summer time warp

      Summer is really an odd thing once you're an adult.  It's like a time warp.  There's no set schedule.  TV programs are hit or miss.  Especially as a stay-at-home mom I face this daily.  I have the freedom to decide to go swimming at my mom's pool at the drop of a hat, but a lot of times it will mess up nap times and I have a couple of grumpy girls on my hands at the end of the day.

      Now don't get me wrong - I really LOVE summer.  It is the best and I kind of wish it would never end.  The thought of the pools closing and school starting still makes me feel sick to my stomach.  Leftover childhood trauma I guess.  The only real problem is that life without structure is chaos.  Chaos is fun, but it gets tiring.  We're just going to have to fit in as much swimming as we can before the pool closes.

      There is a lot about to happen in our lives.  Haven is turning 4 years old on Monday, August 20th, so of course we're having a birthday party.  I waited a really long time to plan it and luckily it has come together pretty easily.  Then on August 22nd, she starts preschool.  She'll be attending my husband and my alma mater, 5 days a week in the afternoons.  I can't believe she is old enough for that, but she is so ready.  She will absolutely thrive on being around other kids and coloring, reading, and writing every single day.  I am really excited for her.  And then, on August 29th she is starting gymnastics at Chow's - the gym where both Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas train, and where my sister happens to work.  

      Now I have to defend myself on this one.  After the Olympics there was a news story about how there was a HUGE boom of kids registering to go to Chow's.  Ever since before I had kids I always said if I had a girl I would get them into gymnastics at an early age so that they had an easier time with tumbling if they ever wanted to do cheerleading.  (Back story.  My sister and I were both competitive cheerleaders.  My mom was a cheerleader.  It's in our blood.  And my sister and I didn't learn to tumble until we were older and had a really hard time with it.  I always wished I had done gymnastics at a young age, because the girls that had done it were always on the best squads and it came so naturally to them.)  Plus, gymnastics is just one of the coolest sports.  Anyway, all that to say, my girls are both starting gymnastics at 4 years old, whether or not there is an Olympian training there.  I think 4 is a good age to start, young enough that they have plenty of time to get really good at it, and not too young so they won't pay attention.  (Haven did dance for two years, starting at the age of 2, and she just could not stay focused.  It was good socially, but my daughter is just not a dancer.  She doesn't like it.)  She is so excited to get started.  She has been wearing her new leotards around the house and performing "tricks" for us.  She will do somersaults, walk along the back of the couch, jump off the bottom stair, etc.  It's really cute.  I just hope she really loves it and wants to keep at it. 

      As you can see, we have a lot to look forward to.  I wish we lived in a climate where I didn't have to give up my pool time for the structure of fall, but I guess living in a place like Iowa makes the summer feel a little more special.

      

shrimp pad thai recipe

Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe

1/4 lb. rice-stick noodles

1 tsp. canola oil

1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 scallions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. Thai fish sauce

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. hot chili sauce (sriracha)

1 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 cups bean sprouts

3 tbsp. dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1. Place the noodles in a large bowl and add enough hot water to cover; let stand until the noodles are soft, about 10 minutes.  Drain, transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water to cool, and drain again.  Set aside.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Swirl in the oil, then add the shrimp.  Cook until the shrimp are just opaque in the center, about 3 minutes.  Add the scallions and garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds.  Add the egg whites, stirring gently, until they begin to set, about 30 seconds.  Add the fish sauce, sugar, chili sauce, and soy sauce; cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds.  Add the drained noodles and the bean sprouts; cook, tossing gently, until mixed and heated through, 2-3 minutes longer.  Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.  

Serving Size: (1 cup) 243 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 67 mg Chol, 36 g Carb, 3 g Fib, 15 g Prot, 56 Mg Calc.

Weight Watcher Points - 5 pts/serving

This recipe is a favorite of mine.  It is so good.  When I make it for the family I usually leave out the sriracha, take a portion out big enough for the girls, and then add the sriracha to the remaining food.  

It is a little too spicy for little girls. 

Try it out and tell me what you think!!

listen

Hey guys!  It's almost 4 a.m. and I'm having a little breakfast before I head to the radio station this morning.  I will be on the Van and Bonnie show this morning as a "designated Bonnie" along with my sister-in-law Melissa, to fill in for Bonnie while she's on vacation.  Be sure to tune into WHO 1040 from 4:59-9am.  

I'm sure you'll all be up right at 4:59, right?!?

If you're not in the Des Moines area, you can listen at WHOradio.com.

Now...what should I talk about?...

opportunity

My whole life I have been a salesperson.

