Posted on 27th April 2009 by Mish in food
ace of cake, ace of cakes, cake, computer cake, food, laptop cake
I’ve always wanted to decorate cakes. I’ve gotten pretty good at the standard piping and the like, but I’ve never worked with fondant or anything like it.
But, when Liam – who turned 11 today – wanted a computer cake, frugal me was reluctant to pay someone to make it. So, I decided to undertake the task myself and went about designing and making a laptop cake. It’s far from being the Ace of Cakes, but I thought it wasn’t terrible for a first try! And the kids sure did like it…
This is the result: 
Technorati Tags: ace of cake, ace of cakes, cake, computer cake, food, laptop cake
Posted on 27th April 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes
Get the first two chapters of Michelle’s new book, A Fine Mess: Living Simply With Children, for free! Michelle is the homeschooling mother of (almost ) 7 children and has lots of humor, tips and hints for living with so many for much less. Want to try it out for nothing? Just email Michelle and put “free chapters” in the subject line.
Otherwise entitled: Wh
y don’t you just kill my kid?
During the month of September of 2008, I noticed that my 12 year old son, Alex, was looking a little thinner than usual. He’s always been very thin, so I chalked up the obvious weight loss to a new soccer season and his recent six inch height spike in less than three months.
After a week or so of soccer practices, Alex started taking a gallon milk just full of water to practice – and it was gone by the time I picked him up two hours later. It seemed odd to me, but not so off-the-wall odd that I thought he might be sick.
It wasn’t until one night when we were all sitting around the dining room table after dinner and I watched as Alex drank five full pint-size glasses of water while standing at the sink that I became really concerned. In the few days following, I noticed that Alex was exhausted after soccer, not just tired, but fall asleep in the car exhausted – even though our house was only a two minute drive from the field.
One day, Alex had to urinate so urgently that he made me pull the car over on our way up the hill to our house – he couldn’t wait another minute until we got home (luckily, we lived in a rural area then). I was very concerned and made an appointment to see the pediatrician. But then, that evening, it dawned on me – I’ll be he has diabetes. I just knew it. I’m not sure how. Something I had heard, or read just popped in my head.
I asked my husband to call his friend who has Type 1 diabetes and ask if we could use his meter to test Alex’s blood sugar the next morning. I knew from being pregnant so often – and from being a nursing assistant at one point in my life – that a normal blood sugar shouldn’t be higher than 140 or so. I made Alex fast all night. It was painful for him because he was starving. But he did it, and the next morning, after a 12 hour fast, his blood sugar was 276. Shockingly high for not having eaten at all.
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Technorati Tags: juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes
Posted on 20th April 2009 by Mish in earth day | frugal | green
Get the first two chapters of Michelle’s new book, A Fine Mess: Living Simply With Children, for free! Michelle is the homeschooling mother of (almost ) 7 children and has lots of humor, tips and hints for living with so many for much less. Want to try it out for nothing? Just email Michelle and put “free chapters” in the subject line.
What? You hang your paper towels? Well, kind of…
I don’t actually buy or use paper towels, but I have lot of terry cloth rags that I use in their place – for spills, butt wipes, cleaning windows (and everything else), wiping faces and drying hands! Obviously, we use separate cloths for each of these occasions. We keep a laundry basket in our back hallway (behind the kitchen) for used ones – particularly ones that have been used on the floor or on a butt! Cloths used on a face usually get rinsed out with hot water and demoted to sink or floor cleaning – well, you get the idea!
Anyway, as I sat at my new patio set (purchased for $25 at a yard sale today), I noticed that I had just hung out to dry my “paper” towels which I had just washed in my new low-water washing machine. Very frugal and green indeed. A couple of them definitely need to be demoted to oil changing rags, but I keep on using them!
Thought I’d share the pic with you – and maybe inspire someone to stop using paper towels – or hang a load of laundry – or both!
Happy almost-Earth Day!
