An Easter Nora-ism

This morning I decided to have two hardboiled eggs for breakfast. We have all of those eggs that the girls colored last week, there's no sense letting them go to waste.

Nora was in the kitchen when I grabbed the eggs out of the fridge. As I started to tap the first egg on the kitchen table, Nora excitedly declared, "Oooooh....it's hatching! It's HATCHING!"

Too cute to not share with everyone in the blogosphere!

Crazy Severe Weather

Mother Nature sure has been having a tantrum lately. Tornados, downpours, floods. Such devastation throughout the US. I have been praying for the health, safety, and well-being of all of our friends and family located in the areas hit by these storms.

I'm watching the news this morning, seeing all of the devastation left behind after last night's storm systems, and am so sad. So many people have lost so much. I am ever so thankful for all that we have, for my great little family.

No Chocolate

For some crazy reason, last week I decided to cut caffeine out of my diet. Entirely. The week before Easter, when all sorts of chocolate goodies lay around.

Call it insanity. Call me demented. I obviously did not think this idea through enough before jumping in and doing it.

I'm proud to say that I've done very well! I started out cutting back on the amount of caffeine I consume. Gordon began mixing decaf into the regular coffee for me. I stopped snacking on all things chocolate. By the weekend, I was down to almost no caffeine in my day. Sunday I decided to just do it. I bit the bullet and stopped consuming any and all caffeine.

Monday I had a bit of a headache, but nothing that wasn't manageable. I've found myself a little more tired than before, but not too bad. Overall, I feel GREAT!

Project 3--

Tuesday, April 19 Wednesday, April 20
Thursday, April 21 -- Dianna with her VT friend, Amber
Friday, April 22 -- Dianna and Nana Saturday, April 23 -- Grace played a game of soccer in the pouring rain....she was a shivering, drowned rat by the final whistle!

Easter Sunday, April 24 -- I practically begged Gordon to get up on the ladder to cut in the paint. There was NO WAY I wanted to get up on the tippity-top of that ladder myself!Monday, April 25 -- it was a gorgeous afternoon!! Grace and Nora were blowing bubbles while we waited for the school bus that would bring Di and Will home.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!

May you be celebrating with people you love.

We'll be treating today as a 'working holiday'. Gordon and I still have quite a bit of work to do in the entry/stairway/upstairs hall. We hope to get quite a bit more of it accomplished before Gordon heads back to work tomorrow.

Project 3--

Friday, April 8

Saturday, April 9 Sunday, April 10 -- our new camper!

Monday, April 11

Tuesday, April 12 -- Nora discovered the fun of making beaded necklaces!

Thursday, April 14 -- Will and Nora create their own version of Sorry

Friday, April 15 -- ROAD TRIP to Vermont!

Saturday, April 16 -- Gordon measured the kids on our basement door.

Sunday, April 17

Monday, April 18

Wallpaper Stripping 101

Gordon is home this week on vacation from work. He likes to take one week off every spring, so he can get a project or two (sometimes more!) crossed off the to-do list. You know, things like tree trimming, gutter cleaning, garden tilling. Since our to-do list isn't comprised of just outdoor projects, sometimes he plans to tackle an inside job or two.

This year, we decided to work on finishing off the front entry/stairwell/upstairs hall. This meant we'd be stripping wallpaper, prepping walls, painting, and maybe even laying new vinyl tile on the entry floor.

I've learned a few things about wallpaper stripping in the last 12 hours....

#1. According to Nora, those bits of wallpaper that fall to the floor are 'crumbs'.

#2. When using a wallpaper stripper, spray a lot....then spray some more. Keep the spray bottle handy so you can continue spraying frequently. The more you saturate the paper, the easier it is to remove.

#3. Werner makes this really cool, adjustable step ladder that can configure to different angles and heights. It's great for when one needs to remove wallpaper high up in a stairwell. Not so fun for those of us with a mild aversion to heights. Guess it's a good thing Gordon got one of those ladders for Christmas, huh? ;)

#4. It's also good thing Gordon isn't as nervous about heights and standing on tall ladders as I am. If he were, we'd have to hired someone to come in and strip the wallpaper for us.

