Flight of the Bumblebee

Have you ever done the "Flight of the Bumblebee"? First you have to know the song. I know you know it...it's one of the classics, and I dont mean Lynyrd Skynyrd. I mean real classics...but I dont know who composed it or wrote it or whatever. I'm not that cultured. (You can google it.)

Anyway, I do it quite often...when someone calls and says "I'm coming over" (or 10 minutes before Stan is supposed to be home) and I look around at all the mess and I run around frantically stashing all the clutter wherever it will fit, hoping that I can find the important stuff again later...that's the Flight of the Bumblebee.

So this post will be my Flight of the Bumblebee in blog world because I dont have time to do a full posting of each event right now so you'll just have to get the fast-forward version. Here we go (hum the tune to yourself as you read...that is, Flight of the Bumblebee, not Sweet Home Alabama)...

• (Oh look! Bullets! So easily entertained.) Thanksgiving was good. We didnt get to go anywhere because Stan was on call and by the end of the 4-day weekend I think he had 80+ calls. But we all stayed home, had a traditional Thanksgiving meal, filled our bellies, played Uno, Skip-Bo and Dominos, watched movies, Stan and the girls went out and got our Christmas tree, and we put it up and decorated it. I'll post pictures...sometime.
• Jessica had her 5th birthday this week! Cant believe my baby girl is 5!! *Tears* She asked for a purple cat cake. It didnt turn our teeth colors like the black dog cake did. She got a rescue pet and some littlest pet shop pets and some cold hard cash which she promptly shoved in her piggy bank. I'll post pictures...sometime.
• It's been a busy week of Christmas decorating, birthday celebrating and shoveling snow. Yes, we're still getting more on top of the foot we got earlier. If you're not already sick of them, I can post more pictures...sometime.
• We got a Wii. Oh yes. We did. Even thru the shortage of them...we got one. You have to know I am NOT a gamer. Not one bit. Never was. I mean Atari was fun...but how old was I back then? Dont answer that. I never did get very far in (the original) Super Mario Brothers, although I could do the duck hunt until they get really fast and I get nervous. And Mackenzie beats me all the time in Super Monkey Ball on the Game Cube. But for some reason I'm excited about the Wii. Maybe because it's not a normal game console and they say 4 year olds can do it. I get so tense trying to play that I sweat like crazy and need a nap afterwards. I'm nervous just thinking about it! I probably wont post pictures...sometime.
• I need to end this post soon because Mackenzie keeps coming in and tries to read over my shoulder (I cant stand that!) and the Wii is for their Christmas present...so I dont want her reading that part.
• Ok, I'm really going now. But I'm too mesmerized by the bullets.
• Cute.
• Little.
• Bullets.
• Bye.

Tummy Tempters

Edited: Ok so we've heard of re-gifting (I wont ask how many of us have actually done that...that's a whole 'nother topic!)...I'm re-posting. BooMama is doing a Soup-Tacular! Yum! Go check it out! But I had just posted this recently and I'm too lazy to actually create a whole 'nother post so I'm just re-wraping the old one and giving it away...again. Obviously the Soup-Tacular is just for, well, SOUP. But since my old re-gifted post had two recipes...the BooMama crowd gets a bonus breakfast recipe too! Enjoy!

I got nervous when I saw BooMama's Cheese Potato Soup recipe...but then I relaxed because mine is different from that one! Whew!! Thought I was actually going to have to go and find another recipe!

Ok....going Christmas shopping now. Be back...sometime...maybe!



It's recipe time! I got this first recipe from Terry when we went down south for a visit this summer. It's a fun change for breakfast and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Terry's Sausage Rolls

1 lb. hot sausage
1 8-oz cream cheese
2 Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 egg white, slightly beaten
poppy seeds (optional)

Brown sausage and drain. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Flatten crescent rolls into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations together. Spread sausage mixture down center of dough. Roll up and seal. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until browned. Slice and serve or freeze.

To serve after freezing, thaw slightly enough to slice. Place slices on cookie sheet (standing) and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until hot.

*********************************************

I got this next recipe from Mom. Gotta love recipes from the momma! Stan made this for me when I was sick and it was sooooooo yummy! (and I'm NOT a cabbage fan)

Cheese Potato Soup

8 c. water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
2 lbs. red potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 c. onion, diced
1 1/2 c. carrots, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
1/2 small cabbage, diced
1 lb. Lite Velveta cheese, cubed
optional - 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

In large pot simmer all except cheese for 30 minutes or til potatoes are tender. Add cheese.

