September!

It's been a busy summer here in the Hinterlands...I've not had a moment to spare what with baseball and everything else that the monsters have been involved in. That meant that Notions went by the way-side for me, but that's okay...family is much more important.

With September comes the start of school. The monsters will be home from their dad's at 8 tonight, and life will get back to normal. Mr. A starts school tomorrow, but Bugaboo doesn't start until Wednesday.



Also with September comes a return to MPMs for me. So without further ado, here's this week's menu.


Monday ~ Monsters not yet home.

YOYO ~ I'm not sure what's in the fridge, but I'll be eating it.

Tuesday ~ Mr. A's first day, football for Bugaboo

Pizza ~ Mr. A's pick. It'll be homemade sausage and pepperoni.

Wednesday ~ Bugaboo's first day

Chicken nuggets and fries ~ Bugaboo's pick

Thursday ~ Football & Baseball Night

Spaghetti

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~ First School Weekend

Just me for the weekend. Bugaboo has a game on Saturday, Mr. A has a double header on Sunday. I'll probably eat whatever leftovers are in the fridge.

So that's what's up for this week. Stop by this week's MPM to see what others are planning. Who knows? You might get some good ideas for yourself!

Until later...

Last Week Of School

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.

~ B.F. Skinner

So this is the start of the last week of school for the monsters. Overall, it's been a good year, but each has had their personal highs and lows. We'll see how much of their education survives this summer.

And with the start of the summer, there are changes to our lives. The boys will begin their summer living arrangements on the 8th. That means that they live with their dad from Sunday evening until Friday afternoon. This was the compromise that we came up with when we got divorced. This keeps the boys from jumping from house to house during the school week, but causes a lot of loneliness on my part. Oh, I can't deny that the first week or so, I'm excited that I don't have to cook for two endless pits, that I don't have to harp about chores or homework, but by Week 3, I'm ready for them to come back home where they belong.

This being the last week of school, also means the end to huge planned meals. Cooking for one isn't always fun, but I'll be attempting it.

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday ~ Scouts for Mr. A

Alfredo Bake We didn't get to this last week, so it's on the menu again.

Tuesday ~ Baseball Night

Monster's Mexican Meatloaf

Wednesday ~ Baseball Night

It's lasagna tonight...I'll post the link when it gets posted.

Thursday ~ Baseball Night

YOYO - You're on your own!

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~ First Summer Weekend

My plans are to go to my parents' place and give the monsters their birthday present...yes, I know that their birthdays are two and three months away, but I think that this gift is worth giving to them early. So with going to my parents' place, that means I don't have to cook! WhooHoo!

So that's what's up for this week. Stop by this week's MPM to see what others are planning. Who knows? You might get some good ideas for yourself!

Until later...

New Look!

So today, I'm unveiling my new look.

A little trendy, a little bit Nonnie. I made the header meownself, but the rest is just a standard template. I like it and I hope you do too.

Until later...

Learning About Blogging

Shannon is discussing pet peeves of the bloggy kind today over at Rocks in My Dryer.

She's going to be in San Francisco this summer for the She Speaks Conferences to co-teach a few blogging classes. Today she's asking for those in Bloglandia to tell her what our pet peeves are and what form of blogiquette people feel most strongly about.

I'm new to this whole thing, so while I don't have strong feelings about the latter, I do have quite a few of the former and so I shared those with her.

But it was interesting to go through her comment section today and see what I'm doing wrong when I visit blogs, what I'm doing right here at my own blog, and what I might want to think about incorporating eventually.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this post for the next while. Between it, Blogging Basics 101 and a few other things I've stumbled upon, I might actually have a blog worth reading some day.

Until later...

Food!

So, yesterday I mentioned that I'd update you all when I figured out what and if I was going to be cooking this weekend. I'm cooking. The what? Well, its going to be a simple, but delicious meal.

How hard is it to pull out the crockpot, toss in a roast and cook it during Friday's game? Not very. Then, before the game on Saturday, I can pull it out of the fridge, shred it and turn the crockpot back on, so we have French Dip Roast Beef Sandwiches.

I'm also going to throw a quick pasta salad together. I love balsamic, so I went on a recipe hunt for pasta salads with a balsamic dressing. I found Summer Pasta with Corn, Tomatoes and Basil. So I'll have that for a side to the roast beast. I'm not sure I'll use the basil, and if I do, I'll use just a smidge, not the whole amount the recipe calls for. Basil and I? Well, we don't get along.

