Their first cooking class

On Facebook a week or two ago I asked my friends if anyone knew of a cooking class for children. I knew about Young Chef's Academy, but it was too expensive. So one of my church friends responded to me. She said that she loved to cooked and would love to teach my children one day a week. I was thrilled! She is a nutritionist and a very good cook. Yesterday we had our first class.She was amazing. She went over kitchen safety. And she had the plan written out. She showed the kids the menu.

Menu:

Main Dish-Lasagna

Side-Apple and Carrot Slices

Drink-Milk

Dessert-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Then she showed how we had to think about what takes the longest to make and what we needed to work on first. She showed each step of the way.

Ashley and Mason really wanted to learn, but I wasn't so sure about Aussie. He gave me a hard time in the car. But he stepped up to the plate and enjoyed himself while he was there. Here he is browning the ground beef for the lasagna.

Mason sprays the pan.

Ashley had to have a turn too browning the ground beef.

Ms. Helen also told us that when we start to cook a lot we can learn that we can substitute several things to make them healthier. When we made our cookies we added a 1/2 cup whole wheat flour to them.

Everyone had a turn beating the cookie batter.

Aussie really enjoyed sifting the flour.

working together

They were learning to use the knife. This made them nervous. It also made me nervous. One thing that is really cool is Ms. Helen is also left handed. I'm sure that will help a lot in teaching my left handed children.

Ashley got peeling the carrots down pat.

Lasagna is done and WOW did it taste good. It was actually one of the best tasting lasagnas I've ever had. I'm sure it had something to do with the sauce. One sauce we used was Harris Teeter traditional sauce and the other was Bertolli. When I make this again I need to remember to get those.

Can't believe I missed picturing the cookies.

Anyway, we sat down for lunch and it was delicious.

She asked the kids what they wanted to make next time and Ashley shouted out steak. Aussie said-Can you guess? French Fries and Mason said Brownies.

So we will be making Steak, oven fries and brownies the next time we get together.

This is awesome!

English Assignments

Today in our English class I made the kids write a paragraph with three things they like about Aussie. And if they tried to get someone else in trouble then they had to write four things. Anyway, I don't particuarly care for English (school) and I really don't like the repetitive sentences they have to write. And I feel like it is pulling teeth to get them to write anything. But this assignment went better than I expected. The one who needed to do this assignment (topic)was the first one done.

Aussie asked me to do the assignment too. Whereas, I have many things I love about my son, I hate this style of writing. But I will do it anyway for his sake! I may cheat a little bit and skip some of the repeating when I write mine. You can see what they wrote on their blogs. (Links to their blogs are to the left.)

I have three things I like about my son, Aussie. These three things are having a heart for Jesus, he is a self learner and he loves the Chinese language. First, Aussie has a heart for Jesus. Ever since he was little he asked precious, heavy philosophical questions showing his love for God. Second, he is a self learner. I like that Aussie will try to learn every possible thing he is interested in on his own and will share his knowledge with everyone. Last, Aussie loves the Chinese language. I love that he is learning Chinese so in the future he can take care of his Mom when China owns everything. All these things about Aussie makes me very proud to be his Mom.


Stay tuned, tomorrow we will have a cooking class. Wednesday they will write 3 things they like about Mason. And Thursday they will write 3 things they like about Ashley.

Good Night Nashville

I am so so so so so so so so so very tired!
Why don't you go to bed you ask?
I don't know.

For some reason I really want to fall asleep on the couch.
And yet I know that I can not "sleep" if I try to sleep on the couch.
But yet I sit here with my eyes drooping wanting to try anyway.

Even though I know I can not sleep on the couch, I will still close my eyes and try.
Then in an hour or so when I'm really really hurtin' tired I will try so desperately to get my butt upstairs, take my medicine, put on my CPAP and actually fall asleep.

I could go upstairs now and it wouldn't be so bad.
But why oh why does the couch tempt me so much?

