Amusing

I just ran across this article on the worst celebrity baby names.

When people find out Spyder's middle name, I usually hear, "Oh, how ... unusual." Sass gets a bit nicer, "That's different; pretty, but different."

I usually just say thanks and move on. From now on, I'm going to mention that we contemplated a few of those in the article.

Escapee

We discovered today that our dog Lucy can climb the fence -- the nearly 5 foot chain link fence that keeps her safe in our back yard when she's outside. We haven't actually seen her do it, but I think we have enough evidence to safely assume that's what's happening.

She got out one day last week when we had taken Brownie for a walk in the park. Lucy was going to go, but Sass decided to give her a bath just before we left. I wasn't particularly interested in taking a wet dog, since half of the time she's right against my legs. Of course, the other half of the time she's trying to pull me over so that she can attack some innocent squirrel or bird, so I'm not really sure which I prefer.

At any rate, poor lonely Lucinda was left behind. Apparently this was the last straw for her because she was clearly missing out on a trip to the park where there are geese to terrorize.

When we walked around the corner on our way back home from the park, there was Lucy, standing in the road. Sass nearly had a nervous breakdown right there. Thank heavens we were only two houses away from home because I was simultaneously

• comforting Sass, who was crying so hard that she could barely see to walk home
  
• keeping Brownie from pulling me over
• calming Spyder, who was jumping around and making Sass and the dogs nervous
  
• holding Lucy by her collar to keep her from darting off

I'm quite thankful that Lucy came over to us immediately. On the two occasions that she had gotten outside before, she was so busy chasing squirrels and birds that I had to run and catch her, which of course she thought was a fun little game, requiring more chasing.

Whew, I'm tired just remembering.

Brownie has also gotten out twice, but he is easy to get back. Just yell, "Brownie, TREAT!" and he will come a-runnin' as quickly has he can.

We thought that we had discovered how she had gotten out, wiggling through the gate. There is a little bit of a gap between the gate and the post because Sass thinks it's cute to wiggle through. So Spyder and I blocked the gap and we thought we were in the clear. After all, the dogs have been in that yard for four years, and neither of them had ever gotten out that way. Every previous escape had been through the front door when one of us was running out and didn't make sure that the door was properly latched.

Apparently we dusted off our hands a bit too quickly.

Today was a nice day, so I left the dogs outside to play in the back yard while we were out running errands. We were gone about 2.5 hours, and when we were coming down the street, I saw Lucy sitting on top of the picnic table -- outside of the fence -- as pretty as you please.

We pulled in, and she ran over to the car, all happy to see us, as if there was no problem with her being, oh, out in the front yard near the busy street and cars. I suppose I should be happy that she was showing us the love in hanging around in the yard waiting for us. She could have gone all squirrel-happy and disappeared.

Sass took her inside while Spyder and I launched another investigation. He found significant circumstantial evidence that supports the climbing theory -- a scratch on Lucy's tummy, a tuft of hair on the fence, and scratches on the top of the fence. This also explains why Lucy got out and Brownie didn't. He wouldn't have been able to get his big ol' self up there. (Remember the paragraph about treats? He is all about the treats.)

So now the urchins and I have to come up with a way keep her contained now that she's realized freedom is only a climb away. And until we figure it out, Lucy just won't go out unsupervised.

She is going to hate that.

With my mama, everything is an adventure

Oh, that mama of mine. She just makes me laugh.

Tonight my mom called. I had missed the original call, and as we all know, not returning her call can lead to panic, so I called back immediately when I saw the missed call (um, no message; just to mention that).

I was on the way out the door to put gas in the car, and because my mama is her usual lovely but nosy self, she had to know all of the details. It's probably just easier to give the whole conversation.

MOM: So how much is gas there?

ME: Well, I passed by this place today that was $3.59, but I was in a hurry and couldn't stop, so I'm going back now.

MOM: So where is it?

ME: It's right inside Big City.

MOM: [gasp] You mean it's in the ghetto!?!

ME: No, it's not in the ghe . . . well, it probably is in the ghetto, but it's on the edge, not in the heart of it or anything.

MOM: You're going to the ghetto to get cheap gas? What if that's the last gas you buy!?!

ME: Oh, it's fine. Don't worry. It's a new gas station. Lots of lights around.

MOM: Well, you make sure you lock those babies in the car while you're out. And don't talk to anyone.

ME: The babies are home with Skeeter. I'm by myself.

MOM: [gasp] You're going to the ghetto by yourself for the cheap gas!?!

ME: Mom, Mom, it's fine. Look, I'm pulling in now.

MOM: I'll bet there are no other white people there!

