Today is Middle's 4th birthday!! We made monkey bread for her birthday breakfast this morning and then the heavens opened up and dumped about 5 inches of lovely, fluffy snow on us! Of course, the girls begged to go out and I had the foresight to make sure the girls visited the toilet before dressing them in layers and layers of winter outfits!

Here's the lovely birthday girl posing as a popiscle!

As a special treat, we made snow ice cream with the fresh fallen snow and it was SO good! I'd never made it before, but I found plenty of recipes on the internet and the girls were just tickled with eating snow ice cream! What a perfect day for a birthday! I promised the recipe and pictures of the monkey bread... The monkey bread was gobbled up too quick for pictures, but here's the recipe:

1 can Pillsbury's grands biscuits

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c butter

1 c brown sugar

Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut biscuits into fifths and roll in sugar and cinnamon. Drop sugared pieces into a greased loaf or bundt pan. (I like using a bundt pan cuz then there's more crispy edges!) Melt butter in a small saucepan and add the brown sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves and pour over dough pieces. Bake about 20-25 minutes at 375 or until lightly browned. Flip upside down onto a plate while still hot. Serve when warm and watch the "monkeys" grab for the pieces and gobble them up!

On a serious note, it has been a frustrating week... I check my bank balances online and noticed some charges on there that couldn't have been made by myself or my husband. After making some calls, it turns out someone has gotten ahold of my credit card number and has been spending on my behalf. Arghh! After several calls to the bank and then a personal visit to the bank, we have gotten it straightened out and my card has been cancelled, a new card will be sent to me, the money has been put back into our account and the bank will now take over the investigation. I had to sign papers stating that it wasn't me that spent at those times, that the card has never left my possession, that I have never given out my card number to anyone and my pin number is not known by anyone else but me. Then because of someone using my card, my balance went into the negative digits and I got charged for insufficient funds! So more calls to the bank was made and that was reversed and the charge was deposited back into my account.

It really burns me when there is someone out there who has the skills or the capabilities to do this kind of thing and uses their power for bad instead of good. I wish they would take those skills and apply them in a positive way instead of taking advantage of innocent, hard-working people. If I had never checked my account, I would have never caught that in time and the checks I have written would have bounced and caused me even more charges from both the bank and the people I wrote the checks to. I have enough money problems without someone out there stealing and making things worse for me. I have enough things to do and do not need to add to my busy schedule by running to the bank and making endless phone calls.

I hope this will be the end of that but now I worry about other things like how in the hell did this person get my card number and is there anything else of mine floating around out there? Like my social security number? Am I going to have to worry about identity theft now? For my own peace of mind, I'm afraid I am going to have to go to one of those background check places and do a search on myself to make sure there is no new credit cards popping up in my name that I didn't apply for. What a friggin' pain in the you-know-what!

Party Time!

Well, we survived! We had a double birthday party for Youngest and Middle on Saturday and I spent Thursday and Friday getting everything ready for the party. Thursday, Hubby went 2 hours east to pick up my Mom and bring her here for the week. I really like having her here when we are having a party because she can help keep the kids occupied and out of the kitchen while I'm in there.

I have always made my own party food and cakes and this party was no exception. I made 2 cakes and decorated them with snowflakes for the winter birthday girls (I have a daisy cake pan for the summer parties). We had hardly any leftover cake, so I'm glad I made 2.

The day before, I made and baked 3 pizza crusts and then assembled the toppings the morning of the party. We also had a little veggie platter with dips and some strawberries and melons. We had zero leftovers and I like when that happens! I had the girls cut construction paper and make a paper chain for decorations and we used all the cool colors, blue, greens and purples and they were so proud to see them hung up on the walls.

The party was great! It was all family and the girls seemed to have fun with all their aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. After everyone left, Middle commented that she didn't have any fun. When asked why, she said that there were too many people here and it was too loud. I have noticed that she doesn't do well in large groups of people and often covers her ears when things are loud, so I wasn't surprised to hear her say that. But my Mom was in awe that a little, nearly 4 year old child, could state so clearly why she didn't enjoy the party and much preferred to have just us without all the extra people and noise.