My whole family loves lemons. I wanted some new recipe with lemon, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. So, I took a little bit of this one, a little bit of that one, and some more of the one over here and came up with a complete recipe. If it turns out as tastey as it sounds, I'll share the information.

So that's what's on my food agenda this weekend. If you can find the Scandahoovian Hinterlands, you're welcome to join us!

It's Monday!

Nearly everyone wants as least one outstanding meal a day.

~ Duncan Hines

How true is that quote? Many of us have our stand-bys when it comes to meals, because we know that they are good meals. Some of us stick to our favorites because of that quote, while others go in search of the new and different to find the outstanding meal.

This week, we're having a little bit of both the new and old, but let's recap last week's menu. The Cheese Manicotti was a hit with the boys. I thought it was okay, but I think I'd want to jazz up the cheese filling just a little more next time. The Fantastic Taco Casserole was a repeat for us and the boys scarfed it down as usual. The Divine Chicken Divan is a family favorite, and hits our menu every month or two. I tried a new recipe for my grandmother's party also. It was Cheesecake Pops. It wasn't a hard recipe, just tedious and the results were fantastic...I'll try to get the recipe up within a week or so.

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday ~ Memorial Day

The boys are with their dad, so I'll be eating whatever is in the fridge.

Tuesday ~ Baseball & Soccer Night

Tex-Mex Gooey Casserole

Wednesday ~ Chore Night

It's a breakfast for dinner night. We'll be having Simple, Perfect French Toast, Hashbrown Casserole and sausage.

Thursday ~ Baseball Night

Alfredo Bake

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~ Baseball Tourney

Mr. A has a baseball tourney here in town, so the boys are going to be home for dinner Friday night. We'll have spaghetti that night. Saturday, Mr. A has a minimum of two games, but my parents and my grandma will be here for the tourney, so I'm not sure what we'll do for food yet. I'll talk to my mom this week and see what's what and I may have to amend my menu for something that night. Sunday is more of the tourney if Mr. A's team does well, but I'm guessing that it'll just be me that day, so I'll forage for whatever is in the fridge.

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

The Matriarch

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.

~ Victor Hugo

Today my grandmother turns 80. It's hard for me to believe that fact. When my mom's parents hit that age, they were OLD. In fact, my mom's parents were always old to me.

Not so much for my dad's mom. She has always been young to me, and she has as much stamina now as I do.

Grandma was only 19 when my dad was born. She was only 42 when I was born and at the time, her youngest child was 8. She's just been young, if that makes sense.

Last night the family got together as a surprise for her birthday. My uncle brought her over to the American Legion where the rest of us were waiting, but she wasn't surprised. She said she knew something was up when she didn't get any cards in the mail. Smart lady, my grandmother.

The kids all gave her money for a trip - or whatever she wants to do with it. My grandma enjoys traveling, but hasn't been doing a lot of it lately. I hope she takes a trip that she'll really enjoy with this money.

In another post, I talked about the book I was putting it together for her. It turned out wonderfully, and while I got a few facts wrong (my cousins graduated from a different school than I'd listed), my grandmother truly loved it. She was crying into the first few pages, because I'd found pictures that she didn't remember ever having, and she kept saying how precious it was to her. I'm truly happy that she enjoyed it.

I made the cake for the celebration, and while it was a good cake, I wasn't entirely pleased with it. Grandma, however, loved it, and that's what matters isn't it?

We managed to take a family photo of us all also. We were missing two, and that seems to be standard any more. I don't remember the last time all of us were together. Hopefully we'll get the full family picture before much more time passes.

My grandmother has lived the kind of life I wish for myself. She loves her children, her grands and her greats. Better, she is loved by us all. She freely admits though life was hard when she and my grandfather started out, she'd do it all over again, and really, there's nothing more fulfilling that a person can say about their life, is there?

So to my grandma...Happy Birthday. You mean the world to us all.

Until later...

Speaking In Tongues...

Here's another meme...

1) What languages can you speak other than your native language?

Well, since my minor in college was languages, the answer would be four. French, Spanish, German and Russian.

2) Which languages would you like to learn?

An Asian language, proably Japanese.

3) What is your favorite thing to say in another language?

That would be "Thank You". I rarely use the English words.

