little man, big imagination

We had this 5 year old boy in our house this weekend. Plus his 7 year old sister. Our oldest had an overnight babysitting job so the kids spent the night with us. Little boys are different than little girls, and of course having 2 daughters, little girls is all I know.

They are a different creature. I enjoyed this little man and his big imagination. He took me outside yesterday to the large pine trees that are in our neighbors yard. He told me I should be on the lookout for Bowser. Bowser is his giant with spikes on his back. Little did I know that there was a big Bowser and a little Bowser. When Big Bowser got loose I had to run and run fast. Can I just tell you that Bowser provided my incentive for exercise? As did a game of kickball.

Saturday evening there were 2 additional kids here for a total of 4 little ones. Another girl who is 5 and her 8 year old brother. They decided they'd like popcorn to go with their movie. I do it the old fashioned way. You know, kernels in a large pot on the stove top. You have heard of that, right? It was new to them. They had no idea you could do popcorn without a microwave. Oh.my.word.best.entertainment.ever. You would have thought I'd created a volcanic science experiment.

p.s. the babysitter received a text from the mother of the 5 year old girl and the 8 year old boy on sunday morning. said that the kids had a great time, thought the parents were funny and loved, loved the mom's popcorn. made me laugh.

Don't Tell Me You're Bored. I'll Give You Something To Do.

This post originally appeared in June 2008 and in my opinion, is worthy of a repeat. I plan to be using the book mentioned here again as a point of reference this summer.

Have you used that line on your kids before? I know I have. And I'm sure it's been out of frustration. The kids are bored. Nothing to do. Hardly ever the case with moms though, right? "A mother's work is never done." Tell me you're bored and I'll give you a dust rag or a mop.

Several years ago, while visiting the in-laws, I found this book laying on the dresser in the guest room. Coincidence? Were they trying to tell Lawman and me something? Doesn't matter. It caught my attention. So much so that I asked them if I could take it with me when I left. They obliged. (Although I'm sure what they were thinking was "SCORE!")

Turns out that I've used this book as a point of reference time and time again ever since. And, most often in the summer as it seems that's when it's easier for me to FOCUS on the tasks at hand.

As a freshman in college, I remember a specific encounter with another gal in the laundry room. It was early in the semester, maybe 2 weeks since the start of classes, and many of us had ventured to the laundry room to put in a load or two. This particular gal I am remembering, had apparently never had to do her own laundry. She hadn't the slightest idea where to start. She asked me for help. I'm sure I gave her a wide-eyed look like, "What? You're kidding, right?" Well, being the good samaritan that I am, I showed her how to sort, start the washer, etc. Within 10 minutes she had her undies in the washer and gave a sigh of relief.

Shame on her mama for allowing that to happen! What had she been doing for 18 years with that girl at home? Didn't she ever have chores to do?

Sadly, that's the way of life for many young people all across America and the world today. They are catered to in their own homes and never taught a single life-skill. How in the world can we, as parents, expect our children to be productive citizens of society if they can't even boil water or do a load of laundry?

Are you still with me? Back to the book.

This book is about teaching skills to our children. Yes, skills. Simple skills. It indicates that by the time a child is 11 they should be able to perform many household tasks on their own. Did you catch that? BY AGE 11.

Since finding this book about 6 years ago I've referred to the list of age appropriate skills at least a million times. And I did so again just last week. I even asked our youngest daughter, who will turn 12 in another week, to read what skills she should be able to do. After she read them I asked her if she thought she could successfully complete everything that was listed. She thought there were some things that she probably needed practice on so we made our goals for the summer. Here's what she will be working on.


Cooking from a recipe;

Laundry and;

Sewing on a button.


It's no wonder she needs practice with sewing on a button. She doesn't see her mother do that very often!


Since that episode in the dormitory laundry room years ago, I vowed that I wouldn't allow my children to be in that predicament. The cooking and laundry will be easy skills to work on as those things happen on a daily basis at our house. As for the sewing on of a button....well, we'll see about that.

Run, Madison, Run

This spring we spent at least a day a week at the track. As spectators.

It's been a rule in our house that during jr. high, the girls must participate in at least two school sponsored sports.

Madison had it in her head that this rule wouldn't apply to her. Did she think that since it'd been 2 years since her sister was in jr. high that we had forgotten this rule? Much to her regret, we remembered. She signed up for track.

I think she was surprised how much she enjoyed it. I know. During enrollment she indicated that she plans to participate in volleyball and track next year.

I think one of our responsibilities as parents it to encourage our kids to try new things, even if it means pushing them outside of their comfort zone. If I don't encourage her to expand her horizons, who will?

