Try This: Groovy Green Salad February 23, 2007

I’ve had 3 functions this week that require bringing a dish to share.  One of them will actually be this morning, for the teacher’s appreciation luncheon, so I best type fast and get going. 

Being on my current salad kick, I created one that was easy to prepare and traveled well.  I purchased the ingredients for all 3 salads (each feeding 10 or more) for under $15.  Not bad at $5 a pop.  My inspiration was a restaurant here in town that serves a layered salad with some unique ingredients.  I tried to hit similar interesting flavor combos. Thought I’d share my new favorite recipe. 

1 head Green leaf lettuce

1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce (Romaine would be fine, too)

1 bag spinach (the pre-washed kind makes life easy)

1. ) Wash the above well and allow to dry or paper towel off.  Tear or cut 1/3 of each of the above into bit-sized strips.  (Remember, this makes 3 large salads).  You can cut it all right now if you want to feed 30.  Otherwise, it’s best to store the greens in whole leaves and cut right before you wish to use.  I just mixed them all together in 3 gallon size ziplocs and pulled one out each time I made the salad.

2.) Next, peel and slice 4 hard-boiled eggs per salad.  You can just go ahead and boil a dozen of these and keep in the fridge for several days.  15 minutes boiling is perfect, then of course, let cool.  For the slicing, I must tell you that I use the Pampered Chef egg slicer (I know, another commercial – remember you can always contact me if you need one , which slices one whole egg at a time in perfect, attractive slices.  So, in 4 swings of the slicer, this step is done.  Spread the eggs out in a layer over the top of the greens. 

3.) Top the egg layer with about 1 cup (per salad) of frozen green peas.  The smaller-sized the better.  Leave them frozen.  They will end up nice and crunchy and they add some coolness to the salad.  They are defrosted enough to eat in 15 minutes, so don’t worry about that. 

4.) Top that layer with bacon crumbles.  You can use fresh ones or about 1/2 can per salad of the kind in the can – but ALWAYS use the real bacon kind. 

5.) Top that with some shredded parmesan- about 2/3 cup per salad. 

6.) Coarsely grind some fresh black pepper over the top.  A few shakes of the pepper shaker will work, too.

7.) Right before serving, drizzle a Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing over the top of the entire salad.  I like the Ken’s Steak House kind and, bonus, it was on sale at my Kroger this week.  If it will be eaten later (like the one I’m sending today), just send the dressing alongside it. 

8.) To serve, dig down through all the layers for each portion.  No need to toss. 

I’m going to try to get a photo here in a moment, before I send everyone out the door in the mad morning rush. 

                     

Okay, obviously I got a snapshot.  Another little tip I’ll mention is to save take-out trays/bowls and that kind of thing for events such as this, so you don’t have to worry about getting your dishes back.  This is a bowl from a Chick-Fil-A fruit tray we had at work the other night and I washed and took home the empty tray so I could use it today.

This salad stores well if you don’t put the dressing on.  There’s no bread or other things in it to get soggy.  I found a really cool way to store it this week.  I put leftover portions in individual big 16 oz disposable plastic cups and covered them with saran wrap.  It makes a great light to-go meal on the road.  I just left some space in the top of the cup, added dressing right before I left, and tossed with a plastic fork.  Threw the whole thing away when I was done.  Sure beats the granola bar I get for a meal somedays. 

I’ll end with a funny story.  I packed this and some other goodies in the car last night as Keely and I took Marlee to her orchestra concert.  She had to be there at 6:30, yet the concert didn’t start until 7pm.  Keely and I picnic’ed in the car for 15 minutes before going in.  Marlee was very concerned that we had brought that food with us. 

“You AREN’T going to bring that food in there with you, ARE YOU?”  she asked.

Let’s get facts straight.  This concert is in a gym.  There’s usually a concession stand.  It’s not like eating is outlawed.  I was more looking for something like, “I’m sorry you have to eat in such a hurry to get me here tonight, Mom.  Thanks.”  What have I been smoking?

First, I didn’t like her tone.  Second, she hadn’t been very nice to me getting ready for this concert, and third, she really needs to quit worrying about what I’m going to do so much.  Ahh, middle school. 

“No, Marlee, I’m not planning on eating this inside, but, just for the record, if I want to bring a foot-long chilli dog inside and eat it – I WILL!  Get inside for your concert!” 

Surviving the joys of motherhood.  Good thing this salad has lots of nutrients.  I’ll need my strength. 

May I Recommend? February 21, 2007

When I get a hold of a good thing, I like to share it!  I’m going to post a few of my favorites here.  I know there are several companies out there that offer “paid blogging,” in which they pay you (beans) to write a positive review of a certain product or service.  Those type of posts require full disclosure.  Here’s my own version of disclosure:

Absolutely no one has paid me anything to purchase, use, review or write regarding any of the below products, or any products at all for that matter.  These are all my own opinions based on personal experience.  I only wish I got paid. If anyone would like to pay me, please contact me, as I could really use the money.  I will , however, continue to only recommend things I really enjoy, believe in, use, etc.

