Out on the Town All by Myself

I was starting to feel the *hate* part of my "Love-Hate Relationship" with Summer Vacation a little too much lately, so.......I've been pondering on a solution.

The part that I *hate* is that all my kids think that they're on vacation - from EVERYTHING!!!  (i.e. getting dressed, general grooming, reading or anything intellectual, sleep routines, eating properly, or basically LIFTING A FINGER TO DO ANYTHING.)

They all have a list of things that they are suppose to do every day, that would take about an hour to 1:15 (depending on how well they are able to stay on task, and how much daily maintenance they're actually doing), BEFORE they are able to do anything else.

So, this is how it's been going.....
They haven't been completing their lists which means they haven't been doing anything.

Here's their mentality:
Oh well, I guess I won't go play with any friends today....because I don't want to do any chores.
I guess I'll miss the Summer "field trips" we've planned....because I don't feel like doing any of my chores.
I guess I won't have any screen time (at least not when mom & dad are watching) today....because I don't like doing chores.
Oh darn, someone invited me to do something fun with them, but I had to say, "No"....because I "forgot" that I should be doing my chores. (wink, wink)

REALLY?!?  Come on, people!  It's ONE HOUR of duty for the rest of the day of freedom!  You can't figure it out?

Apparently not.

So, I came up with a brilliant idea!  And I ran it by Matt, and he agreed.

I announced that from now on, I will be going out for a treat every day after I get off work and get ready (so around noon, after lunch).  Those who have ALL of their check marks done will go with me.  Those who do not, will not.  (And I will do random inspections to verify that it was REALLY done instead of them just "fibbing" their check marks....not that these angels would EVER do that, but I like to be "thorough" ya know.)  {chuckle}
But, no matter what, I am going.

In order to make the Where Should We Go? conundrum easier, I made a list of many choices, with a number beside each one.  Each day, we will roll three dice, add up the sum of all of them, and match that answer up with the corresponding number on our list.  And then that's where I will go that day - and I will continue this every day for the rest of the Summer - the only variable will be WHERE and WHO.  The girls got really excited about this list and started to fantasize about all these places.

Well, evidently, they spent too much time fantasizing (i.e. general poor time management) because on that first day, NO ONE was done with their check list at the appointed time, and I made that first treat run ALL BY MYSELF. (gasp!  I was so surprised! haha).  Luckily, they got their act together and 3 out of the 4 children got to go with me today!

I realize this could get really expensive, really quick - have you heard of "The Latte Factor?" - so I fought my inspiration for a while....

But, desperate times call for desperate measures!

AND, I'm counting on them succombing to their old, usual mentalities sometimes, too, and not getting to go!  
Because I'm kind of fine with going out by myself, too.  
(peace & quiet is needed even more during Summer Vacation!  haha.)  ;) 

This Weekend:

* I was home in the afternoon on Friday (good thing!) and my doorbell rang.
My girls answered it and called to me, saying it was for me.  

My visiting teachers were there.  (I'd totally forgot they were coming!)

But, luckily, I was here so we got to visit.
It was also lucky I'd changed out of the muumuu I had been hanging out in earlier in the day!
 (THAT would've been a sure giveaway that I'd forgotten!)

(Except my family room was a mess with kids' games, back packs, papers, clothes, scriptures, etc. strewn on the floor & chairs.
One of the ladies literally had to pick up
stuff off the couch and move it first before she was able to sit down!  Aaugh!
So, maybe they figured out my forgetfulness anyway?)

* Before going out on our date in the evening, we had to play "taxi service" for

Kyle, taking him to his social events/party.

* We went out to dinner at Sonora Grill in Ogden.

Matt had received a birthday "free entree" coupon already,

so that helped us choose the place tonight.

(I'm on this no-white-flour challenge, so I had to order my meal with corn tortillas......tonight was just not as yummy as their flour tortillas entrees I've had there in the past.)

* After dinner, it was still early enough that we figured our children would

still be up, so we stopped at Ross to kill some time go shopping.

We had to get some pool & beach essentials for the fam in preparation for our upcoming vacation.

