Cat Toys

Princess Lilly Squirt Stine is our very spoiled cat.  She was born March 23rd to Gavin's preschool teacher's cat.  Mrs. Williams mentioned her cat was in the family way and Gav was relentless asking if we could have one.  I'm a cat person, but David definitely is NOT.  I told Gav he had to convince his dad.  Suffice to say, Gav worked his magic and we brought Squirt home when she was eight weeks old. 

Squirt's a sweet little grey tiger kitty and I'm fairly certain she is equal parts cat, goat, and dog.  She listens as well as most cats (not at all).  She will eat dog food and dog bones if Alfie will share.  She will also chew through plastic, cardboard, and paper if she thinks there is a treat on the other side just like a goat.  She will eat lettuce, cake, and even mac and cheese (I'm guessing goats will eat these things; I know dogs will).  

Squirt is also not lacking in the toy department.  She has mice galore, even more balls and feathers to play with, plus two climbing things she prances around, over, and under.  She even has her own blanket and bed (something I would have liked after a certain seven year old invaded our bed during last night's storm).  I think she's living the good life, but apparently, she feels she needs more toys.

Squirt is pretty smart and figured out how to open my bathroom drawers.  She likes to climb through the bottom one and hide behind it in the cabinet to sleep.  I guess if I had two little boys always trying to pick me up when I'm sleeping, I might hide out as well.  Anyhow, she decided this week she just wasn't content with her toys, so she decided to find her own...  in the form of a tampon.  Yep, I kept them in the drawer she liked to hide behind.  (Notice the use of past tense.  They have a new home, thank you very much!)  And no, she wasn't content just batting them around the bathroom in their wrappers.  She figured out, with her goat like skills, how to unwrap them and then started hiding them in places like her bed or behind the toilet for me to find them.  LOVELY!

Being the smart owner I am, I moved the box.  Being the smarter cat, she had a secret stash hidden away and was just waiting to one up me.  How do I know?  Thursday, I heard a knock on the kitchen door.  There stood a delivery man with a much amused look on his face.  The dog and cat lounged in front of the door like they were going to attack at any minute, so I thought he was amused by them.  I opened the door and grabbed the package, just as he said, "Nice mice."  At that point I looked down and instantly turned red.  Yep, Squirt had decided to share her tampon toys with the dog and they each had one hanging out of their mouths.  Can you say horrified?!?  I don't think I will open the door for another delivery man again!

Krispy Kreme

We had to drop our cat off today to be declawed at the vet in Granger.  We use Morris Animal Hopsital - they rock!  When we went in for our presurgery appointment last week, the boys were quite traumatized, because they learned how they take animals' temps.  That sent the whole appointment spiraling out of control with lots of questions and such about why exactly the vet had to do THAT to their cat.  It was fun. NOT.  (For the record the vet was not helpful at all when I was trying to change the topic.  I think she enjoyed watching me squirm.  Oh, well.  I still like her because she is nice to my four legged babies and they love her even though she does THAT to them.) 

Anyhow, I decided yesterday to subconciously bribe the boys with Krispy Kreme.  The deal was if they were good after dropping Squirt off, we'd get doughnuts.  My idea was that the distraction of the doughnuts to come would distract them from discussing last week's appointment.  Why?  Because every time I mentioned the appointment, the vet, the cat's nails, you name it, they asked about taking the cat's temp and you can guess where that conversation went.  Thankfully, the distraction of yummy doughnut goodness did work!  They were little angels and enjoyed their doughnuts a lot. 

Now, I don't know if it was the excess sugar or what, but something got into Gav and he started talking to his doughnut like it was alive.  At one point, he asked it why it was starring at him.  Then, he told it he was sorry, because he had to bite it and it would hurt, but then it would be a doughnut amputee and that would be cool. I probably should worry about that kid a bit more than I do, but it is hard to worry when he'd making me laugh so hard I cry. 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you, like many gardeners, have a ton of zucchinis to use, this is an excellent recipe.  It sneaks the veggie into cookies!  I grew up eating them thanks to my mom.  Now I make them for my sons.  They love them! 

