a fine dusting of wood particles

I'm making a dent.
FINALLY!

my desk is covered in a fine dusting of wood particles. (maybe it wasn't smart to sand wood blocks at the computer. but it did keep me on task since i'm conditioned to spend hours in this chair and be fine with it. ;)

my kitchen table is littered with painted blocks. i'll show you what i've made after i deliver them.

and my christmas card list is getting assembled.
(if you want one email me your address even if I've sent to you before i'm not organized enough to keep a list from year to year)

i still don't have a final grade on my English research paper.but i got an 98% on my math final.

Officially making it straight A's in my 2 classes this semester. yay me!

but christmas is 9 days away and my list is getting shorter. a little at a time.

and Hallelujah the maid came today!

© 2009 crazymamaof6

i better get crackin' my list is long. my days are full.

I'm wondering where I've gone wrong over the years?

I realized today I've gone wrong somewhere because somehow the holidays are ALL ME!

all the shopping, decorating, planning, spending, budgeting, baking, gifting. card sending, crafting. IT'S ALL ME!

surely there is something the hubs could do in that list? he does do the necessary assembly of bikes when the occasion pops up. and he does help wrap last minute, if i make him and it's past 11 on christmas eve. but the bulk of the holiday stress is mine alone.

even shopping on dates was a HUGE fight in the past.

the other night on our date, the hubs and I ran into one of the kids dads from the 2 Saturday long nerdfest. His wife had complained earlier in the day about the event cramping her limited holiday prep/shopping schedule. So the kids dad was then bummed because whatever she doesn't get done goes on his list.

so he ask my hubs what was going on his list of shopping, holiday prep?

my response was instant:

NOTHING. nothing is on the hubs holiday prep list. there has never BEEN ANYTHING on his list. i do everything. even shopping for myself. yeah i do that. ( he does get one or two small things i haven't seen before and surprise me every year)

But i wonder why I'm stressed?

he could help me sand the craft project .

hmmm. well i better get crackin' my list is long. my days are full.

i'll see ya when i see ya.

So who does the bulk of the holidays at your house?

who wraps?

assembles?

crafts? bakes or addresses cards ?

i can't wait for my cards to be printed. so i can go sit in the pedicure chair , and freaking take an hour for myself, while I get my cards done!

© 2009 crazymamaof6

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

most people would assume the holidays smell like fresh Christmas tree , or wassail.

but not for me.

we have a fake tree .

wassail is yet another holiday drink i just can't get into.

my mom never made gingerbread men. or sugar cookies . but she did make these delightfully chewy cookies.

ginger, cloves and cinnamon. molasses pronounced for the fun of saying it like a bad word- Mole asses. it looks and smells kinda grody in the jar, but add it to some sugar and flour with those spices and it's suddenly DELIGHTFUL!

I've been craving these cookies for weeks.

with my research paper out of the way, I FINALLY felt like I had time to bake.

WHOOHOO!

i made the dough this afternoon. and tonight i'll roll it into balls and bake them.

and then it will smell and taste like Christmas.

Everyone has their traditional flavor and scent of the season. what does yours taste like?

Brer Rabbit Molasses Sugar Cookies
here is our cast of characters-

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Soften shortening in microwave. Add sugar, molasses and egg. Beat well. Sift together flour and spices, add to first mixture. Mix well. Chill. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 5-7 minutes (do not overbake - the tops should barely start to crack, these aren't supposed to be hard old gingersnaps).

And one tip from my sister: Make all the balls at once and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze. Then pour them into a ziploc bag, toss your sugar in, and shake and bake. I keep the bag of frozen dough balls in the freezer and only use what I need. It's so nice to be able to bake a batch of warm cookies any time you have the urge.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Napoleon Dynamite ranked 10th

Saturday i was the designated Parent to accompany my 11 year old Peyton to the State FLL (first lego league) competition at ASU! (there was an article about it here)

it was sponsored by the IRA Fulton School of Engineering.

the FLL is for kids ages 9-14 year olds.

Peyton's ELP class had 3 teams, all three went from regionals to State which had 32 teams competing yesterday.

