#1391

I'm in the que to register the girls for EFY this summer. I've been in the que for an hour now and am #1391 out of a million or so. I have been #1391 for a long time now.

They say it doesn't matter when you register, but frankly I don't believe "them" so I wait. I go clean something and come back and check. I go read a story and come back and check. I steam an artichoke and come back and check.

tick...tock...tick...tock

edited to answer questions. EFY stands for especailly for youth. It is a wonderful program put on by BYU for young people ages 14-18. They meet at college campuses around the US for week long conferences in the summer. They do service projects, have dances, go to classes, sleep in the dorms,play games and have a wonderful time. It's focus is spiritual but it's also like a retreat/team building/summer camp expereince. D went two years and S went last year. This year S and J both hope to go.

We have three work stations in our house and I had one computer trying to register (which I still haven't been able to do) while I blogged on another. I know, we're spoiled!

One on one time with the grands!

MLK day at our house was very nice. H had spent the night at Grandmas and ended up staying all day. It was a real treat for her to have her grandparents all to herself. They baked cookies, played games, did some chores and went to the movies to see "Happy Feet". They also went house looking. Fun Fun.

When they got to our house for FHE H was very excited to share news of her day and I could tell she really enjoyed herself. I am grateful to have them living close by to share these times with us. Last night we were watching BYU tv and the YW general presidency were giving a training meeting for YW leaders. One of the things they said that I thought was really important is that the number one thing that helps a girl stay faithful is involvement with an adult who shows an interest in her, an adult besides her mom or dad. The three most likely and effective people to fill that roll are: an older sibling, a YW leader or a grandmother.

We had dinner and FHE together tonight. We played pictionary jr, which went well. Everyone could participate and I think everyone thought it was fun. Grandma brought her dry erase markers and board over and that added a lot to the fun.
Then we had dancing.

Now I've got everyone tucked into bed and "24" on tape ready to go.

Lucy

See my Tabblo>

Icy Sunday

Last night we were at dinner groups and we got a call saying that church was canceled tomorrow because of the ice storm. Crazy.

Dinner groups were a lot of fun. We were at Steve and Steph's house and the dinner was so yummy. After we played catchphrase and scene it.

This morning we slept in. What a luxury.

This afternoon we went to mom's house. We had a fun time BUT it was freezing. One of their heaters is broken and we froze our buns off!
We played Mexican Train, which the kids love. Then ate dinner. In the evening we watched Jack. H got to spend the night.

Weird things (a MeMe)

Another MeMe, but it came on a dark icy day so it's a good distraction.

6 weird Things About Me

1. My husband designs airplanes, and I am afraid to fly. Not really afraid like I won't do it but more like nervous. There are always strange noises and bumps. I blame this on my mom who is afraid of everything. (like the swings that go in a circle at the fair that she never let us ride, for example)

2. If I had to be named after a vegetable I would pick Kale. Not that that is necessarily weird but the fact that I would think of it is.

3. I like to look at catalogs backwards. Starting at the back and moving forward. But I never do that with books, except once. I peeked to see who would live in "Fire of the Covenant", I couldn't stand it not to know.

4. I'm almost 40 and I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

5. I can't blow my nose, or go under water without water going up it (which I hate)

6. I HATE the sound of Styrofoam. (shudder at the very thought)

I tag 1girl2boys, Two Brandts, and Wendy.

What are you doing today?

DH asked me that this morning. Nothing, I replied.
What does that mean he wanted to know.

Well, it means I am not planning on leaving the house for anything. Brother had a fever last night and still does today so we are planning on hanging out at home.

After he left I thought to myself I'd better get started on all the nothing I am doing today.
So far I have gotten up.
Helped H get bathed and ready for the day.
Made cinnamon rolls for the kids. and oatmeal for H.
Drove the kids to school.
Bathed G and fed her breakfast and got her ready for the day.
Did 3 loads of laundry.
Cleaned 2 bathrooms.
Made my bed and brothers.
Made brother pancakes when he finally felt like eating at 11am.
Got him dressed.
Picked up the bedrooms and the living room.
Read several stories.
Changed a couple diapers.
Made some dinner group phone calls.
Acted as the help desk for Dad's computer question.
Fixed lunch.
Played w/ Lucy.
Brought brother drink and tylenol.
Switched games in the x-box for him.
Put Lou down for a nap.
Cleaned the kitchen.
Talked to my sister on the phone.
Took out the trash.
Answered a couple other phone calls.
Checked my blog.
swept the laundry room.

and it's 2:30. I still have several hours of doing nothing left today.

stinky dogs, mung beans and such

Today I cleaned out E's closet. It looks so nice. All his shirts are hanging up, how long do you think that will last?
Papa popped by with chicken for lunch as a surprise. The kids are always thrilled to see him, as am I.
We also washed Millie's bed. She's been a stinky dog lately. So much so that we banished her to brother's room and after two nights he told me he couldn't sleep with her because of the smell.

