Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live

by Dorothy Law Nolte (1924 - 2005)

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Worn out Parents

Isn't this the truth...

On my Nightstand

This is on my nightstand right now. Well, this book and about 50 glasses of half empty water.

If you've ever been in 'that' place where you lose all hope and zest for life, read this book.

Disgraceful

This is the picture of a man who has literally destroyed his own life, political and personal.

This is the picture of the woman who loved him and tried to keep him from that destruction. She is the portrait of dedication.

Any way you look at it, it's a very sad story.

Birthday Party

So this was our first, and last, attempt at a combined birthday party for the kids. Admittedly, it was me that pushed for the combined part, so it was pretty much my lesson learned while everyone else got to say I told you so.

There were just, too, many, children there. I have even more respect, now, for Joe's Kindergarten teacher, being able to wrangle these kids each day. I don't know how she does it. There were a couple little hooligans that will NEVER be invited back to our home, and even one that I asked Joe to steer clear of at school.

I would like to say that I learned to be a more patient person during the party, but really, the opposite happened. I learned about my own limitations when it comes to hosting multiple children at once. This, I now know, is not a good idea for me in the future.

I won't go into the details, but let's just say, at the end of the day, I was so happy they all left.

Oh, and I even threw my back out wrapping my Mom in toilet paper for one of the games...how sad is that. It was to the point that I could hardly move, even breathing hurt.

Mom was a HUGE help! Thanks Mom! She really picked up my slack when my back went wacky, and she made the darn cutest cakes ever.

I took some really cute pics of the kids that I plan on putting in their thank you cards, but I can't post them here, as I don't have their parent's permission. So, I'll just show the ones that focus on my kids.

Pork Chops with Couscous

Pork Chops with Coucous

Pork Chops
2 Tbs Olive oil
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced
8 scallions, chopped, whites and greens separated
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon
1 Cup water
3/4 Cup couscous
1/2 Cup chopped flat leaf parsley
3/4 Cup grape tomatoes cut in half
1/2 Cup pistachios
3 Tbs Olive oil

In a large saucepan with a lid heat first two tablespoons of olive oil.
Salt and pepper one side of the pork chops and add that side facing down into the hot oil.
DO NOT MOVE PORK CHOPS UNTIL THEY ARE MOVEABLE. If you do, you will tear the meat. The pork chops, when browned, will naturally be able to move after about 2 minutes.
Turn the pork chops and brown on the other side until done, around another 3 minutes or until the juices run just clear. Squeeze the half of lemon over the pork chops.
Remove the pork chops to a warm plate and tent with tin foil.

In the hot pan add the whites of the green onions and the garlic.
Heat through and add the lemon juice to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the great little brown bits off the bottom.
Add the 1 Cup of water and bring to a low boil.
Add the couscous.
Put the lid on the pan and turn the heat down to low. Put your timer to 5 minutes and do not remove the lid until the 5 minutes is up.
When the timer goes off, remove the lid and stir in the onion greens, parsley, tomatoes, and pistachios. Stir and then add the remaining olive oil.
Stir and fluff until heated through.
Transfer the couscous to a platter and arrange the pork chops on top of it.
Pour any juices from the pork chops over it all.
Serve and enjoy!

So, I have never tried or made couscous of any kind before and I loved this! It's a take off of a Martha Stewart recipe (Thank you Martha!). I've been trying to add different and more varied grains (and foods) too our diet and when I saw the couscous at Fresh and Easy, I thought why not. It was also a very quick and easy meal to do. I will definitely be making this again.

Croup

So, the croup has visited our house, again, *sigh*. I really, really hate the croup. It's had a nasty history in our home, and I wish it would go away forever. It almost seems like a curse. First, there's the cough. The moment I hear it, my spine shivers with dread. Then there is the fever and thus the constant monitoring of weazing vs. rough breathing. Making sure that enough oxygen is getting in the lungs, with breathing treatments every 4 hours. Constantly wondering what their pulse/ox count is. Hoping, praying that it doesn't get so low, that my baby becomes listless or that their lips turn blue. Will there be another ambulance ride or hospital stay?

