I Wanna…Blog Some

Thinking about my mom motivated me to make one of my favorite meals.  Well, thinking about my mom and fall like weather here in Phoenix (woohoo a high of 86◦!) motivated this meal.  My mom used to make it regularly and even though I wasn’t paying much attention I think I’ve figured out how to make it (unlike her enchilada sauce).  We never knew an official name for it so we named it Goop or Goup.  I figure Goup is more appropriate since it’s soup made with ground beef.  

The ingredients for Goup are:

• Ground Beef
• Potatoes
• Corn
• Water
• Flour
• Pepper
• Parsley

There’s no real recipe.  There’s an order, but no measuring.  Cook however much ground beef you have.  Add just enough water to cover potatoes that are cut into fairly small cubes.  Cook until potatoes are done.  Add however much frozen or even canned corn (or I suppose carrots or some other veggies would be fine, but then it’s not the same).  Thicken it with a little bit (or more) of flour (depending on how much water you used).  Then you add some pepper.  And a little more pepper.  And a little more pepper.  (I’m a pepper person and not a salt person.)  Add some parsley.  If you want you can add just a smidge (really, a smidge only) of red chili powder. 

I suppose Goup is a poor person’s meal.  That would make sense since we lacked a lot of moola in our coola growing up.  But, man, what a comfort food it has always been for me.  I don’t know if I should make it more so my kids also like it or less because they kinda seem to hate it.  Maybe I just need to find a better name for it.  Something like, "If You Eat This I Will Let You Have Ice Cream For Dessert."

Pure Fiction

Just when my husband is at his hottest I can’t touch him.  And it’s not that I can’t, but it would be pointless.  He’s been so busy with work.  Doing real professional stuff.  Wearing a suit daily.  And doing hot professional stuff.  It’s so professional and so hot that I can’t even say what it is.  And it’s all day every day!  But because it’s all day/every day he’s either not home or asleep!  So, that’s why touching him during his oh-so-steamy phase is ridiculous to even think about. 

And while he’s busy being hot…well…maybe it’s a good time for us to spend some time apart.  Because I have fricken hemorrhoids.  Or at least I think it’s hemorrhoids.  The area that would be responsible for housing such a nuisance is killing me.  But I am absolutely not willing to go to a doctor and have that region examined to find out if it is truly hemorrhoids or not.  I finally broke down and went to Target yesterday to buy ointment for my presumed ‘rhoids.  While there I did some shopping for a baby gift for a shower I was going to.  While hanging out in the baby section and internally oohing and ahhing over little baby things I started chatting with a good looking younger couple that were expecting their first baby.  We talked about the joys of having a baby right before Halloween so they can have their first costume when they are little and squishy.  We talked about childbirth (only good stories).  We talked about the most efficient breast pump to buy.  We finally parted ways when my oldest kid called me on my cell phone from his cell phone to request my presence in the Lego section of Target.  I convinced the boy to wait until next week to purchase the Lego set he really wanted and taught him how to hide the one he wanted that only had two left behind the set that had about ten boxes left.  Then I totally forgot that I promised The Boy a few brand spanking new dollar bills if he would buy my hemorrhoid cream because I was really embarrassed.

I was heading in the pharmacy section and couldn’t find any section that looked right.  Eye Care, Colds/Flu, Anti-itch (that was close), but I was starting to think I was going to have to ask the person at the pharmacy counter.  I didn’t want to buy the stuff myself and I was going to have to ASK FOR IT!?!  Well, in the nick o’ time I did find it.  Turned around and there it was.  And turned a little more and there was the really adorable couple expecting their first baby!  I had to leave.  This couple was too adorable and I did not want them seeing me in the hemorrhoid cream section!  What would they think of me?  That I wasn’t the cool and charming seasoned mom with sage advice or that I lied that having three kids come out of me was so great that here I was needing something to soothe the regions near my regions because of the umm pressure of three kids that came out of me? 

I left.  Went back to the Lego aisle, got my son, wandered around a bit until I was sure that the cute, non-hemorrhoid couple were gone, got my cream and found a check out lane.  Then I had the dilemma of going through the line of the older clerk who might just look at me with sympathy or the very young clerk who might look at me like, "damn you are old if you are buying this and what are hemorrhoids anyway?"  I went with younger, and acted as nonchalant as possible.  I think it worked.  She didn’t snicker or look at me weird or anything.  Then I remembered that I probably could have used my Medical Savings Account Debit Card.  I decided just to skip it rather than have to discuss whether that purchase would be eligible or not.  Why push my luck since I still hadn’t died of total embarrassment yet and why push my luck? 