ME: Maybe not. I don't know. Look, I'm not supposed to be on the phone while I'm pumping the gas. There's a no-no sign and everything.

MOM: Okay . . . .

ME: I'll call you back after I'm finished to let you know I'm not dead.

MOM: Okay. You do that.

(Pump gas; all is well; back in the car and call her back. Because she would have been in a tizzy until I did.)

ME: Mom, it's all good. I'm finished filling up, and I'm driving out.

MOM: I feel better.

ME: And there was even another white person there, but I'm pretty sure she was a hooker.

MOM: Oh my word.

ME: It's fine. There was a white person there, right?

MOM: Well, you get out of there before someone thinks you're a hooker too!

(hear Dad in the background, "Is she out of the ghetto yet?")

MOM: (talking to Dad) Yes, she's out of the ghetto. For now. (talking to me again) You are the reason that I have grey hair, you know.

My favorite spam

I was cleaning out my spam folder recently and found this little jewel.



That laughter you heard? That was me.

Oldies

Today the urchins and I were driving to the children's museum, listening to Raising Sand, the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration. Many of the songs are from the '50s and '60s, so we were discussing "oldies" music.

Then Spyder popped in with, "I love oldies. Some of my favorite songs are oldies. I think my favorite is Who Can It Be Now?"



I protested, of course, because that song is from my youth. Spyder was adamant that it is an oldie. His argument: The song is more than 25 years old, and those songs that I would have considered oldies in my youth -- Me and Bobby McGee, Eleanor Rigby, Proud Mary, Brand New Key, etc -- didn't have that many years on me. And he's absolutely right; I can't refute that.

The oldies have been redefined for our household, and apparently I am one.

Wii Fit

Skeeter and I got a Wii Fit not long ago. We had been looking on and off throughout the summer and finally found one on the same day that I found Vanessa's Wii.

I love it. I'm astonished that I love it, but I truly do. And it's especially odd that I love it considering that it gives me a complex every time I step on it.

During the initial setup, after I weighed myself for the first time, my little Mii plumped out nicely. Oh, gee, thanks for that little reality check.

*sigh*

And every time I step on it to do the daily test, the animated balance board gives a surprised little "ooh."

*sigh*

And yet there I am on the board almost every day, my chubby little Mii and me.

Google Reader laughs at me

I just logged into my Google Reader account for the first time in at least a week, possibly longer. How many unread items?

All Items (1000+)

Pretty soon it's going to say

All Items (You've Got to Be Kidding)

or

All Items (Why Bother)

or maybe even

All Items (Just Close Your Account Already)

I think I'm just going to mark everything as read and start anew.

But just so I won't feel as if I'm missing out, have mercy on me and leave a link below for a MUST READ post that you've found (or written!) recently. I don't want to miss out on the really good stuff!

What I would say

I have been running like mad since Saturday morning. Really, it was since Wednesday if you count my three days of single parenting last week.

I'd love to tell you about the Hummingbird Migration Celebration on Saturday. (Fabulous!)

Or the playdate over here yesterday. (Wild and crazy; the urchins loved it.)

Or our first 4-H club meeting today. (Boring but informative; I hope it gets a little more exciting once we're past the introductions.)

Or our first chess club meeting today. (Sass won; Spyder lost, then won. They loved it.)

But I swear, if I don't get some rest there is no way that my urchins are going to get to the planetarium tomorrow. Because I will be on the floor, asleep.

One more busy day. I can make it. I hope.

Menu Plan Monday: Sept 7-13

About last week: Skeeter had to go out of town on business Wednesday through Friday, so things got a bit muddled. I ended up taking the urchins out for Chinese Wednesday night. I made Wednesday's pork loin on Thursday night instead (and it was fab). We were gone all day on Saturday, so the Saturday plan was scrapped as well, and we had leftovers out of the fridge plus fresh fruit.

This week I'm recycling the one of the two meals we didn't have last week. Also, I'm doing a pantry challenge, so no major shopping. I haven't had time for grocery shopping this weekend (thus, the pantry challenge), but once I do make it to the store, I will only need to buy the fresh vegetables for Wednesday's spinach salad and crudite platter. The leftovers will be remade into the pasta salad, bruschetta, and veggie stir fry later in the week.

And on to the menu:

Sunday: Fish sticks, french fries, garlic bread, fruit

(Yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but I really did make fish sticks for dinner. This weekend was a whole lotta busy, and I'm all about keepin' it real, yo.)

Monday: Quiche, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, fruit

Tuesday: Eating out

Wednesday: Chicken cacciatore in black olive and tomato sauce, garlic pasta, spinach salad, crudite platter

Thursday: Pasta salad, bruschetta

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Beef enchiladas, Mexican rice, veggie stir fry

Check out this week's Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie for more great recipes!

