School Board Speech

The Principal of my childrens' elementary school asked me to speak tonight in support of purchasing Promethean Boards for every classroom in our county using surplus funds.  I'm nervous as hell and my voice is going!  I'll let you know how it goes.  


Until then, here is the speech.  Forgive the punctuation mistakes.  They are more for me to remember to breathe!
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Good Evening

I am here tonight as a parent and representative from Emerick Elementary School in Purcellville. 

Emerick is not a new school like many in western Loudoun.  We don’t have a fancy new school quipped with the latest technology.  But we DO have a strong community, love for all children, and a passion to learn just like other schools.  Our spirit sparkles like the freshly waxed halls on the first day of school.  We are fortunate.  Emerick is a wonderful place to learn.  

Our administration and PTO have worked very hard to keep our school updated, but technology changes rapidly.  There’s just not enough wrapping paper and bake sales to keep up.  

I fully support the use of the surplus funds to equip Promethean Boards in all classrooms in Loudoun County.  Promethean Boards are very popular at Emerick, both with students and teachers but we are not fortunate enough to have one in every classroom.  I have three children who attend Emerick, only my oldest is fortunate to have one in his classroom.  His teacher uses it almost all day, incorporating curriculum, cooperative learning and demonstrating lessons.

My other two children at Emerick aren’t so fortunate.  Their teachers are amazing, truly amazing, but think of their potential if their classrooms were equipped with Promethean Boards!  WOW!  The inequity between the classes with Promethean Boards and those without does not go unnoticed between students.  My younger boys are all intrigued with the Promethean Board...a bunch of windows wide open for learning!  Think of the potential!  WOW!

Please consider the use of the surplus funds to purchase Promethean Boards for every classroom in Loudoun County.  Think of the potential!

Thank you

No Excuses

So it's been a year since I last blogged.  Almost to the day.  Sorry!

I gotta say I've actually missed it.  There is something quite reassuring to put my thoughts, ideas or craziness out there for others to read.  Writing gives me a chance to sort everything in my head so that it all comes out sounding sane...or not!

It's amazing how my life has changed in a year.  I finished those pesky classes in the fall and then decided I really didn't need another thing (like a job) on my plate.  My twins are now three and a half, MUCH more independent.  A little too much independent, always wanting to do things for themselves even when I already have.  I can't tell you how many times have said, "Sorry!  I can't un-cut a sandwich!"

So maybe things haven't changed as much as I thought.  Life continues to be chaotic with many little tidbits I should be sharing.

I will share, no excuses!

Like I Don't Already Have Enough on My Plate!

It's mornings like this one which remind me why I am thinking about going back to work.  It began with Kyle asking me a question and I responded my, "I don't know because my mind is mush."  I would like to retell what the question was, but I can't remember with my mush-mind.  Here are some other highlights:

• Cheerios littered around the entire first floor like confetti after a party.  Shouting at me saying, "Ha-ha!  You thought you could keep the floor clean for more than 12 hours!  Fool!"
• Indecisive two year-olds who ask for a smoothie (which by the way literally takes more time to clean up than it does to make, but I do it with love because it's a great breakfast...fruit, yogurt...yum!) but decide a smoothie is not how they want to wash down their Cheerios (apparently some went down their throats instead of on the floor).
• Cleaning the shower stall, one of my least favorite activities, with a toothbrush no less.  Not as clean as I want it to be, but it will suffice for another six months.

So I am thinking of going back to work, not only to hopefully bring back some of those brain cells which got me my Master's degree, but to bring back some of the sanity I feel like I'm missing in my life.

It is certainly not for the money, I think after we hire a nanny, lawn boy, housekeeper, cook, food shopper, social planner and chauffeur we will be out a couple more bucks than I bring in.

Wish me luck!

Happy Dance!

I was cleaning up under our dinner table today and found some bits under my two year-old boy's chair.  I couldn't guess what they were and almost pulled out the camera to have a little contest on my blog, but decided to spare you the suspense and me the embarrassment of how dirty under my table can get.

Oh my, you should see it sometimes!

Anyway, as I was cleaning, I started thinking about the boy's eating habits and how no one would guess what a picky eater he is.  Actually I don't think he is particularly picky, it's the way he eats which is peculiar.  He tends to graze throughout the day and not like to sit down for meals.  This may explain the size of his belly considering he likes to eat all day long!!!

Then as I continued cleaning (under the table was pretty disgusting), I thought about my cooking and the way my children eat and one glaring thing came to mind.

I can't please everyone.

While I wouldn't consider my kids picky, some may.  Picky or not, I have a "take it or leave it" rule for dinner.  I worked hard to cook this meal, Dad worked hard to pay for this meal...no complaints.  But we still get complaints.  Every day.  I can't please everyone.

But on those rare, rare days when I do please everyone (or at least 4 out of the 5), we call it a "happy dance dinner."  Each of the kids dances with a silly arm push maneuver which Lance inspired, and the meal goes down in history on the "Happy Dance Dinner" list.

I should say that my other two year-old will dance to anything put on her plate.  She's like that, she will dance to anything.

Currently on our list are:

• frittata (so random, I know)
• baked ziti
• inside-out cheeseburgers
• spaghetti
• breakfast for dinner
• tacos
• pizza (of course)

We are having one of the happy dance meals tonight...tacos!  Very messy though...under the table will be a mess tonight!

