To Oklahoma and Back

OK, I know this blog is supposed to be about education and parenting, but I just completed a whole other type of adventure. I traveled with my mom (and uncle). Ugh! It wasn't easy. Here's the rundown of all we did from Pukwana to OKC. Please click the links to learn more about our stops.

Tuesday, May 24
My mom and her brother, Charlie, arrived at my house to pick up Quinn and me around 3 p.m. We had planned to drive to York, NE but decided it would make more sense to drive to Sioux City, IA. The first leg of our journey was fairly uneventful. We had a nice supper at Applebee's, I bought a new camera (to replace the one stolen last August; I'm still mad at that creep), and Quinn spent some time in the pool.

I knew the risk for tornadoes was high for Kansas and Oklahoma. I wasn't able to watch any TV news, but I was able to check for updates on my laptop. It was chilling to see the devastation to Piedmont, OK just 20 miles from our destination.

Wednesday, May 25
Woke up to rain, rain, and more rain with plans of spending the day at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Here's where things started to get tense. Mom wanted to just get in the car and drive. Just wing it, so to speak. I wanted a plan. We did end up at the zoo and didn't get too wet by the time it was all said and done. After seeing lots of animals and taking lots of pictures of turtles and tortoises for my friend, Lynn, we went to an IMAX movie, Alaska - Spirit of the Wild. Quinn was so tired, he nearly fell asleep. That doesn't happen often. Grandma and Uncle Charlie were actually well rested. They abandoned Quinn and me in the early afternoon. After roughly six hours at the zoo things became tense again.

The navigator (Mom) failed to tell the driver (that would be me) which way to go. Once the driver turned around and was headed in the proper direction, the navigator and driver had a disagreement regarding staying or going further south. Given the driver's stress level, it was decided the travelers would just spend the night in Council Bluffs. I chose a lovely Fairfield Inn with a Cracker Barrel just across the parking lot. We also learned that a tornado also touched down just two miles north of my uncle's house in Edmond, OK and they were without power, but otherwise okay.



Thursdsay, May 26
Thursday brought sunshine and short trip to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska.  We met an old friend there, Pastor Paul Lillenas and his family (wife, Vira and daughters, Christina and Anna).We explored the Table Creek Trail and received eight free Colorado Blue Spruce trees from the greenhouse. After an nice lunch at Lied Lodge, we said our goodbyes and continued on to Hutchinson, KS. After searching at least four different hotels for a room, we finally got lucky. We enjoyed supper at IHOP and we were all settled down (in our pajamas) when around 9 p.m. the fire alarm went off. Too say it was crazy and ridiculous for about 5 minutes would be an understatement. Have you ever seen an 82-yr-old man stand on the edge of the bed trying to read the smoke detector? Not good.

L-R, back: Pat, Charlie, Paul, Vira;
L-R, front: Quinn, Anna, Christina

Quinn sitting in an ejection seat.

Friday, May 27
We started out the day at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. We say an SR-17 and mock-up of the space shuttle, Endeavor. We weren't able to see all the exhibits, but we did watch the IMAX film, Tornado Alley. By noon, we were on our way to Oklahoma City (OKC). Our destination was finally in sight!

We arrived at my Uncle Bill's house around 4:00, I believe. After a nice meal, Barb, Brendan, Mom, Quinn, and I went to downtown OKC. We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and And Jesus Wept.

We also made a stop Bricktown for a water taxi cruise along the river. I could have spent  more time there, but it was getting late.


Saturday, May 28

Saturday found us doing a little shopping and more visiting with Bill's family. Saturday night brought the main event, I'd been waiting for, Remington Park! I wasn't able to stay for all 12 races, but had fun anyway. Just as we were about to leave, Quinn told me he'd seen Billy Etbauer. I thought maybe that was wishful thinking, but Quinn was certain. We looked and looked, but I couldn't see Billy anywhere. We had to leave, the rest of the entourage was getting restless (that's the polite way of saying they were bored). We finished off the night with a stop at The Cheesecake Factory. Quinn ordered an amazingly good piece of Dutch Apple Caramel Streusel cheesecake.


