Potato Wedge Casserole

Our church at one time had a play group for for mothers and their young children once a month.  When I was able to, I would attend the play group.  Usually, one person hosted the play group, so that person was in charge of the main dish for lunch and the table service and the rest of us were asked to bring sides.  One time at play group, the woman who hosted it made Tater Tot Casserole.  It was something I had never even heard of let alone tried before.  I soon came to find out that Tater Tot Casserole is a pretty common recipe (at least in the Mennonite circle).  It seemed as though everybody but me had a recipe for it.

Now, Tater Tot Casserole is good, but that's it...just good.  The crispy tater tots on top and the Velveeta make it yummy and everything, but I felt like there was something better out there.  One thing that my family loves are seasoned fries and seasoned potato wedges.  I had often thought of using them on the casserole instead of the tater tots but never got around to it.  Then one day, as I was planning my month of meals, I decided to try it.  But I wasn't just going to stop there...I was going to make an entirely different casserole.  In my opinion (and Anthony's for that matter), this casserole will make you forget the day you ever heard of Tater Tot Casserole.

Here's what you need to make it:
1 bag frozen seasoned potato wedges or seasoned fries, thawed
1 can nacho cheese sauce (you can vary the heat in the recipe by buying mild, medium, or hot)
1 can corn
1.5 - 2 lbs. ground beef, cooked and drained.
Salt and Pepper

Here's how you make it:
1.  Press beef into the bottom of a 9x13in baking dish.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
2.  Spread nacho cheese sauce over top of the beef followed by the corn.
3.  Top casserole with thawed potato wedges / fries, using enough to cover the entire dish.
4.  Bake at 250 degrees for 11/2 hours.

View Printable Recipe

If you are using potato wedges, you definitely need to thaw them in order for them to cook through, but if you are using fries, this step wouldn't be necessary.

Here is the recipe for Tater Tot Casserole in case you are interested in trying this one too! 
View Printable Recipe

Hope I have inspired you to try something new!

Sincerely,
The Adventurous Cook (umm...maybe that's a bit of a stretch)

Guilty or Not Guilty...That Is The Question

I have a serious confession to make.  Some of you may be blown away by this, in complete disbelief, and think I am a terrible person for this confession, but let me say up front that it is safe to assume on my part that you don't have children if that's what you think of me.  Here it goes:  I don't enjoy every minute I spend with my children.  There. I said it. And I feel much better for having said it.

The last couple of months have been exhausting and the last few weeks with two sick kids have been particularly treacherous.  I found myself spending most of the day counting the minutes until bedtime.  But a funny thing would happen, once bedtime rolled around, and I sat down in the rocking chair with my daughter to rock her to sleep, I suddenly would realize that it was the first quality moment all day that I really enjoyed with her.  As I would sit in the rocking chair, breathing in her baby smell, feeling her warm breath against my cheek, stroking her fine, soft hair, I would feel so incredibly guilty.  I would feel guilty that I wished my entire day with them away and didn't enjoy every single second I spent with them.  What's worse is I had to relive the exact same feeling an hour later when my son went to bed.

If you are a mother of young children, I'm sure you've been told more than a few times or read more than a few times that you should be sure to enjoy every minute with them because it goes by so fast.  I know somebody who has been known to say, "I enjoy every minute with my children, even being up with them in the middle of the night."  I'm sorry, I just don't buy that.  I just don't see how it is possible to enjoy every minute with your kids, especially the minutes you spend with them in the middle of the night.  I'm not ashamed to say that I would rather be sleeping. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love my kids, and I love being a parent.  But I can't honestly say that I enjoyed spending two weeks with my kids where they cried nonstop because they were miserable.  I can't say that I enjoy the temper tantrums my daughter throws the instant she doesn't get something she wants or the stretches of time where my son suddenly acts as though God didn't give him ears and therefore he doesn't need to listen. 

