My sister-in-law's friend wrote this and it is about the most hilarious thing I have every read and perfectly describes how I feel about Twilight, if only I could write this well.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Random Thoughts Monday
I need to take more pictures of my girls. I wanted to put pictures on this post and the most recent ones I have are from Abbie's birthday. Oh well..
I am reading The Forgotten Garden by.....can't remember. Very good book.
I finally went to the doctor about my toe. She said it looked like a classic case of staff infection and put me on antibiotics right away. I really am grateful for modern medicine, but why does it have to come at the end of a tight month?
Russ was put in the bishopric of our ward on Sunday. Our house has been on the market for one week. I think God likes to laugh at me sometimes. Thankfully He has helped me laugh too.
I don't want to go fold my laundry.
Tonight we are going swimming as a family. Yeah!!!
Lately Abbie's knee has been hurting. It mysteriously develops an agonizing pain just as she is going to bed. This pain makes her get out of bed and come out to complain about it. Riiiiight.
I think Savannah has a serious milk addiction. If she doesn't like what is served to her she just supplements with milk. If I withhold the milk, the food doesn't get eaten but she does throw a screaming hissy fit, so the milk wins. Milk is healthy right?
With our house on the market it stays exceptionally clean most of the time. There are many pluses to living in a house this clean. However being the one who needs to maintain this standard is not one of them.
I am reading The Forgotten Garden by.....can't remember. Very good book.
I finally went to the doctor about my toe. She said it looked like a classic case of staff infection and put me on antibiotics right away. I really am grateful for modern medicine, but why does it have to come at the end of a tight month?
Russ was put in the bishopric of our ward on Sunday. Our house has been on the market for one week. I think God likes to laugh at me sometimes. Thankfully He has helped me laugh too.
I don't want to go fold my laundry.
Tonight we are going swimming as a family. Yeah!!!
I think Savannah has a serious milk addiction. If she doesn't like what is served to her she just supplements with milk. If I withhold the milk, the food doesn't get eaten but she does throw a screaming hissy fit, so the milk wins. Milk is healthy right?
With our house on the market it stays exceptionally clean most of the time. There are many pluses to living in a house this clean. However being the one who needs to maintain this standard is not one of them.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
My Toe
Eight days ago I was having a bad day. Russ was out of town for the weekend and the girls were being tired/whiny/annoying. After one last Savannah meltdown I had had enough and I slammed the kitchen junk drawer closed. Unfortunately, our high quality cookie-cutter home was not made for emotional expression and the front of the drawer fell off. Chagrined I took the drawer out, emptied the contents and desperately tried to figure out how to fix the problem before our house went on the market in three days.
While the drawer lay propped up I proceeded to bump it again and it came crashing down and cut my toe. No big deal cuts happen. We move on. (Unless you are one of my girls in which case your life has just ended.)
Unfortunately three days later the toe became infected. It hurt to walk. It was swollen, puffy and, well a lot of grossness you don't want to read about on a blog. I started pouring hydrogen peroxide on it multiple times a day followed by neosporin.
Nothing going.
We are now on day eight. Yesterday we added soaking in hot water and Epsom salt. It still looks bad. My mom raised four very rowdy boys and she said it was bad. (That's real expertize talking.)
Is there any other home remedy I can try before I go to the doctor? On the internet I have been told that I should immerse the wound in bread, flax seed, and whole milk kneaded together covered in a zip-lock bag, wrap in raw bacon, and last but not least a tea bag. Honestly these solutions make me laugh but it will tell you how desperate I am that I am kind of considering them.
I really don't want to go to the doctor.
While the drawer lay propped up I proceeded to bump it again and it came crashing down and cut my toe. No big deal cuts happen. We move on. (Unless you are one of my girls in which case your life has just ended.)
Unfortunately three days later the toe became infected. It hurt to walk. It was swollen, puffy and, well a lot of grossness you don't want to read about on a blog. I started pouring hydrogen peroxide on it multiple times a day followed by neosporin.
Nothing going.
We are now on day eight. Yesterday we added soaking in hot water and Epsom salt. It still looks bad. My mom raised four very rowdy boys and she said it was bad. (That's real expertize talking.)
