I need a little release...

I mentioned in another post that I have been in a funk lately.  I think it is a combination of things going on in my life.  Living in an apartment with 8 people STINKS!  Not everything about it is hard, just most of it.  The worst for me is not being able to have people over.  We are a pretty social family and love to invite people over for dinner or games and dessert.  Unfortunately we just don't have room for that.  I can't wait to have a house and be able to play hostess again.  Our kitchen is VERY small and so cooking and baking is a challenge.  I love to have the kids helping me and they enjoy it also.  I worry so much that because we are tripping all over each other while cooking someone is going to get hurt or burned.  I think they miss being kitchen helpers also.  I also can't have play dates here because the majority of our toys are boxed up in storage.  Plus it's hard to visit with other moms when there is no other place for the kids to play.  It gets so loud.  On a positive note...I can have the whole place cleaned up in less than an hour.  I will miss that!  I won't talk about everything else but know that I am really, really looking forward to building a new house next year.

The election has added to my stress - not only the office of the President, but local and state leaders and initiatives and referendums.  There's a whole lot going on! 

I was raised by deeply patriotic parents, my father in particular.  The 4th of July was a much celebrated holiday that we looked forward to each year - not just the barbecues and fireworks, but the reminders of our national history, founding fathers, wars and freedoms.  I'm so grateful to have had that love of country shown to me from my earliest childhood.  Every year I tell myself that I will do better as a parent in instilling that in my children, but fear I am failing in that regard.

During this last election I was a Romney/Ryan supporter.  I am not an in-your-face person about politics but have very strong feelings about the direction our country has been going the last few years.  There is a great need for change and I don't agree with the change that is happening.  I love my country so will support and pray for our President just as I do for my leaders at church, school and in the community.  I have great concern for my friends and family that own small businesses.  I have watched them struggle over the last few years and hope that they can survive in the coming years.  Without small businesses succeeding our country cannot prosper.  We also have many friends and family in the medical profession - ER doctors, private practice, surgeons, nurses, optomologists, anaesthesiologists, and more.  What does the future hold for them?  How will their lives and jobs change with the changes in health care?  The economy is my biggest concern but I think it's obvious why that worries me.  Will my kids be able to find good jobs now as they start learning responsibility and later when they need to support themselves?  Accepting handouts and sitting on their rear ends has never been an option.  Work is what we have taught them and that is what gains respect.

I don't know if this election was an emotional one for me because as I get older I am more aware of the deep impact seemingly small things can have or if it's because I see the foundation that is being laid for my children.  Leaving them with trillions of dollars of national debt is not fair.  We struggle now and I can't imagine how they will struggle to live comfortably, support themselves and their families and ultimately retire with little to no worries.  I'm afraid that won't happen.  I always tell my children that I hope they are better than we are as parents - that they are more successful, better parents, happier.  Isn't that the wish of every parent?

I am still grateful to be an American.  Grateful that our acceptance has come so far that we have an African-American President, that a Mormon man was able to run for US President with so much support and get half of the popular vote, and that record number of women and minorities have been elected to all levels of government.  We have come a long way but our progress must not stop or even go backwards.  I will continue to fight for those things that I know and believe are best for our country.  I'm grateful for my faith to lift me up and give me courage and understanding when I need it most.

That is a whole lot of rambling and may not make sense but I have a lot of thoughts right now and I am having a hard time expressing them.  I just want a little bit of this written down and sometimes this is the only type of journaling I do.  I will close with one last thing:  Last night after the election was finalized a friend (Obama supporter) posted this on facebook: "Mark my words: Second-term Obama will look NOTHING like first-term Obama."  I hope and pray that she is right, although I believe that it means something totally different to the both of us.

Birthday and Rolls

Our little Evan turned 6 on Halloween.  He chose to have yellow cake (because he "didn't want to get sick of chocolate cake) with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge on top.  We were all happy with his choice!!  I just love this kid!!!  He is so full of personality and really keeps us on our toes.

