And even more fun

Bug and Loo

It's amazing how much fun can come from a towel.

Bug is even brave enough to go all the way around.
It's fun to see him grow.
It's great having Aunta Loo Loo's around to hold the other end of the towel.


I think she loves it almost as much as the kids

I mean really....look at those smiles

Loo Has a Request

Loo misses homemade Strawberry Jam.

I found perfect Strawberries and bought two pounds.

Did I say two pounds.....oh no, no, no, I mean TEN POUNDS.

Which is quite a lot.

Considering the fact that there are two adults,

and two Man Cubs residing at our home.

I have memories of my mother and grandmother making freezer jam. I actually have a lot of memories of them making, baking, cooking, canning, grilling, frying, and many other things, but today I will focus on the memories of jam.

Strawberry and Raspberry were a household favorite growing up.

Grandma(Great) has an enormous raspberry patch, which is almost like raising two little boys with all of the attention it needs.

I spoke with her yesterday and even at the end of August she is still out picking her ever berry raspberries.

Maybe someday I will have some raspberries.....that will probably happen when I believe that 5am is a great time to get outside and pick for hours....

I don't predict that happening in the foreseeable future, but you never know.

Blackberries maybe, because they seem to grow wild and take little care and you can pick them whenever.

I sure had great memories in Grandma (Great)'s garden. Always looking for the darkest, most purple ones.

I first learned to chew gum and blow a bubble in Grandma's Garden.

I can even remember that it was pink EXTRA sugar free gum

(I can still sing the song from the commercial)

Maybe we should get back to the Jam

I ask myself....Why do we start jobs like this so late at night....

Because we love the kid alarm that goes off around six or before if Bug is in the house.

Jam uses Obscenely large amounts of Sugar

That's one thing that I definitely remember from my childhood. My mother would mash her fruit with a potato masher.

And the sugar. and sugar. and sugar. and oh my goodness is that ever going to mix into the berries.

(maybe next time I should find pectin for low or no sugar)

I was always told my mom and grandma great to make sure that the portions were EXACT, because if they aren't exact then the jam will not set.

Well let me just sneak a little peek to the end. My jam set up, and I added lime juice instead of lemon, and.....

I ran out of white sugar because the recipe called for 16 SIXTEEN cups of sugar.

Unbelievable!

So I used my special Raw Cane Sugar for the last.

(no wonder it took us soooooo long to get all of the grainy sugar stirred in)

Don't get me wrong......Loo did her fair share of stirring,

but eventually we hooked it up to the kitchenaid to finish the job

(even though it took another 10 or 15 minutes)

And the Pectin

Complete with LIME instead of Lemon

Just because I am still a little bit of a rebel

And you can't have that much fun with your sister without doing something silly!

I've always thought strawberries looked like tongues with taste buds.

And the final product

Divine!

Our ancestors would be proud with our jars of provident living.

And the fun memories we had making them

(at all hours of the night)

And I might say that they taste pretty good too.





I thought it might be fun to involve Bug and Bear in the Adventure...


And then I thought of the sugar and berries and hair and hands and cupboards, and anything within the reach of sticky hands.....

And I decided that my mom had WAY more patience (or kid management) that I do.

This is how Bear and Bug spent the freezer jam extravaganza :)

Until next time

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bananna Cereal

In a magical kingdom of healthy food lived a princess named Melva Elizabeth Andelin. She married her prince charming and moved to a new land. With her she brought recipies for split pea soup, and bananna cereal. She dutifly fed these healthy concotions to her family. Some of which contained Wheat Germ, Brewers Yeast, Protien Powder, Whole Grains, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.......Maybe even a little Cod Liver Oil (but I can only guess....) I have heard the legends of the wonderful (and somewhat frightning) things Princess Melva would feed her growing family of six boys and one girl.
This wonderful woman was my Grandmother. She passed away 13 or 14 years ago when I was a teenager. But her traditions of Health foods have been handed down for Generations. (Don't know if the spouses appreciate it as much, but it is still a tradition.)

One of the most famous recipies has been lost and has tried to be dublicated by many years by many people. My father has worked on the divine recipe for whole wheat pancakes. I hope the recipe surfaces soon, so that I can pass on another tradition to Bug and Bear.....

Who, infact, are picking up a taste for some delicious (or not so delicious tasting) Health Foods.

