House Projects Update

I feel a little bad about that title, because it almost implies that I have been doing all of these great projects, when I haven't, but I have managed to finish a couple, or at the very least, pay someone who knew how to do it much better than I, to finish them.  So here's the latest:

First, we finally managed to get the front porch painted.  Last year (yeah, I know), we added some architectural interest to the front by getting a guy to put up some molding and arches.  The understanding was that we needed to get it painted right away, because the wood was only primed, and a whole winter wasn't going to be good for it.  Well, you already knew that wasn't going to happen, didn't ya. 

This summer we noticed it was looking pretty rough, but after a gallon of Kilz (that stuff can work miracles!) and some really good mildew-resistant paint (seriously, it cost over $35!) the porch looks great.

I painted the mailbox too, because it looked awful next to the glowing porch.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that it looks way, way better.

We also finally got our backsplash in the kitchen finished.  We had started the project in May, but because of some bad timing, and needing to change labourers mid-stream (is that a mixed metaphor?) it wasn't totally finished until September.  But it turned out absolutely beautiful, if I do say so myself. 

I think the tile is fantastic.  I love how it stands out, but still goes with the granite, so it doesn't compete.

Most of this summer we spent working on the backyard, putting in a walled garden (no, it doesn't have anything in it, because we didn't finish until it was almost Halloween, but come next Spring, we are going to be ready to go!!), as well as marble rock surrounding the garden, and all around the back. 

Putting the rock in was Jeff's idea ,so that he wouldn't have to use the edger when he mows.  Jeff absolutely hates mowing the lawn, and will do almost anything to make the job less of a bear.  I can sympathize with trying to make a job take less time and work, and it really ended up looking pretty cool, if you ask me.

Ok, last thing: I just wanted to post a picture of the finished guest room, with a lamp and artwork, and actually looking like someone would want to stay there.  :o) 

'Cause remember, we love visitors! (again with the "hint, hint")   :o)

My Awesome Friend

I have a friend, who, as the title might suggest, is awesome.  No, let me take that back.

She is. . . AWESOME!!!

I met her when we were living in the USU married housing trailer court, which was also awesome, by the way.  She was a "young" married girl (which really just meant younger than me), but we totally clicked.  We had had babies about the same time, and so we walked together every day to lose the baby weight, and it worked pretty darn great.

When we moved from Utah to North Carolina I was way sad to not have her around to hang out with everyday, but we've kept in touch with the occasional phone call and email, etc.  You know how it goes. 

Well, this "young mother," who was just starting out when I knew her, is now a mother of four (3 boys and a girl), two of whom have special needs.  Casey, her second son, is autistic, and her fourth child, Abby, has down syndrome.

My friend is not only awesome, but she has this AWESOME blog, mostly just about her life, but also about being a mom with special needs kids, and how hard it can be, but also how (get ready for it) awesome it is as well.

She wrote a really fantastic post a little while ago, defending the decision to go ahead with a pregnancy with a child who has down syndrome which I loved and wanted to post right away.  However, unlike her, I am not awesome, and I haven't blogged in a while, but I thought that I would (finally!) post the link now.

But first, I wanted to post a link to pix of her completely beautiful daughter:

http://www.mostlytruestuff.com/2011/11/abby-fix.html

Ok, here's the post I was talking about:

http://www.mostlytruestuff.com/2011/10/my-angry-down-syndrome-awareness-post.html

And the follow-up post, that you should read too, because it's...(wait for it)...awesome!!!

http://www.mostlytruestuff.com/2011/10/thanks-for-sharing.html

Brothers from Another Mother

Well, not really, but it makes more sense than "Twins!  ...Kinda, Sort of."  We've recently discovered that Ben and Jarom look almost exactly like each other at the same age.  Jarom says that Ben is his twin, "we were just born at different times."

We have all our family pictures on the computer as our screen saver, sort of a continuous slide-show, but we didn't have a digital camera the first few years we had kids (Yes, I am that old) so we never get to see baby pictures of Jarom all the time like we do Ben, or even Kelcey.

The other day Jarom got out some photo albums from when he was little, and while he was looking at them Ben came over and started to say, "Benny, Benny!" over and over, while he was pointing to the pictures.  We tried to explain that they were pictures of Jarom, not him, but the more we looked at them, we realized, yeah, they do look like pictures of Ben! 

I am in serious trouble, if I can barely tell my kids apart in pictures now.  When I'm a grandma I'm going to be hopeless.  I'll be that old lady that keeps saying, "Now, this is a picture of your daddy.  Oh wait, nope, that's Uncle Ben.  Ok, this is a picture of your daddy.  Whoops, wrong again."  My poor grand kids!

So, here's a couple of examples.  See if you can tell who's who.  :o)

My Little Piece of Family History

My sister Susannah is our family's unofficial historian.  For several reasons, not the least of which is that she actually was a history major in college, but also because she loves keeping history, and she knows how to do it the right way.

