MommyDays

Summer

2010-08-06T12:42:00.002-05:00

It has been a good summer so far, Sophie learned to swim front and back stroke. She is no longer afraid of the deep end. She is doing well in tennis. Soccer is about to start. She is now 10! We are working on renovating our bathroom. Ben is talking more. Will is reading more words. School is going to start in a few weeks. I can't wait for things to go back to normal. The kids don't really enjoy shopping with me anyways. My parents made it back from Iran okay. My Mom made it through hip surgery. I am glad.

Superior Chimney

2010-06-16T16:13:00.003-05:00

They had pressured us to seal and waterproof the chimney. We had to act now or lose the "discount". They did a lot of other work. Just over 1 year later, we have a leak. I called to get something scheduled on Saturday, they told me the supervisor would have to call me back on Monday. The supervisor said that it was probably the flashing which wasn't covered since they only partially replaced the flashing. It doesn't make sense since it is leaking not from the roof but from the 1st level of a 2 story house. The supervisor made an appointment for the next day (Tuesday) between 12-4pm. I got a call from the tech saying he wasn't sure when he could come and he would call later. He called again saying he wouldn't be able to make it. The lady called me to reschedule for Tuesday. The guy called me at 12 saying he couldn't make it, they were going to call to send someone else. 1 1/2 hours later the company didn't call me so I called to see what was going on and they said that the other tech would be coming today "guaranteed". It was after 4pm. I called a different company to make an appointment with free estimates. I called the company again to cancel, and the lady told me that the tech had just called a few minutes ago to say he couldn't come today. They are not so superior!! I would not use them!

Summer time

2010-06-16T16:00:00.002-05:00

We have been keeping pretty busy so far. Week 1 was a lot of bike riding/exercising to the park. Last week we went camping at governor Dodge's state park in Wisconsin. The kids roasted marshmallows. We camped out in the car. It poured and thundered. In the morning, it was nice. The rain probably helped the waterfall look even more spectacular. The kids have started swimming. Sophie and Nicholas are getting closer to swimming without floating devices.

Brookfield Zoo / Weekend

2010-05-25T07:11:00.003-05:00

Went to the Brookfield Zoo a weekend too early. They are opening sting ray bay this coming weekend. They didn't have the bears. They are opening a new bear house soon. Sophie wanted to go to the butterfly tent. The kids really liked it. They had about 7-10 varieties. They landed on us a lot.

Sunday, we were going to the library. They hadn't changed their website to reflect their change in hours (it is now changed). It was closed. We decided to go and play some mini-golf since we were out. The kids really liked it. Nicholas and Sophie got frustrated at the golf range at scout-o-rama. The only thing I didn't like was fishing out the ball from the mini algae pond. It made the ball smell a little bad. I think by the end, they got the hang of it.

Scout-o-rama

2010-05-17T06:11:00.002-05:00

I took Nicholas and Sophia to a huge boy scouting event at Cantigny. I wish we would have gotten there earlier. The event was so big, we didn't make it through the whole thing. It was a great learning/fun event. The kids made a basket with a marshmallow shooter, they had a bean bag toss, haunted house. They shot a ping pong with a rubber band gun into some hole targets. Sophie has wanted to try archery. She got her chance. She said that she did well. Nicholas got to try a BB gun. He missed the first two shots, but hit the bulls-eye on the third one. They tried to start a fire with a magnesium or flint rod and a metal striker. They had the old fashion rubbing 2 sticks together but they didn't try it. They did try to send signals to each other using morse code and a lightbulb. Nicholas seemed very interested in the semaphore flags. They had the radio morse code signal version but they didn't try it. They went into some tee-pees. They were very cool. They were firing cannons, twice, ever hour. It made me jump every time. The kids also had fun with the rain gutter boat races. You had to race and blow the boats down the gutter. They had rope making, rope bridge climbing. A huge line about 1 hour wait for the human sphere (like a human hamster ball), where the older scouts will push and roll the ball around. We didn't have time to wait for that one. It was an awesome time.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T08:15:00.003-05:00

Nicholas planned to make a big breakfast spread for me the night before. He is very sweet. He was planning on making me toaster waffles. Mother's Day morning, Sophie had started to make me pancakes. Nicholas helped and I finished. I made some raspberry sauce and some fresh whipped cream. They each made a card (except for Benjamin). We played outside most of the day. Went to the park in the evening. The best part of the day was when Michael kissed me and told Ben he loved me to which Ben said, "I love you." and he gave me a kiss on the cheek. What a great mother's day present from Ben.

The kids are getting older.

2010-05-04T09:22:00.002-05:00

Nicholas has shown some major milestones in maturity. I hope it lasts. The other day, they were fighting over playing wii. While eating lunch, he told Sophie that it is ridiculous to fight and they should work things out. I was so proud of him. He is also more responsible at times. He is helping out more and sometimes without me asking him to. Sophie on the other hand has some more work to do. She likes to look after and play with her younger brothers. She doesn't yet act responsible enough but with time, her maturity will grow. I'm not looking forward to the teenage years, she is already acting like a pre-teen. We are working on those issues now.

Starved Rock State Park

2010-04-19T07:10:00.009-05:00

It was our first time hiking there. We had gone there before but it was flooded and couldn't access it. We normally go to Matthiesson which is just down the road from Starved Rock which is nice but smaller. I'm glad I didn't take the stroller. They have a lot of paved paths but then there are a lot of stairs and dirt paths too. I liked the fact you can't really get lost there. There are so many maps and each bridge has circles (there are also circles on the path) which tell you if you are going away or returning to the visitor's center (parking lot). The picture is of the French Canyon. We saw a lot of cool water birds there too. At first I thought that these white birds were swans but they looked like pelicans and they had black on their wing tip. We also saw a row of cormorants sitting on a big log, stretching their wings. It was pretty cool. We had a lot of fun.

William and Ben

2010-04-14T07:12:00.002-05:00

They were so cute yesterday. Will wanted to have a "sleepover" with Benjamin yesterday morning. He had two couch pillows on the floor, and he brought down his sheet. He told Ben to put his head on the pillow and he did and then popped back up again. Then Will told Ben to get under the sheet. Ben lifted the corner of the sheet up and put it up and was almost playing peek-a-boo with the sheet. He couldn't quite make it over his head.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-07T12:38:00.005-05:00

William kept calling the eggs, rooster eggs. He told his grandparents that the only thing he wanted was a chocolate bunny with big ears. No toys. As you can see, he got his wish. Ben slept through the egg hunt. We had ham with an orange, honey, apricot glaze. Nicholas even ate the ham with ketchup. Nicholas & William will eat just about anything with ketchup.

Easter with Family Fun Magazine

2010-03-31T08:43:00.003-05:00

Saw a good tip for dying Easter Eggs in Family Fun Magazine. You put the eggs in wire whisks. You can dip the eggs without dropping and cracking them and kids can do this on their own. I wonder how messy it is though. I also like buying the ones with stickers for the eggs so the older kids can dip them and younger ones can put stickers on them. Their website has really cute ideas for decorating. I liked the leaf ones and the cute animals. http://familyfun.go.com/easter/easter-egg-decorating/

Wisconsin

2010-03-30T06:45:00.003-05:00

We visited my Dad in Wisconsin. Sophie & Nina were busy playing and having a fashion show. William was in his pjs and posed right along with the girls in his Hanna Anderson long johns. Benjamin was busy pretending he was leaving and coming back (by opening and closing the front door). He kept saying bye-bye. Boys played a lot of computer games and wii. We went to an Art show at the University. They had demonstration on glass blowing. We walked at Schmeeckle Reserve which is part of the university to walk off the pizza we inhaled at Rocky Rococo's. Saw a black squirrel in the back yard. I hadn't seen one of those since I was in Canada years ago.