1 cup shortening (I use the Crisco butter kind)

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 tsp salt

4 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips (or more… I like more.)

Mix all items before the flour together well. I just dump everything into my Kitchenmaid stand mixer. Then gradually add flour until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom. Usually, my first batch takes a little longer, but then I'm able to make my last batches in the 10 minutes.  Because the cookies are very moist, wait until they cool completely before putting in your container on a cooling rack.  You may also want to separate layers with parchment and toss a piece of bread in to keep them from drying out. 

If you shred your zucchinis ahead of time, you can freeze or store them in the fridge, but be sure to drain the liquid off before adding it to the mix.  I usually freeze mine in two cup increments as that makes making the cookies easier for me.
 
Enjoy! 

Cousins!

Yesterday was a big day for the Stine kiddos.  They got to see their dads in their Uncle Steve's wedding, Addie got to be flower girl, and they gained an aunt. 

It was also a big day for me, because it was the first time the boys DIDN'T argue about dressing up!  Usually, wrestling them into anything I like causes WW3 and I just throw my hands up and say, "Whatever!"  I've been amazed lately by Owen's insistence on wearing polo shirts and then figured out he's trying to be like his dad as David's uniform for work is a polo.  

Anyhow, the kids all looked adorable in this humble mom and aunt's opinion. 

Outside our house, prewedding

Of course you have to have a silly pic

Gav, Owen, and Brenna while Addie was getting pics with the bride

Addie after walking down the aisle looking so serious

Rain Dance

My poor garden has taken a major beating this year.  The storm on July 11 left all of my tomato cages and every vegetable bent to the ground.  After doing a ton of staking, they seemed to do well.  Then this week's weather rolled around and it seemed like it was being baked under a boiling hot sun.  No matter how much I watered, it just didn't seem to be enough.  I knew it needed the kind of soaking only Mother Nature could provide and thankfully, she was happy enough to oblige.  She even let me finish my weeding before she sent the rain this afternoon. 

Right after it started to rain, the boys decided to do a Rain Dance in the drive.  It isn't often that it is 90 out and you can play in the rain!

Owen doing a combo run-skip-walk down the drive. 

Gav under the run off from the roof.

While blurry, I like this pic. 

Owen!

It has rained for about 60 minutes so far and is still coming down. I know my plants are happier. I know I am. I'm tired of dragging a garden hose around the yard!

Naptime!

I always thought it was interesting there are more crimes when it is hot out and I guess I can see why that is.  With the temp at 96 and it feeling like 110, Facebook is littered with moms talking about how their kids are driving them batty, people are posting grumpy statuses about how their significant other/friend/neighbor/et al is driving them insane.  Yep, after looking at these sorts of statuses, it is clear that when the temp goes up, tempers flare. 

Our house is no exception.  Owen has been grumpier than usual and has been taking his frustrations out Gavin.  That's making Gavin whiny and me just downright mad because I don't like whining and I like grumpy even less.  Our poor dog is ticked off at the world because he can't run around outside like usual and he can't go on as many car rides.  He gives me this look like I'm intentionally torturing him by keeping him inside.

So what's a mom to do when it is clear her whole family needs space?  She declares NAPTIME for all animals and children!

Gav fell asleep on the couch.  Don't be fooled by the sweet face.  

Alfie hid in his bed and kept giving me The Look. 

Owen was banished to his room and curled up on his bed.

And what did I do while they are all in their separate corners?  I read the newspaper and washed some dishes.  I even used the restroom without anyone banging on the door to tattle!  You know it has to be bad when you're celebrating a moment like that.  Still, I wouldn't trade this heat for anything! 

Cake for Breakfast Day!

