I got tired of not exercising. I couldn't find time or a reasonable way to regularly exercise without my children so I have been taking them running with me. Now it is true that I could probably go faster if I want pushing 65 pounds of child, stroller, and water. It is also true that pushing the stroller has strengthened my upper body. I guess it all works out. Here are a few reasons to take your children running.
1. You all get in better shape.
2. You get to spend time together.
3. If you do it right and for long enough their whining will stop and then they will be proud because they did it.
4. They get tired. This is good for their school work.
5. You get to see interesting things outside of your house.
So go run! As I tell them, run for fun in the hot hot sun! Yes I totally stole that from a certain Doctor. But he's a doctor so he knows what's best.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
A week of Crock Pot Soup
On Saturday we had a light dinner of sandwiches and potato soup.
Recipe for soup:
about 2 cups carrots thinned from the garden
15 medium size potatoes (I use Yukon gold and cut them in bites size pieces)
1 cup fresh basil chopped
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of olive oil
Put it in the crock pot until the carrots are soft and the potatoes are cooked. It took about 2 hours in mine.
Sunday I was tired and didn't want to cook so I took out the leftover potato soup and added 1 cup of navy beans and 1 cup of white beans. Then I cooked it for another 3 hours to cook the beans. I added 1 cup of heavy cream right before serving and it was delicious again.
Monday I was also tired so I added some purple onions from the garden and some fenugreek seeds for flavor. I heated it in the crock pot again and made some dumplings to go with it. It was a great dinner again.
Tuesday I decided to eat the leftovers so I added some chicken and put it in a pie. Now it's all gone. But I will be making more. I like the idea of changing leftovers so that people actually eat them!
So, it didn't quite last a week, but next time I might start with more and then it will.
Anyway, just thought I would share.
Recipe for soup:
about 2 cups carrots thinned from the garden
15 medium size potatoes (I use Yukon gold and cut them in bites size pieces)
1 cup fresh basil chopped
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of olive oil
Put it in the crock pot until the carrots are soft and the potatoes are cooked. It took about 2 hours in mine.
Sunday I was tired and didn't want to cook so I took out the leftover potato soup and added 1 cup of navy beans and 1 cup of white beans. Then I cooked it for another 3 hours to cook the beans. I added 1 cup of heavy cream right before serving and it was delicious again.
Monday I was also tired so I added some purple onions from the garden and some fenugreek seeds for flavor. I heated it in the crock pot again and made some dumplings to go with it. It was a great dinner again.
Tuesday I decided to eat the leftovers so I added some chicken and put it in a pie. Now it's all gone. But I will be making more. I like the idea of changing leftovers so that people actually eat them!
So, it didn't quite last a week, but next time I might start with more and then it will.
Anyway, just thought I would share.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
one comment can change the world
OK, maybe world here is a bit drastic, but one comment has led to several discussions that have changed how my husband and I see our world.
I said that bribery works. The comment was that it works for some children. Initially I thought that it works for all children if the right bribe can be discovered. Now I know I am wrong. It doesn't work for all children in the strictest definition of bribery. My husband pointed out that some children just cannot overcome the idea of doing what is desired. Either they just don't want to do it and nothing you can give them will change their mind, or they want to prove some point of independence and be different from someone else. I've seen this with our second many times and he is right, she cannot usually be bribed in the way I bribe the others. She can however be convinced by consequences. Which I've come to see as not bribery. Let me explain, in the case of potty training. With our oldest we gave her chocolate chips when she used the potty. She didn't get chocolate chips unless she used the potty, she got them every time she used the potty. If she wanted chocolate chips she used the potty, we were all happy and she used the potty probably more than she had to. With our second this method didn't work. Partly because her sister would steal the chocolate chips from the cabinet and give them to her and partly because she didn't want to do what we wanted. Direct consequences worked well though. She wanted to wear pretty underwear. If she dirtied her underwear she had to wear a diaper until her underwear was clean because she only had one pair of underwear. She used the potty lots and lots because she wanted to keep her underwear clean. Is this bribery? No, I now do not think it is. I used to think it was, but it isn't because bribery gives me, the briber, the control. If she does x, I do y. This does not work with our second child. So yes bribery only works with some children. However as my husband pointed out consequences can be ensured and do work well for almost every situation. If the girls leave their headbands on the floor they get broken. Sometimes Daddy ensures that this breakage occurs. Hence, there are no headbands out of place because headbands that break are not replaceable. He calls this consequences. He says that sometimes good parenting involves controlling consequences. I think he is right. So see, my world changed a little bit and my husband and I had a wonderful discussion about parenting. Comments are great! Thank you for changing the world.
