This Is Halloween!

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday by far, but I do like seeing my kids look cute in their costumes. That is probably the reason we adults put up with all the hassle. (The extra kid is Noodle's best friend who slept over last night and enjoyed the festivities tonight.) Sprout dressed up yesterday for the Homeschoolers Halloween Skating Party, but didn't go out tonight.

Toddler GQ

Yeah, I think he's ready.

hmmmm....

I wonder if this would look good in my upstairs hallway. What do you think?

life divided

So, I have a hard time sometimes deciding what to post on this blog, and what is better off on my homeschooling blog. I would love to have a snazzy combined blog, with different tabs across the top, but I don't know how to do that. So, I have two blogs.

Anyways, yesterday we went on a bike ride again with some fellow neighborhood homeschoolers. We rode along the river trail again (last week we rode out to Utah Lake) and it was cloudy and a light rain fell occasionally. The colors along the trail are AMAZING, and the cloudy day made them all the more vibrant. I imagined I was on a vacation in the pacific northwest. It was perfect, you could wear a jacket or not and be comfortable. I love that type of weather.

I am presently quite content in my denial of winter. Last week was unseasonably warm (mid to high 80s), and I really felt it was just as it should be. I feel the need to come up with a survival strategy for winter, but that would require admitting that it really is just around the corner. I need to start my Christmas sewing projects, which is at least something that makes it bearable. Yeah, I'm a dork. Or nerd. Or geek, or whatever type of person it is who likes to sew things.

Thursday, Friday, Happy Days

So, I would have sworn there was a line in that song that said, "Good days, Happy days," but I looked and nope. There isn't. Oh well.

Today was a happy day. There were a couple of hiccups/bumps along the way, but it was overall a really nice day. We ate lunch outside on the patio set that David's dad bought me, and I got to spend a few minutes weeding the lawn. The kids invited the neighbor across the street's dog over so they could play Dog Hotel with their friend. I made dinner for our belated birthday celebration with David, and then the kids and David (and me, some) played outside with our parachute thing. Sprout was hilarious and would explode with excitement when we'd start moving the parachute to bounce the balls. So fun. Then we had brownie sundaes for his birthday dessert. Yum!

I am trying to do better at noticing and enjoying the little things in my life that bring happiness and really savor those moments. Like the way Sprout can't help but start dancing when he hears some good music. And the funny things the older kids think of to do and say. There are enough of these moments to fill my life with joy if I learn to bask in them. It can be too easy to get dragged down by the things that go wrong. I'm going to try harder to be lifted up by everything that goes right.

I also had some fun looking for funny tee shirts for David for Christmas this year. It is kind of a tradition that I give him one or two every year now. This isn't one of the funniest ones, but I think it is really cute. I think this year I will finally have to buy this one because I love it so much, and just thinking about it makes me smile.

I love funny.

home decorating

"We don’t need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it.” - Donald Horban

Last night we had a Relief Society activity where we got to visit other people's homes in the neighborhood. We went to four homes (and a backyard, so on the way to the backyard, we peeked in the home briefly) and they were all lovely. So nicely decorated, different styles, but all fabulous. I'll be the first to admit that I have no eye for decorating a home. On the very rare occasion that I do have an idea, it takes me 6 months to two years to get around to implementing it. I like to think I'd be better if we had more money to spend on things like decorating, but I don't think it's true. So, I felt kinda bummed after the fun activity, just because I want my home to be beautiful and homey. But then I realized that the MOST important thing I can do right now is GET RID OF STUFF. The lack of clutter is one thing all the homes had in common, and getting rid of stuff is free! Last month I decided I didn't like using the top of the kitchen cabinets for storage because it looked cluttery, so I cleaned out and reorganized the pantry so the important items could fit in there. I've seen lots of houses with cute decorative stuff on top of the cabinets, but we don't have a lot of room there, so I don't know what, if anything, would look good. I might have to consult some of the ladies from last night. But, I do like the "empty" look a lot better than the cluttered look, so that's something!

So, that's my plan. I am involved in a lot of things that lend to clutter, or at least, require materials: homeschooling, cloth-diapering, keeping pets, sewing, letting the kids do arts/crafts... But there has to be a way to do these things and not let the stuff take over my life. I'm committed to figuring out how.