   

Webkinz                               

Webkinz is touted as the new ”Beanie Baby” craze.  I’ve got to tell you, Beanie Babies ain’t nothing compared to these guys.  I found these in my hospital’s gift shop for Valentine’s Day and didn’t realize until after that they are on the more difficult to find list.  At $11.95 per critter – I find this to be a value.  Each cute little animal is not only a soft stuffed friend, but an interactive experience as well.  They all come with a secret code that you take to their web site and enter in.  Once there, you’ve officially adopted the pet and a virtual image of it comes us, complete with bio, birthdate, etc.  Then, it opens up the entire webkinz world.  You are given a room for your pet, webkinz cash to get you started, a tour of the facilities, etc.  You purchase adorable things for your pet with W cash, or kinz cash, as it’s called.  You earn kinz cash through playing the awesome games, taking quizzes (good learning material), and even getting a job.  Your pet measures on the Happy, Healthy, and Hungry meter at all time.  This is just the beginning - there truly is a whole world.  This mom may have been caught up late night playing the games a time or two.  A year subscription to this world is included with each Webkinz.  Once your friends have them, you can compete and chat in Webkinzworld.  Highly recommend for an innovative toy, decently priced, and one that actually has connections that can stimulate your brain!  The pug you see pictured is the one Harper got and we named him Luke.  Brady received the chihuahua and the name we gave  him is FireCracker.  You can get a tour and more info on the website link above. 

 The Essential 55        

 I found this gem when visiting my daughter’s middle school.  I saw a poster entitled “the Essential 55″ and it listed such things as:  “Say yes sir and maam; make eye contact; practice random acts of kindness. ” I was so impressed with the list that I came home and did a little research.  Turns out the author, Ron Clark, has been the recipient of the Disney Teacher of the Year award and is an amazing educator.  I was struck by the fact that the 55 essentials for the classroom could also be 55 essentials for success in life period.  He already figured that out, because he also makes a parent workbook (pictured above).  It has great learning activities that my girls, so far, consider enjoyable at best and tolerable at worst.  I found a used copy on www.barnesandnoble.com as I am sure there are other places as well.  It was the best less than $10 I’ve spent in quite awhile.  The title above is linked to Ron’s actual website, where you can learn much more.  There’s even a TV movie starring Matthew Perry as Ron.  Good stuff! 

            Crave Control/Weight Control Products

I’m not even dieting and hubby and I have found new friends in these.  Number one pick is pictured first above and is Dannon’s product, actually called Crave Control yogurt.   They are little portions of smooth yogurt – sweetened with Splenda and with added cereal.  We found them just the right sweetness and very filling, thanks to the cereal.  The texture is still nice – still smoother than chunky fruit yogurt.  The amazing part is they really do curb cravings. In fact, we’ve even used this as a light meal and not been hungry after.  That’s a lot to offer from a little cup. 

Quaker also makes a great weight control oatmeal.  They have great commercials for this out with folks chained to their scales.  If you like oatmeal, this is great.  It is much puffier than regular oatmeal, so easy to see how it can fill you up.  Our suggestion is to use a little extra skim milk to create the best texture. My favorite flavor is Banana Bread and can easily be a light meal with a big glass of milk.  You won’t need (or want to for that matter) eat for hours!  It’s also the first pre-sweetened (Splenda) oatmeal that isn’t too sweet.  As Goldilocks would say, this one’s just right.  

Walgreen’s Photo Center                 

If you are using a digital camera, you need a good photo service with online options.  I know there are a bunch out there, but I can’t say enough about Walgreen’s.  If you aren’t familiar with how this works, it’s really simple.  You upload your photos to their site.  You can sort, store, and organize any way you like.  There’s options to edit, crop, change colors, make borders, etc.  You choose what you’d like to print and when.  Their everyday low cost is .19 per print.  It’s got many more benefits than just that and it’s 100% free to set up an account.  I store all my photos there.  So, if I have a computer problem, or God forbid, a house fire – they are all safe on the Walgreen’s server.  I can also access them from anywhere with internet access.  This is how I show my photos at work – without ever having to pack a picture.  Once you are hooked on the basics, you’ll love all the options. 

