WFMW: Trick or Treating and Cleaning Out the Pantry

Be sure to check out Works for Me Wednesday on Rocks in My Dryer for tons of great tips each Wednesday! I learn something new every week!

Here's something I have done for several years now, and I thought I would pass it along. I do some pantry cleaning every year on Halloween -- right into the Halloween treat bowl!

Okay, don't get the wrong idea, I am not putting in cans of pinto beans or packets of dry spaghetti mix. I look through the pantry and see anything that is (1) Still Good, (2) Something we just aren't going to eat, (3) Is appropriate for the treat bowl. If it meets all that criteria, it goes into the bowl.

For instance, this year from the pantry, I put in: a few packets of mini bags of microwave popcorn that will expire next month and we aren't going to use in time (we have an over abundance right now), a small box's worth of Cherry Kool-Aid single packets -- I picked them up once, but nobody was interested, an individual size of Coco Krispies from a time not too long ago when I splurged on a package of the single boxes of fun cereals (nobody will eat that one), some individually wrapped fortune cookies, some gummy snacks that were not of a preferred brand...I think that might be it for this year.

And, of course, I have regular candy in the bowl that I picked up for trick or treaters as well. But, as I said, I have been doing this for a few years now, and I have found out something interesting -- the trick or treaters always choose those crazy things from my pantry first. Sure, I get the kid here or there that will pick regular candy instead, but mostly it is those things from my pantry that are the first to go, and then the regular candy is left for later trick or treaters.

It works for us!

Certainly Something to Ponder On

An important reminder to teach your daughters (and I think your sons too!) that what society shows isn't necessarily what we should be striving for.

Oh...quick note about this video -- there is nothing on this video that can't be seen in magazine ads, TV commercials, and billboards. But, all the same -- it's not a video clip I would want to play with my kids around. It is a good reminder to watch though, but like I said, I would do it in a kid-free zone.

a tardy is a tardy is a tardy...kind of

On Thursday morning, I was already planning on driving the boys to school. They were having Fall Parties in their classes, and I was sending in a refreshment for one class and cupcakes for another, so I didn't want them to try to take them on the bus with them.


But, well...I'm sick. And, I'm tired. And, I perhaps, slept in just a tad. Then I thought, "Hey -- 5 minutes late is tardy, and so is 30 minutes late." And, so I slept some more. Hey...a tardy is a tardy, right?


Well, except I was reminded when I got to school that a tardy is not just a tardy where we are concerned. We bopped into the office to sign in, and we were noticed immediately. In my kids' school of almost a thousand students, there was a murmur of, "Oh, Noah is here today," and then a quick picking up of a phone.


You see, I am usually very good about calling if we will be late and always calling early if we will be absent because Noah has a one-on-one aide (paraprofessional) with him at all times. So, his aide had already been told to do some other task in the building, assuming that Noah wasn't coming. When they saw him, they knew they had to find her and have her head back to his classroom. So, apparently a tardy isn't just a tardy for us.


Oh, and then on a funny note, at least to me, was the look of absolute worry on the teacher's face in his room. His teacher wasn't present today, so there was a substitute who had never been in their class before. She said, "Oh...um...this is Noah???" Now, that wouldn't be funny that she was worried, except I knew she was worried that there wasn't an aide there right then, and really -- Noah is pretty independent. So, I could understand her worry without knowing him, but it was funny to me, because I knew he would be fine until they sent his aide back down. (But, I did pop by the office on the way out to say that I thought the sub was worried, and had they already found his aide.)


So, I need to make a mental note -- the next time I say, "Oh well -- 5 minutes late is the same as 30 minutes late" -- I need to call the school and alert them to my bad mothering habits first.

7 Random Things Meme

I was tagged by my friend Becca for the Seven Random Things Meme. I have done this before, and cannot remember what I wrote before. I will try to be sure to write things I think I would not have listed before.