I found these two articles on Zen Habits with great tips. Last night I cleaned out my inbox on my desk. Now I need to clean the rest of the desk!

the sucky thing about Fridays

is when you don't have anything even kind of cool to do, you feel lame. Especially if you are all alone (kids don't count). But, since it is SUPPOSED to be fun, you don't feel like doing anything productive, either (like folding laundry or cleaning up). Which is why I just end up dinking around online and eating two bowls of Chocolate Chex. Whoo. Party animal.

the point of hugs

"Mom, you know what is the point of hugs if someone is gone? Actually feeling them, not just seeing them." -- Spud, after giving me a hug after asking, "Mom, do you need some hugs?"

I think this is in reference to the "hugs" we send to David through the phone and through Skype while he is in California.

clueless cooking, easy spanish rice

I made rice and bean burritos and green beans the other night, with Spanish rice. To make the Spanish rice, I just cooked the rice in the ricecooker, and then added 1 cup of salsa and about a tsp of cumin. Just enough spicy to make it interesting.

Tonight we had Tilapia fillets (cooked in butter with seasoned salt on them) and Spud said, "Mom, your fish is as good as dad's!" And Noodle said that the "skin" was the perfect amount of crispiness. So, hooray! We had leftover Spanish rice and cucumber salad. I can't remember if I gave the recipe for the cucumber salad before, but you just peel a cucumber (or two or three), slice it up, make a dressing of equal parts vinegar (red wine or white), water & sugar, mix it up, and put the cucumbers in. Adjust sourness to taste. Noodle LOOOOVES this salad. She is a sour fiend.

Another recent meal is what the kids named "krabby patties" from SpongeBob. I make whole wheat rolls with the help of my breadmaker, and we put tunafish and cheese on them. They make very cute little sandwiches that the kids love to eat.

the reluctant wedding photographer

My brother Eric had two children get married in the last month. My nephew Jason was married in Logan the first week of August, and my niece Ashley was married last Friday in Boise. I had taken Jason & Katie's engagement pictures back in June when they were in town for my parents' 50th Anniversary, and they asked if I would do their wedding pictures. I told them I'd never done a wedding, but if they wanted me to, I would. They said they did. As I started preparing, I started to almost wish I'd said no. I spent about a two weeks reading, practicing, and reading some more. It was a great learning experience, as I finally had to learn some things that I'd been able to avoid learning up until now. I knew that I needed to know my stuff inside and out because I'd only have one chance at these wedding pictures.

I didn't sleep at all the night before Jason's wedding. Every time I'd almost be able to "count" myself to sleep (I sometimes try relaxation exercises where you count your breaths in & out), aperture, ISO, flash settings and shutter speeds would start racing through my head. It would have been laughable (it is now) if I hadn't been in such a panic.

After the wedding, my brother and his wife asked if I was interested in taking Ashley's pictures. I said I'd be willing to do it if they wanted me to, but they needn't feel obligated to ask me. And I suggested they wait until they see the pictures from Jason & Katie's wedding before making up their mind. They ended up asking me, and thankfully it wasn't nearly as stressful. Though the Boise Temple didn't have quite so many "photo spots" as the Logan Temple, but we ended up with a number of great shots. I think they'll be pleased.


Ashley's wedding pictures are first, then Jason's.











Oh, and if you are wondering if this means I want to do wedding photography now, I can safely assure you that the answer is NO WAY! I had a lot of fun doing these two weddings because I knew the couples and I was going to be at them anyways, but I don't have any interest in spending entire days away from my family or dealing with bridezillas or any of that. Ashley and Katie were super laid back and a ton of fun. But if somebody else in the family gets married in the next couple of years, I'd be willing to shoot their wedding if they want me.

sadness

It's late, and I need to go to bed. I stepped outside to check that I'd turned the sprinkler off and I glanced next door. And the wave of grief hits again.

Monday night my next door neighbor died in a plane crash in Nepal. Leaving behind her husband of 29 years and five children, the youngest a 14 year old daughter. One son is on a mission for the LDS church in New Jersey. She was in Nepal with her best friend to do a hike to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They'd been planning and training for the past four years. She was celebrating her 50th birthday.

I heard the news Tuesday morning. My friend called and when he told me, the first thing out of my mouth was "You're kidding," even as I knew that he wasn't, and that noone would joke about this. My thoughts first went to the kids, who have been wonderful friends to us since we moved in four years ago. How would they survive this? How can they be strong enough to bear this grief that I can't even imagine? I needed to talk to someone, so I called my sister-in-law Cristina into the room since I couldn't reach David on the phone. She cried with me and hugged me. I told the kids after breakfast, and then we went next door. There were other friends and neighbors there, and we just hugged them and cried with them. "I'm so sorry," is all that I could say. Hugging them seemed like the best way to share their pain. It was then that my thoughts moved from the kids to the father. They had lost their mother, but he had lost the love of his life, his companion. He's alone now. The anguish in his face was wrenching, but I could see the strength that he was mustering for his family right now.

