It's that time of year again and Gabe has started soccer. Last year, soccer was kind of a bust. It was beginning soccer for almost everyone and it just wasn't the kind of program we were hoping for. The kids weren't taught positions or basically anything about the sport, other than you can't use your hands. This year, we've had much better luck! I don't know if it's because Gabe is older now or that the majority of the kids are also older, but it is MUCH more enjoyable this time around!
When I brought up the idea of soccer, he was reluctant. It was such a mess last year, basically a free for all where everyone worked against everyone else. Gabe got really frustrated that his own teammates would "steal" the ball from him or that no one would pass it to him. He's so non-confrontational (he must get that from Matt) that when he saw a big scuffle around the ball, he just hung back, not wanting to get kicked or pushed.
This year, he's much more assertive and engaged. His coaches are awesome and do a fantastic job of keeping the boys focused and alert to the game. They are learning the different positions and rules of the game. He plays on the Sharks, which is a team made of 5-6 year old boys from all over Fort Bliss. I'm glad he gets interaction with boys his age from other schools and has the ability to make friends with a bigger crowd than those he sees day in and day out. His first game was on Wednesday and I was so proud of how well he did. His coach had him playing defense almost the whole game because he did such a great job kicking it out of the goal area (that's a highly technical soccer term). Even though neither team scored any points, it was still a good effort on both sides.
I'm really glad he stuck with it this time around. It is only the first game of the season (they play 8), but I think he enjoys it much more than last year. Maybe he'll stick with soccer, maybe he won't. I'm just happy he's getting out there and being active socially and physically.
Matt was able to take a pass from school to come home for the President's day weekend. Thankfully Fort Huachuca, Arizona is only 4 1/2 to 5 hours away and he was able to leave after being released on Thursday night. We had decided not to tell the kids that Daddy would be coming home, because if you've been in the Army for even a minute you know that nothing is absolute. Also, he didn't end up getting in until around 10:30pm and they were already in bed for the night. Gabe had school on Friday and there was no way I would let him stay up until Matt got in. Instead, I told him I'd have a surprise for him as soon as he got up in the morning.
Both boys were very surprised to see him. Zander, who has taken to sleeping in my bed, rolled over into Matt in the middle of the night and woke up screaming for me. He didn't realize it was Daddy and thought it was a stranger. After climbing on top of me, screaming and pointing at the "stranger", Matt turned on the light and tried to talk to him. Zander was having none of it and finally fell asleep on top of me, keeping as much space as possible between him and the "stranger". The light of day changed everything and he was perfectly happy to wake up with Daddy sleeping next to him. While Matt and Zander got some snuggle time in, I got up to get breakfast ready for Gabe. He, of course, jumped out of bed in anticipation of his surprise. I went to the kitchen, to give the boys some bonding time, and told Gabe the surprise was on my bed. He walked to my room and I listened to hear the excited laughter. Instead, Gabe came to the kitchen and just looked puzzled.
"Mom, how did he just get here?"
"He drove in last night. Because of the holiday, he has four days off training and he was able to come home to spend time with us."
"Huh."
And he sat down and started eating his cereal. Matt came out a couple minutes later to see what happened with Gabe. Apparently, he had just walked into the bedroom, saw Matt and left to the kitchen. The shock had worn off by that time and Gabe started talking Matt's ear off. He was a little disappointed to go to school and leave Daddy, but we promised he would be there when Gabe got off school.
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. You really forgot how much you depend on another set of hands until they're gone. I showered alone, by alone I mean without little ones peeking in. Matt folded a basket of laundry for me. He hung out in the front yard with all three. I ran into the commissary by myself to grab a couple items. It's the little things like that that I miss the most when he's gone. Yes, I miss the companionship, the love and affection of my significant other. I miss the adult conversation and staying up past the kids bedtimes so we can watch a show together in peace and quiet. But I will never say I don't miss the extra hands and help.
When Zander accidentally dumped ketchup all down the front of his white (yes, white. Don't judge, I know I'm crazy) sweatshirt in a restaurant and then tried to clean it up by smearing it all over with a napkin while I nursed Calla, I'm glad Matt's hands removed the napkin and tried to remove the ketchup stain with a baby wipe. When the kids wanted to play at the park and all I could think about was the Starbucks across the street, I'm glad I had Matt to watch them so I could order a coffee without Gabe whining about how he wants to go play and Zander ripping off all the little straws off the sides of the little juice boxes in the cooler. At bedtime, when Gabe cried about taking a bath and Zander was half stripped down and in the water and Calla howled with exhaustion, Matt sat with the boys so I could change and nurse baby girl.
