5 things

5 Things that I was doing 10 years ago:

1-Working on my masters degree at the U. (nope, never finished)
2-Working at Creative Color ("Good Afternoon, Creative Color, this is Heather!" Yep, I've still got it!)
3-Planning activities for the new combined young adult ward (Activity Chair for the YA ward)
4-Meeting Greg-We met in fall '98 when they combined the wards
5-Shopping at Nordstrom for the last time (pretty sure I haven't shopped there since 2000).

5 Things on My To-Do List today:

1-Host preschool at our house (always entertaining--for example, today I showed a picture of a bear at the beach and asked "Does this look hot or cold?" and all the kids answered "COLD!")
2- Laundry
3- Go to dinner with the neighbors (Thank you Greg for fixing their computer so I can go for a night out!)
4-Get a babysitter so I can go out with the neighbors (Maybe that should have been on my to-do list yesterday)
5- Clean up...clean up....clean up...clean up....clean up...clean up...clean up...clean up...clean up...clean up...

5 Favorite Snacks:

1- Milk Chocolate Mindy's Mints from Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolates
2-V Chocolate Toffee (Oh the days when Greg's dad got samples from John Probst....Mmm!)
3-Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (not really a "snack"-more like a day's worth of calories but OH, so worth it!)
4- Swedish Fish (That one I can blame on Jerusalem 12 years ago. I was forewarned that they would be unavailable while I was gone, and have had an addiction ever since)
5-Hummus and Multi-Grain crackers/chips (the ones from Costco that are like seven bucks a bag, but sooo yummy)

5 jobs I have had:

1-Serving frozen yogurt at Toppers...mmmmm, I still miss that yogurt!
2-Packing Pies at Cutie Pie (the fruit turnovers--I still can't eat those!)
3-Desk Girl at Mr. Mac (those were NOT the days to remember)
4-Sales Promotion at O.C. Tanner (I received my "one-year" service award, and left shortly before actually completing the year)
5- Receptionist/Accounting at Creative Color (somehow I got hired on to help with accounting because the boss knew that my dad was an accountant--thank heaven for Quicken!)

What I would do with a million dollars:

1-Pay tithing
2-Pay off our house
3-Remodel (the kitchen, bathrooms and theater in the basement...and just maybe replace the lovely orange carpet while I'm down there!)
4-Go on a trip to Europe with the family (while my house was being remodeled--I don't want to have to live through remodeling :) )
5-Save for a rainy day, or sunny day

5 Things that made me laugh this week:

1- My friend saying that she was asked by another friend to go under the knife because it was "2 for the price of 1" (and I said, "Good. I know I would want to get two done instead of just one!")
2-Watching the Tina Fey SNL sketches about Sarah Palin

3-Last night's episode of "Chuck"
4-My kids (today I would have to say it was Sarah's bath in the mop bucket)
5-Funny stories at General Conference

Soakin' It Up!

I just finished mopping the floor. I try to do that when I have the fewest distractions, and Rachel was sleeping and Ellie and Sarah were (supposedly) upstairs cleaning their rooms. I know full well they were not cleaning unsupervised, but as long as they weren't running through the kitchen I really didn't care if they were working upstairs.
Immediately after finishing, I received a phone call. It was brief, but as I was hanging up I heard a splash of water and a giggle. I went to the kitchen and found this:



Yes, that is Rachel sitting, fully-clothed, in my mop water. I am so glad I got a picture--the battery died as I was trying to get another one.
Apparently the girls decided it was time for Rachel to get up from her nap and took her out of the crib. And who wouldn't consider a nice soak to be the perfect way to wake up?
I am just glad she decided to go feet-first!

Ever Expanding Vocbulary

At dinner last night, Ellie was asked to pray. After being challenged to pray for things we are thankful for in conference, Ellie responded to the call by praying "We are grateful for the food, and we are grateful that we won't eat so much food that our tummy will explode." Yes, a blessing for which we should all be grateful.

After dinner, I was getting ready for FHE when Sarah asked me what I was doing. I told her and she said, "Mom, do you think your actions are appropriate?"

Truly, I don't talk like that to them, and I'm not sure where they pick up these things!

3 Cheers for Mediocrity

I was visiting with a friend today who told me some alarming news. Let me preface that alarm with the fact that I was too cheap to pay 150 bucks for my girls to play soccer this year (in part because last year Becca spent most of her time making shadow puppets as she ran up and down the field and Ellie claims that soccer is too "boyish"). However, even with my penny-pinching nature I was still blindsided by the information I received. I just found out that the junior high cheerleaders pay over $1,000.00 for their clothes/camps & cheer coaching at the local gym. Then she told me that the high school cheerleaders have to pay about ten times that amount, or in other words 10K! What is up with that?! Good grief! Tell me you are joking, people! So in other words, those who make cheerleader are not necessarily those with the most talent, but those with the most cash--or debt in today's society.
But it gets better!!!!!(Yes 5 exclamation points--just wait). There is another little 12 year old I know who is on an elite soccer team, and the cost for that extra-curricular activity is a mere 16K per anum. SERIOUSLY?! The coach apparently has two teams he takes care of and that is his full-time job. He is covered for all traveling, airfare, hotel stays, etc. by his players (who obviously have to pay their own way as well).
So, back to my little title, I have to say that I really don't care if my kids decide not to excel in anything. It will really save my bank account from looking like all the major corporations in the news these days. I think instead I'll just save the cash and pay their "scholarships." I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper.

Birthday Fun & An "UBER" Mess

I am not sure Sarah would consider it to be a success (I didn't have any wrapping paper or party games) but I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who made yesterday such a great birthday. I received cards from my grandma in Mesa, THANKS GRANDMA! and my grandpa, phone calls (I hope the stitches went OK, Leslie--I'm still waiting for the blog post), emails, comments on the blog, visits, gifts (I'm sorry I missed you Em!) and couldn't feel more loved/remembered, so THANKS EVERYONE!
(By the way, that is NOT a guilt call for anyone who didn't remember--it's a thank you to you, too because I am the WORST person in the world at remembering birthdays, so it really makes me feel better)!

As a birthday gift from me to anyone who has been patiently waiting for some good old nostalgic "Ellie" type messes, here is one that happened a little while ago that I never posted:

Rachel has had two great loves since she started to walk: the dishwasher and the lazy-susan. Well, I had been blogging (my naughty indulgence) and had Sarah and Rachel with me by the laptop, but I wasn't paying enough attention and the two of them slipped out of my sight and went into the kitchen. Rachel opened the lazy-susan and pulled out the flour and pancake mix. Then, instead of playing with them in the kitchen, she took the whole thing into the family room. She had a great time using the powder as a miniature "sand" pile, but then had the brilliant idea to make it more like a beach-or maybe she wanted to make pancakes-but either way, she went to the dishwasher, found a cup that had been upturned in the wash cycle and poured it all over her mixture. When I found the mess she had poured more flour on top and I didn't realize the extent of the damage. I took a picture thinking I could just vacuum up the mess and write a cute blog post, but when I pulled out the vacuum it made an odd high pitched sound and when I backed it out of the mess I found the flour "mud" that had been created.
After MUCH scrubbing, I was able to get the mess (mostly) cleaned up, and life continued on as usual, but here is a picture of a small corner of the disaster-there was more in the middle of the room, but I thought it would be a "cuter" picture if Rachel was in it.

