Update on Mom

Hey all.

Just a quick note of update. Mom was moved to her own room yesterday. So no more ICU, thank God! The ventilators and oxygen are no more. She is breathing totally on her own. She is also talking. They've removed the feeding tube, she is able to eat. She went through a small throat therapy to make sure that she didn't aspirate any food or liquid from the tube having been in her throat for so long. She is up and moving around to go to the bathroom and such. She sits up most of the day in a chair now. Yay, may God receive all the glory!!

I will be going to see her tomorrow night. I'm going to take a portable cd player and some of her favorite cd's by Connie Wetzell (These are the music/scripture cd's that we used exclusively while Stef went through chemo. They are so relaxing. As a matter of fact, these are the scrip cd's that my kids sleep to every night.), as well as, the cd's from the women's conference that I was at last weekend.

I recommend you check out Connie's cd's if you are looking for a comforting, non-boring, way to bring the word of God into your home. Makes great background noise too. :)

The Challenge...

Ever feel the need for a challenge in your life?

I mean besides climbing Mount Everest or running the Boston Marathon. All worthy feats, no doubt.

BUT, if you ever want a REAL challenge...ask your 11 year old son to pick out yarn for his new Babette blanket.....

Yeah...I know...I'm sweating, too...



I literally refused to make the blanket until he went and sat down around the corner and said to himself "it's my blanket, i can have how i want it."

Ok. Point made. You win.

I have devised a way to make this blanket as nice as possible. I will overcome!

Besides, the longer I look at them...the more hypnotized I become by them....I'm starting think this will actually work!

Rewards Chart/ Medieval Money Bag & Coins Crochet Pattern

Let me start by saying there is a lot of info and pics in this post/pattern! (Blogger smooshed all the words together, so I apologize for no real definition in the pattern 'stops and starts')

Ok What is a rewards chart with a medieval style money bag and coins? I was trying to come up with a way to have my kids 'earn' without having to spend a lot of money that I didn't have to give them. A way to also teach my kids frugality and working for what you have/want without necessarily having to dole out 'allowances' every week. I don't think that kids should be 'paid' for chores...but sometimes incentives are fun. This is what my brain(with the help of God) came up with:

We chose to use jobs they have to do anyway. They are things that are expected of them...just because we are a family and all family contributes to the well-being of the household. BUT..like I said we wanted to teach them certain things and frankly, I'm tired of having to remind them to do this stuff EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!!!! They are 13 and 11 for heaven's sake. I should NOT have to remind them to pick up the bathroom after usage and comb your hair and brush your teeth before leaving the house. Yet I do. Daily. Everything on the "Jobs" list has to be completed without me reminding them. If I see it before they do it, they don't 'earn' the coins for the day. They still have to do the job, but they get no rewards from it. (for instance, My son was the last one out of the shower today. It was his job to pick up the bath mat, make sure the curtain was closed and pick up his dirty clothes from the floor...he didn't. I saw it. He has to still do it..just no rewards.)

From there we then gave each 'job' a 'value'. If I do this...I earn this for it. You can see in the picture below what types of jobs I used and what kinds of values I gave them. (You customize this to fit your family...you are not required to follow my list) What you can't see on the list is the things like "for every 'A' you can earn 10 coins, every 'B' 7 coins...etc" I home school the kids and I thought this would be a good incentive to do well on their assignments and tests. My MIL gave me a good idea too...for every 'D' or 'F' they would have to PAY me back! That's awesome! Thanks for the idea, Ann! Anything that needed a 'disclaimer' on it, I put it on there in red or another color. (i.e. Our household jobs like dusting/vacuuming/mowing the lawn are available to only one child in a week. I think I would love the cleanliness...but the house being dusted 10 times in a week??? A bit excessive...and I know my children would do it just to earn the coins....LOL) I also put what was expected of a certain job in red. Like for us, clean/organize the Living Room means to fold and put away all the blankets, pick up the movies and put back on the shelf, make sure all dishes have left the room and straighten up the coffee table. It might mean something totally different to your family. That's the beauty...this is totally customizable to your family, your needs, your children's ages and ability levels. Mine are 13 and 11...so not only do I place a larger 'value' on the jobs..but it also costs them a great deal more to 'buy' rewards! :) Oh one more thing: I put a green dot next to all jobs that are required daily. I even put on there "Daily Hygiene w/o having to be reminded...must have parental approval before claiming". We have a 'list' in the mornings that I have to run through with my 11 yo EVERY DAY! Hair, teeth, pits, underwear. The boy would go commando every day if I let him. And he stinks from more than one spot on his body...and he hates to brush his hair...I'll let you know if this list actually works to correct any of it and make him more responsible for himself (a plea to God...Pleaaaase)!!! LOL

They get 'paid' their coins every day before bed.

