Back in the Saddle Again

Nope, not as a cowboy, but Kindergarten teacher. Kind of the same stuff happens, alot like wrangling wild ponies. I have a long term subbing assignment while the school is hiring a teacher for a new class of 4 1/2- 5 year olds. In case you have forgotten, they are BABIES! Yikes. The first day, not so bad. They came with mommies and daddies for 1 1/2 hours. We read a story, made an art projects, sang some songs. Great!

Day 2 is when the crap hits the fan. I thought there would be more crying, whaling and gnashing of teeth, but not so much. But for these little guys, 3 pm could not come fast enough. Me too! We had to made 2 group runs to the bathrooms, learn how to line up, find our names on the table. Real tough stuff.

Day 3...."Yes, you have to come to school every day. If I am here, so are you." (direct quote) "I know you are tired, I am too." "Child A, keep your hands off of everyone." Oh, and my personal favorite, that didn't actually happen to me, but to another K teacher. Child:" You big, fat coconut head"- directed at the teacher. That child is lucky she didn't have her arm ripped off.

Day 4....I have 4 children held hostage after school so that I can tell their parents what knuckle heads they are (the parents AND their child). Most are doing much better. One not so much.

Later that night, Back-to-School Night with parents. I get to introduce myself and tell them I am only the temporary teacher. That is not a big hit. Interesting thing, once you meet the parents, you can appreciate the child, good or bad. Aaah! That's why that child is so sweet and brilliant, or...just the opposite. Poor babies.

Day 5....I called in sick. Not really sick, just out. For good reason. My baby brother got married. Yeah! And I totally needed a break from the class from hell. And no, it's not just me. My good friend substituted for me and later called to tell me that was the worst class she had ever seen in her life, and yes, something is very wrong with that child. Hearing that made me feel sane and sick to my stomach all at one. We"ll for now, off to the reception to party with my family. Photos and details of that later. Can you believe I forgot to bring a camera? Scheesh!

Back -To-School

Introduction: This entry could go either way. But, I will save opinions for a day when I feel the fight has returned. Today I still feel icky.

It's "Back-to-School" season already. The kiddos are excited to move on to their next adventure. Drama meet his new 3rd grade teacher, Mr. X. His first male teacher. This could be a good thing. I told Drama that when he has to tell about himself, share that he is "loquacious". He totally is, and he knows it too.

Lazy Boy begins high school. Once again, it could go anyway. In his mind, he is all that and a bag of chips. He could be, just needs to act on that. BE BRAVE LAZY BOY, BE BRAVE!

Sweet Pea is a Senior! Hooray!!! We'll see what kind of shenanigans she gets into. Oh, you rascally ACT's! You silly college applications!

Back to school season always includes a shopping trip for supplies. Of course, we forgot ours at home, so we guessed. I have been doing this long enough to guess at 3rd grade needs. And it doesn't include Wii games.

I took the boys to Walmart this afternoon. I shopped for school stuff and they played video games. That's about right. It's not like that haven't done that all day, every day this summer.

The Walmart in our town has been under construction for a few months. It is slowly transforming into a (note: please read with booming echo voice) SUPER WALMART!

Every time I walk into that place, it's changed. The this is over here, that that is over there. YIKES! You just can run in anymore and grab a gallon of milk. However, I will wander around until I figure out where I am for fully stocked shelves. That was a pet peeve of mine. Nothing was every there. Always out of stock. And now the isles are wide and luxurious, just like when Kramer repainted the stripes on the highway. But for now, still empty.

I have badmouthed Walmart and even boycotted for while because I couldn't stand the retardedness ( I know, neither grammatically or politically correct) of it's employees and customers. It seemed the lowest common denominator ended up in the check out counter in front of me. I am a woman of very little patience when it comes to shopping. But now, I must face the facts that I will be shopping a lot at the Walmart. It's just too convenient and cheap to not shop there. I just have to: 1) not be in a hurry; 2) take deep breaths in line; 3) take some happy pills before shopping; and 4) don't engage in conversation or disagreements with other customers or employees.

