Our bathrooms are twenty five years old. They still have all their original fixtures and 80's charm. But, it is time to make a change.
Norm left town on Sunday for work so I got to be in charge of everyone, kids, cats, contractors. Monday night into Tuesday morning, I didn't sleep. I was in terrible pain, my head, my neck, my throat, they all hurt. The Lab Scientist in me started running through all the things it could be. Starting with the worst things first, of course. I hoped that my son would remember to call 911 if he found me comatose and septic. I figured since I could still think about all those things, I wasn't in that bad of shape.
545am: The phone rings...school is cancelled due to impending snow storm. Snow Storm!!! I know that Norm showed my how to run the snowblower last winter. I am thinking I will need a refresher by phone. Our contractors arrived and began work. They moved my washer and dryer downstairs to the basement and began ripping down the walls and the ceiling in the first floor bath. Brayden asked, "Why are you wrecking the bathroom?" Mr. Bob, as the kids called him, was great. He worked hard to not make it too messy for us and he made sure that he left a vanity and a toilet for us to use. It didn't start snowing until about 500pm and then it snowed a lot! My snowblowing experience is very limited, but I did it.
Wednesday morning I woke up to a foot of snow on the ground. I had to dig Brayden out of the driveway to get him to the bus. My very sweet and helpful neighbors helped dig us out just in time for some guys to come get our old boiler out of the basement and for work to start again on the bathrooms. Mr Bob started pulling out the floors. Sophia is not feeling so well by this time. We hid from all the noise in my bedroom. Since I am not feeling so well either, I took the kids to Friendlys and called it a day.
Thursday there was more construction and more fever. They built the subfloor for our new shower. Friday morning Brayden threw up on the new subfloor. At least Mr Bob and Mr Kevin could laugh about it. They have kids too. I am sure I will laugh too, later.
By the end of week one, both bathrooms were demolished down the studs. We have a new shower ready to go and a usable vanity and toilet. Compared to the snow and sickness, the construction has not been so bad.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Mema's Chicken and Dumplings
I have been blogging for over a year and I think this is really the first truly Southern entry that I am posting. It is February in New England and I am officially "over" winter. Unfortunately, there is still at least two more months of winter weather and then a couple of months of cold and mud. All that being said, I have been thinking about warm and comfortable things. One thing that comes to mind is my Grandmother's chicken and dumplings.
I have had the recipe for a long time. My Mema, as I affectionately named her as a preschooler, actually told me the recipe and had me write it down. She lived next door to me and my brother and I would go visit and she would make it for us. I can still picture myself in her kitchen. Her kitchen was decorated with strawberries, even on the carpet. We would sit at the white wicker table and eat dumplings...mmmmm.
To make the chicken broth:
4 Chicken breasts and a few thigh pieces
4 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 or 2 garlic cloves
Bring the water to a boil and cook the chicken.
Remove the chicken pieces and drop the dumplings in.
Tear chicken pieces and add them back in to pot.
To make dumplings:
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Crisco
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
Sift dry ingredients together, cut in Crisco, add milk and water. If it is to wet, add more flour. If the dough is too dry, add more water. Roll out and cut into squares. Drop in chicken broth and cook 10 minutes, uncovered.
I have had the recipe for a long time. My Mema, as I affectionately named her as a preschooler, actually told me the recipe and had me write it down. She lived next door to me and my brother and I would go visit and she would make it for us. I can still picture myself in her kitchen. Her kitchen was decorated with strawberries, even on the carpet. We would sit at the white wicker table and eat dumplings...mmmmm.
To make the chicken broth:
4 Chicken breasts and a few thigh pieces
4 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 or 2 garlic cloves
Bring the water to a boil and cook the chicken.
Remove the chicken pieces and drop the dumplings in.
Tear chicken pieces and add them back in to pot.
To make dumplings:
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Crisco
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
Sift dry ingredients together, cut in Crisco, add milk and water. If it is to wet, add more flour. If the dough is too dry, add more water. Roll out and cut into squares. Drop in chicken broth and cook 10 minutes, uncovered.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
2009 Memorable Moments
Sometimes it is so easy to launch into a new year and think about what's next without taking a few minutes to reflect on the past year and remember all the things that occurred to get us where we are this year. I felt particularly reflective this year. It seems that we changed a lot and experienced a lot of things so I thought that I would just write down the most memorable of our 2009.
In January, we travelled to Kentucky to visit our family. The first couple of days we had a good time and did a lot of visiting. Midway through our trip we all came down with a 72 hour stomach flu, all but one of us. We were all miserable for about 3 days and Norm was stuck taking care of all of us. It was so bad that we still don't talk about it. One of the bright spots of the trip was going to the Lexington Children's Museum. It was so much fun to watch the kids enjoy it and spend time with us and their Grandaddy.