She was scanning some old family photos from my dad's side of the family recently, and she found two matching little postcards stuck in them that my Grandma Helen had collected during her travels as an army nurse during WWII in Europe.  This was almost like finding gold.  Better than gold.

My grandmother died, before I was born, from complications of Multiple Sclerosis, and so I never got to meet her.  In this life anyway.  I think I knew her before I came, because she seems so familiar, but that's my own personal feeling, not anything solid. 

She was the one that was responsible for getting my dad's family to join the church.  When she was in Europe during the war she became friends with the general's wife that she served under, and they just happened to be LDS.  She learned about the church, but she came home, married my grandpa, and didn't ever talk  about it. 

However, she must kept what she learned in the back of her mind because one day, on the "spur of the moment", she arranged for them to stop in Nauvoo while on a family road trip vacation (my dad's family is from northern Illinois) and talk to the missionaries there.  And the rest is history. 

So I owe her, not only for the fantastic priesthood holder that my dad is, but also the life that I enjoy because of his membership in the church.  The fact that he met my mother at BYU, that I grew up with the gospel, that I met my husband in Provo, that my family enjoys the gospel, all goes back, in part, to her testimony, and being the impetus for their family to buck tradition and small-town opinion, and join "them weird Mormons."

For some silly reasons that aren't worth going into right now, our family has been largely left out of the history and keepsakes that have been passed around.  So when my sister found this postcard, she decided to snag them both and get them identically framed.  Archivally, of course.  And she sent me mine for my birthday.  AWESOME!!

So now we each have our own little piece of history hanging on the wall.  Something concrete that links us to our grandma, and her legacy, and to each other.

Happy Anniversary indeed!!!

Ok, ladies.  This is going to be one of those posts where you either think, "Awww, that is so great," or you think,"Awwww, why can't my husband do that kind of thing?"  But just don't get into any marital spats because of me, 'k?  Because I have got to seriously brag on my husband for a bit. 

In general, we don't have a fabulous track record with our anniversary.  And it's not Jeff's fault or anything, we just don't usually make it a big deal.  As a matter of fact, I have actually forgotten it before!  Although, to clarify, I knew that our anniversary was the 13th of August, but I didn't know that that particular Tuesday, or whatever, was our anniversary.  And since I forget what the date is on a regular basis anyway, that should come as a surprise to no one.

Anyway, I've been wanting to go somewhere overnight for our anniversary for a few years now, but it's never worked out, mostly because we don't have family in the area, so we don't have anyone to watch all of our kids at one time.  (Seriously, all you people with grandparents readily available really don't know how good you've got it.)  As a matter of fact, we haven't had a night away, just Jeff and me, since Jarom was a year old and we came out to North Carolina to go house hunting.

What I had really wanted to do was to go stay at the Renaissance hotel at North Hills, and go to dinner, and see a movie, etc., because it's all there, and we wouldn't be too far away.  Doesn't it sound fabulous?  But I had resigned myself to it not happening, because of the aforementioned "no family to watch the kids" wrinkle.

HOWEVER!!  Not only had Jeff been listening to me when I was wishing out loud that we could do this fun thing for our anniversary, but he actually took the whole thing in hand and arranged with our good friends who have 4 kids, just like us, all the same ages as our kids, to take our children, and he made the hotel reservation for us, as a surprise, all by himself!!!!

I know!!!! 

It really could not have been more fabulous!  We went to dinner at Firebirds, our favorite steakhouse, bar none, where we had a truly fantastic dinner (filet mignon, anyone?), and then we went to the last Harry Potter movie (yet another present from my sweetie), and after that, when the movie got out ofter midnight, we didn't have to make the long drive home, and then pay the babysitter, and then drive the babysitter home -  all we had to do was walk to the end of the "block" and go to our room!  It was awesome!!!

The next day we got to sleep in as late as we wanted, and then we actually went in to all the fancy shops and boutiques at North Hills that I would never ever go into with my kids.  And then, after we were done window shopping (because there was no way in heck that I was going to actually buy anything at those fancy boutiques.  One place had sequined sweaters for $497!!!  I kid you not!  And the clearance racks were still all over $200!   I was blown away by the senseless materialism) we went to JC Penney where they were having a fantastic sale, and got Jeff some work shirts (all more than 50% off), and me a couple of necklaces (also all on major sale - nothing more than $10).  Now that's my idea of clearance.

To finish out the day we had linner at Bonefish Grill, which I had never been to before, but I will be going again.  They do really good seafood, and I had grilled shrimp and sea scallops with roasted asparagus, which was all incredible.  Just like the weekend!

So please, don't hate me because my husband is awesome.  :o)

And Another [Song] Bites the Dust

Have you ever really liked a song from your childhood, only to have it completely ruined by today's technology?  Let me explain.

So, when I was younger (like, elementary school "younger") I really enjoyed this one song that would come on the radio, and even though I didn't really understand any of the words, except for an occasional "Angel," and sometimes a "centerfold" (which made no sense to me at all), it had a great melody, and there was this awesome chorus of "Na Na Na Na's". 

