Accomplishment

I shared my to do list a few blog entries ago, and I'm proud to say it's partially finished. I feel empowered!

On Wednesday, Lillian and I cleared the ledge. We left a few things in place, because there is a huge neighborhood yard sale on May 10th, and there were some things on the ledge that need to go in the sale, or in the trash can outside, or to the dump.



And then we cleaned out and organized the bottom tall cabinet (to be 100% honest, Lillian enjoyed some Goldfish and an apple juice box and verbally encouraged me while I worked, saying things like, "Wow, Mommy! You are a good cleaner girl!")

Now that cabinet holds paper towels (previously stored under the kitchen desk) and the kids' lunchbox stuff.



When my husband came home, he was inspired by my enthusiasm, and he finished emptying the upper tall cabinet.

Well, I'll say that he was more inspired by me saying, "That upper cabinet is your stuff, so you need to grab a box and clean it out," but he actually took the suggestion to heart, so I'll give him credit. He saved a few of his Nutri System entrees, because he likes them (shiver). Ick.



The Nutri System boxes are now sitting in the floor of my scrapbook room, waiting to be photographed and listed on eBay. Hopefully I'll get around to that this weekend, but I also have to help the boys clean out their closet (again) and rotate the summer clothes to the bottom racks of the kids' closets.... and then there's the laundry. Always the laundry. So if I just get the Nutri System photographed and organized, that will be a big hurdle cleared.



And, it wasn't on my original list, but I did get the countertop cleaned off this morning. It was cluttered with junk, and now it looks like this:



In other news, here's what Quinn and I worked on last night while Daddy took Camryn and Aiden to Math & Science night at their school:



I'm so very proud of him, because just 2 weeks ago he was stumbling over naming the letters. I had a conference with his 4K teacher and we talked about some things we could do to enrich his letter learning. They've worked, because now he's calling out letters he sees on signs when we're in the car, and he is copying words I write. I'm amazed at his progress, and he is so very proud of himself!

A couple of other tidbits...

Camryn's room has remained clean the entire month. She has needed some reminders, so I think we'll give her a small reward at the end of the month and encourage her to keep cleaning without reminders. Then she will get the loft bed. (The original agreement was that we would consider the bed at the end of April... there was never a guarantee...)

Aiden never ceases to amaze me with his intellect and powers of reasoning. A few days ago I was sitting with him watching something about space. Maybe Nova or Discovery channel or something (the kid DVRs everything that has anything to do with science!) The topic was way over my head (galaxies and black holes and whatnot... yawn...) but Aiden was thoroughly engrossed. I was half listening, so I got the gist of what they were saying: in billions of years our galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy. Gotcha.

At one point Aiden looked at me, and I could see the gears turning. He said, "Hmmm... I bet when that happens, we'll have a lot more planets in our solar system."

You go, baby Carl Sagan. You rock that space stuff, son. I'll just sit here and pretend to know what you're talking about. (The kid got his scientific curiousity from his Daddy...that's for darn sure!)

So that's what's happening here this week. It's been a pretty good one, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da. Life goes on.

Reading is Fundamental

Yesterday after lunch (Welcome to Moe's!), my husband took my two younger children to spend the afternoon at his mother's house at her request. He offered to pick them up on the way home from work yesterday evening, so I didn't have to go get them.

Works for me.

I picked up our two older children from school and decided to spend the afternoon with them, since that's not something we get to do often. We stopped at our favorite gas station/restaurant/bait shop/convenience store and got some junk food, then drove down to a book store my daughter has been begging to visit. The books were supposed to be cheap, and I'm all about cheap!

When we got there, I felt safe letting the children go to the kids' book section while I browsed the adult books. I told them they could spend $15 each, so they took off in search of literary treasure.

We met back up about 30 minutes later, arms laden with stories to be explored. Together we chose books for the little ones, since we couldn't leave them out.

The car was quiet on the drive home. Each of the kids had his or her nose in a book. I love the silence created when the kids are reading. I love that they enjoy diving into stories and learning things only books can provide. LOVE that.

Last night after everyone was in pajamas, I was cleaning the kitchen and noticed it was somewhat quiet in the house. I peeked around the corner of the kitchen and saw this:



and this:



and this:



My three youngest children, who live for that last 10 minutes of computer or Wii play before bedtime, were sitting on the couch, together, TOUCHING, reading that Star Wars book. Well, Aiden was reading it, but Quinn and Lillian were sitting QUIETLY, enraptured while Aiden read.
Amazing.

