Week with Cousins

Living with your grandma has some advantages. It means that when your cousins come to stay for a week visiting for Christmas that you have built in friends, solid for a week. It helps that two days after your cousins arrive Christmas brings a multitude (relatively speaking) of presents to entertain you all. It also helps that your cousins have a Wii, which your parents have as of yet refused to buy, and you can play Dance Party 3 with your cousins every. day. for. the. week. It also helps that both grandma and grandpa are off work and are willing, interested, and excited take you and your cousins tubing, swimming, and to the museum. The down side is today, when your cousins go to spend the next week with their other grandparents, and you feel as if you've lost the best friends you've ever had.

Christmas Morning where the girls are wearing their outfits from grandma.

The girls at the Church History Museum

For years whenever my brother's family comes to visit my mother hosts a Little Ladies Lemonade/Hot Chocolate  party (depending on the season). She has a ton of adorable old hats that the girls wear, and they eat at one table while their American Girl dolls eat at another.

Cousins in the backyard.

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Family Pictures

The rest of my family is leaving on a cruise on New Year's Eve.
The sun glasses and travel pillows were my parents' way of celebrating.

Our family with my mother's parents

Abbie and Rebecca doll on Christmas morning.

Abbie and Ellie with their American girl dolls before church on Christmas.

Savannah with her treasure box. The gift she wanted more than anything this Christmas.

2011 Family Christmas Letter/Blog Post

So once again I have been a slacker at sending Christmas cards/letters. This is, however the first year I feel like I have a real excuse. We spent October and most of November moving AND I look like a beached whale and do not want any pictures of me at the moment. If I had been good about Christmas cards in the past then I think this excuse would fly. But as it is, most of you know that I really stink in this department, and while defiant in November when I get cards from all of you in December I always feel bad and resolve that next year will be the year. I can only hope for 2012.

While we don't have Christmas cards/letters I did want to do a year recap (if only for myself) as this year has been an eventful year for our family. I'm not trying to be braggy, so if it comes across that way I am sorry, but I do want to remember the highlights of the year as it has been eventful. So read if you want, ignore if you want. I'll never know.

Savannah (3). Savannah grew up this year from being a toddler to being a little girl and she is a doll! She has such a zest for life and can get enthusiastic about the most mundane of tasks that she really is a joy to be around. She learned to ride a bike this year and she has also learned most of her letters and numbers up to 20. She desperately wants to be in school like her sister and misses her while she is gone.

Abbie (5). Abbie's exciting news is that she started kindergarten this year! She has loved it and is doing very well in all of her classes. It has been fun for us as parents to see her reach out  and make some great friends at school. Abbie also learned to ride a bike with no training wheels this year! Abbie is my sweetheart who is always aware and concerned of the feelings of those around her and does an amazing job of helping anyone who might be sad or upset.

(When looking for pictures I found this. Which I had saved as,
Russ will kill me for posting this.)

Russ (Ageless). Russ's exciting news is that he got a new job this year. While his old company was very good for us, after a lot of thought and prayer we deciding it was time for a change. His new job allows him to do a lot more illustration work, which he loves and has been a great blessing for our family. Russ also participated in the Snowbird Hill climb which is a 10 mile canyon ride that any normal person would think of as torture, but he seemed to love.

Emily (Aging). Emily's exciting news is that I am  pregnant and not sick! For those of you who were with me through my other two pregnancies you know that this is a very big deal for me. The other exciting thing I did this year is a 60 mile bike race in June and a triathlon in May. For those of you who are serious bikers I know it isn't a lot, but I was pretty darn proud of myself.

Family (Growing). The most exciting family news is an addition of a baby brother coming in March that we are all thrilled about. But the other big news is that we sold our house. Both of these events are real miracles for which we are very, very, grateful for and are looking forward to all of the changes they will mean in 2012.

Swimming

Last Saturday I took the girls swimming. And let me just start by saying that I was pretty darn proud of myself for hauling my pregnant body over to a swimming pool and swimming with two girls (both of whom need close supervision in the water) on my own. My pride in my accomplishment was slightly mitigated by the fact that I had forgotten that being in a swimming pool feels SO good on a pregnant belly. (If it is possible to get over the fact that I look like a whale.)

Anyway. Surprisingly the girls who had loved the slides and sprayers before had no interest in them. This was disappointing for me as well as that had been my main idea when it came to entertainment. Thankfully we came up with the idea of tag.

Tag evolved into sharks versus fish. Abbie put on her goggles and became something fierce under the water chasing us.

And in a twist I could  never have predicted, sharks versus fish evolved into kangaroos versus sharks, in which the kangaroo chased the sharks (who are terrified of them) and jumped on their backs.

This evolved into a weird version of Wild Kratts, in which we stood under the waterfall to get creature powers that helped us attack each other.

Lately I have felt exhausted most of the time. It is sad because I still have quite a ways to go in this pregnancy. It was nice to take a break and just play and have a blast with my girls.

Random Thoughts Thursday

Savannah has just spent the last two hours playing with Lego men. When I left to clean the bathroom the pirates were putting all the happy people in jail. Because jail is for happy people.

