Life With Monkeys

Shoes and accessories

2012-02-06T16:28:00.001-07:00

I am a girl. Not a girly girl. Growing up I would rather have played soccer, kick the can or capture the flag way more than Barbie's or dolls.

I don't really do ruffles or lots of make up. I am definitely not "high maintenance". I have gone to the store with out make up in my workout clothes.

That being said, This girl loves a cute pair of shoes. If I have to wear them (I would be barefoot all the time if that was socially acceptable) I want cute ones. I enjoy a good accessory with an outfit too. Just the right necklace or bracelet can complete and outfit.

My last shoe and accessory purchase are not what I would ever choose to buy again...

and

I finally broke down and had the surgery on my foot I have been avoiding for a year and a half. Joy of all joys. I did only have the crutches for a week and now can walk without them. I get to keep the lovely boot for about another 3-4 weeks. Then some physical therapy (more Joy) and then back to exercise!!

Before I forget

2012-01-23T22:08:00.001-07:00

There are two stories that I cannot ever forget about my youngest. She is one funny and unique individual. I hope I give the story justice and if you don't want to read them I understand, these really are for me in a few years :)

She LOVES to call me on the phone. I have documented a few of her calls before, she is too funny.

A few Saturdays ago I was taking middle child to her friends house in the next town over. I had the navigation going on my phone because I had no idea where I was going. When the phone rang I saw according to the call ID that it was the home number calling. I answer it and I hear a seven year old with the most bizarre half English half Indian accent.

"Hello, this is the Pizza Parlor calling. You need to pay for the pizza you ordered"

Me: "I didn't order any pizza"

Her: "Well, someone did from your house and I need my money"

Me: "Well, my husband is home so ask him for the money"

Her: "I did, he lost his wallet and has no money. Ma'am, I really need my money this is a lot of pizza"

Me: "I should be home a little bit and I can pay you then."

Her: "I don't think I can wait that long"

Imagine this conversation continuing for approximately 5 minutes, the same thing over and over again. I am laughing so hard and she is just in character with out a giggle the entire time. Both me and the middle child are dying of laughter in the car.

Finally she says to me "FINE! I guess no one gets the pizza!"

I tried to hand up the phone but since my navigation was going when she called my phone was all frozen up and I couldn't. I assumed she had hung up the phone but after about a minute of silence on the line and me trying to get my phone to do something I hear.

"MOM, you are supposed to hang up the phone!"

------------

Last Friday night I called home to talk to my oldest. He was babysitting and only he and the youngest were home. She answered the phone as herself and told me something important to her seven year old life. I said great and we talked for a few minutes. I then said "Okay, let me talk to your brother." She says okay and the line gets quiet.

20 seconds later I hear her in a deep boy sounding voice " Hello, this is Zachary"

Seriously, how does she think of these things!! Love that girl :)

I know, I know, I know

2012-01-19T19:28:00.001-07:00

I AM ALIVE! I know the two of you out there who were really worried are quite relieved.

I am here, all my kids are here, the husband is here and if we had a dog it would still be here too. We just have so little extra time that spending it staring at the computer just doesn't seem like the best use of time. But I realized how much I LOVE going back and reading posts from years ago and how bummed I will be in a year or two if I quit documenting our families adventures. So here goes my second attempt at blogging, I may be the only one who reads it in 10 years but that is enough.

The main events I have missed go as follows;

Christmas; Santa came, we were all spoiled. I got a tablet and some pretty earrings, some kitchen stuff. We know here more often in the house "X-box..."

The oldest seriously hit a growth spurt and is officially taller than his Dad. Haven't measured him recently but I am guessing about 6'2" by now with no slowing down.

He also earned his first Varsity letter as a sophomore on the Cross-Country team. The jacket was one of his Christmas presents.

He also drove away for the first time without me or his dad in the car. That really freaked me out! (Yes I am that Mom that took a picture!)

My girls and I (along with Grandma and aunts and girl cousins) all went to see the Nutcracker. Still don't know how they stand on their toes like that!

Nathan, Matt and I traveled to upstate New York to see some of our Church's historical sites. The only picture on my phone though is of the boys at Niagara Falls.

And just the usual general silliness that makes my laugh!

I super duper promise to blog more :)

Happy Birthday to my "Baby"

2011-11-23T16:56:00.001-07:00

How fast can 7 years go by?

Too dang fast.

Happy birthday my beautiful daughter! I am truly honored to be you mom.

Sixteen candles

2011-10-01T18:13:00.000-06:00

There are no words to use to explain how fast the last 16 years have passed by.

This cute little boy...

is now 16 years old.

Happy birthday to my boy, I love you more than there are words. Now go drive yourself somewhere!!

I am borrowing Marty's DeLorean...

2011-09-20T18:43:00.001-06:00

Where oh where did the last month go? Seriously, I cannot believe that it has been over a month since I posted last. Since I know only of few of you are still interested in what is going on in our families chaotic life mostly I now blog to keep my families history and not forget everything.

Here is a recap of the last month (i.e. a trip in Marty McFly's time machine (Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? Love that movie)

My rock star gymnast daughter won first place in the all around in her last meet. She soooo rocked the entire meet. Her best scores in 3 out of 4 events. Neither of us could stop smiling. She has been struggling with her beam routine and nailed the back walk over, split leap and dismount. One of those three usually trips her up. I was so nervous during each of her events I kept grabbing the ladies arm next to me. Thankfully I knew her (another mom from the team)

(Brooke you would have been so proud of her!)

I bought this magnet for the fridge. It is sort of how I feel some days

(No one call Child protective services, I don't really beat my kids. I just think about it)

The tooth fairy came for a visit, ON THE FIRST NIGHT! The fact that the tooth fairy remembered on the first night is a blog post all on it own!

Matthew started football season. He was so excited, finally on a good team with a bunch of his friends. Then the third quarter of his first game...

No more football this season for Matthew.

The oldest one has been rocking his Cross Country season, he has knocked several minutes off his time in just a few meets. Hid fastest time so far is 21:40. (The races are 5k's) Sorry no picture of him, I am to busy running around cheering him on :)

Miss Ellie has been working hard a piano and is making leaps and bounds in her abilities. I actually don't mind anymore when she practices because it sounds good! Her teacher has been gone for a few weeks on vacation so I have an antsy girl on my hands.

And the main reason I have had NO time whatsoever. The husband was called to be the Bishop of our ward. I plan on seeing him in about 5 years, then I will fill him in on all the stuff going on. For those of you who have no idea what that means, the best way to explain it is he is like a pastor. He watches over our congregation and helps them with both temporal and spiritual needs. Pretty much he is really really busy.

I did start working only until 3 instead of 5. This has been an absolute blessing. Now I am home when the kids get home and can run them around like a taxi driver, help with homework, make dinner, all that kind of stuff. The working mom guilt is now at a much more manageable level.

And the last reason I am finding myself with no time at all...

I am addicted to Words with Friends.

IT"S HERE!

2011-08-17T08:33:00.001-06:00

It is 8:30am. Do you know where you kids are?

Mine are all at school.

Happy first day of school to me!!!

Recent thoughts...

2011-08-12T12:48:00.001-06:00

If I leave the ceiling fans going no one will be able to see how much dust in on them.

I think I am the only one who actually knows how to turn the dishwasher on.

I wonder if I could figure out exactly how many hours until school starts?

After over $600.00 paid to my kids school, I am wondering what my taxes cover?

Good thing I am not expected to do it all because I am not even close.

Is 7pm to early to go to bed?

I wonder if there is a max amount for late fines at the library before I just own the book?

I wonder if there is a max amount of words my daughter can say in one day?

I wonder what my neighbors think of my parenting skills, I mean really I am constantly texting them to see if my kids are at their house.

Where in the world could my keys have gone? Did they sprout legs and walk away?

867-5309

2011-07-17T17:00:00.001-06:00

My six year old memorized and learned how to dial my cell phone.

Mom; "hello"

6 year old; "Mom"

Mom; "Yes"

6 year old; "Can I have an apricot"

Mom; "Yes"

6 year old; "Okay, bye"

Jump ahead 5 minutes

Mom; "Hello"

6 year old; "Mom"

Mom; "yes"

6 Year old; "How do you eat an apricot?"

-------

Mom; "Hello"

6 year old; " Oh, I forgot. I will call you back when I remember."

Mom; "How about you tell you brother when you remember"

--------

On Thursday my phone was ringing while at work but I couldn't answer it. When I called back home this is what I heard;

"Hello, you have reached Tiffany. I can't come to the phone, please leave a message." Followed by uncontrollable giggling.

I have no idea what to title this post

2011-07-13T21:43:00.001-06:00

School for my muchkins starts on August 17th. I may or may not know how many days until then. This working mom thing and school being out is NOT easy...not easy at all. Not that it is easy when school is in but this is worse. I think it has been harder on my house than anyone one person. My poor kitchen floor is just dirty. all. the. time. The kids have on more than one occasion worn dirty clothes. I have not made my bed in weeks. Dinner is more often then not a game of " what ingredients can I throw together and pass off as a meal". We wont even talk about how many times we have called popcicles lunch.

BUT

We have spent many nights just hanging out, we have watched our favorite summer reality TV together (don't even get me started on The Voice!!!! LOVED IT), we have been to the library, we have played at the park, we have made a meal or two together, we have had movie nights with popcorn, we have swam, we have hung out with family, we have fixed up a car (almost there!) and many more things together. And that my friends is WAY more important than clean clothes, made beds and non sticky floors.

So I thought it would be easier...

2011-07-02T10:54:00.001-06:00

On Wednesday I sent my oldest off to scout camp, he has been river rafting, and on wave runners and just being a usual teenage boy.

On Thursday I sent my two youngest to Oregon with my parents to visit their cousins for the holiday weekend. They don't miss home at all.

If you do the math on all that you will discover that I have only had two kids at home for a few days. Like the title says, I thought it would be easier.

OH MY GOODNESS! They have called me at work no less than 20 times, they have asked me to buy them everything they can think of, they have annoyed each other constantly. I think Matt's greatest joy comes from annoying her to the brink of tears.

Last night we did take them on our date with us. We saw Transformers and then went to Iggy's for dinner. Truly, they are pretty fun kids but let's just say next weeks date night will NOT include any children. (Oh and while at dinner we had a discussion of the language in the movie and how it is an example of what NOT to say. Sheesh, it is like some words are just common now) (Yes, I realize it is rated PG-13)

Right now they are doing chores together so they will be done faster so they can go to the store with me. How much you want to bet I get asked to buy at least 16 things we don't need at the store, lunch on the way home and then to stop at the shave ice stand.

New addition

2011-06-18T13:58:00.001-06:00

A few months ago my oldest got his learner's permit and most recently finished driver's ed. That was how he spent his first few weeks of summer vacation, fun stuff I know! He only has 102 days until his 16th birthday, he is not counting or anything :) Honestly, I am quite excited myself, having a 3rd driver will be a HUGE help!!

Because of the soon to be 16 year old, we bought this...

Now don't get too excited. She is in need of a serious make-over. This picture makes her look much nicer than she really is. The previous owner left her out with the top down and just baked the inside. Not to mention all the door dings and scratches. The top has a large hole in the back window. I could go on and on with her needs.

The boys have been working on making her look pretty again. They have completely gutted the inside and have checked out all the belts and valve's and other thing a majiggers under the hood. In fact she recently passed her emissions test! Honestly, we were all pretty proud of her.

Today they are doing all the prep work to get her all painted up nice and pretty!

The funny part about the whole thing is, I am actually planning to drive this car and he gets the big ole suburban!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA

let's try this again

2011-06-12T21:50:00.001-06:00

I had a lovely long post about what we have been up to lately, with pictures and all. Now it is gone. So you are getting a shortened version because I don't want to do it all again. Note to self... use the save button.

One fantastic weekend!

* I turned 29 again.

* I was kidnapped and forced on a plane to beautiful Scottsdale, AZ for a weekend of laying by the pool and movies and sleeping in and shopping and taking naps. All without the kiddos. We took 2 whole pictures while we were there. One of which is me in my swim suit laying by the pool, so don't plan on seeing that one on my blog. The other is my hubby stuffing his face at our most favoritest restaurant in the world. YUM-O

* Nathan and I celebrated 17 years of wedded bliss. Hence the kidnapping mentioned above.

In my pantry...

2011-05-16T18:19:00.001-06:00

there are two empty boxes from granola bars

two opened packages of Ritz crackers. The kind with four things in it, of which two are open in each box

three open bags of generic honey nut cheerios

stinky potatoes

overflowing recycling can

many many many crushed goldfish (the kind you eat, not the other ones)

one stale box of cheerios

one empty bag of pretzels

Just in case you wondered, my kids couldn't care less.

