improve the shining moments

food

2012-01-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

sharing one of my new favorite soups, shared from a childhood friend via facebook, so i have no idea where it originated from, but here it is:

white chicken chili

1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 lb boneless chicken breast
1 large onions
2 garlic cloves
1 cup fat free chicken broth
2 cans navy or nothern beans
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can green chili salsa
1 pint sourcream
warm oil skillet add chicken cook till done
remove chicken, add onion and garlic to skillet and cook 5 min
add chicken, onion, and garlic to slow cooker then add rest of ingredients and cook for 5-6 hours 1 hour before serving add sourcream and serve with tortilla chips and shreeded cheese

this is how you'll see it at our house:

home improvement

2012-01-13T09:30:00.001-05:00

my poor hubby. we knew when we bought this house that updates would need to be made. i just don't think he realized truly what that meant.
for me it means midnight painting parties.....alone
i like oak, but do not like the look of oak. does that make sense? so my job is over the next year to eradicate it from my house. here is one start.

our master bathroom is sort of a long hallway that runs the length of our bedroom. it's small but it works. it has 18 foot ceiling like the master bedroom, making it sort of awkward, but open feeling. i would love to put in a skylight one day....somewhere the hubsters head is exploding.
this is the start of my bathroom makeover.

the problem:

oak cabinets

the solution? Ripping them apart and sanding, and priming and sanding again,:

so they could be painted:

and bejewled:

next up.....taking down that giant mirror and replacing it with two framed mirrors, and replacing the light fixture, and replacing the faucets, and tiling the floor, and replacing towel rods, and changing out the shower fixture, and that skylight.
see why the hubsters just rolls his eyes at me and let's me paint by myself at midnight. :)

i'm neglectful

2012-01-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

poor bloggy hasn't been written in for a while. the holiday's and all it as definetly taken a back seat.

i'll just do a quick recap :)

i ate way too many of these, if that's possible:

got some time with this guy, but not nearly enough:

put up and took down displays like this:

watched some of my favorite people perform:

and hung out with some local crazies:

it was a fun holiday. weather was warm, parties were fun, food was delish and presents and family were awesome. there is no better way to spend the end of a year!

christmas carol

2011-12-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

i can't wait to show you what i made this for!!!

another proud moment

2011-12-07T21:54:00.002-05:00

who has two thumbs and married the awesomest guy ever - this girl

my man, through interventions known only to the big man upstairs, was promoted within his company to an amazing new position. well. technically the company created a whole new division within 2 days so that hubsters could stay with them.
seriously....blessings people.
i'm proud of him. i love him
my favorite thing though.....?
his comment shortly after changing jobs: "it's like i don't have a job anymore. all i do is manage!"
hahahahha!

oh...and why this picture, you ask....seriously he tries to look all mad and mean, but please....give it up!

the fashion diva

2011-12-02T20:00:00.002-05:00

princess grace was able to be in a little fashion show at a local store.
it was so fun!
she got to choose her outfit (which were offered at a discounted price afterwards), walk the catwalk, and be the fashion diva that we all knew she was.
here are the pictures that the store took.
i think they captured her little, or not so little, personality just....right....

thanksgiving

2011-12-01T09:55:00.001-05:00

doesn't this picture just describe what thanksgiving seems to be?

we hung out with my brother (temporarily back from afghanistan) and friends at my parent's house. it's always been my favorite holiday.
the kids had a great time with 2 cousins spending two nights with them. it was the greatest thing ever for them.
now......to get on the treadmill to walk off those 13,000 calories....ugh

very proud

2011-12-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

if you've been reading you know the struggles with jp. this made me feel so much better about the struggles, and so very proud of a boy who has borne the brunt of much of the stress.
we've always known he was smart and capable, this just lifts some of the doubt and pain off his shoulders and ours a bit.

way to go jp!!!

family pictures

2011-11-29T08:58:00.001-05:00

we got our first family pictures taken this weekend......
you heard that right....our first.
we have tons of pics of the kids and have even taken them to have pro pics done, but we've never been in a picture together.
we're pathetic that way.
since i'm fairly cheap i conned my girlfriend into pointing and clicking our pictures.
she did a great job, my kids.....not so much.
it was an extremely painful experience. you'd think with older kids it would get easier. THAT'S A LIE! the oldest child was causing all sorts of problems. (good thing we love him so much.)
for better or worse here are two shots we love that will not make the christmas card cut.

weekly menu

2011-11-22T14:04:00.001-05:00

the best thing i've done in a long time......

typed up a menu and posted it on the fridge. my boys ask at least 3 times a day "what's for dinner". they even ask as they sit down to eat the food set on the table.
they're crazy that way.

monday - sweet & sour sausage
tuesday - pork chops and roasted asparagus
wednesday - breakfast for dinner
thursday - thanksgiving
friday - quiche
saturday - chicken quinoa stew
sunday - cranberry brisket

halloween - a bit delayed

2011-11-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

princess grace was tinkerbell. it was cold here. we even had snow 2 days before halloween, a first for as long as i can remember. i bought green adult socks cut the toes off and made leg warmers and arms bands for little tink.....

baby e was a SWAT officer. he even had a grenade and handcuffs (which he used on tink earlier during the day).....

now for the creative child. JP is dressed as Shawn Spencer from the tv show Psych. if you haven't watched the show...it's a must see...

and of course mom and dad got into the act with their classic 80's necklace costume.

even cousin hannah got into trick or treating with her gryffindor get-up

we had so much fun this year, and i think i have gained 5 pounds from the candy, which is still weighing in at 10 pounds to go......oy

jack o lanterns

2011-11-01T12:46:00.000-04:00

we were able to do FHE with a sweet family from our ward. each child chose their own idea for their pumpkin:
jp chose pac-man:

baby e chose an angry bird:

princess grace chose hello kitty:

i think they done good!

zombie obsessed

2011-10-24T23:19:00.000-04:00

it seems the country is obsessed with two things: zombies and bacon. (it's a meat thing apparently)
my children are no exception to this obsession.
(jp, however does not eat bacon and we are concerned that he was switched at birth cause...HELLO!!)

in order to get into the zombie obsession, i made the kids eat brain.

looks like princess grace has already turned into the living dead...

baby e is ready to join the dawn of the dead as well....

limey jello goodness.

sigh.....i love halloween season

raising mobsters

2011-10-21T22:05:00.000-04:00

my sweet daughter wrapped a baby doll in a plastic bag and secured it with tape. i should be very afraid, but instead i laughed and took pictures. the life of raising mobsters

treats with tricks

2011-10-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

made these yummy cupcakes this week, and the kids loved them.