I said that bribery works. The comment was that it works for some children. Initially I thought that it works for all children if the right bribe can be discovered. Now I know I am wrong. It doesn't work for all children in the strictest definition of bribery. My husband pointed out that some children just cannot overcome the idea of doing what is desired. Either they just don't want to do it and nothing you can give them will change their mind, or they want to prove some point of independence and be different from someone else. I've seen this with our second many times and he is right, she cannot usually be bribed in the way I bribe the others. She can however be convinced by consequences. Which I've come to see as not bribery. Let me explain, in the case of potty training. With our oldest we gave her chocolate chips when she used the potty. She didn't get chocolate chips unless she used the potty, she got them every time she used the potty. If she wanted chocolate chips she used the potty, we were all happy and she used the potty probably more than she had to. With our second this method didn't work. Partly because her sister would steal the chocolate chips from the cabinet and give them to her and partly because she didn't want to do what we wanted. Direct consequences worked well though. She wanted to wear pretty underwear. If she dirtied her underwear she had to wear a diaper until her underwear was clean because she only had one pair of underwear. She used the potty lots and lots because she wanted to keep her underwear clean. Is this bribery? No, I now do not think it is. I used to think it was, but it isn't because bribery gives me, the briber, the control. If she does x, I do y. This does not work with our second child. So yes bribery only works with some children. However as my husband pointed out consequences can be ensured and do work well for almost every situation. If the girls leave their headbands on the floor they get broken. Sometimes Daddy ensures that this breakage occurs. Hence, there are no headbands out of place because headbands that break are not replaceable. He calls this consequences. He says that sometimes good parenting involves controlling consequences. I think he is right. So see, my world changed a little bit and my husband and I had a wonderful discussion about parenting. Comments are great! Thank you for changing the world.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
You might be a father...
Father's day is almost upon us. In light of my recent (not so recent because I've been lazy busy) post about being a Mom, here's my take on being a Dad.
My husband is amazingly patient with our children and is an excellent father, I've been watching and here are some things I've seen him do.
You might be a Dad if.
1. It takes you an hour and a half longer to fix the broken door because you are letting your son use the screwdriver to "help".
2. You go fishing knowing that the chances of catching a fish will be severely diminished by giving your son the rod and you give it to him anyway.
3. Even though you are still hungry, you don't ask for seconds because you are waiting until the children are full so you can finish what they left on their plates.
3a.You try to convince your children to order what you want to eat, because you know they won't finish their own meal.
4. You happily go to the store with a princess, spiderman, or a blue monster.
5. When someone screams your name in the middle of the night you grab a shoe, because you know the only time they scream for you, there is an insect of some sort.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but there's a short list. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.
My husband is amazingly patient with our children and is an excellent father, I've been watching and here are some things I've seen him do.
You might be a Dad if.
1. It takes you an hour and a half longer to fix the broken door because you are letting your son use the screwdriver to "help".
2. You go fishing knowing that the chances of catching a fish will be severely diminished by giving your son the rod and you give it to him anyway.
3. Even though you are still hungry, you don't ask for seconds because you are waiting until the children are full so you can finish what they left on their plates.
3a.You try to convince your children to order what you want to eat, because you know they won't finish their own meal.
4. You happily go to the store with a princess, spiderman, or a blue monster.
5. When someone screams your name in the middle of the night you grab a shoe, because you know the only time they scream for you, there is an insect of some sort.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but there's a short list. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.
Potty Training is Like Reading
I currently have a two year old learning to use the potty and a five year old learning to read. I've discovered that there are many similarities to teaching the two skills.
1. There is no magic age. I used to think that there was an age at which a child should do something. Ha!
2. I can't do it for them. I wish I could, it would be so much easier.
3. If they really want to learn something, they will. The converse is also true, if they don't want to learn something they will fight you the entire time!
4. Bribery works.
5. So does patient consistency.
6. #5 is the hardest thing to do, especially when you are tired.
7. Children will eventually learn both, especially if you can accomplish #5.
8. It's ok to take a break.
9. Slow deep breaths help to focus on the bigger picture. Deep breaths can be taken by the student and the teacher, doing it together can be very helpful.
