quickly...

Well, it's been a busy week, that has gone very quickly. Almost every night, I have wanted to blog, but before I know it the night is gone. Tonight could be the same way (Tyler is currently begging to get out of the tub, so I am going to write quickly). Monday night, we were outside and he saw the neighbor washing their van and he asked to wash my car. It was fun for him, and my car needed it, so it worked out for both of us! Plus, he loves sitting in the front seat when I back my car into the driveway. It's the little things, you know? :)

Tuesday night, we babysat and went to yearly Big Truck Night. This year Tyler got to sit in a fire truck, police car, tractor, grader, school bus, phone truck, dump truck, ambulance, and maybe some others I can't remember. There is always a Schwan's truck giving out popsicles too.

Here he is with two of his buddies, Abe and Julian.

Sitting in the police cruiser.

A view of some of the big trucks... okay and mostly people.

Playing around in the bus seat (my photo shy boy) on his first ever bus ride.

Otherwise, I've been trying to get ready for a weekend camping trip. We're hoping to head to Cheney Reservoir for Friday night and then have friends join us on Saturday. I'm hoping we survive the heat. We're excited. We're looking forward to being with friends. And, it's been awhile since we've been camping so we're excited to try out our new tent.

Snickerdoodles

In college, my friend, Lisa, gave me her mother's recipe for Snickerdoodles. This is a great go-to recipe that I can rely on when I don't want to have to go to the store. And, we all like them! We are planning a camping trip for next weekend, assuming the weather cooperates, so I decided to make cookies to take along.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (recipe doesn't call for it, but I add it)
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon (I double) for rolling cookies

Mix margarine, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Blend into margarine mixture. Shape into balls (I use my size 60 scoop - about a tablespoon) and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (I usually need 11-12 minutes). Allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes then move to cooling rack. Makes 5 dozen.

Wendy's fries

What do you think of Wendy's french fries?
Love them...6
Hate them...1

Hmmm...not too many votes on the Wendy's french fries - perhaps most people don't have such different opinions of them in their household as we do. Last weekend, we were with Matt and Michelle and decided to eat at Wendy's. Wayne and Matt were 100% sure they didn't want to eat the fries and pronounced them disgusting, while Michelle and I agreed that we both like them quite a bit (especially when they are hot and prepared correctly). I was just curious about the rest of you all. :)

Wichita Wingnuts

Last night, we went to our first Wichita Wingnuts - AA baseball - game. (The Wranglers left us). We get a kick out of their name and their cute mascot...a squirrel.

I forgot my camera. :( We got there about an hour before game time and ate. We watched the Saltdogs get their one run and saw lots of foul balls fly into the stands...while Tyler climbed on us. Wayne was quickly ready to leave (after the first inning and only 45 minutes of game time)! I couldn't talk him into staying. I can't believe I was the one who wanted to stay either. Though Tyler was very sad about this and was not ready to go, Wayne easily bribed him with stopping for a "treat" (ice cream) on the way home.

We only know the results of the game from their website:

"Wingnuts stun, eliminate Saltdogs with ninth inning rally August 23,2008
WICHITA, KS- Silent for eight innings, Wichita's bats came alive for a ninth inning rally and the Wingnuts beat the Lincoln Saltdogs 2-1 in front of 6,093 fans at Lawrence Dumont Stadium on Friday Night. "

Highlights of the day

Some of Tyler's highlights of the day, as reported to me when I got home from work.

1. They went to the park and he got to walk on the bridge. (This appeared very exciting to him, as he told me this several times).

2. "It was not a person; it was a man who looked like Daddy. He was weed whacking."
Yes, we got a chuckle out of calling Daddy "not a person."

3. A praying mantis he saw on our flowers. "It touchded Daddy."

Wayne thought Tyler's highlights of the day were interesting to hear...as they were probably not the same as his own.