* On Saturday morning, I walked to the library to return and pick up some books.
AND to get my fitbit steps in.  As I was out & about, I saw a couple of friends
who were outside, so I stopped to visit.  My 40 min. walk/errand turned into TWICE that long! :)

* We spent some time out in the yard.  Matt set up a pump to pump out the water
that is in our trampoline hole (a natural spring?)  The water was coming
out a hose - and it was crystal clear - so I took the hose up to the
garden we planted last week and watered the whole thing with the "good" water.
{I think we've got our emergency water situation taken care of!}
I cut up a watermelon and it tasted SO GOOD coming in from the warm outdoors.

* I went through the pile of clothes that has somehow ended up on my laundry room counter.
For some reason, the kids were putting clothes they didn't want to wear anymore there.
WHY?
I separated and organized them all into Put Away/Give Away/Throw Away piles
and now we can see the counter top again!

* Matt & I went to the plasma donation center.
I started a new book to read while I layed there donating:

(I haven't decided if it's good or not, yet.)

* We were driving towards an eating establishment, and right before we got there,
we got a text from Matt's brother inviting us to go to Sushi Monster with them.
Well, of course!  So, we switched gears and headed to meet them.
Except, I needed to eat one more vegetable for the day with this challenge I'm on,
and I wasn't sure I could get a whole serving from just sushi, so we
stopped at a grocery store to buy some carrot chips.
While we were in there, my flip flop straps totally came out and the foot-bed cracked
and was dangling on a thread, just seconds from breaking into two pieces.
I knew I couldn't go to Sushi Monster without any shoes on,
so we swung by our house to get new flip flops for me.
(Sidenote: I had a feeling that this 2nd pair of flip flops might fail me, too,
so I put a "replacement" pair in purse just in case.....and guess what?
I DID need them when my 2nd pair also broke.  Two in one night?!?  Wow! I'm talented!)

* Sushi Monster was good, and the company was great.
My recommendation: the Las Vegas roll.
Delish.

* Afterwards, we went to six stores looking for a new light blue purse for me.
My current one (in my beloved color, red, but I thought I venture out to a new color) is kinda hammered.

 (Yes, this is the same purse that Kohl's replaced for me last year.  I didn't have the gall to ask them for a new one AGAIN - it's tearing because I put the whole kitchen sink in it!)
Kohl's is ONE of the stores I went to, but in the end, I found my purse at Target (on clearance even!)

* On Sunday morning, I slept in until 9:30 a.m.!!!
This has just become a luxury in recent years.
Our kids have [finally]  figured it out that IF they wake us up,
we put them to work/tell them to get dressed/make them eat REAL, healthy food,
so it's so much better, in their minds, to let us sleep! ;)
Smart kids!

* I went out visiting teaching with my companion on Sunday,
then I came home, and our home teachers came to my family.
(Was it the last day of the month, or something?!?)  ;)

* Churchy-Church
It was the missionary farewell of one of my former young women!
They're growing up! {sniff, sniff}  She did a great job!
She shared an awesome quote from a Elder Holland talk he delivered at the MTC back in 2000.
Read it HERE.

 * Because it was the 5th Sunday, we had a combined meeting with the
Priesthood men and Relief Society women the last hour of our church block.
The theme of the meeting was "Family Home Evening" and we had been
asked to speak about our experience, representing a "family with children at home."
(There was also a newlywed couple and an Empty Nester couple who spoke.)
The thing about this "assignment" was, last Sunday Matt had mentioned to me, in passing, that
the Elder's Quorum President had talked to him about something and that he'd have to tell me about it later......
Well, that "later" happened to be last night around 10:00 p.m.!
(Ya gotta love it, baby!)

* I had a meeting after church, so I gave Matt instructions on everything
he needed to do to get dinner ready.
He owed it to me after the lack of notice he gave me on my speaking assignment in church, don't ya think?!?  ;)
We had Ranch Chicken.  It was a new recipe (found HERE) and I approved.

* We went on a family walk on the Lagoon Trail up to Farmington Pond
with grandma/pa and Matt's brother, wife, & kids.

A lot of other people had the same idea...and somehow some people
had confused our quiet Farmington Pond for a swimming hole that day.
There were a ton a people jumping off the fishing docks, splashing around,
and wearing skimpy suits - I'd never seen THAT up there.
Needless to say, we didn't stay long at all.

