Stepping Up...

One of Kate's friends must have learned about Earth Day

 at her school because while playing together last weekend, 

this girl decided to "clean the earth" 

by sweeping her front yard....  

Inspired by her buddy's "Save the Earth!" attitude,

 Kate went straight for the broom

 as soon as she came home...  

She swept the front walks with vigor...  

I can't get her to pick up candy wrappers she left 

on the living room floor, 

much less sweep inside...  

Kids need creative motivation to do chores 

that they would normally sneer at...  

Enter one of my new favorite books, 

"Cleaning House: A Mom's Twelve-Month Experiment

 to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement"  

by Kay Wills Wyma... 

Kay is a mother of five kids, 

ranging in age from 5 years to 16 years of age...  

They live in a tony suburb of Dallas 

and enjoy a comfortable life...  

Kay had a shocking revelation one day 

when she admitted to herself that her children 

lived such sheltered, helicoptered lives

 that they would emerge into adulthood 

lacking basic life skills, 

such as knowing how to do laundry, 

purchase groceries, mend clothes 

or how throw a great party...  

She feared her offspring would suffer the agony of defeat

 when they would realize that six figure salaries 

don't happen right out of college

 and that they might need to know how to unclog a toilet

or perhaps make dinner for themselves...  

Not mastering the most elementary tasks in home keeping 

prevents the satisfaction of acquiring these skills,

 however when the basics are learned, 

it creates a strong sense of accomplishment for youngsters... 

So Kay taught her kids how to keep bedrooms clean, 

bathrooms tidy, meals made, 

and lawns mowed, 

with much kicking and screaming...  

In the end, her sons and daughters gained a whole lot self esteem 

while getting into the groove

 of their new chores and requirements...
  

I regretfully recognize this enabling culture 

in myself and with some friends...  

I can't think of too many parents I know who would dream 

of letting their ten year olds cut vegetables with a REAL knife, 

or would make them do their own laundry...  

And most ten year olds, in this neck of the woods,
would laugh if asked to cut the lawn...  

"My dad won't let me do it!  It's his job, anyway.", 

they would retort... 

We don't require our kids to do the same chores, if any,

that we did at a much younger age, 

because we are so busy that we know 

we can do it better and faster ourselves...  

Or we don't want to deal with the whining and belly aching, 

or we allow our precious children to focus on studies, 

sports or piano so they will earn a scholarship 

to that ivy league school 

with monstrous tuitions...  

Whatever the reason, we are doing our children a disservice 

by not equipping them with the basic skills they need

 should they ever leave the nest... 

 Please GOD, have them leave the nest...  

Kay's book was inspirational to me

 because she held firm to the task, even when she felt like caving 

and she accomplished her goals...  

To see Kate willingly sweep the front walk 

reminded me of Kay's book...  

I have been waiting for the right moment

 to institute the first step in Kay's twelve month 

adventure in kid enpowerment...  

Step one: Teach the kids to keep their rooms clean...  

Place thirty-one single dollar bills in a jar for each child... 

This is their monthly allowance...

Yep, it's pricey, but worth every George Washington... 

Then help them fully organize their rooms, 

demonstrating what you deem acceptable 

for clean and tidy...  

For me, that means made beds,

 and a clutter free floor... 

 Cramming things into closets 

is a deal breaker...  

The room needs to have some semblance of organization... 

 To think of it, T$ could benefit from this exercise, too!  

Each morning, before we leave for school, 

I  will perform a quick visual sweep of the rooms... 

 If they are not up to snuff, 

I remove one dollar from the offender's jar...  

At the month's start, the kids marvel
at a jar stuffed with money 

and they become very protective 

of their wad of dough... 

 They don't want to see that pile of cash diminish, 

so they have motivation 

to keep their rooms clean...  

This is the theory that worked for Kay...  

I just need to work up the courage to begin...  

Because once the train is rolling, 

I have to keep up my end of the deal, too...

It's going to be painful, for sure...

 This is not really about making your life easier, 

because the opposite happens 

while you are conditioning your kids 

to become tidier, more skilled and self reliant... 

We will gradually add clean bathrooms,
meal planning,
small fix it projects,
grocery shopping and event planning...

There will be tears, anger and lots of frustration,

 but hopefully in the end my kids 

will feel really great about what they will know how

 to do for themselves...  

Oh jeez, I need to get this under way... 

 Maybe May 1 is the day of reckoning...  

Would somebody please hold my hand?

 I am gonna need some support!

Keep the Food Comin'.....

