Pie. Did you know March 14th is National Pie Day? I love pie. My favorites are fruit pies.
But I learned how to make pecan pie when I was 15 because that's my dad's favorite pie.
Then I went to Marie Calendar's. And I discovered something about myself.
I am hopeless when it comes to picking my favorite kind of pie. The pic above is called Million Dollar Pie. Since I've never heard of that one, I am kinda giddy about trying to make it this weekend--ya know, for National Pie Day...because I am a Patriot and I like to show my support for this great country in ways my family can appreciate...and there is never a bad reason to make a Pie.
Anyone have a great pie recipe they wanna share? Saturday is the Day. Buy or make a pie for your self or your family!
Million Dollar Pie
(Makes 2 Pies) 2 Graham cracker pie crusts2 Small cans crushed pineapple, drained1 Can sweetened condensed milk1 1/3 Cups flaked coconut1 Cup chopped pecans, toasted2 9-ounce containers of non-dairy whipped topping2 Tablespoons lemon juice Mix all ingredients until well blended. Divide between the two crusts. Refrigerate until firm. Decorate with whipped cream and Maraschino cherries.
P.S. The kids are fighting like cats and dogs. Like Mike Tyson and Evander. Like Tweety Bird and Sylvester. Like Wylie Coyote and Roadrunner. Like Paula and Simon. Like 2 kids who've been locked up in the same room for too many days. "She's annoying me!" "He's a jerk!" "Get out of my room!" "Stop talking to me!"
Ahhhh....I feel better about the whole thing now. The sounds of wellness have reappeared. There is hope. That means I only had to check on them twice--out of habit I suppose, to make sure they're okay. And they were. So I slept, like 8 hours. Eight! Not 1 hour and 45 minutes like Monday night. Not the 4 hours night before last. Eight FULL wonderful hours. YES!... Sweet Freedom.
I need to send a "shout-Out" to my blogger friend for suggesting "shower steamers"!
The kids really liked them. Me too. And to everyone else who cheered us on...we're nearing the Finish line. Thank you!
I'm laughin...because this is just getting ridiculous around here.
Boofus and Caboose are in recovery mode. YEA! They're still pukin' up mucous and whatever else is in their tummies, but not as often. I only had to get up 4x last night= 2 x each--so that I felt like I'd gotten alot more sleep than I have in a couple of weeks--so that was great!
Then (and this is where things get good--pay attention!), at 7am, Daisie comes in my room and says she's not feeling well. Her lower right side has a sharp pain in it. Being the awesome and on-the-ball Mom that I am, I give her an OTC pain relief and send her to school. Two hours later, I am called to come and pick her up from school, where the nurse tells me it may be appendicitis. We get to the Doc's ofc and they tell me they're 50-70% sure it's appendicitis, and set her up for a Catscan a little after Noon. (I know, right?!) We have an hour and a half before the appt., so we go home with instructions to start drinking a ton of water before the scan. But less than 30 mins. after we get home, Daisie says she's feeling alot better. I call the Dr. and we decided that we'll just keep an eye on her, since she has no other symptoms of appendicitis.
Hold on...now it's not over. Around this time, Diana starts telling me she isn't feeling well either.(Are you kidding me?!) She has a headache--which I think is because she did a face plant on a concrete slab yesterday, while helping Taylow's mom clean up their backyard. She got a couple of black eyes, a bloody nose, and some swelling out of it. Now, you'd think that she would've come home right away--nope, they went to a tennis match which Taylow was in at another high school, THEN came home. Oh, and today she tells me she blacked out for a few seconds too. Nice. So I'm thinkin the headache TODAY is from the face-plant yesterday. But then I take a look at her throat, and off to the Dr.'s we go...that's the 4th kid in 2 days. The receptionist greets us and says, "this must be Diana." Nana replies, "how did you know?" "Because you're the only one we haven't seen so far." Diana says, "Well, let's just hope all this is is strep throat, okay?" That's how ridiculous this has gotten...when we're hoping that all she has is strep! We see a new Dr.--he comes in, and sorta grins and says, "Ooops, I'm in the wrong room. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." Diana says, "I'll be right here." Then he asks, "You doin' okay?" She laughs, "Uh, sure. that's why I'm here." smart aleck girl I have, I know--but she was downright giddy. We both were--insanity does that, ya know? So yup, she has strep. There's drugs for strep. And that's a good thing. I'm happy to report at this hour 10pm, all of the kids are sufficiently drugged and tucked into bed. Kent is wondering if we should just have his pay direct deposited into the medical clinic.
