Adoption

If you've ever considered the ethics of international adoption, this post addresses it quite well.

Our personal adoption update....I'm so excited! We finally heard from the lawyer. The adoption decrees are ready to be signed and (I think) she will mail them to us. Normally this attorney likes to meet in person for the signatures but since she worked with us before, and Randy's schedule is horrible, she's willing to do it by mail (or through our adoption caseworker) this time. Once she gets those back...then we just need to wait for an available adoption date!

More Random

Right now I'm blogging and reading blogs while listening to the music on the blog "A Place Called Simplicity"...lots of great praise & worship music. :-) The author of the blog is calling for prayer & fasting tomorrow in regards to some adoptions in Russia where a judge will not allow down syndrome children to be adopted. The cases are being appealed.

In news at our household, Micah FINALLY got eye tooth #1. For the past several months he's been miserable, cranky, sinus stuff, ear infections, and such off and on. The second one looks to be appearing any day as well. Then the 2 bottom ones need to come through. I am really hoping that once they come through this sinus stuff clears up for him.

I do not recommend leaving glass jelly jars sitting where little fingers can reach them.

My friend cleaned my house today. As that was several hours ago, I need to straighten up again.

Since the days are longer, the kids have been playing outside a lot...even though it's cold. This is good...except they think Micah should join them. And he can't be out without me. And I get cold.

This afternoon I finally made my menus this week. When you don't make them until the middle of the week you can just fill in what you already made. :-) Anyway. Tonight I made Cheesy Beef Spirals (modified of course, I never have all the ingredients for anything). We all liked them...with the exception of Zach who declared them yucky and disgusting. He managed to eat 3 noodles and all his green beans.

Tomorrow I need to go shopping to get the missing ingredients for the planned meals for the rest of the week.

Sunday at church we are having a fellowship meal afterwards so I was thinking about that as well. If any of you want to visit our church, Sunday would be a good time because you could get some lunch as well. :-) And if you check out the slideshow on the website, you may even see some photos of us!

In other news around blogland, Dardi is doing a giveaway for a really cool adoption themed t-shirt. And one of the ways to get an entry is to link to her page. Her friend, Amy, and her family are moving to Guatemala.

Well, I need to get moving and straighten up this house. My future self (me, tomorrow) will thank (me, tonight). :-)

Monday

Busy few days...tomorrow I was planning on staying home all day. Our accountant's office called and our tax forms are done. Therefore I will be running to pick them up so Randy can sign them before he leaves again and we can mail them in.

Otherwise...I plan to straighten up the house (again) and finish putting away laundry. I am not going to do laundry. I'm going to drink tea....play with little boys (and Janae, who only goes to school on Mondays, Thursdays, and every other Wednesday). Babysit my cousin's daughter. The little boys need some "mommy time".

Micah has been quite congested, but at bedtime he actually seemed more like his feisty self. And he didn't cry for a long period of time but went right to sleep like he normally does but hasn't been doing.

This morning my sister-in-law and I went to our husbands' grandmother's funeral together. (We stopped at a local coffee shop for cafe mochas on the way). :-) My morning was rather hectic so it was rather relaxing to simply sit in a service for a bit. Back in November I blogged about Randy's other grandma's funeral and this one was very similar....with the exception of the viewing being inside the church instead of outside and different songs. I did not stay for the meal...I picked up the kids and took them home for naps.

Except that Micah wasn't interested. And Zach never slept. Micah did eventually fall asleep. I did laundry. And baked. After supper I dropped the kids off at a friend's house and went to the school Parent-Teacher Fellowship.

Now it's time for bed....And we'll start again in the morning...

Random

This morning we went to church....I'm always glad to be there....even amidst the boys throwing toys and crying and clamor and such.

Last night was the Transport for Christ banquet. We are in charge of seating and I was so thankful when everyone was seated with no major mishaps. It was a full house. The food was wonderful and the band was great. It was also great to hear about what God is doing through TFC including a testimony of a driver who was incredibly healed.

