Athena in a Minivan

Butch, Toddler and Sundance

Yes, I am biased. I am their mother. They are so cute. If you didn't know it, you would never guess Butch and Sundance were twins. They look nothing alike.

Each of them is holding a sandwich. I could not get them to stop playing to eat lunch so I plopped them on the kitchen counter and made them eat lunch. Butch likes butter and syrup, Toddler and Sundance like peanut butter and syrup. Honey likes PB and syrup and I guess that is where they got it. I am a traditionalist with PB and J but the J gets left out when the boys are hungry.

What is on my desk

The Headmistress at the Common Room has written about the contents of her desk. There are things you would not find on my desk like ponytail holders because I have no daughters in my house but they are alike in the pens, candy, and organized chaos.

On my desk is a hodgepodge of items that have no where else to live, items removed from Toddlers mouth, things that need to be dealt with when I get the time and things I can't live without.  My morning cup of tea which I drink out of a mug given to me for my birthday that has Psalm 29:11 "The Lord gives strength to his people, The Lord blesses his people with peace. (and caffeine).The following are more of the treasures and junk on my desk.

• The measuring spoons which have not made the way back to the kitchen though it is only 10 feet away.
• My car keys, so I know where they are.
• A small plastic fireman.
• A few marbles rescued from Toddler's mouth
• My dagger/letter opener which I got from my Aunt Carmen
• The thingy that lets the pictures get from my camera to my computer
• A D size battery which I don't know if it works or not.
• A bill I need to mail on Friday
• Various Pens and Mechanical Pencils (I don't like plain pencils)
• The case for my glasses thought they rarely get put there since I wear them most of the time
• My address book for Christmas Cards
• Insurance Papers
• A mini Jigsaw puzzle of George Stubbs Whistlejacket (the exhibit was at the Kimball Art Museum and we enjoyed the horses)   
• A tennis trophy from 1983 when I was a junior in high school. I won 2nd place in the Fort Worth City Tournament 18 Singles. The arm is broken because Butch and Sundance found it and played with it.before I found out and broke it. (My sister, the English teacher has corrected this post.) I found out that they were playing with it and had broken the arm that holds the tennis ball off of my trophy.
• There are Cd's, Sharpies, Coupons, pictures that have lost their album, a disposable camera that needs to be developed.
• The broken wish bone to the Thanksgiving turkey. (I don't know why)
• An old Fudge Love box (circa 1960s) full of paperclips, rubber bands, erasers, and an old photo of my Aunt Carmen who use to own this box and gave it to me along with the desk.
• An Eastman Kodak F-10 21 inch lens that came off of a large print machine at Honey's office. The machine became obsolete with digital photography but the lens is still cool.
• Last by in no ways least is my God Calling book. I try to read it everyday and it helps me through the chaos. You can read it online if you don't want to purchase the book but this one I got when I graduated from High School from my mom and it has been on every desk I have ever worked at; college, my first job, all the school I taught at and now my desk at home.

Thanks HM for letting me copy you. The memory of this last item has made it well worth it.

Advent Devotions

Ever year www.followingthestar.org has a daily Advent Devotional guide. It is very well written with beautiful music. It is great for young people also. I followed it last year and was blessed by it.

Breakfast

For those of you more "experienced" moms this post may be a no brainer (and by more experienced I mean your kids are older than  5 or you have more than 3) but I had an A-HA moment this morning when fixing breakfast.

When I was a public school teacher, the buses would arrive 25 minutes early so the children could head to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. Gathered around the tables, children of all colors would consume toast, cereal, juice and milk. Some mornings there would be waffles and syrup or breakfast burritos but always milk and juice. I do not know this for a fact but only from learning about some of their homes, but many of them would not have received breakfast unless the bus arrived early and brought them to school. I was always grateful for the breakfast because it meant that these children could begin the day with the nutrition necessary to pay attention, concentrate and do their best in school. I could really tell the difference between the children who had eaten breakfast and those who had not.

This morning, I prepared waffles, syrup, bacon, and milk for my little darlings. I count it a privilege to be able to be the one to fix their breakfast and make sure they start the day with proper nutrition, a warm kiss, and a full tummy. I know they will have what it takes to pay attention, concentrate and do their best through out their day. As I was working over the hot stove I realized that the mothers (or fathers, or grandmother, aunties or whoever cared for the school children) would probably enjoy fixing breakfast for their children but the schools made sure that buses came early and that the children were fed in mass. I had always thought that they just sent the children to school out of convenience or because they get subsidies for school food or because the children will get better quality food or because they are just too poor to afford good food at home but now I am starting to think differently. I think I have discovered the reason these parents sent the children to school to eat breakfast.......

