A Homemaking Journey

Shopping with Autism

2010-03-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Last night I had some shopping to do and I thought it would be good for the kids to get out too. I took Isaac, Simeon and Hannah with me. Hannah is always up for a good shopping trip, and usually, Isaac is too. Simeon is in "training" for how to act while shopping.

The main reason we were going out is because Ammon shoved the DVD player off the table and broke it. DVD players are living a long life if they last a year and a half in our home. I usually buy the cheapest DVD player I can find because I know it won't last long. Guess what I found last night? A PINK DVD player!!! It's so pretty! And it will go with the general pink decor I have. I put it in the cart.

Isaac (Asperger's)glares at me and starts sulking. Many attempts were made to remove the DVD player from the cart. The final comment Isaac said to me was that I was ruining his life by buying a pink DVD Player. Granted, there was a blue one, but being on a huge rant lately that none of my stuff is sacred, I held my ground on the pink DVD player.

Then Simeon (Autistic), who has never given much input on what things he likes in our house, threw a fit about the pink DVD player. He tried to tell me I would save 25.00 if I bought a blue one. When that tactic didn't work, he started shopping for his own stuff, like mini tvs, radios and some napkins. To show how displeased he was with me, he would only take 3 inch steps, take a break by sitting in an empty spot on a shelf, then race ahead to catch up when I turned a corner. At one point I saw him pushing himself on the floor like a turtle. Intermittently he would growl.

Then we had just the opposite behavior, and this is always kinda funny to watch. Most people that are shopping don't expect to be greeted like their best friend just spotted them in the store. When Simeon walks into a store he starts to wave and say hi, and ask questions. The first little boys he saw he waved and asked "Hey Dude, what's happening?" The boys just stop and stare. The next person was a lady with a little girl in the cart. "Hi! What's your name?" Later we passed a little boy in a cart eating a sandwich. "Hey Dude, whatcha eating? Can I have a bite?" Other times we've been in stores and he asks every person we pass if they like hotdogs. If he sees two women walking together he yells "Hi Ladies!!" He has no problem searching other peoples' carts for goods and reporting. He starts conversations with almost everyone we see, and most everyone is good natured about it.

When we got home Simeon and Isaac were still upset about the pink DVD player. Makes me wonder if they will watch movies on it, and if not, YAY! I found a way to cut back on TV watching!

Feng Shui In The Kitchen

2010-03-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is the most important area of your home. It is responsible for nourishing your entire family and keeping everyone happy and healthy. In feng shui, the kitchen is a symbol of wealth and abundance also.

The optimal place for your kitchen is the center of your home. If the kitchen is located near the front or back door, the positive energy can escape.

Food gives us all of our energy and enables us to remain healthy. To keep this food energy positive and healing, the food has to be cooked in an organized kitchen that maintains a good balance of Chi. By having a well balanced and energized kitchen, the cook becomes more energized and the entire family benefits.

The best tips for the kitchen are pretty basic and should go hand in hand with the rest of your home very easily. Lighting is an important part of feng shui and in the kitchen, there should be an abundance of natural light if available and if not, full spectrum lighting is recommended. The air should flow nicely and the kitchen should give off a very welcoming energy.

A great way to add positive energy to your kitchen is by using plants and flowers. When placed on your kitchen table, they are not only beautiful to look at but increase the positive energy level greatly. You should use plants and flowers that are yellowish in color because in feng shui, yellow is a great digestive aid.

Like the rest of the house, clutter should be kept as minimal as possible. Since this is the very heart of the home, keep it as happy and warm as possible.

Ramsy

2010-02-22T07:27:00.000-08:00

This weekend we became the proud owners of a 15 passenger van. It's a 2001 Dodge Ram. And it's big. For two years we have squeezed eight people into our 7 passenger Kia van, listening to the fighting and crying on what seemed endless trips to church or Walmart, or even just to drive around and look at Christmas lights.

Now we have 7 EXTRA seats.

Hello back there!

Now, "problem children" can have a seat to him or her selves. We removed two of the benches so we can double this as a moving van this week as we move once again. This comes to twice in one month. Our 16th move in 11 years.

As a teenager, I marveled at the huge vans and trucks that large families had. The LDS people had a nickname for them: MAV's: Mormon Assault Vehicles. I have at last been accepted into their culture. LOL! Actually, Curtis isn't too thrilled with it. He says its too big, and it IS big. I think he views it as a necessity, whereas, I see it as a luxury car. If only it was red...

The kids named the van Ramsy. Let's just hope we never have to use it for those means.

Homeschool Sharing Moment

2010-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

I read this article this morning on the Pioneer Woman's Blog and thought I would share it here. I got a pretty good laugh out of it.

Just to clarify for a moment, I had put our kids in public school in September after a few moments like described in the article, but now that we have moved, and I have had time to breath, regroup, rethink and reorganize myself...plus move twice in one month, we are back to homeschooling and doing quite well.

Gotta share the moments though.

Gumdrops for Dinner

The Funnies

2010-02-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

I've been noticing things my kids say lately and we've had several funny incidents that I thought I would share with you.

I babysat for a friend of mine last week and she arrived with the baby at 5:30 a.m. When Joshua (3) got up and stumbled into the living room, he saw the baby. His eyes got big and he pointed at the baby. "What is that?!" then a minute later "Where's Ammon?!" Later in the afternoon he hugged the baby and told me he liked his new brother.

Simeon lost a tooth. I had wondered how this situation was going to play out, as in the past, Simeon does not like unfamiliar things happening to his body, like wearing a new shirt or shoes. We were all on my bed, chatting about various things. Simeon was reading a book, so I wasn't paying attention that he had something wrong with his teeth. All of a sudden he exclaimed he lost a tooth, and it was gone! He had pulled it out himself, but threw it across the room, and then discovered he was bleeding (not much though). This proves to me I worry too much about how he will adjust to things when he does just fine. Afterwards he walked around smiling to show off his space.

When we left Ogallala I told Jesse to say goodbye to the theater as we passed it. He sighed, but didn't say anything. When I questioned him, he said "Mom. There will be other theaters in Utah". I guess I was the only one being sentimental then.

Hannah repeats the store motto to me in place of the store name. "So mom, when are we going to go to Kmart, Get Smart?"

Learning to drive with a GPS directing you is a little difficult to get used to. While it tells you to turn right here, and drive .5 miles then turn left, it does NOT tell you that you are approaching a light or stop sign. Thank goodness I figured this out on a back road with no traffic.

Watching toddlers dance to any song is funny.

We started back to homeschooling, so we are starting out most days with a discussion. On Thursday I pinned up a world map and we were going to start talking about the trade routes during the renaissance. The discussion went something like this:

"During the renaissance, they started out mostly in the sea here, before they moved out into the Atlantic..."
"Hey mom? Did they go to China?"
"Probably, but not till a little later. Anyway, in Portugal..."
"Hey mom? Do we have any enemies?"
"Not exactly, but we are worried about these two countries right now" pointing to Iran and Korea
"Does anyone have nuclear bombs?"
"We are talking about trade routes, not bombs. So, Christopher Columbus..."
"What happens if a nuclear bomb went off?"
"Bad things, depends on where it goes off at."
"What about in the middle of Mongolia."
"I don't know. Ok, going back to..."
"Hey mom. Who was Leif Erickson?"
"He was a viking, before this time."
"Hey mom? What were they wearing?"
"Who?"
"The pirates."
"What pirates?"
"Can I hold the baby?"
"AAAUGGGHHHHHH" at a decibel to make a dog deaf by Ammon.
"Hey mom, I'm hungry."
"Do we know anything about the Amish?"
"How do any of these questions have to do with Renaissance Trade Routes?!"

Surprisingly with all these interruptions, we still ended up with a good lesson and discussion and they have returned to the map to trace the routes several times. I love their questions, but I sometimes forget this is how they are engaging with me and learning. Are/were nuclear bombs something that affected the Renaissance? How would they know if they didn't ask?