As a child I remember my father making "Bananna Cereal". This is a hot drink made in the blender with oatmeal milk and bananna's. (correct me if I'm wrong Dad). I grew up liking it. It always tasted a bit different when we went to Grandma's....err.....Princess Melva's house.

In keeping with the tradition I would like to introduce our version of breakfast cereal comonly known to my siblings as Bananna Cereal.

Today we I will introduce a cold version of Bananna Cereal that you may enjoy......even after you know the ingredients.

I begin with a blender and some soy milk.

I add a couple scoops of protein powder.....just because it has flavor and helps out.

Can't forget the Bananna's. I use 2 if I'm making enough for all of us. They can be pre-frozen, or add ice to the mixture.

And last of all I add a hand full of Fresh Spinach (commonly known as leafs to bug and bear), and begin the mixing process.

As the vitamins are mixing and mixing together they form a very interesting color of lime green....almost like the color of SHREK....Hence the name Shrek Smoothie.

Hey, I know it sounds gross.....and looks even grossssssser, but it's actually quite a plesant way to eat/drink spinach.

And it's already been through quality control.

And recieved the stamp of approval.

Even Bear joined in on the fun.

Can this cute face lie???

I think not!

Tell us what you think.

Delicious

Vegetarian Delight

Tonight's dinner consisted of enormous artichokes and flat bread smeared with hummus topped with melted cheese and fresh baby spinach. Mmmmm

Bear thought it was pizza!

Awesome when they think something like Hummus and flatbreat are pizza...haha

See what I mean

And no meal/day is complete without the "Batman Cape"

Bug even wore it to a church party last year.

Which, I don't think Bear even knows who the real batman cartoon character is. All I know is he loves this costume that my grandmother sent down 2 years ago for Halloween. He wears it everywhere. I love it. Grandma had a basement like no else. It was scary place for me as a child because I couldn't reach the light. It was between something and it was dark. Filled with all kinds of treasures, like food storage items, boxes, tools, butcher knives, a gun case, witch hats, and maybe a mouse from time to time. There were Grandpa's old hats and I don't think I have ever been in part of it. As a child I found it fun and spooky all at the same time.

Every year in October we would make an adventure trip to Grandma's house to try to choose costumes for the holiday. Grandma's basement was filled with boxes of costumes from her days as a drama teacher. Many were home sewn and they were totally one of a kind. (Like the skunk, and the dragon....not to mention the red underwear) Which, I might add was worn by Grandpa and Grandma on his 85th birthday last week.

So back to the story...My siblings and I would wear those costumes that entire month playing dress up. My kids play in them all year long. Bug wore it the last two years in a row.

Oh Delicious

And what meal like this isn't complete without some seriously awesome hippie pants like these? I bought these in California from a man from the Himalaya's. And....I think they are awesome. Loo doesn't agree with me. She prefers clothes without stretchy waists and things that resemble sweat pants. I happen to love them.

Can't blame her,

Just don't know if I care so much.

She looks awesome every day.

Right now I'm wearing dog slobber and kid snot smeared on my shoulder and legs.

What a catch!!!

Who know's...

At least I can cook!

Dream Land....or should I say Nightmares!

It's almost hard to believe, and yes, that is a body bag.