made the cupcakes based on this recipe with some changes.
I poked hole with skewers and filled with red writing gel. simple, no?

garage

2011-10-15T23:57:00.002-04:00

when the hubsters came home during lunch on friday we ended up cleaning out the car a bit. (i'ts amazing what two boys who spend very little time in a car can do). while he was wiping out the cup holders and windexing everything in the back seat i was wandering aimlessly in the garage.
me wandering is a bad thing.
i spotted a can of spray paint.....a very bad thing.
you should know by now i need an spray paint intervention. even the 10 year old neighbor asks me what i am going to paint today.
because i started this project on a whim i did not get a before picture, but here is what i did:

this door was some bizarre, maybe not even primed pinkish greige color. i used real paint for the door. i see a greige? door and i want it painted black. i finally have A door painted black. the front door color is mandated by the HOA. it's purple.....i can live with that :)

the spray paint was used to spray the risers white. i did 2-3 coats of satin white. i then used my black outdoor satin paint that i used for the door to paint the treads. i then sprayed the treads after they dried with a sealant. i loved the stairs. the white is too white, but i like it. now this is a garage done at the last minute, so i did not even sand, fill or take time. it's for fun.
the white was a bit too much so i painted return with honor on the risers.

you likey?
i'm not quite ready to do all the stairs in the house yet, but it's a great trial run!
(oh and really the door is in horrible, horrible shape. let's just say there's duct tape on the door as well as massive dents, and the previous owner painted a ten foot span of the garage blue. i'ts weird, but that project is WAAAAAAYYYY low on the list)

your weekly inspiraton

2011-10-09T18:32:00.000-04:00

click to open to larger view

honey do list - check! - again

2011-10-08T13:20:00.001-04:00

plan for several of these posts, cause this is what i've been doing a lot of.

bathroom light was brass....and we don't do brass :)

i did the same thing as with the ceiling fan. took the light apart and painted all exposed pieces with krylon oil rubbed bronze. soon all brass will be eradicated from the house and all will be right with the world.

honey do list - check!

2011-10-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

sometimes it's the simple things in life. like changing out a ceiling fan. i am not a fan of ceiling fans, but hubsters likes his air circulated, not stale :)
this weekend he kindly took down one ceiling fan and took it apart piece by piece so i could paint it.
spray painting has become sort of a joke in our house. even the pumpkins on our front porch are spray painted. what? it's a fun, easy way to change things up!

here's how the 6 blade fan started out. not ugly, but sort of blah.

here's after it was taken apart, spray painted oil rubbed bronze by krylon, and put back together again

a suggestion from the hubsters: take pictures of the fan as you take it apart. you WILL forget something. take snack size baggies and put the screw and such from each section in a separate baggie.

a simple fix that makes me happy!

jp, the businessman

2011-10-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

jp, and siblings, have been playing outside with the neighbors everyday. it's great! the weather has been awesome and they are outside!!
jp, however is not simply playing or riding his bike all the time. everyday for a week he, with the help of the younger siblings and neighbors, have been setting up stands to sell everything from rocks (princess grace) to gatorade and even held a mini yard sale. none of these were successful, which frustrated jp to no end. he was really trying, which i felt needed to be rewarded.

i baked several dozen cookies, printed some cute labels and the hubsters and i packaged them up. jp set up a booth outside on a perfect saturday morning in our driveway, which happens to be facing the farmers market on saturday mornings. convenient, no?

he was set to go. and go he did. he sold out all of his cookies. 50 cents for two cookies, so most people were buying two bags. the cute neighbor girls even made a sign and taped it up at the farmers market. he generously gave them a $2 tip (hubsters plan to keep the employees happy). it was a great moment to hang out outside and watch him being successful at something he wanted, and honestly worked for. definitely a proud momma moment

all about the princess

2011-09-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

when we moved this summer princess grace was put on waiting lists for several preschools. preschool is a pretty competitive market in a "small town". i thought the first week alone with just her and i would kill me.

it didn't

in fact now, we are quite enjoying ourselves. she has the rest of her life to run away from me and go to school, for now i'm trying, and sometimes succeeding, in enjoying every moment.

we put her in a ballet and tap class once a week for 45 minutes. she's in heaven. she mostly loved the tap shoes that had "heels"

here's her first week in class:

although she is through and through a princess, she is being raised with two older brothers and a mostly fearless mother. when we went to playgroup several weeks ago she was the one dragging the other kids to dig up worms. at her friends house she found a slug, and was in heaven

we love this little girl!

ingenius

2011-09-27T14:15:00.000-04:00

this kitchen is under construction. sort of. meaning my brain is reconstructing this kitchen while my wallet fights it. we have some big plans on the honey do list, but i have other projects to complete, like painting the foyer, bedroom and hallway before the kitchen even gets touched.

paper towels are like gold in our house. we love them, use them and abuse them to no end. we get the good kind, because you can use them repeatedly. what i hate is the paper towel holders. they are an eyesore, and typically placed where it's highly visible, yet not reachable for little hands. i tried mounting a holder in a cabinet to no avail. the roll was either too thick to store inside a cabinet, or it was just too high up.

enter hubsters genius brain and a late night trial and error, and here's what he came up with.

did you spot it?

underneath that super akward, and attractive green, island is mounted a super sleuth paper towel holder.

a whole blog post about a paper towel holder? really? i know......we all have our vices...dont we :)
and any suggestions about the super awkward green island is welcome. i'm thinking black beadboard, with black counters. but....that's a whole other post

it is done

2011-09-27T14:00:00.001-04:00

ok, i think this room is done. it's definitely more modern than is typically my taste, but it's quite comfortable.

i think that i will eventually do crown molding, but right now my honey do list is 8 pages long.

so what's next?

women's conference

2011-09-25T13:10:00.000-04:00

it has become one of my favorite nights of the year.. women's conference. gathering to chat and snacking and watching what has become a very spiritual conference session to me. last night was no exception. each talk had points which i needed to hear and ponder, and while everyone is talking about the amazing talk by president uchtdorf,and how forget me not's are their favorite flower, my favorite moment of women's conference was sister julie b. beck speaking about visiting teaching. it spoke to me. i have witnessed the amazing difference that visiting teaching can make, so her message was powerful to me. my favorite quote of the night:

family rules

2011-09-22T14:14:00.000-04:00

i'm on pinterest, and i tell you it's like craft crack.....totally addicting. the hubsters honey-do list has tripled in 3 weeks, conveniently while he was gone. after finding so many cute ideas, i found one that i liked. family rules, subway style. so i made my own.
clearly, everyone's "rules" are different ;)

guest writer - baby e

2011-09-17T19:38:00.000-04:00

one day this week,i went to the computer lab at school. i also got to go to tommy's house. also, connor lost his tooth on the way home from school. jp and princess grace tried to find it, but it was lost. i saw the policeman yell at them. i think because they crossed the street. also i discovered that tommy has halo reach lego guys.i am going to watch a caterpillar grow into a butterfly at school. on friday we made apple sauce from fresh apples. i loved it. i did math on the computer in the classroom.