**side note** We took our 'jobs' list to a local sign company and had them laminate it. It cost us $4.75 and we can use dry erase markers on it. A wise investment so you can use your list for a longgggg time!



Here's a supplies list for the Charts: (I only have two kids, you might need more poster board for more kids)
2 pieces 20"x28" poster board (got mine 2/$1 at the dollar store)
Markers of choice
Long ruler
List of Jobs and corresponding 'job worth'

Here we get to the FUN and REWARDS portion of the charts. I started out writing things down that I thought the kids would think were great rewards. As a matter of fact I thought some of the rewards like "mom picks up dirty clothes" would end up fueling their imagination and they would be all about 'what kind of dirty things can we make mom and dad do'.... Not so when it came down to it. I asked them to read over what I had put down for rewards like "I get to choose the movie for the night" or "I get to rent a movie" or "I don't have to empty the dishwasher for a day/week"..stuff like that. When they thought up rewards it was nothing like what I was expecting. My son was all about getting done with school early or getting extra time on breaks and things like that. My daughter was into buying picnics at the park or going swimming at the pool or buying an hour with mom or dad and doing whatever they wanted with them alone(excluding spending $). (Please don't get the idea that we spend no time with our kids...it's just usually all together as a family.) I wanted to include them in choosing the rewards because, ultimately, it was going to have to appeal to them if they were going to work towards it.

We placed high values on most of this stuff because they have the 'potential' to earn close to 100 points in coins/day with just their daily stuff and grades. I didn't want them to think that they were just going to get it for nothing...because then it means nothing. This way if they have to earn for one or more days...it makes them think "What do I really want to spend my coins on?" "What is worth working that hard for?" (Early financial training, 13 yo has already decided she's going to spend only a portion of her coins for rewards and save some for really big rewards later. LOL. That's cool!)

Items that cost real money are only available on Fridays/Saturdays and only to one child per week. Once one child decides to buy that item (we decided that whoever earns the most coins in a week gets the chance to be the first one to 'buy' the real money items) then it goes on an every other week schedule. You will only be eligible to 'buy' that item every other week..if you choose not to buy that on your eligible week..then you forfeit until your next eligible week. So no fussing about how you didn't get a chance to buy it and you got skipped...blah, blah, blah...if the rules are in place before you begin...no one can fuss. Obviously you need to tailor this to your family and your financial situation. Our financial situation does not allow us to arbitrarily spend extra money for more than one or two things a week. That is the reason behind "One real money item per child/per week".

The mom and dad list is one of the most expensive lists. No way was I going to put a small amount up there for me and Tony to have to clean their rooms! If they want to save their coins and it means THAT MUCH to them for us to clean it...then I will do it for a 1,000 points in coins. LOL.

We also have a special times list that I didn't take a picture of. That's where it has the "15 extra minutes on break" or "Picnic at the park". I will let them pool their coins together to purchase things like 'swimming at the public pool' or 'picnic at the park' since these are items that the whole family would partake in anyway. I don't think that just one child or the other should have to pay for things like that.

Ok, now onto the crochet pattern(pics first, then patterns)!!

Medieval Money Bag and Coins

by Elizabeth Mareno 2008

***This pattern has been tested by no one but me..let me know if anything needs to be fixed!***

Materials List:

1/2 skein-Bernat Softee Chunky Acrylic yarn (or other #5 bulky yarn) color of choice.

med-large scraps- RH Super Saver in Gold, Carrot, and Light Grey

I Hook(bag), H hook(straps & coins)

Scissors

Large eye needle for weaving.

Bag: Working in rounds, do not join until stated.

