Because I Only Believe in Science

Well, it appears a stomach virus has hit our home. 

Last night Brynn slept over Grandma and Grandpa’s house because they got some new bunnies and she wanted to spend time with them. Troy, Trent and I stayed home and watched basketball. We were especially interested in the Kentucky Notre Dame game, hoping to see ND dethrone KY. They were sooooo close too! Losing only by two in the last 9 seconds. I love seeing an underdog win. But I get ticked off when I stay up late to watch a game and they lose! That is 2 plus hours of my life gone forever. 

Anyway, as if to add insult to injury, my stomach was really hurting and I was burping up a storm which is not normal. Trent was right there joining me but he’s 16 so burping is a normal activity. 

He was up multiple times in the middle of the night and when Trent is up, everybody is up. He turns on all the lights, slams all the doors, and stands in our doorway whispering that he doesn’t feel good. 

Why whisper, Trent? People in China are now awake with you?! By morning, the puking began with him. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the brisket I made the previous night…

…until I get the call from Grandma saying Brynn was throwing up too. She did not eat the brisket. 

I surprisingly was feeling better. Since Troy and I had been spared, we decided to quarantine them. Both are in their rooms and we put the dog gate at the end of their hallway with strict orders to not cross the line. I’m not sure this legal but it is necessary for the greater good. Mainly, mine.

At one point, Trent decided to take a shower because – yuck! While he was in the shower, Brynn thought she was going to puke again. She yelled for Trent to hurry up but the gagging sounds made it clear that there was no time to spare. We screamed for Trent to stay behind the shower curtain and Brynn made it in the nick of time. As she was puking her little guts up, Trent starts cheering her on as if it was a sporting event and Brynn starts yelling at him in between hurling spasms. Proving that you’re never too sick to drive your parents nuts.

Later I heard them talking back and forth from their bedrooms.

Brynn: “Trent, how many times have you puked?”

Trent “3.”

Brynn: “Oh man!”

Trent: “Why, you’ve only puked 2?”

Brynn: “No, 3. I’m doing a science experiment to see if girls can hold their puke longer than boys.”

Brynn is crazy about science. Her dream job would be to be a Myth Buster. Or a pumpkin chunker. She’s on the fence. 

But listening to her made me think of this.

 

Source

The puking seems to have died down. (Trent is at 4 and Brynn is holding at 3 in case you’re interested.) And they are too exhausted to argue anymore. So this has turned out to be a quiet little Sunday minus the puking. 

I think I’m going to make cookies to send to Cayman at college. He called earlier and was laughing because his siblings were sick.

The sympathy runs deep between siblings. 

Q&A for the day: (Love your comments!)

• How did you spend your weekend?

Juice Is Not Coffee

Today began quite early. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I get up at 4:20 a.m. so I can open the barre studio. I really don’t mind it, and actually like the early start…until around 2:00 p.m. when a nap attack comes around and slaps me upside the face. However, I have to be at the school at 3:00 so there is seldom time for a nap.

Normally I consider this a job for caffeine, but I am trying to be healthier. Mostly because every year when I fill out the information at the doctors office and get to the part where it asks how many cups of coffee you drink a day, the number increases. And they put it right there next to if you drink alcohol, smoke or use any kinds of drugs? Really?! Marijuana is now legal in several states and your busting my chops about a cappucino…or two?

Anyway, today I opted for a healthy looking juice. It was made of nothing but fruit and chia seeds. But it promised me energy and I know chia seeds are the rage these days, though I’m not sure why. Up until recently I thought they were used to grow grassy beards on Duck Dynasty planters. I’m not sure when someone decided it would be a good idea to smear Uncle Si’s beard on toast or blend it in a smoothie, but now all the healthy people are talking chia seeds all the time!

The juice was not awful. You know what else the juice was not?

Coffee!

I did not feel refreshed and energized as the juice promised. I just felt like I wished it was a peppermint mocha!

Tonight was our schools parent teacher meeting. I love parent teacher meetings – said no parent ever!!! Especially after being up for 15 hours already. You know what PTA meetings need? COFFEE! Not stupid juice.

But the kids grades were good and there’s just one more quarter to go! Amen! 

Brynn has had straight As all year. I’m not 100 percent positive she’s ours, but she does great with school. But this quarter she had a B…in Study Skills. 

Now, in my humble opinion, if a student has straight As I would say it is apparent that she knows how to study. She might not remember to put the milk away, or take the Chapstick out of her pocket when putting her uniform in the wash, but she seems to have a grasp on the studying. If you have a 4.0 GPA shouldn’t you be exempt from study skills? That’s just my humble opinion. 

Maybe I just need coffee.

Q&A for the Day:

Do you have a favorite afternoon pick me up?

The Fog is Clearing

The mornings around here have been quite foggy lately. It’s common for Florida at this time of year. But by midday the sun shines through and you’re faced with another sunshiny day. Hey, its rough but somebody has to live here!

I feel like I’ve been living in a bit of a fog since November and it’s just starting to dissipate like a springtime Florida day.

It’s been over a year since I wrote this post about my first Pure Barre experience. I did end up buying that one-month package, and then a few more packages after that. No other fitness class changed me the way Pure Barre had, not just physically, but mentally. I was gaining confidence as I gained strength. Pushing myself harder than I thought I could.

I must have raved about it at home because one day they announced they were auditioning for new teachers and my husband said I should go for it! WHAT?!

I am 40+ years old, and never have been that coordinated. I don’t like to try new things, and I’m terrified of failure. But a little something inside me said I should try.

Trust me, no one was more shocked than I was when I received the email welcoming me to the Pure Barre family (how true that is). Troy wasn’t shocked though. He said he knew I could do it. I love that man!