Middle's birthday is on Thursday and I will make monkey bread for breakfast and then probably all the foods she likes for lunch and dinner. I like to make their birthday special and making their favorite meals makes them feel like it is their day. Oldest had a few jealousy issues with some of the new presents her sisters got and I had to explain to her that when her day came, she would get presents but not her sisters. I know it doesn't seem fair at the time, but her birthday will come and with it, maybe her own new barbie doll.

It's snowing up here now and I hope we will have enough snow for the girls to go out and play. Supposed to snow off and on all day, and I don't know what the predicted amount of snow we are going to get is supposed to be. The girls have their faces pressed against the windows and have already said they hope more will come down so they can go out and play. If it is snowing where you are, enjoy the pretty winter scenery outside your windows! Happy snow day!

Life Lessons 101

Since having to shop on a really tight budget, I've learned what we can live without and what becomes a necessity. I remember back in high school, in my Career Education class, they taught us how to create a resume and other life skills for the future and they touched briefly on finance. The teacher was saying something along the lines of figuring out what is a luxury and what is a necessity and then try to budget accordingly. I wish I listened better before I went and got myself in credit card debt and instead put more money into some sort of savings account. If I were to teach a class, I think I would be sure to stress the importance of saving for the future and investing wisely.

I also participated in "apartment lifestyles" for a semester in high school, where we would live in a dormitory where the rooms were more like studio apartments with bathrooms and kitchens. One semester was for boys and then the next was for girls. You needed to apply and if you got accepted into the program, you would have a roommate and every week you had to collaborate and come up with a menu and meal plan, then they would give you an allowance and bus us down to the food store to do our shopping. Once a week we had to invite one of the dorm staff to dinner and they would rate our meals, our living quarters and so forth. They also taught us about rent and paying the bills along with food. I loved living in the apartment and it was so nice to be able to cook our own meals instead of going to eat in the cafeteria.

The deaf school that I went to, I think was unique in that it had a lot of programs like the apartment-living and also with the career education classes. As much as I enjoyed my regular classes, I had more fun with the "shop" classes. I loved wood-working and metal-working, I excelled in sewing and home economics, made a final grade of 104 in cooking (that's from making 100 on tests plus answering all the bonus questions right, too!), and was so disappointed when the school budget dropped the ceramics class from the art department. When I went to art classes to learn charcoal drawing and oil painting, I would eye that pottery wheel and ask the art teacher if I could just please please please try it, and she would look at me and shake her head no. They had auto mechanic class, but they stopped with that program the year before I went in. I would have signed up if they still had it while I was there!

All this goes to say that I have always preferred to do things with my hands. I like to make and create with whatever medium I can get my hands on, whether it be food or fabric or wood. When I went to college, I went to Rochester Institute of Technology, where they had a deaf program there called National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in yet, but I knew it would be something hand-related. They gave us 2 weeks of trying out different departments and when I went into a jewelry-making class, I knew I found my niche! I let my financial sponsor know of my major choice and then started going to classes. I finished the first tri-mester and started on the 2nd, when I got a bill from the school and I was confused. Wait a minute, I thought this was paid for. I contacted my sponsor only to learn they didn't approve the major I picked because they felt it was not financially life-supporting. Instead of telling me so I could change majors, they just dropped my funding. I barely finished the 2nd trimester before I realized I would not have any money to pay the school and I dropped out.

I don't regret the choices I've made in life, though there are a few sour moments here and there. The good things wholly make up for those sour times and I've had some great times. I traveled to most of the states with my friends, I spent 2 summers at the beach, and I met some really great people along the way. All those experiences made me who I am today and if I had a different path, I would not have met my husband and had our beautiful girls. All those experiences have helped me deal with this frustrating budget I have to follow. Because we had a savings plan, we have been able to go this far without Hubby working. Because of that apartment program in school, I already knew the basics of budgeting for paying the rent (mortgage) and other various bills. Too bad they didn't have a magic class that taught us how to make money grow on trees, that would have really helped! Because of all those shop classes I took, I am able to make and create things to sell and earn money. Because of my Mom's love for thrift shops and yard sales, I learned to love going thrifting and that has helped in that we don't mind buying secondhand and it also helps me to earn money for our family by selling my finds on eBay.