So, here I am.  Totally hot, totally untouchable husband who is NEVER home right now.  My ass is killing me.  Oh, yeah and now my period decides to start being regular (I used to be every 6 weeks and now it’s more like the typical 4 weeks…this sucks).  All I have to say is that my kids deserve way more than a dad who is really really busy the same week that their mother is in such disrepair.  

After I made a couple of aprons for teachers last year word got out that I could sew. And even I started to believe it. It was a lie. A teacher asked me today if I could sew a poodle skirt for her granddaughter–she’s also a student at the school and there’s a "Sock Hop" tomorrow night for the kids and families.

Well, the teacher gave me the pattern (and it said Easy on it), some fabric (not the kind the pattern specified), and a poodle applique. No matching thread, no zipper, no clue that I had no idea what to do with a zipper anyway. I decided to go for it. I can sew a straight line, damn it! I decided to make the opening a little bigger and use elastic instead of a zipper. Of course she didn’t buy elastic. I improvised on all of the stuff not included.

I had just enough pink from a random bobbin with the last of the pink thread at my house. I took a piece of elastic out of an old pair of raggedy time-to-throw-them-out pajamas. And I used the plain cotton-y fabric instead of the suggested wool or felt. The hardest part of all of it was sewing the hem on the bottom. Since the fabric was basically one big circle with a circle cut out for the waist, the hem was bigger on the bottom which ended up being the top once I pressed (yes, I ironed) the ends over. Because of the extra material on the bottom (which became the top of the hem part) the skirt is bunchy on the inside/bottom part of the skirt. I shouldn’t have made such a big hem I guess. Whatever.

The teacher offered to pay me. I’m going to tell her that payment is for her not to tell anyone that I made it. Then we’ll be even.

When my Boy was born he didn’t excell at anything except being beautiful.  I wasn’t the only person who thought that he was beautiful–there was a woman at a grocery store who came up to me and told me that it looked like I was holding a doll because he was so beauiful.  But other than his looks he wasn’t one to try to hard at anything.  He waited until the last possible moment to master skills in order to not be labeled delayed.  He was just really good at laying there and looking beautiful. 

Things changed right around age 4 when he started a Pre-K program at a Montessori school.  Suddenly he was the kid that motivated other kids.  Every other kid wanted to read just like him and undertake projects with him (he and another student finger loomed these little pieces of material to make some long thing that probably could stretch half of a football field just so they could measure it).  He was writing letters to his little sister.  He loved doing math games.  He was making eleborate groupings of words with the moveable alphabet (it’s a Montessori thing) until he made a crossword puzzle type thing begining with the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (spelled phonetically, but still!).  Other students wanted to be like him and there were parents who looked at him while their kid was rolling around on the floor and picking lint out of body crevices.  I could tell parents were impressed.  And it made me proud.  And it made me obnoxious. 

Not only was the Boy excelling academically he had game.  We first put him in soccer, but it was basketball that he really loved.  One of my all time favorite memories ever in the world was a weekend at a nearby school yard when the Boy was not even in school yet.  We were letting him play on the play ground equipment and taking advantage of the open sky with a kite that wouldn’t make it far before tangling in a tree or eletric line if we stayed at home.  When we were leaving we walked by a group of Big Boys (can’t remember the age, but probably middle school) playing some basketball.  My Boy walked up and just asked if he could shoot.  The really nice Big Boys said sure like they were gonna throw this little kid a bone and then move on with their day.  Well, my Boy sunk it.  And then walked away.  It was beautiful.  You could tell the Big Boys were very impressed with this runt who came in and "swish" put the ball right where it was supposed to go.  The best part was that he just wanted that one try and he looked so cool walking off after.  It was another proud mom moment.  Another accelorator towards obnoxious on my part for sure. 

