Holiday De-Briefing (the attempt to making Christmas a little more organized for 2012)

Organized Christmas

1. What worked this Holiday season?  I think having the three Christmases (one on Christmas Eve, one at Mom’s house and then one at our house for the Martins) worked well.  Although next year, Christmas Eve will be on Monday night and we might not be able to make church... it worked well this year because it fell on a Saturday.

2. What was the worst aspect of preparing for the holiday?  Can you avoid it this year?  I think I had too many places to write down the presents that we purchased.  I had an app on my phone and I made a cool notebook (that I didn't end up using much).  I need to stick to one place to write things down (probably my phone would work better than a notebook, because I always have my phone with me.)

3. Were you satisfied with your family’s level of giving?  How can next year more closely reflect your family values?  I need to stick to a budget.  Spell it out in plain and simple words!  And then stick to it!  I did it the year before, but because I spent most of the year buying presents, I didn’t use cash the whole time.  I also spent a lot of money online this year (which was EXCELLENT!)  Maybe I can get out a third of the total money to be spent out in January, a third in May and the rest in November... that might work. Maybe make more homemade gifts??

4. How well did your household function this year?  Were you calm and cozy or stressed out?  What improvements can be made for next year?  I think I was pretty calm and cozy!

5. Honesty time: Did you enjoy your holiday?  Yes!  Having McCoy excited about Christmas was worth all of the hype!  I love it that he is excited and loves the holidays!  Opening presents was fun and made it much more merrier!

Co-Sleeping Can Be Tricky

About a month ago, we took the crib out of McCoy's bedroom and switched it with the twin bed.  We decided not to completely take the crib apart and put it in storage, just in case (and no! I'm not pregnant!!). We did this over Thanksgiving break.  He got a new comforter set (Cars) and new pillows and everything.  He really did enjoy it.



But we still can fall asleep in our own bed.  He has to be with me in order to fall asleep.  Breastfeeding has led him to feel the need to feel his "boo-dies" every night.  It has become his security blanket.  So, McCoy falls asleep in our bed, then we move him over to his bed.  About 4 am, he always comes crawling back!  Unless, of course, I don't actually move him to his own bed to begin with. :)

Most nights, our co-sleeping is fine.  It's often snug, (since we have a queen bed), but it's not unbearable.  I've learned to sleep well with my little sliver of bed, while McCoy enjoys the middle portion of the bed.  Last night, though, was not as grand.  He woke up several times out of a dead sleep yelling things that he must have been dreaming about.  Here are a few conversations from last night:

McCoy: "I want more trounds."
Me: "Trounds?  Do you mean more crayons?"
McCoy: "Yes, mommy.  More trounds."
Me: "What are you going to do with your crayons?"
McCoy..... no answer.  He fell back asleep.

**Several hours later**

McCoy: "More juice, please."
Me: "Here you go, McCoy."
McCoy: "Neigh-nu, Mommy"
Me: "You're welcome."

**An hour or so later**

McCoy: "I want boo-dies!"
Me... shifting...
McCoy.... asleep again in seconds.

**An hour or so later**

McCoy: (out of a DEAD sleep!)  "I WANT IPAD!  MY IPAD!  IPAD!!!"
Me: "Shhhh, go back to sleep.  We can play with it tomorrow."
McCoy: (SCREAMING NOW): "NOOOOOOO!  MY IPAD!"
(Me getting up to pee)
McCoy still Screaming!!!

Finally, he goes back to sleep only because he is laying on my chest and I am rubbing my hands through his hair.  It was not a good night.

But, nevertheless, I love my little McCoy!

McCoy's 2nd Birthday Party

Choo!  Choo!  Choo!  McCoy is TWO!!

We had a choo-rific party for McCoy last month!  I think he had a great day and we had some great visitors here!

I can't believe that my baby is two years old!  He is doing some fantastic things, both developmentally, behaviorally, socially and physically.  But I'm going to devote another post all by itself.

:)

Crock Pot Freezer Meal.....