I have spent every day this week running errands like a crazy woman. Today I am staying home, dang it! (Unfortunately, the house is in some serious need of cleaning. Dang it!)

I've been rereading The Hunger Games. I don't know if I'm more disturbed than I was when I read it the first time or just that I can't remember when the feeling of being disturbed was lost in wanting to know what happens. The violence just really gets to me.

Tonight, is Russ's work Christmas party. Russ doesn't like the idea of using his free time with people he works with every day. I am excited to eat good food I don't have to pay for or clean up!

Russ knows almost everything he is getting for Christmas and his birthday. He just needs to have input on most of the items. I feel bad that he doesn't get a surprise though.

I thought the Mom was in Charge

Saturday Russ and I took the girls to buy Christmas gifts for each other. Just before we left there was a commercial for Pillow Pets on T.V. I think that Pillow Pets are extremely overpriced lame toys, but the girls have been begging for them for over a year.

Perfect! They could each buy a Pillow Pet for their sister and they would both be happy.

Unfortunately these gifts are not from Russ or I, they are from their sister so the experience did not go as planned. I was with Abbie. The first (and I was desperately hoping, only) place we stopped was in the kids bedding section that had a nice selection of Pillow Pets. But bedding sections are not nearly as exciting as toy sections and so after some very mild interest Abbie insisted that we head over to the toys, where is spent the next hour looking at almost every toy available. We had a close shave where Abbie insisted that her sister would love a Fur-Real Pet Dog, but unfortunately Santa had already thought this was an excellent gift and Santa doesn't like doing returns. Thankfully, I was able to distract her on to other toys. How did the Pillow Pet discussion go?

"Abbie I think Savannah would really like a Pillow Pet?"

"Yes, but what if she doesn't get me one?"

"That's okay, she might and if she doesn't you will still have gotten her a nice gift. I think she would really like it."

"Yeah, but I want to look at more toys."

Finally we found a gift that Savannah will love (not a Pillow Pet). That was definitely a gift from her sister (not her mother). Which is what it is supposed to be, dang it. Sigh.

How did Russ and Savannah fare?

Russ has never been in a toy aisle with a child before, much less a 3-year-old, not caged in a shopping cart. After she ran from toy to toy in every aisle in one store, she did the same thing in a second store before he wised up, and when she paused at a toy Abbie might actually be interested in, said it was time to go.

Random Thoughts Sunday

With all the insanity going on in our life lately my blog has fallen behind. I know there are many pictures that need to be posted, trips that need to be discussed, and life reviewed. I don't know if I'll get to it or not. We'll see.

With the packing, moving, and unpacking Christmas shopping hadn't really begun the weekend before Thanksgiving. The good news is Black Friday helped me out big time. The bad news is I hate to shop, and Black Friday is not an event for the faint of heart.

Did you know that if you have a ticket (even if the ticket is for going over 30 mph on a FIVE lane road in Wyoming) if you get a ticket for doing a rolling stop in Midvale you can't take traffic school to take the points off your record? I now know this. Now you do to.

After Black Friday I was feeling rather accomplished in the Christmas shopping department. Then I realized I only got my kids taken care of. Blast.

It is incredibly difficult to get back into exercising after I fell off the wagon because of the move. Oh yeah and I'm pregnant. That doesn't help either.

I should mention that this pregnancy has been as wonderful as a pregnancy can be. The zero barfing has been such a blessing. I'm hopping their is some sort of correlation between that and sleeping through the night as soon as I bring him home from the hospital. A girl can dream, right?

Tonight after dinner I heard a name that I liked and mentioned it to Russ. Instantly I got opinions from all sides on that name, the other names we've been discussing, and children in general. My family is not opinionated, no not at all.

I Wish I were Joking

We have finally gotten settled for our temporary stay in my parents' basement. Clothes are hung, beds are arranged, food is put away. There has only been one issue that we can't seem to master very consistently.

My parents' dog, Buddy.

 Buddy really is an adorable dog, as dogs go. I'm sure if I were a dog lover, I would love Buddy. I'm not a dog hater, mind you, but at this stage in my life the idea of another warm body that needs to be fed, loved, and cleaned up after is a little more than I want in my life. Especially because I already have one on the way (baby, not dog). Maybe later in life....maybe, but I doubt it.

Unfortunately  for Buddy he has started interfering with something I prize above all else. My sleep. Only my children have enough pull that I got up night after night to feed them. Yet even they, after about nine months of life, lose this privilege and have been left to scream their lungs out cry it out, in order to break the habit. For multiple nights multiple times a night, Buddy has woken us up barking to be let out of his laundry room bedroom. Sometimes he needs to go out, mostly he just wants to play. The "bark it out" strategy to let him know that it is too early to be up has been somewhat less than successful.

The other night was particularly bad. Buddy started barking at 4:30. After Russ got up three times, I was awake enough that my nightly cough turned into a contest between my body and my brain over whether or not my lungs would stay inside my chest. In order to allow Russ some sleep I went to lay on the couch. At about 5:30, with no sleep for an hour, I heard Buddy (who had not remained silent during this time)  starting to whine and scratch at the door. I figured maybe he would finally calm down if we took him outside (even though there is a place for him to do his business in the laundry room for emergencies such as this). So I trudged upstairs and let him out in the back yard.

