Fun Monday - Sports Allegiances

I grew up and live in a family of sports fans. Every Sunday was devoted to football in the fall, and we followed the 1990 Cincinnati Reds go wire to wire. I was a three sport letterman in high school and went to sports camps in the summer and played slow pitch softball since I was in second grade. I love sports. So here are my teams, the ones I'm devoted to and would never forsake for another.



1. Ohio State Buckeyes football. Even though I now reside in Illinois, I am an Ohio girl, born and bred. My whole family lives and breathes Ohio State football. My sister and brother-in-law went to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl when the Buckeyes won the National Championship over Miami. We all love Jim Tressel and criticize anyone who doesn't wear scarlet and gray on game day. The marching band is The Best Damn Band in the Land and dotting the "i" in script Ohio rocks! Go Buckeyes!

2. The Cleveland Browns. I am forever disheartened and yet compelled to return year after year and root for the lovable, Super Bowl-less, Browns. I love the brown and orange jerseys (I wear mine many Sundays of the season), I love the Dawg pound, and I love Bernie Kosar. My hope springs eternal that one day they will get out of the playoffs and into the Super Bowl. One day.






The teams I hate:

1. Michigan. Need I say more? Really.

2. I used to hate the Denver Broncos (curse you John Elway!) because of all the years they dashed my beloved Browns hopes of a Super Bowl appearance. But I no longer have hatred for the Broncos. That is now reserved for the Baltimore Ravens, who stole my Browns out from under us and left the city of Cleveland without a team for almost four years. Luckily, the people of Cleveland would not allow this to happen to any other city and took an expansion team in 1999 over a relocated team. And because of Art Modell and the Baltimore Ravens, I can NEVER root for them to win.

That's about it!

Now, go check out everyone else's allegiances or share your own!

Players:

1. Tanya
2. Judysteapot
3. Hootin' Anni
4. Rayne
5. Gattina
6. Ali
7. Grace
8. Storyteller
9. HulaGirlAtHeart
10. Chrisb
11. jsi
12. Swampangel65
13. karmyn r
14. Alison
15. Jan
16. Swampy
17. {i}post
18. debs
19. sauntering soul
20. robocop
21. beedancer
22. margaret
23. tiggerlane
24. Mommywizdom
25. kitten
26.

Fun Monday - Sign Ups!

Fun Monday sign ups are done here!

The topic: Sports. More specifically, the sports team that you are rabid about. Maybe you love the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe you never miss a Cincinnati Reds game. Perhaps you follow every goal of the Fighting Illini Water Polo team. Or maybe nobody can tear you away from a Manchester United game. I want to hear about whatever sports team(s) that make you cry tears of joy when they win and tears of sorrow when they lose.

And on the flip side, I also want to hear about the teams you love to hate and why you hate them so much. You know what I mean. Like when you meet a new friend who is really cool and fun, and then you find out they root for your most hated rival team and you actually consider for a moment that you can't be friends anymore. Those teams.

That's it. And if you don't like any sports at all, I don't know what to say to you. Tell us something else you are impassioned about.

If you would like to sign up, leave me a comment with the link to your blog and I will get you signed up. Then come back Monday and make some new friends, maybe a few enemies, and get to know your fellow Fun Monday participants just a little bit better!

Fun Monday Participants

Having some trouble with Blogger, so leave a comment in the above post, and I'll list all players in this post.
Players:

1. Tanya
2. Judysteapot
3. Hootin' Anni
4. Rayne
5. Gattina
6. Ali
7. Grace
8. Storyteller
9. HulaGirlAtHeart
10. Chrisb
11. jsi
12. Swampangel65
13. karmyn r
14. Alison
15. Jan
16. Swampy
17. {i}post
18. debs
19. sauntering soul
20. robocop
21. beedancer
22. margaret
23. tiggerlane
24.

We Grow Them Big Here In Illinois

I took Zoe in for her preschool physical yesterday. It should have been taken care of this summer, but I'm a bit of a procrastinator. I wasn't worried about anything with her, but was interested in getting her dimensions, etc.

Well, let me tell you, she came in at a whopping 97th percentile in height, and 86th percentile in weight. I knew she was a big girl, but this definitely confirmed it. She actually is thinning out, because last year she was 95th percentile in both categories, if I recall correctly. I guess when both your mom and dad are 5'11", you probably aren't going to be a petite little thing.

Fun Monday

Well, I've been away from Fun Monday for quite some time now, but I'm back! Our hostess, Rayne, over at Crunchy Bits gives us the following assignment:

Almost everyone I know keeps things that others would consider junk. Twist ties, used wrapping paper, etc. What thing or things do you hang on to, and why?
Or, if you are one of those super organized and practical people and don't hang on to things like that, do you have a collection that you would like to share with us?

I had to think awhile for this one. After all, everything I keep is important, right? But as the week went by, I came up with a few things that I keep that probably drive my neatnik husband crazy, but I do have my reasons!



1. I have a plastic box filled with pantyhose and tights. I no longer wear them in the warmer months, but I will occasionally wear them in the many cold months we have here in Illinois. I have a hard time getting rid of any of them unless they are terribly holey (yes, I keep some with holes, depending on the location of the hole(s).) I even keep colors that I will probably never wear, because there may be that one time that burgundy tights are necessary and I would kick myself for throwing them out for no good reason other than the fact that they are burgundy colored.



