Mac and cheese

Upon hearing the news of my great-uncle's death:
C: I hope he's eating mac and cheese in heaven.
Me: Did he like mac and cheese?
C: I don't know.
Me: What makes you think he's eating mac and cheese?
C: I think it's probably God's favorite meal.

Uncle Kent would have laughed at that!

The Barber Shop

I called our salon today to schedule an appointment for my son. The girl who cuts his hair was trained as a barber and is faster than anyone else has ever been. She is extremely consistent with the cut, which is a fade. As I understand it, fades can be difficult, if you don't know how to do it.

Unfortunately, our favorite lady barber no longer works there. That's when I made the decision to take C to a real barber shop. We have one in town. It's been there for as long as I can remember. In fact, I think my grandfather or dad may have been there once or twice.

From the moment I walked in the door, I felt like I was intruding on a boys' club. The first thing I saw was the hair all over the floor. I guess they are so popular that they don't have time to sweep up. The second thing I saw was the long line of light brown vinyl chairs from the 60's along the wall. Then, I noticed the tools and dead animals on the wall. It was exactly what I expected!

Tom, our new barber, has been cutting hair for 35 years. He was SO fast! I think C was in the chair for about 15 minutes. No more salons for my boy!

Look! They even have a barber pole!

The cut is so good that Super D is planning to visit them soon, too!

3 Point Commitment

No complaining.
No gossiping.
No lying.

It's harder than it sounds.
The goal is 10 days.
I made it 8 hours.

http://vimeo.com/user11948495/3pointcommitment

I've taken on this challenge that I heard about on facebook. It intrigued me. There's a prize at the end for one person who does it. But more than that, I think it will make me a better person. It makes me think about every word that leaves my mouth. For 8 hours, I was kinder to my children. I was a little frustrated, not being able to air my grievances, but I discovered that no one needs to hear them anyway.

When the little old lady at McDonald's complained about how hot it was in the restaurant, my first instinct was to jump on board the complaint train. In the end, I politely agreed with her by saying, "It is." But I said it with a smile. I tried to think of something positive to say to her, but I couldn't. So I said nothing else. I hope I wasn't rude. Super D said that didn't count as complaining since I wasn't expressing feelings of dissatisfaction. (She was right though. I did wonder if their thermostat was broken.)

I did fail later, and I caught myself the moment it left my lips. Something so insignificant, and I had to be a Debbie Downer. So, I took off my wristband and switched it to the other arm. Now, I'm starting over.

10 days to go

Woof! Woof!

Outside a local hotel:

Made in China

Have you heard the controversy over the Ralph Lauren uniforms designed for the 2012 Summer Olympics?

The first complaint I heard was that our Olympians will be wearing berets, which are French. The argument is that our athletes should wear cowboy hats or ball caps. I like cowboy hats and ball caps well enough, but I don't want the whole world thinking that's all American wears. That's the reason people think Oklahoma still looks like the Wild West.

Next, people have a bee in their bonnet (or beret, as the case may be) that Ralph Lauren put his logo on the blazers. Apparently it is 3 times larger than normal and bigger than the Olympic rings or the American flag on the other side of the blazer. Fair enough. But did anyone really expect Ralph Lauren to leave his polo pony off the uniform? This is the ultimate in product placement. Of course, he's going to take advantage of it.

Finally, members of Congress are mad because the clothes are manufactured in China. Okay. Good point. But don't they have better things to argue over? If they're going to be enraged over something, how about the money they are wasting that could be helping fight poverty or hunger? Our taxes money is being wasted on unnecessary things. If I want to spend my money on berets made in China, that's my prerogative. I wonder how many people spent their money on these in 2002.

By the way, these were made by Roots, in Canada.

Where were the enraged Congressmen then?

Just a day at the zoo

Years ago, we purchased a membership to our local zoo. It was worth the money we spent because we visited the zoo numerous times during the year. Our kids were young, and it was a perfect thing to do on a weekend.  We would take snacks and purchase a $1 refill zoo cup, so we spent almost nothing for the day. Since then, my parents began renewing our membership, and my mom has continued to do it every year as a Christmas gift to SuperD. Even after we moved, she bought us a membership to the new zoo.