I have no idea. But I'm closing my eyes now and I know the inevitable will come.

Good night Nashville.

Magician's Nephew (another test)

The other day Aussie’s girl friend was in a little play at their church.  So I took the kids to see it.  Kadence was a little squirrel and she had a small part but she stole the show she was so cute.  After she did her little bit she turned to Aussie in the audience and smiled really big at him.  Then when she left the stage she blew him a kiss on her way out.  And I thought it was only Aussie who was smitten.

 

The other girl there is her sister, Melodye.  Melodye had a small part as well but she kept her British accent and she did very well.

 

Then again I am trying to post the cute picture of Mason with his hat.

 

 

Mason Hat

 

I’m testing something out, so if this is emailed to you directly sorry about that.  I will try to make my testing a little interesting anyway. There will probably be 3 emails.

 

  I love this hat on Mason.

 

 

 

Weird Kid

Weird, weird, weird!

Tonight we went to Chick Fil A. Since volleyball is over for the season we went to a CFA that we hadn't been to in a long time. A kid came up to Aussie and said, "Hey you're the kid."

Obviously they had met here several weeks ago. Ashley and Mason told me this is the kid who said the bad word last time we were here. {Great!}

Anyway, this kid is all over the store. He stopped by one table and moves some drinks around. Naturally, I thought that was his table and those were his parents.

Then he pulls up a chair and sits with us while we ate. The kid is a bit over the top to put it lightly. He hit Mason playfully, but it still hurt. So the kids were playing a little pass it on game. Ashley tap kicked Aussie told him to pass it on, Aussie tap kicked this kid told him to pass it on, the kid kicks Mason and tells him to pass it on. And I sitting next to Mason said, "he better not kick me or he will get a spanking and I'll tell him to pass it on." So the kid smiles and he kicks ME! Trying to make it look like Mason did it. I am not too happy about this and wondered why his parents are not even looking over here.

Anyway, Aussie had to go to the bathroom. So this kid gets up and goes to another table where the family at that table had balloons. The kid starts punching the balloon into the man's head over and over again. Now they were laughing about it. And then the kid moves on. So I went up to that table and asked, "I'm just curious, do you know that kid?" And they said, "No." I told them we didn't know him either but he just pulled up a chair and started eating with us. I certainly didn't want anyone to think he was MY child.

So Aussie comes back to the table and so does this kid. And he said, can Aussie come over to my house and play sometime or can I come to your house?

RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG

Ashley and Mason outright said, "NO!"

Aussie and I were trying to be a little nicer about it. Aussie said, "Maybe" I said, "I don't even know your Mom". So he said to come over and meet his Grandma who is in a different part of the restaurant. Next thing I know, he has brought his Grandma to me to introduce us.

UGH! What do I say?

She asked, "Do you go to the same school?"

Aussie said, "No, we don't go to school." {eyeroll}

I said, "Well actually they are homeschooled."

The kid again says, "Can I go to their house or can he come to our house?"

Nervous I said, "Well we don't really know you, I think we need to get to know you a little better first. Volleyball is over and we will probably be here every Tuesday night."

The Grandmother smirked.

Now with that said, it's time to find another Chick-Fil-A far far away from there.

Check your receipts

This is a reminder to check your receipts. I would say at least 90% of the time it will be wrong. I would like to say that it is 97% of the time wrong, but I'm giving it a little leeway.

Tonight I went to Kroger.

Apparently I got a checker who just didn't care to do her job correctly.

I counted as she scanned each coupon.

I stopped her and said she needed one more of the Pillsbury coupons.

She charged me twice for apples. She caught that but then when she went to correct it she didn't put in the right amount. So I caught it and had her add the rest of the amount.

Then when the lady behind me distracted me and wanted to know all about couponing I saw out of the corner of my eye, the checker just put the rest of the coupons into the register and didn't scan them.

This is where you need to know what you have.

