Cooking Project

One of Levi's elective classes is a cooking class. They had to do a project where they cooked a meal for the family and then made a power point presentation about it to show the class at school.
He had to plan out the menu, help shop for the food, clean up the kitchen afterwards, and none of the dishes could be "simple".
He chose meat loaf, homemade mac and cheese and baked beans. I really enjoyed this project and he did an amazing job. All my boys love to cook.
My favorite part was the kitchen clean up. Everyone enjoyed supper and his little brothers were impressed that none of us were poisoned or got sick afterwards, lol.

Giving Up

I finally gave in and learned how to use the bowflex. I have to admit I really like it. My first goal is just to tone my body and lose seven pounds. My wake up call was when I stepped on the scale three weeks ago, and I only weighed eight pounds less than I did the day I delivered Levi. Last week I lost two, and so far this week I have lost one. I stopped drinking soft drinks of any kind (my personal weakness) and started making better choices for meals and snacks. So far so good. I also want to start walking two mornings a week. If anyone is interested in joining me, let me know.

Conversation at the store

This was with a guy while I was waiting to pay for my gas at the store the other day.....

Guy- How much gas do you put in that thing? (pointing at suburban)

Me- As much as it needs.

Guy- You need a little Honda.

Me- You know I have four kids....right?

Guy- You need a little truck.

Me- FOUR boys. Not gonna fit dude.

Guy- A smaller vehicle.

Me- You gonna buy it for me? That thing is paid for. (pointing at the suburban)

Guy- You know what you need?

Me- A nanny?

At this point the cashier lost it, and she and I burst out laughing. Noisy guy just stood there bewildered.

Science talk

From the 13 year old in the car.

Him- Mom, did you know that matter cannot be created or destroyed?

Me- Hmmmmmm.

Him- The only way you could even THINK about creating matter would be to get a nuclear reactor and put one element into it and blast a proton in it and spin them around and you have a one in a million chance of them hitting one another and creating a new one.

Me- (crickets)

Him- Isn't that awesome!

Me- (silence)

Him- MOM!

Me- You lost me at proton.

Conversation with my sister

I went shopping with my sister, mom, and sister in law before Christmas. This conversation took place....

Her- What are you looking for?

Me- A game called Cuponk.

Her- What is it?

Me- A game with a cup that lights up when you bounce a ball into it.

Her- Ummmmm.......beer pong for kids?

Me- Pretty much.

(We call it like we see it guys, lol.)

Insight

Levi told me this on the way home from the last soccer games of the season.....

L-I saw a parent tell a lie today.

Me-What?

L-I saw a parent tell their child a lie.

Me-What do you mean?

L-The kid was running up the bleachers with his trophy. When he got to the top he tripped and the trophy fell onto the pavement. It broke in several pieces. The kid started to cry and the mom said, "Don't worry honey, we can fix this." "No you can't!", yelled the kid. The mom hugged him and said a little glue would do the trick and the kid sucked it up and they left.

L-Mom....no amount of glue was going to fix that trophy.....

Me-Probably not.

L-Man.....being a parent is really hard work.

Me-Hardest job on the Earth.

Men singing bad romance by lady gaga

For my sister, Leigh, we will win you over. :)

Conversation in the Changing Room

This was my conversation in the changing room of Marshall's last night with the buddies....

Mama....did you used to be skinny?

What?

Did you used to be skinny. Like Aunt Bethany.

Yep.

Like Bethany?

Okay, not as small as Aunt Bethany, but I was tiny.

When was that?

Before I had kids.

WWWWHHHEENNNNN?

Before I had Levi, Wyatt and you guys.

Oh, because the doctor cut your tummy?

Yep, three times.

And you had a fat belly?

Yep.

Because there were TWO babies in there?

Yes.

And it was US?

(sheesh, where is this going) Yes.

And then your tummy was cut open and the doctor pulled us out.

Ummhummmmm. Can we play the quiet game?

And then we were here and you were so happy?

Yeah, then you learned how to talk.

(At this point there was hysterical laughter heard from the other side of the wall. Seems the lady thought this was quite funny. If anyone wants to borrow them to find summer clothes....call me.)

What does your town say about you?