Have you ever stayed up so late at night just for the intent to avoid your dreams? I have. Tonight, August 15th 2009…..(oh wait it’s already Sunday morning) is just one of those days. I’m exhausted, I’m tired and I want to rest my body, but I am terrified of the memories that seem to haunt me as I sleep. It’s never how it happened in real life, but the emotions are often the same. One time I dreamt that my grandfather was in the army and part of the Iraq war….that’s not the case. My grandfather was in the navy, and he served during WWII.
I also had another dream about branding cattle. This was a family tradition when I was growing up, only in my dream we were in Idaho at my Uncle Lee’s and Aunt Marianne’s house. (only, it wasn’t really their house)
I was paralyzed by the thought of singed flesh and charred hair. It’s a smell that you can taste in your mouth and with that smell comes the memories of death and dying for me. In my dream I ran to the house to avoid the smell, but I could already taste it in my mouth. Oh how I hate that smell. The words seem to flow in my mind, yet when I try to type them out I feel stuck. Family and war dreams sometimes become intertwined. It’s so confusing that sometimes I’m scared to fall asleep.
I’m tired. Why can’t I just go to sleep? Why do my dreams have to remind me of the horrible awful things I have experienced?
I hate it when people look at me and think I’m fine. Just because I may look fine on the outside, does not mean I am fine on the inside. I usually am suffering on the inside. Sometimes I wish that I had lost a limb over there, and then maybe people would take me seriously, but the awful thing is I am suffering so bad from the crippling effects of PTSD, and I look fine, no matter of fact, I look great on the outside. Won’t you see the pain behind the smile? The smile is a mask, it’s the beautiful mask that everyone in my family wears to cover the pain hiding behind the beautiful big smiles.
I suffer.
I do.
I really really do.
Some people ask how does PTSD affect my life? Pretty much every way possible. Today has been an awful day. I am hurting and depressed. A year ago Stephanie and Christian Nielson were burned in a plane crash. They had been so wonderful to me and I was so devastated by their accident. When I heard that Stephanie had been burned over 80 percent of her body I cringed, because I know what that looks like. I know what it’s like to see that up close and personal, and I also know that all of the people I saw burned like that died….all of them. My life started to become increasingly difficult as the Neilson’s plane crash. It ignited the flames of my memories, and with that came the worsening of my ptsd symptoms. This last year has been so hard.
I thought it was hard being married to Josh and going through an awful divorce, but no, this last year has been so hard.
Please help me. I’m tired, I want to rest. I don’t want to be reminded of you as I dream! Give me peace, give my mind clarity and my heart hope for a better future. I want to feel good inside, right now I’m just exhausted…..
Sunday Night almost midnight again.
And sleep came………

It's almost hard to believe, and yes, that is a body bag.

Cleaning Day

Thursday's are cleaning day. (What day isn't cleaning day with two small boys). Only Thursday is the day where I try to get down to the nitty gritty and do things like the bathrooms and mop the floors, or heaven forbid have the shower door shine like crystal. Thursday was one of those days where I never get done as much as I would like to, but that may be due to the desire to let my little ones help discover the joys of cleanliness.

Bear has totally cute feet!

So does Bug!
Oops, don't loose the little one down the drain!
They love to splash in the water

And Bear wants nothing more than to squeeze the sponge and splash around!

"A model of Productivity!"

Said with sarcasm because it's so much easier to do it myself.

But then how do they learn?

Oh' the joy's of motherhood :)

Twenty Seven

What a fabulous day to start a blog. Yesterday was my 27th Birthday. The day was wonderful. I hope you like the pictures. It started with Kiss and presents. Bug and Bear picked out some very interesting nail polish colors. Bug chose dark blue, and Bear chose bright Yellow.

Make a wish because I have two helpers making it come true every day!

The Famous Tradition of the Birthday Pancake!

For those of you who don't know our special family tradition, I will tell you. Two years ago I had just gotten divorced and moved back to Arizona. Bug was getting ready to have his 2nd Birthday and Bear was 7 months old :) (close together....I know). I wanted his birthday to be perfect. We had little means but I was determined! On the morning of his Birthday I went to the fridge to make him a cake (probably a dunken hines or betty crocker style). Well....the recipe called for 3 eggs. I looked in our refrigerator and to my dismay there was only one egg. ONE EGG!!!! Oh no!!!! How was I going to make my son's birthday perfect without 3 eggs. Our impoverished state had left me with no means to purchase eggs, much to my dismay. I was sad, but turned that sadness into resourcefulness. I knew that Pancakes only took one egg. So.....I decided to make a birthday pancake for my little Bug. I inserted two candles, slathered on some peanut butter for a little icing effect, lit the candles, sang happy birthday, and ended up with a favorite family tradition.

Bug at Three Years Old

Bear at Two Years Old.

Aunta Loo Loo's (aka my youngest sister) Made my birthday super spectaular....I mean...who is so awesome to take my kids shoppping to pick out gifts? SHE is. And....who is so awesome to get me a Care Bear Cake ? And who is so awesome for making me laugh.....(and sometimes get dressed and put makeup on when I want to groove the house mom sweats and day old grunge.....) Anyway....what can I say??? She's awesome :)

The night ended with cake!

Wishes!Kisses!!!
And the stars.....

The end....