Another year. Wow. MJ asked the other day why the older you get does time pass by faster. If you have an explanation, please let me know. And why I wait until just before Christmas to finish writing this letter baffles me.
We’re still plugging away here in the same place for the last 7 years. Wow. My husbands job is getting quite stressful because of money concerns and budget cuts. Even still, he says he is grateful for a job and doesn’t want to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I am now the secretary of the Relief Society. It has been an interesting go of it. I don’t remember names very well, and I was supposed to memorize EVERYONE’S name in our ward Relief Society. Yeah right. I’ve got all the active ones down now, but when someone inactive comes, I need help. Even if they have come a couple of times, it usually takes me several weeks of “continual practice” to remember their names. I used to pride myself in being able to carry on many conversations with people without needing to remember their names. Now I can’t do that. SE turned 12 this year and I have found a new freedom. She tends the kids for us and my husband and I can actually go out “on dates” together again. She is doing well this year and loving it. She has some great friends at school, one in particular is so amazing, and it has made the biggest difference in the world. But we very seldom ever see her any more. She is always in her room reading. The other day, she went to the Book Mobile. (For those of you who do not know what a Book Mobile is, it is a library on wheels. It stops every two weeks right across the street at the park, I don’t know how we got so lucky.) She came home with her usual pile of books and then told me that the Book Mobile “guy” (Go figure, I don’t know his name,) calculated up how many books she had read that year from the Book Mobile and tallied up the worth to be almost $5,000 in books!!!! (And that’s not including the ones from her school library or the ones I get her.) I am just incredibly grateful she actually keeps track of them.
RD has really grown and matured this year. He has progressed farther than I ever dreamed possible for him, especially growing in areas the doctors claimed he probably wouldn’t. He helps me out so much now. He loves playing with MJ and AJ. He took up the piano and has really enjoyed it. He is progressing really fast too. (Not quite as fast as in the beginning because I am not as regular with piano lessons now, but he is still very self motivated.) In the summer, we decided to go to the “Texas Roadhouse” for family night. We had 5 free kids meal tickets that the kids had earned from school. When we first walked in the door, the waiters found out it was our first time ever going and started treating us like we were royalty. They brought out free samples for us to try, upgraded the free kids meal to the better kids meal, and even the manager came out to talk to us. As we left, they gave us more free coupons to come back next time. The kids had so much fun. RD asked if it would be like this every time we came. I told him it was probably just because it is our first time coming. He replied, “Well, how many first times can we come back for.”
BJ always amazes me with his progress. He is loving school again and has another great teacher. Looking back over the years, I cannot believe how far he has come. He is my little angel and has a way of getting right into the hearts of people. He is trying to understand this weird English language and has been asking what different phrases mean. One time he wanted to know what a “small window of opportunity” meant. (He thought it had something to do with your brain.) Then one night we were reading the scriptures as a family and how some of the Nephites were coming out in open rebellion; so Moroni said those who committed treason would be put to death. Little Blaine got upset and said, “I don’t want all the trees to die.”
MJ has this amazing personality and very giving spirit. He is quite the hard worker, (when he wants to be) too. For Christmas we pick Christmas buddies and then the kids can pick out a gift for them. He picked a present out for his buddy but then every couple of days he wants to try and make one for her too. So he sets to work carving wood or gluing things together. Usually though, by the end of his many hours of work, he likes it so much, he decides to keeps it. It’s the thought that counts right?
AJ is sure growing. If she had been born 4 days early instead of 8 days late, she would have gone to kindergarten this year. (Isn’t that crazy.) But I am grateful for the extra year with her. I babysit another little girl now and it has been good for her not be with just me. We got a little indoor trampoline last year for Christmas and the kids have loved it. AJ especially plays on it all the time. One day she made a “bed” on it. Then when I came into view she called out in that singing tone, “I’m jumping on my bed, I’m jumping on my bed.!”
As I look back on this year, I am amazed, humbled, and completely grateful for the changes, the progress, and the learning experiences we have gone through. I am so grateful for this gospel and especially for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for this time of year when the spirit of Christmas (or in other words, the spirit of Christ) dwells so strongly in our hearts and homes. I am grateful for this life, for this chance to learn and grow. I am grateful for my amazing family who raised me and for the one My husband and I are raising now. I am indeed grateful for the amazing man I married who I fall in love with more with each passing year. I don’t know how I could make it without him.
I hope this Christmas will be one to remember and the following year will be filled with great memories. Take care and have an amazing new year.
From the Spotten family
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Treasure is in the Eye of the Beholder.
Several years ago, my neighbor was moving and gave me a suitcase set. It was in great condition but it has sat in my basement collecting dust for quite a while now. The other day, I took it out and was checking it over to see if I should try and sell it. There was a lock on the zipper of the suitcase, but I quickly found the key in one of the pockets. However, the suitcase that fit inside the big suitcase also had a lock, but I could not find the key for this one. I checked all the pockets, in any crack or other place that could possibly house the key. Nothing. In my search though, I realized that there was something in the suitcase. We poked and prodded trying to figure out what kind of treasure would be in it. Finally, curiosity got the better of us and we decided to cut the lock. After a half hour of cutting and sawing and anything else we could think of that might work, we broke through. The kids all gathered around to see what was inside. I opened it and found the large bubble wrapping inside, and a sack of packing peanuts. The kids were elated. For the next half hour, they were jumping, popping and playing with that bubble wrap until every single bubble was popped. (I didn’t let them touch the packing peanuts. I have no desire for that kind of mess.) We truly did find a treasure, at least in the kids eyes.