2. I keep almost all sizes of scraps from stamping and scrapbooking. This is just one of the folders filled with pieces of cardstock and designer paper pieces. I have at least two more.



3. This empty perfume bottle. I got it (full, of course) when I was a little girl and we went to Wales on vacation. My parents bought it for me because of the name on the bottle, "Welsh Heather" I still can smell it a little bit if I sniff the top of the bottle.



4. I keep these pop tabs for a neighbor girl who is collecting them for the Ronald McDonald house. As soon as the baggy gets decently full, I give them to her and start a new baggy for them.

Well, those are a few of the things I keep around my house. Go check out everyone else's junk stuff!

Politics

I have tried to keep my blog fairly apolitical, though I am not shy to admit my political leanings. However, I just have to speak up with what I am hearing and seeing on TV in the last day or two.

Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska for two years, was chosen as John McCain's running mate. I had personally never heard of her before the announcement. So I started investigating and listening. She has done a lot in her time as a public servant. Besides being the first woman governor in Alaska for the last two years, she served two terms as mayor of Wasilla, as well as two terms on the city council of Wasilla. She obviously has had a lot of experience running local and state governments.

Now, many of the media pundits, as well as the Democratic party, are arguing that she has very little leadership experience. I understand why they are doing this. The Republicans have been pushing the lack of experience of Barack Obama since he clinched the Dem nomination. Turnabout is fair play, right?

Except it doesn't work. Obama truly has done little when it comes to leadership. He was elected to the Senate against a non-Illinois competitor. He hasn't even served one full term. He did serve eight years in the Illinois Senate.

But the appalling thing that I have heard from the media (at least two sources yesterday) was that he has led a campaign of some hundreds of staffers. Are they kidding? He has led a campaign? So has Sarah Palin, when she sought to get elected as mayor and governor. Running a campaign with staffers who want to get you elected is not comparable to running a city or state with a multitude of citizens who may or may not agree with you leadership decisions. I really had to laugh, because anyone who thinks that simply running a campaign full of staffers who obviously agree with their candidate (otherwise why would they work on someone's campaign?) gives you the leadership skills it takes to become president is simply ludicrous.

Palin has actual credentials. Look at her resume.

The second opinion that angered me as I watched TV last night came during Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." I flipped over to this show remembering how much fun I've had in the past watching it during election years. Newt Gingrich did a good job of pushing back Stewart's obvious leftist leanings. I also know it is Jon Stewart's job to push and rile. But then Stewart brought up Palin's oldest daughter's unplanned pregnancy. He said it was fair game because, according to Stewart, Palin announced that her daughter had made her choice, and it is to marry the baby's father and keep the child. Stewart then proceeded to say that as a father of a daughter, he finds it hypocritical that Palin wants her daughter to have a choice, but if elected with John McCain, they would get into office and take that "choice" away from his family and all other families.

Now, I didn't actually see Palin's announcement about her daughter. So I don't know if "choice" is the word she used. If it is, perhaps she should have said it was her daughter's decision. Because as we all know, pro abortion groups have co-opted the word "choice" to only mean one thing, abortion. Her daughter may never have even been considering abortion. Her choice may have been between keeping the baby and giving it up for adoption. But Stewart took it to mean that she chose not to have an abortion. Knowing how Sarah and Todd Palin feel about abortion, and teaching this to their children, her daughter was probably never even considering abortion. I find it very condescending and twisted that Stewart brought this up during his show with Gingrich and further that he assumed Bristol Palin was even considering abortion. Contrary to what many people think today, not every girl or woman who makes a mistake with an unplanned pregnancy considers abortion.

Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air, as far as I'm concerned. And the fact that John McCain chose her for his running mate only makes me more impressed with him.

There. If you didn't know I was a Republican before this, you certainly do now.

A New Teacher

For the better part of August I've been waiting for a letter or a phone call from Zoe's speech teacher letting us know what days and times she will be attending speech class this year. I waited and waited until finally last Friday I called the Early child Learning Center where she goes to find out the information. They told me something about how the teachers don't come in until Monday and that they will be contacting me sometime next week (now this week). So Tuesday I still hadn't heard anything and decided to call again to see what was going on. This time I was told the speech teachers didn't come in until Wednesday, and that they would be calling me by the end of the week.

So today when the phone rang and my caller ID showed it was the ECLC I was relieved and a little excited to find out what Zoe's days and times would be. However, I was not prepared for what I heard. The woman on the other end of the line said politely, "Hello my name is Miss Anna _________, I'll be your child's speech teacher this year."

WHAT? That's the first thing that went through my mind. What did this woman just say? She would be my child's speech teacher. But this can't be right. Miss Jan is Zoe's teacher. She wasn't supposed to have a new teacher. So without saying all of this, I quickly stammer and say, "What was that? I thought Miss Jan was Zoe's teacher."

To which I get the polite reply, "Miss Jan took a job closer to home."

Oh. I am in shock at this point and try to compose myself. "Umm, what did you say your name was?"

"Miss Anna _________________"

But because Zoe is talking I have to ask her a third time what her name is. And, I'm not only using a line for her last name because I don't want to reveal her name on my blog, but because I still don't know what it is.

I say something completely stupid, like, "Umm, oh my daughter adored Miss Jan, but I'm sure she'll do great with you."

