Settle Down

So I saw these on Pinterest. I am hoping it will help my kids settle down.

The directions on the Pins didn’t really help nor did they work for me. Here’s what I did and I’ll also type out what I’d do differently.

Items I used:

Clean jar
Glitter glue
Glitter
Clear glue
Warm water

I used a clean salsa jar and clean relish jar. I put in about 1/2 cup of warm to hot water, then I squeezed in the glitter glue. You want to the water warm to help dissolve the glue, this will help the glitter float/swirl. I shook it up until the glitter glue dissolved. I then added more warm water and clear glue. Shaking to make sure it's dissolving. Then I dumped in some glitter. The mixture didn’t seem to make the glitter float, it all just sank and fast. So I added more clear glue. LOTS OF IT, about a half a bottle in each jar. (I made them at the same time) Still it was just sinking to fast, I was hoping for a good few mins and it seemed like this settled in less then 30 secs.













So I hunted the internets. I read add Gelatin, hey I have that on hand (the box), but then read, no the liquid, So I picked up 2 bottles at Michael's for $2.99 each. Then I hit the grocery store, mainly to see if there was a cheaper liquid version. I found and picked up some Glycerin USP just above the first aid items. It was $2.99 a bottle.

Came home and decided to go with the Glycerin USP b/c it is a "skin protectant", the other two were food items and I didn't feel comfortable using food, as I plan to seal these (hot glue). So I added about 1/2 the bottle into each jar and now I have about a 3 min. settle time. I still think there is a bit too much water and could use some more glycerin.

Here’s what I’d do differently.

I would omit the clear glue, the glycerin is cheaper. I’d use less water but most importantly I would only put a little of the “big” glitter, I’d buy the finer glitter. The glitter from the glitter glue takes the longest to settle while the big glitter sinks fast. I think if it had all three sizes it would work better. Plus less water and more glycerin.

Wow that was a lot of glitter typing. I hope this helps some. I really never measured just poured. Maybe that was my mistake, but the other directions said “about an inch” of glitter.

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

Serves 6+

4 Chicken breasts, boned and skinned
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
5 tablespoons cornstarch (reserve 1 tablespoon for sauce, 4 for chicken)
1 bunch scallions
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed and diced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon cooking sherry
2/3 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Flatten chicken breasts to a thickness of ¼ inch
Cut into 1” strips across the grain of the fillets. Put in a bowl with the soy sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle on 4 tablespoons of cornstarch and toss. (I normally do this in a big zip lock baggie so I don’t get messy)

2. Trim off the roots and cut the scallions diagonally into ½“ pieces. With a vegetable peeler, remove the lemon rind in thin strips and cut into fine shreds or grate finely. Reserve the lemon juice. Blend the sugar, sherry, stock, lemon juice. With the remaining cornstarch add water and make into a paste.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and cook the chicken very quickly in small batches for 3-4 minutes, until lightly colored. Remove to a dish and keep warm.

4. Add the scallions, lemon rind and garlic to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add the remaining ingredients, with the chicken back into the pan and bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Add more sherry or stock if necessary, and stir until the chicken is evenly coated in sauce. Reheat for about 2 minutes.


(Serve with a salad or over plain rice)

A day with some old people.

First let me say yet AGAIN, I suck at this blogging thing. I just don't seem to manage my computer time wisely enough, nor can I get a single thought to stay put long enough to blog about it. Cute things happen all the time around here, I'd love to post about them. Matthew is growing up so fast (as well as the other kids) and I want to try and remember some of it.

But this post is about the old people I spent some time with. This is something I did when I had just Kayla, we went with friends of ours to a nursing home and let the kids visit with the residence there. We knew NO ONE, at first. No friends Gparents were there nothing. Just picked a home and went visiting. We would go about once every couple of months and we ALWAYS went Trick or Treating there. The kids loved it and the old people loved it more. As the kids got older and life got busier we just stopped going. I missed it. I have always said we would start back up, but now with 4 kids the thought scares me.

So this brings me to Nerd Wars, It's a group on Ravelry. This third and final month of Tournament 2 had a challenge to do something for the elderly (aka old people). I thought "hey I can go back to the nursing home, but this time I can sit and knit with the ladies". WIN WIN!!

