a cool blog to check out

If you've followed me, you know I love to read blogs.  This one is one of my very favorites. Work in Progress   Even though it's technically a scrapbooking blog- they sell a monthly kit and show layouts- they also share so many other things as well- recipes, crafts, decorating ideas, etc. They have several individuals who post pretty much on a daily basis.
Check it out if you have a chance!

Happy new year!!  Be safe!

Christmas break ROCKS!

I am so loving these lazy days of Christmas break! With the schedule I keep during a normal week (tutoring 14 different kids, working for the church 15 hours, subbing a day or two, prepping and leading a Bible study, doing too many loads of laundry to count, running kids, fixing meals, etc. etc.- you get the picture) a few days at home with nothing scheduled on the agenda is wonderful.

I have been...

1. doing laundry because unfortunately that  doesn't stop over Christmas break!
2. slowly cleaning up after the Christmas madness- still have one tree to take down and a huge mess in the storage area to clean up
3. getting my paper trail organized for my church job
4. cutting coupons and getting my coupon binder up to date
5. looking at recipes and hoping to get some sort of schedule going for a meal plan
6. creating our busy January calendar
7. deciding if it's worth it to pay $150 to sign up for some local exercise classes or if I will get my own butt in gear and use our treadmill-
8. trying to finish up my year in review album- that is my goal for today!!!
9. playing Boggle on the kids' new I Touches- I'm officially addicted
10. looking into a chronological Bible reading plan- I have wanted to do this for a few months- I found this one which has some notes along with it and this one that I printed out. I have never been successful with a yearly reading plan, but even if it takes me longer than that, I am good with it.
11. sleeping in.... my favorite thing!!

hanging my head in shame

2 1/2 months- ridiculous- not that I haven't been a little busy in that time, but my poor blog has been shamefully ignored- don't know if anyone has noticed, other than my 14 year old (soon to be 15 year old) son. He has reminded me numerous times that I haven't blogged since October 14. Yes, I am painfully aware of that- so here's to the return- hopefully for good. I feel like I've been swimming in a very long lap pool, and I'm finally coming up for air.

We're moved!! Yeah! October 30 was moving day, and am loving my new home. I had a fabulous time decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas and look forward to getting some things up on the walls- I hate painting, but I'm getting antsy to paint my tutoring room- nothing bold like corn cob yellow or the bright orange I had in the last house, but maybe a gray tone?? I've never been a gray fan, but I've found some paint samples of a blueish/gray that I'm really digging- the problem is I loathe painting.

moving day- friends and family helped move all our crap treasures

1025 Bellflower

About 3 weeks after moving in, we hosted 20 family members for Thanksgiving weekend. I loved having everyone in my home. It was SO great to have room for everyone! We have a full basement and had room to set up 2 beds down there so all adults could have a bed to sleep in. The turkey came out edible (thanks to my sister and Reynolds turkey bags!) and we even made our family's recipe of sweet dressing! Hopefully I be able to host many more family functions here...

my crazy sister getting the bird ready

Fox family photo

Brad finished up the football season and now is playing basketball. Bren will start playing Upward basketball after Christmas.

Gary will start back in the study routine after the first of the year. He only passed one out of four CPA tests and needs to get that done before a certain time limit is up. He's also trying to work on projects around here- building shelves in the basement to put all our crap  treasures/putting up shelving/counter in the laundry room/ cleaning the garage so we can put our cars in there for winter/ etc. etc. etc. The honey-do list hasn't gotten any shorter for him, that's for sure.

I led this Bible study with some ladies at our church this fall, and am now gearing up to do this one for the spring term. I had such a wonderful group of women this past term. I so looked forward to Tuesday mornings. These Coffee Cup Bible series are awesome too. I have done studies on Philippians before, but never to the depth of this one. It's not so deep you can't understand, but just gives great background/cultural information. I'm really looking forward to the Colossians study.

Well enough for now- I could go on and on, but I must get on to other things for now. I haven't scrapbooked in ages, but I am working on finishing my year in review monthly calendar. I think I posted it last January. Even though I haven't scrapped a thing for months, I did print out my monthly collages last night, and everything is updated except for Dec. Hopefully next time I blog (before 2 1/2 months) I will show you!!!

Hope you all had a merry Christmas!

silly kitties

Any of you who have kids are probably familiar with silly bands- those colorful rubber bands that kids wear around their wrists that hold their shape- When I first saw these, I thought "what's the big deal about this?" I was less than impressed. And for quite some time, no one else in our house was impressed either. Then Brennan got on the bandwagon. He insisted we go down to Caseys immediately after school and he spent his own money to buy a very expensive small package of silly bands... because he had to have them RIGHT THEN.  He began wearing them around both wrists, halfway up the arm, and traded at school. He even traded for a few silly necklaces. I think I would gag having that tight band around my neck, but it didn't seem to bother him. Fast forward a few weeks, several more (less expensive - thank you Walmart) packages have been purchased, and we now have an abundance of silly bands. But... there is a silly band thief in our midst.

