The Fort

OK. First things first. When I went to log in here to put up this post I blanked on the name of the site where I write it. Dooger and Booger went through my head before I finally pulled Blogger out of the mist.

I think that this means either a) it's been too long since my last post and/or b) I am losing brain cells at an alarming rate.

But my encroaching senility aside (because I am told that sometimes it isn't ALL about me), what I really wanted to share with you is the result of about 10 hours of outdoor, independent play.

My kids, without me, outside, playing with other children, building stuff.

Not entirely without me, of course, I hovered around. I eavesdropped from my yard on the pretense of digging out bushes (which was, by the way, a lot of physical labor to have an excuse to be around without explicitly being around).

It all started sometime Friday afternoon. Progressed to Saturday afternoon. And culminated in 6 hours (!) on Sunday.

Varying numbers of kids, somewhere around 6-10 at any given time, working together to haul sticks (and some small trees) out of the woods behind our house across the street into the woods in front. Many trips to the cul-de-sac to move rocks. Rakes and shovels were involved. The Dangerous Book for Boys and the Double-Daring Book for Girls were referenced. There were very few disputes. Very few places where I had to say a word.

From time to time they would all start riding scooters and bikes around the cul-de-sac, singing "Hot Hot Hot" at the top of their lungs.

It was creepy, I tell you. All that cooperation and fresh air. All that friendship and laughter. All that age-appropriate independence. Gives me the willies.

It all came to, almost literally, a screeching halt around 6PM on Sunday, when all of a sudden, as if some internal alarm clock had gone off, the children lost all coordination and started collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

Of course, this collapsing happened to my kids while they were riding scooters. So first we scooped Tater up and bandaged his elbow and wrist, and then moments later scooped up Sprout and iced her leg and elbow.

I said, "Wow, it was like you lost all coordination at about 6 hours".

And Sprout said, "I did not, I just started falling down."

Tomato, To-mah-to.

Late on Sunday night we realized that some of our gardening tools, specifically several rakes, had been left out in "the fort". So on Monday morning, after getting the kids off to school I went to retrieve them and this is what I found.

This was the first time that I really approached what they had been doing and saw that there was actual structure to it. I had seen the "teepee" in the back, one of the neighbor dad's had helped them get that worked out. But the rest was new to me.


This huge stick (like probably over 10 feet long, although I realize the picture gives no perspective) was carried out of the woods by two 7-year-olds. When I asked the kids later what this was (I showed them the pictures and we talked about all of their hard work), they said this was for skiing. I have no idea.


This here was apparently the "house". The carefully arranged sticks and rocks just blow my mind. They put a lot of effort into getting this just so.


If you told me to make three logs stand up by bracing them with a bunch of rocks, I don't think I could do it.


This is a little further up the hill. The teepee is in the back, I am not sure what the big circle of leaves was called.


I am not clear on how masking tape came to be mixed into the leaves. Apparently there was some early attempt to tape leaves onto the trees. I know it is technically litter.


These are the "extra" sticks that they hauled up out of the woods.


This is the "fire". Of course we had a big discussion about not even thinking about trying to build a real fire.


I have no idea what this is. I think another fire.


This is apparently the "bathroom". Again, strong discussion about not actually using the bathroom. Tater is horrified by the mere concept of using the outdoors in such a manner. I don't know about Sprout. She assures me no one has used it. Whew.


The "shower". See the drain?


This is the view back down the hill. That's our house. So I was just a little pinpoint in the distance over there (a sweaty, cursing pinpoint, prying huge bushes out of the ground and peeking over from time to time).


They were back out making tweaks and moving things around on Monday. And Tuesday. And then it started to get cold and windy. And now the rain is coming down.

I am not sure what will be left of the fort (inhabited by "The Wind Clan" I am told) when the storms end next week. But I am so glad that they had this week of building something they could be proud of. And, schmaltzy as it sounds, some great memories!

I Am...

Sprout wrote this poem at school, I hope it isn't wrong to share it.
I think it is awesome.

I Am by Sprout

I am smart and weird.
I wonder if my PopPop likes dogs.
I hear a choo-choo train puffing along as I fall asleep.
I see smooth thestrals flapping their wings.
I want an electric scooter.