I did a ton of Christmas gifts from their gifts page, including one for myself:  a custom made 2007 planner with my fam’s photo on the front.  For $20, you can make a scrapbook by just clicking a choosing photos.  If you love scrapbooking but don’t have time for the work, this option is fantastic.  There’s a little pocket book that is always 3 for $12.00 and includes 25 photos.  I got this for the Grandparents for Christmas and used photos of the kids growing up over the 2006 year.  Go explore!  You can get started and see what they have at www.walgreens.com

Walgreen’s has distinguished themselves to me with their customer service.  Get a coupon in the store, want to use it online – just bring it in when you pick up – no biggie.  Some of my gifts took more time than estimated to arrive:  one quick email to customer service and they immediately responded and refunded the shipping.  They always have specials.  I framed a photo for all my kids for Christmas of them at Disney.  They each received an 8×10, as did my husband.  I got a couple of 5×7’s too.  Using my coupons, my total for all of the above was under $5.  Oh yeah, all basic services (even enlargements) are ready in under 1 hour! 

    Music and Lyrics is a refreshing movie!  It is rated pg 13, but tamer than many pg’s I’ve seen.  There’s a little romance that buds, but it starts as just an expected little series of events that keep you entertained throughout.  Both Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore’s characters are quirky and keep you laughing.  Great date movie!  Features lots of 80’s sound pop music, so if you have 80’s memories like me,  you are sure to enjoy. 

A Trip to the Movies – a Mom’s perspective February 20, 2007

We took a family trip to the movies last night.  We actually went to the real theater, not our usual trip to what is known as the “$1″ theater.  It’s actually cost $1.50 for years now, but since it opened in the early 90’s as $1, the name stuck.  That’s another story. 

We won movie passes at the Jammin in your Jammies event, so we saw a first-run movie for the first time in a long while.  We chose Music and Lyrics, partially because of my love of Hugh Grant and both mine and hubby’s love of Drew Barrymore, that we, of course, associate with E.T. which was THE movie in our day.  Our choice turned out to be an adorable movie!   

As with any trip to the theater, dollar or not, the Mom plays a special role.  This role is: human napkin, crowd control, noise enforcer, bathroom attendant, refill manager, popcorn passer, just to name a few.  I’ve learned over the years to enjoy a movie despite the multi-tasking required on my part.  I was a little tired last night, and perhaps a bit on edge, and so it seemed to irritate me just a bit more.  Or maybe, the proportion of interruptions was higher than usual – who knows?  Instead of letting it really get under my skin, however, I decided to share. 

Here are some of my “movie favorites” from last night, which are, oddly enough, not at all related to the movie:

• Tween daughter wants to sit in the dead center of theater.  We make no less than 52 trips out, so we need to be on the aisle.  I got a “whatever” and an eye roll right off the bat with that directive.
• We forgot to bring our ziploc bags for sharing the free-refill popcorn (economy family idea).  I’m in the middle.  The popcorn passes me no less than 152 times.
• Brady insists on holding the jumbo free-refill drink (again with the economy thing) each time he gets a sip instead of just drinking with it supported in the cup holder.  He gets loud if I protest – not worth the fight.  Problem being, he wants a sip approximately every 1.5 minutes.
• Time for first refill:  I request tween daughter go out to do this.  “Like, right now?  You mean right now?”  No, I meant later, when the movie’s over.  I give up and do it myself. 
• Boys alternate lap/chair/lap/chair approximately ever 15 minutes.  Strange, no one wants to sit on Dad’s lap tonight. Lucky me.  There sits Dad, on the end, by the aisle, not having to pass anything – enjoying himself.  Hmmmm.
• Harper informs me about half way through the movie he’d like to go home now.
• Once Harper figured out we were staying, he got comfortable, taking off his shoes.  He informed me he hadn’t worn socks and his feet were sweaty.  Nice.
• To follow above, Harper demonstrates to me that he can crunch popcorn between his first two toes.  My children are so talented. 
• Keely is downing the Diet Coke.  Apparently she and Brady are in some sort of drink-off competition.  But Brady wears diapers.  Keely, sitting most in the center, makes 3 trips to the bathroom, crawling over all of us each time.
• What?  We didn’t buy candy…the nerve of us!  They almost staged a protest, but must have remembered we were their ride home. 
• Each time any of the above happens, tween Marlee is horrified. Oh my gosh, someone is embarrassing her again.
• Speaking of Marlee…hubby decided that since she didn’t want to go get refills, he wouldn’t pass the popcorn to her.  But he’s not sitting near her, now is he?  Result, Marlee continues to ask me over and over for popcorn while Dad holds out. 
• The boys talked to me over and over in their loud whispers.  Brady was a typical questioning 3 year old:  “who’s that?, what’s he doin’, what’s that, Mommy” etc. 
• And my favorite thing is actually kind of sweet.  Brady was on my lap a few moments before the movie was over.  He leaned back and grabbed my chin, turning it toward him as he does when he wants my full attention (I think it’s a 4th child thing), and said “I wanna go back Disney Worwld – you take me?” 

And yes, I still enjoyed it.  I would even go again, but I am reminded why I love the DVD player. 