That's a racecar silly band-


Brennan was sitting on the couch watching TV when Oreo sauntered in, stuffed his head under the couch,  emerged with a silly band in his mouth, and proceeded to walk out of the room as though he were on some sort of mission.  Upon investigating, Brennan discovered an entire stash of his precious silly bands safely hidden under the couch! Apparently the cats have been stockpiling!



I found this sight especially amusing today. As I walked by their food dish this morning (and those of you who have followed my blog, know they like to place items in their dishes) I saw one of the confiscated items. Now I'm used to seeing a variety of their toys by their food bowls, but WHAT I saw there I found quite comical.

 Look closely, can you tell what shape this band is???                                                                                Yes, out of the plethora of bands they had to choose from, they found the one and only cat one Brennan has and perhaps adopted it as their very own! Silly kitties!  

"Sometimes...

            you've just got to stop and smell the flowers"

mocha frappe to die for

I sat down to blog a different story, but for some reason I cannot upload any pictures at the moment. And I definitely need those pictures to tell the story... so what to blog about that doesn't require a picture?  How about the AMAZING mocha frappe recipe I came across this morning that I am now absolutely in love with?

I have gradually come to enjoy coffee- I am still not able to drink it totally black. In fact, I am far from that. But I do like it loaded with sugar and combined with chocolate!!! I am a big fan of McDonalds mocha frappes. Not a big fan of the calorie count!  How can I get my chocolate fix without buying bigger pants???

I have been making smoothies and frappes at home for awhile now. In fact I just bought a nice blendeer with a great ice crusher. Yes, this is serious business for me. I test them out on my children, and I, of course, have my share as well.  We even have special frappe cups to drink them in (because the look and feel of the cup in your hands is important too!). Brennan has a milk allergy so his are made with soy milk. I have tried different recipes, but still hadn't captured the texture and the right consistency...until this morning.

I came across this recipe. Oh my, it is divine!! And light!!!! One serving only has 130 calories (however mine probably has more as I was liberal with my syrup!!) Will my pants continue to fit as I feast on these bad boys each day? And oh the possibilities to change things up a bit! Peppermint syrup with Andes mints on the whipped cream? White chocolate syrup? French vanilla coffee? Pumpkin spice?  I'n in love. Give it a try and let me know what ya think!

Mocha Frappe


1 cup of cooled coffee
2 T sugar
1 T milk (I used 1%)
Combine these ingredients and fill in an ice cube tray. Freeze.


Place frozen coffee cubes in blender along with a little over a cup of milk, 2 T chocolate syrup (I added more and it was yummy!) and blend! Top with whipped cream if you'd like.

Survival of the Fittest

No, we are not believers in evolution and how this phrase is often used in science terms. I have deemed the boys' sleeping situation this way.

The boys have always had their own rooms and beds. They have never had to share...until now. While we are in the rental they are sharing Brad's full sized bed. And neither one is thrilled. Both have complained that the other one kicks and hogs the bed and covers. In the first few days, when I would go to wake them up in the morning, one of them was lavishing in all the covers and the other was huddled up with no covers to be had trying to stay warm with their own body heat alone. This is where 'survival of the fittest' comes in. They soon learned that in order to win the cover war, whoever could roll themselves up in the covers first stays warm! The other brother is outta luck!  Since Brennan goes to bed first, he realized that in order to be warm, he'd nestle himself all in because even when he tries to un-burrito Bradley, he's too heavy for him to budge. And even if Brennan was already tootsie rolled up in the depths of the fleece, Bradley would simply pry him out of the covers and steal them after Bren was fast asleep. So as far as who is the fittest? I think Bradley has won that contest this time.
Problem solved- both boys have their own blankets- not to be shared with the other. So far it's working pretty well- at least I thought it was. I came in the other night before I went to bed and saw them like this.

Perhaps Brennan was beating up on him for revenge? Maybe that's what he dreams about??

So I giggled only imagining what might have gone on in the minutes before I took this shot.

Fast forward a couple of nights... the bed wars continue. Only this time there is a new culprit

As if the two boys having nightly wars isn't enough, now the overweight cat is hogging their bed! Yes, Brennan is literally lying on the bottom half of his side of the bed, while Maizy sprawls out to her heart's content. Now all we need is Oreo to cram in here and the picture will be complete.

it's getting closer!

We are getting so excited! Our house is about a month from being completed! We just got word on Friday that our close date is October 18!! It's finally starting to feel like a reality. I've been thankful for the rental we have... it's not an apartment, I've got laundry right here in the house, we've got a nice big living room to relax in, I've got a tutoring room, Bren can walk home from school, we've got a 3 car garage to store all of our stuff. We feel so thankful to be able to rent here.

