Friday Fragments – Memorial Day Weekend!

Treat your brain to some free space! De-clutter with Mrs. 4444’s Half Past Kissin’ Time.

• It’s Memorial Day, set down your beer and grilled steak and take a few minutes to remember the service men and women who made (and continue to make) this country what it is!!
• I, of course, will be working.  So no beer for me, and probably only steak to go on my way to 4 overnights in a row.  There was a graduation I really wanted to attend, but no one wants to work even a Friday evening on a holiday!
• I have yet to get myself a Neti Pot like Mrs. 4444’s, so I once again am suffering from a sinus infection.  I will pick one up FOR SURE this weekend.  Except Walgreens around here have the nerve to not be open until 8am, and I get off work by 7:30am.  I hate waiting around for the stores to open in the morning!!!
• Along those lines…why can’t McDonald’s (or the like) serve cheeseburgers before 10:30 in the morning?!?!?  When I get off work, the last thing I want is pancakes.  You can’t fool me greasy-gut-bomb called a “McMuffin”, you are in no way a burger and I will not stand for it.  Why to all these places tout serving breakfast all day and yet no one will make me a burger in the morning?!?!  I’m not going to go sit down in a Denny’s when I just want to eat a drive-thru burger on the way home.  I’m frustrated by this.
• Hubby took 2/4 of our kids with him to shop this afternoon.  That leaves me the boys, which is cool.  Once naps all afternoon, the other wants to play Mario and Lego Indiana Jones.  I can sneak in a nap before work!!
• Go look at these AWESOME invitations by Amy Locurto – LEGO!!! (If you subscribe to her RSS or e-mail, you get a freebie Lego printable, too!) I need to get these.  Too bad MD’s birthday isn’t until November.  Head start I guess.
• We made bubble tea last week, I’ll post the recipe soon.  The kids really liked it!

• May is still Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month!! Help spread awareness by adding this to your next Facebook or Twitter update: “Kids have strokes, babies have strokes, even the unborn can have strokes!”  Or wear something PURPLE for Stroke Awareness!!

• I am still running a giveaway on my review site – you want a $200 gift card from BlogHer and Flip Video, right??? Share a missed moment in the comments HERE for your chance to win!!!

Want to join in? Hop on…

Quail Eggs and Bento Boxes

I know, I was a little intimidated at first.  Those who’ve never had anything but store-bought bleach white eggs might be, too.  Since I started packing the kids Bento Boxes for school, I’ve been trying to diversify what they eat.  Quail eggs are a perfect, and quite common, addition to a Bento Box.  They are tiny, bite sized and a nice little addition of protein,  not to mention Omega-3 and Omega-6.  My kids really like hard boiled chicken eggs, so I was eager to find quail eggs to add to their Bento Box routine.  Even though we live in a small town near a slightly larger town, I was able to find fresh quail eggs at our friend’s Asian food store.

Of course I didn’t know how long to cook them, so I had to look it up.  All you need is five minutes in boiling water, followed by a cool rinse.  One site suggested you add white vinegar to the water to further soften the shell. 

 

When I removed the shell, they were rather tough to peel without ruining the boiled egg whites inside.  Peel with caution!! I ruined a few eggs (still edible, just not pretty!) but managed to have enough for two Bento Boxes.  They fit neatly into a flexible silicone muffin cup.  Below you can see the size difference between the quail eggs and one chicken egg.

Add a sprinkle of seasoned salt and they are ready to go…. As for this Bento, it needs a little more color!  Along with the quail eggs are Hello Panda cookies and a blueberry bagel with fruit cream cheese.  I tucked in some cherry tomatoes, grapes, and a couple to carrot sticks to round it out! Enjoy your lunch!!

Special Exposure Wednesday – Making the Most of the Weekend

This weekend she didn’t get to run like the big kids, but we took some pictures, blew lots of bubbles for her little brother, and made a new friend. It’s all good!

   Join Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs!

Run in such a way as to get the prize

The Fargo Marathon was this weekend.  The kids competed in a 1/2 or 1 mile youth run.  They knew they would probably not be the first one across the finish line, but they wanted to run.  They wanted to finish.  It seems to me now days that a kid wanting to finish anything is a lost quality, so I want to encourage that attitude any time I can.  Finish.  No matter what, no matter if you’re in last place, there are still people cheering for you.  Finish they did.  Not first, not last.  Each child that crossed the finish line received a medal.  I was proud of them!  And then I was proud of the Fargo Marathon staff….

