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Monday, June 30, 2008

All my little nuts

We're going swimming tomorrow at the community center. The girls can't wait. They've been talking about it since last week. Here they are, getting all geared up...

My little space aliens...


Sorry the picture is so dark. I put the basket here to try and block the little munchkins from this area (my bookshelves. they like to pull all the books off the shelves). So, here's mr. Justin climbing up and over.

Mr. Jason, in the tub. He does this face a lot. I love it.
All together, before church on Sunday. so sweet.
Who is this guy you ask? I don't know, but he's been making many appearances lately, so I feel like he's my 5th little nut. (Ashley takes great pleasure in positioning him in places she thinks I might enjoy finding him. The latest place was in the bathroom, next to the toilet on the floor. I know he's rubber, but my heart still skips a beat whenever I see him. Just remember Ashley, revenge is sweet!!)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Why is it?


  • Why is it that on the day's when I need it most, the twins won't take a nap together?

  • Why is it that when we already knew we needed some car repairs, we find out we need even more?

  • Why is it that I can't keep my kitchen island cleared off?

  • Why is it that I can spend two days reading a great book, but can't spend 15 minutes reading my scriptures?

  • Why is it that kids can be so dang cute, and so dang frustrating at the very same time?

  • Why is it that I can spend fifty bucks on a cool toy, but the kids prefer to play with my el cheapo plastic containers instead?

  • Why is it that I just can't get beyond the front room?

It's not a rant, really. I'm not even really discouraged. I'm taking another day off today. We went to the park. Jon's bringing dinner on his way home from work. I'm being totally LAZY. Which is probably the answer to most of those why's!!

AT THE PARK:

Swinging, swinging.....


what's this stuff?

Muddling

Part of an email I received. I love this, because that's what I do--muddle through.

"Muddling is not mediocrity. Muddling allows us to stop keeping up appearances or worrying that we'll never measure up. Muddling is accepting our humanness and inadequacies. Muddling is realizing there are some messes only Christ can clean up. And muddling is seeing our worth through God's eyes and never giving up hope that things will work out."

Thursday, June 26, 2008

BABY PICS

Sister Rasmussen posted the boys pictures. Just click on "BABYPICS" to see them.
I think she did a great job. Now, which is my favorite...?

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Hooked!

So, it looks like I'm the latest person to fall prey to the Twilight series of books. Sister Bly lent me her copy this week, and I've been reading it since I woke up this morning at 5. Definitely very good reading.
How can I be reading with two little rugrats running around? Don't know, but somehow I'm managing.
What this definitely makes me realize is that I have plenty of time in my day for scripture study. If the little guys will let me read for a couple hours while they just play, then I can definitely be squeezing my scripture study into the early morning time slot. Of course, I don't think that's happening until I finish this book. I'm about halfway there. The other glaring truth I need to face? I need to work on my priorities.
Oh yeah, the housework has also gone by the wayside.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

More rambling

Well, Jon stayed home from work yesterday, and I actually got something done. Yay!!! I suggested to Jon that we re-arrange the living room, which is something we've both been thinking about lately. I was hoping he would be agreeable, because I find it to be the best way to do a good cleaning. We get the whole room vacuumed, i.e. under the couches, and everything dusted, the computer area gets a good cleaning, etc. etc...
So, he took the bait, and we (I should say, mostly he) rearranged the living room. I'm quite happy with how it looks. Now I just need to get the kitchen cleaned up.
Ashley and Haley began work on their bedroom. They cleared up the floor quite a bit. I can actually walk through there now without feeling like I'm climbing a mountain. They still have a way to go, but I get to help them with the rest, which is going through everything they own, and deciding what to do with it.
So, todays projects are the kitchen, the laundry, and the girls' room.
Since the girls are on track break, I also need to think of some cheap, fun, cool things to do with them. I'll probably be hitting Michael's later this week for craft projects. I also think we'll be hitting the community center swimming pool as much as we can.
Last night, after FHE, we had family game night. We played UNO. So much fun. The girls really love it when we have game night. I usually don't really want to play a game, but once we get started we always have so much fun. I have to remember how much fun we usually have whenever I start to say no when they request it.
The reason Jon stayed home today, was so he could take the car in for it's 60,000 mile tune-up. He called me at about 8:00 saying we will be needing more work on the car than we already anticipated. On top of the tires and breaks that we need, we'll also need some belts and hoses changed. Ah well, better to get it all out of the way I guess. Instead of complaining, I'll count my blessings. I'm grateful to have a car, I'm grateful to have a house to clean, I'm grateful I have beautiful children to mess it up, I'm grateful that all I have to deal with here is the heat, and not some of the other disasters facing the nation right now. I'm grateful for clothes to wear, food to eat, a loving husband, and the wonderful gospel.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Say What?