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Anyway, I heard the song on the radio again recently, and really enjoyed bopping out to it as I was driving around.  Of course, I understood more this time around (at the very least, I know what a centerfold is) but I still couldn't understand most of the words, either because it was on a fuzzy radio channel, or because the lead singer didn't have very good diction.  Probably both.  But I sure enjoyed those "Na Na Na Na's".

I downloaded the song from itunes, and then, last night, while I was watering the lawn (because we paid a ridiculous amount of money to get our lawn aerated and seeded, and I didn't want to blow our investment, even though it kills me to think what our water bill is going to be next month) it came up on my ipod.  And, thanks to crystal clear digital technology delivering every nuance straight to my ear canal via my earbuds, I finally hear the song in its entirety.  Every. single. word.

So, now that I completely understand exactly what the song is saying, and why the words "Angel" and "centerfold" were so prominent, I must reject the appeal of the chorus of  "Na Na Na Na's".  Which just basically all means that I've erased the song from my itunes library.  But...Argggh!!!

The really frustrating thing?  Not only have I lost the $0.99 that I paid for the darn thing, not only do I have those stupid words and the images that they created in my mind, but now I can't even listen to it on the radio with the same innocent enjoyment of my 80's nostalgia.  Technology has ruined this song for me forever.

Even the Na Na Na Na's.

I'm almost an empty-nester

Yup, it's actually happened: Kelcey has started kindergarten.  She had her first "staggered entry" day last week, where only a few kids from each class attend so that the teacher can get to know them individually, and get all the assessments done (such as, do they know their letters, numbers, colors, etc.).  She knew all that stuff a long time ago, and we'd been reviewing the last few days, so I hope it went well.

Better than mine, at least.

My mother taught me how to read when I was two, which is less a comment on the fact that I was a gifted child, and more a reveal into how fantastically and incredibly AWESOME my mother is.  So, by the time I was in kindergarten, reading was normal.  It was just something that I did all the time.  I don't remember a time when I couldn't read.

Anyway, when I got to kindergarten for my assessment, according to my mom, I was so irritated that they were asking me what the letters and numbers were, stuff that I had known forever, that I just clammed up, and refused to answer any of their questions.

So, apparently they thought I was somewhat backwards, and put me into a remedial program until my mother figured out what was going on, explained the problem, and convinced me to read for my teacher.

Which just goes to show you...actually, what, I'm not exactly sure--that you shouldn't cross someone off your "people with potential" list, because they might have talents that they are keeping hidden?, that public school education is somewhat inadequate?, or that I shouldn't cause problems for myself just because I think that the people around me are acting like idiots?  Pick any of those as your favorite moral and run with it.  :o)

Oh, and I guess I should have said that I feel like an empty-nester.  Because I still have Ben at home with me, but without Kelcey it feels so quiet.   I've always maintained that having just one child is pretty much the same as being alone, and it's totally true. 

Maybe if Ben was older, it might be different, but I find myself forgetting about lunch time, because Kelcey isn't there telling me she's hungry.  And when Ben goes up to play in the playroom I don't hear any of the regular noises of two kids playing together, and occasionally fighting together.  It's just pretty quiet.

Ben misses her too.  Yesterday he would be playing or walking around, and, out of the blue, he'd say, "Kelcey gone?  Kelcey school?"  And I'd agree that she was at school, but remind him that all the kids were coming home soon (ish).  He actually might miss her more than I do, because they played together so much, and she was so good about doing things with him.

It's only been two days of school so far, and I know that I will get a routine again with Ben and me (part of the problem is that I've been housebound while Jeff's car is in the shop)  but right now I miss having someone at home that I could really have a conversation with.  Yeah, ok, maybe not a deep philosophical discussion, but a conversation nonetheless.  I admit that I'm wallowing in it, just a little bit, but, you guys, it's the end of an era!  (2 points to whomever knows that TV show quote)

I guess I should be glad that I only have one child at home, making shopping, etc., much easier, but right now I'm just sad.  I only cried once yesterday, and it's getting better, but today I'm sad. 

Ok, bright side: isn't it great that I have kids that I actually miss?

I Met Sabrina Soto!!!!!

I was coming home from Utah last week, walking through the RDU airport when I saw a woman talking on her cellphone. At first I thought she looked like someone I knew, but then the closer I looked, I realized that I didn't know her, but I knew who she was:  It was Sabrina Soto!

My feet slowed down of their own accord, and I couldn't help it, I was just staring.  Sabrina ( I feel like I can call her that, since I have met her) started to grin and said, speaking to the person on her phone, "Mom...can I call you back?" -- cause she knew where this was going.

I said (sounding like a total idiot, I'm sure), "Are you Sabrina Soto?", just to be absolutely positive it was her.  She kind of laughed, and said that she was, and then we actually had a conversation!  She told me that she was coming back from filming an episode of something (HGTV'd?  I'm honestly not sure because I was really kind of star struck) down in Fayetteville. 

