Not lazy. Weird.

This morning my husband opened the silverware drawer and asked, "Where are all the spoons?"

"I forgot to start the dishwasher last night," was my reply. "Just get one out of the dishwasher and wash it by hand."

A few minutes later I was shocked to notice my husband eating his oatmeal with a FORK. Oatmeal with a fork!

And no, it's not because he was too lazy to wash it.  Nope.  It's just because my husband is strange.

I have long known of my husband's issues regarding the things and people that touch his food.  He will not take a bite of something if I already have and don't even think about asking him to share something with one of the kids. That sends literal shivers down his spine.

If we go to a get together where food is being served buffet style, he will only eat food that I have made or that my mom has made.  Although I think he is slowly but surely starting to come around on that one now that he has gotten to know the rest of my extended family over that last fifteen years!

So, no, it's not laziness that forced my husband to use a fork to eat oatmeal.  He's just weird!

Because if one goes, then they all want to go.

"Mom?  Why can't you home school me and Peter?"

Cold chills went down my spine as I replied, "I have a hard enough time getting you to do your homework. I can only imagine how hard it would be to home school you."

Sarah laughed knowingly and said, "Wanna know why I want to be homeschooled?"

"Oh, do tell."

"Because you would let me go to the bathroom whenever I wanted!  Mrs. P. always says, 'Sarah, we just went like 10 hours ago' or 'Sarah, can't you wait until we all go in like 2 hours or something?'"

I think Sarah has already learned how to exaggerate for effect. Like, totally.

Get to Arby's! Now!

We took the family to Arby's last night for dinner. 

Peter wolfed down his entire Jr. Roast Beef, licked his apple sauce cup clean and ate a large portion of my curly fries.  This is rare for Peter.  Other than cereal, he rarely eats anything with gusto and he never cleans his plate when I'm the chef.

So how could I resist when he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, "Can I have dessert Mom?  I cleaned my plate.  How about one of those Chocolate Turnovers?  I saw the sign for them.  They're only one dollar!"

I sent him up to the counter with $3 and told him to get two turnovers and that one of them would be for his sister.

He came back with a tray and two decent sized chocolate turnovers.  He began to eat his and Sarah started to eat hers.  It wasn't long before her shirt was covered in pastry - these things were flaky!  And it wasn't long before his mouth was covered in chocolate - they were indeed chocolaty!

Sarah couldn't finish hers.  "It's very rich, Mommy."  So I gladly finished it off for her. 

It was delicious. 

I'm not normally one for sweets. I prefer salty and crunchy but oh my goodness!  Peter ate almost 3/4 of his and I felt it was my motherly duty to eat the other 1/4. I mean there are children starving in Africa after all.  We can't let good food go to waste.

Do you see how the chocolate is oozing out of the center of the turnover?  Well, it is oozing because the center of the turnover is filled with chocolate!  Filled! 

Flakey!  Chocolatey!  And only $1!  Get  to Arby's right now before they take it off their dollar menu.  This pastry is well worth  $1. 

And now, since I didn't let my kid's leftover Chocolate Turnover go to waste - I've got to go for a run so it doesn't go to waist. 

I guess now I can go back to talking like a grown up.

I had been helping with the school's Fall Book Fair.  The school day was over and I gathered the kids and their backpacks and all their other paraphenalia and we were heading out the door to get Peter's allergy shots and then on to Faith Formation.  I knew we would be in the car for at least 20 minutes so I turned to Peter and said, "Do you need to go to the potty before we get in the car?"

He nervously looked over his shoulder and then looked up at me and said with great disdain, "Potty?  Seriously Mom!"

Baby talk is a hard habit to break after almost 8 years.  I'll do my best to try though because I would hate to embarrass my kids. 

"By the way honey, your shirt's on backwards," I whispered.

After almost eight years and I still don't know what I'm doing!

Every afternoon after school the homework battle begins.  I've been working at the school Book Fair this week so the fight to get homework done was occuring later than than normal last night. 

When my husband walked through the door from work, I was still struggling to get Peter to finish his.  (He spends more time complaining about having to do the homework than the actual homework takes.)

A couple of strong words from my husband and about 8 minutes later it was done. 

Typical.

When I tell my kids to do something, it takes 10 times before they do it.

My husband tells them once and they are scurrying off to complete the task.

Peter woke up yesterday morning and was mad at me.  I asked him why he was mad and he told me that he woke up scared in the middle of the night and came to my room to tell me.  However, he couldn't get me to wake up.  So he went back to bed mad and woke up that way.

I asked him why he didn't try to wake up his father and he said, "Because Dad would just tell me to go back to bed!"

So then why is he mad at me?

I'm doing something wrong, just not sure what it is!