Benjamin Franklin report

2010-03-23T13:29:00.002-05:00

This is the best I could throw together the morning of report day. We made a kite with a tiny key at the end before school. I made Sophie's french hat into a tricorn hat. Somehow he only had 1 yellow dress shirt so he wore his tee backwards. It worked out. He started loud but then you can barely hear him. He wrote a good speech though. His question to ask Benjamin Franklin was something like this, Is it true that your father was a minister? If so, why didn't you become one too? Well at least he didn't look so bad from the waist up.

Signs of Spring

2010-03-14T15:00:00.007-05:00

The snow has passed, I see more people out exercising,the weather is warmer, and crocus and tulip leaves are emerging. This morning, a glimpse of yellow caught my eye. Spring comes this week. Happy Spring, Happy Nowruz!

Birthday

2010-03-11T05:49:00.004-06:00

I had a good Birthday. It started out rainy but turned out sunny and rather warm. William picked out a fruit cake but we haven't eaten it yet. I got a beautiful bouquet from Michael's parents. Some money from my parents. My Mom gave me some clothes. Michael gave me a wonderful soft leather purse, a cd, and a really good dinner at Kyoto Sushi. Sophie had her favorite, tempura shrimp, Nicholas and Will had rice and teriyaki chicken although they usual prefer the katsu and Michael and I shared various sushi rolls. The fish was very fresh. The salmon was soft, buttery and melted in my mouth, truly delicious. The chef special sushi were the best. I loved the spicy girl which was crunchy on the top and looked like a volcano. I also loved the eel and tempura but the name escapes me. William let it slip it was my birthday. The waitress brought out a plate of strawberry mochi ice cream with chocolate sauce, cherries, and whipped cream in the center with a candle in the middle. Everyone liked it. I'm glad to eat something so healthy that I didn't regret the next day.

New Garage Door

2010-03-03T14:21:00.008-06:00

We ordered our new garage door 2 1/2 weeks ago. The old door's spring broke last week. It would have cost us 160-170 to replace the spring. We decided to wait it out. Thank goodness too. They are installing it tomorrow. I got a bruise from trying to lift the door by myself. Luckily I figured out how to move the track up (in the open position without the door) and got a strong person to help. He was able to easily open it and hook it onto the track which kept the door open. By the way, we ordered it from Home Depot-in Carol Stream. The same company we used last time. They are using consolidated garages. I think Home Depot used superior garages came last time. I'm glad we got a new opener with the door because the old one was shot (everything breaks in bunches). Anyway, it all worked out for once.

Finally, wet snow!

2010-02-23T11:16:00.005-06:00

He dug for treasure in the back yard with his large purple shovel while I shoveled our driveway. The snow was so heavy and wet that all I could do was to push it aside. We decided to make William a snowman. We had to make brown hair, dark eyes, and a nice smile. He also wanted a snow giraffe but it got too cold for those little fingers to stay outside. Boy were the trees pretty all covered in snow!

We survived the Daddy Daughter Dance!

2010-02-17T07:03:00.002-06:00

I had to make 6 dozen cookies. I started to make chocolate chip cookies (about 2-3 dozsen). I made up a new recipe but when I made them, I thought it had a weird aftertaste. I can't taste it now. They are still super soft. Anyway, I made 3 batches of sugar cookies in the shape of hearts. I added frosting and sprinkles. It's the best recipe. I got it from Wisconsin. I had to make extra trips for trip for butter, a second trip for more butter and sprinkles and flowers. Lots of rolling out dough. Then we helped with the blowing up and tying of helium balloons. They didn't sell the boutineers and coursages this year so I made them using a pin and floral tape.
Michael didn't want to wear his so I changed it to a coursage. I made another extra one. Sophie gave a couple away to her friends.

Had a blast at the zoo!

2010-02-17T06:16:00.021-06:00

Sophie invited her friend Tatum. Grandma came too. We did all we could in about 5 hours. We visited the monkey house, birds, living coast, swamp, childrens zoo, and Australia and the gift shop for some keepsakes. Will and Nicholas loved to put their faces in all of picture holes. The penguins were friendly and loved to come up to the children. Birds were bright and beautiful. The kids got to pet the guinea pig which was the pet of the hour. Sophie and Nicholas painted their faces.
It was a fun day.

Home made Valentines

2010-02-08T08:08:00.005-06:00

We just started getting family fun magazine. They had some great ideas for home made Valentines. I used poster board for our robots. It was cheaper than buying a huge container of cardstock and I imagine more rigid. The website for the robot instructions and templates is at:
http://familyfun.go.com/valentines-day/valentines-day-2010/treat-transmitters-825195/
They were a big hit at our house.

Bread Making

2010-02-04T07:03:00.004-06:00

I was reading Saveur magazine. Which lead me to a great website- http://www.thefreshloaf.com/ There you can find tips, recipes, and ask questions (if you are a member.) Non-members are free to browse. Even the pita bread recipe on the link at the top of the screen by chance came from the fresh loaf.
I recently found my Dad a great persian bread recipe from http://www.1001recipe.com/recipes/food/barbari_bread/ He's been making it almost everyday.
Bake your favorite bread today!

Energy Saving Washers, Does it really save?

2010-02-01T06:57:00.002-06:00

I'm not fully convinced that you can save with a buying a new washer. I love my old washer. It's about 9 years old. It needed a new belt a couple of years back but it's working good now. I hope it never breaks again! I'm not looking forward to a new one any time soon. My step Mom just got one. It uses less water so she is no longer able to fill it up all the way. Hence she has to do 2 loads when she only used to be able to fit it all in 1. How does that save in time and money? To me that will expend more water, time, more energy, and more dryer time. How is that saving anybody? The drum size is large but the water does not fully fill. What a gimmick! Buyer beware. Newer washers are more energy efficient than the older models, but you have to compare the gallons of water it uses when you purchase your new washer.

Early Reader

2010-01-31T07:12:00.002-06:00

William is the earliest reader in the family so far anyway. His first thing to read was Costco and Jewel-Osco. A couple of nights ago, he read up and it. His brother does read to him a lot. Sophie will read to him at bedtime sometimes. He loves the Sandra Boynton series books, Thomas the Tank Engine books, and Kipper books. Nicholas' first word he read, that I know of, was book. He was 4. I didn't know he knew how to read. We were out and found an antique store that advertised they had books. Nicholas read that sign. I can't really remember when Sophie learned to read. We used to read to Sophie and Nicholas all the time. They loved the Dr. Seuss books. They were in story-time at the library. They were read to at pre-school also. Those were the days, so long ago.

Time to think about the garden

2010-01-24T07:09:00.002-06:00

I started 7 tomato seeds. Michael hates to look at them but loves to eat them. I chose my favorite, the Hungarian Heart from seed savers. I love the large heart shaped, meaty, productive tomatoes with very few seeds. It is nice to have in the summer.
I usually start with a lot of seeds and end up with a couple of plants. In the past, I've lost them to under watering, hail, frost... So, I've learned to start with a lot. I have had the most success by wetting a paper towel and placing the seeds inside and putting both inside a baggie. I put the baggie in a sunny window (warn your spouse not to throw it away!!) I keep adding enough water to keep the paper towel damp. Once they have sprouted, I transplant them. It doesn't mater if you plant some of the paper towel or not. I sometimes plant flowers also. Some of my favorites include the salvia-both blue and red, nasturtiums (the flowers are edible and peppery), fox gloves are pretty, and the black eyed susan vine (very pretty but an annual) and geraniums. I'm not sure if I will plant flowers this time or not. I usually start all my seeds the same way unless they are the tiny speck variety. Good luck with your gardening.