If you do not have kids, 

what I did yesterday sounds like sheer madness...  

If you happen to be a parent or a grandparent, 

it makes perfect sense...  

Eight kids hung out at my house for six hours 

after school let out early...  

As children leave the high maintenance preschooler age 

and enter their childhood/tween years, 

friends become all encompassing pursuits 

and topics of conversation, for that matter...
  

So, inviting chums over does not make for more work for Mama, 

the exact opposite happens...  

Leave my two offspring alone together 

and they will be at each other's throats 

in 2.8 seconds...  

Send over their best buddies 

and they disappear before you can say 

"Play nicely in the sandbox"...

As you know, this is the electronic generation...  

I don't have to worry about six boys playing with matches, 

leaping from garage roof to the next, 

nor do I wonder if they have found porn on their IPads...  

They are ten years old and still glued to Minecraft, 

or "Mindnumb", as I call it...  

With controllers attached to their sweet ten year old digits,

 the boys played videos games from noon to four pm, 

stopping only to pee 

and to eat whatever food I brought down....

"Pizza!" they cried as I entered the room 

with a large cheese pie...  

They descended upon it like ravenous dogs...  

"Epic!" , they announced when I arrived 

with a tray piled with brownies, Rice Crispy Treats ala' Reeses 

and cookies...  

It was so easy...  

No games or crafts to keep the boys busy...
  

No Disney movies to settle them down...  

They wanted to test each other's mettle 

on the video screen and nothing more... 

No, I am not naive'....

I checked and no violent games were played...

There, the disclaimer!

Upstairs, Kate invited a friend over, too, 

to mitigate the testosterone downstairs...

I set up a ladylike tea party, 

with diminutive foods, real tea and flowers...  

The girls were delighted 

and spent more time at that girly table 

than I estimated...  

Then they ran up to Kate's room 

to play dolls and to watch a princess movie on, 

you guessed it, her IPad...  

It was so quiet in the house, 

I was able to get a few things done, 

like blogging and cooking...  

It was WONDERFUL!  

Four o'clock arrived before I knew it 

and parents started picking up their kids...  

Dang if we aren't going to do 

this boy party thing again!  

They are at that lovely age where they can swim in the pool 

and I don't have to get in with them 

and it's kind of the same in life...  

Keep a distant eye on them, 

throw a little food their way 

and it's all good... 

I know, I know... 

It won't last long...  

In a few years we will be smelling their breaths 

as they come home from being out...

For right now,

I will enjoy the innocence and laughter...

I made this treat , courtesy of Shugary Treats,
for the kids...

It is fast and easy!



FLUFFERNUTTER RICE KRISPIES

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 10oz bag regular sized marshmallows
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 cup Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 1/4 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 bag (10oz) Reese's peanut butter morsels, melted
• 2 bags (8oz each) Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and turn heat to low. Stir until completely smooth. Remove from heat and quickly stir in peanut butter. Add cereal.
2. Fold in the mini marshmallows. Pour Krispies treats into a 9inch square baking dish lined with parchment paper (or buttered foil). DO NOT PRESS them in tightly. Just very gently even the top of the treats (I use the butter wrapper or marshmallow bag wrapper to press it in).
3. Top the melted peanut butter morsels with the peanut butter cups. Press those in so they stick! Allow to set, about one hour. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container. ENJOY.

Mama is Always Right....

See this little instrument of vague culinary purpose?  

I have had this thing for, oh, fifteen years or so...  

It has languished in the back of a utensil drawer, 

unused, not missed, 

while collecting schmutz and dust...  

It was one of those things, 

that Mama said I would need someday 

and I did not really believe her...  

She gave it to me, so many years past, 

when my interest in cooking was just sprouting, 

back when I thought store bought French dressing 

was essential for a gourmet chicken dish...  

What in the hell was I going to do 

with a teensy, fluted cutting wheel thingy?!  

It conjured up images of egg washes and puff pastry, 

that which I would no sooner bake with 

than I would decide to wrestle an alligator...  

I have a loads of those kinds of gadgets in my house, 

like a tray devoted only to deviled eggs, 

silver dishes for salt and pepper, 

real shells meant just for Coquille St. Jaques...  

My mom is the consumate garage sale shopper...  

On summer Fridays she scours the North Shore 

and finds treasures discarded by those living

 in elite zip codes...  

She has discovered some amazing finds; 

silver tea sets, gorgeous trays, 

American Girl doll accessories, virtually untouched...  