Create your own caption

Here are a couple of ours:

"Your dog deserves the string cheese. Your dog deserves the string cheese .... "

"Laser eyes, set to stun."

I love this picture though, and it deserves a great caption. Have at it.

Starry Night

The children have been talking about Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night today. I can't say how it began because I have no idea, but they've been looking at and talking about the painting off and on all day.

We listened to Don Mclean's "Vincent"



and afterward Sass decided that she wanted to write her own. This is her version.

Starry Starry Night

with the blue sky
around us
with the wind blowing softly
through the dark starry night
with the grass waving
to the sky
with the stars sparkling
in the sky
starry starry night

I Will Survive (Homeschooler's Version)

With thanks to Natalie.

Mini-Me

SASS: Did you know that chocolate is my favorite flavor?

ME: Favorite flavor of what?

SASS: (rolls eyes) Anything.

ME: I have taught you well, young one.

Periodic Table of Videos

Spyder has been watching these videos at The Periodic Table of Videos all afternoon.

He is now gathering his chemistry supplies to do a few experiments.

Updated: He's steadfast in it too. I just overheard this exchange

SASS: [Spyder]! I'm having an ice cream sandwich. Do you want one?

SPYDER: Yes, but not right now. I'm doing chemistry. Remind me later that I want one.

Blogville will settle this

Skeeter and I had a bit of a disagreement today.

While driving home from the Labor Day family fun (more on that later), I used the term "po po." Skeeter claimed he had never heard that before. Never, ever in his whole entire life. And accused me of making it up (and my sister, since I, of course, dragged her use of it into the fray).

I maintain that it's a common term.

So, you friends from everywhere, which one of us is right?

(Well, I know which one of us is right, but whose side do you take?)

Menu Plan Monday: Aug 31 - Sept 6

I know; I know. I repeat the side dishes a LOT. That's part of the reason I've started participating in Menu Plan Monday -- to get out of the rut! Varying the main dish isn't difficult for me, but the side dishes are a different story. I've realized that is what needs work more than anything.

Sunday: Quiche, fruit, pancakes

Monday: Labor Day holiday! Going to a cookout a Mom and Dad's. I'm making Blueberry Lemon Chess Squares to take to the cookout.

Tuesday: Eating out

Wednesday: Caribbean pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, baked squash, spinach salad

Thursday: Chicken cacciatore in black olive and tomato sauce, garlic pasta, spinach salad, crudite platter

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Meatloaf, Wendy's macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, stir fried veggies

Check out this week's Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie for more great recipes!

For Skeeter

XKCD always makes me laugh, despite my liberal arts background.

Telling, yes?

I think Skeeter and I might possibly, maybe be watching too much about the election. Skeeter had some news site on his computer which had a prominent photo of Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Sass walked over to Skeeter and said, "Oh. That's the boring guy."

Skeeter pointed at the photo and asked, "Who? That guy?"

Sass replied, "Yes. That guy. He's on the news all the time just talking and talking."

Perhaps I should tone down on the election coverage.

Sweet potato fries

Oh people. The sweet potato fries on tonight's menu? Goooooood. Shamefully good. And bad for you, which makes them even yummier, I'm sure. This was a new recipe I made up, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

1.5 lbs sweet potatoes, julienned

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter on a baking sheet, making sure that the sheet is covered. Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer atop the buttered sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon (if you like). Just as yummy without though. These could probably be made with "potato chip" style cuts as well.

Happy cooking!

Misnomer

"Home"schooling is definitely a misnomer, at least in our case. We have been out for the last two days.

On Tuesday we saw the IMAX film Sea Monsters, then spent several hours wandering the museum which hosts the IMAX theatre. Lots of fun, really, as the children explored the interactive "Treasure" exhibit. Just as we were about to leave, the children discovered a scavenger hunt just taking place, so we spent an additional two hours doing the hunt. I'm glad we stayed because the children were exploring the museum, but it was exhausting spending seven hours there.

Today was our math and science day. We spent the day at the neighborhood park and pond doing another scavenger hunt, this time finding the different creatures and plants the park had to offer. We found aquatic plants and bird nests and anthills and worms and even a tiger swallowtail butterfly.


We all had a great time, but I must say, I'm tired of being gone all day. I'm so glad that tomorrow is scheduled to be a stay at home day. And I hope nothing comes up to change that!

Emails

From me to my sister: I have found the PERFECT Christmas present for you!



Response: Now quit being hateful ... although they would be great for a "white trash" party.

