A Chilly Chili Weekend

Folly was on me! After harassing Mother Nature for her puny excuse of a "snow storm" last week, she fought back with a vengeance this past weekend!

School was scheduled to end at 2 p.m. on Friday due to Final Exams schedule for the first semester. The schedule was adjusted a bit to let the kids out at 1 though due to the pending storm. Now, in Virginia we are prone to over-reacting to weather forecasts, and living in a very large and very rural county, our school system is even more conservative than the conservative norm.

Let me tell you... It was some masterful planning this time tough! I had prayed/chanted/pleaded that we just make it through the semester before any major schedule-changing freaky weather. Well, the kids departed at 1, and just about the time that the last batch would have crossed the threshold into their cozy houses, the skies opened and it looked like "The Day After Tomorrow" out there!

Teachers were allowed to leave early also, at their own discretion, to avoid bad driving conditions. Being the fool dedicated educator that I am though, I was one of the last to leave the building... and that was only after a not so subtle hinting from the custodians that I needed to GO HOME already!

I sadly must admit that I was foolish to stay at school as long as I did. The roads had grown pretty bad after just two hours of snow. Even getting from the door to my car was a bit treacherous.

 

I believe the accumulation was just about 3 inches- not that I had any time to go frolic in the winter flakes, much less measure their accumulation. Oh no, it was a Key Club weekend in maximum overdrive! We had our first Annual Chili Sale! Gratitude beyond words cannot begin to explain how indebted I am to the Cooke family who stepped up and took full charge of this event. They shopped and organized and worked and just made it the easiest fundraiser of this magnitude ever coordinated. So easy, that I spent seven hours Saturday with this over-riding guilt that I wasn't "doing enough" because I don't just "show up" for events very well. I am a very hands-on-pick-up-the-slack-jump-in-and-take-charge kinda person... and that kinda person just wasn't needed Saturday.

 

Seriously, indebted with gratitude beyond measure.

 

And seriously, a fundraiser of magnitude.

 

 

The volume of cans of beans and tomatoes and tomato sauce awaiting the work crew arriving was like a stocked food bank during the holidays! And the mega batches of chili cooking? You could have swam in it... like a rather odd hot tub.

 

Okay, that's an exaggeration... but I did warm my hands over the batches cooking out in the snowy parking lot on a regular basis.

 

In a sweetly cruel twist of fate though, the recipe for 250 quarts made 398.5 quarts of chili. So, it could be like the sequel to Bubba Gump around the McHenry household as we hawk some more sales- chili pancakes, chili dogs, chili pizza, chili spaghetti... maybe not the pancakes.

 

Mommy's New Playground

I am a "Small Town Girl." I grew up in a small town... I moved to a much smaller town. It suits me (ok, maybe not this small of town), but I have a community mindset. I don't like to focus on the world at-large as much as be actively involved in improving the community in which I live. I believe in tangible, direct & immediate impact.

That being said, it is no great secret that my "Fantasy Life" is living in a very small rooftop apartment in a very big city (although my inconsistent fear of heights would probably keep me from ever lounging on the roof). Of the many things that romance me about city life, the one that has been on my mind the most lately is... parks. Places to go for the children to play (in sandboxes filled with dirty hypodermic needles as all us small town folks believe)... and places for Mommies to chat. My later-in-life re-entry to Mommiehood feels like I am trapped in a little Mommy bubble floating along. There are no parks or Little Gyms or Gymborees or zoos or even McDonalds play yards around here. For a short time this week, I considered gymnastics class for Benjamin, but even that would be a 30 minute drive if I could bring myself to do it. There are swim lessons at the Y, but not until he's older than the stage when I have to don skin-tight Lycra to join him in the pool.

So, although I miss all these things and wish there were some pre-organized gatherings of Mommy & child in which to participate, I fully recognize what these social trysts turn into... the Great Comparison. What is that 2 year old doing that mine isn't? How is my 2 year old more intellectually advanced that hers? Which kids are socially awkward? Not mine I hope!

Yet my geographic absence of these Mommy Mine Fields (without driving an hour to "the city") doesn't stop that inherent need to compare children. The new playground of self-induced Mommy comparison? Social Media! The ill of every self-doubt, whether judging your popularity by the number of friends/followers or seeking approval through the volume of likes/comments on posted pictures & videos (specifically those of your kid's latest achievements or adorably coordinated new- probably monogrammed- outfit). The new virtual playground of Mommy-loathing, of both the projected and self-inflicted varieties. (Mommy Blogs can be just a little guilty of inducing this too, but get away with a little more because the anonymity of not really knowing the person lessens the comparison-guilt complex.)