I made my version of this cake on Monday afternoon and evening.  First off, I opted not to make the cake or frosting from scratch to save time.  Instead, I used two boxes of Betty Crocker's white cake mix and gulp, four, yes, four tubs of Pillsbury's cream cheese frosting.  I also didn't have the gel food coloring that was recommended and just used the regular McCormick coloring since the packaging said how many drops I needed to use to make vivid colors when applied to white cake.  The colors turned out just fine so I'm glad my modification worked.    

I planned to make the following layers: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, but accidentally mixed up a batch of lime green, too.  I figured that with as thin as the layers were, it wouldn't be a problem.  Little did I know that one extra layer made the cake too tall to fit under the dome for my cake plate.  Whoops.  Enter the Analon stock pot.  My stock pot was always my go to cake protector, but I thought for a cake this pretty, I needed a real cake plate to show it off.  Sigh.  It just wasn't meant to be this time. 

Sigh, my poor pretty cake is hidden away. 

I didn't get the whole thing assembled until after the boys were in bed, so I decided to declare Tuesday Cake for Breakfast Day.  The boys thought they were having boring old cereal and I said, "Not today, kiddos!"  Their eyes almost bugged out when they saw their breakfast.  It might not have been the healthiest choice, but man, all that sugar came in handy when they helped clean the house after eating!  They were in hyper speed. 

Pretty, huh?

Of course one needs milk with cake, right?  Gav is all about drinking out of the jug.  Ewe. 

Owen showing off his piece of cake and the hole from losing his tooth.

Would I make this cake again?  Yep, I would.  It was slightly time consuming, but not bad at all thanks to the cake mix and premade frosting.  Plus, the boys liked it and they are my toughest critics, so it was worth it.  Next time, I just won't make too many layers! 

Saving the dough

Almost a year ago I hit on a big way to save money for my family. A friend started making her own laundry detergent and I decided to give it a try. We were spending $30 a month on detergent and now spend MAYBE $6 (yes, six, the number after five and before seven) a year. That’s a savings of $354 per year! This is the recipe I was given and I can’t say enough good things about it. Our clothes are just as clean and it works for people that have sensitive skin like the boys. I use it in our front load Samsung HE washer, whereas my mom uses it in her top load. It works equally well in both places as it doesn’t produce a foam. She likes it because it is unscented and it doesn’t aggravate her allergies like Tide, etc. The recipe is as follows along with information on where to find the items, because if you're like me, you've never heard of these items!

Laundry detergent recipe
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (found at about any grocery store in the detergent aisle)
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax

1. Grate bar of soap. Put hot tap water in saucepan and add grated soap. Stir continually over medium high heat until soap melts.

2. Fill 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, borax and washing soda. Stir until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with hot tap water. Cover and let set overnight to thicken. Mixture will gel.

3. Stir mixture and fill a used, clean laundry soap dispenser 1/2 full with soap. Fill the rest of the way with water. Shake before each use.

Yield--- 10 gallons liquid soap

Top load Machines- 1/2 cup per load (approx. 320 loads)
Front load Machines- 1/4 cup per load (approx. 640 loads)

How to store
I put them in one-gallon old milk containers and also saved liquid laundry detergent dispensers. I then just refill them with the detergent in the milk jugs when I need to. 

Where to get your supplies
You can get the Borax and Arm & Hammer both in the laundry aisle. Borax is in a green and white box. the Arm & Hammer is in a yellow box. You'll use them both a few times and save a ton of money. The only thing you need to keep repurchasing each time you have to make a new batch is the Fels Naptha and that's only a couple of bucks.  If you  buy these products bundled on Amazon, you'll spend just under $20.  You'll also want to purchase the 5 gallon bucket from a place like Lowes and some sort of funnel.  I store everything inside the bucket when I'm not using it so I can find everything later.

He said what?

Gavin is one of those kids that is blessed not only to be very cute, but to have a very quick wit. He says things ALL the time that just crack me up. A few people have suggested I start recording them, so I did and I plan to add them to the blog from time to time. Here are some of his recent Gavinisms.


