Holiday Greetings

Since I purchased a ridiculous number of Christmas cards and have sent most all of them out I decided to post this and give a shout out to Shutterfly for the nice job they do on their work.  They had a lot of business from me for projects for myself and others all year but a huge increase recently.  The discounts offered were worth it.  Now if the designer of the card could do a better job of thinking through picture placement...I should have switched Dan & Sam's heads on the bottom pictures but Oh well. I could also scan the image better and not have a white strip down the left side.   The things I obsess about are silly.  Now the next problem is to figure out how to go back to the old version of blogger so that I can control my pictures better.  I wanted them left/right but the option no longer appears.  Sometimes I really despise change! 

12 reasons

This could be our backyard!  But its not, yet.

Two weeks are left of this year and one week until Christmas. This month has been significantly different than last year in December. Last year I was burned out in many ways, over-committed, sleep deprived and definitely trying to run faster than I had strength (so to speak). For someone who loves December as the grand finale to my favorite season, autumn, last year just didn't cut it! I was tired, ornery and couldn't see clearly enough for the things that make me happiest to become the highest priority. Depressed is a good way of summing up the effect that had on me. It wasn't all bad, especially when I look at Christmas day pictures, but was bad enough to make me consider a change very early on this year. I re-evaluated my life and felt like I could make some adjustments. I made plans early on to commit to things that would make this year better. I have had to let go of some things for other things and the adjustments have been good. So here are my 12 reasons this December is better than last. Not all inclusive but things I probably failed to do or recognize last year. These are also in no particular order.

1) Ornaments on my tree!

2) House was decorated early.

3) My Smooth Jazz Christmas station on Pandora is fantastic and on often.

4) New to us, comfy couch to curl up on and enjoy the lights on the tree.

5) No post Halloween sickness with traditional lingering chest congestion junk and persistent cough!

6) Appreciating my family more and taking the time to truly be mentally with them as well, instead of thinking of the million other things I think I should be doing.

7) The abundance of great people I'm surrounded by.

8) There hasn't been a single snow day or sick day yet this school year, so everything has been on schedule. This of course was totally out of my control but so appreciated. Now only 2 days of school left and Nick is off work for the rest of the year and groceries are stocked. So bring on the snow!

9) I used my china for the first time in years. It is no longer packed in boxes, well some of it isn't.

10) Albert is MY dog, he likes me and wants to curl up by me when I take the time to just sit and relax.

11) Less busy-ness to clutter my life, even though I'm still plenty busy. 

12) Deciding this year I was going to just take this month and really enjoy it.  Smart choice! NO REGRETS!

Disclaimer - please do not think that life is fairytale every day!  Today I would have gladly turned in all 3 boys even for a few hours to eliminate unnecessary emotions.  But overall it is turning out to be a nice month.

Christmas Traditions

Whenever someone asks what are your traditions my mind goes blank. Its not that we don't have traditions but my family is not deeply tied to a lot of unique traditions. For Christmas the house looks festive and we do what a lot of people do. But what is unique?

When a request went out several weeks ago, before Thanksgiving to consider being recorded sharing family traditions, that would then be shared at our church Christmas party I began to wonder, if we participated what would we say? Surely everyone else who participates will have some spiritual family togetherness or heart warming tradition. That would just not fit us. Ours would need to be more on the entertaining side.

Since I hate to be recorded and I didn't think Nick would really want to we decided the boys would have much more fun. So one night we made an activity out of it and asked the boys what they like most about Christmas time. We thought a top 10 "Letterman style" might be fun. The video link below will show you the results. Enjoy our family Christmas traditions, brought to you by Dan & Sam Cassavaugh.

Cassavaugh Family Christmas Traditions Video

What's Up With Dan?

Dan has had a good start to his 7th grade year. It is a big deal to be at the Intermediate School. Maybe more so for me than him. I did NOT adjust well to 7th grade but I am happy to report he is doing much better than I did! He is on student council and is getting to know his teachers a bit which has helped the beginning of the year anxieties! For the first marking period he pulled all A grades and worked pretty hard for that. Dan's greatest interests, besides computer games, air soft guns, boy scouts and making you-tube videos include the cello. He is going into the 3rd year of cello at school. In 5th and 6th grade it was taught early morning twice a week. This year he gets it daily. He is also the only cellist currently in strings for both 7th and 8th grade... NO pressure! They had their first concert on Oct 18th and I must say for no formal one on one training I think he did well. The day of the concert he had his first private lesson and really likes the teacher who is a CMU student. Here are links to the three pieces performed.

