What the world needs now. . . .

It's that time of year again--time for end of the year reflections.  The media started earlier this week doing its annual re-cap of  important news events.  There are stories of great tragedy and sadness mixed in with incredible tales of love, compassion and kindness.  The Wall Street Journal described it as:  "a year of conflict, a year of tragedy, and for some a year of hope."

But there's just not enough.

In a world full of snarkiness (I know. . .I'm a chief contributor to snarkiness) there's just not enough kindness and compassion.  All too often our reactions to those around us are less than kind.  Someone cuts us off in traffic and we comment on the other driver's abilities or family heritage.  Clueless people make comments to us that show no thought or kindness and we bristle then retort back. 

What happened to "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."  

I'm not much for making resolutions.  But this one seems worthy.  Rather than being the funny snarky girl I'm going to work on being the girl who treats others with kindness.  Not a doormat.  But someone who tries to remember that each person has struggles.  And it's not my job to make the struggles more difficult.  But to do what I've been put here to do. . .to help others.  And I do so hope some kind soul out there is ready to help me out too because I'm just going to be honest here--I need help too!

Looking out into the world I see hardship and struggle.  But I also see friends helping each other.  Sometimes it's a simple note saying "you are wonderful!" and other times it's bigger stuff like taking someone shopping, paying off a debt for a friend or maybe even someone you don't know.  The world needs more of that.  And a little more prayer wouldn't hurt either. 

Yummy English Muffins!

I used to wonder about people who started a blog then stopped posting to it.  Now I know.  It's not always easy to keep up with everything!  We had a busy first semester of the school year and have been working to enjoy our Christmas break (despite a rash of illnesses across the family).

Yesterday my middle E and I made a delicious treat for the whole family--English Muffins!  We doubled Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe in Vegan Brunch and did this:

2 cups of water
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp margarine at room temperature
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c unbleached wheat flour
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 tsp yeast
Some cornmeal for dusting

Place the first 7 items in the bread machine in the order listed.  Use the dough setting.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.    The recipe calls for you to preheat your pans before you bake the muffins; we used a baking stone and did not preheat.

When the dough cycle is complete, take dough out and knead on the counter for 1 minute before you roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut circles using a cookie/biscuit cutter (the double recipe we did got 16 muffins).  Pat both sides in the cornmeal.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Brown each muffin for a minute or two on each side. Be careful to not crowd them in the skillet.

When you remove the muffins from the skillet put them directly into the oven. Bake for 6-10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for one hour before eating.

I'm told they freeze well. Mine disappeared well. Also I cheated and used my bread machine to mix the dough. And I used rapid rise yeast which goes straight in without the first step in water with the sugar (make sense?)

Good news!

My kiddos are all asleep.  In their own rooms.  On time.  Without complaining.

Better news. . .the two young girls I wrote about the other day who were in the accident?  They are home too.  They are sore and have some healing.  But they are sleeping in their own beds again.

Good stuff.

Baby Mine

One of my babes cannot sleep tonight.  I've been in her room for about 90 minutes, sitting on the floor grading tests while she tries to settle for the night.  Probably end up telling her to scootch over so I can just sleep in her room too.  After all, sleep is the most important part of the day, right?

Playing her some Alison Krauss right now.  Love love her "Baby Mine"

And yes, I pretend to dislike putting kids to bed every night.  Not fair it should fall on me every night right?   Why should I have to be the one to watch the clock and make sure they get to bed on time?  Besides that, putting kids to bed and staying with them until they are settled means I don't get to watch what I want on TV (OK, there's not much to watch there anyway).

But one day they won't need me for bedtime anymore.  This is our time.  And they are so precious when they are sleeping.  So for now I'm going to embrace the snuggles and sleepy yawns along with the little voices that say "but I want you to stay here Mommy."

You're Gonna Miss This. . .

Or so they say.

Tonight my children are going to sleep in their own beds.  Not without some fight because what kind of kids would I have if they just went to bed without question or delay?  (Sick kids--that's what kind of kids they would have to be!)

But tonight I celebrate the endless questions and raised voices and fight over unimportant stuff.  I'll even (almost) celebrate the artistic mess left on the dining room table, despite repeated polite requests to pick up the artsy stuff.

Because tonight I know of another mother who doesn't have the luxury of such petty worries.  Tonight this mother and father are sitting in the hospital with two of their children.  Such a beautiful family, a family in so much pain right now.

Just yesterday we were all at the soccer field.  Their youngest daughter and my oldest had a game.  All the parents and siblings were there. . .my younger girls, their older girls, their youngest child (the lone boy in the crowd).  Looking back I realize how rare it is that all eleven of us make it to a game at the same time; usually somebody is missing, playing chauffeur no doubt for another one of the kids. But for that idyllic moment we were two families basking in the early afternoon sunlight.

But sometime after that something went terribly wrong.  Two of their babies landed in the hospital, one with serious injuries.

My heart aches for them.

Keeping them in my prayers that they will all get back to sleeping under one roof again soon and back to the moments of thinking "I'm going to miss this?"

Postscript/Update--one of the girls is home from the hospital; apparently the other one is not as bad off as was reported yesterday.

Classic TV

I started writing this thinking that I didn't used to watch that much TV but now I'm thinking that my parents allowed more TV than I realized.

Sunday nights--The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

Monday--Little House on the Prairie

Tuesday??

Wednesday--Emergency!  And for a while it was the night for Little House (I had something on Wednesday nights for a while and kept missing my show but my sister got to watch it.  I remember being really happy with it moved to Mondays because we had CCD on Mondays and my sister couldn't watch it that night either)
 
Thursday nights were something else.  When I was really little we watched The Waltons.  And then when I was in high school we had the Cosby Show.

Surely there was a Friday show but I don't remember one.

Saturday nights were all about Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and then The Carol Burnett Show.  Goooood stuff.

Fortunately the kids have reruns to watch!  One of mine calls The Cosby Show "that funny man's show."  She thoroughly enjoyed the episode "First Day of School."  That's the one where Cliff gets the job of waking the kids up for the first day of school. . .a task that is considerably more difficult than calling them for the last day of school!

As I write this they are giggling through "Calling Dr. Huxtable," the one where Cliff gets called to deliver a baby but gets to take care of 3 mamas in labor.  And in the meantime Vanessa's friend lights up and smokes in her bedroom. . .then Theo busts her for it.

Somehow TV today comes no where close to what we had when we were kids.

I wish they could watch The Carol Burnett Show.  They would love it too!

Karma got me. . .

It was a rough few days.  Karma definitely got me back for my (very wrong!) pleasure in another's misery.  At first it seemed I would escape any harm.  Things were falling in place.

And then it all unraveled in a most demoralizing, crushing, non-stop train wreck.

I thought that surely I would sleep and it would improve the next day.

Nope.

But after work yesterday I stopped in at the library to pick up my Jack Reacher book (excellent series by the way--can be read out of order but OCD demands I read it in order).  And I got a surprise at the checkout desk.  Mat Kearney's newest CD came in for me.  I can't remember how I found his music but I am a fan.  And his latest CD has the incredibly catchy "Hey Mama" as the first release.  Love!

I am pretty sure that Karma has taken a turn for the better.