As the Boy got older he stopped soccer and alternated between coach pitch baseball and basketball.  I wanted him to fall in love with and be great at baseball.  That’s my favorite sport and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my one goal in life is to have a son that plays major league ball (there I said it!).  But still, it was basketball that the Boy loved and was great at.  He could dribble with both hands.  Shoot with both hands.  He grew his hair long because it made him like Steve Nash, his favorite basketball player.  He was called a "little Danny Ainge" because of the way he moved on the court. 

Then he was sick.  That’s what we call it.  Someone asked once what we call what happened because she knew others who named big events in their lives and so she asked.  Things are either "before the Boy was sick, "when the Boy got sick," or "after the "Boy became sick."  That’s how we track time.  And I’m sure most of you know what I mean when I say it, but on the chance that there is someone reading this that doesn’t I will say what "sick" means.  Sick was when there were lots of seizures, a hospitalization, a brain tumor, a brain surgery, more hospitalization, and to this day still occasional seizures.  And my Boy now mostly resembles who he was "before he was sick," but not entirely.  He didn’t die, even though I thought he might, but there are still times I know that we do mourn the "before sick" Boy.  I should just be happy because he’s nearly who he was before.  But then something happens like a basketball game. 

The Boy still plays regularly on a basketball team made up of kids that he’s played with for years.  His teammates hesitate to pass him the ball.  And for good reason.  He catches the ball and looks scared and passes again really quickly–sometimes to fast to really see who is open.  He hardly ever attempts a layup.  On the rare occasions that he shoots the ball he misses nearly every time.  I talked my husband into us buying a really nice basketball hoop for our driveway so that he could practice more.  Alone he does better, but when he’s playing against others he’s timid.  Like that?  Timid sounds better than he sucks.

Accademically the Boy now seems average.  I should be happy, but he used to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, remember?  He went from being great at nearly everything (he skipped a grade right before the sick thing happened) to being average.  And very nearly below average in a few things–according to the standardized testing he did at the end of last school year.  And so now, nearly 3 years after "sick" happened I am starting to either stop being dellusional or start facing facts.  I’m going to be looking into whether or not my Boy needs an Indivdualized Education Plan (IEP) to help him out in school.  Maybe he just needs a little bit more time to take tests.  Maybe he needs to learn to type and get him a laptop for writing.  Maybe he does have some "cognitive" issues (husband’s words) that I need to just accept.  I’m having trouble with acceptance right now.  I’m having trouble watching my kid that was so far ahead start falling behind.  I wonder which me is more obnoxious?  The one that glowed to brightly around others when her kid seemed perfect in every single way?  Or the one that can’t be happy with what is and still dwells in the past when supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was the norm?

Today is my 15th Wedding Anniversary, and I love to get or make a present that’s part of the traditional gifts thing.  You know First Year is paper, 25th Year is silver, etc.  Last year the gift was ivory.  Ummm….illegal!  We both got each other Ivory Soap.  I gave him the bars and he wrapped my gift (a watch that I lost, but I don’t wanna talk about that!) with the Ivory Soap wrappers.  15 years is crystal.  I bought some pretty Austrian Crystals and a few other things and used the keys that were left at our house as offerings.  And viola!  A pretty wind-chime!  Below are the steps I took to make it.

Step 1:  Put a whole in the box….wait…no, that’s not it.

Step 1:  Find materials.

Step 2: Get more materials.

Step 3:  Put a bunch of stuff together and get ready to put it all together.

Step 4:  Hang and admire work.

We pinkie promised, so I can give no specifics.  Let’s just say we (4 Mamas + 11 Kids) had a good time!  I think the kids will have some great memories from another summer adventure.  Living in the heat of Phoenix gives few opportunities during summer vacation to just let loose and have a good time, but drive a few hours North and that’s what you will find. 

Opportunities to run in freezing hail.  Opportunities to throw all of your clothes out of a window and try to figure out just how you will get them back (I may have gone against my pinkie promise slightly on this , but I’m not naming names!).  Opportunities to try to fly.  Opportunities to get scabs, bruises, bug bites (maybe even in interesting places).  Opportunities to find opportunities. 

This year we had a cabin for four nights.  Two of us stayed the entire time, one family stayed the first two nights, and one family was there the last three nights.  There was the one evening when it was all four mamas and all eleven kids–ranging in ages 1 to 11.  We let the kids have some freedom as long as either the 10 or 11 year old was "supervising."  Freedom was usually called a hike, but was more like a nature walk within yelling distance. 

