Careful use of Ebay while making Apple Crisp

Because kids say and do cute things and those moments get fewer and farther between as they grow older, I am going back in time to bring you this information. Did you know I have a time machine? It lives in my email folders. This particular folder is named “Ebay Disputes.”

Ebay has been one of my best friends for 9 years now. I love Ebay. Ebay loves me. They send me coupons (really good coupons, but not as good as the ones they send my father-in-law). Ebay has everything. They have new things, old things, useless things, weird things. You name it; most of it can be found on Ebay. I can shop for just about anything without lugging the kids along and without finding things in the cart that I didn’t put in there! Uhm. Yeah. Right. Until October 27, 2006, that is. I was watching a few items that were scheduled to end within the hour and I didn’t want to forget to bid. I had already bought a firefighter costume for Halloween and some other things for the kids. But I didn’t want to miss those other auctions…

I remember it so clearly. We were making Apple Crisp (recipe below). It’s an annual tradition after we go apple picking. Each of the kids has a role in the apple-crisp-making. We all peel. Child B cores/slices. Child A uses a super-sharp knife to cut the slices in half (because we like it that way). Child C piles the slices in the pan. Everyone gets to do something. (OK, if you’ve done the math or thought much about it, you know that Child C was only 10 months old that year. So, she really wasn’t helping much. But she did throw in some apple slices, ate some, and threw in some more. You may also be wondering why on earth I was letting my 6yo use a super-sharp knife??? Yes, she was 6 at the time. A is very responsible. And careful. Using a dull knife is more likely to result in an injury. Then she’d never want to use a knife again! She was taught to place the sharp part of the knife on top of the apple slice, then place her other hand on top of the knife and push down. This way there are no fingers under the knife to accidentally remove! Would I recommend this for all 6yos? Absolutely NOT!)

I guess at one point A got bored and disappeared to the family room. I suspected she was watching tv. Wrong child. She wasn’t watching tv, but I didn’t know that. And she came back out to finish helping, so I didn’t have to go looking for her. After the Apple Crisp was in the oven, I went in to check on the auctions. All the auctions I had already won were already paid. But I noticed that I had 2 auctions awaiting payment. That seemed peculiar, so I refreshed MyEbay, thinking maybe I was looking at a cached page. Nope, I still have 2 auctions awaiting payment. Obviously intrigued, I click through to see what I needed to pay for.

$811.82.

My heart stopped. I had a little, mini heart-attack right there. I might have peed my pants. I know I stopped breathing. How can Ebay think I bought something for eight hundred eleven dollars and eighty-two cents?

Apparently, while I was still making apple crisp, A was looking at the MyEbay page and saw the costume I had bought. She then clicked on it and clicked on the link within that auction to view the sellers other auctions. She saw auctions for:

Superman ADULT SUPREME DELUXE COLLECTORS COSTUME *NEW* for $411.83
Star Wars XL DARTH VADER SUPREME Costume *IN STOCK* for $399.99

She clicked the Buy It Now button and then confirmed. For both auctions. Lovely. I felt sick to my stomach. The auction said that non-payers would be reported to Ebay and the credit reporting agencies. I had never seen that in an auction before, but I was freaked out.

I called hubby at work, in tears. I emailed the seller and their email box was full. Messages bounced back. I tried calling them. Their voice mail box was full. Then I looked at their address. The shop is in a town only 15 minutes away (if I were able to hop in the car and go straight there.) OK, it took us about 45 minutes to get the kids out the door and into the van and us over there (and don’t forget the Apple Crisp in the oven!) We kindly explained the situation and A apologized. She was so embarrassed, but I was convinced that she really needed to in order to understand in her 6yo mind how wrong it was for her to use mommy’s computer and click on things without mommy knowing about it. The costume shop people notified Ebay that both the seller and buyer wanted to cancel the transaction. (At the time, I didn't even know you could do that!) We didn’t have to pay $811.82 for adult costumes we didn’t need or want. They didn’t have to pay Ebay fees for A being a little click-happy. Whew.

So, when leaving your computer unattended in the presence of children, don’t stay logged in to any shopping site. I don’t know what I would have done if the business hadn’t been local. Other than cry. A lot.