 Buddy rushed out into the freshly fallen snow.

Thus triggering my parents' alarm system, and waking the entire household up.

Buddy is not my favorite right now.

I Do Not Recommend

I do not recommend on the day you are moving, when your mental, physical, and emotional reserves are at their lowest, when your day is already packed beyond reason, and when you can't take one more thing on your plate, to back into your neighbor's car as they are leaving to work. It makes for a VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY bad day.

Random Thoughts Sunday

My new Happy Place

It seemed  a little strange to stick with our cruise when we were in the middle of the selling of our home, but now it seems like the only thing that has made this all bearable.

I have only moved one other time in my married life. Then I had one six month old baby. For those of you who have moved often, regularly, or at all,  you are now my heroes. The fact that you are sane is a testament to your strength.

I've been told I need to post pictures of the girls on Halloween. It will happen, but at the moment the camera (with the pictures) is in one residence, while the computer and our family are at another.

Overall it has been nice and extremely helpful to spread this move out, giving us two weeks to pack and store stuff. Between Russ's work schedule and my need for a daily nap (or being exhausted by 7:00 at night) we've really been blessed. That said there have been moments when it would be nice to just pack everything all at once to go to one location and be done.

We are officially no longer homeowners. I am thrilled.

While on vacation I thought maybe I had passed my need for a daily pregnancy nap. Upon returning I realized it was because I had been sleeping 8-9 hours a night, relaxing all day, and not rushing around packing, mothering, and living.

We are supposed to have record afternoon lows for the next four days. Yippee.

What it is like to Sell a House in this Market

First two disclaimers.


1. Both Russ and I know that we are EXTREMELY,EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY  lucky to sell a house right now. While we may be upside down, we aren't nearly in as difficult a position as many in the country (including some of you) are right now, in that it is a loss we can eat ( Even though it is like eating..... well like my daughters eating....anything).  In addition, with the market as flooded as it is, getting someone to look at our house compared to the thousands of others they could look at has been a small miracle itself. So we are extremely grateful to be selling at all, and we know it. If it sounds like we are complaining about such a great blessing, I am truly sorry. It just has been an ordeal, albeit one we are very grateful to be going though, but still an ordeal. 


2. I personally consider my husband (who wrote the following...on his iPod) to be a creative genius. (I guess I'm slightly biased, but still.) Updates on our trip are pending. Probably after the move.


As we are trying to sell our house the buyer clearly has the upperhand. This is entirely literal and is not a joke. We have been selling for months and have finally found a buyer but have had to pay a sum that is not humorous in order to sell our home. In reality it may have been possible to diminish that sum just a little as the buyer turned out to be pretty motivated. Plus he has enough government incentives from the military to pay well over the amount of his mortgage --that's right-- he will probably have $600 left over after using their
housing stipend to cover their mortgage. With prices as low as they've been in years and interest rates in 3's and 4's, they've got nothing to complain about. So we likely could have asked for closer to our original asking price and lost a few thousand less but we have had enough experiences with potential buyers complaining the garage is too small, our (brand new) carpet is too old, or that they preferred the microwave was a different shade of white that we felt we had to take what we could get and err on the side of rolling over like a tea-cup-sized, pudgy, lame, sightless puppy.

Things have changed dramatically since we bought several years ago. Prices were climbing rapidly at a breathless rate and peaked a while after we bought, lingering up there for a while before climbing - no, plummeting - down to more hospitable altitudes. Of course at the time as things were on the up, we were all (at least us, dumb, lay, people) oblivious of the chokingly unsustainable level prices had reached despite - and possibly part due to - the lack of any sign of a summit or shallowing ascent.

Our realtor would let us know of a property that had come on the market and by the time Emily had  set up an appointment to look at it when I got off work a few hours later, it was already under contract. It truly felt like a whack-a-mole game -- a house would pop up somewhere in the state of Utah or nearby states and by the time we turned to look, it was gone and five more had popped up in our periphery to replace it. Before our minds could comprehend what had just happened with the first one, we had already missed 17 more and we eventually began to just swing wildly hoping we'd get something -- anything -- and only afterwards would we consider how viable it was, if it had a reasonable commute, or if it was even within the sovereign United States.

At that time a purchase could have gone like this:

Me: "We'll take it."

Emily: "But the living room!"

Me: "Shh ... Don't let them hear you complain. What about it?"

Emily: "The wall ... It's, you know, missing. And it's raining."

Me: (Water dripping down my forehead and soaking my shirt). "Merely cosmetic. I'll get a new one. I'll buy some spackle and nails and ... um, a monkey wrench ... I'll figure it out. Hurry let's buy before they change their minds."

We would then proceed to negotiate, meaning we offered to pay them a few thousand extra so they would not by some chance reconsider their decision to sell because they didn't like our hair color or sell to one of the other buyers clamoring outside the front door.

Whereas now we as sellers worry our potential buyers may have very important issues with our taste in hinges. They have weeks of luxurious time to toy with us and ponder on whether they are satisfied with the brand of drywall screw used in the home's construction while we ponder if we're willing to unscrew them all one at a time by hand and replace them free of charge, throwing in a new oven as an apology for the inconvenience we've caused.

