Whew! How about a migraine...or two?

This week has brought about a new experience for me -- and it actually brought it twice. This lovely new experience has kept me away from the computer a bit as well.

On Monday night while I was alone with the kids (Eric had taken one of his very rare business trips), and as Noah and I sat while he read a book aloud to me for homework, I suddenly had horrible sinus-type pain on only one side of my head/neck. I have to admit, I couldn't help but run to the bathroom to be sure I didn't droop on one side of my face. Seriously -- it's not like I thought I had a stroke, but I was concerned. (Apparently, I will add, it wasn't a crazy thing to check, because when I saw my doctor today, he asked me several questions to verify that I hadn't had a stroke. Crazy, huh?)

Once I finally got the kids to bed (they were so darn good, actually, because I begged them to be good because I felt so bad), I laid in pain until I was finally able to sleep. And, then I slept until noon the next day (thanks to Eric being home).

When I woke up, I was finally better! WooHoo! Well...I thought I was better.

Turns on that then on Wednesday afternoon while running errands, the headache came back. It was different this time, and then I became very sensitive to sound and light. I asked Eric to come home early and slept from 3 pm until 8:30 pm. This was, of course, because I sobbed to him and he ended up calling the doctor for me to see him the next day (today).

The doctor said that it certainly sounded like migraines, and actually offered me something injectable in the office. (I declined, since I only had a dull headache at the time.) I have now started on my FOURTH set of antibiotics since December!

At this point, I'm just praying that this migraine thing was a one (or two) time event. And, let's hope that the fourth time is a charm on the antibiotics!

Works for Me Wednesday: Recording Your Family History

I have always admired people who kept journals. I, however, am not one of those people. I am one of those people that will buy a gorgeous journal, write in it twice, and then putting it away in a drawer to never see the light of day again.

I took some comfort in the fact that I scrapbook, so my kids, their kids, etc. will be able to get some glimpse of our life, as seen through pictures and journaling.

Still...it didn't seem like enough. Well...especially since I often don't journal on my scrapbook pages.

Then, I started blogging. I started recording little snippets of our daily life. This blog contains what we eat, cute things the kids say, illnesses, gifts given, school struggles -- it is a portrait of our family at this moment.

Still -- it's not like I can expect that my great-grandchildren will be able to check out my blog online. So, I have been having each entry I make emailed to me (it's an option through Blogger), and I have been printing most of them out and keeping them all together. This is finally a journal that I don't stick away in a drawer to never see again. Sure -- my great-grandchildren may not care what we ate each week or what "works for me," but, you know what? They might.

Or...if you don't want to print them out, you can always try a book of your blog entries through Blurb.com. I will admit that I actually got really behind in printing out my blog entries (though I have them in a "to print" file in my email). And, so Eric and I discussed it, and instead of printing all of my posts, I just ordered a hard back book of the entries from December 2006 (when I started my blog) through December 2007. I have plans for a 2008 book at the end of the year. My book is actually set to be delivered on Friday this week!

I know this doesn't work for every blog, but if you record your family happenings on your blog, you might consider printing them out or even putting them in a book to record a glimpse of your family for the future.

For more tips and ideas, be sure to check out Works for Me Wednesday on Rocks In My Dryer!

Oh...I almost forgot. I see you out there, Tricia.

Okay, perhaps I can't really "see" you, but I'll pretend that I can.

Hope that the little princess is finally over her cold. It would seem that ours is now developing one.

Anyway...since I promised a posting that would call you out, I thought I would post a little ditty from YouTube that I knew you would enjoy. Perhaps it will be to mark that both October and December have passed, leaving us both another year older. And, so without futher delay, the "birthday" song...



(For anyone still reading, I feel that I must mention that my dear friend Tricia used to always refer to songs by whatever really struck her about the song. This song by Dave Matthews Band is one I still like to affectionately refer to as "The Birthday Song" and it makes me smile and remember every time she called it that in high school.)

Menu Plan Monday: January 28th Edition

Some carryovers from last week, since we got food out one extra night, and then also took a meal or two from farther along in the month.