It is the thrill of the hunt for her, 

but we have a push and pull relationship 

regarding her weekly treasure quests...  

My issue is my small, compartmentalized, limited house... 

  

Another issue is my desire for simplicity and organization...  

I mean, who really needs 15 ramekins 

for a sometime creme' brulee?  

When I visit Mama, she first must show me this week's finds...

STAT! 

I wince, because I know that my house 

is bursting with gravy boats, cake servers and compotes, 

but secretly, I can't wait to see 

what is waiting on the dining room table at her house...  

So, it resembles a win win...  

I win if she has found me something unusual and wonderful 

and I also win on days when there is nothing to take home...  

My groaning cabinets thank me on those days...  

So today, as I get ready for eight kids 

to come over to play, 

(don't ask.)

I found a need for that diminutive, fluted tool...  

I am making homemade Cheez Its, 

(go ahead and roll your eyes, I deserve it)  

and the recipe called for that utensil...  

I was prepared to just cut the dough with a knife, 

when my GPS-enabled uterus (remember Rosanne Barr?) 

beeped that I actually have the tool the recipe called for!  

And, by gum, in the back of that dusty drawer, 

there it was...  

What have I learned?  

That Mama is always right...  

"You are going to need these things, 

you will appreciate having them sometime 

and you should use them with regularity..." 

It's true...  

Use that china!  

Make that silver gravy boat a constant member 

of the dining table!  

Accept the rarely used ice cream maker, 

because, Sister, it is going to come in handy 

on that hot day when you spy 

the most delicious strawberry ice cream recipe on Pinterest 

and you are going to HAVE to make it... 

I am not saying yes to hoarding...  

Oh God, no...  

If one thing comes into my house, 

I try to send one thing out...  

But, listen to your Mama...  

When she told you that boys 

just wanted to get into your shirt...  

When she said to always wear clean underwear, 

and when she said wear white whenever the hell you want to,  

she might have been on to something...  

And if you are crazy like me and would like to make Cheez Its, 

here is the recipe, thanks to ShopGirl...

 

HOMEMADE CHEEZ-ITS

(Recipe from BHG)

*Makes about 100 crackers*

YOU WILL NEED:

8oz shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp aged white cheddar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 tbs unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp salt

3 - 4 tbs ice water

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, mix together the shredded cheese,  half of the salt and the softened butter. (I used sharp aged white cheddar cheese, but you can use whatever kind of cheese you like. I shredded my own cheese just because I think it has better flavor and melts better, but you can use pre-shredded too to save some time!) Add in the flour and mix until the dough looks like little fluffy clumps. Then, with the mixer running begin adding the ice water and mix until a soft dough forms. (use as much ice water as you need for a dough to form).

2. Divide the dough in two, form each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. Then, roll the dough out on a floured surface into about an 1/8 inch thickness and using a fluted pastry cutter, cut the dough into about 1 inch squares.

3. Preheat your oven to 375 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer your little cheez-its onto the parchment paper, make a hole in the center of each with a toothpick, then sprinkle them with the rest of the salt. Bake for about 7 - 10 minutes (baking time will depend on your oven, just watch them carefully so they don't burn!), or until they have puffed up and the edges begin to brown. Let cool before eating. (They are best eaten right away, but you can store them in an airtight container).

Piles of Projects...

As my weary husband will attest, 

nothing makes my weekend more 

than getting things accomplished...  

 

Okay, a weekend in Hawaii would trump that, 

but you know what I mean...  

The lists are endless 

and sometimes it feels like so little 

is under my control these days...  

So it does my heart (and sanity) good 

to get a few things done around the house...  

First on the list was cleaning and raking the yard...

 One of the joys of spring 

is uncovering the green shoots 

of tulips, dafodils, allium, hostas 

and grape hyacinths.... 

 The promise of fragrant blooms 

and warmer days makes me so happy, 

as I rake away the last year's leaves

 and dried up mulch...
  

Next on the list was to plant sprouted spring flowers 

in the front pots... 

Home Depot sells all the basic spring blooms 

for cheap, so I picked up some pansies, 

tulips, hyacinths, mini daffodils 

and crocus to gussy up the planters....  

Second job on the list; check...  

The third project on the list was sidelined 

by things the kids needed to accomplish, 

but I was happy to help Jack with his homework assignment 

about the battle of Concord 

during the Revolutionary War...

Nothing warms a mom's heart more 

than witnessing her child actually learning 

something while having fun...

The model of the battle was all him;  

I just supplied a few rocks 

and adorned his shack with pretzel "timbers"...

