in case you were wondering...

Maggie called from the car. They are in Ohio headed to Hershey, PA. She's playing with paper dolls and coloring books from Grandma and looking forward to watching movies later on. So far traveling has been fun. She hasn't gotten into any fights (so she claims) with her sister Cecilia.

Maggie left for Massachusetts with her Dad today. We miss her.

How great is this? Remember when I had the ant problem & I mentioned the smell of curry was curbing my appetite? Check out this article!


Tasty Curry Might Have a Fringe Benefit

By Kathleen Fackelmann

Five years ago Darci Jayne hardly ever touched a vegetable and pretty much lived on pizza, pasta and fast food.

That diet led to weight gain and health problems, including severe joint pain. "I was close to 200 pounds and getting scared," she says.

By cutting portion sizes she lost 50 pounds but always felt as if she were on a diet. Then Jayne took an Indian cooking class that emphasized fresh vegetables and curry spices.

She began to whip up an Indian dinner once or twice a week -- and soon she noticed she wasn't always looking for a late-night snack. And the curry in the food offered her a bonus: It seemed to ease the pain and swelling in her joints.

"I have arthritis," says Jayne, 55. "But I'm moving better now."

Preliminary research suggests Jayne may be right. A study in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism suggests turmeric, one component of curry spice, almost completely prevented joint swelling in rats with arthritis. Other studies have suggested that the spice could protect against diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease that afflicts nearly 5 million people in the USA.

Rates of Alzheimer's in India are about four times lower than in the USA, says Gregory Cole, a researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles. His studies suggest that curry contains a powerful substance that might protect the brain from damage that leads to Alzheimer's.

Surprising findings in mice

Can scientists prove curry wards off such diseases as Alzheimer's or cancer? Not yet, says Bharat Aggarwal at the University of Texas-Houston. But he says the growing file on curry includes compelling evidence gleaned from animal and human studies.

The findings from Western science fit with what traditional Indian healers have long said about turmeric. "They call it the spice of life," says P. Murali Doraiswamy, an Alzheimer's expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

For centuries, doctors trained in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional medical system in India, have turned to turmeric to treat inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, says Janet Funk, a researcher at the University of Kansas. In the USA, many people with arthritis take over-the-counter supplements that contain curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric.

In the November study, Funk and her colleagues gave rats that were bred to develop rheumatoid arthritis injections of turmeric. "The turmeric almost completely prevented the onset of arthritis," Funk says. The spice also seemed to help stop joint destruction in rats that had already started to develop the disease, she says.

Curry also may offer some protection against cancer. "Indians eat from 100 to 200 milligrams of curry every day, and that might be enough to prevent cancer," says Aggarwal of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

The curcumin in curry seems to shut down genes that trigger the development and the spread of breast cancer, animal studies in Aggarwal's lab suggest. And a preliminary human study suggests curcumin supplements might -- in a handful of cases -- be able to stabilize pancreatic cancer, he says.

Epidemiology studies in humans also have linked frequent use of turmeric spice to lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer, he says.

Large clinical studies still needed

Other research suggests curry might shield the brain from Alzheimer's, Cole says.

The studies on curry and Alzheimer's include:

*A test-tube study by researchers at UCLA in October showed that curcumin could help clear the human brain of toxic protein deposits thought to cause the memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer's.

*A study of more than 1,000 older men in Singapore last year found that those who ate lots of curry-spiced food did better on memory tests than those who rarely ate the spice.

The findings from Singapore suggest curry may help keep the aging brain in top shape. But to get the proof that curcumin fights cancer or Alzheimer's or arthritis, researchers will have to conduct large clinical trials, Cole says, and those studies will be expensive and take years to complete.

Americans don't need to wait for the proof on curry to enjoy a diet that includes more of this spice, says Alamelu Vairavan, co-author of the book Healthy South Indian Cooking. "You don't need to gulp supplements," she says, adding that cooks can find turmeric in Indian specialty shops and in most grocery stores.

Americans should give Indian food a try, Vairavan says. "This kind of food is very tasty and satisfying."

Eating more Indian food has worked for Jayne, who lives with her family in a small town outside Milwaukee. A family physician who recently retired because of disabling arthritis pain, Jayne says she knows there's no hard evidence of curry's health benefits. But that won't stop her from enjoying a lunch of tuna masala or an Indian stir-fry for dinner. She says the food seems to warm her joints and helps keep her in a size 8 dress.