Man cannot live by bread alone...

...he needs lots of butter too!

I wanted to tell you  about The Bread.  It's a recipe I discovered on a little known blog called "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman". teehee

If you haven't made this bread yet, you must.  You have no reason not to make it.  It only requires two ingredients, it's easy to make and it's oh, so delicious.

I have made this four times since PW posted it on September 17th.  I serve it with spaghetti and since it's only October 15th, if you do the math, that means we have spaghetti a lot.

My kids now refer to this bread as "that really good bread".  For example, when the kids ask what's for dinner and I say "spaghetti and bread" instead of saying, "Spaghetti?  Again?", their little faces will light up and then they say, "Bread? That really good bread?"

It's that good.

Here's a picture of "that really good bread" that I took from that obscure little website because she is a much better photographer than I am and unlike PW, I don't typically cook with a camera nearby.

And no, it's not burnt.  In fact, mine was even blacker and I dare say, probably even better than her's. 

Go here for her recipe and please make it.  And don't worry about all that butter - butter is good for your soul - just ask Paula Deen!

Yummy Mummy Cookies (That's debatable!)

Peter decided that he wanted to make the Yummy Mummy Cookies from our Halloween cookbook.

I aim to please, so I made them this weekend.  And when I say "I" that's exactly what I mean.  I guess Peter really meant to say that he wanted to EAT Yummy Mummy Treats because neither he nor Sarah had any interest in helping make them.

The final product was supposed to look like this:

Cute, huh? It is basically a chocolate cookie rolled into a mummy shape and covered in white chocolate.

Here is what my chocolate cookies looked before I popped them into the oven:

 I couldn't stop giggling because I was reminded of these cookies. (Scroll to the bottom of this post.)

Ahem.  Back to the mummies.

I baked them and covered them in white chocolate and put on the chocolate chips for eyes.  And at that point, I realized that I should have splurged and gotten the miniature chocolate chips.  (We already had the regular sized ones and I figured eh, it won't make any difference.)

I was wrong.  Because my mummies look like strange alien-eyed ghosts.  Spooky but not quite the look I was going for.

Apparently a tiny detail can make a big difference in the world of Halloween confections.

And the taste - not wonderful.  Not horrible but not wonderful either. I won't be making these again but at least Peter had fun asking me to make them for him.


In case you are interested in a cute yet not very tasty Halloween recipe,  here is the recipe which was taken from Frightfully Fun Halloween Recipes.*

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup HERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 1 to 2 packages (12 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Premium White Chips
• 1 to 2 tablespoons shortening(do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)
• Additional HERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Directions:

1. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in 1 cup small chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough 20 minutes or until firm enough to handle.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. For mummy body, roll 1 tablespoon dough into 3-1/2 inch long carrot shape; place on ungreased cookie sheet. For head, roll 1 teaspoon dough, roll into ball the size of a grape; press onto wide end of body. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

4. Microwave 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chips and 1 tablespoon shortening in microwave-safe pie plate or shallow bowl at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted.

5. Place 1 cookie at a time on table knife or narrow metal spatula. Spoon white chip mixture over just the top of cookie to coat; place on wax paper. (If mixture begins to thicken, return to microwave for a few seconds.) Melt additional chips with shortening, if needed for additional coating. As coating begins to set on cookies, use toothpick to score lines in body and on face to resemble mummy . Place two small chocolate chips on each for eyes. Store, covered, in cool dry place.  Makes about 30 cookies.

*The photo was also taken from Frightfully Fun Halloween Recipes.  The book was published by Publications International in 2000.

FrankenCake!

Peter and Sarah love Halloween - Peter especially.  I think his true love for Halloween intensified 4 years ago when I won the book, Frightfully Fun Halloween Recipes at a MOPS meeting.

The kids were 3 and 4 at the time and demanded that we make the Frankenstein cake.  Mine didn't turn out quite as well as the one in the book but it made an impression on the kids nonetheless, because just the other day Peter said, "Do you still have that Halloween cookbook?  You know, the one with the Frankenstein cake in it that we made!" 

4 years later, he still remembers.  And 4 years to the 8-and-under crowd is like 20 adult years - or something like that.

So even though my cake didn't look quite as good as the one in the book, the kids loved it and still remember it.  And now we make at least one spooky Halloween  treat every October.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what we made this past weekend.  If you just can't wait until then to get your spooky on, here are a few things we've made before:

Ghosts
Graveyard Treats
Frankenstein Snack Mix (this is MY favorite!  So cute!)
Mummy Pizzas (another Halloween tradition.  Peter has already requested this before we go Trick-Or-Treating.)

