Bath Time!

Well, the painting is done.  And the sealing is done.  The plastic shower curtains have been hung.  The shower supplies have been stocked.  The bathroom is officially open for business.

The kids had their first official bath in the tub tonight.  They played and splashed around for almost an hour before they got cut off for bedtime.  Night number one of tub bathing was a huge success.

I just have a few minor details to finish.  I still have to sew the shower curtain.  Take a look at this gorgeous fabric.

Sometime in the next few months, I would like to replace the almond colored tension rod which protects the window.  I'm thinking maybe white or brushed nickel.  I would also like to replace the curtain hooks over the window.  The current ones have definitely seen better days and the metal hooks are a bit rough and corroded.  

Oh . . . last but not least, this beautiful picture (taken by me) is going to be hung on the wall as an 8 x 10.  Maybe I'll change it out seasonally. 

Capsaicin Free Taco Salad

Say what????  

What is capsaicin?  Capsaicin is the chemical compound that give peppers (Capsicum Genus, Nightshade Family) their varying degree of hotness.  So green peppers, red peppers, and paprika all contain capsaicin. 

Why avoid it?  Because I have been blessed with a food, airborne, and skin allergy to this most interesting chemical.  So this allergy means no taco seasoning, no salsa, no peppers, no guacamole (unless homemade), no taco sauce, and sometimes no refried beans (check the ingredient list on the can- avoid if peppers or spices listed).

So without further ado, here is my 

Capasaicin Free Taco Salad recipe:

Layer #1: Taco chips 
Layer #2: Refried beans with cooked hamburger 
        seasoned with garlic salt
Layer #3: Chopped romaine lettuce
Layer #4: Sour cream
Layer #5: Diced tomatoes
Layer #6: Shredded cheese

*Note: If taco chips become stale- place them on a cookie sheet, pop them into a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to crisp them back up.

Enjoy!!!!!

Pumpkin & The Nature Treasure Hunt

This evening we had a mommy-son evening.  So I decided that it would be fun to do a “Nature Treasure Hunt” in our yard.  We used the scavenger hunt suggestions from the Nature Rocks website.

 Pumpkin- The Nature Treasure Hunter

1)     Find something round. . . .

 We found a seed. Where did it come from?  A hickory tree.

2) Jump like a frog, growl like a bear and flap your wings like a bird.

 I’m a big bear!!!

3) What is the smoothest thing you can find?

 Turtle shells & rocks

4) Discover evidence that an animal has been here.

 Broken up turtle nest

Red Tail Hawk feather

5) Find something the smells good . . . or bad!

Shagbark Hickory log- smells "yucky"

6) Listen for a bird.  What else can you hear?

 We heard geese, cicadas, crickets, mallard ducks and a saw

7) Find a place where an animal would be happy.

 Pond- ducks & turtles

8) How many different colors can you find?

 Red Tail Hawk feather on old concrete bench

White, brown, gray, blue, and black

Red cedar & dry grass

Green and brown

Monarch butterfly on Ironweed

Purple, orange, black, white and green

9) Find something that moves.

 Watching the turtles

10) Dig into the ground with your hands or flip over a rock or log.  What can you find? Don’t forget to put it back!

 We found soil & animal holes in the flower bed

Yummy In The Tummy

Last night we had a great dinner.  More like my husband and I had a great dinner and the kids were their normal picky selves.  We had a ham steak and home-made broccoli macaroni & cheese.  For dessert we had a strawberry rhubarb pie from the local grocery store. The only thing the kids ate for dinner was the ham, but at least it was something.

Broccoli Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients: 16 oz. elbow macaroni, 2 cups cut-up broccoli florets, 2 eggs, 12 oz. evaporated milk, 1/4 cup butter (melted), 1 tablespoon prepared mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 8 oz. Velveeta cubed, 2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions.  Toss the broccoli in with the dried macaroni.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter, mustard, salt and pepper until combined.  Stir in the Velveeta and 1 1/2 cups of each shredded cheese.  Drain macaroni & broccoli.

Stir into cheese mixture.  Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly.  Yield: 6 servings

World Famous Stress Relief Tonic

Do you ever have one of those "bad" days?  Do you sometimes want to scream just to make the stress disappear?  Do you dream of just a few heavenly minutes without any care in the world?  

Everyone has some little trick to help on those days when everything just goes wrong or that are so full of stress that you feel like your head will start to spin.  Instead of vices, like alcohol, smoking or drugs, I rely on the good old fashion sugar induced happy rush.

My "World Famous Stress Relief Tonic" is called a Chocolate Cherry Coke.  Now they can be found at soda foundations and a few select restaurants, but I have concocted my own budget friendly recipe.  Friends during my college years got me hooked on these sugary drinks.  Warning . . . Daily consumption may not be good for your waist line or blood sugar levels. ;-)

Chocolate Cherry Coke

I use a 20 oz. plastic tumbler, fill it 3/4 with ice, then gently squeeze in 5 seconds (slowly count) worth of Hershey's chocolate syrup, then slowly pour in 2 seconds worth of maraschino cherry syrup (it can come out fast so go slow). Next place a straw in the tumbler. Then I pour about half of a 12 ounce can of Coca-cola and stir with the straw, then pour the rest in and stir again. Enjoy!!! 

Light at the End of the Tunnel

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are getting closer to finishing the bathroom remodel.  Our friend finished up his part on Thursday evening.  We definitely could not of done it without him!  We can now use the sink and toilet but are holding off on the shower/ tub until after the painting is done.  It will be less painful to wait, as to dealing with ripping a toddler and preschooler away from their new tub so soon. 

