Every time we go to the doctor, I take the kids to Wendy's afterward for a Frosty. We were at the doctor again today b/c Kate has an ear infection (just in time for us to leave her with my parents next week, poor thing.), so of course Anna insisted that we get our Frosties.
Everything is fine (unless you count the kids wailing in the background for their treats) while we order and the lady gives us the ice cream. Then she turns around and shuts the window-- but wait! she has given only spoons, and my little ones need straws to slurp Frosties on the way back to Spanish Fork. I wait patiently for a minute, thinking she'll notice that I haven't pulled away. Instead, she leaves the room. The girls are growing increasingly agitated because I have the coveted treats in my lap and will not hand them over.
Finally I catch the eye of the guy working the cash register. I wave my hand, insinuating that I need a little help. He grins and waves back, like he's flirting with me-- a much older woman with two kids in her car! I gesture more frantically for him to come to the window, while in the background Anna throws her little body back and forth in the carseat as though she's having a seizure caused by lack of chocolate ice cream. Mr. Wendy's saunters over and leans out the window, then looks utterly confused when all I ask is for 3 straws. What was he expecting me to do, ask for his phone number?
I hand the drinks over to the kids, and as I begin to drink my own, a little suction sound comes out. Anna innocently asks, "Mom, did you give that guy a kiss?"
Heaven help me. I just laughed my guts out. Even laughed when we got home and the girls were covered in chocolate stickiness, because in fact, they had used their straws as spoons and gotten ice cream everywhere.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Homemade tortillas
A few of you requested this recipe after I blogged about it. I made them with the girls the other night and they both really enjoyed rolling them out. I recommend it to anyone!
3 cups flour (if you want to use wheat flour do 1 1/2 cups wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour. That is for you granolas, myself, I just use white.)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil or crisco
1 cup warm tap water
1. In a large bowl, blend the flour, salt and oil using a fork or pastry cutter. Add warm water to flour and mix until the dough forms. Shape into a ball and knead for 3 minutes. Only add flour in small increments if the dough is sticking to the counter as you knead. Return the dough to the bowl and cover. Let it rest 15-20 minutes.
2. Divide dough into 12 gold ball sized peices. Dip them in flour and roll them into a ball in your hands. Then roll them out with a rolling pin, into an 8 or 9 inch circle. Roll at least half the balls before cooking to save time.
3. Heat a clean nonstick skillet over medium heat. Do NOT add any fat to the skillet. These cook dry and fast, just a few minutes on each side. Watch them closely.
4. Wrap the cooked tortillas in foil or ina gallon ziploc bag and keep warm until ready to use. Can refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
3 cups flour (if you want to use wheat flour do 1 1/2 cups wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour. That is for you granolas, myself, I just use white.)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil or crisco
1 cup warm tap water
1. In a large bowl, blend the flour, salt and oil using a fork or pastry cutter. Add warm water to flour and mix until the dough forms. Shape into a ball and knead for 3 minutes. Only add flour in small increments if the dough is sticking to the counter as you knead. Return the dough to the bowl and cover. Let it rest 15-20 minutes.
2. Divide dough into 12 gold ball sized peices. Dip them in flour and roll them into a ball in your hands. Then roll them out with a rolling pin, into an 8 or 9 inch circle. Roll at least half the balls before cooking to save time.
3. Heat a clean nonstick skillet over medium heat. Do NOT add any fat to the skillet. These cook dry and fast, just a few minutes on each side. Watch them closely.
4. Wrap the cooked tortillas in foil or ina gallon ziploc bag and keep warm until ready to use. Can refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
Monday, February 18, 2008
New View
This is more in an effort to try out my new camera than anything.....
For those of you who have been wondering, the red wall had to go. Once we got our piano, it looked terrible. So here's the new look for our front room. I feel like I'm on some Design on a Dime show, every week I switch around the curtains, pillows, etc. from room to room to find out what I like best. I'm into the blue/brown thing right now, so this is what we get.
Friday, February 15, 2008
To homeschool or not to homeschool?
Because some of my nearest and dearest friends have been looking into homeschool lately, I too have spent some time reading and pondering if it is the right thing for our family. This is ironic because only 2 months ago the answer would have been "No way!" without a second thought.
Here are my reasons that I think homeschool might be good:
1. There have been 4 separate shootings in one week at schools across America. What more can I say?
2. I have read convincing material that public schools are not capable of providing a quality education to all 35 students in the class at a time. The US is so far behind other industrialized (and non-industrialized) nations in math, literacy, etc. I feel like educating my kids is going to be up to me, whether they attend public school or not.