And the key - it was inside the suitcase, pinned to the tag.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Emergency
Our family has decided to try and save for something. In order to do this, we have to have a smaller Christmas, and take every babysitting opportunity to get enough in time. Yesterday, MJ decided he wanted to help out even more than what he had already done. He went and got some card stock paper, made a little paper wallet, put 2 dollars and 4 cents, (the 4 pennies were to cover the cost of the card stock), and then in great excitement, he gave it to me to put toward the fund. My heart was just about to burst to see his generosity. (I do not pay my children very much. 2 dollars is the equivalent of what he would earn in almost a month if he worked really hard.) He felt so good about it, he too was bursting at the seems. (The other day, he paid his tithing, a total of 50 cents for the past 3 months or so of earnings. Just after he handed it to the bishop, he told me how good he felt inside. This kid is amazing.) But in his excitement, he was jumping up and down. At one point he put his hands on the counter to do an extra big jump of excitement, came up and hit his head smack on the corner of the cupboards. He went down hard and grabbed his forehead in pain. I was over to him in less than a second, took one look at his wound and freaked. I know, I am supposed to remain calm, but it didn’t happen on my end. The wound was a good one inch long and at least a quarter inch tall. It split it so far open, I could see his white skull very clearly, that is until the blood started coming. My reaction did not help my poor son. All my children started running around frantically. One grabbed me an ice pack, one a paper towel, another one grabbed my phone to call my husband, and the rest ran to their rooms to pray. I took RD with us to the hospital to help MJ hold on the ice pack and towel. SE stayed home with the younger kids. On the way to the hospital, MJ was saying he wished he could go back in time and change things. Then he said he wished it were just a bad dream. “It would be scary but at least I could wake up and it wouldn’t be real.” Seeing my baby hurt like that just about tore my heart apart.
One great thing about living in a small town with a hospital, the emergency room wait was a total of about 30 seconds - the time it took them to realize we were their. They got us right in, cleaned up the wound, (which extremely surprisingly had already almost stopped bleeding), numbed him up and started stitching him. The hole was so large I didn’t know how they were going to pull it all together. I guess there is a membrane that goes around the skull. It also had been severed. So they first had to pull that part together and stitch it. Then they pulled the inside of the tissue together and stitched that. Amazingly, they were able to pull the top part together and stitched him all up. He was home within 2 ½ hours. The stitch looks so much smaller than the hole used to be, thankfully.
When he got home, he was still literally shaking pretty bad. I think the shock of it all really got to him. But I am so grateful for hospitals. I am grateful for my husbands job and that it provides good enough insurance to cover things like this. But most of all, I am extremely grateful MJ is ok. With the way I reacted to this, I don’t know how I would be able to handle something much bigger. He is doing good this morning. I’m keeping him home from school just to make sure though. Maybe too, I just need that extra time with him to calm my little heart down also.
One great thing about living in a small town with a hospital, the emergency room wait was a total of about 30 seconds - the time it took them to realize we were their. They got us right in, cleaned up the wound, (which extremely surprisingly had already almost stopped bleeding), numbed him up and started stitching him. The hole was so large I didn’t know how they were going to pull it all together. I guess there is a membrane that goes around the skull. It also had been severed. So they first had to pull that part together and stitch it. Then they pulled the inside of the tissue together and stitched that. Amazingly, they were able to pull the top part together and stitched him all up. He was home within 2 ½ hours. The stitch looks so much smaller than the hole used to be, thankfully.
When he got home, he was still literally shaking pretty bad. I think the shock of it all really got to him. But I am so grateful for hospitals. I am grateful for my husbands job and that it provides good enough insurance to cover things like this. But most of all, I am extremely grateful MJ is ok. With the way I reacted to this, I don’t know how I would be able to handle something much bigger. He is doing good this morning. I’m keeping him home from school just to make sure though. Maybe too, I just need that extra time with him to calm my little heart down also.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Clutter Spots
NOTE: I love my sister-in-laws idea about giving your children nicknames so that those who know us, know exactly who I am talking about but still don’t have to use their real names. I will do that from now on. From oldest to youngest. SE, RD, BJ, MJ, AJ (I am not very creative am I.)
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Does anyone else have to deal with clutter spots daily? I have been trying to get our clutter spots in our home under control lately, and I think that this is impossible. There is one especially in our house that doesn’t stay clean for more than a few hours, no matter how much I breath out threats to anyone sticking papers on that counter!!! After several weeks of trying to focus on these clutter spots, it seemed the first ones I had cleared were back to where they were before. And there are still PLENTY left to do. The thought came to me of the story in Alma, in the war chapters. The Nephites had to send reinforcements those cities they had taken back or they would loose them again. I somehow need to figure out how to reinforce these places that I am taking back!!!
Counters are one thing, but closets, that’s a whole other story. I spent several days with MJ, who absolutely loves to build things, and together we created a nice coat rack so that the kids can hang up there coats and backpacks by themselves when they first come home from school and not leave our front room so stacked high you can’t even walk through it. I explained to the kids how this is going to work and what I expect them to do. It has been a week now since we made it and I realize, it is going to take a lot of practice before they finally get it!!!