Now I need to think about ordering trophies for the TFC Truck Rally (4th Saturday in June).

Randy's other grandmother died on Thursday. Tonight we are going to her viewing. Randy is not able to take off work for the funeral this time but I plan to go with my sister-in-law.

We have a busy few days (starting yesterday) in which my kids will be with sitters five times in five days...abnormal for them...so I'm expecting the days that we're home they will probably be more clingy. Mark and Micah are still struggling with very runny noses as well.

It's a beautiful, cold day here...sunny and gorgeous...but rather chilly.

The Dark Side of Adoption

First of all, I want to say that without a doubt adoption is a wonderful, wonderful blessing. There are multitudes of children in need of homes all over the world. And orphanages are not the same as families and many are understaffed and underfunded. And due to HIV/AIDS some countries have way more kids then they can possibly support in their own country. I believe strongly in giving kids homes whether in small family settings in their own countries, through kinship care (relative or close friend), and/or through adoption.

We have been incredibly blessed with our 3 children (2 adopted, 1 foster-to-adopt) that have joined our home through the foster care system. We would go through it all again in a heartbeat.

I also want to say that most kids who join families through adoption adjust well and turn out to be well-rounded adults. Some don't; but some biological kids don't adjust to life so well either.

That being said, adoption is always born out of loss. Loss of birth family (death, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, war, disease, poverty) and all the various pain with each individual situation. Some kids who are adopted go through a lot more then others. Some personalities adjust better then others. And actually, the more I learn, the less I know about all this!

So, if you know anyone who adopted kids and it seems they have a tough kid or have turned into a "strange" parent, I recommend you read this blog entry and this one and watch the video on this one for more information on reactive attachment disorder.

One other thing that is often overlooked is that kids are immature. They don't know how to handle their pain. And the pain is not their fault. Sometimes when kids act out in a way that overreacts to the situation it is because the situation has touched off a past emotional feeling and the grief is coming out in this situation. I recommend this book "The Connected Child" for more info on attachment and grief. Control is another big issue. So many things that happen to kids are beyond their control...sometimes what would be a "power struggle" with a biological child is simply a way for a child who feels his life is out of control to maintain control (even if it makes no sense to the adult in the family). The book "Parenting the Hurt Child" by Keck and Kupecky has some great incite into that as well as alternative discipline methods (again, when I first read them I thought they were strange...until I understood that without proper bonding and attachment our brains can be wired differently and need different methods) and advice for bonding and attachment.

Again, adoption is a wonderful blessing. God has adopted us as his children, and we show His love to children that we welcome into our families. At the same time, we need to be educated and informed and bathe the process in prayer so that we understand and give our children the opportunity to heal.

Oh yes...working through grief and anger is rarely an easy process for anyone...it usually takes a lot of time.

I know I linked to this video last week....but it's still great!

Crazy Day

Cool, Rainy, Thunderstorms tonight.

Me - minimal motivation today, tired.

Kids - bouncing off the walls because after those warm days, staying inside is a chore.

Janae had a fun time at her sleepover...she went to sleep quickly tonight though. :-) After she got home we went for groceries. Sometimes this goes better then others. Today was one of those not as well days....one of us had a hard time keeping our hands off all the things in the store.

Naps were to short. Some days are better then others!

Micah - cranky. Will those teeth ever come through???

Piano lesson night for Josiah & Autumn; DVD night for the rest. Bath night for everyone.

I need to go to bed. I need to do dishes. I need to fold laundry. etc. etc.

Tomorrow's another day...

Rainy Morning

Again... And it's supposed to be chilly for a few weeks. Now that the kids have had a few warmer days it's so hard to keep them inside again.

Yesterday Zach had an evaluation with an Occupational Therapist for Sensory issues. She wants to see him weekly so we will start that in April.

