Jay's Baptism

Jay got baptized this afternoon. I am always amazed at how strong I have felt the spirit as each of my children entered the waters of baptism. What an amazing day!

Again, I'm Just Sayin'

If you are at home and there just happens to be a sudden down pour of rain, you just might want to check and see if all of the windows in the house are shut. You might want to especially check the laundry room window because all of your sorted clean clothes in front of the window might get soaked.

I'm just sayin'.

I'm Just Sayin'

Well . . . let's just say that you decide to plant something new in your garden this year . . . for instance, peanuts. If you dig some out of the garden for the first time, rinse them off, and pop one open to taste . . . you might want to do a quick reference check on the Internet to find out if they might contain a mild toxin fresh from the ground BEFORE you pop one into your mouth to sample it.

I'm just sayin'.

Fashion Show

My darling daughter, Kim, put on a fashion show of modest dresses before Homecoming. She did an amazing job! Here is a look at the show. Notice the hostess gets two escorts.

Panic

Everybody has their moments.

I try to be as positive as possible most of the time or I might go insane with all of the craziness that goes on around here.

I definitely had a moment. In the middle of the night Justin and Jay were wide awake and playing, so loud that I heard them clear upstairs. I started to panic and remember how hard it was when they first came to live with us.

They really are such great kids, but those first years were such a trial. I don't ever want to go through it again.

A Luxury I Don't Want to Live Without

How amazing is this . . . not one little child came to wake us up until 9:30 am this morning! Except for the half hour I was awake (6:30 - 7:00 am) to take Kim to Color guard practice, I slept in . . . Todd too. It was a miracle!

As I lied there in bed with the top sheet tucked under my chin, I thought about the wonderful sheets on our bed.

Until a couple of years ago I had no idea that sheets came in a higher thread count than 120. I don't think growing up my Dad had (or still does) have any idea either. As a newlywed we just bought the cheapest Walmart sheets available.

I began to hear about higher thread count sheets on all those home shows I would watch on TV. I wondered what all the hoopla was about.

Then . . . a couple of years ago when I went to Walmart to buy some new sheets. There was a set of 300 count sheets on sale for about the same price as the 120 count set. We bought them.

There is no turning back! They are so soft and smooth. I had no idea. I can only imagine what 400 . . . 500 . . . 600 . . . thread count sheets might feel like . . .

Every night as I climb into bed I pull the sheet right up under my chin because it feels so good next to my face. I think that higher thread count sheets are one luxury item I don't ever want to live without again.

A Story

I wasn't planning on writing this story because I am not too sure what you all might think. But . . . my children said I HAD TO post this.

Sunday morning Niko was in the bath. When he was done I started to drain the water and left the room to get a towel. As I am coming back towards the bathroom Niko starts yelling . . . "Mom! Cup!"

I yell back at him, "I'm coming!"

He holds up a toy tea pot which is one of the bathtub toys. And again, "Mom! Cup!"

"Just put it in the bathtub, Niko."

"No, Mom! Cup!"

"You need to leave it in the bathtub with all of the other toys."

"No, Mom! Cup!

"Okay, I'll take the cup."

He gleefully hands the tea pot to me, filled with yellow liquid.

And there you have it! A potty story on my blog just to satisfy my children who rolled in laughter when they heard the story.

Who is Going to Court?

Me!

For the fourth time in four years I have received an Official Jury Summons. How crazy is that?

After sitting in the court room last year for a brief hour I was actually wanting to experience the whole jury thing but I was 22 out of 24 people brought in when they only needed twelve. I didn't even get close.

Any how . . . how does a mother of seven continue to get called in year after year when others, like Todd have never received the honor?

Reverence

Do you think a little three year old singing at the top of his lungs with a smile and a joyful heart during the sacrament hymn is being irreverent?

I don't.

It Died

Our iron died yesterday when I was only half way thru ironing a shirt. We have no spare. I hope no one needs anything ironed for Church today.

Speaking of Justin . . .

Last night Justin opened the fridge and out fell a 1/2 gallon of Kool-aid from 4 feet up straight to the floor, no lid on, of coarse. As he freaked out, I glanced over to see what had happened and there was Justin standing, covered, drenched and dripping, head to toe in red Kool-aid. There was also red Kool-aid spread from the arched kitchen entry to the table on the opposite side of the room. And let us not forget about all the splashes covering the inside of the refrigerator.

I was cleaning Saturday night. What were you doing?

Post Script: It was not Justin who put the Kool-aid away after dinner. I shall let that person remain anonymous.

And It Was Released Into the Wild

As I was getting the picture of my flowers from the camera I saw these pictures of Justin. He is our resident "do harm to no living thing" person, as you might recall from previous posts about eating fish, chicken, and beef.

As he was doing his homework, there was this moth flying around the light and driving us all crazy. We all wanted to swat it down but Justin volunteered to catch it and release it into the wild, which he did.

Two Dozen Roses

Todd brought me two dozen roses. He is out of town for a couple of days. Every time I see the flowers on the counter, I think about how wonderful he is. I miss him.

8 Trees and a Tumble

Friday morning I planted 8 trees, Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees, in our flowers beds in front of the house. They only grow 4-6 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. We needed something to stay green all winter and something to add a little height to the front of the house. They are only 12-18" tall right now. The trees that were 2-3 feet tall already were 6 times the price. We will wait an extra year for growth in order to save money.

While I was planting grandpa came out to see if he could help. As he was standing on the top step, he asked to borrow the shovel to dig out a weed. He stepped backward and lost his balance, stepped onto the next step down, hit his back on the next step, and then hit his head on the bottom step.