My best moments from the past three days: We had chinese take-out Monday night. Nan brought in dinner last night. We had pizza tonight. My VT is bringing in dinner tm'rw night.
If you've noticed, I haven't had to cook in 3 days. Always a good day when I don't have to cook!
And lastly, the Caboose says sweetly from her tea tree oil bath, "Mommy, I love you for taking care of us." Awww those little words filled my heart. Here's hoping we make it thru one day without a trip to the Doctor's office!!! Cross your fingers. Cross your toes. Say a prayer if you feel inclined--we could use it!
Another sleepless night. Just as I dozed off around 10:30pm, Boofus had a coughing fit.
Every Night:
We meet in his bathroom, where I stand next to him, rubbing his back (while he is puking up mucous & gasping for air)-- assuring him, loving him, wiping his face with a clean cloth, hand him a drink of water, then I walk him back to his bed, cover him up, kiss his cheek and tell him I'm listening for the next time. Which will be precisely when I am about to succomb to exhaustion. After the 3rd time last night/early this morning, I couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up, and Googled "Acute Bronchitis"--again. This time, I typed in "Acute Bronchitis home remedies"--I wish I had done that 4 weeks ago, my kids would probably be well now.
First- I should've been giving them 500mg Vitamin C every hour.
2nd- No sugary juices. Warm water. Warm echinacea tea. 8 oz. x 8 times a day.
3rd- A warm air humidifier--not the cool one I've been using.
4th- A steamy shower 3 times a day to loosen the phlegm.
5th- No cough syrup to suppress the coughing when there's phlegm--it has been counteracting the mucinex. ugh!
6th- Wrap warmed up towels around their chest to again, relax their chest. And good ole-fashioned Vicks on their chests.
And those are just the top 6. The top 6 I wish I'd known four weeks ago. So, when the Caboose got up at 6:30am with her first coughing fit of the day, I put her in a warm tub, threw a towel in the dryer, made the echinacea tea with honey and let her sit in the bath with the curtain closed for 20 minutes. Then I wrapped her up in that warm towel and gave her the tea, which she did not scoff at!
And at 8 AM sharp, I called the Dr's office again, making an appt for the kids with a different Dr. Yes, I want a 2nd opinion. I'm not happy with our new doctor--he could've been more thorough with home treatment of this cough, and he just smiled, filled out a Rx form and sent us on our way. Twice. Even when I told him I was using a cool air humdifier ("Humidifier is good" he said)and cough syrup ("um, Okay", he said.) ugh. So it's time for another perspective.
I don't know how these kiddos do it but they are happily playing, like yesterday and the days before with one another--stopping to run to the bathroom, cough their guts out, and go right back to their movie and fort. If it were me, I'd crawl into bed in a heap and complain alot more than they are...Boofus just got another sheet out of the linen closet. For the new fort design. They're building "UP" now. Where's my camera?
****P.S. Later: Pneumoina or Pertussis. We'll know by Friday if it's the latter. New antibiotics, cough syrup with codiene for nighttime, and a nebulizer for Boofus. No school for the rest of the week. Spoke to School District Nurse and Principal about possible tutoring..yea! I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks nothing like a train.
This is what I saw when I opened the Boofus' bedroom door...a mountain of blankets & pillows topped with neon orange cones...Caboose popped up her head and gave a fake frown.
I rounded the corner and found the Caboose...if you look closely, you can see their portable dvd player, a Carl's Jr cup, and Isabella--the Caboose's comfort kitten.
