Something I Forgot

I really shouldn't experiment with food. When something sounds simple, it's usually because there's something I am not noticing. In this particular case, how many people it is intended for.
Now, how can you go wrong with something that's called 'Easy Breakfast Roll-Up'? You open a tube of crescent rolls, you put your browned sausage+egg+cheese mixture on the dough, roll it up and bake it.
But, no, I am too cheap to buy the tube of crescent rolls, so I find a recipe for bread machine dough. Easy enough. Throw it all in the bread machine, take your dough out in about 2.5 hours.
What I didn't know is how big a roll all this makes. Let me show you:



This baby is big enough to feed my family for a MONTH! Aside from that, it's 2pm and it's intended for breakfast TOMORROW.

Sigh.

I will put in in the fridge and hope it warms up really well in the morning. And the leftovers are going in the freezer.

Mommyhood - gotta love it

We are having such a wonderful day today! It started with a trip to Ta.rget to get Daniel a winter hat. No, it's not THAT cold here yet, but we had to get one for Jadin because he is going on a school trip on Monday and it's going to be cold, and Daniel really wanted one, too. So, hello, Tar.get.
I also had 2 pairs of Jadin's jeans to exchange at Sea.rs and the mall doesn't open till ten. So we wondered around and I found this GREAT pair of work out pants. I would have never paid 20$ for something I wear to the gym, but this pair was LONG! I have never EVER owned a pair of work out pants that was long enough. Trying those on was like being in heaven. So, they really do exist after all. I was starting to believe that 5'10" women are not meant to exercise judging by the lack of gym clothes on the shelves. Yes, I paid the 20$, and, yes, I feel guilty about it. But I am, oh, so very exited to own a pair of pants that make me look like I am 17 yo and never had kids and that are LONG!
I was just talking to a mom friend of mine at Jadin's school when Rachael started asking to go potty. I told her I will take her in a minute. Well, when they TELL you they need to go, it means THEY NEED TO GOOOOO! By the time we were done talking she (and the car seat that I can't take out of the car to wash by myself) were soaked. Oh, joy. It's also Thursday, which means I have to spend 5 hours at the YMCA. Staying at home and avoiding the pee soaked car seat is not an option.
It took me 20 minutes to blindly disassemble the car seat without taking it out. I am not sure I can put it back together, but at least Rachael (and the car) will not smell like pee...still have no idea how I am going to get to the Y...
(I have to mention here that just yesterday I made a mistake of leaving her asleep with daddy while I was exercising. I came back to a screaming soaking wet baby and a sleeping daddy. The pack-and-play HAD to be washed and dried before night time. 'Sigh')
I also made the kids spaghetti (had some left over sauce in the fridge). BIG mistake! Rachael (and half the dinning room) was covered in tomato. Hello, bath. (have I ever mentioned that she HATES being washed?)
Oh, the joys of mommyhood.
PS. I did have a HUGE piece of cake in the freezer to lighten up the day...it was vanilla, not chocolate, but better that than nothing. It's all gone now, so I am hoping to not see any pee-throw-up disasters until we have a back-up plan (read 'chocolate cake').
PPS Yes, Jadin did throw up after having too much of said cake on Sunday night. And, yes, I should have known better than to give it to him and his sensitive stomach but we haven't had any disasters ever since I discovered probiotics...

How Lucky Am I?

