This - I Could Do Without

I got an email from Mister Man's teacher early this afternoon. There had been an incident. Thankfully not that kind of an incident, but she still wanted to let me know (and thankfully, I checked my email today as most days I don't check my email until after the wee ones have gone to bed.

Mister Man was stung by a bee. Multiple times. We were pretty sure he wasn't allergic, as he was stung once two years ago and was fine. But still, he was stung four times (three times on his head, once on his arm) and was pretty freaked out. They took him to the nurse who applied an anti-bee sting patch, and they were keeping a close eye on him.

I responded that I was glad to know they were keeping an eye on him, but that he should be fine.

Then I got this email back from the teacher an hour later:

Subject: Possible Bee In Sleeve of Jacket

Michelle,
Coach L said that there could still be a bee or two in Mister Man's jacket.

It is in his backpack in a plastic bag tied at the top.

Please be careful when opening it.

He is doing fine.

--Teacher

Uhhh, whoah. Bee in his sleeve? In his jacket? Now, I'm worried.

In talking to the teacher assistant when I picked up Mister Man, ten children were stung today and several were stung yesterday. Apparently they've found some nests in the ground. The custodians were being (beeing, ha ha, get it?) sent out to see if they could find and uhhh eliminate them. Until then, recess is now inside.

I was told that these bees were swarming on children. Flying into coats, covering them, crawling everywhere. Teachers and recess monitors were removing kids clothes and rushing everyone else inside. I think I'm glad I didn't know this earlier in the day.

Fortunately, Mister Man doesn't seem to be too bothered by this and is fine going back to school tomorrow. His proudest moment is that he got the "bee prize" of a hug from the principal.

When I got home from Back to School Night, my husband had still not unpacked the backpack (chicken). I opened it up and took out his lunch box and his snack box. And... this:



Ok, so that's a little freaky.

The bag is now in my freezer. I'll take it out tomorrow morning, and I figure any bees still in the jacket then will be ummm of no danger.



PS Just another reminder that I'm giving away a Connect 4x4 on my review site that ends Sunday 10/3.

They Try; They Really Try!

Only a few more days to win a really fun game -- go enter here. I promise you'll love it; we do!

***

Soooo last night I made the flatbread for dinner and told you all how easy it was. And how much the wee ones loved it.

I think my husband was jealous.

He doesn't really cook. His job is grilling hamburgers or hot dogs. And that's about the extent of it. Little Miss doesn't like the omelettes he makes (he doesn't whisk them enough so they aren't fluffy, I think). He follows recipes to the letter on the rare occasion he does cook, and he generally leave it to me.

Except when he makes pancakes. Pancakes he can cook (ok, I don't like his pancakes, but I also don't eat restaurant pancakes. I'm picky). He makes them at least once a week when I'm working and don't get home until late. He's proud of his pancakes. And really sad that I can make something so quickly and so easily that the wee ones rave over.

So he turned to Little Miss: What do you like better, this flatbread or my pancakes?

Mommy's flatbread! she squealed.

Even though I put carob chips in your pancakes?

Umm, I like them both.

I had to jump in at that point, giggling a little. That's ok, Little Miss. We know the real answer, don't we?

She nodded and smiled at me.

My husband then turned to Mister Man to work on him.

Same result. In fact, he also finally capitulated and told Daddy that he likes both the same.

Again, I had the same response. We know the real answer, don't we, Mister Man?

He grinned, Yeah, we know the real answer, Mommy!

I turned to my husband, triumph in my eyes, smirking just a little. Hey, they know good stuff when they see it.

It was right about then that Mister Man turned to look at me and earnestly asked, So what's the real answer, Mommy?

I looked at my husband, and we both died laughing. Yeah, I guess we know what the real answer is after all!

Tasty Tuesday - Flatbread

Win a brand-new Connect 4X4 game here through October 3. And man is this game fun!

***

Tonight, I was really, really, really tired after work. In fact, work was so icky and tiring that I hadn't planned out dinner at all. *sigh*

I was just about to shut my computer down for the day when I heard my husband open the microwave. He was going to make the wee ones dinner. Microwaved corn dogs for Mister Man and a salami sandwich with the last of the salami for Little Miss. Uhhhh no.