Electric Toothbrushes

2010-01-22T08:41:00.005-06:00

We were recently at the dentist's office. Sophie saw one of those electric toothbrushes. She wanted one. I decided it was probably about time to get one for me too. I got the Costco special. They sold the two leading models. I chose the oral-b triumph professional care series. It's pretty neat. It comes with a replaceable rechargeable battery, a radio timer to see how long you have been brushing, and has 4 speeds. Sophie got one and I the other. I wish I would have got one years ago.
I notice my teeth are a lot cleaner. I decided to get the cheaper variety for Nicholas and Will. I will wait until they are older before purchasing a more expensive model. Nicholas is happy with his SpongeBob model. They have renewed their excitement in tooth brushing both in duration and the number of times per day. I hope that will help keep them cavity free.

Julie & Julia

2010-01-18T09:58:00.003-06:00

We watched Julie & Julia. I really liked it. The lobster scene reminded me of when I was in Florida. We used to vacation there. As a child and my parents were making crabs. The crabs kept trying to climb out of the pot much to my Mother's dismay! My parents both were into international cooking. Presentation was always pleasing to the eye. I love cooking too. This movie also inspired my husband, well that and watching America's Test Kitchen. He shopped, then made a stir fry. It was a nice break.

Williams-Sonoma in Wheaton

2010-01-09T08:11:00.008-06:00

The Wheaton Williams-Sonoma in Town Square is closing on Sunday, January 17, 2010. I love going there. I bought cookware for my parents there. I liked it there better, because it is less crowded and much easier to park than in Naperville. It will be missed. I checked it out. Everything is 20 percent off there. They didn't have the new All-Clad d5 cookware. Those are better prices than the regular All-Clad. The store was packed. They also didn't have the bowls I wanted either. It may be easier to make purchases on-line from now on. From 1-14-10 till 1-18-10 they have free online shipping but only for select items (not really cookware). Has anyone tried all-clad cookware? Michael's Mom got the cuisinart green cookware. It is free of PTFE and PFOA so you can cook, worry free (especially if you have kids).

Furnace

2010-01-06T13:22:00.005-06:00

Our furnace went out yesterday but then turned back on 3 hours later. We found our electrician from Mamasource. He was very good. I decided to look up a furnace repair place on Mamasource. I chose Air Handlers in Glen Ellyn & Glendale Heights (630) 790-3308. They seem very good. I didn't find any complaints about them online. He was very thorough. He ran a lot of tests. Luckily it was just the limit switch. They seem to be reasonable. If you are looking for good recommended services, you should join. It's free here is the website: http://www.mamapedia.com/join. This site is also good if you want to ask other moms for recipes, party ideas or parenting questions and recommendations for services both good and bad. Check it out.

Happy New Year

2010-01-05T17:03:00.002-06:00

I haven't come up with any New Years Resolutions yet. It always seems like I never stick to them for very long anyway. Nicholas spent New Years Eve preparing snacks for everyone. Sophie and Michael went to see Avatar and loved it. I was surprised Sophie didn't get sick. She still gets motion sickness. Baby Ben had an early nap and I woke him up. He stayed up until 11:30. School started this week. It seems like the fighting is resuming. I'm not sure why though because they are spending less time together. It makes no sense to me. Happy New Year!

Hat

2009-12-27T07:39:00.011-06:00

I made this scarf last year. I made a lot of mistakes but it's hard to tell when you are wearing it. I didn't think this pattern would look good as a hat so I came up with this pattern. It took me about 3 times. The first time I didn't like the pattern, the second, I finished and it was too small. Here it is. I am not sure if I should add a pompom on top. I always keep a notebook where I write down the row I am on. It is easier to keep track that way. I can send the pattern to anyone who is interested.

This is the life

2009-12-21T09:24:00.002-06:00

Ben got his first sled ride by Sophie yesterday. He didn't stay out long. He kept pulling off his gloves and it was time for a nap. If only he could figure out how to keep sitting up. He kept falling over onto his back whenever Sophie pulled really hard.

O'Christmas Tree

2009-12-14T10:22:00.005-06:00

William has a new song. He learned the Spongebob version from his brother. O'Krusty Krab o'Krusty Krab, oh how I love you so much. Ever since we put up the tree it has been...O'Christmas tree o'Christmas tree, oh how I love you so much!

Target Gift Cards

2009-12-08T10:32:00.003-06:00

I was just at Target.

I got my $5.00 gift card for purchasing 2 Bounty paper towel packs. You have to buy any 2 of the following: Charmin, Bounty, Tide, Luvs, Bounce, Downy or Prilosec see the weekly ad at Target for details.

They also have the Land o lakes butter on sale for $2.00 The only way to go with the holiday baking.

Baby Proofing

2009-12-08T06:04:00.003-06:00

We have put up a gate to the kitchen. Baby Ben is always getting in there and going through the drawers and cabinets. We took off the gate to the upstairs but closed the doors to the bathroom (We learned that the hard way!). Michael installed new plugs that are safer for the kids. We put the Christmas ornaments up higher just out of
Ben's reach. I bought some candy canes for the tree and hung them. I gave 1 to each kid. The tree was baby proof but not William proof. He used the table to climb and get the candy canes. I moved the table back and took the candy cane away. When I was making dinner he came to the kitchen gate with a candy cane in his hand saying something about the ornaments and a second later, he ran back and came back without the candy cane. I went to look. There were broken bulbs all over the pillow, on the toy garage, under the rug, and in another toy. I knew what William had done. He tried to play baseball with the ornaments and the candy cane. Luckily he didn't get hurt. It was just the cheap-o bulbs. He had most of the candy canes from the back down low hanging all together. He is getting into everything all the time and usually blames his siblings for it. Sophie and Nicholas were not that bad!!

Eye Exam

2009-12-04T05:53:00.002-06:00

I got a letter from school. I already had a feeling about it. The signs were there. Nicholas didn't pass his eye exam (nearsighted). He has been having headaches. I thought it was allergies in the summer. He always complained of headaches after being out for recess. Last week I had already figured it out. His appointment is next week. Sophie is already making fun of him and she wears glasses too! I hate to see what the other kids say. So let it be a reminder to you that the best time to have your kids eyes checked is before they enter the 3rd grade. Many kids will need glasses by that time. Most of Sophie's friends have them.

Thanksgiving vacation

2009-11-30T08:14:00.006-06:00

It was a nice trip to Tennessee. We saw three deer as we were turning onto grandma's road. Saw some cool birds as usual such as juncos, hawks, turkey vultures, warbler, a tree filled with bluebirds, blue jays, titmouse, mockingbird, woodpeckers, heron to name a few. We usually see a bunch of turkeys down the road in a field but not this time.

We took a walk along the Cumberland to see the Christmas light show. Sophie got to see Fort Campbell in KY. Nicholas got to do a lot of reading and playing mad libs. Sophie and Nick took turns playing Nintendo dsi educational games as well as taking pictures and movies. William got into lots of trouble. He poured water into grandma's decanter and glasses from Germany. He left a water trail from the kitchen to the living room. He played with papa's clock. He put toys and cars inside the Chrismas scenery train tunnel. I had to open it up to get it out. He locked himself into the room. (while he was in there he played with the videocamera and computer and my deodorant!) We tried to open the door but had a hard time. Grandma used her grocery reward card to get him out. The second time he did it he was able to unlock it! I gave him the new nickname of Dennis the Menace. Baby Ben was also into a lot of stuff but he wasn't as naughty as William. We watched Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. William was sick, then Nicholas with the stomach flu.

I convinced Michael's Mom to make it easy on herself and make some turkey breasts instead for Thanksgiving. It cooks a little faster. No one really likes the dark meat except for me. The white meat is healthier. She bought a new variety. You bake it frozen in the bag. It was about 4.5 lbs. It was a no baste bird. The skin stuck to the bag but the turkey was very moist and delicious. She baked 2 breasts but we only needed 1 for 4 adults and 3 kids. Our kids don't eat too much turkey.