I remember being a very young girl, probably about 5 years old, and getting a box of chocolate bars from my school for a fundraiser.  I went door-to-door with them after school that day and came home with an empty box.  My parents were pretty impressed, but honestly, who could say "No" to a 5-year-old cutie with a box of chocolates?  I think I was just fearless.  I didn't think about people rejecting me.  I just wanted to sell my chocolates.

I kind of loved selling those candy bars.  I remember looking forward to the time every year when we got to take as many boxes as we thought we could sell home with us.  There were really cool prizes you could win based on how many you sold.  One year I sold a lot of bars and won lunch in a limo.  They picked us up some McDonald's cheeseburgers and drove us around town.  I still remember how cool it was to get out of school for an hour with something besides a school lunch and just revel in my accomplishment.  When you're in elementary school, it's the small things that make an impact.

Really, I think, sales are in my blood.  My grandma was part of a direct selling business called Home Interiors.  Some of you may have heard of it, although recently they changed their name to "Celebrating Home".  It is a home decorating business that sells framed art, candles, anything you might find in a home decor store.  She was a part of the business from the early years and was very successful.  

A few years ago I attempted a business with a skin care company and really worked my tail off for a few months without a lot of success and making almost no money.  The products were excellent, but the compensation was poor unless you had many downlines (people you personally sponsor).  A lot of money was put in, and little was gained.  It really left me disheartened, because sales were something I normally succeed in.  I felt like a mooch rather than a salesperson, constantly trying to get people to sell the product as this was the only way to succeed.  I ultimately decided this wasn't the place for me, and moved on.

Recently I was invited to a Premier Jewelry party.  I've always loved jewelry parties, whether they be at somebody's house or just a catalog party.  They're easy.  There's usually something for everybody, from young to old.  And I just love jewelry.  After attending my grandma's party, I saw how much free jewelry she earned by hostessing, and decided to have my own party.  I had an average to below-average turnout, but my sales were great and I got about $350 worth of jewelry for free.  It was really exciting.  I couldn't believe the benefits of hostessing, and how easy it was to do. 

Sarah, the jeweler who did my party, let me know that she gets 50% of her parties sales.  So my party's total was about $650, and she made around $325 that night, in 3 hours!!  That's an awesome hourly rate.  The opportunity to make a little extra money for my family had definitely presented itself to me in a big way.  I had been wanting to do something to help out financially recently, and I thought this could be a good way to do it.  It is important for me to stay home with my girls, and I could choose my hours this way.  

After a few days of thinking it over, my sister and I both decided to pursue the business together.  We have received our big kit of jewelry and have been wearing it and playing with it.  It's been very exciting, and we are pumped to do our first party soon.  Let me know if any of you would like to hostess a party.  I'd love to get my fall parties booked early.  

This is an amazing opportunity that I wanted to share with you all.  I will let you know how my first parties go!!  Wish me luck. :)

i'm gone, but then, i'm not gone*

When somebody dies, it is really tough.  Suddenly they have just been extinguished from your life.  Especially if it was an unexpected death, it is really hard to swallow that they aren't coming back.  

My Papa (my mom's dad) passed away September 4th, 2009 from a heart attack.  He was my hero.  He was always there for me.  When Luke and I got married in January of 2008 we lived in my grandparent's basement for about 5 months until we got a house of our own.  I am so thankful for that small window that we got to spend a lot of time with him before he passed.  Looking back that time is so precious.  I'd give up my house to go back to that time and just live with him again.

My Papa was a funny man.  He was in the military for 20 or 30 years, so he was extremely regimented.  Everything in his days was on a schedule, even though he was retired and could have done what he wanted, when he wanted.  I mean, he wasn't extreme, but the little things mattered to him.  He got up every morning at 6 and went to have breakfast at the Baker's Square at 7.  He had oatmeal every morning, until his doctor told him he should have something different due to the carbs, so he switched to bacon and eggs.  Then he went over to our family's bookstore and had a cookie and a cup of coffee.  Then he went home for just a little bit, probably to "use the library."  And after that he would turn back around and go to the bookstore again, where I would oftentimes meet him for lunch.  In the afternoon he may run to the grocery store, or Walmart, or Lowe's, whatever he needed to get done.  But he'd always be back at his house just before 4, because that's when Dr. Phil started.  And every day he would say to us, "You shoulda seen Dr. Phil today!"  He always told us the whole plot in detail.  And in the evening, almost every night, he went out to dinner, and a lot of the time he would take Luke and I, and Haven too when she was born.  He loved to go out to eat - it was one of his favorite things.  I think that's because he was such a talker.  He was very social.  He would talk to anybody.   He loved to talk to us and he loved to flirt with the waitresses.  It was just what he did.  He was harmless though.  Nobody ever minded.  At night, after dinner, he would stay up for the 10 o clock news, and then he'd be off to bed.  It's nice to remember the details about him.  Sometimes I just daydream about him a little and it's like a happy place for me, a comfort.