I am smart and weird.
I pretend I am a famous director.
I feel uncomfortable in the presence of a crowd.
I touch my snack of apples and peanut butter.
I worry about black bears chasing me.
I cry when my mother doesn't buy me candy.

I am smart and weird.
I understand how people get jittery if the expectations are too high.
I say "eat at Moe's Southwestern Grill".
I dream I have a huge house.
I try to make a good impression.
I hope I get a sister that gets along with me.

I am smart and weird.

I don't know how much to read into this. They were given a set of prompts to frame out the poem...but I think her responses are very cool. It is amazing all of the places that the mind of an almost-10-year-old can go.

Sorry about the sister. Sprout - that isn't happening.
But your brother is super cute and you (mostly) get along great!

DIY Lunchables

My kids have a love affair with the Lunchable.
(I would insert the trademark thing here, but I can't figure out how. Lunchables are made by Oscar Mayer and they are a fine product.)

Oh, the tiny compartments!

Oh, the itty-bitty pieces of cheese. The itty-bitty slices of ham. Even the tiniest hot dogs ever. Swoon.

And then there is juice! And chips! And, if you are lucky...candy!!

But then...the turkey one (which Tater prefers) has chocolate chip cookies...which he does not prefer at all. Or the ham one (which Sprout prefers) has (hold on...it's scandalous...) no Kool-Aid!!

And really, those tiny stacks of cheese and lunchmeat are tiny...not really enough for a growing kid's lunch.

So, I started to make my own "packaged lunches".

I took a big one-gallon sized zippered bag. And into that, I put smaller bags...with a couple of cheese sticks, some crackers, maybe some grapes, a few cookies (in the case pictured - little donuts...I was going WILD!) Along with this I packed single servings of milk (Tater prefers Silk Vanilla Soy Milk, Sprout likes these Horizon ones).

I told them that I made them their own special "Lunchable" (sorry Oscar Mayer) and they totally bought it!! And they ate it all up!

And...

* less packaging. If you are really diligent you could reuse some of the bags.
* healthier ingredients. (Except for the donuts...)
* more customized to what the kids like.
* much less expensive.

A big win on all fronts. They can have this kind of lunch much more frequently, and I actually feel good about it!

Which is not to say that I don't wimp out and get the "real" ones from time to time. I am still a bit of a sucker for the itty-bitty compartments!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday today and despite how much I don't want to keep adding the numbers, I wouldn't want to give any of it all up, so I guess I'll keep moving forward!

I ate ice cream today - twice. So that was good.
I don't think it counts on your birthday.

I will be back soon with tales of what we did in Maine (which was AWESOME).

But for now...this is what we found when we got back...and it was AWESOME, too!

That whole "growing food from a seed" thing is TRUE!

Hope you had a great day, even if it wasn't a double-ice-cream type for you!

Vacation Surprises

By the time you read this, I will be here.
I mean, there.
Where the picture is.
Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

I've never been to Maine before. It looks pretty, huh?

My mom has decided that we need to take family vacations together again. My brother lives far away (Dallas), and we need to get the whole gang together and vacate.

And we do what Mom tells us to do, so we go. We're no dummies.

The last trip was a week in Italy in 2007, which was completely awesome. The kids were just happy to have their cousin there. And a pool. They thought it was sort of amusing that they couldn't understand what people were saying. And Tater enjoyed the Carousel enough to want to go back.

This time we are staying a bit closer to home - at least in the good old USA. Although pretty much as far from Dallas as one can go and still be in the country. I wonder if there is a message in there for my brother...hmmmm. Anyway, in commemoration of this event, we decided to make t-shirts.

We went to the Dollar Store and got plain blue shirts for each child and then we got some of this (fabric paint that doesn't get weird and crunchy...and is washer safe after 72 hours...):

And some of these (letter stamps - from JoAnn Fabrics - $12.99 for the set of two sizes):
We folded the t-shirts carefully and put a piece of cardboard between the front and back to make sure the paint wouldn't bleed through. Then we painted the fabric paint ever so carefully onto the stencils, and we made these.

The kids each did their own and did a great job. They were careful about spacing the letters and making sure they were pointing the right way. Very impressive, I think!

I made one for my nephew and the plan is that they will all arrive wearing these tomorrow and surprise my Mom (Nana - in case you didn't guess).

Check out the backs:

Get it? "Maine" event?

My brother is in advertising. He's my go-to tagline guy. Not that I need one that frequently. But when I do, I go to him.

