Well, I think I may have found my calling. OK, maybe not my calling, but a way to funnel my creativity into something useful. I love to make things: cookies, cakes, cross stitch, and now knitting.
A couple days ago I finished knitting a hat for my soon-to-be-born nephew. I wasn't too happy with how it turned out so I decided to try a different pattern and I finished it in one day. Can I just say, it is SOOOO cute and pretty easy too (sorry, can't post pics 'cause I don't want my BIL and SIL to see it yet).
Anyway, while I was working on it, I was thinking about my son's birth. It just so happens that the color I was using for the hat was the same color as the hat my son came home from the hospital in. You see, my son was bigger than most newborns. In fact, he never wore a newborn diaper.
That size also translated to a rather large head, so the hats that they have in the nursery didn't fit him. One of the nurses went home the night he was born and knit him a hat that would fit. I still have that hat (scrolled away in storage right now), but seeing a knit hat in the same color, made me think about whether this is a common occurrence. Perhaps not, but I think I might just start making hats and give them to hospitals. Most will be for preemies but some for babies born a little larger than average (in honor of my son). It's a way to still be crafty, but at the same time fill a need.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
What's The Deal?!?
OK folks. I have a question for you. Why are you reading my blog, but not posting any comments? Am I that boring? Do you think you are that boring or you don't have anything to offer? I know people are reading my blog (I can see how many people but not who), but I tend to get comments from only one person and I'm curious as to why. I've recently made it easier for people to make comments. So please, make comments. I don't want this to be a one-sided thing.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
We'll be Back... In Just a Few Days
Yep, you heard that right. The Beckmann clan is going to be back in Virginia in a few days. We have some friends who are moving from Ohio to Qatar in mid-August, so we decided on the way to see them, that we would stop in Virginia for a couple weeks to see friends and family and to get a few doctors appointments taken care of (medical care while on the road is tough, if not impossible).
If things go according to plan (and you know they ALWAYS do), we will be in Northern Virginia July 17 - July 28. If you're interested in getting together, let me know and we'll see what we can do.
If things go according to plan (and you know they ALWAYS do), we will be in Northern Virginia July 17 - July 28. If you're interested in getting together, let me know and we'll see what we can do.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Fare thee well, Atlantis
Well, the US space shuttle program has officially launched it's last. You could feel the joy and sadness as people gathered to watch. Rather than take a lot of pictures, I decided to take video instead. I couldn't get it to upload to Facebook so I am uploading it here. I know it's not as close as the videos you will see on TV and you can't hear the sound of the rockets, but hopefully you can get a little of the sentiment and perspective of the people there to watch.
Enjoy!
Just like the moon landing was memorable for children of that generation, I believe this will be memorable for my kids. My daughter is already talking about wanting to be an astronaut (she is aware she needs to get over her fear of roller coasters) and my son wants to build robots that will go into space. If nothing else, this experience has given my children dreams they never considered before.
Enjoy!
Just like the moon landing was memorable for children of that generation, I believe this will be memorable for my kids. My daughter is already talking about wanting to be an astronaut (she is aware she needs to get over her fear of roller coasters) and my son wants to build robots that will go into space. If nothing else, this experience has given my children dreams they never considered before.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Out of the Mouths of Children
Below you will find a compilation of cute, funny, or sweet things my kids have said recently:
While at church, Jon and I were told that we were a couple that looked perfect together. We were told we had a happy "glow" about us. We were talking about it later wondering what the man could have been seeing, and our son proceeds to say, "Maybe it's because your skin isn't as dark as his so he thinks you were glowing."
My daughter has a tendency to mispronounce things. I'm not sure if it's because she's not paying attention to what we are saying or because perhaps we aren't always looking at her when we tell her the name of something (thereby missing some valuable lip movements when saying certain words). Some of her more recent mispronunciations: Crackle Barrel (instead of Cracker Barrel) and Milky Wave (instead of Milky Way).
My son is not immune to mispronunciation either. He recently said aerodymanics (instead of aerodynamics). I must admit, it does roll off the tongue as aerodymanics quite easily.
While at church, Jon and I were told that we were a couple that looked perfect together. We were told we had a happy "glow" about us. We were talking about it later wondering what the man could have been seeing, and our son proceeds to say, "Maybe it's because your skin isn't as dark as his so he thinks you were glowing."
My daughter has a tendency to mispronounce things. I'm not sure if it's because she's not paying attention to what we are saying or because perhaps we aren't always looking at her when we tell her the name of something (thereby missing some valuable lip movements when saying certain words). Some of her more recent mispronunciations: Crackle Barrel (instead of Cracker Barrel) and Milky Wave (instead of Milky Way).
My son is not immune to mispronunciation either. He recently said aerodymanics (instead of aerodynamics). I must admit, it does roll off the tongue as aerodymanics quite easily.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Improv at it's Finest
How many of you have made grand plans to do or make something only to find out as you were about to do it that you were missing something really important? Well, that was me last night. Hubby is not a big fan of chicken, but I always try to have it at least once a week because I know it's more health than having red meat all the time. I've found a few recipes that he puts up with better than others so I try to do those frequently. Last night, I was going to make chicken parmesan for the first time since being in the camper.
