Something Old- Always Wear Clean Underwear

It's time again for "Something Old."  This time I pulled a post off of my private family blog.  That was the blog I started when everyone was blogging.  The one where I posted EVERY vacation, event, or picture ever taken of my kids or family.  I lost interest.  It started to feel more like a chore than a hobby.  Not to mention I didn't feel "real."  I felt like I was only showing the "best" of my life.  When in reality not everyday around here is perfect.  Far from it.  So I started this blog.  I enjoy blogging again.  It's fun and therapeutic.  A great place to tell it how it is and keep it real.  I know many of you out there have lost your drive for blogging.  I know because I check your blogs that haven't been updated in months.  I know because I've talked to you and so many feel the same way...blogging has become a chore.  So here's what I suggest.....try a new approach.  Try writing your true, hearfelt feelings.  Blog about what you're passionate about.  Share what you believe and blogging will become fun again.  I loooove to read about real people living real lifes!  It's what keeps me motivated as a wife and mother.  So give it a shot.  Everyone has a story.  Share it!

Here is one of my not so perfect mornings for me.  It's time for school again so this will be a good reminder for all us moms out there.  Enjoy!

Originally posted January 27, 2011

We all know the boy scout motto of "Be prepared." We've also heard the saying, "always wear clean underwear." Little did I know that those 2 phrases would apply to taking your 6 year old daughter to school. 

Twice a week I drive Kam to her school. Which in and of itself is really quite lame considering we live 2 1/2 blocks from the school. She will never be able to tell her kids and grandkids that she walked five miles, uphill, in 10 feet of snow to school and then in the same horrible conditions back home after school. Maybe she can brag about how she had the best mom in the entire world who warmed up the car and drove her those 2 1/2 blocks so she didn't have to freeze. Maybe?

On a normal day I just drive her and her 3 little girlfriends and kick them out at the curb. I don't see anybody, I don't talk to anybody and nobody sees what I'm wearing from my neck down. Until today. The kids hopped out and off they ran. As I flipped around and started my long journey home I noticed Kam on the ground surrounded by some teachers with big tears rolling down her cheek. She saw me and we made eye contact. The look on her face was so sad! I couldn't get to her fast enough. And then I realized what I was wearing. But again, being the great mom that I am I didn't skip a beat, I sucked up my pride (which I don't have much of to begin with), and I ran to her rescue.

She had slipped hard on a patch of ice and had skinned her chin and her knee leaving a hole in her pant leg. Dang! I hugged her and kissed her and comforted her the best I could. I told her about the time when I was in the 9th grade and was booking it to class, I slipped on a patch of ice and landed flat on my face. Literally! When I jumped up the look on my friend's face was pure horror. My first thought was that I was bleeding my brains out. To my relief I wasn't but I had a bump the size of an egg above my right eye. She took me in the office and every person we saw literally gasped at the sight of my face. (Not because they thought I was ugly or anything but because of my injury. I knew I should probably clarify.) I ended up at the hospital later that day for x-rays and such. Fortunately I was fine but just left with a major black eye that lingered for several weeks. I'm not really sure that my sharing of this story comforted her in any way. Pretty sure it didn't but oh well! I tried.

As I talked to her and loved her a lady walked by and asked, "Is everything okay?" It was a simple question but sometimes the weirdest thoughts go through this brain of mine. I was thinking: Is she genuinely concerned or does she think I'm trying to kidnap this beautiful, exotic little girl with brown skin and blond hair who could not by physical appearance be my child? I know! I know! I'm weird! I always over analyze everything! It drives my husband CrAzY! I honestly stumbled upon my words to answer her simple question.

Once Kam was ready I sent her on into the school and I headed back to my car. As I returned to my car I realized that I was a sight to behold. I knew that as I went to rescue my daughter but like I said before I had no pride. Well...that may not be entirely true. I do have a spec of pride left in these bones of mine.