The last one I have tonight is from Simeon, who at random times just pops his head around the corner and says "Hey mom? I like your ears."

Lessons Taught to Me 4 Years Ago That I'm Now Learning

2010-02-19T21:56:00.001-08:00

When we got ready to leave Loveland, Co. for Ogallala, Ne. a friend approached me and told me that her husband had taken a job in a little town in New Mexico. They lived there for one year before making the decision to move back to "civilization". But, she said, it was good for them. It was a break they needed from everything they got wrapped up in living in a city. Living in the country taught them a few things. She didn't share what those things were but I think I have my own ideas.

We moved at the beginning of the month to Provo, UT. We had lived here 10 years ago, almost to the month. Amazing how history repeats itself. Amazingly, for two wanderlusty types like Curtis and me, we made Ogallala, NE our home for four years and one week. We moved out there for work, the cost of living was lower than that in Colorado, and I think I had romanticized living in Nebraska, having lived there for half of my childhood.

What took some getting used to was that Walmart was 50 miles away, one way. The stores in town closed at 9:00 p.m., and sometimes earlier on weekends. Food was more expensive because there wasn't a population demand to bring it down. Entertainment consisted of these choices: hunting, fishing, boating on the lake, bar activities, watching movies at the two screen movie theater, church activities, or driving at least one hour for other things like a small children's museum, history museums, or bigger movie theaters. There were lots of small parks for the kids, which saved my sanity on more than one occasion. Shopping was limited to Alco and Pamida, two discount stores, and Safeway and Sunmart, the two grocery stores. Aimlessly driving around town took about 20 minutes and you had seen it all by that point. Having limited funds and weather, our family activities consisted of swimming in the summer, driving around the lake (having neither boats or fishing poles), playing at the park, watching movies from Netflix, going to the library, reading and homeschooling.

I got all excited at the prospect of moving out to Provo. My eyes glazed over thinking about all the things we would be able to do. Driving into the Utah valley was overwhelming. The traffic! The people! The stores! It's hard not to get in a wreck trying to see it all! Because it's so big, and my memory is not what it used to be, I don't leave the house without a GPS. Of course, it doesn't help that there are 13 different ways to get home from any one direction and the GPS thinks its great fun to direct me home a different way each and every time I leave. We went to the library the first week we were here. It was huge and automated. On Friday night there was hardly any parking spaces left. Were people on dates there? We went to a dinosaur museum, which was great fun, and big, when Isaac and Jesse were little guys, but to take 6 children in now? Well, let's just say Curtis and I were ready for a nap, but the kids were still too hopped up on adrenalin to rest. Walmart was bigger than I ever remember their stores being. I kept calling Curtis to report my findings. Milk: $1.66! Potatoes: 10lbs for $1.00! The houses are huge, almost double what my little house in Ogallala was.

So, I found it odd the other morning when I stepped out and it smelled like cow manure, and another night when it smelled like skunk. Familiar Nebraska smells. We have a mouse living in the stove. It reminded me of a couple of houses in Nebraska which taught me a little mouse was nothing to scream at. (I've actually not seen it, but everyone else has and comments on how cute it is. I WILL scream if the cats chase it across my bed.) Having only one car, Curtis takes it to work during the day, so I am forced to make do or go without till he comes home, kinda like making do or going without by waiting for that once a month trip to Walmart in Nebraska. Our house has 2300 square feet now. Its enormous to me, but there are still huge amounts of space not used. Makes me wonder just where and how I had my stuff stashed in the smaller houses in Nebraska. I feel a little disorganized. Partly due to just moving, but also, this house has cathedral ceilings and wood floors, so every little sound echoes and triples in volume. With 6 kids screaming, crying, fighting, playing, or just simply breathing, and a dog yipping at a cat as if to alarm you that instead of a lazy, slowly moving cat was walking by, its a dangerous cobra ready to strike you in the neck, you can't think, or talk, or remember what you were doing.

As much as I thought it wouldn't happen, I do find myself a little homesick for Nebraska and things that made it home for four years. My little house that I knew where everything was. My husband working 1 mile away from home. The 5 car traffic jams. The lunches in the park with church friends. The ability to run to the store and back home in 15 minutes...now it takes 15 minutes to just get to the store. Something that has really surprised me that I thought would be a problem, but isn't, is that when I do go into a store, I don't have this compulsive urge to buy things that I haven't seen in over four years, or ever. Living in a small town has definitely made me less of a consumer. I wonder when it might not be like this, but still, and maybe I have always been like this, I marvel at the little things around me. The size of the snowflakes. The buds on the trees (this is not even a thought for the tress in Ogallala, I'm sure). The view of the mountains that really seem so close you could touch them. That I can go to church, and it is and always will be, the same feeling I have had in every church we've attended in other cities, even our small branch in Sutherland, Nebraska.

While life will always have its ups and downs and lessons to be learned, forgotten and reminded of, I know that I will look back on my time in Nebraska as a time of learning. I learned A LOT! In fact, I really can't remember a time in my life that I learned so much in a four year period. Maybe because there were not the distractions of a big city, or an echo-y house, or so many things to choose from (I went to buy Swiffer mop pads last night and found an off brand. You mean, I didn't have to buy the Swiffer brand only?!) that it was an environment that allowed for all that learning. It was a struggle, but it was good. I learned patience. I learned thriftiness. I learned sacrifice. I learned acceptance.

I guess I should close this now. I've been writing for entirely too long, draining my brain of all these thoughts now that the house is quiet and all I hear is the hum of my computer. I still have one more thought to share with you, but that will have to be another night, so look forward to it soon. Hailing to you from Utah now, with love!

Feng Shui for the Bedroom

2010-02-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

The master or main bedroom is the most important bedroom of the entire house. Everything from the harmony of the house to the finances of the house can be influenced by the master bedroom.

There are four major factors you should consider about it. What shape is the bedroom? Where is the bed? What area of the house is it in? What is used for decoration? These all play a pivotal role in the flow of energy in the house.

The shape of the bedroom is very important in feng shui. A rectangular or square room is the best. If your bedroom is oddly shaped, you can use a room divider to help it maintain a more rectangular shape.

The bed shouldn't face a door or protruding edge of any kind. These are both symbols of negative energy and can be impossible to correct without moving the bed.

You should also avoid having any overhead beams above the bed or windows behind the headboard. Mirrors facing the bed also negatively affect the Chi of the area.

The ideal place for the master bedroom is in the Northwest of the house. This might not always be possible however and the next best choice is the Southwest. These two areas represent the Patriarch and Matriarch respectably.

Decorations are important but you don't want to overdo it. Depending on what your goals are, you can configure and energize the bedroom for romance, marriage, or relationships. You should avoid energizing the bedroom for luck in wealth.

The News Team

2010-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Last week we were studying about knights and castles and one of the things which we learned about was the Code of Chivalry. If you are unfamiliar with it you can find it here. Also included there is the Rules of Courtly Love, which was nice refresher for anyone in a relationship with anyone. Last week Haiti was hit by an earthquake that causes major damage and took a lot of lives. Isaac wanted to help them.

We thought up a way to do a donation drive in our community. It started out by just posting a few flyers up in the stores and other areas. While I want it to sound noble and all that we are doing this, (and we want to do this, don't get me wrong), part of the project was helping Isaac with his social skills. Keeping eye contact, asking for help, accepting slight rejection (like the word NO), and working on fluidity in his speech.

I was so proud of our little community. Safeway donated a 25.00 gift card to him, another store is offering discounts if they bring in a donation, others let him post his flyer in their place of business. The Chamber of Commerce notified KNOP News 2 out of North Platte, so they scheduled an appointment yesterday to come out and film Isaac and our family for his project.