With I hook and bag color.

R1- ch2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook (6sc)

R2- 2 sc in each (12)

R3- (sc in 1sc, 2sc in next) around (18)

R4- (sc in next 2sc, 2sc in next) around (24)

R5- (sc in next 3sc, 2sc in next) around (30)

R6- (sc in next 4sc, 2sc in next) around (36)

R7- (sc in next 5sc, 2sc in next) around (42)

R8- (sc in next 6sc, 2sc in next) around (48)

R9- (sc in next 7sc, 2sc in next) around (54)

R10-R16- Sc in each sc around.

R17- (sc in 7sc, sc dec) around (48)

R18- sc in each

R19- (sc in 6sc, sc dec) around (42)

R20- sc in each

R21- (sc in 5sc, sc dec) around (36)

R22- sc in each

R23- (sc in 4sc, sc dec) around (30)

R24- sc in each

R25- ch3, (sk next sc, dc in next sc, ch1) 13 times, sk last sc, sl st to 2nd ch of ch3. (14dc)

R26- ch1, sc in join, sc in each ch1 and dc around. (30sc) join.

R27-28- ch2, hdc in each sc around, join. (30hdc)

Finish off, weave ends.

Strap: Make 2 for each bag.

With H Hook and Gold.

ch51

Sl st in 2nd chain and each across. (50)

Finish off leaving a long end.

Weave through dc's on row 25, sew ends together firmly, pull on opposite side to hide seam.

Weave and sew the second one so that it pulls the opposite direction.

Coins-Single color:

With H Hook and coin color.

ch4(does not count as first dc)

15 dc in 4th ch from hook. sl st to first dc. Finish off, weave in ends.

Coins-Double color:

With H Hook and first color.

ch2

8 sc in 2nd ch from hook, join, cut first color, join second color.

2sc in each sc around. (16) Finish off and weave ends.

Our coin values go as such:

Gold= 10

Grey= 5

Bronze= 1

Bronze/grey= 20

Bronze/gold= 25

You can give your coins any value you want for your individual needs.

If you use this plan...I hope you have fun...and let me know!! I'll be updating as our family becomes more involved in it. So far, so good.

Tuna Casserole

Fish- Biz style! We don't do fish in our house usually. This is a seriously revamped recipe. I won't call it my own because all I did was screw up the original recipe. Come to find out it was fantastic! So I will give you this recipe with my tweaks added in. It is 'the dish' that I'm required to bring to all the potlucks....my people love it! Your people will too!

Tuna Casserole: Biz Style
serves at least 6 hearty portions

1lb bag wide egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can condensed cheese soup
1 med onion coarsely chopped
2 Tbl butter
One soup can of milk
1-2 cans of tuna drained (depending on how fishy you like it)
One roll Ritz or Club crackers
Parmesan cheese

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook egg noodles in pot, drain and set aside (this can be done while cream mixture is cooking).

In medium saucepan saute onions in butter. Once onions are translucent or at least soft add soups and milk . Cook over med heat until bubbly. Add drained tuna in and heat through.

Put egg noodles in 13x9 pan. Pour cream sauce over the top and mix in well. Crumble crackers over the top of the noodles. Liberally sprinkle parmesan over the top of that. Put in oven.

Cook for 35 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Cowboy Beans

Another recipe from the kitchen of Biz! This was a staple in my house when we were growing up. Over the years I have tweaked the original recipe to fit our family, hope you enjoy!


Cowboy Beans by Elizabeth Mareno
Serves 2 very hearty portions(with some leftover)-4 smaller portions

1 Medium onion or 1/2 Lg onion chopped coarsely
1 lb super lean ground meat (95% lean beef, turkey, chicken)
1 28 oz can Vegetarian Baked Beans (do not drain)
1/2 C Brown Sugar
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper

Brown meat and onion in medium sauce pan until onions are translucent and meat is done. Add beans, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. Cook till well incorporated (about 4-5 minutes on a medium heat). Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve.

Fruit Pizza...I'm in Love!

I promise to post the recipe for this when I get home! It was so good I wanted to eat the whole pan! I can't even enhance the pictures with words.....

What do you do with your bunny?