Back to school night

2011-09-16T17:30:00.004-04:00

Back to school night has come and gone, but the highlight? jp's letter to me. it reads as follows:

dear mom
I'm having a good year.
I like living so close to the school.
I've already gotten used to getting ready at 7:00 we don't always get homework, but when we do it's always easy, or studying. I like having mr. "S" for a teacher, it's like most Fox Mill teachers were sent off to military acadamy, while Little River teachers started teaching as soon as they got the job. I know I will have a good year, and I want to stay here for years to come. If everyday is like this I'll never want to leave exept maybe a change every once in a while.
My favorite subjects are Virginia Studies, Science, Validation writing, reading, and Library. I hope "Princess Grace" isn't causing you too much trouble while I'm gone.

Signed,
"jp"

awesomeness!!!

guest writer - jp

2011-09-13T19:17:00.000-04:00

today i got to write a story about a picture of mountains with the beach in the back. the story was about a military soldier who found a chunk of atlantis.
at recess i played a fun game called grounders. the main idea is where one person stands in the middle of the playground and your'e supposed to not touch the ground when the person says grounders. if you get tagged or you touch the ground, you're it.
mom bought us double stuf oreos, and she made donut muffins.
for lunch i packed a cheese stick, a ham sandwich with no mayonnaise, 4 oreos, 2 muffins and a yogurt.
dad, i miss you a whole, whole lot
i wish baby e and princess grace could talk to you. they will probably talk to you some other time.
the high point of my day was when we wrote a story. The teacher really liked my idea. when you get home, i'll tell you the story.
xoxoxoxo

jp

blog writers

2011-09-12T14:28:00.000-04:00

for the next few weeks, hubsters will be gone on business, so the following three guest writers will be sharing with us their thoughts on life.

an accomplished writer and comic book master, jp is known for his ability to make any story....interesting

a master story teller..... baby e can make you think about what ~~he's~~ your doing

a purveyor of arts, princess grace will have you spellbound with her comprehensive knowledge of all things barbie

room 4?

2011-09-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

i painted the kids bathroom a couple of weeks ago. definitely getting braver as i go along. i think i'm the only one who likes it :)

file this...

2011-09-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

file this under things that should only be shared with your therapist.
obsession:

things that make me happy: modge podging soup cans for school supplies, and labeling things that don't really need labeling.

the laminator....drool

i'm pretty easy to please don't ya think

makes one happy momma

2011-09-01T13:18:00.000-04:00

read the whole blog yet? if you did you'd understand the happiness!!
oh, and after working in cub scouts I have decided that all 9 year old boys are weird :)

first day of school

2011-08-29T20:35:00.000-04:00

baby e starting 2nd grade

jp starting 4th grade

princess grace excited for boys....to go

food and sisters

2011-08-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

as i strolled through target the other day i had forgotten what all the ingredients were for dinner that night. i had all of the interwebs in my hands to look up the recipe, but instead called each of my sisters (and each did not answer....ladies....). i started thinking about what the two had in common, and decided it was comfort. i knew that i could trust my sisters. i knew that if i talked to them i not only would get the right answer (thank you krinkle), but also not be embarrassed for being so brain dead. so today i thought i would share the simple recipe, with simple ingredients and simple comfort that food,and sisters, can bring. (oh, and mom....it was temple day :) )

sweet and sour sausage
(sisters are both sweet and sour...ok sister comparison done)
serves 6-8

slice 2 packages turkey kielbasa on the diagonal
put kielbasa in 1/2 cup water on medium high, covered
chop 1 onion, 1 green pepper and 2 celery stalks
add veggies to water after kielbasa has plumped
add one can diced tomatoes, drained
add one can tomato sauce
add one can chopped or crushed pineapple, drained ( we use crushed for texture reasons)
add 3 tablespoons brown sugar
stir
add beef broth and pineapple juice in as liquid needed
simmer until heated all the way
serve over rice

voila' a perfect comfort food, sister style

my daughter

2011-08-26T22:24:00.000-04:00

if i had to sum up my daughter in just one video, this video would be IT!!

caught her doing this walking into home depot. that's my princess for ya.

earthquake

2011-08-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

as if the impending hurricane, financial downfall, and school starting wasn't enough let's add earthquake to the list of things happenin' in DC these days. yep, we had a minor earthquake. although if you lived here you would understand that nothing that happens here is minor. everything is about the drama....hence the political state we are in now.....sigh. moderation people!!

anyway, off topic. so where were we during the great quake?

great falls. gorgeous right? we had a great time. climbing rocks and playing with friends. oh yeah, and the earthquake. meh

i tell you the kids remember the trip more than the shake

summer of swimming

2011-08-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

this summer amid the choas of moving, i had a mission. my boys needed to be better swimmers. at least 3 days a week we would drive to the pool and spend 2-3 hours swimming. last year they did pretty well, but were just not super confident. after several weeks, both the boys and princess grace made huge breakthroughs. check it out....

the princess now can go without floaties and the boys are unstoppable.
so it's official.....school can start!!! :0)

so stoked

2011-08-22T19:02:00.000-04:00

since jp was diagnosed with add last year, we having been struggling with teachers in school. he has been in the japanese immersion program and was struggling in class. he was having trouble learning new vocabulary and new concepts at the same time, so he would get overwhelmed and literally shut down in class. we had a 504 plan hoping to have the teachers do something, anything, to help him, but the 504 does not change personalities, of teacher or student. he finished the year fine, but not succeeding the way we want him to. we moved to a new school district and new school. since the diagnosis we have been wishing that jp had a male teacher. hubsters had one that really helped him, and knows that a male influence in the classroom is HUGE for boys. we moved into a smaller elementary school and when we checked the fourth grade teacher list, of the 5 listed there was 1 MALE TEACHER!! we prayed and hoped that we would get him.
well we got the letter this week. jp has been assigned to the male teacher. so stoked!!!

baby e has not struggled the same way jp has, but he has some laziness issues. we found out that the chorister in church teaches 2nd grade in our school. again, got the letter this week and baby e has been assigned to the woman he already knows. he will see her 6 days a week. no hiding or shirking responsibilities for him now. she will crack the whip on him. she's been teaching 20+ years and is AWESOME!

