Oxygen First to the Parent

"It's interesting to listen to a flight attendant describe what to do in an emergency on an airplane. They say that if the oxygen masks come down, "If you are traveling with a child, put on your mask first, and then help your child with theirs." Keep this in mind: oxygen first to the parent! A very important concept.
It is incredibly hard to help our children with their emotional development when we are drained dry ourselves. If the mother is dragging around like a beaten-up doormat, how can we expect the children to be emotionally healthy?
Look to your own emotional health--and look carefully. The most powerful lessons you teach your children are the ones you teach by example with your own life. Are you teaching them to take care of their health and get enough sleep? Or are you lurching through life sleep-deprived, overweight, and under-exercised? Do you teach them to take regular time off for fun and recreation? or do you keep working, working, working, and grinding yourself to a pulp?
Remember, oxygen first to the parent!
If you respect yourself, they will be more likely to respect you as well. And if they respect you, they'll respect themselves because they have seen how to do it! That circular lesson sets the foundation for so much more. Don't deprive them of learning it." - Merrilee Boyack, The Parenting Breakthrough

Soccer Mom

I have a confession: I do not enjoy taxiing my kids around to their sports practices and games. I do not enjoy spending one extra minute in my Mom-Mobile...yes, I have the traditional white Dodge Grand Caravan. I don't like fitting the "soccer mom" stereotype...that is until Aaron's last soccer game.
He scored a goal!!!
It was so exciting. It was the first goal that any of my kids have ever scored in a game. I was so proud and Aaron was beaming.

So I have come to terms with the stereotypical mini-van and I will even embrace the title of "Soccer Mom" for the small payment of occasional goals. It makes it all worth it!

If You Give a Mom a Minute

I can relate to the children's book If You Give a Pig a Pancake:

If You Give a Mom a Minute

If you give a mom a minute, she will realize that she needs to go to the bathroom.
She will sneak into the bathroom when the kids aren't watching to avoid them following her. When she is there, she will see that the last person to use the bathroom didn't leave her any toilet paper.
She will go downstairs to get some toilet paper.
As she passes the laundry room, it will remind her that she needs to put the clothes that have been sitting in the washer for hours in the dryer before they start to stink.
She will also start to sort clothes for the next batch because the pile of laundry just does not seem to be getting any smaller.
As she sorts the clothes, she will find a crayon in one of Nathan's pockets.
Seeing the crayon will remind her that Nathan has been especially quite for the last few minutes...and we all know what that means...Trouble!
She will go upstairs to find Nathan standing on a stool, pulling a box of cereal out of the pantry.
She makes it just in time to catch Nathan as he, the stool, and the full box of cereal plummet to the floor...but she was not quick enough to grab the cereal before it spilled all over the floor.
The loud crash will wake up Travis from his nap.
As the mom goes to get the baby, Nathan steps in the cereal and loves the crunching sound it makes. This only encourages him to pound on every little piece...grinding it into the floor.
Seeing the messy floor will remind her that it hasn't been vacuumed in weeks.
As she goes downstairs to get the vacuum, she sees Travis tight on her heels, heading for the stairs.
With super-human speed, the mom dashes to catch Travis before he falls down the stairs head-first.
And chances are...
If a mom of 4 suddenly sprints with a full bladder she will be reminded that she still needs to pee!
But if she wants to go to the bathroom...she will need some toilet paper to go with it!

Written by Me...when I had a minute

Honor Thy Mothers

Exodus 20:12 - Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

 I hope all of you feel honored and loved today. I feel so honored to be a mother to these four kids. They may be whiny, and sometimes they make me worry, and a lot of times I get frustrated with them, and they are jam packed with personality and craziness that makes me frazzled...but I am honored to be their mom! They bring me the greatest happiness and joy I have ever known.

On the lighter side...enjoy this "Mother's Day Psalm" and Happy Mother's Day!!

Blessed art thou woman
For thou shalt be called mother
Yea, and thy chores and thy tasks
Shall follow thee all the days of thy life.

And thou shalt eat the bread of thine own baking
And thou shalt dwell forever in a dirty house
If thou doest not choose to clean it thyself

Thou shalt arise before the cock croweth,
And thou shalt say unto thineself
"Where are the offspring which were given me?"
"Yea, the sun has risen high in the sky,
And the hour is getting late;
Wherefore, I have been long at my labors."

And thou shalt say unto them, "Haste, arise and shine,
For I have many labors for thee to perform,
Wherefore, I have been many hours already preparing for the day."

And thine offspring shall linger in sleep
And shall say unto thee, "Thou didst not watch
The late, late, late show, as I did last night.
And mine eyes are heavy and mine bones acheth."

And thou shalt say unto thy offspring, "Get thee up from the cot
Ere I lay a hand on thee and go ye hither and scrub a sparkling tub
For thou hast left black rings upon its sides."