The Boofus--contentedly playing with his Legos, as usual.
We're on week 4 of being sick with acute bronchitis. While I am so over this--at least the kids are being creative. I've contacted the school nurse and asked what I can do about sending them at least for half-days until this awful cough is over...the doctor says it can last another 2 weeks or longer. And yes, it is still contagious by the particles that are released into the air when they cough. ugh. So rest and fluids with mucinex is the Rx for them. And apparently, building a fort using every available pillow, and Harry Potter helps too.
Time Out for Women held so many tender mercies for me that when I came home, I was doubtful my feet touched the floor. I didn't want to watch TV or listen to the radio, or even get on the computer. Just wanted this feeling to last as long as possible. I loved it!
My friends, Nan and Kelly picked me up, with Marilyn S. a gal in our ward that until this weekend, I didn't know very well at all. I'm so glad she came. Her personality complemented all of ours and it was fun to bring someone new into our little circle.
We headed up to Denver, ate at Costa Vida along the way, and arrived in plenty of time for the conference at the Denver Merchandise Mart. We even got reasonably good seats thanks to sisters in our ward that must've gotten there an hour earlier and saved a bunch for the rest of us.
When we arrived, I whispered to Kelly that there was one sister I was keen on meeting up with:Sister Shirley Carlson. She was my Laurel Advisor when I joined the Church at 16 years old. It was she who gave me clothing out of her closet--some with tags still on them--when my own parents forced me to choose, and I left their home with the clothes on my back. My love for her is total, and I knew that though she is 80 years old, she would be there if possible. So I said a little prayer in my heart and started looking around the room of 1800 women, for a little white-haired lady with twinkly eyes and a loving face. We weren't there but a few minutes, maybe 10--and lo, I saw her across the aisle! I made my way to her, greeted and hugged her--feeling 16 years old all over again--and we "caught up" with our lives right there for a couple of minutes. Tender Mercy #1. A few minutes later, I was looking at the displays of books, cds, and other offerings on tables, when I looked up and saw a strikingly beautiful woman--a little voice said, "That's Sr. Watterson." I looked again, trying to be careful not to stare, and thought, "are you sure? I haven't seen her in 30 years." "Yes, it's her. Go tell her." So I walked gingerly over to this woman and tapped her, "I'm sorry to bother you, but you look familiar. Are you Sister Watterson?" "Yes, I am.", she replied with her kind smile. I continued, "You probably don't remember me, but I joined the Church in your ward when I was 16 years old. Then I went into Relief Society, and you were the first Relief Society teacher I ever had. You said something that day that I had never heard before, and to this day have never forgotten. "Mother is the Heart of the Home." I just want you to know that your words left an impression on my life as I am the mother of seven children-- I have tried to be worthy of that place." Well she teared up, and said she did remember me. Gave me a hug and we chatted for a few more minutes. Tender Mercy #2.
When I got back to our seats, I told Kelly about it--then she said, Oh, that's DJ's mission president's wife! Where is she?" So again, I scoured the audience and found her again--only Kelly had wondered off to visit with other sisters she recognized. We caught up with Sister Watterson the next morning.
The Presenters at the conference were: Michael McLean, Kenneth Cope, Mark Mabry (The slideshow creator of "Reflections of Christ" above), Mary Ellen Edmunds, Delynn or Deanne somebody (she was a scream!), Bro. Willcox, and Wendy Ulrich, the author of Forgiving Ourselves--the book I've been sharing on here, and she is also my son's former Mission President's Wife/mission mom. I got to visit with her during a break. She is wonderful, and what a blessing to meet her and express my appreciation to her for her service for my son while he was in the Canada Montreal Mission! I loved it! Tender Mercy #3.
I have to say, Kenneth Cope has been around a long time. I'd never seen him in person before this weekend though. At the close of the conference, I took the opportunity to express appreciation for his testimony and tell him that all these years I've enjoyed and been uplifted by his songs, and now seeing him in person, I realize that he is more than a singer/songwriter--he is a witness. And thanked him for coming.