Monday: Spaghetti with Meatballs

Tuesday: Homemade Soup (purchased from local bakery) and Beer Bread

Wednesday: Homemade Pizza

Thursday: Pancakes

Friday: Crockpot Meatballs over Jasmine Rice w/ Steamed Broccoli on the side

Saturday: lunch ---> Salads with Grilled Chicken & Hardboiled Eggs; dinner ---> From Out

Sunday: lunch ---> Eggs & Toast; dinner ---> Pesto Cheese Ravioli with Chicken and Walnuts (assembled at Dream Dinners)

For more meal ideas, be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com!

Now that's the right answer!

I thought Father had a great homily tonight at Mass, and gave me a lot to think about. I'll probably write about that later.

Anyway, at one point, he asked something along the lines of "Are you ready to follow how God is leading you?" or the like.

From behind us in the pew full of young boys, the littlest one (probably between 18 months and 2 1/2 -- I just didn't look back long enough to notice) enthusastically said (right as Father finished that question), "YEAH!"

After I finished laughing, I turned to his mother, who was still laughing, and said, "Now THAT'S the right answer!"

I hope I have that answer the next time the Holy Spirit tries to lead me.

Making Pine Bark (Cracker Candy) -- A Journey in Pictures

I took these pictures a few weeks ago, intending to post the recipe and how to make Pine Bark (which I have also heard called Cracker Candy). And, then I just kept putting off posting it.

I really enjoy making these because not only are they tasty, but I love all the different visuals of making this. That's why I just couldn't help going a little Pioneer Woman Cooks and take pictures throughout making these yummy and sweet treats.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees at some point while doing the next several steps, based on how long your oven takes to preheat to that temperature.

Cover a cookie sheet (with sides) with foil, and then grease the foil. (I just use some cooking spray.) Set out about a sleeve's worth of Saltine crackers -- salt side up. I can't really fit a whole sleeve, except for that I break the last few and fit them in on the sides.

Prepare 1 cup of butter (two sticks), as you will be boiling it. To me, it is always easier when you cut them into pats of butter instead.

Plop them all into the sauce pan, and start melting them!

Add in 1 cup of packed brown sugar. (Confession here: I have THREE bags of light brown sugar in my pantry right now! I kept buying it, thinking I was out. Apparently I was not. I now ask Eric to pick me up brown sugar everytime he runs to the store. He tells me that one time when I realy need it, I will ask, and he will think I'm joking, and then I'll be sorry.)

Starting to look good! Keep stirring frequently while waiting for it to start boiling.

Especially once it starts to boil, make sure to just keep stirring constantly. You'll want to let this mixture boil for about three minutes. (You might even be able to get away with two minutes, but I always do three.)

Once you're done boiling the mixture, remove it from heat, and add in 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. When you add the extract, it will start sizzling. (I suspect this has to do with the flash point of almond extract.) Just mix it throughout.

Pour the mixture over your crackers. The first thing I do when I pour is to try to get it as much over all the crackers as possible. This is what mine looked like at this point.

Now, go ahead and make sure to spread (using a spoon or the like) over the whole pan of crackers.

As long as your oven has preheated by this point, you will pop this pan into the oven and bake it for about 4 - 6 minutes. (Use your knowledge of your oven to know if you should be on the low or high end of this range.)

While the crackers and mixture are baking, you will be busy breaking up chocolate bars. Now, this is an important note -- you need 20 oz of chocolate. The first time I made this, I looked at my Mom's recipe and saw four chocolate bars. I thought, hey -- no problem, and bought a six pack of Hershey's bars. I then ended up scrambling while I was baking the mixture, because I realized it was four of the five ounce bars (those big ones), not the standard ones.

So, get your four BIG bars and break them into chunks while your crackers are baking. Or, if you gave birth just so you would have slave labor later have children, you can ask them to work on it instead.

Oooo...bubbly and cool looking! Your crackers are ready to come out of the oven. But, be careful, as I find it to be kind of liquidy at this point, and so you will carefully carry it to a counter.