However...
*I can't wait to have a laundry ROOM with a counter to be able to spread out and fold the clothes
*I am so looking forward to having a master bathroom- first time ever (and I have MY OWN SINK!)
*I am ready for the X Box to be in the basement family room so don't have to have to listen to Modern Warfare all the time
*I am excited to prepare dinner looking at my granite countertops and cherry cabinets
*I can't wait to sleep in the new bedding I just bought today at Bed Bath and Beyond
*I'm looking forward to sitting on my front porch in the evening

I just plain CAN'T WAIT-
*I just plain can't wait...

where does time go?

I'm still alive
been incredibly busy this summer
can't believe I'm the mom of a high schooler
the house is starting to make real progress (FINALLY!)
getting excited thinking about moving into our new home
been a bad bad blogger
hoping to remedy this
thanks for those of you who are still hanging with me!

A little kitty love...

"Want a kiss Mommy?"   ......... "PSYCHE!"

Enjoying the beauty and loveliness of our neighbor's yard before we moved. On that note, we let him out tonight while we were on the deck and then got busy and forgot he was out for a bit. When Brennan went out to look for him, he was 3 or 4 houses down the road. I'm convinced he was heading back to the old stompin' grounds!

One of his favorite napping places in the old house- right where no one can reach him!!!

 

"Playing" a board game with me and the boys...   - no, let me rephrase that. Attempting to stuff his entire body in the game box- and every time we needed to reach into the box to pull out a number tile, we'd get nipped at because we had the nerve to bother him during his evening nap.

                     "My life is simply exhausting!"

                helping Mommy unpack at the rental!

           Daddy loves his boy!!!!

hello....

I am finally digging out from the sea of boxes that surround me. Oh, they are still there- but the important ones have all been gone through, I believe. Still missing... 1)Kate's phone charger   2)Kate's wedding ring

Yeah... not good. The wedding ring has me VERY concerned as you  can imagine. Now I am about to celebrate 17 years with my husband in a couple of weeks, and during that whole time I have NEVER misplaced my ring. I do not lay stuff down willy nilly (never written that! Is that how you spell it?). My wedding ring gets taken off when I do dishes and at night. And it gets put in the same place every time. All of my jewely stuff has been unpacked, but I haven't found it in any of that yet. Ugh.

The rental is OK. I'm adjusting quite nicely. It has a large family room. It used to be the single car garage before they added on a nice 3 car garage that now houses all of our stuff still packed in boxes. The family room came equipped with a projector screen so we now have a 90 inch TV to watch. I am not smitten with TV things, but I admit, it's amazing. The boys, of course, are in heaven.
There is a nice big pantry which I love. I can actually see all of my food items!!
Oreo hates being cooped up in the house. He makes a beeline for a door if he hears any activity near it. He is allowed to have "supervised" play time only outside now as I'm afraid he will head back to the old house! He usually cuts his own play time short as he soon ventures into the neighbor's yard and has to be drug back home. All of our other neighbors were so good about him roaming around their yards, but I don't know how these people will react. I don't want to upset them.

The house progress has been SLOW. After nearly a month (they dug June 17) we have basement foundation and not even a floor yet. After sending two e-mails, apparently someone dropped the ball on our project we discovered. Yesterday there was a "come to Jesus" meeting with all involved on our project so hopefully we will start to see some real progress.

In other news, Bradley heads to church camp this Sunday, Brennan is in the midst of swimming lessons, I am back to my tutoring routine, Gary just took his 3rd CPA test on Tuesday and the fourth is on July 20, the boys and I spent a great weekend up at my sister's for 4th of July, and I'm attempting to cook actual meals these days. I have had such a craving for fresh vegetables and grilling so that is where my thoughts are... of course a chocolate smores cake recipe is hopefully going to be tested out this weekend as well.

I need to upload photos - hopefully I'll do that soon and have some to share!

Thanks for hanging with me during this wild time!

moving

Moving into our rental today and tomorrow- This is all I see

It has begun...

Here sits the future site of the Hydorn home. And today, June 17, 2010, over five weeks after we had our plans and specs meeting, this spot has a nice large hole in the ground with a lot of dirt surrounding it... And it's the most beautiful dirt pile I've ever seen.

Let the building begin... and let the rain stop...

Wow!

Life has been spinning out of control recently, hence the long absence from my blogging. I think about blogging almost daily, but that's as far as it gets it seems. So here's what's been happening.

He...

*has been trying to study every spare minute he has- 2 CPA tests are coming up in July

*has been making phone calls about utilities, satellite TV, address changes etc. as we will be moving into our temporary housing in less than two weeks

*has been having a stressful time at work dealing with supervisory issues

*has made it to all of the kids' events despite his busy schedule

*takes care of a lot of laundry while he's downstairs studying (thanks honey!!)

He...

*is doing basketball camp this week at the school

*asks to go to the pool every day

*is obsessed with playing catch right now. He can't get enough. And he's gotten really good at catching pop flies! He can catch em as high as Dad can throw them!