Today I was cleaning out another spot that I hadn’t cleaned out in years, - one spot in my closet!!! I would clean around it every time I cleaned the closet, but today, I hit it head long, and it was well worth my time. I keep all my stationary, old cards or letters, journals, papers, and whatever else I just don’t know what to do with but can’t get rid of, there. It took me several hours. But what once took up the whole shelf now fits in less than half of it. Wow. But what is absolutely the most amazing, crazy, totally unpredicted part about it is, I actually got paid!!! I was going through some cards that were sent to me. Usually when I came upon a card, I threw them in the card pile, but this one that I came across was a birthday card from my mom and looked a lot different from other cards. You didn’t open it like a normal card, you slid out the card in this cool way. I was playing with it for a minute enjoying the way the colors changed as I slid the card back and forth. (Now you know what I do in my spare time.) But as I looked closer at it, I realized the underneath colors looked a lot like the color of money. I squeezed the two sides of the card together to pop it open and low and behold, a 20 dollar bill was in there. I don’t know if I never saw it there, if I had forgotten about it, or if I had only gotten part of the money not realizing there was more. I just can’t remember that far back in time. But I tell you, my jaw was dropped for at least five minutes as I just sat there looking at the money. (I am sooooooooo glad I kept that card.) And now mom, THANK YOU!!! (A very late thank you.)
Moral of the story . . . keep cleaning those clutter spots. It will pay off!!!
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Does anyone else have to deal with clutter spots daily? I have been trying to get our clutter spots in our home under control lately, and I think that this is impossible. There is one especially in our house that doesn’t stay clean for more than a few hours, no matter how much I breath out threats to anyone sticking papers on that counter!!! After several weeks of trying to focus on these clutter spots, it seemed the first ones I had cleared were back to where they were before. And there are still PLENTY left to do. The thought came to me of the story in Alma, in the war chapters. The Nephites had to send reinforcements those cities they had taken back or they would loose them again. I somehow need to figure out how to reinforce these places that I am taking back!!!
Counters are one thing, but closets, that’s a whole other story. I spent several days with MJ, who absolutely loves to build things, and together we created a nice coat rack so that the kids can hang up there coats and backpacks by themselves when they first come home from school and not leave our front room so stacked high you can’t even walk through it. I explained to the kids how this is going to work and what I expect them to do. It has been a week now since we made it and I realize, it is going to take a lot of practice before they finally get it!!!
Today I was cleaning out another spot that I hadn’t cleaned out in years, - one spot in my closet!!! I would clean around it every time I cleaned the closet, but today, I hit it head long, and it was well worth my time. I keep all my stationary, old cards or letters, journals, papers, and whatever else I just don’t know what to do with but can’t get rid of, there. It took me several hours. But what once took up the whole shelf now fits in less than half of it. Wow. But what is absolutely the most amazing, crazy, totally unpredicted part about it is, I actually got paid!!! I was going through some cards that were sent to me. Usually when I came upon a card, I threw them in the card pile, but this one that I came across was a birthday card from my mom and looked a lot different from other cards. You didn’t open it like a normal card, you slid out the card in this cool way. I was playing with it for a minute enjoying the way the colors changed as I slid the card back and forth. (Now you know what I do in my spare time.) But as I looked closer at it, I realized the underneath colors looked a lot like the color of money. I squeezed the two sides of the card together to pop it open and low and behold, a 20 dollar bill was in there. I don’t know if I never saw it there, if I had forgotten about it, or if I had only gotten part of the money not realizing there was more. I just can’t remember that far back in time. But I tell you, my jaw was dropped for at least five minutes as I just sat there looking at the money. (I am sooooooooo glad I kept that card.) And now mom, THANK YOU!!! (A very late thank you.)
Moral of the story . . . keep cleaning those clutter spots. It will pay off!!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Trials/Blessings
I have been thinking a lot lately about things that happen that appear at first to be inconvenient/trial, but after you look back, you can see the Lords hand in it all. For instance,
This past week, our family has been suffering with the stomach flu. I hate the stomach flu, probably because when I have had my share of throwing up through all of my pregnancies. (All I have to do is have the stomach flu for 1 day, and all my baby hungriness goes right out the door.(My neighbor calls pregnancy the Egyptian flu. In nine months, you’re a mummy!!!)) Nonetheless, my son came down with the flu on Friday. I had been planning on going into the school and helping out for 5 hours like I do on most Fridays. But of coarse now I couldn’t go. I was stuck home. I started reworking one of my songs, and got the instrumental part finished in those 5 hours that I would have spent at the school. What a blessing. I am grateful I was able to stay home. (My son probably wasn’t so grateful though)
My biggest trial/blessing has been my children!!! I am sure you will all agree. I have heard when you pray for patience, you “are blessed” with another child. I love each one of my children so much and wouldn’t want to go without any of them. My boys with autism have probably been the ones to teach me most about patience. Before I had them, I didn’t understand autism at all. I thought that they were children who just needed a whole lot more attention, and if you gave it to them, they would get better. HA!!!! Crazy hu!!! But when my second son started showing signs of autism, I thought if I never got upset at him, (double ha) if I spent every moment I could with him, if I showed every ounce of love I could, I could pull him out of it. Where I was greatly mistaken was the “I”. I thought I had to do it all. Only after several years of hardship and finally realizing I desperately needed help, I learned to place my trust in the Lord. He stepped in and showed me a much easier way. Having my sons has taught me how to think outside of the box, and all thanks I give to a much higher power who’s picture is perfect. I honestly can say, I am grateful for this experience . . . now that I am not going through the hard part anymore!!!
