Delicious!

I made a great dinner tonight. The kids ate everything put in front of them and more. Here is the recipe from Cooks.com:

GERMAN PANCAKE

I actually doubled the recipe and used a 13x9x2 pan

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cube (1/4 cup or tbsp) butter

3 eggs

Melt butter in 8" x 8" X 2" casserole dish in the oven as it preheats to 425F degrees.

Beat all other ingredients together. Slosh melted butter around the sides of the casserole dish, and then pour batter of other ingredients into butter and bake in center of oven for 20 min.

Serve with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top and/or your choice of syrup.

Ours was topped with mixed berries and served with ham steaks on the side.

So Good!

C.H.A.O.S.

At my house we are suffering from C.H.A.O.S., that is the Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome, because This. Place. Is. A. Mess.

I need some help. I make lists, I make chore charts, I prioritize what should be done and you know what happens? The bare minimum.

I need help. I would love to hire a housekeeper, but the problem with this idea is that I think my family should clear their own clutter.

Proof that I DO make them clean sometimes.

I am looking around my living room. I see: no less than 8 pairs of shoes (and 3 of them are mine!); 2 loads of clean laundry on the loveseat; breakfast dishes for 2 kids on the coffee table; magazines, mail, and homework on the end table; hair from the dog all over the carpet and upholstery, 2 laptops, pillows, games by the shelves they are supposed on and not actually on the shelves, and various other items....

Yet, here I sit. Today's plan is to clean it all up and then what? How do I get my dear children to buy into the fact that once clean it should stay relatively neat?

Happy January

This little mouse is Ruby on Halloween

It's January! The month of the year that I like to think about organization and resolutions and getting the year started on the right note.

2010 is no different.

For 2010 I resolve to:

• Do at least one load of laundry each day. This means wash, fold and have the kids put away.
• Plan and prepare better meals. Cereal is for breakfast.
• Create and implement a chore list for the kids. Force them to stick with it.
• Stick with my Motivated Moms plan.
• And take more pictures. I only took 3 pictures total on Christmas day!

And that's it. That's as much as I can handle.

Also, I got the tree pic by turning off the flash and opening up my shutter to increase the exposure time.

The best week of the year!

Our sad little tree. It is a beautiful noble fir whose branches cannot handle the weight of our ornaments. Poor droopy tree!

The week between Christmas and New Year's is my favorite of the whole year. All of the Christmas pressure is off, but the good feelings of the season are still hanging around. My house is clean-ish and there are plenty of yummy leftovers to eat. We are planning a small party for New Year's Eve, nothing really special, just good friends, good food and hopefully a good time!

Ch-ch-changes...!

This is a picture of the first day of school, 2009. Jacob is a freshman, Hayley is a 7th grader and Ruby is a 1st grader.

Three kids, 3 schools. They have much better lives than I do and keeping up with their schedules is kicking me in the pants!

I started a new job with Douglas County Mental Health on July 6. It was supposed to be a 25-30 hour position with LOTS of flexibility so that I could manage being a full-time Mom and working too. Somehow the job has changed and improved (?) to be a full-time 40 hours a week benefited position. I really has turned into a career and not just a job. That is a very good thing and I love it!

Somehow I am still managing to be the Mom I want to be for the kids. I do not, however, have the time I need to do a lot of other things. Like laundry and cleaning the refrigerator and yard upkeep. I am definitely hiring a housekeeper to come in every 2 weeks. (The downside to that is that I have to have clutter cleared so that it will be effective. Another task to complete!)

Right now, the week between Christmas and New Year's is my favorite. All of the Holiday pressure is off, the house is clean-ish and there are plenty of leftovers to eat. All that is required is to enjoy family and friends and the feelings of goodwill that this time of year brings. Happy New Year!

My Political Statement

My name is Tracy and I am a conservative (mostly).

I did not vote for Mr. Obama. He is my President today and I will support him and I will pray for him and our country.

I will applaud him when he does well and I will speak up when he does not (both my opinion).

I am not wearing black today in protest, and I am proud to be here at this point in history.

I will not compare him to JFK or MLK Jr or anyone else, this is short changing him, he has the potential to be better or worse than either of these men, I am going to judge him on his actions alone.

I am going to champion democracy and discourage socialism.

I will do my best to be what an American should be.

And I will continue to vote.

I will believe in the rights of individuals and the rights of states and continue to believe that the federal government is growing uncontrollably under every administration.

I believe that all people over the age of 18 should be able to marry whom they choose.

I don't believe in abortion, but I do believe that I can't control your body- your body, your decision.

Sharia law scares the h*ll out of me.

Have a great day today and let's be happy for all that we have in this country, there are worse things than the other party winning any election.

Good luck Mr Obama and thank you for your service Mr Bush, may you both be blessed.

Dating, ugh

I went on a date last night.

It was with a 40-year old guy who manages a more decent restaurant in Roseburg. (not fast food)

I don't think I am wanting too much from a person? They have to be intelligent and tall. And eventually they have to be a good kisser. I am even negotiable on the tallness and will forgive some intelligence.

This guy struck out completely.

He wasn't tall enough. Only about 5' 11", so if I wear heels, I am taller. But that didn't rule him out right off the bat.

He wasn't that smart. He did tell me he got his GED rather than diploma, which wouldn't automatically disqualify him either. But, he couldn't keep up! I have a dry, witty sense of humor and he really didn't get it. Or he got it waaay too late.

I learned a lot about him, his life, his kids, his divorce....

but I'm not sure I got to say a whole lot.

AND THEN he kissed me! eeeeeeeeew....

NOT a good kisser at all.

So, back to the damn drawing board.

I hate dating. I hate dating strangers.

But, even more than I hate dating, I hate being single...