I finally remembered to introduce myself, and she asked where we were coming from, and then I told her how much I love "Get it Sold", her old show, and how I was so sad that it wasn't on any more.  She told me that she's going to start another show soon called "High/Low", I think, and she said it was going to be even better than "Get it Sold."

Then I told her how great all her tips were, and that I used them all when we were selling our house.  I even printed out her checklist, and that because of all her staging helps we were able to sell our house in under a month.  (All true!)

She actually seemed touched, and said how happy she was to hear that.  The kids were getting antsy, and I didn't want to take up too much of her time, so I just told her how nice it was to meet her, and then said goodbye.

After we walked away I actually had a hard time getting my breathing back to normal, and I was seriously star struck, but you know, the overwhelming thing about it all was that she was so nice.  She didn't have to stop her conversation, she could have just ignored me, or she could have just said hi, gladhanding the fans, and then gotten back to whatever she was doing, but instead, she took the time to really talk with me. She always seemed so nice and funny on her shows, and it's wonderful to know that that's exactly how she is in regular life.

She was wearing this way cute green and navy diagonal stripe dress with ballet flats, with that gorgeous hair, so she even looked like you would think she should!  :o)

It's funny, if you had asked me before this happened who I would have wanted to meet from HGTV, which I watch all the time, I totally would have chosen Sabrina Soto.  She's been my hero for years, not only because I love her organization, and I love how she decorates, but I also love how she helps the people on her shows realize the kind of house that they could have.

I met Sabrina Soto!!!  AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!   :o)

Funny Kid Quote of the Day

We just got back from a wonderful 2 weeks in Utah, and I will post lots of pictures soon, never fear, but until then I thought I would post something cute to tide you over.  Since I am sure that you are hanging on to my every word.  Right? 

Anyway, so we were watching a movie with the kids Monday night (Despicable Me--I can recommend it with ClearPlay, otherwise, not so much), that they had seen before, but a while ago, and, as the teaser starts, Jarom intones in a voice just meant for a dramatic movie trailer:

"Oh, yeah. 
The beginning. . .This is where it all starts."

Jeff and I just started to bust up, and the kids all got the giggles.  It was one of those fun family moments that you hope you can always remember.  My kids are the best!  :o)

Nothing Monumental

I don't have anything earth-shattering to report, but I realized that I haven't posted in a little while, so I thought I would at least put up an update for ya'll.

At the beginning of the month we celebrated Jarom's birthday by going to a baseball game.  Unfortunately it was also the night we had a really big summer storm in our area.  I could have just kicked myself, because we couldn't have done it worse if we had actually sat down and planned it.

The minor league team that we love to go to is the Carolina Mudcats (I believe they are a farm team for the Cincinnati Reds, but don't quote me on that.  Jeff would know for sure.)  Anyway, they have a nice park, the games are a lot of fun, and the seats are cheap ($6 for general admission, $10 for front box seats).  Plus, on Fridays (like the one we went to) they always have fireworks at the end of the game.  It's one of our family's favorite fun things to do.

The game started at 7:15, but since our kids don't have the attention span to sit through an entire game, we decided to go a little late so that they would still have enough energy to stay for the fireworks.  We went to McDonalds (Jarom's special birthday dinner request) and got to the park about 8:15.  The skies had been getting darker, but there was only 30% chance of rain, and it was supposed to rain all week, but it never had, so we figured, same thing this time, right?  Oh, so wrong!!!

We parked (and paid $5 for it too, which really irritates me) and walked to the entrance---all the while the wind is starting to pick up, and we're feeling little sprinkles, but we keep telling the kids (and ourselves) that it's not going to rain hard, and that we'll still have a fun time even if it does rain.  Well, then the thunder started, with flashes of lighting in the distance. 

I took Kelcey to the bathroom, while Jeff headed up to our seats.  In the 3 1/2 minutes that it took us to be out of the bathroom, the storm just exploded, with rain and wind so strong that it was horizontal, with lightning and thunder that were practically on top of each other.  Jeff said that they were only able to watch 2 pitches before it started raining, and then it was all over.  Everyone in the stands rushed down, and with the rain blowing all over the place we all just huddled in the back by the concession stands, trying to stay as dry as possible.  Unsuccessfully, I might add.

It was a little scary for everyone, but Kelcey is really, really, really scared of thunderstorms anyways, even in the house, so she was seriously freaking out.  She finally just buried her head into Jeff's chest, put her arms around his neck, and held on for dear life.  She didn't make a peep, or even move for the rest of the time we were there, waiting out the storm.  We kind of thought she was asleep, but she never was.  Actually, it was almost like she was in a self-induced coma---if she pretended that she wasn't there, then maybe it wasn't so bad.

Finally, after about an hour, the storm lightened up enough so that we could make a run for it.  We made it to the car, and decided to take everyone for ice cream to make up for what Jarom kept wailing was his "worst birthday ever!"  I tried to get him to realize that it would be an exciting memory, but I guess it's just too hard to have a long term perspective when you're barely nine.

The next night we had cake and presents, and that went better.  (It could hardly have been worse.) 