I am hoping this isn't one of those things my Mom will look at and say, "I don't get it."
That would suck.

But then, we will be spending the rest of the week hanging out here, so I can probably handle it either way.

Thanks for the trip, Mom! You rock!
Yay for Nanafest 2009!!

Garage Reveal

The garage is finally done! We actually finished it last weekend, but I didn't get to take pictures and I know you have been waiting to see photographic evidence that we finished!

Although it didn't turn out to be quite the kid-friendly activity that I originally envisioned, the kids did help out quite a bit. They liked giving ideas for what should go where and were great about handing me things while I was on the ladder.

I even got over my neurotic control-freak tendencies and let them help with the drill and power screwdrivering on the things that didn't require a ladder.

The walls are all nice and blue-ish. The paint color is called Mineral Springs. It looks purplish in the pictures, but it is more gray-ish blue in person.

We used this Rubbermaid rail system to hang everything up. Each of the rails is on at least 3 studs and then a bunch of anchors - they aren't coming down any time soon! Sprout enjoyed using the stud finder. I don't even want to think about the jokes about her future teenaged tendencies that could come out of that.

We still have this toy basketball hoop junking up the joint, --->
but as soon as I can convince the kids to let it go, it is all going to be nice and neat. At least briefly.

My car is blocking the view of the scooter-hanging area. It's rainy and I can't move it right now...not good photography composition, sorry.

Sprout felt strongly that we needed hooks for helmets next to the scooter and bikes (the bikes are parked behind my car). Good idea, I think. The bottom shelf there has all of their other toys - stomp rockets, jump ropes, etc. The bins were on the floor before, so this is better.

My bike is now down on the floor for the first time in 10 years. It is not in good shape, but I am going to get it fixed up so we can all go ride together. As soon as I can convince Tater that he needs to pedal more than once to keep the bike rolling and get myself a helmet. Probably need to get myself a helmet hook, too!

Kid Friendly Technology

When Sprout was a wee thing in first grade, she was picked up by the bus for aftercare program two days each week while I was far away working in a real live office. Except for the one day they forgot her.

Well, they didn't forget - some other kid said she wasn't coming on the bus (wrong!) and the bus left without her.

So not cool.

And I had no way to contact her to tell her it was going to be OK and someone was coming to get her. And she had no way to contact me to say "Where the heck is the bus?"

So I decided it would be a good idea for her to have an "emergencies only" cell phone. So that if she was stranded somewhere, she could call for help.

At that time, we got her the Migo - a cute little kid-friendly phone that allowed only 4 numbers (plus 911) to be programmed in, so she could call for help, but couldn't chat up her little friends or prank call them, or whatever it is 6-year-olds might do on the phone.

Then she got older and wanted a "real" cell phone. Although she still doesn't actually call anyone, and I don't really like the idea of her chatting away during the day.

And then I found Kajeet - a cell phone service just for kids - with LOTS of controls for parents. Even a control-freak like myself can find very little to argue with at Kajeet.

We are signed up for a $5 per month basic service and can control the hours that the phone can be used, who she can call, who can call her, etc. There are two payment accounts, so we can foot the bill for calls home, and she can be on the hook for calls to friends. AND if we wanted to, we could activate a GPS chip in the phone and actually know where she (or at least the phone) is during the day.

So cool.

We even got Tater one, because he shouldn't be stranded anywhere either.

Then the next communication frontier - my old friend and master e-mail - reared its head. Sprout wants to e-mail.

Immediately I think of all of the generous offers for Viagra and other interesting and not-kid-appropriate things that I get on a daily basis and think...hmmmm...no.

But then I searched Google for "e-mail for kids" and found Zoobuh. This is the e-mail version of Kajeet. Yay!

I signed both Sprout and Tater up for their own accounts. We have a free 30-day trial and then it is $1 per month for ad-free, kid-safe e-mail.

You set up the contact list for the kids and then control whether they can receive e-mail from people outside of the contact list, or send to them. I have it set to send me a copy of each e-mail that they send or receive (just to make sure nothing inappropriate is going on). As they get older, I could turn that feature off if I want to.

The kid pages are ad-free, the parent pages have some minimal advertising. So far, it seems like just the right thing.

So now the kids are connected...to only the people they should be connected to. They are happily e-mailing their grandparents about camp and newly missing teeth.