Crock Pot Honey Barbecue Chicken

Great taste, minimal effort. What's not to love?

Crock Pot Honey Barbecue Chicken

2 pounds chicken (I use either boneless skinless thighs or breast tenderloins)

1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 cloves garlic

Mix spices and sauces thoroughly. Cover bottom of crock pot with chicken, layering if necessary. Cover with sauce and cook on low for approximately 6 hours.

Menu Plan Monday, August 25-30

Okay, Kiy warned me, and it's true. I really liked actually writing out the menu plan for last week. Skeeter liked it too because he knew what to expect each night, so I think I'll continue with it. I will add some of the recipes as well; that actually didn't occur to me until Angela left a comment about the Honey Barbecue Chicken.

About last week: I didn't make the salmon on Wednesday because I had such a horrible headache that I honestly couldn't. It got moved to this week.

There are a few repeats from last week just because we like them. And on to this week's menu.

Sunday: Stir-fry sausage with onions and peppers, rice pilaf, spinach salad

Monday: Tacos, Mexican rice, spinach salad, crudite platter

Tuesday: Eating out

Wednesday: Chicken with artichokes and garlic, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Thursday: Salmon, sweet potato fries, stir fry veggies, baked squash

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Meatballs in burgundy sauce, pasta, green beans

Check out this week's Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie for more great recipes!

#1 Song

This is a fun site, cataloging the #1 song on any date, even going back into the 1890s.

The #1 song on the day I was born was "Let It Be" by The Beatles.

Catch Up, Catch All

My sister emailed me this morning, admonishing me for having posted absolutely nothing this week. So, here's the skinny on the week. So far.

On Monday The Michael called on his way home from work. He ended up stopping by for dinner and then keeping the urchins for about an hour or so. I had a homeschooling meeting that night which I had intended to skip because Skeeter was really late getting home from work. Yay to The Michael for saving the day!

On Tuesday I spent most of the day in the kitchen making (and baking) meatballs to freeze for future use. I had found ground beef and sausage on clearance at the Kroger, so meatballs were practically screaming to be made. I love having things like that in the freezer, but my word it is a pain. A whole day of cooking, and with clearance meats I couldn't exactly put it off. I'm glad it fell on our eating out day so I didn't have to cook dinner as well. Although I can tell you that if it hadn't, we would have been eating spaghetti and meatballs!

On Wednesday I was cooking again, this time it was cookies. Sass spilled an entire pound of sugar in the pantry which was -- of course! -- the original battleground. So to (hopefully) avert another attack, I swept the whole place three times, then mopped with a very strong vinegar/water mixture. The dogs were especially amusing during that. They hated the vinegar, but at the same time they both insisted on sniffing every inch of the pantry. Sniff, sneeze. Sniff, sneeze. Sniff, sneeze. Afterward, we made chocolate chip cookies. Normally, yum, but by the time we were finishing up I had a horrible headache and the smell from the chocolate was making me sick. I had to lie down, wondering if my sister would be willing to help raise my children since I was obvious going to have a brain explosion. Thankfully that didn't happen. It receded a few hours later, and I was able to join the living. But I confess that our menu for that night was completely thrown out the window. We had the leftovers out of the fridge, along with some extra garlic pasta since that's easy.

On Thursday we had a great school day. We worked for several hours longer than usual, just because everyone was having fun with it. I love days like that.

And then today. Whew. Today we're having our first homeschool "Adventure Club" meeting. Today's topic is knots and sit-upons. I love crafty stuff like that, so I'm excited about it.

Ant Killaz

This morning Sass discovered the beginnings of an ant invasion in the dog food. It was definitely only a beginning, as there were probably only about 50 or so.

We've always kept the dog food in the same spot by the back door for the four years that we've had them. Always. I suppose we're lucky in that this was the first attempted invasion.

We struck strongly and swiftly, moving everything outside, then dousing with the spray that I've kept on hand just in case. We let it sit for a bit while we took care of the ones we'd taken outside, then came back in and mopped with the Power of Pine Sol.

Thankfully, I've always kept the dog food in sealed containers so it wasn't contaminated by the ants at all. But now I will be fully alert, on guard against the next attack.

Menu Plan Monday, August 17-23

My friend Julie participates in Menu Plan Monday every week. I've gotten several good recipes from her that way, and (I can barely believe it myself) I decided to play along. So here goes, with my first Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday: Meatloaf, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn

Monday: Crock pot honey barbecue chicken, garlic pasta, baked squash, crudite platter

Tuesday: Eating out

Wednesday: Salmon, rice pilaf, stir-fry veggies, olive rolls

Thursday: Tamale pie, spinach salad, Mexican rice, fried corn

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Quiche, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, fruit

Check out this week's Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie for more great recipes!