Did you know there is a Rock, Paper, Scissors League? And that they're holding their championship tournament in Las Vegas today? I had no idea.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eanWnL3FtM

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

the latest scoop

Well, the boys were pretty good yesterday for their pictures. Jason was more cooperative than Justin, the opposite of how I initally thought it would be since Justin is the one who ended up taking a nap, and Jason skipped his. I can't wait to see the finished product.
I'm joining a family home evening blog, the link is on the side bar. I'm hoping that if I feel like I need to post a lesson each week for this blog, it will be the impetus I need to institute FHE more regularly in my home. It's one of those things I still struggle with. My problem is usually just in the preparation. The kids are always more than willing to have family home evening, I'm just not great at getting a lesson together. So, maybe now that will change.
Today, I didn't get much done again--2 1/2 loads of laundry, my toilet cleaned, and the dishwasher loaded and started. I did clean out and fill up 12 2-liter soda bottles with water for my food storage. I emptied out the bottom of the linen closet to store them. I need to fill about 10 more in order to finish filling up the space. After that, I'm not sure where else I can store water. I have three cases of bottled water in the garage, that I'm hoping to have on hand for an emergency. I'm not sure the garage is good for water storage though, or if the temperature is a consideration. I'll have to read up on it. I need to begin stocking up on food storage items. This issue is still weighing pretty heavily on my mind. I'm not sure if it's just because of all the commotion in the world right now, or what.
I was thinking at work last night, that I would so love to be able to work from home. But I just don't know what I could do. I do have some sewing skills, and I adore purses. So, maybe I'll try making a few and seeing if I could sell them on-line. I don't know that I'd ever be able to sell enough to make much income at it, but hey, it might be interesting anyway. So, I'm gonna' give this a little more thought and investigation.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

My eyes are so tired. I had to work last night, which means I got to bed about midnight. Of course the boys were up at 4:45 this morning, not counting the 3 times they woke up during the night. Yes, I was bad and got up with them. I am so weak sometimes about letting them cry it out. Especially, on the nights I work. I usually feel like I need to nurse them (ya' know what I mean.) I'm going to have to work some more on this issue.
So,any way, I have to work tonight too. I'm covering for one of the girls at work who needed a couple of days off. She's working for me Friday night, because there's a mother/daughter Luau at the church. I need to take a Hawaiian dessert. Anybody know of anything besides Pineapple upside down cake?
So, since I'm exhausted and we have to go to Sister Rasmussens house today for a photo shoot with the boys, (I'm very excited about this, can't wait to see how they turn out) I plan on getting absolutely nothing done. I do have a load of laundry in, but I'm not going to kill myself over it. I don't plan on organizing anything (didn't organize anything yesterday either, seems I've fallen off the wagon again). I'm giving myself permission to take a day off. I might not even get supper together tonight. There's leftover spaghetti in the fridge, if it comes down to it, I'll reheat that for a 3peat.
Thought I might post a list though of what I would like to accomplish this week. It goes something like this:
  • clean the bathrooms
  • focus on the bathrooms for organization projects this week
  • get my kitchen island cleared off (yet again)
  • tackle the mountain of laundry, bring it down to maybe a mole-hill
  • keep the dining table cleared off and dust-free

I think that's going to be it. I want to keep it manageable.

Today should be interesting. The boys took an early nap this morning. I don't know if I'll be able to get them to take another nap before noon, when we're supposed to do the pictures. So, hopefully they won't be crabby. I hope it goes well.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

some of the reasons I love you honey.

  1. You let me sleep in on the weekends. You take the babies and play with them so I can catch up on sleep, even though you have to wake up early every other day of the week and never get to sleep in.
  2. You love, love, love me! (Don't know why, but you do.)
  3. You mow the lawn, so I don't have to.
  4. You keep the car running.
  5. you take care of all the computer issues.
  6. you do the dishes sometimes and surprise me.
  7. You're a great cook! (better than me)
  8. You're patien with our kids when I am not.
  9. You give great back rubs.
  10. you're very generous and self sacrificing.
  11. You're smart!
  12. You're handsome! (getting more so all the time)
  13. you always make me feel good about myself.
  14. You vanquish cockroaches and other nasty bugs. (You're my hero!)
  15. Sometimes you cry.
  16. You know how to laugh.
  17. You have a great smile.
  18. You play with our kids.
  19. You love our kids.
  20. You make me happy!!
  21. You're a terrific poppa!

I love you honey. Hope you had a great Father's Day, despite all the other junk this weekend.