Let It Snow!

It's here! Our first big snow of the season! Last night we got about 8 1/2 inches of snow and today we are expected to get another 3-6 inches. It's not very cold...just above freezing, so I dont know how long it will stay around this time. It's already starting to melt and it's only 8AM. But it sure is nice to get some moisture. I vision sledding, snow men, snow angels, and snow ice cream will be in store for the day! Pretty soon I need to go out and knock as much snow off of the tree so that the branches dont break. (No, I didnt wait for it to get light enough for pictures.) Stan and a friend from church are out elk hunting this morning...hope they get one!

Oh...and yes...school is running on time as usual. Are you kidding? If school closed everytime it snowed here we'd have to go to school all summer to make up for snow days! This is our 4th year up here and the school has never closed for the day. Never. There has only been one delay. Our first year up here there was one day where we started school at 10:00AM because it was below -20 degrees...yep...negative twenty...and the building needed time to be able to get warm enough. And if you're wondering about recess...kids just put on their snow clothes and go on out. The school rule is that if it gets below 10 degrees the kids stay in the gym for recess.

Last night church was at our house and we'd already started getting some snow...about 3 inches or so. All the kids went out and made some snowmen (after the snowball fight of course). But like I said...it's not that cold so they started melting and drooping. This poor guys looks down on his luck. We'll have to go cheer him up...after a bowl of hot oatmeal!

Better get going. We've lost power some during the night and the lights are starting to flicker again. Dont worry...we'll be all roasty and toasty, with or without power!

Birthday Girl

Ok, so I went ahead and put away the Halloween costumes...after they sat in my bedroom floor for weeks. But here are some pics we did take in honor of Halloween. All four of us girls had these teeth in one day when Daddy came home from work. He laughed and said, "So I take it Nana sent a package?" Yep! :o) Jake didnt get any teeth...and he wasnt sure what all the fuss was about.

Now for the birthday girl...I cant believe my baby is 9! She's getting so grown up, despite the occasional Hannah Montana mannerisms ("Momma say what?"). This year we broke free from the 3 year stint of doll cakes and ventured into other things. She decided she wanted a dog face for a cake. A black dog. Black. So, being the good and venturous mommy that I am...here's my stab at a dog cake (maybe I shouldnt have said "stab"). Go ahead...laugh! I did. Oh and you should also know that her second choice of a cake was a pink flower. Hmmmmm.

And here she is opening her gifts. She also got money (she's saving up to get her ears pierced, much to Daddy's dismay). This picture just really cracked me up...was she checking to see if it's real or not?! Bwaaa Haaaa Haaaaaaa!!! (Actually, she'd just gone on a field trip to the local bank so she was testing what all she'd learned.)

Remember that BLACK cake? But of course...black icing = black teeth and lips. Well, I guess at least they brushed their teeth REALLY well after eating the sugary cake! I dont mean just brushing of the teeth...I'm talking scrub-the-living-daylights out of those pearly whites! You know me...always looking for a plus side. Oh and something I learned...black icing = purple tongue. Go figure.

I'll try to get a new slideshow link in the sidebar started for November/December soon.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is half days here, so I get the pleasure of dropping everything in the middle of the day and load 3 kids in the rig, run to town, drop one off, and come back home (or try to beat my last record time at the grocery store so that I can get back, get the kids fed, put the baby down for a nap, and not be late for tutoring). I complain but I guess secretly I don’t mind so much because I get an extra half day with my little girl!

I get so tickled at the Kindergarten drop off routine. Parents and day care providers show up with their appointed children. The kids run around the school yard for a while until the adults have them go get in line. The line forms on the sidewalk and there’s a little wooden fence right next to it to keep kids off of the landscaping. The kids line up along the fence and the adults line up in the grass, just off the other side of the sidewalk…each one standing across from their child. So now we have 2 lines! And I’m just waiting for someone to start yelling, “Red Rover, Red Rover!” But no one ever does.

The parents smile with pride at their big girl/boy going to school…and scold them when they climb on the fence or push in line (I’ve actually learned a few kids’ names this way because of the repetition). Some parents know each other and they visit, oblivious to anything around them…including their child who is climbing in the fence which makes all the other kids want to climb on it too because so-and-so’s mom lets them do it. Some parents stand all rigid and look like they’re on a mission. Some stand nonchalant like they’re just too cool for school. And then there’s the rebel parents who refuse to stand in the parent line like the others. They are sure to stand a few feet away…two or ten…or even all the way across the school yard so that they are the first ones back to the car. The men are the funniest. They feel kind of awkward being there but they secretly really like it and are resisting the urge to run thru the leaves with their child.