This area I live in is a hard area to get ones foot in the door. What door you may ask. Any door. The people here grew up together, went to preschool together. They had kids together. They don't talk to new comers. They are a click. The sad thing is, I am not sure if they even know it. I have had numerous moms not let me ride on a field trip with them. They have told me their vehicle was full (when it wasn't), or they weren't driving so they couldn't say yes, or just not even offered a ride..... even though I was standing right there asking who was going and who was staying. One time on a field trip I was talking to another mom. All of a sudden she stopped talking and said, "You aren't from here are you?" "No", I replied caught off guard, "How did you know?" "Because you are talking to me," she said, "I am not from here either. Normally no one comes up to me." Wow, this whole time I thought it was ME. I have noticed that the people that I know now, are all transplants like I am. They moved here or married someone from here. We outsiders have a common bond. Another mom told me, "Occasionally 'they' let me peek inside the circle....but not often." Yesterday that same mom told me their house was on the market. You're moving? "Yes", she said. "I have GOT to get out of here. These people are so unfriendly." This saddened me greatly. In my selfishness I hope they stay. Although I understand completely. The next time you see someone sitting alone at a sports event or school function, walk over and say hello. Meet someone new. Who knows, you could even make a new friend.

Getting Old?

I can't function without my morning cup of coffee,

Every time I hear the song "Two is better than one", I think about Bethany's upcoming wedding and start crying,

Teenagers milling aimlessly around the mall get on my nerves,

My oldest child will be 13 in six weeks,

I can't pass a Starbucks and not pull in,

On Star radio commercials make me tear up,

My son is exactly the same height as I am,

I sometimes have a small cup of coffee while I am cooking supper,

Does this mean I am getting old?

Point

From Wyatt this morning.....

"If this Friday is a half-day, why didn't we just go the WHOLE day instead of going to school Saturday for another HALF DAY?"

Kid has a point.

Lands End

Right before school started, I ordered lunch sacks and backpacks for the buddies from Land's End. Ever since the lunch sacks arrived, they have been slowly shredding across the top velcro. Last week, it finally got below the sew line and came apart.
If these would have been from ANYONE else, I would have sewn them shut myself and carried on. But they were Land's End. I have never had a school product from them tear or come apart. EVER. In fact, my kids have used the same backpack, everyday, for three years. They have dragged them across the floor, dropped them on the bus, and pushed them into lockers, with no signs of any wear and tear. They have been on trips and over night sleepovers. In fact, they usually tire of the color and want a new one. I still use the one Levi had in kindergarten, for our sports survival bag for the twins snacks and hot wheels.
So I called Land's End. Guess what? No press this number for a human. The 800 number IS a human. A LIVE PERSON was on the phone. Cheerful as ever. I gave her a brief description of what was going on, and she APOLOGIZED and transferred me to another human.
Yep, real people who speak and understand English. If I could have, I would have kissed her through the phone. She told me to look for new ones in the mail and send the old ones back, so they can remedy this problem. I told her my kids names were written in Sharpie on the inside, her reply was "no problem". The previous colors were sold out, so we picked out new ones and they arrived yesterday. I firmly believe, that if we hadn't had snow and ice, they would have been here on Saturday morning.
Look at these faces! It was like Christmas this morning. Kudos to Land's End and their great customer service. You ladies ROCK!

Be Careful What You Say

On the ski lift Monday....

Levi- Wow, I haven't been sick all year!

Me- Don't say that.

Levi- Why?

Me- If you say things like that, you will get sick.

Levi- Huh?

Me- It is like you just jinxed yourself.

Levi- Hahahahaha.

Guess who was hugging a bowl this morning? Maybe mom DOES know best.

Today

Landon- What do you have going on today?

Me- What do you mean? This morning or this afternoon?

Landon- I mean....after you get back from John Deere....

Me- I am guessing that I have a trip to John Deere going on today!

Yes, people, it is that time of year. You know, when you see the peeps at John Deere more than your husband.

Waiting

The moms that went on the field trip yesterday ended up chatting and waiting for the buses to arrive at the museum for almost 45 minutes. When we finally got our groups I asked the buddies why they were so late. G replied, "One of the buses broke down, so we had to stop at a resting place for cars."

Conversation

Conversation with the two teenagers working at the bakery in Sam's today....

ME- Hey, can y'all just sell me some Spongebob rings so I can put them onto some of those cupcakes in the fridge?

THEM- What?

ME- Can I get some Spongebob rings to put onto cupcakes, you don't have any BOY ones to choose from.

THEM- We can't sell just the rings.

ME- I am going to buy some of YOUR cupcakes, and I need something BOY related on the top.

