I love making cookies and would have tins and tins of them in my home at all times. They are one sweet item that doesn’t tempt me too often however an adult cookie monster lives in my home and in the freezer too. Cookies are just not safe anywhere in our home. He has asked me not to have cookies or other sweets in the house and since I love this cookie monster I have semi-followed his request. But IMHO, kids should have the joy of being able to eat cookies straight out of the oven. Homemade, from scratch cookies no less.

Over the years I searched, and tried many different recipes that would not tempt my cookie monster in the cookie form or the raw form. So many fell by the wayside. All cooked cookies fell by the wayside, including my favorite, chocolate chip cookies. That one everyone loves in the cooked or raw form, and frozen is THE best way. But Peanut Butter Blossoms fit the bill, in the raw form. For some reason they don’t tempt my cookie monster unless he is present when they come out of the oven. Frozen in the raw form they cook wonderfully, and said cookie monster does not consume them in the raw form.

It is quite a normal routine during our school day for one boy or the other to head to the kitchen, preheat the oven, pull a dozen cookie balls from the freezer, place them onto a cookie sheet, and pop them into the pre-heated oven. Soon they are fighting over which cookies are theirs; ahhhh, only in a home school!

Here’s my recipe:

Peanut Butter Blossoms

1/2 c shortening
1/4 c peanut butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1-3/4 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream shortening, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Sift flour-soda-salt. Blend into creamed mixture.

Shape scant teaspoonful of dough into balls, roll in sugar, place onto greased cookie sheet, bake 350 degree F, for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, top each with one Hershey Kiss, pressing down until cookie cracks around edge, bake 3 more minutes.

OR

after forming the balls, roll in sugar, place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. The cookie balls can be touching. Place sheet into the freezer for a day. Remove from the freezer, and place frozen cookie balls into a freezer bag. Then when you want a cookie or two or a dozen, take them from the freezer, place onto greased cookie sheet, bake 350 degree F, for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, top each with one Hershey Kiss, pressing down until cookie cracks around edge, bake 3 more minutes.

Yes, that’s MK’s food pyramid.

Since I won’t allow him to eat just that he sticks them on Peanut Butter Blossoms.   Sorry, no photos of the finished lot since they’re consumed FAST. 

Monday began a new chapter in our homeschool. For the first time in a very long time I did not have on my near-term calendar a trip out of town to care for my Dad or one for cleaning his house. Our new chapter actually began this past weekend when I took a serious look at where MilitaryKid was in his school work.

I can’t even point to one subject and say that that one is really in a shambles because none of them are. But then again, I can’t point to one subject and say that MK is where he would be if none of this past fall happenings had occurred. He is behind in all subjects—or is he? Yes, he is not as far along in history or science or math or Latin or writing as I’d like him to be but he’s doing alright. And afterall, isn’t that one of the benefits of hs’ing; being able to adjust our school life for the little bumps that occur in life. We just happened to hit a huge bump these past 5 months and now we are moving on. So here’s what I did.

Rather than beat myself (and MK) up about only being on page 135 in our Kingfisher History book rather than on page 175 I looked forward. The first thing I did was to determine where MK was in each of his books; and I wrote down the lesson or page number. Next I decided where I wanted us to be by the end of the school term, and wrote this number down next to the first number for each subject. In math it was rather difficult to come up with a number since in addition to lessons, Singapore Math throws in Revision exercises, and Practice exercises, and it is rather hard to know whether MK will need 2 or even 4 days to complete a Revision exercise. I guessed. Sometimes that is the best approach to use, even if it isn’t really scientific to approach it that way. Finally I had my list of start and end numbers. It looked something like this:

History 135 –233

Science Unit 2 —4

Math PM #24 — End (90 lessons)

Writing #10 — 21

Latin #7 — 26

Grammar 60 — 126

My next step was to move to my ‘Overview Planning for 6 Months’ page in my ELAN Student Organizing notebook. Each month has approximately 20 school days, give or take a day here or there. Since we don’t take a week off for spring break and since we aren’t planning any trips before the end of the school year I could go with the 20 school days in a month approach for planning purposes.

