Look What I Found!

Psssst. Don't forget:
A week of summer day camp for ages 5-12 here
A fun Shrek-tacular prize pack here
A $25 Wal-Mart gift card here.

***

Summer arrived in Chicago on Sunday. And by arrived (for those of you who aren't familiar with our area), I mean that it went from 50s to 90s with 99 percent humidity in a matter of 48 hours. Or maybe less. My memory is a little hazy after being fried.

So with it beign that hot and us not used to the heat yet, what did I decide to do on my afternoon of quiet while the wee ones were napping?

I decided that I couldn't stand the garage being so disorganized anymore. I couldn't stand the mess, and no one but me was going to do anything about it. I'm debating making the garage and a potential inside parking spot for my husband his anniversary present (umm help - it's Monday and I haven't started shopping).

Apparently I'm on a bit of an organizing kick right now. Someday soon, we might even have a post showing an organized office. I've had that one planned for about two years now. I'm still working on it. Ahem.

Anyway.

The garage has not been thoroughly cleaned by me since we moved in almost four years ago. While my husband has swept it and done the basic maintenance like that, with only one car being parked in the garage and well, it being a garage, things get placed there and stuff accumulates.

Needless to say, I spent five plus hours cleaning and organizing the garage. It was hot work, and maybe not the best day to do it, but I'm proud of what I accomplished. And like any major task, it came with a few surprises.

Some of my favorites?

• The 2007 Christmas picture Back in 2007, my husband apparently took the wee ones to a mall without me to get their picture taken with Santa. It was the first year that Little Miss sorta knew who Santa was, and it was an experience I wanted to share with them. Soooo my husband apparently hid the photo inside a Gymboree bag and placed it under the wheel of his bicycle where I found it two and a half years later (see, I told you I hadn't organized it in awhile).
• A gigantic plastic bag filled with pinecones The wee ones - especially Mister Man - are big collectors. They like to find rocks and acorns and sticks and leaves and well pinecones. While I allow them to collect these things, the mean mommy in me also makes them redistribute them at the end of our play session. My mom indulges them a little more, and I found a gigantic bag filled with pinecones tucked away under the workbench. If only we had a wood burning fireplace, I'd be set for starters for years.
• A tent Neither my husband nor I camp. Interestingly, we never have, and I'm not sure how we came into the possession of a tent - which I originally thought was a folding camp chair until I opened the bag. More interestingly, we appear to have all the poles but none of the canvas. It's possible that this will end up in the garbage next week. Right now, it's overflowing.
• Balls, balls, and more balls While both my husband and I play softball/baseball, the wee ones are not hugely athletically inclined as yet. They're playing t-ball currently, but football, basketball, and soccer are beyond them right now. We've yet to buy any of this kind of sporting equipment. Yet I now have three large bins filled with four basketballs, two footballs, six soccer balls, and a tennis ball. I have no idea how they got in our garage.
• A box full of light switches, electrical outlets, and a smoke detector I'll take the blame on this one - or at least most of it. Four year ago, before we moved in, I changed out all the icky dirty gross light switches and electrical outlets. I put in dimmers and all sorts of cool things. And I saved the old ones because I thought I was going to... I forget what. The smoke detector is all my husband though. Needless to say, they are now properly disposed of.
• A broken wooden bat and metal cleats with holes in the sides Those are both my husband's. His baseball league does a few wooden bat games each year, and apparently he broke one of his (obnoxiously expensive) wooden bats. He kept it thinking that one day he'd tape it up for a fungo bat. And the cleats? Ummm the holes in the sides where he'd worn through them were the reason I gave him new cleats two years ago for his birthday. I also found the plastic color changing inserts for his new cleats in a different location. All are now in the garbage.
  A variety of children's artwork The wee ones apparently somehow emptied their backpacks from time to time without me seeing (or maybe on days when I was working?) and stashed artwork throughout the garage. Very bizarre.
• Two baseball gear bags Oh. Yeah. I remember buying those at the church rummage sale for the wee ones for this year when they started playing t-ball. I got them for $0.50 total, and they are perfect to hold their gloves and cleats and bats. Oh. Except that I forgot about them until I discovered the bag Sunday. There's always next year, right?
  Professional photos of the wee ones We had absolutely gorgeous photos taken by a local photographer two years ago. They were amazing. And last year sometime, they disappeared. I couldn't find the small album anywhere. I found it. It was in our wagon. I have no idea. None.
  