And they still don't know anything about Viagra. Whew.

Super Seven!!

Seven. Seriously? Seven?
That can't be right.

He was just a little velvet-headed baby in a basket.
He was just in one of those baby-slings looking at me like I was insane to do that to him.
He was just freaked out by the rocking horse that talked to him.
He was just unwilling to touch the sand on the beach.
He was just telling me that I should cook the green beans in the toaster.
He was just bringing me paper flowers.
He was just convincing his sister that it wasn't so scary to ride the bus.
He was just six...and I was just getting used to the idea...

Saving Blankie

I'd like you all to meet Blankie.

Blankie has seen better days. He has been a constant companion to Sprout for over 9 years - some of those more constant than others. When she was an infant and toddler she took him (and Lambie) everywhere with her. Back in those days Blankie was a gorgeous chenille blanket from Churchill Weavers - which I discovered has apparently gone out of business. Sad face.

Back in his heyday, Blankie looked sort of like this...but pink. And no, I don't know why he's a he. He just is.

Anyway, Blankie has been crumbling before our very eyes. Behaving much like the museum-bound artifact that he is. We attempted a "fringectomy" and stitched around the edges to stop the unraveling. He has several huge scars where we sewed huge tears back together. He is a mess.

A week or so ago Sprout was lamenting his sad condition and broke down in tears that he was going to completely fall apart and then she would need a new one.

Did I mention the company that makes them has gone out of business? That you can get one on eBay - but it will cost you $200 (!) and that she is 9 1/2? All of these factors add up to a great big negative on a replacement strategy.

So I came up with the brilliant (I think) idea of sewing Blankie to some sort of soft, supportive backing fabric that would hold him together and allow him to live a long life of soothing the jangled nerves of my pre-pubescent child. Sometimes a girl just needs her Blankie.

I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and found this nice velvety/veloury fabric. The goal was for it to be super-soft and thin enough to be cuddly once it was hooked onto Blankie. This fit the bill nicely. And the stars are cute.


My original plan was to sort of quilt Blankie onto the top of the fabric. And no, I have no idea how I was going to do that. But once I laid him out on top of the new fabric, I had this great brainstorm that I could just sort of fold up the sides of the new stuff around him, like it was the binding on the blanket. Like a frame around Blankie.

Doesn't he look sad all laid out there, like some animal pelt? Poor Blankie - don't worry, it will get better...

So I wrapped the edges up and pinned them. Blankie is missing a huge hunk of corner so the end result isn't square, but I think that is somehow more fitting.

I even carefully (sort of) mitered the corners so there wouldn't be so many layers of fabric to jam through my underutilized sewing machine.

Where is that thing anyway?

So I found the sewing machine, and after breaking the needle, annoying the bejeezus out of the nice lady at Jo-Ann's with my sewing-machine-needle-buying cluelessness, finding that there was actually a spare in the machine (oops), tangling the thread several times, and remembering how much I adore my child and why it was worth doing all of this...got everything sewed up. Whew.

I think the end result is quite fabulous. He even looks pink again with his new backing. I did some vertical lines of stitching across Blankie's surface to stick him down to the backing so he is firmly attached.



And no, they are mostly not straight. And his scars are all still showing.

But I think that's OK. He's not going to be modeling anytime soon. And Sprout has been walking around hugging him and wearing him and loving him. And she's pretty happy with me, too.

Ah, the things we do for the love of a child. The things we can fix, we fix. The things we can't fix, we try to find a way to fix anyway. And sometimes it actually works out. I love it when that happens!

You are SUCH a Mooch!

I have a problem. I am addicted to books. I have piles and piles (and maybe a few more piles) of books that I am reading, plan to read, think maybe I should read, or think someone else should read.

My children have inherited this sickness and each of their rooms is full of shelves of books and piles of books. And they want more books. Always more books.

Of course, this is a good sickness to have. But it can take a toll on the wallet. And yes, there is always the library. But I frequently can't find what I want at the library - and I also have some patience issues (I know, shocking) and so off I go to Barnes & Noble and drop more cash for more books...

And then I found that mooching can be such a good thing! Now I am also completely addicted to the Bookmooch website.

Basically, you list all the books you have (from all of those piles) that you would like to give away to a new home. People who want those books "mooch" them from you and you send them off to their new families. You pay postage (media mail - about $2.50 per book) to send the books away, and you get "points" in return.