The new element introduced in this forum though is the removal of an age cap for such mommy-comparisons. Eventually, the playgrounds & parks age comes to an end, but mommy bragging rights on-line extends all though the home rums on the t-ball fields, to elementary school Principal Lists & Honor Rolls, to high school Homecoming pictures, to college acceptance & scholarship announcements.

I have found myself from time to time removing Mommy friends from my Facebok newsfeed just to avoid their child savant postings. Because unfortunately, I am highly prone to the evil that is Mommy & Child comparison.  I find it easy to overlook all the accomplishments of my own child because he cannot master that one skill that a "friend" has probably practiced with focus before endlessly recording performances until creating just the right masterpiece for mass approval. It is easy to overlook that though... and wonder, Oh my god! What am I doing wrong?

Yes, I know. We are not supposed to compare our children. Each child is a unique individual with his own talents and contribution to make to the world's culture... yada, yada, yada. I can't help but to snicker to myself just a little whenever parents proclaim to not compare their child to others. Of all the contributions, our children are the greatest impression we will make on the world we leave behind. OF COURSE, we want to know how well we did. Even if you don't get stressed out about the "markers" set for that basis of camparison- you care, we all care. Define success however you wish but there is no definition by which to measure success without a base of comparison for achievement.

Unfortunately, I am finding that social media is making that spotlight of comparison shine even brighter... and we only burn ourselves with the light.

Will you be my Valentine?

I hearby proclaim by the power of all that is crafty to the Pinterest gods that I am going to make Valentine's for Benjamin's pre-school class! No Wal-Mart bargain boxes of V-cards for me! Below are the five-ish ideas I am favoring. The two goals are reasonably priced and easy enough to craft that I won't procrastinate getting around to doing it!

 

 

Love Bug Valentines by dandee- These are boyliscious! I like that they are candy-free. Benjamin's class buddies are at that age where bugs are equally "Ewww!" and fascinating! The posting includes the free PDF printable for the adorable Mason jar cards. I am guessing that I could get scrap book paper and a tube of bugs for this from Michaels pretty cheapo!

 

 

 

Have a Ball Valentines also by dandee (Is she super-crafty mom or what? I will avoid the guilt-ridden snarky comment that she must not have a job.) These propose an even easier level of craftiness and higher level of kiddie excitement. Pretty sure I still have some treat bags on hand from the last bake sale- card should be easy to print and ball easy to find. Also, just in case there is too much of the "Ewww" factor with the bugs, who doesn't want a ball? (I want a ball!) And the kiddos in his class should be just old enough for the sheltering OCD parents not to freak about this being a "choking hazard."

 

 

 

You Blow Me Away by Pinafores & Pinwheels is a good fall-back. I don't think bugs or balls will be hard to find per se, but bubbles are an easy trinket to come by. This specific project includes a Blow-Pop also but I would nix that- because 2/3 is too young to be chewing gum... and because, let's face it, I loathe gum chewing, in general. My main hesitation with this is I foresee bubbles being put on a shelf until another time, whereas bugs or balls can be played with anytime/anywhere.

 

 

 

Bubbling with Excitement by Simply Modern Mom offers another "Bubble" alternative for Valentine cards. The post includes the free download to the printable cards (4 per page unlike the other printables, which only have 1). This would pretty cheap & easy in mass with the wedding bubbles at Wal-Mart... Thinking I like this theme overall to use for favors for any "bubbling with excitement" celebration. Going to have to mentally bookmark this idea for Key Club kick-off, Relay Day, etc.

 

 

 

Fishbowl Valentines- The inserts for the "fish bowls" are a printable PDF for sale on Etsy. Actually the seller has a whole series of these printable inserts for different occasions for $5. I don't want to rob crafting enterprising but if I go this route, I will have to play around to see what I can create. These have cute sayings like: "Glad We're in the Same School," "I Saw You and I was Hooked," and "You're the Only Fish in the Sea for Me!" Mayyybeee I even have a Cricut image for the fishbowl insert? I tend to rank this Valentine option pretty high because Jason is a Swedish fishaholic and Benjamin is on the hunt for them whenever he rides in Dad's truck.