So, with a forced smile, I say "Welcome Walmart".

BEST rolls ever!

Our new (to us, anyways) dining room set arrived Friday night. Big Daddy bought it from a friend. Merry Christmas to me, XOXO-Thanks Honey. Let's just say it's vintage. Check out the chair covers. I'm not sure which year it was made, but I am guessing late 70's from the green velvet seat covers.

The dining room has previously been known as "the bowling alley" and needed a fresh start. I thought it would be great to cook a big Sunday dinner to inaugurate our new table. So, green salad, steamed broccoli, baked potatoes, steak and THE BEST ROLLS EVER! The meal was pretty good, but the rolls were fantastic! I have made these rolls about 20 times and they have never tasted so......heavenly. Huge, fluffy, sweet bread. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. I had to keep telling everyone, "Excuse me, but these are the best rolls ever!" They all agreed.

I think I figured out the secret.....fresh yeast.

Happy to share, only wish I had smell-vision.

Lion House Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees)

2/3 cup non fat dry milk (instant or non-instant)

2 tablespoons dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup butter, margarine or shortening

1 egg

5 1/2-6 cups flour

Directions

1-In large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until dissolved.

2-Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour.

3-Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.

4-Add 2 cups more flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes as medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).

5-Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer.

6-Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.

7-(It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour.)

8-Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about 1 T.vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl so it is covered with oil.

9-Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until double in size.

10-After dough has risen, sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured surface.

11-Roll out and cut rolls in desired shape and size.

12-Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans.

13-Let rise in warm place until rolls are double in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours).

14-Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.

15-Brush with melted butter while hot.

Vegas

This weekend Big Daddy and I took the kiddos for a quick trip to Vegas. We say Vegas, but it's actually Henderson, Nevada. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it. We had to stop first to pay homage to my Grandmother. She is 91 and sharp as a tack. She has lived in a home care for about 3 years now. She can't quite get around like she use to, but man, does she know what is going on. The first thing she asked us is if we had heard about the supreme court justice appointment. I hope my mind is that clear in 45 more years.

The next day we went out to Lake Mead. Now, I know what you are thinking, "GROSS!" It's really not that bad. The bad part was trying to get the skiis into the water. The lake is about 100 feet low in water level. It makes for interesting scenery, but hard to launch toys into the water. But, easy peasy, it was done and we had a terrific time.

Here is the Poodle (who actually isn't a poodle at all. That's our "pet" name for him) enjoying some Dt. Coke and my chair.

Sweet Pea and her friend Bran Flake enjoyed the delightful combination of Dr. Pepper and Chocolate Cupcakes.

Me and Drama getting ready to "tear it up".

You will see no pictures of Big Daddy or Lazy Boy. Someone was too busy taking pictures of this:

Someone flew onto the lake, dropped off a passenger then left. Who CARES!

In his defense, Big Daddy was a mess. He was stressed out about getting the skiis ready, staying up the night before, worrying about launching and finally, melting in the 116 degree weather.

I had a grand time. Picnic-good, water toys-good, listening to the squeals of delight coming from your children=priceless.

We left when it got really hot and went back to Grandma's house to swim.

Good times, good times.

Ladies that Lunch

I have finally gotten to the point in my life that I can be a "Lady that Lunches". When I was first married, had small children and worked full-time, I dreamed of a life of leisure. It's 20 years later and life is good. I am semi-retired (hahaa!), the kids are almost self-sufficent (can dial 911) and I usually have a couple bucks to buy a taco and Dr. Pepper.

Last week I "lunched" with some of my lady friends. I am fortunate to know some of the most talented, compassionate, and thoughtful ladies around. We spent 2 hours talking about politics, food (of course), our children, and everything under the sun. I appreciate these opportunities because it keeps me from going crazy, stimulates my brain, and reminds me how blessed I am.

Until next time,

Thank you ladies!

Susie Q and Me

Sonja and Susan

Laura and Vicki