Toss your broken up chocolate onto the hot mixture. Seriously -- do it as soon as you set the pan down. Then, just wait about 20 or 30 seconds. Just let them sit.

Okay, NOW you can try spreading out the chocolate with a spatula. But, I actually just spread it out some, and then step away again for about 20 - 40 seconds. This is how it looked after I first spread it out.

Once I stepped over to do it again after waiting, it easily spread the rest of the way.

Let this cool for a bit, and then you're going to break up the cracker candy and lay it on wax paper.

This has got to be one of the hardest parts of the recipe -- letting it sit out to set the chocolate mixture before eating. And, seriously -- sometimes we just don't wait. Sometimes we just have chocolatey fingers after enjoying a piece fresh off the pan.

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Ingredient List:

One sleeve of saltine crackers (ends up being about 36 - 38 crackers or so)

1 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 (5-oz) Hershey bars, broken into pieces (remember -- 5 oz is the big size)

WFMW: A twist on decorating with family pictures

Sometime last year, I decided that I didn't like my wall arrangement of photographs in our dining room. It was made up of around seven framed photographs -- ranging from 4x6 to 8x10 (and only one of those!).

So...first thing -- bigger pictures do tend to look better on the wall. So, I knew I wanted some larger framed pictures than I had.

Then, I was at Michael's and saw their $9.99 black 12x12 frames that are sold as "album frames" (you know -- record albums). They were 50% off, so I picked up seven of them. I then picked seven scrapbook layouts, and have them hanging in our dining room.
I get so many compliments on these! It's different than just having photographs framed, and it's very visually appealing. I will point out -- my layouts don't coordinate with one another. I just picked favorites that were fairly recent (within the past year) and made sure everyone in the family was represented.

Above the seven layouts (four in a horizontal line, and then three in a horizontal line above those), I have a long and narrow wooden sign that says "All Because Two People Fell In Love."
So...if you're a scrapbooker (or could at least do up a few layouts), this is a great way to frame something a little different than your average photograph.

For more tips and ideas, be sure to check out Works for Me Wednesday on Rocks in My Dryer.

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Edited to add pictures of the arrangement, as per commenter request -- you may see now that the reason I didn't add them before was because it is a junkie spot in my house to take pictures of something covered with glass. LOL This arrangement is exactly opposite a sliding glass door. So, these are the best pictures I could get:

Some Links of Interest...

A couple of these might be a little old (you know, like an entire week or more), but they are still worth reading:

13 Little Ways Our Family is Going Green in 2008 at Tickled Pink (This has finally inspired me to have us start composting, which was something that we had been discussing)

Frugal Contentment at Days to Come

When Your Want-To Is Broken at Frugal Hacks

I Went Out to Buy a Skirt at I have to sit down

Menu Plan Monday: January 21st Edition

Several carry overs from last week -- since I actually plan a list of meals that is one month at a time (just in list form), we ended up changing some things last minute, but mostly just picked something from the list (with one evening of pizza from out because of two 100% spelling tests coming home).

Monday: Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (crockpot)

Tuesday: Asian-style Chicken and Broccoli

Wednesday: Quick Dinner (something like French Toast Sticks or Chicken Fries from Market Day)

Thursday: Raspberry Glazed Chicken (from Dream Dinners)

Friday: Dinner at my parents house (Mom made Peanut Chicken from a freezer cooking book)

Saturday: lunch ---> Beans and Cornbread; dinner ---> Food from Out

Sunday: lunch ---> Homemade Soup and Beer Bread; dinner ---> Spaghetti

For more meal ideas, be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com!

Overheard coming from inside the Thomas Engine tent

"If you just be a good girl, I won't have to poke you."

Searching the floor for Jesus

Eric and I have talked before about the fact that Molly will never remember not being Catholic. Since we were all received into the Church when she was just 2 1/2 years old, we just suspected there might even come a time when she might utter the words, "What do you mean we haven't always been Catholic?"

As if to confirm Molly's Catholic mindset already, I had to share an amusing story with Eric about what happened the other day when Molly and I were going through some of my things, and he thought the story pretty much cinched it.