Funny conversation from yesterday.
We were driving in the car to take S to school.
Brother: let's play my thinking game.
Me: sure
Brother: ummm, okay you go first.
Me: I'm thinking of something that is short and red and holds water and is usually made of metal.
Brother yells out: "a DUCK!"
S and I cracking up: what else floats?
Me: Bub, did you hear the hints?
Brother: yes, oh I know... a fire hydrant.

I made another dinner the family liked tonight. Lettuce Wraps. They were very easy and yummy.
Stir fry ground pork and veal (I actually didn't use veal because I think it's mean to eat it), chopped onions, and garlic. When it's done add mung beans, 2 T oyster sauce, 1 t soy sauce and mix well. Stir a little longer. Serve in lettuce. 7 pts for two.

the zoo's better with two!

Zoopendous day

Today Papa and I took the two little ones to the zoo. It was the perfect day, hardly anyone was there. The weather was a little cool at times but we had big jackets and put them on when we got cold. We got to see lots of animals up close!





Brother always likes to feed the parakeets. His other favorite is the herpitarium.

Lucy liked the otters the best. This one was so friendly, he played with her and they ran/swam between the bubble and the side looking at each other for several minutes!

My favorite part was watching E and G hold hands and look at stuff together. Also talking to Papa.


Tonight S and J are cosmic miniture golfing for YW, hopefully they'll have a great time.

D started beauty school. She said it was really fun.

Good day!

quicky post

meant to post last night. I made a dinner everyone liked (pause for shocked gasp)
Thanks to Mary at OwlHaven. It was easy and yummy and only 8 pt per serving.
Jazzy Ramen Stir Fry

Also enjoying a brand new blogger on the block, my little Dani. Go say hi! It's her one month wedding anniversary!

we love crocs

These shoes are ugly ugly but so comfy. H was the first person in our family to get some. Hers are purple. Lucy and I got fakes (pink, pink and blue). Then J got some and last night I got a pair from Mom. The real ones are very comfortable. I would have picked orange or yellow or purple but like the blue too. J's were too big so she microwaved them and now they fit. How crazy is that?! Last year H wore hers in the pool all the time, they were great for that. The water came pouring out the holes and she could run around and swim or whatever. I need to get brother some this spring.

Day one of the diet has begun, it went well.

We had FHE tonight with mom and dad. It was the official family ruckus that started and ended with a prayer. I guess not every week can go well:)
Brother and I made gingerbread cookies this afternoon. He really wanted to use my new cookie cutter so we did. He thought it was great fun to make but said after eating that making them was a lot more fun than eating that yucky taste.

Ohio state isn't doing so well...it's going to be a sad night around here.

my day

Papa and Grandma are back from CA. My sister Anna isn't well yet, I am worried about her. She is SO thin and recovering with many set backs. Today DH and I fasted for her again. Of course I want everything to be wonderful and easy for those I love. Trusting the Lord that He knows what is best for Anna and Amadeo is what we have to do though.

Today was our first day going to church on the new schedule. We go in the afternoon now. The big girls are happy about it. They like sleeping in and thought fasting was easier. For the babies it was awful. Lucy was wiggly at church, which is no different than our morning time slot. She came home tired and cranky though and missed her nap. Not fun. We'll adjust.

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with mom and dad. It was very nice. Dinner is always especially good on Fast Sunday. After dinner we opened presents; brother was thrilled to get a robot and a huge ugly dragon, H went to bed listening to her new music player with headphones, Lucy happily opened everything with great enthusiasm, the big girls were happy to see grandma and Papa again and enjoyed getting some gifts the night before going back to school! It's fun to have them back...even though now we're excited to have them leave again on a mission soon.

Gross things that happened today: We have trouble with nakedness and Lucy, she strips off her clothes all the time. Not an endearing habit. S used to do the same thing. I remember one time when J was a tiny baby and we were grocery shopping. I had J in a carrier on my chest and D was walking and I was pulling the cart with S sitting in it and J was crying a lot and loudly, D was "helping" and before I noticed D told me that S was naked. We had to back track through the aisle and the one before it to gather all the things she had taken off and thrown out. Anyway, Lou does that same thing. She was ready for church and upstairs playing with E. Next thing I know she was downstairs, diaperless, telling me she had pooped. There was evidence of that on her bum and on the stairs she had slid down. So I got to clean her, clean the stairs, go up and find the diaper and clean that too. THEN at church her diaper leaked on my lap EEEWH!

