We May Think a Bit Too Much

Pirate's birthday is October. As it happens, so is mine. When I was younger, my parents gave no thought as to when I would attend kindergarten; it was assumed that I would start the September before I turned 5. Nowadays, there is a school of thought that it would better to hold a child back who is not 5 within the first few weeks of school. This is even more true, people say, when the child in question is a boy. Paco and I (okay, probably more me) have been struggling with a timetable for Pirate. He will be 4 this year, so should probably start preschool in the fall. (This is another issue, for another time...if you don't send your kids to preschool these days, they are behind before they even start.) The question is, should he be in a 3 year old program or a 4 year old program? Because he is a boy, there is the matter of maturity to take into consideration. There is a concern that he just wouldn't be mature enough to be with other 4 year olds. However, will he be too advanced for the 3 year old class? Then, what about the next year? Should he go to kindergarten the year he is eligible? I have gotten more opinions about this than I care to share and was starting to lose my mind.

Anyway, the preschool that we utilize took Pirate in for a trial class with the current 3 year olds; these are the kids that will be in his class next year if he were to go into the 4 year old class. He was a little hesitant when I dropped him off, but finally did walk away from me and went to play. They did not call for the entire 2 1/2 hours of the class and he was so excited about everything when I went to pick him up. The teachers both said that he should absolutely go into the 4 year old class. (I think a lot of this is due to his many years of therapy - his arts and crafts skills are exceptional ;) )

So after a lot of pointless thinking, Pirate will be entering the 4 year old preschool program this September. TBell will be in kindergarten. Princess will be in 2nd grade. I will be old.

The entire reason I wrote this post was to show this picture - here is Pirate before leaving for his trial class.

Yum!

A few weeks ago, TBell wanted some muffins. I didn't have a mix or anything and wasn't sure that I wanted to make any from scratch. I remembered that I had some Jiffy baking mix so I went online to see if they had a muffin recipe. It turns out that they have several different muffin mixes on their site and I was able to come up with a way to make chocolate chip muffins. Anyway, a few days later I decided that I wanted cinnamon rolls. So, I went back to Jiffy and they had a recipe for those, too. Now, if you make them from scratch, there is a lot of waiting and rising and punching. If you make them with Jiffy, they are way better (and cheaper) than the canned ones and aren't nearly as difficult as the cookbook variety.

He Did It!

In April-ish of 1998, I sat down to watch the NFL Draft with Paco. Paco watches the entire thing each year and for some reason I joined him that year. As it happens, that day was the start of my love affair with Peyton Manning. I watched the human interest story about him while waiting for the draft to start and decided he was the Best Football Player Ever. I have followed his career - Paco always updates me with the Colts goings-on. I wouldn't say that I am a huge Colts fan, as I don't watch every game. But, I do like them and always want them to win. During the current play-off season, the three main men in my life (Paco, his father and my father)all said that there was no way Peyton was going to do it. The sports announcers said that he had to make it to the Superbowl in order to continue his amazing career. I remained faithful, though, even when my precious team was losing 21-3 last night to the New England Patriots. And....they won! I think I am actually going to watch the Superbowl this year instead of just eating the good food. I think the game last night could have gotten even a non-sports fan excited...what a great comeback! I am just tickled that Indianapolis won and went to bed with a *huge* grin on my face.

Woohoo!

Another One

Here is another article. Enjoy!

Is it Too Much to Ask for a Snow Day?

There was a lot of promise last night - lake effect snow warnings and and words of caution regarding the morning commute. Upon looking out my window at 6:30 this morning, it was discovered that there was only enough snow here to cause some annoyance. It was enough snow to blow up into my pajama bottoms when I took Princess out to the bus. It is enough snow that I have to start my car early and allow several minutes to brush it off so Meghan can get to school. It is enough snow that the girls have to wear boots and take extra shoes to school. It is enough snow to make me incredibly crabby. Was it too much to ask for it to be enough snow for school to be canceled?

