Delaney the Drama Queen

Tonight I dropped the boys off at Awanas and then went to the gym. I dropped Delaney off at the childcare at the gym and went to my first class - Turbo Kick which starts at 6:30. It was a great class, like usual! Got a really good sweat on.

After Turbo Kick, I stayed for Zumba. The regular instructor wasn't there, but another instructor was subbing. We got started, and I had to run down to childcare at almost 8:00 because childcare closes at 8:00. I brought Delaney upstairs to sit outside the class while I finished. I was only able to stay until 8:20 because I had to go pick the boys up from Awanas at 8:30.

Delaney was really cute. She saw me doing my Zumba and she started giggling with the other girls that had come up from childcare. I think Delaney was the youngest one there, but I think she was almost the leader of the pack by doing the giggling and trying to mimic the Zumba moves. At one point, all 4 of the girls that were there came inside the door and they were all sitting there watching and trying to mimic the moves. The instructor was smiling at them, but I kind of sensed that she was a little bit worried that they might get in the way of either her or the people in the class. When we finished the next song, I went and talked with Delaney and I told her that she could dance and play around, but I wanted her to stay where I could see her and not to go past the doorway into the studio. She did not come back into the studio, but she did disappear for a minute here and there. I was a little worried that she might go into one of the rooms with the cardio equipment, but it seems like she was just going for a drink of water. She actually did really well while she was up there for the 20 minutes. I wouldn't want to make her stay for a full hour, but the 20 minutes was fine.

We had to leave and on our way down, we went by the childcare room and Delaney saw a picture that someone had colored, and she suddenly remembered that she had three pictures that she colored. She started freaking out and wailing that she wanted to get her pictures. I told her that we would try to get them tomorrow because they were closed. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was really upset, but they were closed and there really was nothing we could do about it. She tried to go back towards the childcare room, and I told her goodbye and started walking towards the exit. She started coming with me, but she screamed and cried quite loudly.

I got her buckled in her seat as she continued to sob and sob. She told me that the pictures she had were special pictures. I asked her about them, and she continued to sob. I told her that we could try to call in the morning. More sobbing. Then she started in with, "I hate this world. I hate this world." That turned into, "It's all my fault. I'm a dumb dumb." Again, this was repeated over and over.

I tried to explain to her that she was not a dumb dumb, and that she was just excited to be able to come upstairs with me, to watch me do Zumba, but that didn't seem to help her much. We got to the church to pick the boys up, and she cried in there. (I also found out that Zane smacked an older boy. Apparently the boy kicked Zane in the ankle, and Zane seems to think that he kicked him on purpose, but when I asked him what he could have done differently, and we talked about how he could have told an adult, he told me he did tell an adult what happened. Then I asked him if he told the before or after he smacked the other boy, and he admitted he told after he smacked him...sigh).

We went home and Delaney continued to cry. It's been about 15 minutes now, but she's still upset. I had the kids get their pajamas on, and Delaney brought hers to me for help, although I had to threaten her with no snack if she didn't hurry and get the pajamas. Then there was drama about getting the clothes off and the pajamas on. Once I got her pajamas on, I just grabbed her and gave her a big hug. She hugged me right back and even gave me a kiss. After that, the drama was over.

Girls.

Rainy Days and Slow Cookers

Shortly after I woke up this morning it started to pour rain. I had a Crockpot stew planned on the menu for today. What a perfect day for stew!

I dropped the boys off at school at the front door for my first time ever. Usually I just park on the street a block away from the school and we walk up to the school, but the rain was coming down pretty hard and they were letting students right into the door. Plus, I left in plenty of time so we were there before the first bell rang. I kind of liked doing that. I will have to do it when the car drop off line isn't all the way down the street.

Anyway, I thought I would post today's recipe. The only bad thing is that I have to wait 8 hours before I can taste it. It was given to me by my sister, Heidi and she said it's really good, so I'm sure I will love it. I'll have to weigh in on the verdict later.

Heidi's Crockpot Stew

4 cups frozen veggies for stew (about 24 ounces), thawed (oops! I forgot to thaw them)

8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained

4-1/2 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 TBSP dried minced onion

2 envelopes brown gravy mix.