Winter brings the promise of snow. Last year, it occurred to me that if I were at home by myself with the kids during a snowstorm, that I would have no idea how to use the snowblower to dig us out. Of course, my goal is to not go anywhere when it is snowing, but if I had to, I should know. Norm taught me how to run the snowblower and I blew my first few rows of snow. Meanwhile, Brayden demonstrated a "no fear" attitude towards sledding. We found a really good sledding park in town and Norm and Brayden went down together the first few times and then Brayden went down on his own, again and again. Then went down on his tummy and all the while he is yelling, "aaahhhhhhhh!!!!" So funny. I think I am going to get him a helmet for this year!
One of Sophia's big accomplishments this year was that she became fully potty trained at a swift pace. She LOVES Disney Princesses so I bought her Princess undies. That was it, she wanted to wear them and when she went, she got a jelly bean. Done.
One of the most unexpected things that happened to me this year was the formation of a group of girls in town called the Puma Club. It started because our husbands were getting together for breakfast. We girls decided we should start getting together to do fun stuff. I enjoy these women because we come from all different places in life and we have lots of different things to talk about. One of the highlights of our times together was a trip to Boston to have tea and shopping on Newbury Street.
Brayden turned 5 this year. We had a huge superhero party. All of his friends from preschool came as well as some friends from church. It was a beautiful day and they all got to go outside to run and play. Fun was had by all!
Norm's business took off this year. He had a great opportunity to partner with a local greenhouse and received opportunity to work on several big projects in the area. One such opportunity was to be able to give the New Hampshire Children's Museum a landscape make over. On Dover Clean Up Day, we got together a group of friends and we cleaned up the museum front yard. Norm was then able to adopt the museum and can now care for the landscape on one of our high profile points of interest in the city.
Brayden graduated from preschool this year and really enjoyed his summer. He played baseball and really started to enjoy swimming. He is realizing that he has more ability to do the things that he wants to do. He also finally decided that he loved the beach and the waves. I wish we had more opportunities to go but we had a lot of rain and Sophia is not convinced that the beach is fun, maybe next summer.
In June, Sophia and I took a trip to Kentucky to spend time with my Mom and Dad. We had a great time and Sophia was a great flying companion. Norm and Brayden had a guys weekend here. They went hiking and fishing and did "guy stuff". I hope this will turn into a tradition that our kids will look forward to each year.
This summer we did a few fun family outings. We took the subway in to Boston and visited the aquarium. It was very cool. The kids loved the aquarium and being in the city for the first time. We also went up north to Storyland theme park. It was great fun to get away and ride the rides and watch the kids enjoy the park. They are still talking about both trips.
Norm turned 40 this year. We had a big barbeque in the backyard with lots of friends. Norm's brother flew his family up to visit to celebrate with him. It was nice to have them here and the cousins enjoyed playing together.
Fall came and brought about a big change for us. Brayden got on the bus and started kindergarten while Sophia headed to Bunnies and Blocks for preschool. It was a big change for all of us. It is amazing to watch Brayden learning to read. Sophia has shown great interest in art and color.
We wanted to celebrate all of these new things as well as my Dad's retirement. We planned a little beach vacation in Maine for September. Mom and Dad flew up here to go with us. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold and everything was closed down. We came home early and went bowling. It wasn't the way we planned but we had good quality time together.
Sophia turned 3 this year and all she really cared about were the cupcakes that I made for her birthday. She loves the Disney princesses and jewelry and that is most of what she got.
We signed Brayden up for soccer and he loved it! It was so much fun to watch all those little kids running around trying to kick the ball.
Since I had a little more free time, I trained and ran my first 5K. It was pouring down rain and I almost backed out but Norm encouraged me to do it and I am glad that I did.
In November, H1N1 influenza came to our house. The kids were both sick the better part of November and I had a cough that lasted for a little more than 5 weeks.
Finally, we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at home. It was a time to establish traditions and be together as a family.
This is the longest post to date and it was fun to look back. Now I am looking forward to making more memories in 2010. Happy New Year.
'
In January, we travelled to Kentucky to visit our family. The first couple of days we had a good time and did a lot of visiting. Midway through our trip we all came down with a 72 hour stomach flu, all but one of us. We were all miserable for about 3 days and Norm was stuck taking care of all of us. It was so bad that we still don't talk about it. One of the bright spots of the trip was going to the Lexington Children's Museum. It was so much fun to watch the kids enjoy it and spend time with us and their Grandaddy.
