Rachel's journal entry

Rachel has to write in her journal every day. It has to be at least half a page. She usually complains about having to do it, but does it anyway. Today, however, she had a topic ready to write about. I thought you might enjoy reading it. This is what she wrote...

Once upon a time, there were three little wolves and one big pig. The pig went to the first house made of shoes and the pig said, little wolf, little wolf, let me in. The wolf said, not by the howl, by my howl and my nose, nose, nose. Then the pig went to the next house and said, open the door. The wolf said no and the pig said, I'm moving on. So, he went to the house that was made out of grass and the pig said, just let me in. And the wolf said okay, because he knew that he was not going to eat him. The end!

Kids Cook!

Recently, we started something new I call "Kids cook". As I plan our monthly menu, I let each kid pick a recipe that they want to make. Then, on Saturdays, we have "Kids Cook" and one of our kids is a chef for the evening. They get to cook the entire meal. So far, our Kids Cook meals have been Caprese Pizza- Sarah, Broccoli Chicken Ring- Hayden and Skillet Lasagna- Sarah. I have really had a lot of fun setting a day aside to help our children learn to cook. Each recipe they have made has been really good. I'm sharing pictures from our latest Kids Cook night. By the way, I love the entries to the name my blog contest. Keep 'em coming!

Sarah & Emma removing the sausage casings

(they thought it was a little gross).

Nothing light about this Lasagna. Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses.

My 'dairy free' version of the Lasagna (probably way less fat).

Chef Sarah and her Sous Chef Emma

And the verdict is...delicious!

New name CONTEST

January 29 is John's last day in the USAF. So, I can't really call my blog 'Texas Roots with Air Force Branches' anymore. I've been thinking of some new names, but wanted to see what you think it should be. I know that many of you read my blog and never leave a comment. I'd like you to consider giving me your input. I could call it 'somebody chopped down the tree', or 'the branches got pruned', or 'back to my Texas roots'... As you can see, I need some help. So, what do you think the new name should be? What if I throw in a FREE gift? I have a closet full of Creative Memories products and I will gather up a few things to send to my favorite entry. Oh, there should be a deadline. How about February 1st. So, leave a comment on this post and on February 2nd, I will take all the entries and decide which one I like the best. If you don't leave a comment, my sister is sure to win!

My sewing class

Most of you know that I have been sewing for years. Some of you may have even been in 4-H sewing club with me in Clarendon, Texas. Well, I must confess, I have never learned how to put in a zipper properly. There is this little sewing shop here in Beavercreek and the owner chooses projects and then has a class to teach you how to make them. The class I am taking is a Creative Accessories class. We are making some Vera Bradley knock offs. So, I am making a make up bag and a wallet. I have one more class left next Thursday and I will be done. I'll take more pictures then and show you my bag. I am also taking the 'perfect zipper' class tomorrow. I will be learning how to put 6 different kinds of zippers in. Look out, next year, you all may be getting handmade personalized makeup bags for Christmas!

I think I'm getting old

On my last post, my friend Tammy left a comment that said, "please tell me you get tired and worn". So, here is my tired, worn story...

I have been having some stomach problems and am finally tired enough of dealing with it that I decided to go to the doctor. (Believe me, you don't want to know the details) So, I go to the doctor and he tells me that many Caucasian people over the age of 30 can develop a Lactose intolerance and that my symptoms sound very much like that is what my problem is. So, I'm getting old and I can't eat dairy. So, what do I have to do you ask? Yep, you guessed it, a 100% Dairy Free Diet for 2 weeks. See my friends, you no longer only see just the good stuff here. Welcome to my world, my Dairy free world, where my friends call and give me a hard time that it is pizza night in our house and I can't have cheese! Where there is yummy chocolate in my 'food court' and I can't eat any of it. Where I find that even popcorn of all things has milk in it. Where I used to eat cereal and have an occasional ice cream sundae and now, I'm reading the label of every item in my house to make sure it doesn't have the "m" word in it. I'm on day three in case you are interested. I guess I'll keep you posted on my Dairy free journey...

I bet you're wondering what I'm doing...

Well, it is time for the Awana Bible Quiz. I am working really hard on getting some flash cards ready for our clubbers. We have some great leaders at our church that created this awesome website with all the information for Bible quiz. I just have to reformat it for flash cards. So, I finished my last book tonight and wanted to make a quick post to let you know that I have been busy. I have taken a few pictures and will be going to a sewing class again on Thursday, so I will post again after that. I got a little money for Christmas and decided to take some sewing classes. I have a class on Saturday to learn how to put in every type of zipper there is. I know that may sound boring to some of you, but I am super excited! Anyway, the kids are good and we are trying to stay warm.