And then in the last minutes before the entire conference was over, I also got to meet and visit with Pres. Ulrich himself. SO neat!
And on and on it goes. The messages were for me. The music was for me. The prayers, for me also. I felt layers of life's grunge wash away, feeling anew in my purpose and abilities as a wife and mother and as a child of God. What a sweet experience! At the beginning of the conference, the moderator, Laurel, said that she suspected that each of us may have come to this conference with particular questions in our hearts, and if we would be diligent in listening with our hearts, we would find the answers to those questions. So as the different presenters took their turns speaking to us, I found that each of them had a nugget or two that applied to me, so that by the end of the last speaker, the last song, the last prayer, I had received answers to my hearts' complaints and found inspiration to help myself be a better self. I thought about each of my children, individually, wondering how I can be a better parent for them--and came away with specific tasks I can do to encourage and love them in the ways they need; as well as my husband. I also felt inspired concerning my role as an older sister in my ward and realm of influence. I can do more. All of this, because I was reminded of who I am and my Heavenly Father's love for me. That's where it started. That's where it always starts, isn't it?
I must also note that my generous friend, Nan, bought all of us matching pj's! And we stayed up way too late talking about every thing from our childhoods to our conversions (all of us are converts!), to our children, callings, and hot flashes! It felt like I had been gone a week instead of just one day. I loved every minute of it.
My BFF Nan gave me a wonderful Christmas gift: Time Out For Women getaway. How cool is she? I've been so looking forward to this weekend; I need to get my cup filled. We're supposed to leave when the kids get home from school--as it starts tonight @6:30pm in Denver. I imagine it's going to be similar to BYU's Women Conference without the 10 hour drive to Provo, without MaryEllen Edmunds' fun "conference etiquette" video, without the Instant Choir (which I always participate in), and without all the lines of 25,000 women flowing in different directions. This might even becivil.
em>civ-i-lized /ˈsɪvəˌlaɪzd/ [siv-uh-lahyzd] –adjective 1. having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc. 2. polite; well-bred; refined. 3. of or pertaining to civilized people: The civilized world must fight ignorance. 4. easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered: The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.
Mr W did indeed get up with Boofus last night while I got some much-needed rest.
Isn't it amazing the difference you feel when you are rested?! But, the kids are still home from school with their awful coughing and puking up phlegm. That's all they've got...lots and lots of it though. Boofus tosses his cookies after every meal. I don't know that I've ever been so frustrated with an illness as this one that has ahold of my kids! It's been 4 weeks now. I've scoured, Lysol'ed, bleached their sheets, pillows, everything in their rooms; nearly force-fed them juice, water, gatorade, vitamin water, lemon water with honey...you name it. They've been on and finished up antibiotics, have taken /are taking: mucinex, congestion relief, cough syrup and extra vitamins. There's a humidifier in their rooms. I don't know what else to do.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to get mucous out, please share!
I am feeling uneasy about leaving them here overnight without me. Mr W assures me that they'll be fine--that I need to go. And he's right.
So I'm packing my bags so I can leave when Nan and Kelly are ready...it will be a long convoy of sisters travelling north to Denver, which I am so glad to be apart! Last night, I overheard Mr W explaining to Boofus where I'm going and what TOFW is...then I stepped in his room and said, "It's where I listen to other women tell me why I shouldn't run away from home."
Mr W laughed. He knows it's true. I have those days when running away looks like a tempting option. Nana says it wouldn't do me any good--that they would all hunt me down and bring me back tied to the front of the Suburban. "You know you love us, Mom." Yeah, which is exactly why I need a "Time Out".
I want to be positive. Mostly because it's so much more fun than whining. I don't like to whine. Saying outloud the "negative" only reinforces the negative. So somewhere in my little noggin is a spark that fires when I wanna whine that says to me, "look for something better."
Thus, "Count Your Blessings". I haven't had any sleep in 2 days--so this could get loopy.
