Long time, no...write

So I've been busy for awhile. I've been canning (does that mean I'm becoming domesticated?) peaches and veggies. Tonight we (okay, most of the work my hubby did) canned peach-orange jam. Should be good. On the 7th my hubby and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. We started out by grabbing Micky D's food for breakfast on the way to taking Red to the doctor. He has been going to the bathroom WAY too frequently (every few minutes) for the last 2 1/2 weeks. When I clocked him going 3 times in 6 minutes we knew that he should be seen. His urinanalysis was normal, so we're just giving him a smooth muscle relaxer and are trying to get him to wait for an hour between restroom visits. I'm lucky if it's 30 minutes. He did wait an hour a couple of times today (I think). Anyway, I'm trying to cure him before school starts in a couple of weeks (two weeks from today for Chief!). We didn't get to hang out much in the afternoon of our anniversary, but thanks to my family we got to go out to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. Very sadly, Chief started to get very sick right after we left him (we had no idea he would be--sorry again Mom and Sis!), but they didn't call us to come back, so we did have a great time. FYI--if you like butterfinger and/or chocolate-peanut butter, then Adam's chocolate-peanut butter cup fudge ripple cheesecake is VERY good. Very rich too though, so take it to go and only eat a couple of bites at a time. The next day I got to see my nephew baptized (way to go buddy!), which was way fun--'cause I hung out with my family after and they took me to get a bento box from Jasmine's (sooooo good!). And yesterday we went to Lagoon, thanks to my other Mom and Dad, and we had a great time. We went to Lagoon-a-beach first. Within 5 minutes I had scraped my hand, so I had to lay out in the sun without kids and stay out of the freezing-cold pool for awhile...shucks. Anyway, I did go and play with bandaids on, trying to keep my hand as dry as possible. Then we divided and conquered with the kids. Mom took Punkie to the little kid rides, Chief and hubby went to young kid rides, and Chief and I went on the young-older kid rides. We met up and switched a bit. Kind-of like musical-kids. So now here I am, taking a short breath before running off again. But definately looking forward to seeing my sis and her family soon!

Angels and Demons

No, I'm not reading a book by Dan Brown. I'm just reflecting on bringing up children and how they can switch personalities during the day. I can definately tell it's summer based upon their behavior. The boys are trying to bother each other--just for the fun of it. Yesterday brought quite the learning lesson with it for all of us. My hubby and I were downstairs in the kitchen when we heard Chief coughing and gagging. When asked what was wrong all I could understand from him was the word "mouth." I thought he must be unconscious when I first saw him--he was lying at the top of the stairs not moving. Then as we got closer, my hubby asked what happened again and Chief sprang up, led us to our bedroom, and showed us a small black canister he had apparently been playing with. Pepper spray. We shooed the kids (yep, the younger two were there too) out of the room and gave them milk to drink (milk is better than water at attempting to relieve symptoms borne from pepper spray contact). I tried airing out the upstairs rooms--particularly my own. Just from walking into the room, my hubby and I were gagging and coughing too. Not fun. Lesson for parents: don't assume that placing your personal items under piles of stuff on the dresser is a good way to hide them. Lesson for kids: don't play with stuff on your parent's dresser and don't press a button just because it says "press."
Later that day the Angel showed up in Chief. He gave a particularly enthusastic "pep talk" of why we should be 'faithful, and courageous' like the stripling warriors--willing to fight for what's right. He was very passionately into his speech, it was great! He also had us do the "love seat" again. Each member of the family got a chance to sit in the chair (love sac), be cheered for and then the other members take the opportunity to singularly tell them one compliment--one thing they love about that person. The kids just light up when it's their turn and they love to come up with things about everyone else too.

