Adjustments

Spring Break for Gabe is about to begin. Matt already had his. It's too bad they didn't match up. I have no idea what we are going to do, but I'm trying to find enough activities for one thing a day. That should break up the monotony.

Gabe is reading very well. It's a bit of an adjustment. I was on the computer, reading news, and Gabe read a headline out loud and then said, "what does that mean?" It sort of startled me. I've never before had to worry about him reading something he shouldn't. (Not that it was anything bad, but I realized that I can't get away with things anymore. I can't convince him soy milk is real milk anymore, for instance.) It's a whole new world.

About that soy milk, it's my newest solution to Chi's lack of protein. I haven't figured this one out yet: he will eat salami, but not milder meats. I really have no idea why he eats some things and not others, but protein tends to have the biggest gap in his diet. For some reason, Chi loves Silk. And he doesn't think it's regular milk, he just likes it.

We have not had any luck with buying a house. We are taking a break right now. The trouble is that no one is negotiating and most prices are listed at what is the likely peak for a given neighborhood. Since we are not staying forever, it's not a good deal for us. We did make an offer on a short sale in Frankenmuth, but we are still waiting to see if the bank accepts it. We are right now debating on whether or not we will actually buy anything in this area if we don't get the short sale house. We haven't decided anything, but looking was getting so stressful that we needed to just step back for awhile and regroup.

Marriage proposals and big boy beds

Some of the kids in Gabe's class were talking about getting married. Apparently a couple of them have decided to tie the knot while you have the prerequisite "ug, cooties!" crowd. Gabe told me about all of this and then told me, "I want to marry Larsen." (A girl in his class who is his closest friend so no surprise.) "But she won't talk to me about it." (Ah, Larsen, such a cold heart! ;) ) So Gabe is concerned because Larsen is the only girl he knows that he would marry and shouldn't they make plans? I reminded him that he's only five, so he has some time. He informed me that of course marriage would wait until they are old, like in college. But he still feels like it has to be decided now, and he has chosen Larsen.

Chi is in a big boy bed right now which has not been a smooth transition. We knew partly that night time went smoothly for us because he was trapped, but he's outgrown the pack n' play, so at least for trips he has to be in a bed now, so it just seemed right to try to get him into a bed. The problem is that he thinks getting up and running around is a really funny game. So bed time has lots of screaming and crying (from Chi too) and sitting guard outside the door. We are hoping he just gives up and stays in his bed soon.

Snowfest

Here are the pictures of

Snowfest I promised. I don't know why Blogger is having such fits with layouts any more, but it has been an exercise in frustration to get any of these up. When we rounded the corner, the lizard was the first snow sculpture we saw. Malachi said, "Wooow, Wow!" and then "Roar!"

There were several types of competition and ice sculpting as well. The boys also enjoyed the petting zoo and the pony rides. It was a really great event. It did make winter a little more worthwhile. We plan to attend again next year.

apologies...

I attempted an update with photos, and had all sorts of issues with the photos not appearing correctly. Then I got frustrated and said, "I'll fix it later." But I didn't want to deal with it, so it's been forever since I posted anything. I'll still try to get those photos up, but not today.

We are still house hunting. There is one we like but someone seems to have beat us to it. We would like to see it again and possibly make a competitive offer, but the realtors are not letting us in. I don't know what that's about. I do feel like I've lost my dream house, so it's frustrating and sad right now.

The boys are doing well. Chi is talking more, but not well. Most of the time it's just nonsense, but then he'll pull out a word like "outside" so I figure it's a matter of time before he talks. He has a brother that enjoys talking and a mother who understands his signs and nonsense so what need does he have to do it correctly? He does seem to have a bit of a lazy streak. Motor skills wise though he is leaps and bounds above his age. And quite literally leaping...he's a good jumper.

Gabe is reading now. He is one level past where he needs to be to enter Kindergarten. (Yes, you are expected read before Kindergarten now.) To give you and idea of where he's at, he can read a Dr. Seuss himself with very little trouble. And he can read some words that are harder than that. We are working on all the crazy spelling rules of English so he can understand when a vowel is a long or short sound. That is something they'd focus on more in first grade, but I don't want him to slow down with his reading. I want him steadily interested and going forward because reading opens up so much for a person. What is great is that he's not just saying the words on the page, but he's able to follow the story line and enjoy what he's reading.

