Isn't Thursday Supposed To Be Boring?

So, I got up this morning thinking 'it's Thursday'---you know, boring ol' Thursday. We drove down to Liberal for Adam's appt. with his OCD doctor. He wouldn't say a word to her--completely mute for 30 minutes. He calls his OCD "Mr. Worry". Mr. Worry has been bugging him again, telling him his hands stink and telling him he has to sniff them. Outwardly, I was calm during the appt, but in my head I was thinking of the $100 it was costing me for Adam to stare blankly at the doctor.
After the appt, we went to the park. There were two other kids there. Normally I encourage Adam and Matt to be friendly and play with kids. However, these two were brats. They kept yelling at A&M to not play here or don't play on that. Their mom simply sat there and didn't care if her children were acting rude. Normally, too, I'll help other kids at the playground that need help climbing up something or need a push on a swing, but I simply ignored these two. And then, when their mom finally got them to leave the park, the little girl said, "stupid mom". Adam whispered in my ear, "I'm glad that's not our sister". I said, "Me, too. Our sister would never act that way."
Once the boys were tired and thirsty, we went to Burger King for lunch. We got our food, opened the chocolate milk, and Matt pee-ed on the floor. I don't know what it is with Matt and Burger King. The last time we went there he was running around so much in the play area that he threw up. So, I cleaned up the floor, grabbed our food, went to the car, stripped Matt down, put him in his carseat naked, and drove home--70 miles. What an adventure--all within two hours. So, hopefully, the rest of our Thursday will be boring. We'll see.

Why Do We Subject Ourselves?

Are parents gluttons for punishment? Why do we think staying in a hotel with our kids will be fun? Did we forget the last time we stayed in a hotel with the kids? Last Friday we went to Wichita. We found a great deal on a hotel so we decided to stay overnight. It will be fun, right??? It wasn't the 100 times I told them not to jump off the bed; it wasn't the 100 times I told them it was after 11pm and time to go to sleep. It was the 3:30am wake-up call from Adam asking me how long the night was going to last. I said, "Go back to bed." He then said, "I don't know if it's sweat, pee, or water, but I'm wet." Ugggh!! We discovered Matt had wet the bed. So, at 3:30am we were giving Adam a bath (he's a germaphobe--there's NO WAY he would have simply wiped the pee off), changing Matt's clothes, stripping the bed, and then all four of us climbing into one bed. The boys finally went back to sleep at 5am. I whispered to Robert, "why do we ever think it's fun to stay in a hotel with the kids?" He just laughed. The rest of our stay went well. We did the necessary trips to Chuck E. Cheese and ToysRUs. Robert's already wanting to stay overnight in Denver next month. I'm just thinking, "are you nuts?"

Looking for Answers

So, I've been following the presidential race pretty closely because I don't know who to vote for. I'm torn between the two candidates. I like McCain because I lived in Arizona for 10 years and I like that he doesn't necessarily vote partylines. However, I'm tired of the war and how much moola it is costing us. McCain wants to stay in the war but Obama wants to get out. I would rather use the $$ to help our economy instead of paying for a war. So, I like that about Obama. I then wonder who can do a better job with the economy. Obama, even though he doesn't have a lot of experience? Or McCain, even though he wants to stay in the war? What do you think? What pearls of wisdom do you have?

What We're Doing'. . . . .

We've been trying to beat the heat this week. . . .and last week. . . .and the week before that. It's been hot--100 degrees pretty much all month. I know, for you Arizonans, that sounds nice and cool, but the boys are getting tired of it. So, we've resorted to turning on the big sprinkler and having it spray the trampoline while Adam and Matthew are jumping. They love it! Plus, the grass gets watered. It's hard to believe that summer break is starting to wide down. School starts in three weeks. When I told Adam that, he said, "What? School's not supposed to be during the summer." Adam is totally into Ben 10 stuff right now. He loves it--the cartoons, the toys, clothes, backpack, etc. Everything is Ben 10. Matt is loving the chipmunks, as in Alvin, Theodore and Simon. They crack him up with their highpitched voices. I've started teaching piano lessons again. I only have one student right now. I'm hoping to get about five or six. I haven't taught in 16 years, however, it's like riding a bike. I've been playing so long and have taught before that it feels real natural to teach someone else. Robert has been so busy with work and church. He hasn't been able to get hardly any time off this summer or has had to cancel vacation time because "stupid criminals" keep getting into trouble. Don't they know we want to go on a trip? Anyhow, he managed to get tomorrow off so we're heading to Wichita--perhaps overnight if we can find a good deal on a hotel.

Up, Up and Away

The boys and I just bought our plane tickets for Utah. We're going to Snowbird next month for our annual Leonard vacation. We initially were going to drive but I found some cheap plane tickets so we get to fly. Although, we still have to drive five hours to the Denver airport. So, now instead of a 15 hour trip, we get to drive five hours and fly for one. Adam and Matt are excited about the plane ride. They love to fly. Plus, I've been stuck here in Garden City all summer. This is my first vacation. Adam will end up missing the first three days of Kindergarten. He doesn't seem too worried about that. The one big bummer is Robert doesn't get to come. He is short two attorneys in his offices so he has to stay to work. So, if anyone knows of an attorney that needs a job and is willing to come to southwest Kansas, tell them to call us.