(I’m not sure why some kids got metal medals, and others got plastic ones.)  I saw the back of the plastic award, and I was proud.  “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” Hebrews 12:1

How cool is that?? Right there on the back of the finisher’s medal most of the kids received, was this verse.  

Speaking of perseverance, I “ran” the 5k with my Sister-in-law and Mother-in-law (and the two little kids in the bike stroller).  It took 45 minutes to drive to Fargo, and another hour of waiting around before we finally started the race itself.  By this time JC had had enough.  Not far out of the starting gate, JC was throwing such a fit that I removed him from the stroller to carry him for just a bit to calm him down.  I asked Grandma to push while I carried him.  Grandma TOOK OFF!!  SIL and I laughed and made remarks on how she must be a closet NASCAR fan the way she weaved in and out of slower walkers.  It was funny…..until she was a block ahead and I was still lugging an almost-30-pound child with me.   My calves wouldn’t let me walk any faster and my back was straining.  I realized at mile 2 that we were not going to catch up with Grandma and she apparently had no intention of waiting up.  I thought about letting JC walk, but his shoes were still in the stroller.  Then, I thought about calling Grandma on her cell…yep, mine was on the stroller.

By 2.5 miles I was trying to make light of the situation.  My arms were tired.  My face was red from the heat.  SIL offered to take JC for a while, but he would not have it.  Persevere.  That’s what I needed to do.  Mile 3 was a welcomed sign that the finish line was in sight!!  I vaguely heard the announcer at the line say something about a mother-daughter team heading toward the finish.  (Was he talking about us?  I know I need to cut JC’s hair but…)  We crossed the finish line.  I had done it.  I had several people ask me if I had carried HER the whole way (okay, it’s the hair…).  I had persevered.  The verse on the back of the medal says so much for every participant.  This was only a 5k, I can’t imagine running the full or even half marathon.  There are times when we need to push ourselves, we need to finish what we set out to do.  Have faith that you can persevere, whatever “race” is set before you. Another verse comes to mind as well, one we used a few years back for vacation bible school: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24  It’s all about your attitude.  Run in such a way as to get the prize, even if you don’t finish first, you will finish trying.

Sunday Afternoon – the MOOstache strikes again

We enjoyed a very pleasant Sunday afternoon together…

I tried out my new chair for pictures…

Then….out of nowhere…. the MOOstache struck again!!! 

Friday Fragments

It’s FINALLY FRIDAY!!!  Flush the fragments floating in your frontal lobe to facilitate a fabulous Friday full of fun, festivity, and function. Well, minimal function anyway.  Mrs. 4444 hosts Friday Fragments just for us!!!

• I got some new shoes!! Those cool rocker-bottom kind that are supposed to exercise your thighs and butt into shape just by walking around.  I put them on and I didn’t feel any different.  I wore them all day, around the house, on a walk, to school with the kids…. no problem.  I was wondering if they actually work.  I got my answer the next morning.  My butt felt sore. My butt. My thighs. My calves.  It felt like…well… like I exercised or something.
• I like watching Phineas and Ferb, but don’t tell my kids….