Jarom got his first actual Sunday suit,

and then we had a treasure hunt for his big present: a mountain bike!! 

I'm kind of lame (no big surprise!), so I don't have any pictures of him actually riding it, but I'll get to that and post a couple soon.

Weight Watchers update

145!!!! 

That's right, I said 145, people!!!  I am now the same wieght that I was before I got pregnant with Ben!  Not that I'm going to throw caution to the wind and stop tracking, but I am so excited to be my pre-pregnancy wieght!  I only have 2 lbs to go before I meet my goal, technically, but I am thrilled with meeting this mental goal first. 

Now, I just need to continue like I have been doing, and see where it takes me.  :o)

May the Force Be With You . . . Sort of

In general, I am not one of those moms that waxes poetic about the totally cute things that her kids say, or do (although they do cute things quite often), or posts lots of random cute pictures (although there is a lot of random cuteness happening), but I just couldn't stop myself from posting this. 

The other day Ben was wearing my Emerald Isle sweatshirt, that happens to be green, and when he put the hood up, he looked just like Yoda.  Or maybe a miniature Obi Wan Kanobi.  Either way, what's a mom to do?  Give him Jarom's light-saber and take pictures, of course! 

Oh, and he's grinning because he did the zipper himself, sort of.  He's completely obsessed with doing things by himself.  As a matter of fact, his favorite word right now is, "Self!".  I know he's two and all, but I just don't remember quite the same level of needing to be independent in my other kids.

Anyway, here's a few so that you can enjoy the cuteness at random.

Don't worry, I don't think this will become a habit.  I'm honestly not that on the ball.  :o)

How awesome is my Mom?

My mom and dad got to come for a wonderful visit last week.  I think we ran them ragged, but they were good sports about it, starting with the school carnival Friday night, planting flowers and spreading mulch on Saturday, plus going to the temple,

had a yummy Mother's Day dinner (that me and my mom cooked---yeah, I know, but Jeff helped),

and a fantastic FHE lesson about the plan of salvation (we went through different parts of the house as we went through different parts of the plan--so cool!) by my parents on Sunday, and then berry picking on Monday, before my dad left on Tuesday. 

They really were such good sports about everything, especially since my fantastic memory-making trip to the berry farm was tragically canceled because I didn't actually know where the berry farm was.  But again, they took it in stride, and instead took the kids to Hill Ridge Farms (there was almost no one there, so it was way fun).

Turns out that Hill Ridge Farms is fairly close to our neighborhood.  Ah, the things you learn while driving about aimlessly, looking for the berry farm that you're almost sure is around here somewhere.

We also had Kelcey's birthday celebration Monday night ( I can't believe she's 5!), with cake and presents,

and then brought birthday cupcakes to her preschool Tuesday morning, my mom cheerfully in tow. 

On Tuesday we also took a quick trip to the State Farmer's Market where I picked up 2 flats of strawberries for 18 bucks a piece.  I hope that was a good price--don't tell me if I got hosed.

Then, on Wednesday, the plan was to make the bread for the week, and make freezer jam with all of the strawberries that we got.  I was very excited for this plan, and was thrilled to be a part of it (name that movie quote, anyone?) but I didn't quite realize how much focus the bread making would require.

SO, the question is, how awesome is my mom?  She is so awesome, that while I was making bread, she made all of the jam herself!  10 batches of it!!  And she even made me go take a nap while she finished the last batch!  So awesome!  I mean, just look at all that jam!!

I seriously can't believe how incredible my mom is, and that I get to be her daughter for forever!  How amazing is the gospel, huh?  And when I think about my blessings, in every single aspect of my life, I truly get blown away.  Especially when I don't really deserve most of them.  Heck, I don't think I can 'deserve' any of them.  But I am so, so grateful, more than words can say.

Our Fabulous New Guest Room

A month, or so, ago I decided to turn Benjamin's old nursery into a fabulous guest room.   What prompted the decision, you may ask?  Well, my sister and her husband came to visit, my parents came a couple weeks after that, Jeff's mom is coming in September, and I am really trying to figure out a way to convince my fantastic Aunt Chris who lives in Atlanta to come up and visit. 

Plus, Benjamin has been on the bottom bunk in Jarom's room since Christmas, so it was just wasted real estate, something I really can't stand.

Unfortunately, we didn't exactly have a fabulous budget to go with the fabulous guest room, so I have spent many a day shopping at Ross, low budget furniture stores, and various thrift stores to get our guest room into "fabulous shape." 

Oh, and as I tell you my saga, I am including prices so that you can either marvel at my shopping prowess, or smack your forehead as you think to yourself, "I could have done so much better!."  I am all about the entertainment value here, people.

First, I found a knotty pine sleigh-bed headboard and footboard ($125) at a secondhand furniture store that needed some cleaning up, but turned out to be a very good piece of furniture--solid wood and all that. 