Just look at my babies!  Look at their still-chubby faces and their bad haircuts!  Look at the way Peter is looking at Sarah.  I wonder what he was thinking.  Oh I wish I could squeeze their 3 and 4-year-old selves just one more time!  *sigh*

There's a lesson in all of this.

Backpacks, shoes, folders, agendas, paperwork, homework, lunch boxes, afternoon snacks and both kids fighting to be heard over the other.  Every afternoon this same tornedo storms through my kitchen.

And every afternoon, I am left standing in it's wake instructing the kids, yet again, to please hang up their coats and to please put away their shoes. 

I sign field trip forms, write checks for the latest fundraiser, mark important dates on the calendar, look over the list of homework that needs to be completed, review the work that came home and clean out lunch boxes.

It's chaos.  And I've only got two kids. (Jennifer, I pray for you girl.  A lot.)

Normally when I am cleaning out Sarah's lunch box, I will go over what the school cafeteria is offering the next day and ask whether they want to pack or buy.  Noramlly Peter's answer is always "Buy!" and Sarah's answer is always "Pack!" 

But when they both decided to "Buy!" on Wednesday, I did a tiny little jig.  I hate to pack lunches. 

On Wedensday afternoon, after the debris had settled from the afternoon whirlwind, I asked Sarah how the school nuggets were.  She loves the school nuggets.

"I only had those dried out pickles you packed," she complained. 

"Dried out pickles?  What dried out pickles?"

And then it hit me.  I didn't take her lunchbox out of her backpack the day before and the pickles that she didn't eat on Tuesday remained in the lunchbox on Wednesday.  And when she saw the lunch box in her backpack on Wednesday morning, she assumed I packed lunch for her so she didn't place her nugget order wtih the cafeteria.

So poor Sarah didn't have any lunch on Wednesday.  Well, if there's a lesson to be learned in all this, it's not that I'm a horrible mother, it's that Sarah needs to start cleaning out her own lunch box.  That's the lesson.  Right?

They heard my cry!

Every week as I passed the Sun Chips I would look longingly at them and hope that this would be the week I could finally buy them again.  I would take my index finger and gently touch the bag.  And week after week, I would jump back as if stung by something sharp each time I heard the obnoxious crinkling noise and with my head hung low, I would reach for a different, silent snack.*

Finally, Frito-Lay, the maker of Sun Chips has heard my cry and decided to replace the annoying crinkly bag with the normal bag!  Hooray!

And technically, I'm not sure if they heard my cry or if they decided to go back to their old packaging because sales have tumbled since January when they introduced the loud bag.  We eat a lot of Sun Chips around here but not enough to cause sales to tumble so I am assuming everyone hated that bag.

Wonder how long it will be until my Wal-Mart has the new packaging in?  I'm so excited.  Harvest Cheddar - here we come!


*And don't think I didn't do this every. single. week. since I gave up Sun Chips in my silent protest.  I knew it wouldn't be long  before Frito Lay came around, because sometimes, silence speaks louder than a crinkly, biodegradable bag!

My own little Pippi! Sort of.

From the time she had a few cute baby wisp until now when she's got lots of long hair, Sarah has hated for her hair to be controlled by any one other than herself.

I have a couple of cute pictures when she was younger of her hair in little tiny bows or cute little spouts that were snapped quickly before she jerked the clips or bows right out of her head.

I finally had enough of the battle and took her to get bangs cut into her little baby hair.  Big. Mistake.

The bangs on her giant round head made her resemble something close to a smiling pumpkin or perhaps a giggling basket ball.  I would post some pictures but I'm too lazy to dig out the albums so you are just going to have to trust me on this.  Bangs were not a flattering look for my little princess.

Even as she has matured, the horrible bangs have grown out and her hair has gotten longer, she still doesn't want anything in her hair.  And quite honestly, that's fine with me on most days.  She's a bit of a princess- tomboy anyway her unkempt hair and her pink dresses work for her.

A couple of days ago, she told me she wanted to wear braids the next day.  And I told her she was going to have to get up and get dressed quickly if she wanted me to try to put braids in.  I am horrible with hair - hers and mine and the last thing I needed was the extra pressure of trying to get braids in without missing the bus.

Finally this morning, she hopped out of bed with a cheerful disposition, quickly ate her breakfast and dressed and declared, "I'm ready for my braids!"

So, I gave it my best shot. She was moving around like crazy, my hands aren't very nimble any more (not sure if it's my age, my MS, or too much coffee!) 

It turned out o.k., I suppose.  If nothing else, she would make a great Pippi Longstocking for Halloween!

 

She was so excited about her braids that she took this picture of herself.  Guess it was worth the extra sweat at 7:00 am.  I just need to work on getting them tighter and more uniform.  (You can see all the "wild hairs" in the first picture.)