Is there any other home remedy I can try before I go to the doctor? On the internet I have been told that I should immerse the wound in bread, flax seed, and whole milk kneaded together covered in a zip-lock bag, wrap in raw bacon, and last but not least a tea bag. Honestly these solutions make me laugh but it will tell you how desperate I am that I am kind of considering them.
I really don't want to go to the doctor.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Vanilla Pudding with Strawberries
Almost everyone I know is on a diet. My parents are living the South Beach lifestyle. I have one friend doing P90X, and several friends doing Weight Watchers or the equivalent. If you are one of these people stop reading now. You will only get depressed. If you are not continue reading for the yummiest dessert ever. This pudding is the most decadent dessert I have ever had. It comes close to being a custard. (What is the exact difference between the two?) As you see from the ingredient list it is very far from being fat free but if you split it between enough people you should be fine. Right?
I got this recipe from Brenda and will bless her for the rest of my life (which has probably been shortened by eating it) for it.
Two notes: I didn't use a vanilla bean because they are $8.00 a pop at the grocery store. The dessert is still amazing but I strongly suspect it would be better with said bean. I do now have a source that is getting beans at $.85/bean if you are interested. Also, don't double this recipe for a family gathering basing that decision on who usually shows up. If you do, half the people wont be able to be there and you will have way, way, way, too big a temptation on your hands. I'm just sayin'.
I got this recipe from Brenda and will bless her for the rest of my life (which has probably been shortened by eating it) for it.
Two notes: I didn't use a vanilla bean because they are $8.00 a pop at the grocery store. The dessert is still amazing but I strongly suspect it would be better with said bean. I do now have a source that is getting beans at $.85/bean if you are interested. Also, don't double this recipe for a family gathering basing that decision on who usually shows up. If you do, half the people wont be able to be there and you will have way, way, way, too big a temptation on your hands. I'm just sayin'.
Vanilla Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Pudding Ingredients:
-4 egg yolks
-2 tablespoons cornstarch
-4 cups heavy cream
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 vanilla bean
-1 cup white chocolate chips
Coulis Ingredients:
-1 pound frozen strawberries, thawed
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl, beat together egg yolks and cornstarch. Set aside. In a large saucepan bring the cream, sugar and vanilla bean (cut in open length wise) to a boil over medium heat. Add the white chocolate chips, then reduce the heat to low. Temper the egg yolks with a little of the cream mixture, then pour the egg yolks back into the cream. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the pudding into 6 (6 oz) ramekins. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
Add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Top the pudding with the coulis and garnish with whipped cream and fresh strawberries before serving.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
On the Market
Our house is officially for sale. This has been quite a process for us. We hadn't expected to put our home up for sale for a few more months. Then over the last few months and through a serious of fortunate and unfortunate events we pushed the timing up. We are not selling in a good market. We are listing our house for almost exactly the same price it was when we bought it. And now my job is to keep my house ready to show to a complete stranger every time I leave it. ( I know several of you have done this with young children and my hat goes off to you.) Needless to say things have become a little stressful around these parts. Despite all of that, I really believe that this is what we need to be doing right now, so like most things it is best to just plow forward.
Outside of the mundane stresses of the process I have a lot of mixed emotions. It is time for our family to move on, but we have made some dear friends in this area that I will miss. We also don't know where we are going or what exactly the next step will be. (Ask Russ how well I deal with uncertainty.) There are some safe options, some exciting options, and some options I wish weren't on the table.
However it could be possible that I wont need to worry about any of these things as it took my friends 18 months to sell their house.
Outside of the mundane stresses of the process I have a lot of mixed emotions. It is time for our family to move on, but we have made some dear friends in this area that I will miss. We also don't know where we are going or what exactly the next step will be. (Ask Russ how well I deal with uncertainty.) There are some safe options, some exciting options, and some options I wish weren't on the table.
However it could be possible that I wont need to worry about any of these things as it took my friends 18 months to sell their house.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Beef Stew
I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Almost every Sunday growing up for dinner my mom cooked a roast and potatoes in the oven. I loved it, my brothers hated it. I will tell you why. Wives cook for their husbands' tastes more than mothers cook for their childrens'. Why? Because children are impossible to please. You could cook a homemade Bologense Sauce for an hour and they want their noodles with "NO SAUCE!!!" So I personally think that rather than complaining about my mother's Sunday dinner my brothers need to shut their traps and be grateful that someone is/was cooking food for them EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES. But I digress.