4) Could you be an interpreter at the United Nations?

Ummmmm...No.

5) When you get nervous, do you babble?

Sometimes...other times, I shut up.

Until later...

Make A Joyful Noise

This is the first year of "actual" music concerts in the Hinterlands. Mr. A started playing the trombone last August and also joined the choir in middle school. It's been interesting getting him to practice and to listen to that practice. He's gotten better, but it's still noise.

Last night was the last concert of the year for the 6th grade students at Mr. A's middle school. It was a combined choral/band concert. The first 45 minutes the choir students sang and then we sat for 15 minutes while they rearranged the stage for the band. Once that was complete, the band performed five songs and then the choir came back out and they performed together.

It was a nice way to end the music year, and I'm very glad that Mr. A decided to participate in both. Apparently, this year was the biggest year for the middle school when it comes to participation of 6th grade students. There were nearly 200 students at the concert last night, many of them playing both in the band and performing in the choir. It certainly sounded as though most of the students would be continuing on next year...Mr. A is continuing with band, but dropping choir.

It was also interesting to see some of these kids who Mr. A has grown up with. The girls are so tall, and most tower over the boys. Mr. A is head and shoulders taller than a good third of the other boys himself. It helped me realize that yes, my baby IS getting older, no matter how I want to deny that.

There was a time that I preferred to not listen to some of the noise Mr. A made and told him to play quieter...I wish I could go back and redo that. Because noise, whether it is a child having fun playing, or created as part of an end of the year concert is joyful. Sometimes you just have to remember that and not get caught up in the "noise" part of the deal.

Until later...

Take It or Leave It

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.

~ Buddy Hackett

My family's menu consisted of pretty much the same thing. I've not done that to the monsters, and this menu shows it...We're having manicotti...again. Can I tell you how tired I am of manicotti? LOL!

Last weeks' menu was a 50/50 success rate. The Crispy Ginger Beef was given two thumbs up and then one of the monsters changed his mind and gave it a thumbs down. It gets two thumbs up for me. The Salisbury Steak gets three thumbs in the meh zone. I won't be making it again unless it's all I have in the cupboard. The Chicken Manicotti got two thumbs up from the boys. I didn't end up having any of this, but given the way they scarfed it up, it had to be good.

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday ~ Scout Graduation!

Bugaboo is bridging up to the next Scout level, so we'll be at the picnic while Mr. A goes with X and grabs something on the way to his game.

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Band/Choir Concert Night

Cheese Manicotti

Wednesday ~ Baseball Practice

Fantastic Taco Casserole

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Divine Chicken Divan

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~

It's my grandmother's 80th birthday, so the boys are with me Friday and Saturday. Friday will be leftovers as I make a Brown Butter Cake with Buttercream Icing to take to her party on Saturday. We'll be eating out that day.

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

Yeah, It's Another One...

Lasts....

1. Last beverage → Brisk bottled tea
2. Last phone call → my mom
3. Last instant message → my coworker
4. Last song you listened to → Tears are Falling ~ KISS
5. Last time you cried → today
6. Last text message → Libby


Have you ever...

1. Dated someone twice → yes
2. Been cheated on → yes
3. Kissed someone & regretted it → yes
4. Lost someone special → yes
5. Been depressed → yes


Three favorite colors...

1. Green
2. Brown
3. Black



Have you ____ this month...

1. Made a new friend → no
2. Fallen out of love → no
3. Laughed until you cried → no
4. Met someone who changed your life → no
5. Found out who your true friends were → yes
6. Found out someone was talking about you → yes
7. Have you kissed anyone on your friend’s list → no
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life → all
9. How many kids do you have → 2
10. Do you have any pets → yes
11. Do you want to change your name → no
12. What did you get for your last birthday → a chair
13. What time did you wake up today → 4:30am
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → sleeping
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → summer
16. Last time you saw your father → Sunday
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → be a better mother.
18. What are you listening to right now → conference call
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → yes
23. Who’s getting on your nerves right now → too many to mention
24. Most visited webpage → depends on mood

It's Tourney Time....

Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseballs around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball.

~ Pete Hamill

Until later...

Braces Off, Braces On

So Mr. A got his braces off two weeks ago. He has beautiful teeth now. Bugaboo is the same age Mr. A was when he got his braces...