Wrong

My daughter has just informed me that she wants to have pickles with her breakfast this morning.

Ew.

Cue the crickets

Lawzy day. Anyone stumbling upon this blog would think it abandoned.

It's not, but this week has passed in a bit of a fog, and I haven't quite gotten in step with the new year. And the new school year is truly upon us. We had our first "official" activity this week, and we have two more scheduled for next week.

It sounds as if I'm complaining, but truly I'm not. I enjoy organizing our days, seeing what we can discover. But at the same time, it's difficult to get back into the groove of it after the unstructured summer. I've not been reading blogs these past few weeks, and I've even done a poor job of maintaining my own. I just completely cleared out my Google Reader. There were 1211 unread posts. That's just wrong.

And so, I've missed you! Grab a coffee and let's chat. Here are a few things that happened during the last week:

-- Spyder caught his first fish! My aspiring fisherman has been quite concerned that he had been fishing several times, but with no fruit from the labor. That is no more. He went fishing with his grandfather on Saturday, and lo and behold, he caught his first! He and Sass even named it, although the name now escapes me.

-- Sass' BFF Olivia started kindergarten. Sass misses her every single day and does not hesitate to let me know about it.

-- Spyder lost two teeth. Two! I keep telling him that he's going to force the tooth fairy into bankruptcy.

-- I suppose that everyone gets spam email. I rarely check the spam folder, but I got a big laugh out of one of the recent subject lines: "Fill up your tank -- just $2.59!" I laughed so hard at that. I wonder if it's a bigger draw than the usual subject lines.

-- Wednesday was my friend Carla's birthday, which I utterly forgot until I looked at my calendar (while we were at a homeschool event!). I abandoned any pretense of a nice gift, and instead I stopped at the Sonic on the way home. I bought a gift card. I asked for an extra fry carton and hamburger wrapper. I used those to fashon the wrapping, along with a bit of sparkly tissue paper. Extra Klassy. But Carla liked the gift card, as we share the love of the Sonic sodas.

-- Latest read: A Spy on the Bus by Margean Gladysz, a collection of letters sent home while Margean was an secret inspector for different bus lines, beginning with Greyhound but later moving to others. It's a great snapshot of middle America in the late '40s. The book would make a good gift for someone who remembers that time. I just began reading Mr Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues, but I think I'm going to abandon it. I am not at all happy with it.

-- Skeeter's summer interns are gone. Their last day was today. He's thrilled. This is his third summer as intern babysitter. It's funny when Skeeter and I talk about our own internships, thinking that we did so much, when probably we needed just as much handholding and micromanaging as his have.

-- Ooooh, I almost forgot! I bought a pinball game for the Wii. I think it's my favorite game so far.

So now it's your turn! Since I've obviously missed everything in the last week, and probably loads before that, what's going on with you?

Self Control

Fun with physics

My urchins love setting up these type of Rube Goldberg machines, although they've never done anything quite this elaborate.

Yuk

Last night the urchins discovered a sheet of Mr Yuk stickers in the filing cabinet. They spent a happy hour talking about and labeling the various cleaners and such around the house.

Their single mindedness in the self-appointed task was amusing for all sorts of reasons. They were both so steadfast and serious when both of them are old enough that it's highly unlikely either of them will drink the laundry detergent just for kicks. Still, I thought it was cute when I was walking around this morning doing various chores, seeing this


and this


and this.


And then I came to this.


Oh dear.

Do you think they're trying to tell me something?

Recipe Box Swap: Baked Squash

I've been trying to duplicate a recipe from a local restaurant, and this is my latest try. It's not exactly there yet, but it's close!

Baked Squash

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1/2 cup chicken broth (give or take, whether you prefer it moist or somewhat dry)
1 cup sour cream
1 onion (can use frozen, but you may need to adjust the broth)
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups yellow squash, sliced

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom of pan with butter and set in oven to warm a bit. I don't recommend oil for greasing, as it will give a different flavor.

Mix everything except the squash, making sure that it's thoroughly blended. Mix in squash gently. Place in warmed pan and bake for about an hour.

As I said, it's a work in progress! I've also thought of adding sharp cheddar cheese for a little extra oomph. If you think of something different to do or use, let me know!

Go check out all of the great garden fresh recipes at I Have To Say, and if you just came from there, thanks for visiting!

Quote of the day

Chocolate milk. That's MY espresso.

-- Spyder, age 10

In honor of the new school year

Schools in our area start today. Yes, TODAY, August 7. That just seems mighty early to me.