Finally pictures

411 in her new HSM robe, she is so proud.















Mr in his stuper-man Pj's. I looked all over for some in Shawna's size with no luck ;)





















Michelle. She loved her ugly ass rooster, can't you feel the love? Even the bird is giving me some. Bird that is.

















And here is the illustrious POB. It is hard to take a picture of everyone when they are unaware but these are the women I hang with. It is all about comfort: being who you are, wearing what you want, eating what you want (notice the wine and plethora of snacks) and everyone loving you anyway.

Tuesday. Yeah.

I was gonna post some pictures from this weekends festivities but my children have absconded with my camera. Again. So I will just tell you about it. I went up on Friday night with my Sister in law, Dianne, and we stopped at Walmart to get food. Can't have a guilt free get away with out the proper assortment of high calorie products you know. I had bought a DVD player to use while we were up there and of course, the thing didn't work right. I really hate the cheapness of today's products; you can't count on something working. Just FYI, it was GPX, which apparently is an off brand but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. By the time we got up to the condo, everyone else was already there, the wine was opened and the sushi eaten. As a rule, I don't care for Sushi but after a couple glasses of wine, I almost like it. :) I had brought along apple pucker and buttershots. Did you know that if you take a shot of each and combine them, it's like a carmel apple? YUMMO! I thought so anyway. We all stayed up visiting and just relaxing and sort of watching a movie (cheap ass dvd player!) Saturday we went to Olive Garden for the meal the birthday girls got to choose (everyone else pays for their food, it started years ago as just breakfast, we have kinda expanded that). I had 'four cheese mezzaluna with shrimp'. All I can say about it is YUMMO! Then we went shopping ( I stopped by walmart and bought another dvd player, one that would work) and we went back and watched movies and visited some more. Originally I wasn't planning on staying both nights but my husband helped make my mind up. I fell asleep before most everyone. Since Chelle and I shared a room, when she came in, it woke me up and we ended up talking for another hour or so. Then we came home before noon on Sunday. The kids missed me and were very happy to see all the junk food I brought home. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing to get away. I am a stay at home mom and usually my get aways consist of grocery shopping. We all get together like this 4 times a year (that's the way the birthday's fall) and I look froward to it. The next one won't be till June.
I paid for mine and Chick's trip to Washington DC. It is a school sponsored trip that will leave May 27 and return May 30. There is like 30 different things we are going to see but I am most excited about the Vietnam wall and Arlington. It is really kinda serendipitous that we are going cuz I told Mike one thing I wanna make sure the kids see before they leave our home is the nation's capitol. I think it is important. Then I found out that the school goes every other year. This time it is Chick's and Meg's classes, next time it will be three of my niece/nephews, after that is Bubba and Kennabean. 411 will go the trip after that and the trip after THAT, dude will go. This is all assuming that we are still in the same school district and things continue the way they are. I found out that two of my cousins lost their state jobs because of the cutbacks states are making. It's kinda scary, I am really glad that lawmakers are at least trying to fix the problem before it gets too overwhelming.

Because I can laugh at myself...

I was going through the scrapebook my mom made me and I was kinda surprised at the stuff she had. and the stuff she didn't. I have no pictures of any friends except one in 4th and one in 7th. Anyway, SHAWNA, remember these notes?



















This is cultural day in Missouri Valley, we were supposed to dress up as our heritage. yeah that worked. I am in there, I promise!














Fourth grade, the year we moved to Missouri Valley. I can tell you who 10 of these people are if I include myself. I am kinda proud of that :)

A tear..

I found this article on yahoo, it made me tear up. This is the kind of coach I want for my kids!!



The coach never considered any other option.
It didn't matter that his DeKalb, Ill., High School basketball team had ridden a bus two and a half hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn't matter that the game was close, or that this was a chance to beat a big city team.
Something else was on Dave Rohlman's mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go to the line as he had many times before.
Only this time it was different.
"You realize you're going to miss them, don't you?" Rohlman said.
Darius McNeal nodded his head. He understood what had to be done.
It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a non-conference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the two schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry that spanned two states.
The teams planned to get together after the game and share some pizzas and soda. But the game itself almost never took place.
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. "He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn't have time to grieve."
Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.
Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.
The Knights had possession, so Womack called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.
"We got back to playing the game and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench," Womack said during a telephone interview.
"No," Franklin replied. "I want to play."
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, `We're not taking it, we're not taking it," Womack said. "The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I did it for the guy who lost his mom," McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was the right thing to do."
Franklin would go on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison broke open the game in the second half to win 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie.
Franklin stopped by briefly, thankful that his team was there for him.
"I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play," he said. "I felt like I had a lot of support out there."
Carlitha Franklin's funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntel's classmates were there.
"Even the cooks from school showed up," Womack said. "It lets you know what kind of kid he is."
Basketball is a second sport for the 18-year-old Franklin, who says he has had some scholarship nibbles and plans to play football in college. He just has a few games left for the Knights, who are 6-11 and got beat 71-36 Tuesday night by Milwaukee Hamilton.
It hasn't been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.
"We maybe don't have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business," Womack said. "We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."

One day at a time..