Which of course meant that when we went to the dentist yesterday, I asked them to give me an opinion on if he should have his first ortho consult or not.

The decision was that he should. Which isn't a bad thing, but it means I need to race to get those family pictures taken before we have metal in the familial mouth again.

Bugaboo seems a little apprehensive about the whole braces idea. I hope he'll warm up to it before the time comes for him to have them put on.

Oh, and it was a "Look Ma! No Cavities!" type of appointment too.

Until later...

A Mom Always Knows & Aren't I Civil?

We got home from school last night, and I realized that I didn't have any milk in the house. Now, that's not such a big deal, as none of us really like milk, but we were scheduled to have mashed potatoes for dinner. Since I'm such a gourmet, the instant mashed tators I'd bought needed milk instead of water to make. That meant I was off to the grocery store after giving the boys instructions to "Get Your Homework DONE!".

I wasn't gone ten minutes. I got back and Mr. A is on the phone with his dad, who had apparently called 3 times while I was gone. Three times!

Mr. A wanted to know if he could go out to dinner with his dad. Part of me wanted to tell him absolutely not, but that's the mean and petty part, so I told him I didn't care. I'm nothing if not gracious. Ha! Mr. A proceeded to tell his dad that was okay and hung up. I asked when his dad would be there, and Mr. A says that he just pulled in the drive. Hello?!?!?! It's a quarter after four in the afternoon.

Apparently, X wasn't sure how long it would take him to cross the bridge that separates his town from the rest of civilization now that it is closed except for one small lane that has to serve 50,000 commuters a day. The hour he gave himself as extra time was just that...extra time, which is why he was on my doorstep way before he was expected.

Mr. A hadn't even started getting ready for his ball game, so I went out to the car and invited X and his daughter into the house to wait. Mr. A is a teenager, so him getting ready could take 3 minutes to 30. They stood in the foyer like bumps and I kept having to brush past on my way to find whatever it was that Mr. A had lost, so I finally told them that they were more than welcome to go sit upstairs on the couch and wait. I'm not exactly sure which one of us was more surprised by my civility, but the invitation had been offered. X sat and watched me race around to help Mr. A, cook dinner and correct spelling all at the same time. I wanted to smack him and ask him to at least correct the spelling, but I didn't...see, civility!

So, they finally left for Mr. A's game and Bugaboo and I scarfed up our yummy instant potatoes before heading off to soccer. We had to cross the same bridge and had a little more trouble than X did, but we were still on time.

Bugaboo and his team won their game, and they were all happy. I raced him off the field as fast as I could to see if I couldn't catch the tail end of Mr. A's game.

Estimations were it would take 30 minutes to cross the bridge back to civilization, so I called X to tell him I didn't think we'd make it. It was already 7:10, and the ball field was at least 30 minutes from the OTHER side of the bridge. I was told that it was only the top of the second inning (in an hour and ten minutes????) and they were losing, so I said I'd see how quick we got across the bridge.

Well, we got across and I got us to the game by the top of the fourth. We walked up just as Mr. A made a spectacular catch in center field. The boys were all pumped because they'd managed to get ahead since I'd talked to X.

It came time for Mr. A to get up to bat and I walked up to where X and another of the dads were standing. I asked X if he'd been hit by a pitch yet. The answer was no and I informed them both that he'd get hit this time. The other dad just looked at me. I laughed and said that it was starting to appear that Mr. A didn't think it was a game if he hadn't gotten hit by a pitch at least once.

Mr. A took the first two balls, swung at the next, ducked down to miss getting hit for pitch four and was nailed in the head by pitch five. I just laughed. X looked at me and just shook his head. The other dad gave a shocked little laugh and said, "You weren't kidding, were you?" Um...No.

A mom always knows.

Until later...

Are We Sure The Day of Rest is Sunday?

It was a lovely evening last night. LOVELY.

Why, you ask? Because I did NOTHING all evening.

Okay, that's not really true. I cooked dinner for the boys...but Mr. A helped, so it doesn't count as a true full meal. Once the boys had eaten, I cleaned up the kitchen and then my book and I retired to the bathroom.

In my clean tub, I ran some really hot water and just relaxed. Just me, my book and a glass of tea (can you really call it iced if it is just the tea without the ice?). I lazed in that tub with its scented steam from the apple cider bath salts I'd used and just let myself be. The boys were playing Risk downstairs and getting along quite well, so I wasn't needed to referee.