I've learned in life that you have to take the bad things with the good. Things happen that will shape your future, and though you might not see it, though it really sucks at the time, in the long run, you'll be thankful for the experience and finally understand why it happened. I know there is a lesson in this moment that my family is going through right now, why it is so hard for my husband to find a job, and someday, I'll be able to look back and understand what we gained from it. I have also learned that an optimistic attitude goes a long way in making things bearable. The minute I start letting myself think negative, it will drag me and my whole family down into the pits. Everyday is a new day, another chance for someone to call my husband and tell him the words he has been waiting to hear: "You're hired!" Another chance to sell something on eBay that nets me more than I expected it to sell for. Another chance for my girls to try asparagus and say they like it instead of wrinkling their noses while chewing it down. Another day, another chance...

Milestones

We hit two milestones this past week. First, today is Youngest's 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday to my big girl!

Second, Oldest lost another tooth a few days ago! That makes 2 bottom teeth gone from her beautiful smile.

You Reap What You Sow

I have wanted to be able to provide for my family by growing my own fruits and vegetables and getting some chickens and a milking cow would be nice, too. I don't know if I will ever go so far as to have a cow, but it is something I think would be nice to have. I like to can and preserve my own foods and there is something about looking in my pantry and seeing foods that I have made that sustain my family. I know there is so much more I could do, and I am looking forward to exploring my options and making it happen.

A greenhouse would be a dream come true for me, and I think of all the lovely garden-fresh foods my family could eat year-round. I may not be able to get one this year, but I do have a sun light that I rescued from the trash a few years ago. I am thinking up ideas on how I can put it to work on a little indoor potted garden and trying a few things. It would also be turned into a little science project for a home school lesson, teaching the kids the life cycle of plants and how they grow.

If more people would grow their own foods, made more meals from scratch and bought less processed foods, think how much healthier we all would be. First, we would be out in the fresh air, physically working on a garden which equals exercise; secondly, we would be eating organic fruits and vegetables that have no preservatives or chemicals that you cannot pronounce. That alone equals better health right there, because it has been shown that some of those preservatives and chemical agents and dyes can cause health problems. Thirdly, by growing your own foods and incorporating that into meals made from scratch, you know exactly what is going into your body and it tastes so much better than something that came from a box. Finally, you are helping the environment by driving less because you need less food because you are growing your own, so it all equals into using less gas and sustaining your family yourself instead of depending on a country halfway across the world for a head of lettuce.

It really isn't that hard to grow a garden. If you have never had one before or are hesitant to try, start small. Try a potted garden by using a few large pots and planting one tomato plant in one container and some herbs in another. Water every so often and you'll be able to reap the rewards in a couple of months. Try a small plot if you have the space, and make a little 5 by 5 foot square. You can work that size by hand easily with a hoe and plant a couple tomatoes, some lettuce, a zucchini plant, snow peas and maybe a compact cucumber plant. There are all kinds of possibilities and lots of missed opportunities to grow your own food.

Gardening is something that has been done for generations before us and sadly, it is becoming a lost art. There seems to be a surge in eating organic and buying and eating locally grown foods, but why not try growing your own foods, if you haven't already? Many of the blogs I frequent are gardeners and it feels like it is a growing trend, but when I step out of Blog world and into reality, I can see that it isn't happening here. There aren't enough people trying it for themselves and seeing how easy it is. Living in the mountains like I do, there are a lot of old-timers here that garden and preserve their own foods, and I see ads in the local papers offering up surplus potatoes and tomatoes at the end of the summer, but the younger generation isn't continuing that tradition. I would hate for people to become so dependent on grocery stores for food and microwaves for cooking that they have forgotten where food comes from. That they would think nothing of forcing a farmer off his land so they can build their 25 room house on an acre of land and then the poor farmer has lost his livelihood. That they would never eat a tomato right out of the garden, still warm from the sun and taste it's sweet, juicy goodness.

