From Cathy's Kitchen

Ok, who are we kidding?  I'm no Julia Childs.  So I'm not about to share a fabulous recipe that I just discovered.  Instead, I wanted to share these new chips I found!  Terra Exotic Chips have a full serving of vegetables in every ounce!  These chips have unique tastes and vegetables that include sweet potato, parsnip, yuca, batata, and taro.  Not only do they taste great, but they are so fun and colorful!  You have to try them!

Savannah's 1st Science Fair Project

This past weekend was Savannah’s first Science Fair Project.  It was not required by her teacher or school, but it was open for families to participate.  Upon Matt’s suggestion of making a volcano erupt, we worked together as a family to make this first-time project. 

Savannah, Madalyn, and Matt worked with the clay to make the mountain, river, and lakes.  I pulled some facts from the Internet for Savannah to study and write.  One night, after dinner, we tried several different recipes until we had the perfect volcanic eruption. 

On the day of the Science Fair, the girls enjoyed seeing a tornado, petting a rabbit, and learning about the solar system.  However, Savannah enjoyed entertaining the crowd with her volcano the most. 

As kids happened by, she and Matt would encourage others to participate in mixing in the special recipe and watching the reaction as it erupted over and over again.  

The project, and Savannah, were real crowd pleasers.  And the crowd grew bigger and bigger.

Most important of all, Savannah had fun learning what a volcano is, the difference between lava and magma, and about Earth’s tallest volcano (Mauna Loa in Hawaii).

Bragging Rights

Okay, since this is my blog and I can write whatever I want, I feel the need to brag.  This one will be on Savannah.  A few weeks ago my little 5 year old had joined me one morning at work because she was ill and could not go to school.  I had to bring her in for a few minutes to take care of some things and gather what I needed to work from home.  I set her up with scrap paper, pencils, crayons, and highlighters.  Below are the results from that day.

No, I don't understand why this says The Cat and the Mom when all you see is a cat.  But that's the beauty and humor in a 5 yr old's artwork.  I just love it.

And here is a note that she wrote that day and stuck in a binder that I use.  Imagine my surprise the next time I opened it and found this piece of love greeting me.  I laugh every time I read "Size 5" at the bottom.

"I luv my mom.  My mom is nis.  Savannah 5 yrs uld. Siz 5."

These are random pieces of art that she drew one day on her own, again on little note pads around the house, that we later found.  I grouped them together to save space below.

"Fish, Dab, Bubbfli, bog, cofy, pirit bot"

Translation: Fish, Dad, Butterfly, Dog, Coffee, Pirate Boat

And probably my all-time favorite (and it's even on Daddy's paper):

In addition, I have received rave reviews from both of Savannah's teachers about her writing skills.  So I will be sharing some of her writing journals as well.  Stay tuned.

Who Knew?

 Periodically, particularly after Christmas-time, I try to clean out the toys.  Throw away the ones that are broken or have pieces missing, or sell/donate the ones that just don’t seem to get played with.  However, I find this extremely challenging.  Why do I get so attached?  I suppose it’s because many items hold a treasured memory of playing with the girls or sometimes it’s the memory of who gave it to them or the holiday in which it was given.  Why have I turned into a sappy mush ball?  It’s the same way with their clothes.  It saddens me each time I have to put away the ones that are too small and replace with bigger ones.  And yes, I said, “put them away”.  I save them instead of getting rid of them.  For Savannah’s outgrown stitches, my excuse is that I’m saving them for Madalyn.  So why do I store Madalyn’s outgrown clothes, much of which has been handed down already?  I don’t know. I can often look at an outfit and recall the age they were when they wore it and associate a memory with an event in which they wore it.  It might not even be one of my favorite outfits, but there’s a memory tied to it.  Isn’t that what pictures are for?  Yes, I suppose.  And I have lots of those too.  Yet I still hang on.

When did I turn into this sappy creature that tears up at the thought of my 5 year old going to a Daddy/Daughter dance, or after dropping the kids off at childcare (still, years later), or at night when I stop the world for 5 minutes and watch them sleep?  Or at hearing about a devastating story of complete strangers and their struggles with losing loved ones?  A couple of weeks ago I was watching American Idol and they ended that night with a young man that was competing who was engaged to this beautiful young lady for 2 yrs… and then there was a car accident.  She is alive, but she’s now in a wheel chair, can not hardly speak, and has a lot of brain damage.  I came to bed crying that night, with my dear husband looking at me like I was crazy.  "You're not pregnant are you" was his response to the weird emotions I was showing for complete strangers.  And again after hearing of the Cole Family in Spring Arbor and the loss of Chad’s wife and newborn Baby Miranda.  If you haven’t read the story yet, you need to.  But be warned: it will break your heart.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/02/i-94_west_near_dearing_road_cl.html

http://sadandchara.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-heart-is-broken.html

Those of you that know me well know that I used to be a person of very little emotion and a person that hardly ever shed a tear.  So what happened to that person?  These cute, little, sticky-handed, snot-nosed, germ-carrying, love-boasting, leg-hugging, no-neck monsters happened. 

