Homemade Ice Cream, Pickles, and Ticks. . .

Our office is open 365 days a year 24/7, we do not close for anything, not even bad weather.   When you work in the medical field you learn that this is just how it is.  Your family must also adjust.  I do not mind it because I know I am making a difference in someones life, I usually do not get to see the end result but sometimes we get to hear wonderful stories of our recipients connecting with our donor families and that is amazing.  That is what gets me through adjusting Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations with my family. 
We do not do things traditionally in my household.  This year  I wanted to do the 4th more traditional.  I had to work the night of the 3rd so,  I slept most of the morning of the 4th but I had bought an ice cream churn that week and we were going to have homemade ice cream for the 4th.  I told the hubbs about my idea and he grumbled, naturally, he does not like homemade ice cream.  He says it is always runny and gross and he only liked chocolate.   It was my mission to make the best homemade chocolate ice cream ever.  I searched the internet all over to find what I thought was a good recipe.  Turns out, I am the bomb when it comes to making ice cream, I even wowed the hubby.  Best ever chocolate ice cream, it tasted and had the consistency of a Wendy's frosty.  Yummm!!  I bought a Hamilton Beach traditional ice cream churn and it worked wonders.   I will do this again, it was easy and not messy at all, there was a little bit of a learning curve since I had never actually done this before.  I will share my recipe later in this post.
We are getting cucumbers by the baskets full and I have made four jars of fridge pickles, I will share that recipe too.  It is easy and no cook but you have to keep them in the fridge.  We have eaten two jars and I gave one jar away and I made another jar yesterday.   I also eat cucumbers just by themselves and I add them to my water with a little lemon.  I have used a couple that got to big to eat on my eyes.  LOL!!  We do not waste in this house.
In between lacrosse and doing yard work for the ladies in the area Sprat has been fishing with his friends.  They have evidently been fishing near a tick Hilton, Sprat has come home with several ticks on him each evening.   On the 4th he came home with one attached to his shin, yuck!!  He came to me and said,  "Mama is this one attached?"  I put my glasses on so I could see the little bugger and sure enough it was attached.  I got the Vaseline and coated the tick, hoping it would let go, he did not.  I worked on this bugger for a good bit before I got him off of my Sprat.  The last time Big T had a tick I was not sure what kind it was so I took him and the tick to the doctor and they said it is there standard procedure to give anyone that has had a tick attached antibiotics.  I scheduled Sprat an appointment to see the doctor.  Sure enough they wanted to give him antibiotics.  Sprat is allergic to almost all antibiotics and I have not been real keen on him taking any type of antibiotic.   They wrote a prescription for one they did not have record of him being allergic.  The hubbs and I worried and fretted over whether to give it to him or not.  His reactions were not breathing trouble but that could be the next one.  Long story short we are on day 3 of antibiotic with no reaction so far.  Sprat is taking benadryl with the antibiotic to try and reduce any reaction he might have.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will make it through  this regimen. 


On to the recipes:

Chocolate ice cream

3 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
2 cups whole milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix dry ingredients first then add water, whole milk, half and half, and heavy cream
Get your churn set up and add your ice cream mixture.  The churn said it would run for 20-40 minutes and cut off on it's own.  Mine did not cut off so I checked it after about an hour and it was so fluffy and wonderful.  I think it was fluffy and creamy because of the heavy cream and half and half.

The Things We Do for Our Kids. . .