Shout out to all of my English relatives--

I love trifle! I love to eat it and I love to make it. It just tastes so refreshing. For those that don't know, a trifle is an English dessert prepared in a glass bowl with layers of cake, pudding, jello, fruit, and whipped cream. I was cleaning out my freezer and found some things to make a CHOCOLATE TRIFLE. It was so good. It's great if you're wanting something a bit richer than typical trifle. Here's how I did it, however, you can tweek it however you'd like it.

CHOCOLATE TRIFLE
(everything is already made, you just assemble it)

1 chocolate cake
1 pkg. cherry jello
strawberries
1 pkg. chocolate pudding
chocolate cool-whip

It tastes great and of course, looks very pretty. Enjoy!
P.S. I've also done a lemon trifle--very good,too.

Purging Ourselves

We had a garage sale Friday evening. I like to have one every summer. During our garage sale in 2005 I went into labor with Matt. Everytime I stood up I had a contraction. So, I kept telling myself to just sit so I could stay a little bit longer and make some more money. We had planned on doing our sale both Friday evening and Saturday morning. However, we sold everything on Friday. We made $200 in 2 hours. Not too shabby. I hate holding onto things that I don't use. I think this comes from my army childhood. We always had to go through all of our things every move and get rid of stuff. So, I have little emotional attachment to most material things.

Left to His Own Devices

Matt enjoys playing with his Aquadoodle. For those that don't know what this is, it's a white mat that changes colors when written on with a 'water' pen. The pen holds water and is transferred to the mat when you write/draw on it. Yesterday while Matthew was playing with it, he ran out of water in the pen. He then attempted to refill the pen from the sink but had no luck. So what did he do? He took matters into his own hands. He peed on it.

P.S. And it worked!

Post Script to "Modern Day Revelation"

Thank you for all the comments to the previous post. I figured it would generate discussion. Also, I must say that Robert is not an egotistical jerk. He thought I might have portrayed him poorly. That wasn't my intention. He is the farthest thing from a jerk. Anyhow, I'm realizing maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was. Perhaps I need to dial down on the 'ego' meter and up on the 'humility' meter.

Modern Day Revelation

I tell this story to stimulate some conversation. I must preface it with telling you that there were no harsh or angry words shared and nobody had their feelings hurt. The other day Robert and I were discussing how to go about doing a home repair. I can't remember exactly what it was. We each had our own ideas of what would be the best way to do it. I can't remember, either, how we got to this point in the conversation, but this is what was said:
R: Well, I'm just smarter than you.
H: What? (total shock on my part)
R: I'm smarter than you.
H: What? You really think you're smarter than me? (I can't believe what I'm hearing).
R: I don't know. I just think I am.
H: Really? (In my head I'm thinking, 'you're not smarter than me. I had a 4.0 in college)
H: How long have you thought that? Since we've been married?
R: (shoulder shrug)
H: Wow, all this time, 11 years, I've lived with the guilt of thinking I WAS SMARTER THAN YOU.
So, now, Rob and I think we're smarter than each other--and there is no more guilt. Are we the only ones who think we're smarter than their spouses? Come on, fess up.

Is that a snake bite?

Last night Matt woke up at 1:30am screaming and kicking his legs. His right foot and ankle were swollen. We turned the light on and found two puncture wounds on his ankle. He said it itched and hurt whenever it was touched. It looked just like a snake had bit him. So, we went in search of a snake, not thinking and not hoping we would find one. He fell back asleep so we kept checking on him every 30 minutes or so. Around 5 am he woke up and was screaming and kicking about again. So, Robert took him into the ER. The doc said that even though it looked like a snake bite, it most likely was a spider bite. So, now he's drugged up on antibiotics and benadryl, and Adam and I are at home playing games. I have to admit Adam was pretty excited to "ditch" church since he didn't want to go with Robert and sit through all of his meetings. I don't blame him. Six hours of meetings sounds boring to me, too.

It's Long Overdue...

So, I was looking through past posts and realized it has been over two months since I posted a recipe. I had such good intentions when I started this blog earlier this year to post a recipe each week. As you can see, that didn't happen. However, I had a good reason. I went on strike. Sort of. Since school ended I really haven't felt like cooking. And, so I don't. Well, that's not true. I cook every night but it's not anything too fancy. We grill hamburgers, make pizza, etc. I've only sauteed garlic once this summer. And making bread has gone out the window. And, I don't feel guilty. Anyhow, I've been thinking about the 4th of July and foods to prepare. For any and every Leonard celebration or party, we make this SEVEN LAYER DIP (Leonard is my maiden name). We got the recipe 20 years ago when we lived in good ole Sierra Vista, Arizona. So, I'll be making it, and I'm sure my folks and siblings will be making it, too, for the 4th.

SEVEN LAYER DIP

1 can refried beans
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
2 avocados, mashed
16 oz. (2 cups) salsa
1 pt. sour cream
1 small can chopped olives

Layer in order. Garnish with shredded cheese. Make a few hours ahead of time so the flavors can blend. Eat with chips.

So, there--enjoy the recipe. Now I can be free of the guilt I was feeling for procrastinating this recipe post.