Mariachi Waltz

Wraggle Taggle Gypsies

Double Trouble

He also finally got to participate in a court of honor where he received recognitions. There was a bit of catch up to do. So he along with a couple of his friends all earned ranks from Scout, Tenderfoot, 2nd class and 1st class! He has the patches and I have the parent pins. He also received four merit badges which include First Aid, Fishing, Fingerprinting and Orienteering.

Three Dollars And A Dime

So what does three dollars and a dime buy these days? Well depending on your perspective, not a whole lot. But perspective comes from life and to an eight year old that can be a lot of money. So let's back up to this past summer. Sam's CD player stopped working. This was a big issue not only for him but for me as his nightly routine is to listen to a CD. After hours of not being able to go to sleep I began to think I wasn't going to get any either. Silly me forgot there is always the radio. We must insert thanks to Nick for thinking of the obvious. I wasn't so sure it would work. But we found the local public radio station WCMU which came in quite clear and was playing music that was acceptable. Sleep!

The radio then became a new fascination for Sam and he would check it out during the day. I remember posting the following Facebook status around this time. "Sam just discovered how cool the radio part of his CD player is and informed me that his favorite station plays music and has news! After investigation I realized just how smart he is. He is listening to NPR! I love this kid. Thank you WCMU/CMU Public Broadcasting."

The new fascination turned to basic dependency. He would turn the radio on any time he would notice it was off. It now has to be on all night. He never turns it off. If I do, it doesn't last long once he notices.

So now fast forward to last week. My new routine is to listen to WCMU as they play some great classical music during the time I'm driving to the school to get Dan. I usually get there early and wait. It occurred to me as I heard WCMU working on their fund drive that maybe Sam should send a donation since he likes the station so much. I too figured it was time to step up to the cause. So the rest is history. You can listen to see what happened. (the clip below is 5 min 20 sec)

Listen to Sam on the Radio HERE

Another enjoyable autumn weekend!

Nick and I were finally successful in taking a very short getaway. We headed North or as some would say to the gateway to the north. We didn't want to go too far but found the best little cabin nestled into the middle of nature on a weekend where colors are peaking and the temperature was warm. I could have handled cooler weather to make it even better but won't complain about those extra days of warmth we have had. I know the cold will be here plenty soon. So taking every bit of this colorful treat in while it lasts.

I woke up without an alarm to plenty of mist and fog. That didn't stop me from stepping out to enjoy the crisp cool morning. As I relaxed in the comfy Adirondack chair I watched the seemingly black and white misty view change to hints of color in the distance as the sun lit the leaves and burned away the mist. Ahhh happy belated 20th anniversary! I think we should celebrate 6 months late every year! The world is much more colorful and breathtaking in October vs. March!

We really just relaxed but did go to several Amish stores. A new one for us was the bakery. For some reason I loved the long set of aprons on the line to dry. Nick says they look like huge panties. I still love this picture even though you can only see a fraction of the panties, I mean aprons. :)

While relatively not far away our dear friends Becca and Steve spent the weekend with the boys. They took them to Uncle John's Cider Mill and had a great time doing everything from apple chucking to laser tag. They picked out pumpkins that look great on the porch and the pictures tell it all. I have included just a few.

We feel very blessed to have such great friends that we consider family! Thank you Becca & Steve for making this a fantastic weekend for everyone in the family!

Teachers make a difference!

Dan has 8 elementary teachers before he moved onto West Intermediate this year. Sam has now had 5 teachers since beginning elementary school. Every one of the teachers (including long term subs) have been fantastic. Each have had different strengths and personalities. Each one has given their best to what they are doing. Each one has made a difference in the lives of many children and I am pleased to say mine are among those.

We have a tradition of inviting school teachers to the annual church primary program. Some years I'm more on top of that than others. I admit to failing a few times at extending the invitation. For those unfamiliar this is an opportunity for each child to share something they have learned through the year in their church class (primary). There is a new theme each year and the songs they learn go along with that. They then get to present their program to us during the main meeting (Sacrament meeting). It is one of my favorite Sundays each year. Even before I had the opportunity to be the chorister for many years, teaching the songs to the children, I loved this event. It was natural for us to want to share with others. Dan has since moved out of primary and is no longer one of the "little kids". Sam has struggled with much during primary and yet he was more than willing to share his talk and sit up front and even attempted singing some of the songs (which he finds challenging because he can't keep up).

At the risk of sounding like I'm playing favorites I wanted to share a recent picture of Sam and his current 3rd grade teacher. This year as in a few previous years, teachers have come. Sam just lit up when he saw her walking through the parking lot toward him, where he had been waiting. Fortunately I was smart enough to remember the camera and captured a quick picture before we went inside. Sam was not without his challenges that day but made it through and did a great job with his talk. The best part was seeing many children come say hello to Sam's teacher and see the smiles on their face because she had been their teacher as well. There is no question in my mind as to the value and positive influence a teacher can have. So to Mrs Nowicki and to all the many other teachers who we personally know and care about and the many who we will never meet - we say thank you for caring about our children!