We went out to eat the other day and I looked across the table at my kids and they are not my little boys any more.  They are young men and very handsome, if I do say so myself.  Sitting there I could not believe how much they have grown up they are practically men.  It made me think back when they were little and all the funny things they did and I did to get them to this  point.  
From the time Sprat was born the hubbs and I would read to him and say prayers for him before bed. When Sprat was almost three he said something about monsters being in his room and that he was afraid to go to sleep.   The hubbs and I read to him and said prayers but Sprat was still concerned about monsters, I got creative and decided to do the banish the monsters dance.  Yes, I am that mom.  The banish the monsters dance went like this; I clapped really loud and shouted in each corner of the room for all of the monsters to get out and stay out of this room.  I would then jump around and clap in a circle and yell "out, out, out."   This always made Sprat laugh, which was the point, so that his last feelings before going to bed were happy.   You have to be silly sometimes, you cannot be a serious parent all of the time.   This worked for the next several years.   The hubbs and I have always made it a point to say prayers with the boys before bed and we still do.  They are in separate rooms now so we do prayers in the living room before they go up for bed.   I am so thankful that they still want to say prayers together.
When Sprat was in elementary school I started knitting.  He saw me knitting one day and asked what I was doing.  I told him I was knitting a prayer shawl and he wanted to know what that was.  I explained that I was praying while I was knitting and that who ever received the shawl would receive my prayers.  Sprat had been struggling with some things in school and asked if he could have one for school.  I giggled just a little but I knew what he really meant.  He wanted something to give him comfort during school.  I crocheted him a bookmark and we tied it in one of his notebooks.  I prayed over that bookmark for him and I told him that when ever he felt bad he could look at that bookmark and know that he was not alone and that I would see him soon.  Big T went through something similar while in elementary school and he also took a crocheted bookmark that we had prayed over with him to school.  I think elementary school is one of the hardest times in the lives of our kids.   I would have done almost anything to give my kids some type of comfort during this time of their little lives.
We are getting ready for final exams and EOG's and EOC's.   I hate all of the  testing and rating of students and teachers.  The hubbs and I do our best to make these days fun and a little less stressful.  I know I have posted about this before but it does need to be shared again.  On days of exams or EOG's  we take the boys out for a good breakfast.  We try to make the day special and not so stressful.  I got this idea from my sister she started this tradition with her girls when they were in school and I thought it was a fabulous idea so when Sprat was in middle school we started the exam day breakfast.  Not sure where we will take the boys to eat this year but we usually let them pick the place.
Living and loving in the little moments of my kids lives.  I am so lucky to have these crazy boys and my crazy husband too.  They get it honest.  

Living in the Little Moments. . .

I have been staying focused and living in the moment.  We had a fabulous weekend filled with lacrosse,  Church, youth lunch, and double header baseball to finish things off.  Two big wins for Big T and lacrosse, two hard losses to start our baseball season.   Very proud of Sprat he pitched 3 innings and struck out 5.  He was a little slower getting his bat going but boy, when he got warm,  he bounced one off the fence and knocked the third baseman on his booty with the other one.  I love watching my boys play ball.  They always keep it exciting. 
Yesterday the hubbs took the day off and we had our traditional breakfast date and then on to our errands.  I know there are many men out there that would not take their wives around for her errands but my guy does not mind.  In fact he took me to a new grocery store to try that is not too far, and it was great.  I will definitely go back.  Wonderful morning spent with one of the three best men I have known.  The other two my daddy and my daddy-in-law.  My very sweet father-in-law passed away when Big T was two.  I miss him, I wish my kids would have had the chance to get to know him.   I see him in both of my boys and most certainly in my hubby.  I think Big T resembles him the most, it is something about their eyes.  

Sad, sad day at my house this morning, my dear sweet Big T informed me that he knows about the Tooth Fairy.  He pulled a tooth last night and left it for the Tooth Fairy but, there was some question before he pulled it whether it was ready or not.  He was terribly afraid it would fall out during the night and he would swallow it.  He has been wanting it out for the past two days and I kept telling him it was not quite ready.   The Tooth Fairy must have been very busy last night because she forgot to come by our house.  Big T came down for breakfast and I saw his dish still on the table with no money I did not know what to do.  I told him the Tooth Fairy did not think it was ready either and that is why she did not leave him any money.  Ughhhh, no Mom of the year awards this week.  That is when he looked up at me with his BIG brown eyes and said, "Mom, I know."  I asked, you know what?  He said, "I know about the Tooth Fairy and have known for three years."  Ughhhhh  NOOOoooooooo!  It cannot be true, my heart still laying on the floor.  

Happy Leap Day. .

I meant to share this yesterday but, you know how Monday goes, we were all over the place.

