star of the week

My daughter E is the Star of the Week in her classroom this week. She has been waiting and waiting to have her turn (our last name is at the end of the alphabet) and this is the perfect pick-me-up for her right now. Last week she was miserably sick and then her mother sent her to school with worms in her snacks… twice. Now is a great time for something exciting to happen.

And let me tell you – when you are 8/9 years old this is exciting stuff. The teacher sends home a request for all sorts of info and builds a bulletin board all about the Star Student. There are pictures and lists of favorite things involved. One day E gets to bring in her favorite story book and read it to the class. I cannot even begin to describe the deliberation that went into that process. She whittled it down to five books and then practiced reading them out loud last night before she finally picked one.

Another day she gets to invite three of her friends to have lunch with her and their teacher in the classroom – “not in the cafeteria, in the classroom mom!” And I got to write a letter about my daughter that is resting in a sealed envelope. The teacher will read the letter out loud to her class. I was instructed by the teacher to write anything I wanted but to consider sharing stories about my child or maybe write a poem or story featuring her. I was instructed by my daughter to write something funny but not embarrassing funny, just cute funny. That’s a tall order. Here’s what I wrote:

What can I tell you about our daughter E? Around here she’s often known as Little Miss E. She is the second child in our family with an older sister and a younger brother. And she was the unhappiest baby we’d ever seen. It’s true! We sometimes wondered if she’d ever stop crying. Luckily she did. And now we think she’s about the happiest kid we’ve ever known.

When she was one year old we took her picture wearing a ladybug dress and the ladybug idea seems to have stuck with her. She still collects and wears things with ladybugs on them. Her grandmother has a charm bracelet with a charm for each child. E’s charm is – you guessed it – a ladybug!

As you have probably noticed, E almost always has her nose in a book. She started reading at a very young age and even read stories to her preschool class. She has also always loved music so it’s no surprise that she started taking piano lessons when she was five years old. But it might surprise you to know that for years she has said that when she grows up she wants to be a rock star and a baker. A rock star by night and a baker by day. If anyone can pull that off we think E probably can!

Always ready with a smile and a wave. Always reading. Always bringing a smile to our faces. That’s our daughter.

She’s got a bag packed with some “special things” to share with the class (a music box, a rosary, and a plaque from cheerleading), her chosen book, 8 pictures and my letter. Unfortunately today there is a 2 hour delay because of the weather and I won’t be surprised at all if that turns into a cancelled day of school. And tonight/tomorrow they are calling for a blizzard which puts tomorrow’s school day in jeopardy. My poor kid – this sort of thing always happens to her. (see last year’s Christmas party that ended up happening at the end of January.) Maybe she’ll just be star for the day… or maybe her teacher will let her be a star next week??

time to re-stock the pantry

When you’ve got young children, you’re bound to come across some gross stuff. And I’m not even talking about gross stuff involving bodily fluids. I’m talking stuff from the great outdoors shoved in pockets. Food left in backpacks for weeks. Lunch boxes left at school too long and then brought home. Boogers wiped on walls. Let’s face it, kids are gross. But something happened last week that was perhaps the grossest thing I’ve come across as a parent and my children were not responsible for it. I was.

My daughter took a granola bar to school for a snack. Opened it. And found a worm inside. The snack was completely infested with worms, larvae and webbing. Luckily none of it made it to her mouth. She was the talk of the classroom but that’s all. Then later in the week, she took a completely different sort of dried fruit/granola snack to school… and found another worm.

You can send the Mom of the Year award directly to my attention.

I’ve thrown out all the snacks and started over but now I’m paranoid each time I open my pantry. What if these worms are in other foods? I used the handy dandy Internet to figure out that we’ve got Indian moths and I did some serious pantry cleaning – throwing out $$$ of food. But what if I can’t get rid of them?

Poor E. She’s going to be scarred for life. I’m going to have to personally inspect her snacks before she goes to school now.