Back to meat and potatoes.
Last Sunday I was visiting teaching my friend Brenda. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was going on 3:30. She had beef stew simmering in her crock pot. I will just tell you that while she is a nice person, that was just plain cruel. So I looked for the rainiest day this week, and decided to make homemade Beef Stew (Note: I did not say the day it rained. I said rainiest. Ug!) . I'd never done it before and to be honest it is delish.
This recipe (From New Best Recipes:) )is a little more complicated than some, you add the veggies about half way through. But to be honest, I liked this bettter. They are still soft and infused with the jus of the stew but not mushy and falling apart. I also like that you added the peas and fresh parsley at the very end. They add awesome flaver and the peas don't turn that yucky brown green color but stay vibrant. Finnally, I cooked mine for an extra hour. I think the reason this was necessary is that my meat cubes were bigger than what the recipe said. So just a tip if after two hours it doesn't seem quite done.(Unlike past experiences, this extra hour worked in well with my plans.)
My non-meat and potatoes husband loved it, girls didn't touch it but like I mentioned I don't cook to please them.(Oh one last thing I halved this recipe and it still worked great. And I don't have an indoor dutch oven but my big pot did the job fine.)
Hearty Beef Stew
3 lbs beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
Salt and Pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped coars
3 medium garlic cloves minced
3 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine *
2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 large carrots cut about 1/4 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Dry the beef thoroughly with paper towels. (Do you remember in Julie & Julia you learn that this is the way to make meat brown properly? I am such a nerd.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. heat 1 tablespoon of oil in an oven proof Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the meat so that the individual pieces are close together but not touching. Cook until all sides are brown. You might need to do this in several batches. Set meat aside
Reduch the heat to medium, add remaining tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook stirring frquently scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the browned bits until onions softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored. Add the wine, scraping up the remaining browned bits from the bottom and edges of the pot and stirring until the liquid is thick. Gradually add the brother stirring constantly and scraping the pan edges to dissolve the flour. Add the bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer. Add the meat and return to a simmer. cover and put the pot in the oven. Cook for one hour.
Remove the pot from the oven and add the potatoes and carrots. cover and treturn the pot to the oven. Cook until the meat is tender, about one hour (in my case two) . Remove the pot from the oven. (At this point the stew can be covered and refriedrated for up to 3 days. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.)
Add the peas, cover and allow to stand of 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, discard the bay leaves, adjust the seasonings and serve immediately.
*I used apple juice. I know that grape juice is the correct substitute for red wine but hear me out. I don't like grape juice and I have kids that spill everywhere. I did not want grape juice staining my house while we used the rest of the bottle. Some day I will just have to take my kids to the liqueur store to buy real wine to cook with, but until I have the guts/time/money this will have to do. Yes, I know I and Utah liqueur laws are rather ridiculous.
Back to meat and potatoes.
Last Sunday I was visiting teaching my friend Brenda. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was going on 3:30. She had beef stew simmering in her crock pot. I will just tell you that while she is a nice person, that was just plain cruel. So I looked for the rainiest day this week, and decided to make homemade Beef Stew (Note: I did not say the day it rained. I said rainiest. Ug!) . I'd never done it before and to be honest it is delish.
This recipe (From New Best Recipes:) )is a little more complicated than some, you add the veggies about half way through. But to be honest, I liked this bettter. They are still soft and infused with the jus of the stew but not mushy and falling apart. I also like that you added the peas and fresh parsley at the very end. They add awesome flaver and the peas don't turn that yucky brown green color but stay vibrant. Finnally, I cooked mine for an extra hour. I think the reason this was necessary is that my meat cubes were bigger than what the recipe said. So just a tip if after two hours it doesn't seem quite done.(Unlike past experiences, this extra hour worked in well with my plans.)
My non-meat and potatoes husband loved it, girls didn't touch it but like I mentioned I don't cook to please them.(Oh one last thing I halved this recipe and it still worked great. And I don't have an indoor dutch oven but my big pot did the job fine.)