It is good to be home. Our trip home must have really wore Baby Ben out because last night was the first time in a long time he slept through the night.

Birthday Ben

2009-11-24T06:00:00.005-06:00

I made him a yellow cake with yellow frosting and marshmallows around the edge and a rubber duck in the center. The kids all love marshmallows. Sophie stuffed one in Ben's mouth. He was delighted. He got a garage set with 3 cars and an animated rocking horse. The horse was very well designed. It is curved at the ends in such a way that you will not pinch your fingers or toes. He was very surprised when the horse neighed, waged it tail and wiggled its nose. It was very cute. Nicholas loves to put him on and rock him.

Ben is eating more solids. He has a big appetite. Yesterday he had grapes, chicken fries, almost a whole slice of pizza, lasagna baby food, more grapes, some popcorn. He still acts hungry. Yesterday, he learned how to climb down the stairs. He knew 1 step. He practiced all of them yesterday. Many milestones.

Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips

2009-11-18T11:27:00.003-06:00

Here's some of our favorites: What are yours?

I put together the stuffing the night before. You can make the cranberry sauce the day before also since it needs time to set. Don't forget to buy the turkey 3-4 days before and buy lots of butter!! The turkey needs to be left out 2 hours before cooking. You can cook the potatoes and the stuffing while the bird is resting. You can put a colander over the boiling potatoes to steam veggies.

**Corn Bread Sausage Stuffing**

*Corn Bread Recipe:
1 cup milk
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Grease pan. Preheat oven to 400F. Mix milk, melted butter, egg. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake 20-25 minutes.

*For the stuffing:
16 T. Butter
1/2 head of celery, diced
1 Tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
salt and pepper
1 package of kielbasa, diced small
corn bread, crumbled
1/2 bunch parsley
1/4 cup madeira or sherry
garlic

Cook celery and rosemary with butter and garlic. Put in a large bowl. Cook the sausage for 10 minutes. Add to bowl. Add cornbread, parsley, and madeira and mix well. Butter a large baking pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350F. Can be prepared ahead of time and baked while the turkey is resting.

**Cranberry Sauce**

4 cups cranberries (1 lb)
2 cups water (use 1 1/2 for 12 oz. of cranberries)
2 cups sugar (1 1/2 for 12 oz. of cranberries)
orange rind + a splash of grand marnier

Heat water and sugar and boil for 5 minutes. Add washed cranberries (be sure to pick out the bad ones!) Boil 5 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring and watching carefully. It does tend to want to boil over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

**Turkey**

Need:
turkey, a couple of packages of cheese cloth, 1/2 sticks butter, 1/2 bottle of white wine like a Chardonnay, Red Wine or Madeira for the gravy.

Wash and Dry

Let stand 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 450F.
Salt the inside of the turkey.
Melt the butter in a small pan. Add wine and let cool a little. Put the cheese cloth into the butter/wine mixture and squeese it out a little. Spread over the turkey. Be sure to cover the legs too or they will burn. Put about 1 cup of water in the bottom of the Turkey pan. This will help keep the Turkey moist. ***AFTER 30 MINUTES reduce temperature to 350F. Baste the turkey every 25-30 minutes with butter/wine. Using cheesecloth helps to keep the turkey moist, and prevent it from burning. Boil the neckbone in a separate pan.

Cooking chart:
8-12 lbs will be about 3-4 hours
12-16 lbs will take about 4-5 hours
16-20 lbs will take about 5-5 1/2 hours
internal temperature of leg should be about 180F

**Gravy**
With turkey removed, Separate the fat of the juices in the pan. If you don't have a fat separator then pour it in a container and wait and skim off the top. Do not remove all the fat.

Place the roasting pan on the stove and deglaze using a red wine over medium-low heat. I like to use Madeira or Chianti. Mix 3 T. flour and some of the neckbone stock. Cook 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. I like to add rosemary (a couple of sprigs). Remove the sprigs when done. Cook about 10 minutes until thickened. Season to taste. If it is too salty you can add milk, cream or half and half.

Ben's Birthday

2009-11-16T07:02:00.003-06:00

Ben's Birthday is this week. He walks, climbs into chairs and yesterday he learned how to climb into his baby swing and swing himself. Unfortunately, he swung too hard and fell out. Just when we were going to get rid of that swing, he renewed interest. He only likes it if someone is there to sit with him. He added blueberries, and Trader Joe O's to the list of foods he likes but he still won't eat oatmeal. We are still working on finding breakfast items. He will eat eggs a little before he decides to spit them out. As for his present, he has so many toys from his siblings I have no idea what to get him. I will make a stop at the learning curve to check it out. Maybe I can find something we don't have there. I might just buy him a rocking chair. He might like it.

Devil's Lake

2009-11-10T10:27:00.009-06:00

This is Michael's favorite place. We used to go a lot before the kids were born. I have so many memories from drinking all our water and relying on fresh berries to spotting the then thought to be extinct Pileated woodpecker, to lots of picnics and vising the nearby waterfall and of course climbing up rocks. It's a fun trip. Nicholas and William had a lot of fun. Sophie preferred the swimming at the hotel. I enjoyed the memories and views.

Halloween

2009-11-01T06:52:00.013-06:00

Well we got about 40-50 kids. It was about 52 and cloudy. We went down the street and met a couple of new neighbors that I hadn't met before. Sophie got a lot of compliments on her dress. She got it from her great aunt from Spain. She had to wear an overcoat with her costume. Nicholas didn't want to wear his mask on Friday but wore it mostly on Halloween. He was a ninja (in case you couldn't tell). We carved pumpkins on Friday night and put them out on Saturday. If you put them out too early they will be eaten!! Michael bought a cool new tool, a battery powered pumpkin carver. It was hard for Sophie to control a little but made the carving easier. I hope the blade lasts.

Babies are so cute!

2009-10-28T06:19:00.002-05:00

Ben is talking more and more. He threw the plastic ball really hard and it hit a toy and made a big sound. He was surprised and said "Bad baby." He then threw the ball again and said "Bad baby". If only he knew what he was saying!

He is making car sounds. I can't videotape him because he knows and immediately stops to see and point to the camera.

When he sees something he wants to eat, he says mmmmmMMmmmm and points. Now I can tell when he is hungry, which essentially all the time. He loves to eat regular food over baby food. He loves bananas, yogurt, rice pudding, rice, chicken fries, mac and cheese, pasta, potatoes, carrots (cooked), hot dogs (i cut them but he doesn't eat a lot), eggs, cheese. He does still like green beans and sweet potato baby food. Cooked reen beans were kind of hard for him to eat.

Nicholas and the flu

2009-10-23T06:29:00.005-05:00

It started out as just a cough for 3 days and then after school, he said he was going to bed. He was out for several hours. When he got up 4 hours later, he had a fever of 101. I sponged him down and gave him some tylenol and a fruit chillers pop and he went back to bed till about 7 am. His fever felt better in the morning but returned at night. He had a lot of homework to make up. Today is a half a day with 2 tests in the am. No way. So far he is the only one in the family who got it. His teacher came by and told me that there were about 6-7 kids who were sick before him and 1 or 2 had confirmed h1n1 which is now just being called the flu. It's going around. They said in the news today that 70% of the flu is H1N1. I'm not sure if he has it but he does have classic flu symptoms. He's really congested with a cough but so far no more fever. He didn't want to miss school because of all he would have to make up. Poor Nico.

