Elijah "bakes"

So Easy I'm Lazy Christmas Cookies

These look good, taste good and are so simple!  My nine year old made them.  Total time ~5 minutes + 30 minutes cooling time.

Start with some white chocolate bark.  You could use any bark, but at Christmas time the white looks like snow and is a great back ground to the red and green decorations.

Melt the Chocolate in the microwave for 45 seconds at a time.. stir... then put it back in for another 45 seconds.  Repeat if needed.  

Owl loves white chocolate.

You want your chocolate to be runny rather than thick.  You can add a little milk to thin out the chocolate.  Look!  I just used the words thin and chocolate in the same sentence :)

Grab some ginger cookies.  I like Annas Swedish thins.  I did have some break - but no worries, broken ones have no calories.

Grab a random child to show how easy these are to make.  Dip the cookie half way into the warm gooey white chocolate.  Place on parchment paper then sprinkle with some Christmas decorations.  As you can tell, Elijah does not enjoy being photographed.

Voila!  So  Easy I'm Lazy Christmas Cookies!

~Merry Christmas~

US Government Shutdown: It really does affect all of us.

I generally don't get too involved in US politics.  Sure, I have my opinion but in general I think most politicians are greedy and slimy.

Yesterday all the news was about the recent US Government Shutdown.  I pretty much put my head in the sand and didn't think it would affect me or my family.

Recently, Eli got a book from the library about earth quakes.  It has become his latest obsession - how to prepare and survive an earth quake.  I'm thrilled by this obsession (it's much better than Pokemon), I love studying weather so this is something we can study together.  We watched this video about preparing for an earth quake in Japan.  (Eli still loves Japan)  I then wanted to show Eli that the earth is constantly shifting, that there are quakes daily.  Next step we traveled here:   http://earthquake.usgs.gov  and saw this:

Oh crap, I guess the shut down has affected us. 

Are there government programs that have affected you?  Please share in the comments.

Disclaimer:  I know this is extremely minor compared to many other Americans.  When the gov't is up and running again be sure to visit earthquake.usgs.gov - it's great to see live earth quake activity!

Eli the Fish

Eli passed his swim test.. he is now officially a YMCA Fish!  

How the NFL helps teach Geography

Eli and I are trying to get a head start on Grade 3.  Every day we do some worksheets from our Third Grade Essentials book.

Task: If a state is west of your state, color it yellow.

Eli's Answer:  That's easy - that's the Minnesota Vikings.

4 Goals for August

Recently I left my job for various reasons. Since I have some time on my hands I decided I had some to focus on some goals. In random order...

 1. No Fast Food for August. Sure for some of you you may think, "big deal". For my family, this is going to be a very big deal! I will look back in the month of July and tell you how much $$ we have spent - I'm ashamed to figure it out. There are 2 simple reasons for this goal - save money & eat healthier.

So what is Fast Food was the first question we had to ask ourselves. At first I was thinking any place with a drive thru. Then a friend pointed out that Five Guys doesn't have a drive thru. Plan B - The King family has determined that any restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol will now be considered "Fast Food".

 As we are driving through town Eli now gazes out his window asking us, "Does that place serve alcohol?" 

2. Exercise More!  Really, I have no excuses that could even be thought of as worthy.  I don't work, I have a gym membership.  I have a trainer.  I have a dog that needs walking. Every day I must move my lazy ass.

3. Reduce Grocery Spending.  I am ashamed to admit how much how grocery budget is. (Let's not mention how often I go over it)  $1264 per month.  I know - crazy.  This includes all food - grocery stores and eating out.  Well if I achieve goal #1 goal #3 should be easier, right?  I found this image from the USDA and my food budget actually falls under a category.  (Yeah, I'm not the only out of control, disorganized Mom!)  I'm on the Liberal Plan.  I think it would be cool to reach the Moderate plan (say by the end of the year.. let's not go crazy here)

Which column does your family fall under?

4. My list of goals for August would not be complete with out a weight loss goal. Seriously - if I can do the first 3, #4 should be easy, right? 10 lbs loss.. that's the goal. I started at .. wait for it... drum roll.. 240.1 lbs. There it's out!

Do you set goals for yourself?

I don't always meet mine, but I find they keep me focused.

Best Voice Mail Ever

This voice mail is from William, Eli's best friend. Happy Canada Day!

1.77 Miles

Today is National Walk or Bike your Child to School Day.  Eli normally takes the bus but I thought - if the weather is good then we should join in the fun!

Not knowing Eli's walking pace for a distance over 1 mile I figured it would take us about 45 minutes.  Turns out the kid can keep up with me - easily.  Keep in my mind I'm only 5'0" tall - so it's not that much of an achievement.  We decided to bring our dog, Penny, with us.  Turns out that may not of been the best idea.  I'm not sure if dogs are allowed on school property.  My guess is probably not.

Most of our walk was safe with side walks but the portion close to our house has a busy road where cars go about 45mph and there is no curb or shoulder.

Along the way to go to see some turkeys!

We had the chance to see some of the beautiful fall colors.

The weather was a little foggy and the grass was very wet.  We discovered this as we decided to take a short cut through Bay Port High School.

Eli was unsure if we allowed to make this short cut.  Eli, my rule follower.

Our conversations were similar to our bus stop talks - obscure, yet entertaining.  We got a chance to see a lot of school buses.  Eli was obsessed with trying to find his to wave to his bus driver and friends.  Eli was upset to see litter on the high school property, he said it was bad for the environment.  About 3/4 of the way there Eli asked if I could carry his pack back.

We arrived at our destination early - about 15 mins early!  Once we arrived the attention went off of our walk and onto "Oh what a cute dog you have!" from all of Eli's friends.  I mentioned to Eli that having a dog would be a great way to meet new girls.  He just gave me that innocent Eli smile, implying he didn't need a dog to meet girls.