I scrapbook as a hobby.  Looking back at the scrapbooks I have made, I am so glad that I took the time to do it.  But I wouldn't dare sit here and tell you that I enjoyed every single minute of scrapbooking.  It can be time consuming, tedious, and frustrating, but the end result is worth it.  Clearly I love my husband, but I wouldn't dare tell you that I have enjoyed every single second of everyday that I have spent with him.  I doubt any married person would say that.  So why are you considered a terrible parent if you don't "enjoy every minute" with your kids?

It's a lot of pressure being told to enjoy every minute with your kids as a new parent, because when you fail to do this (which will most certainly happen) you will feel guilty.  You will feel like you are a failure or like you aren't doing something right.  I should know, I have been there.  Anthony would tell me (as he does often) that I put by far to much pressure on myself.  My response to that would be, "but every one says 'enjoy every minute.  Make very minute memorable.'  If I don't do that, I'm a failure."  But let's get real. Let's stop sugar coating things here. Let's not be afraid to admit that parenting is hard, harder than most of us probably imagined. Let's not be afraid to admit that we don't enjoy every second of everyday with our kids.  And let me be the first to say that it's OK to feel that way.  Once you tell yourself that, you will instantly feel better.

Some of you will probably walk away from reading this and think I'm terrible.  That I'm being really negative.  That maybe I shouldn't be raising children at all.  I have to admit that sometimes I feel like I can hardly handle the two I have, so why do I want another one?  But I also remind myself that this job is really hard.  Not every moment is going to be enjoyable.  However, everyday holds those special moments, those moments that seem to make time stand still, that make parenting so worth it.  Those are the moments captured by pictures or video that I look back at from time to time and cherish.  Those are the moments that I cling to longingly, that make me want another baby.  Those are the moments that I DO enjoy with my kids.

I was going through a really rough time during the two weeks my kids were sick.  I wasn't doing much "enjoying".  I mostly just felt guilty.  And then a friend sent me this article, Don't Carpe Diem.  It echoed exactly what I had been feeling and thinking.  It made me feel validated.  It made me feel normal.  Most importantly, it helped me let go of my guilt.  So if you need a boost, go ahead and read the article.  It is a bit lengthy, but it is a really great article and so worth the time if you are feeling like I felt.

Sincerely,
The (Not So) Guilty Mom

Solution To: The Water Can-Can

Here was the original problem:

How can the water in a full 24-quart can be divided into three equal amounts using the 24-quart can and three unmarked cans whose capacities are 5, 11, and 13 quarts?

This problem actually has multiple solutions.  In other words, there is no right way to solve it.  It is more trial and error, with some strategic thinking.  You simply mover water from can to can until you get the desired result.  Here is what a possible solution would look like:

Congrats to anyone who solved it!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak



The Water Can-Can

Here is the problem of the week:

How can the water in a full 24-quart can be divided into three equal amounts using the 24-quart can and three unmarked cans whose capacities are 5, 11, and 13 quarts?

Answer will be posted Sunday.  Good luck and enjoy!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

No. Nope. Huh-uh. No Siree Bobby. Not Gonna Happen. Never Ever.

My daughter has gained some new found freedom, the freedom of expression.  To be more specific, she has figured out how to say no.  Okay, she doesn't so much say it as she does shake her head from side to side.  Never-the-less, she "says" no, and she is aware that she can "say" no, and is very, VERY proud that she can "say" no.

My daughter uses her new ability often, even to things that I am certain she wants.  She is proud of her new ability, and does it just because she can.  Try to feed her the butter toast for breakfast that I know she loves, she shakes he head no.  Try to feed her the bottle of milk she needs to drink, she clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head no.  Try to brush her teeth, she shakes her head no.  Try to change her diaper, she shakes her head no.  I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

As she shakes her head no, I can just hear her own internal dialogue: No. Nope. Huh-uh. No Siree Bobby. Not Gonna Happen. Never Ever.  It is easy to get frustrated.  I often find myself thinking: Dear, I realize that you don't want to brush your teeth, but this is not something you get to say no to.  This is not a negotiation.  So would you please just open your stinkin' mouth so I can brush your teeth and put you to bed and then go pass out on the couch.  Thank you! 