Easter tradition in our house is:

That one kid (stef) bites the ears off of her bunny.


The other kid (teo) bites the butt off of his bunny.


Then the bunnies get together and the one says: "My butt hurts"
and the other one says "What?", over and over again!

"What?" "My Butt Hurts!"

Lather, Rinse, Repeat....

Crock-Pot Southwest Chicken and Rice

This is my own 'concoction' recipe. Came up with it a few weeks ago and discovered that I wrote it down in my journal! Of all things! Well, I decided today to make it again AND to share the recipe with you cuz its really good!

Crockpot Southwest Chicken and Rice
by Elizabeth Mareno



Serves 4-6
1 Large container chicken broth (160z) -although a 14oz can will do fine too.
1 Can mixed corn (southwest style with peppers) drained
1 Can black beans rinsed and drained
1 Can diced tomatoes- do not drain.
4-6 slices of jalapeno- finely chopped (i use more depending on how spicy i want it)
1 small onion chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic (yes its a tablespoon, not a teaspoon!)
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2/3 C rice
4-5 Chicken breasts- frozen

-In crockpot mix all ingredients except the rice and chicken.

-If you have a large oblong crockpot lay the frozen chicken on top of the mixture. If you have a deep crockpot, wedge the chicken into the mixture so that each piece is in the liquid.

-Cook on High for 3-1/2 to 4 hours, put rice into crockpot one hour before its done.
If you like your rice very mushy and porridge-like, add the rice right away with the rest of the ingredients. We've had it both ways and its very good.

-Serve with tortilla chips and cheese and sour cream!

**This recipe would also be great with leftovers and minute rice on the stovetop!

Lacy Sunny Baby Hat

Lacy Sunny Baby Hat .pdf Pattern
0-3 month and 3-6 month sizes

I decided to make my hat pattern to try out a yarn I had found that I thought might be a good substitute for the Patons Astra yarn, which is really hard to find where I live. I discovered that I had not written a very good pattern. Granted it was one of my first, so I was cutting myself some slack, however, I could NOT leave the pattern as written.

I have modified the original pattern and separated it into 2 sizes; 0-3month and 3-6 month. I will be adding another link as soon as I have more sizes worked out and written up.
I hope the modified pattern is easier to make and the finished hats are more usable than the previous pattern.

Thanks everyone for your patience with me while I work this out.

Chicken Chili (2 Weight Watchers Pts/Cup)

I make this awesome chicken chili. I got the recipe at a Weight Watchers meeting months ago. I've probably made it about 5 times since then. My family LOVES it! I have modified the recipe as I felt like the original was just too watery. It is made in a smaller batch and is still the 2 points per cup that it was before.

Chicken Chili:
2 WW points per cup
Makes 14 Cups

3 large chicken breasts- boiled and shredded
3 cans Great Northern Beans - (Bush's has no fat) (original recipe calls for 7 cans)
1 16 oz jar Pace Picante sauce (original recipe calls for 2 bottles)
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Med onion- diced
3 cloves garlic
4 Cups water (original recipe calls for 6 cups)

I usually boil my chicken and while its boiling I assemble the rest in my crockpot. I shred the chicken taking off all the gross pieces. Put the chicken in the pot, put it on high and let it cook for about 5-6 hours. You can't really over cook this soup.

We serve it with Non fat sour cream, 2% cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Make sure you watch your portion sizes on these and remember to add whatever extra points you put into your soup. Another really great add in would be jalepenos....

Crochet Felted Fall Leaf Pillow

  

**Disclaimer: This pattern has not been tested. All supplies and instructions are complete to the best of my knowledge. If you have a problem with the pattern, please let me know! 

 Crochet Felted Fall Leaf Pillow by: Elizabeth Mareno 2007

 **Advance beginner/intermediate. 

 Materials: Patons Merino Wool (or any 100% feltable wool) 

-1 skn Deep Olive (3.5 oz/ 100g/ 223yds) 

-1 skn Rich Red (3.5 oz/100g/ 223yds) 

-1 skn Old Gold (3.5oz/100g/ 223 yds) 

J hook ( I crochet loosely. If you crochet tight, go up one to two hook sizes) 

Stitch marker Stuffing. 