Have a great day at school, Eli!

One the way home Penny and I found evidence of more turkeys.

10 Things that Piss Me Off

Lately there seems to a list of events that have pissed me off.

So to piss you off I will put my top 10 in random order.

7. Senior Citizen Drivers.  You'd think they would drive faster since they don't have much time left.

3. People that still write checks.  Come on people get with it.  

1. Blogger not having an automatic Save feature the way Google Docs does.

5.  People that are disrespectful of my time.  Now I dont' trust you.

4.  Political Ads - all of them.  Lies!

9.  There is no symbol when you want to type !!!!!!!! but you know it looks stupid! (!!)

10. Why my Veggie Stix and Cheetos have almost the same nutritional information.  I'll take the cheetos please!

2.  People that don't trust me - I'm talking to you - the one that click the links in #10 because you didn't believe me.

6.  Walking into a room and forgetting why I went there.  Getting old sucks.

8.  People that don't clean off the machines at the Y.  Gross! (!!) You lazy ass!

5 Reasons why I love dailymile.com

Today I added a new widget to my blog from dailymile.com.  It's a social networking site for exercise!  You can log what you do and share it with others you meet on the site or on your twitter or facebook account.  Here are some of the great benefits:

1. If you are a stats junkie, like me,  you'll love Daily Mile.  Every stat you want to know is at your finger tips.
2. Connect with others for a challenge.  Sure, you may not know these people but what you do have in common is a common goal.  Be it your first 5k or your annual marathon - there's a challenge waiting for you!
3. Connect with local events.  I've met many new friends this way - then we met in person!
4. Motivate others - it's good for them and you!
5. Daily Mile keeps me accountable to keep moving!  If I don't post for a week they email me saying they miss me .  Isn't that sweet :)

Whether you are just starting out to exercise or are an old pro use these FREE online tools to help you reach your goal.  Gotta run!

Eli ran up to me early this morning saying, "Mom, look what I can do!" - Great, my son can give himself a hickey!  Lovely!

The Real Me

I will admit it - I'm a poor writer with a lack of focus.  I own a messy home and spend way too much time and money on groceries.

Elijah

Still reading?  Cool!  This blog started as a letter to son, Elijah.  Sounds kind of warped but I wanted him to know who I was - you know.. just in case.  This blog is the real me.  I may have some interesting stuff from time to time - but it's mostly me - sharing myself for my son.

Welcome to Letters to Elijah.

Shopping for an Invisible Fence

Sara: I think it would be great to get an invisible fence for Penny. That way she could be outside with us all the time.

Eli: But how in the world would we find one in the store to buy? Duh!

Packer Family Night

Saturday Night was Eli's first "Packer's Game" - it's not really a game (who can afford the tickets! - or get them!) Family Night is basically a practice with other fun events for families. Needless to say the whole family was excited to go!

Leading up the event Eli was somewhat confused as to what was going to happen at family night. He said, "how are we going to run and they are going to play?" You see, the only time Eli has ever been to Lambeau Field is for running events. (to

watch me run or for him to run his own races - 1k Cellcom) I guess it's better for him to associate Lambeau with running rather then beer, right?

Eli, are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Dollar Store Thrills

While getting Jim's oil change today Eli and I walked over to the dollar store. (Sara is still at LLBC) I got him a spider man watch. He L O V E S it. He's been telling me the time all day. On the way home he said, "Mom, if you can get home in 2 minutes you will break a new record" Just like me, my boy is a little self competitive.

A Day at the Beach

Today we went to WhiteFish Dunes State Park in Door Co. - It was close to 100 degrees in Green Bay so we decided to hit the beach! It was cold - the water temp was 58! That didn't stop you from playing in the waves and sand :)

Eli's First Sleep Over

Eli's first Sleep Over with Aiden Kay - (or as Eli likes to say - his BFF)

Sara Cooks

One housekeeping task I never learned as a child was meal planning. This summer Sara is going to learn to plan meals. Sara is 11 years old - so our main focus will be on nutrition and fun! Here are the ground rules:

• plan meal (must include main course, side dish & dessert)
• create grocery list (check kitchen for items not needed)
• grocery shop
• cook meal (with help from Mom, if needed)

I'm thinking as summer goes on I may add an extra challenge - give her a budget! To motivate her I can let her keep the change. Nothing motivates a tween more then getting to keep the change!

Tonight was Sara's first meal. On the menu was - Hamburger sliders with Strawberries and Smore's muffins

The meal was extra tasty - not good for my diet.. but really tasty. Excellent job, Sara!

Do your kids help you plan for meals?

Just Hit Me!

It's been so long since I wrote on this blog... it's like I fell off the face of the earth. Lately I do these quick updates on Facebook, but this blog was meant for you, Eli. You have just finished kindergarten and have started summer school. I'm the kind of Mom that tries to keep you busy. Today you had your wrestling and boxing class as well as summer school. Seriously, you crack me up, boy.

I love you Eli - you are so precious to me :)

Love,

Mom

He is still my funny boy!

"I'm not half Canadian - I'm a medium Canadian!"

"When are we going to the flea store?"

Blogging takes up so much time...

So I haven't been here since October! Is twitter killing blogging or am I just lazy?

Elijah you had an awesome Christmas! This year you were so excited - you loved everything about the season. This year for New Years we are going to do something completely different. We are going camping up North. For Christmas I got you a sleeping bag - and you've been sleeping in it ever since.

I'm now up to 66lbs lost. Weight wise, 2009 has been very successful. I'm excited of what this body will look like by the end of 2010.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Eli!