I sent my brother the following:
The kids were underwhelmed by the prospect
of the 5 day weekend, probably because I made it clear I needed them to clean
out the garage and help me with some yard work. I also want to put up the
Christmas tree and get the house decorated. I paid them $5 each for the garage,
and promised points for helping me with the other stuff, but they still weren’t
enthusiastic. Oh well.
When I came home today the garage was
spotless. Alesia told me later that she had done most of the work. I am sure
that’s correct…
I told them last night, they should’ve been
raised by Grandpa Tony. He just said “Do it” and you didn’t argue. I didn’t
mention the rages he would fly into if we dared be the slightest bit resistant
to his Mussolini-like parenting style. Alesia complained about the fact we
don’t do enough “fun” activities as a family. I pointed out she got to go
roller skating, we went bowling, and we went to Medieval Times, just in the
past couple of weeks! I sure don’t remember doing that many fun things when we
were growing up. I also pointed out to her that we didn’t have many clothes.
Alesia has a ton of clothes. I think I was lucky if I had 3 pairs of pants that
fit at any one time.
I didn’t mention walking 10 miles to school
in the snow, but I was tempted.
Michael is bad about leaving his new glasses
around the house. Last night when we headed up to bed I spotted them on the
table next to the front door, and I would’ve carried them but I had to dash
upstairs to the bathroom. When I came out, I told Michael to run down there and
get them and put them on his dresser. He was lying on his bed, clearly tired. I
had to argue with him and fuss at him to get him to go downstairs. He lost
Gameboy privileges recently for refusing to do what he was told, and I had to
threaten him last night. He finally came upstairs dragging himself as slowly as
possible. Then he refused to brush his teeth. I was trying so hard not to lose
my temper. I went in the bathroom and brushed my teeth and ignored him, and
slammed stuff around in the bathroom. It was childish but it made me feel
better. [The hairbrush is made of strong stuff because it didn’t break when I
banged it on the counter about 10 times.] Finally, Michael came out of the
bathroom toilet area where he had been hiding, and he ran to bed while I was
telling Alesia good night.
I walked into his room and tried to act
normal but he wasn’t having it. He was huddled on the side of the bed, facing
away from me, curled up in a ball. Suddenly, I felt like The Worst Mom in the
World. He is afraid of going downstairs in the dark alone. It reminds him of
when his birthmom made him walk outside alone at night to buy her booze and
threatened to beat him if he refused. Dark still scares him. Here I was being
mean when he was tired and scared. Yes, he should’ve obeyed instantly, but I
probably should’ve just let him go to sleep when I saw him on the bed, dozing
off. I made a quick decision and then regretted it.
I stretched out on the bed beside him. He
wouldn’t let me hug him. I apologized for losing my temper. He finally rolled
over and hugged me. I didn’t make him brush his teeth. I wanted peace.
In some ways he is a lot easier than Alesia
and in other ways he is harder.
I made a good dinner last night. I modified
an Embry family recipe a bit because I was pushed for time. I took a package of
three big, boneless chicken breasts, washed and salted them, and cut them into
bite-sized pieces. I browned them in butter, salt and pepper. I mixed up in a
bowl an 8 oz carton of sour cream and a can of Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp soup.
[You can use any cream soup.] I added in some Lawrey’s seasoning salt, onion
powder, black pepper, etc. I spread the mixture over the chicken and continued
to cook. I then took 2 big flour tortillas and cut them into bite-sized pieces
and threw them into the pot. They turned into dumplings. I stirred a couple of
times, then I covered the skillet tight with foil [it was the big skillet we
have no lid for] and simmered for about 20 minutes. I cooked some fresh
asparagus and that was dinner. Even Mother said the chicken was good.
The original recipe calls for you to just
put the chicken in a dish and bake it, with a topping of crumbled Ritz crackers
mixed with butter and poppy seed. It’s really yummy that way, too, and you can
serve it over pasta or rice.
I am working Friday. I am taking some days
off at Christmas, though.
No more news to report.
What is the weather like over there now?!
* * * * * *
The kids drew pictures for him, which I scanned and emailed to him. They were also thank-you's for some $ he left them last week when he returned to Iraq.
This is the other side of Michael's drawing:
