Just Random Thoughts

AHHH...Isn't this gorgeous?? I thought I was such a clever photographer finding this spot and climbing up the soggy sandy dirt to take this picture. Then as I was leaving there was a lady coming to take a picture in the EXACT spot with her camera phone.
Anyway, in the foreground here and off to the left of the picture are some nearby orange groves. The navel oranges this time of year totally rule and we can't get enough of them (i.e. diarrhea (diarea? diareya??). Another reason I love Caleeforneeya. (why do I giggle at the word diarrhea?)
Moving right along...how is everyone's Christmas going thus far?? Spence and I went shopping a week ago together to get stuff for the kiddos. We (i) had so much fun looking at all the cool toys. Then this week we found better deals on the stuff we got and ended up returning everything we bought last week. Christmas time is totally insane, is it not? I love it, though. Minus all the lines and cranky people. I have felt more Christmas-y this year than any previous year. I cannot WAIT to see Carter's face when he opens his presents this year. I am pretty sure I'm not going to sleep a wink Christmas eve.
By the way, is anyone else engraining in their kids heads what they (the kids) want for Christmas this year? (Batman jammies and a light saver. Ask him. This is what he'll say)
What are your kids getting for Christmas??
(p.s. this is one of those crowing moments in my life. My 100th post)

This is us today

And has been us the last three days.
All day.
Every day.
And this piping hot baby will not let bodily contact cease between us.
I'm sweating.

It's cold, windy, and raining.

And it has been one of my favorite days EVER.
It's 5pm and I'm still in my jammies and slippers.
I haven't exercised.
I haven't showered.
I haven't brushed my teeth (okay, that's kindof disgusting and I'm about to hit my limit and cave).
I haven't mopped the kitchen floor which has the rugs out of it and has been ready to be mopped since 11 this morning.
I haven't put in a load of laundry.
I haven't even thought about what to have for dinner (and like I said, it's 5pm).
BUT...today:
I WRESTLED with my kids on the floor.
I PRETENDED doggies with Carter.
I NAPPED PEACFULLY for more than one hour on my couch with a warm blankie (BLISS).
I WATCHED a movie with my kids (and the baby is so sick that he actually sat with me and watched, too)
I CUDDLED with my little sick one and didn't feel guilty that I wasn't getting something done.
I STARED at the rain out of our back door and was SO glad I didn't have to get dressed and go anywhere or do anything today.
I LISTENED to the heater kick on and off all day, greatful to be warm and cozy in my little home.
I ENJOYED a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows with my favorite 3 yr. old in the world.
I was PATIENT and didn't lose my temper, not even ONCE.
I LOVED today. And I needed it.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace...

I went to bed early with a migraine last night and had finally slipped into peaceful slumber when all of the sudden both kids were screaming bloody murder. I swear I threw the covers off and went from completely asleep and relaxed to in their room in 1.2 seconds, flat. And what was the problem??
I have absolutely no idea.
They were both crying the "there is something seriously wrong" cry. Not just your every-day "I woke up and am a little upset" cry.
But seriously, am I the only person who thought that once my kids slept through the night it would just be like that every night?
First of all, it took us two years to get Carter to sleep through the night every night. Nolan has been fast and did really well for like 2 months. But recently if we get through the whole night without a bed-tinkle, bad dream or teething baby, it's like the most refreshing thing ever and the day just goes so well.
And I think I have a sleep-walker on my hands. The other morning we went in to get Nolan and Carter was still asleep but the curtain rod and the thing that holds it onto the wall were completely torn off the wall, it had swung down and knocked over the lamp and Carter has NO idea how it happened....another mystery that will never be solved.
So I have finally let go of my attachment to a good-night's rest.
No longer shall I stare watery-eyed at the clock at any odd hour of the morning in disbelief that I am up.
Never shall I be surpised to be awakened 3, 4, 5...8 times a night with an infant who puked all over himself, his bed, and has to be bathed at 3:30 in the morning.
I have resigned my naiiveness of thought that I must get 7 hours of sleep to be funtionable the next day.
I am now resolved to just be satisfied at just 4-5 hours (even interrupted...if I'm lucky).
Because who would want to be sleeping when you could be outside in the garage throwing in a load of laundry at 2am?? Seriously.