3. I could completely control the school environment-- what they learn, how they learn it, when they learn, etc.
4. Homeschool would avoid the pitfalls of school social life-- feeling left out and lonely, bullies, drugs, boyfriends, feeling superior/inferior to other kids, having an irrational hatred of the drill team, etc.
Here are the reasons that I hesitate:
1. Would my kids have a normal social life? How could you have a normal social life if you never went to school? Would Anna never get to go to Prom? (I know, this should not be a key factor, but I really enjoyed my Prom.)
2. Am I smart/organized/determined enough to actually teach homeschool?
3. Do I have the patience to be with my kids all day long, even as they get older and there are more of them?
4. Do I throw the speech pathology thing out the window in favor of homeschool?
5. Aren't granolas the only people who do homeschool? While I have started taking whole food vitamins (and admittedly feel better for it), I am not ready nor willing to classify myself as a granola.
If not homeschool, what are my other options? Private school would be feasible if there were only one kid--- maybe we could have an annual lottery to see which one would get a good education that year.... I know there are charter schools, but I don't know enough about them to feel confident that they are different from public schools in educating kids.
Any comments, suggestions, etc. would be appreciated.
Here are my reasons that I think homeschool might be good:
1. There have been 4 separate shootings in one week at schools across America. What more can I say?
2. I have read convincing material that public schools are not capable of providing a quality education to all 35 students in the class at a time. The US is so far behind other industrialized (and non-industrialized) nations in math, literacy, etc. I feel like educating my kids is going to be up to me, whether they attend public school or not.
3. I could completely control the school environment-- what they learn, how they learn it, when they learn, etc.
4. Homeschool would avoid the pitfalls of school social life-- feeling left out and lonely, bullies, drugs, boyfriends, feeling superior/inferior to other kids, having an irrational hatred of the drill team, etc.
Here are the reasons that I hesitate:
1. Would my kids have a normal social life? How could you have a normal social life if you never went to school? Would Anna never get to go to Prom? (I know, this should not be a key factor, but I really enjoyed my Prom.)
2. Am I smart/organized/determined enough to actually teach homeschool?
3. Do I have the patience to be with my kids all day long, even as they get older and there are more of them?
4. Do I throw the speech pathology thing out the window in favor of homeschool?
5. Aren't granolas the only people who do homeschool? While I have started taking whole food vitamins (and admittedly feel better for it), I am not ready nor willing to classify myself as a granola.
If not homeschool, what are my other options? Private school would be feasible if there were only one kid--- maybe we could have an annual lottery to see which one would get a good education that year.... I know there are charter schools, but I don't know enough about them to feel confident that they are different from public schools in educating kids.
Any comments, suggestions, etc. would be appreciated.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Plastic Bag Challenge
I don't usually get fired up about things involving the environment. I'm all for recycling and reducing, but I just assume that it's kind of an individual thing. But lately, I have been feeling fired up about plastic bags.
The thing is, millions are used each year, and they pretty much never disintegrate in the landfills. I feel good about how we generally reuse them as garbage can liners or for T to take his lunch in, but there is still so much waste. Check out this article I found:
"And the Plastic Bags Shall Inherit The Earth"
An Article From The Website : http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2003/11/10/10535/928 "In our visions of a nuclear holocaust, it has always been the cockroaches that were the ultimate survivors. But now, their throne is being usurped by a more powerful and insidious symbol of durability. Plastic bags. As an editorial in the East African Standard points out, plastic bags—millions and millions of them—are everywhere, clogging up everything. Rivers, storm water drainage systems, sewer lines. Dr. Alexander Parkes is long dead, but his 1856 creation—hailed at the time as a revolutionary scientific innovation—is now, like a scientific experiment gone horribly awry, wreaking havoc on the environment. Nairobi is overwhelmed by discarded polythene. Plastic products make up 80 percent of every garbage mound you see. The slightest gust of wind blows hundreds of them into the sky. And plastic bags are killing the Nairobi River. Some environmentalists want plastic bags banned. Lobbyists hold seminars to warn consumers of the dangers of plastic and promote the substitution of plastic by something more biodegradeable. But the need for 100 percent degradability is hotly contested by bag manufacturers who take the gun lobby line of, "it isn’t plastic bags that is the problem. It is the people."
There's more out there if you look for it, but this gets my point across. So, the question comes, what can I do about it? Recycling the bags is a great plan, or you could go IKEA and bring your own bags with you to do your shopping. This seems a little absurd if you're thinking of your weekly grocery shopping, but think of all the times that you just run into the store for something small. I almost always have my diaper bag with me, and pretty much anything I buy would fit in there, which eliminates the need for the plastic bag entirely. This week alone I have used my diaper bag instead of the store's plastic bags 3 times. I know that's not too impressive, but if I did it (and you did it) for a whole year, it would certainly add up.