Anyway, a short walking tour of the "new" bathroom.  The floor is now a mossy brown tile instead of white stained vinyl flooring.  The sink faucet has been replaced with a taller model and we now have a drain stopper that works.  Our friend discovered why our sink was extremely slow to drain.  He found a razor cover and hairspray cap blocking the pipes.  For the record- I do not use hairspray, so it must of been there a while.  The new toilet has a taller base, uses less water, and the lid is a no slam lid. It is so much fun to watch.  Just close it a bit and watch it slowly close the rest of the way.  Of course the best feature is actually having a bathtub, no more walking in shower with doors that fall off the track.  A beautiful white tub of perfection!!!!  A double shower rod was installed.  The wood around the window has been replaced with plastic that looks like wood.  A privacy film has been added to the window.  And last but not least we have a bathroom light/ fan again.  I'm in heaven!

So what is left to do?  Just the painting!  My sister will paint the walls and ceiling for us, but first we have to finishing preparing the walls for the paint.  Easier said than done with two children running around.  I am going to make an outer fabric shower curtain and may be upgrade the garage can.

Boys Will Be Boys

I finished book number six last night, The Way of Boys: Raising Healthy Boys in a Challenging and Complex World by Anthony Rao, Ph. D. and Michelle Seaton.  This book took two months to finish for a variety of reasons.  First, I really like non-fiction books the best.  Second, the book was not quite what I thought it would be.  Third, we became awful busy in July so unfortunately there just was not a lot of time for reading.    

So, why this book?  Well, I would like to understand my Pumpkin a bit better.  He is at that the stage where he cannot express himself verbally which can at times led to tantrums and crying fits.  He is the typical active preschooler, but words of expression sometimes elude him.  So when he is yelling “Bad Mommy” at me, I tell him that I am not a bad mommy and he is just angry or sad at me.  He needs to say “Mommy, I’m angry at you.” Or “Mommy, you hurt my feelings.”  Another example would be when he is eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the jelly starts running down his hand.  Instead of licking it off or asking for a napkin, he starts screaming bloody murder with the full effect of tears until the problem is resolved.  I have been walking over to him and asking him to tell me what is wrong and what we need to do about it, in a hopeful push to teach him to use his words. 

This book was interesting, but not what I expected from the title.  Parts of the book I can definitely utilize, but other parts not so much so.  About a third of the book was devoted to ADHD and ADD: the testing, misdiagnosis, and management.  So I think the title is a bit misleading and there are a few things that could have been included to round the book out more.

Here is a listing of chapter titles: 1) Your Problem is Spelled B-O-Y.  2) Little Girls Aren’t Like This. 3) He Doesn’t Have Any Friends. 4) He’s a Bully. 5) He Won’t Sit Still. 6) He Runs the Household. 7) He Has to Win, or Else. 8) He Wants to Be the Bad Guy. 9) He’s Suddenly Fragile. 10) He Hates School, 11) The Teacher Thinks He Needs Testing. 12) He Has Already Been Labeled. 13) What Will He Be Like as a Grown Man?

I did find this quote very interesting: “When boys are engaging in what I call ‘the storm before the calm,’ that developmental moment just before we see a major leap, their behaviors can really regress.  Boys can fall apart.  Soon they will see progress that occurs on the behavioral front, signaling that the brain has reorganized itself.” page 7 & 8.  That is very reassuring as boys will be boys and some days you have no idea what will happen next.  The book also said that it is very important to reinforce good behavior with words like “good”, “excellent,” and “great.”  Which does make sense; we are often too quick to say what they did wrong as apposed to rewarding them for what they did right.

How to promote good behavior?  First off, stay calm.  Get down on their level, insist on eye contact.  State the rule or rules then have them repeat the rule (which fosters responsibility of the rule).  Work with only two or three rules at a time.  If the rules are violated, immediately take away something.  You can put a favorite toy or object in time-out.  For tantrums a “time away” is suggested, which is sending the child to their room, shut the door with the light on, and leave them there until they are done crying and raging.  It is a cooling out period for both the child and the parent.  Until the child calms down do not talk or respond to anything they say or do.  After the time away calmly ask: Why were you sent to your room? Are you ready to come out and control yourself?  After a time away tell your child that they did a great job calming down, that you are proud of them and let’s start fresh.

Overall, I have learned quite a bit from this book.  I believe that I do understand my son better and have been more tolerant and understand to some of his behavior issues (which are typical of active boys his age).  This book has been very good at teaching how to get down to his level and how to communicate effectively in a way that will make sense to him.

The Joy of Reading

I do really like to read, that is when I get the chance.   I did not make my goal of ten books during the months of June and July.  I did great during June with a total of five books.  July on the other hand, did not fair so well.  I just finished a book number seven this morning, which I started reading on Saturday.  Book number six from previous posts, I have yet to finish, but I am close.  Of course the fact that it is due next week is an incentive to finish it.

So without further ado, book number seven is The Secret of Everything by Barbara O'Neal.  I discovered this author in June and her books are quite intriguing.  I have read a trio of her books that have a cooking theme running throughout the stories.  Of course the best feature are the recipes that are tucked within the pages.  

The previous books had a theme of motherhood, faith, dreams, love, and of course food.  This book has a mingling of mystery and romance.  It is set in New Mexico and the recipes are part of the breakfast menu at a fictional world famous restaurant that serves as a backdrop for this story.  The main character, Tessa, is a wanderer that is looking for clues to her childhood that she cannot seem to remember.  

This book was amazing!  Tessa loves to take photography and hike- so it was very easy for me to get lost within the pages.  It is one of those stories that you just cheer for the main character the whole way through.  

As Tessa tries to rediscover her past, she discovers so much more and is forever changed (but in a good way).  As with the other books that I read, life can throw you twists and turns but you have to keep trudging forward.  And in the end, everything is connected and everything does happen for a reason.  What a wonderful reminder!