* Wrote my weekly letter to our missionary

* I quit eating before 9:00 p.m. (another part of this blasted challenge I'm on),
while Matt baked up some cookies for himself from the cookie
dough I'd made (but I didn't eat any!) for the missionary farewell/lunch.
 Only one week left of the challenge!  Yay!  ;)

Why My Husband is Awesome - Reason #419

Night before last I kind of had a little (read: major) Freak Out to Matt.
It had to do with how close it was getting to Christmas and how much work there was to do still.
It had to do with THE LIST.
It had to do with everyone's expectations.
(The Fam wants everything to be the same even though everything is NOT the same!)
It had to do with the demands on my TIME.  Namely, I don't have the same kind of TIME that I used to have to get things done - I now work my job during the school day hours, whereas before I "did Christmas" (and the homemaking/laundry/cooking) during those same hours.

So, after this "diarrhea of the mouth" (that took a good amount of time, with Matt "trapped" in our room) Matt's face had a look of bewilderment on it.
He doesn't want me to quit my job.
He doesn't want to quit having dinner.
He doesn't want me to quit showering.
He doesn't want to quit Christmas.
As a man, he feels he's suppose to come up with a solution - that's what men do, they "fix" things, but, at the moment, he didn't have a solution. 
That night, it got left like that - UNfixed.

The next afternoon, I got a text from Matt:
"I will be home from work around 5:00 to make dinner.  I will make whatever you have on the menu schedule if you leave me with the recipe.  Feel free to go and run any errands you may have."

Ahhhh!

That's what I needed!
He figured out a "solution" - sometimes in marriage, you need to re-divide the household responsibilities. 

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (from "The Girl Who Ate Everything") was on the menu schedule, so, admittedly, I was a little nervous for him because.......well......let's just say it wasn't SPAGHETTI!  ;)

He realized dinner takes a long time to make!!  Whew!
But, that was OK - I was busy doing other things, remember?

When we sat down to eat, and I took my first spoonful -- it tasted A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
It's like the lemon enhances all the other seasonings/flavors!

And I exclaimed this multiple times - as he sat there, hardly smiling about my compliments, BECAUSE he was drained from making dinner - it is A LOT of work - especially with multiple children all around needing help with homework, zippers, & urgent dilemmas.  Them asking, "What's for dinner?" or "What is THAT?" and telling you they're hungry don't make things any easier, either.  Poor Guy! :)  I can relate.  I love you, Matt!

Well, I thought I'd share the fabulous recipe with y'all.
I still haven't decided if it was SO GOOD because it really is SO GOOD or because I didn't have to make it!
Either way, here it is:

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 9 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups onions, chopped finely
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon rind, grated
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 rotisserie-cooked chicken, shredded (about 3 cups)
• 8 ounces orzo pasta, uncooked (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely cracked (optional)
• 1/4 cup Romano cheese, grated (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large pot.
2. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, lemon rind and salt. Saute ingredients over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the chicken and orzo. Simmer until orzo is cooked through. (see Note not serving soup right away)
5. Just before serving add parsley and remove bay leaf. Garnish with salt and black pepper if needed and Romano cheese if desired.

Notes

If you're serving right away you can add the orzo pasta and chicken at the same time until the orzo is cooked. If you plan on serving later it at a later time you may want to cook the orzo separately and add right before serving. The orzo pasta tends to soak up all the liquid and can become quite thick if you simmer the soup for a long time. You can always add more chicken stock if you want to thin it out a little.

Have YOUR husbands make it for your family, too!!  Enjoy!

A Sure Way to Have a Whole Month Fly By Without Even Realizing It

If time is ever moving too slow for you - just dragging on and you're wondering HOW you can make it go faster.......just GO ON A CRUISE.

Because it takes a WHOLE WEEK of pressing preparations before you can even leave:
Laundry
Writing up lists
Shopping
Making an instructions guide for our children's caretakers
Packing
Accomplishing THE LIST
ON TOP OF the extra hours at work that I had to pick up for others in trade to get the cruise week off, and Matt had to work to get all the things done that were needed for deadlines that would come up while we were gone or very shortly after we returned.
PLUS, add a daughter's birthday and party in there with my annual girls' shopping weekend in Park City on the side....

....and pretty much I was going non-stop for that first 8 days of the month.

THEN we made it on our [20th anniversary] cruise!  Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!

 The Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

Relief.

No Responsibility.

Restful.

{Haha.  Matt took this "selfie" on the first evening.  

I was so worn out by the time our vacation actually started, I fell right to sleep waiting for the show to start!} 

 Recreational.

