Mothering Many

My oldest two boys collect state quarters, and I guess that makes them nu-num-numismatics (yeah, I had to look that up, LOL). I still have to remind them occasionally that the quarters need to stay in their folders, because they enjoy comparing who has what, but I am also hopeful that what began as a Boy Scout project may turn into a lifelong hobby for them. See, numismatists don’t just collect coins (which can get pretty expensive); the term actually refers to those who study currency, which is actually pretty fascinating, and also free, if you use the library and internet.

I went to Monaco Rare Coin tonight and while I found the rare gold coins interesting, I also enjoyed the article on getting started in rare coin collecting. And it was much easier to understand than the overly excited guys who come on the tv at 2am, selling coins one night and knives the next. Obviously, it’s a long jump from quarters to rare coins, and that will come later, if ever for my sons, but it’s never too early to get them excited about learning more about something that interests them. I think I need to capitalize on their current interests and help kindle a flame, don’t you?

From the front room window, that is.

High on the list of things that continue to frustrate me: my living room blinds. Remember the kids broke them? I know I said that. It’s been months now, and *cough* they are still broken, because…well, cleaning while you have kids is like shoveling the sidewalk while it’s still snowing and repairing things while you have kids is…required. But I plan to replace, not repair, and I actually plan to use roller shades, like the ones I have in my bedroom. As much as I like the Hunter Douglas blinds, and as much as I love the idea of shutters, I know that the shades would be a better choice for now.

Surprisingly enough, my vertical blinds have remained relatively unmolested. 5 years here, and we’ve still got all of them, and the slide mechanism still works. Perhaps that’s because they 1)stay slid back all the time and 2) face the boring back yard where nothing cool ever happens.

You know how when you are a brand new parent of one brand new baby, you pack the entire dresser to go to the mailbox? BTDT, had the backaches to prove it. These days, I am all about the bare necessities, and that means a much smaller diaper bag, like this one from bundle me. See, it’s small, and that means it’s light. And I like light. Light means that, potentially, they can carry it themselves. And then I would just be stuck with my purse, the snacks, a stack of books, and………

Oh, was I dreaming again? Sorry. My attention was momentarily captivated by the little charmer next to me. She was standing there, saying “mom mine mom mine mom mine” while I tried to eat my supper. Do you see how hard my life is?

Do you ever look at the models in the swimsuit catalogs and ask yourself if the designers were smokin’ crack? I will admit that this is something I do with great regularity. Now, before I had kids, I was 5 feet tall, and buxom. Voluptuous, I guess you’d say. Now that I’ve had 8 children, I’m 4′ 11″ (how the heck did THAT happen????), buxom AND hippy, and voluptuous doesn’t even begin to describe the current state of my…. never mind. Just never mind.

So, when I go looking for a suit, I want something designed for a real woman, not Cindy Crawford, who shares my maiden name, and nothing else. I’m more into the Plus Size Tankini than the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny, iykwim. Now, I do have some family members who need a suit designed for Twiggy, and I can find them at the same place–SwimSuits for All. All=everybody in the family. Easy-peasy!

The grocery store is not that exciting, is it? It’s not to me, at any rate. Mostly just another chore to get done. My children, however, seem to mis-hear me all the time. I know this is true, because when I say “go to the grocery store”, they act like I have said “go to my special place”, and they all beg to go. And since the grocery store is really NOT that exciting, it thought it must be a crazy mistake.

And then I figured it out. It’s the vending machines by the door, the ones made by vendstar and others. The banks (yes, I said banks–have you looked lately??) of machines, sell everything from little plastic rings to fruit-shaped gum balls that are almost life size.

–insert picture of lemon gum ball here, except she ate it so it’s not in the cabinet anymore–

And tattoos! And bones. And fruit candy……ok, I think you get the point. And I’ll be getting it the rest of the afternoon since I made the mistake of asking Diva to “tell me about those little machines at the store”. Ha!

Dear self: please remember to tell DH to go pay for the boys football pictures this week. These would be the ones they had taken week before last when the checkbook stayed at home and that didn’t get paid for last week because the checkbook was empty, even though it was at the game. Because one day those boys may be famous, and play Penn State football and you will want them to remember you hauled them to football games back in the day.

I have a little story and a recipe. They sort of go together. I’ve been taking grits to church the past couple of Sundays, and apparently, i will be bringing them for the rest of my natural life. It started as a joke, and then everyone just enjoyed them so much, that I am going to continue it.

Here’s how I make them. Using 4 parts water and one part grits, add the water to the crockpot, and stir in the grits. Put the whole thing in microwave and cook it on high long enough to bring it to a boil, then put the crock back in the base, and cook it on high for a while, up to a couple hours, depending on how thick you like your grits. I take mine unseasoned, and let people fix them as they like.

Now, I have a wee issue with my crockpot. It has no handles. Umm, no, let me re-phrase. My old crockpot has no handles. I’m getting this one tomorrow:

See the nice handles?? And do you also see the locking lid, perfect for moving a full crockpot from one place to another?

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, one word of warning: if you take bacon with your grits, be sure to also take along the best radar detector you can find. You will need it to clock the speed at which the bacon disappears. We clocked out at 6 pounds in 15 minutes, divided by 45ish people. Just sayin’

Technorati Tags: grits, recipe, grits recipe, crockpot recipe

Boy howdy! It is indeed fall, at least according to the calendar. I went shopping the other day, and let me just say that my market research indicates that the price of clothing is not falling. BUT! everyone was happy because everyone got something (even me) (ya’ll— hoodie dresses for the baby girls at the Walmart–just sayin’). Look, two parenthetical statements in one sentence. Go Cass!

So, where was I? Oh, yes. Everyone got something, but we also reached a milestone. Country got her first pair of heels.

Look at world, here she comes! In a wobbly sort of way.

The guy from Family Movies called me this week. He always sounds like a recording, and he always starts with
“have we done something to offend you?” He actually called twice. He had called while I was teaching and after I said I was busy, he said it would only take a minute. Umm, no, busy is busy, and this reading lesson won’t wait, so I hung up on him. When I have a new reader, I DO NOT allow those earliest lessons to be interuppted. They are very short, less than 5 minutes some times, but they are foundational, so they are the most important thing for that amount of time. Then, he called at 8:30 in the morning. And while, really, no time is good for a solicitor, that was just over the top. Finally, I told him not to call back, and that yes, he had offended me by calling at that time. I really like the company, I really believe in what they try to do, but………..don’t give them your phone number, ok?

What kills me is that I got on their list because I bought from them. They didn’t buy my name from a list broker like Martin Worldwide, who makes it their business to create lists of people who are known responders to solicitations. No, they got my name because I heard about their product and called them first. And then they called and called, always at a bad time. So, they lose

Remember that lovely menu I posted on Monday? So far we have had tacos (not on that menu), beans and rice (not on that menu), and chuck steak (not on that menu). Tonight dh will be bringing home deli chicken (not on that menu). Are you noticing a trend (not on that menu)?

I haven’t been grocery shopping because the kids are having practice almost every night. The coaches keep them until they need landscape lighting to see their way home. There was no practice last night, but it was called off so late that I didn’t have the list made yet. I’m planning to go tomorrow night–my early Saturday morning WalMart runs having been canceled due to ball games.