I rehearsed with Isaac most of the day on the questions they were going to ask him. We cleaned the house. Why is it on the day you are so worked up and nervous about something, its the day the kids are out of sorts, off medication, don't feel good or refuse to cooperate in any way? By the time the News got here, I was trying my best to not look like a stressed out freak of a mom with six kids.

She positioned us all on our couch. Then she handed Isaac a microphone. I got the giggles when I said "Kermit the Frog here, reporting for Sesame Street News." So much for not acting like a freak. Well, the laughter was good anyway, it helped with the nerves.

The anchorwoman that was filming this was very nice and very patient. Kendra Potter had a smile on her face the entire time, complimented and encouraged Isaac, and put us at ease. After our interview she filmed the kids playing a game and I noticed five of them were not even aware of her camera, or that she was stepping over 6 wiggly bodies to get a better shot. Except Simeon. Simeon had all his penguins in tow. He insisted Cody, his favorite, get filmed. At one point Simeon shouts out "Hi Mrs. Hendricks (his Kindergarten teacher)! Look! I'm so brave!" While she was filming the kids playing a game, Simeon was standing beside her with Cody, jabbering on about something. When she lowered the camera for a better picture, Simeon took that opportunity to inch Cody up to the side of the camera, then ease Cody around the edge of lens so it looked something like this:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Only, pretend the seal is a penguin. And the penguins are 5 unassuming kids playing a game.

They will air the segment tomorrow night on the 10:00 news. Isaac is going to be their Hometown Hero. Isaac seemed so at ease, not nervous, and pretty excited about it all. We have yet to get any physical donation in, but I hope after Sunday we might get some. We plan to take all of it to a collection point in Cheyenne WY.

It has been a pretty exciting week here in Ogallala. Its not too often that a news team shows up at your house. I know there are several ways to donate to the people of Haiti, but that Isaac can actually touch the goods, sort them, pack them and deliver them has a lot more meaning to him. I think *sniff*...he's on his way to becoming a knight!

New Year's Resolutions: When All Else Fails

2010-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

I found this on the MOPS newsletter today and wanted to share it. I got a good laugh out of it.

* I will do less laundry and use more deodorant.

* I will avoid taking a bath when ever possible and conserve more water.

* I will not tell the same story at every get together.

* I will brush my hair every day.

* Eat one hot meal a day.

* Go to the bathroom at least once a day BY MYSELF!

* I will make my husband happy and pretend to be a sports fan.

* I will not congratulate any women on her pregnancy unless I am ABSOLUTELY SURE she is indeed with child.

* I will accept the fact that I will never stick to my resolution I have had for the last ten years-that I will go on a diet. To heck with it, I resolve to eat whatever I want, forever.

* Not to do anything incriminating (like, say, shave my nipple hair) in front of my three year old, who will promptly give me away-loudly-to anyone who will listen.

*Not to let the Cheerios littering the floor of my car get crushed, then spilled on, then formed into dried lumps permanently stuck to the carpeting.

* Not to forget my kindergartener's homework, folder, lunch, jacket, show and tell, class picture order, and the fact that is "wear red" school spirit day. Dang kindergarten is hard!

* Not to blame my husband for getting me pregnant for a third time, because we actually did plan it but now I have morning sickness and it is all his fault!

Sharing the Struggles

2010-01-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

I realized last week how lax I have been in writing here. I plead with anyone that has any experience in the mental illness realm to please chime in with advice. I'm still floundering a bit over here.

The short story is we took a trip out to Monroe Meyer Institute in Omaha, NE for them to evaluate Isaac and Simeon and to get a final diagnosis. I had so many people speculate what Isaac or Simeon may have. What it came down to was mild autism for Simeon and ADHD, Asperger Syndrome and possible Schizophrenia for Isaac. The testing is not done as we go out to Kearney next week to get MRI's done to eliminate seizures or tumors. While none of this came as a surprise, there were some things in there I didn't want to admit to myself.

Schizophrenia scares me. It scares me even more to hear all that Isaac has to say about his condition. This had come up about 6 years ago with another counselor, but I dismissed it because of Isaac's age. He's 11 now and quite able to tell me about what he sees. He has two sets of people: the Ladies, Ms. Bonnet and Ms. Moss are nice and tell Isaac he is good, handsome, and smart. They comfort him when he is sad. The other ones are Cowboys. These guys jump out and scare him, hide under the bed, move in the shadows and tell Isaac to do things like choke, hit and kick people. As he's gotten older he's gotten better control. To be honest, I feel like a stranger family moved in and I'm just now learning they've been living in the basement all along. When Isaac seems distracted, it is because he is listening to the voices. When he is standing to the side of the room, tapping his hands, his eyes trying to look at everything at once, he's arguing with the voices. The Cowboys are also why his anxiety is through the roof, why he never wants to be left alone, why he never wants to be in a room by himself. We are currently working with medications to get some balance back to him, but medications don't always last 24 hours and we have to have plans for when it wears off. Isaac is under supervision most of the time and this is exhausting but getting better as he gets older.

Heavenly Father certainly knows our prayers well before we ask them. By Thanksgiving I knew Isaac was not doing well at all. School was hard, he was begging to come back home, you could see the anxiety rising in him. His medications would wear off about 4 in the afternoon, just in time for him to ride the bus home and sometimes walk. It became apparent quickly we couldn't let Isaac walk home with his brothers and sister because he caused fights, left them behind, took different routes or screamed all the way home. In desperate prayer one night I felt he needed to come back out of school. If I needed a reminder of why I started homeschooling, I had my answer. All the 'symptoms' of why I started homeschooling were still there, but a lot of them had lessened with homeschooling...apparently enough that I forgot about them. I started making plans to remove just Isaac from school, hoping this would reset the balance he needed to function, hoping I could get some relief from the constant upset in my home.

The school has not taken kindly to this. They are not equipped to help a child with Schizophrenia, and while they never saw the behaviors I did, they would not help him with the problems I listed until they saw them displayed. So, no Occupational Therapy, no Behavior Intervention or therapy. They helped him with academics. When I went to them for help, they suggested I get Isaac institutionalized and then got upset when we chose not to go that route. Within a week of removing Isaac from school, a lot of the behaviors lessened. His doctors adjusted some medications and that helped as well. By Christmas, we were all starting to breath easily. One of the more disturbing situations I witnessed about Isaac was on his last day we went in to his class to get the few things left out of his desk. I thought he could have a chance to say good bye to some friends. He wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, he wouldn't speak to anyone, and he was agitated. The other kids tried to say good bye, ask him if he was moving, that sort of thing, but his eyes were all over the place he never seemed to make the connection that they were talking to him. He hovered under my arm, too insecure to wander off on his own.

I'm not saying I'm anti public school at this point, but there have been more cons to the kids being in school than being homeschooled. I learned very quickly I lost a lot of patience I had while homeschooling. I missed my kids, I missed having a purpose (i.e. lesson planning, scheduling, teaching). It is different to just homeschool one child versus 4-6 of them at the same time. With the advice of a couple of doctors we felt it would be better to get Isaac stable and let the other kids finish out the school year. We have already decided we will all homeschool next year. It will be nice to be altogether again and I've learned a huge lesson in all this. Mothering instincts are real and usually pretty accurate. YOU know your child better than anyone.

On top of all this stress, we've had illnesses galore. H1N1 flu, pneumonia, colds, strep, ear infections, hand foot and mouth disease, and I have an ulcer. Then this month the van breaks down (our only vehicle), but God is mindful and we were able to get a second opinion on it and it IS just fine. At least for now. Yeah, it could stand a few repairs, but not no 1700.00 we were originally quoted. Curtis continues to look for a better paying job, but it is not easy going but we are grateful we DO have a job.