I never really thought of or wanted to get married growing up. My family was all about great education, career, accomplishment, being smart, and that kind of thing. I know, I was a huge disappointment :) I am not that smart. According to my mom, good education can cure that...or, in my case, sheer luck. A great job found me when I was still working on my Master's theses. I LOVED the job, and I LOVED my boss. When I started, I was a shy and socially awkward girl who wouldn't talk on the phone to people she didn't know even if her life depended on that. I am still not that great socially, but did I learn A LOT from that man! He also made me a part of his family. I taught his son English for a few years and loved every minute of it, too. His wife did my makeup for the wedding (let me tell you, she did a wonderful job, I did look much better then I ever have in my life)
But I am getting ahead of myself. My mom never taught me to cook or keep house. She always said that great education comes first, and if a woman gets that, she will be able to learn to do the house stuff on her own. If she gets to have a husband and a house, that is. I have no idea why she thought that I wasn't marriage material. She even apologized for that (when she learned I was engaged to an American and to move away) and said that I shouldn't despair and that they will find me a nice UKRAINIAN guy. Mhahahahaha. Isn't that what every girl is dreaming to hear from her mom?
Now, to the point of this post. When I became a Christian, I accepted the fact that I will most likely stay single. There were NO Christian guys in my church or among my acquaintance and I am too opinionated and vocal about my faith to be able to marry a non-Christian. Plus, I know what the Bible says about that. I was happy working, doing things at church and translating for church groups occasionally. That last thing was a lot of fun. The groups were made of American teens and I just loved working with them! Until this one group came. They were not teens, they were pastors. Older people who came to see how work in Ukraine was going. You know, important guys, the guys who made decisions about sending people to serve in Ukraine. If it's not nerve-wracking to translate for a group like that, I don't know what is. Luckily, I was assigned to these two guys who were lay members of a small church and just wanted to learn about missionary work in Ukraine. Wew.
The rest is history. I was married to one of those guys 6 months later. Why? He is the smartest, the funniest, the most generous and hard working guy I have ever met. He is a very talented engineer. He works on cars and he can build a house from scratch. He can wire, do plumbing, lay tile, you name it. Yet he knows history and theology better then some of the professors I translated for at the seminary. In addition to all that, he is C-U-T-E.
So, how on Earth did I get so lucky? God must love me very much to give me a guy like that!
Now, I have to show off his most recent project.
Here's before:



And here's after:




I am one lucky girl!

And I Am The Carrier

So, we have these strange things happen to our sound system at church. First, we were getting faint radio feed through it, that wasn't supposed to be there. No one can figure out why it's there and we do have a couple of sound systems specialist in our congregation. We figured out that it goes away when our guitarist turns his monitor on. Problem fixed...for a little while, anyway. Then one Sunday morning we come to practice like we always do, and the monitor plugging isn't helping anymore. Luckily for us, I had to play my keyboard on one of the songs, so I turned it on and the sounds magically disappeared. Weired.
Last Sunday we start practicing and my drums are not working. The sound system guy says I am turned all the way up on the board yet there's nothing. It takes me a couple of minutes to figure out that my set is turned waaaay down on my side. I am the only one who ever touches that set. No one knows what to do with it or what the knobs are for. I definitely didn't touch it. So, who did? We only have ten people in church that have access to the building during the week, me and my husband are two of them, the rest are cleaning crews. The worship team jokes about having demons in our sound system.
Ok, so this morning we dropped Jadin off at school as we do every morning and were on our way back. I usually have Christian radio station on, not because I am so fond of the 10 songs that they play over and over and over, but because I know that music has a huge impact on me and I'd rather hear a Christian message, even if the same song played 10 times a day is a little irritating. I had radio on this morning, too, until it switched to CD all of a sudden without any help from me. WHAT IS GOING ON? Am I the carrier of the demons? They seem to have infested my car now, too. Like I said, weired.

PS. No, I don't think I am the carrier of the demons or that they would even think me enough of a threat to do that. I am sure there's an explanation. I do believe that our members are under attack (which, believe me, is a strong statement for one one who is of PCA background). One of our members lost their father unexpectedly last Thursday, another one is likely to loose her dad any day, and we have too more members whose parents are deathly ill. There's less then 50 families in our church. It's a lot of losses in a short period of time. Makes me really worried about my family.

Childhood Obesity

It affects a lot of kids these days. Or, so I am told. Apparently, my family somehow missed the epidemic, because my kids are very skinny. I have to work hard to get them to eat.
So, in view of this epidemic, explain to me, why my children's school insists on feeding kids snacks when they only spend three hours there. It is disruptive to our family routine. It's difficult to get them to eat a healthy breakfast (who wants eggs if they know they will get chicken nuggets at school) and they refuse to eat lunch with the family since they just ate said chicken nuggets at school half and hour ago. Did I mention the fact that they are only at school for THREE hours?
Why am I bringing it up? Well, because today I only gave Jadin chocolate milk for a snack. Daniel was not going to school, so I decided I will feed them all right after Jadin comes back from school, and that Jadin should be hungry by then. Well, turns out he was fed pretzels at school. PRETZELS! I am AGAINST pretzels. They have no nutritional value.
Of course, when I offered them pelmeni (which they LOVE) he politely declined. He wasn't hungry. And I am upset! If I decide to only send chocolate milk to school, WHY are they feeding him junk? We all ate, and he will be hungry after he wakes up from his nap which means I will have to cook another meal just for him. Because, you see, I have nothing else to do around here then to cook at odd times of day because the school thinks they have to have a snack.