{Yes!  There is a operational Carousal on the ship.} 

Rejuvinating.

 Refreshing.

Royal Treatment.

from our awesome waiters, "Jeff" & "Lito"

 Romantic.

 Rewarding.

Sadly, that week went by way too fast.

Side Note:  My #1 tip for married couples:  Get Away Together (alone) often! (anything from a date night to an extended vacation)  There's really no substitute.....but that's a whole other blog post for another time.

And then we came back home.  Here's another adjective beginning with the letter "R" to describe that experience:  Rude Awakening. 

Not only was is COLD, but I had to now cook my own food, pick up my own towel, wipe my own nose......Oh no!!  

  
(It's been pretty much back to work non-stop again)

So, on MONDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to go to the grocery store for all the, "Mom! We're out of (fill in the blank with anything & everything)! items the kids bombarded me with upon my return.

On TUESDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to catch up on paying bills.  What in the heck was the current status of our bank account?!?

On WEDNESDAY, I worked my shift all day and did the miscellaneous "office" stuff...and finally decorated for Thanksgiving!  With a side of planning our ward's Christmas party.

On THURSDAY, I finally had a day off work, so I got around to unpacking all my luggage.  I also tackled cleaning the stove which appeared as if a 10 gallon pot of an assortment of foods & other stuff had exploded all over it in my absence.  I also slid on in to the Post Office in the nick of time - 4:56 p.m. - to send off this month's missionary care package (a blog post for another time) for Ryan Elder Brenchley.  (It's that time again, already?!?)

So, there's another week that's gone by in a FLASH.  It's November 20th already!?!?!  That means practically the whole month is gone!  And then Thanksgiving week always goes by fast and after that, November's over.  I really can't believe how quickly it went.  Here I am left reeling.

There you have it.
Prep week + Cruise week + Catch up week.....
How to lose a month in 20 days. (but what only seemed like a few)

Up All Night

Last night we watched a movie on Netflix called, "I Don't Know How She Does It."  

Almost right at the start of the movie, there was this one scene/quote in there that really caught my attention....because it was SO relateable.  It shows the main character (a mom) lying in bed at night, awake, just staring at the ceiling, while her husband is sound asleep next to her.  Her voice is simultaneously narrating the scene:

"A recent study showed that 64% of women with young children don't sleep through the night. 

Researchers were at a loss to explain WHY?

They could've asked me!

At night, I, like women all around the world, do THE LIST

• Emily's Birthday party theme:  Pirates or Pop Stars?
• Things to buy:  paper towels, toothpaste, pork chops, a birthday gift for Jedda's party....
• Find out if "Jedda" is a boy or a girl
• Call that guy
• Make a play date with the kid who doesn't bite
• Refill washer fluid in car  --  Wait a minute!  Shouldn't that be on Richard's (husband) list?  Who am I kidding?!?  Richard doesn't have a list!
• Wax something.....anything!
• Call Richard's mother and say, "Hi."
• OR just email, "Hi"
• Wash Ben's teddy bear
• Renew birth control pills
• Twinkies
• Ambien
• Finish year end fiscal summary........Oh no, START year end fiscal summary
• Hamster?
• Kegels?
• Bagels

...and on and on." 

Oh. My. Word!  I have been there!!!  This was the worst for me when my first (& only at the time) child was in his toddler years.  It was so maddening because he was finally sleeping through the night, but then, there I was lying awake, thinking about EVERYTHING!  Grrrr.

And then I discovered Melatonin. 

Now that I'm past the stage where any of my babies wake up in the middle of the night for nursings, I have been doing better about not waking in the middle of the night for THE LIST.  Now, instead, I make it through the night, only to wake up too early in the morning to THE LIST, while my husband is still sleeping in.  (And then he asks me why I didn't sleep in, when I had a chance to, on the weekend!??!)

So, THEN, last night....

I don't know if it had to do with the fact that:

I had just watched this movie 

OR

I had failed to take my Melatonin

OR

That I had slept in yesterday morning, after returning home late from an extended Spring Break family trip we took, then worked even later, so THE LIST had not been attended to at it's regular time.

But, I awoke at a little past 3:00 in the morning. 

And laid there.  And laid there.  

While Matt was snoozing away....

I tried to block out my own thoughts....

....because everything/one else in the house was QUIET - and I SHOULD be sleeping!