It's just so sad. The kind of thing about life that makes you really angry, or it would, if you could get past the sorrow.

So when I stepped out tonight, thinking of my own little world here in my home, I look next door and wish I could somehow lessen their pain. I wish that my own sorrow could somehow take away some of theirs. But all we can do in these instances is to mourn with those that mourn, I guess. And I hope that's something.

The Deseret News published a really touching article about the family.

Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.

sweet deals

Screamin Coupons

I just got some discount passes to the Tracy Aviary. Yay!

two guys

DISNEYLAND!!!

So, as a sort of compensation for "stealing" my husband away, David's Uncle Brian took us all to Disneyland at the beginning of July. It was SO AMAZINGLY FUN! I haven't been in twenty years (which makes me feel weirdly old to be able to say that about something) and I really think I enjoyed it more as an adult than I did as a kid, and that's saying something. Honestly, since I've become an adult, I think I kind of pooh poohed Disneyland because it is so expensive and could it really be worth spending all that money? Well, I can definitely say it was worth spending all of someone else's money to go. The entire two days we were there, I really did feel like it was a wonderful vacation from the realities of life. Who has time to think about bills and schedules when you are contemplating whether to ride Splash Mountain or shoot aliens with Buzz Lightyear? Certainly not I.

We had a blast, and I purposefully didn't carry my camera both days because I wanted to enjoy the experience without trying too hard to capture it. But we did have Noodle's little point & shoot for half of the other day until the batteries died.

In addition to Brian, my sister-in-law Jenn and David's cousin Mikhail (age 10) also came. The kids had a blast with Mikhail, and I think it created a nice dynamic to have another kid to interact with. And I highly recommend the 1:1 kid:adult ratio! We'll have to remember that when we go back in four years.

Noodle and Spud rode EVERYTHING! Well, we missed a few of the smaller rides, but there was nothing too fast or too scary for them. I was very impressed. Noodle closed her eyes until after the upside down loop on California Screamin', but she still went on it again. They both liked the Tower of Terror, which was almost too intense for me. And they absolutely loved Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn. It is nice that Spud is so tall for his age, as there wasn't anything he wasn't big enough to ride. That's why we figure we can go back in 4 years when Sprout is 5 1/2. He should be tall enough then to enjoy everything.

Thanks Brian, for a fabulous time!

clueless cooking, continued

There is no way I'm going to be able to come up consistently with alliterative post titles, so I guess I'll have to go with something boringly sequential. Any ideas?

So, we had a whole bunch of green beans and bell peppers. The bell peppers were left over from my sister-in-law Jenn's farewell party last week and were supposed to be grilled by Kent, but her forgot. It's a six pack of red, yellow and orange, so I knew I had to think of a way to use them. I ended up sauteeing them in olive oil and we had them on our burritos, so they were a little fajita-ized. REALLY good. Noodle even ate her whole burrito, and she doesn't care much for beans. I think the peppers took away some of the beaniness for her. I also cooked the green beans: pour olive oil into the pan (I used our large cast iron griddle) and add green beans, turn heat up to 5.5. Add onions and garlic if desired. Cook for 5-6 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook for 5-8 more minutes. The lid I thought would cover the pan didn't, so I had to use a large plate instead. Salt & pepper to taste. This is a great way to prepare fresh green beans--they don't get soggy or mushy like they would if you just steamed them.

confessions of a clueless cook

So, those of you who don't know me well (or in person) might not know my terrible little secret: I can't cook. Maybe it's because I was the youngest child of a working mom, maybe it's because I was quite happy living on baked potatoes, spaghetti, salad, and the occasional dish I'd make from a cookbook, but I never got the knack of looking in the fridge, seeing what was available and figuring out how to make A Food out of that. I don't suppose I'm all that different in that way from a lot of girls of my generation. Then we get married, and it's like, "Aw crap. Now we're supposed to eat food that is actually in meal form." And generally, the wife (still) does most of the cooking. But I got lucky. I married an Oldest who actually LIKES to cook and, more importantly, is really good at it. So, I kind of forgot some of the skills I used to have as I let him do 99.99% of the dinner prep over the past 9 years.