It was all in slow motion for me. He didn't want any help up. I think he was a little embarrassed. I was worried about him most of the morning, but he seems to be doing fine, not even a bruise.

My Helper

I had every great intention of sitting down at this computer to write about my morning planting in the front yard and grandpa's tumble down the front steps but I have a little boy sitting on my lap who is trying to "help" me. I'll be back later.

Beautiful Eyes

Let me preface Jay's morning comment with a little back ground information. I've been wearing sweat pants, t-shirts, and no make-up all week long.

This morning I got up early to shower and get ready for the day to make my early visiting teaching appointments. When I walked into the kitchen at 8:15 am I was fully dressed, hair done, and make-up on. Jay was sitting at the table waiting for his breakfast, all ready for school. He looked up at me and said, "MOM, what happened to your eyes! They are so beautiful!"

Thank you, Jay. I might just take a few extra minutes to put on some make-up tomorrow.

On the Ceiling

So . . . this afternoon I laid back on the living room floor after changing a diaper and what should I see? . . . a scuff mark (like from a black soled shoe) on the ceiling. How in the world did that get there?

HOMEWORK!

After several days away from the computer I am back again for the second time today.

I needed a little unwinding time after all of the homework. I'm half tempted to homeschool my kids. I think I may spend less time doing school work with them than if I had to do this crazy homework every night.

My high school kids don't seem to have hardly any homework. It's the elementary kids that have the homework piled on. We worked on homework from 4 - 9:45pm today with only a short break for dinner. I am so burned out. What are these kids doing all day (6 1/2 hours) at school that they need to come home and do hours more of work? Shouldn't they be allowed some play and relax time?

I think I might start a petition to ban homework. Will you sign?

Bits and Pieces

It seems like so much is going on that I should be blogging about. I've been away from the computer for a few days and now I feel I don't have time to catch up. Bits and pieces for now . . . more later . . .

We Have Rocks

Friday morning the rocks arrived for our front landscaping. They look great. Now just a few more plants and then rocks or bark.

There are so many pros and cons to rocks vs. beauty bark. I definitely prefer the look of the beauty bark, but it is more maintenance. It has to be freshened up every year and we also get heavy winds up on our little hill. I'm afraid it would get blown all over the yard. Todd really likes the rock. You can just blow the debris out with a blower. It is very low maintenance but will it look good?

Aunt Jenna and Uncle Travis

We spent a great weekend with Jenna and Travis (Todd's brother). They are so fun to be with and they are great with the kids. Come back soon!

Focaccia and Dipping Oil

One of my new Visiting Teachers just dropped by with a fresh baked loaf of Focaccia bread. Yum. It is kind of mild with a hint of hot and spicy. I took a picture of it before I sliced into it because it was packaged so cute. I bet it will be yummy with dipping oil. Here is a favorite recipe.

Dipping Oil

1 t. crushed red pepper
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried rosemary
1 t. dried basil
1 t. parsley flakes
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. minced garlic, or several minced cloves
1 t. coarse kosher salt
extra-virgin olive oil*

Any herb above can be used fresh. Use 1/4 t. instead. In a low-sided bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Pour enough olive oil over to cover by about 1/4 inch. Stir well. Enjoy.

The first time I made this I forgot to add the salt. It was still very yummy. When I added the salt I thought it was a little too salty. If the kids are eating it I cut back on the pepper. Other than that I think the ratios are perfect. We also use light olive oil, but it's a matter of preference.

Cute Picture

I took this picture yesterday to add Niko to our family room wall. It is just too cute to keep to myself.

Hannah Montana

I must be the mom of a teenage girl and the mom of a preteen girl . . . As I was driving in the car this morning I turned on the CD player to listen to whatever CD the kids had put in last. I found myself listening to Hannah Montana . . . and knew quite a few of the lyrics.

The Old Spaghetti Factoy, Again

We took the whole family to The Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch today. Yum, yum!

We hopped into our two cars and headed downtown and managed to find two parking spots just around the corner. It was a great time to go. I guess everyone else was out having their last summer BBQ on Labor Day because the restaurant was not very crowded.

We ate tons of food and had a great time. It was worth every penny.

2 Car Family

Anytime we want to go anywhere as a family we have to take two cars . . . and twice as much gas.

On a side note . . . I bought gas today for $2.56 a gallon. I was so excited it was down in the fifties.

Picture of the Year

This picture is compliments of Virginia, Tracy, and Jeana who got up very early in the morning to go fishing with Grandma and Grandpa.

Hospital Pictures

These were taken with my phone.

CT scan (The Doughnut / Spaceship)

Hospital Recovery (joined by Niko)

Jay's Appendectomy

Sunday Night Jay complained about having pains in his bottom right abdomen. When he went to bed he said it hurt all over. He didn't come to us at all that night so we thought he must be feeling better. The next morning all of the kids were up early for the first day of school. I think that Jay was so excited he only complained about the pain a little. He still wanted to go to school. It was an early release day. When I picked the kids up, Jay was moaning and bent over in pain. I had him lay on the couch and show me where it hurt. I pushed all around his stomach and when i got to the spot where his appendix was he screamed and about jumped through the roof. I called the doctor right away and they told us to come in. Jay screamed and almost hit the ceiling again when the doctor touched his stomach. He had Jay do a urine and a blood test and then sent him immediately over to the hospital to do a CT scan of his abdomen. Our doctor, the radiologist and the surgeon all thought it was best to take out his appendix. After all of the waiting and testing and prepping, it was midnight when he finally went into surgery.

Modern medicine is amazing. By 1:00pm the next day he was sent home to rest. He had to stay home from school all week including his birthday. He has been such a great sport about everything . . . a model patient.

I think the hardest part for him will be not running or being able to participate in PE for three weeks.