Then you take your points - one point per book generally - and use them to mooch new books that you want. And they are sent to you FOR FREE!!

If the books you want are not immediately available, you can build a wishlist, and when one of them becomes available, you get an e-mail. It is such a beautiful system.

I have given away 40 books (!) and gotten 30 FREE ones in return (and I have enough points to get 14 more!)

You can find TONS of kids books on Bookmooch. We have gotten a bunch of "Magic Treehouse" books and a bunch of "The Littles" books. Also lots of bestsellers, current books, older books. The most current will take a little while to get to Bookmooch (people must buy, read and decide they no longer want them first) - but I got all of the Shopaholics for free (not proud that I read them...but I didn't pay for them!)

If you can control yourself (as I frequently can not) at the bookstore and just write down the books you'd like and then go check Bookmooch, you could save yourself a TON of money.

And it is earth-friendly! Recycling at it's finest! Great lessons to teach your kids - patience, cheapness, and reuse/recycle!

Summer = S'mores

I was never a Girl Scout.

I begrudgingly showed up for Brownies for a year, although I wanted to quit after the first meeting.

After I had the super-stylin' jumper/vest/beanie combo I was really not all that interested in the rest of it. But since my mother had invested in the super-stylin' jumper & vest & beanie I had to go. For the whole year.

I probably would have been more into it if they had busted out the S'mores. My understanding is that S'mores are a key component of any Girl Scout camping event. Alas, I didn't make it that far so I don't know for sure. But the legend of the S'more is out there calling my name...

Until a couple of years ago, I thought that S'mores required a campfire. And some sort of super scout training. But then I discovered not one, but two extraordinarily easy ways to experience the joys of the S'more. No campfire necessary. Microwave only. Love that!

First Method - More Traditional:
Ingredients:
Graham Crackers - The standard honey-type - broken into square pieces (half of the big regtangles)
Large Marshmallows
Hershey Bars - broken into two-square or three-square pieces - approximately the same size as the graham crackers

Method:
1.) On a microwave-safe plate, place a graham cracker square with a chocolate square and one marshmallow on top.
2.) Microwave the stack for about 15 seconds (experiment until you get it the way you want - but 10-15 seconds is probably about right).
The marshmallow will puff up in an alarming manner - which is part of the fun.
3.) Top with another graham cracker square.
Try to wait a few seconds so you don't set your mouth on fire with molten marshmallow.
Good luck with the waiting part...

Second Method - More Awesome*:
Ingredients:
8 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
6 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
5 tablespoons butter/margerine
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:
(apparently this can be done on the stovetop, but I can't imagine why...)
1.) Put the cereal in a large bowl.
2.) Grease a 9 X 13" pan - I use cooking spray
3.) Put 5 cups of the marshmallows, the butter, the chocolate and the corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl.
4.) Microwave for 1 minute.
Stir.
Microwave for another 30-45 seconds.
Stir.
You want the marshmallows to be melted and everything to mix together smoothly but for it to still be marshmallow-y and a little poufy - not completely runny. Keep cooking for 30 seconds or so at a time and stirring. My microwave takes less than 2 minutes to get to the right consistency.
5.) Mix in the vanilla (I frequently forget this step and don't think it makes much difference...)
6.) Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry cereal and mix together until the cereal is well coated.
7.) Stir in the last cup of mini marshmallows until they are mixed in well.
8.) Pour the whole mess into the greased pan and smoosh it down flat with your hands.
(I spray my hands with the cooking spray so they don't stick).
9.) Put the pan in the fridge to cool/harden.
10.) Cut into about 20 pieces. Or, like, 4...so you can say you only ate one piece.

So...there you go. S'mores without having to go out with the bugs, learn to build a fire, and whatever else those crazy Girl Scouts do.

Sorry I can't give you a badge. Those seemed kind of cool, too.

*This recipe is sometimes featured on the box of Golden Grahams.

Want to Go Outside and Play?

With temps here in Southeastern PA soaring into the high 80s this week (insane!) we quickly shifted into summer mode and starting thinking about things we can do outside now and over the next few months.

One of my friends has suggested a standing Friday evening playground date, which sounds like a good plan to me. Now we just need to figure out which playgrounds we should visit!