 

 

 

Butterfly Valentine are suggested by Skip to my Lou "if you need something quick and easy." Her post includes the printable stencil which would be easy to zip right off the printer on some pink copy paper. I'm not a fan of the googly eyes though. Other than being potentially unsafe, I find them rather distracting. Perhapsss I could get ambitious and do these for allll my kids... hmmm... If I don't have small heart punches, I'm sure I could find a couple small ones cheap-cheap at Michaels. However, I know I can spit out a bunch real quick with the Cricut because I did so with the Valentines I made last year!

 

 

 

Blow Me a Kiss Valentines found At Second Street are a ridiculously fun idea! It is with great frustration that I am making myself bank this idea for another year or two until the kiddos can master these lip whistles better. But how fun! fun! fun! Can't wait!

 

 

 

Crayon Heart Valentines by Whipperberry is another Valentine idea I am going to bank for a couple of years until Benjamin's playmates can appreciate the awesomeness that are these upcycled crayon bits. It'll also give me some time to save up the crayon booty to make them! Oh, how I wish I had thought of this project when Benjamin was in the stage of breaking crayons every time he used them and I just threw them away.

Civil War, Snow, Mafia ('cause I roll like that!)

This is the time of year that I must express my humility in expressing homage to those honorable men that greatly influenced American history- those such as Jackson & Lee who fought for the good ole' South during the Civil War, and Martin Luther King Jr. who for for the Civil Right for all Americans during a time when it was simply not safe to express such forward-thinking views on equality- especially before thousands on the Washington lawn and more perched before their television screens at home witnessing the phenmenon. Without these great men in history we would not have...

A FOUR DAY WEEKEND! Woot! Woot! Yes'um down South in Virginie, the yougins get off from school Friday for Lee/Jackson Day, and then of course, Monday for MLK.

I know it seems resplendent to bask in a four day weekend after having only been back in school nine teaching days since Christmas break, but it really helps to break up the accumulating stress of standardized state testing, exams, research papers, and the many more deadlines the end of a semester bring. Also, kids and teachers alike seem to drag their feet when returning from two weeks off, so the four day respite is just enough of a recharge to propel us towards the deadline that is the semester's end.

Making this an even greater respite from the everyday rush was... SNOW! I know it sounds silly but one of the reasons I have always wanted to be better about blogging was to have a record of weather extremes year-to-year. Perhaps, if you live in Virginia this makes sense to you. Last week was flip-flop weather with pressing-70 degree weather, then this weekend- snow. This is typical VA. The inconsistency of weather around here makes it all blur though and you find yourself questioning whether that big snow was last year, or did it snow at all? Or which hurricane kept us home 2 days- and why? So, for future posterity's sake, I present to you, the Great Snow of 2013!

There was just enough white stuff on the ground to excite Benjamin but not enough to excite other folks very much. I was just thankful it was over the extended weekend and unable to tamper with the school schedule. I want this semester's schedule to stay on "track." (Track? Get it? See pic above, ha!)

It was a peaceful and productive weekend. I got a lot of cleaning done- especially if cleaning out the recorded shows on the dvr count. I watched way too much "Wife Swap" and learned way too much about the Casey Anthony trial. (Thank you Lifetime for both of those.) Oh, and I was introduced and intrigued by "The Amish Mafia."

Have you met Lebanon Levi? It is no secret that I like my reality tv brain candy, but this some good stuff! There's a lot of criticism in the media that the show's premise is staged. I think it's debatable. I have not seen anything on the show that smells fake per se, but I accept the convention of production that is involved to liken the personalized justice and reward system or rural Lancaster to a "Mafia" image. I don't get caught up in the authenticity of any reality show because how "natural" is it to have a camera over your shoulder recording your every move and word in any situation?

I also got a lot or grading done over the weekend break on that never-stopping hamster wheel of teaching. The semester is winding down, exams are this week, and I am growing excited about the adventures of the semester that lays ahead.

The Price of Friendship with Women

Men have it easy. The birth of a new friendship can be had with some commonly shared trait as simple as the possession of a fishing pole or love for the same ball- baseball, basketball, football- no matter.

For women, not so easy.
Or so it has been in my experience.

Frankly put, women pimp out their friendships. There is always a cost; it's just a matter of waiting until the friend "makes the sell."