All Moms (and all Parents for that matter) are Working Parents February 17, 2007

My tag surfing lately has led me to some very interesting posts on parents, Moms in particular, and the struggle over whether or not to work outside the home in addition to the work inside the home.  I’ve seen many strong opinions on both sides.  There’s Biblical references, personal accounts, sharing of financial struggles, thoughts on division of Mom and Dad duties, and a wealth of information and viewpoints out there.  I am strongly opinionated here, but only in so much as that my opinion is that every family needs to open and honestly explore what works for them and their individual unique situations.  This, of course, can change from time to time and in the various life stages we all go through.  I am convinced it takes an ever present focus on priorities, an open heart and mind, and lots of cooperation and prayer to put a workable plan together.  The challenge is as fundamental as the challenges of parenthood:  simply put, consistently making decisions that support your family, your faith, and your life goals.  Simply stated but giant in scope and purpose.  We are raising beautiful children of God.  We are trying to help them make good choices and decisions, have solid morals and values, be contributing citizens and Christians, and be happy, healthy, nurtured, and loved simultaneosly.  Parenting is a difficult, amazing, wonderous, and a tiring job all at the same time.  Evaluating the enormity of the task makes it easy to see how such strong opinions form.   It is certainly no wonder we are all quite exhausted at days end. 

I’ve been a Mom for 12 years and almost 2 months now (but who’s counting?).  If it wasn’t a cigarette ad, the phrase “you’ve come a long way, baby” could easily apply.  I can remember how difficult it was to all manage and how new it was to me and how downright lacking I was in self-confidence, parent assertiveness, and the knowledge to know what was best.  One of my favorite Ob/Gyn doctors told Steve and I that the first baby is your culture shock and when you first begin to adapt life to caring completely for another little individual.  He recalled baby #2 as a tribute to finding a family balancing act and learning to share attention, time, and love.  He, of course, shared all this with us when we were expecting baby #3.  He identified the third child as “just a lot of fun.”  His logic was that once you had already accepted your role of parenthood and then learned how to divide and conquer, 3 kids, and more if the situation applies, were just plain enjoyable.  Now, with 4 kids, I buy that philosophy hook, line, and sinker. 

As I look back, however, I remember the pain involved in sorting these things out.  I was convinced there was no balance between working outside the home and being the kind of Mom I wanted to be.  I have learned over the years, through much trial and error, that there is always a balance, we just have to keep adding to each end of the see-saw until we find it.  Notice I didn’t say we keep “chipping away at it” or “working through it.”  I intentionally said we add on either side until balance is acheived.  I believe in making deposits into the parenthood account, not withdrawals.  And that doesn’t mean adding more responsibilities.  It means adding to the quality of family and striving to make our work and home life support that quality.  We make deposits that enrich our lives. 

I’m now a kind of half-n-half mom with a similar kind of husband and we share roles.  We share laundry, making dinner, child duty, dog walking, homeworking checking, backpacking packing, activity shuttling, quality time devoting, and all the other hats we wear.  I work night shift, which I returned to after 7 years on days and 14 total years of work as a registered nurse.  I left a cushy dayshift office job as a nurse educator…and why?  Those office hours jobs totally preclude any ability to get to the school lunch, or volunteer in the classroom, or be available for sick calls, etc.  Nights frees up needed time for me and by working 12 hour nights, which is hairy on the work days, I get up to 7 days in a row off every 2 weeks.  That’s when hubby and switch and he does the “Tag – you’re it!” and I take over as the family manager on those days.  Sure, there’s plenty of kinks, but we work together, as a family, to keep working those out. 

I am currently very content with both work and home and very, very in touch with my family.  Our time together is precious and we are intentional about reserving it.  I’ve been told, and I believe, that we have a great deal of family time in contrast to the norm.  It’s top priority to us, so it gets planned in the busy life we have.  I feel very fortunate to be at this point.  I enjoy my work and my children find importance and significance in it.  They seem proud of Daddy and I when they talk about the things we do and how we share taking care of them.  Our day to day tasks are within the realm of possibility of accomplishing and they’ve been trimmed down to necessity.  We’ve made our kids share responsibilities and chores.  Team Houk we call ourselves and most days we are convinced that Team Houk can do anything we set our minds to.  It represents a great deal of progress and personal growth for me to be at this point.  We had to weed out that which detracted from our mission.  It was difficult, but I’m very glad we did it. 

Enough gushing.  I love that I get all warm and fuzzy talking about my family, but that is not the purpose of this post.  My purpose is really to inspire some confidence in those that are going through the process of making these decisions – to offer some love, support, and prayers from those of us who have “been there, done that” as the phrase goes.  To say:”stick to your guns on doing what it takes for YOUR family to acheive this balance.”  And remember, that will be very different for each individual family. 

What I really wanted most to share is something I found that I had written about 11 years ago.  It represents how I felt very much in the midst of the struggle.  I’ve actually found a few of these that I plan to post, along with some of my current success stories, just to prove that there is hope, and it is in your heart, and it will rise up.  It’s just like Sandra Bullock’s character in Hope Floats points out:  that the hope just floats up to the top, through all the mess below it. 