On the plus side? I found no dead mice. Living as near as we do to a conservancy (it's in our back yard), small creatures like to try to use our house as a home base. We discourage them - luckily cats tend to keep them out of our house proper. My husband has found two dead mice so far this year in the garage, both in different baseball gear bags of his. Every time I found a potential mouse hiding place, I brought it to him outside and had him search it. Phew. Nothing.

So what's the weirdest thing you've ever found when cleaning?

Well That Didn't Work As Planned

Another giveaway reminder:
A week of summer day camp for ages 5-12 here
A fun Shrek-tacular prize pack here
A $25 Wal-Mart gift card here.

***

Little Miss is my challenge child. She's headstrong and spirited, and I don't have to worry about her ever being bullied. I just pray that she uses her powers for the side of good - she's cute and she knows it, and she knows how to take advantage of it (and has for years).

As Mommmy, I get to be the bad guy.

Little Miss, you need to drink your milk.

Little Miss, you must take all your vitamin.

Little Miss, you have to take a nap, which means no getting out of your room and no peeps.

Little Miss, you may not play with that right now.

And the list goes on. And on.

This morning, we were having a discussion about drinking her milk (which also contains her liquid vitamins, per her request). She didn't feel like drinking it, and I explained that she had no option before her bus came.

After doing some cajoling, I explained what would happen if she didn't drink her milk. She'd lose her light saber (yes, I have the only four year old girl who knows more than the average Star Wars geek about the movie - and no she hasn't seen it).

Go ahead, Mommy, just take the light saber now. It's ok.

Ummm yeah.

So we tried the no toys in the room trick.

You can take all my stuffed animals, Mommy. I don't need them.

Uhhhhhhhhhh.

As I was cleaning up while she ate breakfast, I picked up the artwork she'd brought home the day before and accidentally mixed it in with the recycling.

Mommy, MOMMY! What are you doing? she shrieked.

Ah-ha.

Mommy, I need my ducky and my pony back. Mommy, don't throw them away!

And thus her milk was drunk this morning. And I retrieved her treasures. For whatever reason, no inducement to drink interested her this morning.

Then I realized it was just a crabby and temperamental day for her.

On our way home from picking up Mister Man at school, all the carpool kids shared a snack of Triscuits and grapes. Little Miss had asked only for a few Triscuits and eaten them (somewhat) happily. After we dropped off the carpool buddies, Little Miss discovered that the grapes were all gone. The grapes that she'd shown zero interest in for the previous twenty-five minutes.

And the screaming began. And the giant crocodile tears flew down her face. Mister Man is trying to explain that he didn't know she wanted any and apologize for eaten them all, but she wanted none of it. I tried to explain to her that she was being unreasonable and needed to stop screaming since it was still raining hard enough that it was difficult to see.

No dice.

Little Miss, I need you to stop screaming in the car. Mister Man didn't know you wanted any grapes, and there's nothing we can do about it now. If you can't stop screaming, I'm going to ask you to get out and walk home once we get into the neighborhood. I can't drive with this screaming.

She paused for a moment and looked at me. I heaved a sigh of relief.

So are you going to stop crying then, Peanut?

Shrieks again filled my car, and I cringed. Mister Man placed his hands over his ears and tried to drown out her noise.

As we got closer to our neighborhood, she got quieter and quieter. I turned into our neighborhood with blessed silence in my car. I thanked her for ceasing her screaming so that we could get home all together.

I could almost see the wheels turning in her brain. She took a deep breath.

And screamed.

So I did what any mom with a massive headache (and amazingly cleared up skies with no more rain) would do. I pulled over and asked her if she really wanted to run home.

That's about the point where I learned she can now unbuckle her own carseat. I shrugged, and she climbed out.

She ran the next three blocks to our house, while Mister Man and I crawled along the street in my car keeping pace with her (and no, we didn't have to worry about crossing streets).

Little Miss arrived home breathless but giggling madly. My happy little girl was back, and she loved her adventure of running home. Go fig. Actually, as much as she enjoyed her exercise and independence, I might have accidentally created a new monster.

I need to find yet another new form of timeout, I think.

Yep, We Go To Catholic School; Why Do You Ask?

Before I forget, I have three giveaways right now - two very newly posted and in my humble opinion all pretty darn cool! Go check them here, here, and here.

***

The other day, I was driving carpool on the way home. As always, the second children step into my car (all four of them in the carpool - and soon to be five, which means less driving for me!), the request is made to change my radio to Kids Place Live. As long as the request is made nicely, I generally acquiesce readily.

