Fan Friday

Things that I am and am not a FAN of this week:

Fan:  Listening to songs you enjoy without commercial interruption on an i-pod while walking in the morning.

Not a fan:  Having the i-pod battery run out in the first 5 minutes.

Fan:  Helping surprise your daughter's cheer team with fun and unique goodie bags for cheer camp.

Not a fan:  Finding out that the girls have all discussed it, and don't agree with your choices.

Fan:  Finishing a tedious and stress-inducing project... like cutting 1800 8-inch strips for 21 pair of tied flip flops.

Not a fan:  Not quite having enough fabric for all 21 pair.

Fan:  Listening to a great talk in church.

Not a fan:  Having to give a talk in church.  

Fan:  Having a good printer that you know how to use.

Not a fan:  A new-ish printer that has already been returned to the company once for problems, that you can't figure out how to get to print on both sides without some serious brain power and manual dexterity -- not always readily available at 6 in the morning.

Fan:  Summer break and warm weather.

Not a fan:  A hot house and an electric company rate hike.

Fan:  A community pool just down the street.

Not a fan:  Crazy HOA people that think the whole world is trying to get into YOUR little community pool, and will do anything to keep them out.  And if you want to get in, you better have a picture I.D, photo swipe card, and your water bill to prove you live here.

Fan:  A neatly kept yard and productive garden.

Not a fan:  Knowing your Saturday will be spent doing yard and garden work.  And THEN you need to finish up that talk.

Fan:  Having your husband stay home from the office (since he's spent way too much time there this week).

Not a fan:  Having him work behind closed doors in the home office for 12 hours.  Maybe he'll take a lunch break.

Fan:  Taking a much needed shower.

Not a fan:  Having to blow-dry your hair in the middle of the day in the hottest room in the house.

Happy weekend!

Recognition

Everybody likes to be recognized for the things they do.  I have frequently had the conversation with my dear husband about how he, in the business world, gets recognized for his successes quite regularly.  Pats on the back.  A "Good job!" or  "Well done!" thrown his way.  As a mom/personal chef/taxi driver/housekeeper/laundress/nurse/accountant/cheerleader/corrections officer/personal assistant to six people... the recognition does not come as frequently or easily.  Sometimes I have to give myself a pat on the back, because I know I am the only one who will fully appreciate the good job I just did.  I accept that, though, and only have an I'm-so-under-appreciated meltdown once or twice a year.

With that said, when I post about the achievements of my children, I merely do so to somewhat publicly give them that parental "Good job!" and "Way to go!" they crave (and hopefully remember when I am giving them the not-so-desirable feedback also required of parenting).  My job description, after all, does include cheerleading... being an encouragement and support to them as they develop their intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual abilities.

On a personal note, I wanted so badly as I was growing up to be good at something... anything... but lacked the confidence in myself to even try.  I had a fear of trying something only to find out that I wasn't good enough, fast enough, smart enough, popular enough.  That fear and lack of confidence still creeps back in every now and then.  I determined that, as a parent, at least my kids would always have someone behind them telling them, "It's possible.  Believe in yourself.  You don't have to win.  Giving your best effort and finishing can be just as rewarding."  And it's paid off.  I have had so many moments of pride (the good kind) and fulfillment as I have watched my children try.  Very rarely have they been "the best."  Very few people in life get that opportunity.  And those chances get slimmer and slimmer as you progress in anything... you may be the best in your school, but are you the best in your city? state? the nation? the world?  You get what I mean.  Most likely there will always be someone better.  So in my mind, the goal isn't to be the best, it's to do your best.  There is tremendous satisfaction in a job well done.

So last night was a pleasant surprise.  The track banquet (we have banquets for everything around here):  potluck dinner... long speeches from coaches... recognition of athletes.  They handed out the certificates for lettering.