We have been on a quest to stop using white flour all together at our house.  Everyone has gotten used to a little bit different texture in the cookies and other baked goods.  My biggest hurdle in getting rid of white flour has been rolls.  I love to make rolls especially for Sunday dinner.  I have a honey wheat roll recipe that came from Mark's mom that we like but I wanted to try something different.  I was looking through an old family cookbook and ran across a recipe that my sister, Heather, had submitted for Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls.  I had to try it.  The recipe made 4 dozen rolls and they got huge!  They are my new favorite and everyone loved them.  Here is the recipe:

 

Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls

8 cups whole wheat flour, ground very fine (more if using from the store)

1 cup potato flakes or 2/3 cups potato Buds

2 tsp. salt

4 cups warm water

2 pkg. dry yeast

4 eggs

1 cup powdered milk

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil (recipe called for canola but I used olive oil)

1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)

1/4 cup melted butter (I used olive oil)

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and potatoes.  Mix well; set aside.  In a blender pour 2 cups water, yeast and eggs; blend on low speed.  While blending, add powdered milk slowly and sugar.  Pour into the flour mixture and add remaining 2 cups water and oil.  Mix and knead 10 minutes until the gluten is well developed.  Let rise until double and knead down.

 

Divide into 3 equal parts and roll each into a circle 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.  Brush on 1/3 of the butter and cut with a pizza wheel into 16 equal pie pieces.  Roll large end to small end and place on greased pan.  Let rise until doubled.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

 

*My notes: I divided my dough into quarters and cut each circle in 12.  Mine were also done cooking at 9 minutes.

Happy November!!

Well, it's been over a month since I updated this blog...I better not let it go any longer or it may turn into years again!

Fall sports have wrapped up and I am enjoying a little break from playing mom taxi to so many practices and meets. 

Brett at his last meet of the season

Brett had a great Cross Country season and says he wants to do it again even though he hates running.  He knows how good it is for his body to run and likes the benefits.  He continues with his zero-hour weight lifting and still does cardio workouts to be ready for Track season in the spring.  He has decided to not do any winter sports this year.  He is a member of Buddy Club at school and has his first activity with his buddy tomorrow night.  It is a great thing to be involved with!

Erin is enjoying a break from swimming but will begin with the competitive swim team here soon.  She had a great season with the school swim team and qualified for districts in one event, but did not attend that meet because the team already had their allotted slots full.  I'm sure she will only improve and be able to go next season.

Kehli is doing better at school after an adjustment period starting in middle school.  She does not enjoy reading for pleasure so that is a struggle, but we have found a series that she enjoys and that helps.  She continues with her Jazz Funk dance class and has a few performances coming up.  She has expressed interest in joining the school dance team next year.  She had her first band concert last week and did a great job.

Kendall thinks she is all grown up being the oldest of our children in elementary school.  She always watches out for Evan and all the other "little kids."  She is taking guitar lessons once a week and is having fun learning a new skill there.

Evan is doing great at school and it is so fun to hear him "talk" in Spanish.  He made a "me gusta" (my favorite) book and here are his favorites in his order 1. banos (bathrooms) 2. Mr. Solano 3. his friend with a toy gun 4. his friend Carter.  I got a kick out of that and asked him if bathrooms really were his most favorite.  His response, "Mom, it feels sooooooo good to go to the bathroom."

Adam is doing great potty training and I can count on one hand how many accidents he has had in three weeks.  He even wakes up dry from his naps and most nights.  I love thinking about all the money we are saving without having to buy diapers for him!  I enjoy all the time we get to spend together while the kids are at school.

Mark and I before an adult Halloween party a couple of weeks ago.

Halloween was fun.  I put very little effort into costumes this year and we didn't even carve pumpkins.  I'm in kind of a funk lately and hopefully I can get out of it before the holidays or my kids will probably start calling me the Grinch!  I put on my Dorothy dress so Adam could be Curious George.  Evan's LEGO brick turned out cute and the nature of being in a box helped contain him at the trunk-or-treat.  Why didn't I think of that years ago??

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Brad is coming from Hawaii for both holidays and we will spend some time in Quincy with him and Mark's parents.  The kids are hoping for good weather so they can ride their dirtbikes.