teeter totter

The girls got a fun teeter totter from Alfredo's aunt and uncle for their birthday. Alfredo got it put together Monday evening and they've had loads of fun. It goes up and down, but it also spins. (Shannon, it is for sale at Kmart/Sears. I think it was you who asked where they got it?) They have had so much fun and have already invited Bryce and Sylas to come over Saturday before Ty's party and play on it for awhile.

Alfredo said that last night he was spinning them around fast and they were laughing so hard they were crying! They love it.

monday meditations

Wow, that sounds like such a peaceful title. Monday meditations. But my mind feels all but peaceful at the moment.

This week is teacher appreciation week and my principal gave us each a gift and read us a poem and had us watch a short film. She asked us to remember why we are teachers and to remind us to love the kids and to do what we need to so we can love our jobs and students. I must admit that the past two years, this has been difficult for me to do. Some of it is the pressure of testing and No Child Left Behind, some of it is burnout, some of it is the population I work with, some of it is just that I'm so busy. My first several years of teaching, I was so passionate about my job and my "kids" (students). I loved them so much. Even the difficult, less loveable ones. It seemed, in some ways, like a gift. Now I feel like a lot of the time I just tolerate my students. I feel like the opposite of the grinch... my heart has shrunk two sizes lately. When I stop to think about it, it makes me sad and I often recommit myself to doing better... being more understanding, patient, loving, etc. But it seems like there are some kids that it just doesn't work with anymore. I have two boys this year that I really can barely stand. That makes me feel sad and bad. If those children were my sons, I would want their teacher to see the good in them and to love them. And I realize that usually the most difficult children are the ones that most need someone to love them. They often come from difficult homes and backgrounds. Why am I not better able to do that? I want to but sometimes don't feel like I have it in me.

This is the poem our principal shared. It was put with images of children on a video which she also had us watch.

A Prayer for Children by Marian Wright Edelman

We pray for children
Who sneak popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who never "counted potatoes"
Who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothers under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must,
For those who never give up and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother.... and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

When I stop to think of the lives that far too many children live, it is amazing how resilient they are. I want to be the one kind enough to offer my hand, but I so often fall short. And I am often judgmental of their parents/families. Why aren't they kinder and doing more? Yesterday, in Sunday School, we studied Mosiah 3-5. I was reminded as we read of feeding the homeless and teaching our children to love and serve others of a book I read a year or two ago called Nobody Don't Love Nobody. The author taught at the homeless school in Salt Lake. One thing she said really struck me. She said that she came to see that most of the parents she saw really did love their kids. Many of them were trying to provide a better life for their child than they had as a kid, but that we all begin at different starting places. This really caused me to reflect. I still get angry that parents aren't better parents for their kids. But I guess that most are trying to do the best they can.

Just like I am. I often feel like I fall short of the type of parent I should be and want to be. I struggle sometimes with having to work. I don't get to spend as much time with my girls as I feel like I should. Even when I'm home, I often struggle with finding balance. I have so much to do (dinner to cook, dishes to wash, house to clean, schoolwork to do, working with the young women at church, etc.) that I struggle to not let those things take the place of spending time with my kids. I hate when my kids are mildly sick because I feel like I can't take time off work, but I feel guilty not staying home with them. Or when they have events (like preschool field trips, etc.) that I often can't attend. I hate that I regularly feel torn regardless of what decision I make... like no matter whether I take the day off or go to work, I've let someone down. And I hate that I feel torn at all, that I don't just automatically take the day off, that I have to really weigh the costs. I am so grateful for Janene because I know my girls are happy there and that she takes great care of them. That eases my conscience a lot. And overall, I think I'm doing okay. My girls are sweet and smart and they know we love them. I try to find the time and energy to do fun things with them, and I think I'm relatively successful at that. Mostly, I feel like I could be doing more to teach them the gospel. Over the past 2 years, I have had periods (weeks or months) where I did a good job of reading the scriptures to them and teaching them about the church. And other periods where we don't do very well. I am grateful for primary, because Michelle learns so much there. but I know I should be doing more myself. One of my goals for this summer is to get at least 30 FHE lesson/activities put together and ready to go so I can be better at doing that. Anyway, I need to stop this pity party. I have so many blessings. I have great friends and family and a great husband who really, in many ways, make up for the areas where I lack. Most of the time I like my job and it is something that I know is important. I have known for years that teaching is what I'm supposed to do. And if I have to work, I am glad that I have a job that gives me lots of time off with my kids and that is something that I believe in and feel is worthwhile.