I was happy that Lex got one.  I wasn't sure what the requirements were, so it was a nice surprise that she was given the winged-foot pin to put on her chenille LT.  Since we thought we were done (with the important parental support part) for the evening, Bill headed out to do his home teaching while I hung around until the end of the event.

Then Lexee was awarded this:

She got this for running as the anchor on her relay team -- and winning first place at their League competition.  Cool.  (Which also put her on the Wall of Legends... of which she was expressing last night how much she disliked her picture that will be displayed there... sigh.)

Then they handed out the MVP awards.  I knew that one of the other girls on the team (also a fellow cheer buddy of Lex's) would get one because she competed at the state meet in several events.  But I was totally surprised when the coach started talking about Lex.  He hadn't said her name yet, but he mentioned things like, "This girl is really quiet..." (that was a tip-off) and "She was willing to run two 400s every meet -- even the guys don't want to do that..." and "She anchored the relay team that placed first at League..." Hey, that's my girl. So then she was awarded this:

There were 4 awarded, two girls, two guys.  And no, the coach never spelled Lexee's name right ONCE all season.  (Luckily her cheer coach, who is also the Athletic Secretary at the school, had the other certificates made.  Thus, the correctly-spelled name.)  That still doesn't detract in the least from the fact that she was given the recognition.  Even Lex was surprised (those are the best kind).  And poor Bill... doing his church duty... missed it all.  Bummer!

Way to go, girl.

And since I'm so wordy today... here is a dose of randomness:

As I woke Mauri up this morning for swim practice, she yawned, then stretched, then said, "I feel so... " I was expecting "TIRED!" (her usual).  Instead I was pleasantly surprised with "...WONDERFUL!"

I went shopping with Shilo at the mall yesterday.  We went early and were pleasantly surprised that we practically had the mall to ourselves.  I LOVE shopping with that girl.  And with it obviously being our lucky mall day, all the stores we were there to visit were located in close proximity to each other AND to where we parked.  That never happens.  As we were checking out at the Buckle, I noticed the lady in front of us had a Dillards bag with a shoe box inside... with one of those yellow sale stickers on the box.  I told Shilo we should hit the Dillards real fast on our way out -- just in case they were having a shoe sale.  Some of my favorite shoes I own were purchased for 70% off at a Dillards shoe sale.  Love those. And, because luck happens, Shilo found two pair of shoes that she LOVES for $13 each.  (She had just purchased a similar - but different - pair at the Buckle for $44.)  Her jubilation at such a great deal was a joy to behold.  She was a happy girl (who, by the way, is set for shoes for the next little while).

Now That's What I'm Talking About

Today I am posting about laundry.  Not because I think anyone has any interest in it whatsoever, but because it is such a huge part of life around here.  And I mean HUGE.

I have tried for years to do laundry once a week (sorted, washed, folded and put away), all within a one-day (and that's waking hours) time period.  I would tell myself that if I only had to do laundry for one day out of the whole week, no matter how horrendous that day was, it would all be worth it.  Then I would have 6 lovely laundry-free days to sit back, relax, and not worry about clean clothes.  I made sure everyone in the family had enough clothes to make it through a full week:  underwear, undershirts, jeans... everything.  This grand plan, however, has only come to fruition on rare occasions.  Most weeks I end up doing laundry for two or three days (yes, sometimes four), with the final load sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded until laundry day of the following week.  It's not that I'm lazy.  Just busy.  And let me tell you, my family creates a ton of laundry.

I thought as Taylor and Britta left home the laundry would decrease.  The laundry-in-a-day would become more realistic.  Not so.  I have a couple of daughters here at home that have made up the slack and go through 2 to 3 to 4 clothing changes a day.  Sleeping attire (no, you don't need a new pair every night), workout clothes, sweats, swimsuits, towels, sports uniforms, jeans, shirts, socks and HOODIES.  I swear some weeks I've washed over a dozen hoodies.  What's up with that?  

So what's a mother to do?  What she should have been doing all along.  Having those kids wash their own clothes.  Starting today.  Hallelujah.