"You can't argue with success," she says.



Source: USA TODAY

Today the kids seemed to be curious as to what would happen if they didn't finish their checklist. Their actions asked, "What if I skip my chores?" and "What if I take 3 hours to write a paragraph in my journal?"

It took them until 3:30 to figure out that not finishing checklist = not going swimming. Everyone was pretty upset when I announced they had now past the time of being able to go swimming for the day since I had somewhere to be after supper. I quickly reminded them that they had made this choice with their actions.

I was proud of myself. It was the first time all summer that I had to look into the sad little eyes of children in swimming suits (they call this "getting dressed") and tell them "no", and I did it. Even though I wanted to find a way to say yes, I knew they needed to learn cause & effect - Mom can't rescue you just because you decided to be a slacker.

Then the neighbor kid called. I forgot that she had asked yesterday if she could go to the pool with us today. She knew it was getting late. I hated telling her we weren't going. She cried. I wanted to cry for her. I couldn't take it. I went outside (so the kids didn't hear me) and called Cherie. Yes, she could take the kids & the neighbor swimming after supper - she said she could use the exercise...

To make up for the fact that I caved, I added to each of their checklists. I told them if they didn't get them done before I left, they would be coming with me instead of Cherie.

They took me seriously - they all finished long before supper and swam happily ever after.

I can't belive it's the end of June & we've dug into the boredom busters box a grand total of zero times so far! We've also gone to zero events at the library, and zero events at the local parks. I guess that's a good thing...they've been content with what's going on around the house & swimming at the pools. At least I've been prepared!

Three weeks of summer vacation - gone. done. spent. finished.

Only one more week until Maggie goes off to Mass. with her dad. She'll get back just as Gracy will be leaving to go on her mission trip for 5 days. They'll be home together just long enough to catch up on laundry & off they'll be to North Carolina to visit with Mimi & Pop Pop for 10 days. Two weeks home, followed by one week of camp. Camp is followed up by the last week of summer vacation!

Yikes!

During Missionettes tonight, the reality of how much work was required to become an "Honor Star" really set in with the girls. I was a bit worried that when this reality hit them they'd be discouraged. I wouldn't ever force this upon them, but they are just too young to be having their dreams squashed by the reality of hard work. Normally girls have 3 years to complete the steps to becoming an "Honor Star". Because of us not starting with the program when they each entered 3rd grade, Maggie only has 2 years, and Gracy 1 year. I always want to encourage them to acomplish any goal they set for themselves - even if it means extra work to organize things on my end.

When I picked up the girls, they told me how much work this was really going to take. (It's so cute when kids think they are teaching parents something new) But to my surprise, they had a solution. "Instead of working on math, science & spelling could we just work on a badge every day?"

I couldn't say YES fast enough. I'm thrilled that they came up with a solution to their dilema. They didn't give up just because it would take a lot of work. And let's face it, working on badges requires reading & writing with an ocassional math & science thrown in. This is summer vacation, and if they have found a way to have fun and learn at the same time, YES!

>>>>BEWARE: CHEESY 90'S FLASHBACK BELOW<<<<

This whole experience reminded me of a quote I had plastered on my bedroom wall back in high school. I believe I stole it from Ratt (don't ask...me listening to Ratt is an entirely different story). "Don't let your dreams be clouded, aim your sights high, search your true feelings and reach for the sky"

Yes, there is probably a billion Bible verses I could've stuck in here instead - but honestly - this was the first quote that entered my brain...Apparently I need to spend extra time reading the Word to erase previous damage. Hahaha!! :)

Check out the girls picking a salad of beautiful, green, homegrown lettuce!

One look at the floor made me wonder if we were advertising for Old Navy. Nope. Just have a bunch of girls that just came in from the pool. (that's only one pair of shoes for each person that just walked in!)

So last night we were pretty sucessful terminating the ant population in our kitchen with both napkins and curry powder. However, Gracy and Maggie each had a friend sleep over last night. I woke up this morning to popcicle wrapers covering up the ants on the kitchen counter. The dishes they did manage to put in the sink were void of ants - proving the curry powder to be an effective barrier. Part of me wants to wake them all up and force them to scrub the kitchen with a toothbrush. The rest of me hopes they sleep long enough for me to be able to laugh about this. On the bright side, the smell of curry powder is doing an amazing job at reducing my hunger. Perhaps the next time I feel like I'll die if I don't eat a chocolate bar I can take a big wiff of curry powder.