Due to his new working situation/schedule, it's become obvious to me that the kids and I can't eat my "quick meals" all the time. So, I need to learn to cook. A couple weeks ago, I made my first ever stir fry! It was really yummy. Last night and tonight again, I made what we call "Cucumber Salad," which is super easy. Peel a cucumber (or more, depending on how many people you have), mix about equal parts vinegar (white or red wine), water, and sugar (maybe a smidge less sugar) and add some salt. Mix with cucumbers. Eat. Noodle ABSOLUTELY loves this salad, and will eat bowlsful if given the chance. Spud told me at dinner tonight that he hates this salad, but after taking a bite of the one cucumber slice I forced on him, he said, "Mmmmm...can I have one more?"

I also did a rice stir fry and cooked FISH (my first time doing that, too). It was easier than I expected. Melt butter in the frying pan at 4.5 on the burner. Add fish and up the temp to 5.5. Wait and watch. The fish was really thick, so it took about 10-12 minutes total to cook, I think. I flipped it after about 6 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. It was yummy. I think the fish was salmon, but it wasn't labeled and it wasn't pink. Is there non-pink salmon?

I'm writing these things more for me than for you, as I'm guessing most of you know how to cook this stuff. I need to be able to find my "notes" again for future reference (my culinary memory stinks), so I figure blogging about it will be motivation to actually sit down and type it up. Maybe I'll even try and plate the food nicely and practice my food photography. ;o)

"It only hurts when I poke it."

There are a lot of blogs out there. Blogs are easy to start, fairly painless to maintain, and we all get to feel like we have a few moments of fame every once in a while. Moms, especially, seem to be drawn to blogging as a way to create and maintain adult relationships and have an outlet that is easily accessible from home, at any time. And, as you can tell by my list of blogs on the sidebar, I like to read others' blogs. But there are a couple of blogs that I know of that I do not enjoy reading, yet I find myself reading them once every few months, anyways. For some reason, I can't stay away permanently. I made the mistake of spending a few minutes on two such blogs about a week and a half ago, and I ended up with a really unpleasant sensation for a good part of the afternoon. Irritation mixed with disbelief,mixed with, I dunno, probably a bit of superiority thrown in that I'm not like that person, whatever my flaws might be. (You'd think that superiority would give it a positive twinge, but it's true that no form of pride really makes us feel better.) So, why do I do it?

For some reason, although I know that there are all types of people in this world, with different experiences and their own versions of reality, I tend to approach most people with the assumption that they see life fairly similarly to the way I do. This generally works, as I don't have occasion to spend much time in diverse or new company. But sometimes, I get THE SMACKDOWN. I'm made painfully aware that, NOPE, there are a number of people who see the world vastly different than I do. Sometimes I'm okay with that, and sometimes, it results in the above mentioned experience and sensation. I'm not one to go around looking for battles or things to gripe about, so I tend to shake it off and move on. After all, it's not like I have to LIVE with those people! So why do I revisit these blogs that make me want to throw things?

'roids

So, after 36 hours, Noodle's eye was not much improved, still quite swollen. So we went in to the InstaCare this morning and the doctor gave her a prescription for a steroid. The swelling has noticeably gone down, for which she is very grateful. The doc said we should be vigilant with future stings, as her body might be forming a "memory" which could result in an allergic reaction.

Poor kidlet.

noodle

The original. I still can't believe that she's 8 years old. Here she is helping me out while I practiced shooting "Jump shots" this morning.



Poor thing got double stung by a wasp this afternoon. Once on her eyebrow and once right under her eye. It swelled up a TON. It's still pretty swollen, but it has gone down a bit since the incident, so I don't think it will need anything more than time and maybe some more benadryl in the morning.

i could tell you

about my nephew's wedding last week (which was really fabulous) and how they asked me to be the photographer (which was also fabulous, but stressed me out and I didn't sleep a wink the night before the wedding) and how nice it was to see so much of the family, la dee dah etcetera. I could even share some of my favorite pictures from the day.

But instead, I will share this blog with you, that I discovered a month or so ago from a friend on Facebook and it never fails to make me laugh. A lot. So, enjoy. Hyperbole and a Half

Be sure to check out the "Best of" on the right sidebar. You won't be disappointed. And if you don't laugh, well, then, maybe we aren't that much alike after all. ;o)