Things were different from last year and part of it was some of the mamas and kids were different, we were all older and wiser, and we learned from last year’s errors.  The only error I will mention was the menu planning.  Last year we all were to take turns cooking and the menus were the healthiest eats that could be imagined.  And about a day and a half into it a couple of us snuck off to the closest grocery store and shopped like college students with a serious refer habit.  This year I suggested we cut the crap and just shop how we would really want to eat when stuck in a cabin with 2 or 3 other women and kids in every corner of the dwelling.  That meant we were prepared with a big bag of sugar, several packets of Kool aid, the necessary ingredients for rice crispy treats, tons of root beer, Cheetos, and Oreo cookies.  We did have to drive to the nearest market for more sugar, but otherwise we were way more prepared. 

I will cherish my memories of summer with my kids because of trips like this.  I really hope they do to.  And if they want (or need) to share the more specific details later in life to a trained professional I will try to understand.   

Inhale.  Exhale.  Inhale.  Exhale…

Breathing is important.  I thought I learned that pretty well in the hypnobirthing class I took when I was pregnant with my second actual baby (as opposed to my second actual pregnancy–I’ve been knocked up 6 times all together, but I’ve had a series of unfortunate miscarriages or busting fallopian tubes).  I learned at hypnobirthing class that holding your breath while pushing was stupid.  Duh, you should be working hard to breath your baby out rather than turning blue because you are holding your breath while some crazy people yell at you to PUSH!PUSH!PUSH!PUSH!PUSH!PUSH!  When it came time to actually give birth using my newly learned and frequently practiced hypnobirthing breathing I don’t remember how the hell I was breathing, but it worked.  And it worked again about 18 months later with my third actual baby. 

I don’t remember with either births if I actually did the very slow breaths in and out that I had practiced, but I do remember the visualization of breathing down.  So, for me I was convinced of the power of breathing.  But thinking about it now how could I be so surprised?  I have always been a fan of breathing and oxygen…well, at least since high school.  Two things happened in high school that made interested in breathing.  One was my chemistry teacher, Mr. Hess who used to walk up and down the aisles of desks when we were taking tests and would remind us to breath.  I flunked the class and didn’t graduate from my high school because of it, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t breathing. 

The summer before the first year I tried to pass Mr. Hess’ class I started thinking about how breathing affects our mental and intellectual capacity.  And I was thinking I was pretty darn smart, but I was also thinking other people were not.  So I decided to periodically hold my breath for the betterment of others.  I felt it important when I was around people I felt were particularly in need of a little extra oxygen (like my stupid ass brother) to hold my breath for as long as I could to give the dumber people a little extra.  (I wasn’t counting on needing that oxygen myself later in order to pass chemistry either my junior or senior years at Pueblo High School.)

All kidding aside, I was faced with the realities of the importance of oxygen a few years ago when my oldest kid first started having seizures.  Maybe he was just thinking I needed a little extra oxygen (back to joking for a second…ok done) because he would either stop breathing a little or sometimes a lot.  I began seeing oxygen masks regularly and once I watched as a tube was shoved down his throat so that a machine could help him breath.  When our son has had seizures at home we haven’t had a handy dandy device letting us know how well our son is breathing.  We always relied on just watching and yelling "Breath, son!  Breath!"  (It’s a lot like Run, Forest, run!" now that I think about it.)  It’s always been crazy to hope for the best without the benefit of machines telling us how worried we should be. 

It’s truly difficult for me to see how well my kid is breathing when it’s a small movement of the chest area normally, but a seizure is huge jerks–for our kid anyway–of head, arms, and body.  I keep replaying the last seizure in my mind.  It was about three nights ago now.  I was alone with him (and that’s a lot of pressure by the way).  It was up to me to make sure we were both breathing.  We must have been.  I acted in a calm manner (not at all usual for me) and he came out of the seizure and post-ictal phase* pretty quickly. 

I don’t that what I’m making any sense.  But I just wanted to put it out there that if there was a fan page on Facebook for breathing I would totally become a fan. 

*Google it, it’s 2am and I’m too tired to put a link to explain it even though I’m not tired enough to go to sleep.   