I think we all needed the down time. We've been on the go since the middle of April, and it takes a toll out of you. The boys needed the time to remember they're kids and not crazed, over-scheduled athletes. I needed the time to remember that while I might be a mom who has 50 kajillion things going on any given day, I'm also a woman who needs to remember to pamper herself.

So here in the Hinterlands, Monday was the night of rest...not Sunday.

Until later...

Monday...What's for Dinner?

It's Monday and that means MPM!

Last week's menu went over pretty well. The Crispy Onion Chicken got one thumb up and one thumb down from the monsters. I gave it a thumb up, so we'll be having it again. The Penne With Chicken and Roasted Asparagus was absolutely wonderful, and the cold leftovers were just as good. The Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake was wonderful too, and if you don't like apples, the cheesecake without the apples would be just fine! In fact, I'm likely to make it without the apples next time.

It's not as busy this week as last week, which is a good thing. We have two school nights empty and while the weekend is full with a tourney, it's the weekend, so I'm okay with that.

This week's menu is shaping up as follows:

Monday ~ Relaxing!

Crispy Ginger Beef

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Salisbury Steak The monsters have always liked the frozen kind, so we're going to test out the from scratch kind.

Wednesday ~ Chore Night

Chicken Manicotti

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Spaghetti

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~

Mr. A has a tourney, so I'm guess I'll be eating out. I'm headed to my parents for the weekend, as the tourney is closer to their house than mine, and every little bit of saved gas helps!

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

M O M

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.

~ Washington Irving



Thanks Mom. I love you.

I'm Following In Mrs. Cleaver's Footsteps

Eons ago, there were specific days for the housewife to get chores done...and to a point, that's still true...but I don't only do laundry on Monday and I iron as needed, rather than all day Tuesday. However, today is Saturday, which means it is Baking Day! And I'm going to be baking that cheesecake mentioned in MPM earlier this week.

I also have to clean (and that was supposed to be yesterday, but oh, well...) the house before my parents show up tomorrow. Luckily, it isn't dirt, just a little cluttered.

It's a cold and dreary day here in the Hinterlands. As I suspected, Bugaboo is angry with me, so he wants nothing to do with me. That means that I'll likely curl up with a book, unless he decides he actually does want my company. I've learned that you can't push him out of his moods, rather that you have to wait him out...we'll see what happens.

So, I'm off to do some cleaning and then later this afternoon I'll make that cheesecake...June would be proud of me.

Until later...

One on One Time

This weekend Mr. A is going away with his Boy Scout Troop to do some Community Service. Each may the troop goes out to the Wisconsin Dells and takes care of things at the Easter Seals Camp. It's a good experience for him and for the troop.

With Mr. A being gone, that give Bugaboo and I some one on one time. We don't often get that time together, and I enjoy it when we do.

Bugaboo wants to go to the drive in to see Iron Man and 10000 BC. I wouldn't mind going, but once again, the CS check is late and it just isn't possible for us to go without it.

I'm hoping he'll be willing to sit at home watching movies and playing games. It'll give us time to just talk. Likely, he'll not be happy when I put the kabosh on his drive in desires...we'll have to see.

Until later...

You Never Really Forget Old Friends, Do You?

Yesterday was the 38th birthday of a man who was at one time very dear to me. So dear, that I named my first born son after him. I lost custody of this friendship when my ex and I split up, and that hurt almost as much as the dissolution of my marriage.

This man was a childhood friend of my ex. In high school they were like one animal with two heads. You rarely saw one without the other and they considered each other brothers. In fact, their birthdays are just four days apart. He accepted me into his life when my ex and I started dating. Accepted me so much that he treated me like a little sister.

He was there on our first date, on my graduation day, at our engagement party, he was the best man at my wedding. He was one of the first we told when I became pregnant, and one of the first to visit us in the hospital when Mr. A was born. He is Mr. A's godfather and to this day is part of my ex's life.

Our friendship couldn't withstand the twists and turns of my divorce from his oldest friend. And really, at the time, knowing that he was being pulled between us, I told him that I knew the time was coming when he'd need to make a choice, and I understood that I wasn't going to be winning that battle.

Most of the time, I don't think about him, but each May 7th, his face pops into my head and I remember the years of friendship we enjoyed together. I hope this year is good to him.

Until later...