Update

As I figured, I posted too soon. Paco is fine, although I have not spoken with him directly. I spoke to someone who spoke to someone - I promise that is more reliable than it sounds! Anyway, I can rest easy knowing that Paco is traveling again and is not deemed to be a terrorist. (All of this did cause me to wonder if our lawyer, who handles traffic issues for us, is well-versed in the laws surrounding terrorism allegations. I am glad that we don't need to find out!)

Frustration

I am writing this entry a little prematurely and may end up regretting it. But, I decided that my internet friends were the people to turn to...

Paco travels a lot for work. A few years ago - I can't remember exactly when - he was given a slightly hard time at the airline counter because his name is apparently one that terrorists use quite a bit. In the end, they apologized for the inconvenience and sent him on his way. Today, he left our house at 4 in the morning for a business trip. When I woke up at 7 and turned my phone on, there was a text message that said he was going to need me to fax his birth certificate to a yet to be named location. I have not heard from him again. Now, he was flying to Chicago and it is possible that they let him on the flight and are just waiting for him to land so they can continue. But, that doesn't seem likely, does it? UGH! I am more frustrated at the process than the actual problem. I suppose it is fine that they research people that they *think* may be a problem. But, now I am sitting at home, sad and worried while trying to act like nothing is wrong while I get our children ready for school. I have no idea where he is or what is going on or when I am going to hear from him. *sigh*

Frustration

I am writing this entry a little prematurely and may end up regretting it. But, I decided that my internet friends were the people to turn to...

Paco travels a lot for work. A few years ago - I can't remember exactly when - he was given a slightly hard time at the airline counter because his name is apparently one that terrorists use quite a bit. In the end, they apologized for the inconvenience and sent him on his way. Today, he left our house at 4 in the morning for a business trip. When I woke up at 7 and turned my phone on, there was a text message that said he was going to need me to fax his birth certificate to a yet to be named location. I have not heard from him again. Now, he was flying to Chicago and it is possible that they let him on the flight and are just waiting for him to land so they can continue. But, that doesn't seem likely, does it? UGH! I am more frustrated at the process than the actual problem. I suppose it is fine that they research people that they *think* may be a problem. But, now I am sitting at home, sad and worried while trying to act like nothing is wrong while I get our children ready for school. I have no idea where he is or what is going on or when I am going to hear from him. *sigh*

Refreshed?

I have been on a vacation from writing for a while. The problem is, however, that I don't feel all that refreshed. In fact, every time I have thought of posting an entry here or submitting a new article, I have become slightly annoyed. Becoming annoyed does not entertain my readers, though, or pay the bills (or buy me Tim Horton’s coffee!) like my articles do. So, I am back. Perhaps with some *forced* writing under my belt I will get back into the swing of things.

I had intended to write about our Christmas celebration but that seems so far away now. The kids did have a good time and seemed happy with the gifts they received. I gave Paco a fake Tag watch that I purchased on a trip to NYC and he gave me this iPAQ. All in all it was a nice holiday and I am sad that life has to get back to normal now!

Because I am always getting myself into more and more, I have decided to accept the presidency of one organization I belong to as well as join a new board within the structure of our town government. I am exited about the board position as it seems to really have an actual impact on policy and budget in the particular department it is part of. It does add more meetings to my month, but I think that it will be time well spent.

Anyway, that is the news here. I will try to write more so that I will again be entertaining you with the details of my life!

Accidental Fudge

I have been a mad baker this Christmas Season. My [non-blogging] sister and I have spent many of the recent days making multiple batches of cookies to be given to various recipients. After she left yesterday, I made a batch of chocolate thumbprints because she didn't want any. Now, the finished product is fine, although I don't think I would make them again. But, because I lack some major housekeeping skills, I left the unused chocolate mixture out on the kitchen table last night when I was done. This morning, the stuff in the bowl resembled fudge. I stared it for a few minutes, then offered it to Paco. He took one spoonful and said, "Why did you make so little of it? Can you make more today?" I tasted it and it does indeed taste like fudge. This has to be the easiest fudge I have ever made. I think it may be easier than the spoon fudge I made in 7th grade in Home-Ec. I am going to make a much larger batch of it today to be sure that it works and will then post the recipe here for all of you to use. Mmmmm - I can't wait!

