My gift to my mom and my sister this year was Date Bar in a Jar.  Now, for those who were fortunate enough to enjoy Betty Crocker’s Date Bar Mix a few years back (they no longer make it), this recipe is as close as it gets.  BC used to have this great boxed mix that we loved sooo much, my mother used to send it to me by the case when I lived in Alaska and couldn’t buy it there.  This stuff is addicting, delicious, and easy to make. 

So, I made them the jars and attached the following note.  For those interested in reproducing the recipe, it’s in the note, you just have to pick it out…

 I am “Date Bar in a Jar”!   Glad to meet you!!

You don’t need much to make me complete – just a cup of butter or margarine (I don’t like vegetable oil spreads, though) and a cup and a half of water!   That’s all!

First, use my big bag called “Date Bar Mix”.   This is 3 cups of chopped dates and about 1/3 cup of sugar.   Put me in a pan with the water and cook me on medium heat for about 10 minutes – you have to stir me a lot though!   After I’ve gotten nice and tender, cool me off a little.   Now I really like being blended a little more right now – in a food process or a blender – but it’s not necessary.   ’sup to you.

Now, take my other bag that looks like it has a cup of brown sugar in it.   Surprise!   That’s all I am!   You’re going to mix me with the softened butter that I talked about before.   Then pour in the rest of my jar.   That means you’re pouring in about 2 cups of oats, 1 ¾ cups of flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of baking soda.   Mix me until I’m crumbly… yummy!

Now put half of the oats mixture in a 13×9 pan that you already greased with shortening or cooking spray.   Spread the cooled date mix onto that, then put the rest of the oat mix on top.   Press me everso slightly.   Now I’m ready to get hot and tasty at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes…

Now eat me.

 

ENJOY!  I’m off to try to upload the Christmas pics to show off…

since I’ve sat down long enough to blog!  I pray all of my friends and family had a fantastic Christmas and hope you have a wonderful beginning to 2009.  I hope everyone will be safe if they’re going out to celebrate, too!

Christmas was fantastic here.  Quite a bit of traveling, quite a bit of visiting.  Lots of gifts and eating, that’s for sure… and in my desperate attempt to get some semblance of my semi-sort-of-not-too-cluttered-to-actually-walk-around-in-but-still-obvious-that-two-little-people-and-a-preteen-and-a-teenager-and-two-adults-live-here house in order, I took the tree down already.  I usually wait until the 1st of the year, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Besides that, I want to know how all of my perfectly arranged ornaments got clustered into one little group at the bottom of the tree.  Hm.  Any three year olds wanna fess up???

Sooo… our fourth baby is a New Year’s Baby and will turn ONE in two days.  I could not be any sadder.  This year has flown by quicker than the others – well, maybe not.  I still remember changing Brett’s diapers.  And I can’t wait to say that to his first girlfriend, either.  I may have a picture or two laying around.  I shall search for them later.

We are just having a small to-do with immediate family.  I’m not a believer in the $500 parties at professional venues with 40 people.  These parties aren’t for the kids, they’re for the moms.  Period.  Don’t deny it ladies, those who threw these.  Ask your 10 year old how much he enjoyed it.  Go ahead.  I’ll wait.             Huh?  He doesn’t remember it?  See?? LOL… seriously – I know why they do it – baby only has one first birthday.  But no matter how much money is in my bank account, I can’t justify it.  And I’m not that frugal.  Oh well, just me.  A box of cake mix for cupcakes, some homemade ice cream, and a few gifts is all we need.  $25.00 well spent.  HOWEVER, I am “stealing” a friend of mine’s idea for first birthday pics – thanks Deanna G. – and will proudly post them when they are taken.

Well… now I should upload the Christmas pictures and show them off… will do so this week, and I’m eager to catch up on emails and other notifications from my friends and favorites and fellow bloggers – I thank you for letting me into your lives and send lots of holiday hugs!!!

I have never been so livid and furious at Best Buy in my life.

My husband and I visited your Tuttle Crossing store on Monday, December 22, at approximately 11:30 a.m. to inquire about/purchase a 20″ television set for one of our sons.  When we arrived, we were discouraged to find they were out of stock, however – the two helpful glorious young employees in the TV department looked up the information on their nifty computer and discovered that 11 more of these Dynex tv’s (model: DX-R20TV) were being delivered that evening and would be available in the morning of the 23rd.  They advised us to call first thing in the morning and they would reserve one.

Move forward to the morning of Tuesday the 23rd.  I pull up the website and see that I can order the product for store pickup, it is in stock at our local store, but my husband decided that simply wasn’t necessary, because we were assured it would be no problem.  And what if he gets there and another TV is on clearance, or a better sale comes on?

So we call and were told “that’s ridiculous, we can’t put anything on hold”.  Hm.  Asked for the TV department and were told the stock did come in, and then we were put on death hold. So my husband took off out the door to run the 15 minutes to get one.

When he arrived, he was told they were all ON HOLD.  ??????   We were also told that if I would have paid for it online for store pickup, when we got there to get it, we would’ve been told that we were out of luck, no TV would be available (because they are all on hold). 

I’m not sure what kind of operation you’re running there, but this is not the first time you have wasted a day of my life.  My husband drove across the parking lot and happily paid $20.00 more for a similar TV at Walmart, where we will be taking 100% of our electronics business in the future.  I will also be sure to tell my clients about this experience, as well as our rather large circle of friends and family.  I can assure you it will have a ripple effect, and you will lose their business.  Eh, it may not impact you at all, but being a business owner myself, I would certainly want to ensure that something like this never happens again. Your practices are embarrassing and unacceptable.