Luckily, the lovely ladies at Mom Central (I have never actually met them, but I am guessing they are quite lovely) filled me in on this super cool website - KaBOOM - where they are building a "Playspace Finder" database with locations, details and reviews of playgrounds all over the country.

How awesome is that?? Such a great idea to have a centralized listing of all of the places to play! And with reviews - so you know before you go whether it is worth the drive! Yay KaBOOM!

Now they just need people to come and fill up the database. So click up there and add any playgrounds you like to frequent, or add reviews of spaces already on the list. The more contributors, the better.

I added Bell Tavern Park. Go add someplace...really...go...now...I want to know where to go next!

And then - get out there and PLAY!!

The Tipping Point - 4th Grade Version

My daughter (AKA Sprout) spent $15 of her allowance money on a Snuggie.

Had to have it.

Because it was recommended by her teacher, who apparently wears hers every night to watch TV.

Nothing cooler than a 9-year-old wrapped head to toe in electric blue fleece - with sleeves.

And yet - now I sort of want one. Because the only thing cooler than the aforementioned fleece-wrapped child is a matching fleece-wrapped mother.

And...and...it comes with a free book light!
And...and...we got it at Target!

Everything good in the world (almost) can be purchased at Target. The corollary being, everything that can be purchased at Target is good. Right?

Mom's Night In - GIVEAWAY!

I was invited to participate in a "Mom's Night In" by my friend Colleen (AKA Classy Mommy). We met when she did a review of Stuff for Sprouts for me a while back, and was actually the person who suggested that I consider starting a blog to support the business.

Anyway, being invited to a blogger event did wonders to make me feel like a "real" blogger, and not just the amateur that I am. The event was organized by Role Mommy and sponsored by the makers of Slendertone products and Sane Fitness and they threw quite the party!

Free manicures were available (for those able to elbow through the crowd to the manicure table - sadly, I was not one of them) and done by manicurists from Calista Grand. A make-up artist (also from Calista) was doing makeovers. I shy away from that sort of thing since every professional make-up job I have ever had has left me just this side of drag queen, but those who did participate were looking quite fab. There was also someone doing chair massages. I did partake of the massage, much to the consternation of the masseuse who felt that the knots in my shoulders were a personal challenge. Sorry, I just internalize stress. And being in a lovely house filled to the brim with cool people I don't know is an excellent equation for stress.

Very few social skills :(

I did meet some really nice people and learned a little bit about Slendertone products. I even got FREE products to bring home and try. Check that out - swag!

The product demonstration was quite entertaining, as many of the attending blog-mamas tried on these electronic muscle stimulating contraptions. One lucky lady tried the arm exercisers and cranked them up until her hands were twitching. AWESOME!

Another (I will name no names) was outed as an expectant mom due to the fact that she couldn't try the products. Electronic stimulation and pregnancy apparently do not mix!

I snagged a "Revive" system to bring home. This seems to be the most multi-tasking Slendertone product. It has two gel-pad things that you can stick on various parts of your body and differing levels of "stimulation" that make it appropriate for either massage/muscle recovery or muscle strengthening.

I tried it out on my shoulders and lower back in massage mode. Once I got over the clammy stickiness of the pads, it was very enjoyable. A little awkward to apply, but nice.

The kids wanted to try, but the products are not appropriate for kids. I think you could accidentally fry them or something (yikes!)

Mike offered to be a guinea pig and tried out the ab mode. Very very entertaining to watch as he cranked it up until he was unable to stand. Giggle. We both thought it was an interesting experience, but I am not sure it will be something that we add to our routine on a regular basis.

But here's the good news (for those of you who have stuck with me this far!) I have a brand-spanking new Slendertone System-Arms exerciser for the arms (pictured above, not on me). A $99.99 value!!

I am giving this baby away to the commenter who gives me the best reason that I should. So...comment away...beg, plead, cajole...I am ready!

Because, see...I am like a totally REAL blogger now! Yay!

Green and Clean

Things are tough all over. I know lots of people out there are tightening their belts, and we are no exception over here. As part of our "fiscal adjustment" we have decided to reduce (and possibly eliminate - sob) visits from our cleaning service.

This makes me very sad. One of my happiest moments is coming home to a clean house that just happened with no intervention on my part. But, since I am currently unemployed, I really have no excuse for not getting myself in gear to do at least some of the cleaning.