*is enjoying reading Dewey the Library Cat with mom at night before bed. I got the kid's version of this book. We're loving it!

*lives in flip flops most of the year- he ran races at school and had a record of 36-0- all in flip flops! Can't wait to see what he can do in actual running shoes!

*just completed his second year of piano lessons

*turned 10 on May 27. We haven't been able to even have a party due to our crazy schedule, but he enjoyed cookie cake (his favorite) and an afternoon of golfing with Dad, Brad, and buddy Kyle

*will probably have the hardest time of all of us moving out of our house

*loves to play X Box and his Nintendo DSI XL.

*has been wanting to go to garage sales with me

*calls Bradley "Master" (and everytime that happens, I look at Bradley, and Bradley's response is, "I didn't make him do that, I swear!")

He...

*is crazy busy with weightlifting, football practice, basketball practice, and Jr. high baseball all at the same time. There are times he does all of this on the same day. Welcome to the world of high school

*has gone to three hitting lessons at Sportsplex West. He was having trouble with his timing, so we bit the bullet and got a series of lessons. It was well worth it. He has been doing a much better job making contact, and we've seen great improvements at the plate. His confidence is up as well!

*plays Call of Duty to relax (seems like an oxymoron to me!)

*eats less than Brennan (or at least it seems like it!)

*is now driving whenever he possibly can. I admit, Dad is much more willing to let him get behind the wheel than Mom

*has had the same girlfriend for 7 months now, and they've never had a fight. For teenagers, I'd say that's pretty amazing!

*is almost 6 feet tall and still growing

I...

*have been crazy busy with tutoring. The last 6 weeks of school or so I was tutoring until 8 or 9 PM every night

*tutored my first student with ACT preparation. She took the test on Sat. (for the second time) so hopefully she will see some increase in her score!!

*have been putting in lots of hours on our summer curriculum for kid's church. We are doing Answers in Genesis curriculum, and I have been organzing the lessons and getting the materials all ready. I have enjoyed it, and am praying the kids are learning God's truths.

*am trying to get back into the exercise habit. April and May my Snap time was pretty much non existent. By the time I was done tutoring, I was wiped out. I have a 20 year reunion in September, and I certainly don't want to go looking the way I do now.

*downloaded a beginner's running plan from this website last night. I don't know who I think I'm kidding. I hate running. But I do walk/jog on the treadmill - that is my exercise of choice. I have a desire to do a 5 K, but I lack the confidence to think I can do it.

*have oodles of new recipes I'm dying to try, but can't seem to find the time to make them

*spend lots of time in the van these days toting kids here and there

*have an entire house to pack up in less than two weeks- progress so far- 3 boxes packed. Ugh

*Am very impatiently waiting for the builders to begin digging our house. It should've been started weeks ago. Now we're getting loads of rain every other day, so it's too wet to begin. At this rate, we'll be lucky to be in the house before Thanksgiving.

*Am getting more hormonal with each passing day. I don't like it... and trust me, neither does the family!

*need to go get dressed so the taxi can fetch a kid

our family...according to Brennan

This paper came home in Brennan's bag this morning. I found it fascinating to see what our life is like according to a 10 year old.

My new found love...

I

These are phenomenal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you tried them?????????

"David's favorite shortcake"

This is the title of my recipe card-  "David's favorite shortcake" written in my mom's handwriting. This is the only shortcake my mom ever made while I was growing up and the only one I ever make to this day! My brother Dave loves it especially, hence the name on the card!  Since it is strawberry season, I'm sure most of you are buying as many cheap strawberries as I am these days!  I made this shortcake last weekend for an appreciation event I was in charge of and thought I'd share it with you. It's super easy, doesn't require many ingredients, and has a wonderful consistency.  Hope you enjoy!

3/4 cup softened stick margarine

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

Mix together with fork into crumb mixture. Set aside 1 cup of this.

To remaining crumb mixture, add 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 pan sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until it springs back in the center.

Happy belated Mother's Day!!!!

        I am so thankful that I get to be a mom to these special boys! I feel very blessed!

Mother's Day was very hectic (not to mention the rest of the week!). I got to sleep in and go to late church. We have an 8:30 and 10:30 service and normally my morning-person husband makes us get up and go to early church. And now that I work at church I often have to be at church for the first service anyway. We did not have children's church last Sunday so I got to enjoy sitting in the service (after a great night of sleep!!!). We went straight from church out to lunch. I chose Fazoli's. We didn't have a lot of time, and I hadn't been to Fazoli's for a long time. They have all sorts of new pastas on their menu now! It was good! Then we headed straight to the ball park for a double header for Bradley. As soon as that was done, a quick trip to Wal Mart was in order and had to hurry home to tutor from 8-9. Relaxing it wasn't, but they usually aren't. I have spent Mother's Day at the ballpark the last several years. But that's OK. I love spending time watching my boys play ball...