But I don't believe it completely. I'm sure Miss Anna is great, but Miss Jan was AMAZING. Not only did Zoe love her and improve dramatically in her speech, but I loved her. It's like a punch in the gut knowing Zoe won't have her this year. All summer Zoe talked about how she couldn't wait to see Miss Jan again, and as the date approached, I know she was getting more and more excited. And honestly, so was I. Miss Jan has a great energy and knew how to get the best out of my little girl.

Then I thought, I have to break the news to Zoe. I did and she had about three or four weepy minutes where she muttered, "I don't know about this." And I let her have them. But then, she brightened and I reminded her how she had liked the other speech teacher (a different one from Miss Anna) she had to go with on the few days when Miss Jan had conferences. And she thought maybe her new teacher would do fun stuff, too. And maybe even some new things. And I joined in her new found hope and happiness about her new teacher because I want her to have a great experience with Miss Anna.

But inside I didn't believe what I was selling. It will be hard to measure up to Miss Jan. But I'm going to give Miss Anna a chance. It's the only thing I can do.

First Day of School

Yesterday a new school year started. My son is a fourth grader and my daughter a first grader. Along with all the excitement of the first day we managed to snap a few pictures before we set off to school. (My youngest will be starting pre-school next week - pictures to follow!)

Dad stayed home for the big morning, which made it even more special.

I had to get in a picture, too!

And for dessert I made a brownie pencil cake. The girls helped me mix the colors into the frosting. The kids think this should become an annual tradition. I agree.

Shoe Shopping

I have a six year old daughter. She is starting first grade tomorrow and we bought her a very cute pair of white and pink slip on shoes for her to wear everyday to school. What we have not bought yet is her tennis shoes for gym days. Now, my daughter is extremely picky, and sensitive to how her shoes feel. So last night I took her out by herself to shop for a pair of tennis shoes. She wanted laceless shoes, so she doesn't have to worry about them coming untied.

Our quest started at the Children's Place where she found a very cute and sparkly pink pair that fit her quite nicely. She definitely liked them, but wasn't 100% sure of them. So I told her we could go to a few more stores and look. Fast forward to four more stores, an hour and a half later, and all we came home with were these:


Yeah, they're not gym shoes. But they were on clearance!

I guess we'll keep looking . . .

24 Excuses For Not Blogging In August

I'm sure the few readers I used to have probably no longer even check to see if I've blogged lately, as it has officially been 24 days since I last posted. So, I offer my most humble apologies and 24 excuses as to why I have neglected my blog for so long.

1. I had to make and decorate my daughter's 6th birthday cake. (Pictures to follow, soon)

2. I had to make and decorate my son's 9th birthday cake. (Ditto on the pictures)

3. I had to plan and bake brunch for about 15 people for my son's and daughter's combined birthday party.

4. I have three kids who all use the computer throughout the day, limiting my time on the darn thing.

5. This website. (If you are a stamper, you will know what I mean!)

6. My son had his first official sleepover with two neighbor boys that I organized and hovered chaperoned over.

7. The Olympics.

8. Back to school shopping responsibilities.

9. Going to the pool several times a week.

10. Having four play dates in one week, all at our house.

11. We went to a Kane County Cougars game.

12. Having three kids, home, all summer!

13. I went to Wisconsin for vacation for 5 days. (Pictures to follow soon)

14. I went to Wisconsin for vacation for 5 days.

15. I went to Wisconsin for vacation for 5 days.

16. I went to Wisconsin for vacation for 5 days.

17. I went to Wisconsin for vacation for 5 days.

18. Tori & Dean (I'm sorry, but I love it!)

19. Project Runway (I won't apologize for loving this!)

20. Spending time with the hubby.

21. The Olympics (did I mention that one already?)

22. The Wii

23. Dentist appointments

24. I'm lazy!

Hey, I didn't say they were good excuses, just that they were excuses!

An Award

Last Monday, my friend Alison over at RDH mom gave me this award! It is the Share the Magic Award.

I have to say that it is Alison who shares so much with me and so many others through her blog. I have enjoyed reading about her adoption journeys and all that she does with her family. She is both genuine and kind, and I cherish our bloggy friendship dearly.

Thanks, Alison!

Gas Goes Down

As I drove my daughter to craft camp the last two days, I noticed that gas prices have dipped below $4! (Of course we filled the tank up on Sunday, when it was $4.06.) I have had a lot of discussions with people about the gas prices of late. Of course, I don't like high gas prices any more than the next person. And seeing a charge of over $80 just to fill up the tank on my minivan sucks. But I'm so tired of the "oil companies gouging us" argument. I'm sure I'll take a bunch of crap for typing that, but the price of oil has gone up. The oil companies don't control that. They have to buy oil, process it into gasoline, and then resell it to us. Have you checked out the price of gas in other countries? It's scary. Yes, in this time of economic insecurity it sucks that gas (and nearly everything else) is rising in cost. My family has less money for extras (yes, I realize I'm writing this post way too close to the one about where we bought a Wii) and I shop at discount stores and the sales to get the best deals for our tight budget.

But just two weeks ago I was in Ohio visiting family, and gas there was $3.85, after we had paid $4.16 in Illinois to fill the tank up to get there. What's the difference? I am guessing taxes. Why aren't we yelling at our government, local, state and federal for all the taxes they levy on gasoline? Hell, I have heard Wisconsin is putting out ads (though I haven't seen them) suggesting residents of Illinois cross the border to buy their school supplies there because of the lower sales tax. I had never thought about it, but we will be in Delavan the week before school starts. It's not a bad idea, when cutting coupons and saving every penny is a major goal of mine.

