Monday, January 26, 2009

Destroyed in Seconds

Ever seen that show "Destroyed in Seconds" on Discovery Channel?

I hate it!

Why don't they call it "Killed in Seconds"? I'm pretty sure that most of the people in the show die in what they show.

Brett thinks it's cool--Not that they die - Just the Destroyed part. I don't.

I've Been Watching You

Have you heard the song that goes something like this...

"I've been watching you Dad, aint that cool
I'm you're buckaroo, I want to be like you
Eat all my food, and grow as tall as you are..."

I don't know who sings it, but it is cute. The little boy wants to be just like his dad.

Well, for the past few nights I have realized that I have a little one that wants to be a lot like ME.

She's cute. (No, I'm not saying I'm cute...She is!)

Anyway.

The boys (Ryan and Brett) play Guitar Hero, and the girls (Sydney and myself) fix dinner.

I remember being very young and wanting to help in the kitchen. Sydney is actually really good in the kitchen. The other night we made Cream Cheese Chicken. It is a recipe that is supposed to be made in a crock pot, but I rarely plan ahead, and I am a 30 minutes MAX to the table type of gal, so this is what we did...here's the recipe....then the directions...you get it.

1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 pint jar of chicken (we canned these a couple of weeks ago) - Other canned chicken will do, or boil a couple chicken breasts (that takes longer though)
1 can cream of chicken soup
A little bit of chicken broth from the jar, or water/milk....you choose - you'll want the liquid just to make a nice consistency
1 pkg of italian dressing (the powder) or 1 pkg ranch dressing (the powder) - or 3 T ranch powder - whatever is in your kitchen.

Mixy all together and Heat thoroughly. I like to put the cream cheese in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it.

In a separate pan, boil water, add some pasta and cook until al dente and VOILA - Dinner. It's good. It's probably more fattening than I should eat since I am not a regular excersizer - Ok, so maybe that isn't a word...

But...

It is 30 minutes to the table

Oh yeah, back to Sydney. She did almost everything with this meal. I do a little supervising, but she does most of it and she is proud to help.

I am proud to let her. She's been watching me.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Random Thoughts

So, I've been laying in bed most of the day today. I fear what tonight will bring as far as sleep goes.

You know the drill...

Get Sick
Lay around in bed all day
Sleep a little, or a lot
Bedtime rolls around, can't sleep
Repeat tomorrow

Anyway...

What does a girl do when there is nothing else to do but lay in bed?

She blog surfs, reads message boards, comments on blogs, etc, makes some amazing soup....all from food items that can be stored long term....recipe to follow

As I spent countless hours reading what people had to post, I thought "Is it just me that gets what people post?"

Follow me here.

Say a girl with a blog writes something about her little family, an experience perhaps.

Is it the duty of the people who might stumble across this blog to let the author know that she is self-centered or that the post was out of line or that they are concerned about the post?

I must say that I do not believe so. It is kind of like the people who call in to the radio and rant and rave about the topic of discussion.

TURN THE DIAL PEOPLE!!!

If you don't like a post from a PERSONAL Blog - Move on your merry way. Don't comment to the author about how terrible they are.

Tell yourself that a few times and see how it feels. If comments are allowed on a blog, be kind. There is enough rudeness in this world. People don't need to hear the effects of your bad day.

Ok, on to the recipe, whew!

This one came from a neighbor from an Enrichment activity we had with recipes that come from food storage. I would add a little salt to this recipe, probably not as many carrots, and a little more water/beef bouillon. It is delicious.

Beef Barley Stew
1 - 14 1/2 oz can beef chunks (I did not have this, but I did have stew meat. I browned it in some olive oil and cooked it in a pressure cooker for an hour at 15lbs pressure, mmmm)
7 cups water (I ended up using about 13 cups water...I'll explain)
3/4 c. dried diced carrots
3 T dried minced onion
3 T dried celery
2 T dried red peppers or green (I had a mixture of both...that's how they came)
2 T dried parsley
1/2 t. basil
1/8 t. black pepper
1 bay leaf
3/4 c. pearled barley

Combine all ingredients except barley in large pot and bring to a boil. Add barley and simmer, covered, for 45-55 minutes until barley is tender. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serves 4-6

Ok, to my explanation. Since I didn't have beef chunks canned, and I used stew meat, I needed water to cook it in. I added 4 cups of water to my pressure cooker, along with two teaspoons of beef bouillon granules. As I said before I cooked it in the pressure cooker for 55 minutes at 15lbs pressure. It came out so tender.

In a second pot I put 7 cups of water and the other ingredients and cooked it for 45 minutes. When the beef was done, I added the two together and added some more liquid to make it go farther. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

A Day Off

Today Brett and I both have felt under the weather. It's not that often that we have both started with symptoms at the same time....the same symptoms.

So, for the day we lounged around in our VERY cluttered house. How can you clean up the clutter if you don't even want to get out of bed?