I didn't realize that I have not posted in so long. It really seems like just a day or two ago that I posted my rambling thoughts. Hmmm, I guess not! Anywho, I don't necessarily have too much to say right now. We are spending a lot of time working on the first verse of Joy to the World (the girls are singing it in the Christmas Pagent at church) and getting ready, then recovering from, various holiday parties.

Here are a couple of pictures from Mimi's house. Mimi is a [80 year old] friend of mine who wanted to do something special for the kids. So, she had them over for a lot of frosting, cupcakes, candy and reading. It was very nice, if a little messy and sugar-high-ish.





That's about it, folks. I will check in soon to offer more mind-numbing excitement!

I Don't Even Know What to Say

This story cracks me up. As a (so I've been told) strict parent, I sympathize with the mother. I mean, children need to face consequences for their actions. I am really more amused that the story was picked up by the Associated Press. Will they find out that I made Princess stand at the dinner table one night while eating because she couldn't stop jumping around in her chair? In just a day or two, someone in Little Rock, Arkansas may be fuming at the injustice of my six year old having to stand while eating spaghetti.

I think I need to go to bed.

More and More Writing

I don't write as often as I should. When I started spending the majority of time at home with my kids instead of in an office, the plan was for me to write in the evening after the kids are in bed. I believe this lasted for about one week. Then, for some strange reason, Paco and I became way too involved in nightly television. For those of you who have known me a while, you will think this is odd behavior for me. Until this year, I have very rarely been "addicted" to a TV series. Not to say that I don't appreciate pop culture or anything...I just had other things that I enjoyed doing more than watching a show. So far, in this television year, we spend 3 1/2 hours on Monday night watching TV; 1 hour on Tuesday; 2 hours on Thursday; 1 hour on Friday. THE MADNESS MUST END! I need to pay more attention to my writing (which I was hoping to improve!) and less attention to sitting on my couch.

To that end, please visit my new blog at http://buffalo.yourhub.com/~michelejohnson. This does not mark the end of the blog which you are currently reading, however. My new blog is dedicated to events or happenings that will directly interest people living in my town. My recipes for Life will still contain whatever content I feel like writing about!

PS - If I start having symptoms of withdrawal, please help me through my difficult time of television-separation!

General Happiness

I have been intending to update for a few days now and keep getting sidetracked. As I write, the family is getting ready for Sunday school and church - it is the Season of Advent! - and I am squeezing in a few minutes of computer time. There are several things that I wanted to write about and, if I remember correctly, none of them are really related. (Not surprising, I know.) So, for this post, I am going to pass on the recipe that my sister posted a few days ago:

Crazy Easy Beer Bread

3 cups Self -rising flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 bottle (12 oz) beer

Mix the ingredients together and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I tend to add things to this bread, like spices or cheese or bacon, to add to the flavor. You can experiment with different types of beer, also, to change the flavor a bit. This bread is somewhat dense and goes really well with soup. I recently served cheesy potato soup for dinner with thick slices of beer bread...mmmmmmm!

Random

I only have a little bit of time, so I thought I would just mention a few small things.

1. The Pinot Noir I bought for Thanksgiving, on recommendation from my friend at the liquor store, was horrible. I had spent more on the bottle than I normally would, but figured that it was for a holiday and that my father and I would be sharing it so I wanted it to be special. Blech!

2. We had a wonderful holiday. My sister came to visit just prior to the holiday and we had a great time visiting. (There was a even a formal portrait taken of all seven grandchildren with their my parents...so cool!) Then, we traveled to my aunt's mountain house in PA for a family-filled weekend of food and fun. Woohoo!

3. I am almost done Christmas shopping. I am not sure why I was able to finish so soon this year as I didn't really start much before the middle of November. But, it's nice to know that there isn't too much pressure now...I can just enjoy!

How was your Thanksgiving?

Wine and Turkey

For those of you out there who are wondering what wine to serve on Thanksgiving, I thought I would give you my picks for a great pairing. Sometimes, a wine can make the meal - wouldn't you like to be the hero who brings the best bottle?