Mom, who grew up very poor, had a mother that grew her own fruits and vegetables and preserved the bounty from the garden, had chickens and pigs that she butchered herself and stored in the cellar. Worked on a farm in the summer to help two farmers with chores while they were busy with planting and harvesting and came away with food for them and some for her in return for her work. She always used to complain about canning and how much work went into it and told my Mom that if she could, she would buy from the store. Easier and cheaper, time-wise, she said. So my Mom never learned to can and preserve her own foods. She might have helped do the prep-work, but she didn't learn how to can. I remember having a garden only once in my childhood and the next summer, a pool was plopped on top of the old garden plot.

When my Mom sees me canning my own food, she can't understand why, because all she remembers is how much her own mother complained about it. I tell her that I enjoy canning because I want to do it, because it tastes so much better than store bought and because I don't have to do it. I could easily go to the store and buy a can of corn and a can of peaches, but in a taste test, they don't beat the corn I have frozen in the fridge or the jar of peaches in their own juice and not a heavy, sugared syrup. My grandmother had to do it to survive. Doesn't any chore become a burden when you are forced to do it? Gardening is enjoyable to me because I know the rewards at the end are so much sweeter than anything I could ever buy at the store, grown halfway across the world and picked before it was ripe.

What else do I have to say to convince you to grow a garden?

Control Issues

I love my kids. There's no doubt how much I love my kids. But I find it hard to let go and let them do things that would be easier if I did it myself. Take for example, last night, when we decided it was time to take the Christmas tree down. I let the kids take out the ornaments and hang them on the tree. I'd rather be the one to take the ornaments off, wrap in tissue paper (the breakable ones) and place in the storage container. The girls wanted to help. Thanks, girls, but.. shoo! Oldest is behind the tree grabbing ornaments, Middle is pulling on an ornament that got wound up around a branch and Youngest is reaching for the delicate ceramic ones and I am about to explode! It took all my strength not to puff up and let loose with a mighty roar and fling them all aside with one swipe of my mighty arm. But I did yell. Kinda loudly. Loud enough to get Hubby's attention.

It's the same in the kitchen. My kitchen. Mine, mine, mine! I don't wanna share! I don't like when all three girls crowd on both sides of me wanting to help, sticking their fingers in the dough or batter or touching the knives or a hot stove. Oldest and Middle have both burned their palms on the stove and have learned to stay away from the stove. Youngest has no idea except when I say, "HOT! Don't touch! HOT!" I like to make the least amount of messes in the kitchen as possible because quite frankly, I don't like to clean. My kitchen is clean but I don't want to make more work for myself if I don't have to. When I relinquish control and let Oldest stir the cookie dough and she stirs too hard and flour goes flying, inside I am silently growling. I am thinking to myself, agh! Now I gotta clean the counter! When she wants to be the one to pour in the cup of milk and she spills it on the floor, I am crying inside, oh! Now I gotta mop!

It is easy for me to let the girls do things on their own, in their space with their things. But it's hard for me to let go of my space and my way of wanting to do things in a certain order. Hubby has learned this, too, after we first moved in together. He learned I like things a certain way and there is an order to the way I want to do things. He figured out I am a Virgo just like his Dad. He recounted stories of his Dad wanting him to do things a certain way, even cutting the grass back-and-forth and not in circles. He would be helping his Dad before he got shooed away with,"I'll do it myself". Then Hubby goes and marries a Virgo! I think he likes the challenge!