But, if you ever saw her do it, you would see that she does it with the biggest, proudest, orneriest smile you have ever seen.  And then I think to myself, how can something so annoying be so cute?

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Treading Water

The past two months have just been utterly crazy for us.  Planning for, preparing for, and going on vacation, the holidays and all that go with it, and trying to accomplish some extra tasks around the house has left us feeling completely exhausted.  Plus, my daughter hadn't been sleeping well the past couple of weeks.  She's been up quite a lot a night lately.  We found out at her one year well visit that the likely culprit is the two molars she has coming in unexpectedly.  To top it all off, the kids have been sick all week.  I AM SO WORN OUT!!!!

Tonight at dinner, both the kids had finished their dinner so we excused them both.  This gave Anthony and I some rare quiet time during dinner.  I looked at him and asked sarcastically, "So how's life?".  He looks up at me with a smile on his face and says, "I'm just trying to stay afloat."  And that's when I started laughing uncontrollably.  Mostly because I'm completely exhausted (and if you know me, you know that when that happens I get the "giggles") but also because it was funny but SO true.  He hit the nail on the head.

I know everyone tells me that someday I am going to miss all of this.  I am going to miss exactly how things are right now.  I'm going to miss being young and have small children.  I'm sure that they are right.  But I am convinced that it won't happen until I'm old, and lonely, and my brain is so far gone that I can't possibly remember how exhausting it all was.

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Solution To: Pattern, Pattern, Where For Art Thou Pattern: Second Edition

Here was the original problem:

Here the letters A through H have been classified with the digits 1, 3, and 5. Discover the pattern and classify the rest of the letters in the alphabet. Be sure to state what the pattern is along with your answer.

1: A E F H

3: C           

5: B D G   

Here is the answer:

The pattern is that the 1 is made up of all straight lines, so any letter that is also made up of all straight lines falls into this category.  The 3 is made up of all curved lines (I know, technically if it's a curve it's not a line).  And so letters following that pattern end up there.  Lastly, the 5 is made up of both straight and curved lines.  Letters following that pattern belong in that group.

So here is what your answer would look like:

1:  A E F H I K L M N T V W X Y Z

3:  C J O S U                                       

5:  B D G P Q R                                  

Obviously, some of the letters could be somewhat subjective.  I put J with the 3 because I, like most people, don't put the straight line across the top of it, but if you do, then you probably placed it in with the 5.

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Pattern, Pattern, Where For Art Thou Pattern: 2nd Edition

Here is your much anticipated problem of the week.

Here the letters A through H have been classified with the digits 1, 3, and 5.  Discover the pattern and classify the rest of the letters in the alphabet.  Be sure to state what the pattern is along with your answer.

1:  A  E  F  H

3:  C           

5:  B  D  G 

 

Good Luck and Enjoy!  Answer will be posted Sunday!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Manicotti (or Stuffed Shells)

Growing up my grandma (or Granny as we call her) used to make Manicotti a lot when we would come over to eat.  It was always one of my favorite things.  So I was super excited when I came across this recipe in a magazine a few years back.  I tried it and fell in love with it.  This is some seriously satisfying comfort food!

Before I give you the recipe and tell you how to make it, you need to make a decision before you get started.  Do you want to make Manicotti, which is made with manicotti shells (a long tube shaped pasta) or do you want to make stuffed shells (which uses jumbo shells)?  They are essentially the same except for the type of pasta you use in the dish.  I used to always make Manicotti until one time I couldn't find the manicotti shells and settled for the stuffed shells.  Since then, I have never gone back to the Manicotti.

If I don't tell you why and you end up using the manicotti shells, you may end up cursing the ground that I walk on!  With the manicotti shells, you have to put your filling into a bag (I used a plastic baggie with the tip cut off) and pipe the cheese mixture into the pasta.  It doesn't sound too hard until your hand starts cramping up on you on the 3rd one and you still have 12 more to go.  With the stuffed shells, you can merely use a spoon to scoop up some of the cheese mixture, open up the shell with your hand, and place the mixture inside.  Quicker, easier, and less painful for your hand.  So the choice is yours.  But I'm telling you, you have been warned.