Ok, so I admit it...it's my fault. I left the house this afternoon before doing the dishes. And now I'm paying the price. I know better. It's June.

I've heard that you can sprinkle cayenne pepper in their path, and they won't cross it. I must've run out (is that possible? I thought a bottle of this stuff would last a couple decades). So I tried curry powder. Seems to be working so far...

Today seemed as though it would never end. It was all good, but man am I tired! I'll keep it to brief recaps.

First things First:
Strawberry Picking Do-Over. This time we went with our friends Amy, Mary & Bill from church and we got there at 7am. The girls & I aren't exactly morning people, but we still had a blast. Thanks for inviting us Amy!!

Immediately following I had training at the Sexual Assault Center to become a Victim Advocate. I've really been looking forward to this so I was excited, but 9-4 was a l-o-n-g time. The girls got to spend the entire day with Grandma Christine! Thanks Grandma for sewing our badges on our sashes while we were there!!!!

I picked up the girls & had a fantastic supper at Mom's. But I had to rush off to make it to church. I didn't even have time to pick up my Bible. I felt strange - I can't remember the last time I went to church without my Bible! It was an awesome service though. 3 guys talking about different aspects of fathering. It was great to hear from them what God's been teaching them. Then naturally, it was my turn to clean the church after service tonight. (Why not?)

After church (we're talking 8:30 by now) I dropped Maggie off by her dad's. Then took Gracy & headed out to Pastor's house for a gathering. It was fun. We got to know some people a little better and just have a good time without any major business needing to be conducted. We even got to laugh at Pastor Ron & Pastor Debbie's high school year books. All I can say about that is - Wow! By 11:30 Gracy informed me she was tired. But there was a difference between being tired and being sleepy. Within 10 minutes she was sleeping on the living room floor, so I thought it best to take her home.

I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow............

I began the day thinking we were going to make a trip to Milwaukee to go the museum. Circumstances arose that didn't allow for that to happen. Thankfully, I hadn't told the kids what we were doing yet. They've been begging to go back to the museum for some time now. It's hard to find a day to get there though.

Just as I was realizing we'd have to change plans, little (5 year old) Anna called and asked if we would like to go to the zoo with her and her family. (Read all about what's going on with them at www.ocarrolls.blogspot.com) The kids were super excited, so after we finished our terribly late lunch, off we went.

They got to feed and pet a giraffe - which I have to admit looked pretty fun. I took pictures, but had trouble uploading them for some reason. I'll keep trying and post them when I can. We were all so thankful Anna thought to invite us along. In her sweet voice and big eyes she said, "I just knew it would be so much fun with you guys here".

We followed up dinner with none other than an hour of swimming at the closest pool. And off to bed...tomorrow is guaranteed to be a busy one.

There hasn't been a whole lot to report this week. With the opening of the city pools, it's where we've been spending most of our afternoons.

The lunch time prayers have mostly been, "God, thank you so much for the beautiful day, the swimming pools, and a mom that loves to take us swimming. And God, please make it so we can go swimming again today." I know that I'll have to encourage those prayers to not be quite so self centered, but they have been extremely funny to me the past couple days.

After we got back from the pool and had dinner, I had band rehearsal. They got to go back to the pool with Cherie.

So there you have it...This week has mostly been about swimming.

We went strawberry picking for about 15 minutes today. They saw the sign pointing in the direction of the patch. And it was calling our names. So after we finished our work & chores for the day we went picking. Except it wasn't as exciting as they had hoped. We between the four of us we picked enough to fill the container you see Ben holding in the picture. On the bright side, we won't be loosing any to mold this time around!

After dinner we went to a different city pool. This one's not all that fancy - only 3 diving boards, no slides. But we always have a ton of fun at it.

Speaking of ton of fun, I wanted to share what Maggie wrote about camp in her journal (yes, I have her permission):
My weekend was a blast. I went to camp. And we went swimming in Spencer Lake. We went to church. And I went boating. And I met a wonderful singer.

Gracy has the following to say about camp:
I thought camp was really fun. We got to go swimming in Spencer Lake. We went to church every day we were there. On Friday we got to see people crowned. Saturday we had Praise & Worship with a girl named Ashley. And on Sunday, we had Ashley again and she's really funny.