Kenny Who?

The other night, Greg and I were driving home and I made a comment about how few titles and artists I can put together. I may know the lyrics to a song, but that doesn't mean that I could tell you who sings it. In short, I am "Band Ignorant." Well, Greg asked me if I could identify the song that was playing (I still can't remember what/who it was), and I told him, "No." Then the song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (I had to look up the title for that one, too I would have guessed "Life goes On") and Greg asked me if I could identify the band. I said I had no idea, so he gave me the hint "It's the most popular band ever. I was able to guess the Beatles, but it was truly a guess.
Because of that, I wondered how my siblings were at putting titles and artists together. I knew Haylee would be the best, but I was most interested in Rick and Ben. I asked them each how many bands they could identify with their songs, and they each said, "About 5."
I asked them to identify the artist of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," and even with my sister-in-law, Heather saying "It's the Beatles," Both Rick and Ben said, "No, it isn't, but I don't know who it is."

Well, in my life I have been to one concert. It was a freebie put on by NuSkin for Kenny Loggins, so I told my brothers that was one singer I could probably identify. Rick's response was, "He sings? I thought he only played the saxophone!"

Yep, we're all hopeless!

Women's Conference

Tonight I went to the General Women's Conference up at the Stake Center and had a lovely trip down memory lane. The choir director tonight was Merrilee Webb, my choir teacher for two years in high school. I nearly started laughing aloud because as we sang along during one of the hymns, I couldn't help but feel like I was in high school again. I stood at attention, following her lips to finish off the consonants as we were singing. It was a little bit embarrassing because she (as she encouraged us during high school) didn't cut off at the "usual" places in the hymns, so I followed along even though nobody else in the congregation knew what she was doing, so I ended up singing a bit of a solo at one point (It wasn't too noticable though because the choir was doing the same thing I was on-screen).
The most amazing part about watching her (in my opinion) was the differences/similarities of how she was 15 years ago. In the "same" category, she was just as enthusiastic as ever in her choral directing, however on the "different" column, I think I need to show some "before" and "after" pictures.

Before (This is about what she looked like when I had her for choir, but she wore "big" glasses, too.)


After (yep, she ages backwards! She now looks younger and better than ever. Who knew!):




I do have one story I have to share about "Miss Webb." When we were in school, she told us that out of respect she wanted us to call her Miss Webb, but as soon as we graduated we had permission to call her "Merrilee." Well, she was teaching the song "Merrily we Roll Along" to the choir and one of the boys raised his hand and asked, "Shouldn't we sing "Miss Webb we roll along, instead?" That and the memory of a student being sent back to the class because the office didn't believe that Miss Webb's signature looked authentic (She just signed things with a combination MW that looked like a scribble to the "untrained" eye).

Clubs and Righteous Living

OK that title sounds like an Ensign article title, huh? Oh, well! I am keeping it. Today after school, Ellie had a friend over for lunch. I asked them what they wanted to eat, offering PBJ's, Dino-nuggets, or some zucchini (I didn't really think they would take that one, but it never hurts to ask), when Ellie interrupted, "Um, Mom, you need to ask us if we want Macaroni and Cheese because we are in the Macaroni and Cheese club." She turned to her friend and said, "RIGHT?!" She said, "Yep, we're in the macaroni and cheese club." Naturally. I have never been a big advocate of "clubs," "cliques" or other elitist behavior, but somehow I have to let the Mac&Cheese club slide.
Especially since her friend is such a good influence. Apparently last night Ellie's friend got to go to the police station with the scouts where they all got a police badge temporary tattoo. Sarah looked at it and asked, "What does that say?" to which the friend replied, "CHOOSE THE RIGHT!"

Who am I to disagree?

The new police badge (If only it would remind everyone).

Entertain Me!

I don't know if anyone else has the same problem, but I just realized something about myself. When I am "in the groove" I usually blog every couple of days and check other people's blogs about once or twice a week. When I am under the weather (and consequently not in the mood to fold laundry or mop the kitchen floor) I find that I will check every blog I am aware of every single day. Not only that, but I am totally put out to find that not every single person has updated their blog to satisfy my craving for living vicariously...I mean hearing the latest and (of course) greatest things that are happening in everyone's lives.
On the plus side, it does make me a much more compassionate blogger and for a few days I will be bound and determined to write consistent, witty, entertaining blog entries for all one of my followers (Really. One. Thanks Maureen!).

And so, in searching my brain for a great entry, I turn to my brother, Rick, who is the big 30 today. I had decided that it would only be appropriate to call him to wish him a happy birthday (and remind him that while he is now thirty, I am only 31--if only for the next 6 days). When I was about to call, Sarah climbed up next to me and asked me what I was doing. I said that I was going to call Uncle Rick to tell him happy birthday. She then asked, "Am I invited?!" I told her that he wasn't having a birthday party, at which point she slid off the bed, threw her hands in the air and said, "Then why did you even tell me?" Apparently she is in need of some serious entertainment as well, and a simple phone call just isn't going to cut it.

But, even if it isn't on Sarah's radar I still want to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RICK!

Grandma

The purpose of this post title is two-fold; first, for anyone interested, I am publishing my grandma's recipes here. It is also in reference to my new favorite "game" that I have been playing with the girls.
Ellie and Sarah have had a really hard time getting along lately (I'm sure my short temper due to illness hasn't helped) and I was sick of getting after them to "BE NICE!" (shouted down the stairs in a less than nice way).
Growing up I always played "Tiger" with my brother, Rick, where he was the tiger, I was the master and he had to do whatever I told him. For whatever reason, it worked, and we got along as long as I called him "Tiger" first.
I could just see Ellie scratching and biting (I don't know if I mentioned it here, but she has tried to lick her primary teachers on more than one occasion) if she was a "tiger" so I opted for a similar but slightly more civilized game.
I told her that when I said "GRANDMA!" She had to pretend like she was a grandma and try to solve whatever problem she was dealing with the same way Grandma would.
So far it has worked like a charm. If she can't come up with a solution she will ask me for a hint so she can win the game. I am loving it, and only wish I had thought of it at the beginning of the summer!

Out of This World

In my junior high days, I loved the TV show "Out of this World." For anyone unfamiliar with the premise, it was about a girl who was half alien (I think it was on Friday nights, apparently my Sci-Fi Fridays started early). Anyway, her primary "power" was the ability to stop time. I have to say it is a gift I have wished for many times, and today is no exception. I am currently suffering from a bit of a cold, and have no energy. The other day I tried to take a nap, but was awakened three times in 15 minutes (the fact that I could fall back asleep that quickly is a sure sign of my illness).
I was thinking that if I could stop time, I would take a nap. By stopping time, I wouldn't have to worry about my kids getting into anything while I wasn't watching and I would be able to sleep without anyone poking me in the eye and asking if I'm "Just Pretending."