These beautiful creatures made me realize instantly how precious life is and how fast it goes by.  They have humbled me into a completely different person.

I knew they would change the world around me.  I had no idea they would change who I am.

Just One Thing Missing

Another fun weekend has flown by.  Knowing Matt was headed north to go ice fishing, I had all of these wonderful plans of movies and sledding with the girls and house projects to get caught up on… only to find myself hibernating from the bitter cold this weekend. 

Friday night we switched our traditional “Pizza and Movie Night” to “Happy Meals and Movie Night”.  The movie: “Alpha and Omega”.  This was the worse movie ever.  The story is about how an Alpha wolf is not supposed to mate with an Omega wolf!  Seriously?  At one point, the Alpha male was supposed to “howl” with the Alpha female (yes its a metaphor) and she never quite joins in.  He collapses and says “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”  I’m sure that was the creator’s attempt to include adult humor, but I for one, did NOT find it funny.  Thank God my kids did not understand, nor repeat it (yet). 

Saturday’s temps remained below zero, so we skipped the sledding idea and did what girls do best…. Went shopping!  Both girls had gift cards from Christmas that they had yet to spend – thank you uncle Steve.  Madalyn was prepared to spend hers on a new swimsuit and a pair of gigantic slippers.  I agreed to buy both girls a swimsuit and put the slippers back.  Savannah ended up buying a Pucci Pup and a Fur Real Duckling.  Madalyn chose a Mobigo by VTech.  I had only heard about this Mobigo earlier the same day from another preschooler mom who claims this little video gaming system has taught her 2 ½ year old to spell.  I knew instantly Madalyn would love it since she has begged to play Savannah’s Leapfrog Leapster (another awesome product) since Christmas.  The girls thought they were really grown up putting their items on the belt at the checkout lane and then handing the cashier a “credit card” and taking their bag of loot.

So our weekend was mostly play and very little work, but one thing was missing all weekend: Daddy.  I’ve been married long enough to know not to take my spouse for granted.  So I often think about how lucky we are that he keeps the fire stoked for us always takes the garbage out, that he motivates the rest of us to play silly games, etc.  But I thought about it even more as I looked out the window at the –6 degrees weather and knew that I was on my own.  If I wanted a warm fire, I would need trek my rearend out to shed for the wood.  And dinner wasn’t going to cook itself.  And the kids needed to be bathed.  And… what’s that… ah yes the sound of screaming girls fighting over something again.  Yes, I missed my partner in crime... but I wasn't the only one.

But First I'll be a Mother

During a recent visit to my Aunt Kyle’s house, I read a poem on her bathroom wall that couldn’t be more fitting for our family and for me.  Ironically, I found out my mother gave it to her.

PLEASE EXCUSE THIS HOUSE

Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

 For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors;
I should apologize I guess
For toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children

And we played and laughed and read,
And if the doorbell doesn't shine,
Their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to

Choose the one job or the other,
I want to be a housewife...
But first I'll be a mother.

Our days in the Phillips household are always busy ones.  With both of us working and the extracurricular activities of the kids, our time available to catch up on laundry, clean the house, mow the yard and plow the driveway is always limited. 

Above is a typical night of multi-tasking, with one kid in the bathtub, one on the potty, and washing dishes from dinner while Matt was out shoveling snow.  Apparently our sink does not have an automatic shut-off valve when it’s full.  It overflowed, resulting in momentary chaos.

So, as we continue to race against time, we also try to find that healthy balance of work outside of the home and work inside the home, and essential time with the kids.

The Circle of Life

This week my thoughts have belonged to my late Grandma Edna Rae.  She would have been 89 years old this past Tuesday January 11^th.  Today is the 6-year anniversary of her death.  And although my kids never got to meet her, I keep an old black and white photo of her framed in the dining room. 

My Grandma was a true southern woman.  She held steadfast to her beliefs and she was very involved in her church.  The memories I have of my Grandma include huge meals full of southern style casseroles and salty hams.  And that little candy dish that I could always count on being full of good treats.  She always dressed snazzy and even into her elderly years, her makeup and hair always had to be perfect.

I wish she’d had the chance to meet my children.  I think she would’ve enjoyed them.  So this is the circle of life.  And what a short one it is.  As a result, I’m eternally grateful for the time that my children get to spend with each of their grandparents.  Each one contributing something different and unique that helps to form my children into the little people they are today and the adults that they will become some day.  And I’m sure that somewhere within me is a little piece of my Grandma that is being passed on to my kids as well.  If nothing else, the green bean casserole definitely is!