Kate needed to finish her thank you notes 

after her birthday celebrations...
  

It's funny how thank you etiquette changes 

over the generations...  

My parents' generation has strict rules 

about sending thank you's, with time limits, etc...  

Proper thanks needs to be handed out, 

gratitude shown, and when it is not, 

well, things are uncomfortable...  

At times, it becomes burdensome 

and I feel nervous if I don't 

send out the thanks in a timely fashion...  

My generation is more casual about the thank you, 

and while I do believe that one 

should thank the giver for the generosity, 

whatever the gesture, 

sometimes an email is sufficient...

I have friends who slack altogether with thank you's 

and while it doesn't bother me, 

I know it ruffles some feathers...  

My kids are just learning about being formally gracious 

and while they will find their own way 

to thank others, I am pushing Miss Manner's line 

and make them write thank you notes...  

Sitting next to a seven year old while she carefully scrawls 

fifteen notes can be tedious, 

but as long as she is willing 

I will stand by for spell checks and motivation...  

Last on this weekend's to do list 

was the transformation of our chandelier...

A garage sale find many years ago, 

this lovely lamp cried out for re-plating of its silver...  

However, the budget could not accommodate

 the three hundred bucks or so 

it would have cost to refurbish...  

I love the shape of this chandelier, though, 

and decided to spray paint it a glossy chocolate

 and to adorn the bulbs with natural mini shades...

I LOVE how it turned out, 

but it needed a bit more dressing up, 

so I made a cord cover for it 

and also for my beaded chandelier in the dining room...  

Such a quick, easy project 

and it can be no sew, too...

Here is a great Pinterest tutorial, 

if you would like to try it, too...

I used a soft linen fabric, 

 and purchased one yard for $5.99/yd 

which was enough for two lamps...  

Kate also asked me to make her a stuffed mustache...  

(don't ask!)   

Tonight, I feel the satisfaction of spending time with the kids, 

doing worthwhile projects 

and of getting a few things done for myself, too...  

Monday might kick me in the fanny tomorrow, 

but this moment feels good...

I hope you are in a happy place, too!

Back in the Saddle....

I'm out of my groove...  

It's been almost a month since my last post 

and generally I try to speak my mind 

at least twice a week...  

March was a humdinger 

in so many ways... 

There were tons of bloggable moments, 

but I just didn't have it in me to sit down 

for a few hours to share the nuttiness...  

Frankly, I am still feeling logey, 

what with the weather bone chilling cold 

in early April, 

but here's a go 

at some of what's been happenin'...

 

1.  Tell me where the Groundhog is 

and he is going down...  

I mean, really, it's been one cold, long winter, 

with no signs of warmth yet!

2. The house is only 50% painted 

and I am sick to death of spackling, 

sanding, taping, cutting in, blech!  

If the rest of the house gets painted 

before Memorial Day, I will be satisfied...

3. Several of my friends have sold their homes 

in mere hours and now they are high tailing it 

to parts unknown...  

Was it my bad breath?

4.  We made doughnuts...  

What else can you do when you are sad 

about friends moving away, 

it's sleeting outside 

and the den smells like VOC's?

5. Some things defy explanation...  

This photo will have to suffice...

6. March is now the season 

of the Summer Camp Dance...  

See Mommy juggle dates, destinations and dizzying fees 

as she tries to arrange summer entertainment 

for her offspring...  

Good times...

7.  For once a year, 

my Corned Beef and Cabbage 

was kick ass...
  

Just sayin'...

8.  HEAT lost an office manager 

and called me back to active duty...  

Now the house painting may be completed 

just as Kate graduates from high school...  

Sigh...  

Mountains of invoices, 

piles of unknown origins...  

Total joy...

9.  Some birthdays last forever

 or seem to...

10.  The real estate market is finally gasping to life...  

Companies are calling me...  

Be careful what you wish for...

11.  Spring break must have been warmer in Anchorage 

than in Jacksonville...  

Thank God for heated pools...

12.  Some people can golf, some can't...  

Guess which category I fall into... 

  

13. Da Blimp! Da Blimp!

13.  It might look like Kate has glimpses of Chris Evert...

Yet, note the position of the tennis ball...

Don't ask about the stains on her kiester, either...

I have no idea...

14.  Who knew you could find great Rose wine in the States?  

Who knew an innocuous wine tasting could get one so toasted?  

Who is she?!

15.  My single point of brilliance in the entire month... 

The Peep Mobile for the Easter Parade...  

 

Peeps be with you...