Just in case you wondered, I have no extra time on my hands.

Stages...

2011-05-05T20:45:00.001-06:00

I thought babies made you think a lot.

Are they sleeping enough? Are they sleeping to much? When did they eat last? Whoa that was a lot of spit up. Should I give them medicine or should we head to the doctor? When did they poop last? Boy, this is a long nap, are they still breathing? Was that a burp?

Then they became toddlers and that was even more thinking and questioning.

Why won't he take a nap? What car seat should they be in now? Why won't they stop running everywhere? I am reading to them enough or at all? Why wont they potty train? Am I scarring them forever by trying to potty train to soon? Why won't they eat anything but candy? What percentile of height and weight are they in?

School age comes next...

What teacher will be best for them? Why isn't my kid reading as well as that kid? What if a bully is mean to him? What if he is a bully? What if he says a bad word and tells the teacher he learned it from me? What if he can't find the bathroom? What if he doesn't make any friends? Why can't he understand math? Should I sign them up for soccer or piano or dance or baseball or ...?

Then they become teenagers.

Why do they only answer with one word? Are their friends good influences? What are they doing or saying on the computer? Are they paying attention in class? Are they going to class? What if a bully is mean to them? What if they are a bully? Are they thinking about the consequences of their choices? Why ..., When..., How...,

Can you tell I have a lot on my mind right now?

a recap of life at our house...

2011-04-30T22:17:00.001-06:00

** Friday was the maturation program for my oldest daughter and when my 6 year old over heard us talking about it she asked me what that class was about. I told her that all the girls go into one room and talk about girl stuff and the boys go in another room and talk about boy stuff. "So you and Steph are going to talk about Barbie's? That is girl stuff!"

** My son totally rocked at his solo in the end of year show choir performance. He got hoots and hollers from the crowd.

** I got a well needed haircut and color...made me feel like a new gal.

** The laundry from our little trip to Mexico is actually finally all done. It only took, ummm forever.

** Saw African Cats, so so so so loved it.

** Actually found a few minutes for a blog post!

Driving From Utah to Mexico City

2011-04-23T09:50:00.001-06:00

Everyone seems to think we are crazy…

A hubby’s view of our trip. I stole Christina's blog.

Why?….

A little over a year ago, my Dad was called to be President over an LDS mission in Mexico City. For those who don’t know what that is, it is those young men in shirts and ties that come knocking on your door to talk to you about Jesus Christ. (they are good boys, if you don’t want to listen, at least offer them some water) It would be best to give them a few minutes, perhaps they could change your life and give you some perspective on where we came from and why you are here. There are usually about 150 of these young men in each mission and they need to have someone to look after them and train them. That is what my parents do. They are called for three years and don’t really have the ability to come home.

They have been in MX since July 1st of last year and we thought we would go visit them. I tend to be a little more adventurous than most, plus my 5 children have really been sheltered in nice communities their whole lives, I thought it would be good for them to get a little more “flavor” of Mexico by taking some time and driving. It was a great experience for all of us, the kids were really good in the car even though it was a lot of driving.

I wanted to make this guide for a couple of reasons:

1. If any of my family members want to do the same, they don’t have to go through all the time and effort to learn what I did.

2. To make an up to date guide for those wanting to Drive into Mexico across the US border. I had a rough time finding up to date information all in one place on how to do it. I spent a lot of late evenings making sure I had it right.

Preparation:

We have crossed the border to MX in a car multiple times in the past, but they have always been close to the border in CA or AZ. Doing that is easy, the only thing you had to worry about was car insurance while in MX. As I started researching I was introduced to topics such as Car permits, tourist visas, driving peculiarities in MX, getting Gas (not from the food), the best route to MX City and restricted Driving into MX City. The last thing I wanted to do was drive 1300 miles to the border only to be turned away because I wasn’t prepared. We bought a lot of food to eat on the road so we could make good time, we put the perishable food in a smaller cooler that we could access while driving. Suburban's are so great for that kind of thing.

Passports: Christina and I have our passports already, but the kids needed one as well. We chose passport cards for the kids as it allows them to cross the border by land or sea. As we may at some time go on a cruise, it seemed to meet our needs and was quite a bit cheaper than a typical passport. We received them in about 2 weeks, it was pretty easy.

Car Insurance: I found a good site online and purchased the VERY BEST insurance I could find that includes medical evacuation towing roadside assistance etc. It was $85 for a week and it was good piece of mind. I bought it from here: http://mexicaninsurancestore.com/

Traveling to the border:

We decided to break up the 2000 mile trip into 3 days of driving. We chose to cross in Laredo TX for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it gave us one of the shorter distances to MX City while in MX. The distance from Laredo to MX City is almost exactly 700 miles. The second reason are the roads that were available from Laredo to MX City. They were all comparable to our freeways and we could travel at a higher rate of speed and in a safer manner than going through all the pueblos in MX. We wanted to get that “flavor”, but not too much…

We left Utah and wanted to bite off a good sized chunk the first day. The amount of freeway driving would be very minimal as the route from Utah to Texas does not allow many miles via high speed roads. We went to Pacos, TX the first day, a total of 900 miles that took 15 hours to complete. we spent the night at a very nice Hampton Inn off of I-20 in Pecos and because I travel a fair amount and always stay at Hilton properties, they were kind enough to upgrade us to a suite that slept all 7 of us.

The next day we traveled to Laredo. Because of the long trip the first day, we had some time to relay after the 6 hour trip to Laredo, the kids were able to swim in the pool which was a good thing because it was 108 degrees that day. Pretty hot for early April.

A couple of thoughts about Laredo. I find it funny that while shopping in Wal-Mart, the announcements over the PA system are in Spanish. While trying to order a pizza, there is only one employee that speaks English, and it is broken at best. The grocery stores are similar in color to those in MX, bright blue and Orange stucco. Those peculiarities aside, I think it was one of the dirtier cities I have been in. (Some other border towns in TX were beautiful)

Another observation, it was impressive to see how many Border Patrol agents we saw and the checkpoints we went through with their drug sniffing German Shepherds. Christina made a point to tell me that’s why dogs are so much cooler than cats. Try training one of them to do something like that. I agree……

The Border:

We knew we had a bout a 12 hour drive to MX City so we decided to rise early so we weren’t driving in the largest city in the world in the dark. When we crossed over the Rio to Nuevo Laredo, there was a $3 toll. We chose Bridge number 2 to cross and there was very little traffic, we went straight across the bridge without delay. When you get across the bridge, there were 2 lanes open, one for those who needed to declare at customs and those who didn’t. My preparation had let me know that we did not have anything to declare so we chose that line. When you get there, there is a crossing arm that is down. Attached to the structure that moves the arm are two lights, one Green the other red. If the light turns green, you can go. If it is red then you get inspected. Ours turned green. I was so happy, I didn’t want to unload our car and the delay would hurt our travel schedule.

The next item were tourist visas. If you are traveling beyond the free zone or will be in MX for longer than 72 hours, they are required. After coming off of the bridge, the immigration offices are back under the bridge. Because we crossed in the dark, we had a hard time finding the office even though I knew right where it was (Google maps is great). These are the signs you follow.

We found the right place and it was pretty simple from that point, but very strange on how it all worked. There are 4 windows. The first window is where you get the tourist visa. You show them your passport and fill out a form. You then take the forms to window 3 (the bank) and pay for them. The charge was 265 pesos a piece ($22). The bank gives you a receipt and staples it to your visa.

The next step was the car permit. For this you start at window 2. this is the copies window, they make sure you have all the paperwork (including copies of the newly created tourist visa) I knew that I needed copies and came prepared with them. (here is the link I used to know what to take http://www.mexonline.com/drivemex.htm) I had to pay 50 pesos for the copies of the cards, but that was all I needed. you then had to go to Window 3 (the Bank) to pay for the permit (430 pesos, $36). After that, you take your copies, originals and receipt for payment to window 4 where they actually issue the permit. It is a sticker that goes on your windshield as well as a certificate that you keep in the car. We placed the sticker on the windshield and off we went'. (I will say it sounds like a lot, but it actually was pretty easy)

Driving in MX: (and our encounter with the Policia)

By this time the sun was up and it was much easier to drive, the signs are in Spanish, but you can get the drift of their meaning. One snag in our plan in driving after we crossed the border is that our cars navigation doesn’t have MX maps. (I never really expected it to) I have a portable GPS that also was not up to the task. I wanted to have something that would reroute immediately if we got off route and I didn’t want to have to take the time and do it manually with an atlas. I have a little netbook with a USB GPS receiver. Microsoft Streets and Trips has maps for MX as well as USA and Canada. It also has a GPS navigation function that will give turn by turn directions. It worked like a charm. I put the little computer on the center console and put the receiver on the dashboard and off we went. A little ways outside of Nuevo Laredo, we encountered a check point. The agent was very friendly and asked to see our visas, he asked where we were headed and sent us on our way.

Driving from that point was pretty easy. The roads were for the most part in good condition, some were in great condition. The driving was part toll roads and non-toll. (There were 20 tolls total for the trip in and out of MX for a total of 1192 Pesos ($99) and worth every penny) I will say that the toll roads were superior to all others. Some non-toll areas gave your suspension a workout but it wasn’t potholes as much as uneven surfaces. But there was always 2 lanes traveling in each direction usually with a median between them. We only had one scheduled stop and that was to fuel up after about 8 hours of driving. All the stations are government owned (Pemex) and there are a bunch of them along the route, we quickly learned that we didn’t have to worry about being stranded in the middle of know where out of gas. When we stopped, the attendant was very nice, unleaded is called Magna. It is a little different because magna is green handled, in the States, a green handle means Diesel. He asked in broken English to “Fill up” I said Si. He showed me that the pump had been reset to zero and started pumping (I should mention that in MX all the pumps are full service, you cant pump your own gas, also all the gas in MX is the same price no matter where you go. At that time it was 9.8 pesos/liter $3.10/Gallon (4 liters=1.06 gallons @12 pesos/dollar) so quite a bit cheaper than in the States where we were paying about $3.75/gallon.) The restrooms were very clean, but one comment from Christina was that any toilet paper cost one peso. We didn’t ever see that again, but at that stop, that’s what it cost. We bought some MX soda and loaded up the car again.

I mentioned that we only had one scheduled stop. We did stop again, but it wasn’t by our choice. When we were within about 20 miles of our destination, we passed a police car in the State of Mexico. I wasn't exceeding the speed limit, so I didn’t worry (silly me) the next thing I know there are flashing lights behind me and in the lane next to me signaling that I should pull over. I did….The next 45 minutes were actually pretty funny looking back at it, one person with authority trying to explain to a tourista what he did wrong and the tourist catch about every 10th word and trying to put it together. After about 10 minutes I finally figured out what was wrong. In my research I came across some regulations about who can drive in the State of Mexico. Because pollution had gotten so bad, they regulate who can drive on which days using the last number of the license plate. I happened to be driving on that day. My plate ends in a letter, but they use the number in front of the letter. Here is an explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoy_No_Circula It is pretty hard to understand, but my schedule required I go that day, so I chanced it…And they caught me. The police man made it pretty clear that he wasn’t letting me off with a warning, he was talking about getting my car tomorrow etc. and I know they pretty much work off bribes so in my most clever way that I could with the 4 words I know in Spanish I was trying to see how much the “fine” would be. I wasn’t getting anywhere. I called my Dad and had him talk to the officer. I got the phone back and my Dad said “I think I got this worked out, do you have 900 pesos?” I said yes. He said for 900 pesos you could go but he wont have the ability to give you a receipt. Soon as he said that, I knew what was up. I gave the officer 900 pesos ($75) and he gave me a paper that was supposed to keep any other officers from detaining me in the future. I think it more likely said “I got 900 pesos from this guy, see how much you can get.” We were free to go, we drove the rest of the way, but it did get dark with the delay and for those of you that have been in MX City and have driven on the roads or have been in a taxi, you know how crazy that place is. We made it to my parents house without further incident.

Mexico City:

We had a great time with my parents. The house they live in is beautiful. They live in an area that has almost everything right there including malls that have Sears and Chilis, nice restaurants and street vendors. It was much cleaner than I expected and I loved the fresh squeezed orange juice I could get from the street vendors. We went to McDonalds, Costco, Wal-Mart, Wendy's. (the Costco has the same food in the food court as they do in the USA except they have one more thing, a pina colada smoothie, Christina was in heaven with that). We went to the open air market, visited a church run prep school other parts of the city, we had a great time with the missionaries and had great experiences at some baptisms (I will save that for another time and place) I was impressed with the city. It is far from a hole, there are some extremely nice places and other places you don’t want to find yourself at night, just like all big cities. We were there for 4+ days, but when it was time to go, it was sad. We had a hard time leaving, my parents were fantastic hosts, we ate great local food, and just a had a Wonderful time.