Do high gas prices impact my life? Yes. But so does the high price of milk, bread, and cereal. For now, I'm going to be happy that gas is under $4 in my neighborhood, and hope it stays that way.

More Yummy Muffins

I have been on a kick recently to make a lot more things from scratch. My most recent foray has been into muffins. My family loves muffins. My kids use them to fill their hungry bellies when they don't eat very much of the rest fo the dinner I've made, and they eat the leftovers for breakfast or a snack the next day. So I like that I control what is going into the muffins. No artificial ingredients, no preservatives, and I can sneak in some healthy stuff. For example, in this recipe I'll substitute 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the same amount of all purpose flour. these really are tasty and anyone who likes cinnamon would enjoy these. If you like nuts, add about 1/2 cup to the batter before baking. I made these Monday because I had leftover buttermilk from some pancakes we had over the weekend.


Cinnamon Muffins

▪ 2 cups all purpose flour
▪ 2 teaspoons baking powder
▪ ½ teaspoon baking soda
▪ ½ teaspoon salt
▪ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
▪ ½ cup sugar
▪ ½ cup brown sugar
▪ 1 egg
▪ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
▪ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
▪ ¾ cup buttermilk
▪ Topping:
▪ ¼ cup brown sugar
▪ ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 ºF. Grease and flour 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and egg until smooth. Beat in vegetable oil and vanilla. Working in 5 additions and beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture, stirring until just combined.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon to make the filling and topping.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full. Sprinkle with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of the brown sugar topping mixture into each cup. Evenly divide remaining batter on top and sprinkle evenly with remaining topping mixture. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 12 muffins

Enjoy!

Wii have a Wii

Ok, not a lot of time to post so I'm going to keep this short.

Last week the kids (all three of them) were in Ohio for the week. They were happy as clams because they were spending the week with my parents and their eight cousins.

I was a happy mom because I had the week off. First week off in nine years. It was a fun week. I had coffee with a girlfriend, had a scrapbooking night with a bunch of ladies and spent my week not having to clean and reclean the downstairs of my house. I decided to get all my hair chopped off on Wednesday, and donated the hair to Locks of Love.

But on Tuesday night, Brendan and I decided to buy a Wii. We've been discussing it, and not having the kids around was the perfect excuse to go out and get one. We only have Wii sports, but for now it's enough. The kids are thrilled (and incredulous that we actually bought a Wii!)

So today Ian downloaded the Nintendo channel and we discovered that he can do DS downloads right from the Wii! He downloaded Wall-E today. It's cool since in the past we had to go to Toys R Us or Gamestop to use that feature of his Nintendo DS. Now right from the comfort of our family room, virtually anytime he wants, he can try a sample of a new game. Pretty nifty, in my opinion.

Now, I just have to figure out how to get the bathrooms clean while still getting in my Wii playing time!

Fun Monday - Birthdays!

This week, Penny over at Dungarees Ablaze has given us our FM assignment, which is this:

Let’s hear about your favorite “Birthday”, it needn’t be your actual birthday just a "birthday" celebration. You can use one you planned, one you attended, one you crashed, just a fun time for this FUN MONDAY.

One of my most memorable birthdays was my 18th birthday. My birthday is December 30th, so even though my parents did an awesome job of keeping it separate from Christmas, I rarely got to celebrate with my friends on my actual birthday, just too busy a time for many people.

The day of my 18th birthday did not start well. Our basement flooded overnight the night before. I am the youngest, and therefore was the only one home with my parents. Guess what had to be done? Yes, I had to help clean the basement up, on MY 18th birthday.

After a long day of cleaning up, we were going to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. It is a long standing tradition in my family to take the birthday girl or boy to the restaurant of their choosing. My parents were lobbying for a pizza joint called the Rocking U. I just didn't feel like going there, and said, "No, I want to go somewhere else."

A little while later my mom got off the phone and announced that Ken and Jenni, my good friend Leah's parents and also friends of my parents, called, and that we were going to meet them at the Rocking U, and we'd go out to my restaurant another night.

Now, this should have been a HUGE tipoff to me. My parents had NEVER, EVER, in my life blown off my birthday, or my brothers' or sister's for that matter (excepting my sister's 16th, but that's another story for another time!). But, I had no idea. I just sulked as I called my boyfriend and told him we were going to the Rocking U for dinner. I mean after all, it was MY 18th BIRTHDAY, I had just spent the entire day cleaning up the basement, and now my parents were making me share my birthday dinner with Ken and Jenni at a restaurant I didn't want to go to!

I didn't complain to my mom and dad, although I'm sure they saw the sulking. My parents left ahead of me and the plan was for me to meet them there with my boyfriend. Derrick picked me up and let me tell you I gave him an earful about my parent's choices!

You can see where this is going, can't you? Well, in my 18 year old self-important haze, I didn't see it coming at all.

When we got to the restaurant we walked in the back and into a party room where there waiting were several of my friends. They all shout surprise and I collapsed onto the floor crying. I had no idea my parents had planned me a party and I was just about ready to chalk up my 18th birthday as my worst ever! What shocked me even more was who was there. It wasn't just my good friends, but some of the kids I considered "cool". Eric, and many of the other boys, who were my teammates in cross country, April and Heidi, popular girls who I played basketball with, Jason, my good childhood friend, as well as Carrie, Leah, and Allyson, my three best friends. There were others there, too. My mom had managed to invite all the different people who I spent most of my time with, who I cared about, who I cherished.

