Ode to the Germs

You came unexpectedly
almost two months ago.
You've worn out your welcome
it's time for you to go.

You've taken us down
One or two at a time
I've had it and now
I will draw the line.

Two months ago we think
Dad, Anna, Nathan, Terese, and Henry caught H1N1
Those that didn't get sick that time
were sick after being exposed to you on July one.

But some germs stayed around
you were slow to leave
Then ten days ago
some started to heave.

Poor Wyatt got sick in the middle of the night
he was miserable poor kid and was sick a few days
When he was all better little Logan got sick
and he was miserable too and was in a haze.


You sent Henry to Urgent Care
on Thanksgiving night
They sent us to the Children's ER
he was a sad looking site.

My phone let out a ring
Anna was sick too
Felt bad for her
But in a way it was good news.

This meant that Henry probably had the flu
on top of a pre-existing stomach condition
rather than something more serious
But we still had to go to the ER to complete the mission

The next night was my turn to get sick
and now I understood how the kids did feel
It took two days before
I would eat another meal.

Then it was Nathan
it was his turn to succumb
He's really a trooper
and should be almost done.

Our elementary students
and the teacher too
Took the morning off from our homeschool
to try hard to get rid of you.

The kitchen counter is scrubbed
the bathrooms are too.
Where else do germs hide?
We're trying hard to find you.

I washed eight loads of clothes
and Grandma came to fold them all.
She's always so generous with her time
in helping us out of our piles to climb.

Nathan swept the kitchen floor really well
so that Teresa could mop it.
Then Teresa and her Grandma got some old rags
and skated across the floor to dry it.

Nathan went to rest
you germs are still bugging him.
Just leave us alone
your lights will soon be dim.

I changed sheets on six of eight beds.
it took some work in doing.
Henry and Wyatt helped me out
the work was really quite grooling.

The sheets will all be sanitized today
and Grandma will come again tomorrow.
To fold all those sheets and some blankets too
more time of hers we will borrow.

Leaving cut onions out
if you dare
Will take those germs
and suck them from the air

This I've been told
and soon I will cut
Those onions right up
and maybe help get us out of this rut.

The windows will be opened
the children sent outside
To get some fresh air
in us and inside.

I don't like chemicals and prefer natural stuff
but along with the natural I am getting more rough
I've sprayed Lysol and used bleach
So please go away
You've worn out your welcome
we don't want you to stay.

Small Successes

Small and quick

1. Watched a video about peeling potatoes that my MIL sent me. I tend not to look at all the forwarded....forwarded....forwarded emails. They are cute but I don't have time. THIS ONE IS WORTH WATCHING. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo I am making sweet potatoe casserole for Thanksgiving and it took me less than 5 minutes to peel ALL the sweet potatoes (although the video is for Idaho potatoes). Warning: watch the youtube video alone. There are some pretty gross ones that come up on the side (hate it when that happens) but the video alone is less than a minute.

2. Made a firm committment to start using our Five in a Row books to do with Henry, Wyatt, and Elizabeth. They love them! Henry and Wyatt even created their own projects about Wee Gillis and Ferdinand.

3. Adding in daily Mass once a week (starting today)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

On the Receiving End of Brutally Honest

I have been after an acquaintance and her children to come over for a playdate. I called and asked her over. We landed a date and determined that based on our schedules it sounded like the best time for us to get together is over lunch. No problem, I can pull together lunch. There was a pause and then she said, "That will not work. My kids will not eat at your house. They would rather go hungry." There was a pause and she added "We think that you cook weird things."

I was a bit taken aback at the thought as well as her frankness about the situation. Honest, I had no intent of cramming raw milk and homemade whole wheat pasta down their necks. I laughed. "Sometimes I do cook differently than some, but for things like this I serve normal kid stuff."

"Oh, no," she went on to explain that that would not do. She gave me a very limited menu of what her kids would consider acceptable. The list included the brand names of the items - i.e. Tyson chicken nuggets with Honey Bee Honey. While most of the time I am pretty flexible, there was no way that I could accommodate her crew and mine without spending $30 or more on a lunch that I would otherwise not feed my kids. Also she mentioned twice that her kids would only drink juice boxes (She even mentioned the brands that they consider acceptable.) at my house since we often drink "strange juices." At some point in the conversation she seemed to be telling me more of her preferences than those of her children.

I think I suggested that we wait to get together until the weather was better and we could brown bag it at the park and ended the call.