#5. A scrub brush is easier than one of those sponges with the green scrubby side for washing the walls to remove the last bits of glue residue. It gets all the glue off without getting gunked up.

#6. Patience is your friend. Don't be afraid to walk away, take a break, and come back. You'll most likely find that the enzymes in your wallpaper stripper will work BETTER after you've given it some time to do its job! (Who'd have thunk??)

#7. Great music is also your friend. It's awesome to be bopping along, singing your heart out, and then realize exactly HOW MUCH PAPER IS CLUTTERING THE STAIRWAY!

Here is a look at our work in progress.....I shot this about midway through our day. We're not done yet. We should have it all done tomorrow.

Homemade Granola Bar -- with recipe!

My friend Amy hosts the Living the Domestic Life blog. There, she shares with the world her many ideas and thoughts on all things domestic. Her best talent, in my humble opinion, is her ability to save a TON of dough using coupons and sales.

Not too long ago, Amy blogged about a homemade nut-free granola bar she'd made. She actually used a recipe from another blogger and tweaked it to make it nut-allergy-friendly. She gave the recipe rave reviews. I just knew that I HAD to try it!

I've tried a couple of different granola bar recipes in the past. Each time, I was sure everyone in my family would love them. Each time I was wrong. The recipes I've tried in the past have been heavy, crumbly, or otherwise just 'not right'.

Today I finally had a moment to put Amy's recommendation to the test. These granola bars are not too heavy. They do not crumble apart. They are SUPER easy to make.

Here is a picture of one of the granola bars from the batch I made this afternoon. Doesn't is look just SCRUMPTIOUS?!? (It was, by the way!) Even without our resident picky-eater (aka Dianna) to taste test, I'd say that THIS recipe is one we'll make again. And again. And again. It's sure to be a favorite snack in the Crazy House!

In case you'd like to try, here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cu. quick oats

1 cu. Rice Krispies (you can easily substitute generic ones)

4-5 Tbsp. butter

2/3 cu. brown sugar

1/4 - 1/2 cu. honey (I would recommend 1/4cu.....I used closer to 1/2cu. and it may have made the recipe a little too sweet)

flavored chips (I used a combination of chocolate chip & butterscotch)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toast your oats in a 400 degree oven for just a couple of minutes. Amy said 4 minutes was perfect. I agree. You don't want to burn the oats, just warm them and bring the flavor out a bit.

2. Melt your butter, brown sugar, and honey until everything is dissolved.

3. Add the oats and Rice Krispies to the butter/sugar/honey mixture. Stir till completely combined.

4. Spray your dish and line with wax paper. (I used a 9X13 baking dish....it was the perfect size for a double batch of bars, if you ask me)

5. Pour the cereal/butter/sugar/honey mixture into your prepared pan. Top with flavored chips. "Smoosh" everything down until it's a uniform thickness.

6. Pop them in the fridge for at least an hour or so to allow everything to harden. When ready, pop it all out of your pan, lay on a cutting board, and cut into bars. ENJOY!

** Amy commented that the bars got a bit soft if left out at room temperature. She suggested leaving them in the fridge, UNCOVERED, until snacktime. She said hers never lasts long, so she wouldn't know how long they would stay fresh that way. I would guess it's a moot point -- I'm sure they won't last long in the Crazy House either!

**** UPDATE ****

Grace and Gordon both thought the bars were too stiff when stored in the fridge. I took them out last night and left the uncovered on the counter. They were MUCH better this morning. Gordon says perfect.

I'm going to put them in a lidded container and store them in our snack cabinet. If they last. I'm sure they won't be there long!

My suggestion? Try it both ways. Figure out which way you prefer to store yours!

Hit the Road, Jack...

Today's the day that my niece Amanda, Dianna, and I will hit the road. We're driving north to Vermont to drop Dianna off to spend Spring Break with Nana. There is so much to do to get ready before we head out.