A few years I joined a "Stamp Club." The experience could be likened to "Fight Club," since when I mentioned to another member that I had joined she questioned how I even found out about it. Super Secret Stamping Society was sure to be an outlet of creative fun. I did learn a lot about stamping & card making, and I did have fun during the event... but the cost of getting together for about an one Monday per month? $30. To be a member of "Stamp Club," you had to by a minimum of $30 of stamping supplies from the distributor's catalogue each month. Members of Stamp Club took turns being the "hostess" each month and earned free goodies. However, the growing accumulation of stamping supplies resting in the entry table drawer (pre-craft room) because I didn't have time to actually do anything with them, could not justify my continued endeavor.

Then, there was the local Woman's Club. The Key Clubbers had volunteered with events the group hosted for a couple of years and I really wanted "in." I felt almost like the awkward girl during Sorority Rush Week that could not get a bid until I, more or less, invited myself to their recruiting event. I emphasized to the girls that I didn't need a venue for community service, I had that covered, but that I was joining for sociability of membership. Well... that didn't go so well either, and I will avoid detailing any further estrogen-laden drama about that here & now. The group did some nice work in the community and there were some socializing opportunities, but the price for that just grew too steep also. To be such a "fundraiser" I hate selling, and membership meant paying dues & selling more&more&more fundraising tickets & buying something new for the collective donation (or communal meal) each month. After two years, among other reasons, I just couldn't justify the cost of those "friendships" either.

Then... there is the most obvious crime of female friendship. It reads like a rap sheet of criminal charges for solicitation: Pampered Chef, Longaberger, Thirty One, Premier Jewelry, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple... with new ones joining the fray all the time- like the "Cash for Gold" parties that I find very odd (a pawn shop right in your living room?) and Origami Owl (which I unfortunately am rather fond of). The prude in me, despite my occasional taste in reading, is far too prudish to attend one of those "naughty" parties, but I have a make-up basket filled with Mary Kay that would look too modest on Snookie, baskets too expensive for me to actually use, and far too many kitchen accessories for someone who disdains cooking as much as I do... Honestly I can't joke on the jewelry or Thirty-One bags, I love that stuff! The point of all this being that inevitably, some friend will have some party, and I will feel left to puzzle out the equation of how much I had to spend to be a "good friend." Then there's chain created by these parties that offer bonus goodies to current and future hostesses, so the invite to one becomes two becomes three- that is if you can avoid succumbing to the peer pressure to be an event hostess yourself!

That being said, I still like those parties... usually. But now, it seems they are growing more sparse. That could be a good thing. But no, rather than closing the retail relationship between friends... and co-workers, and neighbors, and acquaintances that you don't talk to much any other time... the sales technique has been streamlined to "catalogue parties"- pass around a book and wait for the financial return of those who feel obligated to thumbs-up your friendship by opening-up the checkbook. Easier for the "supplier," and quick "money" (i.e., free stuff) for the "dealer"- Yes, I am likening a company found on the goal of rewarding the virtues of a "Proverbs 31 Woman" with a crack dealer.

Lastly, there are those painfully abundant friends whose kids are selling something for some fundraiser, some club, some sports team- pancake breakfasts, and spaghetti dinners, and cookie dough, and fruit, and candy, and gift wrap, and pizza kits, and popcorn, and, and, and... don't even get me started on the COOKIES Oh, you know what cookies I'm talking about! And the truth is, these things do not annoy me. I sincerely try to support all these events and more because I know that I ask so much of those that support my Key Clubbers and our Relay teams. But, overall, the truth is... it's just one more time when "friends" are putting their hands out, it's not for a warm hug.

So, what's my point? I don't know really. It's just something I have pondered about for a while. The business minds behind these woman-focused businesses are rather brilliant. A founding principle of all sales, whether or not sellers wish to admit it, is to find your customer's weakness and determine the level to which you can exploit it for profit. What weaknesses do these at-home parties target? Women's genetic addiction to shopping? No... guilt and the need to feel liked, those aren't major issues for women at all, are they?

Holly Daze

I will avoid the trite and repetitive post about how the long days of Christmas Break stretched ahead of me... until it was the final days of break, and then the days all tumbled upon one another... until the holidays had passed and I was left with a list of undone tasks.

Even though that is what happened.

Again.

And I didn't make a list.

But I should have.