Here is a clip of the intro to Out of This World for anyone feeling nostalgic!

Just a Recipe

Other than the fact that I was a little out of it last night, and couldn't sleep due to my stings on my side, the rest of last night was pretty mellow, thankfully! This morning I am still in my glasses without makeup or brushed hair, and I have just let Sarah and Rachel play by my side while I have typed up a few recipes. Today's recipe is one we use at Easter, but you could certainly switch it from peanut butter eggs to peanut butter pumpkins! I love the nostalgia that comes with typing up all of these recipes. I can remember helping my grandma wipe down the sides of the candy pans with a pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, stepping back a step so she could pour the hot syrups onto the marble slab or on nut covered cookie sheets depending on what we were making. It makes me miss her terribly (tomorrow marks the two year point of her passing), but it also makes me feel closer to her. So, without further ado, here is the recipe for Peanut Butter Eggs (or pumpkins, or whatever you want)
Peanut Butter Eggs
2 cups peanut butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1 package graham crackers

Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter together until smooth. Crush graham crackers and add to the peanut butter mixture. Shape into eggs and dip in tempered, high quality dipping chocolate.

What a Day!

OK, I seldom do more than one post in a day, but today will be the exception. This morning, after getting Becca and Ellie off to school, and Sarah off to preschool, I came home and typed up some recipes, obviously. Like I said, it has been pretty slow because although my grandma was really a great cook, some of her recipes are a little vague when it comes to instructions, and although that may work on salads or casseroles, somehow I don't think it will be beneficial to just have a list of ingredients for Mimi's fudge with a couple notes that say "put butter in pan then add vanilla" as the total instructions.
So, I was a little disappointed by the fact that I only got about 5 recipes copied over during the 2 hours I had to myself (I also had commute time and Rachel to take care of, though, so I wasn't too distraught. Well, after copying the recipes, I picked up Sarah, raced over to the elementary school where they were launching a hot air balloon today, then I picked up Ellie and drove straight up to Lauren's birthday party--which was darling by the way.
I had to leave the party early because my visiting teachers were coming, so I raced home, went through the mail, and helped plan a surprise party for my VT's husband with her. She had to leave just before 4:00, but asked if I would watch her daughter. I told her it would be no problem, and sent her on her way.
I told the girls to go outside to look for Becca, and when she got there the girls asked if they could keep playing outside. I was just cleaning the kitchen and told them it would be fine, since I could see them. Within two minutes of saying that, three of the girls came running into the house in hysterics. They had disturbed a nest of hornets and the little critters followed the girls inside. By the time I had closed the door I had been stung twice. I killed about 10 hornets in the kitchen then quickly ushered the girls upstairs where I could close doors and contain the situation. I first put Rachel in her room and closed the door, since she hadn't been stung, then I killed a couple hornets in the hall, took the girls into Sarah's room and had them all strip down to their skivvies because the hornets had flown down their clothes. Once they were bare, I sent them into Becca's room and killed 5 more hornets. In Becca's room, I saw that there were still some hornets in the neighbor's hair (I had already killed 3 on her head) so I dispatched them by pinching them because they were right next to her ear, and I didn't want to hurt her. Once I was convinced that the girls were not being stung any more, I put some numbing spray on them and went back to Sarah's room where I found 2 more hornets.
I went downstairs and killed between 5-10 more bugs, and told the girls they could come down and watch a movie. As they came down, the neighbor said that she thought there was another bee in her hair. I didn't think it was possible, but decided to appease her, and there was in fact another hornet stuck in her hair.
All in all I killed probably between 30-40 bugs and received 3 stings in the process, and the kids had 3-5 stings each, but after some Benedryl and an otter-pop they all seem to be doing just fine.
I now get to prepare my house for our Young Women activity which is here tonight, and somehow throw some dinner together, but I am really hoping that the rest of my night is uneventful compared to the rest of the day!

Recipe Rundown!

For anyone who didn't know my grandma, she was an incredible cook. And I have taken the task upon myself to type up her recipes. It has been slow going, and I thought perhaps one way to make it a little more fun is to share one of her recipes each day as I am typing them up. Trust me, these are worth keeping track of! You are also very lucky because today I am starting the "Candy" section of her recipe box, and that was her specialty! I should probably save these for Christmas, and perhaps if I am feeling generous I will post more as we near the Christmas season, but for today, here is a recipe for Grandma's truffles...my personal favorite candy (they taste a lot like Mrs. Cavanaugh's Mindy Mints). They are simple (just a mint chocolate ganache dipped in more chocolate), but delicious!

Truffles
1/2 pint whipping cream, warmed
1 1/2 pounds high quality dipping chocolate
5 drops mint oil

Pour warm cream into chocolate and beat with mixer until chocolate is entirely melted. Let cool completely. Cut into squares and dip in tempered chocolate.

Ellie at her finest

Yesterday, I felt like I was in an alternate universe. It started out when we went to the Stake Center to get our temple recommends renewed. I didn't get a babysitter (and wasn't too worried for the 2 minute interview) so Ellie and Sarah went in with Greg, Rachel came in with me, and Becca sat out in the hall. When our interviews were over, Ellie turned to me and said, "So, Mom, how is your testimony today?" She was so sincere and sweet Greg and I both started laughing our heads off, and none of the girls could figure out what was so funny.
Then, at church, Ellie was asked to give a talk in primary. She did a great job, and received many compliments on it. When church was over, her teachers came up to me and said they were so proud of Ellie giving her talk, and that she had been a perfect angel in class for the last few months, and they wished all the kids could follow her example.
I don't think I ever expected those words from any of Ellie's teachers (but I was thrilled to hear it)!
All day long Ellie was a great helper and really was the perfect example.
As I was putting her down to bed I told her how grateful I was for her wonderful behavior, and she looked at me and said, "Of course I'm good. My superior brain helps me to know how to act."
Yep, she will always be my Ellie.

BABIES!