A Random Thought

You may or may not know that I'm a video game nerd. How often do I play them? Practically never. It's not really tempting. Plus the only console we have is xbox, which is only like 3 years old but now almost as outdated as Nintendo 64 (which was SA-WEET).
So growing up I played a lot of video games. Not because my mom and dad let us just sit around and dink around all day (when we got our Sega Genesis we had to actually log in and out on a piece of paper) but usually when I'd go to friend's houses and stuff we would play for hours, until all hours of the morning.
It all started when we got our first Nintendo when I was like 7 and had no idea what all the hype was about. Until I was a little older and discovered Zelda, which was SOO cool (when I could get it to work...the proven process was to take the game out, blow really slowly, lips pressed to edge of the game, all the way up the game (a tid bit of spit is helpful), replace game before condensation evaporates from the inside, push down, push down again to pop up the game, repeat at least 12 times, wiggle the game side to side at least 4 times while game is in the console then turn it on, rejoice that it worked, and pray that it won't go wonky before you are done playing). Then I was all up in the 3 Mario Brother's, Excite Bike, Master Blaster, Spy Hunter, Friday the 13th (the creepiest game ever. Still scares the crud outta me. Did you ever play that one? You actually try to save other camp children by hunting down JASON who, once you find him, you try to kill him by chucking rocks while he throws machetes at you. Did anyone ever WIN that game??), Bubble Bobble (the innocent game I'd play after Friday the 13th to un-creep me), and anything else I could get my hands on.
But what the heck is with video games these days? What ever happened to beating the bad guy and winning the princess (and pulling vegetables out of the ground to throw at bad guys, what??)? It's SOO not like that any more. And it used to be a no-brainer. You go from the left of the screen until it stops moving all the way to the right, where you would either fight the bad guy or go down another tube to find the bad guy who you had to bop on the head a total of 3 times to kill.
Anyway, I've been hearing that the gaming industry is like the only one not suffering from the recession and is still thriving. And as a mom I'm going, "uuuhhh...are people insane?? Get off your butts and go play outside." But then I remember all the time I spent playing video games and can honestly say I think I have benefitted from them.
What do you think?? Did/do you play video games? Do you think they helped or hindered??
(speaking of "hinder", when the heck are they going to kill off Mohinder on Heroes? Can there be a more annoying character??)

Fun, fun!

Okay, how lucky am I to have a goreous new sister-in-law who doesn't mind whipping on her wedding dress and letting me try my hand at bridal shots? We had the best time romping around in the wilderness, trying out different shots and positions. Here's what came of our efforts...

I am still such an amateur but am learning a ton and loving photography. Yay for hobbies!!

Let me know what you think...(and be gentle!)

When it rains...

It pours.
Spencer decided to put his hand through our window this morning when he was struggling to open it. Luckily he did not need stiches as there was no skin left to stich up the gaping hole in his ring finger.
We are quite the pair, huh??
(presents, packages, and even cash donations may help boost our spirits)

Adding Insult to Injury...

Or just more injury to injury.
So I told you about my disjointed right pinky toe.
My brother, sister-in-law and their two girls are staying with us this weekend.
In our 1,100 sq. foot house. Things are a little......cramped. But we love it.
ANYWAY, I wanted to do my niece's hair because I only have BOYS with short hair. So she said I could blow it dry and do it. YAY! So I set up my salon in my bedroom.
She sat on my bed.
But the cords of the dryer and hot iron didn't reach anything to sit on. So I laid the hot iron on the floor.
It was pumped up to 25.
I was distracted and moving around her to reach all the hair. HOW COULD I MISS IT??
I now have a 2nd degree, 3-inch-long burn on the bottom of my left foot.
Maybe it was fate. There's some reason I'm not supposed to run the 1/2 marathon.
Or maybe I'm being tested. Will I wuss out and give up just because my right pinky toe is black and-blue and my left foot is throbbing??
Stay tuned....

We're back....again.

We really get around, don't we?

I love going on spur-of-the-moment trips.

There's a rush in the rush of flying about the house packing up every little thing you would ever need at your destination or on the way to it.

So my most recent was going up to Utah last Wednesday with my mother-in-law and my new sister-in-law. We drove ALL DAY and by the end of the trip Nolan was about to implode. Poor kid. Then from the lack of physical movement the entire day he decided to stay up most of the night and slept a good bit the next day. It was a viscious cycle to break. Which brings me to this point...Babies are the worst travelers ever. At least mine have been. Then after the traveling you are in a totally different place and they are just unhappy about that.

Anyway, I had a chance to take some pictures of this cute family.

And we got to visit Wheeler Farm and enjoy the gorgeous scenery, fall weather....and throw leaves at the ducks.

and take tons of pictures of surprisingly cooperative kids...

and crash another wedding reception to take advantage of all the delicious goodies.

Thought bubble..."Mmm...what is THIS delicious morsel??"

We got back Tuesday and I was ready to get back to the gym. I woke up the next morning to get back to my normal routine to arrive at my gym, a completely empty lot and a sign on the door informing me that they are sorry for the inconvenience but they have closed permanently. ARG. But that doesn't really matter now because last night I kicked the door frame again (this has happened maybe 149 times in my life now...I still haven't come to terms with just how freakishly long my toes are yet) and dislocated my pinky toe on my right food. What a stinking useless toe and now it is preventing me from my much-needed runs.

OH, and lastly, how about Prop 8, eh??? WAHOO!! Too bad some people are poor sports and don't care about the majority vote and choose to be hateful and rude and target people who stand up for what is right and spend lots of time protesting something that should be a closed case and vandalize sacred properties...but I'm not going to mention any names.

Final Sprint....

Does this count as child-exploitation?? Good.

As you can see, Nolan is seriously happy about being in the stroller.

Carter and daddy "waving stigns".

Tuesday, November 4th

Now I'm Really in for it!

Trying to catch up to big brother, I think.

Right on the money, eh??

Just something to lighten the mood around here.... (thanks, Coby for the pic!)

