Musings at the Grocery Store

Tonight the boys and I went to our corner grocery store to hand out brown paper bags for the local Food Bank. We stood in the doorway and offered people a bag so they could fill it up and donate it -- the bin for the Food Drive is right there at the end of the cashier lines so it's fairly easy.

It was funny, actually. First of all, people were much more likely to say yes and take a bag when the boys asked them (rather than me asking them). The other thing we noticed is that the men were MUCH more likely to refuse the bag than the women. Most women said yes (but dumped the bag once inside the store on shelf somewhere).

Overall, it was good experience and the kids thought it was fun. My oldest was much braver and was happy to step in front of a shopper and ask, "Excuse me, would you like a bag to fill for the Food Bank?" My other son was much more shy. However, he found that if he "woo-hoo-ed" right after people said yes, he got a good laugh out of some of them. So the evening went like this...

Boy 1: "Excuse me sir, would you like a bag to fill for the Food Bank?"
Man Customer: "Nope."
(Silence.)
Boy 1: "Excuse me, would you like a bag to fill for the Food Bank?"
Lady Customer: "Sure."
Boy 2: "Wooo Hooo!"

And for about an hour and a half this went on.

I had a great time too. Because it's our local store, I saw lots of people from our old school and soccer league...it was rather social.

All in all it was a good experience...and the food drive bin was a bit more full when we left.

Little by Little

It's a strange thing when you start to let your kids have more and more independence. I'm a homeschooler, right? So by nature, I keep my kids close and try to be very careful (read: controlling) about how and when they get to exercise some independence.

The first independent activity they got to do was hair cuts. Around the corner from our house (with no crossing of streets at all) was the cutest little barbershop, owned and run by a 30-ish guy. He was great with the kids and they loved to go there. The first time I let the boys bike there on their own was a couple of years ago. They took off with a Ziploc of money in their pocket all excited to be out on their own. I was fine -- till about 20 minutes later and my wild-brain took over. Within a few minutes however, I got a phone call from the barber letting me know the boys had just left and should be home any minute. I didn't even ask them to have him phone, he just knew.

Sadly, he's moved his barbershop across town, so this little outing of independence is no longer. It was funny how much they loved going there, all on their own to get their haircuts and lollipops.

This afternoon, they wanted to go to our local pond and I didn't have time to take them. So (without Jack of course) I let them walk there in their rubber boots all on their own. It was just before supper so I told them they could walk there, have about 20 minutes at the pond, and then walk home -- about 35 to 40 minutes away from my apron strings.

As they walked away, I was fine. I was actually just plain fine the whole time they were gone. For a moment, I realized that kids really have no concept of time and wondered what time they would actually come home. But when Jack and I walked to the corner, they were just coming over the little foot-bridge, right on time.

I realize it's good for them and it's good for me -- and may be I try to hang on to them a little longer than I should, but man, they're already growing up so fast, why would I want to rush them off, away from me? Plus, I like the pond.

Apple Land

We went to Apple Land today. Why, in the name of all things good and wise, did I go to Apple Land on a sunny Saturday afternoon?

I'm a homeschooling mom, for heaven's sake. I could easily take the kids on a Tuesday morning when the place is dead. But no, my brain left me momentarily and I went when all the rest of London and surrounding area decided to go as well.

The place was crazy, line ups everywhere -- the cashier, the pies, the baskets to put your apples in, the dang train ($2 a person?? get real.)...you name it, there was a line for it.

I love apples and normally, I love Apple Land but this was ridiculous. I know it's all my fault, I chose unwisely and must live with the consequences. I can accept that. But $13.50 for a small bag of apples is bit much...do they up the prices on weekends??

At least we got an apple crisp for dessert out of the deal. And yes, I doubled the butter and it made all the difference.

Baking

I'm an "ish" baker. I do like to bake but I don't follow directions that well. If the recipe says 2 cups of flour...I put in 2-ish cups of flour. If it says a tablespoon of butter, I toss a glob in the bowl and consider it "tablespoon-ish"

This drives my sister crazy. She is, by personality, a First Born. That means you follow the rules, and if the recipe says 2 cups of flour, then by golly, you fill that 2 cup measurer and then get your knife out and evenly slide it across to cut out any extra.

I, on the other hand, think "If 1 cup of chippits is good -- then 2 is better." And toss handfuls of chippits in the bowl. This rule of thumb is only allowed for certain ingredients: sugar, butter, chippits, skor bits and vanilla. Raisins, nuts, flax seed and other dried fruits do not make the list.

Wanna make your next apple crisp even better? When it comes to the topping of flour, brown sugar and butter...double the butter. Mmmmmm -- so good.

There is one problem with baking like this. Things don't come out the same way every time. I might be a creative baker but not a consistent one.

All this talking about baking, makes me feel like sharing a recipe. Only try this one if you like squares with a soft oatmeal cookie like "crust" smothered in caramel sundae topping, milk chocolate chippits and skor bits. IF you feel an aversion to any of the ingredients I just listed...you can stop reading my blog. :)

Chocolate Toffee Squares

2 cups-ish of flour
2 cups-ish of quick oats
1 cup-ish of br. sugar
1 tsp of baking soda
1 cup of butter -- at least!!(melted)

Mix the first four ingredients in a big bowl and then pour in the butter. Mix it well and then reserve about 1 and 1/4 cups of it for the topping.

Press the rest of the mix in a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 deg. for 12-15 minutes-ish.

While it's baking, take 1 and 1/3 cups of caramel sundae topping and mix in 1/3 cup of flour so it thickens. Get 1 package of milk choc. chippits and 1 package of Skor bits ready to roll (while you're waiting, try taking small pinches of skor bits and dropping them in your mouth followed by small pinches of chippits -- totally tastes like a Skor Bar, eh??)