1. I finally broke down and bought a pair of Crocs a couple of months ago, and I love them. The only problem is that I am apparently pretty hard on one side of them, and broke the "button" thingee on the side. Rather than return them, I used a hot glue gun to fix them.

2. When Eric and I were first married/about to be married, I told him I thought that I wanted us to have five kids. While I still don't think that would have been bad, it also boggles my mind at the same time. (Kudos to you Moms of 5+ kids!!!)

3. In my senior year of college (when I was about 23 years old), I laughed when the professor of my special ed class (the first one I had taken -- long before I ever, ever, ever thought I would actually go back and get a masters in spcial ed) said the term Asperger's Syndrome. I didn't laugh out loud, but I did chuckle in my head. Hey -- it sounds funny, especially if you mispronounce it just a bit. I only remember this specifically because I thought years later that God surely was chuckling at me saying, "Oh....just wait. It won't sound so funny later, Angela." (Yes, I think God probably did use my proper first name right then.)

4. Once, in a crazy pregnant haze (I do get kind of crazy during and after pregnancy), since I was mad at Eric, I bolted out of our on campus apartment around midnight one summer night and just started randomly walking around the outskirts of campus (after initially running to get a head start). It took him about 20 - 30 minutes to find me. Part of that reason might have been that I thought I would have to go home soon to go to the bathroom, so stopped trying to make myself hard to find.

5. I drink way too much Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Yeah...I know...no lectures needed.

And I tag...whomever wants to be tagged. ;)

She's Not Just Smart...

Molly, who just turned three this month, was singing the alphabet song. She finished and I told her, "You're so smart!"



She said, "Yeah. And I'm fresh and clean too!"

Sleeping on the Job

Noah and Jack were watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon together. At one point, one of the charaters was shown sleeping at a desk.

Noah said, "What?!? He's sleeping on the job!"

Jack say, "What, Noah?"

"He's sleeping on the job!"

Jack calmly replied, "Oh, don't worry, Noah. He's the one in charge, so he doesn't have to work. It's okay for him to sleep when he's there."

Update on Helping with RCIA

I have been busy helping with our parish's RCIA program. It certainly does seem lately like every time I turn around, I am doing something else for the program. But, other than occasionally being tired (but, that's for lots of reasons), I am really enjoying it. I think it has been really fun to see other people going through what we went through last year.



One of the moments was especially true at Mass this weekend. (Well...I actually attended Mass with the family on Saturday, and then for RCIA on Sunday morning.) This past weekend was the Rite of Welcoming. I have to admit, I kind of even teared up when they started calling the names of all those going through the process this year and calling them forward. I think it was both because I was excited for everyone (even though they were all nervous...just like we were last year at this time), and also because I remembered when we did it.



I am really thankful that I am having the opportunity to work with the RCIA program. Although, perhaps I am not quite as thankful that I will be having to dress up for our saints party this week!

Works for Me Wednesday: Family Budget on the Computer

This one is a repost of my very first WFMW tip! But, since I find that I seem to get hits from search engines often for this one, I thought I would post it again. I have to say, I have been SO happy with keeping track of our budget on the computer, and I can't believe that I have stuck with it, since I usually start these kinds of things with the best of intentions and then just stop.

So, here is the repost of my very first Works for Me Wednesday:

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I just have to share this budgetting tip for those of you out there that enjoy the computer as much as I do. I have tried budgetting before with a variety of methods, but knew using the computer would work best for me.

So, then I read somewhere that I could download a budget form from Microsoft. So...

1. Open Microsoft Excel (if you don't have Excel, I'm sure there must be other resources out there with something similar)

2. Along the right side, there is a search box. Just search for "budget."

3. Find the budget that comes up that works best for you and download it! There are a variety -- everything from family budget to garden budget to wedding budget.

I downloaded the family budget and have done some tweaking on it. It seems to be working out well so far, and I like that I am finally tracking where our money is going better than I was before.

I guess I'm just a Mom through and through

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

My commercial pet peeve

I have a set of commercials that I can't stand. I roll my eyes so hard when they come on that I am amazed that they have managed to remain in my head.