I was very excited to get a phone call from Greg's sister with the exciting news that they had their baby girl! She is a cutie, huh?! This is the first of four on Greg's side to come along, and with Haylee on our side, I feel like I'm surrounded in babies--the only downside is that it makes me realize that Rachel really isn't a baby anymore, but I am thrilled to be an aunt again, and can't wait to see this sweetheart in person...even if it does take a while :)

Preschool

Sarah started preschool this week, and she is fortunate enough to have her sweet, wonderful mother as one of her teachers. OK, so I'm just too cheap to pay for preschool, and am overly involved in my children's lives. But, I got to take the first week of preschool, and I have to say it was a ball. The kids are absolutely darling, and I had so much fun teaching them. This week we talked about the letter "A" and I had originally thought that I would do "A is for Apple" but I changed it a little bit (we still focused mostly on apples) to "A is for Adventure." We talked about Johnny Appleseed, then I let the kids dress up like Johnny and go out to our appletree and pick as many apples as they could reach. Then, we read "How to make an apple pie and see the world" and pretended that we traveled all around the world (my house) in search of the exotic ingredients needed to make a pie...although they would not let me say that we had to go to Vermont to get the apples because there was a tree in the back yard. But we did get to go to Sri Lanka for cinnamon, Jamaica for sugar, the ocean for salt, France for a chicken to get an egg, Italy (Venice to be precise) for semolina flour, etc. The kids got into it really well, and helped me make an Apple Crisp-pie once we gathered all the ingredients (I was going to make a real pie, but thought we would run out of time and thought a soggy crust would be disgusting).
But the best part of the whole adventure was just the kids, so I have posted some pictures that I took of each of them dressed up like Johnny Appleseed. Happy Adventuring!

Kindergarten Assessment

I realized this afternoon that I never wrote anything about the assessment Ellie had with her teacher during the first week of school. I realize it is a week late, but the conversation is worth jotting down for posterity.
The interview began with Mrs. Wallace asking Ellie if she knew anyone in the class. Ellie started naming a few kids in the neighborhood and Mrs. Wallace said, "I'm glad you know some people..." when Ellie interrupted, and said, "I'm not finished. I also know..." and proceeded to name about half of the class (most of whom she had only met on the first day of school).
They then sat down to discuss the letters, numbers etc. that Ellie knew. Starting with the letters, Mrs. Wallace asked if she could identify one of them. Ellie looked at the page and said, "Yes, but first I want to tell you about these letters. This is a W. It says 'wuh,' like window, or wet. This is an H. It says 'huh' like hat, or happy. OK, now I will tell you this letter. It is a P. It says 'puh' like pan, or popcorn.
Then it was time for rhyming. Mrs. Wallace asked, "Do you know what a rhyme is?" to which Ellie responded, "Yes, like rhyme, time, dime climb, mime."
During each of the questions, labeled with pictures, Ellie would find the answer before Mrs. Wallace asked the question.
The next section was on identifying numbers, and the last number happened to be 8. Mrs. Wallace said, "Great!" and of course Ellie had to remind her "Eight, great! Another rhyme!"
Yes, she is really going to struggle academically this year!

Go Barbie!

Tomorrow is Sarah's first day of preschool, and in an effort to get to know the kids and their moms, I decided that it would be fun for each of them to bring a bag of things that represent themselves. As I tried to come up with some things to put in Sarah's bag, we had the following conversation:
Me: Sarah, what is your favorite toy?
Sarah: Mmm, Barbie Island (aka Rosella in "Barbie as the Island Princess)
Me: What's your favorite show?
Sarah: Barbie Island
Me: What's your favorite thing to do?
Sarah: Go to the zoo!
Me: What do you like to see there?
Sarah: Barbie Island (You may recall she was there one day)
Me: What animals do you like to see?
Sarah: Azul and Tika (The animals in the movie)
Me: What is your favorite food?
Sarah: Chicken....Do you want to know what kind?
Me: Yes, What kind?
Sarah: BARBIE-Q!

First Day of School

Here are a few pictures of the girls this morning before they left for school. Thanks Greg for taking them! I love the first day of school. I always have. It almost has the same anticipation for me as Christmas. I love the new school clothes, backpacks, crayons, and pencils. I also love the excitement of meeting the teachers, and the clean slate so to speak that comes with the beginning of a school year.

The girls were great this morning as we headed off to school. They each took an apple to their teacher, and were excited to be on their way. When we got to the front doors of the school, Ellie saw a friend she went to preschool with, and asked if she could just go with her rather than having to walk to Becca's class, too. I couldn't bear to leave her, though, so we dropped her off first. She walked right in, found the spot for her backpack, found her desk, and was ready to go. No anxiety whatsoever.

Then, we went to Becca's class, where Becca handed her teacher the apple, and walked right past her while her teacher was still talking to her. I had to tell her to stop and listen because she was so mesmerized by the classroom she couldn't focus on what was happening right then.

I love Ellie's teacher, and Becca's seems great, too, so I was a happy mom letting my kiddos off on the first day of school.

By the way, if you look in the pictures you will notice Ellie's broken arm--the left wrist, fortunately, so she should still be able to write without a problem.

We Love A-Fair!

Here are a couple of pictures from the Davis County Fair. The girls had so much fun...they rode the ponies, saw a magician, "milked cows" went to the petting zoo, held a tarantula, got balloons from the clown, and had a ball with their cousins. Most of my pictures are still on my phone (the camera battery was too low) but here are a couple to give a brief idea of the day at the fair:

Becca was most looking forward to "Milking the Cows" at the fair this year. I wonder how she would like a trip to the farm where she could milk a real cow.

All three of the big girls held Rosemary, but Ellie was the only one who kept her long enough for me to take a picture. I was very impressed with their bravery.

Weekend Wonders

In the early hours of the morning (1:50 to be exact) I awoke when I heard Rachel crying. I got out of bed, and realized two things--first, that I was not hearing RACHEL cry, and second that whoever was crying was out on my front porch. I started walking toward the window and the sound grew extremely loud, and then stopped abruptly when I heard a huge thunk against the house that shook the windows. As I looked out the window a deer bounded out from under the porch, and I realized that the deer had been kicking a bobcat to a pulp. This morning I went out to check out the yard and found tufts of cat fur everywhere (I thought I had better check it out because it's not every night you get to watch the nature show in your front yard, and I wondered if I had just imagined the whole thing). Go Deer!

What a Week!

I need to start this post by thanking my mom and Greg for a WONDERFUL 9th anniversary. Yesterday, Greg took the day off work and took the family up to the zoo (a random anniversary tradition, but one we love). We had a great time, and the kids commented that it was "the best day ever," mostly because they knew that when we got back from the zoo they got to go to Grandma's house for a sleepover while Greg and I went up to the Homestead for our anniversary. Greg laughed at me because with no kids to get to bed, and nothing to wake me up, I crashed just after 9:00 last night, but in my opinion, nothing could have been more appreciated than a night of sleep. THANK YOU Mom and Greg for letting that happen.
My night of rest couldn't have come at a more opportune time, either. This week has been a wee bit crazy. It started out TUESDAY when I was at a Young Women's activity. I had a water party with my Beehives, and while everyone was enjoying a snow cone, Sarah got stung by a bee. Her screaming brought the party to an abrupt halt, and I gave Sarah some Benedryl and an ice pack and called it good. However, for the next 2 days, her leg was so tender and swollen it put that child in the WORST mood ever. During this same time frame, Rachel's front tooth (that has been trying to come in for about 3 months) finally broke through, causing her to be a little less than cheerful herself.
Then, with 2 ornery little girls, and a cancelled babysitter, I ended up taking all four kids to Becca's dentist appointment WEDNESDAY where she got to have a pulpotomy--also known as a juvenile root canal. Mmmm, wasn't that fun?! I can't complain, though. My girls ALL were great sports. The appointment was right during Rachel's nap time and she snuggled me through the whole procedure, and Ellie and Sarah watched Toy Story in the waiting room. Becca's only complaints were 1-she didn't really like having her mouth numb, and 2-she couldn't really see/hear Finding Nemo when the dentist was leaning over her face and talking to her.
THURSDAY as I said, was a wonderful day, and very refreshing, which is a great thing because today (FRIDAY) Ellie fell off of the monkey bars at Greg's parents' house and broke her wrist. Yes, this is the first broken bone for the Greather family, and we are just feeling lucky that assuming she keeps it in place, she only has to have a splint and wrap because it was a fairly minor break.
However, it does mean that she gets to attract even a little more attention than she normally would for the first three weeks of kindergarten!

