I was sitting in front of the computer finishing up two very tasty enchiladas and got to thinking how much I like this recipe.  It has everything I think a chicken enchilada should have - chicken, cheese, enchilada sauce, and a tortilla, and it’s a-w-e-s-o-m-e.  Then, I thought about other foods I like that are plain.  Take pancakes for instance.  Give me basic pancakes with maple syrup any day.  Audi makes fun of me - like I’m missing out for liking something so basic.  ”Why not throw some chocolate chips in there?”  Gross.  Sorry, honey.  I don’t care how many times you tell me.  Chocolate chip pancakes taste nothing like a cookie.  Get over it.  I put them in yours - be happy.  And it’s not like I never eat “fun pancakes”.  I can handle some strawberry pancakes every once in awhile - like twice a year.  They’re hardly considered a breakfast food.  They’re layer upon layer of plain pancake covered in a sweet gelationous goo and doused with whipped cream.  I guess it’s a matter of I want what I want and nothing else.  If I want pancakes, I want to taste pancakes.  If I want a donut (we’ll stick with breakfast since I’m on a roll), I want to taste a donut, not a fried biscuit topped with tons of icing and sprinkles and filled with jelly.  Don’t get creative with food.  Orange mashed potatoes and green ketchup is just not right, and I’m not eating it.  Audi’s holiday pumpkin roll?  Forget it.  I’m a no fluff kinda girl.  

I think it comes from my desire for order and purpose.  I like things that are easy to understand.  I think that comes from my desire to teach.  I want things to be easy for Jayden to do on his own; therefore, I like things to be that way for me.  With Jayden, we set up his room so he can play with what he wants, when he wants, and is able to put things away when he’s done.  Cars go in the cars tub, dinosaurs go in the animals tub, guitar goes in the music tub, which again goes hand in hand with my desire for order.  I also think being a teacher makes me want to learn all I can.  Or maybe it’s the other way around.  Because I love to learn all I can, I’m a good teacher.  I just have no patience for organizations, companies, schools or teachers that give me fluff.  It’s like wasted time in my opinion.  Yes, I will wear the macaroni necklace Josie brings home from kindergarten because that is a skill she should be working on.  Will I keep it forever?  Hell, no.  But I’ll wear it with a smile until she forgets about it.  Will I be perturbed when Jayden brings home the same thing when he’s in third grade?  You betcha.  Fluff.  All fluff.  If Jayden’s teacher wants to get rid of some macaroni, she can have them (insert Science Standard for Third Grade here).  Even when I was researching taekwondo, it took me four emails and a visit to learn the basic information I was looking for from an organization.  This place is looking for business and the brochure is nothing but fluff.  It didn’t tell me what taekwondo is, what form they teach, when classes are held, how much classes are, how many students are typically in each class, why it’s a good idea to enroll my child, how the organization is run, nothing!  How can I make a decision if I can’t get the information I need to make an informed one?  I digress…

So anyway, if I ever ask you something, remember, I want a direct answer.  When I want something, that’s what I want - no frills, no fluff.  Just keep it simple, sweetie!

That’s what Jayden has to say when he delivers a punch or kick in Taekwondo.  Tuesday we went to observe, which lasted all of five minutes before he asked if he could go on the mat too.  He did great.  Audi and I were both very impressed.  Tonight Josie and I stayed home while Audi took Jayden to class.  Audi said he did awesome.  There is a girl who is fairly new to the program as well who just kicks non-stop when sparring (one-on-one competition,) and Jayden just kept blocking her kicks and once in awhile found an opening to kick her back.  It sounds bad as I read this, but it is a great way to practice the techniques they are learning and always under control.  It’s cute to see them with all their sparring equipment on: arm guards, shin guards, chest protector, helmet.  They also learned “forms” tonight.  It ’s a series of blocks and punches in a particular order that they will need to practice and perform during their ranking test.  Audi thinks Jayden is going to do well with the sport.  I just hope he sticks with it.  He seems excited, but today around 5pm when I told him he needed to get ready, he gave his classic response, “Uh, Mom, I think I will go to Taekwondo tomorrow.  I want to watch a Blue’s Clues.”  Grrr…arrrg.  Of course, once Daddy got home, I think he realized what was going to happen and got ready right away and dragged Audi out the door.  They arrived twenty minutes early.

Let’s see what else happened this week?  Well, Wednesday we went out to Buffalo Wild Wings because Audi got a birthday coupon in the mail for 24 free wings with a $10 purchase.  We waited until Wednesday because it’s Kid’s Night when Kid’s Meals are $1.49 instead of $3.99 and with each Kid’s Meal you get 10 tokens for the arcade games there.  It was a good time.  Two kid’s meals, two chocolate chip cookies, a dessert and drinks totaled $10.85, and Audi and I split 24 free wings.  Nice.