Winter, we are not friends anymore.

I am tired of the hours of time it takes to bundle the kids up just to do something simple like walk to school. I am tired of a two year old who begins whining the second he sees his mittens or hat. I am tired of the same two year old constantly stripping off his mittens and leaving the on the ground so that we have to go back and fetch them. I am tired of being cooped up with boys who are also tired of being cooped up. I am so done with winter.

On a happier note, we have seen a house that we liked in Frankenmuth. It needs some work so we are trying to get some more information and we'll want to see it again before we would make an offer, but it's promising.

We are going to Frankenmuth for Snowfest sometime this week/weekend. The sculpting has begun and will be judged on Saturday I think. Maybe it will be cool enough for winter and I to make up and be friends again. We'll see.

Another week gone by

Long week, but it still went fast. Matt started teaching again this week, so we had to adjust to the new semester schedule. It's not so bad, but it is just different. I volunteered in the classroom twice this week because Gabe's teacher was short-handed, and those Kindergartners always wear me out. Chi had his check-up and all is fine. We had a small celebration for his birthday on Saturday, and he was clueless as to what was going on but he enjoyed it. Gabe had choir and we spent the evening with friends tonight. So all in all, a good week, but exhausting.

On my mind, like so many others, has been Haiti. Before this disaster 80% of the country lived in abject poverty, literally eating mud cakes for what little nutritional value they could give. Not only have I grieved for the people of the country, I have grieved over what a supposed religious leader of this country would say. I was horror-struck by Pat Robertson. But Jim Wallis was right when he wrote this week: "My God does not cause evil. God is not a vengeful and retributive being, waiting to strike us down; instead, God is in the very midst of this tragedy, suffering with those who are suffering. When evil strikes, it’s easy to ask, where is God? The answer is simple: God is suffering with those who are suffering."

If you want to help there are many ways. Dear to my heart is ELCA International Disaster Response which was already present in Haiti and its building survived the quakes so they were up and running immediately. There is the Red Cross, Compassion International and many other effective organizations that can use your donations. Many of which like the ELCA have all of the donations going to disaster relief and not to overhead. There is also a petition from the ONE campaign calling for debt forgiveness for the country to help in the long term economic recovery. Their debt, in the large amounts of the world economy are minimal, but to Haiti, insurmountable.

Not much to say; how about a recipe?

There are dry spells in my life. Nothing interesting to report on at all. The holidays are done (and were very nice), and the kids are tired and trying to get back on schedule. So that means they are not being interesting at all, the little stinkers. But, I feel honor-bound to post something. Especially since I just included the blog address on all my holiday cards. Hello to any new readers! So, I will play to all those New Year's resolutions to lose weight and post my favorite salad recipe. A careful reader will note that it is not necessarily the most healthy, but I said it was my favorite, so there you go.

Inspired by Panera's Fuji Chicken Salad of which I can no longer purchase because I don't have Panera in Michigan. That really needs to be remedied. This is not so much a recipe as a guide.

Apple, Blue Cheese, Pecan Salad

(amounts are just to your personal liking, number of people serving, etc.)

• chop some lettuce, whatever is on hand (I am often stuck with iceberg, but Romaine is very nice for this too)
• chop one apple to bite size pieces, sweeter apples work better for this, I prefer to leave the skin on, sprinkle on salad
• roughly chop a handful of pecans, again sprinkle on salad
• sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese (I like a lot, but it would be healthier with a little)
• finally, drizzle with Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette (I found it at Walmart.)

Now it's amazing as it is, but here are some other possibilities: when I have cooked chicken on hand, I toss that in too, but really that just makes it more filling, it does nothing for flavor. Also the Panera version uses an apple vinaigrette, but I have never found one in the stores. I think a white wine vinaigrette would be nice too, but again, good luck finding a commercial brand. But DO NOT, unless you are allergic, leave out the pecans. They seriously make the salad.