THEM- Ma'am (geez how old do I look) we have birthday cupcakes over there.

ME- Yes, you have DORA and HELLO KITTY. That isn't going to cut it for 6 year old twin boys.

THEM- You can order some.

ME- Can't you just give me some rings and I can put them on myself at home?

THEM- If you order them they will be here by 1 tomorrow.

ME- (am I speaking Chinese here) Okay, listen, what can you do for me TODAY? I need something BOY. Anything.

THEM- We can put some rings onto some of the cupcakes we have here.

ME- (good grief, isn't that what I have been asking for the past ten minutes.... are these two sharing a brain?) That would be awesome. Thank you.

Sunday school lesson applied=great results and no embarrassment for the 12 year old.

In the car....

LEVI- Mom.... were you holding back in there?

Me- Oh, you have NO idea!

Patsy's Pearls

We all have purple bracelets to remind us to pray for my Aunt Patsy. She is my mothers little sister and the best aunt in the whole wide world. Why do we have the purple bracelet that says simply "Patsy's Pearls"? My aunt is dying of cancer. For a while I resisted wearing the bracelet, because it was like an admission that her body was failing her. My brother told me he never takes it off and when he looks at it he thinks about her. I replied that I can't stop thinking about it, with or without the bracelet. This woman who has been such a strong person in my life growing up. Nothing could bring her down. As my aunt, she got to be the cool one. She told me stories about my mom as a child that other people didn't know. She even told me that my mom was "cool" once upon a time. Aunt Patsy was my kindred spirit, in that we are both left handed. When I couldn't master tying my own shoes at the age of 6, she stepped right in and showed me how it was done. It only took one time. She explained to me that the "right handed" people do it backwards from "us". She taught me that women are strong individuals, and we can do anything that we set our minds to. Be it driving huge equipment or raising our children. Her body is slowly letting her down. It is so hard because, inside she is still in there fighting with all shes got. It has been long fight, and she is tired. She still has beautiful hair, and gorgeous eyes and hilarious stories for everyone. Anyone who has eaten lunch at my grandmothers table, can tell you about how Aunt Patsy can get some great conversation going, and maybe even a good argument or two. Lord knows the Fisher's have never backed away from a great discussion at lunch. Someone told me recently that thinking about death was morbid. I disagree. It reminds us to cherish each and every moment, we never know when our last breath will be. Not to take our time here on Earth for granted, but to store up treasures in heaven. Will Aunt Patsy be missed? Greatly. Will she be forgotten? Never. I picture her, with her beautiful smile, and arms outstretched waiting for us. Aunt Patsy, we love you.

Call To my Mom (aka the math whiz)

me- Hey..... Wyatt did terrible on a math test.

her- What happened? I thought he was good in math?

me- He is. He just got everything mixed up.

her- What was it on?

me- LCM's, GCF's, he did it all backwards.

her- Understandable.

me- Then throw in some prime and composite numbers... also backwards. And he added to get the square roots instead of multiplying. It was a nightmare.

her- Yep.

me- Do you think it would be wrong of me to write a note to his math teacher? I mean, he didn't get this stuff at all!

her- I think she probably got that from his grade.

The inside

Just to clarify, this is what an ear looks like on the inside. This is field corn. It will be used to feed animals whole (deer corn) or grind up into feed with some oats, wheat, molasses, etc. The combine pulls off the corn and throws everything else (stalks, cobs, trash) out of the back. The stalk is dead, and the ears are hard and dry. If they are not dry enough, we have to put the load into the dryer at the grain bins. You do not want to store wet crops because they will go bad and toxin levels will rise. Then it will be unable to be fed to animals. Field corn can be eaten when it is green by humans, but it is tougher than sweet corn. In hard times, Landon's grandfather said they had trouble with people getting into the middle of one of their corn fields and cleaning them out. They even had a picnic table set up in the middle of the field. Hope this has helped. Remember field corn = hard, sweet corn= soft.

Sunday=Running Around

My Sunday's for the next 12 weeks:

8:30- early service

10- Sunday school

1:30-3:30- help hubs

4- Levi's confirmation class

5:30- Take Levi to eat somewhere in Mount

6- Take Levi to his small group

7:30- pick up Levi from small group

P.S. The hubs and I have since decided that the boy is old enough to walk to What-a-burger with the other boys and walk back to the Lighthouse. Sheesh on running back into town for 30 minutes!