Picture this: red flannel pajama pants that are suppose to be pants but they're somewhere between a pant and a capri. A pantpri! It wasn't pretty! Black, slip on slipper/shoes on my feet. One of the hub's old, big, frumpy sweatshirts with paint stains all over it. Not to mention the name of my high school across the front. (Pretty sure I've been out of high school for 15 years now.) Thankfully it hid the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra. A noticeably large pimple on my nose without a hint of concealer. Black make-up smudges under my eyes from the day before. (That's right. I don't wash my face.) Furry teeth that have yet to be brushed and hair that was frizzy and matted and had yet to be combed. Poor me!

As I drove the 2 1/2 blocks to my house I kept thinking to myself: One must always be prepared. This is why they say you should always wear clean underwear because you just never know what may happen. Lesson learned. But not really because I guarantee I look no different when I take Kam to school tomorrow. What are the chances that I have to get out of my car 2 days in a row? Slim to none right?

Something Old and Something New

Holy Cow!  Life is just busy but summer is the busiest!  I am soooo behind on EVERYTHING!  Blogging included.  Let's just say it hasn't been high on the priority list.  We have been having too much fun spending time with family and playing lots!  I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I skipped doing my "Something Old" post that should have been done last week and my "Something New" for this week.  So here you go....

Something Old:

I thought that since it was still summer and maybe some have yet to go on a family vacation (like moi) I would throw out this OLD family favorite to make your travels a little more enjoyable and bearable. 

I grew up in a family of 5 kids.  I'm the oldest of the 5.  We are each only 1 year apart.  My mom had me at the age of 21 and was done having babies by 26.  She's amazing!  If that had happened to me.....well I don't even know.  (Obviously it didn't and I'm waaaay beyond the age of 26 and I'm like soooo over birthing kids!)  Imagine traveling in a station wagon or small mini van with 5 kids for a long period of time.  Not fun right?  So as kids my mom or my grandma would pack us little gift bags with surprises to open along the way.  As a kid I remember how exciting and fun it was and how funny it was when one of my brothers received a girl prize and how ticked they were. 

Last fall some friends of ours were moving across the country and traveling in a car with 4 little kids.  My hubs and I decided we would like to do something to help so we went to the Dollar Store and loaded up on prizes. 

We took them home, wrapped them up and threw them in a bag.  I labeled each prize as a girl or boy prize so they wouldn't have any of the drama that we did as kids.  And just to be mean we bought a harmonic that we knew would drive the parents bananas.  Maybe that defeated the entire purpose of our kindness right there. 

You could play games such as: I Spy, or the licence plate game where they have to find a license plate from every state.  They could color, or sing, or read.  In between each activity and every hour or so they could open a prize. 

Several years ago my entire family (parents, brothers, spouses and kids) went to the Oregon Coast for a vacation.  It is a 13 to 14 hour drive by the time you stop 500 times for potty breaks.  I actually did the travel prizes for my daughter who was 3 at the time and she looooved it!  It helped a TON!  Another fun idea if you're caravaning together is to bring hand held radios to communicate with each car.  The kids will think it is the coolest thing EVER!  And to be honest....it's fun for the adults too. 

So there you go!  Happy and Safe travels!

Something New:

So I was trying to think of what I have done that is new and I was struggling.  But then I remembered I read a really good book just this past week that was "new" to me.  It's called ROOM by Emma Donoghue. 

This book is told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy named Jack.  He has lived his entire life in an 11 X 11 foot room with his mother.  The only person he knows is his mother and a disturbing night time visitor he calls Old Nick.  His mother has been held captive in this particular room since the age of 19. 

The way the story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old was very clever and the games, activities, and ways that Jack's mother taught her son while imprisoned in that room were genius. I loved it!  And if you're worried that it may be too graphic don't.  This story is told through the innocent eyes of a child.  It truly was fascinating!  It's a must read!

Something Old, New, Borrowed, True

So I've had this idea rolling around in this 'ole head of mine for awhile now. I've been ignoring it too. Know why? Commitment! You know.....that thing I struggle with? So here's what I've been wanting to do but have let my own insecurities hold me back.

I was thinking about doing a weekly segment here called "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something True. Kinda like the old marriage saying 'cept this wouldn't have anything to do with marriage. I was thinking more along the lines of something "old" maybe sharing an old family favorite recipe or tradition. Maybe an entry from my journal when I was 8 years "old". (Which btw would be hilarious and I can probably guarantee I talked about food. I still talk about food a lot today. I need therapy!