God is good and answers prayers!!!!

how i live

2011-08-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

pretty much how all my uncompleted rooms look right now. paint samples painted on each wall.
that's classy, right?

oh baby..

2011-08-19T20:51:00.001-04:00

as if he needed to solidify "stud status" in my eyes, the hubsters has done it again.

about 4-5 months ago, my car had a serious issue. ya see, my car is pretty dang awesome and has electronic everything, including electric folding backseats. they fold into the floor, sit up, recline or sit backwards all with the touch of a button. well, shortly before the move when we would need the seats stowed the back seat electronic seat stopped functioning. a rod bent inside the seat rendering the entire right side seat useless.
stuck like this.....

it was annoying and "VERY expensive to replace". i have procrastinated getting it fixed, because i knew it would be "VERY expensive to replace". well, handy hubsters googled the schematics for our exact minivan and spent 3 hours taking apart the back seat.

...HE DID IT!!

he fixed it after reading a schematic drawing...(remember i told you about that whole nuclear fusion thing).
i think i'll keep him cause he would be "VERY expensive to replace"

the brave post

2011-08-18T18:24:00.000-04:00

in july i decided, in the midst of the hottest summer on record, to pull all the flowers up in our front bed. that required a lot of pulling in 100 degree plus heat plus humidity. i pulled up 2 layers of concrete bricks and over 200 iris bulbs. i was left with this....

that was 3 days later. my niece said i was the boy who lived. i looked like i had a palm tree growing on my forehead. it was annoying. four days later ( i have pics from every day, but won't post all of them) i turned into this.....

my entire face swelled. it was lovely. my eyes were swollen shut too.

it was oh so attractive. life had to go on. i went to stores like that. i bought huge sunglasses to try and hide some of my hideousness, but they don't cover your entire face. i got to the doctor who said it was the most extensive case of poison ivy he had seen. it got in my blood stream, and went up and down my arms and on my sides and stomach. let me tell you. I NEVER TOUCHED IT!! seriously. this is how allergic to that stuff. i just have to be in it's presence and it affects me.....so i guess i am the boy who lived and poison ivy is my voldemort :)

i'm married to....

2011-08-16T21:17:00.000-04:00

handy manny
well except, no hables espanol and although he has been known to yell at his tools, they have yet to talk back to him.....to my knowledge.

he can fix almost anything. he doesn't love doing it, but he can. the man could read a "how to" manual on nuclear fusion and be an expert in a week.

in the past week he has:
hung a light fixture (i took it down to replace fluorescent bulbs and broke it in the process)
replaced all the elbows on a piano (i know, right!)
& installed a fan and light control in my bedroom.

he's a stud for sure

project table fix

2011-08-14T18:20:00.000-04:00

i've had this pair of end tables for several years. i bought the pair at a "antique" shop that has since been torn down. it's hard to say if it was truly an antique store or a hoarders home who had to sell all their stuff before they had their house torn down. i got a pair for $25. they have functioned for what i needed, a place to put my drink and the remotes. after the move they did not a place anymore, and honestly they are not attractive.

i was going to freecycle them, but decided to just make them over. they could function once again. i only have space right now to display one, but here's what i did.

my hubby thought i had bought a new table. he didn't even remember what they looked like before. i don't blame him, i'd want to forget too.

next project to find a darling blue, green and red striped fabric to do curtains for kitchen and pillows for living room.

laundry room

2011-08-13T17:27:00.001-04:00

if you're friends with me on facebook, you may have seen these already.
now.....i've expressed that i got over my fear of color right. well i have to say there are a few colors i actually do not count as colors. white, taupe, and grey. they all seem to be just soothing tones versus colors. (i've never claimed to be design or art savvy)
after going crazy in the living room i painted my laundry closet. i totally forgot a before picture (because honestly who takes pictures of their laundry room.....well ok, not me)but here are a series of photos after.

i painted the walls flagstone and it turned out beautifully.
i then found some beautiful scrapbook paper and decoupaged some frames and printed out the words to the happiest song i know "you are my sunshine".
i then found a bin and painted it sunflower

the best part is the chandelier. i bought a brass light at the thrift store for $5 and spray painted it white. it's all too cute, almost too cute, but i tell you every time i open the doors it makes me smile a little. and to say that about a laundry closet that's impressive..

living room

2011-08-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

fyi -
i am afraid of color. no really i am. i would have all white couches and taupe walls. maybe it's not fear of the color, maybe it's of messing up. nonetheless, in all the years we have been painting our houses, every one has been a shade of taupe.
well i decided to get over the fear and use color.
here's the living room when we bought the house.

and here is the living room, mostly completed...

it's blue. like REALLY blue. granted the entire rest of the house is now beige for my comfort and sanity, but i did it. i painted a room labrador blue. i love it. it's not perfect, and may not be exactly style perfect, but i used color.

i'm proud of me.

sweet tooth

2011-08-11T18:00:00.001-04:00

i am a salt freak. i cannot even do sweets without a salt fix somewhere in it. to make a cookie bar perfect for me....

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars
Source: Food and Wine

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
One 12-ounce bag bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini pretzels, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles (I didn’t use these)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. On low, beat in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Press the batter down with a spatula. If you want to use the sprinkles, sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. The middle might be a little gooey but that is ok, the bars will set up. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.

Use a knife to go around the side of the pan to loosen the bars. Cut the bars in squares and serve.

deeeeeeeelish!

help us name her

2011-08-10T17:12:00.000-04:00

le maison foard ?
cheateu du foard?
la casa desordenado?

any thoughts?

i'm back.....mostly

2011-08-10T17:08:00.000-04:00

let me post some pictures for you to sum up the past 5 months

that's me....crying

yep....pretty much. boxes, crying, more boxes, painting, more boxes and summertime fun.

come play!!

blessings

2011-04-13T23:27:00.001-04:00

just listen.......

more teeth

2011-02-06T21:00:00.001-05:00

remember this? baby e fell and had serious mouth trauma. we spent days and weeks watching his mouth heal and bruise, so sure that some of his teeth would fall out!
fast forward 7 months.
all teeth that were "damaged" are in place and not even a bit loose. we drive in from church and while i am talking to a neighbor i hear screaming. baby e runs over with blood coming out of his mouth, yelling that jp had hit him with his scriptures.
oy vey! here we go again!
this time it's the opposite side of the mouth and the front tooth is twisted, bleeding and clearly not going to go back into place. ( i have photos so if you want to see it, email me or check facebook).
he couldn't eat or swallow for several hours (for baby e......that's huge) it bled for a long time and we knew it had to come out. i talked to baby e and convinced him to spend some time alone wiggling it and try to pull it out. he was so cute. he went into the bathroom, sat on the potty for some reason and worked on pulling his own tooth out. he tried and wiggled for about 30 minutes. i went in and asked if he wanted mom or dad's help. he relented and allowed dad to come help.
it took all of about 10 seconds for daddy to pull the tooth out.
and there was joy throughout the land....