The maid

Me: Gavin, you spilled some milk. We don’t have a maid, so clean it up.

Gavin: We should get a maid the next time we go to Target.

Getting married

Gavin: Don’t tell Dad, but I’m getting married.

Me: Oh, ya? To who?

Gavin: Addie at school, because she’ll be a good mom. She likes dogs and dogs are like kids. You have to feed them and everything. We just have to live with you guys for awhile.

On prom

His teacher mentioned her daughter was dateless for prom. Gav overheard and said, “Alright, I’ll go with her.” Later, he told me he’d only dance with her and wouldn’t do any of the “kissing stuff,” because Addie (see above) would probably break up with him.

Random Gavinisms

I asked what the boys wanted to do the other day after breakfast and he replied, “I wonder what it would be like to be shot out of a cannon. Maybe I will scrunch myself up like a ball today and give it is try.”

“I always wondered what clouds tasted like and now I know. Cotton candy!” (This was after hiking to the highest point in the Smoky Mountains.)

“I’m going to skip kindergarten and just go to first grade. They have a better playground.”

When asked how old he is, he replied, “I’m sixteen, just really short.” He was four.

Chores

I’m annoyed by people more than usual today. No, it isn’t a raging case of PMS causing it. I’m increasingly frustrated by how our society treats our older generations. My mom is no spring chicken at 74 and has had her share of health issues in the past five years. I’ve lost track of how many hospital stays she has had, how many episodes of pneumonia she has suffered through, and the number of chemo-lite treatments she had which rendered her so sick it made us wonder if it was a worth it given its toll on her quality of life. She’s pretty much homebound since she can’t drive and is at the mercy of others when it comes to going places. Going places isn’t easy, as she is limited to being gone for the amount of oxygen her portable tank will hold.
Last week, I took my mom to an appointment and I left it madder than I have been in forever. A mother and her two sons entered the building ahead of us. The boys were teenagers and didn’t bother to hold the door. I’m working on teaching my boys to open and hold doors for others because that’s just the polite thing to do. Then, as we waited in line, the two boys took the only two available seats. I looked on it amazement and the mother made eye contact with me, then shrugged her shoulders as if to say “Boys will be boys. What can I do?” Again, my boys know Grandma or anyone that is older gets the available seat, not them. As I watched the boys while we waited, they never offered their mom a seat and when we left our appointment an hour later, she was still standing and they were sprawled out blocking the walkway. I can only assume they never even asked her if she wanted to sit. Rather than let my mom trip over their feet, I walked ahead of her and gave them the Teacher Look (you know the one that pierces your soul) until they sat up and moved their Jordans out of the aisle. I looked back at the mom afterwards and she wouldn’t make eye contact. I’m fairly certain it was because she realized their behavior wasn’t up to social snuff.

Then I arrived home and started to think about how many children, little or grown, actually help their parents. Seriously? Our boys know they have chores at our house and while they may not like them, they do them. When they can help us at my mom’s they do that as well. Why? Because it is the right thing to do.

My mom doesn’t like to ask for help from anyone, but will accept it if offered. We take care of her trash, her lawn, and her flowerbeds. We take her to any appointments we can and shop for any gifts or cards that need bought. We’ve gone grocery shopping for her and taken her McDonald’s when she was craving a fish sandwich with fries. If I see a crochet pattern or yarn she might like, I buy it “just because.” The boys are forever on the lookout for turtle things, because “grandma loves turtles.” We pick her up and take her home from parties at our house and make sure she gets to attend all the programs at the boys’ schools. We do all these things so that she feels included. Is it work? Yes. Is it worth it? HELL YES. I know my boys are watching and that we are showing them how a child should treat their parents.

As I think back to the teenage boys last week, I can’t help but be sad for the mom. I wonder who will do things for her when she needs help. For some reason, I think she’s going to be like so many older adults I know. She’ll have children that put themselves first and never notice when she needs help.

Clean up

Well, after a total of just over 90 hours of clean up by ten people, our yard is looking much better.