10. When in doubt, feed someone chocolate.
There are probably many other things I will teach my children that apply here, but I am having trouble seeing beyond the diapers and letters. Hopefully I can remember this list for my next teaching challenge.
1. There is no magic age. I used to think that there was an age at which a child should do something. Ha!
2. I can't do it for them. I wish I could, it would be so much easier.
3. If they really want to learn something, they will. The converse is also true, if they don't want to learn something they will fight you the entire time!
4. Bribery works.
5. So does patient consistency.
6. #5 is the hardest thing to do, especially when you are tired.
7. Children will eventually learn both, especially if you can accomplish #5.
8. It's ok to take a break.
9. Slow deep breaths help to focus on the bigger picture. Deep breaths can be taken by the student and the teacher, doing it together can be very helpful.
10. When in doubt, feed someone chocolate.
There are probably many other things I will teach my children that apply here, but I am having trouble seeing beyond the diapers and letters. Hopefully I can remember this list for my next teaching challenge.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Bathroom
There is also a bathroom in the house we bought, gee imagine that. This bathroom needed a little love. Here's what it looked like when we bought the house.
Now for the bathtub, this was a bit more challenging. The tube was filthy and chipped. I first cleaned it with a scrubber, then I bought some magical stuff called Porc-a-Fix. http://www.fixture-fix.com/ Call this lady and she will help you match the color of your tub.
I had to use the filler and the glaze, but it worked very well. I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. It took about two days because you have to apply, let cure, sand, and repeat. It was worth it though because I spent $21.50 and a few minutes a day for two days.
Then I added some rugs I found at a thrift store for $4, shower curtain rings at the same thrift store for $1. A picture from a different thrift store for $3, and a new shower curtain and rod, total of $32 completed the look. Here's my bathroom. I bought a brushed nickle light bar for $30 and attached that over the hole in the wall left by the ugly one. I got LED light bulbs for that. Those were expensive but I'm very happy with how they look. There were six of those at $8 each. I got new towel hooks, TP holder and a new towel bar. Total $38 for the set that matched the brushed nickle. For those who don't want to do the math, total cost of renovation $179.40. Here's the completed view. I also bought new towels for $50 for 4 bath towels, two hand towels, and four wash cloths at the JC Penney Home Store sale. That was optional. Then the total is $229.40 for a new bathroom.
Not bad, but the big cabinet made it feel smaller than it was and the wood from the eighties was making me sad. Also, the sink and cabinet were newer (sorry didn't get a good view but you'll see it later) and the medicine cabinet really didn't match. Also, the tub was damaged from the apparent removal of a shower door.
First, I removed the medicine cabinet and stained it to match the sink vanity, which happened to be the same stain from the kitchen, so that was basically free as I had some left from the kitchen cabinets. I replaced the brass handle on the medicine cabinet with a $1.90 brushed nickle one. I removed the large cabinet from the wall. Then, I removed the wood light bar. Finally,
I painted that wall to cover all the removed areas.
It was looking much better, and except for a hole caused when the cabinet came down, which I patched and painted and put a picture over it for good measure.
Now for the bathtub, this was a bit more challenging. The tube was filthy and chipped. I first cleaned it with a scrubber, then I bought some magical stuff called Porc-a-Fix. http://www.fixture-fix.com/ Call this lady and she will help you match the color of your tub. I had to use the filler and the glaze, but it worked very well. I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. It took about two days because you have to apply, let cure, sand, and repeat. It was worth it though because I spent $21.50 and a few minutes a day for two days.Sunday, April 20, 2014
A new kitchen
So we recently bought a new rental, well, not new, it was built in 1980, but new to us. If you've been thinking "Gee, I wonder where they've been?" Now you know. We remodeled the kitchen, on a pretty tight budget because I wanted to get new appliances. Here's what we did and how it turned out.
Before:
First we stained the cabinets with a all on one, stain and polyurethane. I got a reddish stain, and I spent about $13. This is after we finished the cabinets.
Then we replaced the lights. The one over the sink made the biggest difference, the one in the middle of the kitchen matches it.
You might be a mom...
So for a while now my husband has been saying things that end with "you might be a mom." in his best Jeff Foxworthy impression. Here are some of my favorites.