Hearty Beef Stew
3 lbs beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
Salt and Pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped coars
3 medium garlic cloves minced
3 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine *
2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 large carrots cut about 1/4 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Dry the beef thoroughly with paper towels. (Do you remember in Julie & Julia you learn that this is the way to make meat brown properly? I am such a nerd.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. heat 1 tablespoon of oil in an oven proof Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the meat so that the individual pieces are close together but not touching. Cook until all sides are brown. You might need to do this in several batches. Set meat aside
Reduch the heat to medium, add remaining tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook stirring frquently scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the browned bits until onions softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored. Add the wine, scraping up the remaining browned bits from the bottom and edges of the pot and stirring until the liquid is thick. Gradually add the brother stirring constantly and scraping the pan edges to dissolve the flour. Add the bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer. Add the meat and return to a simmer. cover and put the pot in the oven. Cook for one hour.
Remove the pot from the oven and add the potatoes and carrots. cover and treturn the pot to the oven. Cook until the meat is tender, about one hour (in my case two) . Remove the pot from the oven. (At this point the stew can be covered and refriedrated for up to 3 days. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.)
Add the peas, cover and allow to stand of 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, discard the bay leaves, adjust the seasonings and serve immediately.
*I used apple juice. I know that grape juice is the correct substitute for red wine but hear me out. I don't like grape juice and I have kids that spill everywhere. I did not want grape juice staining my house while we used the rest of the bottle. Some day I will just have to take my kids to the liqueur store to buy real wine to cook with, but until I have the guts/time/money this will have to do. Yes, I know I and Utah liqueur laws are rather ridiculous.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Weather or not!
This week the rain has been both a blessing and a curse. It has cursed my friend Brenda and I. Last year about this time we decided to go biking out by the Great Salt Lake. I had done the ride quite a few times in preparation for my bike race last year and really wanted to go with a friend. Here is what happened. Not good. This year we decided to attempt again.
The weather - for those of you outside of Utah - has been akin to monsoon season but we thought we had a lucky break on Wednesday and decided to go for it. Within five minutes Brenda had a flat tire on her brand new road bike. Thinking we knew what we were doing we told one biker to keep going. Now I am convinced that eventually we could have changed that tire ourselves. (We got the tire off the bike and almost off the rim. ) However by that point we would be old, gray, and not biking, so we begged help from the next passer by. He did a slick job, in about 10 minutes. Thank you whomever you were.
The miracle at this point was that while the tire was being changed the storm we had been headed straight for decided to move north and gave us a clearing. We decided to take it. Unfortunately about five miles later storm number two reared its ugly head and we decided it was time to turn around. Just like last time we didn't get the full brunt of the storm until on our way back. Just like last time we were hit with rain from the side and soaked. But unlike last time it was a good deal warmer and we didn't get the first stages of hypothermia. Brenda -- I am determined to take you on that ride without rain interrupting our ride.
Friday the weather was a blessing. It was youth conference trek and we were pulling handcarts away from This is the Place Village up into the foothills. I would like to note here that while this trek is shorter than others have been on it was not flat. Nowhere was flat. Nothing. We were going straight up the mountain, baby. Friday was predicted to be quite stormy and remembering how cold I got in the rain last year I was not looking forward to getting soaked to the bone. Thankfully the storms stayed away for most of the day allowing us to pull handcarts in a cool 60 degrees and cloudy. We got rained on during testimony meeting and a little bit near the end but the storms didn't really come until we were in our cars headed home. Everyone had such an amazing experience I am so grateful that it turned out the way that it did. Had it been 90 degrees or pouring rain it could have been truly miserable, and even without that I am forever grateful I was not a pioneer.
The weather - for those of you outside of Utah - has been akin to monsoon season but we thought we had a lucky break on Wednesday and decided to go for it. Within five minutes Brenda had a flat tire on her brand new road bike. Thinking we knew what we were doing we told one biker to keep going. Now I am convinced that eventually we could have changed that tire ourselves. (We got the tire off the bike and almost off the rim. ) However by that point we would be old, gray, and not biking, so we begged help from the next passer by. He did a slick job, in about 10 minutes. Thank you whomever you were.