Here's what you need to make it:
2 cups spaghetti sauce (We use Ragu Garden Combination for this dish.  So Good!  Just saying...)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 ricotta cheese (We use the fat free version.)
1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Basil Pesto Sauce  (This can be found in the pasta aisle by all the spaghetti sauce.)
Manicotti Shells or Jumbo Shells, cooked and rinsed in cold water

Here's how you make it:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread 3/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce on bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish.  Mix egg, cheeses, and pesto sauce until well blended.  Fill shells with cheese mixture.

2.  Once filled, place shells in baking dish.  Pour remaining 1 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce over manicotti.  Cover with foil.

3.  Bake 40 minutes or until heated through.

Easy, Peezy, Lemon Squeezy!

View Printable Recipe.

I just want to make a note about the spaghetti sauce.  The recipe calls for 2 cups.  When I first made the recipe I just bought a standard size jar of spaghetti sauce and used that but we like sauce and felt that there just wasn't enough.  So now I use 2 jars when I make this.  It may be something you have to experiment with to figure out what your family likes best.

Oh, and the pesto is technically optional, but if you didn't use it your filling would be pretty bland, and well, I'm just not a bland kind of gal.

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

It's My Party And I'll Meow If I Want To

My daughter's birthday was 2 weeks ago now.  (Wow, it's been that long already?)  I know it's a bit late to be blogging about, but better late than never, that's what I always say.  Besides, I have some seriously adorable stuff to share with you.  (I know, I'm bias, but I think you just might agree!)

As we did with my son's first birthday, we just invited immediate family (grandparents, aunts, and uncles) over for the party.  Let's face it, in our tiny house, fitting that many people in was challenging enough.  I almost considered having two parties, one for each side of the family.  But then one of our family's would have gotten a half-eaten Bunny cake so...

We did then usual party thing.  Ate some food, opened some gifts, sang Happy Birthday, and ate some cake.  Nothing fancy or elaborate.  Opening the gifts went as it usually does for a 1 year old.  Slow to unwrap things and looks at things like, "OK, so what is it anyway?  Oh...I'm supposed to be excited!?!". 

One funny moment was when my daughter opened a gift from her Aunt that contained clothes.  They were so cute, and I very much appreciated the clothes.  You would think that clothing would garner little reaction from a 1 year old.  Usually when they open things, they could care less what is inside.  They are usually more interested in the wrapping paper.  So I helped my daughter open the gift, and held the clothes up for her to see.  She then takes them from my hands and throws each piece on the floor.  Huh?  That's what I would expect from a 16 year old, not a 1 year old.  :)

The other moment that was super cute was when she opened a book that Anthony and I bought for her.  It is a book that talks about 10 farm animals and it has animal sounds with the book.  Watch as she (unexpectedly) tries to meow like the cat and honk like the goose.

Another great moment from the party was my daughter digging in to her birthday cake.  She wasn't shy at all.  She just dug right in!

Here's what her cake looked like.

I think it's safe to say she really enjoyed her cake!

If only I were a kid again so I could devour a piece of cake with all the joy that she did and none of the guilt!   :)   You know what they say...you can't have your cake and eat it too, unless you want to be overweight.  What?  That's not how the saying goes?  Well it should be.

Sincerely,

The-M-O-M

You Know You Are A Mother When...

It's Saturday night.  I'm getting my son dressed after his bath when I realize that he has no clean underwear, white t-shirts, or socks to wear to church the next morning.  (Bummer)  Realizing this at 8 p.m. means I will most certainly be spending a good chunk of my evening doing laundry (Double Bummer).