It's one of SuperD's favorite family things. I was worried that it would get old, seeing the same exhibits over and over and over again. Surprisingly, I discovered that each time we went, we saw something we had never seen before. One time, we watched a chipanzee make a tool from a tree branch to get a goldfish cracker out of the water when he couldn't reach it on his own. Another time, a peahen crossed the path in front of us, followed by all her little peachicks. We've been on a behind-the-scenes tour of the brown bear's habitat, passing within two feet of the giant bear.  We witnessed the chimpanzees going crazy when they heard the tornado siren being tested.

On our most recent trip to the zoo, we went to the children's area, where we petted the goats. As we followed the path to exit the children's area, we rounded the path to see this beautiful peacock with his feathers spread out in a beautiful display.

 

We stopped in our tracks to watch him for a moment. What we hadn't immediately seen was the peahen that was off to the side of the path. It quickly became clear that the male was displaying, in order to gain her attention.



We were all mesmerized by the vibrating feathers, but the peahen was unimpressed. Both she and her sister totally ignored his flirting. When it became clear he couldn't hypnotize them, he turned his back, did a little dance, and literally shook his tail feathers at them.

Happy FREE Slurpee Day!

It's too bad that this is what our 7-Elevens serve:

No FREE Slurpees for us!

A Soda Replicator

Something out of Star Trek. That's what this new soda machine at Pei Wei reminds me of. It's a replicator! My son is enamored with this contraption. He wants to go back to eat there, just for the sodas.

Gone are the levers which you push your glass against. At eye level, there's a screen with the wide variety of sodas which are available, nearly 20. Touch the screen to choose one, and the screen offers you a number of add-ins for your choice. So, instead of simply having a Coca-Cola, you can have a Lime Coke, a Lemon Coke, a Raspberry Coke, or an Orange Coke. The machine dispenses the ice and then your soda. I think C must have gone back 3 times to try different sodas!

(Click on the photo for a YouTube demo of Coca-Cola's new machine.)

Herbed Chicken and Tomatoes

I bought a crock pot recipe book at the check-out line of the grocery store. (Yes, they suckered me in with an impulse buy.) I had already decided that I want to add more slow cooker recipes to our menu so that when I get home from work, I don't have to do much to put dinner on the table. Super D loves to cook. I hate it. The problem is that he doesn't make it home until 6:30, which is about the time my two diabetics should be eating dinner. That means that I really should be cooking more. Yuck.

My latest purchase is a Taste of Home cookbook with recipe cards that you simply cut out and put in your recipe holder. After trimming every recipe card, I sorted through them to find entrees that my children might eat. I put the ingredients on my grocery list and made the first one last night.

This is Herbed Chicken and Tomatoes. Obviously, mine didn't look this beautiful, but it came close. And it smelled delicious! Prep time was literally 5 minutes! I had to substitute an herb and garlic marinade mix for the soup mix because I couldn't find one, but seemed to work fine. Super D cooked up some bowtie pasta, and the kids both agreed that it was tolerable. Hey, if they'll eat it again, it's a winner in my book!

Brand new state!

I'm a little late posting about this one. It's the Oklahoma Land Run! As my brother said, It's that "day to celebrate the government's systematic stealing of Native American land, parceling it up, and giving it to white settlers. Hooray!" (We can joke about it because we're Seminole.) Every 4th grader in our town, and possibly in our state, learns about and recreates the Land Run.

It's an event which occurred on April 22, 1889. Fifty thousand people lined up to claim their piece of two million acres in the Unassigned Lands. Although settlers weren't allowed onto the land until noon of that day, some people snuck in early and were known as "Sooners". Those who campaigned for the opening of the lands are known as "Boomers". Hence, Boomer Sooner as the University of Oklahoma fight song and our state nickname, The Sooner State. By the end of the day, Oklahoma City and Guthrie had both been established with about 10,000 people.