Here is a successful story about my crock pot freezer meal.  I made this one on the same night I made all the others.  It's called Slow Cooker Veggie-Beef Soup with Okra.  

INGREDIENTS

• • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/4 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 cup sliced fresh or frozen okra
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • salt and pepper to taste

---

Drag groups or instructions to sort

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly brown and onion is tender. Drain grease.
2. In a slow cooker, mix the beef and onion, diced tomatoes, Italian diced tomatoes, vegetables, okra, potatoes, ketchup, salt, and pepper. Pour in enough water to cover.
3. Cover slow cooker, and cook 4 hours on Low.
• I didn't have the Italian diced tomatoes (overlooked that one on the list!) so I added in Meatloaf sauce.  The end product was good, but a little too ketchupy for my taste.  McCoy and Whit ate it with no complaints though.  It tasted especially good with potato chips and sour cream. :)

I added all the ingredients to a gallon sized freezer bag (AFTER I browned the hamburger) and put it in the freezer.  Then I threw the whole thing in the crock pot in the morning.  I had Whit turn it on Low about 7 am and then he got home before me and turned it to warm about 4 pm. 

All in all, I give it 3 stars.  It was disgusting like my chicken last week, but it was pretty tasty.

Name Change

I was in need of a name change. My blog has been called "Tenessa" ever since I started it and it sucks.  It's so boring.

So I thought about my life.  I strive for Harmony.  I strive to create peace within my family and friends.  I'm a peacemaker by nature-- always the first to say I'm sorry and always initiating re-kindling friendships.  I live in harmony most of the time.

But enter McCoy.  And music.  And work.  And family.  And mama chores.  And messy houses.  And laundry.  And Rezound.  And my go-to attitude.  My always-wanting-to-be-in-the-middle, never-wanting-to-miss-out attitude and you get Jumbled.  My life was once organized, but is now jumbled.  I strive for perfection, but I only get jumbled, dissonant chords.  It's okay, though, because I've accepted the fact that I don't live a perfect life.  No one does.  And no one will ever be able to.

I know that I live in chaos and I will do what I can do make it harmonious.  

It's Jumbled Harmony.

Epic Fail

Okay, tonight... fail.

I made a freezer meal: Honey Garlic Chicken.  And I cooked it for 12 hours on low in the crock pot.  It was burnt and yucky when I got home.  It looks like this:

I think I may have to invest in a timer.  I'm just gone too long during the day.

Any of you ever had Epic Fails from the crock pot before?  Please tell me I'm not the only one.

I have more of this recipe.  I think I made like three batches.  I will try it again, but not cook it as long!

First Success!

I mentioned that I was experimenting with freezer cooked meals for the crock pot.  Well, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen (ha!  only 2 and a half hours!) making many 14 meals.  I still have more to make, but I got tired! :)

My first trip to the freezer: Four bags of Mexican Soup, Four bags of Honey I Fed the Kid, and three bags of Garlic Honey Chicken.  Yes, I rock!!

My first success: Mexican Soup
Here is the recipe:

• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1 can of green beans
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn
• 1 can beans (any kind)
• 3 chicken breasts (you can toss them in frozen)
• 1 packet taco seasoning

Throw into a gallon sized freezer ziploc and throw it in the freezer.  I placed mine in the freezer very carefully, though.  :)

When you want to cook it, throw it in, cook it on low until you can shred the chicken (6-7 hours). I cooked it on low for a very long time.  I put it in about 6:15 am and Whit and McCoy ate around 6:30. When Whit got home around 4:45, he turned it on low.  I ate around 7:30 pm.  It was not burnt at all.   It had excellent flavor and not too much taco seasoning.  We put sour cream on it and it tasted wonderful!

Now, I cooked four batches of this soup!  The one recipe called for 3 chicken breasts, but I only put in two and I would probably just do one chicken breast the next time.  It seemed like a lot of chicken to me, once the veggies and tomatoes cooked up a bit.  But it tasted wonderful!  Left-overs included on small bowl for lunch today, and a big bowl for left-over dinner.  The best part, it did NOT stink up the whole house!!!  