In the afternoon we had court for Micah (the required every 4-6 month hearing to check on how things are going). Amazingly we were first in line so did not wait for hours like the last time. And this really should be the last time for us. The next time we go to court should be for adoption...Of course, I though that the last time too. But this time we're in the legal phase so I think it truly is.

Janae was overnight for a birthday party sleepover last night and will be coming home sometime this morning. I should go for groceries at some point since I'm out of bread (again).

Time to do laundry...

Rainy Morning

The rain has cleared off but it is still cloudy.

Friday was a gorgeous sunny warm day! We played outside a lot. :-) Saturday we baked and did laundry; some friends came over in the evening. Sunday morning we went to church and after naps we went to Grammy's house.

This morning I babysat my niece and nephew for my sister. My brother came and installed a handrail for our short set of steps. Now I'm doing laundry.

As previously mentioned, we are in charge of tickets/seating for the Transport for Christ Banquet (Dinner/Concert). So this week I am getting that all organized and finalized. This year the concert is by Breakthrough, a local country gospel group. We still have a few tickets available so if anyone reading this is local and wants to come, contact me for details asap.

This week I'm home most of the week (other then that recurring permanency dependent hearing for Micah) so hopefully I can get some things done around here. :-)

St. Patrick's Day Supper

Mark fell off his bike earlier this week.

Ready to eat!

Oat Pan Rolls and No Fuss Potato Soup

Lemon-Lime Punch (my store did not have lemon-lime kool-aid so this became Tropical Punch instead).
Wearing O The Green Cake

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Oat-Pan-Rolls and http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/No-Fuss-Potato-Soup and http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Wearing-O--Green-Cake and http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Lemon-Lime-Punch-2

Verdicts:

Oat Pan Rolls - Excellent

No Fuss Potato Soup - Very Good

Wearing O The Green Cake - Mixed Reviews. Certain children did not like the lemon-lime gelatin flavor.

Lemon-Lime Punch - Excellent

Musings

So I was reading at overthemoonwithjoy.blogspot.com about, just for fun, if you got a bazillion dollars, and had to use some of it for "ME" because of course everyone has things they would do with more money (bills/charities/housing, etc.). But what the catch to getting it was that you had to use just a bit of it just to bring YOU joy (not your family members...although you could use the rest for all those other things...and they could be affected by what brought you joy).

Kimmy put it all much better then me. But it definitely made me realize: That is very hard for me. What brings "ME" joy. Not what brings anyone else in my life joy, although that is certainly extremely important.

Hmm...

• a cup of tea
• a cup of tea with a friend
• a cup of coffee with my husband
• quality chocolate
• a good book
• clean, smiling, giggling children
• relaxing in the sun when it's cool and in the shade when it's hot.
• speaking of the heat...iced tea when it's hot...as well as slushies and frosty mocha drinks.
• listing to "my" playlist of assorted songs that others may not put together as the genres are rather mixed.
• playing piano
• sleeping all night long
• time alone with my husband
• time chatting with my kids (without lots of other things that need done right then as so often is the case).
• knowing what to make for supper ahead of time.
• quiet time in the morning...time with God...and simply the quiet before the sweet pattering feet come out to me and little ones wrap their arms around me.
• sitting on a lawn chair watching my children play (now the constant keeping them out of trouble doesn't really fall under the joy category...but when they are playing nicely...yeah, it's wonderful).
• a house that is clean and straightened up.
• and yet a house that is lived in...not magazine perfect.
• Campfires
• egg/bacon/cheese/english muffin mountain pies over that campfire.
• Cool crisp mornings and evenings, warm summer days
• crackling leaves
• the new green of spring
• children playing contentedly

Most of those don't really answer the "what brings you joy that costs money"....

So, what would I do??? I don't know. But probably go on vacation or a day trip...either with just my husband or with him & the kids.

Wednesday

Today was a "stay at home day"...as in, no appointments.