Back to Laredo:

We decided to leave early to beat the traffic so we left at about 6am. It was dark but it was Saturday and there wasn’t very much traffic which I was happy about. The drive was very boring this time (a fact I am grateful for, no unplanned stops) Getting back across the border was very simple. I went back to the exact same spot. I went to window 1 and returned our Tourist visa’s then went to a little tin shed in the parking lot of immigration to cancel the car permit, this is a must, you can’t skip this or they will charge $400 on your visa and you will never get that car back into MX. From there we went to the bridge across the Rio to get back into the USA. We got on bridge 1 this time and it looked like there was less traffic on bridge 2, it took about 30 minutes to get to customs on the USA side. We gave them our passports, they asked if we had anything to declare or had any fruit with us from MX. We said no and she let us go, very painless.

On our way back home:

From Laredo we drove to Albuquerque, about 780 miles. That was a long drive, If you have seen one mile of south and west Texas you have seen them all. The same for Southern NM. From there the next day we had about 550 miles to get home. I think it was much harder getting home as the adventure was over, it was just long days in the car but I felt very thankful we had no mechanical problems at all.

We were glad to be home:

From the “I’m kind of a nerd but not totally” file:

For some reason, I am totally preoccupied with things that are going on while I am driving, perhaps it helps the time pass, Christina thinks I am a little bit nuts, but I don’t have the luxury or sleeping while I am driving, and it is hard to have a conversation with someone who is sleeping, so I notice stuff and am very curious about things.

1. I got tremendous gas mileage in Mexico. I have a GMC Yukon XL Denali with a 6.0 liter engine that gets about 350 hp. Fully loaded with 7 people and their gear and averaged 21 mpg while in MX. If you look above at the picture from Laredo to MX City, you will notice a graph at the bottom, that is the elevation change from Laredo to the City. It starts at about 400 feet above sea level, goes to 9000 feet and drops to about 7300 at the city. So its not like the drive is flat. (While we are driving, I am constantly looking at the grade of the road and the wind etc .)

2. Comparatively, I got 16.5 mpg in the USA. It did seem like the winds were against us the whole way, but that is almost a 25% drop in fuel efficiency. I did notice that the fuel was not enhanced with any ethanol in MX, perhaps that had something to do with it. I find it funny that they put stuff we are supposed to eat in our fuel tank to make the fuel burn more efficiently, but it in turn makes us burn more fuel and causes everything in life cost more because we are turning Corn into fuel additives that we don’t need. My soapbox is over…

3. We burned about 225 gallons of gas

4. At 21 MPG and a 30 Gallon Tank our range in MX was 630 miles, unbelievable. We only filled up once each way.(I did fill up in Laredo on the way in)

5. In the USA, our range was only 495 miles, still not too bad, especially how heavy we were.

6. We drank 60 bottles of water in the car. We got one case at Costco in MX City for the return trip (that’s not including 2 cases of juice boxes as well as occasional drinks we got while fueling up)

7. Our total vertical climbing was +/-94,000 ft. (almost 18 miles) That includes every hill we went up. So the total amount of downhill should be the same as we started and ended in the same place.

8. Total driving was about 64 hours spread over 6 days.

9. One 16oz. cup of fresh squeezed OJ on the streets cost 10 pesos (83 cents) So yummy.

10. Meat at Costco was about $1 more/lb. there than here.

11. Milk was about $4.00/gallon

12. If you are going to Teotihuacan (the pyramids of the sun and moon outside of MX City) buy your trinkets inside the gates rather from the guys in the parking lot, they are more expensive) and be prepared to say No gracias over and over as there are tons of people in there trying to sell stuff. Same thing on the Mexico side of the border on the bridge, I bet I had 10 guys try to wash my windshield.

13. None of us got sick

14. There wasn’t one time were I felt we were in Danger.

15. The church has a very good private High School in the city http://www.benemerito.com.mx/home.php?titulo=Bienvenidos

16. We saw lots of Federale’s on the highway, but didn’t see one person pulled over. I thought that was interesting, because we were constantly being passed like we were on the Autobahn. I don’t think they enforce the speed limit very much.

17. XM Radio worked all the way. I was so grateful for that.

Pictures…

Technorati Tags: Driving to Mexico,Laredo border crossing,mormon,missionaries,Mexico City North West Mission,Driving to Mexico City

Tee Hee Hee

2011-04-23T08:58:00.001-06:00

This morning my husband taught my girls about sucking in helium from balloons.

Freaking hilarious...I think the girls thought he was talking funny on purpose.

The look of shock on my 6 years olds face when her voice squeaked out...priceless.

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?

2011-04-06T19:54:00.001-06:00

It is official. I suck. I love to blog but man oh man, where does the time go each day? I have all these things to tell you guys but all of a sudden it is a week later and I can't even remember what I was going to tell you. (Which actually means, I am losing my mind.)

Another b-day has come and gone at our house, and I missed it on my blog. So here is my make up post for my 3 missed birthday's this year.

13 things to love about MATTHEW

1. funny

2. handsome

3 a great singer

4. gets excellent grades

5. a good friend

6. a good example to others

7. treats his brother and sisters well

8. just a all around nice kid

9. hard worker

10. knows how to have fun but also knows when to be serious

11. good athlete

12. responsible

13. He is MY SON!!!

11 things to love about STEPHANIE

1. hard worker

2. cute as a bug

3. can do a back handspring on a balance beam

4. gets good grades

5. is respectful to adults

6. social butterfly

7. can make you laugh-- hard!

8. sweet

9. always willing to try new things

10. looks like me :)

11. She is MY GIRL!

9 things to love about ELLIE

1. sweet as they come

2. always doing nice things for others

3. does things the first time I ask her (90% of the time, that is pretty good for a kid!)

4. piano player

5. basketball player

6. not in a hurry to grow up

7. silly silly silly

8. loves school

9. She is my ELLIE BEAN!

Are you kidding me?

2011-03-17T20:59:00.002-06:00

Early Tuesday morning I am sleeping soundly in my bed. (Alone because shocker...the hubby was out of town.) And I hear a beeping sound. I try to pry my eyes open but I don't hear it again, so back to dream land I go.

Then I hear it again, but thinking (and hoping) it is just in a dream I go back to sleep.

AGAIN! OK now know I am not dreaming it. Wait to hear it again (falling asleep in the meantime) so I can figure out what dares to disturb my sleep.

Hear it again and I can tell it is on the other side of the house. Still unsure of what is even beeping I stumble out to the family room and wait to hear it again. Is it a cell phone or cordless phone? Which stupid electronic device is it?

I hear it again, okay that is definitely upstairs and the beeps are getting closer together.

STUPID SMOKE DETECTOR!!!

And it had to be one at the top of a tall ceiling, right between two of my kids bedrooms. I find a rickety stool to step on and try to take the dumb thing off the ceiling. I get it off the ceiling and then cannot find the darn (not the word I used at the time, can you say "swear jar"?) battery door.

Now the beeps are only about 30 seconds apart and seemingly getting louder and louder. It may have also seemed louder because I was holding it in my hand, either way the little patience I had was departing QUICKLY.

While yelling at the smoke detector and cursing its name, I may have accidentally hit the little button that, in turn, SETS EVERY SMOKE DETECTOR IN THE HOUSE OFF. Oh yea, at 5 freaking 30 in the morning I set every alarm off. NICE.

Now I am more worried that all my kids will be up way to early and then in turn be really grumpy, angry and/or frustrated that their impatient mother has woken them up with the fire alarm.

Boy was I wrong. Three of the five didn't even know the alarm went off. One of the ones that staggered out of her room barely remembers what even happened.

Here's to hoping we never actually have a fire, apparently three of my kids will sleep right through it.

After shooing the littlest one back to bed and enlisting my 11 year olds help, I finally find the stupid battery door which is like camouflaged into the freaking thing. Yank the battery out and ahh silence...for about 5 seconds.

Why and how is the dumb thing still working AND telling me the battery is low? There is NO BATTERY IN THE STUPID THING!!!!!!

Truly at this point I am about the pull the entire thing out of the ceiling, wires and all not caring one bit if I left and huge hole in the drywall.

Really why do they have to make it so difficult to make this thing shut up? I get it, the battery is low. Why cant it just send me a text message or an email?

After what seemed like an eternity, I unhook the wires from it (without any holes in the ceiling) and head back to bed.

Like we have any 9-volt batteries in the house so the next day I head the the store to get some. That night I go to put a new battery in the smoke detector and it starts going off again, not the "battery is low" beep but the full on "their is a fire in the house" alarm.

The smoke detector and the new battery just about got thrown into the wall.

Needless to say, the detector is now waiting patiently for the husband to get home. And if things go the way they usually do, he will pop the battery back in, it will make no noise what so ever and he will look at me like a am a total lunatic.

Bottomless Pit

2011-03-11T13:08:00.001-07:00

My 15 year old is quite the bottomless pit lately. Could be the fact that he is now 5'10" and moving upward quickly.
Today was a half day for the kids, end of term. They got home during my lunch, so being the cool mom that I am, I grabbed Wendy's and had it waiting for them.
Unfortunatly the bottomless pit had track practice and was going to miss lunch. So again being the cool mom, I delivered lunch to him. Before I could even ask how his day was...both hamburgers GONE.
Today he taught me that two hamburgers are not nearly enough food for a ever growing teenager. What was I thinking!

Things are a changing round here...

2011-03-07T19:55:00.002-07:00

Does this new blog background make me look fat?

I was feeling the need for some changes...

I am also sort of changing the way I write things, but not a lot. I have found that each day my kids teach me new things, sometimes spiritual, sometimes silly and sometimes serious. I don't want to forget them, they are what I like to call "the good stuff". I play to share them here.

(Now don't get your panties all in a bunch, I will still keep updating you with the usual posts.)

(I am hoping this new change will help me blog a little more often too!)

So now on to my first post with a new look

===

"Thank you all so much for coming here today, there are no words to express how long I have waited to receive this mother of the year award. I think it was the last few weeks that really sealed the deal for me. We can just start with the fact that two of my kids have had birthdays since the year started and not one blog post about them. Or when I signed my son up for the completely wrong scout merit badge pow wow. When my daughter had a gymnastics meet that I didn't even know about. But I think what really put me ahead of my competition was when my 8 year old daughter did the laundry because she didn't think I "would ever get to it".

I will for sure set my award out for all to see, it is my civic responsibility to make sure you all feel better about you skills at motherhood.

Thank you again for you support."

What may you ask did I learn from this...my kids are very very very forgiving young people.

Sunday conversations at our house

2011-02-13T19:32:00.001-07:00

Tiffany: Everyone is giving me wedgies

Nathan: Well weren't you just giving your brother a wedgie?

Tiffany: No

Nathan: Really

Tiffany: No...kinda

-------------------

Tiffany: Matt, stop sitting on my face

Matt: I am just over your face, it's not the same thing

-------------------

Matt: How do you catch a polar bear?

The rest of us: Silence

Matt: You did a hole in the ice, put a whole bunch of green peas around the hole. When the bear comes you kick him in the ice hole.

The rest of us: Silence

Matthew then proceeds to choke on his peas because he is laughing so hard.

----------------

Me: WHY IS THERE THREE OPEN GALLONS OF MILK IN THE FRIDGE?

Silence...

Today's Lessons

2011-02-01T12:23:00.002-07:00

* When you are in class at the gym if you stand in the seam of the gigantic floor to ceiling mirrors you look A LOT skinnier.

* I need a tan. (Again floor to ceiling mirrors make you realize such things)

* When you boss gets to work early in the morning and has uninterrupted time, expect your work load for the day to sky rocket.

* If given the chance I am pretty sure my kids would choose to live on Frosted Flakes alone.

* Building a Wendy's right near my house is both a good and a bad thing.

* I am not a cold weather person. (Well, I already knew this, just really reinforced today)

* Any chance I had at winning the ever coveted "Mother of the Year" award is already gone. I have yet to mention my daughters 11th b-day on my blog, it was 2 weeks ago. YIKES, in mommy blogger world that is quite the sin.

It has been quite the day and it is only 12:30!!

My son, the next Donald Trump

2011-01-22T16:04:00.003-07:00

So one day this past week my 12 year old son had Show Choir practice from right after school until about 6:00. I packed him some extra food in his lunch so he would have some thing to eat during breaks in rehearsals.