Okay, that's not my first try at the freezer thing.  I also did a recipe called Honey, I Fed the Kids Chicken dinner.  This is called a "Dump Recipe" from the Lazy Day Gourmet.  Here is the link.  I grilled it and we had roasted potatoes and okra, and also green beans (with thyme and parmesan cheese mixed in-- great way to spice up a plain ol' can of green beans!).  I give it 4 stars.  It was received well by my family.  Whit said the chicken had great flavor.  I just like grilled chicken!  We ate this on Saturday night.

The Little Things

this is me being...

-stunned because so many of my friends are pregnant!
-happy because so many of my friends are pregnant!
-wishing I was pregnant?  Probably not.  Not yet anyways.  I have a lot of things to get under my belt, like daycare issues, parenting issues, financial issues, weight issues...  It will be some time.  At least another year, if not two.
-excited about my grocery shopping today.  I think I may have found the answer to my stressful, busy, no-time problems.  We'll see how it goes before I unleash any secrets.
-frustrated because of a very noisy class I have on B Days.  We have three extra classes this year, which means I'm teaching from the moment I walk into the door, until I leave at the end of the day.
-stressed to get the HWGA sale stuff tagged and delivered by Sunday.
-procrastinating doing my homework, writing emails, sending invitations, assigning lines for three music programs, and cleaning my desk at school.
-happy that McCoy is going to daycare without crying anymore!
-thankful my LASIK surgery went well and I can finally see!  Speaking of LASIK, how many of you actually watched it on YouTube?? :)
-serious about a "to-do" list.  In fact, this is the last bullet I'm making so I can go do the things I need to do.

I'm A Little Behind

Most of the time, I look around and think to myself, "Wow, you really need to step it up!  You have lost the skill of _____ (fill in the blank)."  Things I've lost:
- taking pictures
- making food
- caring for my house
- organizing in bills/money and at school
- health watch
- posting pictures and/or blog posts
- staying in touch
- making a list and sticking to it

Now, I know what you are thinking, "Give yourself some credit."  Well, I'm about to cut the bull crap and get back on track.

Today for breakfast, I drank a protein shake.  Super easy to make, and if I ever get a half gallon of milk at school, there will be no reason I can't make one every day.  I'm trying to skip lunch (but I had about four Reese's Peanut Butter Cups....).  No lunch.  And no more candy for the rest of the day!

I made a list.  I'm trying to get to it... after I blog! :)

I haven't posted pictures on Facebook in a while, except for those random Mobile Pictures I sent every-other-day.  I'm posting them now.

I am going to budget and make a menu plan for next week.  And I'm going to try my hand at Freezer Crock Pot Meals.  I'm going to.  I have to if I want to make dinner, (which I haven't in about, oh, five weeks).

Here.

And that was just from about three weeks' worth of pictures.  I want to take time to take more.  And I will.

Lasik

Well, I did it, folks!  I got Lasik eye surgery on Saturday!  Mega-thanks to everyone for your well-wishes and help.  Whit, Mom and Colette came with me and they were very supportive.  And also I got lots of extra cash to go toward my surgery!  Yay!

So, some of you have been asking how it was.... it was weird!  I went in that day and they gave me some valium (hee hee).  I am very glad I took that!  Otherwise, you know me, I would be bouncing off the walls!  They gave me some drops to numb my eyes and then from there, I just followed the doctor's directions.  "Look at the blinking red light"... "Raise your chin up just a bit".... "Okay, Tenessa, your vision is going to disappear right about now, it's probably black".... "okay, we are almost done with your right eye".... "Look at the blinking red light.  It should start to come into focus".... "Tenessa, now I'm going to cover your right eye and start on your left eye".... "Look at the blinking red light"..... and my favorite.... "Okay, Tenessa, you are all done!  How are you doing?  Can you see!?"  YESS!!!  I can!  Weird.

Whit filmed the whole thing.  It took about 9 minutes total, for both eyes.   IF and only IF you want to watch it, here it is.  But I didn't make you watch it!!!!!

:)  Happy Birthday to me!