Sunday

2009-10-19T06:39:00.002-05:00

We now go to the library on Sunday since things are a little busier on Monday due to the school day, extra reading and such. We had a nice outing at Herrick lake with the cub scouts. The kids were excited by the leaves, jumping fish, ducks and geese. We are so lucky to live so close to a nice place to walk/bike. Sophie really wanted to fish. She went fishing for the first time with her friend at a sleepover. Her friend lives right by a pond. I had Ben in the carrier. He entertained lots of people. He was fast asleep with his head flopped down.
Michael returned last night. Ben was already asleep. He did a double take this morning. It is good to have him back.

Orange Marmalade Recipe

2009-10-17T10:23:00.007-05:00

You can make this stove top or in the microwave.

1 navel orange
1/2-3/4 cup sugar

Use the zest of the orange. Cut off the top and bottom of the orange. Slice off the rind. I put a cut in each segment to remove the seeds. Place orange in a food processor or blender. Microwaveable bowl should be extra big because the ingredients tend to bubble over so watch carefully. Add to a pot or microwaveable bowl with sugar. In the microwave, heat for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a pot, cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Put in a container in the fridge. It will get thicker as it cools. It is very easy to make and tastes amazing.

This week

2009-10-14T20:23:00.002-05:00

Well, Sophie had a playdate Sunday. Someone forgot to close the basement door and down fell baby. He got up right away and was happy. So, he's okay. I put ice on his head. No signs of any trauma. Sunday night, Mom came to the airport. No school on Monday. We were going to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. They were having a free day on Monday. I was so exhausted from those late nights/early mornings and Nicholas said he didn't want to go. Tuesday everyone was sick. We watched My Life in Ruins (cute/funny) and the proposal (very funny). I took Mom back to the airport. No fever just a cold. Less nose blowing so it was back to school for both kids. Today, I tested the extra tv/computer time reward. It worked, Nicholas finished his homework by 7pm. Thank goodness. Hopefully he can keep it up. I've been skyping with Michael (in Germany). I love it. He's been shopping for groceries at Aldi's. Funny. He returns on Sunday. Nicholas can't wait because I told him we'll celebrate his birthday after he returns.

Next week

2009-10-09T08:43:00.003-05:00

We'll I'm in for it next week. Tomorrow Michael leaves for Germany for about a week. Homework time has become more difficult with Nicholas. He is so detailed orientated, and careful that it takes him too long to do his homework. In fact, last night he told me that he'd rather do extra chores than do his homework. He begs me to take away his toys and computer time. It will be interesting next week when I don't have Michael's help. Nicholas is a very good child who doesn't respond to traditional discipline very well. I think that next week, I will try to have him earn extra tv/computer time. We start homework at 5. Tv/computer off by 7pm. I will extend tv/computer by 30 minutes if he completes homework by 7 (we usually eat at 6:30).

Sophie has needed less help with homework. She found what she needed online last night. I'm not really worried about her.

I am worried about having to take all the kids to soccer 2 weekends in a row. That is not fun on these cold days.

Biking to School

2009-10-05T17:43:00.002-05:00

The number of nice days are dwindling. With my new bike and used Burley, I decided to pick up the kids by bike. I packed their scooters and helmets. By the time we were at school, both boys were out with their heads together. It was very cute. Sophie made herself a playdate/studydate after school. She missed out of the fun ride home. Nicholas said the ride was too bumpy. He made it half way before he decided to run/jog home. Next time I may have him wear my old padded bike gloves. On the way home, we ran into Nicholas' and Sophie's old pre-school teacher. It was very lucky, because she told me they may be able to start up the 3's program after all by January. Originally, they told me they did not have enough kids to hold a class. William did not want to go before, I think he will be up for it by January. I'm excited.

In-Laws

2009-09-28T10:55:00.002-05:00

Our in-laws were here this past weekend. I was completely worn out. I managed to shop, clean off the most surfaces (including the washer/dryer), and do all the laundry before they came. We took them to Cagtigny. Michael's Mom really liked the museum and loved the mansion tour. Michael's Dad couldn't quite make it through the tour. It was a long one. I stayed with Nicholas. He climbed the tanks. We went through the booths of the Green Fest. It was very interesting. They had produce, beauty products, art made from recycled materials, and stands about conservation, and one stand had a outdoor oven that ran from solar energy. Very neat. Yes, the fuel efficient car was also there. We also shopped the local stores she loves to go to. We stopped at Whole Foods. I haven't been shopping there lately. It seems like some of their prices have come down a little bit. I may start shopping there from time to time. We got Sophie some Shrimp (buy one, get one free). It looked really good. Friday night, Michael and I got our night out alone. I got a new bike. We went to a concert. We saw The Greencards and Sara Watkins. I thought the Greencards were really good live. Sara Watkins is not really my kind of music and her live voice wasn't that good on certain songs. She's different. She sang Morrissey's tune, Tom Waits and one that reminded me of a U2 song. It was a good weekend but an exhausting one.

We improved our brownie recipe.

2009-09-23T08:49:00.001-05:00

We usually follow the Ghirardelli brownie recipe. We use Godiva dark truffle hot cocoa instead of regular cocoa. Last night, we added a hand full of Nestle's chocolate chips. It was sooo good. The next day, the chocolate chips did not taste hard. The next time you make brownies, add a hand full of chocolate chips. C'est si bon!

Today

2009-09-19T18:59:00.001-05:00

Ben has been standing longer. He knows how to go around the gate (thru the dining room, living room and foyer, up the stairs). I'm not sure what he wants up there but he really, really wants to go.

Sophie had a great soccer day. He team finally got it together. They are working great together. She can kick straight down the side lines without making it go out. She can kick the ball really high. She kicked it over a group of girls. Their team creamed the other team.

She pulled it off.

2009-09-17T18:31:00.002-05:00

I haven't seen a science book come home in at least 2 weeks. Today was the quiz. Other moms have said that the book came home last week and this week for their quizzes. Somehow, she still got an A. Usually we have to read the book a couple of times and study hard. I think this year is a lot different. Her 2 best friends are not in the same class. Maybe she is able to concentrate better.

Not on the challenge list this week

2009-09-15T16:29:00.002-05:00

Nicholas couldn't take the pre-test yesterday. He would have qualified for challenge words but can not take it this week. Sophie does not have as much homework as last year. It's weird. Homework seems to take a lot less time. It's strange.

I was ready to send back the Wii. I plugged it in to see if there was an error message on the main page. The first disk I put in, stayed in. Then it had an error, I put in another and it worked. It seems to be working now. Very strange. We'll see how long. We have warranty for another year.

Ear infection without fever

2009-09-14T16:06:00.003-05:00

According to our doctor, it is common for kids, when they get older to have an infection without fever. So it was off from school today for Nicholas, but back to school tomorrow. 10 days antibiotics with grape flavor. Sophie hates it with flavoring but luckily, Nicholas doesn't mind the taste. Ben must have gotten up 5-6 times the last couple of nights. I hope he isn't getting an ear infection too.

As far as camping went, they had a hike and came back for another round of smores. It was doughnuts, eggs, and starbucks for breakfast. It was a foggy morning. Some of the tents were wet (even the expensive ones). Go figure. Luckily, our tent stayed dry inside($20.00). He used the tent cover. It is a small tent. Just big enough for the 3 of them.

Smore Smores

2009-09-12T20:47:00.002-05:00

Tonight was cub scouts outdoor overnight camp. Sophie had soccer. We missed Nicholas getting his new neckerchief. He is now a wolf. Sophie wanted to camp out so I drove her there. Other scouts were playing with fire. Will got poked (not too bad) close to his eye with a stick that was smoldering. He was lucky, it was not too bad and it missed his eye. He didn't like the roasted marshmallows. He preferred them un-cooked. I think the whole reason Sophie wanted to come was to have smores. I had to eat Will's (It was really good.) He didn't like it. He did eat the chocolate separately. I am glad to be home and not camping. The mosquitos are terrible even after using bug spray. Not to mention all the wild animals around the area. I wouldn't want to camp out. Baby Ben gets up too much during the night anyway. I still am struggling to figure out how to feed him more during the day. He doesn't like oatmeal/cereals like the others. I would feed the others cereal at night and they would sleep so well. I can't wait to hear how things went.