Molly and I were going through my things, and I set out a cross necklace. She said, "Can I see it, Mommy?"

"Sure, just be careful," as I handed her the necklace.

I kept sorting through things as I noticed her looking around with a scrunched up brow, and her breathing appeared to be getting a little quicker.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Molly?"

She flipped the necklace around in her hands, and then she started looking around, almost in a panic and concentrating on the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked again.

"JESUS IS MISSING! WHERE COULD HE BE???" she finally said in despiration, her search in the carpet coming up empty.

For a moment, I had no idea what in the world she was saying. Finally , I looked at what she was doing, and realized that she was sure that the necklace should have a crucifix, not just a cross. She was looking around in a panic, sure that Jesus had fallen off the necklace.

I will admit it -- I had a little giggle, and then assured her, "Don't worry sweetheart, you didn't lose Jesus, He just wasn't on that necklace."

"Oh," she said, with a sigh of relief. "Jesus just wasn't on this necklace," she reassured herself as she set it down. Apparently, she just wasn't ready to take any more chances with it though.

Hope I don't have to confess to that!

I was talking to my Mom last night, and told her that Eric and I had invited one of the priests at our parish to join us for lunch one day. Molly and I go to a program at church one morning a week, and then we have lunch with Eric (since he works close to our church) with him on that day. So, I thought it would be nice to have Father join us.

(This is our priest who I found out graduated from high school two years after me, I think I mentioned that before. We really like him, and have already discussed that we will miss him when the time eventually comes that they move him to another parish.)

Anyway, so I was telling my Mom about it, and mentioned that we planned to pay, of course. When he accepted our invitation, he also added that we didn't need to pay. My Mom said, "You're going to pay though, right?"

"Of course," I told her. "My parents did not raise me to invite a priest to lunch and then allow him to pay for himself."

She laughed.

I then added, "But, seriously -- if he tries to pay, I'll have to..." as I trailed off. Well...what would I have to do?

"Break his fingers?" my Mom asked.

"Yeah, Mom, that's what I'll do," I answered, with perhaps a touch of sarcasm in my voice.

"You'll just have to go to confession for that," she pointed out.

"Wow -- talk about an awkward confession, huh?" I mused to her. "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It's been three months since my last confession. I suppose the worst thing that I did was to break the fingers of a priest. Ummm...you remember that, right, Father? How are your fingers doing, by the way?"

(Now...I do need to add, since I believe I will send a link of this posting to said priest -- You know that this is just a funny story, right? But, seriously -- don't grab for your wallet and test me, okay?)

Re-Usable Shopping Bag Giveaway!

I don't usually post about giveaways on other sites, but thought this was a great one. On Phyllis' blog, she is having a giveaway for a re-useable shopping bag from Skeeda (wow -- these bags are CUTE and environmentally friendly!).

Be sure to check out the giveaway!

WFMW: Visual Cues to Slow Down

My life, like so many others, moves too fast. I over commit. I don't manage my time well. I am always running in roughly five different directions at the same time. I act like I can do everything, though I secretly feel like I am not doing anything very well.

Because I allow my life to get so out of control, I have some things scattered around my house in the hopes of them being a calming force. In addition to a smattering of pictures of Jesus and Mary around the house, I have two things with words that are meant to make me stop and think.

One of these is a "sign" on my desk. It is a black wooden platform that is about 12 inches long and about 2 inches wide. Sitting on it are about 2" tall black wooden letters that are a simple reminder -- SIMPLIFY. Not only does this look great on my new black desk, but, more importantly, it reminds me, quietly, of what I need to do in a place where I often don't do that.

My other visual cue is a decorative plate that I have hanging on my kitchen wall. (This is, of course, another spot in the house where things can get crazy.) It is a plate that I bought and then decorated with the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson -- "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." When things get away from me or I have been rushing around too much, I can turn and look at that plate. When I do, I try to really read it. I take a deep breath, and close my eyes. I pray that God will help me to hear Him, and to slow down.

Now...if I could just post reminders around the house in all the spots where we typically race around like maniacs before school, then I just might be set.