Having children with asthma obviously provides it's own set of obstacles. But, the croup, it's just so dangerous for them, so scary for me. At it's worst, the croup, for us, has turned into pneumonia.

Jocelyn started coughing this last Tuesday night. I stayed home with her on Wednesday, nursing her through breathing treatments and lots of hugs, making sure she got the rest that she needed. Jon stayed with her Thursday. Thursday night I cried before falling asleep. Friday night Joci and Joe stayed overnight at my parent's house. We were confident that they could care for her with her nebulizer and medicine. Little did we know that her ear would perforate, again. Mom stayed up with her all night, holding her and rocking her through the tears. At least after her eardrum gave way, she was more comfortable.

Today Joseph woke up, coughing (not croupy, thankfully), with a fever, and all stuffed up. Both have had breathing treatments all day, motrin, and mucinex, and then flonase. Tomorrow, well, I don't know. Tonight I will pray that they feel good enough to go to school and daycare, and that the lovely little itch developing in the back of my throat (!) will go away.

I hate the croup.

This is what the croup has looked like in the past...

And this last week...

Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee - Yes!

I really love having a President that stands up for the citizens of our country over these greedy ^%&%^$%#@^*(!) and lets them know that he will not allow them to get away with the sort of shenanigans against the American Taxpayer that they have in the past.

Read his comments here:

Business In The Beltway
Full Text: Obama On The Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee
01.14.10, 03:48 PM EST
Remarks by the president on the proposed financial crisis responsibility fee.

"Thank you, everybody, for being here. As we all know, our country has endured the deepest recession we've faced in generations. And much of the turmoil was caused by irresponsibility on the part of banks and financial institutions. Firms took reckless risks in pursuit of short-term profits and soaring bonuses, triggering a financial crisis that nearly pulled the economy into a second Great Depression.

It was little more than a year ago that we stood on that precipice. Several of the world's largest financial institutions had already failed. Credit markets froze and banks refused to lend. Trillions of dollars in household savings evaporated as stocks, pensions, and home values plummeted. And we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs each month. It was at this time that many large financial firms--those left standing--teetered on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by the consequences of their irresponsible decisions.

Even though these firms were largely facing a crisis of their own making, their failure could have led to an even greater calamity for the country. So the Federal Reserve and other agencies took emergency measures to prevent that outcome. And the previous administration started a program--the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP--to provide these financial institutions with funds to survive the turmoil that they had helped unleash. It was a distasteful but necessary thing to do.

We've worked over the last year to manage this program effectively, to hold firms accountable, and to recoup as much tax money as possible. Many originally feared that most of the $700 billion in TARP money would be lost. But because of the management of this program by Secretary Geithner and my economic team, we've now recovered the majority of the funds provided to banks.

As far as I'm concerned, however, that's not good enough. My commitment is to the taxpayer. My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. And my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people--folks who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession.

We want our money back, and we're going to get it. And that's why I'm proposing a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street. If these companies are in good enough shape to afford massive bonuses, they are surely in good enough shape to afford paying back every penny to taxpayers.

Now, our estimate is that the TARP program will end up costing taxpayers around $117 billion--obviously a lot less than the $700 billion that people had feared, but still a lot of money. The fee will be in place for 10 years, or as long as it takes to raise the full amount necessary to cover all taxpayer losses. This will not be a cost borne by community banks or small financial firms; only the largest firms with more than $50 billion in assets will be affected. And the size of the fee each bank owes will be based on its size and exposure to debt, so that we are recovering tax dollars while promoting reform of the banking practices that contributed to this crisis.

Now, the fact is these financial institutions are essential to our economy. They provide capital and credit to families purchasing homes, students attending college, businesses seeking to start up or expand. And that's why the rescue program was as necessary as it was unfortunate. And that is why, through this fee and broader reforms that we seek, our goal is not to punish Wall Street firms, but rather to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly caused the collapse of many of these firms and the financial system itself.