More Prop 8 Venting...sorry

Okay, I should have known by the 2 HUGE Obama pins she was wearing AT THE GYM that she would most likely be voting no on prop 8.
But I decided to make life interesting and strike up a treadmill conversation anyway. She was old- a traditional family values person, right? Here's how the conversation went (the short of it).
"Have you heard of Proposition 8?"
"Which one is that" (oh, goody- I'll convert her right away)
"The one about gay marraige"
"Oh, yes and I think it should be voted down."
"You mean that gays should not be able to marry?" (right??)
"NO, they should be able to marry! I don't think that religion should govern how we live. I don't think it's fair that they aren't allowed to marry because they are born that way"
(and I'm thinking, LADY, this country was founded ON religion. People wanted to worship what they believed so they left England! And what about "One nation, under GOD??")
(But trying to not seem too far the opposite way) "Yes, I do think many of them are born that way but I'm concerned about what my children will be taugh in school"
"Well have you seen the ad by the superintendent? He said that is a lie that they have taught it in Massachussets and that they don't teach about marraige here." (which is the real lie)
"His official website states that they have to teach about marraige in school"
"That must not have been his official web site"
(IGNORANCE!!!)
"Well and many charites and foster organizations have had to close down because they wouldn't give children to gay couples and were sued."
"Well someone else will pick that up"
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I kept on firing the ammo...
"61% of voters voted that gays and lesbians could not marry on Proposition 22 a few years back and 4 judges voted AGAINST the majority. I don't think they should have that sort of power"
"They HAVE to do that. They HAVE to do what is according to the constitution"
"They should act on what the voice of the people says, not what they think is right"
"Well they still have to go according to the constitution"
"Well it was nice talking to you (I had to leave). It's been very informative." (ptttttttttthhhhhhhhhhh)
"And I'm glad to see that you are taking an interest" (AN INTEREST isn't even the SHORT of it, lady)

It is hard for me to imagine that gays and lesbians will have legal backing for their belief that they should be able to marry (and use it in every way they can) and that those of us who don't believe that will have NO backing for even "opting-out" and taking our children out of school on the days that lessons will be taught and books read about same-sex marraige. To think that it will not happen in California is a naive way to think.
But they have decided to play dirty and I am glad to be on this side of it. I don't care how strongly I feel about it I would never flip off, yell cuss words at and be horribly rude to people who were exercising their right to freedom of speech (like me this Saturday, holding signs with others on street corners). Or steal yard signs, send out emails threatening to dig up the dirt on people supporting Prop 8, and make ads stating that everything that we are saying is a lie. It's getting to be a nasty war out here. Please, please pray it passes...

I'm a hobbyest...

and that is a problem when you like to do a ton of different things, plus take care of a family, keep a house, be active in church and devote time to promoting prop.8. SO, sorry for the lame excuse but the blog has taken the back seat in the stretch Navi of my life and may continue to do so for the next little bit (wasn't that a sweet analogy??). But while I'm on here at the moment, I'll catch you up on what I've been up to.

We welcomed a new addition to our family last Monday (enter: new hobby). After what seems like WEEKS of waiting she finally arrived in the mail. Readers, meet...

Canon Rebel XSi. She is a magnificent, powerful beauty. We are still becoming aquainted with each other but have already grown quite attached. If only we all came with an instruction booklet.

Plus she takes pretty pictures of my kids like

and

Also these love birds got married

and were nice enough to let me and my kids gank a day at the Newport condo with them. Yesterday we hit up Disneyland, renewed our passes and got to stay for the fireworks. It was a good day. Plus Darth Mal seriously stared down Carter and Carter somehow believes he scared him away with his "ligh saber" (aka. a glow stick) so he's been pretty proud today.

And that's what's been going on. Plus I decided I should try to clean the grount on the floor of my kitchen today but didn't test it in an inconspicuous spot. Once I figured out how much work that was really going to take, I had to finish because it looked ridiculous. (p.s. I scrubbed for about 1hr. and a 1/2 tonight and am still not close to being done. PLUS my hands smell like Clorox. Anyone have a good product for a grout cleaner? Anyone want to come put it to use in my kitchen??)

Let's Talk Politics

As the election approaches next month there is one particular issue that catches my attention even more than who is going to be the next President and VP and that is
PROP 8
If you don't live in California you probably don't know what this is. Let me enlighten you...
A few years back there was a huge vote over whether homosexuals could be legally married or not. 61% of the state voted that they could not. This year, 4 corrupt judges in San Fransisco turned DOWN that vote and decided that it was illegal NOT to let them marry. They overturned the vote of the entire state! Who should have that power??!
This November the state will be voting ONCE AGAIN to finally ammend (or not to ammend) to the California constitution that marraige is only between a man and a woman. Doesn't seem like a big deal, right??
WRONG!
It is HUGE.
If this proposition does not pass, my sweet, innocent and easily confused children will HAVE to be taught in school that same-sex marraige is normal and acceptable. I can't even tell you how much this makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs. I will seriously think about home schooling my children (and I REALLY don't want to home school my children).
Just watching THIS VIDEO (click) brings out the mother bear in me. (thanks, Kellee for the email)
Now, I have nothing against homosexuals. I'm not trying to say that they are bad people. That is not the point I'm trying to get across. But when all this starts to affect the lives of my children then I will fight it tooth and nail.
To learn how else the voting down of Prop 8 will affect not only our families but our society, visit THIS LINK.
Our state is not the only one going through this. Arizona and Florida will also be voting for the same thing. If you have not already heard of this and live in these states, Google it now!
Vote Yes for marraige!!