On Friday, Absolutely Mindy (the afternoon host who cracks me up and I really enjoy - especially when she's interacting with the kids who call into the show) was talking about the baby that she's been "baking in the oven for the past nine months" and her need to name it.

She was soliciting suggestions from the kids and was determined to find a name based on them. My personal favorite (only because the parent who called in apparently had a change of heart) was schwa umlaut - a two symbol name. The parents were apparently seriously considering the name and only changed their minds in the delivery room, if memory serves. Hey, at least that kid would have had an easy time spelling his name.

After listening for a few moments, Mister Man piped up.

Mom, I need to talk to Absolutely Mindy. I have an idea for her baby name.

Do you, Sweetie? What name would you choose for her baby?

It isn't a specific name. But I need to tell her something. Her baby's first name has to be a saint's name. He sounded somewhat concerned at the thought that it wouldn't be (this was just after the schwa umlaut suggestion).

Well. It could be a middle name. So long as the middle name is a saint's name, it's ok. But it would really be more appropriate for the first name to be a saint's name.

Isn't that sweet? My little boy has already picked up more Catholic doctrine in kindergarten than I remember (then again, maybe that's why the priest baptized my sister Margaret Anne instead of her given name - because technically neither was a saint's name). And he's concerned about a stranger's baby's spiritual health.

Ok, and it sorta cracked me up. Fortuntately, Mindy played one of his favorite songs right after this observation, so his attention was distracted and we did not have to call in to offer this tidbit of wisdom.

Tasty Tuesday!

I've got not one, not two, but three good giveaways right now. Check them out here, here, and here!

***

I feel truly inspired today. Like really, truly inspired. I just saved myself a ton of money. A friend of mine frequently eats the preflavored tuna packs that those lovely companies have come out with lately. Granted, they're made it more ingredients than I usually like to ingest, but man are they good.

And on a hot day (yep, the a/c is officially on in our house after it got up to 82 degrees overnight *sigh*), I am not cooking. I'm not even grilling when it's 90 plus and such high humidity. Those tuna packages make for such a light and refreshing meal, and I'm all over it.

And then I think about the $2.49 I'm spending on each package that I could probably make for cheaper. And healthier. And potentially yummier.

So I got to work.

I think I did ok. Any guesses what I'm having for lunch tomorrow?

Pesto Tomato Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
1 can tuna (albacore in water for me) - I use Costco's 7oz can (only $1.50 per!)
1/4 c fresh basil
1 T olive oil
4 T Parmesan cheese
2 t pine nuts
1 t garlic, minced (don't use the icky bottled stuff please!)
1 T mayonaise (mmmm real mayonaise)
8 sun-dried tomatoes, drained

Directions:
Ok ok ok, so you can use your own premade pesto if you want, but it tastes so much better when you make your own. You'll need about a third of a cup if you're using premade basil.

Gently toast your pine nuts in a dry pan for a few minutes until they start to smell yummy. Don't let them burn though - you'll want to keep shaking the pan.

Place the basil in your blender (a mini one works great for this orrrrrr you could just up the recipe and save the remaining basil for something else fun!). Add about half the olive oil and give it a whirl until it's made a good paste.

Add half the pine nuts, all the garlic (add the garlic in the next step if you like it less garlicky, as fewer cells will break and it won't be quite as strong), and 1 T of the parmesan and while again until well blended. Add the remaining pine nuts and 1 T of the Parmesan and blend again.

With the blender still going, slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil until it's smooth. Ta-da! Pesto is really that easy.

Now... drain your tuna. Add it to a bowl. Chop up your sun-dried tomatoes and add them. Toss in the pesto you just made, along with the remaining Parmesan (do I really need to say we aren't using the stuff in the green can here?). Include the mayo and gently fold it all together.

Enjoy on sandwiches (this makes enough for two meals for me, and sometimes three) over a salad, with crackers or however you want. Yum!

Yep, definitely cheaper than buying the single serve package for $2.49. And healthier, I think!

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

I'm Off Visiting - Come With Me?

Hello, hello!

I am actually posting today over here at Chicago Moms Blog about Mister Man and the name issues we're having with him. Come see what I have to say, and lend me some comment love if you will!

And while you're off traveling, I've got a couple more places for you to visit. I've got two giveaways going on - Parigi boys' clothing here and a $25 Wal-Mart gift card here.

See you tomorrow - here!

