Corn on the Cob

Although I'm finally in the unpacking stage this last week, I've found a little time to write a quick blog:

image:  http://ginazammit.com/2012/07/01/summer-camp-cooler-corn/

So, we've been eating a bit of corn on the cob lately.  DIY-Dad is crazy about it. I never knew how to cook it properly till a couple years ago when I consulted Betty Crocker. I was quite surprised.
We have been very happy with the results.

Gone Like the Wind.

      It's crazy. I had one week when we got the news of when and where we were moving. The next week we went house hunting. Then camping with the in-laws for a week. We left the kids with grandma and grandpa and made the trek back south. Packed and cleaned for 4 days straight. Movers came and loaded everything into the truck yesterday morning. We hit the road after lunch. Stayed the night at my folks and made it back to the in-laws tonight. We'll be here for the weekend. Anthony will motel it Monday and Tuesday until closing on Wednesday. Then he can move in... and camp out until our furniture shows up a week later. Then the kids and I will join him.
       Wish I had more time to say goodbyes. We will miss our friends. Thanks to Victoria for helping me clean out my fridge/freezer and to the missionaries who stopped by and wiped out all the kitchen drawers and cabinets.  Thanks to Seth next door for mowing our lawn while we were away and his awesome mom who will sneak in and clean the mirrors and a couple windows since I packed all the cleaning supplies too soon.
      We will miss a lot of things in GJ, but we're excited to be homeowners again and to have a little more permanence in our lives.  On to the next adventure.

Moving.

  So we confirmed today that we are definitely moving (within 30 days).  DIY-Dad just accepted a promotion which will take us to a completely different area (well, it's still in the west).  We've done a lot of moving in our  8-year marriage. We've lived in 8 different places and moved 13 times. This move is supposed to be for a few years at the least.

  I really like moving actually, when it's all done. I make new friends and acquaintances and I feel like we get to make a fresh start again.  I often reinvent myself and refocus on a new area of my life.

Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream

Here's the product's web addressSee UPDATE Below

Oh, heavens. I'm so in love with this product right now. After dealing with Eczema for both of my kids I finally found something that works. I think living in a hot climate has been really bad for Caleb.  Here he is 16 months old and I finally found something that works.

I've tried about 7 different types of lotions creams and medications and wasted a lot of money.  I even recently spent about $12 on a tiny canister of all natural ointment "Eczema Free."   Do your baby a favor and try this.  It cleared up his 2-month-long, back-of-knee flare-up overnight.  Seriously his skin has been red, raw, and irritated for 2 months and the inflammation disappeared overnight and they are completely healed 2 days later.  No other ointment cream, medication, that I have tried have had such visible results.

Usually I wishfully think, "Oh I think it looks a little better, I'm sure if I religiously apply it, it will get better with time."  I have a hard time spending money on products and not using them up.  Nothing else has really made a noticeable difference.

I have been using Gentle Naturals Eczema Cream for years. I used it on Kelty and it was okay. It does okay preventing irritation and helps the skin to repel water but it doesn't really do much once a flare-up starts.  I used to use that and then hydro-cortisone cream on her whenever she had a bad flare-up.  With Caleb, we moved to a much hotter climate and I think it has exacerbated his eczema.
For about 2 months he has had raw, irritated, scaly skin on the backs of his knees.  He also got a couple new raw patches on the tops of his feet and around the ankle.  It is so hot here, but I hated putting him in shorts because his raw skin was exposed.

 Hopefully this is the end of his continued misery.  I will update this later on if I feel it is no longer keeping his eczema under control but at this point (fingers crossed) I am hooked.

Here's my sensitive skinned and fair beauty. -self portrait.

Such a happy boy!

UPDATE: About 2 weeks into using this Eczema cream Caleb is starting to have redness under his knees again.  I'm trying to keep up on it, but it is definitely back... It isn't keeping it completely at bay with daily application. I guess his skin has adapted to it and just wants to be grumpy.  It's not as bad as it was when I first turned to this product. If it does get that bad with regular use I will remove my recommendation.

8/22/2012: Caleb's Eczema is doing much better. I use Cortizone-10 Intensive Healing Lotion for Eczema and Itchy, Dry Skin. on his occasional flare-ups and I'm still using the Aveeno Baby stuff after his every other day baths.

10/1/2013: I discovered Bleach baths this summer and has made a big difference  see this post

Controlling Eczema: Bleach Baths... 

I rarely feel the need to use Cortizone lotions and his eczema is better than ever.

 My Favorite lotion is also by Aveeno especially for my winter hands.

Bambi Cakes

 

You may be wondering... What are Bambi Cakes?  Well if you have a husband who likes to hunt like I do, then you probably have a lot of lean ground meat. Generally my husband harvests 1 deer each year or occasionally an elk.  So these are small venison meatloaves. We really like meatloaf around here but in the summer I don't like to have my oven on for very long so I decided to bake mini- meatloaves in a muffin pan and chop down that bake time significantly.  Now if you don't have venison you can substitute lean ground beef or turkey. I guess they'd be called Beef Cakes?

Lengthen Jeans

I hate wearing high-water pants! I did it enough growing up the middle child of 7, often getting hand-me downs from my older sisters (who are now 5 inches or so shorter than I am).  I have a lot of gripes about ill-fitting clothes... Back in the 90's, when I was in grade/high school, pants were not so tight and fitted. Straight leg pants were fashionable and I loved them (still do). I didn't have money to buy jeans from department stores (which sometimes only have a limited selection of styles in my size). I used to buy 2-3 sizes too big so my pants reached my ankles although they sat low on my hips and hung low in the crotch. Not very flattering but I did the best I could. I hated that when I sat down my pants rode up really high because the length was in the crotch.

Now jeans are fitted and flared and if I can find a pair in my size they do look rather cute (nevermind skinny jeans... that's for another blog).  The pant legs are actually longer to accommodate short girls who wear tall shoes. The length is added to the calf but not the thigh.  I've bought a few pairs, and I was so excited they were long enough, but then my pants constantly pull down at the waist because they don't have enough slack in the thighs.  So even though I wear probably a 34" inseam, some styles I have to get a 36" inseam because that is the size that they change from 'average' to 'tall' fit and add length to the thigh. Then I have to take off some length or roll them up (which I don't mind at all!)

My daughter's lengthened hand-me down jeans. I vowed that my kids won't have to wear high-water pants. Even though I won't turn down free hand-me downs.  I added coordinating patches to the knees on one pair.

So I have a few pairs of jeans that were not too fitted that I bought, thought they were perfect, and then I washed them and they shrunk. 

Best Ever Cookies

I have been debating sharing this recipe. They are so good I've been considering selling the recipe. Whatever you do, be grateful I'm sharing this recipe with you and don't make money off of them unless you give me a cut of your earnings. THIS IS MY RECIPE *. I give my deceased Grandma Calderwood some of the credit because it was from her recipe that I created this cookie masterpiece.
 It is my family favorite with less sugar, butter instead of shortening (and less of it), plus whole-wheat flour and milled flax seed for texture and wholesome goodness.

I have been making different variations of this recipe for over 10 years and it's finally perfect (until I try something new).

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