My first four children have some form of disability. I have 2 with autism and 2 with dyslexia. They have all required a great amount of effort in trying to teach them. My last little girl is amazing. I have found several educational websites that have fun games for children. The other day, she got on (by herself) and clicked on a game. (Thankfully I don’t have to worry about the sites.) After a while, I came to check on her and she was playing a game where you find the bigger number and click on the “crocodile mouth” (<>) that is pointing the right way. I had never taught her how to do this. She knows how to count to like 50 or something. She knows what the numbers 1-10 look like. But I hadn’t gotten around to teaching her the bigger numbers. When I first peaked in, she was doing the basic numbers 1-10 and getting them right. I was impressed because I had never taught her about the “crocodile mouth”. Then it went to the two digit numbers. Somehow she was still getting them right. Then it went to the hundreds. I got up to explain to her how to be able to tell those big numbers apart. She then explained to me that you are not looking for the biggest numbers, you are looking for the smallest. My term of the crocodile mouth was not correct in her mind. They were arrows pointing to the smaller number. 1<2 Crazy. She amazes me. So I have all these things I have made to teach my other children. I pulled them out to finally teach her the teen numbers. Within minutes, she totally got it. I am used to explaining, explaining again, my child gets frustrated (or I do) and we try it again the next day, usually taking several days or weeks going over the same concept before they finally get it. It takes me several minutes to teach her. Wow!!! Makes me feel like a great teacher. I also think it helps to already have all those visual manipulatives to help teach her.
I truly am grateful for this life, for friends and family, for support and love, and especially for an ever watchful Father above, who loves us enough to let us struggle at times.
My two favorite educational websites (both free) are . . . .
www.abcya.com (I learned about this one when I was helping at the school. They have the kids play it when they are done with there testing. It has games for k-5th grade.)
and
www.starfall.com (Summer showed me this one. Thank you!)
This past week, our family has been suffering with the stomach flu. I hate the stomach flu, probably because when I have had my share of throwing up through all of my pregnancies. (All I have to do is have the stomach flu for 1 day, and all my baby hungriness goes right out the door.(My neighbor calls pregnancy the Egyptian flu. In nine months, you’re a mummy!!!)) Nonetheless, my son came down with the flu on Friday. I had been planning on going into the school and helping out for 5 hours like I do on most Fridays. But of coarse now I couldn’t go. I was stuck home. I started reworking one of my songs, and got the instrumental part finished in those 5 hours that I would have spent at the school. What a blessing. I am grateful I was able to stay home. (My son probably wasn’t so grateful though)
My biggest trial/blessing has been my children!!! I am sure you will all agree. I have heard when you pray for patience, you “are blessed” with another child. I love each one of my children so much and wouldn’t want to go without any of them. My boys with autism have probably been the ones to teach me most about patience. Before I had them, I didn’t understand autism at all. I thought that they were children who just needed a whole lot more attention, and if you gave it to them, they would get better. HA!!!! Crazy hu!!! But when my second son started showing signs of autism, I thought if I never got upset at him, (double ha) if I spent every moment I could with him, if I showed every ounce of love I could, I could pull him out of it. Where I was greatly mistaken was the “I”. I thought I had to do it all. Only after several years of hardship and finally realizing I desperately needed help, I learned to place my trust in the Lord. He stepped in and showed me a much easier way. Having my sons has taught me how to think outside of the box, and all thanks I give to a much higher power who’s picture is perfect. I honestly can say, I am grateful for this experience . . . now that I am not going through the hard part anymore!!!
My first four children have some form of disability. I have 2 with autism and 2 with dyslexia. They have all required a great amount of effort in trying to teach them. My last little girl is amazing. I have found several educational websites that have fun games for children. The other day, she got on (by herself) and clicked on a game. (Thankfully I don’t have to worry about the sites.) After a while, I came to check on her and she was playing a game where you find the bigger number and click on the “crocodile mouth” (<>) that is pointing the right way. I had never taught her how to do this. She knows how to count to like 50 or something. She knows what the numbers 1-10 look like. But I hadn’t gotten around to teaching her the bigger numbers. When I first peaked in, she was doing the basic numbers 1-10 and getting them right. I was impressed because I had never taught her about the “crocodile mouth”. Then it went to the two digit numbers. Somehow she was still getting them right. Then it went to the hundreds. I got up to explain to her how to be able to tell those big numbers apart. She then explained to me that you are not looking for the biggest numbers, you are looking for the smallest. My term of the crocodile mouth was not correct in her mind. They were arrows pointing to the smaller number. 1<2 Crazy. She amazes me. So I have all these things I have made to teach my other children. I pulled them out to finally teach her the teen numbers. Within minutes, she totally got it. I am used to explaining, explaining again, my child gets frustrated (or I do) and we try it again the next day, usually taking several days or weeks going over the same concept before they finally get it. It takes me several minutes to teach her. Wow!!! Makes me feel like a great teacher. I also think it helps to already have all those visual manipulatives to help teach her.