Part of the day was designated for Technical interviews, a teamwork challenge, and a research presentation- Peyton's team researched and did a skit about helmet safety.

then the rest of the day involved a robotics competition using a robot they had built using legos and a special computer program that they wrote that runs it through a course.

part of the program is just to get kids excited about engineering.

here is the robot Peyton's team built- they named it Napoleon dynamite

here it is with the special robotic arm they built to collect some loops that earned points.

here is the course

part of the challenge is knocking over the red things, and bumping something else. they can set off a truck and collect loops. everything earns different points.

his team had competed in the regional meet last Saturday in Queen Creek. Where after not scoring well in all the morning runs and the first couple challenge runs, they figured out what was wrong and made a HUGE comeback and ended up SCORING 1st in robotics. winning in all of the elimination rounds.

out of 33 teams at the regional meet, They got 3rd overall. and 3rd to go to the state meet. and first in ROBOTICS! only 7 teams got to go to state and 3 of them were from Peyton's ELP class.

Last week the hubs was the designated parent. being an engineer, and a nerd, it was right up his ally. while i wanted to go experience the wonder and excitement it wasn't conveniently located, and we have 5 other kids that wouldn't be very cooperative all day.

the plan was for the hubs to go all day Saturday again at ASU ( which is the same college the hubs graduated from 3 years ago with a degree in Computer Systems Engineering) , and I'd make an appearance.

Fast forward to Thursday night. while i was frantically delivering dinner to my mom, and rushing back to go to Peyton's band concert , i called and asked the hubs to get the kids going to be ready to leave when i got home. While on the phone , the hubs slipped on some water that Pierce had sprayed on the floor and screwed up his bad ankle.

He donned his walking boot and managed to make it to the concert but his plans to accompany Peyton Saturday were shot.

Leaving me the designated parental unit to go to the nerd fest on Saturday.

Saturday: i got up at 7:30am. we had to be at the ASU memorial union by 8:30. and we got done at 6:00pm. it made for a long day.

In the morning, tempers were running high between the team members. everyone was anxious and wanting to do well. we had to keep reminding the kids it was a HUGE privilege just to be there to compete and the important thing was to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Peyton has always clashed with one particular little girl in our neighborhood and somehow she ended up being on his team. both of them always want to be in charge, so they clash constantly. She had made up a new program that had the potential to score 340 if it ran right. they couldn't quite get it to work right and they scored lower than they had because of the attempt.

for the last round they went back to the original programing and moved up from ranking 21st up to 10th.

unfortunately they were eliminated in the first elimination round.

their highest score for the day was 290 and their team ranked 10th in the state. they didn't win anything other than a participation medal but they had a fun experience and learned something new.

Here is Peyton's ELP teacher/Coach and his team -The HELMETEERS!

front row-Ethan, Morgan, William, Peyton

Back row-Jacob,Preston, DJ Angela

between the robot runs we played outside by the fountain - Peyton got caught on top of the fountain by ASU police. they honked, and the kids scrambled! you'd think they were a pack of hoodlums used to getting caught and running from the cops.

Ethan, Jacob, DJ, Angela,Morgan,Preston and Peyton.

at one point some of the kids danced. i was surprised how many boys were out there dancing.

Peyton and I had a great day together. i got to know some of his friends and his friends parents better and it's kinda fun to spend the day with just one kid doing his special event.

Oh and i noticed Peyton has his FIRST ZIT!

we got home at 6:30 and the hubs and I went out. we did dinner and the bookstore and i was in bed and asleep by 10:30.

How old were you when you got your first real zit?

Do you like how i don't know any of the technical terms for the items on the course?

in case you wanted to know more- here are some details about FLL- (i snagged them from here on the ASU website)

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an exciting and fun global robotics program that ignites an enthusiasm for discovery, science and technology in kids ages nine to 14 (16 outside of the U.S. and Canada).

Each year FLL teams embark on an adventurous challenge based on current, real-world issues. Guided by a team coach and assisted by mentors, the kids:

• Research and solve a real-world problem based on the challenge theme.
• Present their research and solutions.
• Build an autonomous robot using engineering concepts.