Sunday, May 29


Sunday was a busy day! We started off with church at Church of the Servant. This church has over 6500 members, 4 Sunday services, and trees and waterfalls in the sanctuary! You don't see that in SD. We then had lunch at a Guatemalan place called Cafe Kacao and did a little shopping at Tener's. Because restaurants and attractions are so spread out, lunch and little boot and jean shopping took almost 4 hours!

Quinn and I had to hurry. We had a date with Billy Etbauer! The Etbauer ranch is only 3 miles from my uncle's house. I sure wish we could have spent the whole day there. The EtbauerKord, Jacey, and Treg greeted us like old friends. I wanted Quinn to meet Billy because Quinn had researched and portrayed Billy for the 4th grade SD Hall of Fame wax museum in March. We enjoyed a 3 hour visit. We were able to talk horses, rodeo, tornadoes, and all the kids told great stories. And, we found out Quinn had been right. The Etbauer family had been at Remington on Saturday night!

We wrapped up the day with a little Route 66 time and a stop at Pop's. Pop's has great diner type food and over 500 varieties of pop including over 65 flavors of root beer.

Monday, May 30
Monday was fairly uneventful except for the fact that severe weather was forecast for much of KS, NE, SD, and ND right along our northerly path. Around 6 p.m., a friend (originally from NE) sent me a text saying her parents were waiting out a storm in a barn near Basset, NE. The storm was producing grapefruit sized hail and near 100 mph winds. Our destination for the night was York, NE. When we arrived, there were tornado warnings 2 hours west of York and the winds in York were blowing 55 mph. I sent a text to Gail (from BHW). Her husband, Dave, and their son are storm chasers. I watched the radar and warnings and kept in touch with her. We had supper at Chances R and Quinn was able to swim for awhile. The storms reached York around 10 p.m. with the tornado activity taking a southeasterly track, thankfully. At one point, it did sound like it was hailing ,but when I looked out the window all I saw was huge raindrops coming down hard.

Tuesday, May 31
Tuesday was uneventful. I was home by late afternoon. Quinn continued on to Newell. He'll spend a few weeks with Mom and Uncle Charlie. There was a lot more we could have seen and done, but it was a good trip overall despite the frustration at times. I think I'll wait a few years before I do it again, though.

Chicken Enchiladas

Are you looking for something amazing to cook this weekend? Try these scrumptious chicken enchiladas.
2 large whole chicken breasts, poached
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1, 16 oz. can of tomatoes, chopped
1, 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped, mild green chilies
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of basil
12 corn tortillas
2 cups (8 oz.) of Monterey Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) of sour cream 

Cut chicken meat into 12 strips and salt to taste; set aside. In a saucepan, saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies, sugar, cumin, salt, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Dip each tortilla in tomato mixture to soften. Place piece of chicken and 2 tablespoons cheese on each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in an ungreased 9 x 13" pan. Blend sour cream into remaining sauce mixture and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until heated through.


Recipe from Colorado Cache Cookbook by The Junior League of Denver

Chocolate Caramel Heaven

Coltan is being confirmed tomorrow. My mom is visiting and that means she brought food. We can rarely buy good fruit here so I asked her to bring 2 qts. of strawberries to make strawberry tarts. True to form, she brings 6 qts. I'm now up to my eyeballs in strawberries. But, that isn't why I felt the need to share with you today. Mom also brought what I'm calling Chocolate Caramel Heaven - chocolaty, gooey decadence. One bite and I knew I had to share the recipe. The recipe actually came via DeeDee Page and the Feast of Celebration/First Lutheran Church Cookbook, Newell, SD. I have friends that firmly believe the best recipes are found in church cookbooks. Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Heaven

• 1 pkg. German Chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/3 c. evaporated milk
• 1 pkg. caramel chips
• 1/3 c. evaporated milk
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans (skip if you are anti-nut like me)
• 1 pkg. of chocolate chips
• 1 pkg. of peanut butter chips

Mix cake mix, butter, 1/3 c. of evaporated milk. Put 1/2 of the mixture in a 9x13" pan. Bake 6 minutes at 315 degrees (yes, 315).  Melt caramel chips and  1/3 c. of evaporated milk in microwave (approximately 3 minutes, stir every 60 seconds). Stir until smooth and add  1/2 c. of pecans. Pour caramel mixture over baked mixture and sprinkle 1 pkg. of chocolate chips and 1 pkg, of peanut butter chips over caramel. Cover with remaining cake mixture (since cake mixture is quite thick, just place dabs of dough over mixture). Set oven at 325 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes. During baking time you can smooth out the top dough with knife so it covers the caramel and the chips.