I had to share the card my husband gave me. He is not a scrapbooker, but he can be creative when he wants to be! I do not get bouquets of real flowers anymore. Oreo has a major obsession with flowers and babies breath. If I have a vase of flowers, he simply will not leave it alone. He has knocked over more vases than I can count and spilled water everywhere. So if I get flowers, they have to stay locked in a room when unsupervised. Anyway, the card read something to the effect of, "here are some flowers Oreo won't destroy." He hand cut the flower part out of some scrapbooking scraps I had (velvet paper) and rolled money tightly to make the stems. I thought it was so cute!!

Anyway, I thought I'd leave you with a poem that was in our church bulletin several years ago on Mother's Day. In fact, it was 9 years ago as it was the Mother's Day we had Brennan dedicated at church. It brought tears to my eyes then and still does. It makes me so grateful that God has allowed me to be Bradley and Brennan's angel on earth. What a privilege and the greatest job I could ask for!

Once upon a time, there was a child ready to be born.  So one day, he asked God, "They tell me you are going to send me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Among the many angels, I chose one just for you. She will be waiting for you and take care of you."

"But tell me, here in heaven I don't do anything but sing and smile. That is enough for me to be happy. What will I do there?"

"Don't worry. Your angel will sing for you. And she'll smile for you every day too. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy."

"And how am I going to understand when people talk to me if I don't understand the language men speak?"

"Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear. And with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

"Your angel will fold your hands together and teach you how to pray."

"I've heard on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?"

"Your angel will protect you...even if it means risking her life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

"Your angel will talk to you about me and will teach you the way to be able to come back to me again."

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child, in a hurry, asked in a soft voice, "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"Her name is of no importance to you. You will simply call her, 'Mommy.'"

Busy and Out of Control

This will be a quick post to let you know that I'm still alive! I have lots to tell you, but little spare time these days! Last week was a whirlwind and this week seems to be out of control as well. I'm hoping things will slow down soon?????

Here's just a little recap of our latest events...

1. Bradley finished up his track season last week- we've been going to about 2 track meets per week for the last 4 or 5 weeks. He has been running in the sprint medley, 4x8, 4x2, 4x1, and doing high jump (all of these not on the same nights of course). Their 4x8 team won at several meets, one of their teams (forgot which event) set a school record, and his personal highlight was jumping 5'2" at conference to place 2nd overall and set his personal best record! He was quite excited. Now he gets one day of rest before Jr. High baseball practice starts tomorrow. He's also in the middle of spring league baseball and Jr. League baseball so we're running to ballgames about 3 or 4 times per week.
2. Brennan is playing baseball as well.  He's had several games rained out lately, and this week is looking pretty wet again. It's pouring as I write this. Brennan is working on finishing his AWANA book for the year, and getting ready for a piano recital in a month. He has been spending a lot of time with his best friend and got to stay the night with him the other night.
3. Gary went to the Dr. with a case of what looked like a spreading rash and found out he had poison ivy! Not quite sure where that came from! So he's on prednisone and has a creme for relief. He also took his 2nd CPA test last Thursday. We won't find out if he passed or not for another 4 or 5 weeks. He feels better about this one than the last one though (we did find out he didn't pass his first one so that will have to be retaken). So in between all this other running, he is still trying to get his studying accomplished.
4. We have a "sale pending" sign on our house and are anxiously waiting for the "SOLD" sign to go up! Just waiting for the appraisal. We spent last week at meetings and choosing things for our new house- we are definitely building! Our plans and specs meeting is tomorrow and then they will start digging! We are very excited, and although we know this process may have valleys, we are confident in our decision. Our house will probably be done in early September so the big challenge now is finding temporary housing for a couple of months over the summer. Ugh. Still working on that.
5. Tutoring for me has been crazy busy- trying to schedule around baseball games and track meets has left me working until 9 PM on all of the free nights I have. Plus I have a couple of extra kids helping them make it through the end of the year so time is even more scarce. I've also been subbing a lot more recently as teachers take their personal days, etc. this time of year.
6. I'm on a curriculum deadline for my children's ministry job. We are doing Answers in Genesis curriculum this summer and I am getting it all put together and worked through. It has been a bigger job than I anticipated so I am not nearly as far with it as I had hoped to be by this point.
7. This house is a wreck!! After having to keep it clean for almost 8 months while it was on the market, I've let it go to the dogs- never being home and being busy hasn't helped matters either.
8. So, this is why I haven't blogged for awhile. Hoping I'll get back soon when life settles down a bit!

A blog you must know about

I imagine many of you who read my blatherings are moms just like me... and moms have to cook, like it or not. I do enjoy cooking and baking, I'm a recipe collector (or should I say my recipes collect dust??) and I get excited when I see a new recipe. Well I've been following this blog for quite some time, and today's pudding cup post sent me over the edge! That looks absolutely phenomenal! And to be able to eat the bowl too???? I've died and gone to chocolate heaven!   I love her visual recipes as she takes pictures and posts the recipe often with the step by step- now that speaks to my learning language!!!! Anyway, if you like to bake, or even if you don't!, check this one out!!!