I truly am grateful for this life, for friends and family, for support and love, and especially for an ever watchful Father above, who loves us enough to let us struggle at times.
My two favorite educational websites (both free) are . . . .
www.abcya.com (I learned about this one when I was helping at the school. They have the kids play it when they are done with there testing. It has games for k-5th grade.)
and
www.starfall.com (Summer showed me this one. Thank you!)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Scripture Power
It has been almost a year since my first son decided on his own to start personally reading the Book of Mormon. With this last October Ensign focusing on the Book of Mormon, I wanted to add my testimony as to the power of this amazing book. My son was diagnosed with Aspergers Autism. He had a very hard time seeing other peoples emotions, controlling anger, or even feeling sympathetic to others. I could not have him be in another room with other kids and think it was safe for me to leave. His temper would flare at anything and someone always wound up being hurt. Every day he would say, “This is the worst day ever!!!”
We took him to many doctors who would prescribe stuff that wouldn’t help. After many tries, we finally got him on some herbs that helped a TON. After several months of taking the herbs, he was a good 70-75% better. And he seemed to remain there. But his temper would still fly at times; and realizing others needs was something I didn’t think would come about for a long time.
After reading the passage in our family scripture study about Ammon and his brothers and how they knew their scriptures and had the spirit with them, my son decided to try it for himself. The change was not immediate. But looking back over the past year, it is absolutely substantial. He now is the first one to run and grab an ice pack when someone gets hurt. He will make something for someone else when they are having a bad day to help them feel better. He will play with his brothers and sisters so much more now. He is so much happier. His desire to do good has shot through the roof. He is amazing.
He has improved in areas and in an amount of time that no herb, doctor, or therapist could have done or even predicted. Yes he still has bad days. If he hasn’t had enough to eat, its not good. If he hasn’t had enough sleep, life is miserable. If he is outside of his comfort zone, he struggles. But even then, he has learned how to deal with it better than he used to. Now when he has a bad day, he doesn’t say he is having the “worst day ever,” he just says he is not having a very good day. There is a light in his eyes I didn’t think would ever be there. There is an understanding inside him I didn’t know he could achieve. I KNOW it is through the reading of these scriptures that this has taken place. In his studies he would read something, ask me questions about it, think about for a day or two, and then I would start noticing a small change that would gradually grow. It has been amazing to see the transformation. There is a power within these scriptures that is more powerful than we can ever imagine. I testify of this and I have seen its power first hand. I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon. I don’t know where I would be without that inspired book.
We took him to many doctors who would prescribe stuff that wouldn’t help. After many tries, we finally got him on some herbs that helped a TON. After several months of taking the herbs, he was a good 70-75% better. And he seemed to remain there. But his temper would still fly at times; and realizing others needs was something I didn’t think would come about for a long time.
After reading the passage in our family scripture study about Ammon and his brothers and how they knew their scriptures and had the spirit with them, my son decided to try it for himself. The change was not immediate. But looking back over the past year, it is absolutely substantial. He now is the first one to run and grab an ice pack when someone gets hurt. He will make something for someone else when they are having a bad day to help them feel better. He will play with his brothers and sisters so much more now. He is so much happier. His desire to do good has shot through the roof. He is amazing.
He has improved in areas and in an amount of time that no herb, doctor, or therapist could have done or even predicted. Yes he still has bad days. If he hasn’t had enough to eat, its not good. If he hasn’t had enough sleep, life is miserable. If he is outside of his comfort zone, he struggles. But even then, he has learned how to deal with it better than he used to. Now when he has a bad day, he doesn’t say he is having the “worst day ever,” he just says he is not having a very good day. There is a light in his eyes I didn’t think would ever be there. There is an understanding inside him I didn’t know he could achieve. I KNOW it is through the reading of these scriptures that this has taken place. In his studies he would read something, ask me questions about it, think about for a day or two, and then I would start noticing a small change that would gradually grow. It has been amazing to see the transformation. There is a power within these scriptures that is more powerful than we can ever imagine. I testify of this and I have seen its power first hand. I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon. I don’t know where I would be without that inspired book.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Opinion
I was asked a few days ago what my blog was for. Did I start it to try and promote my music, books, or is it a family blog? I couldn’t outright answer her. I hadn’t truly figured it out myself. But as I have been thinking about it, I realize, I want it to encompass my joys, the things I have learned, my interests, everything I have ever wanted to share. When I learn the ropes and see how long things take, I may change things, but for now, I just want to share; share my hopes and dreams, share the things I have learned through the years, share my love for my family, and share my love for creativity.
If there is one thing I have learned through the years about critiques, (which I am still trying to learn how to take in,) is everyone has a different opinion. When I send out an e-mail desiring an opinion or feedback about different things I have done, I get so many varied answers. What one person likes, another doesn’t, what one person thinks needs changing, another thinks is perfect; if I send out 4 different options in a certain topic for people to choose from, it usually only checks off 1 of the options, maybe two, if I am lucky, and I am still left with 2 to 3 to choose from.
