Sunday, June 29th - Overheard from the back of the Van

Courtesy of the boy who is guilty of keeping up a steady verbal stream of consciousness...

"Mikah, I just have 3 words for you; BE QUIET! Your talking is driving me CRAZY!"

Too bad that irony is lost on Alek.

Now this has to be one of the coolest sites that I have come across in a long time. I think I just spent a couple of hours cruising around on it checking out the awesome (and crazy) things that people have designed tutorials for. I still have so much to see but I am too tired to see straight at this point.

Go ahead, check it out.

Hmmm, maybe someone will demonstrate how to build a working robot... maybe I should just keep that thought to myself. Yep, I bet that my hubby would appreciate it if I didn't mention that to Alek.

Baking

The other day I made 4 dozen banana muffins. Every time I bake I remember how much I enjoy it but it's something that doesn't happen too much around here anymore. Plus, it's so nice to have tasty healthy treats in the freezer that just need to be warmed up and, Voila!, just like fresh. So I've decided that I need to bake something everyday for 7 days. Then my freezer will be stocked with treats for lazy days, company, or to take to the cabin. So, to make myself accountable I will post a picture of what I made and the recipe.

Here's my baking wish list...

• chocolate chip cookies
• corn muffins
• foccacia rounds
• mini bread loaves
• rhubarb muffins
• brownies
  
• cherry cream freeze
• rhubarb piroshly

Banana Sour Cream Bread

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 6 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If making muffins bake for approx 22 minutes.

Horrors

It has finally occured to me that Alek is done school for the summer. Tomorrow.

What are we going to do then??? As sad as it seems it gave some structure to my day when I had to get the 3 boys up, chase Alek around, get them loaded in the van, drop Alek off at school and then deal with two little ones until it was time to go and pick Alek up. Now the days are stretching before me like a gaping hole. Oh my god.

I want to have a good summer with the kids before I go back to work in September but so far I have no idea how to accomplish that. Maybe it's just freaking me out because I I've forgotten what to do with an 18 month old. Alek is perfectly happy to entertain himself (except for when he's "bored, bored, bored") but Mikah needs constant monitoring and redirection. It's hard to think of engaging and cheap activities to do that would appeal to both an almost-8-year old and an 18 month old. Lukas has no opinion yet : )

I have to get the two boys into swimming lessons but even that is turning out to be a logistical nightmare. I would like to get Alek and Mikah into lessons that happen at the same time, but then what do I do with Lukas? That means that I have to wait until Lev is done work and Mikah will be in cranky-monster mode. Argh.

We should be spending a lot of time in the backyard but it isn't set up to keep Mikah entertained for long. Honestly, I just don't want to chase after him all day long. Been there. Done that. I love to play with him but I really want these two to learn how to play by themselves too. Mommy really appreciates having some down time too. This is why I need to get started on that list; some type of structure helps me stay sane. Sort of.

Just the Kick I Needed

Now here is a cause that will motivate me. A few months ago I started thinking about sewing some cloth menstrual pads; and I've been thinking about it ever since. Okay, okay, I even went out and bought all of the material and it's been sitting washed and ready downstairs where I glance at it every time that I do laundry (about 10 times a day). I thought/think the idea of cloth pads is a great one, it's one more way to cut down on the chemicals that we use next to our bodies, help save the planet, and help save money. And I'm all about saving money LOL!

I stumbled across this organization while I was blog stalking tonight and now I have one more reason to actually get those pads sewn! It's funny because this afternoon I decided that I need to make a list of the things that I hope to accomplish this summer and sewing pads was one of the things on the list. Now it's become even more important to do. So far the only motivators have been because I wanted some for myself, and because the idea grosses my mom out LOL. I do think that I'll need a serger though (Becky can I borrow yours : ) to get them sewn quicker.

Yep, I'm sure that it's the lack of serger that's been holding me back...

Summer Anthem

I seem to pick an anthem for each season every year and here's my pick for this summer. I heard it once this morning and it' s been stuck in my head all day. Damn you Kid Rock!

Enjoy and imagine your summer ahead...

Simply Glorious

Lukas slept through the night, 2 nights in a row. These guys express my feelings perfectly.

My Reasons...

Well, the picture above is the first time that I have seen all 3 of my boys together and sitting still. I. Just. Love. Them.

Enough said.

Virgin

I admit it. I'm a blogging virgin. There, I've said it and now I can move on and attempt to embrace this obsession. I've been a blog stalker for awhile now but have resisted the call myself. Until now.

What made me change my mind you wonder? Well, too many funny things happen around here, too many memories get lost, and I stumble across too many cool things with no way to share them. I'm really excited about this now that I've taken the plunge and set up my own page. Hopefully it will be a funny and inspirational ride...