we've since explained to jp that "feast upon the word of Christ" is not to be taken literally in this house.

the challenge

2011-02-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

as we drove in to our garage several weeks ago i commented to the hubsters that i needed to finish clearing out the garage and buy some more bins. he commented that 12 should be enough. i looked at him and he looked at me (it's one of those moments that can only accurately be portrayed on some sitcom). i said "12 bins for the whole house?" "uh, well, why? you think you can do 12 bins for the whole house?"
it was one of those conversations where we weren't quite understanding where the other person is coming from, but in the end to me it sounded more like a challenge. So i have taken it!
what things do you think you can do without?
i am freecycling like crazy. giving away stuff that hasn't been touched or used in months or years. we gave away our 6 year old christmas tree in favor of doing a fresh one next year that does not require storing. the kids' papers have been put in binders and toys have been junked or trunked.
it's a very liberating feeling to rid yourself of unneeded things. i don't think the children agree, but again i am the meanest mom in the world.

so12 bins full of non-essentials here we come!
(pretty sure that a move of furniture plus 12 bins is much easier to sell friends on helping)

worst mom award

2011-02-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

i am the worst mom ever. i'm pretty sure of it. i am so mean and demand such crazy things.

reasons i am the worst mom ever:

1. i throw away broken crayons
2. my children have to make their beds in the morning
3. i throw away or give away toys that are not used
4. school papers that are not meaningful get put in the trash
5. my kids take lunch to school instead of buying
6. i don't put desserts in my homemade lunches
7. my kids have chores besides making their bed

so .....what makes you the meanest mom ever?

:)

snow dancin'

2011-01-31T10:47:00.000-05:00

some time ago a babysitter came to our house the night before a snow storm and instructed our boys that if they turned their pajamas inside out, put underwear on their head, flushed ice cubes down the toilet and did a snow dance that it would snow and school would be cancelled.

ok kids.......enough with the dancing. time to go back to school.
oh....and yes, she has babysat for us again :)

proud momma moment

2011-01-30T21:12:00.001-05:00

the cub scout pinewood derby was this month, and i would be remissed if i did not give props to my jp and the hubster for an awesome job done. jp designed the car all by himself and dad used the coping saw to cut it out. the remainder of the work was done by jp himself.since the hubster is the cubmaster i am also very glad the derby is finished. phew!

here's the car:

if you don't recognize the design it's bullett bill from mario brothers. if not, google it and you'll see what an awesome job jp did drawing him.

and here's all the boys

props to all the parents for good sportmanship, and allowing the boys to have fun.

good times!

bowling with the smith's

2011-01-14T12:50:00.000-05:00

my kids love bowling, however you wouldn't know it hearing how much whining was going on, but nonetheless i braved the whines and went bowling. bowling with friends is a thousand times better than bowling alone. dont think anyone broke 100, but.....a fun time had by all!

case of the yucks

2011-01-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

it was the christmas break of doctors. i've spent more time in a doctors office and waiting room in the past 2 weeks than i have in at least a year. the princess had a cough that would not go away. 5 weeks, 6 medicines, one nebulizer, $100+ and we are finally free of whatever cold/flu she had.
I can't say she hated he. she was proud of her darth vader mask. she loved the attention she got while doing the treatments. she got to sit on my lap, read books or watch a special show for the 10-20 minutes during treatments.
i've never had a child on a nebulizer before. i've never had to take a child to the doctor so much. we are so lucky! people do this all the time. we are so blessed to have healthy children and modern technology and care to help.

belated christmas

2011-01-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

sorting the lego loot

gangsta nerf boys

princess grace in her true form

the favorite present

2011-01-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

we cannot watch this without busting a gut.

new 'do

2011-01-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

princess grace wanted her hair cut short like mommy's. we did it! trying to get these kids in a normal pose in nearly impossible!.

don't you love those "angel kisses" on her nose. squee!

because i can

2010-12-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

she will hate me for this later, but how stinkin cute is she!!

2010-12-02T12:41:00.001-05:00

for the next two weeks i plan on limiting or completely getting rid of refined sugar in my diet.
it's not easy
it's been 36 hours, and let me tell you either i will die or you should fear for your life.
i'm sure my husband is glad he's out of town.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

give me a few days, i'm sure i'll be fine.

pirates booty

2010-11-29T18:58:00.000-05:00

we been noticin' that some of our personal stashes of treasures be missing. we be confused at the thievery that be happenin' on our own ship. what scurvy pirate would be stealin' our treasure? alas the captain be thinkin' that perhaps we should go diggin' for the treasure in hopes of findin' it. so away we a go to the land behind to seek out our treasure. we had no map to help us, but the trusted sailors were keen on eye and good with shovel. twas not long before the captain with her loyal sailors be findin' buried treasure on the land.
we knew it could be only one man......

captain jack

that scurvy pirate be takin' all our treasure and putting them in the land behind. for what purpose we know not, but alas the scurvy dog had taken with him 4 shirts, 7 socks, 3 pants and other treasures of the ship. trust me ye hearties this captain jack is a dirty rotten pirate that can not be trusted with open doors on ye ship.

happy thanksgiving

2010-11-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

scouts can be dangerous

2010-11-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

tonight in scouts the hubsters taught jp and my 7 other scouts to do several knots. let's hope that he puts them to good use.

please note this was actually before he learned to tie the "real" knots. let's hope princess grace is a fast runner.

"today i am thankful for lego's"

few of my favorite things

2010-11-16T19:00:00.002-05:00

princess grace this week stopped saying the word "girk" meaning skirt. i was saddened, and i told her it made me sad that she wasn't a baby anymore. now when daddy gets her dressed it's a skirt, when mommy gets her dressed it's a "girk".

baby e has taken to japanese so well. he walks around the house in the afternoon singing all his japanese songs. i have no idea what most of it means, but i am pretty sure it's better than half the songs i walked around singing at his age : 0)

jp has become quite the singer. we had our primary program on sunday and he was the loudest singer of all. luckily he sings the right words and right on pitch. he "shut down" during the last 5 minutes because he was sick and he couldn't sing anymore. not being able to sing upset him.

these are just a few of my favorite things

"today i am thankful for technology that brings me closer to family and friends so far away"

Fall

2010-11-14T22:57:00.003-05:00

i love fall time in virgina. it makes me happy. cooler weather, warm blankets and the smell of the air. that combination of dying leaves and cold air. divine! the best sounds of fall? the three cutest kids in the world playing fiercely in a pile of freshly raked leaves. that is childhood to me. raking leaves into piles to slide, jump, fall or push friends into. Love the fall!