We finally did sell and it cost us thousands of dollars more than just a little pride. Thankfully our buyers were great and didn't ask for a thing. Not even an inspection. One nice thing (for us anyway) about the current economy is nobody wants to sell till they can recoup what they paid, except those who can no longer afford where they are staying. So our buyers were just happy to find a home in salable shape and without having to wade their way through a short sale.

And I can only hope this means now, it's our turn to ask for the drywall screws we have always dreamed of.

Fall Celebration Check List

Go to the mountains to see the leaves changing. Check. (Although we went about two weeks early so we didn't get the full glory of fall.)

Halloween Party. Check. (Hosted by my Aunt Jan. It was a ball!)

Paint Pumpkins. Check. (We paint rather than carve pumpkins. It allows the girls to be more hands on than they would be if knives were involved. Abbie is old enough to help with knives, but I think the painting tradition is fully embedded. And I love it.)

We are Having A.........

BOY!!!!!!!!!!

Random Thoughts Thursday

I don't like grading papers. I also don't like when I give explicit instructions to students on how to do well and they are completely ignored.

Things are still pending on the home sell. Too bad I'm not a patient person, it would make my life so much easier right now.

In four days we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Too bad I'm not a patient person, it would make my life so much easier right now.

In eight days I go on vacation with my husband. Too bad I'm not a patient person, it would make my life so much easier right now.

It would also help if I could get a good night's sleep.

What I do love (I think this post was getting a little unduly negative) is the way the light changes in the fall so that when the leaves start to change it is like the world turns neon.

I'm saving all of my good books to read on vacation so for the last week or so I've become addicted to Sudoku. It is a poor substitute for a good book but it makes me feel like I'm working my brain.

Random Gray Family Updates

First, after seventeen months on the market, our house is finally under contract!!! There are still a few more steps we need to take before I am allowed by my husband, realtor, family to pack, we really get moving forward. But I am excited and nervous. If all goes well, we will be moving on the 12^th of November.

Second, I’ve had some weird breathing issues this last week with pregnancy. At Abbie’s school one day I couldn’t complete one line of the national anthem without needing to pause and catch my breath. My friends I’ve talked to have all told me that they had similar issues during their pregnancy so I hadn’t worried about it, even though I don’t remember anything like that from my earlier pregnancies until the third trimester. The next day while packing up a few boxes doing some light cleaning, (Truthfully the box packing was light, I promise,)  I became so out of breath I had to stop altogether, for awhile. I literally could not keep moving. It felt like a book was sitting on my lungs. I called the doctor fully expecting to be told it was normal, take it easy, or my blood pressure might be high, or to come into the office.

What I was not expecting was to be told that I needed to drop everything and go to the ER immediately.  After a little bit of arguing with the nurse I did as I was told and spent the afternoon undergoing every test possible on my heart and lungs (except a CAT scan). When I came back with mostly normal test results, they sent me home.  Needless to say with all the warnings, “Call us if…”, and stress from the hopefully pending home sell, it has been an interested couple of days.

Do you remember being breathless during your pregnancy ? (I mean before the baby was kicking into your lungs and their was no room in there.) Was it so bad you couldn't function? This is getting a little frustrating.

Weekend Getaway

In order to make up for not seeing our husband/father for the month of September as well as get away from some serious busyness at home (see next post), the girls and I took Russ on a weekend getaway to St. George. We apologize for not contacting family or friends in the area, but we were in desperate need of family time and the trip was a whirlwind anyway. We escaped the frigid storms up north to arrive just in time to run around the yard and go to bed.

  Before the trip we warned the girls that the weather might be a little too cold/rainy for the outdoor activities we normally do, so we brain-stormed a list of indoor things to keep us busy. Unfortunately, the fact that it was sunny and only a little chilly Friday did not deter the girls from our original plans. The morning was spent attempting sock puppets, only to discover that rubber cement is NOT good glue for fabric (curse my lack of crafting knowledge).  After continual failure we ran to the store for the proper glue and finished things up in no time. The afternoon was spent bowling, learning that sometimes it is okay for your sister to win even though she is younger than you, and swimming at the rec center. Abbie, following in her love of roller coasters, became a near instant lover of the watersides and went on every variety the pool offered all.afternoon.long. Note, that these are all good activities to completely exhaust your children.

Saturday the weather was absolutely perfect and we spent the afternoon running around the Red Cliffs Pioneer Park. Abbie loved hide and seek..for two hours. Savannah played hide and seek, but her highlight was stopping every two feet to look at ants and try to find baby lizards. The fact that she is a fearless climber only further cements her similarities to her uncle Blaine.

Saturday night we left. Completely exhausted, but very much grateful for some much needed family time.

Random Thoughts Thursday

Russ has worked 80-100 extra hours for the month of September. I really have missed him.

This website has Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies on it, among MANY other cheesecake recipes. It is the downfall of my goal to eat healthy this pregnancy. However, it is the key to success to eating well this pregnancy. Join the dark side. It tastes delicious.

The other day on the road the girls and I saw a car pulled over that had started on fire. This week Abbie asked me how cars start on fire. I tried to explain that I don't really understand how an engine works or breaks down. I tried to tell her that there are a lot of parts that help make the car go that I don't really understand how it works. Abbie, disgustedly told me that, yes, in fact I do know how to make a car go. I clarified that while I can make a car move, I don't know the exactly how or  why it works. Then with all the disdain a five-year-old can muster, she said, "Mom, it's the wheels."

I am leaving on a trip just with Russ in 21 days. I am SOOO excited!

I find out whether we are having a boy or a girl in 18 days. I am SOOO excited!

We had a showing on our house this morning and the lady wants to come back tomorrow to show her husband. I wish I was better at managing my hopes, because I'm already mentally packing.

Perfectionism: The Next Generation

Russ is a perfectionist. I am a perfectionist. Our kids are doomed. And I mean it. While there are many ways that being a perfectionist can benefit you (good grades, good work ethic, etc.), it often means putting unrealistic pressure on yourself and really not know how to deal with things don't work out..perfectly. It has been a learning process throughout our lives.

And now our kids have a double dose in their genes.

In Abbie's class they have dot sheets. They get to fill in dots when they are good. When the sheet is full they get a prize. They have pencils with "grippies" to help them learn how to hold a pencil properly. If they loose the "grippy" they have to throw out their dot sheet, and start over. 


Abbie lost her pencil with grippy right before she left school today.


She was crying when she came to the car. 


She has not yet told her teacher. 


We talked about problem solving ("Where is the last place you had it?").But I tried to focus on keeping things in perspective if she does need to tell her teacher she lost her pencil. ("It is just a bad day, it is frustrating but it will be okay. The world will not end. I promise."). 


When I asked her later if she was going to be okay talking to her teacher about it she just looked at me and said, "I'll see." 

Conversations on a Family Drive

Russ's family, from what I understand, took many family drives when he was growing up. Never having had this tradition, I didn't quite understand the appeal (my siblings and I practiced all out warfare in the car). After going on such a drive this evening I'm beginning to catch the vision.

Abbie: (very seriously):" Mom, would it be okay if we flew in a rocket ship?"

Me: "A rocket ship?"
A:" Yeah, a rocket ship, would it be okay?.....Oh wait, you have to be an alien to fly in one?"
M: "You mean an astronaut?"
A: " Yeah an astronaut."

Later...
A: "I want to be a teacher when I grow up."
M: "That is great! You would be a great teacher because you are so fun and kind. I'm a teacher, and so is grandma."
A: "Yeah I want to be a teacher. Savannah, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Savannah: " A dog."

Random Thoughts Thursday

Yesterday I stuck my head into Abbie's classroom. After watching the kids recite a poem, the teacher told them that they were poetry ninjas.Then as a class they all proceeded to strike ninja poses (along with cool ninja sound effects). It made me want to go back to Kindergarten.

Savannah has her friend over playing. They both have pretty strong ideas about what they want to play, and it isn't the same thing. The drama that is three years old.

I have already bought the girls Halloween costumes. I have two sisters-in-law that make their children's Halloween costumes every year. I envy them, because their kids' costumes look adorable and have that special touch. I think that if I put my "special touch" on the girls Halloween costumes, they would refuse to wear them.

I am about to start the book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, if you've read it, please let me know what you think. It sounds fascinating.

Why am I the only person in my family that thinks clean floors look nice? It reminds me of this letter.

Random Thoughts Thursday

The one time I want Groupon to have a deal on carpet cleaning they are refusing to do so.

Savannah is my 100% child. When she is happy she is the most adorable thing. She tickles, she cuddles, she tries to make you laugh. But when upset or heaven forbid, pouts, heaven help the soul who crosses her path.

Today I ran two errands, weeded my minuscule backyard, played memory with Savannah and updated my 72-hour kit. Now if only there was some way to recognize a great "Stay-At-Home-Mom-Day". Its like I actually accomplished some big things, (I mean my 72-hour kit how often do I get to that!) rather than clean the bare basics and read waaaay more than I should. I deserve a massage, a Klondike bar, a pie or something. Why isn't there a committee for this? Seriously.

Unfortunately one of my earrands consisted of trying to get a new Epi-Pen for Abbie.We have to get a new one about once a year because they expire. Today when I went in I found out that with our new insurance they would cost $172.00 (three times what I've paid before) and expire in December. Thankfully the pharmacist was sympathetic and ordered some more that will hopefully come from a newer batch.

Abbie thinks Kindergarten is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. She was so bumbed that she couldn't go to school on Labor Day.

I have realized that I am needing a nap almost everyday since becoming pregnant, if I want to stay awake past 5:00. I don't remember being so tired this early on. Mostly all I remember is barfing (which interestingly I haven't done this pregnancy). Bom, bum, bom, bum, bom, bum.

Fire!

Let me begin by saying that I have never fried anything. Not chicken, not fries, not donuts. Nothing. Russ hates fried foods and they aren't good for you so it just hasn't come up. But hey I've come a few yards since really learning to cook, how hard could it be?

Enter piles of zucchini.