For months we drove past the new aquatic center being built on the way to school. Every day the kids checked on the "pool progress". Today we finally got to check it out from the inside. 3 waterslides, and a diving board. What more could we want?

Unfortunately, we had to fill out an accident report right as we were leaving. Poor Maggie slipped on the wet concrete. Her head smacked the ground pretty hard. Luckily a lifeguard was nearby and was able to be a witness that Maggie was following the rules (not running). She was pretty shook up, but is doing fine now.

As I waited in the empty parking lot, I began to imagine what kind of stories the girls would have about camp. I wondered what kind of things they had done. I wondered how they liked having a church service this morning specifically designed for girls their age. Did they make new friends from across the state? Did Maggie remember to put on sunscreen? Did Gracy brush her hair, or just try to sneak it into a ponytail? I was imagining the vans pulling out an giggling girls bouncing out.

As the vans pulled in the lot, girls slowly got out. The activity filled, sleepless weekend followed by an hour and a half on the road resulted in sleepy girls. Both Maggie & Gracy were short and snippy.

We located their items and packed them in the car all while Maggie was on the verge of having a breakdown & Gracy wandered around almost sleeping carrying her loaded backpack. She kept forgetting to put it in the car.

Turns out that the girls had a bit of a run-in with another girl at camp. According to the leaders, this other girl is "an instigator". According to the girls, "she's totally mean and is always doing mean things to us". So, their tent got messed up, there was a situation with glow sticks that I don't quite understand, and a few other instances. Maggie is pretty sure she doesn't want to go to camp ever again - especially if she is going to be there. Gracy is a little more adventurous and is willing to give camp one more try.

I used the situation to talk to the girls about loving others even when they don't love us. We talked about praying for our enemies and how hard that really is. We also talked about focusing on the positive, and not letting someone else ruin our day - even when that's hard to do, too.

After her nap, I think Maggie was willing to reconsider her decision to never go back to camp. She was even able to smile about a couple of things they did over the weekend.

This morning was calm and beautiful. I made a cup of tea and thanked God for the beautiful day He created. The sun was bright, there was a cool breeze, the kids were sleeping in, the smell of apple bread filled the kitchen....and then they woke up.

All 3 bounced into the kitchen at about the same time. The extra sleep gave them extra energy - translation: LOUD!

With the first camp of the summer just around the corner, the girls are having concentration problems. Even with a checklist in hand, they needed (multiple) reminders to pack obvious things like underwear and a toothbrush. The giggles I enjoyed. The frustration of trying to get the girls packed for 2 hours I could've done without. But I'm happy to report we finally got out the door & dropped off the goods. They leave Friday morning - and I'm pretty sure they will be a bit...um...active until then. They've never been to camp before. Excitement doesn't get much higher than this!

Gracy, Maggie & Ben definately kept busy today. Math was not a big hit this morning. Maggie pretended to not remember how to divide 3 into 6
while Gracy claimed she was "too bored" to do her math.

I went out to www.bn.com today and printed off a few forms for thier summer book program. For every 8 books the kids read and log they can get one book free. And my mom said there was no such thing as free lunch!

After homework was finally finished, we went to a nature preserve that's just 3 miles from our house & did the one mile trail. Leave it to Maggie to wear a skirt & flip flops on the trails! Near the pond we saw a few holes with crayfish bones laying near it. Being the pathetic city-folk that we are, we decided we should take off before we found out what kind of animal it was that dug the holes. We saw a ton of dragonflies, one even landed on Maggie's arm.

After supper, Cherie took the kids to a work sponsored event. They walked one mile, got free ice cream, and walked a mile back. (That's a total of 3 miles of walking for them today!) After the walk and ice cream they went to a baseball game. Maggie hasn't stopped telling me I should really go to a baseball game sometime soon. Apparently it was a hit! And in case you were wondering....yes, that bullfrog's name is Jeremiah.

We're off to a pretty good start. The kids did all of their homework, reading, & chores. The biggest argument I got was from Maggie (go figure!). She was trying to get away with reading one verse instead of one chapter from her Bible - but she eventually gave in. Ben and Maggie actually argued over who got to mop the floors....I wish I could figure out how that happens so I can repeat as frequently as possible.

After supper the girls and I stopped out at Grandma's. She has bunches and bunches of daisies next to her house. They took thier time and made a couple of beautiful arangements.

It's hard to believe the school year is all ready over. It seems just like yesterday we were writing names on the girls new school supplies.