I counted each on my receipt and saw that she left off 4 coupons. I went to the customer service desk. The man at first said I had to have those coupons. I told him they were in the register and I could tell him exactly what she didn't scan. He called her and I guess by what she said on the phone he took my word for it and didn't need to get the coupons.

That was $4.00. I think that's a significant amount.

So check your receipts, chances are you are paying too much.

The Secular Part of our day

And now for the totally secular part of today...

We went to one of Greg's friends house today after lunch for an Easter party. This was the first time we had been to her house. Apparently, they have done this for 15 years now. The house was beautiful and the landscaping was beautiful too. They started out with an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Mason said, he had been waiting for this all Easter. I had no idea they were going to have one at this party. I'm so glad they did, since I neglected to take my kids to an Easter egg hunt beforehand.

Then they had an adult Easter egg hunt. That was fun, but I wasn't dressed for the occasion.

Love this next picture! Definitely one of my faves!

Such a turn around from years ago when he wouldn't want his picture taken. Now he got right in front of the camera. So close that I was able to see that scratch on his face. I asked him what happened? Did he run into a bush? Actually, Greg's whiskers. OUCH!

Ashley woke up at 5 AM this morning. After going to bed around 2 AM, I was NOT able to get up and watch them get into their baskets this morning. Ashley woke up Mason and at 6 AM they woke up Aussie. Aussie was so very tired! I can't believe Ashley and Mason kept on going and going!

I have no pictures of them finding their baskets, but I heard all about it. They loved everything they got! YAY!

And now...I'm going to bed!

I hope you had a fabulous day!

Family Photos

Actually I think I'll make this a 3-parter...

Here are some of the pictures before and after church of my family.

A tradition our church has done for several years now is for everyone to bring flowers and to fill this empty cross up with the flowers.

I set up my tri-pod. I do wish we could have gotten a family picture before Aussie's baptism. Greg had a matching tie on.

I call him cousin It. But I still get compliments almost everyday on how people love his hair. It's "movie star hair" or "magazine hair" as some have referenced it.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Today my son was baptized!

This is a 2-parter.

Today has been a wonderful day!

My son Aussie decided to be baptized.

Last week he told me he was so afraid I wouldn't understand.

However, I knew this child was ready. He has been asking hard philosophical questions ever since he could speak. Many times I would have to refer to Greg to answer those questions. Of course that in of itself is not the reason I believed he was ready.

He truly has a heart for Jesus!

When Aussie asked to be baptized today, he did not know that his Dad had been baptized on Easter in 1983. And that made it even more special!

Greg had the honor of baptizing him today.
When they got in the baptistry, Greg prompted Aussie to tell the story that he told us when he told us he wanted to be baptized.

This story blew me away!!

Aussie took the microphone and told it to the congregation with such confidence and he was so clear. It was beautiful!

One night Aussie was praying and praying and praying to God. And he asked God, "Who am I and why am I here?" Several minutes later God answered him in a voice that was audible only to him. God said, "Aussie, I put you here to own an orphanage and to take care of children who don't have parents or homes."

Aussie was so afraid to tell us this because he thought we wouldn't believe him. He's been holding this secret for several months and I had no idea. I know many people who seek God and want to hear him, who never hear his voice. I have had the honor of hearing God talk to me. I don't think I've ever shared that with Aussie. So for me it was easy to believe him.

I believe him!

Greg believes him!

I have to admit though I was afraid for him to share that story. Not because I thought people wouldn't believe him. That thought didn't even cross my mind until I talked to Greg later on today. I was afraid that when he grew up, what IF he DIDN'T own an orphanage? I don't think people would hold it against him, but I was afraid that HE would hold it against himself after making that statement publicly. But Greg reassured me that he would not allow Aussie to hold it against himself.

That being said, I hope he does own an orphanage. What an amazing testimony that would be!

This picture of Greg hugging Aussie is priceless to me!

I absolutely love it!I am so proud of him!