Awhile ago I mentioned curtains I was making with some beautifully colorful fabric.  The curtains have been done for awhile and there was extra material that I  ended up making an apron and a pot holder out of.  The projects turned out really great.  I did ask the husband to hang the rod a little crooked so that no one would know that the curtains were a wee bit crooked, but I don’t know that it worked.  And I also wouldn’t pick up anything too hot with the pot holder.  But otherwise…

My Boy came home taller.  He seemed so grown.  He told me he had a great time, but I wasn’t listening as much as I was holding on to him and reconnecting after the longest time he’s ever been away from me. 

I asked if many kids had seizures (it was a camp for kids with epilepsy, afterall).  He said a few did.  There was one girl who had to wear a helmet because she had the kind called Drop Seizures which can lead to injuries from…well…dropping.  She had the most (but there was no prize–I have expected this camp to have prizes for most, longest, creativity).  The way he talked about them was so "matter-of-fact" and he explained how the counselors reacted by just being near the person and maybe rubbing their back.  I wonder if that helped him feel better about the times he’s had them. 

Unfortunately with me as his mom he would come out of seizures with a panic stricken lunatic hovering or crying rather than some calm person just lightly rubbing his back like friends did for me back in the day when I’d be hunched over gravel puking up my guts on Mill Ave.  I am going to try to take a lesson from this and if (God, I hope it doesn’t really happen) My Boy has a seizure around me I’m going to just sit by him and rub his back and leave the panic stuff in the past.  He deserves to come out of seizures without the panic of others making them worse.  But I will always hold on to the hope that there will be no other one. 

My Boy is looking forward to going back next year.  And I am looking forward to it also.  Maybe next year I can convince my husband that we can take a trip during that time.  He will be ok.  We will be ok.  We could be ok in Nappa Valley.

It has been nearly a week since we dropped The Boy off at Camp Candlelight.  That’s the camp that the Arizona Epilepsy Foundation puts on for kids with epilepsy.  So, that means that first of all I have to admit that The Boy has epilepsy and then I have to drive him about 2 hours away to Heber, Arizona (Ok, I didn’t do the driving…I did the sleeping while The Husband did the driving).

The Boy was very excited about this week long "camping" experience.  I was only a little nervous.  Not about how he would do, but about the way my mind would be cruel during the week of his absence.  I have managed to stay busy and have only had a few minutes.  Mostly to feel guilty that it can be very relaxing not to have to worry about a child.  I could still worry long distance, but it’s a different kind of worry when you are the only adult at home all day that is supposed to be in charge.  I spend my days trying to give enough space and also not forget to check on him at least periodically.  I mean, what if he had a seizure and I didn’t hear it and he fell and I didn’t go check on him and I don’t know what would be next.  It would probably be okay unless he played that "I don’t think I’ll breath" trick that he used to do.  He has only had two seizures in 2 1/2 years, but still I worry and still I feel guilty because I’m relieved to not be the adult in charge for a full week. 

Then there’s that other place I was afraid my mind would take me.  The place where I thought about how this is what life might be like all the time if the worst had happened when he was sick–the life of only having two kids.  I was afraid that I would be reminded of all the times I thought about how I would survive if I lost a child.  How I thought (non-stop at times) of how to keep my son’s memory alive to his sisters–one who was only 3 when her big brother was sick. 

But that’s silly, right?  My son did live.  And he rarely has seizures.  And the last two weren’t so severe that he stopped breathing.  And he comes home tomorrow!  I’m hoping to hear all about the activities, but more importantly what he felt meeting other kids with epilepsy (this was his first time meeting other kids with the same diagnosis).  I won’t be making the drive (even as a passenger) to pick him up.  I will see him at 6pm when he will be coming to see me graduate from a class I have been taking.  It will be a bigger graduation in my mind having given my son his first week of freedom from my crazy thoughts and overprotective nature.  (I will not be telling him of my crazy thoughts, so that’s just like they never happened, right?)

I can’t say no.  I think it will be good for the kids.  I want to be helpful.  I know others would do the same for me (and they have). 

Those are some of the reasons that might ramble around my mind if I wonder how I ended up with extra kids a few days a week during the month of June.  But do you think the parents of the kids that I’m watching know just how much I don’t pay attention to the kids I am responsible for?  I try to do my best to just stay out of their way and hope for the best.  My philosophy is kind of "I won’t bother you and you don’t bother me." 