Using the yearly challenges, FLL:

• Entices kids to think like scientists and engineers.
• Provides a fun, creative, hands-on learning experience.
• Teaches kids to experiment and overcome obstacles.
• Builds self-esteem and confidence.
• Inspires kids to participate in science and technology.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Christmas confessional

confession #1- I don't drink eggnog. there's just something i don't love about the thickness and spicy aftertaste. gag.

confession #2 - I Love to get christmas cards. LOVE THEM! i always read the letters if they are included . and i hoard my cards year after year.

confession #3- Mistletoe is my ultimate fave. who doesn't love a good excuse to kiss? i totally worked the mistletoe when i was single.

confession #4- i can't have whipped cream on my hot cocoa. the cocoa is bad enough with my rockin' lactose intolerance but whipped cream kicks that issue up like 10 notches. TMI? perhaps.

confession #5- you'd think I'd be on top of christmas as much as i blogged about it in November , but honestly, you'd be way wrong. while it's not my worst christmas to date, I'm feeling super overwhelmed and behind. it's all sorts of awesome.

confession #6- i love christmas movies, tv shows and books. even when it's not christmas.

confession #7- only speaks Spanish when singing christmas songs with Spanish in them. i'm diggin' DONDE ESTA SANTA CLAUS on this playlist mostly because they use the word mamacita. yeah. i was raised bilingual. but you only know that at christmas.

confession#8- i have no desire to get a bunch of toys for my kids. toys= crap to clean up.

confession #9- every year i consider becoming a Jehovah Witness for christmas. i'm a little bah humbug on occasion. but only when i feel low budget, or overwhelmed . (so like daily).

confession #10- i snicker at the santa lingerie when i see it at the store. who buys that? one year i got red satin pj's and a black teddy. it was double boxed. one nestled inside the other. it was genius for opening in front of the family on christmas eve back in the day.

the confessional is open... do you have any christmas dislikes, great ideas, or preferences? please feel free to share.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Singing the Hallelujah Chorus!

Hallelujah! my research paper is COMPLETE! I'll venture back to campus and plop that sucker on my professor's desk. I'm hoping he'll hunker down and just grade it right then and there.

Hallelujah. i ran away tonight. after working on my paper until 3 am the other night, then getting up and working on it more. THEN after emailing it off to a couple of really nice friends that were willing to proofread and edit the wonder. ahem i mean wade through the 10+pages.

I headed out to preview my family pictures, discussed cards with my super talented sister in law, and ultimately gave her free reign to create a masterpiece for me. which might be more stressful for me than just picking a shot and having it printed. ACK! (imaginary stress at it's finest)

after that i RUSHED home by way of tarjay, hunting for black shirts for dance pictures this afternoon and shoes that my 5 year old would be willing to wear everyday, no matter what!
everyday she has a fit over her shoes, her socks and her clothes. and seriously I've reached my limit.
so i bought her new shoes, more socks that she likes, and hopefully she'll quit having daily meetings of the drama club. because frankly i quit.

i came home scrambled around, talked at the hubs for 5 minutes and rushed out the door again still in search of black t-shirts, and hastily dropping off a prescription that liberty was supposed to start yesterday. (she has an ear infection)

sidebar: this morning i was afraid Hope had a burst eardrum, she's had them before and ran a fever the other night and well she had this crustiness on her ear and in her hair, which previously had been a tell tale sign of a burst eardrum. and then I remembered... she took a donut to bed with her last night and i quickly deduced that crustiness was just FROSTING.

so back to my quest for black shirts, i found some and got home JUST IN TIME to yell at the kids to get ready and hustle up to dance pictures. and low and behold a charter member of the drama club LIBERTY freaked out about her body suit. seriously let me just say,it isn't an easy task to put makeup on someone who won't stop freaking out or crying.

honestly I'd reached my limit this morning , and there is only so much a long hot soaky shower can do to relieve stress.

so i ran away.

i went and got a beverage. i went to the store and wandered looking at every delightful thing they had there. i browsed. i perused. i killed time until i was sure the kids were in bed before i made the trek home.

i even called to verify that they were in bed before I'd even head home.