For great tips on just about everything (or so it seems), check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

For all those gold coins you have sitting around in the couch cushions

Yeah...I know -- we're all just swimming in money, right? Okay, maybe not.

But, I thought I would pass along that apparently the price of gold and silver are at something like a 30 year high. So, if you happen to have silver or gold coins or jewelry that you have been thinking about selling, apparently this is the time to do it.

Perhaps I don't actually have gold coins in my couch cushions (geesh -- wouldn't that be nice?), but I did have a few 1 oz silver bars to part with and got about $15 a piece for them. Considering that they were just sitting around, since we had received them as Christmas gifts, it was nice to have a little extra pocket money this week.

Menu Plan Monday: January 14th Edition

For lots of menu plan ideas, be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com!

Here's our plan for the week...

Monday: New England Clam Chowder (purchased frozen from a locally owned restaurant/bakery) and Beer Bread (purchased from Tastefully Simple)

Tuesday: Cherry Almond French Toast Casserole (I prepared this at Dream Dinners -- I actually got this one free during the session I went to in December!)

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza (busy night)

Thursday: Eric's Choice -- I will be going to a women's carry-in at church

Friday: Roast with Potatoes and Carrots (crockpot)

Saturday: lunch ---> Leftovers; dinner ---> Dinner from Out

Sunday: lunch ---> Beans & Cornbread; dinner ---> Asian-style Chicken & Broccoli

Top 10 Predictions for 2008

I received this in an email from my Mom

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1. The Bible will still have the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

Those tiny whisps of hair

For whatever reason, my kids didn't really lose their hair when they were babies. They all came out with a decent amount of hair, and although they may have lost just a tiny amount, they mostly kept their hair.

I hadn't really thought much about that, and then was talking to someone that I had met locally. We were talking about hair cuts (since this woman and her husband own two stores next door to our hair dresser's shop), and it came up that Molly had never had a haircut before. (She has had her bangs trimmed many times, of course, to keep her from looking like Cousin It, however.)

The woman sighed a loving, sweet sigh and said, "Do you know what that means? That means that hair on the ends is some of the hair that was on her head when she was born."

I was speechless, and I think that it literally made my uterus ache. I gasped and said, "I think I'm going to cry."

And, admittedly, from that day a few months ago to this, I often look at those whispy parts at the end of her hair -- parts that look different from her thicker hair that has come in over the last three years. As she ran around the house the other day talking and laughing, having dressed herself in no shirt, pajama pants, a pink tutu, and pink & red striped socks, I saw those whisps of hair bounce by as she ran, and I remembered my little baby girl, so tiny and new.

And, for a minute, I was rendered speechless once again.

Calls from school scare me!

Around noon today, I got a phone call from the school. I have to admit, each time the school name pops up on the Caller ID, I get nervous. I never think the boys are in trouble, but am always more worried about illness or injury.

So...with that in my mind, I pick up the phone and it is the Nurse's Office aide (whom I have talked with extensively before at school and at Walmart, where we seem to occasionally run into each other). Great, I think! At least I was about to leave the house anyway.

She said who it was, and I said, "Is this is a bad phone call?"

"Oh no," she went on, "It's a very exciting phone call. I have a young man who wants to talk to you." She then handed the phone to one of my sons and I heard her say, quietly, "Tell her who it is."

But, no, I had to ask, since they sound so similar on the phone, especially when all I got was a "Hi Mom."

So, then I said, "Is this Jack?"

"Yep!"

"What's up, Jack?" (I had a guess, but didn't want to ask specifically, in case I was wrong.)

He then excitedly said without pausing in between words, "I LOST MY FIRST TOOTH IN THE CAFETERIA TODAY!"

He is 6 1/2 and I didn't even know that he had any loose teeth. It seemed that he would never lose a tooth, especially since Noah started losing teeth at the age of five (three months shy of being six).

Jack and I celebrated some on the phone, and then he wanted to keep chatting, but both the aide and I told him that he needed to go out to recess.

I have to admit -- I can't wait to see him when he gets home! And, I hear that the tooth fairy already has a very exciting (and too expensive) surprise for him to celebrate this very first tooth.