That Apple Crisp sure was tasty! (But NOT worth $811.82!)

Apple Crisp
Enough apples to slice and scatter all piled up in a 9x13 baking dish (I use 6-8 large)
Honey to drizzle over the apples (1/2 -1 cup if you like honey like I do)
Flour (2 parts) *
Sugar (1 part) *
Butter, melted (1 part) *
Spray olive oil (or any other oil you like)
Cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray the oil to coat the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Peel, slice, and core the apples. Scatter and pile them in the baking dish.
4. Drizzle honey over the apples slices, sprinkle with cinnamon (if desired) and toss gently with a spoon.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and melted butter. Stir until moist. Then crumble over the apples.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

* Example: 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter OR 3 cups flour, 1½ cups sugar, 1½ cups butter. For however much flour is used, ½ of that same amount would be the measurement for sugar and butter.

(This is NOT my recipe and I do not claim it is. It is a super easy recipe I got from one of my local La Leche League Leaders years ago and I have no idea if it's hers or not. It is, however, delicious and easy!)

Not Me Monday!

I didn’t make my kids a smoothie with fresh fruits, organic milk and yogurt, and flax meal, sneaking in spinach, too, and then ask them if we should try adding spinach one of these days. Nope, not me. I wouldn’t ask them if we should do something I already did.

While we weren’t at Kiddie Land this weekend, I didn’t go skyscrapers high with 2 of my kids to go on a raft ride. While up there, I didn’t listen to a tween boy review the two different tubes of the ride, after he’d proclaimed to ride each one at least 30 times. I didn’t then proceed to tell the same tween boy behind us in line that the only reason you can see light partway down in the pitch black tube is because the ride is so old it’s falling apart. Those are the cracks where it’s breaking. That’s why Kiddie Land is closing this year. (I did, however, tell him I was just messing with him when he had a look of horror on his face.)

While shopping at Target the other day, there were 7 carts inside the front door of the store. They were in 3 groups: 2 groups of 2 carts and 1 group of 3 carts. The carts were each stuck to another cart and I couldn’t for the life of me get them separated. With my own 3 kids in tow, plus a neighbor girl, I didn’t load everyone up with a basket and tell them they all get to help carry the groceries. Nope. I wouldn’t make the children all help out and actually carry the groceries. Not me.

To find out what other mom's aren't doing, hop on over to MckMama's blog. She has a great Not Me Monday carnival and it's funny to read about others, be able to be brutally honest, and not feel a bit ton of guilt about it. We are all human and take shortcuts, make fun, and sometimes just get by. It's OK and it's great to share!

Check back Thursday for a [long and amusing, but] simple suggestion about using Ebay and a super easy, very tasty recipe for Apple Crisp!

Not a reason to swear

Last night Child C had a little tiny owie in her foot. Just a dot of blood and a lot of tears. We got a baby wipe and, when I started to clean it off, she whispered very emphatically, "Ow, dammit. Dammit." I was a bit startled and just looked at her curiously. Did she just say what I think she did? Has she heard it that much? Well, between hubby working from home and my parenting frustration, I guess she may have heard it more often than I'd like. Wow. My eyes were opened to having to be more cautious verbally.

Then she looked up at me, as I was wiping her foot again, and she said, in that strong whisper, "Dam, Mommy." I told her gently, "Sweetie, you don't have to say that. You can just tell me it hurts. I'll be more gentle." Then she spoke up and said it more loudly, "Dab! Dab it, Mommy." The clarity brought a sigh of relief. She wanted me to d.a.b. her wound, not wipe it.

She wasn't swearing at all, simply wanting me to be more gentle. Whew. It's really hard to retrain a child to stop saying something once they start. We will learn this lesson without having to learn it the hard way, for now. (Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to reflect and learn!)

Conflicted

On our way home tonight from a wonderful day at the local county fair, the children were sharing the most delicious bag of kettle corn ever. Well, the ones who were still awake, that is.

Child B speaks up from the back of the van, "Mom, I have a problem. I have a conflict I've never had before. My tummy is full, but my mouth really likes to eat this!"