So I armed myself with a plan, courtesy of my new friend at Motivated Moms. For my very small (under $10) investment, I have a list of what chores should be done each day to stay on top of housework before things get out of hand.

I must admit that I have opted out of some of the tasks (I am not cleaning the outdoor trash cans - not gonna happen). But overall, I am digging the breakdown into manageable pieces. I may even start to delegate some things to the kids.

My other tactic was to put cleaning wipes in strategic locations throughout the house. In each bathroom and in the kitchen. Thanks to my other friends at Mom Central I had the chance to try these great wipes from the new GreenWorks line made by Clorox.

I was kind of telling myself that using wipes isn't any worse, environmentally speaking, than spray cleaner and a paper towel. And goodness knows I am a heavy consumer of paper towels! But these GreenWorks wipes make me feel like I am doing less damage to the world, since they are biodegradable, 99% natural, and don't leave a chemical residue on things. They even have a nice smell. And they actually work!

I have been using these to wipe drips of of the toilets (yuck), hairspray and toothpaste off of the counters (double yuck) and spills in the kitchen (less yuck...) I also prefer to use a throw-away wipe to clean the bathroom because I seriously cannot stand using a sponge with hair stuck on it (ultimate yuck). So I like the "dispose and start over again" nature of wipes.

The cleaners came today, for the first time in a month, and I seriously wasn't sure I needed them to come (gasp!) Things were actually fairly under control. If I am able to hold it together through February, I think I am going to cancel them completely.

And then I will cry. And go look for a job :)

Cookie Drama

OK - I took about 50 pictures and there is nothing I can do to make these look at irresistibly yummy as they really are.

Anyway - I am jumping way ahead in my story.

I guess we should start back in 1985...back before the dawn of time...when my mother, bless her, wanted to send me a care package at college. She made cookies from scratch (Yay, Mom!) and, because she wanted to be a good mother and send me healthy things, she used whole wheat flour in her regular chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Um, yuck.

And I gave her a ridiculously hard time about it. If you were making cookies, why did they have to be healthy??

Sorry, Mom. I now understand. And yet. Yuck.

So when we were (sort of) snowed in this weekend, I decided to bake some cookies (the idea was planted by my neighbor, but I was open to the suggestion!) Neither of my children will eat oatmeal cookies, and Tater doesn't like chocolate chips in his cookies (so many kinds of weird going on with that boy and food). So, of course I decided that the best choice would be oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips in them. Obviously!

I started with the recipe under the lid of the Quaker Oats container, but of course I changed things around attempting to make them healthier (as mothers apparently do). And strangely enough, they are FABULOUS! And BOTH of the kids like them. Amazing.

And then I realized...Mike made a New Year's resolution that he would eat no cookies in 2009. (I know!) And this is a man who can keep a resolution.

I remembered this as the first tray was coming out of the oven and he was pulling into the driveway after helping his folks all weekend. Hi Honey! Look at this delicious treat I made that you can't have! Welcome home!!

Ooops!

But - assuming there are cookie eating people at your house. And you wouldn't mind making those cookies at least a tad bit healthier (if not a tad bit less un-healthy, which is sort of the same thing). You should make some of these.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 pound margarine or butter, softened - I used Smart-Balance Butter Blend Sticks
1 cup brown sugar - I did not pack it...and probably used a little less than a cup since we ran out
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg replacement (Egg Beaters/Better N Eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour*
1/4 cup brown rice flour*
1/4 cup spelt flour*
1/4 cup barley flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups Quaker Oats (old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup chocolate chips - the healthiest would probably be dark chocolate, but of course we didn't have any so I used milk chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until blended and creamy looking.
Add egg stuff and vanilla; beat well.
Add flours, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix until well blended.
Mix in oats and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets (ungreased).
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. They are really crumbly when they are hot, but firm up once cooled.
Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Enjoy. Lots.

* I know these flours sound exotic and scary, but I seriously got them at Giant. I keep the non-wheat ones in the freezer so they'll last longer. They all have a lighter texture than regular whole wheat - less brick-like results.

Anyone can knit...yes, I am talking to you...

Behold the "Nifty Knitter"! I got a set of 4 of these for $7.50 (yes, under $10!) at Michael's before Christmas and they are completely AWESOME.

