Princess Perky's Page

Just Ask! - Geography

Ever wonder the capital of Canada?
Or just where Iraq is anyway?
Or what the 'ring of fire' is?
Or why Hawaii gets a cut out on an American map?

These are all questions my son has asked in the past year or so.

Todays question came from a neighbor, sporting a 'Catalina Island' shirt she asked where Catalina was. Since I never heard of it, I said we would look it up.

After well a billion kid things (lunch, nap, food on the floor, a baby in need of a nap) I finally remembered to look it up, well it wasn't there...It was just a kids atlas.

In the process of looking it up we found some states she had been to, checked out where Turkey was, looked at a couple neat flags, like Venezuala, and Zimbobwe.

Hopefully they got more of the spelling than I did!

Then we headed online, I can almost always find the answer online! Unfortunatly I hardly ever learn anything but what I asked when I do a netsearch, Yahoo is pretty good at comming up with exactly what I need, oh wait I did learn that when a native species changes one it is called

'endemic' but thats it.

Catalina is BTW an island off the coast of California .

clickable of DivaJens link

Kids are like sponges, they soak up information whether you want it or not, we can only chose what information is available.

I wonder if I spelled that right?

I wonder if there is some inner monster requiring me to self inflic torture Monday morning! Why would I schedule cjanging sheets on the day I always have the most laundry (catch up from not doing it Saturday or Sunday)

I wonder what possessed me to rearange my kids bedrooms on a Saturday night! I know why I did it, but the when is escaping me, and the leftover 'find room for me' piles are here, Monday morning! Just what I ddin't need!

I wonder if Sunday and a break is really that important? I seem to lose my momentum over the weekend,a nd have trouble getting it back. I think next Saturday I am going ot do my normal work, instead of taking a break with DH. (well not that you can take a break form the parenting stuff, just the housekeeping)

So I am now in my 4th outfit for the day!!!!

I started with church clothes..I just can't do kids and a skirt all day.

So then I had normal clothes..Till my youngest peed on me!

Then I went with PJs, giving up on the day....till my youngest puked on me!

Now I am in DHs PJs! wonder how long it will least?

I also wonder if in 'cost of having a kid' they include cost of extra laundry, extra wear and tear on the clothes, and extra carpet cleaner!

Edit to note: Several comments about the survey being closed now, thanks for letting us know

......

We saw a survey at our pediatricians last visit for 5 bucks, there was a website to visit. Well procrastination did us in, I just finally got the paper out to go to the website and it says it is for people who visited the Doc in the last 3 days!

I certainly didn't!

but if any of you have (or if you want to book mark it for when you do go)

survey site

There was another one, but I lost it

in case it wants you to start at the begining the actual address on the brochore is:

www.healthysurvey.com/hac947

And no where on it does it say anything about not telling others, so I don't think I am breaking any fine print by sharing....

The poker chips, I lost all my chips playing last night, and then got more, and more, and more! Finnally when there were no more chips to be taken from the case, I called it quits!

DH on the other hand came up the winner! We never play cash cause all my losing would ruin his winnings! (at home, he plays money online, and wins....but no money from me)

Oops, I mean I have a wonderful dinner and snacks planned for tonight, they just happen to have nothing to do with Cinqo De Mayo!

I don't have a clue how to spanish up roast and potatos....

Nor how you are supposed to decorate for it should you want to?....

DH helped some people unpack a bit last night, and he mentioned some boxes labeled 'yard sale' I was thinking "You paid to move that!" but then I thought about how much stuff I have sent to the good will (I don't do yard sales) and I realized my poor FIL and mother paid to move all that stuff!

I can't remember exactly that old physics law, things in motion tend to stay in motion? well things in your house tend to just stay, no particular reason sometimes, they just do! And if we move, we then pay to move said stuff when we pack up the whole 'kit and kaboodle'.

I don't think a move is in our future anytime soon, but if it is, I hope to NOT pay to move any 'stuff' that we wouldn't miss.

I used the recipie from strtessless and lrjohnson (thanks again!) to make blueberry muffins and it worked rather well. (still sticks to the paper a bit though..)

I also tried it with cinnamon and apple. I think applesauce would be better than apple..