I love her honesty (when she's honest!) I also love that she realizes this conflict. And that she knows the word "conflict" at age 6!

Something New on This Blog - Not Me (or Not My Child) Monday

I'm doing something a bit new today. I'm participating in Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. This week, MckMama is trying out Not My Child! Monday! I can do both...

I did not take my 3 kids to Walmart when I was already short on patience and they had already pushed every button I have. And even if I had, I certainly would not have given in to 3yo Child C when she threw a fit that she didn't want to wear these shorts. Upon announcing that it was time to move to the Kid's department, with her asking "Why, mommy? Why are we going to the Kid's department?" I most certainly did not reply with "Because that's where I can leave you all with a price tag for someone else to buy!"

Can you believe I even still go to Walmart with these children in tow after this incident???

6 yo Child B did not walk up to a woman with dark skin and tell her that her skin was so beautiful and dark... like a brownie. She then did not proceed to ask her if she tasted like a brownie and follow up with "Yummm." Nope, not my child. No way.

OK, to be brutally honest and offer a disclaimer, Child B has little impulse control and will frequently say just about anything that pops into her head, with no thought about whether or not it's appropriate or consideration of social implications. That said, she still would not say something this over the top... certainly not once at a local restaurant a month ago and then not again at a local amusement park two days ago.

(End Not Me! Monday! and Not My Child! Monday!)

Believe it or not, these were NOT the first times the kids have been out of the house! They really do NOT live in a barn! I do NOT keep them locked in a closet. Despite real life in a suburban community, with parents active in their lives, daily prayers and scripture memorization, kids really DO have minds of their own. There is only so much a parent can do.

Free will still reigns.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Summer Fun

Exhausted at the the Splash Pad Fields of Flowers Happy Birthday
Funny Faces with Friends
Unicorn

Butterfly

Rainbow Kitty

WHAT?!? Is that a tutu?

Sand Art!

I'd like a banana split and a blizzard-of-the-month, please.

Drive through service at the vent...

Comments from Child B

Two comments to record...

Thursday, July 2
We were in the van on our way to my in-law's. They live about 5 hours away, or 6 when traveling with children aged between 3 and 9. That's better than the 9 hour drive to the same destination when A was a baby (because nursing babies really do eat all the time!)

On this trip yesterday, we stopped for a potty break. Panera seemed like a clean place to stop and they have been using many billboards for advertising. Much cleaner than a gas station and less likely to result in an impulse buy than McDonalds. We still gave in to the impulse and bought bagels for the kids.

As we're pulling out, each one is gnawing on a bagel and the color is messed up on the 2nd screen of the dvd player. We are getting ready to pull out into traffic when this is a big deal. No adult can easily reach the dvd player and no one but the kids can see it. Hubby reaches around his driver's seat to make the adjustment, asking after each push of the adjustment button "There, how's that?" No response. Louder and another push: "There, how's that?" No response. B tends to zone and often times we cannot get her attention to answer a question anyway. So, now, even LOUDER: "How is that???" Nothing, as we pull out into traffic. OK, now we have to pull over to do this the right way. Hubby gets out, opens the side door, gets in and the. color. is. fine. With complete frustration, he asks "It's fine. Why didn't you say anything???"

B: I'm not supposed to talk with my mouth full.

That's right; she was eating that bagel!

Wednesday, July 1
On Wednesday, B was having a non-surgical out-patient procedure at our local hospital. She would be "asleep" for it with general anesthesia. We didn't give her many details of the procedure, but told her she would have to be still for a long time, so the doctor would give her some medicine to help her take a nap so she wouldn't move. After a couple questions about how the medicine would get in her, she seemed to be OK with it. This is good because B worries. When we got in the van, another conversation took place:

B: Mom, what if something happens? What if it doesn't go well? What if it goes wrong?
ME: What do you mean?
B: Mom, what if they kill me?

Sigh. I guess she had been thinking a lot about it and worrying anyway. Hubby and I spent some minutes re-assuring her that the doctors are very good at what they do and God is with her through the whole thing - even when she's asleep. Of course, the same very thought is at the back of every parent's mind when their child is undergoing general anesthesia.