Gearing up for Spring Break

Tomorrow afternoon marks the start of Spring Break. The kids will be home from school for the entire week. Well, Grace and William are going to be home the entire week. Dianna will be going to spend the week in Vermont with Mom.

Amanda has happily agreed to join me on my road trip as I head north to drop Dianna off with Mom. I'm still looking to find someone who is willing and able to join me when I pick Dianna up at the end of the week. Any volunteers?!?

Gordon is taking next week off from work as one of his weeks of vacation. The plan is to get working on the front hall/stairway/upstairs hall. We need to finish ripping down wallpaper, prep the walls, prime & paint, and lay out flooring. It's a lot to do, but I'm hopeful that we can put a good dent in it!

I'm just concerned about the walls in the stairwell -- I'm skeerred of heights and am NOT looking forward to trying to balance on staging while removing wall paper, prepping, priming, and then painting those walls!

Weekend Update

A.K.A. Is it really Monday already?!?

This weekend really felt like early spring. The weather was gorgeous. I think we spent more time outdoor than in. Gordon and I had a Date Night on Saturday.

Our favorite neighborhood babysitter walked over around 5pm so that Gordon and I could go out to dinner and a movie. Usually we go out closer to 7pm, but we wanted to catch the earlier showing of Arthur without rushing our dinner.

The best part? We were home by 9:30pm! It was awesome to not wince at the clock when going to bed, mentally calculating the LACK of sleep I'd get before morning rolled around.

So now we're back to the grind. I have the usual stuff to do around the house. You know, laundry and such. I was hoping for a sun-filled day today, thinking it'd make chore time easier if I had some bright sunshine flooding in the windows. Mother Nature isn't playing along so nicely. At least it's not raining, right?

Project 3--

So I've missed a few more days. Can't exactly turn the calendar back though, so what can I do but get over it?

Thursday, March 24 Friday, March 25 Saturday, March 26 -- Di & I went to one of the local high schools to see Grease Sunday, March 27 -- the rainbow that is created when the sun hits the fishtank just right... Tuesday, March 29 Wednesday, March 30 -- Nora eats her burrito from the sideThurdsay, March 31 Friday, April 1 -- Mother Nature played a big April Fools joke on New England -- SNOW! Saturday, April 2 Sunday, April 3 -- I went outside for a run two days in a row! Monday, April 4 Tuesday, April 5 -- Carrie came for a visit & to do haircuts Thursday, April 7

TGIF!

This has felt like an especially long week. I'm so happy that we'll start the weekend today. We don't have any real big plans.

Aahhhhh. That's my mental shift in thought and attitude from work week to weekend.

No Phone

Yesterday I tried to call my friend, Lynn. I grabbed one of our cordless phones, dialed her number, and pressed TALK. Then I put the receiver to my ear.

That's when I heard not only the phone dialing and then ringing, but also my neighbor talking to someone on her phone. I quickly hung up and then picked the receiver up again. Sure enough, I could still hear my neighbor talking over the dial tone.

I was confused -- we don't have a party line here!

Do they even have party lines anymore?!?

I put in a trouble report with AT&T right away. I was surprised when only a couple of hours later a AT&T repairman called my cell phone to say he'd be here in about 20 minutes. Usually we have to wait longer!

The repairman "fixed" the problem.

Now I have no dial tone whatsoever. No working phone line. I think I'd much rather deal with the 'party line' than have no phone line!

The bottom line? If you need to reach us, call our cell phone(s). Chances are you won't get through on the house line any time soon.

Decisions, Decisions

I have tried to keep the kids' activities limited to no more than two at any given time. Partly because I don't want them to be overextended. Partly because I don't want MYSELF to be overextended.

Dianna has been taking both karate since last June. She started piano last November. Recently, she's been presented with the opportunity to participate on a spring soccer team. That would put her at three activities. Too much scheduled time, in my opinion.