Anything I can do, you could do better...

You could do anything better than me.

(Am i the only nerd who knows that song from Annie Get Your Gun???)
So the missionaries were coming to dinner on Sunday and I rarely get to have guests so I sortof go all-out and I was bustin' my (quickly rounding) rump to make rolls and dinner, set the table, clean up a bit...and they called and said one of the Elders was too sick to make the appointment. Anyway, point of the story is....I made some suprisingly sweet dinner rolls! I think I've made rolls maybe 3 times in my life and they turned out fabulously, hence my title for the post- if I can do it, you can do it, and probably better than I can. SO, HERE is the recipe from my all-time favorite website, Allrecipes.com. I check this site ritualistically for the featured recipe of the day. YUMMMMM!!!

So my project this summer was to work hard on food storage. When I started I honestly didn't know the difference between a pint and a quart. While we don't have much stored up in the way of dry stuff- wheat, flour, sugar...I have filled almost all of my newly-bought collection of jars with lots of nummies. I took inventory yesterday and here's how we've come out:

15Q. 1pt. tomatoes
12 pints ground beef
6 1/2 pints apricott jam
2 pints apricott juice
11 pints yellow peaches
51 pints pears
1 pt. raspberry jam (not my favorite. The recipe used 6 cups of shredded zucchini and a box of rasp. jello)
4Q. 4pts. dilly beans (spicy, garlicy, dilly...oh so yummy)
And just look at this beautiful rainbow of delicious preparedness...
Like I said, if I can do it, you CAN CAN too. (p.s. if you have ?s or need help, CALL ME!!)

I mentioned that my mom and I did some redecorating while she was here. It has been requested that I post some pictures and I wasn't very smart and didn't take any "before" pics, but here are some after.

I would take some of the bathroom but my bathroom is seriously too small and all you'd see would be the texturing on the walls. But my Mom can really do decorating better than me. My home looks half-way decent because it has been graced by her hands. I'm really hopeless. Mom, please stick around always so I will have a beautiful home (and so you can buy stuff to put in it).

What's your favorite thing your Mom does better than you??

Some Random Catching Up...

Last week Spencer was on a backpacking trip in Colorado with his dad and some friends which would have meant that I would have been all alone with my kids for 8 DAYS except I got smart and called my Mom a couple months ago and lured her into coming (MUAHAHAHA! You fell into my little trap, Mama) and having girl time, which turned into "redecorate my house" time and "spend lots of money" time (so serious girl time). It was awesome and SUCH a relief to have her here (I honestly don't know how people single-parent. I would be the whiniest single parent ever) but I am glad to have my hubby back. He just can't quite be replaced and I like it that way.
In other news, the orthodontist's office called as a follow-up to my appointment and asked what I wanted to do. I asked how much the retainers would be. She said the Dr. would only charge me for one (benefits of being friends with the Dr.) but it would still be $210.
I think I threw up a little in my mouth.
So bottom line, I'm not doing anything right now. Thanks everyone for your comments. But I seriously had a SERIES of nightmares concerning me and braces and spacers, bands, wires, bracets, and cancer sores. It was aweful and I didn't want to make those nightmares a reality.
Thirdly, Dallin H. Oaks was here this weekend to reorganize our stake (I'm sorry if you have no idea what this means. He is one of the 12 apostles of our church) and it was SO SO awesome to have him here. He gave some awesome talks and Spencer, Carter and I all got to shake his hand. I got to sing in the choir and it was just so great. So this weekend was just really special.
So for a story about an annoying person I encountered yesterday...I was in Walmart and had to get the oil changed so I pulled into the TLE and dropped off the van, did my shopping, paid for groceries and headed back to the TLE to stand in a short line to pay for my car. Anyway when I first entered the store upon dropping off my car I didn't want to haul my kids alllllllllll the way to the front of the store to get a cart and there was a very convenient cart parked by the tires. SO I threw the baby in it and off we went, everything okay. Back to the line...there wasn't a lot of room in the line so I had the cart kindof off to the side (maybe 5 feet away) and did not have Nolan buckled in because the buckle was busted (convenient cart, remember??) and this guy in line starts "talking" to Nolan (in a totally obvious way wanting to start a conversation with me) going, "Hey, you sure are cute! Where is your seatbelt? You could just fall right out of there and that would be it! You should be buckled in, etc..." (first of all, can I just say I hate when people do this? its a lame excuse for trying to tell you what they don't have the guts to just come out and say directly to you) So anyway, I'm all, "Yeah, this one is broken and I didn't have time to get another one (thinking: yeah, yeah, the kid is fine, leave me alone)"
"Well I bring my 13 month old Granddaughter all the time and i always buckle her up. It only takes one time of them falling out and that's it" (what exactly does "that's it" mean??)
"I got the cart over there and it was broken and since I am in front of him the whole time I'm shopping I didn't think it was a big deal"
"Sometimes ladies have their bags wide open and they are reaching for something and I tell them that I could have taken whatever was in their bag when their back was turned."
(me thinking "I'm sure you do")
But DUDE, this guy would NOT let it GO.
I paid for my oil change (finally) and walked out to the car, started unloading and I KID YOU NOT, HE WAS PARKED RIGHT BY ME AND CONTINUED TO BADGER ME ABOUT THIS.
"He is just too precious and all it takes is one time"
Now I'm not a rude person but I finally had to go, " SIR, I UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU." (Yeah, and you thought I couldn't get FIESTY, huh?? : )
WHAT IS WITH THESE PEOPLE??? WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON WHO HARPED ON YOU???