Mike and Diane came down for Thanksgiving, which was really nice because we get to do very little with extended family because of busy schedules and long miles. As is tradition, Justin & Cameron ran the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning, while I made some (Pinterest-inspired) finger foods for the day.

Benjamin joined the fun at the Y collecting pockets full of acorns while he waited for the boys to return to the finishing line. When he came home to see a big bowl of nuts on the table, he was adamant to add his collection to the bulk.

Jason cooked a big meal and then Thanksgiving night Diane, Justin and I went to Wal-Mart. That place was INSANE... never again, never again... I whimper as I huddle in a corner flinching at the memory. We went out Black Friday shopping the next day too. We went later in the day and kept a pretty casual attitude about it though, so that wasn't stressful at all. The crew went bowling while they were here and we had a Fred's breakfast before they head back out of town.

We missed the Christmas Parade because Benjamin was sick. I cannot pretend to be too sad about missing a night time parade of over 100 entries, mostly, walking... sorry, Grinch that I am.

The month raced by and then it was time for Break. The Key Club, of course, stayed busy and did a lot over the holidays. The holiday season kicked off with the school-wide food collection, bringing in over 1,500 canned and boxed gods to help feed families in our community over the holidays. Then, the kids volunteered 2 days at both the local toy distribution programs- one with the police department and the other with Social Services. There was, of course, bingo at the Nursing Home, and the kids went to a different nursing home to Christmas Carol too. We created a donation basket to help with a holiday raffle. Then there was the Christmas Party and Cookie Exchange, and surely other events I am forgetting, because there is so much. Always, so much.



Cameron passing time during a slow flow in the evening with the police volunteers for the event.

I had hoped to fit in three Hampton Roads holiday events- Lights at Norfolk Botanical Gardens, ice skating at MacArthur, and Christmastowne at Busch Gardens. Time whittled down though and I had to choose just one, so we went to Christmastowne. It is only the second time we have ever gone, but the crowds were just as busy as the first time two years ago.

Overflow parking; a long tram ride to gate. Over 90 minutes in line waiting to see the penguins. About an hour in line waiting to see Santa before a cranky & soggy kid made us abandon that line. Grabbed dinner and Benjamin fell asleep before we could do the train ride or Sesame Street show. And although so much time was spent just... waiting... it was still worth the whole adventure because "pen goons" were Benjamin's new fascination before going and that was just fueled all the more after seeing them, which he distinctly remembers and gets excited to talk about.

The Naughties

Confession: I read the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Bigger Confession: I liked it.

I actually read these at the end of last school year, beginning of summer. I was probably just finishing or had just finished them when I resurrected this blog. For the sake of decorum though, considering any of my kids or parents may look at this blog, I decided to overlook them in my reading log. Here's the thing though... Everybody has (or is) reading them! That is what surprises me most about the 50 Shades Phenomenon. Once upon a time, not very long ago, you would have to venture into seedy book stores- or verify your age with a credit card online- to read anything more risque that Harlequin romances. (This is assumptive of course, there is no "Even Bigger" confession that I have done either.)

I had seen several ladies talking about Shades of Grey on Facebook- posts such as "Church Service was good today, trying to finish reading book 2 of Fifty Shades before I give Susie a bath." (Names of the innocent changed there.) So when I went to Barnes & Noble (more commonly known as Nirvana in my world), I decided to check them out. They weren't hard to find; they were #1, 2, and 3 best-sellers. So, as soon as I flipped one over to read the jacket and saw that it was defined as "D/s erotic fiction," I was floored!

Again, I do not think I am a prude. There are times in my life when perhaps I should have been a bit more prudish in what I chose to talk about and who I chose to tell it to (Have we discussed finding out I was pregnant 2 weeks after Jason had a vasectomy yet?). I am floored by just how commonplace it has become. How did reading such literature so very quickly go from something hidden to front-shelf top-seller? The trilogy was the #1, 2, 3 downloads on Kindle this summer for 30+ women. I was among those numbers. I didn't want anyone to know I was reading it! Yet, I had a parent pull out her well-worn copy to show me and joke about people helping her gather pages when the blew all over the beach. I had a co-worker sit down her teacher bag to go to the bathroom last week and there was book 2 sitting right at top. You brought that to SCHOOL? All summer long the racks were empty at Target; even The Wal-Mart had to cash in on the dirty money (although shrink-wrapped on the shelves to maintain some semblance of Christian modesty).