Soup, Applesauce and Beans

This was a stay around home weekend but I think there were some fun parts. Sam had the joy of harvesting a little from his late planted green bean plant. That was the extent of our garden this year. Too bad he doesn't like green beans. I don't even recall where he came home with it, school, church? He also informed me that he is going to own a green bean farm when he grows up.

Today also marked the return of Dan's Soup Saturday. Today was September's soup of the month Bountiful Chicken Noodle. I dare say that he could completely make this one on his own now. There are many steps but when you break it down it's not too bad and the end result is worth it. Thanks to all of those who purchased and hopefully enjoyed the soup. Next up in October is Creamy Tomato Basil. Dan is most excited for November because his favorite is Chunky Beef Stew.

We also couldn't stay out of the kitchen long and made applesauce with our friend Becca. We used apples that we picked last week, with Becca & her husband Steve. Sam had the best time turning the crank to peel the apples. I tried to race him by using a corer slicer and then slicing off the peels. He always won but sometimes it was close. I think we will definitely be investing in one sometime soon. I've looked at them for years but could never justify it. If it adds some level of excitement about it for the kids then there you go! Thanks to Becca for bringing it and making it a fun afternoon.

Camel Ride Anyone?

I can't think of riding a camel without think of the painfully long and occasionally funny movie Ishtar. Really how often does one get to ride camels. Well today Dan & Sam each had the chance so we took it. I don't recall the camel riding from previous years and the boys both enjoyed. Our annual apple picking trek to Anderson & Girls turned out to be a lovely day. Perfect temperature. Fun ride into the orchard to pick apples. We finally got to see the pig races. They were so cute. My favorite was the slowest that had the goal in mind and ran as fast as they could but never made it to the prize as the others ate up before it got there. :( Then they raced pot belly pigs which was a hoot to watch them walk along like they were on parade. We of course came home with a lot of crispy apples, fresh cider and some doughnuts. We always enjoy this tradition with friends. Fun times!

New Driveway!

Well it took almost 5 years but we finally have a driveway that isn't dirt full of ruts, pot holes and heaves! Two thumbs up for Central Asphalt for a job well done. I reserve the right to remove that opinion if it rains and ponds somewhere. That will not make me happy.

Some days you just gotta have lemon!

UPDATE 8/25/11!!! So I had to try these again. It bugged me that the meringue didn't form stiff peaks. Plus they were too good and the boys wanted me to try with lime curd. SO, made another batch today. Smaller is better. Also managed to get the meringue into stiff peaks in 1/4th the time it took me to get the last batch to even take a form. Don't use packaged egg whites. It says egg whites BUT they don't whip up nearly as well as fresh egg whites straight from the egg. Still no torch but they browned more evenly in the broiler as well. Overall much better. Still prefer Lemon over Lime curd. I also have a recipe from a friend for lemon curd that I just might try one of these days

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(Original post 8/19/11) I saw these Lemon Meringue cookie gems through a Facebook feed. After going to the link, reading the creator's story and seeing the pictures I could not stop thinking about them for days. Last night I made them in between playing You Build It Monopoly with the family. We had a fresh made treat at the end. The only downside was a late bedtime as unfortunately it took awhile to get the meringue to whip into stiff peaks. :( I gave up after 15 min of beating on high with two different mixers. So mine don't look quite as fancy.

I really wasn't sure if my family would enjoy these. But everyone loved them, including Nick who I showed the recipe to and his initial response was "I'd make them but not eat them". HA I win!

Thank you Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen for inventing something so delicious...I think. Now to only make them for special occasions.

My description - the base cookie is like a shortbread that rivals my favorite Panera shortbread! The lemon curd is as good as you want to go with it. I have a favorite bottled kind and do not make my own. The meringue is as good as your beaters, eggs and patience I guess. Our torch is not working so I had to broil. But it still worked. Result - the perfect mini lemon meringue pie only with a tasty shortbread cookie instead of a yucky crust! (not a fan of pie crust)

FINALLY...Cub Scouts

Today was an exciting one for Sam. It was the much anticipated, long awaited, first day of cub scouts. Sam has wanted to have a shirt with patches, like his brothers, for years. Well the big day came. He loved it and his den leaders are pretty cool too. They used to be his primary teachers and Terrell plays Minecraft (that is very important to Sam and he tried to spend significant effort today trying to get me to play). You can see Sam doesn't have the full uniform and the shirt is pretty big. I'm determined he will not grow out of that so I don't have to do another shirt with patches until he turns 11.