As Shilo sorted her laundry this morning she talked about how she's going to be more conservative.  Wear clothes more than once.  Not go through a million towels in a week.  Tomorrow it's Lexee's turn.

And just to clarify, I have gone through periods of time where Taylor and Britta did their own laundry too.  I didn't send them off coddled and spoiled.  And, as they have returned home to visit I am happy to say that I have not had to do one ounce of their laundry.  Now that's what I'm talking about.

The Camping Queen, A Man with a Plan, Stargazing, and the Good-bye Girl

The Camping Queen, young and sweet, only thirteen:

A Man with a Plan:

Last year I did a TON of yard work in preparation for Britta's graduation.  We were going to have an open house for her, and wanted to have most of the festivities in the yard.  It ended up raining the day of the open house, so we moved it inside... into the house that had been neglected because I had been working in the yard for two solid weeks.  By myself.  Day after day.  So this year I have not been so keen on doing yard work.  Our grass had grown to new heights, and the weeds along the rock edging were very apparent, but still I held back.  Thankfully, Bill stepped in on Saturday and made the yard look great.  The garden is yet to be planted (this week maybe?) and there is always plenty more to do, but the grass is green and cut, and the weeds in the front yard have been removed.  Just those little things make such a big difference.  I love that man (who, by the way, also changed out a shower head, replaced all the air filters in the house, and cleaned a toilet -- happy weekend, baby).

The Star-gazers:

Lexee and Hailey hung hammocks on the swing set to star-gaze.  What a great beginning-of-summer-ultra-awesome thing to do.  I, on the other hand, did not see the stars, as I went to bed before anyone else on Saturday night.

The Good-bye Girl:

Bill and Mauri dropped Britt off at the airport on Sunday.  We loved having her here to visit and were sad that she only had a couple of days to spend with us.  But she found out that she got a new job while she was here -- one more week at the bookstore, then she's on to more hours and more money... can't beat that with a stick.

Bill made sure she made it through security without incident.  We had to laugh that on her way here she was patted down and her purse was searched (her lotion thrown in the trash), and she still managed to board the plane and arrive in Denver with a box-cutter in tow.  She had forgotten it was in her purse (she uses them at work), and we were amazed that she wasn't apprehended and detained as a terrorist with a weapon like that.  Scary.  We definitely miss having her around and can't wait to see her again in July.


And what did I do?  Pretty much baked, prepared meals and did dishes.  Not much to shout about.  Early Saturday morning I made brownies and peanut butter bars for the girls camp fundraiser/carwash/bake sale.  My girls owe me some serious service around the house for having their backs on that one.  Then I made some yummy whole wheat/oatmeal cookies with oatmeal, brown sugar and strawberries on top (I stole the idea from Paradise Bakery) for breakfast.  I cleaned up the mess, only to turn around and make some banana bread with the unappealing brown bananas gracing my counter for too long.  I prepared dinner -- a BBQ with some of the girls' friends -- with angel food cupcakes for dessert (Shi helped with those, thank heavens).  And then I made crepes on Sunday for breakfast (it's just expected, you know).  Luckily, Sunday afternoon/evening was leftovers.  Easy, like it should be.

School's Out for Summer

I hope Lex won't mind me sharing some of her last-day-of-school pictures. She got together with her best buddies and had a great time celebrating... the good old-fashioned way. Hanging out. Being silly. Having fun.

Okay, this is in the middle of the street.  She swore to me no cars were in sight.  That's good.

Can you just see them mocking that school crossing sign??

Water fight on the trampoline...

Lexee does not hug her parents like that.

Is that green grass?  Finally!

A flyer's point of view.

The end of her sophomore year.  I keep telling her that she still has a lot of school ahead of her.  But I won't spoil her fun with that reminder right now.

