Wordless Wednesday
Month: August 2011
Two Missing Teeth
Apparently, at breakfast this morning, Moose lost the second of what were two very wiggly bottom teeth. I say apparently because, unlike the first tooth, there was no evidence of the second one. We just noticed after breakfast that there was no loose tooth there! I suppose it could have fallen out in his sleep, (I know it was there last night at teeth-brushing time), but I think it’s more likely that it just gotten eaten with breakfast. I’m just glad he lost the first one at home…it was so loose, I was sure he was going to lose it at school, and we’d miss the whole thing!
Tasty Tuesday–Angel Chicken Pasta
This dinner is a family favorite, and makes enough that we can have a second meal with the leftovers!
- 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
- 4 ounces cream cheese with chives
- 1 pound angel hair pasta
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the package of dressing mix. Blend in wine and golden mushroom soup. Mix in cream cheese, and stir until smooth. Heat through, but do not boil.
Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour sauce over. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven.
Twenty minutes before the chicken is done, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to box directions. Drain.
Chop up chicken and serve with sauce over pasta.
State Bureaucracy at Its Asinine Finest
The government of the state of Illinois really needs to find a better, more constructive use of its time. Seriously. Can’t balance the budget; can’t even make a budget; certainly can’t save the state from bankruptcy. But finding new ways to inundate parents and schools with even more paperwork? That they can do.
I got a call from the nurse at Moose’s school today. She had been going over his health history form, and had noticed that I had mentioned a likely peanut/walnut allergy. Now, we haven’t officially had him allergy tested yet. But, I’ve noticed reactions when he’s eaten those things, and I’ve spoken to his pediatrician about it, and she agreed that he probably does have an allergy. She also said that she didn’t see an urgent need to get him tested if we were planning on keeping him away from nuts, and that we could do the testing at our leisure. Great. So, I was planning on having him tested this fall, just so we could find out how severe the allergy is, and know if there are any extra precautions we should take, but I was in no hurry.
The school, however, is not a fan of this plan. Why not? Because our wonderful state instituted a new law this year that any student with an allergy must have a letter signed by their doctor confirming said allergy. Even if the school has known about a child’s allergy for the last five years, they now need new, lengthy paperwork from parents and doctors, testifying to the aforementioned allergy. The nurse was almost as frustrated as I was, because she’s the one who has to track down and file all of this frivolous paperwork.
This is just another example of the government stepping in and taken away my parental rights. It’s not good enough that I, as a responsible parent, have noticed his symptoms, realized he has an allergy, and taken the proper steps both to protect him, (by not serving him the allergen), and to notify the school. Now I have to go get a letter from someone clearly more intelligent than I am, stating the exact same thing. Sure, I was going to have tested, but now I’m being told to do it. Maddening!
I thought it was bad enough that in addition to the necessary doctor visit prior to Kindergarten, I am also now required to take my child to the dentist. Because I can’t figure out to do that on my own, right? Surely I never would have taken him to the dentist if I wasn’t told to. No, instead I probably would have just neglected his dental health, because parents are clearly too stupid to know to do this without the state government telling them to.
Oh, and the mandatory visit to the eye doctor prior to Kindergarten. Completely necessary for a child exhibiting no vision problems, right? I mean, I couldn’t figure out to take Turkey and Ladybug, who were homeschooled and not even of school age, to the eye doctor without someone telling me. I’m not observant enough to realize when my children might be having vision problems. No, I need the government to order me to do it, and require proof that it has been done before my child can go to school.
And now, to top it all off, I also need a signed letter informing the school of my child’s allergy, even though I, as the parent, have already informed them. If I don’t do this, however, they may not take proper precautions to make sure he is not given nuts while at school, (which doesn’t involve much for them as I pack his lunch every day), and they won’t help him in any way other than calling 911 if he does have a reaction. Yep, I definitely needed more intervention from the government in this wonderful public school process.
And people wonder why homeschooling is becoming so so popular!
Quote of the Day
“Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, ‘Because it is there.’
Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.” From JFK’s “Moon Speech”
Conspiracy Theory
I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist.
The way the banking industry operates, however, may make me change my mind.
We were supposed to receive our new “coupon book” for our mortgage payments back in June. No book arrived. That’s OK…the bill wasn’t actually due until August 1, so we had plenty of time. But, July kept ticking by, and still no book. So, we finally called, and were told that it *had* been mailed out, but they could send out another one…it just may take two weeks for us to get it. (Did I mention that this is a local bank?)
OK, fine. Obviously, I couldn’t get the payment in the mail in time for the August 1 payment, so I stopped by a bank branch to pay it one day while I was out. And the conspiracy begins. While I’m waiting for my payment to be processed, the teller starts talking to me about checking accounts, and why we should switch to their bank. I tell her we’re not interested right now, but I’ll keep it in mind.
So, now it’s August. Still haven’t received the coupon book. Call again, they’ll mail it again, may take two weeks, blah, blah, blah. So, back to the bank branch I go, to make the September 1 payment. And, again, while I’m waiting for the payment to be processed, the teller starts pushing checking accounts. And this time, she even gives me paperwork to look over, in case I change my mind.
Total conspiracy. I’m guessing that they figure if they don’t send out the payment book, I’ll have to keep going into the branch, and eventually they’ll wear me down, and I’ll agree to another account with them. At this point, it’s the only possible explanation I can think of as to why we haven’t received one of the three payment books that have been supposedly mailed out. Clearly, this was their plan all along!
I’m just waiting to see what happens in September. At this point, I’m not too confident that we’ll ever receive the payment book, and I’m thinking that the next time I go into the branch, they just may sign me up for a checking account while I’m standing there, without even asking. Total conspiracy!
Third Grade: Week Two Wrap-Up
A funny story from this week:
We’ve been learning about Columbus, (and other early American settlers from Spain), in American history. So, one day while I was making lunch, Ryan was asking Turkey and Bunny questions about what they’d learned. This continued on for a bit, the way school questions tend to, but finally, Turkey wandered over to me, and under his breath muttered, “Daddy sure doesn’t know very much about Columbus, does he?” My favorite part was the way he said it to me quietly, like he didn’t want to hurt Daddy’s feelings–he may be blunt, but he’s also compassionate!
I can’t believe that after all this time, they still think that when we ask them questions, we don’t actually already know the answers!
Top Ten Reasons Why We Use the Liturgy
This is a great article by the Rev. William Cwirla on why Lutherans worship according the western, catholic liturgy. Keep reading at Higher Things to find out what those 10 reason are!
“Why the Liturgy? First a definition and a disclaimer. By “liturgy” I mean the western catholic mass form as it has been handed down by way of the Lutheran Reformation consisting of the five fixed canticles – Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Pardon the Greek and Latin, but it sounds cool and we still use ‘em. “Liturgy” also includes the assigned Scripture texts for the Sundays, feast days, and seasons. Most of what I will say about the liturgy of the Divine Service will pertain to “liturgical worship” in general.
Now, why do we worship according to the western, catholic liturgy?”
Giving Up
I have a confession to make–I’m nine weeks pregnant today, and I’m wearing maternity clothes.
I certainly didn’t want to start wearing them this early. I have a very limited maternity wardrobe, and the thought of making it last for almost 30 weeks scares me a little. But, even though I’ve actually lost weight since I found out I was expecting, (all-day nausea will do that to you!), I just can’t button my pants anymore.
At Wal-Mart last week, my belt actually sprang open and fell to the floor in the middle of the store–talk about embarrassing! And a few days later, the button on my shorts popped right off. At least that incident happened at home. Irritating, but not embarrassing.
So, here I am in maternity clothes. I do have some things from my regular wardrobe that will continue to work for a while yet–mainly tunic-style shirts, and maybe a dress or two. But I’ve had to say goodbye to my regular shorts, pants, and skirts, even though they were all too big on me a few weeks ago.
I guess it really is true that the more pregnancies you have, the sooner you start “expanding!”
Wordless Wednesday