Hallelujah! they were all in bed asleep. and i came home. finished my revisions on the research paper. finished up a final works cited. and have that sucker ready to be turned in tomorrow.

HALLELUJAH!

one math final to take and I'm done. let the holidays commence.

what has you singing the hallelujah chorus?

Do you have any triumphs to share?

does a drama club meet daily at your house too?

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Wink , Wink ; )

shhhh, i shouldn't be posting.

I'm supposed to be writing my research paper. it's really due, not early at all now. no chance for revisions. THIS IS IT!

through the writing of this paper i've learned some things...

seriously I'm limited on attention span.

i can't have FB open.

i can't listen to music.

no kids can be around.

no TV can be on within my earshot or line of sight.that leaves pretty much the middle of the night.

i'm only good for about 2.5 pages of pure BS.

the rest has to come from somewhere like actual sources. which i have to re-read because i originally read my research 2 weeks ago now. BLECH!

~~

in other brighter news. i went to my last class session of my math class. AND the final is open for me to take. i just need to get this paper out of the way first . and according to the guy that sits in front of me, that already took it, he said it was easy, i'll have no problems kicking it's trash and getting the FREAKING 'A' i want.

and yeah i want an 'A'.

it matters.

and according to the same guy that sits in front of me, my percent is already so high i could bomb the final and still get an A.

but we'll have to see about that.

;)

~~

and the hubs birthday? the Big 4-0 ? yeah . it was just a regular day. except liberty stayed home from school and had to go to the Dr. killing my plans for the kid free time. (wink ,wink).

but we had Chinese food for lunch from the hubs fave place.

then we had tacos for dinner which are always fabulous (even if the hubs had to cook the meat and the taco shells like he always does and do the dishes on his birthday)

i did make my homemade pico salsa. AND his favorite dessert. and buy him his favorite ice cream. and his favorite beverages.

And we'll get to the wink, wink later. again. since he already got some special birthday wink,wink last night too.

I'mthat nice of a wife. wink, wink. ;) like there was ever a question about that though?

i thought not.

~~

so i'm anxious to get this semester over with and get my straight A's because i am that rad.

and get moving on with christmas. my tree is not up yet. my cards are not done. my crafts aren't finished. our outside tacky lights aren't up yet. and i need to finish the semester before i can do anything holidayish at all.

so if i don't post you'll know i'm actually , FINALLY working on my paper

and not just screwing around.

wink, wink.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Is it odd?

Is it odd that I walked out the front door and found this in my front yard...

is it odd that i'm in LOVE with this group? and have been listening all day to them?

is it odd that I'm infatuated with that picture of myself? 'cuz i kinda am.

is it odd that i spray painted a mini light pink tree Fuchsia?

is it odd that i had hiccups for 20 minutes this afternoon?

is it odd that i can't seem to get motivated to do what I HAVE to do?

is it odd that Pierce Thinks it's hilarious to moon everyone?

is it odd that I'm dying to bake cookies? and yet can't do it because i have homework.

is it odd that i'm ready to give up on the white tree fantasy and bust out one of the green trees (and maybe spray paint it)?

is it odd that i will be married to an old man tomorrow? ok so we've been married for 12 years. the old part happens tomorrow. 40 is old right? well older anyway.


is it odd that i put Hope in a shirt with the word JOY across the front? and thought twice about it at the time then chuckled to myself when she noticed.." does this shirt say JOY?" apparently there is just something wrong with passing down shirts with names emblazoned across the front. Hope thought so too, although she's worn it all day happily.



is it odd that this kid thought he was pretty ingenius and he didn't want to come inside. this blanket was perfect for hanging out in the rain.

What do you find odd?

© 2009 crazymamaof6

my Busy weekend in Pictures!

well. it's been a busy weekend. jam packed with assorted delights. there are loads of pictures. pardon the overload of fun but it MUST BE DOCUMENTED! plus i haven't posted since Thursday? how did that happen?