Anyway...my day (abbreviated version):

• I had a really hard time getting up this morning...this time change is difficult for me...probably more so then on the kids for some reason!
• After getting the oldest 3 off to school I took the younger 3 to the grocery store.
• Tomorrow (the 17th) is St. Patrick's Day. Last year I had a fun "green/irish" meal so of course this year the kids think we should do that again.
• The grocery store did not have any green kool-aid. Somehow I don't think the green punch I was planning on trying is going to be quite as good with "tropical punch" red....not to mention that I forgot to get the "1 ltr ginger ale". I do have maybe half a liter here and I am not dragging all the kids into the store for 1 bottle of soda so it'll have to work out somehow.
• We came home and put away groceries and sorted mail.
• We're in charge of seating for the upcoming Transport for Christ Dinner Concert so I was also getting some tickets organized and ready for the mail for that.
• Laundry.
• Lunch.
• Naps. Not so hot today. Mark woke up early and woke up Micah. Since both were awake earlier than they should've been, they were both rather upset.
• Once they calmed down and decided to play they saw no reason why Zach shouldn't be part of this fun....so they woke him up.
• He evidently prefers being woken up by them then me.
• They thought it would be fun to play in our room (where Zach naps). I disagreed.
• Outside to play until supper time.
• Mark fell off a bike and scuffed his nose.
• Supper: Baked French Toast and Bacon, Apples/Oranges, Brownies; Josiah told me that if I make green mashed potatoes tomorrow he will NOT eat it. (I hadn't even considered it but now that he mentioned it...!) :-) No, I'm not going to.
• Clean-up.
• Piano Lessons and DVD (Veggie Tales, Gideon - Tuba Warrior).
• Baths/Showers/Snack/Bed
• "Late" night for Josiah and Autumn (they get to stay up Wednesday's until 8:30 instead of 8:00.
• My time.
• And now...bed time!

Have a lovely day!

Later that day...

I had a lovely post in my head while I was doing dishes....unfortunately, it has disappeared so you do not get the benefit of it. I haven't really felt like blogging much lately...not sure why....lots of possibilities of course (Japan, local tragedies, business of life, fatigue)...anyway.

I'm definitely feeling fatigue from the time change! This morning I took Zach to an Early Intervention eval. I suspected that he would not be delayed, but it was a place to start in considering possible sensory issues. And that's the way he was. He is totally on target developmentally so they couldn't help him. They did recommend a sensory eval with an OT so I need to line that up.

This afternoon and evening the kids were outside. After supper I took the little boys out as well. They all had a blast....I froze. It had to look hilarious, I was all bundled up and drinking coffee and Josiah was running around in a t-shirt.

Earlier today the little boys found a cupboard that had not been latched. My living room had lots of games and puzzles all mixed together. So tonight I was sorting that all out....not the puzzles though, I just dumped them in a box.

And this afternoon a window got broken....thankfully just the outer pane and not both.

When I went to make supper I was missing a few ingredients so I improvised. The kids seemed to really like it so that was good.

Because I was away in the morning I started the laundry this afternoon. The last load is now in the dryer....lots of loads to fold yet and put away in the morning.

Tomorrow morning is our adopt/foster family play group. I'm always quite excited for that. :-) And in the evening our county foster parent association is having a Moms Night Out which I am hoping to attend as well.

Well, I should get to folding that laundry....

Monday

I was reading this blog, http://acorgiinsoutherncalifornia.blogspot.com, and appreciated the photos so much. I am so ready to see some warmth and sun and flowers! The temp is supposed to hit 70 by the end of the week and I just can't wait. :-)

The birds are tweeting away but the kids are still sleeping...time change! They'd been waking up quite early so now they should sleep a little later for a week or two.