The miracle at this point was that while the tire was being changed the storm we had been headed straight for decided to move north and gave us a clearing. We decided to take it. Unfortunately about five miles later storm number two reared its ugly head and we decided it was time to turn around. Just like last time we didn't get the full brunt of the storm until on our way back. Just like last time we were hit with rain from the side and soaked. But unlike last time it was a good deal warmer and we didn't get the first stages of hypothermia. Brenda -- I am determined to take you on that ride without rain interrupting our ride.
Friday the weather was a blessing. It was youth conference trek and we were pulling handcarts away from This is the Place Village up into the foothills. I would like to note here that while this trek is shorter than others have been on it was not flat. Nowhere was flat. Nothing. We were going straight up the mountain, baby. Friday was predicted to be quite stormy and remembering how cold I got in the rain last year I was not looking forward to getting soaked to the bone. Thankfully the storms stayed away for most of the day allowing us to pull handcarts in a cool 60 degrees and cloudy. We got rained on during testimony meeting and a little bit near the end but the storms didn't really come until we were in our cars headed home. Everyone had such an amazing experience I am so grateful that it turned out the way that it did. Had it been 90 degrees or pouring rain it could have been truly miserable, and even without that I am forever grateful I was not a pioneer.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Chicken Poppyseed Salad
With summer here in full swing it is time to find recipes that don't overheat my west facing kitchen. This one I got from my good friend Heather who got it from her ward recipe group. It is a super easy meal that is healthy and tastes good. Russ even liked it, which is saying something for a salad based main dish. The girls, well the girls ate the oranges and bagels -- which is about what I expected.
So here you go!
Chicken Poppyseed Salad
So here you go!
Chicken Poppyseed Salad
3 or 4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
Green leaf lettuce, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Slivered almonds
Mandarin oranges
Ramen noodles, raw and broken up
Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Onion Bagels, toasted
Put everything into separate bowls. Build salads individually. Serve with toasted bagel.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Happy Birthday !
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Blueberry Peach Fruit Salad with Thyme
Today we celebrated Abbie's birthday (details pending). Because I always like an excuse to make yummy food and the hot dogs and fish crackers that we served the kids just didn't quite make it up to par, I decided to make some food for the moms that hang out at the party. This is yummy "girl food," although Russ liked it too. I was especially excited about the fruit salad because I've never made it before and WOW! This is one to take somewhere when you really want to impress people AND you want to eat yummy food. The guy who invented the recipe is also the one who made the double vanilla cupcake recipe (also served at the party.) I believe that alone should be a selling point. Here is his blog. Don't get me wrong the pasta chicken salad is also excellent, but I've grown up eating it so I guess the novelty has worn off. Note: The pasta salad says it serves ten. I think it serves a lot more than that.
Blueberry Peach Fruit Salad with Thyme -- Garrett McCord
Ingredients
- 4 peaches
- 4 nectarines
- 1 cup of blueberries
- 2 teaspoons of fresh, chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet the fruit is, you may be able to skip all together)
- Or 1 tablespoon of agave syrup in lieu of water and sugar
Method
1 If using water and sugar place them into a sauce pot and bring to a boil and liquid is reduced by half into a simple syrup. Allow to cool.
2 Chop up the peaches and nectarines and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Pour over the cooled simple syrup or agave syrup. Add the thyme, lemon juice, lemon zest, and ginger.
3 Stir and cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and allow to macerate for one hour. Serve.
Serves 4-8.
Bow-tie Chicken Salad (serves 10) Perri Ebert
4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped
1 12oz. pkg. bow-tie pasta
2 C chopped celery
1 small can pineapple tidbits
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 pkg. mixed blend lettuce or Romain
4 green onions chopped
1 C cashews chopped (may be omitted)
1 C red grapes
Dressing:
1 C mayo
1 16 oz. bottle Cole slaw dressing
Mix everything except for lettuce and dressing. Chill 2 hours. Mix with lettuce and dressing just before serving. (You won’t need all the dressing)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Kids Say the Darndest Things
It takes being so sick you don't see your kids for a few days to really miss them. Oh, you might miss them while you are on vacation without them but lets be honest you planned the vacation without them on purpose and while it reminds you that you love them you really don't want them with you at the moment. When you are sick however everything else looks like bliss and you realize that as challenging as parenting can be it is much easier without the continual desire to crawl under your covers and sleep yourself into the next decade. So on that mostly unrelated note here are some interesting things said by my children lately.