In a month, my baby will be two. By this time we have usually had another baby or be just about to have another baby. I feel a little lost on that part too. I feel like I'm entering a new stage of life but I wasn't quite ready for the last part of be over yet. I love the babies, I crave the babies, and they sadly may not be coming anymore. I'm trying to resign myself to being happy with the six we have, but I felt so sure we had at least one more coming to us.

So, this is the end of my post on our struggles. I wish there was someway to lace some humor into it, but there seems to be a short supply of that when dealing with mental illness. Once again, I would love to hear from any homeschoolers who have this affliction with their children.

To a better year!!!

Works For Me Wednesday

2010-01-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

I saw this on another homeschool blog and thought I could apply it over here too. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with this theme for the year. (I petered out on the Day Book theme).

This will probably sound really confusing to a lot of people, but I will attempt to tell you what our schedule is, and when it's working how it works for us.

I cannot function in a blown up house. The clutter, messiness and dirt inhibits any functionality in my body. Maybe this came from a few years of studying Feng Shui, maybe it is just how I'm wired. For me, my best time is in the morning, so most mornings (barring any catastrophes, like a flooded basement, lost dog, meltdown 30 seconds before heading out the door)we start with scripture study. This year we are doing the Relief Society and Priesthood book Gospel Principles together as a family. We eat breakfast and get everyone out the door for work and three kids that are going to school. Once back home, we clean up the dishes, get laundry going, clean the cat box, feed the animals, and clean the bathroom.

Then it is onto school. I'll post more about this tomorrow, but we are just getting back into the routine of things after a four month break. While I function better in the morning, Isaac does not and his best time is early afternoon and evening. I try to get in school for him in the morning, and then carry over the leftover school stuff to afternoon.

Lunch is leftovers or sandwiches and soup. When I was homeschooling all the kids, we had some lunches like that, but I usually ended up cooking a regular meal because it was cheaper and went farther.

Naps are at 1:30. The little boys go down and that leaves time for Isaac and I to do school stuff uninterrupted and without distractions. I will admit, if it has been a hard morning, I veg during this time. I zone out on Facebook, email, a game or a book and Isaac does the same. If its been a pretty good day, we do chores and school activities.

One thing I don't like is the 3:30 interruption for the other three kids coming home from school. They don't all get out of school at the same time. They stagger the dismissal times between the 3 different schools the kids attend and so I end up waiting impatiently for Jesse to arrive. I have hurt their feelings by refusing to allow the kids to show me anything out of their backpacks in the car. Too much stuff in an itty bitty space. Once we are home it is snack time and homework time, a few chores (animal care and laundry to be put away) and veg time for the school age kids.

Mondays and Wednesdays we have a paper route that takes an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. It adds a nice break in the summer from the monotonous day of nothing, but during school its becomes a chore and on really cold, freezing days like today, it is miserable.

Dinner is at 6. Then it is baths for little kids, showers for the older ones, cleaning of the bedrooms and bathroom (again) and most of them are into bed by 9.

On bad days, my sanity is strapping them all in the car and driving around for 20 minutes 'creating' errands. If I can't leave the house for whatever reason, it's listening to my Ipod with the volume turned up so loud I can't hear crying or fighting. Or hiding in my closet.

A friend reminded me last week I needed to get back to our family rhythm so that we can relieve some stress in our family (more to follow on that) and so I really took time this week to try to remember what that was. There simply is a lot of comfort in routine, and a lot of relief in not having to use your brain for one more thing to stress out about.

If any of you would feel inclined to share a WFMW post, please link it here! We'd love to hear it!

Cat House

2010-01-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

Mary Ann and Nemo

When Shiloah and Ben came through with everyone, we offered to watch their cats for them until they could find a house and get settled. Mary Ann and Bianca have been visiting for almost three weeks now. I've never had more than two cats at a time, so to see four of them interacting now is very entertaining.

Mary Man and Bianca

Curtis discovered Mary Ann and Bianca were boys, not the girls we all thought they were. Not knowing how to make Bianca masculine, we still call him Bianca, but Mary Ann became Mary Man. Nemo and Mary Man are pretty good friends, most of the time. Nemo wanders around quite a bit during the day, so Mary Man joined with him.

Then it progressed to these two fighting in the tree, begging at the table, sharing the same tiny litter box at the same time (because nothing says best friends like sharing a litter box).

Bianca was injured so he has stayed holed up in a closet on an afghan most of the time. When nighttime rolled around though, he would come up to see us, eat, and turn into Ninja Kitty. He'd hide out under the beds and swipe at you as you walked by. I don't know how much sleep the boys got with the cats running around constantly all night, but it was fun to watch them tearing around.

I don't have a picture of Missy up here (ever evasive), but she was mad, like usual. She never handles change well, nor new animals. I had no idea that cats hissed and spit THAT much. One night just by chance, she got caught between Mary Man and Bianca and had no escape. They all hissed and spit and fuzzed up but no one moved. Missy's domain is on our bed and she rarely even allows Nemo up there, much less any other cats, no matter how pretty and cute they are. A couple times we got a giggle out of watching her discover we had sneaked Bianca in to cuddle and one Missy discovered him, there was not enough forgiveness in the world for how offended she was. She even hissed at Curtis as if to say "How dare you!!!" If she came upon Nemo, who probably smelled a lot like Mary Man from wrestling with him, she would hiss at him too, as if to say "How dare you associate with those strangers!"

Anyway, we had a pretty good time with the visiting cats. They go home today, but I'm sure it's not the last time we will see them.

We Made it and are Still Sane: I Think?

2010-01-04T07:19:00.001-08:00

We made it across the continental USA with seven kids and two cats still alive and sane. December was an insanely busy month. I was sick with morning sickness most of the month. The seabands saved my life during the car trip. {smile}

The movers came and packed us up, we cleaned house and lived in it empty for a couple of days and took off on a very long road trip. It was five days of driving with some sight-seeing:

We saw Jamestown, Virginia. This was a favorite view from Black Point on the island of Jamestown.

Next stop was Washington D.C. which was insane. We were pulling a large trailer with a van and had a Suburban full of people and luggage. We must have looked a sight! We did get to stop at the Washington D.C. Temple and I was able to go through while hubby watched the kids. My parents were married there, so I was so happy to be able to go.

We also got to meet Rebecca, an online friend of mine for 10 years! We had dinner with them and then we were off for another almost 24 hours of driving.

We made it to Nebraska and enjoyed some time with my best friend Dawn and her family.

After a week's worth of looking at houses, we found one and moved in! Once again we were without furniture for 6 days due to it being Christmas and everything was closed. The furniture is here now and the internet is hooked up. My morning sickness is mostly gone and all I can say is I'm so happy to be getting settled again. Moving is stressful, but moving long distances can cause insanity!

"Home is the resort
Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where,
Supporting and supported, polish'd friends
And dear relations mingled into bliss"
-Thompson

There is something to be said about one's own furniture and belongings in a home bringing you comfort and a feeling of stability. The kids have relaxed as we unpack and pull out their favorite toys and books. I've relaxed and sleep better now that I have my king sized bed and don't have to share a queen sized air mattress!

Finally, I'm glad to be back online. This is such an enjoyable pastime for me to blog, write, read blogs and facebook. We had some wonderful guest bloggers who did such a great job! Thank you so much! I always am thankful Linda's help managing the Facebook group!

Housekeeping and Renovations

2009-12-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

Shiloah and I chatted briefly about our blog today and realized that, what do you know, we had 5 whole posts the month of November! Sorry about that, Dear Readers. I didn't realize that Fishville and Country Life on Facebook was sucking all my blogging time up that much. As I turned over my calendar today for December, I glanced at November's journal of appointments. I had maybe 5 whole days on there without something penciled in. I'll let out a sigh of relief that I was actually, legitimately, busy for the month of November. I don't know that December will be any better.

I thought I would share some pictures with you of what we have been up to.