I use to take suggestions too seriously, and still sometimes do. If someone told me they didn’t like something I had done, I would be sure to make a change according to their suggestions. But then I would hear back from someone else that they thought it didn’t need to be changed and that I should change it back. Such has been the case for several years now as I have sought to improve my skill. (Why did I not go into Math, where there is one answer, not opinions. (Unless you get into the higher math.)) And yet, I still seek opinions. And when many opinions seem to center in on about the same thing, I can generally trust it. But, not like math, being in an area of opinion, you can come up with your very own answer. And it can be just right for you . . . and who knows, maybe it will be the right answer for someone else too.
I wanted to share a few recipes that have made a huge difference in my family and that I love.
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Pure butter is much too expensive, plus it’s not that good for you. We used to use Margerine, but after learning more about health, I realized that needed to change fast. My husband didn’t like butter because of the expense and because he didn’t like it left out on the counter to be softened. Finally I came up with a solution that both my husband and I really like.
Butter Spread
2 cubes of softened butter
3/4 cup of Canola oil
Mix thoroughly and set in fridge for 2 hours or more. This is a cheaper, healthier butter spread than just plain butter. It is also spreadable right from the fridge. The only draw back is that if left out for more than a half hour, it can become a little too soft.
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Really good Ranch
I struggled with my ranch recipe for a long time until my friend gave me hers and it is sooooo much better.
3/4 cup plain natural yogurt
3/4 cup mayo ( I usually use the canola mayo, its just a little more healthy.)
3/4 - 1 tsp onion powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
dash or 2 of pepper
dash or 2 of paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes crumbled a bit.
1/2 tsp dill.
Mix up and serve. No MSG or bad stuff and it still tastes oh so good. (the dill and paprika made the difference for us)
__________________________________________________________________
This is my children’s favorite. They will eat them way faster than I can make.
Popsicles
1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 bag of frozen blueberries.
10 or more strawberries
1-2 bananas depending on how big they are
1 1/2 cups of apple juice or to make it sweeter, apple juice concentrate with some water. The juice is to help your blender, if you have one like mine, to be able to mix it up. It also can sweeten things a bit.
Some variations. Try other fruits like peaches, mango's, or any of your favorites. Now there are many bags of mixed fruit all in one bag. If the mixture is too sweet, try mixing in some plain natural yogurt. It adds good bacteria. (Just try and stay away from the sweetened kind. It usually has high fructose corn syrup in it.) If it is not sweet enough, add some frozen concentrated apple juice. This also makes an excellent shake for you. I usually mix some up, eat a cup, and freeze the rest into Popsicles. I found my Popsicle molds at the dollar store. The smaller the better. The children will waist less that way. Tip. . . When you want to get the frozen popsicles out of their molds, run some hot water on the outside and they will come out a lot easier. Also, if you spray-wash them right away, they come clean really easy, if you wait to wash, it can get really hard. (No procrastination.) I usually take all the Popsicles out of the molds at the same time and put them in a zip lock bag.
____________________________________________________________________
Chocolate oatmeal bars
I got this recipe from my friend and just tweaked it a little to fit our needs.
½ cup butter
3/4 cup honey
½ cup milk
3 T. Cocoa
Boil for one minute.
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter. (Most peanut butters have hydrogenated oils that you want to steer away from. So check your labels. My favorite peanut butter now is the “Smart Balance” brand.)
3 or more cups of oat meal. I usually put it in a pan and let it set in the fridge. Then I cut them up into bars and wrap in plastic wrap.
If there is one thing I have learned through the years about critiques, (which I am still trying to learn how to take in,) is everyone has a different opinion. When I send out an e-mail desiring an opinion or feedback about different things I have done, I get so many varied answers. What one person likes, another doesn’t, what one person thinks needs changing, another thinks is perfect; if I send out 4 different options in a certain topic for people to choose from, it usually only checks off 1 of the options, maybe two, if I am lucky, and I am still left with 2 to 3 to choose from.
I use to take suggestions too seriously, and still sometimes do. If someone told me they didn’t like something I had done, I would be sure to make a change according to their suggestions. But then I would hear back from someone else that they thought it didn’t need to be changed and that I should change it back. Such has been the case for several years now as I have sought to improve my skill. (Why did I not go into Math, where there is one answer, not opinions. (Unless you get into the higher math.)) And yet, I still seek opinions. And when many opinions seem to center in on about the same thing, I can generally trust it. But, not like math, being in an area of opinion, you can come up with your very own answer. And it can be just right for you . . . and who knows, maybe it will be the right answer for someone else too.
I wanted to share a few recipes that have made a huge difference in my family and that I love.
__________________________________________________________________
Pure butter is much too expensive, plus it’s not that good for you. We used to use Margerine, but after learning more about health, I realized that needed to change fast. My husband didn’t like butter because of the expense and because he didn’t like it left out on the counter to be softened. Finally I came up with a solution that both my husband and I really like.
Butter Spread
2 cubes of softened butter
3/4 cup of Canola oil
Mix thoroughly and set in fridge for 2 hours or more. This is a cheaper, healthier butter spread than just plain butter. It is also spreadable right from the fridge. The only draw back is that if left out for more than a half hour, it can become a little too soft.
___________________________________________________________________
Really good Ranch
I struggled with my ranch recipe for a long time until my friend gave me hers and it is sooooo much better.
