Big Bucks Tooth Fairy?

Sometimes the tooth fairy comes to our house.  Usually she is a few days late, getting delayed along the way by very tooth fairy-ish issues.  Sometimes her delay is because the child's room is just way too messy for her to risk life and limb to retrieve his tooth and leave a buck.  Our tooth fairy has also been known to "borrow" from the child's piggy bank.  She is resourceful like that. Speaking of resources, she may be in a position where the funding for her mission is a bit low... or maybe the tooth fairy demand in our home is just too high right now.  Regardless... she usually scrapes together a buck (sometimes even using nickles and dimes) and she leaves the treasure under the child's pillow in a zip-lock baggie.  That's how OUR tooth-fairy does business.

However, Louie seems to be under the impression our tooth fairy has unlimited resources.  Much like he envisions Santa Clause. She doesn't just walk around with gold coins jingling in her pocket; Louie believes our tooth fairy is roll'n in some big bucks.  That belief was illustrated quite nicely by this note he left under his pillow.

"Tooth fairy, when you give me the money, can I have a $20 dollar bill?  Thanks.    P.S. Please a twenty dollar bill."

Notice he reiterates his request with the written word "twenty" just in case she didn't understand the "$20".  Apparently Louie is gifted in clarity.

So, if $20 is now the going rate for a tooth, I'd line up to have a few pulled.  Oh wait... then all of my tooth fairy money would go to Dr. Nick, the best dentist in the greater Columbia area. (Seriously, if you're in Columbia, SC and need a Dentist, visit Dr. Nicholas Gee on St. Julian Place.  You will love him).

And if your tooth fairy is in the habit of leaving $20 under the pillow... go ahead and send her over to our house. Our tooth fairy is kinda cheap.

  

Gourmet Pork Chops

Ducklings' Favorite (aka: Gourmet Pork Chops)  

This is one of the Ducklings' all-time favorite meals. Amazingly, it's also easy and worthy of company. So I would call this my "WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" (except with Pork). 

Ingredients


6 Pork Chops (Bone In)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Drizzle of Olive Oil
1 tbs butter
Sliced Mushrooms (a lot or a little, or maybe even none. Ducklings like A LOT)
1 Onion, sliced (red, yellow, white... Ducklings don't care)
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 cup red wine (pretty much any kind... just not a sweet wine)
1-2 Garlic gloves - minced
Bay Leaf

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Season pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drizzle pan with olive oil and seer the pork chops over med-high heat until golden on both sides.
• Remove pork to a 9x12 baking dish
• Saute mushrooms and onion in the butter for a few minutes
• Add chicken broth, wine, minced garlic and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 minutes or so.
• Poor mushroom mixture over pork chops. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
• Optional: Strain the juice and thicken with flour or cornstarch for a yummy gravy. But it's super yummy without the thickener. I'm all about easy...so we just use the juice as is.
• Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and whatever veg you like. Ducklings recommend steamed asparagus. 

This dinner is killer good!  I mean like... WOW GOOD! 

This recipe comes from one of the Atkins cookbooks.  Yes... that's right... it's also low carb (without the mashed potatoes, of course). Low carb enthusiests...you will love me for this...cross my heart! YOU ARE WELCOME!  :)

About 240 Calories per serving (Pork chop without the sides)

The Slowest Child in the History of Ever!

Dewey is eleven years old and is now in the 6th grade. He is super smart and he's also the slllloowwweesstt child in the history ever. He knows this and it doesn't seem to bother him much. But y'all... aaauuugghghh!

This morning Dewey mismanaged his time and didn't heed my warnings. He got the 20 minute warning, the 10 minute warning, and the "FIVE MINUTES UNTIL YOU NEED TO LEAVE... GET YOUR SHOES ON" warning. But Dewey moves at Dewey's pace. With that said, here's how his morning went.

When his brothers left for the bus stop one minute before the bus usually arrives, Dewey was still looking for his shoes. I found his "spare pair" and shooed him out the door. "Go.. just go... put your shoes on when you get on the bus". (The bus stop is about 3 houses down the street). So off he went. As soon as he left the front door, we discovered the bus was already there and the other kids had already boarded. The bus driver sat there waiting for Dewey. Bless his soul! Dewey crossed the wet lawn in his socks, carrying his backpack, viola, shoes and breakfast. He left wet footprints on the sidewalk, all the way to the bus stop. Along the way, he dropped a shoe twice while he tried to run for the waiting bus. Cars on the street stopped to allow Dewey to cross. Two moms stopped at different times to laugh at the scene and tell me "I've been there". It was funny and sad all at the same time.  