I've made plenty of batches of zucchini bread. I've added zucchini to my sandwiches.  I could make zucchini soup but the girls will think I'm trying to poison them again, and well I do need to make those zucchini brownies...Anyway...

 I thought fried zucchini might be something the whole family would like. So Giada down at the Food Network hooked me up with a great recipe.

The problem was I read the recipe several days before I actually planned on making the zucchini so exact temperatures and times became a little fuzzy but it was pretty straight forward. Hot oil. Dip zucchini slices in flour, eggs then a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, then fry. Easy Peasy.

So I (never having fried anything before, remember) turned the stove up to Hi poured the oil in a frying pan and put the lid on while I finished preparing the zucchini. It took a little longer than I thought to get all the zucchini prepped.

The flames that engulfed the pan when the lid came off were several feet in the air.*


*No kitchens or kitchen equipment were hurt in the progression of this story although there was temporary smoke damage to the kitchen. I refried some oil (after looking at times and temperatures) cooked the whole batch. And the girls still hated it. 

Random Thoughts Thursday

This whole going to school routine has been a real bear to get used to. For the entirety of my motherhood up to this point most activities I planned around my day, my schedule, and my kids. Oh, things come up that were a little crazy to work with but they would only last a day or two, a week at most. This is a real shift for us.

It is a good thing I really like Abbie's school. Even if Savannah and I miss her like crazy.

Have you ever had a day that if it could go wrong it does? That was yesterday. I really hope we can only go up from there.

Chocolate chip zucchini bread.....mmmmmmmmmmmm. One very good thing about fall.

The high today is supposed to be 85. I am thrilled. It was actually a little cool when we left the house this morning. The overbearing heat has been killing me.

School lunch ideas? Pul-lease???????

Sorry, that is all the random I've got.

1st Day of Kindergarten

Abbie has been looking forward to Kindergarten since the day preschool ended in the spring. (Savannah is already asking when she can go.) The night before school started we asked her if she wanted a blessing. She had no concept of why she would need one. She has been so excited that nervousness didn't enter her brain. She met her teacher and saw her classroom last week. Since then every few hours she would say, "I wish Kindergarten was today."

Day one didn't start off as smoothly as we would have liked. The line to get into the parking lot stretched to the street. I had hoped to park and bring her in but only after we were trapped inside did we learn that the parking lot was beyond capacity. I asked her what she thought and she seemed fine so I just dropped her off. I called my neighbor who had come much earlier. She told me Abbie got a little lost and was crying. Abbie told me later she went straight to the classroom (which is where I would have taken her) and it was empty. That was when she cried. Thankfully someone led her to the multi-purpose room where all the students meet to line up. After that she cheered right up and the day went perfectly. She sang the newly learned Hokie Pokie all afternoon, talked about what she learned, recess, and lunch and was thrilled to be headed back today.

Today we went in and everything went much more smoothly. I think this is going to be just fine.

Gray Family 5.0

Arriving March 10th, 2012

Picky Eaters

I like to cook. I think I have significantly improved in this area since getting married and becoming a full-time mother/housekeeper/chef/chauffeur/laundress/maid etc. I get recipes from Cooks Illustrated, Simply Recipes, Pioneer Woman, and  Food Network (but even there I am careful about the chefs I choose). I don't like food that comes out of boxes, cans, or the freezer section (except frozen peas and canned tomatoes.) This week I even made homemade goat cheese eggplant ravioli. Homemade. RAVIOLI. I sauted. I blended. I rolled out dough. It was a masterpiece. I need to share this recipe sometime because it was insanely good.

Please understand. I am not trying to brag. I am trying to set up my problem. Let's just say it isn't caused by an over exposure to Hamburger Helper.

My kids hate my food. They like calzones, pizza, spaghetti, Kraft Mac and Cheese and frozen ravioli. Umm. Yup, that is it. Every other food is a battle. Battle. I have complained about this before but tonight hit a new low. It actually began last night. I made Corn Chowder. Homemade, from scratch. I will actually admit that I would make some improvements to this recipe if I make it again but it was still pretty darn good.

My daughters thought I was trying to poison them. They each took the required one bite and then had to eat the goldfish off of the top of the soup.  This still took enough time that some fish were soggy and HAD to be replaced so the world could keep turning. And then they filled up on bread.

Tonight it was homemade mac and cheese. I did add some ham and peas but I (naively) thought they could just push these items aside if they weren't seduced by the fact they were covered in cheese! No going. Abbie started crying the minute the food touched the plate. When I told her she had to eat 30 bites the world started to end. (It is pasta and cheese. Seriously?) So she took the next 45 minutes scraping the cheese of of each piece of macaroni before she ate it, and was able to pronounce it not too bad if you did that.

Savannah?

Savannah, just threw-up all over herself after bite two. (Trust me when I say that she is perfectly healthy.)

I have won some battles in this picky eater war.  (They actually liked the ravioli.) But tonight was not one of them.

I love the mountains...

One of the number one things I like about where I live is that it takes me fifteen minutes at most to go from urban to mountain wilderness. (And we live on the far side from the mountains.) Nothing, and I mean nothing, improves my mood like going up a canyon and escaping the insanity that life can, on occasion, offer.  With temperatures reaching in the upper 90s this week, and it being the last week of summer before school starts, we decided to make an escape.