Before my surgery!  Peace-out glasses!

Glasses free forever!

McCoy wearing my cool goggles that I have to wear at night.

Dad made my birthday cake!

New eyes for my birthday!

Giving my old glasses to someone in need.  See-ya glasses!!

Philosophy of Music

Philosophy of Music

I was forced to write my Philosophy of Music this week.  Why do I teach?  Why is music important?  Why should we have music in the schools?  Honestly, I don't know.  Now that I have to actually think of that, I was left really unsure of myself.  Here is my rough draft Philosophy of Music:
__________________________________________________________

Music is the aural art form which satisfies the human need to respond to life experiences.  Music education is a part of a well-balanced curriculum that students have the right to learn and enjoy.  Music is a part of our human history and will continue for generations to come.  As a part of our past, music history teaches about methods used long ago.  As a part of our present, music is a part of our society, culture and communication system.  As a part of our future, students will continue to excel in musical literacy; musical performances; enactive listening; and creative, expressive movements.

Students will learn the basic curriculum of music education in the areas of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form.  They will identify different modes, key signatures, theory skills and composing.  Students will be exposed to playing instruments such as recorder, various Orff instruments, non-pitched auxiliary percussion and tubano and other indigenous percussion instruments available.  They will experience listening activities while gaining extensive music literacy skills.  Students will be able to identify various composers by listening to their works and learn various types of rhythms, both simple and complex meters.  Students will manipulate the musical elements; make musical decisions; develop hand-eye coordination; learn to multi-task; develop their spatial-temporal reasoning skills; and posses life-long skills such as team work, problem solving, creativity, critical-thinking, collaboration, communication, leadership, self-confidence, self-esteem, goal setting, respect for people and property, and memory skills.

__________________________________________________________

What do you think?  Yes??

My New Year's Resolutions

January is the beginning of the new calendar year, but August seems to be more up my alley.  I like to start fresh in August.  It's a new school year, fresh notebooks, newly sharpened pencils, new kiddos, and new staff.  I like to think of this as my official start of the year.  In January, after Christmas break is over, I go back to the same ol' desk, the same ol' routine, mostly the same kiddos and staff and I just can't help fall back into my "same ol' self".  But August is a time where I can make the differences I want to make in myself.

I shall not try and make each month a "new me".  It just didn't work the last two years I've tried (but perhaps that is because I started in January and not August).  I want to change several big things about myself, a short list that I will be reminded of daily.

I want to make wiser decisions in my life.  I want to actually look at a decision from all angles and decide what is right for me and my family.  I want to seek advice, but use it only as advice.  I will make my own conclusions and make my decisions based on that.  This will from the food I eat, to the way I dress and present myself, to decisions about my financial future as well as career.

I want to be a nicer person.  I want to quit judging and criticizing people.  I want to be optimistic and loving.  I want to be genuine and happy.

I want to be more organized in my life.  This will come to shock to some of you, but I sort of fell short of this when McCoy was born.  I want to get back to that and this is the year to do it.  I will be more organized at school, with work, at home, with church bells, and especially with piano lessons.  With my new, shiny iPad, I think I will be able to make that a reality rather quickly.

I want to put my best foot forward.  I want to do things using 100% effort and good attitude.  Especially since I'm going back to school soon.  I need to do it with a good heart and mind.

I want to make more time for my friends.

I want to make more time for myself.

I want to make more time for my family.

Have a great year, folks!

A Few Random Thoughts

Intersting new format with blogger.  Apparently I haven't blogged in a while.

Here are a few random thoughts coming from the brain of Tenessa.

*First and foremost, thank you so much for all your prayers and comments about the daycare situation.  I know that I haven't told most of you what the result was--- I was waiting to write it in a blog post.  And that post just never happened.  Actually I wrote it on my new iPad, but when I went to publish, it disappeared.  Hmm.  The other two teachers and I got together and wrote up a document to give to the Garrison Commander at our meeting on July 5.  It went well.  We were all pretty much scared to death, but it worked because a week later we were told that McCoy and his little daycare friends could stay until the services were no longer needed!  So, that was a huge relief for us.  As of right now, any future children will not be allowed to attend, but... well, I got my way before so who knows!! :)

*My brother Nick and his wife Codi are expecting their first child!!  I mean, CHILDREN!!  That's right, they are pregnant with Twins! :)  I'm so excited for them!