"today i am grateful for friends that save my behind some days"

weekly inspiration

2010-11-14T13:29:00.001-05:00

fix you

2010-11-09T19:00:00.003-05:00

as a mom sometimes you feel like you need to fix everything. you know logically you can't, but when your child is in pain, struggling or feeling insecure about something you just want to fix it.
our jp has been struggling recently and naturally as a mother i struggle with him. during a particularly difficult morning i lost my patience and left the chaos of the morning routine and knelt down in prayer for about 15 minutes (about a lifetime in morning chaos). i doubt my children even noticed until they opened their lunchbox at school and saw the lack of yumminess.
during that prayer i realized that i was personalizing his struggles too much. i was taking on his struggle, not helping. my job is to support him, not be him. sometimes being a mom means to be mom. sometimes i need to be hands off and allow him to go through this on his own knowing that i will be there whenever he is ready.

i listened to this song........and cried.....and cried some more.....

"today i am thankful for the power of prayer"

yes sir

2010-11-08T20:10:00.000-05:00

about 6 weeks ago we decided to put baby e in tae kwon do to give him an outlet and an activity that he does all by himself. what a great decision if i do say so myself. he has taken on such an air of responsibility and for the first time does not complain about going. doing baseball and soccer was like pulling teeth. this has been great for him.
the picture above is baby e testing for his white belt. in most tae kwon do school they children start with the white belt, but here they start with no belt and test for each subsequent belt. master says it gives the kids a better feeling of accomplishment. he will test for his yellow belt in 3 weeks. they have started sparring, and i do have to say....it's so cute!

"today i am thankful for good friends who bail me out and help me"

thankful

2010-11-04T21:28:00.001-04:00

for every day, or at least post during the month of November I will post at least one thing i am thankful for.

"today i am thankful for my sweet little princess grace's ability to make me giggle.....all the time"

work in progress

2010-11-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

"Improving our own attitudes and our own state of mind takes time. Haste and impatience can only defeat our purposes."

as a work in progress i know i cannot push things through in my time. i understand that it's ok to nudge things or people along, but timing is relative.
a caterpillar does not become a butterfly in 2 days. it is a process.
i am a constantly changing and evolving creature learning my own limitations and learning to develop those gifts, talents and attributes i need to not just survive, but thrive.

sometimes it's just so dang hard! :)

self improvement

2010-11-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

when the hubsters and i moved back to nova after living in hawaii we had almost nothing. what we did have had been in storage. we had no little to no furniture and what we did have was a hand me down from friends and family. we always appreciate hand me downs, but at some point you have to find your own identity. one of the first purchases we made after the move, was the first large scale purchase we made as a couple. this is almost 5 years into our marriage. we are slightly pathetic. that item was this table:

it was a really cool silver laminate table with these cool vintage black vinyl chairs. we were without children at the time and thought we were pretty cool. something we have long since gotten over. flash forward ten years when the picture is taken and you will notice that the chairs are torn and covered in duct tape and even jp is sitting in a chair that does not match. that is due to some serious breakage. we lost 3 of the 6 chairs to metal breakage, one to a tear and the aluminum legs were seriously rusting.

needless to say......it was time

the table was taken apart the taken to the dumpster to be replaced with.....

a craigslist steal!! don't mind the halloween decorations just focus on the massive improvement! 8 micro suede chairs around a gorgeous dark walnut table. we got the benefits of a messy divorce. the woman made us sneak this out of her house before her ex-husband showed up with the kids. a steal, i tell you!! just one more step in improving ourselves out of a rut.

whaddya think?

fab 5

2010-10-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

it's been over a year since i've done the fab 5. let's rehash what the fab 5 is. simply enough it is my top five favs of this week. usually music, people, places or things.

fab 5 tunes jammin in the minivan

1. super mario bros. - byu vocal point
2. the middle - jimmy eat world
3. not afraid - eminem (don't judge me (: )
4. yellow - coldplay
5. anthem of the angels - breaking benjamin

fab 5 things i'm grateful for

1. freecycle
2. girlfriends
3. febreze
4. caller id :)
5. prayer

self improvement

2010-10-09T22:22:00.004-04:00

there comes times in life where you look around and realize that the rut that you are in is not going away and the best thing you can do is pull up your boot straps and move on. we are at that point in life so.....
we've got lots of things we are changing around this house. these are the simple things in life, that most people have, use, do or take for granted. the things that make you feel good or special.
i will post several of these much needed improvements in our life over the next several days.

the first improvement?

this.....

a bedding set!?
we've been married almost 16 years and in that time we have never had a bed set. we had a gorgeous quilt made for our wedding, but it is far too nice to use with children around, but too large to display. that gorgeous quilt is folded nicely in a closet awaiting a day when it can be loved the way it needs to be. we've been using a thin raggedy quilt that i think was given to us by someone not using it. point being, we didn't buy it.
after budgeting, online shopping and "thrifting" we went out and found a durable set that suits both a finicky hubsters and a carefree me. voila' . spanking new bed set.
it's not a gorgeous hand me down quilt, but it is a huge improvement!

uuuugggggggh bedtime

2010-10-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

this is me at bedtime.....sometimes.

can't you just hear faye dunaway yelling "no more wire hangers"

i'll repent later :)

i love being mom

2010-09-21T13:00:00.002-04:00

if i am to be totally honest with myself and you, i cannot say that being the mom is easy, always fun and instantly gratifying. some days are definitely more difficult than others. with perspective i know it's worth it and is so rewarding that i can never say i hate being a mom. it's finding that perspective that proves tricky sometimes.

as i organized pictures on my computer this week, i looked through the recent photos and felt gratitude for the chance to be a mom. it's these little moments that give me the perspective to look beyond the current commotion and drama and realize the amazing eternal calling as mom.

boys reading on the metro. one with the sports section, the other with comics.

the look of pure joy on this girls' face

baby e rocking out with speakers on his ears

sniff, sniff...