My ever growing, massive amount of eating child ate all the food during his lunch break. (Growth spurt expected anytime now)

He knows better than to call and ask me to bring him more food for several reasons; a) I am not that nice of a parent b) I was at work c) I am not that nice of a parent.

The hamster in his brain starts running on that wheel and he hatches a plan.

"Trade game playing time on my phone for food."

He ended up with 2 apples, cheetos and a turkey sandwich.

My son, the entrepreneur.

Lessons learned

2011-01-06T19:42:00.001-07:00

So I have a kiddo in the 5th grade. Round this parts in the fifth grade you take the ever dreaded States and Capitals test. You have to learn where all the states are AND all their capitals. Really, pretty sure I couldn't pass that test. The east coast has just too many little states.

The fifth grader that lives in my house has known about this test since before Christmas break.

She chose not to study but instead to be social and play and do what ever 10 year old girls do. (Just to clarify, I didn't know about the test or I would have made her study)

Last night I asked her how she was going to handle the test. Her answer was to stay up late studying and then to wake up early and study some more.

I giggled a little to myself and in my best disappointed mother voice I wished her luck and told her next time she should put a little more effort into he studies, that now because of her procrastination, she was going to fail the test.

SHE PASSED. SHE ONLY MISSED 5 ON THE ENITRE TEST.

Crap. Nice lesson learned.

Howdy Ya'll

2010-12-28T21:24:00.001-07:00

I have never been to the south. I have been to Orlando, FL but that is not really the south to me, that is old people and Disney world.

We had so much fun! We were only there about 2 days but we still got a lot a fun in.

We flew out on Friday and that night was the Garth concert. We drove straight to the arena because I was invited to be on The Highway on XM radio (the country station I listen too). Please excuse how I look, I had been up since like 5 that morning and traveled across a large chunk of the country.

Here I am with Storme Warren, the DJ. I was interviewed and he asked me about being at the concert by myself. He thought is was quite funny that I wanted to see Garth enough that I was alone. It actually worked out well that Nathan didn't come to the concert, parking in downtown Nashville is ridiculously bad and lot owners where charging $20 no matter how long you were there. It was like I had my own chauffeur, I just texted him when the concert was almost over and he picked me up at the curb.

We walked up and down Broadway and went in all the little shops and record stores. Great street for tourists!!

The concert itself was AMAZING!! Garth did not disappoint. He sounds exactly the same. Once he started singing it was standing only all night long. My feet were killing me after a long day of travel and a long concert. But is was worth it :)

This is him coming on stage the at the beginning of the show.

I can't remember which song this picture is from but really it doesn't matter :)

Trisha Yearwood was there (of course) and they sang a duet together (but not my favorite one) and then she sang a couple of her songs. It was so cute at one point during one of her songs Garth was just standing back by the drummer watching her sing. She walked past him and totally smacked his butt. It was hilarious!!

I sang along all night long. My voice was toast by the end of the night. He sang my favorite song of his, "Shameless". He sang for 2 hours, he covered all the classic hits and a few of the not as well known songs (of course I knew them!), he genuinely seemed happy to be there and so flattered and grateful to all his fans. It was such a fun night, I will always be grateful to my hubby for taking me :)

The next day, after sleeping in until like 10am we got up and headed to the Loveless Cafe.

Can you say "Good food!"? Holy crap...I had fried chicken and the BEST biscuits and gravy EVER!! I mean really, I may go all the way back to Tennessee just to eat them again. And yes I may have gained like 5 pounds while there, why do you ask?

One thing I had heard and already knew about Tennessee is there is a lot of churches. (It isn't called the Bible Belt for no reason) I loved seeing them all, especially ones in old building that had been there forever. While we were driving (we took the scenic route to the cafe) and I was staring out the window loving all the beautiful scenery we saw one of our churches, in fact it was one of our churches temples. What a nice surprise!

Of course we had to stop and take a picture.

After lunch at the cafe, I wanted to see the Grand Ole Opry. We didn't sign up for a tour or anything but one can't go to Nashville and not at least see the place. Apparently we picked the worst time and day to head there. Some kind of event was happening and the traffic was crazy. We finally found the place and of course it was pretty cool, but you know what was more amazing to me? This may sound crazy but here it goes. We all know and heard about the flooding in Nashville last spring. In fact that the Garth concert was raising money for flood relief. Well there is a mall right next to the Grand Ole Opry. the ENTIRE mall was under water. Did you get that? AN ENTIRE MALL WAS UNDER WATER! It gave me such a new perspective on how bad the flooding was. Crazy stuff...

After the Grand Ole Opry, we headed back to the hotel and I took a nap. Yes, yes, I know but I was on vacation and I never get naps :)

That night we had reservations at The Bluebird cafe. It is a place were songwriters go and play their music. This my hubby did go with me and it he was so glad he did. The second lead singer of Chicago was there (the guy who took Peter Cetera's place). It was like our own private Chicago concert. Very cool. there was another guy there, I can't remember his name but he was so good!! He was total redneck country singer but even my husband appreciated his talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it big time.

Tennessee was a great place full of nice people who say "ya'll" a lot. I loved it. I could definitely travel there again but I have been told not to go in the summer, I would melt from the humidity.

Thanks for such a great weekend Nathan!

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-26T19:16:00.001-07:00

So I am assuming you are all still in a coma like state from all the eating and celebrating from the weekend. I know I am!!!

Here are some of the favorite pictures from Christmas 2010.

Christmas morning.

Yes we were awake early enough that the sun wasn't even peeking out. And no it wasn't any of the 5 youngest kids, it was the oldest one. The 30-something year old I am married to kept poking my arm saying "come on get up, come on!!!"

Just before the present opening chaos began.

Male bonding over the new RC car.

The newest phones that joined the family on Saturday. Serious squeals happened when they were opened, by both the girl and the boy.

(Love the bunny ears Tiffany added to the picture)

I was spoiled with a new stand mixer. My kitchen-aid lived a good life and contributed much yummy-ness to our home but it has been replaced with a Breville. It is soooo pretty and it is waiting patiently to make its first batch of cookies. I also got a Nordstom gift card and 3 hours of prefessioal cleaning for my house. My bathrooms will not know what hit them.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and your families were able to be together and nothing but happiness came your way!

(Next post is all about the Garth man and the awesome weekend in Nashville)

Dare to Dream

2010-12-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

OK so think back to high school. I know, I know it was a long time ago but see if you can remember it.

What kind of music did you listen too? Do you have a song that just sends you straight back?

I have a VERY wide variety of music that I listen too. A little hip hop, a little 80's alternative, a little country, a little soft rock... You get the idea.

Well, every since HS I have been a HUGE Garth Brooks fan. I own every album. I can sing every song by heart. I am instantly back in HS when I hear "Shameless". I have ALWAYS wanted to see him in concert. ALWAYS.

Guess where I am heading to tomorrow. Guess.

NASHVILLE, TN for my first and probably only Garth Brooks concert. That is right, check it off the bucket list, I will see and hear Garth sing live.

My sweet husband, who by the way HATES country music, is taking me to Nashville as my Christmas gift. Granted he is not going to the concert with me but still he is heading into the heart of country music. He must love me.

I super dooper promise to take LOTS of pictures and show them all to you next week!!!

Scrooge has moved in with us

2010-12-09T19:00:00.001-07:00

He has taken the form of me this year.

I guess I shouldn't totally say I am scrooge this year. I have moments of the Christmas spirit but for the most part I keep thinking how expensive the entire ordeal is. I keep listening to my kids fight with each other. I keep hearing one of my kids complain that there are no presents under the tree for them (I haven't put any under the tree yet). I keep hating the cold weather. I keep thinking that at some point before Sunday I have to clean my entire house for a party. I again think of how much it all costs.

And then I think of my neighbors down the street who have to bury their son on Saturday. Who only got to have him on this earth for 2 months. Who will forever treasure those 2 months. Who have been examples of strength to me. Who understand the concept that families are forever and they KNOW they will see their son again.

Suddenly I am not so worried about my kids fighting or how much presents are going to cost or the whining or what ever. Suddenly cleaning my house so the ENTIRE family can come over makes me feel lucky that my family CAN come over.

Merry Christmas.

TWO HANDS!!!

2010-12-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

Because I am such a fantastic mom and blogger, I am only 11 days late in posting about my baby's 6th birthday.
She was sooooo excited for her big day (Like most kids I suppose). She had the count down going, each day she would tell us how many days until her birthday. Mostly she could NOT wait until she needed to use TWO HANDS to show how old she is.

Getting ready to blow out her candles.

"It's a pillow, It's a pet, It's a pillow pet!!"

My mom took her (and the rest of us) out to lunch for her birthday. It is tradition to have your b-day lunch with Grandma at Red Robin. She got her first Build-A-Bear this year, a monkey and her name is KoKo.

Is is just me or do you just LOVE it when a great kids movie comes out the day after your kids b-day and you can convince you kid to take a few friends to the movie and call the party good? We went to "Tangled" with three of her friends. They had a great time!

Happy 6th Birthday to my little Tiffany!!!
(and just to clarify, I usually do her hair. She is looking quite orphan like in these pictures)

My family...

2010-11-15T08:33:00.001-07:00

All I wanted was a nice picture of the kids with the Holly wood sign in the back...

But a certain child whose name I will not mention (Tiffany) was being a total stinker.

Life Goes On

2010-11-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

What? October 21st was my last post. Serioulsy?! Apologies to anyone who still reads this, I have officially fallen into slaker blog mode.

A quick update --

*California was AWESOME. We had so much fun. Pictures to follow, whenever I get them off my camera. At the rate I am blogging that may be about time for Easter.

*The job is good. I am just wishing there were a few more hours in the day to get everything done. I thought laundry was never ending when I was home all day. It is even longer when I am not home.

*Had parent teacher conferences last night for three of my kids. Two are good...one is grouded until 2011. Two more to follow tonight.

*I get to make pie's for Thanksgiving, I am rather exctied about this fact. I love to make apple pie.

*Christmas is right around the corner, still trying to ignore that fact.

*I promise I am reading all your wondrful posts, some of you are quite the overacheivers this month with the blogging everyday thing! You go girls :)

I will post agian soon, I pinkie swear!!!

Until next time...

Still Alive...I think

2010-10-21T19:27:00.001-06:00

I am sort of getting the hang of this working mom thing. One thing I have learned is that I married one really really really great guy. Like I said in other posts, he works from home. He makes dinner, he carpools to gymnastics and football, he reminds of homework and piano practicing. He carries big heavy pumpkins two at a time. He does laundry. He sends me funny emails at work to brighten my day. All while doing his job. I am one seriously lucky girl. Thanks babe, you are the best.

Another thing I have learned since I started working, I love the weekends. I cherish Sundays when things slow down and we are all at home, together, at the same time. Priceless to me.

Work is going good, I feel like I am starting to figure out the super exciting world of insurance. I know, I know, who would have thought insurance could be exciting? I like the people I work with, funny, smart and nice. I haven't hung up on anyone this week (I do all the incoming calls) or totally biffed up some thing important. Nice, right?

My 10 year olds teachers at church own a pumpkin patch not far from out house, last Monday they had a little party for the kids in their class and their families. We got to go and pick out a pumpkin for everyone (and let me tell ya, these were AWESOME pumpkins, not the left over funny shaped ones) We then had hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. I am so happy we know cool people.

(Ellie and Tiffy at the pumpkin patch)

The boys who really think they are too old for their mom to take their picture with their pumpkins.

(And may I just add how beautiful the background of this picture is! I totally love where I live. October in Utah is my favorite, and I even grew up in San Diego, near the beach. So saying October in Utah is my favorite is saying ALOT!)

Hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog!

Next weeks adventure...DISNEYLAND!!!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Balance? I am gonna try and find some.

2010-10-03T21:19:00.002-06:00

So. How's it going? Good I hope.

Oh, How am I? So glad you asked!!

I am tired.

If I didn't already read a blog called "Tired Mama" I would steal that name.

Two weeks ago I got a job. A full time job.

9-5 each day.

It has been quite an adjustment. Not only for me but for the entire family, sometimes I think even more for them than me. Thankfully I can get the kids off in the morning like normal. I even have a few minutes to myself before I have to leave. And even more thankfully, the hubby works from home and is almost always around in the afternoon. With all the kids in school all day they are only home for and hour and a half before me and with Nathan usually home it is all good. They have parental supervision!

A full time job is not my dream but sometimes we gotta do stuff we may not really want to do. It's called life.

I had wanted to find some kind of job since the kids started school. I am not one who can stay home too much and leaving the house in any way shape or form ends up costing money. I figure if I had a job instead of leaving the house to spend money, I could leave the house to make money. I was hoping for part time but this great opportunity came my way and I couldn't pass it up.