Feliz cinco de mayo!  Grab a margarita and celebrate!

The BEST Sugar Cookies!

If you read yesterday's blog, you know much I was dreading the sporting events I was responsible for transporting three of my children to.  The good news is, with a bit of my better-half's help, it went very smoothly.

Even better news is that Kyle won his game which leaves them undefeated.  (Okay, they've only played two games.)  He was up five times and only struck out once!  Yay!  Although the weather was unbelievably chilly last night, all in all it was a good night.


The best news is that the sugar cookies I made for Kyle's team LOVED the sugar cookies.  I know, I know...10 year-old boys would pretty much eat anything, especially after a night baseball game.  But I "tasted them for poison" as did a couple other of my family members and they adored them as well.

Lots of good news for the evening.  A little bit of bad news...the cookies were so good, there aren't many left.  More good news, they were easy to make!

Here's the recipe, courtesy of yesterday's The Washington Post:

Chewy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 to 1 cup turbinado or coarse sugar, for rolling

Directions:

Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium-low speed for 1 minute, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beater(s). Beat for 1 minute, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour, salt and baking soda. Beat for 1 minute, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat for 1 minute.

Place the turbinado or coarse sugar in a shallow bowl.

Use a small cookie/ice cream scoop (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) to scoop 24 equal-size balls of dough, dropping a few of them at a time into the sugar. Gently roll to coat evenly, then place 12 balls on each prepared baking sheet, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart. Discard the remaining rolling sugar.

To ensure chewy middles, do not compress or flatten the balls. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until the cookies are just golden on the bottoms. The tops will not have picked up much color.

Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks. When the cookies have cooled, store in an airtight container.

Super Mom I Ain't

Tonight is one of those nights a mother of more than one child fears.  It's sports season ladies and gentlemen and that can only mean one thing...games and practices in three different locations!

That's right...Kyle has a baseball game at 6:00, warm up at 5:30 in the town west of here, Trent has a lacrosse practice at 6:00 in the town east of here and Lance has T-ball practice at 6:30 in town.  Okay, I think I can manage all of that transporting, especially if Coach Steve takes Trent to lacrosse.

The trick is going to be picking Lance and Kyle up at 7:30...hmmm, not so manageable.  My former boss just called me because she had dreamt about me last night.  I had super-powers, jumping over buildings and such, but I'm not such a superhero in real life.  Even I can't be in two places at once.

Oh, and did I mention I also am supposed to supply snacks and drinks to Kyle's team after the game?

Is it wrong for me to wish it would just rain?

Reducing Our Footprint - Part 3

One other thing I started last year was a garden.  I'm sure you will remember pictures from last year and the day-long struggle my wonderful husband had trying to till our new garden.

This year's garden was much easier to till thanks in part to last year's garden and compost.

My fantastic compost, if I if do say so myself!

I began composting after reading how much water and electricity it saves from not using the disposal as much, and the reduction of compostable waste in the trash can.  It's remarkable, I really noticed a difference right away.

I bought a plastic compost bin from Costco.com and was super-excited to get it.  I did some research on what was compostable, all veggie/fruit scraps and breads are allowable, but no meat or dairy because they don't break down very well and attract vermin.  I also learned that if you layer your compost, green layer (grass clippings, food scraps) then brown layer (straw, leaf clippings) you will see better results.

My compost bin looks like this:

My compost bin was a very interesting science project in my backyard last summer.  It would never cease to amaze me how quickly the pile would fall.  I would fill it up to the rim with grass clippings and hay and in three days it had fallen several inches.  I loved going out there to see what progress was being made.

Until the maggots showed up.

Yep, maggots.  Loads and loads of them.  Sickening little wormy things devouring my food scraps.  Wait!  Was that a bad thing or a good thing?  A little internet research showed they were "black soldier fly maggots" and were the sign of a healthy compost pile.  Some people even get buy these fantastic creatures through mail order to benefit their compost pile.

Don't believe me?  Check this out!  http://www.grist.org/article/black-fly-magic/

All winter long we composted as well.  Although the progress went slower because it was colder, I was still amazed how far it fell.  The only time we didn't compost was when the snow storms hit and the compost bin was two feet under snow.  Even then we left a bucket outside for food scraps which we transferred to the compost bin after the thaw.

The result in the spring was amazing!  Not only did we save loads and loads of trash from the landfill and countless of gallons of water wasted, but we ended up with rich compost to spread on our garden.  The thick nutrient-rich soil will hopefully help to produce a wonderful garden bounty this summer and fall.

Emptying the compost bin was a little tricky.  I tried using the little doors on the sides, but they were small and cumbersome.  Eventually I just picked the darn thing up and moved it to another part of our lawn.  I was pleased to see most had composted well, with the exception of a corn cob or large pumpkin.  I was not so pleased to see little mice scampering away, I counted seven but I'm sure there were more I didn't see.  I'm not a big fan of mice, but I'm sure they are good for the compost pile.  Thankfully I wasn't thinking about something else that hides in a compost pile...snakes!  I am really not a big fan of snakes, so I'll take the mice.

Once the compost was fully spread on the garden, Steve tilled it all in about 45 minutes.  A lot less time than last year!  I will update how our garden is doing as it grows.

Until then, start a compost pile!