–

Autumn was really using the mixer – she’s growing up so fast!!!  The teenager was also helping, but he doesn’t show up on film, so no pics of him…

With a little time, and a book of stickers:

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/is-there-any-way-to-lure-kids-back-outside/

…”We need ideas that are fun and exciting, like your ideas, with just one little detail changed: they need to meet modern standards of liability and insurance. That means no kids in the woods, in town, on the water, or anywhere else where they are not closely supervised by adults at all times.”

Free Range Kids will be oddballs until society stops equating “independence” with “liability”  (and, often, “doom.”).

People, we HAVE to let our children roam.  We are severely stifling their childhoods, independence, education, experiences, and freedoms. 

Hats off Lenore for yet another great piece!

I have had the information requested enough times that I figure I will blog it for you.  For those that are vaccinating your babies, and doing so with a delayed schedule (see mine here), I did find the place that will send the MMR vaccine in separate shots to your doctor. 

American Medicine will send them to your doc for about $135.00.   Well worth it, in my opinion!!!  I’ll be ordering them next month – they have a shelf life of about 18 months, so I still haven’t decided when she’ll get them.  Probably one every three or five months, I don’t know.

Hope that helps!

 

SEE THIS POST.  APPARENTLY SEPARATE MMR VAX NOT AVAILABLE – TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT, WE DON’T KNOW.

with not ever having any more babies.

Hubby and I are both 41.  He’s done, he said.  He asked me if it was okay that he’s done, and what am I to say but sure? 

He said he wants to have some peace in his life in his “old age”.  I don’t.  I mean, our lives are only halfway over.  Our youngest will be “out of the house” when we’re only 60.  That still gives us a good 20+ years, God willing, to do… what?  Travel?  I’m not interested in traveling the world.  Relax?  That will kill me sooner than old age will.  What?  What to do with the last 20-30 years of my life?

I’m sure I’ll have grandchildren, again God willing.  And that’s great when they visit.  I’ll have chaos and noise and cook for lots of people, blah blah blah.  But then they leave.  And then what?  Silence.  Boredom.

Do I want to be a Walmart Greeter when I’m 65 just to have something to do?  Not really.  Will I just sit around and watch movies, play online poker, blog, and sleep?  Woo hoo, I’m getting my party hat out.

I have no medical reason not to have more children – my pregnancies and childbirths are fantastic.

And also, I truly regret not having my babies at home.  I really want to experience a home birth.  I don’t want a doctor near me.  I mean, my other labors were great – no intervention, natural, beautiful perfect labors.  But I want to be here, where it’s natural and normal and SHOULD be.  I want to experience a home birth.  More than one, if I could blow out the candles and make any wish I wanted.

I don’t want to be done.  I don’t feel like my family is complete yet.   And this makes me very sad.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4418620.ece

Let’s just suppose, in some sick parallel universe, that you wanted your children to be abducted. Let’s imagine that you’d had enough of them and decided that your cunning plan was to chuck them out of the house then sit back and wait for some passing kid-snatcher to run off with them. How long do you think you’d have to wait? Warwick Cairns will tell you. It would take 200,000 years, he says. And then you’d get them back within 24 hours. If you wanted them to be taken for longer you’d need to hang about for around 600,000 years. Because in any one year the average child stands a 0.0005 per cent chance of being abducted by a stranger and a 0.00016 chance of not being recovered alive within 24 hours. And yet, obviously, this is not how most people perceive the risk at all.

 

Food for thought…

Ah, Justus… you are so unique and so glorious in so many ways.  

You came into my arms after 43 minutes of wonderful labor.  You were big and perfect and happy from day one.  You were the baby, however, that didn’t want to share the family bed for as long as your brother did, and I could only nurse you for a very short time – two things I sorely missed with you, but as time goes on it gets better.  Yes, I still remember those months vividly.

You are my challenging soul.  And my joy.  You’ve made me laugh so hard I cry, and have frustrated me so much that I cry.  Motherhood at it’s best. 

You are my beautiful soul.  Blonde hair, blue eyes.  You are so physically perfect, I can already see your height and build in my mind.  Ladies, watch out.

You are my creative soul.  My artist, my writer.  Your stories paint such vivid images in the mind of the reader, and your pictures tell detailed stories to the gazer.  Your future will be full of words and colors and interest, I know this.  You will be deep.

You are my confused soul.  You are at the age now that you are old enough in some respects to participate in some adult activities, yet your inner child still wants to build with blocks and color in books.  You want so badly for your bigger teenage brother to look at you as a friend instead of a nemesis, and I’ve been there.  I wish I could make you understand that in a few years it won’t be like this.  In a few years, you and he will be best friends.  Someday, your brother and sisters will be all you have in this world.  Remember, family is truly what matters – friends may come and go, but we are always with you. 

You are my giving and sometimes lonely soul.  You want so badly to please everyone, yet put yourself last.  You spend your hard-earned money on everyone but you.  You ask what your sisters need before you think about what you want.  You try so hard just to make everyone around you happy, and I think it’s at the cost of your joy sometimes.  I try to tell you this, but your mind still puts everyone else first.  I love you so much for this, and your thoughtfulness will be returned to you tenfold someday.  But for now, please spoil yourself.  Be a child, have fun.

You are my loving soul.  I can’t believe you have grown into the young man I see before me today.  I see so much beauty and happiness in your future. 

I love you, Justus.  Happy birthday.

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