I was still awake when streams of light started to come in between the blind slats.

And I couldn't go back to sleep because the wheels were turning:

I finally started to write THE LIST down on a post-it notepad Kyle made me that I keep on my night stand.......and this was AFTER I'd already made a list while at dinner to get me back on track after being out of town for a week.....the middle of the night stuff was all new stuff!

I asked Matt this morning if he saw THE LIST I'd made during the night.....and he's like, "WHOA!  What the...?!?  Who does that?"

ME.

Told You So

I have this little sign in my home:

It speaks the plain truth!

(Although no one wants to admit it!)

Case(s) in point:

• My two youngest daughters think it IS ABSURD that I tell them to put their shoes away, WHEN they take them off, in their closet, that it will make their life (& mine) so much easier.  (At least, I'm assuming they think it's absurd since they totally ignore my counsel on this matter.)     AND THEN, they frequently get to experience the mad dash, frantic searching, & whining/tears which comes from not being able to find their shoes - and often still produces no shoes - and results in being late to school, church, & dance lessons.
• Since Friday is "early out" from school and really the only day that works out to play with friends after school, I tell my oldest daughter that she should do all of her reading before school, so she is free to play after.  Well, apparently it's another absurd idea because it's much more fun to just hang around doing nothing before school!       AND THEN, she has this one friend who seriously calls to play THE MINUTE she walks in the door from school.  And guess what?!?  She can't play since her reading is not done.  This is followed by MUCH weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!
• My friend's daughter's basketball team had a couple players get injured and they were now short on players and asked about my daughter playing with them.  When I mentioned it to her, she protested, I don't want to play!  I told her it would be fun and she would be good - she's quite tall, after all.  Her sports lovin' older brother actually told her she didn't have a choice, that she WOULD play ball!  ;)  She went out in the garage to practice dribbling, and she tripped over some boards and fell down, so she shouted/cried at me, You should've never gotten me into this!  I told her not to trip on boards - there wouldn't be any on a real basketball court - and that she needs to try it and she would have a good time.     AND THEN, she did go play in the basketball game.  She was all smiles whenever she looked at us in the "stands" and beaming afterwards.  Her first words to me at the end of the game?  "I want to sign up to play basketball next year!!"
•  I tell my family to keep their elbows off the table.  They think I'm being too proper, that I'm obsessed with "old school" manners in our own home.     AND THEN, we average 9.2 spills a week.
• I function by the "A place for everything and everything in it's place" idea and like to tell my family members this quote. NO ONE else in my home buys into this.  Why would they?  It's SO MUCH easier to just drop things along the way without paying any attention.    AND THEN, *someone's* wallet is ALWAYS missing (along with all their money!) when they need to go somewhere with it.
• I've suggested an "after school routine" for my very distractable, can't-remember-what-she's-doing-when-she-walks-from-one-room-to-the-next daughter.  It goes like this:

4:00 Arrive Home

4-4:15 After school snack

4:15-4:30  ONE page of assigned homework

4:30-4:50 Practice piano

4:50-5:10 Read

So, by 5:15, she is DONE with EVERYTHING, and FREE to do whatever she wants until bedtime!!! 

She has chosen NOT to adhere to this whatsoever UP UNTIL last week (when we had to have a "duct tape intervention."  Meaning we took all 23 rolls away from her until she could go a week demonstrating responsibility & initiative.)  So, she follows the schedule, and she discovers what "free time" with no checking up from parents feels like - what a novel idea!!!  And she says to me, "This is so great!  Why haven't I been doing this all along?!?"

• But, probably THE BIGGEST "I told you so" incidences that's been on my mind [almost constantly] this week has something to do with the fact that after being a 3 car family for just a mere 5 1/2 weeks, we are back to being a 2 car family.  This is a result of our 3rd car now being deemed "undriveable" due to its extensive damage it has sustained by it's *driver* who was driving it in a way that was contrary to the ways I had always told them to drive!  Let alone, what really COULD HAVE happened to the *driver* if they weren't so lucky blessed to come out unharmed - at least physically!!!  But, what do I know?  I grew up in the 80's!  (*that person's* favorite line to say to me.)  As if "defensive driving" was ONLY applicable when I was in my youth!?!  

 Grrrrrr!
What do they say?  You learn 20% of what your hear, but 80% of what you experience.  You have to experience it to learn it.