Friday night - ugly christmas sweater bunko. i couldn't find one so i embellished my own.



Saturday the girls joy and Liberty had a piano and voice recital. at the same time Peyton had his lego league competition so we had to divide and conquer. leaving me without a car (the crappy car has a flat tire) so the kids and I hiked to the location for the recital .

And Liberty sang "I feel Pretty"

Joy sang "colors of the wind" from Pocahontas.

here is Pierce walking home from the recital, we stopped and played at the park too.

Peyton's team ended up winning FIRST for the robotics portion of the competition. 2nd overall, and 3rd to go to the state competition next weekend. i have video. it will get it's own post. and the thing lasted all freaking day. they got home around 6 pm. seriously LONG. but worth it.

then for our hot date the hubs and I ran errands. OH YEAH it was thrilling. Home depot, Wal-mart, Target, and Fry's.

and tonight we had the hubs side of the family Christmas party/November and December birthdays and Lance's 40th birthday party. yeah. it was packed as always. he turns 40 on tuesday. (i'll post more about that later too)

this was the gag gift from Matt
hilarious! it's one of the shots of me from last Monday. they made a poster stating...

Julie -
Likes as long walks on the beach and puppies
Favorite splurge food is Dr.Pepper
New found interest: OLD MEN!

I about died laughing. freaking HILARIOUS! and a total surprise.

then Santa and Mrs. Clause came for a visit.

Hope suddenly wasn't feeling well.

on the way home joy told me that mrs Clause was a phony because her hair was too shiny, and she could see brown hair under the wig. AND santa's beard was too short.
she can spot a fake a mile away. still it was cute.

so that's what i've been up to.

How about you?

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Hot Cocoa from scratch.

IN honor of my fave holiday tradition of going to my mom's for Hot cocoa and toast-

in family of dippers ( but i am sooo not a dipper) with the family Christmas eve. here you go!

Hot Cocoa (directly off the side of the Hershey's cocoa box)
cooks on top of stove: Makes 6 servings (can be easily doubled for a large family or a party)

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
dash of salt (we never do the salt)
1/3 Cup hot water
4 cups milk
3/4 tsp. Vanilla extract

1. Mix Sugar,Cocoa, and salt in the saucepan; Stir in water .
2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils;boil and stir 2 minutes
3. Stir in Milk and heat do not boil
4. remove from heat; add vanilla

add flavored creamers if you want. whipped cream. milk to cool it down, whatever. i like it plain, and even cold the next day from the fridge. love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lance's recipe

Lance makes our Hot chocolate in a Cocoa Latte (hot drink maker-at linens and things or bed bath and beyond , they have some version of them at Walmart too. i bought it for Lance's birthday last year, he was thrilled.)
Lance's special recipe for hot cocoa

2 cups of milk
1/8 cup cocoa
3/8 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla ( we use imported from Mexico vanilla)

put 2 cups milk in the machine, 1/8 cup cocoa, and 3/8 cups sugar, and the vanilla . turn it on to mix and heat, when it stops mixing, turn off the mixer part, Turn on froth feature. pour into cups, add milk to taste or coolness (for the kids) i like mine strong so i don't add extra milk. but sometimes i add peppermint creamer. love it!

and it is so easy Liberty(age 8) makes it all by herself for the fam.
we have to make 2 batches though, (large family and all) plus they guzzle it down.

side note: i tricked Lance into making me cocoa right now before I'd post his recipe, i haven't loved it i think it's weak, apparently i like it extra milk free. I learn something new everyday. I'm on my second cup!

so there you go 2 cocoa recipes. 2 ways to make it.
try it and let me know what you think.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Awesome/not awesome

Not Awesome- Pierce stole Peyton's advent calendar. then hid and ate all the chocolate out of it.

AWESOME! When i was in 5th grade i made and gave my parents a melted record decoupaged in wrapping paper. it was a candy dish.

guess what gift my 5th grader is making for me?