Winter brings the promise of snow. Last year, it occurred to me that if I were at home by myself with the kids during a snowstorm, that I would have no idea how to use the snowblower to dig us out. Of course, my goal is to not go anywhere when it is snowing, but if I had to, I should know. Norm taught me how to run the snowblower and I blew my first few rows of snow. Meanwhile, Brayden demonstrated a "no fear" attitude towards sledding. We found a really good sledding park in town and Norm and Brayden went down together the first few times and then Brayden went down on his own, again and again. Then went down on his tummy and all the while he is yelling, "aaahhhhhhhh!!!!" So funny. I think I am going to get him a helmet for this year!
One of Sophia's big accomplishments this year was that she became fully potty trained at a swift pace. She LOVES Disney Princesses so I bought her Princess undies. That was it, she wanted to wear them and when she went, she got a jelly bean. Done.
One of the most unexpected things that happened to me this year was the formation of a group of girls in town called the Puma Club. It started because our husbands were getting together for breakfast. We girls decided we should start getting together to do fun stuff. I enjoy these women because we come from all different places in life and we have lots of different things to talk about. One of the highlights of our times together was a trip to Boston to have tea and shopping on Newbury Street.
Brayden turned 5 this year. We had a huge superhero party. All of his friends from preschool came as well as some friends from church. It was a beautiful day and they all got to go outside to run and play. Fun was had by all!
Norm's business took off this year. He had a great opportunity to partner with a local greenhouse and received opportunity to work on several big projects in the area. One such opportunity was to be able to give the New Hampshire Children's Museum a landscape make over. On Dover Clean Up Day, we got together a group of friends and we cleaned up the museum front yard. Norm was then able to adopt the museum and can now care for the landscape on one of our high profile points of interest in the city.
Brayden graduated from preschool this year and really enjoyed his summer. He played baseball and really started to enjoy swimming. He is realizing that he has more ability to do the things that he wants to do. He also finally decided that he loved the beach and the waves. I wish we had more opportunities to go but we had a lot of rain and Sophia is not convinced that the beach is fun, maybe next summer.
In June, Sophia and I took a trip to Kentucky to spend time with my Mom and Dad. We had a great time and Sophia was a great flying companion. Norm and Brayden had a guys weekend here. They went hiking and fishing and did "guy stuff". I hope this will turn into a tradition that our kids will look forward to each year.
This summer we did a few fun family outings. We took the subway in to Boston and visited the aquarium. It was very cool. The kids loved the aquarium and being in the city for the first time. We also went up north to Storyland theme park. It was great fun to get away and ride the rides and watch the kids enjoy the park. They are still talking about both trips.
Norm turned 40 this year. We had a big barbeque in the backyard with lots of friends. Norm's brother flew his family up to visit to celebrate with him. It was nice to have them here and the cousins enjoyed playing together.
Fall came and brought about a big change for us. Brayden got on the bus and started kindergarten while Sophia headed to Bunnies and Blocks for preschool. It was a big change for all of us. It is amazing to watch Brayden learning to read. Sophia has shown great interest in art and color.
We wanted to celebrate all of these new things as well as my Dad's retirement. We planned a little beach vacation in Maine for September. Mom and Dad flew up here to go with us. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold and everything was closed down. We came home early and went bowling. It wasn't the way we planned but we had good quality time together.
Sophia turned 3 this year and all she really cared about were the cupcakes that I made for her birthday. She loves the Disney princesses and jewelry and that is most of what she got.
We signed Brayden up for soccer and he loved it! It was so much fun to watch all those little kids running around trying to kick the ball.
Since I had a little more free time, I trained and ran my first 5K. It was pouring down rain and I almost backed out but Norm encouraged me to do it and I am glad that I did.
In November, H1N1 influenza came to our house. The kids were both sick the better part of November and I had a cough that lasted for a little more than 5 weeks.
Finally, we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at home. It was a time to establish traditions and be together as a family.
This is the longest post to date and it was fun to look back. Now I am looking forward to making more memories in 2010. Happy New Year.
'
Friday, January 1, 2010
Brayden's Christmas Eve Quotes
"Dad, looking at lights is a waste of time. I want to go put together my Legos."
During a very moving rendition of "O Holy Night" "Mom, when you die, do your eyeballs pop out or fall into your head?"
"Hey, does your shirt light up?" Asked of a lady at church with a very brightly colored sweater.
"Dad, I am a little crestfallen." After he received his Christmas PJs as a gift instead of a toy on Christmas eve.
Merry Christmas
December 2009
During a very moving rendition of "O Holy Night" "Mom, when you die, do your eyeballs pop out or fall into your head?"
"Hey, does your shirt light up?" Asked of a lady at church with a very brightly colored sweater.
"Dad, I am a little crestfallen." After he received his Christmas PJs as a gift instead of a toy on Christmas eve.