The problem came when I pulled out the chicken and realized that each chicken breast was about 2" thick on one side and 1/2" thick on the other. And guess what? I don't have a meat tenderizer! What's a girl to do? Use a wine cooler bottle of course. Yes, I used a full bottle of wine cooler. I thought of using a beer bottle because it had a wider base, but was afraid it would foam too much. It worked very well though.
Then it was time to crush the croutons for the coating. Oops! I usually use a rolling pin for that job and of course I don't have one of those either. So what did I do? I used an empty sphagetti sauce jar on it's side.
Good news...the food was inhaled by all and I had a good time trying to figure out how to make do with what I have. I think it was some of the most moist chicken I've made yet too!
What is a coking improvisation you've made (for good or bad)?
The problem came when I pulled out the chicken and realized that each chicken breast was about 2" thick on one side and 1/2" thick on the other. And guess what? I don't have a meat tenderizer! What's a girl to do? Use a wine cooler bottle of course. Yes, I used a full bottle of wine cooler. I thought of using a beer bottle because it had a wider base, but was afraid it would foam too much. It worked very well though.
Then it was time to crush the croutons for the coating. Oops! I usually use a rolling pin for that job and of course I don't have one of those either. So what did I do? I used an empty sphagetti sauce jar on it's side.
Good news...the food was inhaled by all and I had a good time trying to figure out how to make do with what I have. I think it was some of the most moist chicken I've made yet too!
What is a coking improvisation you've made (for good or bad)?
Monday, July 4, 2011
Wonderful Day + 1 = a 180?
Yesterday was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable days I've had in a LONG time. We went to church in the morning and neither kid gave me a hard time about going to their class. Not only did I hear a good sermon, but I was reminded of all the sacrifices that our military make for us (appropriate for this time of year).
After church, we had a light lunch and then hubby took a nap while the kids watched a movie. This gave me some alone time and I knitted, read a little, called my parents, and just had some alone time. After all that, hubby grilled some smoked steak (yum!) for dinner.
After dinner we got to roast marshmallows for S'mores for the kids and I made myself a cherry campfire pie. After that, I had to work off some of the food, so the kids and I went for a walk down to the Indian River to play some Red Light, Green Light. While there, I called my in-laws and the kids got to talk to their Oma and Opa for a bit. We ended up back by the river at dusk in order to try to see another fireworks display (we saw one on Saturday that lasted 30 minutes long). Unfortunately, it was so far away that most were hidden by the trees. Yet the kids took it well.
Today however is looking like it will be a very different kind of day. The kids are already fighting (Over a book. Should I be happy it's at least about a book?). We've also been dealing with a sewer problem the last couple of days and it would appear it's coming to a head today. We are the lowest sewer spot on our row of campers so every time another camper empties their tanks it ends up pushing sewage up out of our spot. We haven't been able to empty our tanks for 2 days now because of it. We didn't have any problems before the weekend so we think the extra people this weekend are causing it. Yes, most of them are leaving today, but we are at 90% capacity this weekend but on Thurs the campground will be at 100% capacity because of the shuttle launch.
As I type, one of the maintenance guys is snaking the sewer hole and adding a new PVC pipe (the one there was broken). If they can't get it fixed we're going to try to move sites today. The smell of the sewage is getting worse and I haven't been able to do dishes or take a shower since yesterday for fear of overflowing our tanks.
If they do get it fixed, I'm going to have a lot of dishes to do (followed by a nice long shower of course). As someone who doesn't like doing dishes, I must admit, the reprieve is probably part of what made yesterday so enjoyable. I guess life is now back to normal for a few more days. Sigh.
After church, we had a light lunch and then hubby took a nap while the kids watched a movie. This gave me some alone time and I knitted, read a little, called my parents, and just had some alone time. After all that, hubby grilled some smoked steak (yum!) for dinner.
After dinner we got to roast marshmallows for S'mores for the kids and I made myself a cherry campfire pie. After that, I had to work off some of the food, so the kids and I went for a walk down to the Indian River to play some Red Light, Green Light. While there, I called my in-laws and the kids got to talk to their Oma and Opa for a bit. We ended up back by the river at dusk in order to try to see another fireworks display (we saw one on Saturday that lasted 30 minutes long). Unfortunately, it was so far away that most were hidden by the trees. Yet the kids took it well.
Today however is looking like it will be a very different kind of day. The kids are already fighting (Over a book. Should I be happy it's at least about a book?). We've also been dealing with a sewer problem the last couple of days and it would appear it's coming to a head today. We are the lowest sewer spot on our row of campers so every time another camper empties their tanks it ends up pushing sewage up out of our spot. We haven't been able to empty our tanks for 2 days now because of it. We didn't have any problems before the weekend so we think the extra people this weekend are causing it. Yes, most of them are leaving today, but we are at 90% capacity this weekend but on Thurs the campground will be at 100% capacity because of the shuttle launch.
As I type, one of the maintenance guys is snaking the sewer hole and adding a new PVC pipe (the one there was broken). If they can't get it fixed we're going to try to move sites today. The smell of the sewage is getting worse and I haven't been able to do dishes or take a shower since yesterday for fear of overflowing our tanks.
If they do get it fixed, I'm going to have a lot of dishes to do (followed by a nice long shower of course). As someone who doesn't like doing dishes, I must admit, the reprieve is probably part of what made yesterday so enjoyable. I guess life is now back to normal for a few more days. Sigh.
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