We also set our appointment with our tax accountant.  So Saturday we’ll have all our paperwork in so she can get started.  We’ll have our return no later than March.  Awesome…Totally.

That reminds me that our shows are back on.  How I Met Your Mother is still going strong.  I’m still watching House although I’m not sure how long that will last.  I think Audi feels the same way about The Office.  They seem boring and predictable and then there’s finally a good episode to keep you watching.  I gave up Fringe in exchange for Lie to Me.  I liked the pilot so we’ll see how long I watch that one.  Still no new episodes of Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  We’ll keep checking, and Dollhouse starts in February.  Can’t pass up a Joss Whedon series.  Genius!

And lastly, the weather forecast indicates above freezing temperatures for tomorrow so I think we’ll get the spray painting done for the bathroom project.  Yeah!!!  Before and After pictures coming soon!

Again, it serves me right that I had that many to delete.  I’ve decided I’m going to post every Thursday since Audi has class that night.  We’ll see how I do.

Anyway, since so much has happened, I’m going to list each family member to tell you what you’ve missed.

Audi ~

* did an awesome job installing the bathroom floor.  It looks fantastic.  He’s at a standstill now since it’s too cold to spray paint.  The vanity we bought was called “dark chocolate,” and apparently I want “milk chocolate” because the vanity looks “jet black” to both of us.  We have everything else to finish up the bathroom.  We just need a non-freezing day to paint.

Colleen ~

* researching my Master’s Degree.  I found what I want (Library Media) offered at Wright State in Dayton.  Now, we just have to see how much it’s going to cost, how long I’ll have to drive down to the campus, details…details.

* going through the kids’ clothes.  They got a few outfits and pajamas for Christmas so I put all of Josie’s clothes that were smaller than  3T in a bin and all of Jayden’s clothes that were smaller than a 5 in a bin for our garage sale this summer.  The kids also got quite a few toys so we went through those as well.  “New toy in the tub, old toy out.”  Jayden did a great job especially with his cars.  I was very impressed.  It inspired me to clean out other parts of the house.  I did the kitchen and got rid of candles I won’t need anymore, like the number 2, and pans I never use, like the springform.  Then, I put all the cookie cutters together in a ziplock gallon bag, blah…blah…blah.  Oh, the joys of organization!  How they thrill me!

Jayden ~

* has mastered the toilet!!!!  In December he decided to start pooping on the toilet.  I have NO IDEA WHY!  But I don’t care.  He’s done.  He filled up his sticker chart, and we finally got to go to Bob Evans.  When we started the sticker chart in October, that was the reward for filling it up.  Jayden wanted to invite PaPaw Tod so he, Pam and Morgan came down to celebrate the occasion.  He filled up another chart in no time, and we took him again.  Wala!

* has also mastered sleeping all night in his room and staying dry.  This Sunday The Morning Fairy made her last visit and left him a note, and some riddles to a special surprise.  She explained that Jayden was doing a great job and that she had other little boys and girls to visit.  He had graduated, and she was very proud of him and expected him to sleep all night in his own bed and stay dry all the time without a present.  Jayden was very excited about his “graduation gift.”  The first note was on his door and had a picture of an equation that was “a toilet plus an army tank equals ?” so he went to his bathroom and saw another riddle.  He figured out the riddles until it led him to our shower door, and when he opened it, there was a wrapped present from The Morning Fairy.  He was soo excited!  He ripped it open and saw what it was and flipped out.  It was Transformers Optimus Prime and MegaTron and they really transform.  (The box said ages 5+, but I still have trouble figuring out how to transform them.)  Transformers were all he talked about a week before Christmas, and he didn’t get any so “The Morning Fairy” is his hero.

* ran into the car side mirror and got another black eye.  Same eye as the one before when he fell on the corner of the stage.  It persuaded me to look up karate lessons again.  We had looked before, but just put it off.  Now that he’s a little older (and potty trained) we thought a little balance and awareness of his surroundings would be beneficial to him.  Not to mention discipline and peace.  Plus, he’ll love the fighting.  He observes his first Tae Kwon Do class tomorrow and will participate in class on Thursday.  If he likes it, we’ll sign him up.  It’ll be twice a week for an hour.  I’ll let you know how it goes Thursday night!

Josie ~

* was inspired by her brother always going potty on the toilet to do the same.  She wears underwear all day, and I usually only have to clean her up once a day because of an accident.  She stays dry most nights, and even stayed dry on an hour errand to Walmart this week.  Wow - that was easy.

* loves to play kitchen with me and loves to do Daddy’s hair and really enjoys playing Little People and Super Heroes with Jayden.  I found a Super Girl pajama set like Jayden’s Super Man pajama set, but in pink and purple.  They put on their capes and “fly” around the house doing fake punches and high kicks.  It’s great.  She’s so different from Jayden, and yet, they get along so well.

I think that’s enough for today.  You’re up to speed with life at the Scarpella house!