started speech. Speech is twice a week for two one hour sessions. Fortunately the school where Zoe goes to speech is very close to both our home and shopping, so I fully take advantage of those two hours.

Early in the Fall of 2007, I fell into a pattern where I grocery shopped on the first speech day, and did other errands on the second speech day. I liked that I didn't have to grocery shop with any kids and got it done during the day (not at night or on the weekend). But as the year has progressed, I've been wanting a little more time to just enjoy myself, not to grocery shop or pay bills. So when our meal menu ended on a weekend (I make a weekly menu, then make a grocery list, it's the only way I can grocery shop efficiently and effectively!) I made a list and went shopping on a Saturday morning two Saturdays ago. I couldn't wait for the upcoming week because I knew I wouldn't have to stop at the grocery store and would have time to just shop for fun, or maybe even go to Starbucks for a latte (I received two gift cards for my Birthday and have not used them at all yet!) Well, I did the fun shopping on Tuesday. I went to Old Navy and found a great gift for my friend's baby shower in February. Then as I considered what I might do on Thursday (Starbucks here I come!!!!), my oldest came down with a fever. No lattes for me. Oh well, there's always next week, right? Wrong.

This week (which was the next week from above) has not panned out for me either. I did my grocery shopping over the weekend again, looking forward to another week of two hours to myself. As I eagerly awaited Tuesday morning, knowing I would get to drop Zoe at speech and go to return some items at Penney's and pay a bill, I knew Thursday would be free for some coffee goodness. Nope. Hasn't worked. Zoe woke up with a stomach ache and fever, and Emma has a horrendous cough. Which of course means that I will return my stuff to Penney's on Thursday, and there will be no lattes this week, either.

I know that one of these weeks it will pan out for me, but it hasn't yet. And I feel a bit guilty for complaining because I know the reason I stay home is so that I can take care of my kids, especially when they are sick, but all I want is a latte and 45 minutes with a good book once or twice a month. Is that too much to ask after 8 1/2 years of being home with my kids?

Dessert Preview

For Christmas this year one of my sister's kids had Zoe's name. So Leanne bought Zoe some cool things for her gift. There was a princess Barbie that could turn into a bride Barbie, two Strawberry Shortcake DVD's, and a Strawberry Shortcake Cookbook with three cookie cutters. Zoe immediately became enthralled with the cookbook, looking through each page and deciding whether or not she was going to make each dish. She corralled several of her aunts and her Grandma at various times during the party and made them look at the cookbook with her as she described how she would make each recipe with me.

Neither my sister or I knew what a hit this cookbook would be. The Barbie didn't get opened until our return to Illinois, but the cookbook was looked over several times before that (and since!).




So today we finally made our first recipe from the cookbook. It was called Pink Peppermint Pie. Zoe doesn't like peppermint ice cream, though, so we substituted vanilla with some red food coloring. Zoe scooped ice cream, squeezed food coloring and stirred the mixture together until the ice cream became smooth and pink. She then transferred the pink ice cream to the chocolate cookie crust we bought at the store and smoothed out the top almost all by herself. I unwrapped two cherry candy canes leftover from Christmas and she placed them on top of the cake to look like a heart, just like in the picture from the recipe. Our final touch was to add chocolate chips to the top, just for fun.

After determining that we better put the pie in the freezer or it would melt, Zoe cleaned the bowl of the leftover melted ice cream. Tonight after dinner we will enjoy Zoe's first dessert. I'm sure it will not be her last!

Frustrations With Weight

I spent all of 2006 overweight. Not a lot, but heavier than I had been my entire life (excepting my pregnancies, of course.) So when March of 2007 came around I finally decided to do something about it. I started being very careful of what I ate and when I ate. I picked up on my exercise a little bit (always a sporadic thing for me.) Over the course of six or seven months I had lost ten pounds and was at my goal weight.

After spending two months (give or take) at my desired weight, I was more than a little nervous for the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I made it through Thanksgiving just fine and jumped into Christmas feet first. I made countless dozen cookies, made dessert for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and attended a cookie exchange with ten other women. I was so proud of myself for making it through the 25th of December with no change on the scale. And I ate desserts and cookies, but I was sensible and careful.