2010-09-20T21:13:00.000-04:00

there are some moments in time that we all wish we could freeze. this is two of them.
my sweet jp just walked into my room, glassy eyed when he was supposed to be in bed. i reminded him to get back into bed. he told me that he couldn't sleep because was thinking of how much he enjoyed the beach this summer. he was so sincere and started tearing up. he said that it was the best part of his entire life, even when he was a little baby. he wants to do it again, every year, with all the same people, doing the exact same thing.

i could not agree more jp.

i wish i could freeze this time, when this sweet little spirit walked into my room at night in tears telling me that a vacation with family 2 months previously was the greatest thing ever. this little boy, who normally talks and talks and talk was sincerely expressing love. i want a freeze frame. i wish i could do it again too my boy.

we miss you!!

2010-09-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

how i feel this week

2010-09-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

as described perfectly by captain jack

enough said?

princess grace goes to preschool

2010-09-15T20:00:00.001-04:00

two days a week all of my kids are at school. shopping should be so much easier! princess grace started her preschool that meets two days a week. she is excited, and came home exhausted. love it!

it has begun

2010-09-14T12:57:00.001-04:00

its the second week of school and i can say that i am glad it started again. my days are not spent breaking up fights, arbitrating arguments or talking legos'. i miss the boys some, but mostly i am glad they are happy in school, and making new friends.

baby e sitting in the cafeteria waiting for the fun to begin

jp meeting up with friends ready to get going.

possibly my favorite part of the day was seeing the little sister get mom all to herself. she met up with her bff after all the other kids were gone. it was pure joy for both of them.

winding down

2010-08-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

school doesn't start for another 2 weeks, but our summer time is winding down. i have a love-hate relationship with this time of year. i am very aware of the need for my children to get in their routine, and have them start getting a "life" again, but i love having them home.
no added school drama, no whining over homework, no this that or the other.
i wish i could freeze this time.
the kids like hanging out with us. their physical altercations are fairly harmless and they are very funny!
alas though, school will start, homework will begin and they will get older and bigger, and life will again move in super fast forward. until then i will freeze time with pictures and memories of an excellent summer.

happy birthday dad

2010-08-07T22:58:00.001-04:00

"...fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence, and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters" - ezra taft benson

happy birthday to a wonderful dad and grandfather. you are amazing, and inspire me continually.

we love you!

guest blogging

2010-07-30T18:29:00.002-04:00

i did a guest blog post at my gf erin's blog. hop on over and read it.

click me to read it

who are you?

2010-07-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

i love this quote by ralph waldo emerson

" to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment"

who am i?

i am a dork, a wife, a mother, a musician, a lover of arts, a daughter, a sister, a friend and a whole slew of other things. do any one of these things define me more than another?
no.
they work together to make me the magical bipolar person that i am. i am kidding, but honestly each of these parts of me define me.

there is a part of getting older that is amazing, and that is self-actualiztion. realizing that who you are is not dependent on any outside forces. i cannot allow anyone else define my worth and value. i cannot allow others to diminish who and what i am, neither can i allow any of the labels control me. i only wish that i knew this as much when i was in high school when i needed it the most.

i'm not the biggest dork i know, nor the best wife, mother or musician. there is always someone who is a better daughter, sister, friend or leader. i know i have my own mission in this life. i know that no matter what people say, think or feel about me that i have a purpose. a calling. a divine nature that God intended to be truly mine. given to me as a gift of His love. to be used as a gateway to serve Him through serving His children. i am not perfect, great or even good for that matter, but in the end i am a daughter of God. a woman.

i'm proud to be the dork who doesn't write well or speak good and who always gets in trouble for plowing through life, but i am who i am. at least for now. i know i will change again.

who are you?

yummers

2010-07-24T17:19:00.000-04:00

hubsters and i have seriously been missing hawaii recently. we often wonder why we left. if you have never visited, i suggest you consider a visit. one of the great things about the islands is their food. some better than others, but what i miss most is their plate lunch. yummy!
here's cook's country version of the side dish on the plate lunch. macaroni salad. this is not your mom's macaroni salad.

Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad

2 cups whole milk

2 cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon brown sugar

salt and pepper

1 pound elbow macaroni

1/2 cup cider vinegar

4 scallions, sliced thin

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

1 celery rib, chopped fine

1. make dressing - whisk 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 cup mayonnaise, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in bowl

2. cook pasta - bring 4 quarts water to a biol in large pot. add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes. drain pasta and return to pot. add vinegar and toss until absorbed. transfer to bowl. cool pasta 10 minutes, then stir in dressing until pasta is well coated. cook completely.

3. make salad - add scallions, carrot, celery, remaining milk and mayonnaise to pot with pasta mixture and stir to combine. season with salt and pepper. transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. serve.

picture courtesy of cook's country

never give up

2010-07-23T22:21:00.000-04:00

my sister, we'll call her myrtle budge, has a blog about her family life called, never give up. it's a family motto of sorts.
as mentioned in a previous post this sister and her family are hanging out with those of us living on the right coast, so we get to spend plenty of quality time together. our family is loving it. our activity of choice is the pool.
on myrtle's cleaning day, i got to hang out at the pool with the 2 kids who had done their chores, we'll call them megs and soul man. soul man and megs decided to jump off the diving board. soul man has a little daredevil streak and was doing flips, epic cannon balls and jack-knives. megs is way more cautious and generally does a basic jump off the board. well, with chanting and cheering from the peanut gallery, megs started to try and do a dive. she was not necessarily successful in a perfect dive, but what she was successful in doing was impressing me.
she continued to try to dive for 30 minutes. get up on the board, hearing words of advice from me and from a random girl, who apparently was a diver. she kept trying. she even got a bloody nose, wiped it off and kept right on trying.
she never did execute a dive worthy of greg louganis, but she managed to show that you never give up, and that sometimes children do listen to what you say.

never give up!

pretty princess

2010-07-19T19:30:00.005-04:00

i had to post possibly the cutest picture ever. the picture itself is darling, but the situation was too cute not to post.
princess grace and her cousins were having a tea party with papa. papa broke into his "pretty princess" song.
princess grace was enthralled! truly enthralled with her papa at the moment. she felt like the true princess that she is. any man who makes you feel like a princess is good, and papa, you're good.

more july 4th fun

2010-07-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

after james's baptism we had dinner and fun at the parent's house. we celebrated hammy's 1st birthday with cake and fireworks. it is so much fun to have more family around. the more the merrier!

the whole nation celebrates this boy's birthday. how lucky!

sol getting crazy with sparklers.

i had to post a picture of a pants-less princess grace. on the way to james's baptism she spilled chocolate milk all over her dress. she walked around the church skirt/dress-less until grandma could bring a beautiful fancy "spinny" dress she could wear. the "spinny-dress" was not firework safe :)

james's baptism

2010-07-17T23:34:00.000-04:00

delayed due to family scheduling, james's baptism was july 4th. it was great. he was so excited, and

we were so pleased with his decision. there are very few things in life better than watching your child grow and make good decisions in their lives. i sat there at the beginning talking to bishop stevens about this being the first of big steps in his life, and how quickly time starts going. this little boy is not so little anymore, and is growing up to be an amazing young man with a great spirit. we are definitely blessed to have him!