In 1996, as night shift nurse newly in a management role, with a full-time student, part-time employee husband, struggling to make ends meet, and a 1 year old daughter,  here is how I felt:

My thoughts on being a working Mom:

I am so tired of the hassle.  Every night it is an accomplishment to actually get out the door and on the way to work.  It is a series of last minute negotiations for who will do what and the resetting of alarms for a few more minutes to sleep.  I am torn.  I leave the two most important focuses in my life lying in bed and hoping I can come home early, so we can all at least be in the same room.  Not even awake and interacting, just together.  I am chronically tired and overcommitted and just barely making it has become a way of life. It seems as though I don’t have energy left for home, routinely.  My time with Marlee isn’t focused or directed.  It is scarce.  My thoughts are pre-occupied and I don’t feel good at being a Mom. Sometimes, I feel that she is growing up right only thanks to daycare and her good-natured personality.  My contribution as a parent doesn’t seem to be a factor.  Bedtime stories?  Rarely.  Usually Mommy is trying to catch a few winks herself and just wants her to drift to sleep quickly.  Closely, but quickly.  A desperate attempt at creating some quality time.  Tonight she stopped crying when I held her, then asked me to put my jammies on.  She wants the security of knowing I’ll stay.  I am unable to give it to her.  I am unable to give it to me. 

Many years later I’ll now say we might not be able to “do or have it all”, but we can have enough and do enough that our family remains at the top of our list. 

Best of luck to you all in our common struggles to figure it out and raise our kids well! 

Try This: Easy Handmade Valentines February 14, 2007

 I’ve seen lots of blog talk about Valentine’s Day and I have to admit, I love V-day!  Maybe it’s because we stay out of the whole commercialism thing.  It’s just a fun day here to celebrate love, friends, kindness, and lots of wholesome, good things. 

I have always LOVED making Valentines.  Now, with 4 kids, most would think that’s very impractical.  I would most definitely consider homemade and handmade valentine creating to be among the Dying Arts.  It does involve a little more time, but it’s together time with my kids.  We just set up a table in the study and sort of consult on an individual basis with them about what they’d like to do.  There’ s no pressure or “form card” that I’ve made that they must turn out duplicates of.  It’s delightful to see their own different versions of creativity. 

Here are some highlights of what we did:

  These are Keely’s Valentines and I don’t have any photos of Keely in action, probably because she worked so quietly and efficiently tonight.  Besides some help with colors, Keely designed and made all of hers independently.  You can see she went for a basic, simple flat card design. 

 The boys, oh the boys.  They sure had a blast!  Both of them really got into stamping for their teachers.  You can see the proud look on Brady’s face and the intensity on Harper’s. 

       

I cut out all those little images Brady stamped above and mounted them on pretty paper and added an embellishment or two.  The pink cards below are the result of his stamping and my assistance.  They are cards for his 3 daycare teachers and he enjoyed picking out, by name, which was for whom.  Harper went for the full paper sized rainbow, and then stamped around it.  His little hands worked so hard on this project.  I caught them below in action.                                            

      

 Marlee and Keely both wanted to know when the boys were going to bed.  In other words, “when are they going to get out of my way”?  After they were gone, Marlee started her special friend cards.  She’s a natural at artsy-crafty things and stamping is a hobby she and I do together.  We use Stampin’ Up products and supplies and we actually have a little business as demonstrators.  We do it for fun together and to support our stampin’ habit.  She designs beautiful cards.  The lighting isn’t good, but she went for the pink and chocolate theme with flowers and a watercolor-look stamp of boxes.       

                             

           

She’s even let us read inside, which says (to her girlfriend)

“Let’s not let not having boyfriends bother us!”

That’s it for this year’s creating, unless I stay up a little longer and make some secret ones.  Tomorrow is celebrating day and I’ll post about that later on.  We sure had fun!                                                                                                 

Try This: Leftover Meal Magic February 13, 2007

There’s been quite a hustle and bustle around here tonight, getting all 4 kids ready for their respective Valentine’s Celebrations at school tomorrow.  Accordingly, dinner had to be quick and easy.  My strategy with leftovers is to turn it into something new.  No one will ever have to say, “oh, leftovers…” in that pitiful voice again.  I just view them as new material for my next creation. 

Tonight, I found the following in our fridge and I’ll tell you what I created with it:

Some plain boiled bowtie noodles (all stuck together – almost a whole pound)

Some corkscrew noodles with redsauce and parmesan- (about 2 cups or 2 servings)

Half n half and milk

Parmesan cheese in the shaker

5 slices of deli ham for sandwiches

a pack of frozen green peas

one half bag of washed, raw spinach

1/2 of a roma tomato

My mind started working and I ended up with something we all loved and ate every bit of with the exception of one small serving which will be my meal at work later this week. 

