The Ultimate Kitchen Catastrophe

Warning - This Post is Only for the Brave - Seriously!

I have a Kitchenaid.  I love my Kitchenaid.  It helps me make all my bread, cookie dough, cupcakes and quick breads.  It whips up cream, egg whites and frosting in a mere minute.  It has lasted me 15 years and shows no signs of slowing down.  I am weary of those who do not own a Kitchenaid.  How could you live without one of my best friends?

It is durable.  It's motor is strong.  It gets the job done.  It is a piece of equipment to be reckoned with.  The Kitchenaid should be respected and taken seriously.  I have learned the hard way. 


I can talk about and share my story now.  But when it happened it was very traumatic.


One Sunday about 4 years ago I was in the kitchen making rolls for dinner.  Lila kept asking to help, and I kept telling her no.  Everyone knows that by the millionth time you just give in because you can't stand to be asked  ONE. MORE. TIME.  I sat her on the counter next to the  Kitchenaid in motion kneading dough, turned around to grab the flour, turned back, and time stood still.


My little girl was  facing me on the counter, but bent over to her right with her face practically touching the bowl of the mixer.  Her eyes were closed and no noise was made.


I knew instantly she was in great pain.  Tears were already coming, but again, no sound.  My hand flew to the knob that would turn the mixer off.  Her head was still bent over.  All in an instant I wondered what to do and realized I didn't have the luxury to think, only to act.  I was the mom and I had to DO SOMETHING!


As my hand went to untangle the knots all caught in the top of the dough hook, Lila, in what seemed like slow motion, sat back upright. The tangled blond locks didn't come with her.  I couldn't look.  I just put my hand over her head and held my baby girl so tight and sat down on the couch while for the first time in our marriage my husband yelled at me.  I assume I screamed for him when I turned the mixer off.  I remember his exact words.  "MARIE, OUR DAUGHTER IS BALD!!!!"

Yes, she was missing a lot of hair, but she wasn't bleeding, her scalp was intact.  She had a raging headache and after some aspirin fell asleep for a few hours.  I couldn't bear to shampoo her hair for weeks, I made Glenn do it.  Luckily she had a strip of hair that enabled me to put her hair in a ponytail to hide the bald patch.  We switched off between ponytail, bun, ponytail, bun - for months.


Live and learn.  I absolutely did.  But what was really difficult for me was thinking I was aware of all the dangers posed to children, and missing this one.  It made me question everything.  I would obsessively think  "What else am I missing, what else.  I missed that, there must be a million other things I haven't thought of".


You do the best you can.  Better actually.  It's my job to protect my kids.  To keep them safe.  From the elements, bullies, illness, bad guys and kitchen appliances.


I am pretty relaxed when it comes to my kids.  Probably something to do with those 8 siblings I have.  I didn't become paranoid that day, just much more aware.  Much More.


I would catch my breath so many times in the following months after that incident.  So thankful that it hadn't been worse.  Thankful I was given this beautiful child, and two others.  Thankful for a second chance at being more careful. 

Lila has forgotten all about that traumatic day.  But I haven't.  I don't dwell on what I could have done.  Only on what I will do in the future.  Trying to stay somewhat ahead of possible dangers that surround them.

For obvious reasons if you are in my kitchen your hair must be in a ponytail............or a bun.

I Finally Get It!

I never waste food.  I eat it, freeze it, turn it into something new or find clever ways to use it.

Stale rolls transform into small circles of french toast.  The kids half eaten corn on the cob gets cut off and thrown into my salads.  Chicken carcass' are used to make broth.  I even save the kids leftover cereal milk.  Yes, I do!  I strain it right into a sippy cup for Ethan's nightly Hot Chocolate.  I buy organic milk so there is no way that stuff is going down the drain.


So yesterday for lunch I had a fabulous salad.  Spinach, feta, tomatoes, salmon (leftover), peppers, rosemary pecans (from Trader Joe's so,so good) & vinaigrette.  It was all there in the fridge, in plain sight.  Today I had this delicious lunch:

Spinach and more of that salmon over a  greek quinoa mix that I had no shame in taking as much as I could from a church function last night.


Speaking of last night,  as the ladies left  from Enrichment most took nothing.  Some a small cookie for energy on the drive home =)  I look over at my sister and I and we each have 2 plates of food.  I am on the committee so at the end of the night when some of the women were trying to ditch all their homemade goodies, I literally walked out of there with 2 boxes of food.  It will be used.

The Mitchell Girls-  Margo, Jeannette & Marie  

 

 Margo would never be caught taking food unless it was M&M's.

So back to my point.  I want my husband to use and like leftovers as much as I do.  Is that too much to ask?

He told me he didn't have a real dinner last night.  The same night I was gone hoarding food.  I was incredulous.  How could you not make an awesome meal out of all that great food in the fridge I asked him.  I just didn't see it he said.  Huh?  It's all right there, you just heat it up, or throw it all together in one bowl for a salad.

So here is when it all make sense.  He looked at me and said, why doesn't the computer make sense to you.  You just hook up that wire and click on that and click on that.


From now on I will be making all his meals.

Chip off the ol' block.......& wrist

Emry is just like her dad.  They look alike.  Are fearless.  Funny.  Clever.  Up for anything.  Technologically inclined.  Sporty.  Live for adventure.  Music Lovers.  Surfers.  Sushi Partners.  And love to perform for anyone,  anytime, anywhere.

So Saturday morning I picked up a Pogo stick at a garage sale for $1.  I knew the kids would be so excited as they had just been using our neighbors the day before.  It is a nice new sturdy one.  It works well and is super fun.  