I think what made it so memorable was the horrible thoughts I was having about my parents were completely erased when I walked in that door that night. And I was truly surprised at some of the guests. If my mom had asked me who I wanted to invite to a party, some of those names wouldn't have been on there, not because I didn't like the person, but because I wouldn't have thought they would have wanted to come to a party for me. I knew my social place in high school, and I wasn't unpopular, but I wouldn't have put myself in the "popular" group, that's for sure! So to see some of those kids there, made me feel happy. Not because that meant I was popular, but because the friendships we had formed were important to them, too. I guess when it comes to judging others, it goes both ways.

Anyways! My 18th birthday was indeed a memorable and happy one for me. Now go check out everyone else's birthday plans!

Creating Stuff

Today has been a very creative day at the McKillip house. This morning I took these:

They are tart Michigan cherries that I paid and arm and a leg for at the farmer's market yesterday (and well worth it!).

And I turned it into this:

This is a cherry crumb pie. I've never made one before (made lots of pies, just not this kind) and can't wait until dinner to have it for dessert tonight. My daughters helped me by pulling all of the stems out of the cherries so I could just stand and pit (and pit and pit!). They say they are going to taste the pie tonight - we'll see!

In case you couldn't see it well enough in the last picture, here's a close up of the crumb topping:

I stopped at the grocery store last night after Bunco specifically to buy some vanilla ice cream to enjoy with this pie tonight. I am soooooo excited.

Then this afternoon the kids and I built this contraption out of Legos:

I strung some yarn from the stairs to the drying rack in our living room and we have spent lots of time enjoying sending Lego men on a trip across the entryway. (My son attached the man on the bottom of the tram.)

Here's a little video of the tram in action:



Not sure what we'll create next but I'm sure it won't be long before we figure it out!

Summer Revelations

In the past, if I wanted to go grocery shopping for my weekly trip, I would rather gnaw my arm off than take my three kids with me. I planned it around their being in school or other activities. I often shopped at night after they'd gone to bed. If I couldn't do that, and I absolutely had to go to the store with all three of them, I'd usually only get the necessities and either bring snacks or bribe them with a doughnut.

But this summer is different. My kids are older and I have realized I don't want to give up "my time" in the evening after the kids go to bed. I have taken them with me several times now, and it usually goes pretty well. Now, they do get a little silly sometimes, but mostly because they are just keeping themselves occupied by having fun with each other. That's not to say that their behavior is always appropriate, twice today they had to all stand next to the cart with their hands on the cart so they wouldn't be jumping around in front of other people and generally making me frazzled while I looked for dishwasher detergent. But when I think of their behavior, they're not being rude or mean, disrespectful or even difficult. They rarely complain when I say "no" to their requests (they're used to it, I must say it often!) and they usually keep up with me in the store. They're mainly just unaware of how their behavior affects the other patrons of the store, which I see as immaturity, not mischief. And I do correct them and have them apologize if they are obstructing someone's path or doing something else that causes problems. It actually is a pretty good trip now when we go to the store.

And despite the fact that I could probably get it done so much faster without them, I don't really mind it that much anymore. Except for one thing. I cannot leave the store without a few things that were not on my list and I probably wouldn't buy if they weren't with me. Last week it was a package of Little Debbie's Swiss Rolls and Nutty Bars. This week it was Pepperidge Farm Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Mini Bagels. But, if that is the only roadblock I face each week, I think I'll choose going with the kids during the day instead of by myself at night.

Happy Independence Day!

What's a holiday without special treats? Last year I made red, white and blue ice cream pops with the kids. This year I stumbled upon a cookie idea and yesterday the kids and I made them.


It is super simple. All you need is sugar cookie dough (we bought a tube at the grocery store), red and blue food coloring, sugar and nesting star cookie cutters. I had each child knead a part of the dough with either blue or red food coloring, and left one part of the dough plain. After kneading the color in, the dough was quite mushy, so I wrapped it in wax paper and froze it for about 20 minutes. when it was firm enough to work with, I rolled it out on a floured cloth and let the kids cut out which colors they wanted. I had to help getting the inside star out, but otherwise they did it themselves. The final touch was a sprinkling of sugar over the top before each cookie went into the oven. (This was definitely my kids favorite part!)


After 8 minutes in the oven we had perfect little cookies to celebrate the 4th of July with. Now I just have to ration them so that they'll last until tomorrow!

Cupcakes and Cousins

Last week my sister, Leanne, came from Ohio with her three kids and our mom for their annual visit. Ever since I moved out here in 2000, she's come every summer with her girls to visit. And it is such a blessing as my kids have gotten to know her kids well, and we get some well deserved sister time.


Leanne has three girls, ranging in age from 12 to 8. I have one boy, almost 9, and two girls, 6 and 4. Amazingly, they all pretty much get along great. Ian and my niece S get along great, or they don't. There's no in between. One year we saw them laughing and playing with each other one minute, and then literally rolling on the ground wrestling the next minute! But they always have fun, and despite being outrageously outnumbered, Ian finds ways to have fun with a bunch of girls. (I think it helps that he has two sisters.)