Abbie-isms
This first conversation was between Abbie and my mother while Russ and I were on vacation a few weeks ago.
Grandma E: Abbie you can pick out one toy at the store today.
A: Really?
Grandma E: Yeah.
A (in a shocked/conspiratorial tone): My mom doesn't buy me anything!
Grandma E: Yeah, moms are sometimes like that.
A: But not Grandmas!
The next story was between Russ and Abbie when he was putting her to bed while I was sick.
Russ: Abbie remember you promised you would eat a good dinner tomorrow. Will you remember that?
A: How will I remember? Oh, I know... I will use my mind. I have two minds. One mind that changes and one mind that remembers. I will use that mind.
Savannah-isms
Savannah loves to say prayers at our house. She loves it so much that if it is someone else's turn to say the prayer she will pray out loud in the background of the prayer. Sometimes she repeats what they say, sometimes she goes out on her own. This last Sunday at church Russ was a lone parent managing two girls. My friend took Abbie (thanks Brenda!) and left Russ and Savannah for the duration of the meeting. It is also relevant to note that as a holiday weekend there were not a lot of people there and Russ swears no other children. In an effort to get her to be quiet for just a moment during prayers, Russ would whisper, "Savannah, time for prayers!" But instead of simply folding her arms and ceasing to make noise, Savannah would start trying to say (somewhat loudly) each and every prayer throughout the meeting "thank thee dis Daaay, thank thee dis Daaay," etc. At first, Russ tried to explain to her that it was someone else's turn, but then she would start having a fit and crying in Savannah-speak: "I wanna Say it!". So thinking it was the lesser of two evils, he let her repeat the remainder of the prayers.
And just tonight Savannah developed her own knock knock joke (of which she is very proud).
Savannah - Knock, knock
Other person - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room)MMMmmmm Baby Lexi.
O - Baby Lexi who?
S - Knock knock?
O- Who's there?
S- (scanning the room) MMMMMmmmm Baby Lexi's diaper.
O-Baby Lexi's diaper who.
S - Knock knock.
O - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room) Orange.
O- Orange Who?
S - Knock, knock.
As you can see it still needs some work.
Abbie-isms
This first conversation was between Abbie and my mother while Russ and I were on vacation a few weeks ago.
Grandma E: Abbie you can pick out one toy at the store today.
A: Really?
Grandma E: Yeah.
A (in a shocked/conspiratorial tone): My mom doesn't buy me anything!
Grandma E: Yeah, moms are sometimes like that.
A: But not Grandmas!
The next story was between Russ and Abbie when he was putting her to bed while I was sick.
Russ: Abbie remember you promised you would eat a good dinner tomorrow. Will you remember that?
A: How will I remember? Oh, I know... I will use my mind. I have two minds. One mind that changes and one mind that remembers. I will use that mind.
Savannah-isms
And just tonight Savannah developed her own knock knock joke (of which she is very proud).
Savannah - Knock, knock
Other person - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room)MMMmmmm Baby Lexi.
O - Baby Lexi who?
S - Knock knock?
O- Who's there?
S- (scanning the room) MMMMMmmmm Baby Lexi's diaper.
O-Baby Lexi's diaper who.
S - Knock knock.
O - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room) Orange.
O- Orange Who?
S - Knock, knock.
As you can see it still needs some work.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sick Time
At a full-time (or part-time) job when you call in sick you make one phone call to the office explain that you are near death and crawl back under the covers never to be disturbed by work again until your white blood cells, C-vitamins, anti-oxidants, anti-biotics etc. have done their job and healed you. There might be a rare occasion for a phone call asking for a file or information on a project but once you have declared yourself too sick for work, work pretty much leaves you alone.
Not so with motherhood.
When you are sick as a mother your work sits on your bed with you reading stories, still needs help wiping when she goes number 2, asks to be fed (the nerve), adds to your in-box by creating messes around you (I know in-boxes fill when you take sick days at other jobs too.), tells you about their day, andwants demands to go to the park. Oh you can ignore the work for awhile but that takes active effort and eventually you just drag your aching body off your bed and comply. Submit.