1. Kitchen Renovation

I'll just show you the before and after pictures and that should be enough said. Sorry they are kinda fuzzy. I happen to be camera retarded and couldn't figure out how to set the camera on auto-focus.

Before: pink and blue plaid wallpaper and check out those curtains. Yeah, Baby!!

After: Enter cozy, country kitchen. Seems rather appropriate here in Nebraska.

I know you can't see it well, it's a tiny kitchen, but I put up a whitewashed board wallpaper under the border. The paint color is Belgium Waffle.

2. We ripped the carpet out of the living room. This revealed a "rustic" hardwood floor under some pretty nasty carpet. I'm still working on refining the floor a little, wondering if I should get an area rug or not, but honestly, who wants to deal with carpet when potty training a three year old?

As you can tell, it is not a perfect wood floor, but I kinda like it with the kitchen decor. Marred floors are good. You don't feel so bad when your kid races his car on it and leaves a mark.

I don't have pictures up of the walls yet, but we are painting the living room as well, so I will post pictures of that project once we get started on it again. It's half way done now. We'll also be replacing the vertical blinds with some curtains too.

3. Thanksgiving. This is the only picture of Thanksgiving we got. Probably sums up the whole event pretty well.

4. Here's a safety tip for you: Do not allow girls with long hair in your kitchen near your precious kitchen aid.

(FYI, she wasn't hurt and we didn't have to cut her hair either. And yes, this is going into the Never Let Her Live It Down File..I will always ask her if hair is safe if she calls to tell me she got a new mixer.)

5. Dogs. First the pregnant dog scare, then the calm that she wasn't, then she got out for an hour and a half one day and now we are suspicious again. Oreo won't sit still to take her picuture, ever, but I did catch her doing this:

Thank goodness for a hardwood floor!! It works with potty training dogs as well.

So, there's my life for the last month. I don't know what it is about not having carpet in the living room but I swear it explodes about 72 times a day. I think it gets to stay clean for a whole 2 hours during naptime in the afternoon.

I also started a once a week preschool with our friends in the area. We've only gotten to meet two times, but I enjoyed it and it was fun to see 5 little boys playing together. Joshua started calling them "The Guys".

I'll try to get up some other articles this week for Christmas and other life trials I experience. Till we meet again!

Black Friday in a Small Town

2009-11-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

For once, Black Friday was on a payday this year. Not that I ran out in a big rush with a fist full of money for Christmas shopping; groceries take priority. I did however venture out for one item for Christmas that was on sale, a play kitchen for 30.00. The rest of my shopping consisted of some good food deals I found.

In the past however, I avoided the Black Friday crowds. It sounded too scary with the cart run-overs, pushing and shoving, and who in their right mind would show up at 3:00 a.m. at Walmart for the Black Friday sales in North-cold-as-all-get-out-Platte, Nebraska? (You know I love you, for those friends that really do that) I just couldn't bring myself to that. So, I stayed around our small town of 5500 people. I ventured out at 7:30.

This is what I came up on in the Alco parking lot, assuming it would be swarming with people that early. Two cars. Mine made three. I drove over to Pamida for their canned food sale (12 cans for 5.88!) and there were a few more cars and a few more people. No waiting at the registers either! Then I drove all through town to the grocery store. It was dead. All the downtown stores were closed, hardly any cars were milling about. The grocery store had maybe four customers in the whole store.

Hmm...Black Friday shopping isn't so bad.

I have one short funny story to share with you that happened last year, just to give you a good chuckle. Last year I was in Alco again. You can see the other side of the store from the other side of the store, so we're not talking a big store here. For those of you don't know what Alco is, its a general store (same as Pamida), just on a smaller scale than Walmart. I was browsing through the end of the aisle sales when a woman and her mother blew into the store. They were ready! Radios on, check. Carts, check. Hair standing on end, check. Elbows cocked, check. Scary wild eyed look, check. Then in a loud voice they announced their plan. "Mom, you go that way and look for the sweaters. I'll get back to the toys!" And they raced off. I looked around myself. How many other people were racing around the store, frantically clearing off shelves? Um...there was the elderly lady down the aisle from me looking at candy. Then there was a person milling around in the clothes rack. Two checkers were at the registers. There might have been someone back in hardware. Then I hear the radios, "MOM! Did you find the sweaters? I got the toys!" Then I could hear the squeaky wheels race down the aisle as she met up with her mom.

This was actually happening in Alco? There were like, 6 people in the whole store. It was the best scene I've ever seen in a store. I still laugh about it. Maybe it was the wide-eyed look I saw on everyone else's face as they looked around themselves to see what they were missing, or what the big hurry was. Maybe it was the excitement these ladies had that would have been so well served in a bigger store, in a larger city, that here, became a comedic scene. Either way, whenever Black Friday is mentioned, I can't think about the day without remembering this episode.

Now that the official Christmas Season has begun, I'm looking forward to the shopping, baking and singing. I love Christmas! Its my favorite holiday. Having had my outing today, I'll be putting up my tree and decorating the house today. Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend!

We Want to Know You: Blog

2009-11-17T08:02:00.001-08:00

My words fly up
my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts
never to heaven go.
—Shakespeare

Over the years I have met some amazing women- women who changed my life through their example or their mentoring me. When they moved away we lost touch because they were doers and not writers. How many times I wished those women would write-write their thoughts, their experiences and share their knowledge. Oh, the things we could learn!

Many people say, “I’m too busy to write- too busy living life.” To that I respond that there are many people who could use your mentorship through your example and writing about it. Writing about life, the ups and downs and how you learned from your experiences is a form of journal writing. How are our children to really know us if we don’t write?

The amazing thing about writing online is you never know who you will touch and how far reaching your words really are. Sometimes you’ll get some wonderful feedback in person or online, or sometimes people quietly read and take in what you share and allow it to enrich their life.

While I love to share my feelings in person with friends and those I meet, I feel that writing online is my way of sharing my thoughts and opinions in an unthreatening manner. I can also give unsolicited advice and people can read and take it if they want or move on to the next article.

To those who are currently writing on a blog or elsewhere, don’t hide your light under a bushel. How many blogs have I been to that I fell in love with the content and feel of the blog? The answer is many. When I like someone’s writings, I want to get to “know” them better and am taken aback when after sharing such a wealth of information they hide who they are and don’t give us an insight into their real lives. Sure there are some weirdos out there, but don’t let the fear of them keep us from getting to know you. Your writings have credibility when we know you are a real person. If you touch our lives with your writing, please further touch our lives with a glimpse into yours.

Everyone who loves life and family has something to offer. Everyone. I especially love reading from those who are passionate about life, Christ, family, hobbies, reading, writing, etc. and not necessarily in that order. It’s easy to begin a blog and share with the world. Take a chance today to touch someone or teach us through your writing.

Signs Your Furniture is Out to Get You

2009-11-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I had two sets of furniture. The green set was for the kids to use. It was dark, durable, and they could sit on it comfortably. As for adults, it was so narrow, a normal sized adult could not lay on it without hanging off the edge. The other set was my rose furniture. It was overstuffed, comfy and cream colored. No children allowed on it. It was only 6 months when I walked into the front room and caught Hannah and her friend with scissors and a screwdriver performing surgery on a perfectly good cushion. They cut a square into the cushion. Well, I figured, I'll just turn it over. Maybe I could fix it at another time. That was the first I knew this couch was out to get me.

It lured me into selling my green set because of space and because it was the more comfortable of the two sets. I sold the green set and regained my school room. Only, instead of using the table and shelves we put in place of the green furniture, we went upstairs and sat on the rose couch with a table.

It's light color enticed my children to color on it with black and purple permanent markers, blue ink pens and red crayons.

The fabric was so fun to poke with a screwdriver that one arm now has 150 star shaped pin pricks in it.