And thy offspring shall say unto thee, "I will go and do thy bidding --- in a minute."
And thy rage shall know no end, and thou shalt weep and wail
And gnash thy teeth mightily, nevertheless, thou shalt scrub
A sparkling tub thyself.  And glory shall be added unto thee
For thou didst not strike the lazy beast.

Thou are blessed about all others, and thy descendants shall
call thee blessed.  For thou preparest a table before them.
Thou cookest meat and all manner of tasty vittles,
And they shall sit at thy table with thee and partake with thee.

And they shall add glory to thy crown, for they shall let thee also
Wash the dishes, if thou wilt.  And when night falleth, thou shalt be POOPED!
And thy offspring shall say of thee, "She is an old woman, wherefore she
neither goes dancing, nor does she watch the late, late, late show."

Thy back shall acheth with arthritis, thy cane and thy husband shall be thy support.
Thy veins shall be varicose, on thy aching legs.
But thou shalt do thy labors with a smile, neither shalt thou gripe,
For in the day that thou doest, thy name shall be MUD.

Nevertheless, thou art blessed, for thou art crowned with the angels
On the second Sunday of each and every May.

Wherefore thou shalt be blessed about all others, for thou art Mother,
And thou shalt find peace and joy in thy offspring forever and ever,
If thou endureth to the end.
--Edna Everton Maurer

Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack was a fun and easy culinary mystery. It combines two of my favorite things - a good read, and good recipes. It is the story of 56 year old Sadie who loves to cook and loves to keep busy. As she is busy making applesauce, she soon becomes entangled in solving her neighbor's (Anne's) mysterious murder that started with a lemon tart left in her oven.
This was a great book with a totally unexpected ending. I even bought the ingredients to make the lemon tart recipe. Hopefully mine does not turn out as disastrous as Anne's :)

You Made That in a Crock Pot?

Sorry for all of the slow cooker recipes lately...but I love them. They just fit my lifestyle and make cooking so much easier. I have two more today. These were surprising...I never imagined that I could make these things in a slow cooker but they turned out great! These come from my favorite slow cooker resource...none other than 365 Days of Slow Cooking.

Here are two great recipes...one on the no guilt, healthy side and the other on the little indulgent, sweet side.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Makes 4 servings

• 1 cup steel-cut oats (these are a lot different from regular oatmeal. They have a more nutty taste and chewy texture. I found them in the bulk food bins at the grocery store.)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Sliced apple

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add steel-cut oats and stir for about 2 mintues.  Transfer to the slow cooker.  Add in the water, raisins (I just topped my cooked oatmeal with Craisins...I'm not a big fan of raisins) , brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.  Serve with milk and sliced apple on the top. 

I doubled this recipe thinking that 1 cup of oats didn't sound like a lot....mistake! It made a TON. When I make it again, I will stick with the recipe...unless I am cooking for an army.

Slow Cooker Peach Crisp

Serves 4-5

• 3 large fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (if fresh aren't in season, use frozen not canned...I used a 2 cup bag of sliced peaches and just put them in frozen)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter

Place sliced peaches in bottom of a greased 3 quart slow cooker.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Cut the butter in with a pastry blender or a fork.  Mixture should be crumbly.  Sprinkle over the peaches.  Cover the slow cooker with a paper towel.  Then put the lid over the paper towel and seal the crockpot.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  

No more dutch oven peach crisp for me...this was so easy and SO GOOD! My kids couldn't get enough...they were licking their plates clean (ok, and so was I).

Enjoy!

Losing My Marbles

I have started something that has grown out of control. It occupies Nathan's every thought. He wants to do this ALL THE TIME but he can only play while Travis is sleeping so that he doesn't choke on the marbles...good enough reason right? Not for Nathan. It is a huge ordeal when it is time to put the marbles away. Why oh why did I start this? I keep hoping that he will forget about them...out of sight, out of mind. Not for Nathan. He even wants to sleep with his marbles. I'm about to loose my marbles with this "thrilling" activity!

So here it is...don't get too excited. It is not much but it is everything to Nathan. We made up a game together called Marble Jail. Here's how to play:

• Each person selects 1 Police Marble
• Spread the rest of the marbles out on the floor - these are the Bad Guys
• Make a line about 3 feet away from the marbles
• Sit behind that line and each person takes turns rolling his/her Police Marble at the Bad Guys
• Whatever Bad Guys the Police Marble hits during its roll get captured and put in jail (a pile at the side of each player...or if you are Nathan...inside your slipper)
• Keep playing until all of the Bad Guys are gone
• The player with the most captured Bad Guys wins

 I must admit that I really had fun playing this with Nathan...for the first 50 times. It is now getting a little old. You have been forewarned. Don't blame me if you start something that you can't stop and causes you to loose your marbles as well!

Another version that we made up was Break Through the Fence:

• Divide marbles in half between 2 players
• Each player puts his/her marbles in a line (fence) about 3-4 feet apart from the other players' fence
• Take turns rolling one marble at the other player's fence
• If your marble touches any of your opponent's marbles you take them away from his fence
• The first person to get all of the other player's fence wins