The Reservation and Me

I know, I know, I'm a hit and run blogger. I haven't written a blog in 8 months, but I guess I just wasn't inspired the way I thought I would be.

I ran across a feature published by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader last fall, Growing Up Indian. It is the best account of what it means to be born and raised Native American on South Dakota reservations. Honestly, I had a really hard time watching the video and reading the stories. While these are not the specific families I work with daily, they are certainly similar. Life is hard for all of us, but most of us can have three meals a day and a bed. Many families on the reservations (or low income families anywhere) don't even have enough beds for everyone living in the house. The challenges they face daily are hard and many. I could spend hours, maybe even days, sharing accounts of the families I have worked with and their hardships. There are triumphs, too, but the trials seem to overshadow the happy times.

Over the last 18 years, I have come to love my families on the reservation despite the challenges I may face while trying to deliver early intervention services to their children. I don't know why I've been called to be there, but I now believe that working at Crow Creek is my calling. I now it sounds cliche. But, it hit me last week like a Mac truck. It's something that most people don't understand and maybe you can't if you've never worked with people that have so little to call their own and so much heartache. I start working with babies and I may continue to provide therapy for them until they enter kindergarten. They are my families. I have one little boy that practically jumps out of his skin when he sees me drive up and other little guys that cry when I leave.

Even when I don't realize it, I am invested in them. I have made a commitment to help them be as successful as possible. At the very least, most children go from not talking at all at age 3 to having conversations and asking peers to play with them by age 5. At best, I can dismiss a child from therapy before kindergarten (like I was able to do twice this week!) because their skills are now age-appropriate with no more delays. Nothing will bring tears to your eyes like watching a boy who one year ago barely said a word and now he speaks in sentences, asks others to play with him, and talks about what he is doing in detail. Or, the little girl who 6 months ago at age 3 was non-verbal and had tantrums so badly at the drop of a hat that everyone walked on egg shells around her. Now she is using sentences, playing Barbies with other girls, counting, and singing songs.

If I won't invest my time, energy and love into these families, who will? Too many people say the reservations are hopeless wastelands. I don't agree and I won't give up on those children. They deserve a better life. Even though I'm often discouraged or frustrated, I have knowledge that can help them. All I ask is that they listen and trust that I want what's best for them.

Please take some time to read Growing Up Indian. I hope it gives you a greater understanding of what life is really like on the SD reservations. Pidama (That's Lakota for thank you.)

The Reality of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy

Photo courtesy NOFAS

September 9 was Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day in South Dakota. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is life altering condition that I deal with on a daily basis as it affects the lives of many of my students. FASD is a term that includes both Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND). Studies indicate that FASD is one of the leading causes of brain damage to babies during pregnancy. (Teratology 1997 Nov; 56[5]:317-26) Many of the children I work with were exposed to drugs and/or alcohol prenatally. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) receive a lot of media attention. Everyone is talking about the Autism monster. The Fetal Alcohol monster is just as nasty, yet no one talks about it.


• FASD is as prevalent as ASD occurring in 1 out of every 100 live births and up to 40,000 births per year in the United States.

• While experts try to pinpoint the causes of Autism, we know that FASD is 100% preventable. There is no amount of alcohol that is safe to drink during pregnancy nor is there a timeframe where alcohol use is safe.

• If a woman knows she is pregnant, she absolutely should not drink yet 22.1% of pregnant women in South Dakota admit to consuming alcohol. When a woman drinks, the alcohol passes right through the placenta. It is unknown how much alcohol contributes to a child being born with FASD with can result in physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities including mental retardation.