And then it still comes back to this:

A Couple of Math Equations

1.

 +

 +

 +

 +

 +

 =

A much needed [Winter] BREAK in Hawaii last week.

2.

 {It's the wait-until-Mom-gets-home-to-finish-Science-Fair-project-that's-DUE-the-NEXT-DAY-syndrome}

To find out how I feel about those things, read HERE.

+

 +

 {I haven't got a clue!}

+

 +

 

{Why is unpacking such a daunting task?}

 +

 +

=

A RUDE awakening to my harsh reality!

This Weekend:

It has been a tradition of Matt & mine, over the last several years, to go on a "recovery" overnighter at a hotel sometime between Christmas and New Year's.  We usually have our niece stay with our kiddos, but this year she is on an LDS mission in the Canary Islands.  And my other niece (the sister to the above mentioned niece) is getting married on New Year's Eve this year, and she planned her pre-wedding temple day on the Friday evening that we would've gone on the overnighter.....so, it didn't work out this year.  We decided to substitute an "all day date" instead.  Matt took the day off work on Friday.

* Breakfast at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon

(No outdoor seating this morning in the frigid temps where the sun was blocked by the mountain the patio backs up to!)

* Then we looked at some cars at about 4 different dealerships in Salt Lake & Davis County.

Can I just say that some car salesmen are in the wrong job!  They're really bad!  NO people skills!

(One really good car had been sold just 20 minutes before we arrived and the buyer was still there 

doing paperwork and the car was, too, getting detailed!  Miss!)

* We went to this movie matinee:

(It was interesting.  Walter is quite a delightful geek. ;)  We liked it.  Very clean (PG).
We got good seats this time, unlike my last experience at a movie. 

Spoiler Alert:  Matt's favorite part was when I screamed out loud and grabbed his arm,
practically jumping into his lap, when a shark came out of the ocean!)

* We had "linner" at Costa Vida afterwards.

We got the usual:  sweet pork for Matt, grilled steak for me.  (Salad, that is.)

* We went home and changed into our dress clothes, then went up to the Bountiful Temple

to attend a session with our niece, Maddie, and her fiance, Josh - and a lot of my 

extended family.

{Interesting note about Maddie's maiden name/married name:  Currently, her last name is Fowers (same as my maiden name)
and her fiance's last name is Baum (pronounced, "bomb").  So, when she gets married, she will be known as "Maddie F. Baum."}  haha!  ;)

* We went to my brother's house for dessert following the temple session.

There were a few choices, but I had peppermint ice cream pie with Oreo crust - YUM!

* Everyone (except exhausted me) did their Saturday jobs in the morning...which drug into

the afternoon for "some" (who shall remain nameless).

* Matt took the girls sledding

* The boys went to the movie, "The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug"

* Which meant I had the [quiet] house all to myself!!!!  And I read some more

from my book, A girl name Zippy: growing up small in Mooreland, Indiana

And then I fell asleep while reading, for about 1 1/2 hrs., until the troops [noisily] came home.

* We got together with some of the Brenchley adults for

Dickey's BBQ for dinner, card games, and visiting.

* Church on Sunday

I taught the Young Women two lessons:

This one and This one. 

As far as establishing a Christ-centered home, I found this helpful chart on Pinterest recently: 

{It's hanging on my fridge now, ready to go for 2014}

* Sunday afternoon was spent with a visit from my Visiting Teacher,

more reading, and a nap!

* We had a non-traditional Sunday dinner for Sunday dinner

(Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken), but it was

easy and allowed me to have a leisurely afternoon while

I am still recovering from the post-Christmas-run-over-by-a-truck feeling.   

* We never got to watch "A Christmas Story" during the month,

so we actually finished off the night watching it, even though it's after Christmas - that's OK, isn't it?

With the magic of Wikepedia and imdb, we discovered those "kids" (Ralphie & Scut Farkus) 

in the movie are like MY AGE! ~ weird.  

(the actors who play them, that is.)

This Weekend:

* All my sister-in-laws (minus 5 SILs) and I went on our annual Christmas shopping excursion with my MIL

to help her get Christmas presents for her grandkids (my children & nieces/nephews) at Station Park.

We also had dinner at Zupas together.  We were able to crank it out in 5 hours this year!