My next planning step is to divide the number of pages or lessons into the number of months or school days available. I like looking at things by the month and writing down where MK needs to be by the end of each of the coming months so we are close to where we should be and have some gage to keep me on track. Over the years I have found that if I have a monthly goal, we hit it. Without a monthly goal I’m like a ship without a rudder on the sea and we just bounce around and do little. It isn’t that we even study other things, we just do very little. For me, and particularly for MilitaryKid, without set goals we flounder around.

So I write with a pencil different scenarios. Continuously asking the question, can MK do that much work in history or science or ….? Is it realistic to cover one lesson in Classical Composition in a week or do we need two weeks? What if we take an entire month to do a unit of science, will that be enough time? If we take that much time where will we be at the end of the school term? Will that be acceptable to me? Do we need less time to do a lesson in Latin than one week? Finally I feel comfortable with each of our monthly goals, and this is what we are to reach by the end of Feb:

History pg 163; Outline each 2-page spread. Write at least 3 topic reports including one on the crusades, and Magna Charta. Read at least one historical fiction book and write a summary report on it.

Science Complete Unit 2, start Unit 3. Outline each lesson, take all tests, and do all practice exercises. Read How the Weather Works, & Eyewitness Earth books.

Math PM Finish 6A; Know Your Maths #10

Writing, Classical Composition #13

Latin #12

Grammar #80

Once written I don’t close the book. A final reality check is the next step; can MK really do this quantity of work? Each of us know our own kids best and for MK I know that if I keep him on task, and have a day like Monday, we can reach these monthly goals. Simple goals but at least they are there and are there to help us know we are working.

Monday was fabulous. We got started on school late for us, around 8:30. By noon though MK had all but Latin completed! After lunch we headed over to his science olympiad partner’s home for a 2 hr session on his Bio-Process event. Today was a different story. After returning from walking the dogs the phone rang and I conversed with another SO mom for a few minutes. MK waited for me to get his breakfast, and just after he finished his pancakes my sister called. We conversed about Dad’s estate and MK waited for me to get off the phone before he started working. This is a problem. MK really needs me, or it is his silent-protest that I’m on the phone. Either way the phone has got to be ignored so that we can get back to doing school together. At least we did sit on the sofa and read all of ‘How the Weather Works’ together today. And we flew his Balloon Launch Glider at the gym today, which was really neat. It is so good to be back doing these things again.

As I mentioned in my meme, Monday morning very early I took off for my Dad’s home, arriving before 8am, and it is almost a 4hr drive. Do the math and you’ll quickly see that I got up and out of here at an ungodly, and very cold hour.

Once to my Dad’s home I started in on the cleaning-out of closets, drawers, cabinets,…30 yrs of stuff is what we’ve had to go through. It wasn’t my first day of going through this stuff and really we were on the home stretch but there were several more days of work ahead of us.

My sister walked in, found me working and did just a quick—‘oh, you’re here.’ in a tone that conveyed she was far from pleasantly surprised to see me……. Soon the doorbell rang and sis went to answer it.

“Good morning S*****” I heard my sis say in her sweet, friendly, tone, the one she always uses with her friends.

“Carole’s here? Is that a…. pleasant surprise?” Her friend replied. I couldn’t hear my sis’ response or see her face but I definitely heard the question and read between the lines.

Yea, right back to ya. And as my mom always told us; if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. I went back to work………

****************

This afternoon I got back home, finally. My Dad’s house is all cleaned out and that part of the process is completed. WHEW!!! No, we didn’t just start this cleaning-out process this past Monday and if I added up all my hours of working on the house, just the cleaning it out bit would easily be over 100hrs for just me. What a task this has been. There’s still quite a bit of paperwork to complete, taxes to file and stuff like that but the physical job of cleaning out 30+ years of ’stuff’ is completed and it is time to get back to the important things in life; being a mom and being a part of my kid’s education!

On my drive home ScienceKid and I were chatting. He asked if I would be upset if the kitchen looked like an M14 had gone off in it when I walked in. I replied;

“It would be pleasing to see a clean kitchen but I am past the point where I will throw a tizzie-fit if the kitchen is a mess. What I care about when I walk in is to be able to just give you and MilitaryKid a great big hug. That is what is important to me.”