We cannot go back to business as usual. And when we see reports of firms once again engaging in risky bets to reap quick rewards, when we see a return to compensation practices that seem not to reflect what the country has been through, all that looks like business as usual to me. The financial industry has even launched a massive lobbying campaign, locking arms with the opposition party, to stand in the way of reforms to prevent another crisis. That, too, unfortunately, is business as usual. And we're already hearing a hue and cry from Wall Street suggesting that this proposed fee is not only unwelcome but unfair--that by some twisted logic it is more appropriate for the American people to bear the costs of the bailout, rather than the industry that benefited from it, even though these executives are out there giving themselves huge bonuses.

What I'd say to these executives is this: Instead of sending a phalanx of lobbyists to fight this proposal, or employing an army of lawyers and accountants to help evade the fee, I suggest you might want to consider simply meeting your responsibilities. And I'd urge you to cover the costs of the rescue not by sticking it to your shareholders or your customers or fellow citizens with the bill, but by rolling back bonuses for top earners and executives. And more broadly, I am continuing to call on these firms to put greater effort into helping families stay in their homes, to provide small businesses with needed loans, and to embrace--rather than fight--serious financial reform.

Ultimately, it is by taking responsibility--on Wall Street, here in Washington, all the way to Main Street--that we're going to move past this period of turmoil. That's how we're going to avoid the cycles of boom and bust that have caused so much havoc. That's how we're going to promote vibrant markets that reward innovation and entrepreneurship and hard work. That's how we're going to create sustained growth without the looming threat of another costly crisis. That's not only in the best interests of the economy as a whole; it's actually in the interest of these large banks.

So I'm going to be working closely with Congress on this proposal. And on behalf of the American people, I look forward to signing it into law.

Thank you very much."

Make Your Copies Green!

Going Green tip that is super easy!

When making copies try to select the 1:1 to 1:2 ration on the copier. This will take all the pages that you are copying, likely with nothing on the back (1:1 ratio) and your copied papers will come out with the copies on the back (1:2) ratio, or double-sided. That way you save paper, and in the end, hopefully, less trees will be cut down.

Thats just one small way to go green.

Tech Tags - Future Project

Here’s a really great idea for those of you that have kids of the age to either be fighting over the tech objects you have at home, or for those that can’t get your kids off of the tech toys. I found the posting here, at Ducks in a Row, one of my favorite blogs.

Each Sunday Ducks in a Row hands out 10 tickets to each child. Each ticket represents ½ an hour on a tech toy. The kids give them a ticket and then set the timer. Ducks reserves the right to say no at any time, for when they want to play at 8pm, or they have already used a lot of tickets that day. When they’re out of tickets, they’re out and no amount of crying will get them new tickets.

I love this idea and can totally see having to use this in my near future.

Go take a look at Ducks in a Row for this and more awesome ideas!

Chalkboard Fridge

If I were brave, and could get Jon to go along with this, I would love, love to do this to our refridgerator. I'm just not brave enough...yet.

I saw it here, at Raising Foodies, one of my new favorite blogs.

Wrapping Organizer

Dear Dad,

Can you please make this for me? It is completely awesome and a great way to organize, and I know you could probably whip this up in a jiffy...Please...????

Thanks to Be Different Act Normal for the idea here.

Anything I’ve ever done

that was ultimately worthwhile…

initially scared me to death.

-Betty Bender

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Manhattan Clam Chowder

6 slices of bacon, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large or 2 small red onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3/4 Cup of Marsala wine
2 Cans Chopped Tomatoes
2 large potatoes or 3 small potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 teaspoon of Oregano
1/2 Cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
3 Cans of Clams
Up to 1 Cup of water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Open the cans of clams, strain the juice into a bowl through a fine sieve and coffee filter to remove the sand. Rinse the clams and set aside.

In a large saucepan, crisp the bacon and remove when done. Add the celery, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the veggies are browned a bit. Add the Marsala wine and deglaze the pan, scraping all those great brown bits off the bottom. Add the clam juice, tomatoes and potatoes, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.

When ready to serve, add the parsley, water, and clams and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

If it is too thick for your taste, add a bit more water, or vegetable stock.