HOWEVER (and I didn't understand how big that "however" was going to be), it didn't come with the side rails.  This wouldn't be such a problem, you would think (I thought!), but I found out after buying universal metal side rails ($59), that the metal dowels that held the side rails into the footboard and headboard were too far in for the rails to slide over them, and lock into place. 

So we returned the first set of rails, went to several other furniture stores, and bought some wooden rails ($99), which didn't even match, because they were all that was available.  

I call this the color of desperation, because I was so desperate to find something that worked, that I didn't even care about how they looked.  But I also knew that a bed skirt can hide a multitude of sins.  :o)

Luckily, there is this guy in our ward who is a genius with wood, and, by witchcraft of some kind, he was able to fix the rails so they could work, the night before my sister and her husband arrived.  David Fisher, you rock!

Oh, and also, the luxury pillow-top mattress set that we got at BJ's for a steal ($399 after a $100-off coupon!) were really, really high, so they had a sort of princess-and-the-pea kind of feeling, which also made it impossible to use a conventional Queen-size comforter, as I found out later.  But I ended up getting a king size Laura Ashley quilt that worked great.  (And, yes, those are hospital corners, thank you very much.)

The week before my mom came I was a Ross shopping demon, trying to pull together a coordinated look with all the disparate pieces that reside at a Ross store, which I think of as kind of a Goodwill where everything is (relatively) new. 

It took about 3 trips, and a couple of failed tries (because of the size of the mattresses), but after a bed-skirt from Target ($17.99) plus curtains ($10.99 each), a curtain rod ($7.99), quilt ($44.99), and throw pillow ($9.99),  it finally all came together like this:

You like?

I still need to get a lamp for the table, and a couple of other little things, but I'm calling it good for now.  And, just so you know, we would love to have guests!  :o)

Quote for the Day

"The gospel is ALWAYS the answer, whatever the question."

~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Hoppy Easter

This last Sunday we had a really good Easter.  Jarom and I both gave talks on the Savior, and they seemed to go well.  After church we had a treasure hunt for their Easter baskets, which was a lot of fun as they ran around, trying to figure out the clues.

I was hoping  that it would cover the whole "Easter egg hunt" thing, since we had not participated in one anywhere else, but it was not to be.  So after letting my mom-guilt get the better of me, I dug out the food coloring, and we had a great time.  I even hid the eggs around the house, but since we had only colored a dozen eggs, it was the quickest Easter egg hunt ever.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the kids with their baskets, or coloring eggs, or finding them!  I'm really kind of ticked at myself, because I have a hard time remembering things that aren't captured in a visual medium of some kind.  'Cause they were having a lot of fun and looking cute while doing it!

However, it wasn't a total wash, because I did at least have the presence of mind to grab the camera while the kids were blowing bubbles that they had gotten in Primary.  And we'll just pretend that you don't notice that Jarom's shirt is completely unbuttoned, or that Taran was wearing dress-ups for her clothes all day. 

Please don't judge me.

:o)

Pictures Just for Emily

My cousin Emily asked for some pictures of us, and I love her like a sister, so I would do whatever she asked, even if it was something actually hard.  Oh, and all the rest of you can look too.  :o)

How cute is this kid?

Feeding the ducks at Shelley Lake   (The experimental bread sure came in handy!)

The daredevil of the playground

Having our picnic

Tired out at the Zoo

Enjoying the alligators!

Stomach Flu, Part II

Just to update ya'll (not that I think you're hanging on every word, in need of an update, but mostly to keep myself accountable to. . .myself) when I weighed in after the sickness saga, I was 148.5, so I had gone up, but not as much as I was afraid of.  And I was still in the 140's so I was thrilled.

I have been very busy the last couple of weeks, and feel totally behind in the making bread/doing laundry/cleaning bathrooms kind of way, but the reason I feel behind is a good one, or so I keep telling myself.  My kids have been tracked out since April 1st, and since I was such a sluggard about doing things in January, I was determined not to let this opportunity pass by.

So far we have gone to the children's museum (they have a really great one in Raleigh), got tons of books at the Library, fed the ducks and had a picnic at the park, and Jarom went to his first Cub scouts Camporee.  Then Jeff took the day off work and we spent all day at the Zoo (which is a 6 mile walking trail--whose idea was that!?), and yesterday we went to Monkey Joe's, an inflatable jumping place that I got a great "Groupon" for a couple of months ago.

Taran and Ben have colds, so today I wussed out and let Kelcey stay home from preschool so that I could make bread and catch up on the aforementioned laundry.  Yet another check mark in my best-mother-ever-scorecard. 

My sister Sue and Dave are coming next week to stay with us on their way up to Illinois (yay!) and we're planning a cook-out, plus a trip to the Dinosaur museum, and a movie night, while they're here. 

Maybe I'll get real motivated and put some pictures up so you can see all the fun, but I doubt it.  Although if my mom actually reads my blog and asks, I probably would.  :o)   In the meantime, you'll just have to take my word for it--just LOTS of fun!

"I'm just one good stomach flu away from my ideal weight!"

