Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Becoming Santa Claus

December 6, 2012

Happy St. Nicholas Day all! Yes, the shoes were put by the “fireplace” last night with Christmas wish lists inside. St. Nicholas came early this morning with a bag of chocolate coins for each child and the lists taken away to be fulfilled on Christmas Eve. It is a lovely tradition and one which I wish I had embraced much earlier in our marriage. Oh well – it wasn’t too late to start and the kids really enjoy it. We will also enjoy stollens today (get them at Aldi) as a treat. I pick either a spice cake or the stollens because St. Nicholas was from Myra which I believe was in Turkey and spices abound in that region. If you want a really good book to read on the life of St. Nicholas you can’t beat this one. It is unfortunately out of print, but if you are lucky enough to find one get it. I bought it for $10 years ago at Wal-Mart and so glad I picked it up.

St. Nicholas became Santa Claus through the ages and through traditions brought here by immigrants from other countries. He is not just the giver of gifts and a great help to those in need – he is a Christian first and foremost. His faith was what brought him to sainthood – faith in a time when Christians were often persecuted yet he hung on. The giving was part of his nature – who he was – and so it was no big deal to him. To us, anonymous giving can sometimes be difficult, for our ego desires the kudos. But if you can do it, there is nothing funner than giving to someone unexpectedly and without any expectation of repayment or thanks. Don’t we as parents do this for our children every Christmas? Let’s extend that to others as much as we can then! Even if all you can do is pull 2 cans of food out of your cupboard to share with someone else in need you are still doing the work of Christ living in St. Nicholas/Santa Claus.

Now for a story – I am going to share a few this month as my children and I have some that will go down in the annals of HackFam Christmas stories. I don’t think I ever shared this one (and if I have forgive me), but it’s one of the best stories of giving and love I can share.

Back in 2008 when the bottom dropped out of the economy and many people were staring down the barrel at an empty Christmas, I had all but given up hope for something good for our family. It was the beginning of our last round of financial troubles and Christmas was looking bleak. However I was determined to light a candle and not curse the darkness. We made some cookies and I spent more time in prayer that Advent than usual – nothing like troubles to bring you closer to God. The children knew it wasn’t going to be a big Christmas (if we had anything at all) and some of them weren’t going to be content to let that be.

My son Jeff (who is one of many Christmas lunatics in this house) loves the tree above everything else. It just isn’t Christmas if there is no tree. Well, not having a tree that year wasn’t an option. He had just recently started working for Walmart and decided that our house needed some Christmas spirit in it even if there was nothing else. So, he bought a tree and while I slept upstairs he brought it in to the living room (with the help of Dad) and set it up complete with a Santa hat on top as the star. It would be the first thing I would see in the morning. And see it I did and I cried many tears.

So, how did the rest of that Christmas work out you ask? Very nicely! We received gift cards from an anonymous donor and my other adult child sent money from 1500 miles away (it was from Santa and showed up mysteriously on my pillow one night – he had help from that other elf known as Chris.) We didn’t have a lot but what we had was enough and the joy of the giving that was shared by so many of our family that year brightened our day beyond belief. We still talk about that Christmas and I think it will always be remembered.

There you have it – a Christmas Story as good as O Henry’s and one that will always remain in my heart. And here’s that famous tree :-).

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Thanksgiving Day In Review

November 23, 2012

Matt pointed out to me that my blog is “languishing” so maybe that’s a hint to step it up a bit. I just haven’t known what to talk about, and then when I do know what to talk about, stupid stuff happens. Like I have a broken camera and the front port in our computer is toast so I have to figure out how to plug USB cables into the back (which I make Steve do – hehe). I actually do have loads of pictures from the last month or two and so maybe I should follow Matt’s lead and do 30 days of posting in a row or (even bigger challenge) post every day from now to the end of the year. But I digress…let’s see what was I talking about? Oh yeah – Thanksgiving.

I woke up early yesterday (as always) and started on my list of last minute stuff to do – a shower, a little cleaning, taking food out of freezer. No, not the turkey – that had been sitting in our fridge since Sunday. And it wouldn’t have made it out if I hadn’t been watching a Thanksgiving show that reminded me to do it. The boys – Matt and Jeff – would arrive around 9am so I moved quickly. At 9 am sure enough they arrived, but with someone else – Chris had shown up out of the blue! Not even Matt or Jeff knew he was coming it was that last minute. Needless to say I was thrilled to have all my children around me for Thanksgiving :-).