The absolute best wine to serve with turkey, in my opinion, is a Gewurztraminer. This is a slightly sweeter wine (which I would ordinarily never choose) that has a hint of effervescence (or bubbly). It most resembles a Riesling but has a great flavor of its own. Paired with turkey, this wine tastes incredible and is a must at your table.

If you prefer red wine, then go with a Pinot Noir. This red is mellow, so its flavor won't get in the way of the great food you are eating. Pinot Noir is also nice by itself, so you can sip it longer after you have left the table.

Happy Turkey everyone!

Thanksgiving Side of Fabulous

While I haven't made this dish in a very long time, I thought I would share it with you in case you would like to add it to your Thanksgiving table. (I realize that I am again not sharing a vegetarian recipe and I am very sorry, A. I *am* trying!)

Chop and cook 1 large onion in 1T of butter. (You can use cooking spray, also.) When the onion is about halfway done cooking, add 1 package of chopped bacon. (It's much easier to chop frozen bacon so you may want to stick it in the freezer prior to making this.) Completely cook the bacon and onion mixture. Then, add two jars of completely drained red cabbage and mix/heat completely.

This recipe is very easy, although it does take a little bit longer than you would think to cook through; don't be discouraged if it's not done in 10 minutes. The completed dish looks very pretty on a table and tastes INCREDIBLE!

Insomnia

It is 4:00 in the morning. I have been up since 2:30. AHHHHHHHHHHH! I have been productive, however. So far I have finished my Sunday School lesson and almost finished my Christmas shopping for the kids. I love the internet! I only need two other items and those can be easily purchased at a store at some point. Actually, I am almost completely done with everyone - I am amazed! I only have a few more gifts to buy and then the wrapping can begin!

Princess had her cheer leading extravaganza last night. She was very cute. (We used a new camcorder to record the event and take pictures. I will try to hook it up soon so I can post one or two here.) She also had a complete meltdown afterwards which she attributed to being sad that the season is over. I think she is a bit too sensitive and really have no idea what I am going to do with her when she is a teenager. Honestly, I am often surprised when I realize that she isn't a teenager yet based on her behavior.

My sister is coming this weekend and is staying with me for the first part of her visit. My house is a mess and is in no state to have 4 more people (my sister, her two kids and her au pair) in it. I have been so busy, though, that I just haven't had time to worry about it. I also have so much to do in the roughly 12 hours I have until she gets here that I have no idea how I am going to get it all done. I should probably be doing dishes or something now, but I am afraid I will make too much noise and I would really prefer that the kids sleep. Even more frightening is that we are going away for Thanksgiving and I am not at all ready for that. I am normally so excited for these kinds of trips. This year, I am lucky if I remember that we are going half of the time!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Holiday Yums

Here is a quick recipe that is really delicious and easy to make.

Crush 5 candy canes into small pieces; set aside. Melt two bags of white chocolate chips in the microwave or double boiler. When melted, stir in 2 tsp. of mint extract and all of the candy cane pieces. Combine. Spread mixture onto baking sheet lined with wax paper and freeze. The candy is done when it is completely hard. After it is set, break into pieces. This looks really pretty in cellophane bags tied with pretty ribbon and an ornament.

I will try to add more holiday recipes as they come to me. Let me know if anyone tries this one - I know that Paco really likes it and am interested to know who else does!

Election Hangover

Well, election season is officially over in WNY. I am exhausted from the whole experience. There was a lot of work to do to this year, which is scary because I know that next year is going to be even worse on a town-level.

I want to share an interesting tidbit that came to my attention last night while attending a meeting. Now, I am not necessarily interested in discussing the politics surrounding this event, just the media portrayal associated with it. Congressman Reynold's was given a hard time, to say the least, about his involvement in the Mark Foley scandal involving a young man. There was a media circus, really, with accusations, press conferences and articles. In WNY, the press wanted Reynolds to be a villain. The interesting part is that in Florida, where Foley is from, Reynolds is a hero. Apparently, the media there credits Reynolds with saving Florida from Foley. What is my point, you ask? It is this: aside from my good friend who works in television, I *HATE* the media.

Enough politics. Coming soon: holiday celebrations!