Land Run Day is greatly anticipated at local elementary schools. Younger students line up to watch the event, and the fourth graders dress in period costumes and create prairie schooners to haul their belongings. Children are divided into "families" and are required to stake their claim and immediately make improvements to their land. They enjoy a picnic and begin trading wares with their neighbors.

I had to convince C to take his lunch in a basket and a tin, to be more authentic. He was going to use a Ziploc baggie.

Some parents go to great lengths to make it a fun day. See that really cute covered wagon? We didn't do that. I asked my son several times if they were bringing a wagon and decorating it. He told me that one of the other boys in his "family" volunteered to be in charge of that. I probably should have followed through with that one.

Maybe it's not such a good idea to create a "family" made up entirely of boys. See the kids in the middle carrying the box? We did that. It's a barn. I guess.

Still carrying the box.

Still carrying the box.

They sure can run fast with that box.

Their "dad" ran ahead to stake the claim.

But they're still running with that box!

The boys were required to use a rope to mark the boundary of their land. Most "families" had a nice square piece of land. Or a rectangle. Leave it to the boys to mark off a triangle. Improving the land consisted of setting down the barn box. Then, of course, it's time to eat.

All in all, it was a great day. I had to try really hard not to suck the fun out of it by pointing out the cute little general store on their neighbor's property, or the bank down the road. Maybe a triangular parcel of land is okay. Although I did interrupt the face-stuffing to remind them to go to the claim office. And I did force C to take a pic with his teacher.

A sign of the times



While making a phone call, C hands me the phone and says,

"Mom, what's this?"

I put the phone to my ear, listen for a second, and say,

"A busy signal."

I shake my head.

From 3 to 90, C charms them all!

While A was busy marching her little hiney off yesterday,

my son was having some fun of his own.

He spent the day with the oldest and the (almost) youngest of our family.

The morning began with the infamous parade.

C's great-grandfather was in town to enjoy the festivities with us.

Grandfather H will be 90 years old in October.

I love watching my son with my grandfather!

C puts his hand gently on Grandfather's arm and listens to stories of boy scouts and the war.

The evening was spent with extended family. C enjoyed playing with his 3YO third cousin.

(In case you don't understand, their grandmothers are first cousins.)

She sat in his lap for the fireworks. As I sat behind him, I heard him say some things to her that I didn't understand. He told me that she was afraid of the fireworks.

"I told her that she has to find inner peace," he said. "I'm her therapist."

THE Parade

Yes, this is the same parade I have been attending/participating in since I was a little girl. I rode my bike that I decorated with crepe paper. I marched as a twirler. I sat in a car as a pageant winner. I rode floats with my church. My family has enjoyed this parade every year for over 30 years.

But I never marched in a band. Today, my daughter had that honor. She was very stoic as she marched past our family. We all cheered, whooped, hollered, and called her name as she totally ignored us. It finally dawned on her that we weren't going to stop until she acknowledged us. She rewarded us with a slight glance in our direction and this knowing smile.

Although she may have been a little anxious about her performance, she was wonderful! Her steps were in time. Her posture was perfect. And she made constant adjustments to stay in line with the other flutes. Proud Band Mom Alert! I wonder who's going to have more fun this year: the Freshman or her mom?

Maybe I am Martha

A and I channeled our inner Martha Stewart today and made sugar cookies for a family get-together tomorrow. I saw these in her magazine a while back and filed it away until I was ready to attempt it. These cookies took us several hours from start to finish, but they were well worth it! I hope they taste good!

UPDATE: The cookies were a hit! Everyone loved them and raved about them. I think everyone ate at least two. Martha probably would be horrified to find out we used packaged cookie mix and store-bought cookie icing. Although everyone else loved it, I wasn't crazy about the icing. I think when I make cookies again, I will use a Martha icing recipe. If you would like to make these cool designs, you can see step-by-step pictures on the Recipe Girl website.

C-ism #3

"I figured out that if you bite down on a straw while you're drinking from it, it takes all the bad things out, like sugar and stuff."

Good to know, for a diabetic!