An innocent blunder

What started as a simple request led to a disastrous frenzy, leaving only destruction and visible tumult in its wake. The other day my hubby said he'd like me to take a chainsaw to the thick forest protruding from the top of his head. I've only done this once previously, about three years ago. After 1 1/2 hours, I think I did a fine job. But my hubby never did request me to cut his hair again--until now. However, the other night did not give the same results. I suppose it was because I didn't watch the hair-cutting video this time, or because I was impatient, or that I am not a perfectionist and it showed that night. Whatever the reason, at least hair grows out. I wish this were the end of the tale, but it's not. As I said, a frenzy ensued. Once my hubby was out of town (to camp with the scouts), he was unable to stop me from turning the razor and scissors on the remaining defenseless children. I couldn't help myself. First Chief fell under the blade, left with one side of his head botched when I tried to blend. Then Punkie, excited to have her first haircut, started cutting her hair with scissors. Luckily, not too much was cut, and I didn't cut more than 1 1/2 inches straight across the back. You might say she was the most unscathed of the three children. And Red was my last victim. I don't want to talk about what happened to him, it's too unbalanced. At least I had the good sense to put away the weapons before I turned them on myself.

Cub Scout Camp pics

Red left a day early with his Dad to prepare our camping expedition this weekend. He called and left a message on the phone that he forgot his emergency pack. My boys tend to pack backpacks with "emergency" supplies, just in case. So I checked out his latest pack: 4 trail mix bars, 1 gatorade bottle, jazz basketball, dinosaur toy, binoculars, 2 baseball caps, and 1 leggo toy.

At least if there is an emergency, we'll have some fun.

Here's a few pics from Chief's day camp last week:

How much fun is that?!?!

Triple Berry Muffin recipe

So I'm still catching up on things. Doesn't help that I'm procrastinating as much as I can. Found out today that my 8 year old believes (due to a 5 year old neighbor) that a boy can get a girl pregnant by spitting in her mouth while kissing. Their spit apparently combines together to make a baby in her (as he pats his lower stomach area). He then must have noticed the incredulous look on my face because he asks me how babies are made. I remind him that males have sperm that contain some DNA and the females have eggs that contain a portion of their DNA and that only one sperm can enter an egg, thereby combining the DNA, mixing it up to make a baby (yep, I know there are exceptions and yep, I totally skipped how the sperm gets into the female--he'll get that talk when he is old enough to ask about it).
Here's a recipe I slightly modified from Taste of Home called Triple Berry Muffins. I found it Father's Day morning when I realized we were out of muffin mixes (gasp!) and I had a request from Red to make them for him for Father's Day--since it's the "boys" day.
Triple Berry Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup mashed berries (I used raspberries and blueberries)
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries

In large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk, vanilla and butter, adding 1/2 cup mashed berries; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in berries.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 372 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Serve warm. Makes 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Another recipe from my sister

My sister is 'THE COOK', so it's only natural that I'm stealing as many recipes as I can while I'm visiting her. Here's another recipe she kindly made for me:

Avocado-Mango Salsa
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, diced
1 tomato, seeded, diced
2 green onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 jalapeño chili, minced
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, diced

Combine first 5 ingredients in bowl. (Can be made 3 hours ahead; refrigerate.) Stir in diced avocado and season to taste with salt and pepper.

*Note: My sister doesn't add the tomato or the jalapeno chili, and she does add some chopped Cilantro. When she is out of green onions, she substitutes some onion powder. This recipe, made with the Cilantro, is nicely tangy and refreshing for summer.

Hello from Virginia

Sorry there won't be any pics from my end--I don't have my camara with me. I had packed a week ago to visit my in-laws house for the weekend. On Saturday I got a call from my Mom, who was worried about my sister--she hurt her back the day before and wasn't able to walk around. I volunteered to ditch my poor hubby and kids to help out. Soon I got a phone call from my bro-in-law who booked a flight for me the next day, and the rest is history. My sis is walking around, but on pain killers (and pry will be until she has physical therapy for a herniated disk). I'm just around to lift the kids (well, the four year old is fine, the 19 month old just needs a boost occasionally), driving, and to bend over for those things she can't do. In the meantime, we're having some fun hanging out.
Here's a recipe for granola that I begged her for. My mouth can't even detect the wholesome stuff--it's really very good when kept in an airtight container.
Title: Granola
Ingredients:
GRANOLA
8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped or sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries or mixed dried fruit
coconut to taste, if desired
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Add coconut if desired. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.