• Children who grow up with visibly detectable FAS features or invisible ARND are at high risk of serious secondary problems, such as dropping out of school or getting expelled; getting into trouble with the law; abuse of alcohol and other drugs; inappropriate or risky sexual behavior; inability to maintain employment; and mental health issues such as clinical depression. (The Challenge of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Overcoming Secondary Disabilities, Ann Streissguth and Jonathan Kanter, 1997, University of Washington Press.)

• An individual with FASD can cost the U.S. taxpayer an average of $1.4 million across his/her lifetime.

• Both Native American and African-American women have higher rates of FAS than white women.

• The Invisible Children and Families of FASD video clips:

o Part 1

o Part 2

o Part 3

o Part 4

o Part 5

o Part 6



To learn more, visit National Organization of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  or University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities. 

Give your baby a healthy start. Don't drink alcohol while you are pregnant. No amount is safe. Doesn't your baby deserve to start life as healthy as possible?

SD State Fair: An Annual Tradition

Our family has visited the SD State Fair for most of the last 15 years. It's become a family tradition. While my husband opted out this year, my sons, their friend, Emmalee, and myself faced the rainy, windy, and downright cold weather without hesitation.

First, there was a visit through the rabbit barn. We saw all colors and sizes.

There was a visit to the swine barn. Bacon, sausage, and ham were everywhere! This piggy was lying down when I noticed him. As I approached his pen, he stood up and seemed to want attention. He lovingly oinked at me for a couple minutes (is that common piggy behavior?). When I walked away, he squealed as if to say, "Hey, come back here lady. Talk to me!"

courtesy Google Images

I spent quite a lot of time at the AQHA show not only because it's the only horse show I'm able to attend from year to year, but it was also dry in the hippodrome. I wasn't able to get any decent pictures, though.

While I watched horses go 'round and 'round the arena, the kids were enjoying the carnival rides in between rain showers. They had a great time despite less than stellar weather conditions.

The kids enjoyed two, yes, two funnel cakes. Those puppies aren't cheap, but it's a once-a-year indulgence so I guess it was okay.

Quinn ended his trip to the fair with a visit to the exotic animal exhibit. He fed some cheerios to the wallaby, a kangaroo, and an enid antelope.

courtesy Google Images

The four of us left a little bit cold and wet with very sore feet, but we had a great time. No doubt we'll go back next year. We love the SD State Fair!

Memories of Small Town SD: Labor Day in Newell

I grew up in a small, western South Dakota town named Newell. There is a centennial celebration there this weekend so I’m thinking about the annual Labor Day activities that I’m missing. I’m a people watcher. Therefore, I’d really like to be at the all-school reunion to see folks I haven’t seen in years. I don’t just mean classmates.  I’m interested in everyone; how they look, if they married or not, had kids, where they live, and what they do. I’m fascinated by people. There will be a parade, too, complete with candy, the high school marching band, horses, antique cars, politicians, rodeo queens, and drunks on class floats.  There’s bingo in the park and games for kids. And, finally, there’s the Labor Day rodeo where I once competed for the rodeo queen title. I finished as first runner-up. The politics left a bad taste in my mouth. I never did another rodeo queen contest.

When I was a kid, I would go to the parade and flower show with my family or friends. Beginning in junior high, I marched in the band or rode my horse through waving to the spectators along the street. Between the parade and rodeo, we would grab some lunch at the NVN Senior Citizens Center or Blue Line Drive-In. The rodeo was usually super hot and dusty, but so much fun anyway.

My wish for everyone in Newell (Nisland and Vale, too) this weekend is that they reconnect with old friends, make some new friends, and treasure the memories. Real Americans come from small towns where faith, family, and the flag reign supreme.

Here’s a recipe that will be a hit at your Labor Day picnic or wherever you choose to share it:

Special K Bars

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter (I prefer creamy)
• 6 cups of Special K cereal
• 6 oz. of butterscotch chips
• 6 oz. of chocolate chips

Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Boil for approximately one minute until the mixture becomes clear. Add peanut butter and mix. Add cereal and mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and spread evenly. Cool. Melt all chips together and spread over bars. Cool and enjoy.