More tidbits

• I have swollen glands or something (neck/throat is very sore...but not like a sore throat) and am very sleepy. I'm wondering if I'm coming down with what the kids all had. It's been a whole week now that we've all been healthy. :-)
• Micah has a diaper rash as a result of the 2nd antibiotic he was on. I think it's getting a bit better....tomorrow I'll go to the store to buy some different creams to try.
• Water is seeping in to our basement. My father-in-law said we had 2-1/2" when I stopped by this evening....and it hasn't stopped raining yet. Our backyard is very, very wet and the creeks are running full.
• I wonder if they close/delay schools for high water?
• I recently read "Living More With Less: 30th Anniversary Edition" by Doris Janzen Longacre (revised and edited by Valerie Weaver-Zercher).
• Someone left the bathroom door open. Two little boys thought it would be fun to clean out the vanity cabinet (towels etc.). When I went to put everything back in I discovered the drain pipe laying on the floor of the cabinet. Good thing we have another bathroom to use until the sink gets fixed!
• I think I'm going to give up on most of the homemade cleaning/laundry products. The laundry detergent simply does not get the kids clothing as clean as Tide. Although it's probably quite comparable to a cheaper detergent. The fabric softener seems to be okay though. And the dishwasher detergent (borax/washing soda/vinegar) definitely was the worst thing I tried...it left a film on some of the cups.

It's Raining

It's Pouring. Lots of rain coming in this general direction. It's a good day to stay inside! One of my neighbors is planning on coming over this morning with her boys to play.

This morning I'm drinking Twinnings Darjeeling Tea.

Last year I gave up adding sugar to my tea/coffee for Lent. I still rarely if ever add sugar...except when Randy makes the coffee because he likes it really strong. This year I have no plans...I don't generally do anything for Lent. Usually during that period of time, though, I do read some of the Max Lucado books that I have about Christ's death.

Wednesday

I saw this link on facebook and loved it. http://thirdday.com/adoption There's a video about adoption.

Today I baked bread (Grandma Buch's recipe for my Metzler readers) and Sticky Buns. Usually I mix up the bread in my mixer, today I made it totally by hand...it got rather good. The Sticky Buns on the other hand...well, they are fine, but I should have used a bit more flour. I'm always a little hazy on yeast recipes that call for a "soft dough".

Tidbits of life

Overhead yesterday in my house before the children went out to play: "I'm going to be Hogan's Heroes (perhaps he meant Hogan?), I'm going to be Jo (Little Women), and I'm going to be Granny (Beverly Hillbillies)". Not sure what they were playing but they were having fun. :-)

As I posted on facebook, it dawned on me yesterday that Micah is now 15 months old. When Mark was his age Micah was 2 weeks old. And when Zach was his age we were 3 weeks away from getting Mark. Even though I've lived through it twice, I can't imagine having an infant right now with my 15 month old. (I'm sure the other boys must've been bigger then Micah is?!)

Micah is still rather cranky. He has been working on his teeth (eye, canine, whatever you call them) for months now but still only has swollen gums to show for it. I don't think the current antibiotic sits the greatest with his little belly either. Thankfully only 1 more day of that.

We are supposed to get 2-1/2 inches of rain between tonight and Friday morning. No gardening for us until it all dries up!

Well, the kids are getting up, gotta go!

Kitchen Curtains

The summer of '07 we built a lovely kitchen/dining above, garage below addition to our home. At the time, I agonized over what curtains to buy. the only thing I knew for sure was that I really did not want mini-blinds because of the grease and dust. Anyway, I chose some.

These did not really hold up that well, although they did the job (block the sun when it shines in at meal time/meal prep or when it's really hot outside). They also shrank every time I washed/dried them.

So anyway, I was at a friends house and loved her blinds...but couldn't bring myself to spend the money for custom blinds.

I actually absolutely love the open look with no blinds/curtains but that is simply not practical in a room that has windows facing west, south, and north east.