Gordon and I had a heart to heart with Dianna last night about this. We want for her to make the decision about which activities to do and which should be dropped. We hope she'll think about the big picture and looking into the future. We suggested she make a pros and cons list to help her sort out her feelings.

I hate to say that it looks like she's leaning towards dropping piano. I have mixed emotions about her piano playing. She truly has a lot of talent for music and plays very well. I LOVE to hear her playing. I will miss that. She hates practicing now that the material is getting harder. I end up having to nag to get her to practice. I won't miss that.

Camping -- the BEST vacation ever!

I love camping. Growing up, Mom took us girls camping at the beach every summer from the time I was in Middle School right up until after I graduated High School. We started out camping only a week or so. By the end of High School, we camped three weeks straight every summer.

Most of the years we camped, we were Tent Campers. We girls could set up the tent and arrange our campsite in no time flat. As long as Dad wasn't there trying to tell us how to do it!

(He never could understand that we had our own routine. He thought if it wasn't set up in the order he dictated, it wouldn't work right. Silly man.)

Gordon and I started camping when the big girls were little ones. We used tents the first couple of years. Then, as we were getting ready to pack for our camping trip in 2006, a friend of Gordon's from work suggested we borrow his popup camper. I wasn't so sure. I was a die-hard tenter.

Finally I agreed that we would take him up on the offer. I was a convert almost immediately! We borrowed Herb's camper a second time the following summer.

Unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to camp since 2007. I wanted to camp in 2008, but Mom and Gordon convinced me that I wouldn't be very comfortable or have much fun if I was 9mos pregnant and camping at the beach. The summer of 2009 we opted to drive to KY to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Last year we spent some time in VT with the family, celebrating what would have been Dad's 70th Birthday.

I'm writing about all of this because I wanted to share with everyone that Gordon and I will be purchasing our very own popup camper today! We found a used Coleman Bayport popup listed on Craigslist. We checked it out on Saturday and decided it was worth making an offer on. The seller will drop it off at Gordon's work this afternoon & Gordon will finalize the transaction.

YAY!

Guess who will be planning a camping trip for this summer?

So far, so good

It's 10pm on Sunday evening. Today was the third day of my new month/clean slate. I'm still not perfect, but I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.

I won't deny that I lost the fight with the Thin Mints. Those darn Girl Scout cookies can be a force to reckon with! On the upside, I didn't eat a whole sleeve by myself -- I only ate 6!

On a positive, I took advantage of the lovely early spring weather we've had all weekend long. I went out for a run. Two, actually -- one yesterday morning and one this afternoon.

All this to say that I'm not looking for accolades. Just keepin' it real. And reminding myself that 'just living' means I'm not always going to make the best choices, but the more right choices I make the better I'll be able to stay at goal.

New Month, Clean Slate

Today is the 1st of April, in case you didn't know. I'm sure you did. But just in case, I've got you covered!

I've been on such a rollercoaster these last few weeks, between being sick and just getting tired of the lingering winter weather. My eating and exercise has really taken a toll. I no longer have a good control on either category. Instead, I've fallen prey to using excuse after excuse why it's ok to make a poor food choice or not exercise.

Not anymore! With the start of a new month, I'm taking charge again. I'm going to lead myself into a better, healthier pattern. I'm determined to stop this rollercoaster ride.

Now don't you worry that I'm going to turn into a rabbit on you. I'm not about self-deprivation. There's room for everything -- in moderation. That's the key. Moderation. I can't allow myself to continue eating and doing whatever, all willy-nilly. I need to stop and think and plan.

It's CHRISTMAS!

It's the little, innocent, joy-filled remarks that melt my heart every time. I try to file them away in the back of my brain so that I'll always remember them. I know that one day I'll look back and wonder when they grew up and stopped being so little.

Take this morning as an example. Upon waking up and seeing the white stuff that accumulated on the ground overnight, Eleanor exuberantly declared, "Daddy -- it's CHRISTMAS TIME!!"

It was awesome just to hear the sheer joy in her voice.