We had a fun week with two visits to the pool, playing on the "new" backyard playset my husband and father-in-law put together, going to the DuPage Children's Museum, making s'mores with our s'more maker and being treated to dinner out at TGIFriday's by our mom.

Every night the kids got a snack before bed, and being a cool and fun aunt, I wanted some yummy choices. One night it was the s'mores, another night it was ice cream, but on the first night I made special cupcakes for everyone. I always like to make at least one fun treat for their visit and this year was no exception. As I was searching for ideas on the internet I came across directions for making frog cupcakes. As soon as I saw it I knew that was what I was going to make. My niece, S, loves frogs. So it was a no-brainer. They turned out absolutely adorable and everyone was happy to gobble one down.


I guess now I need to start looking for fun snack ideas for next year!

What Was I Thinking?

Why did I vacuum the carpet underneath the kitchen table and then decide to make 4th of July sugar cookies with my kids?

Hot Summer Fun

So what are a bunch of kids to do on a hot summer day to cool off? Ask their mom to put up the Slip-N-Slide that their Grandpa bought them.






What you can't see in the pictures and video is that the attachment for the hose was missing. Of course by the time I figured this out the slip-n-slide was completely set up and tacked down. After a quick call to the hubby for direction, we decided that the sprinkler set near the slip and slide would have the same effect as hooking up the hose directly to the thing. (We did not have the receipt and my kids really wanted to jump on and slide.)

It was a great way to cool off on a hot day. I'm sure we'll be using it again soon.

Fun Monday - Quirks

Lisa Marie over at Lisa's Chaos is our host this week. She has asked us to divulge a little personal information with all of you this week. Her exact assignment is this:

A quirk is defined as a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism. We are all unique individuals, having quirks that help make us who we are. I would like to know what your quirks are. Confess to one, confess to ten, you decide. Just come back Monday ready to spill the beans, the rest of the world may look at you like you are from Mars, but you‘re among friends here. We won’t laugh, in fact that eccentricity just may endear you to us more.

I thought about this for awhile and came up with a few of my quirky behaviors.

1. I eat pancakes with butter and sugar - no syrup. (And it's not powdered sugar, either. It's the white granulated stuff.) I picked this habit up in college from one of my friends. I almost don't like them with syrup now. Now my kids will often eat pancakes this way; I think it drives my husband nuts.

2. I like to dip my french fries in ranch dressing. This habit started when I first began teaching. Several of the teachers would go out on Friday nights to a local bar/ restaurant and we always ordered fries to share, with an order of ranch dressing. Really delicious.

3. I sleep with a stuffed animal every night. It used to be my stuffed dog Henry that I received as an infant, but when he became in danger of disintegrating my husband bought me a Goofy toy that takes Henry's place now.

4. I weigh myself every day and write down the time and weight in a little notebook I keep in my bathroom drawer. (OK, this might be bordering on OCD, but it has helped me to lose weight and maintain my weight loss.)

5. I like almost all of my sandwiches plain. Hot dogs in a bun - no condiments. Hamburgers in a bun - again no condiments. Turkey sandwich - maybe some butter on the bread and some cheese - nothing else. Except for barbecue sauce and picante sauce, I dislike almost all condiments and would prefer my sandwiches without veggies, dressings or sauces.

6. I am a corn on the cob snob. We have to eat corn on the cob the day we buy it, or one day later at most. I never buy it from a grocery store, only from farmstands freshly picked daily. It stems from working at a a farm stand for two summers in high school and college and not trusting how long an ear of corn has travelled to get in the grocery stores. Try a fresh ear of corn, you'll taste the difference.

That's just a few of my quirks. Now go read about everyone else's strange eccentricities.

Fun Monday - Wardrobe Edition

HulaGirlatHeart is our thoughtful hostess this week. Her assignment is the following:

We all have at least one or two items of clothing that we can’t part with, even if we can’t or don’t wear them. I want to know about yours.

I wanted to get pictures, but this has been an incredibly hectic weekend. So, I have to describe the few items I cannot part with.

First item is a green blazer. I know, blazers are soooo out. But here's the thing. I'm really tall, and most clothes don't fit me properly unless I order a tall from the store. When blazers were really in (in the 90's sometime) my mom ordered me a blazer from JC Penney's in a tall, and it fit so perfectly. I was in heaven! I mean, a blazer of my own that actually fit the way it was supposed to. I honestly thought I would probably never own one. So now, despite the fact that I haven't worn it in years, it still hangs in my closet.

Second item, my high school letter jacket. I was a three sport letterman in high school (cross country, basketball, track) as well as having academic letters. My coat was navy blue with gold leather sleeves (all the girl athletes got boy's jackets - leaving the girl's high school jackets for cheerleaders, band members and majorettes) and had my name embroidered on the front in gold thread. When I went to college I removed all the letters and my high school's name and had my college name embroidered on it (John Carroll). The colors just happened to be the same as my high school's colors.

I have several T-shirts from high school that I still wear when working out or mowing the grass. One is a cross country long sleeve T-shirt, one is my state T-shirt from track when my relay team went to the Ohio State track championships - it has Snoopy wearing running gear on it, and one is a Harry Connick, Jr. T-shirt from college.

I have a few other things, too. But I have another busy week ahead and want to go to bed. Now go check out everyone else's clothes they can't get rid of!

