Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic

We found these two large Ukrainian churches in a small country town of about 500 people. The buildings were about 2 blocks apart and both appeared to be Catholic. At first we could not understand why two large Ukrainian Catholic churches would be so close - especially in such a tiny community. Upon further inspection we noted that one sign read "Ukrainian Catholic" and the other "Ukrainian Orthodox".

I'm too tired right now to figure out the difference between the two denominations...I'm thinking one doesn't acknowlege the Pope and also allows married priests. Something to figure out another time. I love the architecture.

Love Birds??

are there some love birds nesting here - or should I say Love's Birds...

We pulled up to a Love's gas station and almost immediately my son said "Look!" "A bird's nest in the 'e'!" We looked up and sure enough - in the large sign on the gas station, a bird had built a nest in the letter. Didn't see the bird so I don't know if it was an "active" nest or not.

Afterwards I told the kids we would have a contest to see who could find the "coolest" thing on our trip, and it would be even better if we could get a picture of said cool object. I think ds liked the idea, since he already spotted something very noteworthy (he's usually opposed to contests as he figures he doesn't have a chance of winning).

Over the River ....

and through the woods to grandmother's house we go...

It'll be a long 18++ hours before we arrive at grandmother's house. They live around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The kids have taken many long distance car trips over the meager spans of their lives, so they know full well what it's going to be like - and yet they both have said they love taking long car rides.

I'm hoping I'll still be able to do a little posting while I'm in Canada...my parent's have a fast internet connection :)

I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures...when I first checked the extended forecast it looked like the highest high was gonna be about 81 degrees...but when I checked today there was an 86 poking it's head up - so we'll see.

If you've heard about the wild mosquito infestations in Canada, and wonder if it's true - it is! I am not looking forward to the bombardment of mosquitoes every time we set foot outdoors. I sure don't remember them being that bad when I was growing up - guess I was just so used to it I didn't even think about them.

Lord willing, we'll be back in the hot mid-west in 8 or 9 days.

Ice Cold Soda!

Have you ever noticed that the very first sip of an ice-cold soda is the absolute best?

For years I have been popping my fridge cold pop into the freezer for 5-15 minutes before I drink it, to make sure it is just slightly icy. Unfortunately there are times when I forget the soda is in the freezer and the whole thing freezes and that's no fun at all.

I guess that's why I like slushes/slushies/slurpees so much...soda that is practically frozen. One thing I'm looking forward to in our trip up north this weekend - a better variety of slurpees! When I lived there - we could get slurpees that were Dr. Pepper, Cream Soda, Root Beer, Grape, Orange - along with the usual stuff like Coke. I know Sonic sells various flavors - but those are not TRUE slurpees, so I don't even count those.

How Many More Days?

"How many more days?" is the question of the week from my son. Pretty much everyday for at least the past week, he's been wanting to know how many more days until we leave for Canada. I should have done my usual little calendar thing where he could cross off the days so I would not be asked every day.

When he found out yesterday that there were only "two more sleeps", he declared that he knew he would not be able to sleep the night before leaving.

Unfortunately, both kids and their dad, have bad coughs, so I've been feeling kind of like I'm living on a TB ward.

When the kids were babies we would usually make the 18 + hr trip driving through the night. This would guarantee (to a certain degree) that the baby would sleep for a large chunk of time and that the parents would arrive at their destination, exhausted.

Now we do the trip in two days going and one day coming home.

Throughout the long journey the kids are kept entertained with books, books on CD, bugging each other (sometimes the favorite activity it seems) and various new little "toys" that I've brought along. Having a vast array of snacks also seems to help. At least it helps me.

We stop as little as possible. When I wrote this on a comment on someone's blog one time - there was a fiery retort from someone who got all worked up about the idea of sitting too long and getting blood clots in the legs. Obviously they don't know that when my kids are sitting for long periods they are not sitting like a statue. They are constantly wiggling, kicking, moving etc. which is the reason that children do not appear to be at risk for blood clots when traveling (so the studies say). Adults can perform various "exercises" while sitting to prevent blood clots..."Every hour or so do a few minutes of simple exercises that activate the calf muscles and help push blood through the veins. One involves extending your legs straight out. With heels resting on the floor, flex the ankles by pointing your toes as far up toward your knees as possible. Then point toes toward the floor."

I'm not sure how great he risk for this really is - like many things that we are made to fear by excessive coverage in the media etc., you may actually be more likely to have an elephant drop from the sky and land on your head, than to get a "deep vein thrombosis" while driving on a car trip.

Picking Blueberries and Faux Blueberry Crisp

Faux Blueberry Crisp

Everyone seems to be talking about picking blueberries these days, so last night I decided to go out and pick some.

So I got in the car, drove to Aldi and "picked" 4 pints at $1.50 per pint. Sure I wish they were freshly picked by me (or freshly picked for me I should say)...but I'll take my blueberry fix however I can.

In our family, it's just my daughter and I that like blueberries. Very strange. I mean how could you NOT like blueberries. They are powder blue, sweet and plump.

When I got home I put away the groceries - and then took a few items back out of the fridge. I could not wait another minute to sample the blueberries.

In the fridge was about 1/2 a cup of milk soaked oatmeal (that I usually have with raspberries in the morning). To that I added some vanilla ice-cream and a healthy sprinkling of blueberries.

I called this little concoction "Faux Blueberry Crisp". It wasn't crisp, and it wasn't super sweet like a real blueberry dessert - but it was DELICIOUS! Much more healthy than the typical blueberry crisp and it only took a few minutes to combine.

But I must admit - if I had right now, a dish of real blueberry crisp and a dish of my faux blueberry crisp, I'd be grabbing for the real stuff.

Below is a picture of my girl and the cup of blueberries she picked last summer, out at the lake where I spent my summers as a child. She was so excited to be picking blueberries that she could eat!

Semantics and a Six Year Old

Yesterday dd was telling her brother about a compliment a friend of hers, paid to him.

Friend said: "Your little brother is cute! And he's even more cute when he's talking!" (maybe the cute when talking has to do with this):


The boy replied fiercely: "I AM NOT CUTE!! CUTE IS FOR BABIES!! I AM HANDSOME!!"

He was quite worked up over the "insult" paid to him.