I actually feel VERY blessed that this came into my life when it did. First of all, finding a job at all in this economy is difficult to say the least. I really like what I do all day long, it is challenging but not to the point where I feel overwhelmed. I work at a VERY family friendly place. It is a small office and everyone there has kids and understand that when it comes down to it, family is more important than work. My office is approximately 4 minutes from my house. Talk about lucky. I am counting my blessings.

All in all at this point in our lives this is a blessing. We are getting all the kinks in scheduling worked out. Thankfully I married a GREAT guy and have great neighbors who help out. So I promise I am reading all your wonderful posts but may not be able to comment all the time. (I will comment when the boss man aint' looking!)

Keep on Keepin on!!

WHAT? He is how old?

2010-09-30T18:18:00.001-06:00

15! He is 15 years old!!! Can't even believe it.

Between the big ole smile on his face and the fact that he is actually hugging the computer, I am pretty sure he got what he wanted for his birthday :)

No need to make a wish with the candles he already got what he wanted!!

Happy Birthday to my oldest, I hope your life is filled with getting all the things you want!

I am not spoiled, I am not, I am not, I am not!!

2010-09-25T13:53:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we were spoiled with a trip to Lake Powell with 3 other couples. We stayed on a big ole houseboat.

We ate WAY to much food!!

We laughed WAY to hard!

I may or may not have totally sucked at card games one night.

I ALMOST got up on one ski (SOOOO CLOSE!)

I cliff jumped from about 30 feet up.

So. Awesome.

The hubby kicked butt on the wakeboard. His first time ever doing it.

I was sent COMPLETY FLYING off the back of the tube and may or may not have broken my rib in the process

(Still hurts to cough and heaven help me if I need to sneeze, OUCH!)

We saw the very cool Rainbow Bridge, Hole in the Rock where the pioneers took covered wagons down this huge cliff, some arches, Escalante Canyon and the Glen Canyon dam

("Where can I get some damn bait?!" Name that movie)

We were so tired when we got back. I mean the kind if tired that I haven't experienced since I had a newborn. But it was totally worth it!

Thanks for all the fun Troy and Michele!!!!

(Chole, Meagan and Michele; I have a million more pictures to send to you guys! Fun weekend!)

We are having company over tonight

2010-09-12T18:15:00.001-06:00

It's the tooth fairy!

Can you see how excited she is from this picture? She still hasn't stopped dancing and singing about it.

"Take my picture again mommy..."

"Are you sure you got a picture of the hole mommy?"

"Just one more please mommy"

I completely plan on using the tooth fairy thing to get her into bed nice and early this evening!

(Let's just hope the tooth fairy remembers, she doesn't have the best track record around here)

You know that phrase "Time flies" well...it's true

2010-09-09T17:44:00.001-06:00

My oldest started High School this year and is on the Cross Country team. I never ran that far in HS because that would have required work on my part and unfortunately for me, I was against hard work when I was a teenager. The meets are more exciting than I thought because lets face it, long distance running is not a great spectator sport. He has been working really hard and has moved WAY out of his comfort zone.

He is somewhere in the chaos of his first big race. I have no idea how many freshman and sophomore boys there where in the race but HOLY COW finding him was like a game of Where's Waldo minus the striped shirt. This was a 2 mile race with hay bales along the way (really there were hay bales!), he did it in 16 minutes a few seconds. Not bad for his first race.

This is the finish line picture from his most recent race. It was fun to go to this race because this track is where I met the hubby. It was fun to sit and reminisce with him. Mostly we remember being really young and ~~stupid~~ ~~crazy~~ in love. It also seems a little like it was just yesterday.

I gotta tell ya, between sitting at the track where I met the hubby 17 years ago and seeing my son in High School races, I am reeling trying to figure out where the last 15-20 years went. I mean seriously, I was just a freshman in high school (forget that is was actually 1989)!! I know I am not the first one to feel this way and of course I have heard others say the same thing in the past, but it has really hit me lately.

Let's hope the next 20 years don't go by quite as fast.

Dinner? yes please!

2010-09-02T12:21:00.002-06:00

So a few weeks ago the hubby and I went to dinner with his brother and his wife. We will call them Fred and Ethel (you know, to protect the innocent). Fred is the kind of guy who will eat anything once. A very adventurous eater. Ethel, not so much.

They came over one Saturday to get something and asked if we wanted to go to dinner with them at this little Korean place. Knowing Fred's love of trying "different" food I was a little apprehensive but it did sound better than making dinner. So I fed the kids something healthy like mac and cheese or pancakes or cereal, and off we went to a hole in a strip mall to eat.

My first impression of the place was the beautiful yet slightly out of season decorations. We were there in August but they must really be feeling the love because it is Valentine's day here 365 baby.

I was also struck with amazement as to exactly how they got my grandmothers cookie jar? I instantly wanted to reach in a have an Oreo.

While we waited and waited and waited some more we were entertained by a Korean movie with English sub-titles. I couldn't quite follow the story (even with the sub-titles) but my favorite part by far was the when the head chef made his students all get down in the push-up position and spank them with a skillet.

Oh people, if I was only kidding.

Our waitress then found us amongst the really full tables to get our order. We went with the point at what you want method because she spoke about 7 words in English. Which we found out later is not a fool proof way to order.

We then got our appetizers. I use the term "we" very loosely because even though Ethel and I ordered the same thing, I got my food taken away. Not sure why because of that whole I don't speak Korean and she didn't speak English thing. According to the hubby and Fred it was tasty. Ethel wasn't on board with eating things she had never seen before.

After another round of waiting and waiting and waiting our food finally came. My chicken (at least that is what I am hoping it was) came in a bowl hotter than the surface of the freaking sun. I think I actually got what I ordered but I am not sure because Ethel and I ordered the same thing but we were not brought the same thing. It was sort of a Russian Roulette as far as ordering went. While I waited and waited for it to cool off to less than 200 degrees, I asked the others about their dinners.

This was the response I got from the hubby. Apparently he ordered scalding hot soup with ONE large chunk of meat (we aren't asking what kind). Other than chewy meat, the soup part was yummy.

One tip I picked up at this place (if I ever wanted to open my own restaurant) is this; Serve the food as hot as humanly possible and then only give each drink exactly three pieces of ice. No more, no less. Let me tell you, it makes the experience so much richer.

Once we finished eating and paid, we headed out the door. I was so upset when I saw this menu item

I love yellow onions so much and this item has TWICE as much!! Well, there is always next time!

You have been warned...

2010-08-29T20:49:00.001-06:00

You may not want to continue reading this post.

Continue only if you like chocolate cake and you are lazy sometimes.

I am sure that doesn't include any of my readers but just in case here is a little bit of heaven;

1/2 cup chocolate box cake mix + 1/4 water + 1 minute 20 seconds in the microwave + Vanilla ice cream =

I promise it is so yummy and really could it be any easier?

You have been warned...

It's 9:23, do you know where your kids are?

2010-08-23T09:36:00.001-06:00

I do.

They are ALL at school. Every last one of them. This day has been 15 years in the making. For 15 years I have had a little sidekick with me where ever I went.

The last little monkey started school this morning. She couldn't decide if she was nervous or excited or happy or cold or hungry or what this morning. She was just sort of pacing around the house. I had to force feed her a banana and toast for breakfast.

I almost cried, almost. Not because I don't want her to go (heavens, NO) It was just sort of the end of an era for me. She looked so darn grown up. It was only a blink of an eye ago that she was born. I can't wait to hear all about it at the end of the day!!!

She wanted me to take a picture of her new shoes. We both LOVE them :)

Her sister holding her hand making sure she was okay and guiding her to class. My heart is melting just looking at the picture.

Oh my, could she be any cuter and bigger and excited for class?

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2010-08-18T08:42:00.001-06:00

Started the 9th grade today. Why yes, he is too cool for his mom to take his picture on the first day of school.

Started the 7th grade today. VERY nervous for Jr. High!!

Starting 5th grade. Her best friend sits right next to her, she can hardly wait!

My grown up 3rd grader. Who isn't nervous at all because "I know how this all works"

The last little monkey starts Kindergarten on Monday!!!

Please don't ask why I took this picture with the garage behind them, not the most attractive background.

No, I haven't died

2010-08-09T18:02:00.001-06:00

Wouldn't that be weird if I died after writing this and this was my last post? Weird. (Well, of course I am going to die after writing this but hopefully in like 60 years or so)

Holy smokes can you say BUSY? No really can you? (hee hee, just kidding) (Boy am I in a mood today)

I know I promised you a picture of my favorite guy at the carnival. I must make sure your realize this is my favorite guy that I got a picture of. They are two very different categories. My favorite was the gay, sort of cross dresser with a really cute purse but sorry, no picture of ~~him~~ ~~her~~ whatever.

I present to you "ELMO GUY"

Now let me say; I am a fan of Elmo. I think he is a super cute, small, little, red, furry monster. When you put him on a shirt this size Elmo is no longer small or little.

I too am a fan of the Pac-man game. Not enough to buy flannel pants with Mr. Pac-man on them, but to each his own. Did I mention it was like 159 degrees outside, flannel pants just aren't what I would have chosen.

I will let you enjoy the picture and pick out your favorite part. I will give you a hint about my favorite part. He is NOT wearing a flesh colored fanny pack.

(Yes, part of me feels guilty that I took a picture of this I am sure, nice man, that is why his faced is blurred out. Makes me feel better)

(I am just going to tell you after typing this part I have realized I ALWAYS spell favorite wrong. Lots of read lines in the last part)

*********

Now what do you get when you make 9 double batches of chocolate chip cookie dough?

A GIGANTIC MESS!!!!

You also get 260 BIG cookies that looked and tasted fantastic :)

Nathan and I made some food for a local business lunch. My part was to make the potato salad and the cookies. Two things that cannot be made all the much ahead of time. I spent an entire day and a half making 77 pounds of potato salad and 260 cookies. That would be 60 pounds of potatoes that were peeled. Nathan made pulled pork and baked beans all from scratch. Well, we didn't make the pork from scratch, a mommy and daddy pig did that part.

My poor kitchen was worn out!! Not to mention how tired we were. But man, it turned out YUMMY :)

*************

I have been busy with all the back to school stuff. Figuring out what clothes everyone needs for school. Registering a High Schooler and a Jr. High Schooler whose schedules were really messed up. Writing a ridiculously large check in order to register above mentioned kiddos. It about made me throw up a little in my mouth, and I though diapers were expensive. School starts in 8 days, but I am not counting or anything. The kids are starting to drive me and each other bananas. We are done with scout camps and trips and stuff. Football and cross county have started for my boys and another starts competing again in gymnastics in a month. Things just never really slow down for long do they.

Hope you are having a good day!

Guess who had a birthday?

2010-07-28T08:10:00.001-06:00

I will give you some hints

1. He is cute

2. He has the bluest eyes.

3. He loves chocolate cake.

4. He has 5 kids.

5. He is married to me.

6. He is the best!

Happy Birthday to my most favorite person ever. I hope you had a great day!!

Cowboys are a unique breed.

2010-07-27T12:02:00.001-06:00

For example

I know his mom cringes every time he does this. I cringed when he did this and I have no idea who the guy is!!!

I guarantee this guy learned how to climb out of his crib at like 16 months old. I bet he also was the one who jumped off the roof on to the trampoline and then bounced into the pool. CRAZY, I tell ya!

Who was the first guy who thought "Gee, I am going to climb onto the back of really mad angry bull that weights like 1800 pounds and see how long I can hold on!!" "That sounds like a good time!"

Now here are my crazies at the rodeo

Oh thats right I busted out the hat!

The following pictures are what happens when you give a bored 5 year old the camera...

This is what happens when the rodeo goes way past the 5 year olds bedtime;

(This may be my most favorite picture of her)

Carnival pictures to follow in a day or so, oh and I got a good one for ya!!! Small town carnivals make for some really good people watching!

Nada, nothing

2010-07-19T13:28:00.001-06:00

There is so nothing going on at our house. NOTHING. We are hanging out with friends, watching movies, playing the Wii. It is kind of nice to not have much going on. But in turn that means not much to blog about. So today you get my ramblings.

*Hard boiled eggs are gross. Disgusting. Should not exist.

*I love my husband. He is just the best.

*July is HOT!

*Since the summer started we have had sooooooo much road construction near my house. We are talking road closures, detours, new stop lights, new bridges, re-paving roads. Driving me crazy. I have to keep reminding myself that progress is good. Progress is good. Progress is good.

*My 14 year old has grown at least 3 feet this summer. Okay probably more like 3 inches. He is now as tall as me (5'8"), at least for this week. Check back next week and I am sure he will be as tall as his dad.