It just shouldn't be used near puddles.

But remember I said Fearless & up for anything & adventurous?  Combine all those qualities together with a chipped bone and this is what you get.

Like I said, Performer.

Photo Shoot

Apparently Lila's a Model and Emry's a Photographer.

                                                                       

This one looks like something out of Twilight.  And no, I don't know why with a closet full of church dresses my daughter is wearing  a slip.  And out of about 40 pictures Lila looks good in........all of them (even the cheesy smelling the roses one).  How is that possible when I can take 40 pics of myself and maybe like one and hastily delete the other horrid 39?

 

I should reprimand Emry for using my very expensive camera without asking, but then I wouldn't have half the cute pictures I do. 

Honestly, don't kids have better things to do with their time than act like supermodels?

1987    14 years old

I wonder where they get it from?


*Emry & Jeannette must have gone to the same school of photography.  How awesome that we have the exact same pose???

Consequences

Sometimes having naughty children can be to your benefit.

 

Newly mopped floors compliments of Emry.  I have been nice, I have been stern, I have threatened, I have pleaded.  Her clothes continue to be left on her floor.  Bribes didn't work either.  Every night they were left, every morning they were there.  Dirty and in a big heap.  Sometimes there would be a blanket or a dog's leash thrown in for good measure.


This morning when I woke up to work out at 6 am who do you think was on my hit list?  I had no other choice but to wake a certain bed headed blond who thought it was the middle of the night.  I handed her a micro-fiber and put her to work.

I finally figured it out.  I need to make this a win-win situation .........  for me.  She puts away her clothes ........... Great!   She doesn't ................. well, 6 am comes again tomorrow, and there are about 2 dozen windows that need washing.

Moms

This is my mom.  Holding me.

It is the only picture I have of us together.  The next one of just us two, I am a teenager.  Now that I am a mother I know why there are so few.  Life is busy. Those moments that would have been so precious on film.....they still happened.  And maybe there would have been more pictures if  between the 9 of us kids we didn't break every camera my parents ever owned.


I just had to use my imagination when I had my own children.  'My mother held and nursed me like this', 'my mom felt her heart break just by hearing me laugh', 'the best part of my mom's day was reading me a story', 'my mom raced home from where ever she was just to hold me', 'my mother must have felt it was heaven on earth to watch me wake up with my blond hair all messy & holding on to my blanket'.

"I love my children more than anyone has ever loved another".  I can write this because any mother reading this will only nod in agreement.  We are mothers and we all feel the same.  Our love couldn't be greater or deeper.

That being said it is no easy task.  I yell, lose my patience and shake my head in wonder at the choices my kids make.  Thank goodness I have a good man to ask "Is this normal?"  And we can wallow in our shared grief.  But we can also rejoice in our shared love of these three beautiful children that we have been so very blessed with.  They make us laugh, and they absolutely break our hearts....... in a good way.


I got flowers and candy, oatmeal and caramel corn.  My gifts were thoughtful, my kids really do know me.  I loved Ethan's card.  Every page was precious, but I had to smile at this one...........

I am not sure why there are helicopters hovering over his messy room, but I love it and will keep it forever.

Sea the World

Another fun day with a heck of a lot of kids.  Well just 6 kids.  But these are Wallworks and Roberts, so all together they are one rowdy bunch.  My parents and my Grandmother were able to join in on all the fun, who wouldn't want to spend the day at Sea World?

Why pretend my kids aren't going to get soaked?  The gig is up at the first sight of water when they strip down to their real outfits...............their bathing suits.

Ethan is crazy happy excited as he has just ridden the best ride in the world, Atlantis.

Sometimes Ethan likes to make 'scary' faces for no apparent reason.  Rest assured he was having the time of his life.

This outing was a field trip that meant we could play all day for only $10.  And since we brought our own lunch I didn't spend a dime at the park, that's a first.  But since the park is about an hour away we probably spent about $500 on gas.  Oh the double edged sword of living in California.

Say Cheese

 I love cheese.  Glenn loves cheese.  The kids love cheese.  Ethan once (it was just last week) ate nachos for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I encourage the kids to eat outside  the box, so if that means an avocado (Emry), 3 slices of sourdough toast (Lila), a dozen oranges (Emry, really!  Jeannette and I call her a fruitarian because she's happy to make a meal of nothing but citrus) or nachos for breakfast,  fine.

But when I saw this in Emry's lunch, I knew she really, really, really does love her cheese.

 I am not sure if the picture does it justice, but this is a whole heck of a lot of cheese.  I was curious just how much  this was so I weighed it with my food scale.   170 grams of Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese.  Which translates into no less than 600 calories of cheese!!!!  What can I say.........she's got good taste.  After school I asked her nonchalantly if she ate all the cheese she packed for lunch........she did. 


Emry loves to eat  handfuls of the strongest bleu cheese.  One of the kids favorite snacks is goat cheese on whole wheat crackers.  String and Swiss cheese don't last long at our house either.

As I was mulling over our family's shared love of cheese I remembered something.  With Emry being my first child I remember her first word, first sentence, pretty much first everything (sorry Lila and Ethan.  If you wanted me to remember your childhood you should have had God send you first).  So what were the first words my cherubic 1 year old put together. 

I can honestly remember it like it was yesterday.  She was sitting in her high chair as I was in the kitchen making lunch. All of a sudden I heard it.  The first sentence.  Like music to my ears.  I am taking a trip back to the year 2001 in my mind.  Where was I ............ Oh yes, the first sentence.  What else.......  "CHEESE PLEASE!!!!"

(How genius is it that her first sentenced also rhymed???)

This Week