A Fiery Birthday Celebration

I shared here that Alison turned 16 last week. She wanted to celebrate with her friends but didn't have a definite idea for a plan. What do 16 year old girls want to do for a celebration? Well, if you don't have a limited budget, they do outrageous, extravagent parties. Since we're on a more modest budget, I suggested a Japanese Steakhouse thinking she and her girlfriends would find it entertaining to have their food prepared right in front of them. Not to mention the assortment of fire tricks they do.


She was willing to try that and called for reservations. 16 and took one of mom's suggestions seriously? Oh my. How long will this last?






It was a huge hit complete with fire, catching shrimp and a birthday peacock.

A last minute suggestion from the birthday girl was a bonfire. Um....not something one can throw together at the last minute when you live in the city, right? Well, fortunately for her she lives in a town surrounded by prairie and it's currently the season of an annual prairie tradition. Burning. Yes, burning of the prairie.

As a farm/ranch girl, I grew up participating in this each year and to this day it is still one of my all-time favorite activities. I love the smell, the sound of the fire crackling and more than anything, the look of the hills alive with fire. If you've never seen this in person, you can't fully understand what I'm talking about nor will you appreciate it. I will suggest that if you ever have an opportunity to observe this spring time ritual, jump at it. It's unbelievable.

As the birthday girl's luck would have it, her dad was helping friends burn pasture at the family farm. And, we had to drive right by it on our way home. So she called Lawman and said we were going to stop by.

We even managed to do a little muddin' on our way there. Trust me when I tell you that it wasn't planned. I, um, took the wrong dirt (more like mud) road and soon found myself stuck. Telling a car load of 16 year old girls that you're stuck??? Not a good idea. Panic ensued but I did save the day as I got us out. Thank the Lord for my 4-wheel drive vehicle! The sound of all the mud flying off my tires as I drove on down the road? Let's just say it was pretty loud and I was saying to myself, "Thank heavens I got us out of that one. I wouldn't have wanted to call Lawman!"

As soon as we arrived at the right place, Alison and one other girl popped out of the truck and parked themselves on the back-end of the mule Lawman was driving. Talk about a happy birthday girl.

You can't top a bonfire that consumes the entire hillside!

Sweet 16

Someone at our house celebrated a milestone birthday this weekend. Alison turned 16. I can't believe it's been that long since we brought her home from the hospital. Honestly, it seems like it was just a couple of years ago and then I look at her. She's a lovely young lady who can make me smile in the blink of an eye.

Photos (top to bottom): Alison, Alison & Madison, Alison sporting a sombrero, Alison & the boyfriend, Michael

Dressing for Prom

2 daughters = 5 proms, minimum considering Alison is going as a Sophomore

Dress worn one time in the color of Alison's choice = $50

Add in alterations, dry cleaning, shoes and accessories and I'm still below the $190 price tag on the new dress we liked.

Using co-worker's daughter as a resource? Priceless.

A Word of Wisdom

Last night my girls went to the high school basketball game. I didn't go, but provided the taxi service to and from.

When I picked them up, the first thing out of the eldest's mouth was, "I hate girls. They're so mean."

Without going into details, let me just say that an upper classman made a remark to her friends about something eldest had said. And, she said it loud enough that my girl and her friend heard her.

It's difficult to know what to say at times like this.

I told my daughter something that a very wise woman once said.

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

School's Out

In honor of the first day of Christmas vacation, the girls staged a movie night last night. They moved to the bed at 4am when one of them woke up and realized they had fallen asleep in front of the t.v. Ah, to be young again.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

B3 and I took a walk down Memory Lane....


As little girls, both of ours absolutely loved this game. We would play for hours on end. It was entertaining, educational and simple. We could make it last as long or as short as we wanted.

I got the game out for a couple of little boys that were at our house earlier in the day with B2; she was baby-sitting. When they left, B3 and I decided we should play a game for old times sake.

The end results were different than they used to be. The girl beat the pants off me. She's got great memory skills. Look how big her winning pile is.

Wonder if she could beat me at Candy Land??

The Grinch of Halloween

I was in costume yesterday. Something similar to the Grinch. Or maybe it was the Wicked Witch. Or the Hulk.

B2 has a costume party to attend on Halloween night. Of course she needs a costume. And of course, nothing that we could "create" at home will do.

Let me just say that I hate Halloween costumes for 15 year old girls. Why is it not ok to be CUTE at that age? Why does everything for teenagers have to be sexy? And why do teenage girls (one in particular) see nothing wrong with spending $60 on a one-time outfit that isn’t even NORMAL clothes?

I had a major headache and a foul mood to match it by the time we got home from shopping yesterday. I did not behave well. Just ask B2. I was the Grinch, the Wicked Witch and the Hulk all rolled into one. What girl wouldn't be thrilled to have such a mother?

Thank heavens for small favors. B3 wanted to be a nurse. We borrowed her costume from our friend, Dina, who is a real nurse.

If there had been a bottle of wine in my house when I got home yesterday, I would have drank it all. Again, thank heavens for favors or I would have had a headache this morning.