*I have been riding my bike more than usual the past week or so. (my hurt foot has ended all running) I forget how much I love it. In fact my 10 year has been going with me. We ride to gymnastics in the morning together and then I head off with no particular route in mind. Just wherever the road takes me. Did I mention how much I love it?

*School starts in 30 days exactly. I think it is safe to say I am more excited than my kids.

I should have so good stuff to blog about this week. The carnival and rodeo are in town!!! Nothing like carnival workers to inspire the creative blogger in me :)

Raising her should be fun

2010-07-08T09:21:00.001-06:00

On Sunday evening we were eating dinner and asking the kids what they had learned at church.

Ellie: "I want to go to the Celestial Kingdom (another word we use for heaven)"

Tiffany: "I want to go to Las Vegas baby!!"

Please pray for me while I raise her. I am gonna need it.

What a weekend!

2010-07-06T14:43:00.001-06:00

Holy smokes!! Is anyone else exhausted from the holiday weekend? I even got a couple naps in and I am tired from all the hooplah!

Here are some pictures to prove to you all the fun we had.

How many hot dogs does it take to fill up a growing 14 year old boy? (Answer: More than I brought for him)

Relaxing on the lake enjoying the view.

She ended up floating too far out and her brother had to swim out to get her :) Good parenting going on at this outing.

What is a picnic without watermelon?

My boys out really far without any oars to get back :)

We had to drag her back to the car when it was time to go.

My 14 year old was in the big parade around this parts. He is working this summer at Boy Scout Camp and was asked to be in the parade celebrating 100 years of Boy Scouts of America. You can't actually see him in this picture because I was on the wrong side of the road :( He was there I promise!!!

I really shouldn't let my 12 year old play with any form of fire.

Sparklers are the kids favorite kind of fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

Let's call this post "Therapy"

2010-07-01T11:13:00.001-06:00

In case none of you have noticed I haven't posted much lately. True, I have been pretty darn busy with kids and all life has to offer but mostly I just haven't wanted to write.

A week and a half ago, I ran Ragnar.

Here is my team at the finish line (Minus my awesome SIL, who had to get home).

We were the Princess Posse.

The back of our shirts said;

"We're so glam we sweat glitter"

We wore tutu's and tiaras and had our own wands. We. Were. Awesome. We should have won the award for best costumes.

I will be honest with you, I really, really, really struggled through this weekend. I was in excruciating pain most of the time. My ankle hurt so bad I actually cried more than once. I am still in pain 10 days later. I was sick after my fist leg. We are talking heat exhaustion with light headedness, nausea which unfortunately led to puking out the window of the van(which you would think would be the low of the race but...no), dehydration which took me a few days to recover from. A few other things happened but I don't want to talk about them here, mostly I just want to forget them. But, for me, the worst part of the entire weekend was what I missed at home;

This little gymnast that lives at my house,

won the state championship on the vault.

And I missed it. I am crying again just thinking about it.

When my husband texted me, I lost it in the car. I should have been with my daughter and I wasn't.

Congrats to my awesome girl who with hard work, achieved the goal she set for herself!!

Now I don't want to sound like a total downer. I did have fun in the car with the other princess' I ran with. We laughed really hard. We talked about silly things, serious things, crude things and happy things. I got to spend a good time with my SIL, Christina, who is super cool. I learned I should listen to that little voice in your head saying "You are hurt, don't run!"

So thanks for reading (if you actually made it this far into my venting). I feel much better having just written about the entire experience. I promise the next post will not be such a downer. I mostly wanted to write about it so next year when/if someone asks me to run this race again, I will come back and read this and politely but firmly say "NO!"

Guess where we went today?

2010-06-22T17:07:00.001-06:00

The Grotto!!

I have heard about this place for a long time but have never taken the time and actually went. IT WAS SO COOL!!!

The kids had a great time. It is about a 1/4 mile hike up to it on a really easy trail.

(It would normally be really easy to hike it but I really hurt my my foot at Ragnar but that is another days post)

On the hike up to the grotto.

We will for sure be heading back here this summer. So much cooler up the canyon and the water was nice and cool.

It's kinda like child birth

2010-06-16T21:07:00.000-06:00

I think I need my head examined.

Last year I ran this race (read about it HERE) I would like you to especially read the last paragraph. The part where I said I don't think I will ever do that race again.

Guess what I am doing this weekend...

Seriously, what is wrong with me?

I am on an all girls team this year named The Princess Posse. We are going to be decked out in our tutu's and tiara's. We are all runners looking for a little bit of a challenge but mostly just want to have fun. Unlike last year the weather should not be horrible and ugly and cold and wet and hurricane like, so that will automatically make it better.

Wish me luck!! Pictures next week :)

It was my birthday...and I got spoiled!

2010-06-13T19:54:00.003-06:00

Yup, I am another year older. Like fine wine and cheese, I have decided I just get better with age :)

I was seriously spoiled this year. My hubby is too much sometimes.

My first gift is probably sooooooo boring to most of you but I LOVE it. He gave me all new drive train for my bike (that included shifters, front and rear derailleurs, crank set, chain and cassette) If that all foreign to you it means I can change gears much faster and more easily on my road bike. Which in turn means I ride faster.

Then he surprised me with a quick weekend getaway to Newport Beach (this was for our anniversary also). We had so much fun!!!

We had a yummy seafood dinner at Blue Water Grill. Had some yummy Mahi Mahi :)

We went walking up the pier. (Turned out to be the nastiest pier I have ever been on)

Having long hair while on the windy beach and trying to take a picture is difficult.

We rented a tandem bike and rode up and down the boardwalk. I have never done that before and it was such a good time!!

My favorite treat we get EVERY time we head to California...Thrifty Ice Cream. Chocolate Malted Krunch to be exact. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It just instantly reminds me of being a kid and having my parents take us there for a treat :)

While we were we ate ALOT. We ate HERE where I had some of the best biscuits and gravy EVER. We also ate HERE where I had a very very very yummy french dip sandwich. In fact they claim to be the inventors of the French Dip sandwich. I would suggest either one if you are ever in the Los Angeles area. We love to go to the places we see on Food Network. In fact we sometimes plan our trips around where we are going to eat. Is that weird? If it is don't tell me...mmmkay?

The big day

2010-06-10T08:51:00.001-06:00

16 years later and I love him more now than ever!!!

SHE IS ALIVE!!!

2010-06-08T16:40:00.001-06:00

Really I am alive.

Girls camp did not kill me. Although I was seriously sleep deprived (no matter how thick the foam mattress, sleeping on a plywood bunk bed is NOT comfortable) when I got home and I smelled something lovely and my car was covered in a think layer of mud and dirt and I missed my hubby like crazy, I am glad I went. I got to know the girls really well and now I feel like I can be a better leader and example to them.

The entire crew on the last day -- nice and stinky :)

So since I was sooooo tired when I got home I thought "Hey I want to get up and run a race tomorrow." So I did. Actually I had signed up forever ago and paid my money so I was there was no backing out.

Here I am waving to the HOT photographer I saw at the race. In fact, he is so cute I brought him home after the race. He then told me I needed to look more serious while racing and to stop waving at the camera. Whatever, good think he is cute.

Not only is the photographer HOT, he takes pretty good pictures :)

FINSIH LINE!!!

If you really want to know more about my race and times and stuff check it out HERE

My upcoming week

2010-05-30T18:06:00.001-06:00

This week I will be doing this;

Where there will be lots and lots of this;

My idea of a vacation is more like this;

Or this;

I am going with a large group of teenage girls,

None of us will have one of these for three days:

I am happy to report we will have these though;

And for some reason I am actually kinda, sorta, a little bit excited to go!

I will report this weekend of how it actually goes, wish me luck!

Run. Bike. Run.

2010-05-25T14:56:00.001-06:00

Yes, I realize triathlons are usually swim, bike, run but last Saturday Mother Nature had a plan of her own. Like opening the heavens and letting it pour rain. Dang her.

We ran a mile instead of the swim.

Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy and then leave me a great comment after. I have more details if you truly care on my other blog.

Me in the bright red on the left with my hand on my wrist to start my watch.

Favorite picture of the race! Don't I look like I know what I am doing?

Finish line! Whooo Hooo!

Me, my sister-in-law Christina and my sister Cathy. We all did the race together and all improved our times from last year!

Being brave

2010-05-21T09:13:00.001-06:00

Sometimes being brave is hard.

Imagine you know you are going to have to endure some physical pain to get where you need and want to go. But you step up and face that pain like a champion.

I gotta say though when you are 5, immunizations for Kindergarten are scary. But when you only cry for a short minute after your shots, you get rewarded handsomely. Rewarded with a blue plastic bracelet, a bouncy ball, a balloon and a free ice cream cone.

Now she is all ready for Kindergarten in the Fall!

Hosted by Cecilyand Mom24

Hello? Are you there?

2010-05-18T20:53:00.001-06:00

Oh my! Has is really been a week since my last update? I don't think that has ever happened since I started my blog!

It has been a little crazy over here at our house. We are down to the last week of school and we have end of year assignments to finish up, a bunch a field trips, rehearsals for the end of year choir concert, finishing eagle scout project paperwork, track meets, business trips, and church activities. I think we all know what kind of craziness I am talking about.

I am holding my breath until next Wednesday when all this madness is over. While I am sure more and different madness will find it's way to our house, it will be nice to be done with school for while. Remind me I said that in a couple months and I am itching for school to start again.

On a completely different note, have any of you been watching, America: The Story of Us? Oh it is so good!! My older kids have liked watching it as much as I have. I am thinking it should be required watching for all Americans. So so so interesting. If you haven't watched it, START!!!

How was your Mother's day?

2010-05-11T10:00:00.001-06:00

I hope all you mom's out there had a great day! All mom's deserve a little pat on the back and a few hand made gifts. Nothing says "I love you mom" like breakfast in bed of soggy cheerios and cold toast.

This year Mother's day was a little different for me. Unlike last year, my husband was actually in town. Unlike last year, I didn't even see my kids on Mother's Day. Yup, you read that correctly. My kids and I didn't even see or talk to each other on Sunday. They texted me Happy Mother's Day in all caps with about fourteen exclamation marks behind it. The funny part is, we were all okay with it. Not sure what that tells me about my family but whatever.

Hubby snuck me out of town to Las Vegas this weekend. We slept in, we ate way to much at the buffet, we saw the Lion King, we spent some time laying by the pool, we took a nap, we saw Iron Man 2, we laughed together, we cried when the Cowboys didn't win The Amazing Race. It was delightful.

On Friday before we left my 8 year old daughter gave me a cute little note she made in class. It went something like this;

I love you because you gave me birth. (Yes, I did. It hurt a lot)

You love me because I am your daughter (Along with about a million other reasons)

I love it when you play with me (This girl loves a good game of Connect 4 or Uno or any game!)

While I am at school you like to be bored (yes, this is what I like but I am not sure it has ever actually happened)

You look beautiful when everyday (She is my favorite child)

I know you are upset when you fight with dad (While this is true, I wish she had gone with "when I stuff all my clean folded clothes under my bed"

I know you are happy when dad comes home (She nailed this one!!!!)

My favorite thing you cook is Chicken alfredo (Because she told me I am beautiful everyday, I am making this for dinner tonight)

Your favorite thing to say is "Oh nuts" (Oh this answer could have been SOOOOOOOO much worse!)

She is a total nut

2010-04-30T08:52:00.001-06:00

This is how I found my daughter last night when I went to tuck her in

Sometimes I am not sure what to do with her.

Hosted by Cecilyand Caitlin

Just keepin it real

2010-04-27T16:08:00.001-06:00

A private friend of mine (otherwise I would give you the link) posted this today.

LOVE. IT.

I hope you do too!

I loves me a nice random post

2010-04-21T09:21:00.003-06:00

** Recently my husband informed me that on his next business trip to Minnesota he was going to "check out Juicy Lucy". Not really words you want to hear from your husband before he goes out of town. Thankfully he was talking about this Juicy Lucy.

** Tiffany can officially ride her bike without training wheels!!! This morning at 7:30 when I was pulling onto our street (from the pool) she had talked he sister into riding with her. Tiffany was still in her pajamas riding down the street as happy as could be. It just about made my heart melt right then and there seeing them together.

** This morning while at the pool I had a completely NAKED lady carrying on a conversation with me like we had known each other for years. I realize some people are totally cool with the naked thing...I am NOT one of them. Put some clothes on please, or at least a towel.