Both the kids are in bed.  I go down to the laundry room and begin the long, laborious task of checking every article of clothing for stains.  I loathe this process.  Rounding up all their clothes, checking them all for stains, treating the ones that need it, etc.  Ugghhhh....  Totally exhausted just thinking about it.  The whole process for a typical load of the kids clothes (and a typical load for me is one in which I have so much clothing packed into the washer that I'm not sure the door will close.  Yes, I know it's not good for the washer and it means the clothes likely don't get as clean as they should...but I'm not doing more loads than I have too!).  Where was I?  O yeah!  A typical load of the kids clothing would usually take me about 45 minutes to go through and treat.

So I'm checking their clothing.  The washer is half full, still no items needing attention.  The washer is three quarters full, still no items needing attention.  I start to get really excited.  Could this really be happening?  I get down to last few pieces to be gone through and find a tiny white sweater covered in who knows what!  (Bummer)  But then I think, I have gone through a load of laundry so huge the clothing is falling out of the washer and I only have 1 thing that needs treated!  (SCORE!)  What would have taken me 45 minutes has now taken me 15.

I was genuinely excited by this.  And then I thought, I am only 25.  I am married, have 2 kids, and am sitting at home on Saturday night getting excited over laundry.  That's when it hits me....I am a MOTHER.  These are the things we get excited about.  Stain free laundry, a 5 minute uninterrupted hot shower, a (relatively) quiet dinner,  the opportunity to make dinner in peace, a full night (i.e. 6 hours) of uninterrupted sleep.  Yep, I am totally there.  The things people take for granted, I get genuinely excited about, because I am a mother.  I know that once you enter this elite club, the aforementioned things come few and far between and when they do, it is truly something to celebrate.

Yes, I wouldn't trade this life for anything!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Solution To: Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Here are the answers folks.

1.  Mount Hope
2.  Sugar Creek
3.  Trail
4.  Beach City
5.  Charm
6.  Winesburg
7.  (Bars + Mill)  Barrs Mills
8.  (Ball + Tick)  Baltic
9.  Canton
10.  (Brrr  + Lynn)  Berlin
11.  Killbuck
12.  (Done + Dee)  Dundee
13.  Conesville
14.  (Kid + Run)  Kidron
15.  Big Prarie
16.  Apple Creek
17.  Homesville
18.  Bedford
19.  Farmerstown
20.  Orrville

Congrats to you if you got them all.  Anthony and I working together only got 12 before time ran out.

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Anyone even remember that show?  Or is it just me?  It was an awesome show!  Anyway, here is your problem of the week.  Sorry it's a day late.  Hope you have time to figure it out before I post the answers!

I am switching things up this week.  Instead of a math problem, I am going to give you some problems to figure out that were given to us to do for fun at one of our family's get-togethers over the holidays.  In these problems, you have to use the clues given to you to figure out what town I am talking about.  I will tell you that many (but not all) of the towns are smaller towns, perhaps around Amish Country.  All of them are towns in Ohio.  Good Luck!

Can You Name This Town?

Example:  A Tree + A Small River =  Walnut Creek



1.  To Get On A Horse + Goes With Faith and Charity =
2.  A Sweetener + A Little River =
3.  An Indian Path =
4.  At The Edge of The Ocean + A Large Town =
5.  A Bracelet Additive =
6.  Alcoholic Drink + Small Village =
7.  Places To Stay Away From on Saturday Nights + Place To Grind Feed =
8.  A Kind of Toy + A Dog's Enemy =
9.  What Pork & Beans Come In + A Large Weight =
10.  Something You Say When It's Cold + A Girls Name =
11.  Waste A Dollar =
12.  To Be Finished + A Girls Name =
13.  Ice Cream Holders + French Word For City or Town =
14.  A Small Child + What You Would Do If A Bear Were After You =
15.  Large Ranch =
16.  Found In An Orchard + A Small River =
17.  Houses Made of Love + French Word for City or Town =
18.  You Sleep In It + The Name of a Car =
19.  He Tills The Soil + A Bunch of House and Stores =
20.  What You Would Use to Row a Boat + French Word for City or Town =

Enjoy!  Answers will be posted tomorrow!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M



Dinner Time Saver

I used to have a serious love hate relationship with cooking once my kids were born.  I love to cook.  I like to be (somewhat) adventurous and try new things.  I like to think I am good at cooking.  But once the kids came along, cooking became much more of a chore.  Now instead of just cooking, I am trying to keep a couple of munchkins happy and out of trouble while I cook.