*McCoy can crawl out of his crib.

*McCoy is still having a hard time getting to sleep.  It's hard to deal with all the advice that I've asked for... some of them are differing.  But school starts tomorrow so we will be back into a better routine soon enough.

*Tomatoes!  I have harvested at least 50-some tomatoes this summer.  So far I've made homemade pizza sauce and homemade tomato sauce.  I plan on freezing most of the pizza sauce (we don't eat pizza that often).  And I'm going to take a stab at homemade spaghetti-o's!  Although I'm making them with Alphabet noodles!

*I got a shiny new iPad!  It is great except that McCoy loves that "home" button.  In fact, it's hard for him to do anything because he always hits that stupid button!

*School starts tomorrow.  I'm happy and sad at the same time.  Tomorrow I will be blogging about my new "New Year's Resolutions".  Let's face it, August is a better "new year" for me than January.  So I'm starting over.

*September 24 I'm getting LASIK done!  I'm sooooo happy, but I'm always scared to death!  Oh, and I can't find my current glasses.  So if you see them, please let me know!  Otherwise, stay off the road the week prior to September 24.  Thank you.

*Debt?  Oh yea.  I'm still working on that.  I kind of fell behind because of summer.  It's so easy to go shopping in the summertime!

*We went to Branson, I took my camera, but left my card at home.  No pictures.  But we will be back Labor Day Weekend.

*My baby has good days and bad.  And they usually follow each other closely.  But he is so stinkin' cute.  I mean, just look at this:

Check back tomorrow for New Year's resolutions.

(still got those chunky thighs!)

Sleeping Update

Everyone has been so kind and supportive on Facebook about my sleeping issues with my little toddler.  Thank you so much to everyone for your encouragement, advice and prayers.  I've been getting a lot of questions and people asking for updates about how he is doing, so I thought I'd follow up on the issues.

It hasn't been very long since my last post-- not even a week.  But we have seen great improvements!  I can't really pin-point what exactly made the switch, but I can tell you the things that we are doing differently.  First of all, I haven't been completely honest.  I've made this problem sound like it was all McCoy's fault.  But in hindsight, it was completely mine.  Not McCoy's, and not Whit's.  It was all my fault.  I created this sleep problem and I was trying to convince myself that I was trying to fix it, but I wasn't.  I was so sleep deprived (and still suffering from it) that I would do anything to get a little shut-eye.  This meant that I was allowed McCoy to use me like a door-mat.  But all that changed this week, with a little help from you and a lot of help from Whit and McCoy's doctor.

We started getting McCoy ready for bed at 7:00 pm.  This is NOT ideal for me.  It's too early.  Half the time, Whit isn't even home from work and we haven't eaten dinner as a family (eating dinner as a family is very important to us as well).  So, 7:00 pm is too early for me.  But after dinner, we take a bath, get on our pjs, take our medicine, read a book.  Then I lay him down, run my fingers through his (short) hair and let him know that I will be there if he needs me, but it's time to go to sleep.  He screams and cries for 20 minutes.  I go in again, lay him back down, and do the procedure again.  Then he screams and cries fr 20 minutes (sometimes 15, because it's just that sad).  Then I go in again, lay him down, and magically he falls right asleep!

Since our change in routine, he has been sleeping through the night with only one or two wake-ups.  One night (our second night), he slept through the night without waking up once.  Then about 6:00 am, I told him that Mommy was still tired and if he wanted he could come lay down with us in our bed.  And he slept until 8:15.  So, it was a great night for all.

I've also seen a HUGE change in his behavior.  He hasn't had a temper tantrum in a few days and if he wants something, he usually is patient until I am able to fix the problem.  That was probably the one thing that was driving me crazy the most.  Because after a night full of numerous wake-ups, the last thing I wanted to deal with was a child who was screaming and whiny all day long!  But so far, so good.

KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

20 minute intervals

This post will probably be written in several 20-minute intervals.  I'm guessing about 6.

Interval #1--- 7:20-7:40
McCoy.  Sigh.  I love the kid.  But he has cursed me with no sleep.  Everyone always told me, "Get as much sleep as you can, because your life is about to change," or "You have a baby... say goodbye to sleep."  Well, you know what?  Why does it have to be this way?  Not every kid refuses to sleep.  I was so lucky... I got a kid that only sleeps on average 5 to 6 hours a night.  That can not be good.  And lately (the last three or so nights) it's gotten worse.  I've made my several pleas on Facebook; reaching out to all my mother and father friends.  HELP ME!  What do you do with your children?  How do I get some shut eye?  And how do I get it to become a habit?  A ritual?  A routine?  A schedule?  A technique?  A procedure?  How do I get to sleep for more than one night every five or so weeks?  What's wrong with my child?  Why won't he sleep?

I have noticed some terrible changes in his behavior.  Temper tantrums, almost.  For instance, yesterday we went to Target.  I started to put him in the cart seat and strap him in-- he threw a fit and demanded to sit in the basket part of the cart.  At first, I let him.  But made him sit still.  Then he started to stand up.  So, in the seat part he went.  McCoy-- 1 point.  Mom-- 1 point.  Tied.

Today, we ran some errands.  He refused to take a nap today, so we left without a nap.  He slept on the way there.  Fine by me.  Mom-- 2 points.  McCoy-- 1 point.  Ha!  But when I went to put him back in his seat after our first errand, he refused to get buckled in.  And arched his back-- I know you moms know what I'm talking about!  I kicked my body force into a higher gear, and about 5 minutes later, he was finally buckled in.  Mom-- 2 points.  McCoy-- 2 points.  But then, he continued to scream and throw fits the whole 30 minute car ride to our next destination.... McCoy gets 2 points for that one.  McCoy-- 4 points.  Mom-- 2 points.

Interval #2--- 7:45-8:05
McCoy is not acting like himself.  I know that he is 4 months away from the big TWO, but this just isn't like him. Flailing around and dropping into dead weight... it's just not right.  Something is wrong.  Medically.  Behaviorally?  Chemically?  Something just isn't right.

I decided to call the doctor and see what was going on.

So I took him in for possible ear infection (because he was tugging and itching the back of his ears a lot) or swimmer's ear.  The first couple of questions the doctor asks: "Does he have a fever?"  Nope.  "How is he sleeping?"  HORRIBLE!!!  TERRIBLE!!  Thanks for asking.

Come to find out, he has eczema really bad on his back (we've known about), but just recently came up behind his ears.  According to the doctor, he thinks that McCoy is itching and uncomfortable and can't get a good nights sleep.  So here are the things he suggested to try: Zyretc, medicated prescription ointment for his eczema, turning on more lights, making bedtime earlier (7-7:30) and two naps a day.

Overtired?  Yup.  So am I.

He said to put McCoy in his bed-- let him cry for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, go in and HOLD HIM to soothe him (thank you, finally some soothing), then put him down for another interval.  We are about to start interval #3.

Here was our schedule so far tonight.

Dinner-- 6:30 pm
Bath-- 6:45 pm
PJs and book-- 7:10 pm
Into bed-- 7:20 pm

And then the intervals started.  He told me to call him in a week if it didn't get any better.

The next step is to completely change his diet, sleep journals (which I've already started a few days ago), and the sleep clinic at Children's Mercy.

Doctor said he could tell I was sleep deprived.  I bet I could count the number of nights that McCoy has successfully slept through the night on two hands.  And doing the calculations, I'll bet it's been three years since I've had a good sleeping schedule for myself.  How can I be a good mother if I don't take care of myself?  I need WAY more sleep than what I'm getting.

Interval #3.... just went in after interval #3.  Picked him and rocked him and hugged him.  He went right to sleep.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's journey.