Should I have told this to the parents of these extra kids so they could make an informed choice? 

I really want my kids to have fun and I don’t think that means having me plan every minute of their day for them.  I want them to invent their own games.  I want them to make up their own rules.  I want them to solve problems they might get themselves into.  I was about 11 when I had to figure out that I should probably eat something to get the cigarette smoke off my breath before going home to tell my mom that I had a broken arm.  I just want my kids to have some of those kind of problem solving skills. 

Would I be happy to know that my kids’ friend’s parents are just as relaxed (or lazy depending on your perspective) when my precious babies are visiting others?  I hope so.  I know the only feeling I remember having is one of complete failure when my kids come home from other people’s houses with a batch of homemade cookies that the mom helped them make.  But that’s ridiculous because I have helped some kids bake cookies.  And one time I let The Boy and another boy in his class create something called Dangerous Pie in my kitchen with very little guidance.  The boys destroyed my kitchen that day.  I guess what I hope is that some of my kid’s friend’s parents are willing to let my kids help destroy their kitchen a little.  And that I remember that what those other parents don’t know what hurt them and what I don’t know won’t hurt me.  Right? 

D as in Dentist.

D as in Don’t wanna go!

I have a dentist appointment in less than 1 hour.  I haven’t gotten in the shower yet.  I am dreading (oh, another D word!) this little appointment. 

This little reminder that I am not perfect.  I used to have a mouth that I bragged about (oh, get your mind out of the gutter!).  I had no cavities in my adult teeth and only 1 cavity in my entire life in a tooth that fell out decades ago. 

This little reminder that I’m getting older.  And things fall apart as we get older. 

This little reminder that I am afraid of so many things.  Needles.  Heights. Falling.  Flying.  Pulblic speaking.  Death.  Adult acne (which I also have today). 

This little reminder that I should be taking better care of myself.  I found out about this cavity last week at my first dental appointment in about 8 years. 

Crap.  Now it’s in less than 50 minutes.

I can’t help it…I found this on my friend’s blog and it looked like fun.  And I’m a total sucker for handmade stuff! 

The Rules…

1. Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway.

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the thought that counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Opening Day of Phoenix Light Rail

+

Brand Spanking New Camera Entrusted to a 7 year old

=

One Bad Night of Chanukah

I should have known better.  At the very least I should not have just said, "We should put a label on your camera with your name and phone number in case you ever lose it."  Who in their right mind would give a 7 year old a camera in the first place?  Who would give a 7 year old a camera and then let her leave the house with it?  Who would give a 7 year old a camera and let her leave the house with it and take it on a light rail with about 90,000 other people? 

Me.  The same me with the history of losing purses, wallets, brand spanking new watches that were anniversary presents, and her mind.  And I am a big fan of the bumper sticker that says, "Of all of the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most."   

Have fun coloring! 

I found this at a website called abcteach but there’s other fun ones to color online at apples4theteacher. 

‘Twas the fourth night of Chanukah and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for the class pet, Harry, a seven-legged tarantula who was finally given some crickets from the pet store that set us back about 28 cents. 

It is Christmas Eve.  I’m excited.  The kids are excited.  Tomorrow is bonus present day.  I love the wake up and get presents and then hang out all day with no place to go and then open more presents.  And I was at a bookstore today and pursuing holiday themed books that told me that Christmas and Chanukah are NOT about presents.  What?!?!  I know that.  Down deep.  Somewhere.  I do know that.  I just can’t help it (can you hear me whining?).  Oh, well.  I’m not going to dwell on it tonight.  Tonight I have no time for Chanukah Guilt. 

Here’s my gift to you tonight:

I Still Can’t Figure Out How To Put Videos On My Blog So Click HERE

There’s Chanukah Gelt and then there’s Chanukah Guilt.  I got the gelt the first night (as a present…and dark chocolate…my favorite).  Tonight is the third night of Chanukah and the guilt is setting in.  No, I’m not finished with presents yet!  I do not work outside of the home.  My youngest is now in school full time.  I have known for awhile what I wanted to buy or make for everyone.  But did I start early?  No.  Head hanging low.  No.  No.  No!  I could be enjoying the time with my kids.  And I do sneak some fun in (I bought Mentos and Diet Coke for the kids to explode tomorrow).  But for the most part I am living off the high of way too many butterball cookies and trying to get everything done before the last night of Chanukah.