1. If your idea of peace and quiet is to go to the bathroom with the door closed, you might be a mom.
2. If you "take a break" by taking the trash out, you might be a mom.
3. If you are cleaning up at 2 am after someone else was sick and there was no alcohol involved, you might be a mom.
4. If you spent the night with two guys, and are thankful that you spent the whole night sleeping, you might be a mom.
5. If you shower with two guys, who are not your husband, and just wish you could shower by yourself, you might be a mom.
I probably should have saved this for Mother's Day, but here it is. Enjoy!
1. If your idea of peace and quiet is to go to the bathroom with the door closed, you might be a mom.
2. If you "take a break" by taking the trash out, you might be a mom.
3. If you are cleaning up at 2 am after someone else was sick and there was no alcohol involved, you might be a mom.
4. If you spent the night with two guys, and are thankful that you spent the whole night sleeping, you might be a mom.
5. If you shower with two guys, who are not your husband, and just wish you could shower by yourself, you might be a mom.
I probably should have saved this for Mother's Day, but here it is. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
SPRING
Some people, probably most people (no I do not have statistical data to reference) like spring. In fact I know many people that eagerly await the arrival of spring every year. I am not one of these people. I have many reasons that I don't like spring, I am not going to lie, they vary from really good reasons, to lame selfish reasons. They exist and they are valid, but I'm trying. So, as I enter the worst time of year, to be followed by the second worst time of year, or what other people call summer, I am trying to be happy. Here are some reasons that I found to help me try to like spring.
1. I now have a metal roof. This means that when the winds hit 90 plus miles per hour (I wish I were exaggerating) I don't have to worry about shingles blowing off of my house.
2. My son and I planted heirloom carrots. We are actually excited to grow them, eat them, and make carrot cake.
3. There is a bird nest, with eggs, in the broken part of the trim on my house. This means that I can't fix it right now!
4. I'm already done with the girls' Easter dresses for the year. This means that I might have time to make myself a new dress. I haven't done this in over three years and I'm getting excited.
5. The main reason that I'm enjoying spring is that my youngest is now two and he's starting to really get this potty thing. I'm actually seeing the possibility of a future without diapers. That's probably another entry altogether.
I hope this helps the one other person in the world that doesn't like spring. For those of you who do like spring, enjoy it while it lasts. It will be winter again in about seven months. I will be counting down the days...
1. I now have a metal roof. This means that when the winds hit 90 plus miles per hour (I wish I were exaggerating) I don't have to worry about shingles blowing off of my house.
2. My son and I planted heirloom carrots. We are actually excited to grow them, eat them, and make carrot cake.
3. There is a bird nest, with eggs, in the broken part of the trim on my house. This means that I can't fix it right now!
4. I'm already done with the girls' Easter dresses for the year. This means that I might have time to make myself a new dress. I haven't done this in over three years and I'm getting excited.
5. The main reason that I'm enjoying spring is that my youngest is now two and he's starting to really get this potty thing. I'm actually seeing the possibility of a future without diapers. That's probably another entry altogether.
I hope this helps the one other person in the world that doesn't like spring. For those of you who do like spring, enjoy it while it lasts. It will be winter again in about seven months. I will be counting down the days...
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Great Crock-Pot Almost Italian Wedding Soup
My eight year old made this mostly by herself so it's not too hard.
about 1/2 cup olive oil
about 1/2 cup chopped basil
about 1 1/2 pounds of sausage removed from casing (I used mild Italian Chicken sausage)
about 1/2 cup of fresh parsley
2-3 large potatoes (I used left over oven potatoes and added them a bit later)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
Put the olive oil, basil, and sausage in the crock pot for about half an hour, or until the sausage is a little cooked, but don't let it stick. Put the potatoes and parsley in with 1/2 cup of milk. Let it cook for a while on low, I left it for about 4 hours, but my potatoes were already mostly softened. About fifteen minutes before you serve it add the other 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream. Let it cook for about fifteen minutes and serve.
about 1/2 cup olive oil
about 1/2 cup chopped basil
about 1 1/2 pounds of sausage removed from casing (I used mild Italian Chicken sausage)
about 1/2 cup of fresh parsley
2-3 large potatoes (I used left over oven potatoes and added them a bit later)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
Put the olive oil, basil, and sausage in the crock pot for about half an hour, or until the sausage is a little cooked, but don't let it stick. Put the potatoes and parsley in with 1/2 cup of milk. Let it cook for a while on low, I left it for about 4 hours, but my potatoes were already mostly softened. About fifteen minutes before you serve it add the other 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream. Let it cook for about fifteen minutes and serve.
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