We went up to one of our favorite spots and the girls ran wild. Abbie found her secret spot behind the trees and Savannah found a seat between two trees that was perfect for her little bum. Later she discovered she could wade across the stream (sans socks) and spent the last half hour getting soaked  and muddy.  I could have looked at the trees for hours if the girls weren't running from one adventure to another. But instead I painted rocks with them and explored their secret hideouts. It was a good day.

My mom says she can see my dad's blood pressure drop as he drives up the canyon. I think I am the same way. The world looks better up here.  

Random Thoughts Thursday

This week we have been recovering from a week of play with cousins. I am not nearly as much fun as cousins are. Needless to say there has been some serious withdrawal symptoms for all.

I just submitted my grades for summer semester! Yippee!

Last week I found out that Abbie's school is "highly recommending" all day Kindergarten. This is the opposite of the recommendation they gave in June. I have almost come to terms with the change. I think the reality is I really am going to miss that kiddo while she is at school and I don't like it one little bit so there!

I spent almost all day Monday and Tuesday cleaning my house (see recovering above), so yesterday I took a break from cleaning. You would never know about the effort put in on the previous days.

My expectations about the house that were rising of their own free will, are being properly deflated. I wish this issue wasn't such a roller-coaster for me.

Abbie and Savannah just went to a Fancy Nancy birthday party yesterday. They got kid make-up in their goodie bags. I have never seen Savannah so excited. She loved being at a big girl party and getting beautiful girl stuff. Blast!

Abbie was playing Super Why on the computer where you match words with similar definitions. What do you call these words? Cinnamons.

I need new family pictures...ideas?

Random Thoughts Thursday

We've had family in town for the last week. We have hiked (even Savannah for the entire two miles), played, had a little ladies lemonade party, and gone to Lagoon. It has been non-stop fun.

It has been non-stop.

Today we have a day of cleaning, packing rest before it is off to the family reunion.

I probably should start cleaning and packing, but I'm messing around on the computer. I have my priorities you know.

We've had four house showings over the last few days. I keep telling myself not to get my hopes up but they seem to be rising of their own accord.

Last night I gave my students some helps reviewing for their final. Rather than give reviews I try to teach them ways to study from their own notes. I had hoped that this 10 minute overview would be sufficient, and we could all leave very, very early. Unfortunately, about half the class wanted to create review outlines from their notes together, with supervision. It is my overachieving past back to haunt me.

We planted a garden in May and have weeded and watered it faithfully. Almost everything has died. We have one tomato plant and the beans that seem to be thriving. It takes real talent to kill zucchini. Many have tried. We have succeeded.

Timing

This morning while the girls were in the bathtub I worked on finishing up my Sunday School lesson. I was (and still am) trying to burn a DVD that could be played on a regular DVD player and becoming much more aware of my technological ineptitude. By the time I was mostly done, I needed to jump in the shower, and the girls had been in the tub for a long time.

 I asked the girls if they would like to stay in the tub or get out while I showered. They are both old enough and comfortable enough in the water that I don't worry about stepping away for a few minutes. Thankfully, they wanted to stay in the tub, thus leaving the mess in one location.

I hurried and jumped in the shower, and just had shampoo in my hair when I heard the yelling.

"Mom, mom, mom, come quick!!!"

My mind raced to all of the commercials that have warned of drowning kids and water safty that have aired this summer and I turned off the water. The yelling was louder, but thankfully I heard two voices.

"What is it?"

"Savannah has to go to the bathroom, NOW!"

Time, tide, and three-year-olds needing the potty, wait for no man.

Thankfully the shampoo didn't drip.

Random Thoughts Thursday

This morning I got out of the shower at 8:00. Two minutes later the phone rang. "We have a realtor in the neighborhood who would like to come over and look at your property right now, is that okay?" I am grateful for two things. 1 - We had a showing yesterday so the house was still mostly clean. 2 - They were willing to wait 30 minutes. (Update: The people who went through this morning made mean comments about our carpet, which is only a year and a half old. Seriously? People if you want a $300,000 house, you will need to spend at least $280,000 in this market. And that is way more than where we have our house is listed.)

I am very grateful for gracious people.

Anyone have any good solutions when your mind is racing at 2:00 in the morning?

Bicycles and summer are the epitome of happiness in our home.

I cleaned my house yesterday. I cleaned my house this morning. Why is there already a pile of toys downstairs?

All the cousins in the 4th of July neighborhood parade.
Andrew's expression was too good not to post.

My girls didn't throw water balloons. They didn't throw candy either.
They ate  almost the entire bags they were supposed to throw to the kids on the sides.

The pictures really have nothing to do with anything in the post, but I've been wanting to post them for awhile. And for random thoughts, I can post random pictures too, right?

I'm reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It tells a fictional story about the Biblical character of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter in the houseful of boys. The first third of the story is about Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zipah Jacob's wives. The author posits that all four women were sisters which, as you can imagine, only adds to the drama of polygamous life With romance and subsequent birth of thirteen children as part of the story, some might find it risque but at about halfway through, I'm enjoying it.