Life is beyond hectic right now for us. Lots of good things going on, but it just seems every aspect of life right now has revved up. Hopefully I'll get to fill ya all in soon!! Thanks for hanging with me!

Can you say OCD?

Yes, these are guns... a few of them are realistic looking guns (gasp!!)... and they belong to my 9 year old son. I come from a family of hunters. I grew up going to the Rifle Range. I grew up with an entire gun case in our basement filled with rifles and guns of all sorts. And we were taught the rules of safety. I never ever saw a gun left out accidentally. I never picked one up and handled one without the supervision of my father. They were never loaded at home. I was taught the proper respect for guns. I was also taught that guns don't kill people...people kill people. And I believe that today. And guess what? I married a hunter! Thankfully he demonstrates the same safety and responsibility that I grew up with. And we will pass that along to our children. My oldest son has been hunting with his dad for the past several years, and the little one is ready to go when Dad gives the go ahead! That being said, Brennan has been into cap guns lately. The two on the left end were cheap cap guns that don't work very well. Lesson learned is...don't buy cheap cap guns. So I went to Bass Pro and bought the one on the bottom. Now THAT is a cap gun!!! Leave it to Bass Pro to carry the good stuff!! Cap guns are hard to come by these days!

Anyway, this picture truly says "Brennan." I had to smile when I saw it. I came home from dropping the boys at school the other day, and saw his guns neatly arranged on the floor- ready for play after school.

in answer to a question...

That kool-aid playdough  recipe here does not stain hands. Even when I made it and kneaded it, it did not stain my hands, and it does not stain hands when played with! It's good stuff!

...

Isn't this exactly what you want in your Easter basket????

update your blogger editor

I love blogger and I think it is pretty easy to manage for the most part. I am definitely not a computer wizard by any means, but I am learning all the time. I love my blog, and I really enjoy being able to go back and read all of the posts I have written. It has been a great journal. That being said, I don't really want to have to pay for another host site that may offer more options. A couple of the things I have been frustrated with in blogger is that I can't always post my pictures as large as I want and that when I upload, they always load on at the beginning of the post and I have to drag them down around my text (if I don't upload one at a time : ) Anyway, I came across this post in my google reader helping me update the blogger editor which makes the uploading of pictures so much easier while you have also have the ability to make your pictures larger! I experimented with it in my last post (Easter), and it is awesome! What a great addition! Maybe some of you have already done this on your blogs, but if not, do check it out!

Easter 2010

Koolaid playdough

This is my absolute favorite playdough recipe- in fact, it is now my only playdough recipe!

With my job at church as a children's ministry assistant, I had planned several games and activities for Easter Sunday. One of the those was a playdough table. I made lots of spring colors, bought a $1 package of Easter cookie cutters, and the kids loved it. It was a hit!

This recipe is easy and quick to make, inexpensive, and I love that the packages of Koolaid give it great colors and makes it smell yummy too! I used lime for the green, grape for the purple, berry blue tropical punch for the blue, black cherry for the red, and obviously orange for the orange. It keeps for a long time in Ziploc bags so you can get lots of use out of it.

Koolaid playdough

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

2 packets of koolaid (choose to determine the color you want)

2 Tbsp oil

2 cups boiling water

Combine in a large bowl. Stir with a spoon, and then let cool for a few minutes. Place on countertop and knead with hands until clumps are gone and consistency is to your liking. Feel free to add more flour as you knead if it is too sticky. Have fun- dive in and make some creations with your kids!

bacon bread

BACON BREAD

This is absolutely one of the best bread recipes ever. I got it from Quick Cooking magazine several years ago and no matter where I take it (and I often take it to small group, family gatherings, and anywhere I have to take a dish!) someone always asks for the recipe. It's easy and doesn't require many ingredients- my kind of cooking!!

INGREDIENTS:

12 bacon strips, diced (or more if you prefer)

1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, divided (I usually use a little more)

1 cup of shredded mozarella cheese (or more if you prefer)

1 envelope ranch party dry dip

Cook bacon. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Brush with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place in large bowl. Add the bacon, cheese, dressing mix and remaining oil. Toss to coat.

Arrange pieces in an oval on a greased baking sheet, layering as needed. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled. (I usually just place it on a back burner as the oven is preheating).

Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Then cover with foil and bake 5-10 minutes more or until golden brown.

this and that

I finally downloaded some pictures tonight! Now I can share a bit of what we've been up to these last few weeks.