One thing that really bothered me was dealing with meat.  I freeze pretty much all the meat I buy because I usually stock up on it when it goes on sale.  This is great, except that when you want to use it, it's frozen rock solid.  And I've tried it enough times to know that leaving it in the refrigerator over night doesn't thaw it out completely.  You might say, "Leave it in there 2 nights."  Seriously, I am so busy, I don't even have time to think that far ahead.

I have a lot of recipes that call for cooked meat, like soups and casseroles, that require additional cooking after the meat has been prepared and added.  I struggled to find the time to defrost the meat in the microwave, cook it, add it to the dish, and then cook the dish!

So I take a little help from my crock pot.  The night before, I pull whatever meat I need for the next day out of the freezer.  If it will fit in the crock pot frozen, I put it in just like that.  Otherwise I defrost it enough to manipulate it so that it fits.  Then I add a little water to it plus whatever flavor boosters strike my fancy.  Then the next day, I let the meat cock in the crock pot on low all day while I do other things and it's ready for me at dinner when I need it.  Saves me a ton of time!  Who needs to babysit food when it will cook itself.

Obviously this cooking technique isn't ideally suited for all dishes.  I usually use it, like I said, for dishes that require the meat to be cooked ahead of time and then added, like a soup or casserole.

Just in case you are interested, here's what I usually add to my crock pot for different meats:

Ground Beef - a little water, pepper, minced onion (the stuff you find in the spice aisle.  It's just minced onion that has been dehydrated), and garlic (I buy the minced garlic in a jar that you find in the produce section.  No chopping garlic and no extra garlic cloves with nothing to use them for).

Chicken - If you want the most juicy, flavorful chicken you have ever tasted, chicken so good you could eat it straight from the crock pot, try this - Add 2 Tbsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. sugar, garlic, minced onion, and, if you are feeling adventurous and have it on hand, pesto to your crock pot.  Then add 4 cups HOT water to the crock pot and stir.  Add in meat.

Roast - a little water and a packet of dried onion soup mix

Hope I have inspired you to try something new and to get some use out of those crock pots you have sitting around!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Anticipation, Celebration, and Decapitation

Christmas was much anticipated in the Miller household this year.  I eagerly awaited its arrival because, well, I was a bit of a scrooge this year and just wanted to get it over with.  Why with the constant baking and cooking and shopping and wrapping and this party and that party (I'm tired just thinking about it again), I was certainly happy when it was all over with.

My son eagerly awaited Christmas for, you guessed it, the right to change the number on our "Days 'Til Christmas" calendar to 00.  Wait, that's not what you guessed?  O yea, he was excited about presents too.  I was excited by the fact that all he wanted for Christmas was "presents".  Nothing specific, just presents.  It's certainly easy to please a kid who has no expectations.

My daughter eagerly awaited the arrival of Christmas for the wrapping paper that she would get to rip, play in, and eat.  At the party we go to on Christmas Eve, it is tradition that the kids get to open a gift.  Instantly upon seeing the gifts in a pile on the floor, my daughter went over to them and attempted to unwrap other children's gifts.  Everyone, of course, got a kick out of this.  My brother commented, "I'm impressed that she is already excited for and gets the idea of presents even though she hasn't had her first Christmas or birthday yet!".  To which I replied, "She doesn't understand presents at all, she understands paper."

You mean I'm not supposed to eat it?  Where's the fun in that!

My son is about to turn 3 (it was his 3rd Christmas) and Anthony and I still had yet to decide how exactly we would celebrate Christmas.  And by celebrate I mean, would Santa Claus have any business in our Christmas celebration?  It was about time we started making some decisions we were going to stick to.