1. I'm still in my jammies at 9:24am.
2. I have a car that allowed me to take 5 separate trips to the kids' school yesterday...once for dropping off, once for taking meds up at noon for them (two different schools), once for picking Joseph up because he puked on the playground, and one more time to pick up the Caboose after school.
3. While Joseph and the Caboose are home from school today ill, coughing like cigarette-smoking-emphysema-patients, they are quietly watching TV. Too sick to bicker. Sad and at the same time, appreciated.
4. Though Daisie is also home sick, she is in her room quietly reading and resting.
5. I am grateful that we have health insurance--so the many trips we've taken to the Doc's office this month have only equated to about the cost of a new purse instead of the cost of an arm or leg.
6. And I have peace of mind with insurance. So if we need another Doc visit, it's there for us.
7. All of my older kids got through one more day, safely without me. They're out living thier lives and spending their own money.
8. It's Thursday--one day closer to Friday!
9. Friday is Time Out For Women in Denver!
10.TOFW means: going up there with my good friends,Kelly & Nan-- and ward sisters; sleeping in a hotel bed that I do not have to make[yes!]but probably will anyway--and a non-cooking day [woohoo!!]! Listening to awesome women speak about issues that affect me, inspire me, and fill my cup, so I do not run away from home!
11. I could, if I wanted to, just crawl into that hotel bed tomorrow afternoon and sleep thru the whole entire conference.
12. Thankfully, I know Nan or Kelly wouldn't judge me if I did that--but they love me too much to let me.
13. I know my husband loves me. He's already called this morning to see how all the sickies are and told me he'll "be on guard tonight". Sleep...oh how I crave thee.
14. I must've drifted off to sleep at one point last night, because I remember dreaming about Donny Osmond in Las Vegas...on account that my VT, Charlotte B. is a friend of his wife's and told us about her trip to Vegas last weekend for Debbie Osmond's birthday...without sharing all the details, that Donny is one great husband. So I dreamed about that last night--only I was an invited guest and couldn't find anything to wear to the big party! That would SO be the reality of it too--I'd have nothing to wear!
15. I am 2 degrees of separation from Donny. Never saw that coming! The thought makes me near-giddy!
16. It's 10am and I am still in my jammies and I have a clear calendar today. What a blessing!
17. I heard a child say something in all earnestness last night that has imprinted my heart:
"I was born to do good." His momma is one good Momma.
First, I have to thank Candice W. for posting this on her blog--I just died laughing! Everything he says is so so true! I am always telling my kids how lucky they are to have the luxuries they have--while they roll their eyes at me--compared to when I was growing up!
Things that have changed since I was a kid:
TV...we had 3 channels. I was in 2nd grade before we had a color TV too. And it had rabbit ears...with tinfoil on them, and sometimes my dad would have one of us kids stand next to the TV and touch it for better reception. WE were the remote control. Cartoons were only on Saturday morning for about 3 hours, and then all of us kids would get the boot to "go outside and play". If you missed your favorite show, too bad. There were no such things as reruns, or TIVO. You just missed it.
Music: Record players. Big boxy things that had to be plugged into a wall...and a little tiny needle that had to be placed "just right" on the vinyl record so you didn't scratch out Donny Osmond's voice on the "Crazy Horses" album. When I was in 6th grade, I got a personal tape player and one Donny Osmond tape--which I wore out, literally, playing over and over and over. And the radio--which we knew the phone number to Z100 by heart so we could call in our favorite request a bazillion times, so we could possibly tape it...often we'd miss the introduction but man, we're happy to just have a little of the song on a tape so we could listen to it whenever we wanted!
Hair Styling: Prickly round hair rollers. Under a big blow-up hair dryer that sat on the table next to you, or on the floor, while you are hooked up to it by a short vinyl tube which heat blew through into your humongous vinyl head balloon thingy. To sit there for an hour while your hair dried was not unusual. To make it go faster, my mom would unhook the head thingy, and use the hose to direct the air where she wanted it to dry fastest. For small curls: bobby pins criss-crossed. I got my first curling iron when I was in 9th grade...and it was a steam one that left a few blisters on my head. Blow dryers came out around that time too, as did Clairol's hot rollers!