These pictures are from the state spelling bee Bren was in at the end of March. It was located in Sioux City- why a state spelling bee would be located on the northwestern edge of the state is beyond me, but whatever. It was a rather stressful drive to get there. We had gone to Gary's mom's retirement party in Chariton and then jumped into the car at 8 PM and drove in a snowstorm the whole way there. That would have been bad enough, but we had to take a vehicle from Gary's work to the Omaha area so I had to drive our car separately while he drove the work car. I was in tears at one point trying to drive through the snow and wind in the wee hours of the night. We finally arrived at our hotel at 1:30 AM exhausted! The spelling bee began at 9 the next morning. We checked Bren in and the poor thing was a nervous wreck! They gave the kids a practice round and then they had to take a computer test. This weeded the 102 competitors down to 60-70 who would be able to come back after lunch for the rest of the spelling bee. Brennan did not make it past the computer round. He was devastated. We were SO PROUD of him for making it that far! It was tough competition as this state bee put 1st-8th graders all up against each other (which I didn't quite get). There were only a handful of younger ones out of the 102 as most of them were middle schoolers and junior highers. Overall I think it was a good experience, and I hope he will look back at it as a good opportunity. Right now he's still reeling in the devastation of not making it past the first round. We're still not allowed to talk about it around here!

Yes, you are seeing correctly. That is my 14 year old son behind the wheel ready to take his first driving lesson with his father. Even though he turned 14 in January, he took his permit test over spring break. With the horrible snowy, icy winter we've had, I would never have let him drive! But unfortunately (in this case ONLY) the snow melted, and it's time to let my boy grow up. He passsed his test easily the first time, and his first time behind the wheel was in our VERY LARGE EMPTY church parking lot. I was a tad (OK a little more than a tad) nervous as he had Bren's and my life in his hands, but all was well. He only drove into the grass once in our first little adventure! I thought he had a bit of a lead foot as well. I was reflecting back on my first time behind the wheel and I specifically remember thinking, "How does anyone drive 55 mph? That is SO fast!" Needless to say, I don't think that thought was going through his mind! He has been doing very well. I have lightened up and given him several chances to drive, and his father is always willing to hand him the keys. My anxiety level goes down the more experience he gains. But then I start thinking about him driving at night, driving in a downpour, driving in heavy city traffic, driving in the kind of snow I drove in to the spelling bee, driving in unfamiliar areas, and I start hyperventilating... I have determined that it definitely doesn't get easier as they get older. I just need to up my medication : ))

This is career night for ELP class. ELP (extended learning) used to be TAG (talented and gifted) back in my day. Anyway, Bradley had a big project choosing a career of interest, interviewing someone in that career, researching a college that specializes in that major, researching the job responsibilities, pay, and demand and then put the information together on a display board. They were to dress in their career attire (hence the football shirt and shorts) and the parents got to come to school one evening to view the finished projects. He did a career inventory and teaching was one of the careers that came out on top for him. Law was another one, and those are both things he is interested in (although I think the coaching is more of an interest right now than the teaching). He really likes his PE teacher, who will also happen to be his high school basketball coach, so he has a good role model to look to for that. He researched UNI as that is a great teaching school (I know first-hand!). His presentation board may have had a smidge of help from his scrapbooking mother, (hee hee : )but overall I think he did a good job. I must say there were a few rough nights around the Hydorn household trying to get him to complete this task, but I think it was well worth it.

Alrighty enough for now- I have lots I'm hoping to share with you in the next week or so- Easter, a recipe, and I've been documenting a "day in the life of Oreo" for your viewing pleasure. I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath now for that installment... How exciting can a day in the life of a cat really be anyway?

We finally hit 70!!

Spring has been long awaited around here. It's been a bitter winter and today was a banner day! Nothing but sunshine and about 73 degrees. The day was busy with Bible study, running errands preparing for Easter Sunday in our children's ministry, tutoring 3 students, and the minute I was done, Brennan was begging to ride bikes to the playground. I love that at almost 10, he still loves to spend time swinging, sliding, and hanging on the monkey bars. After a LLLOOONNNNNGGGG winter of endless hours of video games, I am grateful to get him out on his bike getting some exercise. I love our times at the playground. It seems we have some of our greatest conversations there.
Tonight I learned the following from our evening together...

*he feels that girls in his class always want their own way. He preceded to offer several examples of when playing math games, they will say, "We're doing subtraction or nothing..." "We're doing addition or nothing..." He was disgusted at the fact that they act like they're giving you a choice when they're really not. He asked me if all girls want their own way. What am I to say to that? I told him I like to get my own way. And he told me, "Yes, but you're not a girl, you're a woman."

*he loved Nana's garlic bread. "She was a smart woman," he told me. However I'm still unsure of how her brains and garlic bread talents go together...

*it is very unfair that, at recess, you only get one push on the tire swing, but the pusher has to push 3 times before being done. Who makes up these dumb rules?

*I now know how to "rocket" on the tire swing.

*I cannot "rocket" for long on the tire swing as I am too old for that and the nausea set in. I used to be able to spin, ride any ride in any amusement park, and merry go round on a full stomach and not be phased. Now I can't even last 5 minutes on a tire swing on an empty stomach.

*God has given me a very special little boy... but I think I already knew that.