BACON AND WAFFLES AND SYRUP MAKE A BIG MESS!!!!!!!!

Chili that even fooled my honey

My weight loss is now at 15 pounds (290.4). This has been a tough week as we had one of those "crisis" that makes me want to eat. Honey has had stress at work and it caught up to him and caused him some illness. I bought more fruit and tried to ignore the sweets. Today I got back it back into staying on program and have eaten right all day but my body still thinks it needs extra food to handle the stress and my emotions think they need sweets to deal with the feelings. I am not going to give into it and just as any temptation works, them more you resist, the more powerful it becomes. ARGH..

I made this receipe tonight and served it with crushed chips and cheese on top. The first cool weather in Texas just screams for chili and tonight was no exception. I didn't want to ruin my weight loss with high fat meat, masa and it would just cause indigestion. I didn't mention that it was veggie and he didn't ask. A serving is 1/2 a cup so it is still a low points dinner even with the chips and cheese and my tummy is happy.

Vegetarian Chili

POINTS® value |  2 Servings |  8

main meals |

Ingredients

3 cup Boca Original Ground Burger
1 1/2 cup cooked black-eyed peas
1/2 medium green pepper(s)
1/2 cup onion(s)
1 1/2 cup canned stewed tomatoes
1 serving spices
2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

grill onions and peppers in oil until cooked, add ingredients and cook for 30 minutes.

One Reason I love Texas

Being a Texan and living in North Texas has some wonderful benefits. This afternoon we had one of them. A "cold" front moved through last night and instead of being 80 degrees it is a beautiful, clear, blue sky 60 degrees. We went to the library to check out some books and returned home to play in the yard. I sat outside and read since Toddler likes to climb the fort and needs me to rescue him when he can't get down. (Mama, tuck which translates, "Oh Mother, I am stuck on the fort, please get me down). It was then lunch time and I took it outdoors. We had soup, crackers, apples, cheese, summer sausage (why do they call it that when you can eat it anytime?), milk and brownies for dessert. It was delicious. Actually, in my humble opinion, most food tastes better when you eat it outdoors, even Campbell's Chicken and Noodle soup.

Hanging with the Guys

This was a pretty typical Saturday at my house. This morning we were leisurly getting dressed, Honey worked in the garage, the boys watched some cartoons. Around noon, my brother and dad came over. Now if you have not figured this out yet, my dad is a guy, my brother is a guy, Honey is a guy, and my three boys are all guys. My sister, who was unable to come today, usually helps me remember that I am still woman in the sea of guys.

We watched TWO college football games. Honey who graduated from the University of Oklahoma watched them defeat Texas A&M. My father who is an alumni of the University of Texas watched UT slaughter KU. It is to my good fortune that I grew up attending and watching UT football games. My parents loved to take us to games and I still love college football. (now, pro football....argh.....don't get me started). Mom loved to tell about when we went to a UT game and my sister and I slept under Mom and Dad's legs wraped in the staduim blankets.

My father believed that if you bought a ticket you stayed for the whole game no matter what. One game it was literally raining grasshoppers. They were everywhere. They crunched when you walked. We took refuge under the stands but Dad stayed and watched until the bitter end.

I grew up very near (6 blocks away) from Texas Christian University and there was a college game almost every fall weekend and the tickets for the end zone were cheap. My sister and I would sit near the cheerleaders and knew all the yells and pom routines. We could wander around the stadium and not have to worry about getting hurt. Our friends would be there and many a times we would visit as if we would not be together again on Monday. We would watch the clock and report to Dad at the 2 minute warning for the walk home.

I watched many football games and still love the sound of a band playing after a touchdown. "Texas Fight" and "Hookem Horns" still excape my lips from time to time. I am glad I gained this love of college football at an early age because if sure makes "hanging with the guys" alot easier.

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Week 5

Five weeks of eating right and I am beginning to feel better. I have a long way to go and the only way to approach this is one day at a time. So I pray for control for today.  I weighed in at 291.4. (sounds like I am a boxer) The weight did not get here over night and it will not go off over night.

I've been walking around my neighborhood in the evenings (9ish) and it really works to clear my brain. Tonight I left with the twins not yet asleep, talking to each other and Toddler crying. When I came home all was peaceful. Now I am off to bed since we have Enrichment early in the morning. (ok, it is only at 8:30 but for a night owl, that is early.)

Please continue your prayers as there are some stressful things going on right now and I have been very tempted to eat over them.

Just a Little Humor