Even the smallest Stine helped. Gavin hauled logs to the drive.

They needed to rest and have a photo opp on the massive limb that came down.

The gaping hole from where the branch was is big enough, but it also tore a ton of bark off the side of the tree.  We are concerned because of the two massive branches that remain, one is over our light and drive and the other is over our kitchen.  While we don't want to remove the tree, we will if that's what Mr. Tree Man says we should do and insurance will cover it.  (Hopefully, he calls today.) 

What continued to surprise me, as the hours of clean up seemed drag on, was the generosity of our neighbors, friends, and family.  We are truly blessed!   

• Immediately after the storm, a neighbor a few houses down came to make sure I was okay since she knew I am home with the boys in the summer. 
• The man across the street helped David clear the drive so I could get the van out if need be. 
• My father in law's neighbor loaned us a brand new chainsaw from his shop when ours wouldn't start right away. 
• Our friends Aaron and Kathleen (pregnant even!) helped with clean up both nights.  We'd still be working if it wasn't for them.
• My mother in law dropped by with beer and ended up staying to help load brush.
• David's cousin rode by on his bike and stopped to help.  He came back later with a second chainsaw for us to use.
• My brother David loaned us an extra tools, including a massive chipper that was put to good use.  He also loaned us his generator since we had no power. 
• My nieces and Mom all helped by either watching the boys or running errands for us. 
• After the limb came down, we were able to cut it all up and a friend's uncle took ALL of the wood away.  He filled the back of his truck and a huge trailer with it.  That was a huge relief because we couldn't figure out what we were going to do with it- especially since the tree may still have to come down. 
• The mom of one of my high school friends offered to let us sleep and shower at our house if we didn't have our power on.
• The dad of one of my students came over and asked if we needed a generator "because we can't have our son's favorite teacher without power."

7.11.11 Storm

(Please excuse any typos. I've had three hours of sleep.)


Yesterday did NOT go as planned.  The original plan was to start painting Owen's bedroom Patina Blue by Velspar.  I dropped the boys off at Pinewood for Parks & Rec at 10:00 knowing it was going to rain, but figured they could run around and play in the gym so I could get some work done.  I was home and cleaning the last things out of his room by 10:20.  I had opened his blinds to have more light and noticed it was getting darker quickly.  The next thing I knew, our umbrella from our table on the deck flew straight up in the air Mary Poppins' style and plummeted into our pool.  I watched our apple tree to the left of the deck snap in the wind as if it had just been flicked over.

Our poor apple tree was just starting to produce apples this year.

That's when Mom Instinct kicked in and I decided to go get the boys.  I ran through the house and grabbed the keys from the key holder and was just stepping into the garage when the tree to the left of our house fell across the drive as I watched.  Almost as soon as it hit the ground, the power went out.  To say I was freaking out at this point is an understatement.  I wanted to be able to hold my babies in my arms and there was nothing I could do.    

Owen's climbing tree that fell across our driveway and just missed the garage.

I ran to our front room and got to see a massive limb fall off the tree in front of our house.  I was sobbing like a baby at this point and am pretty sure I looked like a nutcase.  That's when the sirens started going off.  Thankfully, our animals follow me around all the time and I was able to scoop the cat up and shove her in her pet carrier and grab the dog with my other hand and run to the basement.  When I got there, I discovered I had no flashlight and sprinted back up to grab one (note to self: buy another flashlight for basement).  For some odd reason, it was in Owen's room and I looked up just as the transformer on the pole in our backyard blew with sparks and all.  I ran back downstairs, then sat in the basement waiting for my cell phone to pick up signal while the sirens blared.  It felt like I was trapped in a really bad movie. 

David standing next to the branch off the front tree. 

