Pizza Night

We made homemade pizza for Family Home Evening on Monday night. Everyone was given a ball of dough. They were flattened (the dough, not the family) and topped with whatever each person desired. The pizzas were delicious but ended up being larger than I had expected. Everyone was full to the brim.

And Jay with the remains of his nose bleed.

And Kim, always the one to help the little kids.

As Kim was helping Nick put the toppings on his pizza she handed him an olive and told him he could put it anywhere he wanted. Without a moments hesitation he placed the olive in the best place he could find, his mouth.

And this is how Heavenly spent her time while we worked on the pizzas.

Another Quote of the Day

Jay: Jamis smacked his head into my nose and now my nose is bleeding!

Jamis: Well . . . he almost got blood in my hair!

Valentines Day

Yes, I realize that Valentines Day is long gone. I promised a couple of kids that I would put these pictures on my blog. With the craziness of Niko here the day after Valentines Day, I missed posting them. So . . . here they are.

This is Justin's Valentine Box, complete with dinosaurs, nest, and eggs.

At Erica's class party she guessed the exact amount of candy in this jar and got to bring it home.

Last Weekend

Last Saturday Todd took a bunch of the kids in the hot tub while Niko was here. It was one of Niko's favorite things to do.

Is This Really Happening

I am so ready for spring! We have had the coldest winter ever filled with more snow than I can remember here in Idaho for a long time. I thought it was finally over until we awoke yesterday to this.

It may not look like much here but I took this picture in the morning. It snowed heavy ALL day long. I am so done with winter!

Jeni's Blog

I just love it when people I know have a blog! In our busy and crazy lives it is nice to see what our friends are up to when we don't have a chance to get together and visit.

I have just discovered Jeni's Blog. She is a great mom of six who has always been an inspiration to me.

Check out her new blog.

Sad

When Niko came on Friday he had a temperature of 102, he was coughing and throwing up. He had no appetite. He also had blisters on the inside of his throat. When he left 4 months ago he was completely potty trained even at night. He came back in diapers and refused to go potty on the toilet.

I may be venting.

The judge sent him back home on an extended visit on a technicality of who found him and what shape the home was in. Whatever happened to children being more important than the rules and regulations?

Our joy was short lived.

Todd talked to the mom and we are hopeful she will let us visit him now.

It is hard to keep a smile on my face and be strong and encouraging in front of the other kids when all I want to do is cry because my heart aches so much.

Quote of the Day

Jay: I feel like I am going to barf if I do too much homework!

Another 10

Yes, that does bring the count to 10.

On a Scale of 1 to 10

On a scale of 1 to 10 . . .

Yesterday was a . . .

10!

Look who came home.

Niko

iPod Touch

Here is Todd with his new toy, an iPod Touch. No, we did not fork out the $400 to purchase this little gadget for him. He won it for answering an online survey. He is so spoiled!

Salad

Have you ever seen a picture or recipe and just couldn't rest until you made it?

I saw a picture of Chef's Salad a few days ago and have been craving salad ever since. So tonight we had Chef's Salad for dinner. Ours wasn't as beautiful as the picture in the magazine but yummy nonetheless. Even the littlest kids enjoyed it.

Peanut Butter Ritz

Another Favorite Family Recipe: Peanut Butter Ritz

This may sound very strange but they are very delicious. Try them once and you'll be hooked.

First you take a Ritz Cracker and put a dollop of peanut butter on it. Place a second Ritz Cracker on top. Dip in melted chocolate (chocolate flavored almond bark) and place on a piece of foil to set. Yum, yum!

This is the first time I put the white squiggles on it.

I made these to attach to thank you notes for some wonderful friends who brought us food when we all were sick with the stomach flu. And . . . I made a few extras for Family Home Evening Treats.

Just a few words of thanks and they will be ready to go.

Kim's Post

I just read Kim's blog and saw her post for sweethearts. There were 12 teenagers at our home Saturday. Check out her blog for some fun pictures of finger painting.

A Magazine in the Mail

I got my copy of Good Housekeeping in the mail a couple of days ago.

The Front

The Bottom

The Back

Another Picture, Same Hat

I put the balls on Heavenly's hat. Now it is complete.

My New Favorite Condiment

I just can’t get enough of it.

Recipes

The first thing that crosses my mind when I pull out a recipe to make it . . . should I double or triple the recipe.

Sweetheart Ball

Here is the dress Kim made. She went to Sweethearts with Tyler last night.

And the Count Continues

The stomach flu . . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 . . . and now 10. 10 out of 12 people living in this home have now had the stomach flu.

Justin just threw up.

6:15 am

I went to bed too late again. I enjoy the quiet when all of the kids are in bed. It was so hard to get up this morning. This picture shows what I was doing at 6:15 this morning.

I should be exhausted by now (almost 9 pm). But most of the little kids are in bed and I can feel my second wind coming on again!

After School

After school we started some sprouts, broccoli and mung bean.

And we ground some wheat so we can make some sourdough starter tomorrow.

Hat on Baby

As per the previous post, here is a picture of the hat on. I bought some little half inch white pom poms today to put on the tip of each crown point.