That's my challenge for you, my blogging friends. Just tell the checker you don't need a bag and put the book, lip gloss, sweater, etc. in the bag you already have with you.
The thing is, millions are used each year, and they pretty much never disintegrate in the landfills. I feel good about how we generally reuse them as garbage can liners or for T to take his lunch in, but there is still so much waste. Check out this article I found:
"And the Plastic Bags Shall Inherit The Earth"
An Article From The Website : http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2003/11/10/10535/928 "In our visions of a nuclear holocaust, it has always been the cockroaches that were the ultimate survivors. But now, their throne is being usurped by a more powerful and insidious symbol of durability. Plastic bags. As an editorial in the East African Standard points out, plastic bags—millions and millions of them—are everywhere, clogging up everything. Rivers, storm water drainage systems, sewer lines. Dr. Alexander Parkes is long dead, but his 1856 creation—hailed at the time as a revolutionary scientific innovation—is now, like a scientific experiment gone horribly awry, wreaking havoc on the environment. Nairobi is overwhelmed by discarded polythene. Plastic products make up 80 percent of every garbage mound you see. The slightest gust of wind blows hundreds of them into the sky. And plastic bags are killing the Nairobi River. Some environmentalists want plastic bags banned. Lobbyists hold seminars to warn consumers of the dangers of plastic and promote the substitution of plastic by something more biodegradeable. But the need for 100 percent degradability is hotly contested by bag manufacturers who take the gun lobby line of, "it isn’t plastic bags that is the problem. It is the people."
There's more out there if you look for it, but this gets my point across. So, the question comes, what can I do about it? Recycling the bags is a great plan, or you could go IKEA and bring your own bags with you to do your shopping. This seems a little absurd if you're thinking of your weekly grocery shopping, but think of all the times that you just run into the store for something small. I almost always have my diaper bag with me, and pretty much anything I buy would fit in there, which eliminates the need for the plastic bag entirely. This week alone I have used my diaper bag instead of the store's plastic bags 3 times. I know that's not too impressive, but if I did it (and you did it) for a whole year, it would certainly add up.
That's my challenge for you, my blogging friends. Just tell the checker you don't need a bag and put the book, lip gloss, sweater, etc. in the bag you already have with you.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Good Things
I can't think of what to write about this week, so I'm just going to make a list of things that I like or that I am excited about right now. If Oprah can do it, so can I! (sorry, no promises of gifts to all you readers of my good things like she does).
1. Texas sheet cake. Kris, I tried your recipe and it was DELICIOUS!!
2. Buttermilk. Necessary for the sheet cake. Also used it in buttermilk pancakes and they were great.
3. Aflac. We talked to an Aflac agent this week and they will totally pay us to have a baby. This is great because we have a huge deductible for maternity coverage on our insurance. You should totally look into it.
4. The zoo in winter. We went yesterday and there was no one there. Granted, a lot of animals like the bears were sleeping, but it was still fun. There's a new baby giraffe at Hogle Zoo and he's super cute.
5. www.shabbyprincess.com . If anyone knows of any other free digital scrapbooking sites, let me know!
6. Healthy kids!! Life is much happier when everyone feels good.
7. Homemade tortillas. Our ward had a little RS cooking group and I learned to make homemade tortillas. They are way tastier than the regulars and so easy!!
Interesting to note that many of my good things involve food. Maybe next week I can post something healthier....
PS-- I'm having a Stampin Up party at my house on Tuesday. If anyone wants to come, you're welcome to, but no pressure. Email me and I'll give you directions. We'll be eating Texas Sheet Cake!
1. Texas sheet cake. Kris, I tried your recipe and it was DELICIOUS!!
2. Buttermilk. Necessary for the sheet cake. Also used it in buttermilk pancakes and they were great.
3. Aflac. We talked to an Aflac agent this week and they will totally pay us to have a baby. This is great because we have a huge deductible for maternity coverage on our insurance. You should totally look into it.
4. The zoo in winter. We went yesterday and there was no one there. Granted, a lot of animals like the bears were sleeping, but it was still fun. There's a new baby giraffe at Hogle Zoo and he's super cute.
5. www.shabbyprincess.com . If anyone knows of any other free digital scrapbooking sites, let me know!
6. Healthy kids!! Life is much happier when everyone feels good.
7. Homemade tortillas. Our ward had a little RS cooking group and I learned to make homemade tortillas. They are way tastier than the regulars and so easy!!
Interesting to note that many of my good things involve food. Maybe next week I can post something healthier....
PS-- I'm having a Stampin Up party at my house on Tuesday. If anyone wants to come, you're welcome to, but no pressure. Email me and I'll give you directions. We'll be eating Texas Sheet Cake!
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