Monday afternoon came around, when he had to leave, and it was Matt that was sad to go (I can't say I wouldn't be running for the hills). It seems that while I missed the extra hands, he missed the organized chaos of our family. The loud screams and shouts of siblings, how you never get a minute alone (especially not in the bathroom), crazy bedtime struggles and the smell of homemade lasagna. Even as crazy as they've been known to get, our kids have somehow squirmed their way into our hearts. While I wouldn't mind an occasional break, I can't fathom being away from them for five weeks. I'd be chomping at the bit to hold and squeeze them too.
And so, we have one more week until Daddy is back from training. One more week of three against one. One more week of trying to nurse Calla to sleep while snuggling Zander. One more week of school, soccer and sleep deprivation. One more week until my other half and his hands are back to help manage and organize this chaotic life. One more week.
I am not a very romantic person so Valentine's day doesn't really hold that much significance to me. With Matt being gone, we didn't have any plans to go out and do anything. And the kids were just fine with staying home and having fun. Gabe had a party at school and decided to bring glow sticks (mini light sabers) instead of candy. He also wanted to bring cupcakes and his teacher asked them to decorate a heart for the party. We went to a play group on base and Zander played with foam stickers and watched a Winnie the Pooh movie. He was very happy Gabe had some cupcakes left over, so was Charlotte (especially when Zander shared with her). For our "special" day, I made pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for dinner. The boys were very excited, we rarely have breakfast for dinner. It was definitely a treat. I "treated" myself to a raspberry mocha for my dessert (recipe at the bottom).
When dinner was over, I had a bath drawn for the boys. Bath time is usually a struggle. Zander loves the water and the soap, but with his eczema we can't have him in the water for very long. Gabe dislikes getting in the water, but once he's in he hates getting out. They were so excited when they saw me pop the glow sticks and put them in the water. Then we turned off the lights and they made their own underwater light show. It was definitely cool and we'll do it again!
All in all it was a special day for everyone. Gabe had lots of fun at school with his party. Zander and Calla enjoyed their time out with the other kids. We all enjoyed the strawberry pancakes. The night was complete with bath time fun. Even though we didn't spend money on dinner or flowers or candy, we had a good time. I think that's more important.
Recipe for Raspberry Mocha - inspired by Starbucks
I started with a base recipe from this website, and altered it to my taste. After tasting it, I added another cup of strong coffee because it was much too sweet for me (but I usually drink my coffee black). At the end, instead of using the peppermint syrup, I used raspberry syrup. If you wanted it to taste exactly like the mocha from Starbucks, you need to use dark chocolate powder. Unfortunately, no grocery stores in the greater El Paso area carry Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa powder, and unless I want four packages of it, I can't order it from Amazon. So I make due and add a little less sugar. I usually just drink coffee, but occasionally I like to "treat" myself to a sugary coffee concoction. Enjoy!
I love when Calla pushes her head up from her crib to see if I'm around.
I love that when I walk into a room, her face lights up when she sees me.
I love her laugh.
I love that she's discovered her toes. And her toys. And that she loves them.
I love the blueness of her eyes. And the blondness of her hair.
I love that she's mine.
I love that something as easy as bubbles can make hours pass.
I love the happiness that this brings them.
I love this childhood innocence.
I love the memories that have been made.
I love Gabe's toothless grin.
I love that he's not afraid of making new friends.
I love his cowlick's. And his big ears. And his green eyes.
I love that he naturally fell into the big brother role.
I love that he's mine.
I love Zander's spunk.
I love the way he gallops when he runs.
I love his little voice. And when he says "Hello" and "blue".
I love that he resembles my husband.
I love that he's mine.
They are my three hearts. And I would be lost without them.
Gabe is no longer afraid of falling off his bike. He still has training wheels, but has no problem getting started and "racing" with the other neighborhood kids. I am so proud of him not giving up. Trying to teach him how to ride a bike in Korea was definitely difficult with the lack of safe roads and cracked pavement, so he never really learned properly. The kids in the neighborhood have helped him so much, been so patient with him and really have encouraged him to keep trying. I'm glad that he's confident now.