I settled on blinds and curtains from www.countrycurtains.com. I love these shades except that they have a looped chain to roll them up and down and I need to teach the kids to keep their hands OFF of it unless we're raising/lowering the blind for a real reason. :-)

Originally my plan was to do curtains and blinds on the kitchen half and just blinds on the dining side...but I'll probably end up getting more curtains for the dining room side to cover up the brackets.

On anger...

I read this article today that I found interesting......Anger - FamilyLife.com. While we try to help our children deal with their anger...sometimes I struggle with what to tell them to do when they are angry. I know what they should not do (turn inward and get bitter/resentful, hurt people physically or with words).

Monday

I've been working really hard at making weekly menus. It helps my week go smoother. Now, I fully admit that while I plan by the night, there is never a week that goes exactly as planned. Sometimes a menu gets an "x" through it meaning it won't be made that week and then I put it on the next week's schedule...or else decide that I'm just no longer in the mood for that recipe. Other times menus get circled and arrowed to a different day. Anyway, last night I planned out this week's menus and this morning I went to the store to get what I didn't have.

Tonight I am planning on making: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Fiesta-Ravioli and http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/French-Loaves. For dessert we will have applesauce and chocolate chip cookies. The bread is currently rising. As normal, I messed up the recipe by using all-purpose flour before I realized I should have used bread flour (which I did have and could have done had I read closely what I was doing).

Back to the menus. Usually I will grab a recipe book or stack of old magazines and go through them, noting on a post-it note on the cover what I want to try. Then when I make the menus, I can quickly see what I want to try. After I've tried all the ones...or decided that I'm tired of this particular book/magazine....I take the post-it note off and put the book/magazine away. Because sometimes the next time I look at a magazine I will see something that did not appeal to me before so I don't want to limit myself to what at one point in time I thought I liked (or didn't like).

That all being said....I think this may be the longest period of time I've stuck with meal planning. Probably when the weather warms up and we're outside I will be back to deciding at 4:30 what to make....but I hope not...because I really like this!

Now I need to get back to the laundry...

*****

Later:

It smells delicious in here!

Lately

I have not been blogging as much (it seems to me anyway) lately....partly because I have a very busy 1 year old who constantly needs to be gotten out of trouble (and a 2 year old and 3 year old who are equally or more busy) and partly because when I do sit down to blog all the things I thought of during the day have left my brain!

So, a few random tidbits (I do love random!):

• I got the book "I Beat the Odds" by Michael Oher yesterday. Yes, I read it immediately. And I really found it inspiring. At the end of the book he has a chapter that he writes directly to foster kids/kids in tough situations. Yes, I got all teary reading it.
• We got the go ahead from our caseworker to contact the lawyer to handle our adoption. So I plan to make that call on Monday morning.
• Autumn is baking chocolate chip cookies.
• I got new curtains/shades for our kitchen...will post pictures at some point probably.
• Janae has off school next week. Our school gives the kindergartners off for a week in March while they do testing for next year.
• I had no plans next week at all. I did make plans with one neighbor to get together for a bit. I would like to tackle washing curtains and bedding I think.
• The younger ones are playing with play-doh.

Today we're baking and doing laundry and cleaning up the house.

Supper Tonight

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Italian-Chicken-Noodle-Skillet

and

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Flaky-Italian-Biscuits

and

Green Beans

Dessert: Brownies and Applesauce

Book Quote

"You were made by God to create. If you don't create in a thoughtful and worshipful manner--whether preparing meals, decorating a home, achieving a vocational dream, responsibly raising children--you will feel less than human because you are in fact acting in a sub-human mode. A life spent in a dead-end, joyless job with evenings spent in front of a television set and weekends spent "passing the time" will feel like hell on earth because it is. It's a wasted life, devoid of God's creative energy. There hasn't been a single marriage in all of human history that could fill a soul that has been emptied of purpose through noncreative living." ~Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