There really wasn’t a rush on the food since we weren’t doing the present opening for Mike’s family’s annual Christmas drawing until 2pm. Yes, even though we’re miles away, this thing called Skype keeps us connected. Thank goodness for some GOOD technology! Anyway, I put cocktail sausages, crackers, and many different kinds of cheeses out around 10:30. This is our usual snack food fest to tide us over until the main meal. I think some people over snacked and there weren’t enough sausages either. I do this fantastic recipe from Nigella Lawson and it’s a real winner. I need to make notes on it about amounts though because two packages of cocktail sausages make 75 or one recipe. We really needed 4 packages as I doubled the sauce. So – make a note on that folks!

The little kids were all excited and it wasn’t just the caffeine and sugar rush from our annual soda fest :-). They were all excited about opening presents – it’s like a mini Christmas for them. So, they played Wii to keep them distracted while Mike and I chatted with the older boys about, well, just about everything. I enjoy those chats around the table – we discuss so many different things so it’s a real lively time.

At 1:30 we started setting up for the video chat via Skype with Mike’s family who were at his sister Lorna’s house. It didn’t take long with all the techie people running around both places. And the present oepening began! As always it starts with the youngest and this year that meant Jennie’s grandson. I almost cried remembering all those sweet baby moments from days gone by. He is a real cutie. After that it was Becky and Katie’s turn and so on up to the oldest – Greg. Yes, I’m not the oldest but I think I’m the 4th oldest. There were many great gifts including this game that Lorna got – I may just have to buy that one! All in all it was a LOT of fun :-).

After that it was now 3pm and I needed to finish the food – well WE needed to finish the food. I pulled everyone in that I could to make green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a new stuffing recipe. People were coming and going constantly in the kitchen and it was crazy but it was also an incredible labor of love and I wouldn’t have traded it for Martha Stewart perfect. Ever. We finally sat down to eat around 5 and it was quite the feast – the stuffing recipe may become a new tradition in these parts. (Note – I did not make it with the 3 kinds of bread as she did but substituted packaged stuffing mix instead and it came out just fine). After all that eating we all sat around table talking some more and then oozed into the living room to rest.

Well, you know we had to clean up that mess and warm pies in the oven because little kids can put away food more easily than adults can. So, we did all that and got set to watch our favorite Christmas show as we always do on Thanksgiving – A Christmas Story. The ORIGINAL – not that new one they came out with. I really wish film makers would just leave well enough alone when a movie is a classic as it is and does not need to have a sequel. By the time the movie was over it was bed and lights out, although my four older boys went out to wherever since they don’t have their old room to hang out in anymore (really have to start converting the empty room!).

I actually did have a piece of pie much later, but wished I hadn’t – I was so tired and still way too full to deal with it. I thought about having a piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast, but decided for easy on the stomach Cream of Wheat instead.

What’s on tap for today? Picking out a tree and sending my older boys off and probably won’t see them until Christmas. Wait – Matt will be here for the twins’ birthday on Sunday. Okay, then we won’t see anyone until Christmas (unless I can get away to do some out of town Christmas shopping).

So, that was our Thanksgiving – a wonderful day filled with all the things I love. I want to end with a quote from Mother Theresa as a reminder that not everyone has a happy time at the holidays and to encourage you to think of ways to make someone happier. You don’t have to spend a lot of money for just a small kind gesture can be worth as much as a million dollars to someone who is hurting or lonely. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this poverty.” – Mother Theresa

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It was supposed to be a frittata

October 24, 2012

I was hungry and made what was supposed to be a frittata – you know, those cute Italian omlettes? I’ve seen Nigella Lawson make them on her show so I figured it was pretty simple. Not so much. However, I really enjoyed cracking and beating the eggs, chopping the peppers and onions, and adding a sprinkling of real Parmesan cheese. It was so relaxing and I think it’s why I usually enjoy cooking – there’s something almost spiritual about it.