And if you're wondering, it was not my $60 which purchased a cute sailor outfit.

Milestones of the Auto Variety

B2, our oldest at 15, got her official "restricted driving license" last week. She got her instructional license in May. Her driving has much improved since that first outing but let's face it, she's still a NEW driver.

With the restricted license comes the ability to drive oneself to/from work and school without an adult in the car.

In her mind this should be an automatic. As well as her own car.

Lawman and I are not so quick to oblige. We realize that we will have to let the girl go out at some point without us in the vehicle. The fact is though, we're not as excited about it as she is though.

She informed us a couple of nights ago that she had accepted a baby-sitting job for Saturday evening which would require her to drive. She also mentioned that it's about 12 miles away and it would require her to drive home at 10pm by herself. On a 2 lane road. No shoulders. Lots of curves. Uh, I don't think so. Fortunately, I knew Lawman would be on my side. As it turns out, the mother who asked her to baby-sit had a conversation with her husband the following day and they both decided that they didn't want our daughter driving that particular road by herself or at night. They thought about where they'd be in a few years with their own daughter and they knew they wouldn't want her on that same road by herself at night. Driving a car. So, all is well as B2 will be riding with the mom to/from the baby-sitting job. (Answered prayer.)

We did allow B2 to drive herself last night to a baby-sitting job. It was only 1/2 a mile from our house so we thought this might be a good way to test the waters. She did great. She called us when she got there and called again when she'd be heading home. Perfect.

Today she drove herself to school. It's a half-day so she'll be done early. She forgot to call us when she got there because she and her friend, Bailey, got so caught up in the fact that they were able to "park next to each other" that they got a case of the giggles and concerned parents slipped her mind. Go figure.

There's so much more to driving than steering, using turn signals and that sense of independence that comes with it. Lawman and I remember how excited we were when we were at this milestone in our lives. What new drivers don't realize is that you have to be a defensive driver - always be aware of your surroundings. Even further down the road than just where you are right now. The responsibility you have as a driver is huge. Not only for yourself but your passengers, pedestrians and other drivers. One mistake on the road and it can cost you. Big time.

And granted, given Lawman's line of work, he's seen more than the average parent/driver and he doesn't want his daughter to be a statistic. Many accidents can be avoided. It requires patience from our new driver (you'll get your independence in due time) and standing firm in making decisions/choices from us as parents (if we think we should say no, then we're probably right). I know our choices won't always be popular with her but that's just part of parenting. I know she'll "get it" when it's her oldest baby that's 15 and asking for the car keys.

Carnival Treasures

B3 provided dessert this evening. She won these cute little mini cupcakes at the carnival cake walk. Perfect for a before bedtime snack.

(Note to self: Make them at home next time. I'm pretty sure they cost me about $8 in tickets.)

A Laundry Surprise

Laundry. It's a necessary evil. Once-in-a-while I find an unexpected gift in the washer or dryer. It happened this morning.

While folding a load of whites, I noticed something stuck to the side of the dryer. Upon further investigation I figured out what it was.

Are you ready?

A panti-liner. Eeew!

I much prefer dollar bills, coins, hair accessories, and gum wrappers. I think I’ll be having a conversation with a certain someone to see that certain items are removed from clothing before they find their way to the laundry basket.

I Love the Innocence

A few nights ago the girls and I were watching a tv show together. I can't remember now what the scene was but one character says to another one, "He stays for the sex." B3 (the 12 year old) says, "The snacks? That's stupid."

I couldn't help but laugh and so did her big sister. She didn't understand so I told her what they had really said. Didn't seem to make much difference in the story line to her. And whether it be snacks or sex, it's all stupid isn't it? Makes me think they could re-write most of the tv scripts and the stories would still be worth watching or heck, probably even better.

I love the innocence of youth.

P.S. Yes, I know that what the character said sounds completely inappropriate for a 12 year old to be seeing/hearing. And yes, it probably was but please don't holler at me.

What Does that Make Me?

I like to dance. No, make that love to dance. Tonight I turned the kitchen floor into a dance floor. I asked B2 to locate a song on-line so she could play it for me. I wanted to see if it was what I thought it was. Sure enough.

She played Starry-Eyed Surprise by Paul Oakenfold. I'd heard it on Diet Coke commercials and I instantly liked it.

Since B2 was playing it, I started dancing. Here's the conversation that followed.

B2 - Is that how you dance?

Me - Kind of, I'm probably exaggerating it.

B2 - Ok. Dance like you really would if others were watching.

Me - Sure.

B2 - Is that really how you'd dance?

Me - Probably.

B2 - Well, you're not such a bad dancer but you look so 80's.

Me - Hello!! When do you think I was dancing in the clubs? Honey, I'm a product of the 80's dance era. What can I say?