Cold/Flu

2009-09-09T21:20:00.003-05:00

I seemed to have caught a cold or flu on Monday. Fever, achy, dry cough, dizzy, chills, severe congestion, hard to sleep. Kids seem like they haven't got it yet. I am taking Mucinex DM to help me sleep at night. It is hard to shake this fever. If it is the flu, the symptoms should subside today. It's just a waiting game.

Today

2009-09-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

We went to the beach in the Windy City close to Loyola University. The beach there is very clean, not over crowded, easy to park, and there is a playground right there. This year, we stocked up on beach toys before our trip. It was not windy enough for our kite. Sophie chose a spinner toy. Her toy was pretty neat. They all liked it. It was shiny, and spiral with ribbons at the end and swirled around in circles. We had a beach ball, lots of sand toys. Sophie loves collecting rocks. She found a lot. I'm sure she will be painting some of them to make pet rocks. Ben discovered sand. He was crawling around. He tried to eat the rocks but once he got a bunch of sand in his mouth he was unhappy with that idea. He was pretty good. He loved the shovel. We made a sand pyramid with a moat. It was destroyed by Nicholas first. Then they all jumped in. Ben even tried to climb to the top. The water had a lot of algae. When in the city, you must stop to have a delicious stuffed pizza at Bacino's. It was sooo good. Nicholas enjoyed the angel hair pasta and fried ravioli appetizer. We stopped at the playground. It was very neat and unusual. It was filled with these mazes of wooden castles that you could climb up, down and through. Lots of different areas in that playground. It was really neat. All in all a wonderful day.

Stratego

2009-09-05T21:52:00.003-05:00

We went on a Stratego hunt. Michael, after playing Nintendo's Clubhouse version, wanted to play with the family. We found it for $30.00 at Toys R' US. He didn't like the board. We found a nicer one at Target for $20.00. It's a classic board with a nice wooden case. We'll I've been playing the Nintendo version as well. I've never played the board game before. It was a lot of fun. Beating him 2 games didn't hurt. Nicholas also enjoyed playing.

Chocolate Goodies Recipe

2009-09-04T14:18:00.006-05:00

An easy treat to make is chocolate. Take semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/4-1/2 of the bag) melt in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and put in for another 30 seconds or until melted. I sometimes add another milk chocolate if I have a bar lying around.
We like to make nut clusters. Add almonds (or your favorite nuts) and drop onto a small plate or a cutting board with wax paper on top. Drop by the teaspoonful and refrigerate until hard. I have tried rice crispies cereal too as well as using the melted chocolate to dip fruit. I mean hello, chocolate covered strawberries. YUM! Our family loves it. Eat the chocolate fast, it will melt in your hands.

No more spelling tests in the 4th grade!

2009-09-03T21:50:00.004-05:00

Sophie is doing "words their way". You have to group words together instead. You are tested weekly. There is no real way to prepare for the words you get. It sounds really strange. It's new this year. She is generally good in spelling or at least the old style tests. I've heard good things about it. Kids are supposed to spell better in written words. You study words more closely. You look at patterns in words, sort by vowel sounds, prefixes, suffixes... I do realize that she was still misspelling words she had on her tests. Hopefully, it will make her an even better speller. She'll have lots of multiplication this year as well. For the first time, report cards have letters A,B,C,D. Lots to look forward to but at least no writing in journals for the books they read. That was a real joke last year. She is free to read in bed and not worry about writing the next day. Anyway, it sounds like this maybe the last year for Nicholas to have spelling tests as well. 3rd graders also follow "words their way". It should be a really interesting year.

Today

2009-09-02T21:30:00.002-05:00

I finally fit in my old clothes. I've been drinking ensure in the mornings. It seems to keep me fuller longer. Keeping busy doesn't hurt either. I'm snacking on pistachio nuts. So far, so good.

Sophie had soccer practice. I had parent-teacher orientation and another tomorrow. I like Nicholas' teacher. She seems like she really likes teaching from the way she was talking about it. Next week he will get challenge words, but the words didn't seem that much harder. We'll see how other challenge words will be in the weeks to come. He only had 1 wrong in the pre=test. Last year was a joke. He never had to study. The words were way too easy. I think this year might be a repeat even with challenge words. It makes it easier for me. Homework has been going well. So far not too much but it's only the beginning.

Hypothyroidism

2009-09-01T18:11:00.002-05:00

I recently suspected my Dad had Hypothyroid disease. My Grandma was also diagnosed with it. He had all the symptoms. I just wanted to talk about the disease and symptoms.

Your levels of the thyroid hormone decrease because your thyroid is not able to produce enough hormone. Symptoms can be, feeling weak or tired or depressed, it can raise your cholesterol, dry skin, brittle nails, not being able to concentrate or think clearly, not being able to stand the cold, heavy or irregular periods, constipation.

It can be detected by a blood test.

Dishwasher

2009-08-31T17:20:00.002-05:00

Well, Michael figured it out. Our panel was mis-labeled. So it is now working. Now our Wii is out of commission. Luckily, we have extended warranty. Hopefully, that will go smoothly too.

Triops

2009-08-30T18:05:00.003-05:00

The triops are finally big enough to see and take a photo. They are eating their food. Sophie likes them. She says the oldest triop is hers. She has not named any yet.

1st day of soccer

2009-08-29T17:45:00.002-05:00

Sophie started fall outdoor soccer today. We didn't have practice before today. The coach couldn't do an early soccer practice and the second week rained. No practice and we were creamed. Some girls didn't stay behind to help the goalie protect the goal. It was pretty bad today, but hopefully, with practice they will learn to work together better.

Homework Trouble Already?

2009-08-28T07:28:00.002-05:00

Sophie hates correcting mistakes. She must have been tired or something, she already started crying. Nicholas' homework was sooooo easy. Today was his test. He got them all right on his pre-test. I got to get her up soon so she can correct it. We circle mistakes so the teacher knows we have corrected it with her. I let her fix her own mistakes.

By the way, new count on the triops-9. (Lots of tiny moving white dots.) The oldest is a tiny white oblong blob.

The triops hatched

2009-08-27T07:51:00.005-05:00

After several days, the triops have hatched. I found 2 so far. They are really hard to see. We didn't think they would hatch because Will had spilled almost the whole container. I refilled it. They are very small and white. Even in the picture it is hard to see but they are there.

Dishwasher trouble again

2009-08-26T09:38:00.003-05:00

I got the part, the repairman found that there was no electricity to the dishwasher. He said that whomever installed the dishwasher (which I think was Sears) put the wrong with the wrong size cap on the wires which caused them to loosen, cross and burn. The cap was melted and charred. I was lucky there wasn't a house fire. He asked us to get an electrician to look. He can not finish installing the part until then. What can you do?

First day of school

2009-08-25T09:46:00.008-05:00

We made it on time. They were both showered, ate breakfast and ready to go somehow. Sophie looked good. Nicholas looked like he was in a fight. Baby Ben poked him in the eye last night. He told me this morning but I didn't realize how bad it was swollen until he got in the car. He was reading a book, and kept going upstairs until the end.

Puberty/The Talk

2009-08-24T17:29:00.002-05:00

This summer I got a book for Sophie and just in time too. Her friends have a book already. We checked out The Period Book by Karen Gravelle. I realized she is starting to have changes in her body. More hair, on her legs, she is a lot taller, and her shoe size has change more than usual. She is already shaving and we got her deodorant with antiperspirant. She now has a bra. She can fit into young miss size. She is all into fashion. She's growing up. She now finally knows that the baby doesn't come out of the belly button! I have a year or so until I find the book for boys.