!!!

Who Needs a Doll...

...when you have a brother?
Putting her dolly, uh, I mean brother, night-night:



All done:



P.s. You can't see it in this picture, but her pants are backwards. And I don't mind, because she put them on by herself. At a tender age of 21 months! (can't you tell I am proud of my little miss. 'do it by meesef'? It does get very irritating when we are in a hurry, just in case you are wondering :)

The Ride of Eternal Significance.

I don't know why I am called a 'stay at home mom'. Some days I am only at home when it's time to go to bed. Yesterday was one of those days. M was home so we took an hour for ourselves after he dropped the kids of at school and I had my teeth cleaned. We went to T.arget and got a pound of freshly ground Sta.rbucks coffee (oh, what a difference a cup of good coffee makes!), a mocha and a scone for M. It was so wonderful to only have one child with us.
After picking the boys us from school we went to Fire.house for lunch. I had lunch all cooked and frozen but M had discovered a gift certificate for Fire.house in his wallet the day before and I LOVE their beer bread.For some reason I always have to drag him there. He likes their food, so I don't know why he doesn't want to go. That certificate was two years old at least. Our lunch cost us 50c!
M. took the kids home for naps and I went to the YMC.A to work out. When I came back 1 1/2 hours later everyone was still sleeping. Did I get a chance to enjoy it? Yeah, right! Remember, I am a 'stay at home' mom. I did get a chance to take a quick shower before we had to go get our flu shots. I haven't had the flu since I moved here almost 7 years ago, but M gets it twice every year (and denies it, too) and he told me he will only get it if I get it. Well, ok. I had three kids with no pain meds, what's taking a little prick for the one I love? Plus, we had a coupon for Co.ld Sto.ne for after we were done (Jadin and I had the following conversation in the car on Tuesday after they got their flu shots. Me 'Mommy and Daddy are going to get those tomorrow, too, but unlike you we are not getting any candy' Jadin 'Oh, I will give you a hug and a kiss for your treat, then' Have I ever mentioned what wonderful kids I have?).
Than it was time for kids' swimming lessons. After that we had a potluck and a movie at church with just enough time to bake my hot dish in between. And while it was baking we went and bought a waffle maker (it was on sale 1/2 off and while I hate pancakes I really like waffles). By the time we finally came home it was time for bed.
So, now to that ride. Since we spend so much time in the car, that's where most of our conversations happen. Jadin started asking why we were not decorating for Halloween. I had to explain to him that Halloween is a celebration of evil spirits and some people that decorate like what we had seen, do not know God. He asked me if they are sinners and if they are going to hell. I said that, yes, some of them are. Then he asked about us. I told him that if we know Christ we will go to heaven where God had prepared wonderful mansions for us (something he told me he was looking forward to when he goes to heaven) and that we decorate for Christmas instead of Halloween. We want to celebrate the birth of our Savior and not the evil spirits. He thought for a minute and said 'Mommy, I choose that. I choose Christ'. His first ever profession of faith.
Sometimes you just have to turn off the music...

What a Difference a Doula Can Make

My friend V asked me to write her a letter of recommendation as she is applying for Mother-Friendly Nurse Recognition. As I was writting it I was reminded how big a difference a good doula can make.
So, to honor my friend and all those women who are there to support us during labor and delivery, I am going to publish my letter.
Here it is:

Dear CIMS Staff,
I am writing this letter to recommend my personal friend and wonderful nurse V.G. for Mother-Friendly Nurse Recognition. Let me first tell you about my background and why Mrs. G’s services were so crucial to our family. I moved to the USA seven years ago after marrying my wonderful husband and we got pregnant right away. Coming from a former USSR country I didn’t know what to expect. I was afraid to ask questions or going to doctors. Prenatal care in my native country is far from great.
V. approached me and offered birthing classes to me and my husband. Knowing that we could not afford to pay her at the time and being a strong believer in importance of positive birthing experience for every family, she gave us her time as a free gift. Her classes were very informative and lessened my fears. She was willing to answer all my questions without making me feel uncomfortable or uneducated. V turned my feelings of fear and embarrassment into feelings of confidence and pride.
When the time came to deliver V. answered my call and rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night even though she was out of town on a getaway with her husband. She was there when the pain hit and helped me use the techniques of relaxation we had talked about during our labor and delivery classes, like breathing, cold compresses and warm showers to make pain less intense. Not only did she provide support to me personally, she also gently guided my husband in being the best birthing partner he could be and worked with the hospital staff to insure a positive experience for all . Her support helped me stay with my original plan of drug-free delivery. She also was there with me after the birth of our son so that my husband could go and be with him in the nursery while I recovered.
V. was there for the birth of my second son and though she didn’t quite make it for the delivery of my daughter she stayed with me in the hospital during recovery. The words can not express the depth of my gratitude and appreciation for what V. has done for us. She and her husband will forever be a part of our family.
I believe that V’s classes and her presence made the births of our children a calm and happy experience.
With best regards,