Well, this last week I had the most wonderful and fantastic experience of food poisoning, brought on by my REALLY stupid (so, so, stupid!!) OCD need to not waste anything.  I am fairly embarrassed by the whole thing, but my desire to be scrupulously honest requires me to tell you that I ate a quesadilla that had been sitting, forgotten, in the microwave overnight, but I figured that if I nuked it long enough, all the bacteria would be killed off, and I would be fine.  That was SO not the case. 

This was the sickest that I have been in years, and let me tell you, it was miserable.  I was nauseous (Websters backs me up, Sue!) when I went to bed, and I started throwing up at 1:45 am (interestingly, after dreaming about throwing up because I felt so gross it was almost {almost!} a relief), again at 3:00 am, and was praying to throw up the rest of the night.  And in the morning it was horror at both ends.  I won't go into any more detail than that, but I'm sure it's already TMI.

Poor Jeff had to stay home from work to take care of the two little ones, because I was completely and utterly useless.  Aside from the aforementioned running to the bathroom to take care of particular needs, I stayed in bed almost all day, in various states of consciousness. 

I finally got up around 12:30 pm and made the heroic effort of eating 3 saltine crackers, followed by the equally daring decision to take a shower.   However, that was apparently too much for my system, because that 45 minutes of mobility exhausted me so much that I when I got out of the shower I couldn't even get dressed, and just crawled beneath the sheets to sleep for another 2 1/2 hours.  Pathetic.

It really was a 24 hour bug, because I still felt sick for the rest of the day, even when I went to sleep, but in the morning I had slept all night, and felt so much better by comparison (albeit a little weak), that it was like resurrection morning.

So, here's the thing: Friday is my weigh-in day for Weight Watchers, and this time I was 147.5.  But I don't know how to feel about it.  Sure, I'm back in the 140's, which is fantastic, but it's not real since my body got rid of basically everything that I ate on Wednesday, and Thursday I just had saltines.  So, we'll see what happens next Friday.  I am determined not to freak out if I go up again, but maybe, just maybe, I might stay the same? 

Oh, and for those of you who were wondering, the post title is a quote from "The Devil Wears Prada," where the shallow assistant chick is bemoaning her lack of fitting into size zero clothes, or something like that.

Oh, well, whatever.  But the real moral of the story?  You're probably all much too smart, and much too careful, and, frankly, much too clean, to ever do what I did, but I'll say it anyway: If something has been out all night, no matter what it is, no matter if you feel guilty, THROW IT AWAY!!!! 

It's just not worth it.

Double the c, double the s, and you will always have "success"

Finally!  I have figured out a bread recipe that works!  Every time!  Ok, two weeks in a row...but still!  It works with my kitchenaid, and it works with our humidity and sea level altitude, it raises nice and high, and most of all, the texture is perfect for sandwiches and toast.  Woo hoo!!!!

P.S. On a totally unrelated note, 150.0!!!  I'm almost back to the 140's, which I had practically given up hope on.  And I'm fitting into my skinny jeans!!  I was actually able to pull my box of pre-pregnancy clothes out of the attic and go "shopping" for a practically new wardrobe! Can I hear another woo hoo!!!!

Dear Grandpa

My Grandfather Barrus died this last week, on Tuesday, March 15th.  I was lucky enough to be able to go out to the funeral, and stay with my mom and dad for a couple of days.  My Grandpa's an amazing person, and I don't even have enough room to go into all that he's done and all that he has said that is so important to me. 

A little while before he passed away, my mom asked me to write him a letter, talking about my memories, and saying goodbye, essentially, so I thought I would post it for ya'll to read and remember Grandpa too.

Dear Grandpa,

There are so many memories of you as I go through them in my mind. Some of my earliest (and best) memories are from when I was a child and we made our annual pilgrimages to your home. “Going to Utah,” was more than just a vacation; it was something magical, and bordering on the realm of fantasy.

I always knew that I was really, truly, at Grandpa’s house because of the exquisite scent of the summer night that greeted me as we would step out of the car after our long drive onto the warm concrete of your driveway.

I remember that you were always such a warm and calming presence—of course, maybe not when Adam and I made mud pies in your garden, but on the whole, your whole personality bespoke peace.

I remember your garden and the cool grass under my feet as I would walk from the house to my climbing tree, enjoying the beauty that surrounded me. I remember hiding under the bottom of the stairs, and creating a whole world for myself—until we had to put the cushions back on the sea o' couch, at least. I remember how much I loved going to church in your ward, and the novelty of having a church so close that we could walk to it.

Later, when there were too many of us to gather in Utah all at the same time and you would “make the rounds,” to visit all of us in turn, I was always so excited to get to spend some special time with you. As I got older, I remember you coming for various baptisms, or whatnot, and knowing we were lucky because you would stay at our house.