AWESOME!-i knew as soon as they requested white glue, wrapping paper and a record. it was an instant FLASHBACK from the past.
I'm wondering if he's going to get flack from his 5th grade classmates for bringing in pink wrapping paper? What! It happens to match my holiday color scheme. knowing this is coming home this year, i can assume I'll be getting one every year for the next few years. you are jealous right?

Not Awesome-Pierce is allergic to citrus. but he loves to pick it off the tree and eat tangerines anyway. it makes for some NASTY diapers.

Awesome- I got the first christmas card of the season in the mail today.

Awesome- i made dinner and fed the family before 5:30.

© 2009 crazymamaof6

this year is going to be extra fun at our house.

this year Pierce is really into christmas.

he's enthralled with christmas lights.

he happily sat on Santa's lap (instead of bawling like last year)

I have a feeling this year is going to be extra fun at our house.

and I'm hoping he'll leave the tree alone. (when it is finally put up)

we had our Annual Family Christmas party with my mom on Saturday night.
um, yeah it had been a long afternoon running all over town. we barely had 10 minutes to get ready. but here is our annual family picture with Santa. maybe later I'll find the last few years and add them to compare. my kids are growing up. i can hardly believe it.

I got the kids the cheapy chocolate advent calendars.

they thought it was the BEST THING EVER! who knew that could be so delightful?they are dying to know when they can eat the next day's chocolate and they want to sneak and open all of the windows up so they can "just see" what that day's chocolate looks like.

We drove around looking at lights tonight for the first time this year. I love the perfect ones and the super tacky ones. there is just something extra delightful about super tacky displays. my fave is this house that had like 30 of those plastic figural things all over their roof. OH MY GOSH! you know they'd been collecting for years. we found it a few years ago and it's been my fave since. every year i worry they've moved or haven't done it. i'll let you know if it's up this year and maybe take pictures. it's pure holiday tackiness at it's best.

What are your favorite kind of holiday light displays?

do you do advent calendars? what kind?

© 2009 crazymamaof6

If I'd just give in...

WHEW! I feel much better now. my Christmas wreath is up! ahhh. it was really bugging me that I still had my thanksgiving wreath up. maybe I'll get my garland up on my white picket fence, and i can relax a little.

my holiday expectations for myself are almost ridiculous, and entirely self inflicted.

Like i REALLY wanted my tree and decorations all up before Thanksgiving, and yet traditionally, after Thanksgiving is the time to put them up. every year i want them up early but can't manage to do it, then the weekend after flies by,and inevitably i feel like a slacker for not having them up. where is the logic in that?

and i wonder why i feel bah humbug.

so while i have loads i really need to do, I'm thinking if I'd just give in and get a little decorating out of the way, i can focus on the other more pressing tasks.

Instead of knowing i should get my end of semester homework done, and wanting to get my decorating done, and not getting ANYTHING DONE in an overwhelmed stupor.

I'll just chalk it all up to Adult ADHD . and my type A personality. i can't do anything half hearted, and yet can't start until it will be perfect. so i don't.

but i do have to admit I'm pretty much done shopping. FABULOUS!

bunko last night was DELIGHTFUL! as always. what's not to love about spending time with friends?! I never left the table i started out at, but i was in good company.

the white elephant party portion was spirited. lots of stealing of gifts. the ugly sweater contest was hilarious even though i was not the winner.

after this post, I'm bathing pierce, getting him dressed and then we are off to visit my mom in the hospital. she just had knee replacement surgery yesterday because Arthritis is not delightful.

Have a fabulous Wednesday.

what do you have on your to do list?

what are you procrastinating?

© 2009 crazymamaof6

Facebook style

Crazymama has bunko tonight. like right now.

Crazymama is overwhelmed with everything on her to do list she can't seem to start anything.

Crazymama has only a week left of school this semester (sheesh that has gone fast!)

Crazymama can't believe she's wearing an unattractive sweater on purpose for ugly sweater bunko.

Crazymama doesn't love white elephant gift exchanges.

Crazymama loves peppermint cocoa.

© 2009 crazymamaof6