havocandmayhem.com

Havoc got a CD game in his kiddie meal at Chick Fil A. leap Learning or Learning Leap... something.. It's purported to be educational but all i see it teaching is how to use a mouse properly. And that is fine with me. Work on those motor skills and hand eye coordination. There are some drawing type things and a game kind of like Super Mario where you have to climb around & find things & you get splatted with paint if you aren't careful, plus 2-3 others. You get points for things and exchange the points for parts to build a carnival. So we finally got a working power cord for the 8 year old laptop we got from my parents and I was able to set the game up for him (Because I am *not* sharing my computer). he plays the painting thing for a while and then switches to the Mario type game... 45 minutes later I call him for dinner and I hear "I'm in the middle of my game now Mom!" And suddenly the future opened up before me. I have 14 more years of this response to

Havoc went back on Thursday and apart from initial shyness with the teacher, he had no problems with it. Now on his 3rd day of school he goes in, puts his snack in the bin and starts playing. Mayhem started today. He's been very up and down about the whole idea. He has periods of "not go to school, mama. not wanna!" and then after talking to him for a bit, out of the blue he'll say "ok, I go to school." So this monring started off with "not going to school". By the time we got there an hour later he'd decided he would go to school. I took him in the class room, the teacher showed him the different play areas. He went over to the rice digging bin. She gave me the paperwork & I turned to where Mayhem was and said "Sweety it's time for mommy to go now" he looks up from the bin absently and says "Ok, see ya later." I did get a hug & kiss out of him but he was so blase about it after the drama. Heck it took Havoc more

DS1 wanted to go on a picnic yesterday. He wanted to go to the park, ride his bike & then have a picnic. So we decided to go early and have a late snack picnic. we left the house at 10:30am He rode his bike, they threw rocks in the lake & climbed on the equipment. In between we spread out the picnic blanket and had crackers & juice and at one point DS1 and I got stuck in the ladies bathroom and I had to kick the door out. I had though the deadbolt wouldn't open completely but after I kicked it open I think the metal had expanded and the door itself was just stuck. DH and DS2 are no where nearby & can't hear me kicking & pounding on the door. And if it is actually locked I have no idea who'd we call about. While I am considering the situation I am imaging the call DH would have to make to 911 "Hi. My wife & son are locked in the ladies room at the lake park." It's not like there is a phone number anywhere and I'm guessing the cou

Finally something baked came out right! Possibly because I used the bread flour from the fridge instead of the regular flour in the bin on the counter.  I have over soft bananas so it was time for Banana Yogurt muffins.  I love this muffin recipe.  It's delicious! My only problem with it is I always end up needing 1.5 bananas & what do you do with half a mushy banana? I made a smoothie out of it but that isn't always an option. This makes 12 muffins Preheat your oven to 375 and set paper liners into 12 muffin cups. Combine these ingredients: 1 2/3c flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder Then cut in,using 2 forks or a pastry blender until crumbly: 1/2c soft butter Then stir in: 2/3c bran (I prefer oat, but wheat works too) 1/2c mini chocolate chips In a larger bowl mix together: 1 egg 2/3c well mashed bananas 1/2c yogurt plain (vanilla is good too) 1/2c brown sugar 1 tblsp molassas Then add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended, don't over

Oh my god it has been hot! HOT HOT HOT and humid as all hell. Thursday here was declared the hottest place in the nation and that didn't take the humidity into account. Fortunately the A/C problem in my car was a simple case of neglect & not actual damage. it just needed fluids. so I have A/C there again. I suspect the problem with the house A/C is somewhat more significant. The filter is clean, which is the main neglect issue. I can see no place to pour any fluids. But the monitor has flashed 'trouble' twice this week and it has stopped blowing cold air, just the fan works. First time I took out the filter, hosed it off, let it dry, replaced it and flipped the breaker off & on (what I'd been told to do by the installers). It came back on worked fine for about 48 hours & then 'trouble' again. Flipped the breaker again & it's been working for almost 3 days now. I think there is a problem with the thermostat. I've long thought that. I have

It's hot & humid. I've been working a lot the past week (and will be for a few more). So the boys are desperate for attention & behave badly constantly. It's like they forgot how to hear. I have to grab them and shout to get their attention. And DH worked late 3 times this week, plus had to leave this morning at 5am to be some place & won't be back until noonish. DS1 came in our room at 6:30 and spent 15 minutes just sobbing that Daddy is supposed to be home today & he wants his Daddy. <sigh> I know a lot of it is the heat. I spent a couple hours yesterday afternoon with some friends & their kids & their kids have forgotten how to hear too. By the end of the play date we were 3 women shouting "I said STOP THAT!" over and over. But I do feel better knowing that they are going through the same thing & it isn't just my own bad parenting at play here. We;re getting a sitter tomorrow and going out to dinner.

When I tell people I make my own bread & yogurt I get all sorts of responses, mostly involving the time & effort. Honestly, if either took much time or effort, I wouldn't do them. Bread needs 5-10 minutes of actual effort on my part, most of of the time involved in making bread is spent waiting around - for the mixer to knead it, for it rise, and rise again and to bake and to cool. But you can do other things, even leave the house, while most of that is going on. Yogurt is the same way, but needs even less effort. Get a quart size glass mason jar, wide mouths are best. Fill it most of the way up with milk (not skim), microwave it for 6-7 minutes until it reaches 180-185 degrees. Stick it in the fridge for about a half hour (check at 20 minutes until you know for sure) until it cools to between 110-115 degrees, stirring occasionally.  You can also leave it on the counter for 45-60 minutes.  Add to it a quarter cup powdered milk, 2 tablespoons of yogurt from your last batch,

I've had a run of bad luck with baking lately. My second to last loaf of sandwich bread did not go over too well with the demons.  I have to tread a careful edge on the whole wheat to white flour percentage with them. I thought I had found a good balance but then I tried with this loaf to add some oat bran to it. Apparently it added a barely noticeable density to the bread, which was just too much for them.  Their basis for comparison is Wonder bread, which admittedly I love too, so I know I am fighting an uphill battle on the texture front.   And I must admit, peanut butter on a slice of dense wheat bread is like eating spackle in my opinion (which i have not voiced to the demons, they arrived a similar conclusion completely on their own).  So I decided to make a different loaf of bread, a 'fluffy sandwich loaf' it claimed and it used a similar proportion of wheat to white that had been working ok for me.  This loaf had 3 rising periods, which is a pain if you are not arou

It's August, the last VBS is over & school starts in 2 weeks, so it is time to get back to the routine.  That means trying to blog regularly again. It was Lammas wednesday, the festival of the first wheat harvest of the year, the loaf-mass.  Given that i am so fond of baking bread, I naturally planned to make a loaf for the occasion & had considered a few of my favorites.  By morning I had decided that family dynamics required pizza for dinner so I would make pizza dough.  Well, the morning went by.  I took DS1 to VBS, did laundry, I did some homework, I read to DS2, & then it was time to pick DS1 up and no dough had been started.  I knew I wouldn't get home in time to start some for dinner so I decided to buy some, even if it meant going into the crappy Food Lion (I like most Food Lions, it's just this one that sucks).  As usual the Food Lion lived up to my expectations - no frozen dough, no premade crusts, not even Chef Boyardee Pizza in a box. I ended up buy