This morning I was looking for something to give Parker for her breakfast, and I decided on a banana.  It was an easy decision because she is obsessed with them lately.  The other day she ate about 8 bananas in two days.  Whatever.  If she wants to eat bananas, I'm going to keep feeding them to her.  Better than being obsessed with fruit snacks like Haven is.   As I was peeling the banana and handing it to her, I had a flashback to a time when we lived with Grammy and Papa.  Near the end of his life, he had quite a few health struggles.  He had heart problems and diabetes for as long as I was alive, and had to take daily insulin shots in the stomach.  You could see him struggling to walk because the circulation in his legs was so bad.  But he refused any help.  The doctor told him to get a walker, and he wouldn't have it.  They had the motorized carts at the grocery store, and I don't think he used them until the last few months of his life.  Honestly, he probably should have been in a wheelchair, but he wouldn't allow it.  Probably had something to do with his ego.  So, when we lived with them, and we saw his struggle, we offered to do some things for him to make his life easier, like buy the groceries.  He always had a list anyway, so we thought we'd utilize our young legs, and do him a favor.  One day, he consented, and we went and shopped for him.  One item on the list was bananas.  We found the biggest, most beautiful bananas in the store, and thought we had done a great job.  We brought all the groceries home and put them away.  The next day he said to us, "The bananas you bought are too big!  I like small ones that I can eat in a couple bites with my medicine."  I think we may have bought the wrong milk too on that trip.  After that we realized, it may be hard for him, but he likes to do it.  The grocery store is part of his schedule, and he thrives on his schedule.  That was the last time we bought groceries.  He told us to just put things on the list if we needed anything.

This story makes me laugh.  I love that an everyday activity like picking up a "too big" banana can flood me with memories about my favorite man.  My Papa filled the room with his energy and his big, loud voice.  It's impossible not to miss him.  I have a hollow feeling in my chest when I think too much about him.  In September, it will have been three years since he passed.  It's hard to believe it's been that long without him, but the pain is much more tolerable now.  He's not here anymore, and that's just a way of life now.  But he's forever in my heart, and even in some of my daily activities.  That's how I know he's still with me, and he's looking down on us.  

I can't wait to see him again.  

Love you, Papa.

*Anybody know what movie this is from?
Please, somebody, guess right!

texts from chloe

I just wanted to give a quick heads up to everybody.

My sister started posting pictures of her conversations with our youngest sister, Chloe, who is 17 and has autism.  Some of them are pretty hilarious and people kept asking us to start a blog with all of the conversations.

So here is the link to the blog.  Check it out.

textsfromchloe.tumblr.com

the real me

It is really easy to care too much about what others think.

I have realized over the years just how much I really care about what people think of the things I do, the clothes I wear, the books/movies I like, the people I do and don't hang out with, etc.  For me it was way worse in high school, if I thought there was the slightest chance somebody might think what I was wearing was stupid, or if they thought my hair looked bad, or if maybe my friend didn't like something (but I really did), I would just pass on those things.  That is a lot of individuality I missed out on.  I have always been somebody that needed advice (or maybe approval?) on what to wear, how to wear it, and what accessories to put with it.  And up until recently, when asked to sum up my style, I couldn't really tell you.  I used to walk into the stores I liked and would see something I liked on a mannequin and just buy everything on it.  I was playing right into those advertisers hands!

Becoming an adult and getting married does something to your self-esteem.  "Oh, I could wear that shirt I like and it doesn't matter what anybody thinks!"  I won't be a total loser if I don't have those shoes that everybody has - as a matter of fact, I don't even like them!  And now that I have bills to pay, and I know how much clothes cost, I know that it doesn't matter if all of my clothes come from Target  - I can do that!  All that matters, is that I like it, and that what I am wearing is glorifying to God - remember, Modest is Hottest! ;)  haha, had to slip that in there.

It's not just about clothes though.  I've always been a book nerd.  I love to read a few chapters of a good book before I fall asleep.  It helps me wind down from the day.  

I LOVE Harry Potter and I LOOOOOVE Twilight.

Those are two things you should know about me.

Here's me on the outside.  

Nice, normal, mother of two beautiful girls.

And here's me on the inside - dressing up as Professor Trelawney to go see the H.Po movies, and who knows maybe sometimes at home too.

 And thinking it might be a good idea to get a Twilight tattoo that covers my entire back.

Like I said, that's me on the inside.  I won't get a giant Twilight tattoo.  But if someday I have a nervous breakdown and do that, don't be judgey, because I'll revert back to my high school days and cry myself to sleep.