To fully understand the awesomeness, let me take you back a little over a year...(this is where I wish I could create that Wayne's World sound effect...bodooboop...we are going back...)

Sprout asks me to teach her to knit. Or crochet. I sort of (barely) know how to do both. But not well.

And surely not well enough to explain it to anyone. Much less an 8-year-old...and her 5-year-old brother who can not STAND for her to know anything he doesn't also know.

So I got a DVD and I tried very very very very hard to be patient.

And I tried very very very hard to be clear in my instruction...and not rip everything out of her hands and do it myself.

And she would do a row or two and be terribly proud and then everything would fall off the needles and the world would come crumbling down. And all I could do was tell her that that has been my exact knitting experience, too. Promising start...ending in calamity...and, best case, crooked embarrassing creations.

Enter the Nifty Knitter. All you have to do is loop the yarn around the little pegs and hook one row over the other. Practically impossible to drop a stitch. Seriously.

I was so inspired that I made an entire scarf (!) in under a week (!) for my dad for Christmas. With stripes. Straight ones. Unbelievable! I did some funky crocheting improvisation to get it off of the Nifty Knitter aparatus...but it was quite respectable!

Sprout made the partial scarf in the picture up there...practically on her own. It is almost twice that long now and very impressive. She worked very diligently on it for many days - defying any and all expectations for how long she could focus on a single repetitive task. Yay, Sprout!

Tater is working on this sweater. Or he has high hopes that I am going to turn this huge tube into a sweater. I looked up instructions to do so and they have lots of abbreviations that I completely don't understand...so we'll see how that goes.

Maybe he would like a big white sweater-y tube top. That's what all the 6-year-old boys are wearing these days, right?

But he has been doing it himself. He doesn't like the looping part, he wants me to do that. But he has become quite adept hooking one row over the other. And again - 6-year-old boy. Knitting. Cool, right?

It would be super easy to do a hat (instructions come with the loom-y things) and there are fairly easy directions for a dog sweater (which apparently I am not allowed to make as there is a strict no-clothing-on-the-dog policy around here.) There are directions online to do fancy things like ribbing and pearling and other knitting things that are beyond my comprehension and motivation level.

Anyway - if you like the idea of knitting something - but the actuality has always been way to scary, this could be the way to go.

Or maybe if you are super nice to me I'll make you a scarf!

Gift Ideas

Like many people, we are trying to control our spending on Christmas gifts. Of course, we still want the people we are gifting to know that we love and care about them. So here are a few ideas that we came up with for this year.

I have written before about how much I love the "Feel Your Boobies" campaign for early detection of breast cancer through self-examination. They offer some of their products in bulk - which is a great way to spread the message, show your friends you care, benefit a great cause AND save some cash.

I also love the charitable aspect of TOMs Shoes. For every item purchased from TOMs, they give a pair of shoes to a child who would otherwise not have any. There is a gift certificate option, some very cute t-shirts and things, and of course, the shoes themselves. I personally ordered the Navy Glitter...in keeping with the "one for them, one for me" philosophy I used to be able to follow back in the days before kids and mortgages. Is that wrong?

For the kids, we have decided to provide some delayed gratification...or long-term gratification, depending on how you look at it. They will get a somewhat edited pile of presents, and then coupons that can be traded in each month for a $25 gift card for a new toy (or some other item of their choice). This gives us the chance to spread the spending out over the year, and also the chance to say "Yes" to toys and things all through the year instead of buying a big heap of stuff now that they don't really want. I ordered gift certificates on VistaPrint to wrap up - but if I had been smarter, I would have just made them on the computer. Lesson learned for next year!

If you have any great ideas for gifts, feel free to comment and share!

Down Time

This weekend, especially today, was filled with a glorious overabundance of nothingness.

Yesterday, Tater had a party at 1:15 and we just barely got out of our pajamas in time to get there. Sprout and I had lunch and did some shopping while he was at the party. Both kids procured yo-yos for themselves and have been yo-yo-ing ever since...

Last night Sprout had a party, so Tater and I had dinner with friends.

Today we started watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at 10AM and were still in pajamas at 12:45 for lunch...the kids never left the house...yo-yo-ing...TV watching...rotting brains oozing everywhere...but it was REALLY nice to have no agenda. Just a lot of recharging.

Not fun exactly, but good anyway...