When the sirens finally stopped, I called David's cell phone and had to leave a hysterical message.  His work phones were down and I couldn't reach him.  More than anything I wanted someone to get my boys and bring them to me.  I managed to reach my niece Jess and she agreed to go get them when the storm officially blew over.  I finally reached David on the phone and told him he needed to come home.  I don't think he believed me about the amount of damage.  He also said he'd pick up the boys.  It was still raining, but the wind had stopped, so I ran out to get the umbrella out of the pool.  I wasn't putting the liner we replaced last summer in jeopardy!  I was soaked instantly. 

After that, I changed my shirt and I knew I needed to call AEP.  I went across the street to my neighbor's because they never lose power.  They are city and we're county, go figure.  In the time I sat on hold, David was able to drive across town and pick up the boys.  The look on his face gave away that he thought I was exaggerating when he pulled in the drive.  Between the two of us and a neighbor, we managed to quickly clear part of the drive so I could get the van in and out. 

We are so lucky the limb on the back of the tree didn't come down.  Our kitchen would be smashed.

 This was a limb from the neighbor's tree.  Somehow it missed their roof and the power line directly under it and ended up in our yard.  Our garage screens and siding got beat up.  The good thing was this is also where we park our trailer and it wasn't at our house at the time.  It would have been buried. 

Funny enough, this is a limb they wanted to have removed. 

All in all, we lost two trees, a gigantic limb from a tree in back, and the massive one off our front tree.  I thought our damage was bad, and then I drove around our neighborhood.  The next post will include clean up pictures and some shots from around our neighborhood.   
   

Circle Canvas

I recently was on a favorite blog of mine and the blogger had recreated a canvas found here. Now, ordinarily I don't consider myself very artistic unless said project comes with detailed instructions (I'm type A, what can I say).  Thankfully, the blog I visited did just that.  I decided after my last art project that I would attempt to make my own version to hang above the island in our kitchen. 

I began by painting my canvas the color of the walls in our kitchen and dining room.  I figured I could get away with the same color since the canvas would be on the side of a white cabinet.  I also thought it would be a nice color to tie everything together. 

Then, I started just like she did and drew my lines after figuring out half of the diameter of my cup.  I moved on to tracing circles, which took forever and made me wish I'd picked something bigger like a coffee can.  (Okay, not really, but it did take a while- two episodes of Weeds to be exact.)   

Next up came painting.  I mixed my own colors, because although I don't consider myself artsy, I do have lots of paint.  After mixing up a half dozen of them, I went to work painting.  This is where I'd modify the instructions slightly.  The pencil smudged very easily.  If I were to do this project again, I'd spray the canvas with a sealer before adding the colors.  I painted seven "petals" with each of my half dozen colors, then mixed my next set of colors.  I ended up using eighteen colors in the end! 

 

When the paint was completely dry, I took the canvas outside and sprayed it with a sealer. 

This is the finished product. 

This project taught me that I can be somewhat creative and gave me the courage to try another project down the road.  I'm going to attempt to create a canvas for Owen's room, which we will be painting this next week.  Stay tuned!

Family Rules

I recently saw this on another blog (coincidentally, the blogger saw it here).  I wanted to make my own as soon as I saw it, but never made the time.  Fast forward to this week: David just finished painting the kitchen cabinets, replacing all the hardware, and even created a chalkboard for me. I decided I needed to make one for our kitchen as my contribution.

Our rules, if you're curious, are as follows:

Be kind

Have an open mind

Say I’m sorry

Dream big

Give thanks for magic moments

Live your life and forget your age

Family first

The only way to have a friend is to be one

Cherish joy & laughter

There is no mine in this family

Love doesn’t make the world go ‘round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile

The canvas is 12x24 and each piece of scrpbook paper was cut to 2 1/2 inches and layered to create 2 inch strips.  I used a combination of stickers and my Cricut for all the letters.  I did paint the canvas with a soft lime color because the sides will be seen when it is hung and because it ties all the papers together.  I used Mod Podge Satin so I can wipe it clean (and discovered it is my new favorite crafting product).     

Stay tuned for my next crafty creation, which will also go in the kitchen.