** I really, really, really, need to clean out my fridge. I may have a few science experiments growing in there. I also need to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Not to mention the pile of laundry that needs to be folded or the bathrooms that need some attention. But instead I am going to read my book and watch a show or two on my DVR today. Shhhh, don't tell my hubby :)

** I am so tired of orange construction barrels on every road I seem to need to drive on. I sometimes have such an urge to just drive right into them and send them flying into the air. Don't worry, I haven't actually done that...yet.

Photo Story Friday

2010-04-15T19:02:00.001-06:00

Does anyone else think this is a little disturbing?

I am pretty sure I want nothing to do with a restaurant filled with Seniors looking for a little "afternoon delight" for only $5.59.

My husband and I saw this on Saturday night. We had to turn around and take a picture just for all of you to enjoy.

You're Welcome.

Please tell me you all know what "afternoon delight" means, otherwise this is a very confusing post.

Ellie's Special Day

2010-04-11T18:21:00.002-06:00

I can honestly say yesterday was a perfect day. Just perfect.

Many different things came together to make it so, but the main reason was this...

my beautiful Ellie was baptized.

Here she is with her Daddy who baptized her.

And here is me and my girl.

She was lucky enough to share her day with her cousin Katelyn, who was also baptized.

I am proud of my girl who made this choice to be baptized!

In our church children are baptized at the age of eight. If you want to know more go HERE

Obviously...

2010-04-03T16:06:00.001-06:00

The person who invented Easter grass obviously didn't have children. I am going to be finding that stuff in July

Hope you are having a Happy Easter weekend!!!

If I had a nickel...

2010-03-31T09:39:00.001-06:00

If I had a nickel for every time I blew my nose in the last 4 days, I would have a new wardrobe.

If I had a nickel for every time my kids asked me how I got sick, I could go out to a nice dinner this weekend. (And umm, I got sick because of germs most likely from you!!!!!)

If I had a nickel for every piece of food particle on my kitchen floor right now, I could take all of you with me for that nice dinner this weekend!

If I had a nickel for each of the snow flakes falling outside right now, I could buy a small country. (I mean really mother nature?)

If I had a nickel for all the toys I have boxed up ready for donation, my house would be paid off.

Any body got a stash of nickels?

What about you? If you had a nickel for every something what would it be? And how many nickels would you have?

two, four, six, EIGHT!!!!

2010-03-25T09:36:00.001-06:00

She went from this...

To this...

Way too fast!!!

Happy Eighth Birthday to my Ellie.

My life wouldn't be complete without you in it!

I love you.

Happy Saturday!

2010-03-20T16:08:00.001-06:00

This afternoon while out for a run, I had to stop and take this picture. (It is just with my phone so it is not anything too great.)

I am so truly blessed.

I live at the base of the most beautiful mountains.

I have legs that can run.

I have lungs that can breath.

I have a handsome husband who encourages me to get out and run, even thought it leaves him at home dealing with everything.

It is finally spring (okay technically tomorrow).

I have great friends.

I have the best family.

I hope you are having as nice of a day as me!

A quote for you...

2010-03-18T09:21:00.001-06:00

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says:

'Oh Crap, She's up'!"

Thanks for sending it to me michele. I hope it helps someone today as much as it helped me!!

Thankful Monday

2010-03-15T08:57:00.001-06:00

Although I don't think anyone has a little thing going like "wordless Wednesday" or "photo story Friday" that applies to Mondays and being thankful, today I am doing it. I know, quite the rebel I am :)

I AM THANKFUL...

I didn't totally lose it when my daughter spilled chocolate milk this morning.

for wet/dry vacuums.

my carpet was brown to begin with.

What are you thankful for this morning?

My house is not Disneyland

2010-03-10T09:06:00.002-07:00

My kids were shocked this week when they discovered we were not heading to Disneyland. I am not sure how/where/why they were under this impression. No time I can recall Nathan and I having a discussion about going to Disneyland.

"But mom we have no school this week, we SHOULD go to Disneyland!!" I wasn't aware that the two had anything to do with each other but whatever.

They shock grew even more when on Monday morning I told them I was leaving and that I would be back in a few hours. "What!? You are supposed to do something with us...we are bored." Seriously, you are already bored 2 hours into your break from school.

Tuesday morning came around I informed my kids I had an appointment to get my hair done. "Can I come?", "Can I come?", "Can I come?" all three of my girls were wondering. Umm, let me think about it...no.

After my hair appointment, the grocery store was my next stop. I came home got my list, changed the laundry, you know all the usual stuff. I went to get back in the car and all 5 of them were in the car ready and waiting to leave for the store. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

We all survived the store without to much trouble, the only extra they talked me into was donuts, which really wasn't that hard to talk me into :) I did learn, when you take you older kids to the store you don't have to load the groceries into the car or unload them when you get home. A very nice perk!!!

Today is a new day, they have already asked what I have planned to entertain them. No we are not heading to the pool or the arcade or the movies. We are heading to the laundry room. There is a large pile of laundry with each of their names on it!

BiRtHdAy TiMe!!!

2010-03-06T09:40:00.001-07:00

Guess what?

I have another teenager at my house!

Does 12 count as being a teenager? Or is he still a "tween"?

Either way, today my Matt turns 12!

As I was putting this collage together I wanted to cry.

He is such a good kid, I just love him. I am so lucky to be his mom.

Happy Birthday MATTHEW!

Life can be cruel sometimes

2010-02-26T15:47:00.002-07:00

Like when you and your hubby have been searching and searching and searching for a time you can have a little get away without little people.

So you are thinking the Caribbean sounds nice this time of year.

Then you (read my hubby) find a 7 day Caribbean Cruise for $289 per person and you think "YE-HAW, I am outta here. See all you suckers later!!!"

And then all your dreams are dashed because you can't get a flight to Florida AT ALL. No way, no how is there a way to get to any airport in Florida on Southwest Airlines. Trust me, we have tried.

Stupid college students and Spring Break.

(Please don't comment and tell me about starving children or anything that will make me feel selfish and unbelievably self involved)

(We have to use Southwest -- we have a bunch of free flights with them)

(Anyone have a private plane they want to use to get me there?)

Unanswerable questions

2010-02-22T08:29:00.002-07:00

Why is there a watch in my fridge?

Better yet.

Why is there an empty hotdog package inside a sandwich bag stuffed between two gallons of milk?

(The funny part is, the watch has been there all day and I didn't think anything of it until one of my kids asked me why it was there. Tells you how nothing weird really surprises me any more.)

New Stuff

2010-02-18T14:23:00.001-07:00

Today I had to get out of the house.

We headed to the library and then to two of my favorite stores and then Wal-Mart (not one of my favorite stores but what is a girl to do when the closest Target is like 28 miles away!?)

I bought myself a couple things. Call it retail therapy.

I bought 3 pack of cooling racks. They have already made me happy by just looking at them in my cabinet. I am sure my kids will ask me to put them to good use by holding cookies.

I also bought a bundt pan. (did you all say that like the mom in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Seriously can't say bundt pan normally now!) I had to buy it. I did, I swear!! My husband forwarded me this recipe. He thought I would like it. Some how I am thinking he would like it too. I plan on making it as soon as humanly possible.

The third thing I got me was a new book. I think I have read most of what is at my local library and have everything else I want to read there on hold. I haven't heard of the book but have heard of the author. This will be my first Nora Roberts book. If you have read it -- DO NOT TELL ME THE ENDING. Or I will hunt you down and kill you (or maybe just tell you the ending of every book I have ever read and ruin them all for you! HA!)

Lastly, some new black shoes to wear with pants or jeans. I spent $8 on them. I know!! The bundt pan was the same price!!

All of these things make me happy. What can I say, I am pretty easy to please.

What little things make you happy?

Photo Story Friday (Optional title; I am AwEsOME!!)

2010-02-12T11:02:00.001-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and Mamarazzi

$54

That is all I spent for all of this.

$54

The body wash alone should have cost me $35.

Not to mention the $30 worth of medicine.

I love coupons. I sort of feel like I am sticking to the man when I get a bunch of free stuff. I am not sure exactly who "the man" is but whatever...

Here is a list for you:

4 small boxes of Ritz

6 deodorant sticks

7 bottles of body wash

6 bags of chocolates

4 skittles bags

2 snickers

3 bags of cough drops

2 boxes of NyQuil

1 Mascara tube

1 loose powder

3 bottles of shampoo

3 bottles of conditioner

2 bottles of styling product

1 bottle of Advil

3 boxes of girl stuff

1 box of Kleenex

2 boxes of Theraflu

Weekend Education

2010-02-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

I learned many things this weekend. I feel it is my duty to you all to share these things with you :)

* Avatar 3-D wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it did give me a wicked headache.

* All of my education of classical music came from Bugs Bunny cartoons.

* The Super bowl never lives up to the hype.

* There should be a mercy rule in City league basketball.

* Inhaling while eating spicy food is a really really bad idea.

* Sunday afternoon naps are the best!

Now don't you feel better I shared all that education with you?

How was your weekend?

Photo Story Friday

2010-02-04T17:29:00.001-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and Robyn

My husbands shelf in the shower.

My shelf in the shower.

Sometimes being a girl really SUCKS.

Did you read the last post?

2010-02-01T13:52:00.001-07:00

Well if you did then good for you. If you haven't then please scroll down and read it.

We will wait...

(Insert cheesy hold music here)

Okay you are back. Now this post will make more sense.

So today I was doing laundry (Again, quite the never ending cycle) and I found something in the lint screen that topped anything I have every washed in the past or will ever wash in the future.

A TOOTH

yup, you read that correctly.

A TOOTH.

A molar to be exact.

Apparently last week my Matthew lost a molar at school and he put in in his pocket. (I didn't dare ask if he washed it first, something's I just don't want to know)

I sort of remember him telling me he lost a tooth at school but that was sometime during the chaos of the first half hour after school gets out. I am not responsible for anything my kids tell me during this time frame. Seriously they all talk to me at once telling me every little thing that happened during the day. Sorry, got off subject there for a second.

He is sort of past the tooth fairy thing (well that or the tooth fairy sucks so bad at our house he gave up the idea after about his 3rd tooth)

Any who, another first for me today. I washed a tooth.

Try and top that!!!

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

2010-01-28T09:15:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I was doing laundry (shocking , I know) and I discovered that I had washed a Bouncy Ball. That was actually a first for me. Never washed a bouncy ball before.

It got me thinking of all the other things I have washed:

crayons

Chap stick

disposable diapers (oh what a mess!)

Nintendo DS games (which still totally work after a good washing, woulda thunk it?)

Build-a-Bear clothes (all the time!)

Clothes that are still clean and folded from the last time I washed them

headbands

money(I actually love this, I have my little stash of money in the laundry room that I like to call the kids college fund)

rocks

rubber bark pieces from the playground at school

On occasion I actually wash dirty clothes too!

What have you washed before? How did it fair after?

If you didn't know, I did survive.

2010-01-26T13:59:00.001-07:00

It has come to my attention that I haven't posted any pictures of the INSANE party we had for my daughter's 10th b-day.

Just so you know I only slightly raised my voice once, only had to tell one girl to stop telling secrets and only had one girl whose mom was 30 minutes late. Not to bad if you ask me.

Dancing and eating in the garage (umm, yea had almost the entire party in the garage so I didn't have to worry so much about my entire house, dusty but totally worth it!!!)

We had a cake decorating contest. The part I didn't tell the girls is that they were decorating the cakes we would be eating :)

This was the winning cake (as per the judge, Matthew) so it got the candles!

This is all the girls minus 3 that had to leave a little early.

I learned several lessons from this party:

1. Girls are loud. And get even louder when in large groups.

2. Some kids are not taught at home how to be a good guest. (BTW none of my friends who had kids at this party and read my blog fall into this category)

3. If kids have dirty hands they will touch EVERY surface possible before washing hands. (I actually already knew this lesson but it was totally reaffirmed this night)

4. 9 and 10 year old girls eat a lot of pizza, capri-suns, popcorn, cake, ice cream and M&M's.

It is safe to say I am birthday partied out!!!

My Thursday in pictures

2010-01-21T22:20:00.001-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and Michelle

6:00am -- Off to Spin I go!!

7:00am -- Heading home from Spin (okay this is more like 7:20 but I didn't want to take a picture during class)

8:00am -- Reading a blog about my friend and her big news of a new baby on the way!!!

9:00am -- Blow drying my hair.

10:00am -- At the bank

11:00am -- At the library

12:00pm -- Lunch

1:00pm -- Laundry (I have been doing this for 2 days straight!!!)

2:00pm -- New book from the library

3:00pm -- New book from the library :) (I did change the laundry between these two pictures)

4:00pm -- Two b-day invitation's for my daughter. One tomorrow and one Saturday. Lots of notice...GRRRR

5:00pm -- Finishing touches on the science fair project

6:00pm -- Setting the table

7:00pm -- I missed this one sorry!