After I hung up I was not quite sure what to make of the conversation but I decided that I had truly been on the receiving end of brutally honest. Basically what she was saying was "My family would rather stab our hands with a forks than eat your food." I am still not quite sure what to think. However, I did laugh when I realized that this is the same woman who said that she has a hard time expressing herself. Really? Cause I think not.

Small Successes

And sometimes they are very small, and that's O.K. For more small successes click on the link above.

1. New menu item this week....Calzones.

Big hit with everyone and very easy. All I did was use Pilsbury pizza dough and our normal pizza toppings. The only one who didn't like it was Elizabeth. We have a rule here that you have to at least try the food and if you really don't like it you may have a bowl of cereal. She insisted she tried it another time....but I haven't made them since she's been born. Elizabeth is also the one who was so upset before dinner a few months ago because she was hungry and I wouldn't let her eat crackers. We were going to be eating in less than 5 minutes. I told her we would be eating momentarily. She immediately broke down crying, "I don't like momentarily". Apparently she's had momentarily too and didn't like the taste of that either. So, to make a long story short. I don't judge my recipes by whether Elizabeth likes them or not.

2. Gathered Anna's Quarter report papers and mailed them in.

3. Went through my closet and dresser and removed EVERYTHING I no longer wear. I've been intending to do this for months but who has the time? Well, it took less than 10 minutes but it sure feels good to be able to put my clothes away without trying to cram them.

Small Successes

We can get very busy as moms, and we often forget that we ARE accomplishing things.... This is the time every week to remember a few things we've accomplished. For more small successes click on the link above and visit Faith and Family (and if you aren't interested in small successes, click on the link anyway and visit the rest 0f their wonderful website!)


1. Got almost all caught up on reconciling accounts. Made very good headway anyway.

2. Set aside time on Sunday to help my dear Teresa make a dress for her doll. She did a great job and it turned out beautifully!

3. Wrote my name and phone number in my Catholic Mother's Daily Planner.
If you tend to write EVERYTHING in a planner, and take it EVERYWHERE, it's best not to lose it, I'm just sayin'. Esp. if you have 5 doc appt's w/in the next 3 weeks, some with special instructions, that you haven't transfered to the wall calendar yet.

Beef Lo Mein Recipe

I adapted this from a Vegetable Lo Mien Delight recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegetable-Lo-Mein-Delight/Detail.aspx

Cooked angel hair pasta
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 T cornstarch
4 T canola oil
2-3 c. chopped celery
2 c. sugar snap peas
chow mien noodles
2 c. cooked tender steak seasoned to taste

The original recipe also calls for fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, sliced onion, bean sprouts, it called for snow peas rather than sugar snap peas, and it didn't call for beef. Sounds great to me, but not much of my crew.

1. Whisk the chicken broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch together (or MAGIC BULLET them, I LOVE my magic bullet)

2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the celery and cook about 3 min. Add the broth mixture, sugar snap peas, and beef. Continue to cook and stir about 5 minutes, until vegies are tender crisp.

3. Toss with the cooked pasta.

4. Serve over chow mien noodles.

Anyone else have a new (or old) recipe to share?

Small Successes

1. Followed through on Crunchy Mamma's suggestion in her post below. Great idea! This should be an even better Advent and Christmas season for all.

2. Realized we needed a short break to reassess where we are at for school and some other urgent necessary items around here. So, our 1/2 day off for the end of Q1 (I need time to get papers together) will be 1/2 day on TH and F. Essentials are getting done and next week we'll start Q2 off with a bang.

3. Continuing with my resolution to make one new recipe MOST weeks. I'm not going to complicate my life with this one. Just trying to spice it up - no pun intended.

Last week - a potato/dairy free cheese combo. 1/2 loved it 1/2 hated it. It's only side dish, so I'll add it to my list but it won't appear frequently.

This week - Beef Lo Mein. This was a hit. This was easy. This is now on my list!

Can You Believe It Is November?

Wow, where did this year go? Wasn't it the Fourth of July like a week ago? But since it is November, I am trying to schedule all of our holiday traditions. I took the time to ask the children what was important to them. To my surprise, the things that I thought that they would love just were ok and some of the things that I would rather skip are "must haves" for them. The Christmas Light tour only got one star. But the pain in the neck rolled sugar cookies were ten stars. Thankfully we all agreed that Midnight Mass, the nativity set and the Advent wreath are must haves.

What holiday traditions are important at your house?