All that having been said, I did enjoy the reads. The first book was my favorite. I liked that it did not have a happy ending. I do not color my world with black Crayolas but it was a realistic ending. I do not like that E.L. James made Christian Grey a psychological mess with Mommy issues. Why couldn't he just be into an alternative way of life? I think she caved to societal pressure. Typical woman trying to "fix" a messed up guy. I would not be so bold as to call it "good literature" but the character development of the novels were good. There was more to the psychological power exchange between Christian and Ana than cuffs and blindfolds. That made for an interesting read... with or without the "bonuses." I wasn't so much a fan of the third book. I wanted to see how the trilogy ended, so read I it, but it was all a bit too fairy tale and trite plot developments for me. It lacked the development the other two did and was more choppy in introducing, then pretty quickly resolving, various complications.

Post-Christian Grey, I did read two of the "If you liked 50 Shades, then try this" genre. The first was Switch by Megan Hart. If you truly liked the psychological push & pull of the dominant & submissive relationship in E. L. James trilogy, you probably will like this one. There is very little physical contact between the the two parties. It is a "catfish" story of the old-fashion type, involving leaving mysterious letters in mailboxes to influence and direct the activities of the another. It is definitely not a PG family read. The main character does have some heated trysts with her ex, but the relationship on which the novel is focused does remain on the psychological, not gratuitously physical, level. "Switch" refers to roles in a relationship- whether being dominant or submissive- and sometimes being mistaken about which one is true to your nature.

The other book, apparently also part of a trilogy is Sylvia Day's Bared to You. I don't feel moved toward reading either of the other books that follow this one, even when the author ended the first with a very trite cliff-hanger meant to hold in you suspense until you could get your hands on the next one. I am really curious about the time relationship between the release of these books and the 50 Shades trilogy. There is a great deal in common between them- far too much to be coincidence- so much as that I'm surprised not to have heard about a potential lawsuit for intellectual theft. Again we have characters that I feel are far too young and wealthy to carry the plot. It worked for Christian Grey. It does not work for Gideon Cross, nor for the heroine of the book, who is so insignificant that I can't even remember her name. It is believable to say that you liked 50 Shades beyond the heated scenes. To say that about Day's book would be likened to saying you read Playboy for the articles. There is not much of anything beyond the heated scenes. There is little interaction between the main characters at all beyond their detailed trysts. To compare this trilogy to E. L. James is to insult both the writer and the readers of 50 Shades.

Community Cookie Exchange 2012

One of the many careers, jobs, careers I had before going into teaching was working as a Unit Coordinator on the post-surgical floor of a hospital. The holiday schedule for employees was coupled in a way that you either worked Christmas Eve and New Year's Day or Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Often, those of us with little ones at home could find some younger co-workers who had big plans on New Year's Eve and wanted the following day to recover, thus being willing to trade whichever Christmas day they we beleaguered with for an extended window of party time on New Year's. One holiday season though, this trade did not happen and I found myself at work on Christmas Day.

This was over 17 years ago (oy!), so the details are a bit fuzzy, but there was a father that brought his son and daughter around to the nurses' stations with a big stocking of candy and had the kids, adorned in Santa's caps, pass the candy out to those of us working and wish us a Merry Christmas.

It was a true Random Act of Kindness because I do not know who that family was or the impetus that drove them to such kindness. I do know it is a testament to the theory of Paying it Forward, because nearly two decades later (double oy!), it is still a memory that I find touching... and it was the inspiration for the Community Cookie Exchange.

This year we hosted the Third Annual Community Cookie Exchange. Near forty people, mostly Key Clubbers of course, came over to donate and trade cookies. Donated cookies are delivered to police stations, fire departments, nursing homes, and of course, the hospital, to those who are working or volunteering on Christmas Day. For some of our participants, it is their favorite Key Club event and/or, something they really look forward to during the holiday season. This year I had three of my former Key Clubbers drop by and participate. It hints to the legacy this event is building and the potential it has to be the genesis of a Pay it Forward movement beyond our community.

(You can read Amanda's- Key Clubber alumni- blog about the cookie exchange... HERE!)

For the Exchange this year, I made 4 kinds of cookies- tripled the Santa Whiskers and double batches of the others.

 

Santa Whiskers have been my traditional cookies for years. The recipe I use comes straight from the good old Red & White, Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

 

 

Andes Mint Cookies are a new tradition. I tried 2 cake batter cookies last year. The others were nothing special but these are quite possible my absolute favorite cookie ever. 4 ingredients- quick, easy & chocolatey-minty goodness (The melted Andes will harden to a candy topping.)