It was by no means an easy decision.  Anthony and I grew up very differently.  Not that that is a bad thing; I actually think it is good.  It brings different perspectives to a variety of issues.  But, with that said, it also brings a certain amount of pressure.  Ultimately, I feel like no matter what we decide, ones parents or the others will take issue with the decision.  Not that I have felt that pressure from either of our parents, I think it is mostly pressure I put on myself.  I know, at the end of the day, we have to do what we think is best for our family and most pleasing to the One we are accountable to.  But deep down inside I think we all really want the approval of our parents as well.

Anthony and I made the decision not to tell the kids their gifts came from Santa.  Before you get all crazy on my, let me just say, I am not anti-Santa.  I have a lot of Santa knick-knacks  that I like to put out at Christmas (I kind of think the jolly old fat guy is cute!).  We watched Frosty the Snowman with the kids which has Santa Claus in it.  I don't think that we are going to instantly burst into flames at the mere mention of his name.  I just don't think it's necessary to make a big deal out of it and tell the kids that's where their presents came from.  How can some baby in a manger every compete with a jolly old fat guy who flies a sleigh pulled by reindeer and brings you presents?  He can't.  So we have chosen to make so there is no competition.

So we have covered anticipation and celebration.  I bet you are wondering where decapitation fits into this whole thing.  Well, on the 26th (the day Anthony and I actually got to celebrate Christmas with the kids), my daughter had a bit of an accident.  Obviously she wasn't the one decapitated.    No, she pulled the table cloth off of our console table taking everything else with it.  Everything survived without any damage except for one of the two wise men candle holders my Grandma gave me.  (Isn't there supposed to be 3?  Hmmm...)  His fate was decapitation.  Poor thing never saw it coming.  Fortunately, as with most decapitations  (I making this up, I really don't know this to be fact), it was a clean cut and I think he can be repaired.  We almost made it through Christmas without a single thing being damaged.  I guess with two very young, only 1 broken thing should be counted as a success.

So with that I say, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.  

What?  It's past Christmas?

Well, then, Happy New Year!

Oh, I missed that too!?!

How long have I been away from my blog?

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Making It A Point To Enjoy Every Minute Of Every Phase!

I once read in a magazine about this woman who was in the grocery store with her young children.  Her infant began crying uncontrollably.  Her other child then began whining about wanting to leave and about the baby crying.  She began to feel like everyone was staring at her and started to panic.  Then this elderly gentleman walked up to her and said, "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but someday you are going to miss this.  Enjoy every minute with them." 

My son has went through phases that well, I didn't love.  One very long phase he went through was reading nonstop (book after book after book, or the same book over and over and over again) for as long as I would read to him.  It was nice to have him snuggled on my lap and read to him (and know that I was helping him learn).  Most of the time though, it just annoyed me.  I was either pregnant and exhausted or taking care of a newborn and exhausted.  Reading for hours on end just didn't appeal to me.  We could easily burn through a stack of 20 books in about a half an hour.  This was not uncommon.  At that point I usually called it quits.  Besides, why did he want me to continue to read to him after I would start to fall asleep reading and my words would become so slurred that he couldn't understand what I was saying? 

For quite awhile now, reading has been put on the back burner.  Sure, he still loves books and will let me read to him but he just doesn't approach books with the same enthusiasm and passion as he once did.  That never really bothered me until today.

Today, I read him "The Ear Book".  It was a book we had just recently bought for my daughter for Christmas.  We have many Dr. Seuss books and my son loved all of them so I thought he would enjoy this one.  I sat down and read it to him.  At the end of the book he excited yelled, "Again!".  So I read it to him again, upon which he yelled, "Again!".

In that moment I realized how much he had changed.  How he wasn't this little toddler wanting to sit on my lap and be read to.  And though I never thought I would, I missed that phase of marathon book reading.  It was a precious time that I never get to have back and an experience that I will likely never have again since my daughter isn't the lest bit interested in books.

So with that I say to you, enjoy every minute with your children.  No matter how annoyed you are by the phase they are in, remember, it's just a phase.  Before you know it, it's gone...and you just might wish you could have it back!
Sincerely,
The-M-O-M