I got up and decided to get creative. At least a little. So I made flatbread, and we all had various things on and with our flatbread from quickly made meatballs for me to Nutella for my husband to an omelette for Little Miss to strawberries (don't ask) for Mister Man. And we were all happy.

And it was quick.

And it was easy.

And it was totally healthy, and the wee ones now want to learn how to do it all by themselves because it was so cool. And that easy.

Whole Wheat Flatbread*

*I make mine with whole wheat flour, but you can use normal white flour, too. It just gives it a slightly different texture, and you'll need less water.

Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour (or all white flour)
1/4 t salt
1 T oil (I use olive oil)
1 1/4 c water (or less -- use your judgement as it varies hugely by the humidity level)

Directions:
Place the flours and salt into a food processor. Pulse it a few times to get it well mixed. While it is turned on, slowly drizzle in the oil. Then slowly start to drizzle in the water. Stop drizzling as soon as it comes together in a ball. And I mean in a ball, not kind of like a donut all the way around the food processor bowl. It will make an actual ball when you have enough water in there. Once it is in a ball, put the water away and let it churn for another thirty or so seconds.

Remove the dough from the processor. It should be somewhat sticky and moist without being goopy and wet. Place it on a floured surface, and separate it into smaller balls (I made four, but you're "suppposed to" make six.) Roll out each ball into a very flat disc.



Heat a griddle, grill, etc on medium high heat. Place the ungreased bread onto the ungreased pan. Let it cook for a few minutes until you start to see it make a few bubbles or turn a little brown on the bottom. Use tongs (or if you're brave, your fingers like me) to flip it to the other side and cook it for another minute or two.

Ta da!



See, I told you it was easy. And the wee ones absolutely loved it. I had forgotten how quick and easy this was. I'm now going to be asked for this on a regular basis, I know. And I'm totally cool with that when I start to compare the ingredient list to the bread I normally buy. At least I avoid corn syrup and trans fats in the foods I buy, but there are still a lot of ickies that I'd like to avoid more.

Enjoy this and more with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed By Grace!

What I Know About Boys

Come enter my two giveaways:
1) Through tonight at 9pm (be quick!), win a $50 VISA gift card and Kleenex here
2) Win a brand-new Connect 4X4 game here through October 3. And man is this game fun!

***

Every day when I am the carpool driver on the way home from school, I ask each of the four children in my car what their favorite parts of the day were. I get varying responses from "playing with Legos" to "building a hideout" to "having a green day" (which means not getting in trouble) to learning about volcanoes. You get the idea.

It's generally a lot of fun, and they all get a kick out of each others favorite parts. Plus, it's a good way for me to spend at least a portion of the drive without anyone fighting or arguing, as the two kids not in my family that I transport tend to be a little more ummm uncooperative than my wee ones sometimes.

On Friday, the first grade girl told me that her favorite part of the day was when a boy stared at her. Yikes. Granted, she's seven and slightly on the older side for first grade, but I don't remember being interested in boys at that age. And Little Miss is ummm definitely old for her years (see the previous post), and I'm not ready for this.

I took a deep breath and tried not to jump to conclusions.

Sooooo why was that your favorite part of the day?

I liked it when he stared at me.

You did, why did you like it when he stared at you?

Because I like him.

Really. Why do you like this boy?

Because he looks at me. (Oooo, good logic - go for the boys who show interest!)

Why else do you like him?

Because he's not crazy like some of the other boys. (Apparently the bad boy thing hasn't started up yet?)

That's a good reason. Any other reason?

Well, he makes me laugh. He's kind of silly. But in a good way, not in a way where he gets in trouble. (huh, she's using good logic again. Where was she when I was a teenager?)

He sounds like an interesting boy. So what does it mean that you like him?

Oh, it means that I like it when he looks at me. But that's it. Why?

Uhhhh, no reason. No reason at all. We'll stick with the just looking at her for now. And please, PLEASE let's hope that the real interest in boys holds off for awhile longer.