I am aware of my tendencies to want to "do it myself" and I try to stay on top of that. How else are the girls going to learn unless I let them try it for themselves. I am getting better at letting Oldest do things and helping me in the kitchen. She is getting older and understands better to be careful and has developed better eye/hand coordination. I am still struggling with Middle and Youngest wanting to help and crowding me while I prepare and cook meals. Youngest has amazed me by getting the step stool from the bathroom so that she can be eye-level with the counter. It makes me nervous because she is now eye-level with the stove top and I dread the scream that comes with a burned hand. I look forward to the day I finally finish my island project and then I can move the prep-work for meals to the island and the girls can now stand opposite of me instead of crowding me.

In the meantime, I'll continue to growl inside, silently and clean up the mess afterwards. They'll learn eventually.

Plans for 2008

The first day of 2008 is nearly past and it has been a good day. We spent the day with Hubby's family eating a traditional meal of black-eyed peas that are supposed to bring good luck to the new year. Before we left, Middle wasn't eating her breakfast. She said she wasn't hungry. I had toasted cinnamon-raisin bagels with cream cheese for her and she didn't want it. Hmm.. offered her a favorite: pop-tarts. Still not interested. I knew then that she wasn't feeling 100%. She felt warm and we debated going to dinner at his parents' house, a 2+ hours drive one way and I was worried she would go downhill once we got there and I didn't want to pass her illness onto her cousins.

We decided to ask her how she felt and if she wanted to stay home or go to Grandma and Granddaddy's house. She said she was fine and wanted to go. So we went. Stupid me, I didn't think to bring along any medicine because I was reminding myself not to forget the other stuff we were bringing. All 3 girls and me konked out on the drive over, which in itself is quite unusual. Once we got there, both Middle and Youngest were burning up and after checking their temperatures, they were both over 101. Should've stayed home.

After convincing Middle to chew and swallow a baby aspirin and hiding Youngest's in a bit of chocolate, we ate, we talked, we left. Poor Hubby is coming down with a head cold and so far, Oldest and I are feeling ok. We came home to a COLD house and quickly started a fire in the wood stove. After shivering a bit, the house warmed up and the girls were put in their beds. Hopefully the girls will feel better tomorrow, as will Hubby and I hope, hope, hope that Oldest and I don't catch their ills.

On a brighter note, I am already dreaming of a better future for my family this year. I am thinking of what I want to plant in the garden this year, where I want to transplant my rhubarb (they didn't do well in their current location) and the new kitchen garden I have been dreaming of for awhile now. We will have the main garden area, which will have the tomatoes, squashes, melons, corn and such. The smaller kitchen garden will be right outside our back door and will have herbs, snow peas, cherry tomatoes and a few other items that will be used nearly daily in our meals. There is currently a blue spruce tree planted there by the previous owners and it is too close to the house. We will try to dig it up and transplant it, but if it proves to be too big of a task, then it will be cut down. Hopefully, we can save it and it can grow happily elsewhere.

The first year we moved, before we bought a tractor and had a chance to till the bigger garden area, I planted 10 tomato plants in that area and they did so well, that I know a small kitchen garden would be just perfect there. I can better keep an eye on some of the plants that got ravaged by the groundhogs and deer, knowing they won't come so close to the house and the cats will help keep them away anyway. Truthfully, I don't know if I will get the bigger garden extensively planted because by the time Spring comes and it is time to plant, I will be 7-8 months pregnant and if my previous pregnancies were any indication, I will be HUGE by then. I think I will be able to do my corn and squashes, melons and cukes, but I think that will be all for the big garden. I'll mostly concentrate on the smaller kitchen garden which I think will be more manageable for me and my big belly.

I've also been thinking of getting some egg-laying hens for our own fresh eggs and to help peck at the bugs around the garden. I need to get Hubby to build a coop first. Our old neighbors had chickens and I don't know if they ate the eggs, but we sure enjoyed watching them peck and seeing the rooster strut his stuff. I need to read up more on what it requires to raise chickens before we make our decision, though.

I have hope that 2008 will bring Hubby a new job, and will bring us lots of joy and love. We are already happy as a family, I just want stability in the financial department. The fact that I still dream of things just tells me that I am optimistic about our future.