I made Zander a color game. It was really easy to make, I actually did the whole thing while I was on the phone. I took a 5x7 piece of paper and cut out the ten colors from scrapbook paper in 1 1/2 inch squares, glued them on in the rainbow order and contact papered the front to the back. Then I cut strips and glued them to the top of the clothespin with a glue stick. We take all the clothespins off and put them in a pile and Zander has to pick them out and match them to the color. He isn't really saying any of the names of the colors except "Blue" and can only match one or two before he hands them to me to do. But it's a work in progress, something he can learn. The picture quality is horrible, I took it with my phone, but you get the idea.
Gabe is very jealous that Zander has a game and he doesn't. I am working on one for him with the same principle of taking a clothespin and attaching it to a paper. My idea for him is to take the list of sight words for Kindergarten and 1st Graders and write them on a piece of three lined paper (you know the kind we all learn to write on with the dotted line in the middle). Then I will glue that to a piece of plain white paper, so it has a plain white backing, and contact paper the front and back together. On the lined side, he will practice writing the word with a dry erase marker, tracing the letters I have already written. Then I want him to flip the card over and sound out the letters of the word and spell them with clothespins that have letters on them. I know it sounds kind of weird. I don't really know how to describe it and I haven't gotten any of the cards completed to take a picture of yet. I promise to post them when I get a chance.
I did all the necessary running around this weekend and got supplies to start making our own baby wipes. This is the website where I found the recipe. I got a pack of 12 Bounty select-a-size paper towel for $18 and a 2.6 quart container from Target for $14 (I already had the baby wash and oil). I really like them so far, I'm really surprised how well the paper towel hold up to the moisture from the combination of water, baby wash and oil. I will say that next time I think I'll add less than the 2 cups of water, maybe closer to 1 1/2 cups. My paper towel wipes are pretty soaked and I have to squeeze out the excess moisture before I use them. I also read somewhere else of someone that used Viva brand paper towel instead of Bounty, they are cheaper and feel more like cloth than paper. The only problem I see with that is you can't buy the Viva brand in big quantities (I don't think, I could be wrong).
After committing to the idea of using homemade baby wipes, I began to think about other store bought products I could home make. Clorox wipes are used often in this house, but are pretty expensive, so that was the next item on the list. This blogger proposes using old t-shirts as reusable disinfectant wipes. I love this idea, we have so many old t-shirts that I end up donating or trashing that could definitely be re-purposed. Instead of using castile soap, I used good ole Johnson and Johnson baby soap. Then after you use one wipe, just put it in a basket in the laundry room to be washed. I have gotten in the habit of saving plastic containers in a paper bag next to the trash. I pick out whatever ones I think I can reuse, like here I could cut the top off a milk jug and use it as my "dirty cloth" container in the laundry room.
Side note-
Other containers I have found new uses for:
Spaghetti jars are now full of bubble mix
Yogurt containers are individual size bubble mix trays
Milk jugs and Juice containers are being saved for outside planters
Canister that had bulk almonds inside is my "Clorox" wipe container
Sour Cream container (16 oz) is our new "Job Jar" (more on that later)
To get back to reusing old t-shirts -
This idea of reusable wipes for cleaning sparked another couple ideas. I usually use my Shark mop to steam clean my floors, but occasionally I'll use a Swiffer wet pad. What if I cut up a t-shirt in the same size as the Swiffer pads and used those instead? Then I cut down on waste and cost! I'll save the plastic container the store bought ones came in and use homemade floor cleaner with t-shirts. Of course this occurred to me after I bought a box of them from the store, but now I won't be buying anymore.
Another luxury item I won't be buying anymore are the make-up remover wipes. How handy are those? I love them, but it's ridiculous to me to be buying face wash for the shower, eye make up remover AND make up remover wipes (for when I'm lazy). What if I cut up some t-shirts and soaked them in a mixture of water, face wash and eye make up remover? I know what you're thinking, isn't that what wash clothes are for? And the answer is yes, of course they are. But it's the same concept. Sometimes the make-up remover clothes are just easier. So instead of making them for home, put them in a Ziploc bag and you have travel-ready make-up remover wipes. Plus, I like the feel of a cotton t-shirt better on my face than a wash cloth.
