The Hands of My Father

"The Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Hearing Parents and the Language of Love" by Myron Uhlburg

Goodreads Summary:
With candor and humor, Uhlberg recounts a childhood spent largely as a bridge between his parents and the hearing world. Translating from sign language to spoken language and back again, he enables his father to communicate with local shopkeepers, awakens his parents when his baby brother cries, and even interprets at a less-than-glowing parent-teacher conference. At times, he's embarrassed by his parents, and hurt that his father is called "dummy." But in the end, his overwhelming love and compassion leaves a lasting effect. 

My Review:
Obviously this is a book that is near to my heart. I live a large part of my daily life wrapped in the Deaf world. I am married to a Deaf man and my children have a Deaf father. My children's experience is quite different in many ways than Myron's was, and yet very similar in many ways. In reading this book, you will get a small glimpse into what it is to live with a Deaf person. I loved this book!!

Yumminess: Chocolate Potato Cake

Cake
Ingredients:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate with the vanilla, cool slightly. 
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. 
4. Cream the butter and sugar and beat in the eggs one by one. Add the chocolate and mashed potatoes. 5. Beat in the dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk. 
6. Pour into a greased 13x9inch pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes (or bake in 2 round 9 inch pans for 30-35 minutes.) 
7. Cool before frosting.

Frosting:
Ingredients:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners sugar
dash of salt
1/2 cup softened butter
hot milk
chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Melt chocolate and vanilla; let cool slightly. 
2. Cream the sugar, salt and butter. Add just enough hot milk to make a spreadable consistency. 
3. Beat in the melted chocolate. 
4. Spread on the cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Not a BIG one.

There are very few stores that suck me in to buying something if I wasn't planning on it.

Probably because I hate shopping and so I ONLY go into stores if I want to buy something.

That being said, there are a few.

The Dollar Store.
I never go there on my own accord. Not because I hate the place. I simply forget how great that store is. It's usually my kids who drag me there to buy some lousy toy that is going to break in 5 minutes treasure and in waiting the 20 minutes it takes to choose a toy, I find about 10 things that I can use. I mean, what the heck, it's only $1.

Amazon:
I am usually only on this site at work. But once I am on....it's dangerous. Mostly I buy Kindle books...because I like to read and they are so cheap!! But every once in a while I will browse around and in those moments of weakness, I will buy something. Something that I didn't need but impulsively decided to go for it.

Audible:
This place is evil and wonderful all at the same time. I always thought audio books were cheating. But now that I have a commute to work, I love them! But I have to be so careful and watch myself because this is where I tend to go crazy. No, really. It's not good. My children do need to eat on a daily basis, so I have to force myself to stay away from that site. For my children's sake.

So I admit...sometimes I am a sucker.

But not a big sucker.

Are you??

Things I've learned...

...having boys.

1. They fart. Any time. Any place. Rules related to farting are futile and do not work.
2. They play. They fight... Wait 5 minutes... Aaaaaand...they're over it.
3. Teasing is their way of showing love.
4. Gaming is to boys what chocolate is to women.
5. When it comes to the toilet….boys have horrible aim.
6. When your boy grunts at you, just be glad that he is trying to communicate.
7. The inability to multitask in innate. And it never leaves them. Ever.
8. Boys sweat. A lot. Their armpits. Their hair. Their feet. Pretty much everywhere.
9. Once puberty hits, their stomach is replaced with a black hole.
10. Just because they are rough on the outside they are still soft on the inside.

That's gotta hurt!

There is nothing more frustrating 

than having to run to Payless Shoes 

in the morning 

to buy your son new shoes 

because you can't find his 

old shoes.

Okay... 

yes there is.

Like

when dropping off said son,

with his new shoes,

at school

only to realize that 

today is 

state testing day.

Grrrrr!!

Another good book: In a Glass Grimmly

"In a Glass Grimmly" by Adam Gidwitz

Goodreads Summary:
More Grimm tales await in the harrowing, hilarious companion to a beloved new classic
Take caution ahead—
Oversize plant life, eerie amphibious royalty, and fear-inducing creatures abound.

Lest you enter with dread.
Follow Jack and Jill as they enter startling new landscapes that may (or may not) be scary, bloody, terrifying, and altogether true.

Step lively, dear reader . . .
Happily ever after isn’t cutting it anymore.

In this companion novel to Adam Gidwitz’s widely acclaimed, award-winning debut, A Tale Dark & Grimm, Jack and Jill explore a new set of tales from the Brothers Grimm and others, including Jack and the Beanstalk and The Frog Prince. 

My review:
I loved the first book in this series, "A Tale Dark and Grimm." I personally thought this one was even better than the first. Adam Gidwitz has a great has a great way of including humor in this adventurous book. I love that even though this is a continuous book of Jack and Jill and a frog's adventure, he starts each chapter as if it was the beginning of a new tale. This is a great read for both older and younger. I can't wait to read the next book.

Yummy Recipe: Easy Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

Recipe and picture found here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Italian sausage (I prefer hot, but mild or sweet also work)
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced (or 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and diced)
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 (20 ounce) bag frozen hash browns, thawed
• 2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• (optional topping: thinly sliced green onions)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the sausage to a medium saute pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, crumbling the sausage with a spoon as it cooks. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of sausage grease in the saute pan, discarding the rest. Add the onion and red pepper* to the saute pan, and saute for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. (If using the jarred roasted red peppers, wait to stir them until after the garlic.) Pour the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl with the sausage. Add the hash browns and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the mixing bowl with the sausage and veggies. Stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and black pepper until combined. Then add them to the hashbrown mixture, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 11x7-inch or a 9x9-inch baking dish (a 9x13-inch dish will also work), and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and the top of the potatoes begin to slightly brown. Remove and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and serve!