And as wonderful and exciting as the journey has been, that’s about when the fog began. Because right about that time, one of my dearest friends encountered a crisis on the colossal scale. I’m not writing about that because it is her crisis and not my business to share. But trust me when I say, my heart was broken for her and her family. I didn’t know what to say or do – which means all I could do was pray.

As a side note, why do people say that? All we can do is pray? Prayer is the power of God. It should always be our first resort; not our last! – Excuse my little sermon to myself.

Anyway, this all happened days before I was to leave for Pure Barre training several states away. And what I thought was going to be a very exciting adventure, left me with mixed feelings. In looking back now, I am confident God in his perfect timing presented me with this adventure to keep my mind occupied through what would be a very rough couple of months.

Because after training, there was much studying, and practicing, and pushing my limits. All in the midst of trying to be a wife, mother, and friend. Occasionally I had doubts and even got angry at Troy for suggesting I try out in the first place. Life has been so busy since November! There’s been a lot to learn and a lot to juggle and a few meltdowns in between.

And for a while I had to cut out everything that wasn’t necessary. I didn’t really watch anything on tv. No little shopping trips – My shadow didn’t fall on the red balls in front of Target for months! (Gasp!) No girls nights out. No coffee dates. Fewer roast chicken Fridays – my family even ate hot dogs a couple of times – and LIVED!!!

I learned to let things go. And at times it was painful.

But I did it, I learned what I needed to learn and now am a living, breathing Pure Barre teacher. And I love it! I love watching people pass their own expectations, and gain confidence, and grow to love Pure Barre just like I did.

And now the fog is lifting. I know it is because the other day a friend and I took our girls to see Cinderella – and it was beautiful! Not to mention Brynn and I went shopping last Saturday. We bought her some makeup and looked for a fancy dress for a school event. (That’s a whole ‘nother blog post!!) I even went to Barnes and Noble last week just because I had an extra hour. And last night, the kids and I watched an episode of Castle off the DVR (the commercials were of Thanksgiving).

And my friend I mentioned, she’s doing well. Things aren’t the same, but sometimes change is good. Sometimes change is even better. I’m praying that will be the case with her.

Another sure sign that the fog is lifting is that I’m boring you with the last 725 words. I actually had time to sit in the house and blog a bit before the kids got home.

Hello, sunshine!

Waffles: AKA The Last Supper

Well, a piece of my heart is back at college in Tennessee tonight. He left at 6 a.m. and I had resigned myself to not going back to sleep and decided to just enjoy the next 45 minutes snuggled up in my covers. But do you know what happened? I must have zonked because the alarm went off what seemed like seconds later!

Do you know what this means? It means progress. It means that I didn’t lie there for 45 minutes worrying about my baby boy driving 14 hours. This is a breakthrough! Usually I worry when they just go fishing! Storms, Sharks, Pirates! (Just kidding, sort of.)

This is not to say I didn’t warn him about shady looking gas stations and icy bridges. He called several times to check in (I may or may not have told him to call me at every gas stop), and recently called to say he made it. Thank you, Jesus!

He also said he is cold. It’s 59 here. It’s 26 there. But considering it was 7 degrees there last night, I’m thinking he should be grateful. 7?! Why, that’s a shoe size…for some dainty footed people.

As I mentioned, he requested waffles for his last home cooked meal.

I’ve been making this waffle recipe for years. They are definitely in the top 5 of our family favorites!

I mean, seriously, we named our dog Waffles. That’s how much we love them…and her!

These are so crispy and light. You need to make them for someone you love.

The recipe says to let them rise overnight, but if you are having them for supper, you can put them together in the morning.

Also, I ALWAYS double this recipe (hello! 2.teen.boys.eat.forever!) If you double it, you do not need to double the amount of yeast or water.

So here’s the bippidy-boppidy-recipe!

Crispy Waffles

Recipe from Southern Living Magazine

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 c. warm milk
• 1/2 c. melted, unsalted butter
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 t. baking soda

Combine yeast and water in a glass measuring cup. Let stand 5 minutes.

Whisk yeast mixture, milk, and next 3 ingredients in a large glass bowl. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Whisk in eggs and baking soda. Bake in a preheated waffle iron as directed by manufacturer. (oiled if not nonstick)

Wouldn’t these be perfect for Saturday morning? Just saying…

Q&A for the Day:

• What recipes are in the top 5 of your family favorites?

Yay! It’s Cold-ish!

So we’ve got a “cold” front coming! I realize in light of temps around the rest of the country, it may seem downright balmy, but a high of 65 means sweaters and boots around here!

AND I get to wear my Bobeau asymmetrical fleece wrap!

I love this thing! It is so soft and cozy I feel like I’m wearing my pajamas out in public except not even my pajamas are this soft! And it’s 30 percent off at Nordstrom right now. It’s available in a wide variety of colors. I got it in Heather Storm. I gave one to my best friend for Christmas and she literally jumped up and down when she opened it because she had seen and loved mine!

It also means I’ve been scouring my cookbooks and Pinterest for all manner of comfort food. It’s going to be cool for 3 days and we may gain 6 pounds but I don’t care!

I have settled on Pioneer Woman’s broccoli cheese soup. Because one thing Pioneer Woman knows is comfort food! My middle loves Panera’s broccoli cheese soup so I’m hoping this will score big. And it’s full of broccoli so, as far as I’m concerned, it qualifies as mostly healthy! Ha!

In other news, my oldest is heading back to college tomorrow and I asked what he wanted for dinner tonight.

It may not look like much now but that is waffle batter. We are fond of breakfast for supper around here and these waffles are so crispy, light and satisfying. If I manage to take some pictures before the afternoon light runs out, I’ll post the recipe soon!

Q&A for the Day:
What are your favorite comfort foods?