Shilo had to stay after school with NJHS to help the middle school teachers clean and pack up their supplies (they're moving out of the high school and into the new middle school building).  When I went to pick her up, I brought her these:

a little reward to celebrate the completion of middle school 
(I know, anti-climactic... that's happened a lot around here lately).

She was excited to be finished with school, excited for the treat, and excited to be heading off camping with her friend later that day.  And she brought home this:

I love how certificates (and pictures too, for that matter) always come home wrinkled. It's the hard work behind the certificate that counts, right?  Good job, Shilo!

So last night we celebrated Britt being home, the last day of school for Lex and Shi, and Mauri's second (count them, two) 100% spelling test by going out for dinner.

Shilo will be sad to know she missed the celebration (camping, remember?), but not sad when she hears about the "incident" at the restaurant.  When we were over halfway finished with our meal, a neighboring table noticed a live cockroach (yes, you read correctly... a live cockroach) crawling around underneath their plate of nearly finished nachos.  I had the perfect seat to witness the entire episode...  when they noticed it, when they grabbed the nearest waitress, when she grabbed a napkin and grabbed the cockroach then walked it to the back (where the food comes from???), when the manager came over to apologize and offer their dinner for free... I saw it all.  I wondered if we could get our dinner free too, since I really think we were the only other table in the place that knew anything had gone on at all.  We chose to try not to think about it, finish our meal, pay our bill and quietly leave.  I don't think we'll go back.  Ever.

It can't spoil the fact that summer (for Lex and Shi) is here.  At last. 

Awesome Pizza Crust

Here is the recipe for the pizza crust that created this mess. It's not MY recipe... (okay, so maybe it's my recipe now) but I will definitely be making it much more in the future. I doubled it, which made two pizzas and enough dough for a third (still in my fridge -- dinner tonight?). And it's seriously called:

Awesome Pizza Crust

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water; let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and oil. Mix in 2-1/2 cups of the flour. Turn dough out onto a clean, well-floured surface and knead in more flour until dough is no longer sticky. (I just used my KitchenAid with the dough hook for this whole process.) Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax (about 10 minutes) before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you are baking on a pizza stone, cover stone with cornmeal (I didn't do this and it turned out fine -- I just used non-stick spray), then dough, then topping, and bake immediately. If you are baking in a pan, let dough rise for 15 minutes in a lightly oiled pan before topping and baking. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Will It Ever End?

I probably have not had the best attitude about being the room parent this year. I've done it a little grudgingly, with a "Do I have to?" frame of mind. This week was teacher appreciation week, and as I dutifully sent out emails, collected money from children, and organized breakfasts and lunches for Mar's teacher, I had in the back of my mind that once I was done this week, my term was over. Complete. Finished. Next year someone else can have the honor.

And, I have discovered, that I am the queen of cheese.  What can I say, I'm not creative and I do things most times out of complete desperation.  From the money I collected from families of some of the kids, here are the gifts we gave to the teacher:

Monday's theme:  Surf's Up

Tuesday's theme:  Hang Loose

(This is an expandable cooler -- if you can't tell)

Wednesday's theme:  Sandcastle Building

Thursday's theme:  Fun in the Sun

(Another mom kindly offered to take the gift this day... I think Mauri told me it was some cute little something or other with sunglasses, green tea and a Starbucks gift card -- the teacher's fave.)

Friday's theme:  Tropical Paradise

(The tag says, "Thanks to you, it's been a fruitful year!")

Like I said, cheese.  But at least it's done.  I just wanted the items to be somewhat useful,  and the teacher to feel appreciated.

Then, yesterday, as I was driving to the airport to pick up Britta -- home for a few days to attend a friend's graduation -- I got an email.  Field Day is coming up, wouldn't it be fun to have the class make tie-dye shirts?  Would I be willing to help with that?  Okay, I'll do it.  And then I'll be done.

Me? A Mess?