One last dash of wine is also tasty.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the chopped bacon from earlier.

This is my adaptation of a recipe from Martha Stewart's website, www.marthastewart.com

Make Your Own Tattoos - Future Project

What a great idea that I found, again, on the Crafter's File Box, here. She had it from Not So Idle Hands, here. I think this is a great idea and I will definitely be doing this!

Easy Cupcake Carriers - Future Project

This is probably one of the best ideas EVER!

I do not have one of those cupcake carriers to take cupcakes back and forth from our babysitter’s house or to my son’s school. I have wanted one for a long, long time, but am bothered by how much room it would require to store. Low and behold, Real Simple magazine has come up with a brilliant idea. I found this posting over at Everyday Celebrating this morning, and cannot wait to try this out. I mean, really, a shirt box and a box cutter and you’re good to go. You could even change it up with different wrapping paper to match whatever occasion you've made cupcakes for! Woohoo!

The Thompson Sign - Future Project

I love, love, love this idea from My Mix of Six. I can't wait to try it. I would have never thought about just using posterboard, what a great economical idea.

Selp-Pity

I've always liked this little poem:

Self-Pity

I never saw a wild thing

sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough

without ever having felt sorry for itself.



-D. H. Lawrence

Bad Ass!

My daughter is a total Bad-Ass!

This last week I took the kids to their 6 month dentist appointment. They noticed that Jocelyn had a bit of an infection above her top-right front tooth that had a root canal done in it last year, that and it was REALLY loose. Their dentist, Dr. Ash, decided that it was time for that little baby to come out. They encouraged Joci to wiggle it as much as possible and if she didn't get it out soon, then they would have to take it out in 2 months.

So, she's been wiggling, and wiggling, and wiggling for a few days now. Tonight, though, as Jon and I were putting the kids to bed, she decided she wanted that tooth out. She wiggled forward, backward, and even side to side, bloodying her mouth a bit, until it finally came out.

She was so proud, and even said it didn't hurt. Joe rushed in and we all marveled at how awesome she was.

We put her tooth in a little tooth box and stuck in under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy.

My Sweet, Little, Finger-Sucking Girl

Oh, my sweet, little, finger-sucking baby girl.

Joci, you will never know how hard getting you to stop sucking your thumb is on me.

Sounds selfish, doesn't it?

It's not hard because you whine or throw tantrums. It's not hard because you are angry with me when I remind you to take your finger out of your mouth. And, it's not because you are sneaky, hiding behind the couch with your blankie and your finger firmly planted in that little cupid's bow mouth of yours.

No, it's because I cannot tolerate to see you in pain.

It's obvious that it hurts you to be told to stop comforting yourself.

You have begged and pleaded with giant crocodile tears in your eyes as I have wrapped your sucking finger in a sticky bandaid.

You have negotiated for just short spurts of sucking time, and you have gazed into my eyes willing me to let you suck, just for a little longer.

It hurts my heart to see you suffer like this. I know it's necessary, I know you need me to be firm, yet encouraging to help you kick your habit. But, it's so hard to see you this way.

When you are feeling so helpless, angry, and sad, I just hold you and tell you that I love you. I tell you that you will get through this, that you are the most strong willed person I know, so I know that you can do it. I hold you and rock you and stroke your hair and tell you that it will be ok.

I hope this is enough for you. I hope that you hear me and believe what I am saying. I hope that in some small way I am helping you.

I look forward and see so many more times like these to come, and hope that I can help you, in my small way, to navigate them.

I will always love you, my sweet, little, finger-sucking girl.

Great Idea!

I love this idea for a cheap and easy receipt organizer that I saw at Just Something I Made. Go here to check it out...

Technology Has Gone Too Far!

Technology has officially gone too far.

I was just making my T-Mobile payment over the phone using their automated system. Everything was easy and soon I had completed my payment. As the automated voice on the other line was asking me if I’d like to add certain features, I kept repeating “Goodbye” until I heard this…

“You said Good-bye; it was nice talking to you”.

I swear, the computer automated voice told me that it was nice talking with me!

Family Fun at the Park