It's those darn Eggo Waffle commercials where the father is a "moocher" who constructs all these elaborate plans to steal the waffles from his children.

What does this commercial tell the kids watching it? Maybe, "You are so entitled to everything that even though your father is probably the one that bought the waffles, he should have to steal them from you."

Perhaps I am reading too much into them. Or, maybe I'm being too traditional. But, darn it -- in our house, if we buy some waffles (or anything else for that matter) and we want to eat them, we will.

This is not to say that we don't often give up the last of something to one of the kids. Heck...that happens all the time. But, that's our choice. And, it doesn't mean that there haven't been times when one of us has furiously eaten a pudding pop (or whatever the treat of the day is) in the laundry room, hoping that one of the kids doesn't pop in to see what's going on. That's just part of parenting, right?

So, until they stop those commercials, I will probably continue to throw an occasional, "They're your waffles, just eat them," at the "moocher" Dad.

Do you know what this pin means?

Just over a week ago, Noah completed his enrollment rite at church for first reconciliation. He will be doing his first reconciliation in November, just after Thanksgiving.



Noah was QUITE impressed with the enrollment rite, particularly because each of the children received a pin that is a cross with 70x7 on it.



He quickly asked if he could put it on even before the Mass was over. He then also asked if he could wear it to school the next day. Of course, I told him he definitely could!



In the morning, he asked for his pin, and I put it on him. I asked him, "What are you going to tell people about it?



He said, "I'll tell them that it's because I will be doing my first reconciliation. I went to church and wrote my name in a book. Then, they gave me a purple book. I took it up front and we said some prayers. Then I got my pin. Do you know what this pin means, Mom?"



"What does it mean, Noah?"



"It means that I'm a very special boy."



Yes, yes...indeed it does.

Menu Plan Monday: October 22nd Edition

I have still been menu planning (although not as good as I used to be), but I just haven't been planning by Sunday night to post my menu.

Things have been extra crazy here, so this is a pretty simple menu.

Monday: Omelets and Toast

Tuesday: Chicken Fried Rice

Wednesday: Who knows! LOL (Eric will figure out something quick to give the kids)

Thursday: Spinach and Egg Noodle Alfredo with Chicken

Friday: lunch ---> Fast Food / dinner ---> Corn Chowder

Saturday: lunch ---> Taquitos and Spanish Rice / dinner ---> From Out

Sunday: lunch ---> Pancakes, etc. / dinner ---> Grill Out

I have to admit...

I have been gone from my blog for so long, I have thought...

Do I just abandon it or should I try to jump back in?

It's kind of funny how hard it can be to get back to doing something once you stop, even if you didn't mean to stop.

Need some opinions on pictures for room

We're trying to finish up Molly's room with a princess/girlie/fairy kind of theme. I'm looking to do probably two images in 16x20 frames (11x14 pictures matted to 16x20) and then probably about two - five (haven't decided on the actual layout yet) as 8x10s and then maybe a couple as 5x7s.

What do you think of these together? Which ones do you like best? Which ones don't you like? Which ones do you think would go well together (or not well together)? If you like one and think it should be one of the really big ones, feel free to share that too! (I already bought the princess fairy one, and it will definitely be one of the 16x20s, since we all loved it, and Molly declared that it was a picture of her when she was a princess with wings.)


Pink phone and accessories

© Photographer: Cherylcasey Agency: Dreamstime.com


Princess Fairy

© Photographer: Hollyjones Agency: Dreamstime.com

Holding Crown

© Photographer: Tyback Agency: Dreamstime.com

Holding Crown (different orientation)

© Photographer: Tyback Agency: Dreamstime.com

Glass Slipper (I originally thought this for the other big one, but I don't think it will work, as it doesn't appear to be sharp enough even in the portions of the picture that are intended to be sharp)