Merry Christmas
December 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A first Thanksgiving
In my mind, Thanksgiving is a big get together with extended family and lots of food and fun. This year it began to dawn on me that we were going to be alone for Thanksgiving. My family was all going to be together in Kentucky and Norm's family was all going to be together in Georgia. We were going to be here in New Hampshire. I put a lot of energy into being depressed about that. What were we going to do? Do I make a turkey and a lot of food for the four of us? Do my kids even like turkey? Will they realize what Thanksgiving is about? I was really sad about the fact that I have not been home for Thanksgiving with my family for 12 years. I can't imagine ever trying to brave the airlines for Thanksgiving! So in the midst of my struggle, I set out to make a Thanksgiving for our family. Number one, nix the turkey. I bought a turkey breast! We only eat white meat and I throw it in the crock pot and not put my hand up a turkey's, you know what! Number two, DVR the parade! So I can watch it and we can fast forward the commercials and those performances that are not so entertaining. Number three, catch a live football game. This was Norm's idea and I really liked it. We went to the Dover High football game with some friends and ate popcorn and hot dogs and had a great time.
So on Thanksgiving Day I threw the turkey breast in the crock pot and we went to the football game. We came home and watched the parade on DVR and relaxed. Then we made mashed potatoes and salad and cranberry sauce. The turkey breast was delicious. Even the kids ate it! We had a nice dinner together and the clean up was really easy and fast. To top off the evening, we made oreo cookie turkeys. It was a fun first Thanksgiving with my family.
So on Thanksgiving Day I threw the turkey breast in the crock pot and we went to the football game. We came home and watched the parade on DVR and relaxed. Then we made mashed potatoes and salad and cranberry sauce. The turkey breast was delicious. Even the kids ate it! We had a nice dinner together and the clean up was really easy and fast. To top off the evening, we made oreo cookie turkeys. It was a fun first Thanksgiving with my family.
H1N1 comes to our house.
For weeks I have been chasing my kids around with hand sanitizer and obsessing about taking care of ourselves and getting our rest. My best efforts were thwarted though, when Brayden tested positive for Flu A the first weekend in November. I had been watching the positives at work. They were all kids and I knew it was coming. Brayden has virus induced asthma so I was concerned about him getting a secondary infection. So, I sprung into action, calling the doctor, getting him medicine and taking temperatures around the clock. It was somewhat like the early days with a newborn. Every four hours, checking temps, giving medicine, waiting for the temp to come down, and back to bed. For me, the middle of the night vigil was very lonesome and stressful. When Sophia spiked a temp a few days later, I knew that I was in for a long haul. I hardly slept and neither did the kids. I was obsessed with fevers and listening for wheezes and difficulty breathing. Thankfully, about four days later, the fevers were gone and only the cough remained. That is when I had my meltdown. I had caught what I believed to be a derivative of the flu without the fever and I was exhausted and mad! I worked really hard to keep us well. I paid copays for vaccines and took care of everyone and we still went through it.
The Sunday before the flu, in church the Pastor preached a sermon about David and Goliath and he was asking us what the giants in our lives were in which we have to trust God. I had a hard time thinking about what it was for me but in the midst of this experience, I realized that the giant in my life right now is dealing with the illnesses of my kids. I can't control them, I just have to trust God for the strength and the energy to go through it with them and not be paralyzed with fear about what might happen and just take one temperature at a time while keeping my eyes on God to carry us through.
The Sunday before the flu, in church the Pastor preached a sermon about David and Goliath and he was asking us what the giants in our lives were in which we have to trust God. I had a hard time thinking about what it was for me but in the midst of this experience, I realized that the giant in my life right now is dealing with the illnesses of my kids. I can't control them, I just have to trust God for the strength and the energy to go through it with them and not be paralyzed with fear about what might happen and just take one temperature at a time while keeping my eyes on God to carry us through.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
For those of you that think I have it together...
One day last week I had to take the kids to the doctor for their vaccines and I was in a rush. Brayden had just gotten off the school bus and Sophia was just up from a nap and I had only a few minutes to get them in the car and ready for the 20 minute ride to the office. I decided to appease them by giving them both a Capri Sun juice and a pack of crackers if they got in the car super fast. True to form, Brayden gobbled his treat down quickly and Sophia still had three quarters of her juice when we got to the office. So, we got out of the car and I put the rest of Sophia's juice on the drivers seat so that I would remember to give it back to her when we got back in the car. We went in and took care of the kids and then we jumped back in the car to go home. I was already dressed to go out for a date with Norm and I was looking forward to getting back so that we could go. We had an unremarkable ride home until I pulled into the driveway 20 minutes later and realized that I had been sitting on the juice and it squished out all over the seat and the back of my pants and up my shirt and I had not noticed. Oh boy! That kind of stuff used to never happen to me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