Sometimes You're The Windshield; Sometimes You're The Bug

Come enter my two giveaways:
1) Through Sunday, win a $50 VISA gift card and Kleenex here
2) Win a brand-new Connect 4X4 game here through October 3. And man is this game fun!

***

*sigh*

Being outsmarted by a four year old is not a good way to end the week.

Little Miss is not taking the naps she desperately needs -- she's overtired, and I can tell by looking at her eyes and watching her behavior -- because my mom has told her she doesn't need to sleep anymore, and my mom watches here three to four days a week when I'm working.

Oh, she'll go upstairs when I tell her, but then she gets up every ten minutes to go potty. And Little Miss being Little Miss, she can always squeeze out a few drops. It's just enough to keep her from falling asleep, and she knows it.

Today, she was going through her usual routine when I explained that if she got out of bed one more time, she was going to lose an animal (our typical punishment). She said she understood, and I went back downstairs to do some more work.

Five minutes later, I heard her in the bathroom. I quietly snuck up the stairs. As I peeked around the doorway, I could see her on the potty.

May I ask what you're doing out of your bed?

I'm going potty again. I already put an animal in your room.

Wait, what?

I put an animal in your room before I came in here.

I sighed and walked into my bedroom, not seeing a new animal sitting amongst my dresser menagerie.

It's the Bugs Bunny, Mommy!

Oh. Yeah. I see it. *sigh* Yeah, this inducement to stay in her bed totally didn't work. And tomorrow she's with my parents who don't believe children need sleep (ever) because I have a Northwestern game. Here's hoping she naps on Sunday. And runs out of "expendable" animals soon!

It's A Conspiracy

I have three giveaways going on:
1) Through Sunday, win a $50 VISA gift card and Kleenex here
2) The green gift bag here ends tonight!
3) NEW giveaway for a Connect 4X4 game here through October 3.

***

Looking at this array of socks, how many children would you guess I have?



Let me clarify. While I'm not one of those moms who does laundry every night, I keep on top of it (side note: seriously, for those of you who do daily laundry, how do you do that? How do you find the time to get everything in, washed, dried and put away?). In fact, I did laundry on Saturday. All the laundry. I swear I did.

Go back and count the socks. And notice the six socks with no brothers or sisters.

Seriously, how does Little Miss have eight pairs of socks (not including the dark pairs that I haven't yet washed but will once she wakes up from her nap) and Mister Man go through seven pairs of socks in a four day period? Plus the random six socks (five of which are Little Miss's) that jumped into the laundry basket.

I'm beginning to think someone's trying to get me to slowly lose my sanity. However, this does explain why Mister Man had only one pair of socks in his drawer this morning when he got dressed. Well, sort of. I did buy him a ten pack of socks to supplement his existing supply four weeks ago.

Tasty Tuesday!

Two giveaways going on for a $50 VISA gift card and Kleenex here and a green gift bag here.

***

It's finally fall. As in we've actually hit the real date of fall on the calendar. And it's starting to feel like fall. I'll be baking with apples in no time, but for now I'm still pretending it's summer with a little treat, although I will admit to using frozen blueberries. It got a thumbs up from everyone (except poor Little Miss who can't eat dairy -- but she got her own special treat, so don't worry about her!)

Blueberry Pudding Cake

Ingredients:
2 c blueberries (fresh or frozen, as I proved!)
1 t cinnamon
1 T lemon juice
1 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar, separated
1 t baking powder
1/2 c milk
3 T butter, melted
1/2 t vanilla
1 T cornstarch
1 c boiling water

Toss the blueberris, lemon juice and cinnamon together, and place in an 8x8 greased baking dish.

Combine the flour, 3/4 c of sugar, and baking powder and mix thoroughly. Add the milk, butter, and vanilla and mix gently until just combined (I mix them all togethe in my liquid measuring cup first then add to the dry ingredients). Spoon the batter over the blueberries.

Mix the remaining 3/4 c sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle over the batter. Pour boiling water (yes, really) over the entire cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Let it cool slightly, but it's awfully good when it's still mildly warm.

Yum!

Enjoy this and more with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed By Grace!