But I Didn't *MEAN* To

With Mister Man, it's always an adventure at the end of the school day. We hope and pray that he's had a green day (no trouble - or only a single warning) and not a yellow or red day where he's had more difficulty following the rules and doing what he's supposed to do.

Unfortunately the autism diagnosis only makes his impulsivity and other behavioral problems more understandable. We've yet to find the solution to actually stop them. The good news is that the sticker chart has helped provide incentives to him to follow the rules, and we've started to see patterns (specials like music and gym are more of a challenge).

We still have many days where he comes home having been put at a separate table for group work in Language Arts because he was drawing on someone else's paper or running in the halls or laying on his chair instead of sitting.

When we have those days, we always talk about them - trying to create the social stories that will help him understand how to better handle the situation in the future. Some of them work, and sometimes the behavior repeats itself.

Yesterday, Mister Man came home with a yellow day. He was having difficulty listening in one class, and then he put his hands on a classmate's neck. Obviously, the hands around someone's neck is alarming. Behavior like that - especially for someone who doesn't always know where the line is and when to stop a game (another function of his autism).

I showed him the sheet of paper and asked him to tell me about the situation. I've found that having him walk me through exactly what happened and what he was thinking is far more effective in trying to work through the issue than me lecturing or getting upset at him.

He was upset about having gotten in trouble. But, Mom! I was just trying to give H a hug. I wasn't hurting him at all. Mrs. C saw it and gave me a yellow.

When trying to get further clarification from him, apparently he likes this little boy and wants to be an even better friend. And so in line to go inside after recess he tried to give him a hug. The teacher assistant saw only the arms up around the other child's neck. Mister Man is not one to question authority (very rules focused - another autism trait, ironically) and so didn't try to explain his thought process.

*sigh*

Should he have gotten a yellow for that? Probably not.

Should he have been doing that to begin with? Probably not.

I explained to him why Mrs. C thought he was doing something he shouldn't have been. We discussed how school isn't probably the place to hug people, anyway. BUT if he really wanted to hug someone, he needed to first let the adult in charge know his intentions so that she could alert him if there were to be a problem. Second he needed to ask his friend if it was ok if he got a hug.

He seemed to understand - or at least he claimed he did. It's amazing to me that Mister Man always has a thought process and logic behind what he's doing. Whether it's the logic that most people would use and whether he went to what would be considered a logic conclusion may be up for debate, but at least I'm starting to figure out how his head is working.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow is another green. After all, he has another Bakugun to earn from good behavior just waiting in the closet!

I'm Trying So Hard To Be Healthy

*sigh*

I'm about ready to give up, although I know that isn't the answer. With the wee ones, especially, I do what I can to ensure that I'm teaching them to be safe, helping them learn to live happy and productive lives, and feeding them the best foods (ok, the Twix-tacular bars aside) that are the healthiest for them.

I don't always feel like I'm a success, but I generally feel like I at least am a ship on a steady course towards the right destination, even though a wave may push me one way or the other temporarily. I'm not the best parent, but I do ok.

But ohhh this food thing.

We don't eat trans fats at all - nothing partially hydrogenated gets eaten by us (and yes, that means some foods that we're given in goodie bags or for Halloween get donated instead of enjoyed by the wee ones). They cause obesity and raise bad cholesterol, lowering good cholesterol.

I cut out all plastic that wasn't BPA-free because of the risks of BPA. The increase in diabetes and fertility problems and memory issues just wasn't worth it.

High fructose corn syrup (and really, just about all corn syrup) is also a forbidden food, and the wee ones know it. Yep, this is another one that leads to obesity, but I was also concerned with the mercury that studies found contained in many samples of foods made with HFCS.

Yesterday, studies came out showing that pesticides - particularly in produce - appear to be a big part of the reason for higher incidence of ADHD. Given the high correlation between attention issues and autism (not the mention that fact that there are times of concern with Mister Man's attention levels!), I can't justify putting him at risk. And my march towards buying organic has suddenly become a sprint as I vow to avoid any produce that isn't organic going forward.

And today ... more bad news. That BPA issue? It's worse in the linings of cans than it is in plastic. So much for my "healthy" homemade tomato sauce. Or my emergency we're-out-of-fruit-pineapple. Eden Foods is apparently the only option for non-BPA cans, and I don't think I've ever seen that brand near me.

So what's next?

What else will I learn that I'm doing that I think is healthy, that I'm trying to do to help the wee ones only to discover that I'm instead poisoning them in one form or the other.

I'll be the mom sitting in the corner drooling and muttering gibberish. Don't mind me.