That's the power of words, y'all.

Found Treasure

When I was back "home" in Alabama in the fall, my mom gave me a box full of recipes. The box had been at my grandparents' house when it was cleaned out after my grandfather died in 1999. I took the box thinking I could go through the recipes and make a scrapbook of them.

My grandmother passed away in February, and since then I have been craving her Mississippi Mud Cake. I found a recipe for it when I Googled "Mississippi Mud Cake", and I made the cake, but it just wasn't my grandmother's mud cake. The icing wasn't right, and I don't think she cooked the marshmallows, because that makes them tough. Her marshmallows were creamy.

I remembered the box of recipes yesterday. I had completely forgotten that I owned it. It's been tucked away in a closet since October.



I sat on the couch last night and went through the box. The kids and I had a few laughs over some of the stuff in the box. There were old vacuum cleaner ads from the 70s, grocery store flyers, recipes written on the backs of deposit slips. And oh, the pie recipes. Doris had a sweet tooth, and it was never more evident than in that recipe box. Of the hundreds of cards and clippings we found in the box, I'd say about 15 were for meat or side dishes. The rest were pies, cakes, candies, fudge, or homemade pickles. (The woman made a mean homemade pickle. I wish I still had a few jars of her sweet pickles. Maybe I can get my mom to help me make some pickles this summer...)

After just a few minutes of searching, I found an envelope addressed to my grandmother from a friend of hers. Inside was one single sheet of notebook paper with a recipe written on it. The recipe was for Mississippi Mud Cake. I don't know who the friend was or why she mailed the recipe to my grandmother, but there it was.



Later on in our recipe box dig we found an index card with the same recipe rewritten in my grandmother's handwriting. THAT was a treasure.



I can't wait to try her actual recipe for Mississippi Mud Cake. I can almost taste it. I can see myself sitting at her old Formica kitchen table in one of her sparkly vinyl chairs, enjoying that delicious cake. She always had a cake or pie on the table. Sometimes it was homemade, sometimes store bought, but she always had something sweet there.

And no, she didn't cook the marshmallows when she made her Mud Cake.

"Pour marshmallows on top of hot cake and let them melt slightly, then pour icing over the top."

I guess she didn't like chewy marshmallows, either. My kind of gal.

Passing the Torch

Tonight we're having pot roast with carrots and potatoes for dinner. It's my mom's recipe, I guess passed down from her mother, because I remember eating in on Sundays after church at my grandmother's house.

(That opens up a whole 'nother can of memories of being in my stocking feet, "ice skating" on the slick floor of her foyer, or trying on my mother's high heels waiting for the day I could buy my own pair. I remember sitting at my grandmother's table, smashing my potatoes to smithereens, then adding Miracle Whip to them to make mashed potatoes. I gotta stop; I'm gettin' hungry! Where is that husband of mine so we can EAT already?!?)

My grandmother served her pot roast with a pan of store bought Parker House Rolls, which were perfect for soaking up the gravy from the roast. I could eat an entire pan of those fabulous rectangles of heaven all by myself (Yes, my name is Beth, and I'm a bread addict...)

When Mom made pot roast, she served us her homemade Pop Up rolls, which are an entirely different palmful of deliciousness. They're so easy to make, and they go great with anything (but I like to make them when I have some sort of gravy, because dadgummit if that's not nature's perfect food!)

Tonight my 10 year-old daughter volunteered to make the Pop Up rolls. She measured everything so perfectly, stirred everything so well, and dropped the dough into the muffin cups. And no, I didn't take pictures. I plum fergot. I think I was overwhelmed at the thought of rolls and rich roast gravy, to tell the truth.

I saw the rolls a few minutes ago when my daughter brought them to me for inspection. They didn't pop over like they're supposed to (I think she beat them too long), but they look good enough to be gravy sponges, which is what they are.

Where *IS* that husband of mine?!? I'm going to eat my left arm if he doesn't hurry it up, already!

Oh, do you want the recipe for Pop Up rolls? I'll share it with you, but be warned. They're addictive, and I will not be held responsible for your carbohydrate coma if you eat too many.