Speaking of shirts with patches...Dan will head to his first boy scout 8 day encampment this weekend. I'm heading to the scout office tomorrow as I decided last minute that his shirt should be larger and I should get all his patches on. More on that in a future post. It will be very strange not having Dan around for an entire full week!

Have Typewriter, Can Go Anywhere!

Sam's typewriter has been tucked away for a few months, but surfaced as I cleaned his room last week to make way for a new desk, perfect for typewriting I might add. When he asked to take the typewriter to the ball field for Dan's game my first thought was NO WAY. But I had just asked him what he wanted to take to entertain himself. It was just a bit larger than I had in mind. It was also the hottest day yet of the year, in the mid 90s, and sitting in a hot car so he had a place to type didn't sound fun. These pictures show the typewriter on Dan's seat while Sam sat on his seat, his favorite setup. Of course the doors were open to give a breeze but he had to be careful not to let the important papers blow away!

Some of his typing gems:

"your awsome m.r.s. lunsted" (his 2nd grade teacher that he misses)

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"I love the earth my name is Sam just to let you know lets recycle."

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"THE UNIVERSE"

"Chapter 1 THE SUN"

"THE SUN is a giant burning gasses and dust. Juipidir is so big. Not even earth can escape its pull and we would get crusht."

Sunday Solar System

Sundays can be a real challenge for Sam. We attend church for 3 hrs. That is hard enough for adults let alone a kid who is on the autism spectrum and bothered by noise, crowds and who knows what depending on the moment.

The first meeting (sacrament & talks) is with everyone and is supposed to only last 1 hr 10 min. The remaining time he spends with the kids (primary) where half is spent in a class setting with kids his own age and the other half is spent with kids ages 3 - 8 learning songs and doing fun things as they learn more lessons about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I always ask what he would like to bring with him, that is quiet, to keep his hands busy for the first hour. Lately his response has been "I don't know, I will tell you when I get there". Sigh! Today on the way to church he found a roll of masking tape in my basket. It never left his hands. The end result was a solar system across the back of the bench in front of us. I had no clue that our 2nd grader knew the order of the planets, including asteroid belt, kuiper belt (and knows that Pluto is actually part of this) and then for this masking tape masterpiece he added stars at the furthest outer area. I helped hang some planets and he would correct me if I put it in the wrong spot. Some may think it was not the best thing to be doing during such a meeting. But hey, I was happy that he sat with us the entire time without having to "take a break". Thank goodness that cell phones have cameras now. Not the best pictures and they overlap some but I had to capture the impromptu project. Thanks Nick for taking the pics.

Left: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter
Center: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Right: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto/Kuiper belt, Stars

Hurry Up!

The two mile stretch of dirt road I drove on the other day to get Sam to piano lessons brought back a memory of a favorite game I once played when I was Sam's age. I remember spending hours practicing the skill required to win "Hurry Up". In this game you are required to balance a marble on a plastic edge while you dodge various size holes. When playing against others the winner was the first one to get 5 marbles, one at a time, up the wall and into a tray. This game brought out my competitive nature to its fullest and I always won.

Who would have thought that decades later that marble skill would have translated into a driving skill! It sure came in handy as I dodged the ruts and huge holes that looked so familiar to that blue "Hurry Up" wall of holes. The only difference was instead of navigating one marble I had 4 wheels to maneuver around the mess. I also found myself wanting to hurry up to get off that stretch of road. However, increasing ones speed would likely result in damage to many parts of the vehicle. It's clearly spring in Michigan! Pure Michigan!

Happy Earth Day.

Who got the better deal?

The schedule for the rainy overcast day (my favorite) included the last day of swimming lessons, Dan's baseball scrimmage (which ended up being cancelled), Nick going back to work to catch up on grading and I my long list of things I knew would not all get done. At swimming I made a deal to swap kids. After lunch I took Sam to his friend Liam's and I took Liam's two cute little sisters Kailey and Maddie home with me. As we left their dad said "I'm not sure who is getting the better deal here". I believe he was thinking he was getting the better deal. I don't get a lot of "girl time" at my house so I needed to make the most of this. Kailey was more interested in Wii Sports Resort, the dog and what Dan was doing. But Maddie was my little buddy. She was so excited to make little Easter treats. I had all the equipment and stuff to make more chocolate covered marshmallows. So we did pink and green with Easter sprinkles. Nothing real original but we had fun and the time went by quickly. I think I got a pretty good deal. Now to attack the list. Actually I didn't accomplish more than 2 things off my list but that's OK...life goes on whether the list is done or not. I at least have a fun memory from the day!