A "better" mom might have helped the child a little more. She might have taken his viola and ran with him to the bus stop. But this mom is all about natural consequences. This mom gave him an opportunity to feel the stress of the situation he created. Was that mean? Maybe.  But maybe tomorrow he will pick up the pace a little more. Or maybe Captain Kirk will show up and tele-port him to school. Either way, I'm betting tomorrow won't be such a close call.  Just a hunch.  

Thirty Days of Prayer for Our Children

Prayer is the work, dear Mommies. Let's make a commitment to uplift our children in deliberate and specific prayer every single day. Join me in this endeavor and watch how God moves in the lives of our children. Let’s stand firmly on God’s word and raise the next generation to be strong and courageous, adorned with the full armor of God, living in the Spirit, displaying it’s fruit, and seeking God’s will. Let’s raise men and women of honor and integrity who will lead the next generation to God. When we do this, we will be amazed at the results.  

Here is a list of ways to pray for your children each day for 30 days. When the month is over, start again. If a month has 31 days, you get a free day. By “free day” I do not mean you get a “no pray day”; I mean you get to repeat any topic or chose a topic of your own. You can even pray several of the topics on one day. No worries, God can multi-task. No matter what, it is essential to cover our children with prayer when we send them out into the world.  Let's make this commitment together and see how God works.

Pray For:

1)  Salvation: Pray that your child will accept Jesus, walk in the Word and live in the Spirit.

2)  Friends: Pray that your child will befriend children who will be a good influence on his life. Pray also for your child's friends.

3)  School: Pray for your child at school; for peace during tests and good behavior in the classroom.

4)  Protection: Request a hedge of protection around your child. Bless her into God’s hands and ask God to provide angels to guard her.

5)  Mind: Pray for your children to have peace of mind and pure thoughts.

6)  Teachers/Adults: Pray that the adults in his world will also display the fruits of the spirit and will gently instruct and guide. Pray that they will be trustworthy individuals who will not undermine the morality you are teaching.

7)  Health: Pray for wellness and a healthy body for your child.

8)  Future spouse: Uplift your child’s future spouse. Pray that their union would be Godly and their home will be a household of faith. Pray they will teach their children to serve the Lord.

9)  Love: Pray for your child to have a loving heart, and to treat others with love and respect.

10) Addiction and pornography: Ask the Lord to protect your child from the evils of the world.

11) Peace: Pray for your child to have a peaceful nature.

12) Joy:  Pray that your child will experience life with an attitude of joy.

13) Patience: Pray that you will have patience with your child, and that she will learn to give patience to others.

14) The Armor of God: Pray for the full armor of God over your child: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.

15) Grace: Pray that your child would give grace freely to those around him, and receive grace for his shortcomings.

16) Honesty and integrity: Pray that your child will be a person of honor and integrity in all things.

17) Education: Pray that your child will take her education seriously and will be prepared and free of stress for tests. Pray for your child’s future and for his path to college or vocational school.

18) Career path: Pray for your child’s future career and for wisdom in this decision.

19) Financial awareness: Pray that your child will learn financial health now and practice financial responsibility in the future.

20) Emotional health: Pray for your child’s emotional health. Ask God to guard against all of the harmful things that could scar her heart and damage her confidence.

21) Goodness: Pray that your child will practice goodness as he deals with others. Pray that he will exhibit honor and integrity in all things.

22) Kindness: Pray that your child will be kind and will be treated with kindness in return.  Pray against bullying and hostility.

23) Faith: Pray that your child will be a person of faith. Living a life trusting in the Lord.

24) Self-control: Pray that your child will display self-control as he grows. Both now, in the small things, and later in his relationships.

25) Gentleness: Pray that your child will have a spirit of gentleness toward all people. Pray also that gentleness will be returned in kind.

26) Empathy/caring for others: Pray that your child will have a natural concern for the well-being of others. Always ready to lend a hand and be a friend.

27) Strength: Ask God to give your child strength to stand against the evil that seeks to destroy.

28) Temptation: Ask God to provide your child with a solid foundation on the word so that she can withstand temptation. 

29) Spirit led: Pray that your child will be focused on the spirit and not distracted by worldly gain.

30) Seeking God: Pray that in all things, every day, in every way, your child will seek the will of God.