Now my only problem is I am am out of muffin papers! That and I want to find mini loaf paper, I think it will make the whole christmas giving of bread soo much easier if I have papers (pull out one batch, put in new paper, pour next batch, repeat as needed).

An online search came up with 12 for 5 bucks, a bit much for me, and the muffin ones was $5 for 100, I think we can get those locally for less, we just have to be at the right store.

I know I am a bit late, but I decided for the month of May my goal is to rewire my brain..bit odd I think, but important.

I read one of Flyladys missions, it suggested we write down those mean thoughts in the head (I'm not good enough, I am terrible at X, Y and Z. I can't do anything right...)

I think what she meant was to rewrite them. And just like my giving up on being Suisie Homemaker I am going to stop yelling at myself for other things I don't do so well, and take pride in small accomplishments that I do well (or big ones!)

So for the month of May whenever I hear a voice telling me I screwed up (which I do plenty!) I am going to look at what I did right, and try to be a better teacher of myself. (Some people call it optimism, hence merry..)

So we see the link saying the median salary of a mom would be 134,121 if anyone paid us..which they don't.

I thought I would see what I am saving us, which is a bit more accurate of my worth (no offense to the salory folk, it is cool to see too)

So what would DH pay if I were not here, or not good at what I do. I certainly am not saving a cooks salory, cause Dh wouldn't hire a cook if I wern't here, he would just eat convenience foods. But I can take a stab at the cost difference of me working (trust me I would NOT cook!). (amounts are per month)

Child care:a quick search online comes up with 1000 for JC and GMC together, another 1000 for UE (top quality care is expensive - and I am btw top quality care , and ever so modest of course!) so 2000 total.

Convenience foods:Well I used to spend 200 a month on some convenience, instead of saving that 200 I would prolly double it if I worked, so make it 400 (plus my regular food bill)

clothing: if I was working I wouldn't do laundry as often so we would need more socks, towels, ect.. just guessing 20 ('cause not spent every month, but 240 a year sounds like a conservative guess)

There is prolly more but I am content thinking I am worth $2420 a month. It is still more than I got paid at my last paid job...

The recent "what did healthy things did you learn from your mom post' got me thinking of what I am passing along to my kids.

Alot of what I teach is not going to be remembered as such...and that is the goal....to make it such a habit that they don't have to think about it (washing hands after using a potty, brushing teeth, picking up after themselves, close mouth when chewing..ect)

Some of the lessons though I teach now for little things but I hope to leave my kids with reminders for when they have big decisions.

I wish I was prosaic enough to make every lesson a nice neat little phrase (or proverb) or like Q when he says "I've always tried to teach you two things. First- never let them see you bleed." {'And the second?'} "Always have an escape plan!"

(fun site with many more bond quotes)


But only a few seem to work out that way:

"You don't need it you want it."
"Work first then play."
"Never stop learning"

The others are a bit odder...like finances...so much to learn.

You know when you get a hunk of beef to make a roast one side has the huge line of fat? That is what this lady on Orahs heart looked like! I mean seriously it was covered in fat! and they had to cut thru the fat to get to the heart to do the bipass! (oh and her lungs really did have black tar on them from smoking!)

I also learned that we love the one brand of peanut butter that has partially hydrogenated stuff, which apparently takes all the good out of peanut butter? And the butter spread I let DH train me to use is bad for you (for the same fat)

So now what? I was thinking I aught start cooking with more margarine and less butter and now I find I should dump the margarine!

Oh well, 20 some years of habits, I can take a few more to get healthier..first step use up the beanut butter, and margarine spread we have, second, try other brands/go back to butter sticks...

So I saw Pfadvice had his todo list, and I thought how tecnical and fancy! Mine is mostly in my head, when I do write it down it is on a scrap paper..plus it is revolving, so I generally lose it long before all 10-0 billion things get done!

But on the few times when I do focus on just the basics, or high priority tings, they seem to get done and I seem to have time, like mornings, I only have three (sortof) things on my list.

1. Get ready (with threee kids that is more than one thing! showers, hair medicines, breakfast, diapers, make beds.....oh and at some point I do try to comb my hair!)

