Magic Reindeer Food

When I was teaching elementary school, I always sent a bag of this special food home with the kids to be scattered on the lawn on Christmas Eve. The kids loved it... so do mine!

Recipe:

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red or green sugar crystals (as used for cake decorating)


Add this poem:

Be sure to take this magic food and sprinkle on the lawn.
On Christmas, Santa's reindeer travel miles before the dawn.
The smell of oats and glitter path will guide them on their way.
And you'll wake up to Santa's gifts next morn on Christmas Day!


Note: many recipes for Magic Reindeer Food call for craft glitter, which can harm birds or wildlife if ingested. For safety, substitute colored sugar crystals and be kind to animals!

Reindeer Poop

Claudia has been rather feisty lately. She has been little less than cooperative when it comes to hygiene (she no longer likes water unless it is in a swimming pool), will not get dressed on her own because she "can't remember how" or wear shoes in public places (it doesn't matter to her that it is only 20 degrees outside).

Yesterday I reminded her that Santa is watching her and can hear every word that comes out of her mouth. "And, Claudia, if you continue to yell at me, Santa is going to bring you a giant pile of reindeer poop instead of toys!" Coal is foreign to her... poop she can visualize.

William turned to her and said, "Claudia, if Santa gives you poop, I'll share my toys with you." That's just like William... always looking out for his sister.

Claudia then looked at me with a smirk stating, "William's going to share his toys with me." But what she was really saying was, "Ha! Got you Mom!"

Thanksgiving And The Big 40!

Brian and kids

Jordan, Brian and Gayle

Matthew and Snoopy

Mimi and Papa

Monica and Brian

Brian and Grandma

What a busy holiday week we had!

Our days prior to Thanksgiving were filled with shopping for Thanksgiving and Brian's 40th birthday party. In addition to all the shopping, I managed to paint a bathroom and touch up paint on the inside of the house (due to William repeatedly ramming his trucks into the baseboards), cooked and cleaned and cooked and cleaned.

I always tell myself prior to parties that I'm not going to do "big" cleaning such as wiping down all the baseboards, scrubbing floors and steam cleaning carpets because as soon as the guests leave, I have to clean everything again. But I did the cleaning because I am paranoid that someone might notice the "fur" growing on the baseboards or the stain on the hallway carpet (as if people really search for these things).

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This year, Thanksgiving Day was spent at my mom's house with my sister's family. Gayle and Randy made a delicious turkey! The kids had fun playing with their cousins and enjoyed all Grandma's desserts. Both Claudia and William decided that they both love pumpkin pie and requested to take a piece home. We ended the evening kind of late (for us) and went home with two tired children.

Black Friday morning Brian went to the Tractor Supply Company to buy Snoopy a new dog crate. They have great prices on pet items plus the crate was 40% off. Snoopy has grown a bit bigger than was predicted by the vet and no longer fit in his old crate. I was teased by a few people for loving the Tractor Supply Company, but I'll tell you that they have the best customer service in Porter County! Brian said the young man working there not only retrieved the crate off the shelf for him, but also held it while Brian stood in line to pay and then carried it to his car! How often do you find that kind of service? Sure beats Macy's!

We avoided the rest of the early Black Friday lines and headed out Friday afternoon to finish shopping for the party. We were lucky because the lines were not too long which was great because I had a lot of prepping at home to do for the party.

Saturday was Brian's party. We invited family and friends to help celebrate his big 40. All of Brian's college roommates came minus a few that we no longer keep in touch with. We had a great time reminiscing about Purdue and all the fun we had during our college years. I noticed that my sister's 15 year old daughter was listening to the stories with great interest... she may have to remind her parents of some of the "not so legal" things they did when the opportunity arises. Hope you have a good memory Jordan!

Saturday night, Brian's sister, Monica, and two of her daughters stayed the night along with one of my sister's daughters. They kids had fun sleeping in their sleeping bags on William's floor. What a great way to end a festive night!

On Sunday, my friend from Purdue and her family stopped by for a visit. They were on their way back home to southeastern Indiana after spending Thanksgiving in the Chicago burbs. We had a great visit with them and look forward to them coming back soon for an extended visit. Got that Kathy?!!!!

Sunday evening, Gayle and her family came by to pick up there daughter and celebrate Brian's official 40th birthday. Thank goodness for leftovers!

By Sunday night, I was wiped and was in desperate need of a cleaning service. Unfortunately for me, the only help (or lack thereof) I had came from two uninterested preschoolers and one tired OLD man. Even though the house was once again a huge mess, the birthday party was great and well worth all the work!

Happy Birthday Brian / Daddy!!! Hope you enjoyed your party!

Ho Ho Ho...

William,

You are really excited about Christmas this year!

We've been decorating at home and you've been busy at preschool practicing for your Christmas program. You have been asking a lot of questions about Jesus, the "activity" (Nativity) scene, mangers and, of course, all the Santa questions...

Last night, long after we thought you were asleep, you tiptoed into the hallway and shared a LOUD, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" with us and ran back to your bed.