3/4 cup plain natural yogurt
3/4 cup mayo ( I usually use the canola mayo, its just a little more healthy.)
3/4 - 1 tsp onion powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
dash or 2 of pepper
dash or 2 of paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes crumbled a bit.
1/2 tsp dill.
Mix up and serve. No MSG or bad stuff and it still tastes oh so good. (the dill and paprika made the difference for us)
__________________________________________________________________
This is my children’s favorite. They will eat them way faster than I can make.
Popsicles
1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 bag of frozen blueberries.
10 or more strawberries
1-2 bananas depending on how big they are
1 1/2 cups of apple juice or to make it sweeter, apple juice concentrate with some water. The juice is to help your blender, if you have one like mine, to be able to mix it up. It also can sweeten things a bit.
Some variations. Try other fruits like peaches, mango's, or any of your favorites. Now there are many bags of mixed fruit all in one bag. If the mixture is too sweet, try mixing in some plain natural yogurt. It adds good bacteria. (Just try and stay away from the sweetened kind. It usually has high fructose corn syrup in it.) If it is not sweet enough, add some frozen concentrated apple juice. This also makes an excellent shake for you. I usually mix some up, eat a cup, and freeze the rest into Popsicles. I found my Popsicle molds at the dollar store. The smaller the better. The children will waist less that way. Tip. . . When you want to get the frozen popsicles out of their molds, run some hot water on the outside and they will come out a lot easier. Also, if you spray-wash them right away, they come clean really easy, if you wait to wash, it can get really hard. (No procrastination.) I usually take all the Popsicles out of the molds at the same time and put them in a zip lock bag.
____________________________________________________________________
Chocolate oatmeal bars
I got this recipe from my friend and just tweaked it a little to fit our needs.
½ cup butter
3/4 cup honey
½ cup milk
3 T. Cocoa
Boil for one minute.
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter. (Most peanut butters have hydrogenated oils that you want to steer away from. So check your labels. My favorite peanut butter now is the “Smart Balance” brand.)
3 or more cups of oat meal. I usually put it in a pan and let it set in the fridge. Then I cut them up into bars and wrap in plastic wrap.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Patching Pants
Having 3 boys can be pretty expensive at times. Especially when it comes to their pants. I buy a pair of pants and in just a few months, they will have holes in the knees. I tried one of those iron on patches you can find at Wal-mart. It didn’t look great but it worked for the day . . . until Dad got home. He was not going to have his sons going to school with patches on their pants. After thinking about it for a few days, I wondered if I could make my own patch, a “cool” patch that Dad would like. My oldest son loved Transformers. I used an old pair of pants that was past repair, and made the Autobot sign. I used red thread and sewed it into the pants. It actually looked cute. I made the Decepticon sign on the other knee and used purple thread to sew it on. It looked really cute. I couldn’t wait to show them to my son . . . and my husband. They both loved them. My son couldn’t stop bouncing up and down. I started coming up with more ideas and figuring out what works best and what does not. Here it is in a nutshell.
I find
or design a simple picture with not a lot of detail. (The more detail, the less likely I am to attempt another patch.) The picture needs to be as round or square as possible. I love the internet. You can find so many options out there.
I draw the pict
ure onto one of those iron on patches. (Yes I went back to the iron on patch. They only cost 99 cents for 2 large patches (I can usually make 4 patches out of each) and they save a lot of time. Otherwise you have to hand stitch the patch on before you sew it to make sure the patch stays where you want it. But I tell you, iron on patches are well worth their money.
I use a very fine zig-zag stitch to trace the inside of the picture. (The finer the zig-zag, the more I like it.) I do not trace the outside yet. I used to, but it really is a waste of time because I would be retracing it when I sewed it onto the pants. (Sometimes if the picture is simple enough, you can skip this step and sew the inside along with the outside onto the pants. The patch shown in the picture really was simple enough but for more detailed pictures like the Transformer patches, it is much easier to work with a small patch when sewing the inside than a large pair of pants. Ok so was that confusing enough?)
Then I cut around the outside of the picture.
I take out the seam of the pants in the area of the hole. You do not have to undo the entire pant leg, just a small hole will work. With my first pair, I tried not to take out the seam, but instead used the foot hole. Believe me, it actually saves a lot
of time and frustration to make the hole. Also, I make the hole in the seam that does not have two thread lines showing on the outside. This is usually the inside seam of the pants, . . . but not always.
Then I use
a wider, very fine zig-zag stitch to go around the outside and sew the patch onto the pants. The outside of the zig-zag stitch should barely go off the patch. Most of the stitch should be on the patch. I have made the mistake several times of not using a wide enough stitch around the outside and letting the stitch get too close to the outside of the patch. In a short time, the patch will come out from under the stitch and I've had to redo it.
I Cut a small piece of the iron on patch, slightly larger than the hole in the pants, and iron this onto the INSIDE of the pants. (I found that if I patch the inside and outside of the pants, the patch will last a lot longer. (I hate it when my cute patch gets a hole in it.) Patching the inside increases the strength of the patch and keeps your child from getting his/her foot snagged in the hole.)