And that is what going through this ordeal with my Dad’s estate has really taught me. I’m through with getting upset if the house is a mess, or the kitchen has some things out of place. I want to be with my kids, doing school, having fun with them, having adventures with them, and being here to talk with them. To too soon they will be gone and THEN I can keep the kitchen clean, the bathrooms spotless, and the place tidy. Until then I want to be here with them, doing school with them, reading what they have written, talking directly with them about what they are reading, and not directing them from some remote location.

Oh, and when SK heard my response to his question, I heard a big sigh of relief through the phone before he read me his Biology essay over the cell phone to me. And as for the kitchen, it wasn’t that bad or messy. Nothing that can’t wait for another day. YEA, this is a new chapter in our lives.

First, I rarely do meme’s but since I have nothing nice to say these days (which is why I have been quiet) I will do this meme.

Two names you go by: Mom and ‘our baby’.  The first I adore hearing the second I cringed everytime I heard it.  Thankfully I no longer hear it.
Two things you are wearing right now: A gray Ohio State sweat shirt and jeans. I always wear jeans, except when it is too hot, then I wear jean-shorts.

Two of your favorite things to do: Swimming, be it in a lake or the ocean or the pool, I love the water. Hiking in the woods or cross-country skiing although I haven’t done that for years. But whatever it is I want to be doing this with my kids and with my DH.

Two things you want very badly: For my boys to always be best friends and for them to have their health and happiness, always. For my DH and I to have our health and happiness. Oh, and to be finished with settling my Dad’s estate.

Two favorite pets you have had/have: I agree with Frankie, this is hard to pick out just two. My favorite of all time so far has got be be my Benson, a great dane. The second is the harder one to pick. Should it be my first dog, Sgt Pepper, who scared the pants off my mom and sisters, while I enjoyed wrestling with this dog? When we were sorting out family slides I found photos of me doing just that too. Or should it be Sparky, my constant companion through my childhood years. and my confidant? Brutus and Chloe are well on their well of being favorites too. Really, this question to me is like asking a parent to decide which of their kids is their favorite child. Each has a very special place in my heart.

Two people you think will fill this out: I hope Ang in TX and Robin fill this out, but surprise me. Lurkers, please, surprise me.

Two things you ate today: DH made me a sausage & egg muffin sandwich for breakfast. Mac & cheese, homemade, from scratch of course.

Two people you last talked to today: Since we’ve been watching the Patriots football game I really haven’t spoken to anyone outside of the kids and DH.

Two things you’re doing tomorrow: My day will start at 4am when I leave home and head for Dad’s house. At his home I’ll be packing boxes, and cleaning things out of his house. It is a job that needs to be done.

Two longest car rides: Badlands in SD to DE in 2 days with me doing all the driving, summer of ‘06. 1880 miles. Ohio to Montana in ‘85, or was it Ohio to Durango, CO in ‘82? Either way it was long, and it was non-stop.

Two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving—ahh, all that food and no need to buy gifts for anyone. Birthdays; yes we take the day off for anyone’s birthday.

Two favorite beverages: Diet Dr. Pepper, Red Wine

I’d return in a heartbeat to paradise. St. John’s, Virgin Island, USA.

HELP!!  The sofa from my Dad’s home smells musty.  How do I get rid of the odor?

This morning I attended a neighbor’s funeral, 58yo man, veteran of Vietnam, firefighter for 25 yrs.  Hard, quite hard.

MilitaryKid got together with his Science Olympiad partner today.   The other mom is taking the lead and getting the boys to build a bottle rocket and a glider for their balloon launch glider event.  I am SO thankful that she is stepping forward and doing this.   MK is enjoying it too which is a huge relief to me.  If it was up to me we still wouldn’t have started, which would not be a good thing.

Chloe and Brutus are getting along wonderful, except when she has had too much of the giant guy.  She isn’t house trained yet but is starting to go to the door when she needs to go out.   Brutus is house trained of course and seems to enjoy having the little girl around.