This morning, very early, you crept into my bed and stated, "I love our family. I love Santa's family. But most of all, I love Santa's elves!" Then you fell back to sleep.

Merry Christmas William,

Mom

Happy 10th Anniversary

October 23, 1999

Wedding Blessing By My Students

The Trolley

The First Dance

Brian,

Today (well.. it was" today" when I originally wrote this) marks ten years of marriage. What a great wedding ceremony and reception we had. It was so much fun planning our special day. I am still amazed at how well everything worked out. I can honestly say that if we did it all over again, I would not change a thing.

My favorite part of planning our reception was searching for the right band. Remember the band that we went to see at the Palmer House? (note: this is favorite wedding planning story to share) The bandleader told us to stop by about 9:00pm.....made sense to us, as we figured dinner would be over and we could hang out discreetly in the back of the room and listen to the band for awhile. Well, the two of us and my friend Michelle (who had joined us for the evening, as we had big plans to crash the Fremd High School 10th Reunion at the Union League Club!) sauntered into the Palmer House and were directed toward a large open stairwell that extended right out into the main lobby.

As we opened the door and entered the room, I quickly became aware that something was wrong. As in very wrong. People weren't up dancing, mingling, and talking, with the lights low, like we had expected at 9pm. Noooo, they were all heading toward their seats, as dinner hadn't even been served. That would be just fine, except for one SMALL detail......WE HAD NO SEATS!!!!

And the door in we had just entered appeared to be the only way in and out of the place....unless we did an about face and left, which didn't quite seem to make sense. In a controlled panic, we made a beeline for the back corner, where we spied a bar from afar. We tried to look like we belonged, although we probably stood out like sore thumbs. You nervously asked the bartender for a beer....I think you felt like strangling the bandleader instead. Everyone in the party was now seated and it would have been too obvious if we had slinked our way across the empty dance floor to the exit. So we froze, unsure of what to do. A Palmer House staff member appeared and asked us if we were with the wedding. When we told him that the band had invited us to listen to the music, he disapprovingly told us "that wasn't going to happen" and told us we were going to have to leave. Brian spoke up and said that we didn't particularly care to be escorted out in front of the 200 wedding guests....was there another way out? And that's how we got a guided tour of the Palmer House kitchen, past dozens of kitchen workers who gawked at us as we wandered by, smiling!

Needless to say, we didn't hire THAT band and we earned the title "The Wedding Crashers"!

Our next band search led us to the Dennis Keith Band. They were playing at Grant Park as part of the Summer Dance series on Thursday nights. The city of Chicago was offering free dance lessons each Thursday...and live music for the evening so that everyone could try out their new moves. I don't remember what they were teaching that evening... salsa? Anyway, we had a great time dancing to the music. We knew this was the band we wanted to hire after they played a memorable version of "Disco Inferno". I swear, half the city of Chicago got up to dance! They were great at our reception... got everyone onto the dance floor, they knew exactly what music to play and accommodated our unusual wish of making "Unforgettable" into a foxtrot. People left the reception next to ours to come and dance in our room. The band was that good!

I also loved the trolley we hired. We almost didn't have the trolley because the first one died making it's way from the city to Palatine. Luckily a replacement made it to the house on time! I love some of the pictures that were taken on the trolley!

I almost forgot about the dance lessons we took. That was a lot of fun. We never got very good at waltzing or swing dancing but our foxtrot couldn't be matched! Remember walking into the reception hall and doing our first dance? We had the whole dance choreographed by the dance instructor. Sounds kind of cheesy now, but it was fun at the time. Anyway... I was so nervous. I hate being the center of attention. I was so relieved when it was over. I could tell that you were loved having all those eyes on you! By the way, Brian, you are really good at "twinkling".

Then there was the Hyatt. They went out of their way to meet our needs. What a great place for our reception.... everything was so beautiful.... from the cocktail hour in the lobby to the incredible sweet table. Too bad we never found time to eat the sweets!

There are a lot more memories I have from our wedding day... from the photographer who kept telling me not to smile so she could take photos of me "in deep thought". She never got any of those shots because I kept on smiling.

Father Joe having my students come up and give us a special blessing... there was not a dry eye in the church! I never even knew he had planned that.

I wish I could forget my scabs for eyebrows. The lady at the salon burned me with hot wax while waxing my brows. Guess she forgot to check the temperature first.

Well.... I know that we always talked about going back to Hawaii this year to celebrate our 10th. Looks like it won't be happening due to the expenses we had this year. Guess we'll just have to go outside, sit in the new car and stare at the new paint job on the house. Maybe I'll even spring for a bottle of sparkling wine to drink as we sit there and reflect on the last 10 years. I'm sure we can find a few Goldfish in the back seat to snack on. We'll have to try for Hawaii for our 25th anniversary. Actually, forget that idea because we'll be paying for college tuition at that time!

So.... "Happy Anniversary" Brian.

Here's a "high five" for surviving another year with me and the kids and the vocal dogs and the vomiting cat and the never ending chores that come with owning an OLD house.

And..., by the way, I legally changed my last name yesterday. You are now married to a "Susan Knoll Stage"... no hyphen. Surprise!