I have made pants with the Transformer signs, dinosaur patches, fish and snail patches, flower patches, even a Super Tux patch, (that one was tricky) and just recently, a Winnie the Pooh one. But that one I cheated on. There is no way I could sew a cute picture of Pooh, but I had a pair of shorts that had Pooh on it. The shorts had gotten too close to some Bleach which had worn holes in them, but Pooh still looked great. I cut him out and sewed him onto the pants. That was the easiest patch I ever made . . . and cutest. (I don’t have a picture of it because my son is wearing them right now and he is at school.)
My sewing machine is NOT fancy, or new. In fact, it is a dinosaur. So yes, even you can do it. My aunt bought my machine . . . used . . . back when she was going to college. After she was done with it, she gave it to my mom who used it for many year. When I went off to college, my mom gave it to me, and I have been using it since . . . for many years. My husband has had to resurrect it a few times but it keeps ticking on. My only pet peeve is that the string breaks or the bobbin clogs up every few inches that I sew. It makes it extremely difficult, but not impossible, to make a nice, even line.
A quick tip: do not let the holes in the pants get too big. At the first sign of a hole forming, I take the pants away to be fixed. If the hole gets too big, it becomes very difficult to make a patch that will fit it. If the hole stretches all the way from side to side, don’t waist your time , just make them into shorts.
Oh and one more thing . . . The more contrast there is in color between the patch and the pants, and the thread and patch, the cuter it seems to be. I wish I had used a brighter color of thread on those dinosaur egg patches.
I find
or design a simple picture with not a lot of detail. (The more detail, the less likely I am to attempt another patch.) The picture needs to be as round or square as possible. I love the internet. You can find so many options out there.I draw the pict
ure onto one of those iron on patches. (Yes I went back to the iron on patch. They only cost 99 cents for 2 large patches (I can usually make 4 patches out of each) and they save a lot of time. Otherwise you have to hand stitch the patch on before you sew it to make sure the patch stays where you want it. But I tell you, iron on patches are well worth their money.
I use a very fine zig-zag stitch to trace the inside of the picture. (The finer the zig-zag, the more I like it.) I do not trace the outside yet. I used to, but it really is a waste of time because I would be retracing it when I sewed it onto the pants. (Sometimes if the picture is simple enough, you can skip this step and sew the inside along with the outside onto the pants. The patch shown in the picture really was simple enough but for more detailed pictures like the Transformer patches, it is much easier to work with a small patch when sewing the inside than a large pair of pants. Ok so was that confusing enough?)
Then I cut around the outside of the picture.
I take out the seam of the pants in the area of the hole. You do not have to undo the entire pant leg, just a small hole will work. With my first pair, I tried not to take out the seam, but instead used the foot hole. Believe me, it actually saves a lot
of time and frustration to make the hole. Also, I make the hole in the seam that does not have two thread lines showing on the outside. This is usually the inside seam of the pants, . . . but not always.
Next, I iron the patch onto the pants.
Then I use
a wider, very fine zig-zag stitch to go around the outside and sew the patch onto the pants. The outside of the zig-zag stitch should barely go off the patch. Most of the stitch should be on the patch. I have made the mistake several times of not using a wide enough stitch around the outside and letting the stitch get too close to the outside of the patch. In a short time, the patch will come out from under the stitch and I've had to redo it.I Cut all leftover strings and stitch the pant seam back up.
I Cut a small piece of the iron on patch, slightly larger than the hole in the pants, and iron this onto the INSIDE of the pants. (I found that if I patch the inside and outside of the pants, the patch will last a lot longer. (I hate it when my cute patch gets a hole in it.) Patching the inside increases the strength of the patch and keeps your child from getting his/her foot snagged in the hole.)
And there you have it. Patched pants that your kids will want to show off.
Now my kids get excited when they get a hole in their knee. I don't know how excited I am though. The whole process takes about an hour . . . now.
Now my kids get excited when they get a hole in their knee. I don't know how excited I am though. The whole process takes about an hour . . . now.
I have made pants with the Transformer signs, dinosaur patches, fish and snail patches, flower patches, even a Super Tux patch, (that one was tricky) and just recently, a Winnie the Pooh one. But that one I cheated on. There is no way I could sew a cute picture of Pooh, but I had a pair of shorts that had Pooh on it. The shorts had gotten too close to some Bleach which had worn holes in them, but Pooh still looked great. I cut him out and sewed him onto the pants. That was the easiest patch I ever made . . . and cutest. (I don’t have a picture of it because my son is wearing them right now and he is at school.)
My sewing machine is NOT fancy, or new. In fact, it is a dinosaur. So yes, even you can do it. My aunt bought my machine . . . used . . . back when she was going to college. After she was done with it, she gave it to my mom who used it for many year. When I went off to college, my mom gave it to me, and I have been using it since . . . for many years. My husband has had to resurrect it a few times but it keeps ticking on. My only pet peeve is that the string breaks or the bobbin clogs up every few inches that I sew. It makes it extremely difficult, but not impossible, to make a nice, even line.
A quick tip: do not let the holes in the pants get too big. At the first sign of a hole forming, I take the pants away to be fixed. If the hole gets too big, it becomes very difficult to make a patch that will fit it. If the hole stretches all the way from side to side, don’t waist your time , just make them into shorts.
Oh and one more thing . . . The more contrast there is in color between the patch and the pants, and the thread and patch, the cuter it seems to be. I wish I had used a brighter color of thread on those dinosaur egg patches.
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