2. Dishes (update dishwasher, fill empty handwash, whatever)

3. Laundry (hang it, fold it, wash it wahtever)

Now all that is done in about 2 hours, give or take, and I can relax knowing something got done today.. 'course since I am sitting beside my todo list with only 21 things written on it (trust me theres more I didn't write)....well that is why I am sitting here typing not working, I am not sure where to begin! silly ain't it.

Would call a weed a flower and delight in picking them daily to bring in for the vase!

We have a plethora of dandilions out back, plus some clover, some 'white daisies' and some thistle. Those are all weeds (especially the thistle!) And yet my children love to pick a flower or two every chance they get and bring them in for my vase (a rotating collection of weeds and the occasional rose from DH is often in it)

I love watching the kids delight, but I sigh in the thoughts that the neighbors really do want me to get rid of my weeds...

Well I broke the thermometer we had for yogurt, which kindof sucks, I am pretty good at telling when the yogurt is hot enough, but then you have to cool it, and I am guessing in the dark here, if I succeed we will have yogurt for the week, if not...

Wish me luck!

So I quit, trying to be her that is! I can do many things right, but sewing is not one of my talents, so I am giving away my machine

(anyone want it?)

I am also no good at scrapbooking, I just gave my stuff to my mom, she seems to like it.

But before anyone (like me) goes thinking I am not good for anything..I am good at teaching, so long as I do it my way, so I give what I don't use to my mom and adapt the rest. (Mom also teaches her own)

I am also pretty good at crossstich, maybe if I stop trying to be good at all the other stuff I will have time to do it!

Plus I love baking, so I keep all the baking supplies I use (but I don't do cheescake, so anyone need a springform pan or 3?)

The less time (and money) I waste on attempts at being susie homemaker, the more time (and money) I have to do what I am good at!

Childcraftbooks, my two love them.. I loved them as a kid, and most of the out of date stuff is funny or cute not to bad (like housecalls by drs!)

After my brother and I were done with them my Aunt used them with her kids for a time, and now I have them for mine!

They have short information about all kinds of things, just enough to whett the appetite, we go get more out of the library when we need to. I have no idea how much mom paid, but it seems well worth it now!

They now retail for 470, but ebay has lots of older sets for less than $100 (some down closer to $10)

I decided to skip Sunday school and church, becauae I wanted to sleep, yet here I am not sleeping!

I also wanted to escape the problem of my 'energetic' son, life is just easier when we don't go out and don't have to worry about what he did to whom and where.

I suppose I can chalk it up to saving on gas though

I tried the pizza thing as muffins and added spinache, worked great.

I treid bacon and cornbread, worked great

And I tried carrot (bit less sweet than DivaJens--I like sweet, but isn't so good for you)

All successes! I am on a role, 3 successes in one day (should make up for the near failures of yesterday)

I have spent the morning looking for a universal muffin recipe, with no success, they all call for whole wheat or bran, which I have none.... So I am left with no recipe and I am supposed to make muffins for church tomorrow.

If I hired myself as a housekeeper I would fire me! Not that the work is terrible, but common anyone putting in a 4 hour part time day could do a better job! Trouble is I spend my day putting out the proverbial fires instead of working! Well that and hiding in the proverbial broom closet for a 'break' (what break I have an infant I can't leave!)

Anyway I am working on it...


This is sort of how I treated finances before, so long as I put out the fires nothing got to bad and I could go back to the broom closet (or housekeeping) but now that things flare up less finances are easier and I don't mind facing them most days.

i tried to make blueberry muffins banana muffins and pizza loaf.

The muffins are to 'eggy' and don't come out of the paper, so that wont get repeated. I am not even sure if I will send them in to sunday school or not (they are that bad .)

The pizza loaf is still in the oven so we shall see on that one.

edit: the pizza stuff is good, but JC doesn't like it, 3 out of 4 ain't bad though!

On request I am posting the hockey chili recipie, such as it is...

Oh and a warning, I am lousy at recipies!

2 cans black beans
1 can white
some onion powder
some pepper
some garlic.
some grnd cumin

Mix in a pot and let simmer a bit.

(real onion, pepper and such would taste better I am sure. If you are any good with dried beans that works too, I am not!)