• JC used his Go-Go-Gadget arms to reach an empty beer bottle I had sitting on the counter.  At least I thought it was empty, until he was slugging down the last sip and spilling it on his shirt.  I immediately decided it was bath time as we were planning on going to Grandma’s that night.  The last thing I need it to show up with a baby reeking of beer.  “Hope he sleeps well for you!!!” Just trying to maintain my Mom Of The Year status!
• I didn’t see Grey’s Anatomy last night.  I’m about a season behind, so you all just shut it until I get caught up, mmm’kay?
• I’m preparing myself for a movie I want to see soon.  One involving the undead and shape shifters and stuff.  No, not the HBO one….the other one.  Why hasn’t anyone said the HBO one is just an adult sexed up swearing version of the teen version?  Do you get what I’m saying here??? I feel like I’ve read these Sookie books before, only there was a lot more teen angst going on.  I hope these adult books end differently….
• So I was putting fresh clean line-dried pillow cases on my pillows and noticed that one set of pillows has tags on both ends.  WTH???  How am I supposed to decide which end to stuff into the case first?  I was really thrown.  So I ripped one set off.  Problem solved.  I shouldn’t get so worked up.
• A shot of AM as a Rat in the Pied Piper…
• I’ve been trying to be good and eat healthy, but I slip up sometimes.  Like chowing down an entire order of Mozzarella sticks from DQ while they are still too hot.  I call it “Diner’s Remorse”. 
• So we climbed into the van to leave for the Youth run last night.  It had been about 75-80 degrees all day.  The vas smelled like…welll….ass.  I blamed the kids on their reluctance to throw out all their fast food wrappers even when I asked them repeatedly.  I gave them a lecture.  It wasn’t until I was sitting in the driver’s seat that I noticed it.  The crock pot.  From Saturday night at work.  Dirty. In. The. Sun. My bad.
• The two big kids ran the Fargo Youth Run 1/2 mile (the Fargo Marathon is Saturday morning, and its actually accredited to be a Boston Marathon qualifier!).  PM was disappointed that she didn’t run, a few of her friends we know that are her age did run.  She wants badly to do what the other kids are doing, and especially what her big siblings do.  I saw a few wheel chairs (powered by parents) in the mix, but she doesn’t need a chair.  She just can’t run.  I am going to look into some way for her to participate next year.  When I Twittered about it, Barbara at TherExtras mentioned adapted bikes…. research time.  Anyway, here’s our newest medal winners:

• I didn’t realize until the pictures that I gave MD the wrong number to wear.  I had a matching one for each kid in case I wanted to run with them, and at the end we couldn’t collect them without the matching number.  Cool.
• I am doing the 5k tonight with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and nephews.  (By “doing” I mean walking briskly.)  I decided to take the little kids in our big bike stroller/trailer thing.  It has bike tires and pushes easily.  Plus there’s room for two and snacks.  My snacks perhaps.  My brothers-in-law are running the half marathon Saturday morning.  No thanks on that!
• Don’t forget to enter to win a $200 gift card from BlogHer and Flip Video just by sharing a moment you wish you’d had a video camera.  It’s my first big giveaway, so please stop by!!!  My ad-free review blog is “All That Other Stuff…”

Special Exposure Wednesday – Olive Fingers

SEC is hosted by 5 Minutes for Special Needs.  Please stop by to see more or link up! 

All my kids like “olive fingers”.  I am trained in my mommy duties to provide each child with no less than 10 black olives on their plate.  One for each finger.  For PM I consider it therapy on the sly.  Look at those fingers open!!!  Whatever works, I say!

Could You Use $200? – Yeah, I thought so…

Guess what!?  I’m running a contest sponsored by BlogHer and Flip Video giving YOU a chance to win $200 (that perhaps you could use to get yourself a new Flip SlideHD!! *swoon* )  Just head on over to my ad-free review page “All That Other Stuff…” and share a time YOU wish you had a video camera.  Easy, right?  This is my first big contest, so all the help would be appreciated!!!!

Friday Fragments

Yaay! Friday is here once again! Mrs. 4444 invites us to purge our minds for the weekend by posting all those little things too small for a post, too cool to throw away!  Visit all the Fragmenters at Half Past Kissin’ Time!

• This week was our little town’s clean up week.  I was excited to “curb shop” two neat old high back dining chairs.  I plan on painting them and re-upholstering the seats so I can use them for photos!
• AM’s girl scout troop learned how to sew.  We threaded needles and stitched pieces of fabric together, then used machines to make their own sashes.  It was pretty fun to get them going on these.  I think sewing is kind of a lost art, so it would be nice to get these girls comfortable at least being able to do small things.
• I gotta clean my house some more.  I know this is a common theme in my fragments, but its getting crazy around here.  I feel like we’re months away from a “Hoarders” intervention.  OK, maybe not quite that soon, but I can see us heading in that direction.  I need to purge this house in a big way.  I wish I had a professional organizer and motivator to stand here!!!  I wish I had the cash to go buy all the cool bins and baskets I would like to have to keep everything neat.  I need some good organization tips that don’t cost a lot!! Help!!!!
• PM quote of the week as she puts on her sister’s bath robe and examines her new look.  “Um, now it looks like I need to makes pancakes.”
• The big kids’ Spring Concert was last night.  They did a nice job singing their songs on a set of risers in the gym.  You remember, right?  They always tell you not to lock your knees so you won’t faint or fall.  MD, kindergarten, was on the first row riser so he had no where to go.  No, he didn’t pass out, but he kept goofing off and making faces and waving his arms around as if he were directing.  I kept hearing giggles from the audience as he “performed”.  I was a bit embarrassed, but not terribly surprised.  I would have said more, but his actions were really a blessing in disguise.  While he was doing his thing, he distracted most of the audience from noticing the poor little guy in the second row on the left vomit on his own shoes.  Very few people knew what had happened until they finished the song and cleared out the kids for a quick magic-sawdust cleanup.
• After the post I did yesterday, I decided it was worth finding the time to slap on a little make-up for the school concert last night.  So here’s a new pictures of how well I clean up (also, I’ve colored my hair since that last picture was taken a week and a half ago, somehow I think new color improves everything!).  OK, still wearing a hoodie, but I think this is as much effort I can put in on a school night!