Sorry that this turned into a full length novel. :) I think I"ll go down a little prenatal yoga to finish de-stressing and then go to bed.

2 more recipes

Waffles

(this is probably my girls' favorite food. they'd eat waffles every day for breakfast if i'd make them.)

1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour (or you can make them with 1 cup wheat flour and not use white at all)
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. wheat germ
1-2 Tbsp. milled flax seed (flax seed has lots of omega 3's and is really good for you... you really can't tell that it is added to the waffles)
1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce (in place of the oil... makes it healthier, again you won't be able to tell)
1 cup skim or 1% milk

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. For especially light waffles, separate the egg and beat the egg white until almost stiff and then add to the other ingredients after mixing them. Pour in a waffle iron until done. Makes enough for 2-3 adults (it's enough for my whole family). Can be doubled.

To make it less sugary, you can use toppings other than butter and syrup. Try peanut butter, jam/jelly, nutella, applesauce, or fresh fruit. (Ella and I like applesauce with just a touch of syrup. Michelle likes it with lots of sugary syrup.)


Guiltless Nachos Supreme (From Lickety Split Meals by Zonya Foco... this is a cookbook filled with healthy recipes written by a registered dietitian. We like some of them.)

1 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup onion (or 2 green onions), chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup pinto or black beans (drained, rinsed) She recommends Eden brand which are low in sodium.
1 tsp. chili powder.

Chop veggies and then heat these ingredients in a nonstick pan about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Spread about 30 tortilla chips (Tostitos baked chips are pretty healthy.) Layer veggie saute over chips.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Broil 6 inches from heating element for 4-6 minutes until cheese melts.

If desired, serve salsa and light sour cream or nonfat plain yogurt on the side.

Eat raw veggies and grapes along with this meal.

(I like this with the black beans. Early in this pregnancy, I craved this recipe and made it a lot. It's fast and easy and has lots of fiber.)

cake and gifts

their cake... i am not the creative, cake-baking type. this one came

from costco and i never got around to ordering a tinkerbell one, so it was just what they

had on hand on saturday afternoon. it was yummy, but very chocolatey. Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling with chocolate frosting.

blowing out the candles...

opening gifts. They got wonderful gifts. Everyone was so generous and they have been so excited. (In fact, Ella talked a steady stream all the way through sacrament meeting today. She's a talker but usually the girls are pretty good in church. But not today. She played with her barbies and Bratz and pretended to be a kitty and hardly stopped talking to take a breath. I hope we weren't too disruptive to those around us. She didn't talk very loudly, just consistently, all the way through.)

So, thank you to everyone!

Michelle with her Bratz dolls from Janene which she's been asking for for at least a month. Thanks Nene!

Some of our friends and neighbors who came.

birthday party

Since Michelle and Ella were born just 15 days apart (May 14, 03 and April 29, 05), we have had combined birthday parties for them for the past 3 years. We had their party yesterday in our backyard and had a BBQ. The girls had so much fun. They decided they wanted a tinkerbell theme (you can see a Tink tiara in Michelle's hair if you look close). Here they are in their birthday sundresses. I was a little worried earlier in the week about the weather (it snowed earlier this week!!) but it was a very nice day... a tad on the chilly side by evening, but quite nice.
Alfredo strung balloons up on a rope. The kids had fun hitting at them and then when they pulled the rope down, they sat and jumped on them to pop them. (In the background you can kind of see our neighbor, Ernie, with a balloon under his shirt, pretending he is pregnant... another favorite activity with the balloons.)

Rather than pin the tail on the donkey, we played pin the wand on Tinkerbell. I think Xaria was the closest. (They were trying to get the wand on Tink's oustretched arm.)

We also had a Tinkerbell pinata. The kids all had fun hitting the pinata. I think this was the first time Ella's hit a pinata without any help from me. She didn't hit hard, but she sure tried.

Here are all the kids loading up on candy. We had Bryce and Sylas, Cody, Xaria and Tylan, Kodi, the triplets Olivia, Savannah and Jackson, Alfredo's cousin's girls Dayanara and Nayeli, Ernie, Robert Maldonado and Dante.