Tonight dinner was going to be easy.  And good.  And healthy.  And economical.  Pizza on homemade wheat dough.  I started on time, since the dough needed a good hour to rise.  Dinner would be hot and ready in time for all to enjoy before heading off to Young Women's and Activity Days.  Then this happened:

I dropped my extremely old measuring cup (the last of the set I got for my wedding) with it's missing handle (probably why I dropped it) into my mixer while it was running.  An explosion of flour, yeast, sugar, water and oil spewed out, splashing on the outlet, and blowing the breaker.  The cup is now in the garbage, I managed to salvage the dough (I hope... it's rising), I reset the breaker, and I wiped down the walls.  There was a tense moment when I thought, perhaps, that I had ruined my mixer, but happily, it still runs like a charm. Funny thing is, if I hadn't said something about the incident, no one in my family would have thought anything out of the ordinary had happened.  

I must be that messy. 

Switch, Swim, Swing; A Weekend in Review

{SWITCH}

Rain postponed the second day of Lex's regional track meet, which was scheduled for Saturday.  The meet was switched to Sunday, so we let the coach know that Lex would not be running.  He supported her decision, but let us know she was ranked 2nd or 3rd in the region.  The top 3 from the regional meet would go on to the state meet.  Such an anti-climactic end to the season, but I am proud of her efforts this year.  And, since her relay team took first place in League, she will be on The Wall Of Legends -- goal accomplished.

{SWIM}

Shilo had her final Aces swim meet on Saturday.  She hoped for a small, quick meet, but when we arrived there was hardly a place to sit, it was so crowded.  We ended up sitting by the blocks, right underneath the posted results.  It was a little busy in that area, but at least we had our nice comfortable camp chairs to relax in.  Both Bill and I took our turns napping in between Shilo's events.

Shilo improved her time in each event, and is looking forward to swimming with the Canterberry Crocs, our neighborhood team, this summer.

{SWING}

Sunday after church our little neighbor came over and Mauri pushed him in the swing for a good 20 minutes.  She was so cute with him.

Another {SWELL} weekend.  And Britta will be here for the next one - {SWEET}.

Last Package

Yesterday I took a trip to the post office to mail our very last package to Taylor.

It's his birthday package... 21 years old in less than a month.  We've put the little printout with the pictures of Christ and the Virgin Mary on every package we've sent.  Someone told us that it would help ensure his package would arrive unopened.  I don't know how necessary it's been, but he's received every package we've sent.  Good news when the postage costs more than the contents of the package.  Not really, but close.

And to make my final package trip all the better, I got a close parking spot.

The line wasn't too bad when I got there.  I was entertained by the elderly lady in front of me as she packaged a bunch of cassette tapes.  Hmmmm... do they make cassette tapes anymore?  I also found amusement in the man who apparently just got out of bed, since he was clearly wearing his pajama pants.  I thought it funny that when I initially arrived, there was not a postal worker in sight.  It was the weirdest thing... two or three people standing at the counter... a few people in line... the lights were dim... and for a good minute at least, no postal workers at all.  It felt like a scene from a movie.  Quiet.  Like something BIG is just about to happen.  Then, gradually, the postal workers appeared from the back room and business resumed as normal. 

By the time I was finished, the line had become quite lengthy.  Probably because I had the one-finger-wonder postal worker, who had to enter the address, return address, and package contents (including quantities and weight) into his computer.  With one finger.  It took forever.  But he was a pleasant man, who felt bad about covering some of my religious pictures with the customs form.  Don't worry, I assured him, I knew that some of them would get covered.  I had, after all, mailed many packages to Mexico in the past couple of years.  But this was my last.  My son would be home in September.  
I just had to share.

And just so you know, NO, I don't ever take pictures at the post office.  I just couldn't resist this time.  And I felt like a secret agent, because I didn't know if someone would yell at me for taking their picture.  I turned the flash off and pretended to be viewing pictures on my camera.  Psyche. 