When the crust is ready, sprinkle the chippits and skor bits evenly over the crust and then pour the sundae topping/flour mix over that. Lick your fingers -- twice.

Sprinkle the last of the "crust" over the top of it...evenly, of course. Bake at 350 deg. for another 20- 25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Yum. If you'd like a sample, I'll have some ready and waiting for you!!

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down

Today was supposed to be a Weston Academy Field Trip. We were going to go to Appleland to pick apples, pet the farm animals, play on that massive sand hill (which half of comes home in our van) and shop in the cute little store. No such luck.

It's cold and rainy. So...we went to the mall. Now, I must preface this with We Had to Go to the Mall because Nate's license plate sticker was due today...so we went to purchase a $75 sticker. I wouldn't willingly drag four children to the mall for fun. But we wandered a bit looking for a birthday gift for my 5 year old daughter -- soon to be six in a week.

She's a tough one to purchase for and I need some serious inspiration. She is obviously a girl, but not a girlie girl in any sense of the word. The Big List of NO's includes dolls, Barbies, stuffed animals (even Build A Bear doesn't make the cut), Polly Pockets, Little Pet Shop thingys etc.

She doesn't want Hot Wheels or Lego, like her brothers. All the poor child wants is a guitar. Heavens, the last thing I want in this puny little house is a noisy toy. So...what to do?

I think it's sort of unkind to have NO presents for her. But really, she doesn't want anything. She did ask for a bathrobe, so I picked up a camouflage one ('cause pink and purple are on the Big List of NO's) that I got for less than $20.

I'm sorta happy that I don't have this 8 foot long list of "wants" from my daughter. I would love to think that I've raised some sort of non-materialistic offspring, but alas, she's heard her own mother and father speak of all the things we want. So that's just not the case....quite the opposite, to my shame.

The plain and simple fact is ~ she has everything she needs...and more. My dear friend (aka Big Liver Girl) tries with all her might to fight the senseless gift-giving that happens in our culture. Not that she's cheap but she doesn't believe that "stuff' expresses true love, gratitude or blessing. I think I need to think more like her....but in the mean time, what do I do about my daughter??

I know some of you out there in reader-land have daughters....stop reading and start typing. I'm begging you! I'll go whip up a cup of tea and a Mars bar while I wait to read your responses. I've got 7 days till B-Day...

God Answers Prayer

Over the last few weeks, I have been specifically praying for three separate situations -- none of them are about me but others in my life. First of all, my dear friend Jill has been battling a brain tumor for one year now. Last August she was diagnosed and was immediately put on chemotherapy for one year. One Year. Every few months she would have an MRI and over the summer she got very ill with all the effects of the medications she is on. From ulcers to chronic pain, she has had a very crappy few months, let alone an entire year of this nasty stuff. Her latest MRI was last week and I have been asking God to shrink that tumor -- even just a bit so that she would have some good news for once.

On Friday, He answered. But it was no. The tumor is "stable" but not really any smaller. A YEAR of this treatment and she has had no shrinkage that is noticeable.

My mother-in-law found a funny spot on her face this summer and immediately went to the dr. to have it checked out. It was biopsied a couple of weeks ago and the results came in. We were all praying, of course, that it would be a benign spot.

On Friday, He answered. And it was no again. She has surgery this week to dig deeper and remove the cancer.

The final situation is a pretty personal one for a friend, so rather than go into the details, the story is that I've been praying for months for this situation and asking God to bless this family.

On Friday, He answered. I found out that his answer is no -- at least for now. So they continue in a time that requires patience and stamina and holding on to hope.

What do we do when He says no? He did answer my prayers, right? Just not the way I had it all planned out...What happens when we ask for things with heart-wrenching prayers and He doesn't answer in the way we thought He would?

There are many options, I guess. From anger and fear to submission and trust. The thing that gets me, is that we chose how we react...like in any situation in life, we make our choice. It's not easy, but I'm choosing trust. I'm not happy about it, but what better option is there? Get mad? Be bitter?? No thanks. That's not how I want to live. That's not "life abundant"...and no matter what I think is good, God knows better.

But maybe you'll think twice before you ask me to pray for you... :)

Excuse me, Sir...

We went to the mall today to purchase the required music book for our piano lessons. I dared my 7 year old to do something once we got into the store and to my surprise, he did it.

After we had paid for the book, he went up to the clerk and said, "Excuse me sir, but I was wondering if I could purchase a glockenspiel??" (his exact words) You should have seen the look on the guy's face...he sorta did a confused frown and then it slowly turned into a pleasant and humoured surprise. "No," he said, "I'm afraid we don't carry glockenspiels...and I see we have a comedian in the store."

This little funny spot in our day made me laugh and then, (as any good mother can) it made me concerned. Not worried, oh no, I'd never worry...

My 7 year old son went up to a stranger because I dared him to. He wasn't offered a treat or money, he just did it. Which was funny -- but then I start to think about how easy it was to get him to do that and he isn't even the youngest in our family -- ya know how the babies of the family are typically the ones who will do things to entertain. Nolan is this totally funny kid with this wicked little mischevious sense of humour that has us cracking up at his one liners.

I wasn't like this as a child -- for sure as a teenager and adult I'd do things to get a laugh but NEVER when I was that young. So now I'm a bit worried about what Noles will be like as a teenager -- and even worse, what sort of trouble he and Jack (our real baby of the family) will get into when they are both a bit older. The prophet inside of me foresees Nate and I humbled and humiliated about the pranks and incidents that are ahead -- but I also see us bursting with laughter as these 2 continually keep us entertained.

Oh and by the way -- this is a glockenspiel...