The only way to stop this madness is by getting really, really, really, sick. Then you can -- in some cases -- call in the big guns by asking your spouse to leave their work (and let their in-box to fill up) and manage things for awhile. I thankfully married someone willing, able, and a saint for doing this. One way to do this is by getting a fever of 103 and having a throat so sore that you have to take ibuprofen just to swallow -- no joke. (Through this experience I learned that high fevers are actually much more serious in adults than children. Great.) Now a normal person would know immediately that she had strep throat, go to the doctor and get on anti-biotics and would cease to cause disruption to her entire family. But if the sore throat doesn't start so bad, and your kids just had bouts of a 12 hour fever you just might assume you caught it from them and it will be over tomorrow. You might.
Only tomorrow you drug yourself on 800 mgs of ibuprofen convince yourself you are better, send hubby off to work, and power through the day. It isn't until you are halfway through a temple session, (Hey, your sister is going through for the first time and you are not going to miss it. Under no other circumstances is this okay.) and you are dousing yourself in hand sanitizer every 10 minutes and start to get the chills so badly your teeth chatter (I wish I was exaggerating here.) that you realize you are really, really sick.
Thankfully the next day is Saturday and your husband doesn't have to take time off. (Unless he has an emergency work meeting in which case thank heavens for mom and dad!) You drag yourself to the doctor and get the necessary drugs, which because of your complete stupidity take longer to work because you put it off. In which case you can sit it bed all.day.long watching inane movies and calling friends just to distract you from your misery. This day ends up being the worst not only because you are the sickest you've been in recent memory, but also because your husband points out to you half way through the day that it is your anniversary, and you completely forgot. Also bad because while you were the louse who forgot your anniversary your husband is managing everything without complaint. Ugh.
But by Sunday afternoon you actually think the end is near enough to blog about it.
(Yes, this blog is a cry out for sympathy but I have been in my bedroom far too much over the last four days and in addition to the real fever, cabin fever has definitely set in.)
Not so with motherhood.
When you are sick as a mother your work sits on your bed with you reading stories, still needs help wiping when she goes number 2, asks to be fed (the nerve), adds to your in-box by creating messes around you (I know in-boxes fill when you take sick days at other jobs too.), tells you about their day, and
The only way to stop this madness is by getting really, really, really, sick. Then you can -- in some cases -- call in the big guns by asking your spouse to leave their work (and let their in-box to fill up) and manage things for awhile. I thankfully married someone willing, able, and a saint for doing this. One way to do this is by getting a fever of 103 and having a throat so sore that you have to take ibuprofen just to swallow -- no joke. (Through this experience I learned that high fevers are actually much more serious in adults than children. Great.) Now a normal person would know immediately that she had strep throat, go to the doctor and get on anti-biotics and would cease to cause disruption to her entire family. But if the sore throat doesn't start so bad, and your kids just had bouts of a 12 hour fever you just might assume you caught it from them and it will be over tomorrow. You might.
Only tomorrow you drug yourself on 800 mgs of ibuprofen convince yourself you are better, send hubby off to work, and power through the day. It isn't until you are halfway through a temple session, (Hey, your sister is going through for the first time and you are not going to miss it. Under no other circumstances is this okay.) and you are dousing yourself in hand sanitizer every 10 minutes and start to get the chills so badly your teeth chatter (I wish I was exaggerating here.) that you realize you are really, really sick.
Thankfully the next day is Saturday and your husband doesn't have to take time off. (Unless he has an emergency work meeting in which case thank heavens for mom and dad!) You drag yourself to the doctor and get the necessary drugs, which because of your complete stupidity take longer to work because you put it off. In which case you can sit it bed all.day.long watching inane movies and calling friends just to distract you from your misery. This day ends up being the worst not only because you are the sickest you've been in recent memory, but also because your husband points out to you half way through the day that it is your anniversary, and you completely forgot. Also bad because while you were the louse who forgot your anniversary your husband is managing everything without complaint. Ugh.
But by Sunday afternoon you actually think the end is near enough to blog about it.
(Yes, this blog is a cry out for sympathy but I have been in my bedroom far too much over the last four days and in addition to the real fever, cabin fever has definitely set in.)
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