Shortly, someone from the school comes out and leads the line of kids to their appointed classroom. After the parade of waves and kiss-blowing the parents and day care providers flood out from the school.

Halloween Pictures!

Here they are:

















What? You can't see them? Oh...we must be having some technical difficulties....


Oh who am I kidding?! You cant see them because there are none! Yes, we're horrible parents who withheld Halloween from our kids. No...actually the kids were still sick...or at least some of them were. Now those kids are well and other's are sick...and so is mommy (gives new meaning to the phrase "I dont care who started it, I'M going to finish it"). It's such a vicious cycle! Someone get me off this roller coaster!

But thankfully we're past the stomach bug part (Lord willing!!!!) and on to some kind of viral thing. You hate to say it's just a "cold" because then it sounds so minor. But a near 15 month old with a cold isnt minor at all. It's just plain crappy! And it's even more crappy when he got it from the other child (not to mention names but it starts with a J and ends with an -essica) whom I'm always yelling to "cover your mouth!" or "dont cough/blow in his face!" or "dont put his toys in your mouth!" And it's even more crappy when you've seen nothing but sick kids for 2 weeks (it's only been 2 weeks? seems much longer). And it's even more crappy when you've got the very same cold because he likes to lovingly share his pacifier with you by taking it out of his mouth and shoving in yours whether you like it or not. And yes, I said "crappy" so dont tattle-tale on me! If the kids read this, I'm in trouble! And yes, I'm whining shamelessly. And yes, I know you're not supposed to start a sentence with the word "and." What was this post about? Oh yeah...Halloween. Sorry, no pictures. The End.

P.S. So, how long did you wait for the pictures to "load" before you gave up? LOL!

What A Week!

Warning: If you have a quick gag reflex do NOT read this post. (I figure all two of my readers wont mind!)

Well, a week ago today everything was going well. The kids were healthy and happy. The air was crisp and the leaves were beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow from fall. It was the last day of school for the week because of teacher in-service stuff. Such a happy time.

Now, a week later, I’m cleaning up throw-up from the 4th child because the kids have been good little helpers who shared and shared alike…the stomach bug. The good: it seems to only be a 24 hour bug. The bad: well—you know—throw-up. The ugly: one exhausted mommy. I am also thankful that we’re getting it over with and not dragging it on for weeks and weeks (praying there’s only 1 round per child…and that Stan and I don’t get it). And I’m thankful that they weren’t all 4 at the EXACT same time.

As I was cleaning up the latest round this morning I guess I went into auto pilot (or dementia). I reaffirmed to myself that there’s no way I could be a CSI. I mean, I was pretty good at keeping the contamination from spreading to the rest of the crime scene (although I didn’t always watch where I stepped…but I won’t go there). And I’m pretty good at analyzing the evidence (note to self: remind Jessica to chew her food better). However, I have too hard of a time keeping from adding my own contamination to the current crime scene. Ever since that first pregnancy the whole gag reflex thing has been an issue. I’m sure it’s something I could overcome if I wanted to and tried really hard. I’ll be sure to put that on my list of top 10 things I want to accomplish.

From Baby to Little Boy

After bath.

Day after bath.

After Daddy.

Mommy wept.

(For more pictures of this event, go to the Sept/Oct 2007 Slideshow link on the right.)

In Perspective

If you haven't already seen this...



(This is called "New Again" by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans, with scenes from the movie "The Passion.")

Whiskers

No, we didn't get a cat. We got stitches...or at least Rebecca did. As Rebecca told the ER doc...she was standing on a rocking horse sideways (the horse was sideways not her) and she fell off and her tooth went thru her lip. And, as she said, "Well, it was Jessica's idea."

It wasn't real bad but she had a little gash on the outside of her lip that didnt look so great so we took her to the ER. She got 2 stitches and was so brave. It broke my heart to watch but we made sure Jessica was there to see it too...just in case she had any more of those "ideas." (Which it wasn't the first and I know it won't be the last...but like all good parents, we just cant miss a chance to put the fear of God in our kids...yes, I'm being sarcastic). That was the quietest she'd been all day and I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Maybe it left an impression...for at least an hour.

So anyway, Rebecca says she has "whiskers like Daddy" now.