For something "new" I would share something "new" I did during the past month. Maybe something I did that I've never done before, or a place I've never been before, or a food I've never tried before. (See how it's always about the food?)

Something "borrowed" would be an idea I got from another blog perhaps. Or an idea I got from a friend. Something along those lines.

And something "true" will just be about what I believe to be true. My beliefs and my feelings. (Which is basically what I do anyway on this blog.)

So there you have it. What do ya think? I think it could be really fun! At least for me anyway.

With it being the first week of June today I said to muhself....why not start today? So here goes nuthin'! (And just so you know...don't set your expectations too high. I for one don't take a lot of pictures of foods I make. I'd rather being eating them. I don't take a lot of pictures of things I make. I don't make a lot of things. And besides my camera isn't that fancy and the quality isn't that great. And ....I blog because it's therapeutic for me. Weird right? Try it! You'll see. Something about getting your feelings and thoughts out of your brain does a girl good!)

Something OLD:

One of our favorite breakfast foods here is pancakes. I make pancakes at least once a week. Usually twice. I make a batch of batter, cook up all the pancakes and put any we don't use in the fridge. It has come in really handy to just warm them up for breakfast when we're in a rush and I don't have time to make them on a school day. Plus, I know it's probably mental but I feel that my kids will be more satisfied with a pancake than a bowl of cereal. (Don't' get me wrong. We loooove cold cereal at our house but I'm not sure it's all that filling. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. You be the judge.)

So why is pancakes under "old" you say? Because the recipe I use for our pancakes belonged to my husband's Great Grandma Grunt. (Grandma Grunt was her nickname.) I never knew Grandma Grunt but I have learned a lot about her over the years and one thing I know for sure was she was a fantastic cook. So many of her recipes are family favorites and I'm sharing it here today. (I hope I don't get kicked out the family for this. It may be an old family favorite but I don't think it's a family secret.)

Grandma Grunt's Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/4 c. flour

(I use about 3/4 c. white flour and 1/2 c. wheat flour)

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1 1/4 c. buttermilk

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. oil

And since we're talking about old check out that griddle. It's old and belonged to my granny. She made the BEST reuben sandwiches ever on that griddle!

A couple tips and tricks: If you don't have buttermilk (which I hardly ever have on hand) you can use regular milk. Mix the regular milk with vinegar or lemon juice. Use 1 tablespoon per cup of milk and let sit for 10 minutes before you add it to the batter. And for a healthy twist add a few tablespoons of flaxseed to the batter too. I'm not a health nut but I know it's good. I don't know why it's good for you. Something about the healthy Omega 3's and blah blah blah! Either way...it's healthy and your kids will never know.

And to make it even more fun for the kids we add food coloring to the batter, they decorate their pancakes with sprinkles (the kind you use for cookies), or I cook them into different shapes and we add eyes and a mouth with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Basically we just undo all the healthy ingredients I added to the batter.

If I have the time and the patience I let the kiddos help me make them. They have their own little cooking set they got from their Nana for Christmas this past year and their own homemade aprons from their Grandma Cindy so they love to help and get really excited when I let them.

(And then we rub the cooking utensils on our nose! I never said anything about being sanitary!)

And last but not least...pancakes aren't pancakes without the syrup and we ALWAYS have homemade syrup! It's what I was raised on and now my kids have kinda become syrup snobs and prefer the homemade stuff too. It makes me proud!

Homemade Maple Syrup

2 c. brown sugar

2 c. white sugar

2 c. water

Bring to boil on stove and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. maple and 1 tsp. vanilla. This is a runny syrup so if you want thick...well umm...I don't know. And it's always the best warm! If you are going to use store bought use Aunt Jemima's Butter Lite! It's a bit more pricey than some but it's gooood! If you're cheap like me I buy the lite no name brands and I still like it. I even ventured out and bought sugar free. Not my fav but I like to torture myself and be healthy every once in a blue moon! Enjoy!

Be back next week for something NEW!!!