ScienceKid  is still sore from moving stuff on Saturday.  He hasn’t started in on preparing for his Science Olympiad events yet and isn’t really motivated this year to do them.  His team consists of just 2 kids and so he knows his team will not place high.

And so that is our Miscellaneous Monday.

On Saturday we loaded a 17′ U-Haul with furniture from my Dad’s home and moved it into our home. ScienceKid was amazing. He worked his butt off carrying one heavy piece after another into his Aunts’ trucks. We still have much work left before the house is cleaned-out throughly but allot of goods were removed on Saturday.

My living room now looks totally different. SK says it is Granddad’s shrine but we have just a few pieces in there from his home. And our family room now holds the furniture that was in the living room. It looks good. We still have many pictures to hang that were in his home but that will take a little time. I need to decide where they should go.

I heard this over the weekend too, and I so wish my parent’s could see how nice their stuff looks in my home;

It is better to receive a gift from a warm hand then from a cold hand.

Another resolution to add to my list.  After all, gifts are a wonderful thing and it is satisfying to give them.

The past several months have been super stressful for me since I’m co-executor on my Dad’s estate. I’ve spent many days and weekends at his home going through drawers, organizing items into different areas, and going through piles upon piles of store receipts and checks kept for the last 30+ years in little envelopes. We could also throw little away since we were going to be dividing personal belongings, and who knew what a sibling might like for their choice.

First resolution; do not keep paper receipts for my children to have to go through.

Recently my sisters and I met at my Dad’s home to divide our parent’s personal belongings. The last time we had all been together was at my Mom’s funeral in ‘99, and the time before was in the early ’80’s. Saying that we aren’t close doesn’t really sum it up. Needless to say there was much stress in each of us anticipating our get-together. Just imagine the stress of being with your sisters, all-together for the first time ever, —- just you and your sisters, all-together, and knowing that that has never, ever happened before in your life; never before without spouses, or children, or parents. Never, ever, all-together. Stress-city for sure and particularly since you are there to divide your parent’s personal items.

Many years ago I had a neighbor whose IL’s every year gave their 6 sons a weekend at a golf resort as a Christmas present. Just the sons. They didn’t have any daughters so they gave their DIL’s a weekend at a spa resort. The brothers got to connect with each other, while their wives got to connect with their SIL’s. I thought it was such a wonderful gift these parents were giving their kids and always envied it too.

Second resolution: When my boys are adults I will do what I can to nurture their relationship by supporting them to get together, just the two of them, to reconnect with each other, so they can at least maintain their friendship.

And so our time together began, my sisters and I. In the evenings we looked through the thousands upon thousands of slides, and thousands of B&W prints. There were stories told, a few chuckles, and amazingly no nasty words spoken. WHEW! In the morning we rose early, traveled to my Dad’s home, took the sisters through so they could see all the items, and finally started choosing items. Amazement upon amazement when everyone was supportive of the other’s choices, without a squabble, and never an ill-word, ….. it was actually a very enjoyable time. We were together for several days and all through this we all got along. While it was very tiring to say the least it was an amazing time too.

This chapter of my life is about to close, and it so needs to. Homeschooling through all this has been harder then when we hs’ed through a move; harder than hs’ing through hospital surgeries and visits. Harder than hs’ing through the hospice care. But it has been well worth it too. Looking through all those slides helped me to remember what is important; spending time with my kids, doing things with them, going places with them, having them be an integral part of my life. I need to get back to them, and be with them rather than in a far away land going through ’stuff’, and sifting through ‘things’. Soon, very soon.

And really what value is all this stuff?

Third Resolution; Always remember that appearances and stuff is not what matters, relationships are what life and living is about.

Those are my resolutions.  Not just for this month, or this year, but for life.

Yesterday we moved furniture pieces out of my Dad’s home. ScienceKid worked his butt off carrying heavy piece after heavy piece out of the house and into his Aunts’ trucks. Thank yous were never heard except from his Dad and me. Just another couple of weeks and this affair should be closed.

Thank yous are so easy, so inexpensive. What a fine lesson he is receiving though.