2 TBSP onion soup mix (I just used the whole packet)

2 tsp steak seasoning

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 pounds beef stew meat

14-1/2 oz. can beef broth

1-1/4 cups apple cider or unsweetened apple juice (my sister just uses regular apple juice, and so I did the same)

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

3 TBSP cornstarch

1/3 cup cold water

Put all veggies (stew veggies, water chestnuts, mushrooms and dried minced onions) in the slow cooker. Put gravy mix, steak seasonings, soup mix, and cinnamon in a bag. Toss the meat to coat. Add the meat to the Crockpot. Combine broth, juice and tomato sauce and pour over beef. Add the bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Combine cornstarch and water. Stir into stew. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes until thickened. ENJOY!

I'm also going to make a homemade bread to go with the stew.

Garden Herbed Loaf

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, and herbs.
2. Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (120-130 degrees F); stir into dry ingredients. Stir in egg and enough remaining flour to make soft dough.
3. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.
4. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece to 30 inch rope. Braid ropes; pinch ends to seal. Tie knot in center of braid; wrap ends around knot, in opposite directions, and tuck under to make round loaf. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubles in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 to 35 minutes or until done, covering with foil during last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning. Melt remaining butter; brush over loaf. Sprinkle with additional herbs, if desired. Remove from sheet; let cool on wire rack.

I am not sure yet if I will do this in the breadmaker on the dough setting or if I will use my KitchenAid mixer. Either way, this bread is really yummy and my whole family likes it. I can't wait until dinner time!

Sweet Zane

Today, Andy came home from work and the kids were in the kitchen hanging around with him. After a little while, Zane and Delaney came into the livingroom where I was reading a book, and Zane whispered into my ear, "I'm going to read to Delaney so she doesn't distract Daddy and Ryan so they can spend some time together." Awwww. Melted my heart.

Then he came and whispered into my ear, "I'm going to read to Delaney until she falls asleep." What a sweet, self-less boy I have.

Grand Finale

Today, Zane was singing a song from church:

Shout to the North and the South

Sing to the East and the West

Jesus is Savior of All

Lord of Heaven and Earth

Then he decided to tell Ryan howto sing half of it, and when he was done, the lady that I am let a loud belch rip. (I was drinking a Dr Pepper which makes me gassy...lol)

Zane said, "What in the world was that supposed to be? A Grand Finale or something?"

It was pretty funny.

Kindness and Genius

Today, I was making lunch for the kids and the boys were calling each other names. We had a conversation about name calling, and I asked the boys if they ever heard Daddy and I call each other names. They said no, and I told them that in our ten years of marriage we have never called each other a name. So, I continued the conversation asking them how they think it feels when they call someone a name, and they said bad. So, I asked how they feel when they call someone a name, and they said bad.

I told them that when they call someone a name, that person just gets upset with them, and not only is the person that got called a name is upset, but they try to get back at the person that called them a name.

I went on to talk about how Delaney often says to me, "Momma, I love you. You're awesome. You're a princess. You're sweet." etc. I asked the boys how they think it makes me feel. They said good. I asked them how they feel when I say things to them, like, "I'm proud of you. You're awesome. You're great." etc. They said good. I told them that I felt good when I said those things about them, because they look so happy and I know that I made them feel good.

So, they said a few nice things to each other and hugged each other, and then they went outside and played.

A short time later, I overheard Zane saying to the neighbor boy that was kicking a ball in his back yard, "Christian, that was a really good kick." That was a proud moment for me.

Also, I babysat at church today and Ryan and Zane were fighting when we were outside. I made them sit in a timeout and they were still bothering each other. I took Ryan and made him sit inside where I could see him through the sliding glass door. He did not want to sit there, but he asked if he could come back out when he was done with his time out, and I said yes. When they were done with their time outs, I told them that they had to apologize, and give each other a hug and a kiss. They looked at the kids on the playground and said, "Not in front of them." They asked if they could go inside behind another set of sliding glass doors, and I said okay. I made sure they stayed in my eyesight. They apologized, hugged & kissed and then came out and said, "Don't tell anyone!" The other adult that was watching kids with me said to them, "We won't." LOL It was really cute, though.

And finally, when I was putting Delaney to bed tonight, she said to me, "My boys think I'm a genius." LOL. The way that she said it sounded like she felt like she was pulling something over on them. It was hilarious. I said, "Oh, yeah? How's that?" She said that she balanced something that she was building with cardboard blocks. It's hard to explain in writing, but it was really funny.