Olya Bunger

THANK YOU, Mrs.G!

Really Disappointed.

I love a good deal. I also am addicted to little girl dresses. So, yes, I shop on e-bay all the time. I was able to find these most adorable summer dresses for Rachael last spring and paid less then 10$ for three of them.
So, when I couldn't find any pretty winter dresses in the stores we have I went to ebay. And found these:

I know, the picture is a little small, but don't they look adorable?
Here's what came in the mail today:

Let me tell you this picture really doesn't represent the dresses. The blue and black one is really really worn and faded and has holes in it! See for yourself:

This is what normal fading from washing looks like according to the seller's description. If I knew it was THAT worn I would have never EVER bid on it. This dress has NO life left in it.
The read one with bears is very faded and the read one with flowers has elastic coming off of it (though it is so worn the elastic is shot anyway)
I wrote the seller an e-mail telling her how disappointed I am. The problem is, even if she returns my money she wanted so much for shipping (and it will cost more to return them)that at the end of the day I am out of my 15$ any way you look at it.
Sigh.
** Update **
Since posting this I have contacted the seller and she agreed to refund the full price (including shipping). So I will be mailing those dresses back. I am glad she was willing to work with me.

Protected By Cuteness Factor

Alternative title : 'Why Did I Get A Dog?' Yes, she is cute (my dog, that is) but I didn't mean her. I meant the babies. God makes them cute so that the parents don't get rid of them as soon as they can. At least, that's my theory :) Let me explain. I was making shrimp sliders yesterday which is an involved process. First, you have to stuff 48 of them (with 1/2 t. of stuffing at a time, guess how long THAT takes). Then you fry them 5 at a time. That involves 1/2 of water in a HOT skillet and grease spattering all over. Yes, not a fun thing to do with a 21 month old trying to help. And then said 21 mo decides to play with her high chair (which she was told NOT to do on more than one occasion, since she can get the tray loose and it usually lands on her head) and half of those sliders go tumbling down with the plate they were on and the tray on top. The grease is still spattering and the current batch is burning (I was just reaching to get them off the skillet) The dog goes for the plate with the raw sliders. I am trying to save said sliders and absentmindedly put the plate with 5 of the cooked ones on the floor. By the time I am done saving the raw sliders I realize that the dog is happily swallowing the cooked ones whole. As quickly as they would go down, because she knows that the second I figure out what's going on her time will be over. But that's not the end, folks. The sliders were so hot that the dog's stomach can't digest then and proceeds to throw up on the kitchen and dinning room floor while I a trying to get her to go outside while keeping Rachael and the boys from stepping into the throw up. All the while Jadin keeps whining about not liking something in his food. The sliders on the skillet are beyond saving. The kitchen is filled with smoke, the stove is covered in grease and my food just got wasted by the dog. I still have to clean the vomit off of the floors (which is a problem because our dinning room floor is concrete. Have you ever tried cleaning dog vomit off of concrete? I don't recommend trying).
And my bathroom is still covered with pee because apparently Daniel can't aim. Little kids really are protected my the cuteness factor.

Dinner Plans

Why, yes, it is a bag of home made pelmeni. We are having them for dinner tomorrow. A couple from church is coming over and I don't want to have to fuss over what to serve and then have to make the kids eat what I served. It's a win-win. It takes 15 minutes to cook and my family will do ANYTHING for these little guys. Also, the wife is from Brazil, so I thought it would be fun to share my favorite dish from Ukraine.



And what does this pic have to do with the dinner plans? Absolutely nothing! I just love my chunky monkey :)