Four years ago on leap day I had the kids write down what they thought they would be like in four years.  I sealed them in an envelope so we could open them today.  I think I will have them do this again today and speculate what they will be like in four years.  
They both described how they would be physically; taller, more facial hair, and playing sports.  Bless my dear sweet Sprat, he is going to be just like his daddy, the hairless wonder.  According to my hubby, he was a junior in college before he really shaved.  

I would like to get the boys to do this again and maybe put a little more thought into it.   Sprat already said, well in four more years I will not be here.  I am not sure exactly where he thinks he will be.  This will always be his home and I hope he will always come back, at least to visit.  

You want your kids to be independent but then you want them to need you just a little every now and then.  You want them to know that they are loved and always welcome in your home.  The way Sprat talks you would think I am going to change the locks on the doors or maybe even move after they go to college and not tell him where we moved.   You know I am not going to do either of those things.  I did have one friend that her parents did move after she went off to college and the house they moved into did not have a room for her.  My room at my moms still looks the same and so does my sisters and my brothers.  Although my sisters' room does have a baby crib in it now so when we brought the grand-babies they would have a place to sleep.  

I do have plans for the boys rooms when they do leave the nest but I am not rushing them out the door.   I think one of them will become a fabulous library and reading/craft room.   Shhhh!!  please do not tell them.  

The Little Things Count. . .

This is for new Mommies or soon to be Mommies.  When I was pregnant with Sprat I was so excited about having a baby and when we found out it was a boy I was thrilled.  I read all the books and was trying to prepare my house for this wonderful new addition.  I wrote out this long birth plan and gave it to my doctor, it detailed everything I wanted during my pregnancy and my labor and delivery.  The one thing I listed in it numerous times was that I did not want a C-section.  I was absolutely terrified of having a C-section.  I was very fortunate that my hubby had a working relationship with my OB and when it came down to it, he did everything he could to keep me from having a C-section.   It did not work out that way and I ended up having a C-section and I am very glad I did, poor Sprat was wedged in my pelvis and they had to use suction to get him out, even with the section.  I think I was terrified of the unknown.  My doctor was the BEST, he took such good care of me, Sprat, and the hubbs.  
The hubbs and I started a savings account for Sprat even before he was born.  We had a big jug and put all of our extra change in it for him and once he had a social security number we opened a savings account in his name.   I still put our change in his account and in Big T's.   I found this really cool time capsule in one of my baby gadget catalogs and I got one for Sprat.  On his second birthday I had requested that everyone bring something that meant something to them to put in his time capsule.  The hubbs and I added a few personal things from us and that were popular that year.  We sealed it and will open it on his eighteenth birthday.   The time capsule itself was a large tin can, sort of like a popcorn tin, it had directions of what to put in it.  It has been so long since we did it I do not remember what all we put in it, so I am pretty excited to what we will have.  I also did one for Big T, his was not a professional tin I just used an old popcorn tin and again we put things in it for him specific to when he was born.  
The other thing I do is write to my kids.  I write them notes about how I felt during different times of their lives.  Sometimes I write once a year and sometimes I write more than that, it depends on what is going on with our lives.  I write just on plain notebook paper and then I seal it in an envelope.  These I will give them when they graduate high school.  Each envelope is dated so they know when they were written and they also include a little money.  Some have a $20 some have a $10 but this will give them a little money for their graduation to do with as they please (with in reason).   Even if your kids are older you can still do the letter writing.  I hope it will mean something to my kids to have my thoughts and feelings and even prayers for them on paper.
These are just an example of some of the little things I have done and am doing for my kids.   If you have you would like to share please feel free to post a comment below.  I would love to hear from you.

Birthday Celebrations. . .