Then came my downfall. We loaded the kids into the van and went to Ohio for Christmas with my family. Because we are coming from so far away, we got there the night before (the 28th of December) and spent the night. Fine. But on the 29th, the day of the party, there was lots of good food. Not only did I bring my Christmas cookies that I continued to refill throughout the day, but there was all kinds of snacks left out to munch on. Good snacks. Chips and salsa. Fruit with chocolate dip. Cheese. Chocolates from the local ice cream store. Cocktail weinies (ok, I didn't eat these, but they were there.) I grazed much of the day. Then after dinner there was pie. Good pie. You get my drift.

And had we only been there for that one day, it probably would have been fine. But of course we stayed the night on the 29th (along with most of the rest of my family). My mom got up and made quiche, a tea ring, and had kringle. I of course had two pieces of tea ring (a cinnamon roll like creation) and some other good stuff. Then later in the day I had the last piece of pumpkin pie (mainly because the pecan pie was all gone already.)

When we finally packed up and went home, I knew I was going to be in trouble when I stepped on the scale again. And sure enough, I had added 2-3 pounds. The worst part as that I didn't fix my eating when I got home. I kept indulging, more than I should have. I finally stopped when the scale tipped four pounds more than my "happy" weight.

What was I doing? It had taken me six months to lose ten pounds and I was ruining it in the span of ten days! So now I am two pounds over and still struggling. I really want it to go away, but know that I have to put in the hard work to get rid of the extra pounds. I plan on doing it; I am not going back to being ten pounds overweight. But it still sucks.

The Blessings Of Saying "No"

I say "no" a lot. I say it to my kids, I say it to myself, I say it to my kids some more. I've never been afraid to say it, although I must admit I sometimes fear the possible reaction my kids will give me. Sometimes I get, "Why not?" with a defiant chin stuck out after I say ,"No." Other times it's a plaintive and high pitched, "Pleeeeeeeeease?" And still other times it is just a grumpy huff and nasty look sent my way. But I have to admit, most of the time the reaction from my kids is a calm "Okay," like they didn't expect me to say yes anyways, but they had to at least try.

I got to thinking about this last reaction today as I left the "Explorer Store" at the DuPage Children's Museum with Zoe today. We were getting ready to leave and she asked if we could go into the store. I told her that we couldn't buy anything, and she said she knew that. So we went in and looked around a little bit. She asked if I would get her a giant bubble wand, I said, "No," and she moved onto looking at the magnetic pizza. We left and she walked right out of the store without any problem.

Her behavior (and mine) got me to thinking that my kids and lots of others are lucky to have people in their life who say "No." I do it for four main reasons.

1. Because my kids already have plenty of stuff and they don't need more
2. Because they will never learn the value of money, saving money, and earning money as well as the value of a purchase they make by saving their own moneyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
3. Because possessions are not what makes a person truly happy
4. Because we are on a tight budget

But truly I never thought about how lucky kids are that have parents who say no to them. I know that it seems like my kids are the only ones who don't get an overpriced plastic souvenir at Disney on Ice productions. I know how my kids don't wear name brand clothing (and they're not old enough yet to really care or be aware of this yet). I know how my husband and I make choices that my kids will never know about, sacrifices that allow them to go to Catholic school, to have Christmas presents under the tree, to have birthday presents that they love, to have a mother who stays home with them. My kids have noticed that we don't go to McDonald's very much anymore, that we eat almost all of our meals at home. But, that makes going to McDonald's even more special when we do.

I know that I would rather have the life I have now, with a loving husband and hand-me-down clothes for the girls, dinner at home every night, and an anniversary dinner at Giordano's instead of some expensive restaurant over a possession filled, iPhone and big screen TV kind of life. That to me isn't nearly as fulfilling as having to say "No" sometimes.

Football Game of the Week

Forget the playoffs in the Pro's (no one you really want to watch anyways!) - the real action is tonight.

Go Buckeyes!

Christmas Desserts

I was pressed into service once again for two desserts and one side dish for Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners. Usually around this time of year I have visions of very fancy desserts, often involving lots of cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and chocolate of some sort. But this year was different. I have been simplifying a lot during the Christmas season this year, meaning a few less presents for the kids, a lot less late night shopping trips, and not spending hours at Allrecipes.com looking for the most amazing and time consuming dessert recipe.

So here I present the two desserts we had this year, the Boston Cream Pie was for Christmas Eve and the Ice Cream Cake was for Christmas day.


You can find the recipe for this Boston Cream Pie here. It was a really great way to end Christmas Eve dinner.


This is my award winning (fourth place) recipe for Cookie Ice Cream Cake. Instead of vanilla and chocolate ice cream I used chocolate and peppermint. It tasted great and got lots of compliments.

I hope your Christmas desserts were delicious, too.