I'm FREAKING out

So recently I've noticed more and more that my front teeth seem to be jutting out a bit. I decided to investigate and ask a guy in my ward about it and what I could do.
Here's what I expected him to say: "Oh, it's really not that bad and no one notices but you" or "Yeah, we'll just fix you up a little retainer thing to wear for a bit and that will push those babies right back where they came from"
Instead, here's what I got: "Yeah, I see that. Come into my office and I'll check it out more thoroughly and we'll talk."
Me: Crap.
SO, I made an appointment thinking he's gonna say:
"Well thank goodness you've already paid your dues with braces. Everything looks really good and this will be an easy problem to fix. And by the way, nice pearly-whites! What toothpaste do you use? Are you a regular flosser? Those are some pink gums!"
Me: With a slight blush in my cheek "Oh, it's nothing. I just have good genes, I guess. But I do use Aquafresh Empowermint with whitening."
Him: "Well, I'll be...I think I will start recommending this to my patients because of your dazzlingly white smile."
Okay, maybe my imagination got a little out of hand there. But seriously. Here's now it really went.
Him: "What's causing your teeth to "flare" is your lower teeth. This one in particular (mandibular tricuspid 3rd (just kidding, I swear that's what he said, though) but it is one of my canines). We have options. They are
(1) Don't do anything and see if it gets worse.
(2) I can make a retainer to keep your teeth in this position. However, it won't fix the problem of this one tooth on the bottom sticking out more than it's supposed to and its basically throwing everything off.
(3) I recommend BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
BRACES.
(I swear, he allowed this to come out of his mouth! Directed at ME, even! I'VE ALREADY BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!!!! I HAD THEM FOR 2 1/2 YEARS AND IT WAS PURELY MISERABLE AND WRETCHED AND I HATED IT SO BADLY. I was about to burst into tears. And by the way, I think there should be a stronger symbol to use to empasize things instead of the exclamation mark because I would totally use it here)
But okay, we still have one more option
(4) And because of the crowding we COULD just TAKE OUT four of your teeth and give the others some room to move. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHERE THE HECK IS OPTION 5??!! You don't just TAKE OUT teeth! They are supposed to stay IN the head!
AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO WOULD FREAK OUT ABOUT THIS?
I mean, you only get to be 25 once. Why would I want to spend the rest of my 25th year as a brace face, railroad track, metal mouth who looks 17 even without braces? Oh, jeez.
Oh, and for those of you thinking I should do Invisalign...not only is it more expensive but according to the orthodontist it's not as effective in moving the roots of the teeth and keeping them in the right spot. Meaning in the long run I could just have to get braces again.
So, what to do, what to do??? What would you do?
Would you do braces again???

Had to Happen

It was perfect. The baby was asleep. Carter was playing in his room. I was about to enjoy "me" time and catch up on some blogging. Then...
I finished my delicious lunch of pesto chicken pasta with squash and a healthy serving of butternut squash soup and thought to myself, "What could top off this meal better than some steamed squash? Mmm. I think I'll have that." I proceeded to the kitchen, washed, cut, steamed my squash and was garnishing it with some spray butter and parmesan cheese (is your mouth watering yet???) when I noticed the condiment tray in the door of the fridge was not quite snapped in all the way. I set the parmesan cheese on the main floor of the fridge and tried to adjust it (using one hand, if I may add, because what was in the other hand? The squash.) and the drawer came completely off in my hand.
Oh, crap.
Hurry, think fast! Try to swing it around and set it down on the counter!
Well I made it half way to the counter before the ENTIRE tray slipped out of my hand and went flying (in slow motion).
NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It crashed down on the tile, sending a happy little rain shower of glass shards, stir-fry sauce and pepperoncinis ALL OVER MY KITCHEN. Lovely.
There goes "me" time.
What ruined your "me" time lately??? (other than the obvious every day answer of "my children")

Slowing Down

Yeah, right. So you know (I could tell you were worried) I AM still here but have been super busy. I'll fill you in when I get a chance to play catch up once again.

Catching up

All summer I've been envious reading everyone else's blogs saying "Oh we've been SO BUSY going (fill in a great blank) and vacationing (insert fun vacation) and I've hardly had time to blog" and I'm going, "YEAH, ME TOO. I've been SO busy...uhhhh picking (weed or garden vegetable) and uhhhhhhhhhhh....canning (choice summer fruit). It's been suck a BLAST I've hardly had time for ANYTHING!" pttthh.


