The size of the class
The wonderful teachers
The christian curriculum
The fun they are having while learning new things
And, of course, this:
And here is Jadin and his Itsy Bitsy Spider
Friday, November 12, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
What We Have Been Up To.
I know, I know. I haven't posted in a while. There's simply not much going on worth to be mentioned here, unless you want to listen to me bragging about my flute accomplishments (I can now reach all the notes except for third B and forth C. YAY!)
We've been having wonderful fall weather here, staying in the 60s for the most part. I do NOT care for fall or winter because of the cold, the wind and the muck so I am really happy it's still warm.
Halloween was nice. I have a hard time celebrating the evil spirits, so we don't decorate or dress up (we can have fun dressing up and playing on any other day, and there's plenty of candy in stores) Our church hosted a nice Reformation day evening service complete with singing, a great message by this man and treats and fellowship afterwards. The kids had their treats and we didn't have to compromise our values. Wonderful!
Kids are having no school this Thursday and Friday and M's bosses have been insisting he take his vacation days. So, we are going to visit grandparents. And since we have wonderful neighbours who are willing to take in our dog, we don't have to worry about M's parents chaining our Lucy in their barn and listen to her desperate cries all night. She simply loves S and A and their two dogs. S keeps Lucy in her house at night and lets her play with her dogs during the day. I L-O-V-E them!
Rachael is talking more each and every day. We went out to eat on Sat. night to our favorite place and the kids always get ice-cream after their meal. I was holding Rachael's bowl so that she doesn't dump ice-cream on herself. She said 'Don't touch it! Momma get her own ice-cream!'. She is not yet two! What am I going to do when she is 13?
We've been having wonderful fall weather here, staying in the 60s for the most part. I do NOT care for fall or winter because of the cold, the wind and the muck so I am really happy it's still warm.
Halloween was nice. I have a hard time celebrating the evil spirits, so we don't decorate or dress up (we can have fun dressing up and playing on any other day, and there's plenty of candy in stores) Our church hosted a nice Reformation day evening service complete with singing, a great message by this man and treats and fellowship afterwards. The kids had their treats and we didn't have to compromise our values. Wonderful!
Kids are having no school this Thursday and Friday and M's bosses have been insisting he take his vacation days. So, we are going to visit grandparents. And since we have wonderful neighbours who are willing to take in our dog, we don't have to worry about M's parents chaining our Lucy in their barn and listen to her desperate cries all night. She simply loves S and A and their two dogs. S keeps Lucy in her house at night and lets her play with her dogs during the day. I L-O-V-E them!
Rachael is talking more each and every day. We went out to eat on Sat. night to our favorite place and the kids always get ice-cream after their meal. I was holding Rachael's bowl so that she doesn't dump ice-cream on herself. She said 'Don't touch it! Momma get her own ice-cream!'. She is not yet two! What am I going to do when she is 13?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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...
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...
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
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.
!!!
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.
!!!
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