Welcome Home, Greg!

So, the case of the missing cheese was just the tip of the iceberg this week. I don't know how my kids know when I am at my wits end, but they enjoy exploiting the fact. A few highlights of the past week without Greg include:
Monday: A futile hunt for the missing cheese, and a halfhearted attempt at cleaning/laundry.
Tuesday: The girls decided to play Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Rachel got diarrhea and desperately needed a bath in the morning, and while I was with her, the rest of the girls decided to make themselves breakfast. They climbed up on a bar stool and pulled out our giant Costco box of instant oatmeal, unloaded the dishwasher of every dish capable of holding liquid, including 8 bowls, 4 serving bowls, 11 glasses, 3 measuring cups, 4 tupperware containers and 19 paper cups, and emptied the entire box (minus three little packages) of oatmeal into the various containers. They then proceeded to fill each of the bowls to the top with water, and carried them throughout the house, sloshing the contents of each one as they went along. By the time I came downstairs, the entire main floor was covered with dried out, sticky oatmeal and it took me until late in the afternoon to get it cleaned up.
Wednesday: Rachel still had "the runs" and was not feeling too hot in the morning, so I spent some time trying to make her feel better. I thought the girls were behaving themselves until a neighbor called to see if she could come over. She has a one-year-old daughter, and only one car at the moment, so she was feeling a little cabin-feverish. I told her to come on over, and we could all play in the back yard together. Well, when she came over, Rachel had just had another "blow-out" diaper, so I told her to just go on out back and I would be right there. When I came to the back yard it looked like a natural disaster had struck. Apparently, the girls found a bag of trail mix. Well, I have the rule that you have to "take a handful, eat a handful" not just pick out the M&M's, but I guess the girls decided that it was just easier to "take a handful, eat the M&M's, and throw the nuts and raisins on the back porch. There was also a box of Capri Sun wrappers, and some random fruit snack wrappers that the girls decided to "hide" from me out there. In short, it looked a bit like the garbage dump--not to mention the fact that the lawn hadn't been mowed for a week and a half, so we were growing a forest of miniature aspen trees across the yard. I have to say I was quite embarassed, and the girls proved to be their less-than-angelic selves for the remainder of my friend's visit. They dipped sidewalk chalk in water and painted themselves with it, climbed around the yard like little Tarzan children, and basically paid no attention to any instructions I gave. Somehow, I doubt that I will be seeing much of this neighbor again--what do you think?
On the bright side, however, Greg's mom called and invited us all over for the afternoon. She took the girls while I went shopping and I was able to get some bananas and other BRAT diet staples for Rachel, and then she fed us dinner. I also FOUND THE CHEESE under the seat of the car when I went over. It wasn't edible, but at least it wasn't moldy, so I consider that to be a success. It was a WONDERFUL night!
Thursday: Thursday nights are set aside for Young Women's Activities, and this week was no exception. The schedule called for the combined YW activity to be held at our house this week, where we were supposed to be watching a movie outside in our backyard. Well, the house by this point in the week had seen better days, so I thought I would take a little time to mop the kitchen floor and scrub some toilets before the young women arrived. While I was mopping the floor, the phone rang, so I decided to walk upstairs while talking on the phone to make sure the girls weren't in trouble. It was a good thing I did. When I got to the top of the stairs I saw every towel, blanket, sheet, pillow, etc. that was supposed to be in my linen closet strewn down the hall. Sarah smelled to high-heaven of Vicks Vapo-Rub, Ellie was sucking down a packet of Emergen-C (vitamin C supplement) and Rachel had been taken out of her crib (she was supposed to be napping) and was happily sucking on an Alka-Seltzer. Yes, I got to call 1-800-222-1222 yet again. I told them that I didn't know how much she had eaten, but I was fairly certain it was less than one tablet. They told me to keep an eye on her, not let her nap, and to call back if she started throwing up.
Fortunately, she didn't throw up, but I will say that keeping a baby up during naptime and trying to get things cleaned up was not my favorite way to spend the afternoon.
The girls were pretty well behaved after their foray into the medicine cabinet, but I was more than happy to inform them that when
1-Grandpa Welling called to say that the pool was nice and warm that they couldn't go,
2-Aunt Heather called to see if we wanted to go to Tracy Aviary that they couldn't go and
3-The neighbors called to see if the girls wanted to play water games in their back yard that they couldn't go because we had to stay close to home in case Rachel threw up.

Well, the girls stayed up past 11:00 on Thursday (I knew they would) because of the movie, but they still woke up at what Greg likes to call the "butt-crack" of dawn. They were less than sweet spirited on Friday morning, but knowing that the day would bring their daddy home kept their spirits higher than they had been during the week.
A bout of rain spoiled our plans to go to the zoo, but the girls were just as pleased to see Greg, and I will agree. It has been a wonderful 24 hours having him home.

Case of the Missing Cheese

Last night we went to my niece's birthday party where we enjoyed a yummy taco bar. I was in charge of bringing cheese, so I brought my Costco 10 pound bag. I stuck the whole thing in a collapsible cooler, and I was even careful to remember to bring it home. I know it was in the car, and I am 99 percent certain I brought it inside when I was bringing the kids in, but I have not been able to find it. I looked everywhere last night after I put the kids in bed, then looked again this morning (to save my sanity rather than the cheese at this point) but I STILL can't find it ANYWHERE! So, I will keep you posted, but I don't think it is a very good sign when on the first day that Greg is out of town I lose a 10 lb. bag of cheese...

The Fam

The girls and I decided to make a "family picture." I know their selections for themselves will be shocking, but try to contain your surprise!

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Poor Kitty!

This morning I was typing up some of my grandma's recipes (I am trying to get them all typed up by Christmas) and Ellie and Sarah were playing "kitty" outside Greg's office. I kept trying to listen to the two of them as I was typing to make sure they didn't get in any trouble, and overheard the following conversation.
Ellie: Here baby kitty. Come see Mama kitty.
Sarah: Meow.
Ellie: Here kitty. I got you a nice bowl of milk.
Sarah: (slurping sounds followed by a cough)
Ellie: Oh, Poor Kitty! You coughed up a hairball! Come see Mama kitty, and I'll make it all better.