Since we have moved to the north side of town and the place we used to go to is now over 45 mins away I had to find a new place. I found a small one tucked into an old neighborhood. I will admit I was very nervous to start. Before I just tagged along with my friend I had someone with me, this time it was just ME. No cute kids to show off, or to use as a reason to leave. Those old people sure like to talk, don't get me wrong I love listening to the stories but time is precious and since I was leaving them all home it was very limited.

So I went last Thurs. Steven arrived home early (3pm). So I packed up my knitting and headed out.

These ladies were so nice. We just sat and I knitted (showing off the sock I had just finished) while they knitted and crocheted. We talked about the earthquake we just had, and the impending hurricane. There was a man there, but he was pretending to read. I think he wanted to join in, but either was to embarrassed or knew it was "girl time".

I wish I had taken some pictures, though I wouldn't have posted them. I try to be mindful of what I post of others on the 'interwebz'. But I did get pictures of the items I brought with me to donate.

*crap FlickIt is requiring me to turn on my "location service" to use the app so I can't upload them. I'll get them onto my computer and do it from here. I'm to afraid of "location service" to turn it on for my photos sorry* (it was just some yarn and health care items)

I have made (in my heart and mind, not formally) a commitment to go once a month. I'll bring the kids sometimes and other go by myself.

I'm so thankful to Nerd Wars for giving me the push I needed to get back into visiting with the old people.

*I'm not a mean person, promise. I just like the term "old people" b/c I can't wait to be one one day and not give a rats ass what I say to whom or where I pass gas or how bad it smells. *

Merge

So I've had this blog before I had Gmail. Just went and merged the two hoping that I will then keep up with it since I'm on Gmail more often and now Google+.

I really hope this works b/c it has taken me the better part of an hour to do and I could have been reading or sleeping.

I have no will power.

Just after posting we were going to wait to get the video monitor we went out and bought it. I will say I'm much more "chill" about him sleeping in his crib now that I can see him.

He has been in there every night now. But last night he only lasted until 1am. Ballou had another seizure so all the commotion of clean up etc woke him up. So I brought him into bed with us. I was just too tired to try and read,  nurse, rock him. Lazy I know.

In other news the other 3 are home. Having a great time with the grandparents at the river house. The girls came back so TAN.

Sleep

Matthew is almost 14 months. I often wonder where the hell has the time gone.

He still sleeps with us. I love co-sleeping, but I know he is not getting enough sleep. Mainly naps. He will take about 4-5 30 min. naps. This is not good. So the other 3 kids are away for the long weekend. I decided that this would be a great time to transition him into his crib. I have tried this once before (again while the kids were away). It didn't go so great. I quit b/c I wanted to get a video monitor. I had found that even though he was quiet for over an hour he was not sleeping but STANDING the entire time. The floor in front of his door squeaks so I didn't want to peek in on him. I not only wish I had but I wanted that fucking monitor. But we can't afford it. So I stopped with the crib sleeping.

We still can't afford the monitor (I actually like the one from Sam's Club that is meant as a security camera). Anyway, we are doing this without the video monitor and dealing with the squeaky floor.

First night wasn't too bad. Well let me say I tried at nap time and he just stood there for an hour. Not making a noise, well until I went to check on him.

Bedtime wasn't bad. He did stay sitting up, but Steven went in and laid him down and he slept from 8:50pm until 2am last night.

Tonight he feel asleep at 8:45pm. He was laying down already. He did pretty well for his nap today too.

I'm really hoping this will work. He needs to nap better. But I do notice when I have taken him into his room just to change his diaper he will stare at the crib and I can feel his little body tense up. I don't want him to be afraid.

Damn I wish I had that video monitor.

Well over a year Well over neglected blog.

I wanted to be a blogger. I love to talk about things going on. Yet I S.U.CK. at it.

Since I've last blogged I have had another child, Matthew. I will update all my info and I will do better. I wish I would have kept a blog going for my PG and his first year, and well of course the 11th year for Kayla, 6th for Joseph and 3rd for Samantha.