Sophie Returns

2009-08-23T06:44:00.003-05:00

Sophie returns today. Nicholas does miss her but...he enjoys being able to go into her room without her yelling, playing with Baby Ben without her getting jealous and pushing him away, playing with her toys... Tonight will be movie night. We are going to watch 17 again. Sophie will probably like it because of Zac Efron. She loves High School musical and Hairspray. I didn't even recognize him in Hairspray. We're still watching Battlestar Galactica series. We're now on season 4. They have weird seasons like 2.5, 4.5 for some reason. The last movie I saw was Bride Wars. I got it for Michael's Mom. I thought it would be more of a comedy but it wasn't. It was a story of 2 friends. We also got her a dvd from the library. They are now charging for adult movies-$1.00. I was wondering why they had so many. I guess all libraries are not doing so well. In Chicago, they had to close their libraries on Mondays. Luckily ours have not reduced days yet.

Thinking ahead

2009-08-22T21:26:00.003-05:00

I'm planning early this year. Last year, I didn't plan for school pictures until the week before. This year, I will plan early. It is usually the furthest thing on my mind, along with buying new clothes for school. Sophie grows into her new size around December every year. I buy them both clothes year round instead of right before school. They did all get new shoes. Sophie has way too many as usual. 8 pairs of shoes, + sandals + flip flops. She's ready. I packed their backpacks and they are ready to go. I'm excited. Tomorrow we will find a lot of good reading books since they both will have to read every night.

Sophie's Departure

2009-08-21T19:01:00.004-05:00

Sophie went camping with the girl scouts. Each time she goes, I can really see how much Nicholas misses her. He asked if she was able to talk to her on the phone. He had something he wanted to tell her. She is not able to talk on the phone. No tv, computerized games, or cell phones allowed. She is looking forward to nature. Last time she saw a hawk, deer, snake, lots of wildlife and flowers. For me it is less fighting, less dishes, a lot quieter at least for a few days. She was really mad at me today. I wouldn't let her bring the shorts (they asked for long jeans), nail polish (didn't want her to spill, or for it to break in the bag which was already stuffed to the brim). I added extra socks and underwear-a very motherly thing to do.

Our dishwasher may be part of the re-call. They are sending the part. Then someone will install it and hopefully, it will work again. Not for a couple of weeks and that is a lot of dishes. You don't really realize how much you are using, until you have to do them by hand. Thank goodness school starts next week. There will be a lot less to wash.

Earrings

2009-08-20T18:23:00.002-05:00

Sophie got her ears pierced in July. She wasn't able to take them out until yesterday. The earrings were hard to slide out and the ends were too sharp/pointy. Sophie has a no pain tolerance. Every slight movement sent her hollering. I have no idea how she got them out. She had a worse time putting the new ones in. One side was rather easy, the other was more difficult. She didn't want me to touch it. We tried putting ice to dull the pain, cloves (good for toothaces/pain + it's a natural antiseptic), Bactine, and finally after a whole day of trying, almost giving up, and fretting we put Neosporin on the earring back and voila, she danced around. She did it. If you have find yourself with the same problem, Neosporin.

There is always something braking...

2009-08-19T11:46:00.001-05:00

The dish washer was running and then it wasn't. It's a Bosch. It shouldn't break. It's not that old! The old debate, buy a new one or pay about the same in repair costs. In the last house, we called Sears. We had a Bosch there too. They came and couldn't figure it out or fix it. I paid them. My husband tested it, pulled it out and found the plug was being smashed by the dishwasher itself!!! I feel like calling the repairman can be a bad thing. We'll see. I had found reliable workers from mamasource-movers, landscapers, electrician. The last place that fixed our washer told me that most places won't touch the European models anyway. Hopefully, it is something easy to fix.

kebab recipe

2009-08-18T11:23:00.004-05:00

koobideh- (chicken kebab)

I marinated the chicken breast (cubed) with 3 lemons, saffron, salt and garlic for 1 day. I then added enough yogurt to cover (1cup).

for beef sirloin kebab-
I cubed it and marinated it with buttermilk and yogurt, salt, garlic for at least 2 days. I've used yogurt alone but the meat was not as tender as with the buttermilk.

for veggies-
I dip cut veggies in extra virgin olive oil. My favorites are yellow squash, zucchini, different colored peppers, tomatoes. You can use eggplant and onions too. Cook it for 10 minutes per side.

For all, I put on skewers and broiled the meat for about 10 minutes and then rotated it to the other side.

Serve with rice.

New happenings

2009-08-16T11:41:00.003-05:00

My husband came back last night. It is a relief to have him back. I'll have to get used to relying on him again. It won't be hard.

He got me hooked on the Battlestar Galatica new tv series. We are on season 3.

The in-laws are still here but leave tomorrow. My parents are coming to visit before the kids go back to school. It'll be a full house again but I like it that way. Sophie starts soccer next week. She did really well on the co-ed team last year which is really a joke because there were no other girls on her team. She did really well but didn't want to be with the guys. We'll see what happens. She is a bit of a social butterfly. She gabs too much on the girls team. School is starting in a little over a week and so will girl/boy scouts. I think I am ready. Nicholas' teacher is supposed to give a lot of homework. Homework is very easy for him but he still hates doing it. I hope everything will go well. I am almost done with school supplies. I should have bought it from Carlson's like last year rather than going from store to store to look for the right supplies. Never again will I make that mistake again.

Ben stood by himself for a few seconds. He is getting a new top tooth. He'll be walking early. Got to plan for the day. We may go to Cantigny. The gardens should be really nice now.

fun wii games for kids

2009-08-15T18:47:00.003-05:00

Our kids like playing Cooking Mama. My daughter loves wii sing it. We recently had a wii sing it party. The girls dress up with sunglasses, boas, makeup and had a blast singing. Songs are mostly Disney songs. Wii music is very good too. They loved making videos and designing their own covers, and conducting. Up (from the movie) was too hard for my almost 8 and 9 year old and they lost interest. Animal Crossing was very addictive and fun. You get to make up a city, get a job, fish, find artifacts, collect shells, earn money, make your own clothes, furnish your house. My daughter also liked Bolt. Our kids like to wii play. It has shooting game, tanks, ping-pong, fishing, laser hockey, billiards (not too fun), and a few others. They really liked find mii in wii play. You have to search for different characters in a crowd in a given time. Find the odd mii out in that game is where you have to find someone who is doing something different from the rest of the crowd. It was not really apparent. I had to do an internet search to figure that out. I use the wii fit from time to time. They have some cute games like hula hoop and penguin balance game, running, aerobic step class, yoga to name a few. That's almost all we tried. I can add more as we try more.

fun games for the mind

2009-08-14T07:35:00.002-05:00

I enjoy set, and quiddler. Set is a card game with different shapes with different shadings and different colors and symbols on them. The goal is to find matches with all the same or all different number, colors, shapes, or shadings. You just have to try it. Quiddler is a card game filled with letters. You have to make words. You get the most points for using longer words (max. 8 letters in the online game or max. 30 points). It is very hard to get into the top 10 but I made it there a few times in quiddler.

Here is a cool site for set games to play online:
http://www.setgame.com/set/index.html

This is a good site for sudoku fans. You can make pencil marks and select levels of difficulty.
http://www.websudoku.com/

Mexican Wedding Cake or Russian Tea Cake Recipe-A family favorite

2009-08-13T16:43:00.002-05:00

This recipe is not for people on a diet.

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup confectioner sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almond meal (you can finely grind almonds in the food processor or use the almond meal from Trader Joe's)

1/2 cup confectioners sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with parchment (less likely to burn). Cream butter, sugar and extracts. Add flour, salt. Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Coat with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. These are so easy to make. Enjoy.