I heated up the plain bowtie noodles with some half n half and about 4 Tablespoons of butter.  Just until they warm and separated.  Once they were heated and in this runny milk sauce, I added about 3/4 cup grated parmesan and kept stirring until the sauce was nicely thickened.  I added salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg.  Wahlah – easy alfredo.  I took some of this out for the boys (picky, picky), but kept working with the rest of  it. 

Now, I took those heated alfredo noodles and dumped in the rest of the noodles with red sauce.  Heated it all together and it made a great parma rosa, or tomato cream sauce.  If it got too thick, I just kept adding dashes of regular milk and kept it all on low while I got more creative. 

I chopped the lunch meat ham and sauteed it in a little butter with some fresh garlic.  Once warm, I threw in about 1.5 cups of the frozen peas and cooked just until they were heated and a beautiful bright green – and still had some crispness.  A sprinkle of Italian seasoning and this pasta topping was ready.  I left it alone, as the girls will eat ham and peas, but I moved on to an additional topping for the adults. 

I quickly sauteed a skillet full of spinach leaves in olive oil until wilted and reduced greatly in size.  At the very end, I diced up that leftover tomato and cooked until heated, also with some Italian seasoning. This made our 2nd quick and easy pasta topping. 

We put both toppings together on top of the noodles and it was great – plus gave us a serving of some veggies.  The girls balked at the ham/veggie topping initially, but once they tried it, they even had to admit it tasted good.  “I can’t really taste the peas so much” was the kind of plus they voiced. 

Lots of different veggies and combos could be used.  This was a less than 30 minute prep, including setting the table.  It used up our leftovers, and it was yummy! 

Getting it Together February 13, 2007

Knowing we can never “get it all together” as the phrase goes, we’ve certainly made some attempts to have a little more organization in our busy lives.  A color-coded calendar, a weekly family meeting, and a laundry schedule and a menu plan are all things that have helped a little. It takes energy to put these systems into place.  And, you have to be somewhat organized to begin organizing the process of getting organized to add more organization to your already semi-organized or dis-organized life. Does that make any sense?  An absence of time and energy from the task just send us down the black hole of further chaos. 

But, as I was saying, we’ve gotten some things down.  I’ll probably share some tips that have worked for us, as a fairly big family, in future posts.  Today, as I was taking a shower, by myself and not rushed (ahhh victory in that alone!), I had a few minutes to think about some of the things from the recent past that have helped me realize how out of balance the chaos had become.  I hope some of you can relate to me on at least some of the things below. 

You’re life might be falling apart if:

• You are wearing maternity underwear, not because you are pregnant, but because you have no regular underwear that you can find in the piles of laundry.  It was either pull out the tub of maternity clothes or go commando.
• Speaking of clean clothes, you went through several stacks looking for some combination of scrubs that matched for work.  After finding a ragged pair of bottoms and a somewhat matching top – you realize the clean and dirty stacks are very hard to distinguish, since they are all laying in the floor.
• The questionably clean clothes need ironing.  No time for that.  A generous dose of wrinkle releaser holds you over, until you realize it was really Febreeze.  Oh well, the wrinkles will fall out as they dry and you do smell really good.
• You brush your teeth with Barbie bubblegum flavored toothpaste because it’s all you could find.
• You are forced to wear your daughters teen spirit deodorant because your’s fell out of the roll-up case and crumbled into hundreds of tiny pieces while you were using it. 
• The only time you wear make up is if you have the opportunity to put it on at redlights.
• On on of those occasions where you do have time for a little make-up at the red light, you get to work only realize you have put your lipliner on as eyeliner and now your eyes looks more tired and bloodshot than before with those beautiful little berry colored rings around them. 
• You have fallen asleep at one of those redlights, but not for long.
• You have fed your kids p-nut butter for dinner. Just that – p-nut butter.  No bread, no jelly.  P-nut butter with a spoon.  Perhaps they add some applesauce too, just to keep it all balanced, you know?
• Responding to a call from school, you took lunch money in for your daughter and left it in the office.  Would have been great if it was the right daughter and/or right school.
• Matching socks are highly overrated.  In fact, you have giant bags of unmatched socks.  At least they’re clean.
• The system for sorting mail is this:  pitch it after month, because if it’s important, you’ll hear from them again.
• You make it to kindergarten to join your little guy for lunch and clean your plate – commenting over and over that this was the best meal you’ve had in a while! 
• You and your hubby have a date – this means your dental appointments are at the same time and you can ride together.
• The grass got so long that hubby had to use the weed eater before he could mow.

I’m sure you get the idea.  Even though life is incredibly busy, I can at least say I’ve overcome most of the above list. 

Onward and upward!