I have been unpacking and trying to get everything relocated.
I took all four of the kids to the dentist, Chick has to see an orthodontist, Bubba has to see an oral surgeon (because there is a shadow on his x ray), Mr has 4 cavities between his teeth, and 411 had one. I know what I will be doing for a while, running.
Tomorrow is the start of the sister weekend. We are meeting up in downtown Omaha and staying the night so we can get up and go Saturday morning. I am really excited about it. The next one won't be till April but we are going to Kansas city so it should be fun. It is Chelle's and Whimp's and nothing will beat the gift I got a couple of years ago. I told Michelle to get a list of stuff she wanted out or she was getting the ugliest rooster I could find and a thong. It is a long running joke between us about her roosters because there are certain ones she likes and most she doesn't and it is hard to get the right one unless you are very in tune with her specific taste. So, I was tooling around Goodwill one day and I found this ceramic pink and orange rooster that must have been like a flower pot from FTD or something, I just started laughing in the middle of the aisle. I knew this was meant to be Michelle's. I took it and showed Whimp and she helped me paint a thong on it. Not as easy as it sounds. I was giggling like a preteen all the way to the party. This was also the year that I took her kids and got their pictures taken without her knowing about it. She had told me how she wished she had a more recent picture of the kids together so I knew what I had to do. Anyway, she opened up the rooster and laughed her ass off, it was great. Then she opened her pictures and bawled her eyes out. I loved it. I am evil like that. I haven't' been able to top that but I am thinking about it.
The licensing lady came and redid all our paperwork since we moved. Found out I have to have our well retested again in 6 months. That makes me happy.
I cleaned the boys room for them, took out another trash bag of stuff. You would think they would start to notice....

The best

I moved out of my mom's house and into my very own apartment when I was 17. I was thrilled and scared at the same time. I was smart enough to know that I was really stupid and needed help with cooking since I hadn't cooked anything harder then an egg the entire time I lived at home. Baking I could do so I had the insight to buy a cookbook. The one that caught my eye was

BETTY CROCKER'S COOKBOOK The foolproof guide for every cook . ISBN: 0671850393






I love this book, I call it my idiots cookbook because it is geared to someone unfamiliar with the kitchen (say a 17 year old on her own?!). I have used this one over and over (this is where my chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from), it has a lot of info besides just recipes: equivilents, how to set a table, how to cook in a microwave, guides for grilling, pictures of spices and herbs and what they are used for, table for the food groups (what makes a serving, how many per day etc), how to store food, you guys get the idea. I just looked it up, it's like $2 on http://www.alibris.com/ . One of my favorite recipes I shared with Whimp and I thought I would share with Ya'll too.


CHICKEN POT PIE


1 pkg frozen peas and carrots
1/3 c butter or margerine
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/3 c chopped onion
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 teas pepper
1 3/4 c. chicken broth
2/3 c milk
2 1/2 -3 c cut up cooked chicken or turkey
pastry for two 9" crusts *


Rinse frozen peas and carrots in cold water to seperate; drain. Heat margarine in 2 quart saucepan over meduim heat until melted. Stir in flour,onion,salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute, stir in chicken and vegtables.
Heat oven to 425 degree. Prepare pastry. Roll two thirds of pastry into 13" square ease into ungreased square pan, 9x9x2". Pour chicken mixture into pastry lined pan. Roll remaining pastry into 11 inch square, cut out designs with cookie cutter, place square over filling. Turn edges under and flute. Bake about 35 minutes or util golden brown.


Pastry for two 9" crusts
2/3 cup plus 2 TBSN shortening or 2/3 c lard
2 c all purpose flour **
1 teas salt
7 to 8 TBSN cold water

Cut shortening into flour and salt until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time. tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1-2 teaspoons can be added if neccessary), gather into ball.


** if using self-rising flour, omit salt. pie crusts made with self rising flour differ in texture and flavor from those made with all purpose flour.


This is the basics, I tweaked it, I boil a whole chicken then strip the bones and use the broth from that, I use frozen mixed veggies and store bought crust. I also don't usually do a bottom crust and double the batch to use a 9x13 pan to feed us all.

Nauseated

I was listening to the radio this morning, as I do every morning, and I heard about the Suleman family website. This is the woman who already has 6 kids ages 2-7, is divorced, living off of government aid and with her mother, and gave birth to octuplets. She is proud to have 14 kids under the age of 7 and is asking for 'donations'.

http://www.thenadyasulemanfamily.com/

OMG! my stomach turns at this. This woman got pregnant every time by in-vitro, at what point does a doctor say, enough? I am all for anyone having a family as big as they want as long as they can support them. The Duggars are a great example- they have 18 kids and want more. More power to them! The difference being, they are taking care of them financially, physically and emotionally. The state of California is going to have to cover over 1.3 MILLION dollars in medical bills because this woman is on welfare. Let me interject here, I fully support someone who needs a helping hand from the state getting it. I totally disagree with women who live off of it for years and years and have more babies to stay eligible. There are so many women/men/couples/people who long for a child of their own and never get the chance to experience the joy/stress/heartache/heartwarming that it entails. Then there is this woman who is making her uterus her business. Can someone please explain how a single woman is going to take care of 8 preemies on top of 6 children under the age of 7 by herself and give each child everything they need (basic care, not to mention materialistic items such as clothes, diapers etc)when they have no home of their own? I do not think it is humanly possible.

I am so bummed!

The hospital called and Mr.'s peanut test numbers are still too high. In fact, they went up. I was really hoping (since the doctor said it was what he thought) that his numbers would go down and we could start the challenge. Sigh, all it means is that he is still aller-gix.

This is how double trouble spent some of their Wednesday afternoon. Riles gets to come over to play on Wednesdays but yesterday for some reason (weather change?) they were acting up on the bus and the bus driver threatened to kick them off.

I am planning on making another flag quilt that is a little different from the one that I made Dianne. Her's is what she picked out after getting the certificate for a throw sized quilt for the family grab bag. I am really sorry it took a month to get to her, what a Christmas present, but life got in the way. On the plus side, I got an order for 2 more kids sized ones. WOOHOO

It's done!!

Mike said he couldn't see what it was, whatcha think?