Also, I'm just a box of washing soda away from making our own laundry detergent. So far I've been unable to locate a place here that sells it, so I'll probably be buying it online. Everything else I have managed to find: a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot, a box of Borax and I chose to buy a bar of Zote laundry soap. I haven't made it yet because I have a big order I'm placing through Amazon and want to wait until we have our tax money back (hopefully this or next week).
From Amazon, I'm also ordering chalkboard contact paper (to cover the cardboard in a couple 11x14 frames we have that were damaged in transit), chalkboard spray paint (to spray paint the tops of my mason jars to label), vegetable glycerin (to turn Zander's eczema bar soap into liquid body wash) and a Lego block candy mold for Gabe's birthday party (to make Lego shaped chocolate, gummies and other edibles).
In the running around this weekend, I also hit up the Dollar Tree. I can not believe the things you can get for $1! We needed to get poster board for Gabe's 100 day project for school (we got 2 for $1), but I also got a set of six bubble wands (for our newly made bubble mix), and 5 wood 4x6 picture frames (to spray paint). Gabe decided he liked the idea of giving glow sticks instead of candy for his valentine's party at school, they had 5 for $1. All I need to do is print off valentine's cards and tape them to the glow stick for his party next week. I need to ask his teacher about parent's visiting for the party and if I'll be able to bring the two littles with me.
New food ideas from this past week include looking into the "clean eating" diet. On this blog, "The Gracious Pantry", she describes three different methods for eating clean. Right now, we are working on method #1 - Scaling back on foods with preservatives, additives and chemicals. For example, instead of eating white bread or using white flour, substitute it with whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour. Instead of using white or brown sugar in baking, trying honey or agave nectar. While I'm not planning on implementing huge food changes or eliminating certain foods altogether, small changes like this are easy to make and are better for us. So why not? If it's something I have on hand or easily attainable, why not make the healthier choice? This week's energy bar supply was made from this recipe: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Protein Bars. I made a couple alterations to the recipe. I don't have any whey protein (and I'm not fond of including protein powder in food I feel the boys) so I used Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate) instead. And instead of grain sweetened chocolate chips, I used dark chocolate chips. Overall, they are delicious! I really like using the applesauce as a natural sweetener. Next time, I plan on putting them in my mini muffin tins instead of cutting them into bars, and baking them a little longer. They turned out pretty soft. I'm thinking I might chop up 1/2 cup of the oats before mixing them in too. She has a lot of other recipes that I've been checking into too. I'll keep you updated on our trials.
I've made the graham cracker recipe twice now and I will admit it's a labor of love. The dough itself is fairly easy to make, roll out and put in the fridge. The harder and time consuming part is after you get it out of the fridge, roll it, cut it out and bake it. You really have to let the dough rest in the fridge overnight before you roll it out. Then once it's rolled and cut (I did hearts this time), the baking tray needs to go in the freezer for about 10 minutes. The problem is all the butter, because of all the butter in the dough it gets super soft once it's manipulated and it will lose it's shape if it's not cold before putting it in the oven. The first time around, I just put the trays in the fridge after I cut them out and the dough spread all over the trays. It still tasted good, but it wasn't the result I was looking for. This time, I substituted 1/2 cup wheat flour and added 6 tablespoons cocoa powder. Because I used wheat flour and 6 extra tablespoons of dry ingredient, I ended up adding two extra tablespoons of milk to get the dough to the sticky soft consistency. They taste delicious though. I'm glad I tried them with the cocoa powder, they have just enough chocolate flavor to not be overwhelming but still taste like a dessert. She gives the perfect description of what they taste like, they're not too sweet like a cookie or candy and they have the snap of a good cracker, not crumbly. I love to eat my chocolate graham crackers with cream cheese. If you're looking for a cookie or something sweet, this is not your recipe. But it's a perfect substitution for Gabe to take to school and feel like he's eating a cookie. Next time, I'll try adding more honey and less brown sugar with a little molasses.
The buttermilk chicken is just perfect. At Thanksgiving, I brine my turkey before roasting it. This is a great way to get similar flavors without brining and roasting a whole bird. Instead of using real buttermilk, I looked up a substitution and found you can "make" buttermilk by adding one tablespoon of white vinegar to one cup of whole milk, let it set for 10-15 minutes, stir and use in place of the real thing. I also added rosemary and a bay leaf to the brine (because that's what's in the brine I use for my turkey). After marinading overnight, I popped it in the oven for 30 minutes and was amazed at the flavors! The buttermilk brine really adds to the sweetness of the chicken and seals in the juice and flavor well. I will be putting this on full rotating and plan on making it a freezer meal!