2 cups Self Rising flour
2 T granulated sugar
2 T mayonnaise (puh lease, no low fat, but if you must...)
1 cup milk

Mix together all ingredients and scoop into greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 6-9 rolls. (I usually double the recipe.)

And while I'm at it, do you want the Pot Roast recipe, too?

1 sirloin tip roast, or bottom round roast, (2 to 3 lbs? I never look!)
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup (only Campbell's will do!)
1 pkg Lipton dry onion soup mix (if you don't have onion soup mix, chop a small onion)
salt & pepper

In a deep skillet, brown roast on both sides. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

While the roast is browning, stir together the mushroom soup, plus 2 cans of water (use the soup cans). Stir in Lipton Soup mix.

Place roast in Crock Pot. Pour soup mix over roast.

Cook on high 3 to 4 hours. About 2 hours before dinnertime, add 1 pound of baby carrots (or slice your own regular carrots) and 14 to 15 small (peeled) red potatoes, halved (or 5-6 large potatoes, quartered).

Cook until vegetables are tender. Serve meat with gravy. And the rolls, if you haven't already inhaled them all.

My To Do List... in Pictures!

Here's what I have on my to do list. I'm hoping that posting pictures here will shame me into getting these things DONE.

Maybe.

We'll see.



(1) This video cabinet in the den needs to be cleaned out. I did it about 6 months ago, adding those pull-out baskets, but it just got junky again. Truth be told, the kids don't watch VCR movies much anymore. We really need to invest in a DVD/VCR combo so we can copy the VCR tapes to DVDs.

Yeah.

That's why I'm putting off that job.

That's the ticket.



(2) This cabinet above my kitchen desk needs to be rid of all the baskets. They've been there since we moved in 2 years ago. I'm not using the baskets, and they could be sold on eBay for cold, hard cash. I just need to pull them down, photograph them, and list them for sale.

Sounds easy enough, huh?

It would be easier if someone would knock on my door and ask if I had any Longaberger baskets for sale. THAT would be easy, but that ain't gonna happen.

Hold on... there's a knock at the door...



(3) More stuff that needs to be put on eBay. See all that NutriSystem food? I had high hopes for that stuff, if you'll remember from my blog entry about it. I could probably lose more weight eating dog food, and it would be about as tasty. Anyhow, it's taking up precious cabinet space and it needs to go.



(4) This is the ledge in the stairwell leading to my basement. Stuff always gets piled here. Outgrown clothing, old towels, games that belong downstairs (but are hauled up to the first floor to be played), stuff we should just chuck or give to the Goodwill.... it's all there. It needs to be somewhere else. It's going to fall over soon, so this probably should be number one on my list.

So that's it. My to do list.

My "It's not getting done because it's mostly hidden behind doors" list.

Eh. More like my "I'll do it one day" list.

Meh. More like my "My kids can go through it when I'm dead and buried" list.

Monday Thoughts

It's currently 71.1 degrees in Orlando right now. iGoogle taunts me with the Orlando weather every time I sign on, because I gave it permission to do so. I like knowing the Orlando weather, but not on days when it's 48.9 degrees where I live. Sheesh. It was gorgeous over the weekend, and now this AGAIN. If I'm going to have an allergy-induced cotton wad in the back of my throat, I'd at least like it to be because Spring is here to stay. It feels more like winter outside, and I DON'T LIKE IT.

(I shaved for this? I want to wear shorts, doggone it! I didn't pull out the Intuition razor just to have to cover my bare legs with long pants yet again!)
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Today is day 14 of no eating out (except on Sundays after church). When I put this plan into motion, I wasn't sure how it would work. 'Twas an adventurous experiment.

I planned out 2 weeks' worth of menus and committed myself to at least that many days of homecooked meals. There have been some complaints about the menu, but for the most part, I can say it's working. We have modified the schedule so that I can take Fridays off (we have leftovers and give the kids Totino's pizza), and I don't cook on Sunday nights. After a big Sunday lunch out, most of us aren't very hungry anyway. We either have sandwiches or cereal. Works for me.