But I finally got to get out and go on our yearly family reunion trip up to Malad, Idaho and make our usual rounds staying with my brother and sister-in-law, visiting temple square, seeing old friends...we had a great time. Other plusses of the trip include being able to see my brother Ryan and his family, a newly engaged brother-in-law, and most importantly, seeing a moose when we went for a short hike at Brighton in Utah. Here are a few pics from the trip:

Carter "fishing" in the creek by the park where we have the reunion. He caught a lunker.
This was really a very rare treat. Nolan never falls asleep on me anymore but I guess we wore him out by staying up until 11:30 the night before. Poor baby.
After the reunion we went to Spencer's cousin's house and rode their ponies. Carter did really well but did not want a second turn.
This is two of my bros and their families with us at Brighton. It was SO gorgeous. Even my husband who isn't a very good photographer (c'mon, you know it, honey) managed to take this picture:
And that is our moose. We got about 15 feet away from him and it was pretty sweet. I think he winked at me. So if you've been wondering why in the heck I haven't posted anything lately, this is why.

p.s. if you want to make a seriously fantastic soup make THIS. (Mom, this is the soup I told you about) I know summer doesn't really make you say "Hmm. Let's have hot soup for dinner" but you can actually make it (without the cream cheese) and freeze it for winter. Anyway, don't know if anyone else has 8 butternut squash sitting on their counter but I do so this is what they will be turned into. I guarantee you'll like it.

YAY for me

25 gophers in my front lawn
25 degrees hotter and I'll melt
25 moles on my arm (is that all?)
25 years under my belt

This is the worst poem to myself I have ever written. Hope you enjoyed it.
Happy Birthday, Self.
Love,
Me

Yummmmmm....

Lookie what I've been up to...



Food storage...check.

Keepin it Real: Outside Edition

Yeah, yeah, so my garden is doing well...you've all heard and seen enough of it, I know.
Here's one more picture just to make you jealous...(by the way, the 2 zucchini in the middle are large for a zucchini. I must have overlooked Giganto over there for a few days because now it's pretty much bigger than Nolan. Oh, and we are all getting horribly sick of vegetables. Carter refuses to eat any more squash and gags on it and I have to distract Nolan and then shovel it in when he's not expecting it. My poor kids...)

But beyond the garden (and even in the garden) we find a plethera of gopher holes and mounds.

And directly behind our lovely garden is our sheds and an area of our back yard that we are just not sure what to do with. So, it's just a barren weed and gopher-breeding ground. These guys are like up to my knee. It's ridiculous but I really have a thing about touching weeds because they have spines and usually bust at the bottom and get this nasty, stinky, sticky milk all over my hands. DisGUSting.
And I am too lazy to turn this picture so I'll just make you crank your neck but this is inside one of our sheds. "Wow, that's a lot of diapers" you are thinking, but WRONG- Nothing is as it seems, remember? Like our sweet reused parmesan cheese canisters (refer to "Realishness" post below). Yeah, anything that we need to store goes in a giant diaper box. And there are more in the closets in the house. And finally in our sheds...
Black widows.
I immediately start to itch every time I walk in one of our sheds. The question is not IF there is a black widow in our shed but WHERE is the little wench (or wenches). This one had a heinous little egg sack which I also doused with Raid. My whole head gets itchy just looking at this.
What nasty things lurk in/out of your house? (husband and children not included)

I apologize

Sorry "Keep it real week" has been pretty uneventful...I had a goal to post something every other day but my real life didn't allow me to do so. SO, this may continue until Wednesday or so.

Real Drop Zones

Our house is filled with obnoxious drop zones where things that do have a decent place to rest just get piled until I go crazy enough with them that I actually put the stuff away. Here are what my drop zones look like today...

Forever shoes on this rug in this spot. Also a thermometer and Darth Tater's arm.
The counter space when you first walk in my house...a death trap for junk. Tools, charging battery, hat, diaper bag, puzzles, shopping list, movie rentals, groceries...ANYTHING set here immediately feels welcome and makes itself cozy and settled in for a nice stay.
The top of the entertainment center usually entertains (again) movie rentals (they pile up in both spots), CDs, camera case, remotes, books, activities, and toys.
Outside toy drop. Picture explains it all.

Sugestions on how to avoid drop zones???

Realishness

This week has officially been declared "keeping it real week" by my friend Sheena (link). So check back this week to find out the not-so-lovely details of life at the Burk house and post your own!
Let's be realistic, here. No one's life is as perfect as it seems to the rest of us. Now I want to see how un-perfect things are with you to make me feel better and we can all have a good laugh at each other's expense.

Isn't this a great game?!?!

So if you are reading this, I TAG you (except for you, Sheena. Because I'm simply stealing your idea (not-so-secret, secret shame)) and you I know you know who you are. (uhhhh....)

DO IT.

Here are some real things going on around here...