Needle for final assembly. 

 **Note: Do Not join rounds unless indicated. 

 Starting @ bottom with Deep Olive:

1- ch2 1- 6sc in 2nd ch. (6) 

2- 2sc in each sc (12) 

3- Back Loops Only (BLO)- sc in each around (12) 

4-8- Both Loops, sc in each. 

9- (2hdc in 1sc, hdc in 5sc) twice (14) 

10- (2hdc in 2hdc, hdc in 5) twice (18) 

11- (2hdc in 1, hdc in 2, 2hdc in 1, hdc in 5) twice (22) 

12- hdc in 2, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 9, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 7 (26) 

13- hdc in 3, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 11, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 8 (30) 

14- hdc in 4, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 13, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 9 (34) 

15- hdc in 5, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 15, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 10 (38) 

16- hdc in 4, *(2hdc in next, hdc in 1, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 1, 2hdc in 1)*, hdc in 13, repeat from *to* once, hdc in 9 (46) 

17- hdc in 6, *(2hdc in 1, hdc in 1, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 1, 2hdc in 1)*, hdc in 17, repeat from *to* once, hdc in 11 (54) 

18- hdc in 10, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 25, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 15 (58) 

19- hdc in 11, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 27, 2hdc in 2, hdc in 16 (62) 

20-28- place marker on 1st hdc of row 20, increase in the same pattern till you have (98) hdc. 

29- Continue in same increase pattern making every 7th hdc red, carry red loosely behind work, do not crochet red into olive, this will get felted in, do not cut red @ end of row (102) 

30- Only Olive, follow increase pattern. (106) 

31- Continue increase making every 5th hdc red (110) 

32- Only Olive, hdc in each around, do not increase (110) 

33- Hdc in each around making every 3rd hdc red (110) 

34- Hdc in each making every 2nd hdc red. 

35- RED ONLY, hdc in each. 

36-44- RED ONLY, hdc in each. 

45- Hdc in each making every 7th gold 46- Red Only, hdc in each 

47- Hdc in each making every 5th gold 

48- Red Only, hdc in each 

49- Hdc in each making every 3rd gold 

50- Hdc in each making every 2nd gold 

51- GOLD ONLY, hdc in each 

52- hdc in 41, hdc dec twice, hdc 49, hdc dec twice, hdc 10 (104) 

53- hdc 40, hdc dec twice, hdc 47, hdc dec twice, hdc 9 (100) 

54- hdc 39, hdc dec twice, hdc 45, hdc dec twice, hdc 8 (96) 

55- hdc 38, hdc dec twice, hdc 43, hdc dec twice, hdc 7 (92) 

56-60 Continue in established decrease (less 1 hdc, dec twice, less 2hdc, dec twice, hdc rem st) until you have (72) hdc. 

61- hdc 34, hdc dec twice, hdc 31, hdc dec twice (69) 

62- hdc 32, hdc dec twice, hdc 29, hdc dec twice (65) 

63- hdc 28, hdc dec four times, hdc 23, hdc dec four times (59)

 *First Side opening* 

64- hdc 27, hdc dec, leave remaining undone (28) 

65- ch2(counts as hdc now and throughout), turn, hdc dec, hdc 24, hdc dec. (26) 66- ch2, turn, hdc dec, hdc 21, hdc dec (24) 

67- ch2, turn, hdc dec, hdc 19, hdc dec (22) 

68- ch2, turn, hdc dec, hdc 17, hdc dec (20) 

69-77- Continue in established decrease pattern until you have (1) hdc remaining (hdc dec on last row). Cut and weave in ends. 

 **Second Side**

This side will actually end one row sooner than the first side. Attach Gold to first open stitch on row 63 with ch2(does not ct as hdc) 

64- hdc in same space and next space, hdc in 23, hdc dec. 

65- ch2 (DOES ct as hdc), hdc dec, hdc in 20, hdc dec repeat rows 66 through 76 of first side ending with one hdc. 

 FELTING: sl st veins on one side or both with Olive. 

(I find my felted items pick up less "fuzz" when I put them into a pillowcase)- hang upside down and dry thoroughly. Stuff, sew sides closed securely. 

 Enjoy biz