I'm Not One Of Those Mothers

My two oldest kids have been attending swim lessons for the last two weeks and during the 1/2 hour lesson parents are required to stay and watch their kids' lesson. Each session is for four days a week, for two weeks, so the faces become familiar in the stands.

There is this one woman who I noticed immediately in the first few days. I at first thought she must be a nanny. And it wasn't because she was really young or really cute. It was because of how she talked to the kids. She used a very high pitched sing-songy voice and was very encouraging. "Colton, you did SUCH a GREAT job!" she say. "Jimmy, you were SUPER!" And this to another mother and her daughter, "Wow! I have never seen a little girl sit so still when someone is doing her hair! What a GOOD SITTER you ARE!"

Now, I know this is a nice way to talk to kids. It is positive and supportive and probably builds all manner of self-esteem. And don't get me wrong, there are many times when I praise my kids and tell them how proud I am of them. But the sing-song, high pitched, gushy voice just isn't me.

I usually only talk that way to babies, cats, dogs, and other cute furry creatures.

Funniest Thing I've Read In A Long Time

I just headed over to Dooce to catch up on what was going on over there. I used to read her religiously, but lately have only stopped by sporadically. But today I read a post by a guest writer named Jim Griffioen that was absolutely hilarious. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

Here's just a little sample:

It's one of the hardest parts about being a father to a little girl: you have no choice but to drag your precious, uncorrupted little daisy into some of the foulest palaces of filth and putrefaction known to man, while women bring their daughters with them into perfumed Xanadus.

Head over here to read the whole entry. It's amazing.

Pancakes

I made pancakes and scrambled eggs for my family for dinner tonight. This is a frequent favorite in my house, I like it because it is easy and no complaints from the diners. As I made the pancakes tonight, I thought how I could run a pancake house. Okay, maybe not run one, but I have all kinds of great ideas for pancakes.

I used to always make the pancakes with Bisquick, until one day I had extra buttermilk leftover from another recipe. I didn't want to waste it, so I looked up how to make real buttermilk pancakes in my old Betty Crocker cookbook. My husband immediately noticed the difference and said he preferred the "real" buttermilk ones. So I now usually buy buttermilk and make "real" ones, though I still have Bisquick on hand for times when I just need an easy dinner and can't get to the store.

For the last couple of years I have made my family's pancakes first, then with the remaining batter I make myself about three pancakes with a little something added in. At first I started simple, a little cinnamon. I discovered it was good. In fact, I no longer wanted plain pancakes, I wanted interesting pancakes. So I continued experimenting. I've added pumpkin and cinnamon, mini chocolate chips (the kids love this one), coconut (not so good), pecans (delicious), and even oatmeal.

But tonight, I added something new. Something delicious and tasty. I added some crumbled almond paste. After one taste I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Honestly, it was that good. If I had had some slivered almonds, I would have thrown those in as well, and I'm sure it would have only made them that much better.

I love experimenting with different ingredients in pancakes. I had some amazing granola pancakes at a little pancake house in my hometown several years ago. I think it was that experience that made me want to try my own ideas at home. Unfortunately for me, neither my husband nor my children are adventurous with their pancakes. I would love to share the experience of new and exciting pancake flavors with someone. But even if I never do, at least I'M enjoying the flavors.

Fun Monday - Wall to Wall Edition

Jan over at The Prytz Family is our lovely hostess this week. She has asked us to reveal what is on our walls, either inside or out.

We moved into our current house not quite two years ago and I am notoriously slow about getting a place decorated. It wasn't until we were moving out of our last house (after being there six years) that I had most of the house the way I liked it. So this house has a few nice touches, but it's not exactly where I would like it to be.

All of the rooms in our house, with the exception of my son's room and my daughters' room, is the color choice of the previous owners. We are working on getting the place painted, but since we are doing it ourselves, the work is slow going.

Let's start in our "office" (really the fourth bedroom that houses our computer, my craft stuff, and lots of our books).


These are two of my husband's pieces of artwork. He received the Batman and Joker piece for college graduation from one of his parents. It is an actual storyboard from "Batman - the Animated Series" and is signed by Mark Hamill, the voice of the Joker (and Luke Skywalker). The other piece is an actual page from a comic drawn by Scott McDaniel. Along with the page is the finished page from the comic book and a letter fromScott McDaniel himself. We had this framed ourselves.



This sign is above the window in our office. I had it made for my husband for Christmas one year. Next to it are four comic books. Eventually we plan on having the entire space above the window from left to right displayed with comic books.

Next let's move to the kitchen. I don't have a lot up in my kitchen, yet. But the two signs I do have up, I love.

This first picture is a sign I had made for myself. I love the old diner look, and I get lots of fun comments from guests when they see it.


This sign is over the walkthrough into my kitchen where our kitchen table is. I just love the sentiment.


This sign hangs in my entryway. We bought this sign when we went for a weekend to Stoughton, Wisconsin.


This artwork that my daughters and I made hangs on my front door. I know, not exactly a wall, but stuff like this hangs all over my house, especially the downstairs.




Definitely one of the favorite walls in my house is my stair hallway. I had an idea, put it together, and hung up each and every frame myself. The pictures are all black and white photos of the family.

Finally, let's go to my bedroom.





Above my husband's dresser are his three framed set of stamps. He is not a stamp collector but has these fun sets that are all interests of his. The first set are Elvis, the second set DC comic heroes, and the third Star Wars stamps.