I prolly have to explain why on earth this is called hockey chili...We used black and white beans, like a penguin, DH loves the PGH penguins, so it was hockey do GMC. As to the chili part....well I guess curry didn't sound right? Not sure. Anything slightly spicy with beans is called chili around here.

The one good thing about paying thru the nose for healthcare, Drs well-checkups are free. Which means today was no cost...well for the checkups (both kids are doing great, UE=20lb, 28inches. GMC=38lb, 42inches. .)

The trip to the store to spend the kids easter/birthday money ont he other hand...

Actually we diodn't do so terribly, JC wanted shoes with her money and found sandles, so we spent an extra couple for her to be able to get both. (am I living my girlyness thru her?)

GMC wanted a lego that they didn't have, so he got a slightly less expensive one to play with now and put the rest of his cash away.

And we got a new booster for GMC, so that JC can have his, so that UE can have hers.. complicated but tons of fun fitting all that in the car.

The troubles was lunch! DH wanted Moe's...not quite as cheap as the pbnoj I had packed, but more fun since my BIL came. The kids really like time with him.

Desk that is, PFadvice does this picture share thing and I just figured why not, I am stuck indoors due to rain anyway!


Behind the keyboard is the thumnails of one of the kids work, so I know what I have done already.


You can see both cases underneath, Mine is the pretty one with the green light . Stacked on my husbands is all the kids schoolwork, and his crappy mouse.

It was an expirament that failed.

Sometimes not having the right ingredients works well though. I invented 'hockey chili' from substituting, but last night was not one of those successes.

Edison failed a bit before making the lightbulb. I recall penicillan was an accident after many failures. My kids all failed many times before they learned to crawl, my youngest is busy failing to walk (we call it trying though).

I wonder how many failures, on average, it takes to make a success? I wonder if anyone keeps track (of their own failures, or of famous ones)?

And it has spare loot! I fibd that weird, and oddly a bit scary, what will we do with it? We waffle back and forth on what to do with the spare loot (I am using cloth diapers for a reason right?)

Some days we think it should go in the savings for the next car, some days we think it should go to pay off the house, some days we think we should get life insurance.

Right now we kindof decided to alternate pay extra on the house when they send a statement (quarterly) and put it into savings the rest of the time. This month is house, and I need to move it fast before we spend it!

Most parents tell their kids to turn off lights and close the fridge, but most of the time a kid can't see the difference in the electric bill.

I know when I was a kid I had no idea how much electricity cost, nor what benifit I would see in turning the heat down, or remembering a light.

Maybe if I got to keep the difference (or split it) I might have been interested. Makeing a game out of reducing the electric bill with tangible monthly rewards is a lot mroe fun than listening to moms dreaded lectures.

It would be a great math lesson to average a years electricity bills (or whatever you have handy) and then a nice fraction problem to share the savings (if any). Not to mention the pursuasion tactics of convincing younger siblings to join it!

Right now my kid is still young so I just tell him "more money spent on electricity is less for steaks" (his favorite meal) but as he grows I want him more in on the budget and looking at how much more expensive it is to run the AC, or leave a computer on.

Come to think of it mid June I might need to do this for myself to help keep the air off a few more days! (I'd use the ingredients for a nice bowl of icecream!)

I read this trick now that I have my third (I really could have used it for my first two!)

Take a banana, peal only one stripe, use a spoon to scoop out a hole and use it as a 'bowl' to mash up the banana for your baby.

Doesn't work for the first few meals when you might need to thin the banana, but once you are on to fork mash only, scrapping with a spoon works even better and no bowl to wash! (once the baby is done hand the rest of the banana over to an older eater.)

Last night my husband made the trip for yogurt and stopped at lowes for some bug killer. While at the grocery store he bought me roses, at lowes he bought me play sand (for the fossils, we missed doing it at the birthday party so we are going to do it in May-I think)

Later that evening he told me he used all cash, leftovers from gas money gifts (we buy gas with checkcard use cash for other things, but it all balances) and complained that all his hidden stash to buy me things was gone. I said "you did buy me something, you bought me sand" Now what kind of girl remembers the sand not the roses!!!!!

They are beautiful, and displayed in my kitchen, but apparently to me the sand for my kids is worth rememberiung in a pinch!