Jesus died for everyone! Not just for Christians, but for all sinners, for the sick, the healthy, the rich, and the poor. He was the ultimate sacrifice. He died for OUR sins. And because of him our slate is wiped clean.

Ashley and "Flower"

Eek! I just uploaded 250 pictures from my camera to my computer. TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY. What in the world have I been doing? Well not blogging for one thing. Good grief! Well I thought I would share just a few tonight with you. And I'm sure to have plenty of beautiful pictures tomorrow. Happy Easter Everyone!

So have I told you how much I love this My Job Chart site? I set it up for my kids about 3 weeks ago. The boys often forget to check there jobs off, but Ashley gets up before anyone else, checks it and goes to work. She often has most of her AM jobs completed before I even wake up. The first week they got extra points for getting rid of toys. I based the points on how big the item was. The bigger the item the more points they got for getting rid of it. I also allowed them to give me any money that they had and convert it to points.

Anyway, Ashley had enough points to get a prize and she chose to go to Build A Bear. The kids LOVE Build A Bear. I really ought to buy stock in the company! Here she is holding her new bunny (on the left) "Flower" with it's sister that she got last year, "Blossom". Here is Aussie with his first Build-A-Bear "Hello Bunny" It is still his favorite, but he is starting to get a bit embarrassed carrying it around. He did take it to a sleepover party last weekend. I was surprised, but pleasantly surprised no one teased him. He changed the name to just "Bunny" for the party. And here is my Mason. He knows he is handsome! He brought Scruffy his dog B-A-B with him.

Aussie is sick

Well we had a bit of adventure tonight. I had to take Aussie to the ER. He developed a rash over his entire body. So first I took him to the CVS care clinic. And the nurse practitioner/doctor whatever he was said I needed to take him to the ER, because they didn't have what was needed to treat him. He said, since the rash was spreading to his face that caused some concern.

Aussie was a good sport. He was making all the nurses laugh. One of the nurses gave him a gown and told him to take his shirt off and also his pants. He said matter of factly, "THAT'S as FAR as I'm going!" When she left, he examined his underwear and said, "Phew! It's not Batman underwear, that would be embarrassing! Did you know I still have Batman underwear? I don't know why I still have Batman underwear! Wow that would have been embarrassing!"

So another nurse came in and gave Aussie a Strep test- no complaints, everything fine. Then she had to get a nose culture- gross but no complaints, everything perfectly fine. Then she gave him liquid Tylenol and Advil. You would have thought he was dying. That was THE WORST thing that had happened!

Lots of waiting and Aussie talked my ear off and talked to everyone who came in the room. (He is definitely like his Daddy there!)

Then he got a chest x-ray. When he got back to the room he asked the male technician, "Can I get dressed now?" The man said, "Um you'll have to ask the nurse about that. But you look comfortable! I wish I could wear that." Aussie looked at him deadpan and said, "It's a DRESS!" The man's reply, "Touche!"

We waited some more and the doctor came back in and told us is was Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat. Ugh! He had to have a big ol' bad shot! I remember how bad those shots hurt from when I was a kid. I didn't want to scare him, but didn't want to lie either. Of course he was asking me all kinds of questions. I told him it hurt a bit. My poor boy, he is so brave but he broke down crying and ask the nurse to please stop.

When we first got to the hospital he asked me to go back with him b/c "Daddy overreacts". But after the shot he wanted his Dad! So Greg and I traded off and I took the other two home.

Please pray that no one else gets it! We have a very important weekend ahead of us!

ho hum

Well I can think of a million and one things I should be doing right now, but I don't want to do any of them. I even have 3 books I'm interested in reading, but not interested tonight. It's really weird! The boys are at a birthday sleepover and Ashley fell asleep on the couch earlier tonight. Greg was busy writing but now asleep on the couch. It's quiet...too quiet. I probably have some pictures I could share with you, but that would require me to go get my camera. (sigh)