 

 

I wanted an oatmeal cookie but with a twist, so I found these Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies. The recipe lacks great detail but the cookies came out great. These were Jason's favorite this year. It does not provide a recipe for the drizzle, so I used a classic powdered sugar and milk/vanilla icing.

 

  

My new cookies this year were Salted Caramel-Pretzel Thumbprints. I found these little slabs of salty sweet goodness in Food Network's magazine. The only caramel sauce I could find at the store was sundae topping; after leaving them out a few minutes to set, it worked just fine- just be conservative. The grocery store also did not have "flaky sea salt," so I just used some of our table salt, which is grounded sea salt. It worked perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, I was too conservative with the salt and it provided a good "kick" for the sweet caramel topping.

 

 

 

I picked up some very large tins from The Wal-Mart last year on clearanced-clearance when just about all the other Christmas supplies had been deleted. This year, we filled up 10 of the big tubs to send out on Christmas Day. I feel pretty sure it was the largest volume and variety of cookies delivered thus far in this growing tradition.

 

The participants, as always, had a great time too. The Neverending Coffee & Hot Chocolate Bar was still a hit despite the much more temperate weather.

 

 

And the festivities ran over as the kids finished playing games of Spoons on the dining room floor (since every other surface of the downstairs was covered with food for noshing, trading, or donating).

 



Wait, I can explain!

That's not the beginning to my "Dear Santa" letter; it's more like the beginning to my weak explanation for why my on-line ramblings have been scarce lately.

Benjamin was diagnosed with pneumonia last week. Monday night/ Tuesday morning, around 1:30 a.m., he woke me up crying. I stayed up with him until he fell asleep around 4. He didn't seem particularly sick- just not particularly wanting to sleep either. The next morning, I was the human-form of The Walking Dead, so I called out sick and with questionable judgment sent Benjamin to pre-school because he seemed fine. About 11:30 a.m., the school called because he had a fever. So, we picked him up and Jason stayed home with him Wednesday. Driving home from work Wednesday afternoon, Jason was concerned that he seemed rather lethargic, so I called the pediatrician, who wanted us to bring him in immediately. We were sent to the hospital for stat x-rays and blood work. Benjamin was not at all happy about the viciously viscous shot he was given in the doc's office, but he was a real champ at the hospital. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess that I wasn't thinking at all, but I was rather shocked when they took his blood like they would do for a grown-up- a big one! I was even more shocked when Benjamin did not cry, or even flinch, as he watched the blood fill the vials. The pediatrician stayed at the office for us to come back for the x-ray results. He said it was pretty severe pneumonia in both lungs. Thankfully, the meds he had before going to the hospital had already broke the fever and had returned some of his energy, or else the doc was going to admit him. Instead we did a lot of cuddling... and a lot of meds at home... and after a couple of days, he was back to his inquisitive and rambunctious self.

Missing two school days during a very busy week for Key Club and curriculum were not quite as easy and pain-free for me though- especially since the following week was the 1.5 day pre-holiday break week. So, poor Juliet, Romeo, Brutus and Cassius all had to die at a bit more of an accelerated pace. And the Key Clubbers had one Manic Monday, indeed. The morning began with a 6:30 am run to Wal-Mart for sodas and paper supplies (leading to a pledge to boycott Wal-Mart in 2013, which I will go into on another day). Then, we had two morning activities going on simultaneously. In my room, Kristen was leading Christmas Caroling practice to prepare for the day's field trip. In the library, Savannah and other volunteers were accepting and cataloging donations for the Holiday Teacher Luncheon. During second block planning, I squeezed in a field trip to the local nursing home with about 15 Key Clubbers to sign carols & visit. Then, during 3rd block, the Key Clubbers hosted a luncheon for teachers & staff, which meant setting up before 3rd block, restocking between lunch shifts, and cleaning up everything after last lunch. During the very same 3rd lunch, Key Clubbers were taking "Pictures with Santa" as a Relay fundraiser. AND, all members had to check in at Santa's station to sign-out their Breakfast & Chili fundraiser tickets. Fourth block, in addition to cleaning up from the luncheon, Candy-grams were delivered to classes- ONE of last week's fundraisers. Then, did I collapse in my chair under a wave of exhaustion at 3:15? No! I raced to the store for last minute Christmas gifts for Cameron's teachers the next day and then raced home to get ready for the Key Club Holiday party. After hours of pizza-making, dance partying, and pictionary drawing, the night finally ended around 1:00 a.m.-ish, after the kitchen was pretty-much cleaned up and I went on-line to order the pics from Santa so they could be picked up by Jason in the morning and delivered to kids the next day.