Love,

Sue

Preschool Pictures 2009

William and Claudia received their preschool pictures today.

At first I thought there was a mistake.

These couldn't be my children.

They look so grown-up!

My FAVORITE Pancakes

These pancakes are incredible... especially with the warm honey syrup.

Ingredients
2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups pancake and waffle mix (recommended: Krusteaz)
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
2/3 cup frozen blueberries
Melted butter

Directions
Stir 1/3 cup of water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir in the honey. Set aside and keep the honey syrup warm.

Using a rubber spatula, stir the remaining 1 2/3 cups of water and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the pancake mix and stir just until moistened but still lumpy. Stir in the ricotta into the pancake mixture, then stir gently to incorporate the ricotta but maintain a lumpy batter. Fold in the blueberries.

Heat a griddle over medium heat. Brush with the melted butter. Working in batches, spoon 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with the honey syrup.

Going Nuts

Claudia and I were at the grocery store yesterday where she spotted a large bin of mixed edible nuts.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Nuts in their shells, Claudia. You have to crack the shell open to eat the nut."

"Let's buy some. Nuts are my FAVORITE!"

"Claud, we don't have a nutcracker at home. Otherwise I would buy you some nuts."

"MOM (looking at me as if I am dumber than a box of rocks). We don't need a nutcracker. We have a mallet!"

Better Than Hallmark

Brian and I have been keeping a written journal since we got engaged in 1998. We used to do a pretty good job of writing about places we have visited, big events, the birth of the kids etc. Or at least I thought we had.... it turned out that it has been four years since the last entry. Brian found the journal this past weekend and made time to add an entry for Sweetest Day. Thought I would share.... Shhhh. Don't tell Brian!


Dearest Susan,

Happy Sweetest Day!

To my one and only Sweetie!

I am so thankful to have someone as loving, caring, supportive and kind as you. And thankful that we have two little Sweeties as well!

I truly, truly appreciate all that you are, Susan, all that you do, all that you give. In the four years since I last wrote in this journal (actually 4 1/2 years.. I apologize...) so much has changes in our lives, raising William and Claudia (and our menagerie with our never ending "entertainment"!) yet so much has stayed the same...

I still love you with all my heart and would do anything for you. I do not take for granted what you have brought to my life and how you make our life so wonderful, so meaningful, so interesting. It's comforting to know that we have each other to lean on, to talk to, to share our ideas and concerns with, to smile with when Claudia says, "Be back in a jiff!"

Sharing these moments together and doing our best to enjoy life as much as we can, even when the pace seems so frenetic and there seems to be so much to do....

I thank you for being you and for being my Sweetest, as I am always yours.

All my love,
Brian

The Dangers of Air Guitar

Claudia.

Oh Claudia, Claudia, Claudia.

So you had your first experience with the Valparaiso paramedics last Saturday night. And they weren't here to admire our new sliding glass door (which just happened to be installed by their battalion chief).

Frankly, I'm surprised you held out this long....

The adventure began with an impromptu session of air guitar upstairs. Or should I say "stick" guitar, since the guitars were the sticks from the pirate flags that you and William purchased from the Field Museum. Daddy had cranked up the music and the three of you jammed. While William and Daddy did their best imitation of "stick guitar God", you danced around the room and Mommy innocently watched (cough, cough).

Eventually the concert ended and the crowds dispersed.

I went to brush my teeth (naively assuming that Daddy confiscated the sticks at the end of the concert.......what was I thinking?!) while the rest of you finished getting ready for bed. The next thing Mommy and Daddy heard was you in William's bedroom screaming and gagging.

We rushed down the hallway to see what was happening. You were sitting on the floor crying and still gagging a little, with one of the sticks laying on the ground next to you. Daddy noticed that one end of the stick was wet (the end with the point, as it so happens). Apparently, you had the stick in your mouth and then slipped on the carpet and fell. The stick went down your throat and left abrasions in three different places.... your tongue, the roof of your mouth and the back of your throat.

Still gagging, you were carried down the hall to the bathroom and you began spitting up saliva into the toilet. As you were spitting and crying, I saw droplets of blood on the toilet. Daddy immediately called 911. Even though you appeared to be ok after a few minutes, we waited for the professionals to assess the situation. Meanwhile, Daddy took William next door to Ellie's house.

Within a few minutes we heard the wail of the siren and saw the flashing lights coming up Lafayette St. (I knew there was a reason I installed the new house numbers the other day.....didn't expect them to be needed this soon......).

Daddy went out on the front porch and welcomed in two of Valpo Fire Department's paramedics. The very nice paramedics asked you your name, asked how you were, and explained that they were going to take a look at you. They shined a flashlight down your throat, prescribed a Popsicle and went on their way (after turning on the ambulance lights and siren by your request).

Your throat is still sore, but thankfully nothing was pierced.

A few lessons learned from this episode of "Trauma" (because we aren't big fans of reruns in this household).......

1. No sticks of any kind are allowed in the house
2. Air guitar will remain "air" guitar
3. Popsicles have magical healing powers