* Since the night was still "young," (by Matt & I's defintion) we went out for a mini-date to 

get a treat.  Ice cream was OUT since it was SO COLD (it was in the teens!), so we

went to Bowman's for half-price doughnuts (after 7 PM) & chocolate milk.

* Matt & Ryan went to the "basketball draft" on Saturday morning for our Jr. Jazz city basketball league.
Matt is going to be Kyle's head coach, and Ryan will be his "assistant."
Kyle was "protected" due to being a coach's son, so he didn't even have to try out.
They watched the boys run through some dribbling, shooting, passing, etc. drills and were able to take notes/rate them,
then they went into the "Situation Room" and drew numbers to see who'd go first in the draft.
Since Ryan remembers everything sports/stats related, he was good eyes & brain to assist Matt in his draft picks.

* Meanwhile, I picked up my Bountiful Basket - included this time was everything to make guacomole.  Yum!

* Saturday Jobs and I started to make the stew for our ward Christmas party.

* We had told all the kids that IF they were perfect on their check marks for the week,

that we would go to the movies on Saturday.  The boys would go to Thor, and the girls

would go to Frozen.  Well, they did it! 

So, we went!
{Our ONE movie of the year.} 

Although, we arrived at the theater about 20 min. before showtime, all the good seats (by my definition)

for Frozen were taken, so we ended up on Row 3!  

(I guess everyone reserves online ahead of time these days because they definitely weren't sitting in the theater, yet, when we entered.)

It was hard for my eyes to digest everything happening on the big screen so close up.  

Needless to say, I came out with a headache.  

When I announced this to the boys, they started laughing because apparently, Matt had already "called it."
 He had just told them, "Watch, Mom's going to come out and say she has a headache."

* The boys then went over to Matt's brother's house to watch the MLS Championship game.....

only to see ReAL Salt Lake lose in a shoot out!  

{Matt was much displeased.}

* We had our ward Christmas party tonight.

It was an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" themed party, so I had gone to Deseret Industries earlier in the week to

get some for my family.  I only found some for the girls.  They didn't even have any for the boys.  

BUT, the thing was, my daughters DID NOT EVEN THINK THEY WERE UGLY! 

They WANT to wear them to school!  WHAT?!?!

Should I allow it?  

I'm hearing my mother's voice in my head, "Don't represent our family THAT WAY!"

We got to the party and realized that there were rolls and baked goodies GALORE - ALL of which

Haylee can't eat anymore as a Celiac.  Her face immediately fell - it was sad.

We didn't even think of that.....there's definitely a learning curve with this new lifestyle....we need to get used to bringing our own things to parties now.

Luckily, they had a soft serve ice cream machine there, also - she just put hers in a cup instead of a cone!  ;)
Santa Claus also came, but Brookelle was a bit nervous and "forgot" to tell him what she wanted!

 So, I helped her write an "official" list when she got home.  ;)

* I helped Ryan get the stuff to answer to Christmas Dance, and then drop it off at the girls house.

* And then he begged me to go do "donuts" and slip/slide around in the church parking lot on our way home since it had been snowing most of the day!
{I obliged}

* Churchey-church and meetings on Sunday.

My Mia Maid adviser taught this lesson.  She had asked the young women's

parents & friends about what each of their spiritual gifts were and

then shared them with the class.  It was cool because some of 

the girls didn't even realize they had those!

* In the afternoon, some of the kids watched, "Miracle of 34th Street" and then in the evening,

the family watched, "The Polar Express." 

We're trying to knock off a couple for our Family Christmas movie tradition on a 

day that everyone is home, instead of running a million different directions!
We remembered about the First Presidency's Christmas devotional at 6:45 PM - woops!
We "dropped the ball" this year - only caught the last 15 min.

* I also spent a bunch of time on the library website selecting Christmas

storybooks that I can read to my family each night this year. (another

family tradition).  The Christmas Train by President Thomas S. Monson

has a long waiting list again this year, so we're probably not going to get it!  Dang!

But, I'm excited about some of the other titles we can hopefully get to.

* We put all the ornaments on our Christmas tree (just the tree with lights had been 

up for for a couple of days) and I finished the last decorating touches in our home.

* I gave both the boys haircuts, but they both had strict instructions for me to 

leave their "wings" and their "Jedi braid" alone.

{They are totally replaying their father's adolescence.}

* One of our friends delivered one of those Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory-esque

caramel apples....that SHE made!!  It had been dipped in Oreo crumbs and

had white chocolate drizzled on the top of that!  Oh. My. YUM!