I contemplated many times selling the rose set when it was in good condition, but my love of this couch prevented me. Obviously, the feelings were not mutual.

It invited so many people to sit on it that eventually the fabric wore thin in places. The cushion with the surgical hole? The other side split one day. The arm on the chair split shortly after. All attempts to mend only made the holes worse.

I thought if I bought some huge, pretty matching towels, they would protect the cushions from further damage and stains. My children used the towels as blankets or stuffed them into the back of the couch.

The final straw came this morning. The couch sits behind me as I check my emails, facebook, blogs, articles and news. I think it saw me check out this couch.

A Duct Taped Couch

Maybe it sensed me contemplating taping over its lovely roses and leaves with a nice sage green duct tape...or brown tape and we could pretend its a leather couch.

This morning after I stripped off all the couch cushions thinking if I washed everything maybe that would improve the look of the sad couch. I hid the cushions in my bedroom. There they sat. Whispering "Cookie!!!! Joshua......Come play with me....." And there it allowed the cushions to be shredded into unrecognizable bits of fluff. Strewn from my bedroom to the front door, Cookie running around with bits hanging from her muzzle. Joshua sitting in the middle of one cushion with it exploded around him.

Something is not right with this couch. I really, really think its out to get me.

Muffin Tin Meals

2009-11-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this on here for those of you trying to find creative ways for your kids to eat. This was sent to me in a link, (Thank you, Kris!), and so I'm reposting it here from Confessions of Homeschooler.

Wow this is a great idea!

Muffin Tin Monday

Enjoy!!

Disinfecting The House

2009-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

When we went to bed last night, Ammon was running a fever of 103, and Simeon wasn't far behind at 102.6. It was a miserable night. Simeon woke up crying and in a panic at 2 a.m. to which I jumped out of bed frantically looking for barf, sure he had thrown up, but no, his fever had spiked again and he was just miserable and cold. I medicated him and then had to take the dog out that was yapping because obviously it was time to get up. At 5 a.m. I was up with Ammon who was burning up with his fever and had soaked through his clothes with a leaky diaper and was freezing cold, both because of the wet clothes and fever. I put him back in bed and laid beside him praying for an hour to know what to do. Illness has been plaguing our home for 6 weeks now.

Something that came to my mind during that time was a few things I witnesses at my friend's house. After every meal, the counters, table, chairs and refrigerator were wiped down with an antibacterial cleaner. She didn't use rags that could lay in your sink and get sour. She also used a sponge on a handle (I'd post a picture but my husband is downloading an Ubuntu system on the computer and I can't figure out how to get pictures loaded yet), which I have been trying out since the middle of September, and I've noticed they do not get sour like the regular sponges that can fall into the bottom of the sink and go sour after kids pile their dishes in the sink. Now, granted, she only has two kids, and I have six, but I noticed she stayed up on her laundry which didn't give anything a chance to sit around and become a science experiment. On a day that was 18 degrees, she still threw open her windows for a good airing out.

Keep in mind, it is one thing to get overly critical of yourself and your housekeeping skills when comparing yourself to someone who has a touch of OCD about their house , and another to watch and learn and see if some of those things can help you out. I chose the latter.

These things were brought to my mind this morning, so instead of roasting with my hot tamale of a baby in my comfortable bed, I tackled the bathroom at 6 a.m. Curtis asked if I was nesting. No, I was disinfecting. I've already gotten rid of the sponge. I'm already opening windows every day to air out "sick" rooms, well, actually the whole house. I did some research today about how to disinfect your home and not necessarily using all sorts of chemicals, but here were some things I thought I would share with you that I found.

First, what I have read over the last few weeks is about isolation. One friend said that when her kids came down with something they were quarantined to the bathroom. The tub was made into a bed, and they lived in there for the next 24 hours (make sure your bathroom is clean before doing this). If the bathroom is too inconvenient (I don't know that I could shut my 20 month old up in there...but a nine year old with a good book might stay put), isolate them to one room, and keep the rest of the family away. If possible, allow the sick individual to have their own bathroom as well, and clean that daily.

Next up, Surfaces. You can use a number of things for cleaning surfaces, but vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (NOT MIXED TOGETHER), but sprayed separately 10 minutes apart can kill a number of germs. Bleach, soap, detergents, alcohol and antiseptics are acceptable too. Follow directions carefully, but all these things are effective against viruses and bacteria. Do not use bleach in a baby's room. Pay attention to door knobs, keyboards, counters, tables, and phones. Remember those videos of someone sneezing and them filming where and how far the spray went? Think like that when cleaning these areas. Make sure you label your containers if you do your own (like peroxide, vinegar, alcohol or bleach...all are clear and all could be mistaken easily).

Remove trash daily. Use rubber gloves or wash your hands after handling it. Clean your trash cans too.

Three places of interest to keep clean:
The bathroom
The trash
Surfaces

Next up, linens. Wash them in hot water, dry on high heat. Also, I read not to "hug" dirty laundry to yourself as you pick it up. Get a basket! Don't use towels or blankets used by sick individuals. This is where I have messed up. My kids drag around 3-4 blankets each, and at least four of my kids share a bed with each other. I have tried to hide, collect, sell or get rid of excess blankets my kids love, but match nothing and have no use except to collect cat hair.

Excuse me while I dream a bit about those Pottery Barn bedrooms they have in catalogues.

Ok, I'm back. While this next one is a no-brainer, I'm still guilty in this department. How many times has your kid dug a sippy cup out from under the couch and you realize you haven't seen that cup in a week? Wash dishes in hot water or a dishwasher, probably better if the dishwasher has a heater in it. I send my kids on a dish search every night (although this isn't foolproof, we are keeping up on our sippy collection now). So, keep up on your dishes, sanitize your counters and table and high chair every night. Don't forget the trash and doorknobs.

Lastly, air out the house. I open some windows in the house every morning, even on the coldest days. Rooms I pay attention to: bedrooms, kitchen and living room. These are our main living areas. Keep your filters in the furnace and A/C clean too.

Having written all this out and clearly seen where I've not been so diligent, I'm off to raid the blanket and linen collection. And do some laundry. And take care of my sick babies.

Pregnant Dogs?

2009-11-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

I gave myself a heart attack today. We noticed some, um...suspicious signs about Cookie that made us wonder if puppies might be arriving soon. Every month we discussed getting her spayed and every month, for one reason or another, making that appointment slipped our minds. She is 10 months old and now in heat, at least, we think she is in heat.

What caused this panic attack was the mention by one of the kids that her belly looks a little big. To be honest, it did. She sits in some hunched back way that makes her look like she has a pot belly. Then I hear "I think I feel a leg in her belly!" WHAT?!?!! The rest of the day was spent poking and palpitating Cookie's belly (of course, she never seemed to object).

I finally gave up my obsessive search online and called the vet. How can you tell if a dog is pregnant? What if she is just in heat? Do you have a pregnancy test for a dog? Will I wake up to Cookie and eight puppies in her kennel one morning?

Let me back up here a minute and explain how this might be plausible. 6 weeks ago we went to Utah for a job interview. We were going to board Cookie at the vet, get her shots, get her spayed, etc, but our neighbor girl really, really wanted to watch Cookie for us. She had watched Cookie and the cats for a weekend over the summer and did a very good job, so I dismissed all my plans for Cookie at the vet and let the neighbor take her. Cookie did get her vaccinations, but not the spaying. I thought all the dogs the neighbor had were neutered. Turns out, Sherman the Pug was NOT neutered.

Enter my panic today when I was reminded of this. Let's see, it takes 60-63 days of gestation for a dog. Counting on my fingers, that means if Cookie is pregnant, I will be waking up to a kennel full of puppies in the too near of future. This is the last thing we need!