Spring break-oh how I love thee...

I am so enjoying my spring break. And of course, it is going too fast.
Saturday I scrapped for 11 hours. It was lovely. Some wonder how anyone could do that for 11 hours straight, but I could go much longer if I could...It was lovely.

Sunday we went to church, out to lunch at McDonalds, and then I got a glorious nap in. It was lovely. I made an egg bake for supper, which I've been hungry for. It was so nice to sit down together at our table as a family and eat together. We don't get to do that much during the weeks because I am usually tutoring during the dinner hour. Brennan and I rented the movie G-Force and watched that before bed--definitely not as good of a movie as I had hoped. Thankfully we waited for the $1 Redbox instead of paying movie theater prices!

Monday I slept in til 9. It was lovely. Then I took the boys out shopping to try to get everything bought for baseball season, and I think we got it accomplished. Then we picked up Gary at work and went to Boston's for lunch. We'd never been there before, and loved the chicken parmesan pizza we ordered. Brennan raved that his spaghetti and meatballs was the best thing he'd ever tasted!

Tuesday Bradley went to Token's with some friends and I had another nap. It was lovely. Then Bren and I played a couple of board games (he beat me in Goolf and I beat him in Yahtzee), I cleaned the house a little, and made chicken wraps, corn casserole, and a cherry trifle for supper. Bradley ended up spending the night at a friend's house.

Today (Wednesday) I scrapbooked all day at Memory Bound. It was lovely!! I had a mango smoothie for supper and got beat by Brennan in Battleship. Now I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the house at 12:20 AM knowing that I should be going to bed, but relishing staying up late.

The rest of the week is going to be busy. Tomorrow Bradley has an ortho appointment and he is ready to take his driver's permit test. AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Notice I said HE is ready to take it because I'm certainly not ready for him to take it. This is when I think how nice it would be to have him back in diapers again! Then we're going somewhere to golf. It's supposed to be 63 degrees tomorrow! It will be lovely!! And after the winter we've had, we are going to enjoy every minute of our day tomorrow. Friday we are going to a retirement party for Gary's mom. She only has 7 more days of work left, and we are rejoicing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Straight from the party we get to drive 4 hours to Sioux City, Iowa so Brennan can compete in the State spelling bee on Saturday!
Spring break...oh how I love thee...

January monthly calendar

I showed you the monthy calendar I started here http://katehydorn.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html (can't remember how to rename the link offhand). Well January is completed and in the album. I'm hoping to finish up February while I'm on spring break this week. I put together the collage of pics from the month in Picassa and wrote captions right on them. On the other side the envelope contains papers, clippings, etc. from the month. I included a grocery list I had made and Brennan added his wants to it. I got a chuckle at some of the things he added and how he spelled them. I'm hoping to add things like this in the coming months.

Scripture challenge #2

I've had my second Scripture challenge done for awhile, but hadn't taken a picture of it. The word was temptations. I used the verse from 1 Corinthians 10:31. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the challenge. I took it from the New Living Translation Bible. I chose a black and white theme and tore my paper at the top symbolizing the torn feeling we have when temptations come our way.

I'm hoping to get caught up on the challenges this weekend. I am about 3 behind by now. I am going to enjoy 11 hours of uninterrupted scrapbooking bliss on Saturday- right here in town at the school! I'm so looking forward to it. I have hardly done any scrapping at all and since I am going nowhere for spring break, this will have to be my vacation!

Bradley will be having minor surgery on Friday. He had tubes put in his ears when he was 4 (and he's now 14). One of them is still in place and has to be removed. It has had scar tissue built up around it so it will have to be surgically removed. They may also have to do some reconstruction as well.

THE SNOW IS MELTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can see about 75% of my yard now! Today it got up to 50 degrees and Bradley was dressed in shorts for school. Now some of you might think that's nuts, but to us Iowans 50 felt like a heat wave!

Brennan's spelling be is a little over a week away. We'll be heading to Sioux City on the 20th for that. I am praying he'll do well and nerves won't get to him.

I'm subbing in technology tomorrow. That's a joke since I don't know squat about the computer systems at the school. I'm merely present for crowd control only.

Been busy looking through and choosing curriculums for our church's summer programs and VBS. I'm so thankful for my church job and the ability to be able to do so much of my work from the comforts of my own home and computer.

We are officially done with basketball. Bradley had his last tournament last weekend. We are now kicking off baseball. Without question it is the most expensive sport in the Hydorn household. So far I've written 2 hefty checks to Sports Authority with the shopping not completely done yet.

Gary goes to work, studies, eats, studies, sleeps, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Still waiting to get this house sold and we officially decided to build. We signed the paperwork last week and are ready to go when someone decides to make 847 Main Street their house. I know my focus has changed when instead of spending my extra 30 minutes browsing in a clothing store, I went into Lowe's instead and drooled over vessel sinks, hardwood floors, and tile. Oh my.

Spring break is two days away. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!