Crafting

While shopping yesterday, I saw some googly eyes. I am not crafty. But, don't they just sound fun? Michelle's son, Abe, has taken art classes at Monart - they teach art to the little ones using shapes, paints, markers, and other fun things. So, I decided we could try to do something similar.

I cut out some shapes and Tyler started gluing (a monkey at his request).

(By the way, he told me he likes the pair of shorts he is wearing because "they look like extercise shorts").

He wanted to add a banana and coconut (go with me here - I made the best coconut I knew how to) - and he is now painting on some grass.

Tah Dah! A monkey (whose eyes are strangely looking in different directions).

Afterwards, we made a paper chain for the days until Tyler's birthday. I am also working on one at school for all the work days until the end of the year - and I'm adding staff birthdays, holidays, etc. What can I say? I have a thing for paper chains. Oh, and I'm a little weird. :)

Sweet Greiffenstein

Yesterday something made me think of Amish peanut butter. This is apparently not something people in Wichita know of. So, as I was pining for its sweet, sticky goodness, my lovely coworker, Carol, looked up a recipe for me. I thought that was great - since I've only attempted making it once (with no recipe) and it was not what it should be.

Amish Peanut Butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup marshmallow creme

This morning, on my desk I found a nice, big slice of homemade bread and a little container of Amish peanut butter. How sweet is she?! So, for lunch today, I glowed in the memories of visiting Grandma, the Essenhaus, and others' houses. Mmmm home.

She and another coworker also let me tear up, then cry, talking about Tyler missing Lynette, and then admitting that I really miss her even more than Tyler! (At least, I'm assuming). :) This is a small bit of lots of support and encouragement that I receive from my lovely staff at Greiffenstein. I love them!

Flying to Thailand

Today my sister, Lynette, left a very sweet goodbye message right before they boarded the flight to Thailand. For those of you who don't know, they plan to be there at least two years before they come back to visit.

I let Tyler listen to her message this evening. He got teary and said he missed her. He asked how she would get to Thailand, and I explained that she was in an airplane. He thinks we oughta hitch a ride on a bird, specifically a heron (because he says it's the "biggest bird"), and fly over to Thailand to visit. We miss them already!

Brain

"What if someone's brain was too small. And they ate and ate and ate and ate until it was so big that it filled their head."

I had nothing to say to that. I just smiled.

Vaccine debate

OK, here's the deal. My wonderful sister-in-law, Carrie, posted this article on her blog with the title, "Vaccinations - Things to Think About."

I know I'm biased because I never questioned whether I should have Tyler vaccinated, and he is up-to-date on all of his vaccines. I will also admit, I didn't read the entire article (at least not yet). But I did begin writing a loooong comment on Carrie's blog. I decided to post my thoughts here instead of her blog because I don't want my opinion to feel as though it is an attack on Carrie, because it certainly is not. I just realized that I feel passionately about a few things I read.

It is interesting to have a doctor comment on the vaccination debate. For example,

"Before a child reaches the age of two he or she will have received 32 vaccinations...all of them given during the first 12 months of life. Seven vaccines injected into a 13 lb. two-month old infant are equivalent to 70 doses in a 130 lb. adult. "

Yikes. This statement is disconcerting and reminds me of the worry I had whenever Tyler received a vaccination, or 4.

But the good doctor lost me when he made a connection between mental health disorders and vaccines. (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism were identified in his article). As in, I disagree strongly with him. These disorders (like some others) do show a large increase in numbers of those diagnosed. In more than one seminar I've attended, it has been discussed that this change is due to an increase in training in the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders throughout the mental health community. In other words, people had these disorders in the same numbers they do now, they just went undiagnosed or were misdiagnosed. I, personally, doubt that there is a connection between vaccines and ADHD or autism. If there is, I think it is worth the risk in preventing a life-threatening disease.

Then there are things like outbreaks of the measles that, to me, are further evidence that vaccines appear worth the risk. You can follow this article to read more about that, if you didn't hear it already.

OK, I'm now hopping back off of my soap box. :)