things i dont want to forget

2010-07-11T21:37:00.000-04:00

many things in life go fast. time, the fastest of them all. i love to keep track of some of the things my kids do that are funny by writing them in a little notebook, or in a file in my email box. it's a great reminder of the cute, or not so cute, things my kids say. here's a quick sampling:

jp - as an 8 year old, jp's humor is developing quite rapidly. however his joke telling prowess is not quite there yet. here's a recently told joke. "why did the chicken cross the road" "he wanted food on the other side" some jokes are better than others.....obviously.

baby e - jp burped and baby e turned to him and said "nice one! how'd it taste? jp responds "not bad. kind of like orange soda" baby e responds "cool. could be worse"
where do they come up with this stuff?

princess grace - she calls skirts - girks, when she wants to smell something at the store she will ask "mommy can i hmmmm that?" clearly everytime we smell something we say hmmmmm.

seriously

2010-07-09T21:44:00.000-04:00

how could i leave this?

or this.....

or this......?

trust me. it was not easy. i vow to return very quickly.

anyone want to join me?

quick follow up

2010-07-06T15:00:00.001-04:00

baby e is doing much better. his jaw is back in place, and his teeth have reset nicely. he looks human again. we will see our dentist this week and double check everything, but we seemed to have cleared all the hurdles and have moved on.

he's clearly moved past the liquid diet

2010-07-05T19:27:00.000-04:00

pardon the lack of posting. i've been buried. :)

boom boom pow

2010-06-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

on thursday i picked baby e up from school and headed to our friends house to pick up princess grace. e was mad that he couldn't go straight home so i let him ride his bike to pick up his sister. i drove along side watching him (an overprotective mom moment that i was happy to have). a short distance from our friends house he hit a large stick with his bike, over corrected and crashed........hard.

i stopped practically in the middle of the street and ran to him as he darted across the road. blood was dripping from everywhere, and he was freaking out. my brain went completely into that mode of "fix now, cry later". we rode to our friends house and cleaned him up. he was inconsolable. it's hard to survey damage when kids are crying. i was not sure what the damage would be, so we iced him up and we went along our day.

i taught piano and voice, prepared for my rs lesson for that night, cooked dinner and kept baby e on ice, tylenol and rest. i left and got a text from hubsters that baby e could not open his jaw and that his teeth and mouth were completely misshapen. we had numerous text conversations during my rs class debating on what to do. hubsters called the pediatrician who told us to go to the er. i knew that the er was not the place to care for this poor little guy. we called our amazing dentist, who called us back at 10:30 at night after getting off an airplane. he recommended a "sister" practice to see him first thing in the morning. we decided that a dentist would know more about tooth and jaw issues than an er doc, so off we went to a new dentist.

baby e is used to his amazing dentist with flat screen tv's on the ceiling and nick jr, playing in the lobby. this was not like that....at all. the tech took x-rays and 3-4 other techs were checking out the x-rays too commenting on them. the dentist came over checked the x-rays and checked his teeth. she was perplexed. she said that we needed to go see an oral surgeon. ok?....... she walked into the room next to us and called the oral surgeon. the conversation was someting like this " i have a six year old with a mouth injury that you need to see asap. i dont know, i've never seen anything like it. it's ...unusual" ummmm....hello! i'm right here. tell me what the problem is.

i didn't care, i paid my $80 for their "time" and went right over to the oral surgeon. much nicer place, great staff. $200 , 3 x-rays, 2 doctors, 4 techs and about 15 miles baby e has a severely bruised upper gum line forcing the teeth out of place and forcing his jaw out of alignment. it should set back into place on it's own, and his teeth will either fall out or re-set. we are grateful they are his baby teeth otherwise the story would be much different, and he would look way more redneck than usual.

he's been a trooper. liquid diets are not very exciting, but he's making due.

the helmet he was wearing deserves to be bronzed. we know it saved him from what could have been a nasty head injury with the way he fell. he is excited that he gets a new motocross helmet this week, which gives me hope he may ride again. which means, i just may be riding along side of him for the rest of his life.

lifechanging

2010-06-18T23:25:00.001-04:00

ok, so maybe not life changing, but for the first time in years i went out and spent real money on real makeup. i used to be a huge makeup girl. i loved it. but for the past several years, namely 8 years, makeup has definitely not been on my priority list. i looked in the mirror the other day and thought i looked old. i was looking tired. trust me i am tired, but i do not want anyone else asking me if i am tired. i went out to a real beauty store, had them make me up and bought whatever she used. it felt so good. love it! smashbox, thank you!

also life changing (again, with the drama) is maybe tmi, but my blog, my joy and chance to creep you out. i went and got fitted for new bras. (i told you tmi)i had no idea what i was missing! also shocking for me, i was shopping with a friend for said bras. needless to say it was very uplifting. i highly suggest you get fitted by a pro.

i'm a simple girl, and these are the things that excite me.

sshhhhhh dont let them know

2010-06-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

i play while the boys are away. it's so so dang fun.......and addictive!

delayed shout-out

2010-06-16T21:00:00.003-04:00

hubsters and i celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. since i cannot express accurately my feelings for him i will allow disney to do it for me. they always do it better anyways.

through everything, babe!
you are my rock, my roll and my soul. i love you!

family bondage.....oops bonding

2010-06-16T21:00:00.001-04:00

my sister and her 7 kids....that's right 7 kids.... are temporarily without living quarters (she likes to say homeless, cause as the middle child she needs the attention).
"temporary" meaning the entire summer.
what do you do when you have no place to live for an entire summer?
why what any sane person would do. load up your 7 kids in your suburban and drive across country to hang out with the east coast family (i say the better half, cause i'm the youngest child and drama comes naturally to me).
anyway at the end of this week, my brave sister will load 'em up and move 'em out for the summer adventure of a lifetime!

i am so excited!!!
a week at the outer banks followed by day trip adventures are sure to fill this summer with fun. my 3 and her middle 3 are close in ages, so a built in partner in crime will be so much fun. as a member of the east coast family we rarely get to hang out with the "mountain wac's" so again i say
i am so excited.

(i almost capitalized that sentence, but couldn't let my emotions show. )i'm the one in green and shes the one in stripes crossing her arms.
yes, were still that awkward.

friends

2010-06-15T22:26:00.005-04:00

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you. - Winnie the Pooh