© Photographer: Marti157900 Agency: Dreamstime.com

All Dressed Up

© Photographer: Jsnover Agency: Dreamstime.com

Fairy

© Photographer: Carolineschmidthaus Agency: Dreamstime.com

Glass Slipper

© Photographer: Marti157900 Agency: Dreamstime.com

Happy Princess Ballerina

© Photographer: Raycan Agency: Dreamstime.com

Magic Wand

© Photographer: Tracyd Agency: Dreamstime.com

Rainbow Tiara

© Photographer: Majaphoto Agency: Dreamstime.com

Tea Party

© Photographer: Crysrob Agency: Dreamstime.com

Prayerful Ballerina

© Photographer: Pb&k Agency: Dreamstime.com

Tea Time

© Photographer: Tyback Agency: Dreamstime.com

Daisies

© Photographer: Mk74 Agency: Dreamstime.com

Daisies in Pots

© Photographer: Acik Agency: Dreamstime.com

Little Girl (with Wings) Praying

© Photographer: Eefee Agency: Dreamstime.com

Little Magic

© Photographer: Klenova Agency: Dreamstime.com

Little Girl with Wings

© Photographer: Molka Agency: Dreamstime.com

Ballet Slippers

© Photographer: Talanis Agency: Dreamstime.com

Purses

© Photographer: Hollyjones Agency: Dreamstime.com

An unbelievable recipe

On Wednesday, we took a trip to the Farmer's Market. It's kind of funny -- I always think the best time to go is during the summer. But, of course, if I had really thought of it, I would have realized that this time of the year would bring lots of treasures.

One of the things we picked up were zucchini (since ours have long since died out and we couldn't find any starters to replant -- I'm planning on starting seeds next year). Anyway, my Mom made some yummy muffins with hers and gave us some.

Jack saw these muffins sitting out and said, "Hey! Look at the cupcakes!"

"No, actually they're muffins," I answered.

"Can I have one?" Jack inquired.

"I'm just not sure you'll like them, Jack."

"What kind are they?"

"They have zucchini, raisins, and nuts in them."

Jack turned his head to one side and raised and eyebrow at me, "Are you just joking, Mom?"

Apparently that combination was so preposterous in his mind that he just couldn't even believe someone would do that.

After I assured him that I was, in fact, not joking, he said, "Oh, nevermind, Mom."

WFMW: What are your favorite gifts to give?

Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer this week has an interesting twist to it -- instead of giving a tip, we have been asked to ask a question of the blogging community.

So...here is my question, especially timely with Christmas being only a bit over 80 days away (can you believe that???)...

What are some of your favorite gifts to give people (any age, any gender, one person, entire family, holiday gift, housewarming gift, birthday gift -- whatever!!!)? And, along those lines, what are some of your favorite handmade gifts to make/give?

I can't wait to be inspired for the holiday season!

(On a side note, what do you think about gift cards? Are they great or too impersonal?)

Yummy & Super Easy Dinner (Chicken & Potato Bake)

I got this recipe from a Kraft Magazine, and just had to share. It is so tasty and so darn easy! If you have a big family, it is certainly not hard to just buy a family size package of bone-in chicken (we like drumsticks) and do up a few more potatoes and just make two pans at once.

Ingredients:

4 bone-in chicken pieces (1.5 lbs)

4 large potatoes, cut into wedges (know what? I used my apple wedger for super fast prep time!)

1/4 cup Italian Dressing (we used fat free)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken and potatoes in 13x9 pan.

Pour dressing over chicken and potatoes, and then sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through (180 degrees). Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!

Sometimes Mom Just Isn't Enough

I found this email tonight from December 2005. I had sent it out to some friends after Noah (then six years old) was having a particularly difficult time with his computer:

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This is what Noah told me the "page not found" error on Internet Explorer said after we tried to fix it several times:

"Your computer is still not working. We will not let you in. If you have a Dad, he can fix it. But, right now, we will not let you in. Please walk away from the sign. If you have a Mom, that's okay, but we still won't let you in. Sorry...your games will not work right now. Just walk away."