We dropped Ryan and Sydney off at a friend's birthday party just before 5pm. On our way home I ordered Chinese. I have the number programed into my phone you know.

As we were eating our meal, Brett handed me a fortune cookie and said "Whatever yours says you have to add 'in bed' at the end." I opened mine, all the while thinking of what I could say.

I said, "Take the night off from your labors."

I couldn't stop laughing....

Of course, that's not what it said, so he said - Read it!

I read it. It said "A nice surprise will come to you soon."

Translation: You can take the day off ;)

he he

Friday, January 16, 2009

Full Activity

Ryan signed up for Basketball this winter. I am proud of him for wanting to be active. He always talks about how skinny he is. One day he told me, crying, that he didn't want to be fat. I asked him why he would worry about that.

His reply, "Well, if I was fat, I wouldn't be able to feel my shots as much, but I don't want to be fat just for that." Ahh, good thinking.

Anyway...

Back to basketball.

He is so proud of himself. He has confidence. He has set goals to become a better player. It's good for him and our family.

He's OPEN - Too Bad none of his teammates will pass to him.

In Ryan's league, they each wear a colored arm band and can only guard that person. Scroll down...you'll see Ryan's first match up...



Ryan's 2nd match up is #32. He said it was a much 'fairer battle'. I agree.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Science, Cells, and the like

It seems that many of our conversations around her have something to do with science, cells, you name it...

All things Science.

Well, tonight was no different. You remember when I told you that we were made out of molecules? Well our latests conversation went a bit like this:

Ryan: "Mom, you know all LIVING things are not made mostly out of water."

Me: "Oh, they're not?"

Ryan: "Nope. Take Stitch for example. If he were made out of water, his cells couldn't handle it."

Me: "Very Observant."



Shhh, don't tell Ryan - He thinks this guy is really ALIVE! You know, come to think of it, he probably is.

I'm a Model

Tonight Brett went to Young Men's so I had the kiddos to myself. While I cleaned the kitchen, the kids ran around the room playing. I asked them to get their jammies on and Sydney came up the stairs and said "Mom, look - I'm a model."

I present.

Sydney.

My Model.



Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Intellectual Conversations

Ryan: "Mom, have you ever had a tooth ache?"

Me: "Yes, Ryan I have had a tooth ache."

Ryan: "Do you know where they come from?"

Me: "Yes, I think so."

Ryan: "Well, they start with a cavity and the pain travels to your bicuspids."

Me: "Hmm."

A lesson in life, my own....

Last night I spent quite a few hours going through old journals. I was looking for things I had written about a friend and her kids. I knew I had written a story, and I couldn't find it. What I did find however was a look into a life that I didn't realize I had.

With that said, if I die soon and you read my journal, and it has all things negative, maybe even about you, please know that I don't mean what was said.

It's amazing what stress can do to a person. It seems that when I would write in my journal it was almost undoubtedly a stressful moment where the actions of others around me where making my insides want to scream.

On one hand I want to go through and 'edit' my journal, taking out the negative and leaving the positive. If I did that, I would be editing hundreds of pages.

It is amazing to me what my words have taught just in the few hours since I read them.

Life is meant for joy.

I will work towards that joy.

I feel it more now.

Wounds have healed, and scar tissue has built up a wall that will likely protect me from future ailments as I have learned to react different. To love more, to judge less.

Monday, January 05, 2009

What we are made of

Tonight Ryan let me know that we aren't really made out of water, we are made of molecules. Water is formed by several molecules forming together, thus making our bodies made of molecules.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Dehydration

Tonight as we were starting to gather around the table for dinner Ryan came into the dining room and proclaimed - I NEED A DRINK QUICK - I'm dehydrated!

He then went on to explain that he was seeing stars.

So, naturally he needed a drink - right?

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2009 - Year of the Dad

As we were preparing for bed the other night Brett informed me that Ryan has decided that 2009 is going to be "Year of the Dad". I asked Ryan what that meant and he said that it meant that he was going to spend more time with DAD and let DAD do more for him.

I hereby delegate the following to DAD

- Making lunches in the morning
- Changing sheets when accidents happen
- Running forgotten homework to school - Hope work doesn't mind you coming home a few times a week to do this
- Following up on homework
- Making sure the table is set for dinner

I think I can handle the rest since it falls under the umbrella of the MOM job

Ahh....

A toast...

to 2009 - Year of the DAD

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Balance

How do you do it all?

  1. Primary Meetings
  2. Scout meetings
  3. Ward Council
  4. Cleaning house
  5. Breakfast
  6. Lunch
  7. Dinner
  8. Cleaning house
  9. Exercise (what's that)
  10. Volunteer time at the school
  11. Time with kids
  12. Time with husband
  13. Alone time (is that possible without neglecting any of the above?)

Oh how I need to find Balance. Do they sell that in stores? I've heard that Calgon will take you away, but I haven't found a product called Balance yet. If you're out there and you have a product, let me know....I need it!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

If you have done it unto the least of these...