WFMW: Backwards Editions -- Safe Cleaners for Kids?

Today is another edition of Backwards Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer. The backwards editions are where you ASK a question, rather than give a tip.

So, my question is...

Do you know of any safe cleaners for kids to actually use on their own? Maybe it's something to buy or maybe it's a homemade cleaner. Whatever.

My kids are 8, 6, & 3, and they want to help clean when I am using things like Windex, but I end up spending all my time spraying the cleaner for them.

Is there anything safe that I could feel okay putting in a small spray bottle for them (only to use with supervision though)?

I know...I know...some of you may say that the older ones should be fine with cleaners (or at least the very oldest one, since even I was cleaning the bathrooms at our house when I was his age), but the boys are a little on the immature side (for their ages) and also a bit forgettful. I would be afraid they would just leave something sitting out.

So...if you have any tips of what works for you as far as cleaners, or even a cleaning tip of ways they can help without constant supervision/intervention, I would appreciate it!

I wanted to pick up a magazine called Storage

I saw this magazine in two different places in just the last couple of days, and both times, I picked it up and started to look through it. I didn't recognize it the second time until I got to something or other that made me say, "Oh hey -- this is the magazine I was looking at the other day."

Both times, I thought, "Yeah, this looks great! I need to pick this up." Yeah, I did say that, I suspect. I need to pick this up. Sigh.

However, both times, after seeing a couple of good ideas in the front, I flipped forward while knowing I was going to pick it up, and then knew I needed to leave the magazine at the store.

I saw all these gorgeously decorated rooms and great storage ideas. Gorgeously decorated rooms that would make me feel that my home is not adequate, and great storage ideas that would make me want to go out and buy some of the storage units, bins, containers, etc. that were pictured.

I think it's good when we can look at these kinds of examples and see how we can modify them in a little more frugal manner. But, for me, that's hard. I have a hard time seeing the gorgeous rooms and thinking, "Hey -- I could do that with what I have in the attic and what I can buy at CVS for practically free." Instead, I get filled with envy, and I wish for more than what I need.

I know that one of my big finance issues is learning to have a more content heart. It's like my favorite line from the song "Soak Up the Sun" -- "It's not having what you want -- it's wanting what you've got."

So true.

And that is why, despite the pretty picture and neat ideas, I left the Storage Magazine at the store...twice.

Decisions that Save Money

(Reposted from my business blog)

I often find things that I want to buy. And, darn it -- I'll admit it, then I sometimes obsess over it.

"Won't it be great when I have the money to buy that?"

"I'm going to use it everyday when I have it."

"This is the coolest new gadget out and I NEED it."

"All my friends on the message boards have one, and I think I should too."

My newest "NEED" was a Zutter Bind-it-All.Yes, for a mere $60, it could be mine. I looked it up online. I scouted Ebay for it. I was certain I needed to buy it, and that I would also then need all of the various accessories and doo-dads that it then entailed.

I wanted it so much, I thought about digging out the forbidden credit card to buy it, but then convinced myself that that was JUST WRONG.

And then...I got $50 for Christmas from my in-laws. I was sure that was what I would go ahead and buy it then.

But, then I stopped.

I thought.

I pondered.

$60. And that's not even the various things I would have to go buy for it. Huh.

I thought...would it just sit with some of the other things that I needed so badly that I thought I ached for them?

Maybe.

Did I have alternatives?

Huh -- what about book rings, I thought. Yes, what would making up little books and journals with a book ring on the side instead.

Heck...I could splurge and use five book rings on one and probably have an entire dollar invested into those book rings.

And, I will admit, a funny thing happened. Not only did I feel good that I hadn't spent the money on that Zutter. Not only did I not ache for the Zutter anymore, I realized that I didn't even really want it when I thought more about it.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and I picked up a $1.00 package of book rings on my next trip out.

Even better.

Oh...and better yet? I didn't use the $50 on myself -- I bought my family lunch, and then picked up some clothes the boys needed at Once Upon a Child. Yep...definitely better.