No reaction from her but laughter.

Here's my next thought....B2 thinks of the 80's as retro. What does that make me?

It's All About the Food

If you've learned anything about me from this blog, you know that I love food. Not just eating it but preparing it, reading about it, etc. You've probably also learned that I read cookbooks as if they were novels. I have scads of them in my kitchen. So many in fact that I don't have enough shelf space for all of them. You can find them in my cabinets and drawers as well as on my bookshelf.

I have a special fondness for vintage cookbooks. Several of the ones I own belonged to my mother and grandmother at some point. I love reading through them and finding their hand-written notes scrawled in the margins or seeing spattered pages and knowing that the recipe on those pages must have been a much-loved dish.

Food is a very important subject in our lives. Not only is it necessary for sustaining our bodies but we also have emotional attachments to it. Many times a particular dish transports us to a particular place in our lives -- a special birthday or a memorable family holiday. We use food to celebrate special occasions. We share it with neighbors and friends during difficult times.

Two years ago I purchased, what I would call, kitchen journals for each of my daughters. My thought was that at some point they will want to be able to re-create all the wonderful meals they've enjoyed at home.

I have a tendency to come up with these good ideas and then I have difficulty following through. Well, I pulled them out of my closet today (you can see that the price tag is still on them) and decided that I was going to start filling the blank pages. The point is to create for them one place that will hold their favorite childhood recipes and notes about special occassions that the dishes were prepared for. For example, the first entry in B2's book is the chocolate and peanut butter dessert she requested for her 13th birthday party. I also included in the margin the names of her friends who she shared the dessert with.

I'm not keeping it a secret that I'm creating these. In order for them to have real meaning to the girls, I want them to have a say in what recipes are included. It may be years before they appreciate what these books represent but I hope they will become a treasure to them and maybe to their future husbands and children. I guess time will tell. And, when they're in college and wanting to know how to make a favorite dish, hopefully, it will be included in this book and I won't be creating recipe cards.

Bump-Set-Spike-Win

Today was the day to find out if all of B3's hard work would pay off. It was her first volleyball game as a 7th grader. On the way to the game, the coaches announced who would be on A team and B team; a big announcement that these girls have waited weeks for. B3's name was included on the A team roster. She was thrilled. (And I was so proud.)

When I walked into the gym and saw the big grin on her face, I knew she was enjoying it. Their hardwork paid off tonight. They won both of their games. What a way to start off the season. Nice work ladies!

Since I knew we would be out of town tonight when I was planning my menu last weekend, I scheduled fast food for our dinner. Now that it's over, I'm irritated with myself that we spent the $18 at a drive-thru rather than just sucking it up until we got home and making sandwiches. We (3 of us) ordered 3 combo meals and ended up eating only the sandwiches from each of them. The fries ended up in the trash. They were stale and cold. They didn't even feel like they'd been sitting under a heat lamp. Of course, by the time we realized this we had already left the restaurant's parking lot and were back on the road home. We didn't even get napkins.

Highlight of the day was free samples I received in the mail -- Cascade Complete and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. The free samples were 2nd, of course, to the volleyball game.

There's a New Chef (and future blogger) in the House

If you're a frequent reader here, you may remember that late in the summer, B3 spent a few days with a family from our church. A family with 10 children. Here's what showed up on my camera's memory card the following week.

By the time I arrived home that day the cookies were baked and stored away. They were quite tastey and they didn't last very long.

Since that little trip this summer, she's made 2 batches of cookies and dinner one evening. Not a bad return on investment.

Why I Had Babies

Here's the conversation that took place at our house this morning as we were nearly ready to leave for school & work.

Me - B3, you need to come upstairs and pick up the clothes in your bathroom and make your bed.

B3 - Mom, you're such a slave driver.

Me - Yes, dear I am. The reason I had babies was so I could have my own personal slaves.

Portability

Portability. Is that even a word? Regardless, it's something I've been aware of the last several days.

This year the girls have decided that they would prefer to pack their lunch instead of eating the hot lunch at school.

Lawman and I were open to that idea as long as it was understood that they would have to help with the preparation and planning. Also, that it would need to happen the night before unless what they were taking needed to be made the morning of (example: peanut butter and jelly made the night before can become soggy).

We added lunch supplies to the school supplies list.

Sunday night I prepared a double-batch of chicken fajitas thinking that they would be easy to pack in the lunches. B2 thought that was a great idea. B3 however, preferred to take a turkey & cheese sandwich.

So, this week I've been 'in tune' with a foods portability. I will say it's required a bit more planning on my part but the results have been good. The girls have willingly helped with preparing their lunches and they seem to have enjoyed them.

Do your kids (or spouse) pack a lunch? What are their favorite items? I'm open for suggestions. Right now we're doing fine but I know my creative juices will hit a brick wall before next summer arrives.