YUCK.

breakfast book: The Snow Queen

A few weeks ago we read The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. This was one of my most favorite tales as a child and many years ago my parents gave me a beautifully illustrated edition. I’ve read it multiple times but when I asked the girls if they’d read it, neither had. I was in the mood to read something wintry and this fit the bill. And you know what? I still love this story.

I love the imagery of the snow queen and her soldiers/snowflakes. I love the fantasy of the magic sleigh ride to her icy castle. And of course, I love the enduring story of friendship that drives one child across the world and thru adventures to rescue her friend. It’s a story that stands the test of time. And I highly recommend getting a copy with good illustrations (there are many) because the images in this book should be shared whether you’re reading it aloud or not.

So that’s what I thought, but what did the kids think?

E: A+ I thought it was such an exciting and pretty story. My favorite part was when Gerda was saying the Our Father and the angels came out on her breath. And I really liked the end where Gerda’s tears melted away the ice and troll glass in Kai’s heart.

J: I give it an A+ too. And I liked the part when the angels came out to fight the snow queen’s snowflake soldiers, that was cool. I also liked the very end when they were grown up together back home.

It’s a winner! What are we into now? An oldie but goodie – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Nothing like starting off your day with some sarcastic Roald Dahl.

food thursday: snacks

The Super Bowl is this Sunday. (That’s why you read my blog, for the breaking news.) And whether you’re having a party, going to a party or just watching the game by yourself – snacks are in order. Heck, even if you’re not watching the game, snacks are in order because it’s a Sunday afternoon and snacking is fun. The question then is what sorts of snacks should we have?? I am going to give you two recipes today. The first is more of a grown-up snack and the second is more of a kid-friendly snack.

Jalapeno Poppers

Shamelessly shared from Pioneer Woman’s website because that woman knows how to make some snacks!
20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size
2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened
1 pound Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

1. Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT).
2. Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half.

3. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle.
4. Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of bite to it.

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You say your kids don’t like jalapeno peppers? Two out of three in my house don’t either. They’ll be eating these instead – and frankly, so will any adults in the house because they are yummy!

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Ham Pinwheels
1 can crescent rolls
Spreadable cheese (I like any of the Alouette varieties for this, found near the deli section)
6 slices of deli ham
1 bag of baby spinach

1. Separate the crescent rolls into rectangles, press the perforated edges together
2. Spread some cheese (a tablespoon or so) to 1/4 inch of the edges
3. Lay a piece of ham on the cheese and then a couple leaves of spinach
4. Starting at the short edge – roll it up. Press the edges together to seal
5. Slice each roll into 5-6 slices and place cut side down on a cookie sheet

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes – until golden brown

So even if you don’t watch the Super Bowl these snacks are yummy. In my house, we’ll be watching intently because our Colts are playing. Go COLTS!!!

held hostage by a mechanic

Why can’t I take my car in for an oil change and leave having only paid for an oil change? Why do they always find something else that needs to be done? I always wonder if they are blowing smoke up my tailpipe. (ha, ha… sorry)

I try to take good care of my car. I’ve actually read the maintenance manual and know most of the big stuff that needs to be done at certain mileage points. Plus I have a Honda and they are practically dummy-proof. Little lights and letters come on when you’re getting close to needing certain types of maintenance. But the car doesn’t tell me everything and I hate being in the position of paying extra money when I have no idea if it is even necessary. I’m not talking new air filter stuff or windshield wipers, I’m talking 70,000 miles+ maintenance stuff.

I took my car in Monday for an oil change and then did a decent run back to the house. I was barely in the door before my phone rings, they think my car needs new power steering fluid and a coolant flush and want to know if I’d like to move ahead. What?!? I was looking at a $25 oil change and now I’m looking at a $190 procedure. Besides that, how am I supposed to know if my car needs new power steering fluid?? I’m totally at their mercy. I drive my children around in that car, if someone tells me it needs something to stay in top shape – I’m going to do it. I hate being in the lesser position of knowledge, especially when it involves spending money. (okay fine, I always hate being in the lesser position of knowledge – I prefer to know more than everyone around me! If that were possible anyway.)

Geesh… I think I’m going to tell my kids to take auto shop when they get to high school. Do they even offer that any more??