Posted on 16th April 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
simple living, zen
I loved this article from Zen Habits author Leo Babauta. He writes about being kind, something I have worked at being for a long time. Being purposely kind, I must admit, has been hard for me in the past. I did not grow up or live around people who were kind (except for my mother). In fact, in my younger world, it was always more acceptable to say or do the “mean” thing – and to try and tear other people apart. I think this was more a self-defense mechanism or a way to put aside insecurities, but whatever the cause, I have worked hard in my adult life to be kind and to teach my children compassion and kindness for others…even in the face of unkindness by others.
I try and do this with simple things, like letting someone ahead of me in line; allowing another driver to get into a traffic lane; letting pedestrians cross the street safely; picking up trash in my neighborhood – that kind of thing. I hope that my children will be purposely kind too – and will travel an easier path than I did. I have often told them things like, “if you are going to lend someone, particularly a friend, money, don’t expect it back – only lend what you can afford to give.”
My example was one time I borrowed $10 from a friend at a store. I didn’t need the $10. It was for an item at a thrift store that was a really good deal and she insisted I go ahead and purchase it “on her.” In fact, she went so far as to say not to bother giving it back – as I had babysat her child a number of times without asking for anything in return. Imagine my surprise when at a little league game a number of days later she made fun of me in front of a group of people for buying my kids cookies at the concession stand when I still owed her from a week before. I was embarrassed – and honestly, on the verge of tears. I not only wouldn’t have ever thought about the $10 again, I wouldn’t have mocked a person in front of others!
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Technorati Tags: simple living, zen
Posted on 6th April 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
bottlefeeding, breastfeeding, family, hannah rosin, judith warner, kids, mothering, parenting
Recently, a fairly well-known author, Judith Warner, wrote on her New York Times blog commending Hanna Rosin for speaking out about how much, according to them, breast pumps suck (pun intended).
Warner’s article: http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/why-i-dumped-the-pump/ and Rosin’s: The Case Against Breastfeeding published in The Atlantic (a publication I used to like a lot).
Rosin’s article is a bit more blatantly anti-breastfeeding than Werner’s, but the effect of both is still the same. They are both not just encouraging women to ban the breast pump – but heralding women who say “screw it, I don’t care if breasts were made for feeding babies – my husband wants to use them!”
Very strange.
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Technorati Tags: bottlefeeding, breastfeeding, family, hannah rosin, judith warner, kids, mothering, parenting
Posted on 5th April 2009 by Mish in homeschool
homeschool, homeschooling, unschooling
“It is almost a miracle that modern teaching methods have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiousity of inquiry; for what this delicate little plant needs more than anything, besides stimulation, is freedom.” – Albert Einstein
I just love this quote. I have an interesting opportunity to compare my oldest, who is now 16, and my fifth child, Jack, who is almost 4. I was so concerned as a first time parent that my child be able to do everything. I made sure that he knew his letters by the age of 3 – he was reading by four, knew his numbers, could write his name, etc., etc. I admit it, particularly in his younger years, I pushed and pushed. Mostly because he just seemed so smart that I felt if I didn’t I was neglecting my duty as his mother.
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Technorati Tags: homeschool, homeschooling, unschooling
Posted on 2nd April 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
The Winners of the Sinupret for Kids Giveaway are:
mamatace; Toni;Veggiemomma; Nicole; and Angie Cox
Each of these winners will receive an email from me confirming their email address and asking for their mailing address. Thanks so much for entering – and commenting – the comments have been very helpful.
-Michelle
Posted on 2nd April 2009 by Mish in health
book, dr. sears, free, giveaway, sinupret for kids
First, I want to thank all of you who have left great comments on articles here at OI and over at Large Families Today. We had a great turnout and I hope that Sinupret for Kids works for you! It’s been working great for us.
I’ll announce the winners tonight at – well, let’s say 7 pm (CST) because if I say 5 pm, I’ll have to do it while driving to pick up my husband from work! Not a great idea! Also, I don’t have a smartphone, so I wouldn’t be able do it any way!
There’s still time to enter! Just comment on ANY article you like (or even one you don’t like) here at OI or over at LFT and you’ll be entered!Here’s what you get if you win.
Technorati Tags: book, dr. sears, free, giveaway, sinupret for kids
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