My question is, how does Ellie even know what a hairball is? We have no cats, Greg's parents' cat stays away from the kids, and I am not really a 'cat person' so I rarely discuss cats with my kids, and never have I brought up HAIRBALLS!

Only Ellie could think that one up mid game!

100 Best Books for Children

I received a list of the "100 best books for children" with instructions to bold the ones I had read, so I thought i would share the list for anyone interested. I personally think there are way too many excellent books to claim that these are the "best," but they are great books (Although I am not personally a fan of "I love you forever"--it kind of creeps me out)
But regardless, ENJOY! (I know I will be reading the few that are not in bold soon enough!)

Books for all ages

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends: by Shel Silverstein
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Books for Preschoolers

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

Books for Children Ages 9-12

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The Giver by Lois Lowry
James and the Giant Peach: A Children's Story by Roald Dahl
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Laura Ingalls Wilder Webquest
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Books for Young Adults -

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

I decided this week to make every day a "staycation." We started out the week with a trip to the park, went to the zoo and McDonald's (a rare treat around here) played in the kiddie pool, rode bikes/scooters, went to the canyon, had picnics, and just enjoyed some good-old summertime fun. We had so much fun everywhere we went, but the zoo had to be my favorite. We got to ride on the new carousel and the train, and the tiger was just admitted into his play area while we were there, so we got to see him play in the water, and when my niece tapped on the glass, he walked right up to the glass and looked at us as curiously as we were looking at him. I think that the pictures speak louder than words, though, so here are some fun pics of the last few days.

Clean up!

I appologize for my lack of posting. This summer has been fun, but a little on the boring side for anyone reading, but this morning we did have one amusing event.
Becca went to day camp this morning and Ellie is playing at a cousin's house, leaving Sarah alone with me while Rachel took a nap. She was a little disappointed to be left alone while her sisters got to go play, so I told her that we would have a mommy-daughter date while her sisters were gone.
The first item on our agenda was to play play-doh. I got out our giant tub of dough/toys, and Sarah promptly informed me that I should dump them out in front of her so she could see all of her options. I did as I was asked, and she played happily with the play-doh while I picked up the kitchen. When she was finished playing, she climbed down from her bar stool and I told her that she needed to pick up the play-doh toys before she could do something else. She looked at me incredulously, and responded without missing a beat, "But Mom, YOU are the one who dumped them all out."
She graciously helped me clean up "my mess," so we could watch Snow White together, but I am still laughing at the look in her eyes when I presumptuously asked her to clean up a mess she didn't make :)

Becca's Birthday, Swimming with Sarah, and Santa's Shower

Well, we have had a fun-filled week. Becca enjoyed having the family over for Sunday dinner for her birthday, and then got to have a sleep-over with her eleven-year-old cousin, Brynn!! I went all out with hamburgers, hot dogs and a Costco birthday cake, so it was a pretty easy thing for me. Monday I decided to take Brynn swimming. We arrived at the pool just after my mom, and started putting on the sunscreen/life jackets. My mom needed to make a phone call, and I had just put Ellie's life jacket on and went to grab Sarah's, when I heard Becca say "Stand up, Sarah."
I turned around and saw Sarah standing on the bottom of the pool. The top of her head was showing, but she couldn't get her face out of the water.
I jumped right in and pulled a rather frightened little girl out, and reminded her that this was why she should never get in the pool without me saying it was OK.
Although she was a little gun-shy to get back in the water for the first few minutes, she warmed right up to the idea, and we had a good time.
My favorite thing that has happened though, was when we went to my mom's house the other day. I just had to run something inside, so I left the kids in the car (which was parked in the driveway). When I came back (about 30 seconds later) the girls were in a heated argument. I asked what was the matter, and learned that they were trying to decide if this:

was a miniature barn used for housing the local livestock, or a shower for Santa Claus. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was used for tools and fertilizer, so instead I just told them that unless they could see inside, they could both think that they were right.

The Snipe Hunt

Well, last week was Girls Camp, and I think the highlight for me was our Snipe hunt. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. About 5-10 years ago, there was a young woman in our ward who got so scared on a snipe hunt that she wet her pants. Therefore, snipe hunts have been taboo in our ward for a long time. However, we decided to lift the ban and have ourselves a grand old time. We especially enjoyed the fact that only a handful of girls knew what a snipe hunt is.
We began our adventure by giving all of the girls a handful of peanuts to sprinkle out in a field near the cabin. We told them that snipes LOVE peanuts, and would be drawn to the scent. Then, when the time for the hunt drew near, the girls painted themselves with peanut butter to mask their own scent and to again, draw the snipes out.
Amazingly, there was a bird-call book at the cabin which had a woodland snipe, complete with bird-call. So we spent the afternoon before the snipe hunt teaching the girls the call of the "Uintah Snipe" in order to lure the cute little creatures (a cross between a quail and a chipmunk) out into the open.
We also told the girls that the birds would be blinded by any flashlights, due to their nocturnal nature, and so they shouldn't have any lights on.
I had an armadillo puppet, and while the girls were out in the middle of the field, crouched low, waving their peanut butter-streaked wrists about, holding pillow cases to catch the snipes, and cawing at the top of their lungs, I put the puppet on my hand, cradled it close to my body, and told the girls they could touch it, but to be very quiet because the poor little snipe was "shaking like crazy," it was so nervous.
After I had caught a couple, we decided to go back to the campfire for s'mores, but half of the girls opted out of the sweet treat in favor of more hunting.
On the final morning, I let all the girls in on the secret, telling them about our puppet-snipe, and made them promise to keep the tradition alive with the incoming beehives.
Sadly, I don't know if that will ever happen again, though, because Sunday in her talk, one of the "believers" told the story in Sacrament meeting.....I guess I'll just have to hope that nobody was listening!

Halloween Preview

For whatever reason, San Francisco is officially the place that Greg chooses to go berserk when it comes to souvenirs. Fortunately he has only been to San Fran a couple of times, but he does bring back fun things each time. This time when he returned (and what I was hoping to post about on Saturday instead of out medical fiasco) was a set of darling little dresses and matching shoes for the girls from China Town. So, assuming I can find something for Rachel to wear, it is quite probable that Greg has picked up this year's Halloween costumes for me, and here is the sneak preview:

Kid-Logic

We just got back from swimming, and I told the kids that they could just put on their PJ's to warm up, even though it isn't bed-time yet. I really don't care what combination of pajamas the girls put on at night, but I couldn't help but laugh when Becca explained the reason her pajamas "matched." For those out there who may beg to differ, the reason (according to Becca) this outfit works is as follows:
These pants are Hello Kitty pants, and I have a Hello Kitty coloring book. And in my Hello Kitty coloring book there is a picture of Hello Kitty working in the garden, and this shirt has pictures of the same things that Hello Kitty was working on in her garden.