I called the vet clinic in a panic. I'm sure the lady was ready to ask me to breathe into a paper bag and calm down. Pregnancy test for dogs: an ultrasound for $57.34. Signs she might be pregnant: protruding belly, enlarged mammary glands. Signs she's in heat: um....well, since this is a family blog, I'll hold off on those details but let's just say she has them now.

I know that many people would say "It's just a DOG! For crying out loud, who would shell out $8973.00 for the dog to get an x-ray and set its leg after being hit by a car!?". Well, I put out $400.00 for one of my dogs to get cured of heart worm. And I know my parents have gone out thousands of dollars for their dog that learned how to climb chain link fences and would cut his foot open all the time. What I'm about to bring up can only be explained away by relating how I was raised about dogs. They were a member of the family, they had feelings (and very tender feelings at that), they were to be babied, pampered, and enjoyed because their status was elevated to a furry sibling. Ok, we didn't dress them up...wait, we did when they were a puppy. But we didn't take them places with us... .... wait, mom and dad would take them to Sonic and buy the dog an ice cream cone once in awhile. Ok, they received the first Christmas present every year and the dog slept on the bed. There, they were spoiled rotten! Dad disciplined them just like he did us, sometimes a spank and sat in the corner. You know, I don't remember our family dog ever chewing through another lotion bottle after that.

Anyway, back to my Dog in Heat story. After waffling over all the possibilities that Cookie could have been or is now for about fifteen minutes, this is what I found out. They can do an ultrasound on her to see if and how far along she is if she is pregnant. We discussed how often they go into heat (twice a year, about 6 months apart). They can have a silent ovulation as well. If she is pregnant, they can still spay her, which means aborting her puppies.

Immediately, I was taken back to 5th grade. One of the kids in the grade lower than me had a dad who was one of the only vets in town. He had spayed a dog who was pregnant and saved the dog foetuses in a jar for the science department at school. But they came to school with the kids so they could do Show and Tell. It was so disturbing to me, that even after all these years, it is still a very vivid memory. Then fast forward to when I was 26. I was going to get on birth control but suspected I might have been pregnant already. I wasn't sure, and it was too early to tell by pregnancy test if I was. I inquired at Planned Parenthood about birth control and a pregnancy test, but was offered a RU4-86 pill, also known as The Morning After pill. I couldn't take it. No matter what the circumstances were, I would not abort any of my babies.

I have to say, I feel the same way for poor Cookie. All I could envision after asked if I wanted them to abort the pregnancy, was Cookie hunched over, head hanging low, thinking about her babies and how close they were to arrival, for them to be just snatched away. I COULDN'T DO THAT, EVEN TO A DOG! I couldn't stand the thought of gentle, goofy Cookie being depressed.

I got off the phone and immediately stretched Cookie out and poked around on her belly. I didn't feel anything suspicious. I didn't see anything that looked like a puppy leg or a nubbin about to start lactating. I think she's just in heat *everyone sigh with relief with me*. Cookie's regime for the next two weeks will be short walks to the fenced and gated backyard, and naps in her kennel. I don't want any possibility for Sherman the Pug next door to get ideas, or any other dog in the neighborhood, for that matter. And her spaying (without puppies), will be scheduled in the very near future.

On that note, I'll be crawling off to bed now. I'm exhausted from all this puppy panic, which was essentially, all for nothing.

Egg Substitutes

2009-10-27T14:05:00.001-07:00

Egg Substitutes

Using Flax Seed:
For each egg needed, place in blender:
1 heaping tablespoon of whole organic flax seed, blend until it becomes a fine meal. Add 1/4 cup cold water blend 2-3 minutes until thickened and has the consistency of eggs. Each 1/4 cup of Flax seed mixture will replace one egg in baking

Using Gelatin:
Before starting recipe for cookies, cake etc... Combine 1 tsp unflavored gelatin with 3 tblsp cold water and 2 tblsp plus 1 tsp boiling water. This mixture will substitute for 1 egg in a recipe.

Using Tofu:
Tofu is great for egg substitutions in recipes that call for a lot of egg (like quiches). To substitute for only one egg in a recipe, whip 1/4 cup tofu and add to your cooking.

1 whole egg = 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp oil and 2 tsp baking powder.

To make one egg use 2 tbsp water and 2 tsp baking powder.

To make one egg white, dissolve 1 tblsp plain agar powder in 1 tblsp water. Whip, chill and whip again.

1 heaping tblsp soy powder and 2 tblsp water = 1 egg.

1 tblsp soy milk powder and 1 tblsp cornstarch and 2 tblsp water = 1 egg.

One average size banana = one egg, adds flavor to product. Product may be gummy.

1/4 cup soymilk in place of each egg.

3 tablespoons pureed fruit = 1 egg.

Substitute 3 tablespoons mayonnaise for each egg called for in a recipe.

1 egg white is 1 tablespoon of meringue powder plus 2 tablespoons warm water; 8-10 egg whites = 1 cup

1/4 teaspoon agar powder and 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon low sodium baking powder . Whisk all ingredients together well before adding to recipe .

1/2 tablespoon agar flakes and 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon low sodium baking powder- In a large microwave safe container, combine water and agar with top on cook on high in microwave for 45 seconds. Carefully remove container from microwave and whisk baking powder into mixture. Use caution, the baking powder causes a rapid expansion of the liquid and has a tendency to foam over.

2 tablespoons liquid (room temperature water or milk or substitute) and 1 tablespoon potato starch or tapioca starch and 1 /2 tablespoon shortening and 3 /4 teaspoon low sodium baking powder.

1 tablespoon any mild flavored oil + 1 tablespoon apple cider or wine vinegar or lemon juice and 1 teaspoon low sodium baking powder and 1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch or arrowroot + enough carbonated water[plain soda water) to equal a total of 1 /4 cup . Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl to allow room for the ingredients to increase in volume as baking soda and vinegar react. Whisk, then add per mix or recipe instructions.

1 tsp of arrowroot powder + 1 tsp of water, sometimes you may want to add a little extra milk or water or oil to make up for the bulk that you would get with a real egg. Good for pancakes and waffles.

As bad as this may sound 15 ml (0.51 oz) Vinegar = 1 egg. Mainly used in baking, products will stale quickly, use within four days. Freeze until used. Adds flavor to product. Product may be gummy.

1 tsp yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water = 1 egg.

Xanthan Gum.
Mix about 1/4 tsp. with about 1/4 cup of water. Let stand. It thickens, and can be whipped like an egg white. It's okay to replace one egg.

Egg Yolk Substitute:
Mix 2 cups water and 1 cup flour in a blender until thick. Cook in a double boiler 45-60 minutes. With a mixer, whip in 2 Tbsp. cooking oil and 1/4 tsp salt. use 2 or 3 Tbsp. for binder in hamburgers or meat loaf.

Egg White Extender:
Add 1 tsp cold water to 2 egg whites. Makes 3 egg whites.

And Now For Something Completely Different, But Works:
Snow can be used as an excellent substitute for eggs in puddings, pancakes, etc. Two heaping tablespoons snow will take the place of 1 egg, and the recipe will turn out equally well. Use fresh-fallen snow or the under-layers of older snow. The ammonia in snow imparts to its rising properties, and the exposed surface of the snow loses ammonia by evaporations very soon after it has fallen.

Low Cholesterol Egg Substitute Recipe:
1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder
2 egg whites from large eggs
4 drops of yellow food color

Sprinkle powdered milk over egg whites, then beat them with fork until smooth. Add food color, and beat until blended. This makes one-fourth cup, which is equal to 1 large egg. If you use this homemade substitute for scrambled eggs, cook it in vegetable oil or margarine so the eggs won't be too dry.

Best For Baking:
Try substituting 1 banana or 1/4 cup apple sauce for each egg called for in a sweet, baked recipe. These will flavour the recipe, however, so make sure banana or apple will taste good in it.
This is the one most often used in baking; it's really only good for recipes that call for 1 or 2 eggs. To make one egg use 1 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer powder + 2 tbsp water. It's made from potato flour and other vegan leaveners, this powder can be found in most health food stores.