The last new recipe we tried this week was for salsa. I've been trying to make easy go-to snacks and sides that I can throw together when the kids get hungry and this recipe is perfect. It ended up making 1 1/2 18 oz canning jars, which is a good amount for us. And as we don't have to refrigerate the can we're not eating from, it'll last us a while.
Freezing pre-made meals is something new I've tried this past week. I've noticed that since Matt isn't here, cooking has lead to a lot of leftovers. Sometimes the kids will eat the leftovers and sometimes not. So I've started packaging them and freezing them for a future date. Also this weekend, a local grocery store had a meat sale, so I bought four pounds of ground beef (95% lean) for pretty cheap. We now have two pounds of uncooked ground beef (in separate bags) and two pounds cooked ground beef (in separate bags) frozen and waiting to be used. I also got some chicken frozen, and leftovers of two pork tenderloins, waiting to be eaten. By far the easiest (and tastiest) meals have been pork tenderloins in the crock pot. Last week, I made a teriyaki marinade and cooked the pork in the crock pot. When it was done, I scooped out the meat, thickened the sauce and put the meat back in to absorb the sauce. We probably only ate 1/3 of the meat and now have a pork teriyaki meal ready to be thawed and eaten. The same goes for the pulled pork sandwiches I made on Monday. I put the pork with spices in the crock pot, cooked it on high for 4 hours, took out the meat and made a barbecue sauce including the juices and put the shredded meat back in the crock pot. Another 2/3 of a pork tenderloin waiting for Matt to eat when he gets home. I am all about easy and saving money and I think this kind of pre-cooking and freezing will save us time and cut down costs of groceries.
Last little bit before I sign off and do something constructive - We have been having HUGE behavioral issues this week with Zander and Gabe. I haven't identified the source yet, but I'm sure it has to do with Matt being gone for so long, hearing attitudes at school and just normal pushing buttons, testing limits. However, there is no better way to get under my skin than to back talk, argue or just tell me "No". And the boys are quickly learning that is not what you want to do. The Brong household now has "The Corner".
That's right, it's "The Corner". This is where they go when I send them to "The Corner" for bad behavior. Gabe has to stand on the spot for five minutes, starting when he stops complaining about being there, and Zander has to stay on there for two minutes, which usually means I'm holding him there for the full two minutes. I took a piece of scrapbook paper, put stickers on it and contact papered it to the floor so that they could step on it, jump on it, kick it and it will still be there. They are not big fans of "The Corner". I'm not sure if it's helped with the behavior situation at all, but it has only been a week.
The other tool I've created in hopes of changing Gabe's behavior issues is the "Job Jar". I don't have a fancy picture for that because it's a sour cream container full of pieces of paper. I want to spray paint it and write "Job Jar" on it with a paint marker. That's my goal anyway. In this "Job Jar" are 25 different little jobs written on pieces of paper that everyone hates doing around the house or are pretty menial. Examples include - wash all the doorknobs, shake out the doormat and rearrange the bookcase. Jobs that Gabe HATES to do are also included, like poop scoop the backyard, scrub the toilets and fold a basket of laundry. Whenever it seems like "The Corner" hasn't done anything to curb the behavior, I make him pick a job from the jar. Mostly, his attitude comes from not wanting to do homework or having an attitude when I ask him to clean up his toys. Whatever the case is, I have him stand on "The Corner" for five minutes first and then if he still is having issues, he has to pick a job. He really hates having to pick a job. He thought it was funny at first and then he picked "poop scoop the backyard", and now he really dreads the "Job Jar".
Consequences have always been really hard to come up with for Gabe. He doesn't mind if you take his toys away. He doesn't mind if you take away privileges like playing with friends or TV. This is the first thing, the "Job Jar", that I think might work at curbing behavior. Let's hope so anyway!
And with that last note, I'm done! I'm sorry about the length of this entry. I wasn't intending it to stretch this far, honest! I guess I'm just long-winded. I am planning on posting another entry this week about our struggle with the decision to home school Gabe next year. So look for it! Any feedback about this topic is always welcome!
I haven't gotten much of a chance to take pictures this week, but I got a couple good videos I've included below. Enjoy, they are pretty funny!