Yesterday Brett stayed home from work in the morning as he had a Doctor's appointment and I had some errands to run so we thought it would be best if we just went together.

Sydney was being naughty and had a couple of warnings to stop or else get a spankin' from Dad. Well, the behavior didn't stop, so she got a big whack on her bum. I have found that time-outs work out much better for me when I am disciplining her, but until today, I don't think Brett has completely shared in that. Not because he disagrees, but he really doesn't have to discipline her a lot because he is working.

Anyway...

After the crying had stopped, Sydney came upstairs and into my room to get ready to go. Her face was flushed from crying and I asked her what had happened. (I was in my room when all of this happened so I didn't know the details).

She explained to me that she was being naughty and that Dad had spanked her. Then the conversation went something like this:

Sydney : "Mom, it's like he spanked Jesus."

Me: "What?"

Sydney: "You know, when we do things to people it is like we are doing them to Jesus. So, it's like he spanked Jesus."

Ouch!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Making Memories

Today is Ryan's 3rd Grade class party. I am the room mom for his class and since we have VERY few mothers who signed up to help, I signed up for the Christmas party.

Let me just preface my comments by, yes I know I am an idiot.

Ahem,

I made the suggestion that we might want to make gingerbread houses. I did that for Ryan's class in 1st Grade, and I've learned some things since then so thought it might be fun.

Well....then I found out that I only had one other mom helping. Ahh, good for me! I e-mailed the teacher and let her know with such little help, doing gingerbread houses probably wasn't a great idea anymore.


Well...then I called the other mom that signed up to help and she really wanted to do gingerbread houses, and maybe we could get more help

and....

Then I got another e-mail from the teacher saying that she could get more help....

So, I asked Ryan when he got home from school what he thought we should do for his Christmas part at school and he said "My teacher said we were decorating gingerbread houses."

So....

Over the past week I have baked, cut out and assembled 25 gingerbread houses. It was not a cheap endeavor. It took a LOT of my time.

And...

It's all about Making Memories.

Magic and Tradition

I'm a little behind in updating my blog, so here go a few updates Enjoy.

For years my family has had the tradition of taking Santa to needy girls and boys, families, elderly, friends, etc. There has only been one year out of probably 20 that I haven't had Santa to take around to my heart's content.

Sometimes our visits are the last a person ever gets from Santa Claus.

This year we were able to pick up ou
r tradition and take Santa to some friends. I always love getting the special visit. Sometimes I get to enter the homes with Santa, but most of the time the fun comes when Santa gets back into the car with us and tells us of the fun he had inside. Since we live far away from Santa's home, many people don't know who he is, thus making the joy even better.

I know who he is though, and I know the
families in our neighborhood. It's all about the Magic and the Tradition.

Thanks Santa.


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Turkey

Tonight I did some mindless TV watching. I enjoy watching the 'how it was made' shows. Well, tonight it showed all of the things you can do with turkeys.

I had no idea you could use nearly EVERY part of a turkey. They even fry up the turkey version of Rocky Mountain Oysters. They say they taste like popcorn shrimp. Surprisingly not chicken.

I'll stick to the traditional turkey breast, Brett can have the legs, and no thanks on the turkey left overs.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Felt Prayers

I don't know that I have ever really 'felt' the effects of prayers being offered in my behalf. At least not until the past 24 hours.

A nasty rumor was started and spread, and originated with something that I said that was taken out of context. While I don't make it a habit of talking smack about people, especially smack that could ruin a reputation, this week sure hasn't proved that to be true if you don't know me.

It is true that gossip can feel like a double-edged sword that pierces your heart. I have felt that this week. I don't suppose I have ever felt such a darkness surround me. Even though I have met with all parties involved, there are still some that believe that I am a person of no worth. It's amazing.

I have actually 'felt' the prayers that have been offered by friends in my behalf. Peace is beginning to return to my existence. A couple of days ago, I didn't even know that this day would even come.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Well, that's dumb

Today Ryan came home from school with MANY questions about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

One question he asked was if we caught the terrorists. I explained to him that they were the pilots of the planes that hit the Twin Towers.

He promptly replied, "Well, that's dumb. Those terrorists are dumb."

Yes, they are my fine son. Yes, they are.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Forwards

Can I just tell you how bad I hate Forwards?

What are forwards you ask? - Let me tell you....

They are e-mails that get sent from heaven knows who that I really don't want to read. Many people don't know who the heck they are even sending them too, just their address book that they have acquired.

Most people don't clean up the e-mail before they hit the 'Forward' button, thus giving me a 10 page e-mail with the world's e-mail addresses in it. I hate them. If you are sending them to me...DON'T!

If the e-mail is funny enough, do the courtesy of copying it and pasting it into a new e-mail and send it directly to me.

I am now on an e-mail list that I'd rather not be on and I get multiples of the SAME E-MAIL from different people on that list.

I don't care about politics and I don't think the world is ending tomorrow either.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

The End