I have also realized I have a lot of guilty associations with food and I’m beginning to write down all the things that are coming to light. Hopefully it will help me begin a better relationship with food which I think could be the beginning of the weight loss journey. That and I bought this really cool book called “Our Lady of Weight Loss” by Janice Taylor. The pictures are arty variations on actual paintings and icons of the Blessed Mother which some might think is kinda sacrilegious, but as a Catholic with a sense of humor, I think they are kind of quaint. Besides, I’d never thought about bringing Jesus or God into my weight loss battle. Ever. Now I’m praying to Our Lady and asking for her help daily. I need it – I cannot fight this battle alone. And make no mistake – it is a battle. Janice Taylor lost 55 pounds and she shares her own struggles and the aha moment she had that started her on the right path. Anyway – I’ll be writing more on that later – there is so much to say on it and much work that I can do on this journey.

Well, this was supposed to be a post about a failed frittata, but, as usual, I went on another rabbit trail. Oh well. If you have time to make yourself something special for a meal today do so and enjoy it. Food is not just for the body, but sometimes it is for the soul as well.

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Stacy London’s New Book is HERE!

October 7, 2012

We all know that I am a huge fan of What Not To Wear. If you don’t believe me just ask my kids. I watched from the first show in 2002 until 2008 and I had a Friday night ritual of What Not To Wear and something chocolate to eat while watching. Oh and kleenex too – I usually could not watch the reveal without shedding tears.

Anyway, Stacy London has written a new book called “The Truth About Style”. It’s not so much a how to book on what clothes to wear, but more of a way to look at why we dress ourselves the way we do and move on from that into something better. She tells her story in this book too – her struggles with psoriasis, anorexia, and overeating – and this helps her to relate to us as well. She really does get it! So far I have read quite a bit and it only arrived yesterday afternoon (I wrote this last Wednesday). I am reading all of the personal stories first – hers and the ladies who she helped – then I’ll go back in for the fashion bits. See, it really isn’t so much about the clothes, it’s about YOU and how you feel about yourself and coming to accept yourself as you are right now warts and all. Once you get that acceptance down, the fashion will follow and confidence will follow in kind. This has been what Stacy and Clinton have preached on the most on their shows and once I got that, their show had so much more depth and meaning.

So, pick this one up and see what you think. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Chilly Fall Day

October 5, 2012

The candles are lit exuding their fragrance of pears and spice. I’ve put “Come Let Us Be Merry” in the cd player and when it’s done I’ll enjoy “Winter’s Solstice”. Their music is supposed to be Christmas, but they really are beautiful for a sunny, chilly, windy fall day.

Becky has helped me with supper – a simple pasta bake and it is in the oven cooking. The joy that sweeps over me as I watch her mix the pasta and sauce and then sprinkle the mozzarella on top is indescribable. I feel very satisfied right now and I will try to be happy in this moment and store it up like a squirrel stores acorns for the winter’s hibernation.

I have decided to live more simply and more intentionally and basking in these small moments is certainly part of that.

So, on this chilly fall day, let’s all remember to just live in the now and find simple moments which give us peace as we enjoy the glow of a new season.

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Our Unplugged Sunday

October 1, 2012

About a year ago I found a website called Unplugged Sunday – it’s all about unplugging from your tech devices (including the tv) for one day to help in finding that sabbath rest we all need. I will add that the last post on that blog was in January and I really wish they’d start it up again. In any case, there is a lot of really good information to help you with your own Unplugged Sunday.

I’ve been wanting to do this unplugged thing awhile and recently we’ve been taking Sunday as family day and getting everyone out of the house and doing some fun things instead of just sitting inside where it can get really dull sometimes. The other thing was, this last Saturday, I spent a huge amount of time online for whatever reason and I knew I had to unplug. So, yesterday I decided this is the day – of course I didn’t tell anyone else in the house that.

I decided to take an impromptu trip to a city down the road – one where there is a Target :-). Yes, I know, some people think shopping on Sunday is bad, but it’s not grocery shopping – it’s just window shopping. Well, okay, I did pick up a couple of things but they were things I needed anyway. And guess what happened? I inadvertently left my cell phone here at the house because I didn’t thing I’d need it. Okay, now we’re really unplugged!