If you are thinking that that "y" just doesn't look quite right it's because it busted when I put this decoration away to make room for Christmas decorations last year. And NO, I didn't try and repair it. I couldn't even FIND the other piece. (but I probably would have at least tried to glue or tape it if I would have) And YES, I still put it back up, even though it looks entirely goofy. Why? I'm cheap. Which is also the reason behind this photo...

Yup, that's a candlestick with no candle and it's been this way since Christmas, when I put it away to make room for Christmas decor...wait, this sounds familiar...but this time it melted in my shed...Also on exhibit, a clock bought on clearance (check out the time- and that's not the afternoon. Someone had too long of a Sunday nap today), picture frame and flower arrangement from Ross, and table runner from mother- all sitting on entertainment center handed down from in-law's and filled with TV ("borrowed" for the past 3 years) from brother-in-law (thank you, Holden!). Which all confirms that I am cheap.

In my pantry you can try as you might but will never find what you are looking for because I have very cleverly disguised things by putting them in containers which they do not belong to. Shown here is flax seed (on left) and spicy trail mix (Spencer's creation) in ex-parmesan cheese containers. Looking for the rice? Check the old protein powder container. Sesame seeds? The cinnamon container. Genious.

Check out that darling baby with that exquisite rose-leaf complexion. Too bad that's not my baby. It's the one that came in the frame (plus I would NEVER let my kids sleep on their tummy, right?) and those 12 spaces surrounding her (note that there are no longer any male babies in this world. babies in general are refered to as "her") are for pictures of HER during HER first year. But I do love that picture of me in the frame next to it.And finally, bath toys. Every night Carter has to play with all of them and most every night I really don't feel like picking them up and squeezing the water out of every one of them. So I let them sit in the tub as shown until Spencer showers the next morning and picks them up. Yeah, they have mildew all up in them. I should probably buy some new ones but I'm too cheap (all bath toys here were provided by Grandma Sheriee except for the ducky, which was an offereing from "The Sleep Fairy" for sleeping through the night during our "skellikin" episode)

So there you have my first "keeping it real" post>>>Much, much more to follow. If you don't feel inclined to post your imperfections for all to see simply TELL ME in a comment below.

Jumping on the bandwagon

A lot of people have been doing this lately and I think it's pretty fun.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Simple Math

Pudgy body + tiny bikini= a ruined bikini and an unsightly view for the rest of us having to endure looking at your muffin top, stretch marks, saggy skin, and every other blemish which would be covered if only you would buy a modest bathing suit.

Let's face it, people, true beach bodies are hard to come by, yet bikinis are practically the only thing sold now-a-days. Americans are fatter than ever and our clothes are tinier than ever. Something isn't quite working here. Someone isn't doing the math. And it's not the bathing suit manufacturers. We all know how supply and demand works. They are thrilled because they can use a fraction of the facbric used for a one-piece suit and sell it for just as much money. But who is losing? ME!! Put some clothes on, for Heaven's sake! Can you not SEE??? Do you actually think you look GOOD in that? One thing I've learned from American Idol...there's a lot of friends who lie out there. If they tell you you look good in that ittybittybikini, don't trust them. You have to have a seriously nice body to wear a bikini. So if you put on that bikini and have rolls hanging out and your BA-ZOOMS are about to fall out of it, please spare the rest of us and go for the more modest choice. Thank you.

I Was Tagged

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. figuring out how to make myself not look flat (still haven't figured that out. a little help, please) 2. living in a teenage dreamworld
3. going to the beach or to 6 Flags Astroworld like every other day
4. going through puberty (yes, a late "bloomer". it's still a touchy subject)
5. not thinking about having kids

5 things on my To Do List:
1. gain control of sweet-tooth
2. mow lawn (i'm just not feeling it this week)
3. play Darth Vader an Darth Mall with Carter
4. clean mysterious brown stain off carpet. (i'm pretty sure I know what the brown stain is which is why it's still on my to-do list.)
5. watch Bachelorette (still haven't seen the finale but unfortunately saw the outcome on Yahoo. curse you, YAHOO!!!!)

5 favorite snacks or foods:
1. See's chocolates (white chocolate cashew brittle, butterscotch squares, molasses chips, caramels, turtles, most everything except the marzipan, gingers, and nasty fruity ones.)
2. my sister-in-law, Coby's party mix called "addiction" (recipe follows)
3. Mahi Mahi with Yvette sauce from Papadeaux in Houston
4. Chicken alfred0 (though I never get it)
5. sweet salad like raspberry walnut with bleu cheese or strawberry salad with bacon, mushrooms, the works)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. take entire (immediate) family on sweet vacation
2. buy a bigger house in a nice neighborhood
3. travel with hubby
4. hire a chef
5. take trips to Houston to see family every other month

5 weird habits that I have: (I changed the question a little)
1. I make faces at myself in the mirror
2. I shake the milk in the carton before using it. Have no idea where I got this from.
3. I eat really REALLLLY well all day and then reward myself at the end of the day by scarfing tons of treats then complain I can't lose weight.
4. I purposely set my alarm 21 minutes early so I can push snooze exactly 3 times before I really have to get up.
5. I LOVE to sweat and work really hard at the gym then come home and remain in my own filth for a couple of hours and work some more.