Houkhouse All-Americans February 11, 2007

We are headed out on a family lunch adventure, meeting Steve’s brother half-way between here and Nashville to visit and eat!  We usually stay so long at the Golden Corral with the 6 kids total (all12 and under) that we fear we will eventually get kicked out. 

Steve is on boy-duty.  He loves to dress them.  He just announced from the top of the stairs that the Houkhouse All- Americans were on their way down.  It was precious!  They all came down, one at a time, in their jerseys, strutting their stuff, doing a little dance, acting all male, etc.  They were so cute I had just had to take a photo of this father-son moment. 

                          

Hi God, whatcha doin’? February 10, 2007

When we are young, we take our beginning foundations of religion from our parents.  And as we grow, we test and question and search and begin the long process of formulating our religion, our spirituality, and our own faith.  As an adult, we can look back and remember that process and visualize some of our steps along the way, but otherwise, it becomes somewhat far removed.  And then, some little person helps you remember.  They let you in on their faith journey and by watching and experiencing it with them, your remember your own and you see your new responsibility in helping them in this awesome task of forming their individual faith.  Woah.  And we thought potty training was hard. 

Harper is in the very active stages of forming his first beginnings of an individual relationship with God and starting to understand faith.  “Tell me about God,” he says, as if he’s asking me to read him a story.  He doesn’t seem to tire of it.  He wants to know more, more, more.  And he asks questions about all the hard stuff, therefore challenging Steve and I to explain. 

“How did God make us?”

“Why did God make mean people?”

“Where is God, can I see him?”

You might think you have a good grip on Bible stories and religious teachings, until you try to put them on a 5 year old level.

“How do we know God is here if we can’t see him?”

Many have suggested that kids need to come with instruction manuals.  That’s a great idea.  I’d like for there to be a section, or perhaps an entirely separate book on religious teaching instructions, including how to mold wonderful children of God into faithful, Christian followers.  I just know it would stay on the best seller list.  But there’s not an instruction manual.  And the Bible doesn’t have a kid question/adult answer section.  So there we are, relying on our own faith to take over and show through and praying silently for the right words to come out of our mouths. 

Harper does best if it is in story form.  We’ve found some cute kids’ versions of Bibles, and hero books, and prayers.  I think, if I understand his explanations correctly, God to him right now is like his favorite super hero.  I think that works for him. It’s pretty darn close to true, at least in the 5 year old realm of reality. 

And since Harper has taken this storybook approach, he’s developed a more personal relationship with God than I expected.  His prayers are more of a conversation. He just chats with God.  He’s developed a comfort level and closeness that many adults strive for.  His grasp of “pray without ceasing” is impressive.  He just talks to God anytime he wants, includes him in his life, makes him a part of what’s going on.  His faith in formation is an incredible example for the rest of us.  It encourages us, no more like forces us, to examine our own relationships with God.

In true Harper form, here’s an example of his prayers from the last few bedtimes.  Brady’s followed suit and his prayers are the total example of pure childhood innocence and wonder.  I’ve put some of them together here.

Harper:

Hi, God,whatcha doin’?

I had a good day today at school.  I miss Mommy, but I didn’t cry.  Teacher tell me I did good job on my papers.  I read Mommy my papers and watch kid shows and she rub my feet. 

I had so good p-nut butter and jelly to eat, with pretzels, and a gogurt.  I no like carrots.  ‘Member that time, mommy made me try it and I get sick?

I build a tent with Brady and we play spies.  Brady doesn’t share – he kicked me in the tummy. 

One more day of school and then two days at home.  We do lots of fun stuff.  I want to go back to Disneyworld.

Thank you for my family and Murphy dog and Bubba the binnie big (guinea pig). 

A-men

Brady:

Sank (thank) you for my sand’ich, my fries, my ketchup, my napkin, my water, and my plate.

I brush my teeth and put on jammies. 

Sank you for Mommy and Daddy and Harper and Marlee and Mommy and Keely and Daddy and Harper and Mommy and Murphy and Marlee and all my samily.

I go back to Disney World and I ride Goofy Rides and Buzz Lightyear. 

I have fun at school today and I not cry. 

Aaaaaa-meeeen

And that’s called really sharing your life with God. 

Fun times in the Delivery Room February 8, 2007

Wow – I had my best day ever on WordPress yesterday!  Thanks for all the comments and referrals to my marriage post.  It’s so nice to see that folks are still really interested in marriage. 

Today, I’m going to keep it shorter and funny.  We had dinner with some new friends tonight at the famous kids- eat- free at Fuddrucker’s night.  (My entire family of 6, with drinks and dessert, can eat for $15 – 23 depending on what we get – FULL meal for all 6 of us).  Somehow, we ended up telling pregnancy, labor, delivery stories.  After 4 kids, I have a truckload of those.  One in particular kind of cracked us all up, so I thought an appropriate post to follow-up on marriage is one about being a parent in the delivery room.  I also know from Tag Surfer that there are many, many expecting parents out there looking for camaraderie and guidance.  In that vein – here we go:

Luckily, my labors go very fast.   We had all 4 kids naturally and with the able help of Lamaze class and my dedicated and inspiring coach Daddy, Steve.  Because things have gone so well, getting ready to have a baby has been equated to something like planning a party for me.  I’m getting sibling gifts ready, preparing snacks, polishing toenails and the like all right before baby time. 