It was a fun time. We went to Pet Smart and the kids really enjoyed that. Maggie was excited at seeing real cats and they also had 3 dogs that were being groomed. There were gerbils and hamsters and all kinds of little birds. Fish, lizards, toads – you name it they had it. After that we went to Best Buy because not much else was open at the time. That store annoys me, but early Sunday mornings doesn’t find too many shops open early.. Mike finally perked up though and played a game while we were there.

After that it was Bath and Body Works and Game Stop while Steve and Mike picked up McDonalds. Yeah, I know, there’s better, but if I had thought this thing out ahead of time, I would have picked up those Chili’s gift cards we have. Next time we’ll remember. Oh, there will be a next time.

Our last two stops were Sephora at JC Penney and Vintage Stock. At Sephora I let the girls try the Hello Kitty perfume (really cute bottle with an atomizer – remember those?) and I let Maggie try some Pink Frosted Animal Cookie lip gloss from Philosophy. Unfortunately they were all out of that so I couldn’t get it for her. She was in heaven! Her birthday is tomorrow and she will be 12 and while I’m not in a hurry for her to grow up, I know she wants to have a few of those pretties girls love. Vintage stock is always fun, but no Paradise Theater. Darn.

Our very last stop was Starbucks for a decaf mocha because I really needed something restful after shopping with 5 kids! We got home and I went online briefly and then let the kids play computer time (20 minutes each). Yeah, I know that’s not really unplugged, but those who weren’t on the computer sat outside with me and we talked and enjoyed the cool autumn day. Besides, who says you have to try to do it all the first day? Especially when you have little kids who aren’t in on the plan. I’m trying to sneak it in…shhhh.

After an easy supper of chicken sandwiches, I sat outside hoping for some quiet time with a magazine, but little kids found me anyway. Joe practiced shooting with his homemade bow and arrow ( from sticks found in the yard) and talking about a game he likes. Becky brought her new stuffed pig outside where she was just generally silly. It was fun and without distractions I was really able to talk and isn’t that the best reason of all to unplug? So that we reconnect with those we love?

I didn’t get online until later when I downloaded a little ebook on eating healthy and read part of that before I went to bed. I’m hoping to cut down on online time in general starting this week. When the stresses overwhelm it’s what I tend to do, but I need to find better ways. At any rate, I think it was a good day and an enjoyable day spent with the kids. We’ll try again next Sunday and I’ve found a few books on keeping the Sabbath that I’m going to read this month to ponder this more. At any rate, I think it’s a good start.

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Our Park Adventure

September 28, 2012

Never mind that this was three weeks ago, I am finally posting pictures of our park adventure. What you won’t see is the excitement of the kids running from tree to tree as they read the plaques in front to see what kind of trees they were. Nor will you see them dumping the water out of their water bottles and replacing it with pond water to look at under our little microscope at home (next time I’ll bring it along). Or the horror of seeing the dry cracked ground and the little pond that was all but dried up. What you will see is the beauty of the day and the joy of kids enjoying nature on one of the first cool days after our second heat wave. We need to go back this weekend since we have now had rain to see the differences it has made – if any. We haven’t had that much rain, but enough to help the grass in the yard out a smidge. Enjoy!

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September Progress Report

September 27, 2012

Well, well, well, looky who’s here :-). Yep, I decided I’d better say something before ya’ll think I fell off the face of the earth. Let’s get started with the report shall we?

Health – As you know, I’ve been battling high blood pressure since being diagnosed in June. I made progress and then didn’t make any progress for awhile. After changing doctors and changing meds a couple of times, I seem to be where I need to be – finally. My bp is now almost normal (in the 120’s/80’s instead of 150’s/90’s) so I feel really good about that! I go to the doctor this Friday for a check on it and he should be happy. I know I am.

Also, I was diagnosed with low thyroid and after two almost two months of being on a lowered dose of meds (the initial dose was way, way too high), my level is almost normal – well, hooray for that! I go in another week to have another blood test to see where I am at.

As far as my mental health is concerned, well, I had kind of a backslide, and had to call my counselor to see if I c9uld get back in with her (after a 2 year hiatus). She welcomed it and I’m SO glad to be going back – my first session is next Monday and I can’t wait!