And finally these are gifts I made for my husband on previous Father's Days. The top picture is just my two oldest and their handprints. The bottom is a photo collage of all three kids.

Now, I'm headed over to Jan's to see everyone else's walls. Why don't you come and check them out, too?

Zoe Answers The Burning Questions

My four year old daughter came downstairs after taking her bath tonight and said to me, "I know why butt cheeks and our other cheeks don't have bones."

Being curious, I said, "Really? Why?"

She looked up at me, squeezed her face cheeks, and responded, "Because they need to be squishy."

Of course.

Yesterday was my anniversary. Thirteen years ago we got married in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio and started on an amazing journey together. Brendan is my college sweetheart. I met him the second weekend of our freshman year at John Carroll University. We started dating later that month and by our junior year we were engaged. Three short weeks after graduating, we tied the knot.

Brendan and I before the winter dance 1993

Looking back I am sometimes amazed at what we've done. I didn't have a job (well, I had a summer job in the financial aid office at JCU, but no permanent job.) Brendan was starting his job working nights at a little internet startup company the Monday after we got married. They say you can't live on love alone, but we came close!

Our Wedding Day

I still remember his reaction when he came home that Monday night and I had made tacos and corn for dinner. It was like he had hit the jackpot. Walk in the door and food was there, on the table to eat. It was the beginning of a very traditional marriage in the roles we took. I grocery shopped and made dinners. He washed the dishes. But outside of that we weren't very traditional. He helped clean and do laundry. He accepted the cat I had picked up on my way to work in the fall; she had been hit by a car. I searched for our second apartment. I helped mow the grass when we bought our first house. He planted roses and made sure they were fertilized regularly. I marinated the meat, he grilled it on his Weber grill.

Then after four years of me teaching, him moving to days and changing jobs twice, we had our first child, a son. I stopped working to take care of our baby and Brendan looked for job he would actually enjoy after the internet company was sold. We moved to the Chicago area when our son was about five months old. We lived with my father-in-law and his wife for four months until we found a place of our own here. One miscarriage, two more kids (daughters), and eight years later we find ourselves in yet another house (our third since getting married) and celebrating our 13th anniversary.

It's been a long and wonderful ride. We've seen so many changes, but one thing has remained the same. Our love for each other. It has remained steadfast and true.

Fun Monday - Child's Play

Our lovely hostess, Molly, has given us the following assignment:

I would like you to describe a happy memory from your childhood. If possible, include pictures with your reminiscing. Perhaps, for some us remembering the past may bring back some unhappy times too. But, for today, let us remember the good times.

I was lucky, I had a wonderful childhood. Some of my best memories revolve around my family. I remember nights at the dinner table laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. These conversations usually involved talk of "eyebungers" (bees that only sting the eye) and how one of us had "skun" our knee.

I was the youngest of four kids. There were only four years between the first three kids, and then four years between the youngest of those three and me. So, I did get picked on a lot and called the "baby" a lot. But despite this my brothers and sister and I had a lot of fun together. There were nights playing Tripoley, peanuts or Boggle with our parents. The TV would be turned off and we would play for the entire night. We went on lots of great vacations when we lived in England for five years. We went to Scotland over Christmas one year and all agreed that it wasn't the same being in a hotel on Christmas morning instead of at home. We travelled to Italy with my parents and grandparents and went to the top of the leaning tower of Pisa while my Grandma and Grandpa worried constantly about our walking around the outside walkways on the tower. (There weren't safety railings). We teased my sister when the Italian guys hit on her. We went skiing in Austria and laughed at my brother because every meal he would order Wienerschnitzel (sp.?).

I remember spending hours with my best friend Angie. She lived down the street from me and we were always together. We played hospital with our dolls. We'd keep detailed records as to why they were in the hospital and either apply or remove cheap red nail polish for blood to the doll's skin. We built an actual clubhouse in Angie's backyard with the help of her brother and my brothers and sisters. We used old six foot fence pieces from a neighbor who was replacing their privacy fence. We even waterproofed it with garbage bags and put a gutter on the back of the sloping roof. We used rubber tubing and a ketchup pump, along with a bucket and an old sink to create "running water." (Don't worry - we didn't drink it!) We even cleaned out a whole area of leaves and tree branches to make a bike or trike parking area.

I remember cooking potatoes wrapped in foil in the fires built to burn the leaves. Not much tasted better than a potato cooked in the coals of a fire and then topped with butter and sea salt.

In the winter we would walk on Angie's frozen pool, without our parent's knowledge of course. Her brother, Jeff, would use a hammer to break off pieces of the ice and we'd look at how it broke into little pieces we called "shivers."

I remember making sugar cookies at Christmas that we'd decorate with egg yolk paint. I remember the smell of my mom's tea ring she'd make very Christmas. We had a great tradition where the kids would give each other their Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve, after midnight mass, and then in the morning we got our presents from Santa.

One of my best memories is Christmas carolling with our Family Group - five families who met once a month to grow spiritually as family and friends. WE went to Family Camp together every summer and all the kids slept in one cabin and all the adults slept in another cabin. Then in the winter we chose several families to go carolling to and we would load into all of our vans and head out to sing at the different houses. Afterwards we had apple cider and doughnuts at someone's house.

Indeed, I was very blessed. I can't wait to hear about everyone else's happy memories.

(Sorry - no pictures today because I signed up late!)