Other random things: The girls are looking at EFY schedules and getting excited about that. I am planning activities dates for the year, and have to work on dinner groups for this weekend. I wore heels to church today, they were low ones but my ankle is feeling a little better so that is good news. I miss D. When I talk to her it seems like she and Greg are happy so that makes me very glad. Starting a diet tomorrow. (large expulsion of breath) I want to be healthier, I want to be thinner. Problem: I love to cook, love to eat, love to read recipes and plan menus...but I want to be around to see 5 more weddings and go on my own mission so I guess this is as good a time as any to get on the ball. J just made another load pink, poor thing (laughing quietly behind her back). Tomorrow S drives herself to seminary, WOO HOO!! J found the culprit, a new red tank. Sad day. Tragic laundry catastrophe, now I feel bad for her.

blogging from bed!! Whoo Hooo

This is great. We've got Jack on. I am sitting in bed blogging. What a life! Getting used to the new laptop will take a little while, but will be SOO worth it.

A lot of the last two days has been spent helping my friend Joyismygoal with wedding stuff. Her son had a reception here tonight. It's actually been really fun and everything turned out so beautiful!



This morning we took the kids to the museum to play. We had a great time, as we always do when we are there. It's a very fun place.

Last night we went to my friend Debi's surprise birthday party. In the afternoon I helped with cooking. This afternoon the girls went to the temple to do baptisms, DH kept the littles, and I went back to help again.

Tonight we went to the reception. The gym was completely transformed and looked magical. The food was wonderful and the bride and groom looked so happy. It was a fun night!

We're hooked

It started out innocently enough. It was the middle of summer and we had been renting movies to watch in the evenings. I was at Blockbuster one day and saw "24" on the new releases aisle. I hadn't seen it but had heard good things about it from friends so I brought home a 4 episode DVD. I showed it to DH and we decided to watch it. How bad could it be?
That night we watched the whole disc. Then fell asleep at 1 or 2 in the morning, but who's keeping track.
The next day I went back...and the next. In less than two weeks we watched the whole season. We loved Jack! When it finished I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness we made it through.

Then we realized there were other seasons available to watch.

I didn't want to, I needed a break. DH did. So we started on another season. That one I didn't watch as closely. I would read and peek over the top of the book, or sleep during some of the episodes. Still I had the gist and we kept watching. When we were in the middle of our third season and in total Jack overload DH woke up in the middle of the night with a shriek and rolled out of the bed yelling for me to get down. I tackled him as he ran toward the closet to get what? a shoe? A neatly pre-pressed little engineer shirt? to fight the bad guys with. "Get back in bed, you're not in CTU!!!" I Yelled. "Yes I am" he insisted for a minute, until he woke up and with a sheepish grin rolled back into the bed.
That's it, we're done I told him the morning. We finished the season and took a long break.

For Christmas I gave him season 5. After all we would have some free time, and the new season is starting up....and I'm weak. I know he loves it and it's Jack. So, now we're getting ready, catching up, doing our homework. The countdown's on and the new season will start. I think I'll like watching it one hour at a time week by week.

Found this somewhere on line and in honor of the countdown thought I'd share:

Basic Truths About Jack Bauer

• Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
• If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
• If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
• Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
• If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef. Then you better believe it's beef.
• Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
• 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
• Let's get one thing straight: the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
• Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
• When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade. Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
• Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.
• Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.
• Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
• When Jack Bauer was a child, he made his mother finish his vegetables.
• Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
• Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better do it.
• Jack Bauer won the Tour de France on a unicycle to prove to Lance Armstong it wasn't a big deal. He thinks yellow wristbands are gay.
• When Jack Bauer pees into the wind, the wind changes direction.
• Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
• When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.
• You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.
• Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.
• When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.

• In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What the heck have you done with your life?
• Jack Bauer killed so many terrorists that at one point, the #5 CIA Most Wanted fugitive was an 18-year-old teenager in Malaysia who downloaded the movie Dodgeball.
• In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.
• What color is Jack Bauer's blood? Trick question. Jack Bauer does not bleed.
• Guns don't kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
• If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.
• People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
• Jack Bauer has been to Mars. That's why there's no life on Mars.
• Superman's only weakness is Kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.
• When Batman is in trouble, he turns on the Jack Bauer signal.
• It took Jack Bauer two minutes to beat a confession out of OJ.
• Jack Bauer was conceived by torturing the other sperm until they gave up the location of the egg.
• Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.