No News is Good News

I have to say that right now, no news would be good news, but here I am posting, and sadly, it isn't "good news."
This is a picture of Rachel fast asleep in my arms between bags of saline at Insta-Care. Yes, we had a lovely foray into the medical field today when Sarah decided to "wash Rachel's hair" with some Resolve carpet cleaner.
Apparently the pH of the solution is 12, and it was less than pleasant to have in the eyes. We called Poison Control (1-800-222-1222... yes, I have it memorized) and they had us flush her eyes with water for 15 minutes. I did, and then had to go to a bridal shower, and assumed all would be well when I got home; however, it was not to be. Her eyes were still tearing up and irritated, so I called Poison Control back and was told that I should take her down to Insta-Care.
I have to say that I was really impressed with the service we received down there. They got us in shortly after we filled out the paper work, and they were very thorough in their exams. We got to put 2 liters of saline in her eyes over the course of two hours, with the ever fun litmus-paper test right in her eyes after every 500 ml. I took the picture above between the first and second applications. Rachel screamed the entire time her eyes were irrigated (it took two nurses to hold her down while I pried her eyes open and another nurse hosed her down), but she would fall asleep immediately after each procedure.
Right now, she is sleeping soundly, which is a good sign, and hopefully we will not have to make the midnight trek back to Insta-Care tonight!

Livin' the dream

My morning started bright and early this morning at 4:00 when Greg's alarm went off. He had to leave at 4:30 for San Francisco, so I tried to keep him semi-coherent company before he left. When he was gone; however, I did not see any pressing need to get out of bed, and decided to grab a few winks before the kids woke up. Within seconds I was asleep and dreaming that I was on a road trip, with Rachel screaming. I pulled the car over in my dream and tried to console her to no avail. It felt like she was crying forever in my dream, and it continued into my waking, as I drifted back into consciousness.
I got up, changed her pants, and sent her back to bed when I realized it was only 4:45, and she probably woke up right as Greg left. Still exhausted, I climbed back in bed once more (we were up late packing the night before, and I only had about an hour of sleep the previous night) only to have Rachel wake up again shortly after 5:00. I put her back in bed at 5:18 (I looked at my watch), climbed back in bed, and Sarah woke up, distraught, at 5:30. I climbed in her bed and rubbed her back until she fell asleep, took a couple of Tylenol for the headache that somehow crept into my brain, and gave up on the idea of sleeping in.
By 9:00 my headache had subsided, and since I already had a babysitter lined up, I went to the temple... and let's just say it was a miracle I didn't fall asleep during the session!

Let Summer Begin!

We kicked off summer vacation this weekend with a little bit of 'the good life.' On Friday after school, we had some friends over for a bubble/water party. The weather was a little too cool for the kiddie pool, but they had fun with squirt guns, scented bubbles, and popsicles.
On Saturday, Greg and Grandpa took Becca and Ellie fishing while I stayed home with Sarah and Rachel. Everyone had a great time, too. There wasn't much success with the fishing, but everyone enjoyed relaxing in the boat, and the girls were in heaven holding the fishing poles.
Sarah felt a little bummed that the older girls left without her, but when her cousin Jake arrived, she was thrilled beyond words. He let her watch him play with his game boy, colored pictures with her and then they laughed their heads off at a game on the Wii where you have to pick a giant nose.

Peanuts & Ice Cold Rootbeer

This past week I have been trying to get some spring cleaning done, but it has been harder than I thought because my sweet darlings had other plans for the house. It started on Thursday when I was deep-cleaning the upstairs bathrooms. My girls and two of their friends came up looking like little snow-people because they had gone "swimming" in packing peanuts. As I looked behind them, I think that it was more like a triathlon because they took those peanuts all over the house.
It took me the better part of the morning to get them and the house de-peanuted. Then, on Friday I decided to continue my quest by tackling the basement. When I came up to get the girls lunch, I discovered that they couldn't wait and tried to get some root beer and a snack by using the side compartments on the fridge as a ladder, breaking three drawers in the process. Naturally neither one would admit to being the instigator, so I made them both sit on the ground next to me while I cleaned up the mess, called for replacement parts, and cleaned out the fridge. Finally, Sarah admitted that she was the culprit, and apologized to Ellie who previously stated that it was "the worst day of her life." However, when she got to go watch a show all by herself while Sarah continued to sit by me, she felt a little bit better. The good news is, I was putting off cleaning out the fridge because I have found that the girls always need something "urgent" as soon as I get everything out on the counter and when they were both sitting there with their arms folded I was able to get everything spic-and-span without worrying about what was going on elsewhere in the house :)

Ha Ha!

This morning was a great one for funny comments. It started out with a conversation Greg and I had. We were discussing a young man we know who is a great person, but I recently had a conversation with his mom about how expensive it has been around their house because he has been trying to be "helpful" with a few projects out of his league. Greg asked me what he wanted to do (career wise), and I responded "cause trouble" in jest. Greg looked at me with a most quizzical look and said, "He wants to be a constable?"

Then, at breakfast, Greg asked Sarah to say the prayer. We have been having some difficulty teaching our kids what needs to be said at different prayers, and lately have spent a lot of time reviewing the fact that we tell Heavenly Father that we are grateful for the food, and ask His blessing on it. So, after asking Sarah to please say the blessing, he reminded her to "say what you're supposed to."
We all bowed our heads, and Sarah gave this prayer: "Heavenly Father, you're supposed to" and closed her prayer.
Yep, it looks like we have a few more family night lessons just waiting to be given.

Thanks to the Local Law Enforcement

Well, we have crossed a new bridge in the parenting game. I hoped it would never happen, but I suppose it's better to have it happen now than when they are in high school...the police brought our children home (or at least back to Grandma and Grandpa's). After eating dinner at my parents, the kids wanted to play outside, but they didn't have very good shoes, so I told them to stay inside. Well, Greg went downstairs, I washed the dishes, and the girls decided to trek up to our house alone....barefoot. When it was time to go, I asked Greg where the girls were, and he said he didn't know. I searched the house and told him to look outside, where interestingly enough a police car had just pulled into the driveway. I couldn't find the girls anywhere inside, and ran out the back door around to the garage to find Greg talking to an officer and an elderly couple who had brought the girls back down the hill after seeing them walking a busy road unattended.
I asked them why they went without my permission--(they have NEVER ventured off before, and just the other day I was saying that Ellie's lack of wandering was about the only boundary she hadn't pushed) and they told me they were walking home to get Ellie some shoes and to get Sarah some toilet paper. Yes, apparently they had forgotten that Grandma does in fact have toilet paper, too.
Well, I will admit that I felt horrible that the police had to bring them home, but at the same time, I am SOOOOO glad that they are safe at home....and this might push me to get one of those sensors that beeps and tells you which door is open (and I'll install it on their bedroom doors where they will be spending a lot of time) :)