4 places I have lived: 1. Westlake, Ohio 2. Rexburg, Idaho 3. Sugar Land, Tx 4. Perris, Ca

I choose not to tag anyone else. If you would like to be tagged, then consider this me tagging you and go ahead and have a ball.
Here's that promised recipe:

"Addiction"
Combine in large bowl:
1/2 box corn chex or crispix
1/2 golden grahams
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 bag coconut (unsweetened, untoasted is better)

Sauce:
1/2 C. karo syrup
1 C. sugar
1/2- 3/4 c. butter
Bring to boil and boil well for a minute. Pour over the cereal mixture and stir well. Spread on cookie sheet sprayed with a bit of Pam. Let cool and then scarf until sick.
(This can be frozen, too!!)

Memories

Kids' memories are amazing. The big things- they forget. The little things they mention for months on end and make you wonder "What in the CRUD is he/she talking about?" and then one day it hits you and it actually makes sense. Every morning Carter puts his head under the kitchen table while lying on the chair and says, "Remember when Papa doos (not does) this? And he looks under the car and fix it?" Apparently one of life's big moments.
So yesterday I was surprised as Carter, while watching our screensaver of pictures, pointed at one of me in the hospital with baby Nolan and said,
"Mom, you member when you was born?"
"No, do you mean when baby Nolan was born?"
"Oh, yes! And I stay with Grandma Coleese (Clarice) and I go in Grandma's car to the....the...store"
"You went to the store?"
"Yes! To the BORN store! I go there and see you and baby Nolan. You member dat?"
"Yes, you came to the hospital to see us!"
"Yeah, I came to the hopspidal"
I was so impressed that he remembered anything about that at all. We haven't even talked about it since then.
But I think that he's on the right track with a "born store". Where can I find one of THOSE????!

Garaging 101

(Hang on, folks, this is a long one...)
Saturday I went "garaging" and it reawakened my love of the thrill of driving around town following signs and wasting gas just to get a killer deal on fun things that we probably don't need. It is so funny to go garaging here because people really get into it and there's like a parade of cars around you when you are going to a good one.

Summer is the time to go out garaging and there are SO many garage sales here it's impossible to hit them all up before everything good is taken and you are left looking at really old cruddy dollar store purchases worth nothing at the time of purchase and old ratty clothes from the 80s. But as I look back at my garaging ventures I have to say, I have gotten some awesome deals. Check these out:

Police car: $10

Toddler bed AND mattress, very good shape: $10
Buzz Lightyear costume (this was the purchase of the day on Saturday. I thought it was going ot be too small but it fits like a glove and is complete with wings and shoes covers. Gun provided by Grandma Sheriee)
Dr. Seuss backpack: 25 cents

Swing: $1

Other things I have bought are my entire set of dishes (my mom gave me a set of 4 of hers when I left for college. I found a matching 8 pc. set at a rummage sale for $2.50); another car like the police one but red ($10); an umbrella stroller ($1); Carter's train set with tons of pieces ($5); Operation (50 cents); children's books (25 cents a piece); 3 Pilates DVDs (free); a bathing suit (eww. just kidding. that is disGUSting); a quilt rack/shelf thing for Nolan's room; a boat decoration for Carter's room ($5); a space heater ($2); a decorative basket ($5. I'm so ashamed. I overpaid on this one. I was young an inexperienced); and I know there are more things but I can't remember them right now. In conclusion, if you play your cards right, garaging can be a really rewarding way to get what you need and want but don't want to have to buy it new. So here are my time/energy saving tips for effective garaging:

1) Start with the internet. Get on craigslist.com and look up garage sales in your area. That way you aren't wandering around aimlessly wasting gas.

2) Hit up the rich neighborhoods first.

3) Do not stop at garage sales where there are filthy old stuffed animals and clothes strewn all over the lawn.

4) In fact, do not stop at all unless you see something that really catches your eye. I used to feel like I was being rude just driving by and looking. Don't. It takes too much time to get in and out.

5) If there's a bunch of stuff you want (especially small items), just take a huge armful of it to the person in charge and say "I'll give you $2 for all of this." They are usually too busy to want to sit down and count it all out or they just don't care so they'll be fine with that.

6) I always think of what price I'd be happy to get an item for before I ask how much something is. If they don't meet that number (they usually do) then I don't get it.

7) Judge a sale by it's sign. The ones with huge signs and bold letters are the best. The ones with tiny lettering and are hard to follow are usually never worth the hassle of wondering where you are going.

8) Seriously avoid "estate" sales, which mostly happen around here when someone elderly has passed away and someone is selling everything in their house. I've been tricked by these so many times and all they ever have is smelly furniture, old perfume bottles, mobility scooters, walkers, dentures, depends, bed pans...I'm seriousit ain't pretty.

9) And finally, know when to call it quits. If you found a good deal at 8am that you are pumped about and are still feeling lucky 2 hours later and haven't found anything since then, chances are you've made up for your sweet deal in gas. Go home and surprise your hubby with all the stuff that you have saved so much money on and see how excited he is.

And to end today's post, a totally cute picture of Nolan modeling Carter's new goggles.
What are your best garage sale purchases???