I have many busy days. My brand of crazy is far more insane than most folks brand of crazy. But even for me- that was a busy & crazy day! I told Jason I wasn't sure if I felt like Santa with a workshop full of elves, or Donald Trump with a tower full of Apprentices- but it is a powerful feeling of achievement to know that I work with a group of students that have grown into the type of leaders that can make all that magic happen without direct supervision or instruction from me.

Ah yes, but let's footnote the end of that night with one not-so-smart misachievement of my own. Justin had a blue flash drive laying around, showing up here & there all the time, so I popped it in my laptop to see what was on it. A virus. Of course, a virus. So, after the holidays my sick baby of the digital type will be visiting the doc of the technical type.

So, the explanation? Life's been rather busy.

"Special" Day

I have tried to make it a goal to be more selfish with my time. I know, that sounds horrid, but basically I'm one of those women that magazine articles are written about, the kind that can't say... NO. I like to be active in my community, I like to find events for my Key Clubbers to stay active in our school and community. This, in years past, has often left ma at a place in life where I had more commitments than I had hours in a day to fulfill them. So, I have slowly evaluated what is important to me, what is important to the "greater good," and I have pulled away from committees and social groups that didn't rank high enough of my personal scale for judging those two criteria. That's not to say I didn't have to make some hard decisions and those same roles I stepped away from could be important in someone else's life, but for me, I have the unique venue of 100 kids looking to me to create the paths for them to do these same things... and, over time, I have come to accept that is, enough.

I have also come to define my greatest goal in my role as "Key Club Guru" to be to expose these small-town high school kids to as many ways possible to make contributions to society. Whether it's "saving babies and curing cancer" to playing Bingo at the Nursing Home to creating sales displays at a Habitat Re-Store to just showing up to support someone else's cause- in body or in money. I want them to have all these experiences (far too many to list), so when they leave the halls of my second home they have found their "niche" to change the world... like Mattie who postponed medical school to move to an orphanage in the Philippines, or Leannah who is traveling the coast fundraising & educating people about Alzheimer's, or those who have joined- and even even started Relay teams at their colleges.

Surprising to myself, is that I have finally found my "niche." What I look forward to more than anything else are the volunteer opportunities I find to work with the mentally-challenged. This past weekend was my absolute favorite Key Club event of the entire year. I jam-packed a school bus with 53 Key Clubbers and we drove over an hour to Virginia Beach to cheer on Special Olympics soccer for the whole day.

When I try to think of a way to describe the effect that Special Olympics has on me, I can hear whispers of Marley's "Every Little Thing is going to be all right" in the recesses of my mind... because it is. Life is so complicated. There is always so much to think about... to stress about. But for these folks, life is lived in that very moment. Emotions are raw, untainted, whether for the better or the worse, and in direct response to the given moment. Then? You move on. Everyone is your friend. Life is just good. I am not trying to exalt a trite "Ignorance is bliss" theme to life. It's just one small joy of working with these athletes that rises and covers all else like a thin mist. Just stop. Cheer. Enjoy where you are and what you're doing. The rest of life is waiting for you when you get there.

It's also a true testament to sportsmanship. Special Olympic athletes enjoy the sport, they enjoy being with their teams, and they enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. And although they are so glad you are there to cheer them on... they would play just as hard and have just as much fun if you weren't.

My Key Clubbers are an incredible bunch of kids. Most, I believe would never ridicule someone less intellectually developed than them. But what happens during Special Olympics is this flow of a general attitude from "Awww, she's so cute" to "Wow! She's awesome." The experience humanizes someone they see so different from themselves and cheering on someone who is so quick and open to wanting to be your friend makes the effect of the gift of your time and  attention tangible.

I really need to find more opportunities to work with this population, for myself and for my Key Clubbers.

Following a long, cold, and windy day cheering from the soccer sidelines, we stopped at Cici's Pizza before heading home. My bill was $385, which I just find humorous. I like to say, "Michelle Duggar's got nothing on me."