Weight – Well, there’s actually good news to report for a change. I’ve lost 12 pounds since all this started and trying to keep the downward trend going. Unfortunately, I keep hitting plateaus and I also had a backslide here as well. Can you say throwing all that work in the trash for a couple of weeks? Next week I am going to do Deal-A-Meal with fervor and try to only eat whole foods – as little processed as possible. Some things like pasta I can’t avoid buying processed, but there’s a lot I can do better on.

I have also decided instead of walking 20 or 30 minutes at once, to spread out my walking into 15 minute increments 3 times a day. I think that may work better. I have to say, I’m kind of worried it may push my bp up again, but we’ll see. At this point, I just don’t want to break whatever good is going on with that right now.

School – We started back in school the last week of August and so far so good. I had to rearrange a couple of courses for Steve, but otherwise all is well. The kids are going to do a lot more writing this year than they did last year and trying to find writing projects they’ll enjoy doing is the challenge. Last week I gave Maggie and Joe an assignment to rewrite a fairy tale from a character’s point of view. They loved that challenge and Maggie wrote 3 stories! I love it when I hit on good ideas. So, with a month under our belt now, I feel like we are on the right track.

Sundays – We have decided to institute Sunday Family Time. Now, whether Mike will come along much now that it’s football season I don’t know, but the rest of us will be doing something. We’ve been to the library and also to a local bookstore as well as parks. It is fun to get out and about and do something different than just sitting at home which often means a long afternoon. What I’d really like to have is an Unplugged Sunday and will continue to work toward that.

Restoration – We have had to make some big purchases this month but they were very much needed. We finally replaced an old very decrepit sofa when a local store had a pretty good sale on. We now have one really beautiful piece of furniture in the living room and I look forward to buying the matching pieces.

Our stove died a fiery death (yes, literally) and we had to replace it too. It took almost two weeks to get our new stove, but it arrived today and works wonderfully! It has a few extra features on it our old stove didn’t and I think it will suit our needs better. I know the kids are looking forward to cooking on it too :-).

Steve is going to be getting orthodontic work done soon and I think it will start in earnest next month. He should have a really nice smile in a couple of years. Maggie will be following soon and possibly Becky as well. Le sigh.

The best part of all these purchases is we payed cash for them all – no credit cards – and that makes me feel really happy.

So, I think that’s it for the last two months. Hopefully we can continue to make headway and not have any more stuff thrown at us. Things breaking down or surprise exterior home inspections from insurance companies (yes, that’s hit us too) are not what we need right now. All I can do is pray that God will let us catch our breath from this stuff until the next round. Because you know there’ll be another round :-/.

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Maggie Makes A Movie

September 13, 2012

Yep, I have another movie maker in the family. For those who don’t know, my older boys (Matt, Jeff, and Chris) went through a phase of making movies a few years ago. Some (i.e. Fat Lumps) will go down in family history forever. So, this runs in the family.

Well, Maggie got a little Hello Kitty camcorder for Christmas last year and she has made lots of little movies, but this time she decided to make a stop motion animation! I had bought her this book and it has helped her be even more creative with her work.

Her first movie is what I call Whimzy Movie because she made it with her and her sisters’ Whimzy animals. I have to say, I’m really impressed by how well she did. We have two more videos that we are currently pulling together and I will upload those as soon as we have them done. In the meantime, here is Whimzy Movie for your viewing pleasure.

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Weekend Gallery

September 9, 2012

Hi everyone! Tap, tap – is this thing on? Well, if you still are coming here – thanks. If not – well, you won’t see that I’m posting a slew of pictures today. :-) It was a long, stressful summer and some health issues are still not resolved but in the works and that is why I haven’t been talking much here. However, I don’t want to abandon my blog completely and it is a way of journaling what happens around here so I figured I’d better post SOMETHING. So, Weekend Gallery is fun and there have been some really fun pictures of late so…the Gallery is open.

That Sally – she is always wanting her picture taken.

We were hoping to get rain from these clouds. We didn’t.

Barrett met with a terrible accident and had to be in a body cast for a week.

Remnant clouds from Isaac. We didn’t get any rain from him either.

The weather is finally cooler and my leaf fan is in season again.

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