My Dad


  • smart as a whip
  • opinionated
  • jack of all trades
  • when he tucked me into bed at night, he didn't just cover me up, oh no. He made sure I was tucked in. He would tuck the blankets under my legs and arms, I felt like a mummy.
  • we would wake up almost every Saturday morning to the music emanating from dads reel to reel. He would play his favorites--country music oldies. Whenever those infomercials for TimeLife cd's come on, I can pretty much sing along with all the songs.
  • he's a little nervous holding babies, most especially newborns.
  • I used to think he would be a great stand-in for the Incredible Hulk. He was always very strong.
  • He always plants a garden. He has a green thumb.
  • he told us he loved us every day
  • He nicknamed me Schatze (shotzee), when I was little, which is German for sweetheart.
  • He is always calling us funny names, like Herkamer George. My brothers, he would call Jamie, or Daisy especially if he wanted to get their goat.
  • He is always making up funny songs. One he always used to sing to me was: (to the tune of Georgie Porgie)" Schatzee Watzee pudnin' pie, kissed the boys and made them cry, when the girls came out to play, Schatzee Watzee ran away."
  • He likes to sing, and has a pretty good voice too.
  • Patriotic
  • I was named after his nickname.

Happy Father's Day dad. I love you!!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Happy Radiator...I mean Father's Day Jon!!!

UUggh!!! it never rains, but it pours ya' know?
So, when Jon got home from work yesterday he had this "#@!@#!!" look on his face. "There's a leak in the radiator ." he tells me. Great!! Well, we tried to baby it last night. I had to go to work, so I kept an eye on it. I got to work and home ok. So this morning when he went out to check on it, the crack had grown to like eight inches long!!! He's stressing out about it, I'm just trying to be like "It's ok. we'll figure it out." I ask him if he wants to take it in Monday for repairs. He say's he doesn't even want me driving it to work today, because he's afraid it will break down on me on the freeway, and he doesn't want me stranded. Here I am thinking he's freaking about the money it's going to cost to get it repaired, and he's more concerned about my well being. What a guy. (Of course, he was concerned about the money part too.)
So, anyway, I run down to the bus stop to catch the bus to work. Yippeee!! And lucky Jon, got to spend the day before Father's Day with all four kids in the auto repair shop, shelling out $636 that we really don't have to get the wonderful car (that's too small for our over expanded family) fixed. Poor guy.
Needless to say, when he picked me up at four, you could cut the tension in the car with a (insert blunt object of your choice here).
I think he's entitled to all the game time he wants tonight.
So much for the gift I was going to pick up for him after work tonight. :o(

Friday, June 13, 2008

Freaky Friday

OK, so, it's freaky Friday the 13th. I just can't get motivated to do anything. There is a load of clothes in the dryer, clothes all over the couch. Dishes all over the kitchen and baby toys all over the living room. I don't even know where to begin. Do you know what this place is going to look like come Monday?

Eek!


Maybe a match will solve my problems?Just Kidding!!

(If my house goes up in smoke this weekend, it wasn't me, really!)

Happy Friday the 13th!!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

AFTER


Believe it or not, I did throw out about a dozen containers of old stuff!





Much better! The empty space on the top left is for the crock pot. Supper's cookin' in there right now.

Today's challenge

Ok today, on the Flylady site, the zone mission is to clean out the fridge. I think that goes splendily for my organization challenge. So, I'm trying to decide if I'll count that, or do it in addition to ...














this. My dish storage cabinet under the island. It's not always looking like this, really. This is what happens after I've thrown all the plastic bowls back in after the boys have gone through them for about the 3rd time in a day.









I've been thinking about putting the locks on the doors, but it seems like they need some area in the kitchen that's safe for them to get into. But, I'm getting tired of tripping over the mess on the floor, not to mention re-stacking the containers.

So, anyway, if I'm really good I'll do both challenges today. If not, then one will wait for tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Just some cute and funny pic's from this week. The only time I get any work done is when the little guys are asleep-usually in their crib, but I'll take it in the high chair. It works for me!





Justin playing with a bowl. He's got the funniest look on his face if you view it close up!








Love this one of Jason! Little froggy lips!!





Ashley and Jason. So cute!

That's better!