Not bad, as long as I’m prepared for it :)

• Like most moms, I pack for any outing.  Over pack usually.  I stashed a bottle (not pictured!) for JC, as well as my iPod loaded with a few SpongeBob episodes (this usually appeases JC “Naughty” the 18-month-old), cereal snacks, gum….and as it turned out I forgot to UN-pack my book.  I was done with it anyway, I just hadn’t thought to remove it before we left.  I set my bag between my seat and my Mother-in-Law’s as we listened to the concert.  As you see below, plainly visible book.  I have a feeling my uber-Christian conservative MIL was silently praying for my return from the dark side.  She didn’t say anything,  but she usually saves that sort of stuff up for a full on intervention at a later date.  Time will tell…

• One last thing!!!  May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month!!  Our 3-year-old PM is a stroke survivor.  I also introduced you to another friend, Brendon.  You can read about him in my post Brendon’s Smile!!  Remember: kids have strokes, babies have strokes, even the unborn can have a stroke!!

Hey, it’s a blog hop, so I’m giving the code a go…JOIN IN!!!

Why I never include myself in pictures…

Why don’t you see me very often?  Because I’m a mom.  Because now that I stay at home all day, I don’t always do my hair.  I wear hoodies, different colors, one for each day of the week at least.  My make-up bag may go unseen for an entire week without me missing it.  I may have ignored my eyebrows for a reeeallllly long time.  I usually look like I just rolled out of bed, perhaps I have.  Once the kids are up, they are my attention.  Its not that I don’t care, because when someone knocks at the door it becomes painfully obvious that I neglected to look in the mirror.  I like to look good, but that sort of thing takes time, or at least a few minutes in the bathroom alone…..without someone clinging to my leg.  I consider it a triumph if I get a shower in during their nap time.  If they have a nap time.  Also….I may be wielding a knife.  Just sayin’.

Brendon’s Smile

As part of May being Stroke Awareness Month I wanted to introduce you to one of our friends.  Although we’ve never met in real life, I feel close to this family because Brendon’s story is so similar to ours.

Brendon suffered a stroke before he was born, as a result he has Cerebral Palsy (right sided hemiparesis, like PM) as well as Muscular Scoliosis, Speech Apraxia and Aphasia.  His parents were inspired to create  Brendon’s Smile, a non-profit organization to raise awareness of Pediatric Stroke.  Please head over to Brendon’s CaringBridge site to learn more!!

1 in 4000 babies will have a stroke

PM is a stroke survivor.  As a result she has Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy that affects her right side.  May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness month and today I want to re-post a video we made for PM after her first round of Constraint Induced Therapy (CIT).  CIT involves casting the “good” arm while participating in more intensive physical and occupational therapy to build stronger neuropathways for her weak side.  You can see the effects this has in just 4 short weeks!  PM did a second round of CIT in June 2009.  We would like to do more soon.  Therapy is so wonderful for her and has really improved her movement and fine motor skills.  We know it will never be perfect, but there has been a TON of improvement!!

You can learn more about Pediatric Stroke at KidsHaveStrokes.org !

May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month

Did you know kids have strokes, babies have strokes, even the unborn can have a stroke? Our little girl is a stroke survivor. May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month and you can learn more about pediatric strokes at Kids Have Strokes.  A purple ribbon is the symbol of pediatric stroke.  Through out May I will be introducing you to some amazing kids like PM who have survived strokes.  I hope you’ll follow us and come back again!