We have cousins driving into town today and the girls are thrilled!

Disappointing

Savannah's life is a little difficult right now, and I'm afraid it is going to get harder before it gets easier. Her best friend and sister is about to start kindergarten. The built in playmate she has had from day one is about to be gone for the best part of the day.

Let me expound her woes.

The other day, Savannah decided that she was going to go to preschool, because Abbie is going to Kindergarten. She took her backpack (that hasn't left her back since she inherited it two days ago from her sister) and told me we needed to go. I told her  (as I have every time this subject has come up) that we are going to do a home preschool with her friend, Rylee, once Abbie is in school. She seemed to understand. After some insisting on her part, I decided that we could do some preschool activities on our visit to grandma's house. She was thrilled. She made sure everyone in her vast array of daily contacts, knew that she was going to preschool. Despite the fact that I kept reminding her that this was a mom-and-daughter preschool, she was in total shock when I pulled out the worksheets and told her we were going to do them together. She was broken-hearted. Her world had ended. Mom is not nearly as cool as real preschool.

And then there was today.

They have just build a fountain/splash pad at the mall near our house that the 90+ degree temperatures are begging us to use. When I told the girls we could go over this morning they were both thrilled! Once again it was a constant stream of "splash park" out of Savannah's mouth. Until we got to the fountain. An interesting feature of splash parks is that water actually splashes. In peoples faces. You would think weeks of running through the sprinklers would prepare a child for this phenomenon. You (and I) would be wrong.

She wanted nothing to do with water, or wetness, or the park for the first twenty minutes. Thankfully she finally made attempts to get wet and soon, amazingly, was enjoying herself. She started collecting a big pile of rocks from the gravel near the fountain and putting the by the holes.  I didn't realize when it changed to by the nozzle hole to in the nozzle hole. That is, until one of the sprayers stopped working.

 
My reaction didn't improve her day.

Summer Vacation

The perfect summer vacation if you live where we live means escaping the 90 + degree weather and having fun with your kids. This weekend was perfect. We went up to the lake and hiked, boated, and did nothing, just like you should on any vacation. And we did it all in the mid-70s.

 Life was good. Abbie's goofy side exploded on this trip. She started this hip shaking dance every time she asked for something, she wanted to try everything including four-wheeling with uncles (always an adventure) and tubing behind the boat with mom and dad. She loved it all.

 Savannah had to deal with days without naps, which is hard when you are barely three, but she loved being in the middle of everything. When we went to the beach she could have been left alone and not noticed she was so caught up in playing with the rocks and water. (No sand, the water is too high this year.) When we hiked she didn't want to actually hike, but once on someone's shoulders she was in complete control of her situation.

We go to the lake a lot and always have a great time, but this year it just seemed that everything went as perfect as it could have gone. (I know this isn't great writing or anything exciting but I did want to remember it.)

Two Wheels

Abbie has been asking us to take the training wheels off her bike for the last month. Savannah just got a two-wheeler bike with training wheels so this weekend seemed like a good time for them to develop new biking skills. Once we told Abbie the plan she couldn't stop asking us when exactly the trainers were coming off.

That is, until they were actually off.

I don't think she had realized that the job of training wheels is to steady the bike. Immediately the tears began, begging for the return of safety, security, and comfort. Unfortunately, we are mean parents and said no.

We went to a parking lot across the way and the torture began. It is still unclear who was being tortured, Abbie as she was screaming at Russ to not let go of the bike, or Russ who was running around the parking lot bent in a 90 degree angle as he was holding onto the bike. This went on for quite some time.

 Finally we had the idea to have Abbie count the number of times she was peddling. This helped her focus on something other than the whether or not someone was holding onto the bike and she was off. She rode across almost the entire parking lot with her first try! We are still working on starting and stopping one her own but at least now she doesn't hate us and is very, very proud of herself.

Where was Savannah in the mist of all the drama? She was perfectly content circling the parking lot happy as a clam "practicing' her bike over and over again!

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Today is Savannah's third birthday. As requested daily for the last six weeks, we gave her a princess party. Personally I think three is a little young for a massive party but when your only sister and hero  had a party six weeks ago there really isn't an escape, so we kept it simple and the girls had a ball. We decorated crowns, made beaded necklaces, pinned a crown on a princess and played a freeze dance game. While Savannah enjoyed the party to the fullest, the highlight of the day was the new big-girl bike. She now has a bike like her sister and she couldn't be more proud. She immediately wanted to stop the whole show and go for a bike ride.  Later on the bike ride could not stop talking about needing to practice and be a better biker. Clearly this biking thing is in the genes.

Savannah is full of imagination. Whether she is dressing up as a princess, or caring for one of the many baby/stuffed animals that inhabit our house she gets completely in the zone. She insists you eat any "food" she makes and gets very upset if you talk at all loudly when her babies are sleeping. Savannah is also my cuddle bug. She is always willing to let me hold, snuggle, or cuddle her as the case may be. This year she has learned her capital letters, and some of her numbers. She is a great sister to Abbie and is always looking for a good time playing together. I love you baby girl!