8:00pm -- Ragnar meeting with my Princess Posse :) Sorry no picture :(

9:00pm -- One last thing for the science fair project.

10:00pm -- Ahhh my pillow

To Do List for Today

2010-01-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

1. ~~Spin Class~~

2. ~~Fall on my butt on the slippery driveway while taking the garbage to the street.~~

3. Run 2 miles

4. ~~Get sucked into the Internet and facebook and blogging for 40 minutes before I even realize it.~~

5. Laundry

6. Laundry

7. More Laundry

The Big 1-0

2010-01-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

At what age do "kids" turn into "tweens"?

If it is not 10 then someone should alert my daughter that she doesn't need a phone for her birthday today!

Yup, another birthday at our house. Stephanie is now 10 as of 6:32 this morning. She was my only overnight labor. I felt my first contraction at 5:08pm on January 14th. A Friday night of a 3 day weekend. The ONLY weekend my Dr. would be out of town. He told her not to be born until he came back. She didn't listen...not much has changed.

10 things to LOVE about my Stephanie:

1. She is a lot like me. Which is great for me because I sooooo know when she is trying to pull the wool over my eyes because I tried all the same lines on my parents. (Mom and Dad, you can stop laughing now.)

2. She loves her family. She likes when we are all home and together.

3. She is a hard worker.

4. She is just a happy person. Nothing really gets her down.

5. She loves to talk. I always get the scoop on what is happening with her brothers and sisters.

6. She can do more push-ups than her brothers :) That just makes me proud and is proof of #3.

7. She is silly and goofy and fun to be around.

8. She is thoughtful and wants to help others around her.

9. She is a good friend.

10. She is beautiful!! (and yes I am bias!)

HaPPy BiRThDaY

(P.S. Wish me luck because tonight I will have between 25 & 30 of her friends at my house for her party. If you never hear from me again you will know I didn't survive.)

Fitness Challenge

2010-01-11T09:11:00.002-07:00

Today I start an 8 week fitness challenge. I am competing against my hubby, my sister, my dad, my brother and 2 of my sister-in-laws.

They are all in shape exercising people and also very competitive. It is going to be a tough competition.

We get points for such things as how many miles we run, how may miles we bike and for yoga or ab workouts or any cardio. Also how well we eat, lots of fruits and veggies!!

So it was definitely was a bad morning to wake up and have my neck feel like this:

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-06T07:36:00.001-07:00

Okay not wordless but close :)

These is my favorite series of pictures from Christmas morning!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

Ok so this year we actually partied our way into the new year!

Usually I am asleep by 11:00pm and actually don't really care that I missed midnight.

This year our neighbors had a party that included Rock Band and Deal or No Deal for Cash and fireworks and yummy food and my favorite part, dancing!!!

My main man showing how it is done with the guitar.

I am the dork in the back of the picture -- white sweater -- hands in the air like I just don't care.

I don't remember the last time I went dancing -- oh wait, yes I do. It was College!!! Nathan just laughed at me all night while I was shaking my groove thing.

Here is the entire gang -- most our from my neighborhood. Have I told you how much I love where we live!? Seriously some really great people!!

How did you ring in 2010?

Any really great resolutions for yourself?

I am not a resolution kind of gal but I do have some plans for 2010:

*Live more in the moment. I tend to always be looking to what is next and not enjoying today.

*Run my first half marathon!!!

*Sell my "extra house" (Really this needs to happen ASAP)

*Keep on blogging!!

One of my favorite days of the year

2009-12-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

The first time this shows up at my house after Christmas:

Seriously! Could your imagine if you missed him that first trash day after Christmas!

I should have taken a picture of our garbage can, filled up a few feet above the rim.

Thank You Garbage Man!!!!

Christmas Success

2009-12-28T08:51:00.001-07:00

I think they were excited for Rock Band but I am not quite sure.

Look for our new album, It will be out Fall of 2010.

What do you do?

2009-12-18T13:00:00.001-07:00

Okay. I have a serious question for you all.

I know, me serious is strange but bear with me for at least one post.

But first the story of what happened to me this week that got me thinking about the entire subject and then of course wanting your opinion.

Tuesday afternoon I was leaving Wal-Mart (for the third time in two days). I was waiting to turn right at the stop light and head on to my next errand. There was a homeless man on the corner with a sign asking for some help and that he was a veteran. Now this is not an unusual sight to see leaving Wal-Mart (or any store).

But there was something about this man.

And then I realized, I had just left Wal-Mart for the third time in two days. I had spent a couple hundred dollars there in those three trips...and I was complaining about it. All of a sudden I felt like such an ungrateful schmuck.

I had a three dollars just sitting in my purse, not even tucked away in my wallet. So I put down the window and gave it to him. He said "Thank you and God bless you"

I went on my way and he... well I have no idea what he did next. Did he buy alcohol with it?

Did he buy his first meal all day?

Did he go home to his nice house and think "that stupid lady"

I don't know and really I don't care. That is his choice.

So the next day I was at Wal-Mart again (any one see a trend here?) trying to get a refund for a mistake on a receipt. The lady punched about a million buttons on the register and the register kept telling her she owed me $6.24. The mistake was only for $3.50. After trying several times and still getting the same answer she finally said "Well, I guess it is your lucky day,you get three extra dollars."

Are the two related in anyway? I don't know but it sure made me smile to think that they were. :)

So to my question:

What do you do when you see someone on a corner or on the side of the road asking for help?

I truly do not know the answer to my question, I don't think it is a black and white situation. Please tell me, I really am interested.

Matthew 25:40

"...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"

So little time

2009-12-14T08:02:00.001-07:00

Just made my "To Do" list for the day...

It is gonna take a Christmas miracle to get it all done.

Wish me luck!!!

What's on your list for today?

(I hope leaving me a comment is one of them)

A picture is worth a thousand words

2009-12-10T14:04:00.001-07:00

I tried people, I really did.

No matter what I did I could not get a good shot of this lady I saw at the store without her thinking I was a creepy person.

She had, no lie, the kind of Christmas sweater that legends are made from. The earrings, hair bows and shoelaces that all matched each other and the sweater. She was like 55 years old too. Have you ever seen a 55 year old woman with hair bows of any kind much less matching Christmas ones? I didn't think so.

Oh, to my blog readers I apologize. I thought of you all while trying to get a picture. Just use you imaginations.

In the mean time check out this picture that my awesome husband took in his hotel room last night.

Good thing it is in Braille.

And another picture that I did not take myself. I am completely envious of the person who thought of it because it is FREAKING hilarious.

I hope these to pictures make you laugh -- they certainly made me chuckle!!!

I am a little sad though -- I don't think I can get any negative anonymous comments from this post. Maybe next time.

None of your business(or mine really)

2009-12-08T16:46:00.001-07:00

I wasn't going to put anything on my blog about this because like I said in the title this really it is none of my or your business. Really it is only Tiger and his wife's business (okay maybe the 10 other women too) but then a friend of mine put this picture on Facebook.

And then I decided to once again tell you all my opinion whether you want to hear it or not.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR CHEATING!!!!

I don't care if you are married to the worst person on the planet who never gives you any "attention". Then get a divorce and move on to someone else.

(Oh and this is not a man bashing thing, it goes for men and women. This instance just happens to be a man.)

There now I am done.

Did you know?

2009-12-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Did you know this week I had the sheer pleasure of having to find white pants for my 11 year old son.

Did you know finding any form of pants in white that would fit an 11 year old boy are IMPOSSIBLE to find.

Did you know that he told me on Monday and needed them by Wednesday?

Did you know I wanted to ring his neck?

Did you know that last night when my son was Frosty the Snowman in his school choir performance he was wearing women's size large scrubs that I found no less then two hours before he needed them?

Did you know that there was no less than 4 safety pins holding them up?

****

Did you know that 4 hours of alone time (as in no kids in tow) you can get almost ALL of your Christmas shopping done?

Did you now you can also sneak lunch in with your friend in that time?

****

Did you know that helping your sister pack her kitchen so she can move to her new house can be done really fast if you have good music going?

Did you know also that mortgage people are real pains in the butt and think that people are not actually attached to the papers they are dealing with?

Did you know that I am soooooo happy for my sister and her new house?

****

Did you know that my Google Reader is filled to the brim with unread blog posts from all of you?

Did you also know that I may just have to mark them all as read in order to get rid of the guilt I feel for not having read all your wonderful insights into life?

****

I knew you guys already knew all of that!!!

Oh and stay tuned for the video of my son as Frosty the Snowman. It is too awesome not too share.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

May tomorrow be filled with lots of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and pie.

More importantly I hope it is filled with family and friends and wonderful memories!!

My Thanksgiving will be filled with a few extra dollars in my pocket because of this total awesomeness from the grocery store...

(In case you can't read this receipt, I paid 3 cents for my Turkey)

(I love coupons)

Five

2009-11-23T17:39:00.001-07:00

Five. Five. Five. Five. Five.

Even when I say it a bunch of times I still can't believe my baby, my last child, my little companion is five years old today.

Five things I love about my Tiffany:

1. She has a little crazy streak in her that makes me laugh, smile and worry all at the same time.

2. She LOVES to color. It gives me a good excuse to color.

3. She is a total cuddle bug.

4. She pays attention to everything I say and do...she is my little conscience that helps me makes good choices.

5. She loves to sing in the car with me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIFFANY!!

Movie Weekend

2009-11-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

So this weekend I have seen two movies.

I know...I am spoiled.

On Thursday night I saw, you guessed it, New Moon.

(No not a midnight showing, that is crazy...I like my sleep WAY to much for that!)

The inner teenage girl in me loved it. I have made a decision about the whole Team Edward or Team Jacob. I am on team Carlise.

Friday night though I saw a MUCH better movie. The Blindside.

I am telling you to go see this movie. Even if you hate football or know nothing about it...go see this movie. It will make you laugh it will make you cry. Please go see it tonight!!!!!

Can't keep my big mouth shut

2009-11-17T17:24:00.001-07:00

I don't usually post about things other than the antics of me or my family but this is really on my mind.

What is up with the new government guidelines about mammogram and self breast exams?

Does anyone else think this is a little disturbing?

I am thinking all the women under 50 out there who discovered breast cancer because of a self exam don't agree.

What about all the women under 50 who are vigilant about getting their girls all squished and smashed and because of that vigilance discovered breast cancer in it's early stages?

What about all the people who love these woman? They wouldn't have a mom or sister or daughter or aunt or grandma or wife or a best friend if there weren't mammogram's for women under 50.

What I get from this is that if you are under 50 don't bother getting exams and if you are over 74 don't bother either. That is just WRONG!! I realize I am not a doctor. All I know is that is not hard to find a woman under the age of 50 who has suffered from breast cancer. Ask around...I bet that everyone who reads my blog knows someone under 50 who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I certainly do. It is the number two cancer killer of women in the US.

I truly hope that women will ignore these guidelines. I believe that if we follow them breast cancer will become the number one cancer killer of women in the US.

Unfortunately I bet insurance companies will use these guidelines to stop paying for mammogram's for women under 50. It is the government who came out with these new guidelines, isn't that the same government who wants to take over healthcare in this country? Just asking...

Getting off my soapbox now.

Trust me. If I can, you can

2009-11-12T15:08:00.001-07:00

A little bit ago I got a new cookbook. I have cooked more in last week or so than I have in a long time.

If any part of you likes to cook/bake or if you have others who depend on you to make them dinner or if you want to make people ask for second helpings or if you just want to add a few new recipes to you dinner rotation...

GO OUT AND BUY THIS COOKBOOK.

I have made:

**Comfort Meatballs**

**Mashed Potatoes**

**Marmalade Muffins**

**Chocolate Sheet Cake**

**Simple Enchiladas**

I have loved all of them. My kids have loved them all except the marmalade muffins but that's okay because then there was more for me.

I made the enchiladas last night and there wasn't a single bit left in the pan. So yummy :) Kind of a long process to make but not a hard process.

The chocolate sheet cake is currently sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for hungry little mouths to get home from school. (minus a ~~entire row~~ small piece)

The comfort meatballs taste like meatloaf just in a smaller package. For some reason that made my kids like them... A LOT! And the meatballs make killer leftovers in a sandwich.

The mashed potatoes were really delicious but not WAY better than the mashed potatoes I already make. What I liked about them is they are make ahead mashed potatoes. I can see how that could come in handy on crazy weeknight or even Sunday dinner.

I will continue to let you know about how the recipes are turning out. I think my family is just happy I am making them dinner on a more regular basis and it is not the same old same old all the time!!