On baby #2, now known as Keely, age 8, I was up until 3am the night before I had her.  I was scheduled to have my water broken the next day, as I was dilating consistently without active labor.  In fact, I was already at 7 centimeters!  Everyone in my family was nervous, especially since labor #1, now known as Marlee, age 12, took only 1.5 hours.  Oh, there are so many fun stories to tell about this labor – this beginning is probably where my Keely got her spunk.  Tonight, however, I will confine to one story and make it as brief as possible (obviously not my forte).

With my history of precipitious (read:rapid) labor, I’m not sure what my doctor was thinking.  He broke my water, then left for lunch.  Good man, but clearly had too much on his mind that day.  I only had a few contractions after that and then needed to push.  We were blessed with the same awesome nurse for this delivery (actually for 3 of the 4) that totally supports natural childbirth.  When I told her I felt the urge to push, she said, “You’ve done this before and I’m sure you’re right.”  And then she immediately paged my Doctor. 

She said we could go ahead and push and he’d arrive in a few minutes.  I’m certain that she didn’t realize push #2 would almost deliver Keely’s head.  She kept her cool very nicely and put pressure on Keely’s head to hold her in a little longer.  She asked me to try not to push any more until the doc arrived.  Then, she started summoning other staff to “find a doctor!”  There was a bit of urgency in her voice.  Not pushing when you feel the urge = EASIER SAID THAN DONE! 

We had our Moms and my Sis in with us this time.  My Mom and Steve were on either side by my head.  My Step-Mom and Sis, Kara, were at the foot of the bed, kind of watching from afar, and Steve’s Mom was right beside him, helping hold my legs for pushing.  I didn’t realize Keely’s head was part way out, but hearing the discussion between Steve’s Mom and the nurse gave me some clues.

“What will you do if the doctor doesn’t get here soon?” asked Steve’s Mom. 

“I will deliver this baby” the nurse said with a calm confidence. 

Meanwhile, I’m trying to listen to the heartrate, check the monitor, interpret all the conversations, worry, and, oh yeah, NOT PUSH and TRY TO BREATHE!  My skilled labor coach came to the rescue.  This was his role – he was trained to intervene and help me focus when I might be otherwise unable.  As usual, he was dynamite.  He led me through the “Puah” breathe that is the standard for “I’m in real pain, here!”  It’s not the usual relaxing breathing that strives for a focal point and ultimate relief of pain.  This breath is the “Big Daddy” of lamaze and is just for making it through short-term agony. 

We “Puah’d” for what seemed like forever to me as I continue to hear things like: 

“Page him again!”

 ”Page him 911!”

“Is there any doctor out there?”

I can tell everyone is stressed and I’m starting to get there, too.  Sensing the rise of my anxiety, Steve calms things down for me.  He leans down by my ear, holds my hand, and talks softly to me.  He was very re-assuring to me.  I didn’t have to be in control, I was just following my Coach’s lead.  He succeeded at getting me back in “the zone” and we were “puah’ing” together.  At some point during his soft-spoken instructions in my ear, he tells me to keep my eyes closed.  It made perfect sense — visually shut out all the distraction. 

It made sense, that is, until I smelled something odd.  Wait, I smelled it with the “puah’s”.  It was almost like it was coming from Steve’s breath.  “Just keep your eyes closed, honey” he continues to say.  And then, the smell becomes more familiar.  I know this smell, I’ve smelled it recently.  Oh, yes…

It’s Turkey.  Turkey on Hawaiian bread with honey mustard and swiss!  Yeah, I know this smell, I packed it just a few short hours ago!

IT’S THE FREAKING TURKEY SANDWICH THAT I PACKED IN THE COACH’S GOODY BAG!

And then, I do open my eyes, despite my Coach’s warning.  And there he is, caught red-handed with the turkey sandwich!  So that’s why I need to “keep my eyes closed!”

All our labor pals (Moms) tried to defend him – needs his strength, too, yada, yada. 

I had just a few short seconds to INSIST in Transition-phase vernacular, that Steve drop the *#!* sandwich, before my doctor waltzed in for delivery. 

And to this day, I think that doc’s arrival saved Steve’s life.  Me and the nurse could have delivered that baby, but a few more seconds and I might have killed Steve with my own bare hands. 

It became a funny story within just minutes, as our healthy baby girl arrived!  And funny though it may now be, you can bet he NEVER made that mistake again!