My dilemma

 

I am seriously conflicted. Last night Peter and I had to split up because we were attending the pack meetings of 2 different Cub Scout troops. We are involved with our ward troop and also a troop affiliated with our school. Steven has been a member of the school Cub Scout group since 1st grade. Last night because the school troop operates on a different time table than the church troop, Steven bridged to Boy Scouts. He was excited. 

Steven has been with this group of 4-5 boys for several years. They are a GREAT group of kids and parents; they're very involved and absolutely committed to making this experience a good one for the kids. They have done some amazing activities as well. They camped overnight on a big aircraft carrier. They have gone up in an airplane and on a train ride and they have family camping twice a year. It's been fun and the kids have looked forward to going. 

I have been so committed to keeping Steven enjoying Scouts that since he was baptized and was able to participate in the scouting program, we have gone to 2 boy scout troops. The church troop I wanted him to go to because I want him to develop the friendships with the other boys from ward. In our ward, we are the only family in our ward that attends our school. It can be a little lonely for the kids sometimes. 

To complicate matter, Peter has been called in our ward to help out with the Bear den. So, last night he went with Jonathon to go to the pack meeting at our ward with Jonathon. Jon has been more involved with the church scout troop than the school troop. 

The problem here is that the program through the church isn't as fun. Besides the den meetings and pack meetings, there are no activities, except one where they went on a hike but that was just for the webelos. Our ward is trying a lot to turn it around. 

With all that background, I come to my problem. The Boy Scout troop Steven bridged into is AMAZING. They are with it, have den meetings packed with activities and progression through the ranks all in preparation for the boys to attend Boy Scout summer camp. My friends son has been involved and she has raved about it. The leaders are there because they are committed to Scouts and truly care. The current leader doesn't have sons in scouting anymore; they are Eagle scouts already. He just wants to give back to the community.

With our church program. We have some people involved that really care now. We have a pretty small group of boys. And I feel conflicted because I feel like I'm being a traitor. Maybe I should get involved with our ward scouts and make it better for everyone? I have a little time. I care about my son. I want him to have a good scouting experience to help motivate him to get his Eagle scout. 

We just have come to the time where we cannot do 2 troops anymore. Bekkah has her activities. Ethan takes his meds to help him sleep at 6:30 and is out by 7 pm. He needs his sleep. Last night was a nightmare at the bridging because Ethan had had his meds and I was up at the front with Steven doing the bridging ceremony and I had to leave 4 times to help Ethan calm down. The baby was also tired. He wanted to go to bed. Peter has a tremendous amount of prep work at night for his classes during the day.

I just don't know what to do. I want him to continue going through scouts with his buddies. I know that if he does so he will have a good experiences. It will be fun and enriched with wonderful activities. 

I also want him to do the church one. I feel like if he doesn't he will miss out on those friendships. He's not very good friends with some of the boys from the ward. I don't want him to feel like an outsider. 

So ... there lies my problem. Do any of you have any suggestions, insightful advice, words of wisdom? I would appreciate any input you might have as I try to make this decision. Thanks ahead of time.

Super easy slow cooker dinner

Did you know that the main course of your dinner could be made out 3 ingredients? Well, I found this recipe on Dinner with Kristen and tried it because it sounded interesting. And it has been a fabulous hit. We've even been actively seeking out the leftovers for later snacks and it's just as good as it was the first time. YES!!!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 (2-3 pound) pork roast, I just bought a butt roast for $1.19 a lb. at Stater Bros. today, Wahoo!

1 can root beer

In the morning, put the roast in the crockpot and top with the root beer. Cover and set the temp. to low. Cook for 8-10 hours.

When it's ready, dump out the liquids. Shred the meat and add your favorite BBQ sauce and eat as a sandwich.

Kristen also had this really great recipe for coleslaw that we either ate with the sandwich or alongside it. It's really good on top of the pulled pork. It's an approximation of one of Tyler Florence's recipes. I like it because it has great flavor and tasted good with the meal.

Coleslaw

1 1/2 tsp. Dijon or whole grain mustard

2 TBS. mayo

1/4 c. sour cream

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Tbs. of red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. sugar

black pepper and salt to taste

1 bag of shredded cabbage

Mix ingredients well. Then add coleslaw. Serve alongside or on top of pulled pork sandwiches.

So, here are the recipes. I  hope you enjoy them as much as we have. 

Antics by Aeron

Here's a new take on food storage! Aeron kept putting the potatoes down his outfit and just couldn't figure out why they would fall out the bottom of his romper. He would squat down and fill up his shirt and then stand up and gradually the potatoes would fall out. All I had handy was my handy dandy Iphone, the pics are not great quality but I didn't want to miss out all together. 

Our date with Broadway

Today we had a special date! Peter, Bekkah and I went to a matinee showing of Phantom of the Opera. We committed to it and paid for the tickets way back in December. It took some doing to arrange babysitting, prepare dinner ahead of time, etc. but it was worth the effort.