Today's challenge



So, I'm not sure if today's challenge is more about getting this drawer cleaned out and organized, or getting off my duff and actually getting something accomplished. I fell off the wagon yesterday and Monday. Monday I just couldn't get motivated to find and do a project after I cleaned up the house from the weekend. Yesterday, Jon stayed home from work, and I just never get anything done when Jon stays home from work. Why is that? So, anyway, wish me luck.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ashley


My Ashley. Such a sweet girl. Some days I wonder about her fashion sense. But, more often than not, I think she looks pretty cute.
Last night, we watched some old videos of her as a toddler. I had forgotten just how utterly adorable she was. (still is of course). She was a very cheeky, precocious little girl. Sometimes, I feel bad for her as the oldest of four kids. I feel like she's lost some of that "je ne se quoi" that she posessed as a tot.
I think it's my fault too. Ever since baby #2 came along, she's kind of been bumped back a bit. (does that make sense?) I just seem to expect more from her because she's the oldest. I forget sometimes that she's only 9, and she doesn't just naturally know how to do everything. She sure gives it her best shot though. She's a terrific kid. Getting straight A's at school. She wants to be a pop star some day. She's very smart. She tells me at least one thing each day that I don't think I knew, and if I did, I had forgotten about. She told me the other day that if we had a million dollars, we could put it in the bank and just live off the interest. I'm thinking to myself, "where did you learn about interest?" I don't think I had a clue at the age of 9 what interest was all about.
She is so looking forward to becoming a teenager. I keep telling her to stop growing up, but she just won't listen. :o(

Cheerio-o-o's!!

The boys love their cheerios!!

Nice drool shot eh'?

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Well, thought I'd just post a little of what's happening in the household lately. Both of my little guys now have two bottom teeth and are working on the top front ones now. They don't seem too cranky though, thank goodness.
Yesterday, after I got off work, we went to my brother in law's house for my niece's sweet sixteen birthday party. Laura, his wife, is the most awesome cook. She made beef and chicken tacos, lots and lots of them. they were so good. She makes terrific spanish rice, which Haley loves to eat. She won't eat my rice, but she loves Aunt Laura's. I can't blame her. Everything Laura makes is fantastic. She made chili verde this past Christmas. It was to die for!
Jason has started trying to take a few steps! Yay! He doesn't really try them on his own, but with some encouragement. It's so cute.
I was ironing some little shirts for my little guys to wear to church this morning. I started thinking about how in about 11 years I'll be ironing their white shirts so they can pass the sacrament. I love the thought of having them hold the priesthood. I think that was one of my first thoughts when I found out I was having boys--how cool to have the priesthood in our home. Jon does hold the Aaronic priesthood, but he's not active (more like, not really converted I should say), so I guess I don't think it's the same, (sigh) maybe some day.
I have to decide what to try to organize tomorrow. There's so much, I don't know where to start. If I look around the house right now, I get very discouraged, because the whole place is ransacked!!!
Sister Rasmussen called me this week. She wanted to know if she could take pictures of the boys with some new props she got. Of course, I said yes. Her photography is awesome. So, we scheduled an appointment for the 17th. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Hopefully Jason and Justin will cooperate.
I suppose I should be hitting the hay. The boys wake up every morning at 4:45 like clockwork. Last night, they even stayed up until 9:30, and still this morning--4:45!! Any suggestions on getting them to sleep in later? Or is this just one of those situations where I pick my battles?--Just be grateful to get them to sleep through the night, and go to bed a little earlier myself. I'm afraid that's probably the only solution. So, I'd best be off to bed.

Friday, June 6, 2008

After

Well, a little bit better.
At least, now I can see what I have.

Not too sure about the helfulness factor.

Organization Challenge

One Pantry

Six shelves
And two little helpers....

So, I am taking Jamies challenge ( http://fambee.blogspot.com/2008/06/after_05.html ), and organizing one thing each day for the rest of the month. Well, Monday through Friday anyway.
So obviously today it's the pantry.
On a side note, itsn't it amazing how you don't notice how bad something is getting to be until you see a picture of it? I.e.... my weight, i.e....the floor of the pantry. What is that gunk on the floor? Uuugh!! How disgusting. I never even noticed it until I saw the picture. It's been a while, obviously since I cleaned out the pantry. How embarrassing!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Really Helpful Hints

OK. this is really long. Sorry.
Another email I got, with some really helpful hints.

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them
in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350
for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low
and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on
the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer
for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes
with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in
a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food
moist and help it reheat faster.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel
roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in nar-
row openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt
or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside,
just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals
easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and
leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you
bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't
digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works
and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

you've got mail!

This is the text from an email that Haley sent to me.


I love you mommy because you cook forr me.

Sweet, huh'?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Mary or Martha?

Here is a really terrific blog post.
I really needed to read this.
Some really important points that I need to
keep in mind all of the time.
I am most definitely a Martha. :o(


http://www.themushblog.com/2008/05/martha-martha.html

Lets go balling!!

OK I know, its bowling. Haley used to call it balling. So, anyway, we went bowling today after Jon got home from work and Ashley got out of school.





The boys were watching intently...


Of course, the food is the best part of any sporting event.


ahh, makes us miss our old league nights.