My feelings on the day? Definately mixed up. I'm looking foward to the opportunity to spend more time with the girls. They are at a wonderful age where they can entertain themselves if needed, but they usually don't mind doing things with me either. On the other hand, I just started working from the house. I don't want to neglect the girls or work. I certainly don't want to be frusterated with my girls just for being out of school during "work time". Yet I know I have a responsibility to get things done for work. Oh - and did I mention I'll also be watching a friend's son? So that leaves me with Gracy 10, Maggie 8, and Ben 7...

So, I did what any taskmaster would do...I planned to the point of insanity. I know eventually someone will say, "Mom, I'm bored" right in the middle of a project I'm working on. I won't have time to think of anything, so I figured I'd try to be prepared. I know, I know...millions of moms all over America have 3 kids for the summer and do just fine. What makes me think I need to plan so much? I've found that if I don't have a plan I get frusterated and take it out on others. I don't necissarily have to follow the plan...just have one. :) I've decided to blog my plan & ideas followed by the outcome. I definately appreciate any feedback.

What I've done to plan:
*In my Outlook Calendar I've not only put in my usual meeteings and deadlines for work, but I've also entered free or low cost activities (we're talking under $5 for all of us) going on at the city parks, library, and schools. I was happily surprised to be overwhelmed once I started plugging in all the opportunites.
*Planted a garden at a friend's house. Our backyard doesn't have the room for a garden, not to mention we rent. So when a friend offered to let us share her garden space, I jumped at the chance. I'm excited to learn along with the kids how to garden from a pro!
*We're taking the presidential challenge. I went to www.presidentschallenge.org and signed us all up. We've commited to physical activity for at least 30 minutes each day and hope to earn an award by the end of summer.
*Pool Passes. Our city has an awesome park system with 2 aquatic centers. With our passes we can go anytime and cool down in the pool, sunbathe poolside, or take advantage of the waterslides.
*Schoolwork. Ok, I know it's summer vacation, but I keep hearing all the benefits of continued studies thru the summer months. They don't have a ton. One small amount on one subject each day. Friday they get to pick a packet of any subject they feel like doing. For science each week they have an experiment to perform. Fun things like gathering mud and sticks and trying to make a bird's nest using 2 ice cream bar sticks like a bird's beak. They also have to read one chapter in a book of thier choice and one chapter of a book of thier choice in the Bible.
*Journaling. I'm asking that they each write at least one paragraph about their day. While I'm wanting to form a good habit I'm also selfish - I want to type some of their entries up and include them in a scrap book of summer '07.
*Chores. I made magnets of common chores and put them on the side of the fridge. There's a section of "needs to be done" and "done" so there are no questions.
*I'm bored busters. This is a box into which I've inserted index cards filled with things to do. They include things like making a volcano in the backyard, picking up trash at a local park, painting with nature (using grass, leaves, etc as paintbrushes), writing a letter to a grandparent, and decorating bikes and scooters to have a parade. I've let the kids know what a couple of the cards say, but mostly kept them a secret. I'm thinking I'll let them each pull one and then they can decide which one we do. Or maybe we'll just pull one...we'll see. I've got about 50 ideas in the box, and most of them are pretty fun if I do say so myself. Perhaps I'll post the list sometime. I'm also hoping this list grows. I'm going to be looking for ideas to expand the box. I also hope the kids come up with some of their own to add.
*Rate a park. I got this idea from Mrs. Taylor - who is retiring this year after teaching 1st grade for 42 years... We plan to go to a different park each week & enjoy it. When we get home, we'll rate it based on how pretty it was, how fun it was, and if we'd like to go back. We'll keep them all in a notebook, or maybe a Word file. We can go back to the ones we liked best. The kids will not know where we are going week to week.
*Camp. The girls are going to a 3 day Missionettes camp next weekend. They'll also be going to a 5 day Super Kidz Camp in August.
*Travel. Gracy is going on her first mission trip. It's a 5 day trip and they'll stay in the state. But it gives her the chance to share her faith. I'm excited she's finally old enough to make the trip. Next year both the girls will go. Maggie is going to Mass. with her dad for a little more than a week. Gracy & Maggie will also both be going to NC to visit Gracy's grandparents for 10 days.

Ok, so I've been known to be an overachiever - and it shows. But like I said before, I don't have to stick with the plan. As long as I have one.

Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Sarah