Today

2009-08-13T02:36:00.004-05:00

It was another laundry day. I'm trying to get it out of the way because the in-laws are coming. They are staying in the multipurpose room (laundry, office, guestroom). My mother in-law is a wonderful person. She treats me like her daughter rather than an in-law. I'm very lucky. We had a nice picnic in a nice shady spot with the picnic blanket. The kids ran around. No ants but just one bee. Who knew bees liked tacos? My Mom sent me a Nintendo DSi. Sophie has always wanted one. She loves it but she is in no way responsible enough to have one. She lost her cell phone and tends to leave things on the floor. I'll let her play with it a little. She likes to take pictures and make it look funny. I have the club house games. It has lots of board games, card games and bowling, pool... It's fun.

So Far So Good

2009-08-11T16:40:00.004-05:00

I'm surviving my husband's absence. Thank goodness for ims. I've been able to chat with him online for free. We went to the library since I couldn't make it yesterday. We met Michael for lunch before he went. I took the kids for ice cream. We love to watch the trains go by. The older kids are helping a little. William is still being William. He's into everything at every glance. Now I just have to find lots of activities to keep them busy while getting ready for the grandparents to visit. Sophie has been reading aloud to us almost every night. I think her reading has really improved.

Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea (Asteraceae)

2009-08-10T06:09:00.009-05:00

I've had these flowers in my old and new house. I love them and so do the butterflies, bees, and birds (post season will eat the seeds), even hummingbirds . It is a great bloomer (mid-summer/fall). It is drought resistant and gets 4-6 ft. tall. Full sun to part shade. I like the purple variety but they also come in pink, magenta, lavender and white, orange, yellow. It is supposed to have great medicinal qualities including treating mosquito bites to rattlesnake bites and even tooth aches. Some believe it helps sore throats/colds. Roots and flower tops can be made into tea. Roots should be harvested in the fall after flowers have gone to seed (only cut a portion so the plant will still survive). Wash and dry roots and lay on a screen to dry. Flowers should be harvested just after the flowers start to open. Dried herb will last 1 year.

Purple Coneflowers are great addition to any garden. I have never tried the tea.

Solution to Will's Wall Art

2009-08-09T08:26:00.002-05:00

We went to IKEA and bought an easel. We are using the chalkboard rather than the paper/dry erase side. He loves it. He figured out how to draw the letter t, l, n and z. He already knew the letter 0. His favorite thing to draw is wiggly worms. He kept coming into the family room to draw, every few minutes. He knows how to erase his works. So far, so good. I guess it's good to let his artistic side out.

Do not underestimate babies.

2009-08-08T18:12:00.005-05:00

Being a mother of four, I have learned to never underestimate babies. They are very smart. Sophia was counting to 18 before she was 2. Nicholas spoke his first sentence at 9 months. William said "one, two" at a very early age and could read Costco and Jewel Osco at the age of 2 years. One of Ben's first words was brother. He also says, up down, out, I want that. He still surprises me. Just today, Ben shook his head no when I tried to feed him his food. I knew he didn't really like it. I tried again to feed him and he said, "no". I believe babies understand and can try to communicate in verbal and non-verbal ways. We just have to listen to them. It is never too early to start teaching them. Ben is very anxious to learn. He is pointing to everything and wants me to tell him the name for everything. Babies are very smart. Do not underestimate them.

Favorite Books for 1-4th graders

2009-08-07T16:48:00.004-05:00

Remember Mad Libs? My kids love them. It really helps them learn the parts of a sentence. My son started Mad Libs in first grade. It is great to do at parties also

My son also likes the Dumb Bunnies series, Junie B. Jones series, There Was on Old Lady...series, Tacky the Penguin series, Arthur books, Curious George and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books and of course Sponge Bob, Peanuts, Diary of a Fly series, Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys.

My fourth grader likes craft books, all the fairy series by Daisy Meadows, Goosebumbs, A-Z mysteries, My Sister the Vampire series, Judy Bloom books, and Diary of a Whimpy Kid, Daring Book for Girls We are now reading Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events.

My favorite cleaners

2009-08-06T07:42:00.004-05:00

Rug stains-I use Resolve but when I'm out I use vinegar + water it works but stinks a little. I sometimes follow with arm and hammer odor eliminator-use sparingly, it's strong.

Cleaning the stove and sink and black crusted pans- I use Bar Keepers Friend. It really takes the char off when used with a scouring pad.

Surface-I like the old stand by, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding's favorite, Windex. Wood-Pledge

Bathroom-CLR or Clorox. Sinks and Tub-I use Scrubbing Bubbles Foam. Bowl-Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Floors-I love Swiffer because it's easy and fun, even my kids love it. They sing, "Don't You Want Me Baby".

What Works for you?

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

2009-08-05T09:20:00.008-05:00

These are really good as big cookies-use a large cookie scooper, medium works too.

1 cup butter +3 cups flour
1 cup sugar +1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs +1 package chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla +1 cup of your favorite nuts
1/4 t. salt

Cream butter and sugars together. Add vanilla and egg yolks. Add baking soda, 1/4 t. salt. Add flour and make a well in the center. Add buttermilk to the well and mix well. Add chocolate chips and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to form peaks. Fold in egg whites. Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes for the larger cookies.

Life

2009-08-04T09:42:00.003-05:00

William is an artist. When we first moved in 2 years ago, he was a scribbler with pencil. I had all the pencils put away since then. He hasn't be into them until now. He knows where to find all the stashes. He has put his signature on all levels, all materials, pen, pencil, crayon and marker. Thank goodness for magic eraser, but the pen didn't come all the way out. Putting up the baby gate has made the levels less accessible to monitor all the kids, all the time. Will's new thing, is playing with water and lemonade. Last night he got up from bed, poured all the lemonade into 3 cups and left it on the stool and left it out all night! Needless to say, I think we will be making the country time one cup at a time from now on. Ben is a climber. He loves to climb the stairs, up on the small bookshelf to reach the dvd player. He loves buttons. The kids love their new playset out back but for some reason not so much during the day, but before or after dinner. I guess their lives are so busy during the day. Sophie likes to play on the computer. She has her own private journal. She started knitting. She wants her own website. We started one but didn't like the website. We will be searching for a new one. She loved the girl scout weekend horseback riding trip and wants to ride more. We'll see. Nicholas loves his trains but is really into Spongebob, computers and reading (especially if it's a Spongebob book), and riding his bike. They all love their wii and can't wait for their Blockbuster coupons for a wii game. Hard to believe school starts on the 25th. We are still waiting to see which teacher they got. Swimming-Sophie got her feet off the bottom. I think she'll finally be swimming next year. This is the first year she really likes it. Life is good, life is full of excitement. Just after I wrote that, I found out Michael, has to go to Germany next week on business. Another chance to visit the relatives, maybe. That's trip #5 to Europe. Lucky Ducky.

Routines

2009-08-04T09:17:00.001-05:00

I am starting a new blog. Hopefully, it will at least help remember what day it is. We tend to fall under the same routines. Computer-checking emails, Sitting William on the pot, Breakfast, news, shopping, taking to and from activities, working through naps, laundry, and cleaning up after the mess you just cleaned up a minute ago (especially in the kitchen), lunch and dinner, diapers, diapers, diapers... Mondays are library days for us and grocery shopping because when you are already out it makes sense to get it done all in 1 day. In this economy, I try not to go shopping as much. I am one of those Moms who buy in bulk and even from the regular grocery store. That makes it a little easier. Less gas to and from the store. The less often you visit those stores, the less chance you will spend on extras (niceties) or if you are with the kids, the less begging for new small toy or candy.