Yum-O

A couple of days ago Lexee was practically begging for cinnamon rolls.  She was thinking, of course, of those kind that you pop out of the little cardboard can, peel apart, and bake.  Then you sparsely cover them with that white stuff from the tiny little plastic cup (also included in that cardboard can) that melts over the top.  Fast, cheap, and easy.  

I, on the other hand, started craving the homemade bread-y kind, covered with lots of yummy cream cheese/butter/sugar icing.  So yesterday I broke down.  I mixed the bread, rolled the dough, slathered it with butter, cinnamon and sugar, formed the roll, cut it using my nifty thread trick (Mauri and Shilo were impressed, and wanted to try too), placed the rolls in the pans, let them rise, baked them, and made the icing, with which I topped them off hot from the oven.  The house smelled awesome (it's worth it just for that).

My family quickly ate through one pan.  We gave one pan away.  Lex had two of those big cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We are down to one pan... just right for a great Friday after-school snack.  Especially when it is a last-day-of-seminary Friday (really, I shouldn't be so happy).

I am a messy cook/baker/salad maker.  (I'll admit it... I am only human after all.)  I am a mess in the kitchen no matter what I'm doing (except for maybe cleaning).  And, true to form, I left that mess to clean up today.  I'm halfway done... just took a little blog break.  And that loaf of bread made from the leftover dough?  Ugliest loaf of bread ever.  
I bet it will taste good.

Me and My Brilliant Idea

Again I woke up to snow (can you believe it?), so rather than post some hum-drum "out my front door" pictures (I've done that too many times in the recent past), I thought I would share something much more colorful.  With an explanation attached.

A long time ago, in a home/neighborhood/school district far, far away, Taylor brought home his first art masterpiece from school.  I proudly hung it in a place of distinction for all to enjoy.  Then he brought home another... and another.  As I tried to look into the future, a future that contained a number of children yet unknown, I contemplated the potential amounts of artwork that could possibly come through my door.  Oh my.  Then I had a brilliant idea.  Okay, I may not be able to take full credit because I honestly don't know where the idea came from... a scrapbook buddy?  a neighbor?  a mother with more experience than myself?  could I have possibly come up with this idea all by myself?  most likely not.  Regardless of where the idea came from, it has been the best idea ever for school artwork storage.  

Take pictures. 

The art is preserved, and then you can discreetly dispose of the large, oversized actual renditions once the family has adequately appreciated them for a respectable amount of time.

I have followed this procedure over the years with much success.  I have occasionally been a little backlogged, which is why this lovely creation of Mauri's from 1st grade was preserved in digital history only yesterday.  Here is what the original picture looks like:

(Because I know I will never remember which child made it and how old they were, I write out those tacky little labels that can later be cropped out.)

  

Lexee - 5th grade

Shilo - 4th grade

Mauri - 3rd grade

(In the not-too-distant future I hope to get one of those nifty negative-to-digital converters, then I will be able to access those countless 35mm pictures with our memories - artwork included - from 1988 to 2003.  I can't wait.)

And my not-so-fully random story for today: Last night we had dinner at Panda per Shilo's request. We had attended her final choir concert, so naturally, we needed to celebrate. As we opened our fortune cookies they contained things like, "Luck will soon come your way," and "You will find an unexpected treasure." You know, good stuff like that. Then I opened mine.

"Admit you were wrong. You are only human." WHAT?? Are you kidding me? Is that even a fortune? Mar woke up laughing about it this morning, so I guess it was good for something (other than making me feel like you-know-what).

Post Post:  If you read this post earlier, you may remember that I had labeled the first picture shown as artwork Mauri made in 2nd grade.  As I looked back through my earlier pictures I found that I had already taken a picture of it labeled "First Grade."  Somehow that picture ended up in the 2nd-grade-artwork-pile still needing-to-be-captured, which I did yesterday.  I have consulted with Mauri, and yes, she made it in first grade.  It really IS a good system... subject to mom error.  I'll admit it, I was wrong. Maybe that, "You are only human," will come in handy after all.