Caramel Popcorn

2009-10-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

GO MAKE THIS NOW!!!!

5 quarts popped popcorn
1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a medium saucepan melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. I do this half a batch at a time, so half the popcorn, half the syrup. Coat the popcorn and then place in two cookie sheets. Place in the oven, stir every 15 minutes for one hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Wash your pans immediately or the caramel sticks pretty bad. Enjoy that sugar high!!! Perfect with hot wassail or hot chocolate!

The Five Stages of Illness

2009-10-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

DENIAL
The day before you feel a little run down. Maybe more tired than usual and sneak off for cat nap in the car on your break, or dose off while the kids are watching PBS. You feel just...off. The next morning you don't really want to get out of bed because it is warm and you are still exhausted. Gee, you notice you're a little stuffed up and your throat is kinda tender (orange juice+ sore throat= awful burning pain). You go about your day normally. Sore throat wears off and you think, "huh. It must be getting drier due to the weather change". Never mind that you and the Kleenex box have now become acquainted. That night you think soup sounds good. You go to bed early because obviously you must not be getting enough sleep.

And then it hits in the middle of the night. Your sleep is restless because you've tossed and turned all night trying to find a position that allows you to breath. Your partner didn't get a wink of sleep from all your snoring and weird...your arm hurts. You try to talk and accuse your partner of beating you in your sleep and it comes out like "Why'd du hab to be so rude?!" in a half squeaky, hoarse voice.

ANGER
Then you realize it. You are SICK. Four million excuses run through your head why you can't be sick. I have work, kids, laundry, cookies to make, paper route, meeting, play date, trip, exercise, walking the dog, or a fun filled day cleaning your hairy couch with the vacuum cleaner. I CAN'T BE SICK!!!! you scream, well, if you had a voice to do so.

Then you search your brain for whatever places you have been that could have infected you with obnoxious germs. The shopping cart? The steering wheel? Did someone ELSE use my toothbrush? Wait...I saw my kid drinking out of my cup the other day! Keyboards! My phone? The cat, because he was sneezing last night? The rainy day. The windy day? The snowy day? The open mouthed baby kiss I got that I thought was so cute, but now is just gross?

BARGAINING
You think, I'll just call in sick for today, because surely this is the worst of it. You sit around all day, watching bad movies in the name of rest, drinking tea, inhaling cold medications, eating soup, sleeping with the cat you suspect got you sick in the first place and popping Vitamin C's like they are candy. Its okay the house is trashed because you are sick. You'll clean it up tomorrowo when you feel better after a long night rest with a humidifier/vaporizer.

DEPRESSION
You thought yesterday was miserable? Today, my friend, is 10 times worse. Now the Kleenex box has taken on a name and you hug it to your chest like its a long lost treasure. You're telling it secrets in your hallucinating delirium from fever. You have never felt this horrible in your life and swear you are dying. A shower will help, you think. Only when you emerge after putting on clean clothes and "think" your hair is okay, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. "I look like death warmed over!!!" Pale skin, red nose, watery eyes and black circles underneath glares back at you and why does it seem every pore in your face is visible when you're sick? "I'm hideous!" Hence, depression sets in as you spend an even longer, miserable day draped over furniture and feeling guilty you had to call in sick again because obviously they will think you are playing hooky for a day of fun.

ACCEPTANCE
I'm sick. "Take something!" your significant other hisses at you because you look, smell and sound horrible. You paw through the medicine cabinet looking for anything that will stop the drip of your nose, the ache of the headache, the burn of raw skin on your nose from the evil Kleenex. You laugh at the word rest, because while you are down, life is still going on and either you can't sleep because you can't breathe, or you can't sleep because everyone is lost without and constantly badger you for directions, advice, permission, and to show you that if they stick a coin by their (obviously non-stuffed) up nose and inhale, the coin will stay there! You thought yesterday's mess was awful, now you are knee deep in clutter, tissues, dishes, blankets and pillows that piled up in your inability to move off the still hairy couch. You don't care. You don't care that you are watching Barney on PBS. You don't care that you are thinking of ordering a set of ginsu knives. You don't care that you now have a sink full of toothpaste because the kids tried to brush their teeth unsupervised (it'll just make the fixtures really shiny when you do get back to cleaning them up). You don't care that you've been in the same clothes for two days. You've accepted you are always going to be THIS sick.

Barring any complications, by day five you feel like a miracle has been worked. You can leave your Kleenex friend/foe at home now. You're getting a bit of color back in your cheeks. You shaved! It's like you've got a new lease on life because you survived! It may have only been a cold, but you survived to see another day!

I'm always so amused at how good operating at a 100% feels when you've been sick and operating on 10%.

Just so this isn't pure fluff, I thought I would add a few remedies we use for our family:

Use Mucinex (guifesen) and Pseupedphrine (you have to get it from behind the pharmacy counter) together for the first couple days. This has saved me from getting a sinus infection several times.

Use a humidifier/vaporizer. Put a towel underneath so it doesn't soak your furniture. Maybe not everyone's does this because they still have a rubber stopper thingy on the bottom of the vent. One of my kids ate mine, or vacuumed it up.

Tyelnol for pain. Ibuprofen for inflammation.

Chicken soup:
2 big onions
2 cloves garlic
3 chicken breasts cooked with soy sauce and lemon pepper
1 lb. carrots
couple stalks of celery
3-4 potatoes
Noodles (I use a whole bag because we prefer stew over soup...easier to eat for little ones)
To taste:
Bay leaves
celery salt
garlic salt
basil
pepper
yellow curry or tumeric (just a little...its very strong)
Water to cover all ingredients

Brown the meat. Add the onions, garlic and celery and saute until tender. Add water, spices, potatoes, and the meat and veggies. Cook until veggies are almost tender and add the noodles. Cook until they are tender.

Baths help with fevers.

Wash your hands frequently and Lysol everything.

Hope you all stay healthy this season. It seems like winter is setting in early. We've been sick for three weeks with various illnesses. I NEED it to end!!

Supper or Dinner?

2009-10-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight around the dinner table our usual unusual conversations were flowing. Everything from the proper color of urine to compliments on the dinner and ideas for the next time we make the dish. One of the kids brought up the question as to why we call "dinner" "dinner" and why other people call it "supper".

I grew up with my parents calling the evening meal "Supper". I just never liked it as much as the way dinner sounds, so I changed my habits and saying "dinner" is now so second nature to me.

My question to you is, what do you call the evening meal? Supper or Dinner?

Man-Bodi

2009-10-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

“Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains...”
-Diane Ackerman

Scents create memories, stir up feelings and can even change our moods. Scents are both pleasant and unpleasant.

The most three most unpleasant smells to me are poop, someone else's gas, and the old corn-chippy smell of body odor. Blech!

My current favorite scent is the Tambodi candle by Party Lite candles. It smells like the perfect combination of a man's cologne and pheromones. My girlfriends and I call is "Man-bodi". Ahhhh...it smells just right! Glad I have my "Man-bodi" at home- he sure is wonderful!

Some other favorite smells of mine are:

Baby skin, especially around their faces
Wings Perfume
Coconut Hawaiian Tropic sun-tanning oil mixed with the salty ocean seaspray
The smell of dinner cooking, especially if it's Italian or Mexican food.

My husband insists that smell isn't that important. I say there is nothing like getting to know a book by smelling it, walking into my home and being greeted by the familiar smell of cinnamon spice mixed with our "home" smell, or smelling a freshly cleaned kitchen.

"The cup of tea on arrival at a country house is a thing which, as a rule, I particularly enjoy. I like the crackling logs, the shaded lights, the scent of buttered toast, the general atmosphere of leisured coziness.”

-P. G. Wodehouse