This year we had TONS of candy in the pinata, so everyone got plenty. (All of you parents can thank me for overloading your kids with sugar. :))

go to jail

Heather Bankhead called today. Michelle asked why; was Kodi coming to play? I told her no. That Heather has a family member that is selling Cutco knives and asked if it was okay if she come give me a presentation (I already have Cutco knives and love them! I said yes, but that I would just listen ... she's in the learning process... and can't buy any more right now.)

Michelle sat quietly for a few minutes and then said, "Mom, are you going to jail?" I asked, "What? Why?"

Michelle: "Because Heather is giving your phone number and name to the knife salesperson."

Me: "Why would I go to jail?"

Michelle: "Knives are dangerous. Isn't jail like a time out? If you play with knives, you have a time out."

Me: "Well, jail is a lot like a long time out. You are in a small room with no toys and you have to stay there. But you only go to jail if you do something really bad."

Michelle: "And policemen and firemen take you there, right?"

Me: "Policemen do." (Then I explained that a judge had to decide whether you stayed in jail and emphasized that you have to pretty bad things to go to jail.

Michelle said okay and walked away. Kids' thought processes often surprise me. :) I've never really thought of jail as being like time out but as soon as she said that, it made sense to me. I've learned over the 10 years I've taught, that often when kids say things that don't seem at first to make sense that if you take the time to find out what they were thinking, often there is some interesting logic in what they are saying. I don't always take that time... but when I do, I'm often happily surprised by the things kids notice, think about, etc.

3 favorite recipes

Aly requested some healthy, yummy recipes. Here are 3 of our favorites, and I think they are at least fairly healthy. Hope they help Aly!

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Description:This is so yummy! It comes from The Better Homes and Gardens Salad cookbook. We all love it. It's also easy! And super healthy. (I just read a couple days ago that asparagus is a natural diuretic... helps get rid of any water weight. In addition, to the vitamins and stuff it possesses.)

Ingredients:1 pound asparagus spears
1/2 cup poppy sead or lite Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. finely grated orange peel
2 tablespoons orange juice
4-6 cups torn spinach or romaine lettuce
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup pecan halves
IF DESIRED: Add 1 cup cooked, diced chicken.

Directions:Snap off and discard the woody bases of the asparagus. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Cook asparagus covered in boiling water for 4-8 min. until crisp-tender. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Let stand in cold water. Drain again.Mix salad dressing, orange peel and orange juice.In salad bowl, combine spinach or lettuce, strawberries, and asparagus. Add chicken, if you want. Divide onto 2-4 plates. Drizzle dressing over each salad. Sprinkle with pecans.
Number Of Servings:2-4 Preparation Time:About 20 minutes total.


Broccoli Cheese Soup (from Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer)

1 cup carrot, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh broccoli, cut in small pieces
1 3/4 cups (low sodium--to make healthier) chicken broth
2 cups skim or 1% milk
1/4 cup flour
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
4 oz. Velveeta cheese (use the lower fat version)
1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded (low fat) cheddar cheese
1/2 cup provolone cheese
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup cooked, shredded chicken

In big pot, heat first 6 ingredients to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until veggies are tender. Combine milk, flour, salt, paprika in bowl. Add to broth mixture. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Then you can either serve (with bread and salad) or freeze in a quart size freezer bag. If you freeze to eat later, thaw for 24 hours and then just heat in a saucepan until hot. Don't boil. I usually triple this recipe and freeze 2 for other nights. So yummy!! My kids/husband aren't huge vegetable lovers, but they love this soup!!!! (Right now, being pregnant, I actually crave this soup.)


Chicken with Red Potatoes (from Dream Dinners)

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered and blanched in boiling water for 3 minutes
1 cup red bell pepper, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
6 bonelesss, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thirds
1 cup nonfat sour cream
1 1ounce package powdered ranch salad dressing mix
1 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (get the lower fat/sodium variety, if you can)
1 tsp. garlic salt

Spray 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread the red potatoes in the bottom of pan. Layer the chicken breasts and red bell peppers on top of potatoes. Set aside. In large bowl, combine sour cream, soup, ranch dressing mix, and salt and stir thoroughly. Spread over chicken.

Then either, freeze by covering with saran wrap and foil and labeling. OR Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, until browned and bubbly. (If you freeze, just thaw for 24-36 hours and then bake at 350 covered for 1 1/2 hours). This recipe also doubles or triples well so you can make one for dinner and freeze one or two for another night.