Got my wake up serenade from my mom and dad, got a birthday text from my sister(her very sweet card came earlier in the week), got a sweet card from my hubby and my boys, got several Facebook well wishes, and spent the day with boys.   We went to see "Daddy's. Home" staring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell.   Great movie, lots of bad words and a few precarious adult situations though.   I still loved it.   Wild and unexpected ending.  Is it bad that I took my boys to see Mark Wahlberg when he is my movie star crush?  Oh baby did he look good too!   Oh Yeah!!! 
Ok, back to reality.  My hubby knows I have that little crush on Mark.  He is ok with it. 
Let's talk birthday traditions.  In our house you get to pick your favorite meal.  It can be something I fix or a favorite restaurant. We always do some sort of cake, the birthday persons' choice.   My folks always call and sing too.  I remember one year when I was in high school my mom smuting my face with soot from the fireplace.   This was quite tragic since I was all ready to go to school and had to go back and wash my face and fix it again.  One year my parents pretended to forget my birthday.  I was devastated, they did surprise me with a cake and little get together later after they had let me stew for awhile.   Oh, and I remember one time when my brother turned thirty we tied black ribbon on everything and we all wore black arm bands even the dog had a little black band around her leg.   We fixed a wreath with a lot of "old people" stuff, like Rolaids, tums, gas pills, denture cream and a bumper sticker that said "over the hill."  We put the wreath on his bedroom door.   He tried to pay me back when I turned thirty but he felt sorry for me when he came to see me.  I was in the throws of morning sickness because I was pregnant with Sprat at the time.   He felt I was getting plenty of payback through that.  

When my hubby turned thirty I threw him a surprise party.  I had everything planned, I had everyone at the house, their cars were parked up the road and his friend had taken him elsewhere so we could prepare.  We waited and waited and finally I called his friend and asked why they had not come home.  He said the hubbs was watching a game on TV and would not leave.  I had a house full of people and food and no guest of honor.   I told his friend to tell him that he had to get back because he and his wife needed to head home.   When he finally did come home he came in through the garage and would not come up stairs.  I had to make him come up telling him he had to take the garbage out.   I would like to try to surprise him again for his fiftieth but I do not know if I can pull that off again.  He was surprised and he loved having everyone there.  

I would love to hear from everyone about your birthday traditions.  Stay strong and remember Breathe . . .

Babbles on Famine and EOG Testing. .

Update on the 30 hour famine.  The kids were divided into tribes corresponding to those in Ethiopia.  Some of the kids were given disabilities; Big T was mute, one of the girls had a hurt foot,  one boy had no hand, and one was blind.  They were divided into their tribes and competed in challenges. 
During this 30 hours together they played and learned about Ethiopia and the Ethiopian children that go hungry everyday.  Our youth leaders are the best.  Big T told me all about the games and the food they were given.  They fixed a type of crepe and a soup that the children of Ethiopia eat.  Big T and Sprat said the crepes were good but the soup was not.  The soup was a coconut milk base with corn, and sweet potatoes.  They also had a peanut butter mixture with powdered sugar.   They both loved that.
The hubbs and I helped fix lunch for the kiddos and youth leaders after Church for the finale of the Famine.   We served breakfast for lunch; eggs, biscuits,  pancakes, sausage, bacon, and grits.  It was a good day. 
My mom always told us that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.  It gets your engine rolling (brain).  I was terribly picky when I was younger when it came to food.   The thought of sitting down to breakfast made me nauseous,  I hated breakfast.  Luckily,  my mom sold vitamins when I was growing up and they had a protein shake that was really good.  That is what I ate or drank for breakfast from the time I was in maybe 6th grade all the way through college.  It was easy and I was not tied to the table during breakfast,  I could carry it with me room to room while I was getting ready.  The whole breakfast is important thing has stayed with me.  I try to make sure the boys get a good breakfast before school which is sometimes difficult because they are a lot like  me.   Big T likes muffins, so he gets muffins in the morning and an occasional pancake.  Sprat eats hash browns and sausage or biscuits and sausage.  He has always been the meat eater.  

EOG's are finishing up and final exams are right on their hills.  Every year during EOG's and final exams I try to make it more fun and kind of an event for the boys.  We take the boys out for breakfast each morning to make sure they get a good start to their day.  I hope that they will remember these little things that their daddy and I have tried to do.   I hope that they will do the same for their own children some day.  I think that is what we as parents all want.  We want to leave our kids with great memories and traditions to carry on with their own families when that time comes.