I have noticed three major differences in our family since starting this experiment:

(1) We're not rushing to dinner and back from dinner, getting everyone quickly bathed and dressed, then racing to get the kids in bed before 8 pm. Now we have a leisurely dinner at home. We talk more, the kids linger over their food, they help more with the clean-up, and we have lots of time to sit together and talk in the den, or watch Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy, or play a quick Wii game together. Going out to eat is supposed to save time, but I've really found the opposite to be true.

(2) We're not eating as many calories. I've lost a little weight without really trying to, simply because we're not eating in restaurants where I can't control the preparation of my meal.

(3) Our kids are much happier, and their attitudes have vastly improved. More time with Mom & Dad means happier, more obedient children. I'm not kidding. I *knew* that, but when we were eating out so much there just wasn't time to spend time, ya' know?

I have to admit I'm more fulfilled cooking for my family, too. I love to cook for everyone; it just meets a need I have to serve my loved ones. I love doing things for people, because it makes me feel important. Then there's the part of me that loves to be organized, and having the menu planned out really meets that need for me. I feel in control, and that gives me a huge amount of satisfaction.

Dinner's beeping, and there are two children in the tub that need to be washed. Wish today's thoughts could've been funnier, but they are what they are.

Happy Monday!

Woo hoo! Disney Bound (again!)

ABC Favorites

An alphabetical list of my favorite things, inspired by Ellen DeGeneres.

A- Aiden, apple pie, Amazing Grace (the song), Auburn football, Alabama (my home state)

B- banana bread, books, bubble baths, beach vacations, Brooke (my sister), bleached white clothes fresh from the dryer, beauty pageants, Billy Joel

C- chocolate pie (my grandmother's), Camryn, conversation, clean sheets, cooking, compliments, Christmas, candy apples

D- Disney World, Date Night, Dirty Jobs, Dr. Pepper, DVR, deviled eggs

E- Easter, elegant stationery, Eighties music

F- flannel sheets, freebies, friends I can trust, fall days, fresh bread, funnel cakes

G- good movies, getting dressed up, General Hospital

H- History Channel, handwritten notes, hotels, haircuts

I- iTunes, iPod, ice cream

J- Jeopardy, John Grisham novels, John Hughes films, Japanese hibachi

K- kindness, Kool Aid (grape or cherry), Kit Kat bars, kids' freshly shampooed hair

L- Lillian, learning something new, laughter, laundry fresh from the dryer, lunch dates with my hubby, lazy days

M- Mexican food, my husband, marching bands, massages, making up, Mountain Dew

N- new experiences, naps, Nachos Bellgrande from Taco Bell, Nascar

O- Olive Garden, Oscar awards ceremony, orange (the color)

P- pedicures, paying it forward, pens, Pine Sol (the smell of), PayDay candy bars, powdered donuts

Q- Quinn, quarters, quotes

R- road trips, random acts of kindness, red

S- Saturday Night Live, scrapbooking, snuggling my children, shopping, surprises, sunsets, Sunday afternoons, swimming, summer

T- Target, tulips, talking to my husband, travel, teaching, Thanksgiving, time alone, toile

U- undisturbed sleep, unexpected gifts

V- Van Morrison music, vacations

W- whispered words, warm sunshine, Wii (I just rediscovered Super Mario!), words of encouragement, watermelon Jolly Ranchers

X- x-ing things off my to-do list, XXXL pajamas, X-Rays at the dentist (I love that heavy lead sheet they put on you!), X-Files reruns

Y- yellow roses, yard sales, Yankee candles

Z- Zero bars, zucchini

Blog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You

Blog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You

Copy and paste the following section into your blog and answer as best as you can. You can elaborate (I hope you do), you can post pictures, you can be deep, you can be funny. Whatever you choose -just be honest.

Second part of the challenge - post a picture (from this week) of you at your computer. Don't worry about cleaning up - just post and have fun.

1) Right now I want:

My sore throat to go away. I've had it for about 3 days. I usually get one during allergy season, but it still hurts, even if I'm expecting it!

2) I wish I knew how to:

Sew. I have a sewing machine. I have made things with it. I just don't have the patience to really learn how to make clothing well.


3) When I want to indulge myself, I:

Take a hot bath and watch a movie in the tub. Mother's Day last year my gift was a small, flat screen TV with a built-in DVD player. It's not often that I watch a movie in the tub, but if I have a couple of hours with nothing to do, that's what I choose.