My gift to you tonight is my recipe for butterball cookies (I don’t want to hear any complaining from anyone that already has the recipe from me.  I have been giving out the wrong amounts for the water & vanilla for years, so check your recipe it may not be right).

Butterball Cookies

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tsp. Water
• 2 Tsp. Vanilla
• 2 Cups Sifted, All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans*

Cream butter & sugar;  add water and vanilla;  mix well.  Add flour & nuts;  chill 3-4 hours.  Shape into balls.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees about 20 minutes.  Roll in powdered sugar**. 

*I use pecans, but I’m lucky and have a pecan tree.

**Roll the balls when they are still hot (hey, that seems like good advice in general) and then let them sit and roll them a second time through the powdered sugar.  They like to be rolled twice.

My gift to you on the 2nd night of Chanukah is The LeeVees.  Watch the video for the song "How Do You Spell Channukkahh*" and maybe go to their MySpace page to listen to a few other songs.  I love their songs.  Listening to this CD over and over again is one of my favorite parts of Chanukah.

Enjoy.

*I would have posted the video here, but I couldn’t figure out how.  And I tried tons!  Your gift to me is to help me figure out how!

On the first night of Chanukah, my true love gave to me…a Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Chanukiah (that’s the "real" name for a Chanukah Menorah–just learned that this week).

Actually, my true love didn’t give it to me.  We made it together.  There was a Menorah Making Contest at our synagogue.  The idea was to make one out of some of our no-longer-needed Christmas Tree ornaments.  It just so happened that we had the right amount of the of the same kind so it ended up with a second theme….Elvis!

So, Happy Chanukah and enjoy my gift to the world…The first ever (that I know of) Elvis Chanukiah….

A little bit of background story from something I wrote a couple of years ago in Mothers Who Write class:

Something a Little Newish…

If I become Jewish do I need to denounce all things Catholic?  Do I have to sit in front of a panel of a Jewish Council with a spotlight on me and list all of the things I don’t believe in anymore?  Do I have to promise never to eat a cheeseburger again?   How about ham on my pizza?  Do I have to stop putting up a Christmas tree and getting pictures taken of my kids with Santa?   My husband hid last year’s picture when a kid from Hebrew school came to my son’s birthday party. 

Can I still have flowers at my funeral since that might be the only time they won’t make me sneeze?

If I become Jewish, do I send out announcements like you do when you have a new baby?  

Don’t buy us something pink or bluish,

Our announcement is just something newish,

I am now Jewish!

We have been living as a mixed-up family for 11 years.  It was easier before we had kids.   It was fun buying cards that had Santa Claus wearing a yarmulke and Rudolf with menorah antlers.  There was the added bonus of knowing we were pissing-off people from more than one religion.

The guilt started when we had our first child and went shopping for a Christmas Tree even before we finished cleaning up after his Bris.   ("You just finished cutting off part of your son’s penis, what are you going to do next?"   "I’m going to a Christmas Tree Lot!")   

But if I become Jewish will people no longer see the fully decorated Douglas Fir next to our electric Menorah and strands of Star of David and Dreidel lights when they drive by our house in December?   Will I never be seen at Target reading labels to find Kosher for Passover candy to put in Easter Bunny Baskets? 

Some people call our mixed-up family "interfaith."  That implies we practice more than one religion.   Sure, I was "raised" Catholic by my mom, the former Sister Maria Alfred, and my Baptist dad, the former resident of cell block 7.  But the extent of my religious upbringing seemed to be a few religious statues throughout our house.   There was Mary holding Jesus, St. Bernadette, and the Mary with the broken halo that used to watch me sleep. 

I haven’t considered myself Catholic for many years.  The last time I went to Mass was about 7 years ago at the San Xavier Mission in Tucson, but I ended up with the statues after my parents died. 

If I become Jewish, I think I will have an official going away party for my former religion and the statues that represented it.   I have been thinking about taking the statues to the San Xavier Mission and leaving them in the Chapel, where I’ve seen other people leave things.  I couldn’t just throw them away—you just never know. 

Then I would go shopping for my "I am now Jewish" announcements.