Random Information

1. I am currently reading "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. My recommendation - Excellent! One particularly interesting tidbit was when he wrote something along the lines of (I don't have the exact quote handy): "For a long time in my marriage I majored in the pluses and minuses of each of us....that is, my pluses and her minuses." What a good reminder to focus on the good in our mates (and friends and kids!) instead of the areas where they need work. After all, I'd much prefer them to focus on my pluses; I'm well aware of my minuses!
2. The weather was sunny and lovely today. Which led the kids to playing outside (wonderful!) which in turn led to sand tracked all over the nicely cleaned (thanks, Heidi!) floors....
3. Wednesday I need to take Josiah to the dentist. This appointment was to have been a couple of weeks ago but then he got sick. Anyway, it started out as an orthodontic check-up. Then he broke a tooth and lost a filling so it became a dental/ortho check-up. Now Autumn has a toothache so it's a Autumn Dental/Josiah Dental/Ortho check-up....I'm so thankful for the homeschooled young lady from church who can babysit for me!
4. MOPS is this week. I wonder what the chances are of us being well and able to go??? We missed last time because someone was sick.
5. Janae's new favorite thing to do during the boys' naps is "play tea". We get out a nice teapot (Kim, her favorite is the one you gave me many years ago) and a nice cup/saucer. We make a pot of tea. She pours, adds sugar, and drinks as often as she feels like it. Oh yes, we put it all on a plastic tray. If Autumn's home she likes to play too.
6. Josiah and Autumn are both working on posters for school this week. Josiah's is for his president's report (G.W.) and Autumn's is for a famous person from PA (Louisa May Alcott). I had no idea that L.M. Alcott was born in PA!
7. And another favorite blog - wvtreasures.blogspot.com. Her header photos are always so restful. I want to go camping in WV sometime....

Pancakes

It's what we had for dinner tonight. As I may have mentioned, I've been experimenting with different bulk recipes for a homemade biscuit mix that I can use as a pancake mix. I think the one I tried today may be a winner! This is the link http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Biscuit-Baking-Mix. I also made http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Blueberry-Oatmeal-Pancakes which my kids gave thumbs up too. Now, to be honest, I didn't exactly follow the directions of the Blueberry-Oatmeal Pancakes. I (1) omitted the blueberries as my kids are not fond of blueberries in pancakes and (2) used 2 whole eggs instead of 2 egg whites + 1 egg. (3) I also used whole raw milk in place of the fat free it called for. Can't remember if the sour cream was reduced fat or not...sometimes I get one, sometimes the other. The kids loved the blueberry syrup though, and it was super easy to make. I made the biscuit mix pancakes just like I do when using the popular brand biscuit mix.

Now, my personal opinions: Biscuit Mix Pancakes - excellent. Blueberry-Oatmeal....okay with blueberry syrup, not so great with plain syrup.

Tuesday

All you get right now from me are health bulletins! :-)

I had Micah & Mark at the doctor yesterday for a follow-up visit. Mark is doing better, although still gunky, so he got a children's allergy medicine to take daily. Micah's ears are not cleared up yet, so we are trying a new antibiotic (amox/clav) and also an allergy med. Autumn is much better, although blowing her nose excessively now that her sinuses are draining. Janae is still running a fever. So we're better...overall.

Randy's truck was having issues yesterday but I think they are all resolved now. He's back on the road again...a day late and a nice garage bill later. Did you know that major manufacturer's service departments charge $117/hour for repairs? So that means if 2 guys are working on a truck that would be $234/hour for the truck driver to pay. Yeah. Randy thought maybe he should go be a mechanic instead!

I read a great fun book called "One of Us is Crazy...And I'm Pretty Sure It's You" by Tim & Joy Downs. While it's geared to marriage, the principles can be applied to lots of relationships. It primarily discusses issues when both people are "right"...just focused on different things. Anyway, great book. It's written in kind of a conversational style with lots of examples and things to help you figure out where you are.

And now the kids are home from school...see you later!