Peaches and Cream Without the Peaches

A few days ago I needed some cream for a recipe, and the half pints were only 50 cents, so I picked up an extra to use or freeze as needed. Well, as I was whipping up the cream I needed, Ellie and Sarah wanted a drink of milk, so to save myself a little work, I poured the milk into the empty cream cartons and told them that this was like drinking milk at school. They liked that idea, and I didn't have to wash any dishes.
Yesterday, I noticed that Ellie had taken one of the cartons out of the garbage and had taken it up to her room. I was glad that she enjoyed drinking "from the carton" and didn't think anything of it until this morning.
My mom just called and asked if I would bring a dessert on Sunday, and so I decided to see if I had all the ingredients to make a key-lime pie (one of which was the last half-pint of cream). Well, I scoured the fridge, but couldn't find the extra cream anywhere. Then I took a closer look at the carton I had found in Ellie's room. It was evident that I had not opened it (It was opened from the back and looked a little bedraggled). I guess that I need to explain to Ellie that cream cartons may look like school milk cartons, but there is a big difference.....although I now understand her lack of appetite at dinner last night.

Random Trivia about me

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No (I know that may be a shocker)
3. Do you own a gun? No, not even a water gun.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? I've never been to Sonic.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? A little
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I can eat them if I have to.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? I love them ALL!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? OJ
9. Can you do push ups? At least two!
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Wedding ring
12. Favorite hobby? Reading
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Nope
15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? It takes me forever to fall asleep.
16. Middle name? None
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment... What are my kids doing? I need to pay the bills. I should NOT have had a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Nothing-it was Sunday.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, bottled water, and ice water
20. Current worry? What are my kids doing? (Did I mention that already)
21. Current hate right now? laundry
22. Favorite place to be? Home (other than the laundry room)
23. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing DDR with Greg
24. Where would you like to go? Anywhere other than Las Vegas...I'm glad what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
25. Name three people who will complete this? Umm...three people who have never been in my kitchen...For any "Cheers" fans out there.
26. Do you own slippers? Nope. I can't even keep socks on my feet.
27. What shirt are you wearing? a black tee.
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I love luxurious linens!
29. Can you whistle? Yep, but not as well as my mom can.
30. Favorite color? According to my children? Purple (all the other colors have been taken).
31. Would you be a pirate? Yes, just for the jokes! (ARRRe you jealous?)
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually kids' songs because that's what I sing all day
33. Favorite girl's name? ARRRRRwin (see number 31)
34. Favorite boy's name? ARRRRnold (ha ha!) Actually, that's one reason we can be glad we have 4 girls, we can't decide on a boy name.
35. What's in your pocket right now? A band-aid wraper, 13 cents, mini fingernail polish, a bobby pin and a hair elastic.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Reading Becca's Mother's day poem
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Freshly laundered sheets.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Does bearing children count as an "Injury"?
39. Do you love where you live? Absolutely
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1
41. Who is your loudest friend? ???
42. How many dogs do you have? Zero-I don't need to clean up any more poop than I already do.
43. Does someone have a crush on you?
45. What is your favorite book? Just one? I couldn't possibly be so cruel to the rest of my favorites.
46. What is your favorite candy? The now-extinct Cookies 'n Mint candy bar from Hershey's.
47. Favorite Sports Team? The "stinky" cougars (as my kids now call them thanks to their father and aunt)
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? I don't know. All my favorite hymns seem inappropriate for a funeral.--but perhaps, "let us oft speak kind words" because it has "heather" in the lyrics :)
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Putting Sarah back to sleep
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Already?

Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday being Mother's Day, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on that special day. It started out by having the girls stretching out their arms to tell me that they love me "this much" then stretching them out a little more to tell me that they love daddy "THIS much."

Then, this morning I found a poem Becca wrote at school for Mother's day, and I thought I would post it:

My mother is always nice to me.
The bad news is that she always makes me clean my room.
The good news is I always can sleep in their bed.
The best news is I can watch my dad play Wii.

Yes, the best thing about me is that Becca can watch Greg play Wii.


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!

I am so smart, S-M-R-T!

Today we have yet another Ellie moment to report. Greg has the laptop set up to require either a password or fingerprint to log in, which has been really nice because it means that none of the kids can get on. Well, I had the computer sitting next to me, and Ellie said, "Can I use the computer?" I told her that she could if she could figure out how to get it on, and went back to work. About a minute later, Ellie said. "Watch, Mom. All I have to do is click on this suitcase." Sure enough, she had somehow figured out how to log in as a "guest" even though that option is not typically available. I asked her how she did it, and she said, "Oh, it's just something my brain figured out."

A quick Ellie-ism

This morning at breakfast, I gave the girls their oatmeal and asked, "Who do I love?" to which Sarah said "NOT ME!" and started laughing her head off.
Ellie set he spoon down, put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, isn't Sarah just a kidding machine."
Her seriousness and demeanor made me laugh so hard I had to leave the room.

OK-I have to add another one. Ellie learned how to blow up balloons yesterday, and Sarah found one today and tried to blow it up. She couldn't do it, so Ellie took it from her, blew it up, and said, "I'm sorry. I know I make it look so easy." Then she turned to me and said, "Sometimes it's just hard to have such a talented big sister."

Sci-Fi Friday!

Some of you might wonder what Greg and I do on the weekends...Well, wonder no more. Almost every Friday after dinner we pack the kids up and head over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for everyone's favorite event...Sci-Fi Friday. You may think I speak in jest, but I kid you not, every morning my kids wake up and ask what day it is. If it happens to be Sunday, they realize that they will be headed off to church, if it is Monday we will have Family Home Evening, and if it is Friday they will specify that it is in fact Sci-Fi Friday.
For any of you out of the loop, Sci-Fi Friday is the day when Stargate and Flash Gordon are on the Sci-Fi Channel. Well, my girls may not know who Dale Arden is, but they know that there is a room full of toys waiting for them at grandma's house, and a very good chance of a treat as well.
At present, the shows we watch are on hiatus, so in lieu of a night of television, we went with Grandma and Grandpa to Cabella's this weekend.
Our girls were in heaven, and Rachel learned a few new words, the most common being "DEER!" Our kiddos loved seeing all of the stuffed birds and animals, and thought it was great fun to feed the fish, but the highlight of the trip was the talking moose head. Everyone but Sarah thought it was the funniest thing ever, but I was afraid that Sarah might wet her pants she was so scared. We had to pass under the moose to get to the candy shop, and Greg finally convinced her to go under it in his arms. As they were walking past, the moose started talking, and Sarah laughed nervously, then, as soon as it stopped, turned to Greg and told him rather insistently that it was time to move along.
When we were walking out of the store, laden with fudge and candy, and happy as clams, Greg's dad asked the girls whether they preferred Cabella's or Sci-Fi Friday. They all looked at each other and Becca responded "Both are fun--this is a nice change, but I still like Sci-Fi Friday."
I guess that seals the deal-there is no going back on our tradition now!