The family gobbled it down in NO TIME at all.

Seriously, I cut it up, walked out of the kitchen, and came back and it was GONE!
(Thus, no photo.)

But, the little bit I did taste, was just the right "night cap" (at least our version of one!)  ;)

Happy Harvest!

I tried my hand at a REAL garden this year for the first time.  Definition of "REAL?" As in a rectangle-shaped one with multiple rows of plants.  

(Previously, I have planted 1-2 zucchini plants in a flower bed on the edge of our old yard - which I considered not a REAL garden.)

Ryan organized our family - for his Family Life merit badge - back during Spring Break to first, prepare a plot of land in our yard for a garden.  This took half a day, leveling, and getting out the rocks and weeds, and making a "box" around the outer edges with all the leftover boards that were still hanging around our property from the builders 8 months prior.  We really know how to "Live it Up" for Spring Break, don't we?!?  ;)  haha.  Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of that day.

Gradually, I planted the various vegetables & fruits (green onions, onions, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkins, zucchini, and corn) over the next 6 weeks based on when the seed packet suggested.  (Again, I'm a rookie, so I wasn't ever sure I was doing things exactly right....and I might have been tardy on some of my planting times.)
I don't have any photos of the planting process, either.

And since we didn't have a landscaped yard in, yet, we also didn't have any sprinklers, but our kind back door neighbors (the experienced gardners) let us hook a hose up to their garden spout, so we could at least hand water it.

We divided the garden rows up between us, and each person was in charge of weeding their row.  Like Mom was corn, Dad was onions & tomatoes, Kyle was green onions, Katelyn was zucchini, etc.  Let's just say that some rows stayed better weeded than others!  (like the corn!)

I periodically took pictures through the rest of the season.

JUNE 

AUGUST

We picked our first batch of corn and had it for dinner one night!

(Katelyn's face doesn't look so sure!  :)  That's because OUR corn was not a "pretty" as the corn she was used to getting from the farmer's corn field that used to occupy the land where our home now sits.  Again, I'm a rookie.)

SEPTEMBER

I guess the seed packet was NOT kidding when it suggested putting 3-4 feet in between each row of the vine-like plants (canteloupe/watermelon/pumpkins)......well, I didn't have that kind of space, so I didn't.....and the vines all tangled together and cross-germinated, and produced hybrids, maybe?  Rookie mistake, right?!?

Watermelon

Zucchini

Usually people around here have zucchini growing out their ears, but I can count on my hands how many I got, so maybe I did something wrong?  (Again, I'm a rookie!)

Cantaloupe

Pumpkins

In the end, our onions, green onions, and tomatoes never did come up....they just disappeared into thin air!   (Rookie!) Our [experienced gardner] neighbors actually gave us an "extra" tomato plant she had in a pot and helped my girls plant it in our empty tomato row -- but I think it was a little too late in the season - we never got any ripe tomatoes before we lost our warm weather, they just progressed to the green tomato point....maybe I should just say that we were TRYING to grow green tomatoes - ya know, for Fried Green Tomatoes? - and then I won't look so non-professional!
We also transplanted Miss B's sunflower seed she had planted in a cup at preschool - it grew pretty good out there.

LATER

We picked and ate them!

Another sign of a rookie:

Here's the inside of a couple of our watermelons.....I THINK something is wrong!?!  (Rookie!)

OCTOBER

Our "pumpkin patch" experience was really slick this year.....

We just went out to our back yard and got 'em!

And we carved our very own hone-grown pumpkins into Jack-o-Lanterns with our friends/neighbors one evening.....they all got ripped off by the pumpkin patch prices!  SUCKERS!  ;)

But, as beginner's luck would have it.....there were a couple of our pumpkins in the garden that never did turn ORANGE.....they were STILL green towards the middle of October.  (Again, rookie?)

So, instead, with some Pinspiration, I gave them a little "face lift" - just painted them up, so NO ONE would ever know!

{Except all who read this!}

NOVEMBER

And we displayed them on our porch with some of the pulled-up corn stalks from our garden, too!

 Then we yanked everything all out = end of the season.

Due to the way our landscaping [surprisingly and contrary to our plans] turned out, we're doubling the size of our garden next year!

Is that good or bad?!!?

{We'll hopefully get better at this.}