Cooking: Microwaves came to the public when I was a Senior in high school. No kidding. I didn't know anyone who had one. They were very expensive. I was married when my folks got one, & we all took turns "cooking" things in them just to see it cook! Marshmallows were the best. Oh, and my Mom used to say she had 5 dishwashers: me and my 4 brothers.
Laundry: I remember my granma having a wringer washer and a clothes line--thank goodness we were better off than her--we had a tub washer and a clothes line. Saturday mornings were spent close to home--so we could hang load after load of laundry for my mom on the line. Our clothesline had between 4 and 6 lines that were about 15-20 feet long. And we had to hang the bed linens on the outside, with the undies and personal things inside--so the neighbors didn't know we wore underwear like them. lol Permanent Press was unknown. Full laundry baskets sat and waited to be ironed with starch. Knit fabric came along when I was around 9 or 10 years old, but we didn't have alot of it. Good old cotton was everywhere. When we finally got a dryer, I thought my mom was gonna die from happiness!
Cars: We had 1...and it wasn't new...my mom actually loved her Rambler--you could hear it coming from miles away. I would hide when she came to pick us up from school once in awhile. I was so embarrassed--what a rotten kid I was! And since it didn't have enough seats for all of us, my youngest brother would lay across the back dashboard. Without a seatbelt. And it was legal. But driving barefoot wasn't legal. But drinking beer while you were driving wasn't illegal either. Unless you were pulled over for driving drunk. That was illegal. There was an AM radio in the car. Roll down windows. No A/C. If you were hot, you rolled down the windows, if you were cold, you rolled them up and hoped the heat from the engine would warm up the car. Electric windows & A/C came when I was in about 6th grade, as did the FM radio. When I was in middle school, 8 track players were the rage in the car. No kidding. When I was a Senior in HS, my dad had a Stayin Alive 8 track that we played a gazillion times over, until it magically dissappeared.
Phones: We had one. It was attached to the kitchen wall. And yes, it was a rotary dial. It was alos part of a "party line"--meaning, our neighbors shared the same phone line. And if you needed to make an important call, you would interrupt their conversation, as politely as possible, and then hang up. When they hung up on their end, your phone would give a small ring so you knew the line was not busy and you could make your own call. And, btw, in our home, the phone was "not a toy"--it was very important, and only for business. You got on, made your call, said what was needed, and got off ASAP! Only until I was in middle school did it become an acceptable part of your social life, not a party line...and even then, there were time limits.
I remember watching Phil Donahue in 1982 saying that in the future every home in America would own a personal computer. And that we would be able to buy things like groceries and clothing, book vacations and take classes, pay bills and write letters all from the conveniance of our own home. And I thought,"No way! Who could ever afford something like that?! Phil, you are dreamin' buddy!"
So what about you? What is a modern conveniance we have now that you can't imagine doing without?
Chicken-Lips.
She gets her silliness honest.
My number 7.
My "baby" is Eight. Waaaaa.
She is the light of my life.
Where have the years gone?
The Caboose is funny and quirky. Her laughter is joy to my heart.
She belongs to her sisters too...Dani says the Caboose is her "favorite".
She is everyone's favorite.
Playful. Typical youngest...sometimes wild, always ready to give a hug and a kiss.
Loves Dress-Up
See what I mean? We needed her little spirit here with us.
My "baby" is Eight. Waaaaa.
She is the light of my life.
Where have the years gone?
The Caboose is funny and quirky. Her laughter is joy to my heart.
She belongs to her sisters too...Dani says the Caboose is her "favorite".
She is everyone's favorite.
Playful. Typical youngest...sometimes wild, always ready to give a hug and a kiss.
Loves Dress-Up
See what I mean? We needed her little spirit here with us.
This is what I saw when I opened the Boofus' bedroom door...a mountain of blankets & pillows topped with neon orange cones...Caboose popped up her head and gave a fake frown.