4) You’ll never see me:

In a bikini. Even if I was skinny, I don't think I'd wear one.

5) A childhood memory that I love:

There are so many. Playing in the dirt behind the bushes at my grandparents' house; picking vegetables in the garden with my grandmother; the feel of cool, just-shelled peas falling through my fingers; road trips in the Caprice Classic station wagon (singing along to Barry Manilow's "Even Now" 8-track); walking around in the deep end as the water started filling our new in-ground pool; playing tennis against the garage door; riding my bicycle up and down the street; the Christmas my sister and I got our Big Wheels and wooden table & benches; snuggling under the warm quilts on a cold night in the bed my sister and I shared as kids... I could go on and on!

6) 2 things I do every single day:

Unload the dishwasher
Wash a load of laundry

7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far:

Gracious. That's hard! I have a happy moment at least once a day, because I have four of the greatest kids and the best husband in the world. They do try my patience some days, but for the most part, I can find joy in every day.

I think I'd have to say my happiest moment was knowing that my grandmother is finally in Heaven. I've mentioned her on my blog before; she had Alzheimer's disease, which was something she'd seen steal her own mother's mind. I hadn't seen my grandmother in a couple of years, because I just couldn't bear to remember her like she had become. When my mom told me Dos had passed away, I was sad, but oh, so happy that she was finally free from her earthly body. It had deteriorated so badly, and to know she was in Heaven and whole again just made me smile.

Something that was said in her eulogy still cracks me up. My grandmother was a very headstrong lady. You couldn't tell her no, and she didn't quit until she got her way. During the eulogy the pastor said, "Something the girls (my mom and aunt) said while I was talking to them about Doris sums up her personality pretty well. They said, 'You could do something the right way. You could do something the wrong way. Or you could do it Doris' way.'" Still makes me laugh.out.loud. Feisty, she was.

8) Describe yourself in 3 words:

Mom. Wife. Content.

9) 2 scrap related goals for this year:

I don't set particular scrap goals for myself. I just try to scrapbook a little each day and enjoy the process of creating.

10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it?

iTunes or Target, baby. Or maybe a pedicure. Sandal weather is comin'!

This, I Know, is Payback

As a child I was a stuffer.

When Mom said, "Clean your room!" I would stuff the clutter into the closet and under the bed and dresser instead of putting things back in place. I guess I had better, more important things to do with my time, like playing with Barbies or Strawberry Shortcake dolls or My Little Ponies or reading the next Nancy Drew book in the series. For whatever reason, stuffing just became my method of operation.

Mom always said one day I'd have a child just like me. Why do moms curse us that way? If mine hadn't ever said that, I might have a perfectly lovely daughter who likes to put away her things.

(Yeah, right.)

Instead I gave birth to a stuffer. She's like me in so many ways, so it shouldn't surprise me that this, too, is something we have in common.

(Note: I have since reformed my ways. I am a recovering stuffer. There is hope!)

I picked said stuffer (my 10 year-old, Camryn) up from school yesterday and she immediately revealed that she had no homework to do.

"Perfect!" I said. "We shall spend the afternoon cleaning your room, then!"

"Uh, I mean, um, I do have a little studying to do for a geography test. I neeeeeeeed to study for that, so I guess we'll have to clean my room another day."

"So sorry, chica. We'll do the room, then I'll help you study."

Silence reigned on the drive home. I'm sure I felt tiny daggers pierce my skin as she glared at me from time to time. Mere flesh wounds. I was pumped. Let's do this thang!

We started our project around 4 pm (I had to help Aiden with his homework, which was an entirely different battle...)

Three hours, two bags of garbage, five (yes, FIVE) dirty dishes, half a dozen putrid socks and one laundry basket full of empty hangers later, we were done.

The room is blissfully clean. I can actually get further than the doorjamb without getting a headache.

Bonus: I won't need to buy hangers until the year 2015, IF AT ALL.

Serendipitously, we performed our cleaning on the first of April. My husband and I have offered to buy the child a loft bed (one of her deepest desires in life) if she keeps the room clean until May 1st. We'll see how long it lasts.

I don't think I'll be shelling out the dough for the new bed in 30 days, but she may just surprise me.

And then again, I may find Jimmy Hoffa stuffed under her bed at the end of the month.

Stay tuned, folks. Stay tuned.