I'm wired for sound!

Okay, I have seen this on other blogs and love it! There can be a problem or two with having music. If I have a video posted, you will have to go to the "my songs" section and click on the pause button twice to be able to hear the video. When you leave the blog to look at the comments, it stops playing because you have left the page. Just a little info. for the new feature. I hope you enjoy my music.

Oh, what a beautiful day!

Finally, the sun came out today. I don't think we've had a sunny day without snow or 30mph winds since I got my camera. I have been dying to get outside and play with it. Today was the day! It was still really cold, so we weren't out for a long time. It was still fun to let the kids get outside and take a few pictures.

Just a few pictures

Chores!

My kids are like most kids. They hate chores, but that doesn't mean that they don't have to do them. Most weeks, I assign chores on a chart on our fridge. Chores have to be done by Friday and no friends over unless they get done. Sometimes, we have "Choose a chore" and all the kids race to the fridge to sign up for the least amount of work possible, I mean their favorite chore. When we have choose a chore, they seem to get things done much quicker than if I had assigned them. Why don't we have it all the time, you ask? Well, because then it would be too familiar and get old just like regular chores. I have to keep 'em guessing. I try to switch chores around, so as not to make one kid do the same chore all the time. It's kind of funny though, Hayden really can't maneuver the vacuum cleaner or the swiffer sweeper very well. If I let him vacuum, I get about 50% of the floor cleaned. I think you have to be over 4 feet to have the right angle to make that thing turn the way you need it to. He doesn't mind though; he loves to try to vacuum. When I really need things to be done at a higher standard, I can assign chores according to my kids strengths. Hayden is the best sink cleaner and trash dumper I have. I caught a few pictures of him working on my sink a few days ago. That sink shines like the top of the Chrysler building.

A trip to the ER...

Kate's Crutches

Air Splint

Kate has wanted crutches ever since she was little. Well, this week, she got them. Wednesday, I got to the school and Kate was sitting in a wheel chair at the front of the school. I didn't know it was her at first. Then, I saw her hot pink back pack in her lap and knew that something had happened. Her teacher started walking to the truck. I rolled down the window to find out that Kate had fallen after play practice; she tripped over a ladder behind the curtain. I went to help her to the truck and she was very upset and crying and acted like it was hurting pretty bad. Once we got into the truck, she started talking about how it happened and she felt really bad that she did something 'so dumb'. I told her that it wasn't dumb and that things like that happen sometimes. I said I'm sure that people have hurt themselves doing some really dumb things. After talking about how her foot felt, we decided to take her to the Emergency Room just to make sure it wasn't broken. We found out that going to the ER on Wednesday afternoon was not so bad. We got right in and then they sent her to x-ray. Anyway, she did not break it, but did sprain her ankle. For a girl that wanted crutches so bad, she sure doesn't like them near as much as she thought she would. She says that it makes her arms hurt. We are thankful that she didn't break anything and she should be up and running again in no time.

I love my new camera!

"Sorting Money" a book from the library.

Hmmm, 2 quarters =50 cents, cool!

Hayden loves his new guitar.

Sarah had to design her own patch for Star Base.

"Flying Toast" is her call sign

I just wanted to share a few new pictures. Hayden wanted a guitar for Christmas so bad, but he didn't get one. Well, he got some money for Christmas, so he bought himself a guitar with the money. He has John tune it for him and love to play it. We went to eat at a place called Potbelly's a few days ago and they had a guy playing the guitar and singing. Hayden watched him the entire time. He kept commenting on different things he was doing with his hands on the strings. He really wanted to learn how to play like that guy. It was too cute.

Sarah finishes her Star Base program this week and got to design her own patch. The people that run the program told her that her call sign is the funniest one they have ever had. Sarah is pretty funny. As a matter of fact, she emailed me today to ask what the weather was going to be for the week. Don't worry, we still communicate around here. I think she would just like a few more pieces of mail in her 'in' box. I emailed her the 7 day forecast.

A new year, a new do!

Yesterday, we took the girls and got their hair cut. There is a local beauty school that charges $13.95 for a shampoo, cut and style. We had a couple of coupons for FREE haircuts. We paid $3 to get three haircuts. They did a really good job on all three of them. Rachel looks so different; she got her hair cut and layered and looks so different. She loves it!