My friend Kathy Forrester's son Justin graciously consented to watch the kids and help manage the house while we were gone. It was a big job. Ethan came home from school on the bus, the babies- Aeron and Madison were napping, the boys- Steven and Jonathon came home from school, and lastly Zakk came home later on the bus at 4:30 pm. Later he had to put dinner in the oven and manage all the kids' different activities. One wanted to play on the computer, one wanted to watch cartoons, and Ethan escaped from the house to run around outside in the cul-de-sac. Justin held up well. I'm sure he was tired when he went home. My house is rather chaotic in the afternoon.

I enjoyed Phantom despite worrying about Justin and the kids. Rebekkah was absolutely enthralled! She loved the play. It was wonderful. The effects were amazing. The sets were so detailed and beautiful. The costumes were incredible. And, the talent! The actors were incredibly talented.

It was a special treat to have the opportunity to attend this play. We don't do this type of thing very often. Peter was very interested in going when my friend Karen first told me about this opportunity. Attending this play was a complete surprise for Rebekkah. Last night I announced our plans to her. She squealed with delight and excitement! She got to miss school today. And during the play, she leaned over and expressed her gratitude as she held my hand. She understood the effort we went to in order to attend this play.

A heartfelt Valentine's Day

Some of you may have received my email invitation to come volunteer for a BBQ on Valentine's Day. This wasn't your average, run of the mill BBQ, it was a BBQ for the homeless that have set up a tent city in Ontario off of San Antonio and D Street just south of I-10. 

I felt really strongly that I wanted my children to see this and be a part of this effort. I wanted them to see how the other side lives. My pampered children have no comprehension of poverty. Their idea of poverty is when we can't afford to fix the Wii and they have to go without. They don't know what squalor and despair look like. They've never seen hunger, mental illness, and deprivation.

We got there a little late. Before heading over there, I looked around at a store for some beanie hats to donate but was unable to find any. By the time we got there, there wasn't all that much for my kids to do. Bekkah quickly got into the spirit of things. She talked to this one homeless woman. We had some drinks in the back of our car and she gave them away. She even gave her own coat away. Steven on the other hand was at a loss; he was dumbfounded, uncomfortable, and out of his element. Out of desperation and a desire for him to be of service, I told him to take some waters and offer them to the BBQ attendees. So, Steven walked around passing out bottled water. I kept my eye on him, never once did he leave my sight.

We may have stayed for 45 minutes. We had another appointment to go to. But, I am happy that we were able to go for a little bit and participate. In the future, we will attend and participate more actively. But, this was a good start.

Michelle, thank you for letting me know about this opportunity for service. I feel truly enriched because my children were able to experience that Christ-like love that comes from serving our fellow man. 

*Please note: We didn't take any pictures. We felt it would be too intrusive and would violate the spirit of the event. I had my camera out and was tempted, but thought better of it!

I'm such a sucker!

Happy Belated Valentines Day!  I have been busy trying to get caught up on laundry, dishes, managing my children, and the repairs on the roof/interior of the house! 

I've been depressed about the state of our roof - it's been leaking like a sieve 

and has caused a lot of damage to the interior drywall. The restoration/water abatement company had to come back with the fans and dehumidifier to dry us out again yesterday. After our friend, Shelby Clontz who owns his own company called Bruce Roofing, came and repaired the roof last Wednesday, it leaked again this weekend; this is not a bad review of his very capable services, it is a bad review of our rotten roof! What we have learned is that this summer we need to replace all the paper on our roof. The builder used crappy roof paper on our roof and after a while it will wear out. So, we get to spend $6-8,000 to replace the paper and tiles and fix our roof to make it water tight so we can avoid further leaks. 

Last week's creative venture:

I have so little time lately to be creative that I use every opportunity to do so. So, for Valentine's Day I made the kids homemade suckers to take to school and share with their friends. I have had all the supplies for almost 10 years now and that creative bug just took over and I did it! I'm so glad I did. The last time, almost 6 years ago, I got those supplies out, my results were not as tasty and cute! Of course, I didn't own a marvelous Silpat! Silpat is a silicone mat that is virtually non-stickable. You can bake on it, make candy on it, etc. I enjoyed myself. I made watermelon, green apple and bubble gum flavored suckers. The hardest thing about it is that you are working with liquid that is 300 degrees. My kids were in bed, thankfully. But, this is not one of those projects that you can let your kids help with unless they help put the wrappers on or remove the candy from the molds. It was fun to just be able to focus on that one activity for a while. And, it is so inexpensive to make the suckers in comparison with all the store bought candies you purchase. The ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and water. Then you add flavoring and coloring if you want it. That's it. I have these cute large and small heart shaped molds along with cars and flowers and child shaped molds. They were a hit with the kids. I'm thinking of making them again for Easter! 

Roof leak update!

Here's what my newly decorated house looks like with the addition of 2 huge air mover fans adn 2 huge dehumidifiers.  They'll come back Thursday sometime and remove the fans and give me the estimate. Living with "Gale Force" winds takes on new meaning in the Gale household!