Mall day

I promised J that I would take her and her friends to the mall this vacation. Today was the day.

In the morning we went to a preschool meeting and set the schedule for the spring semester. It went well. When I got home J was ready. E didn't want to go so he stayed home with S and her friend McKinzie.

H was dying to go and S begged for Lucy to join us so our groups were made and we were off.

It was actually a very fun outing. The big girls split the second the car pulled to a stop in the parking lot. We had plans to meet by the play area at 2 o'clock and they had instructions not to talk to strangers, go to the bathroom by themselves, ect.
The little girls and I went to Claires first. We looked at all the treasures there for a long time. Then we went upstairs and got a slice of pizza. Next we went to Bath & Body works where they are having a HUGE sale and I had a gift card. After a lot of smelling and hand washing we chose some new lotions and headed off to the book store. I bought Body for Life and a few other books and then we met the girls. They wanted to go to "one more store" so I let H ride the merry go round and then when Lucy woke up we threw pennies into the fountain.
On the way home the girls asked if J could spend the night so I came home one kid short. Luckily McKinzie was still here and she had her little brother Mason who had come to play with E. Whew! I wouldn't want it to get too quiet!

These pictures are from my phone camera. Can you believe it? We live with so much technology that I never would have imagined 20 years ago and now I can not live with out. It's crazy!

Clear the roads

Today I took S down to the DPS (still can't get used to calling it that, where I grew up it was the DMV) and she got her drivers license. We stood in line forever, with a million other people. The first time through the line we got told her permit had expired and we needed a new form. As we walked to the car we thought that can't be right, checked again and it wasn't and went back in. That time we made it through and now our city streets have one more brand new driver on them. She is very excited and I learned that whatever the name the office runs the same from state to state.

We were home about 20 minutes when she and J came up with an emergency errand that had to be taken care of right then and there, and she offered to run it :) They went to Blockbuster and swapped out movies.

The rest of the day wasn't nearly as eventful. The little kids had friends over, we made cookies, I ignored the laundry and read for an hour on the couch instead. We read "The Berenstain Bears Summer Camp" , "The Three Bears", "Chicken Little", "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Castle Ghost" and a few others.

Tonight S and J drove to YW all by themselves.

Feeding the missionaries

Tonight we got to share a meal with the missionaries. It's always fun to have them come. We made chicken pillows, which is a favorite. H likes to help in the kitchen whenever I cook, she also likes to watch cooking shows. Maybe we have a budding chef?
I also made ribbon jell-o and S made brownies. For an extra side, and because we are STILL eating veggies from the wedding, we served carrots and dip.

After dinner the elders shared a lesson on the plan of happiness which the kids enjoyed a lot.

It would have been a great evening except that H cracked another tooth jumping around with E after the elders left, and DH was a bit grouchy at dinner.


On a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a 7.


Chicken Pillows

bake 5-7 chicken breasts. Shred. Add sliced mushrooms (about a cup), 1/2 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 8oz cream cheese softened. Stir.

Put mixture inside a Pillsbury crescent roll dough triangle. Pull up side and pinch together to make a cute little dumpling.
Bake on a greased cookie sheet according to directions on crescent roll package. They are yummy!!

2007

2007 started out well for us. We spent the morning cleaning up, lazing about. The girls and I took a walk.
In the afternoon DH cleaned his side of the closet and put up the basketball hoop that we bought a few months ago from a neighbor. It took some time to replace parts and but I think the kids will enjoy it.
For FHE we went out to chinese food and then came home and danced, played games, read scriptures and prayed. It was a fun night. It's not too late and the littles are all tucked in and the big girls are upstairs watching movies.

Tomorrow DH has to go back to work, the rest of us have a few more days of vacation to enjoy.


Lucy enjoyed a two fisted dessert! H likes to read her fortune. We had a fun time talking and laughing tonight.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

The big girls are at church. They are having a spaghetti dinner and then driving to the fireside. They'll come home with friends and we'll play games and watch movies and have snacks. Watch the ball, all the traditional stuff.
In the meantime the little kids couldn't wait so we put on their hats and are going to play Pictionary Jr. They think the'll make it to midnight. We'll see, we might end up blowing horns at 10 and at 12 :)
Our neighbors were lighting fireworks so H and I sat on the porch and watched. Happy New Years to all!