I remember one time in particular, during the winter, that it snowed so much that school was canceled, but you and mom had decided that we were going to go “mall walking”—my first foray into that brave new world. I remember sitting in the back seat of your car as you drove through the drifts, feeling proud that my grandpa was not only brave enough to drive in the snow, but cool enough to want to go to the mall. :o)

And when I was going to BYU, I knew that when things got just too hard or too crazy, that I was always welcome to come up to Bountiful and refresh myself in the calm and peaceful Spirit that was the overwhelming feeling and tone in your home. As I remember these times that I have spent in your company, I now recognize that it was your devotion to the gospel and the Savior that always made being with you, and in your home, such a special event.

I appreciate the example that I have seen in your life, and the testimonies that you have borne, especially at our family reunions. I remember in particular when you talked to all of the grandkids at the reunion outside of Zion National Park, about the importance of a temple marriage, that everyone so far in our family had been married in the temple, and how you truly hoped that we would each make the decision to get married there, and only there.

I had always planned on being married in the temple, but hearing how many generations of our family had done that, and how you hoped that we wouldn’t “break the chain,” so to speak, really helped me renew my resolve. That was a big deal for me, especially since I was going to be dealing with that fairly soon at that time in my life.

It has been such a strengthening influence to be able to look at your life and know that I could always depend on you to do the righteous thing, give inspired counsel, and follow the Savior, no matter what. I know that your example has helped my mom become who she is.

My dad has mentioned that it was your example, after they got married, that helped him know the kind of father and man that he could become. So you have helped the two most wonderful and influential people in my life be more of who they wanted to be, which has, in turn, helped me be more of who I want to be—Jeff too, as a matter of fact. I think that is the thing that I am most grateful for, out of everything. Your influence has been, and will continue to be, felt through the generations.

I love that you have always been such a lover of theater, and an example of high standards of entertainment.

I love that you took the time one summer while I was visiting from BYU to show me Grandma’s grave, even though it might have been painful.

I love that when I was going to BYU that you always made me feel welcome, and that I could visit any time, bringing various friends and roommates, so that I had a home away from home. Even though, as I look back on it, it was probably only rarely as convenient as you made me feel it was.

I love that you came to events that were important to me and supported me. When I was in a choral concert at BYU, not one of my roommates made the effort to attend, but you and Grandma Flora drove down to be in the audience, and even took me out to ice cream afterwards. That made such an impact on me, and I am so grateful that you took the time to do that.

I love that you have always been such a fantastic example of serving in the church, that you made going on missions as a couple so much the norm that I almost can’t remember how many you’ve been on. (Four!) Seeing how much you wanted to go on missions, and how much you enjoyed sharing the gospel, however you could, really helped inspire me to go on my own mission.

I love that you’ve also been such a standard of righteousness that I knew that if I could be reasonably sure that you would be proud of me, that I was doing the right thing.

And I love that you’ve been an example of righteousness, so that I knew that if Grandpa thought that something was good, it was, and if he had doubts about something, then it wasn’t.

I love that when I would come to your house that you really wanted to hear about my silly life, and my silly struggles, and that you were so encouraging.

I absolutely love that you always remembered not only my birthday, but Jeff’s birthday, and each of my children’s birthday. I am floored that you even remembered Taran’s (and Benajmin's) birthday last week, with all that is going on for you personally.

And I really, really, really loved that you took the time to write in my cards that you were proud of me, and that you thought I was doing a good job as a mother in Zion. That really means so much to me, and it always made me feel better about myself, and the job I was trying to do.

Thank you for giving me such a wonderful mom, that you and Grandma taught her to be faithful in the gospel, so that she could teach me, and I could teach my children.

Thank you for your testimony of the gospel, and your courage in sharing what you knew your family needed to hear—in the family letters, talking in person, and by your example.

Thank you for being a true patriarch of our family, and giving me and my family a gospel legacy that we will always lean on.

Thank you again for your testimony. Thank you for being prepared so that I know that it’s going to be ok. I promise to do my best to make sure that there are no empty chairs.

I love you, Grandpa.

A Mommy Moment

A few days ago I was having a conversation with Taran about not needing to play computer games so much, because there are so many other fun things to do.  I thought it was going pretty well, until this final exchange.

Me:  "You know, when I was growing up, we hardly ever got to play computer games."
Taran:  "Because there was no electricity?"

'Nuf said.

It's a bird, It's a plane, It's. . . LDS Supermom!!! Oh, wait. Never mind.

So, I'm trying to bake bread every week, and, so far, it's not turning out so hot.

I decided that I was going to bake bread to replace the outrageously priced bread that (it seems like) we buy on a daily basis.  The worst part is that it doesn't even taste that good!  One thing that I do actually miss about living in Utah, besides the affordable health insurance, is that you could buy bread at the grocery store that tasted almost like homemade.  Or almost like Great Harvest Bread.  Whichever.

Ok, so I've had this Nutrimil wheat grinder for a couple of years, but I never had anywhere to put it in our old house, so now that I have space, I decided to break it out.  My mother-in-law gave it to me, and it was such an awesome gift, but I always felt guilty for not using it.  Well, no more! 

I finally bought some wheat from the Cannery (at $7.25 for a 25 lb bag, it's cheaper than cheap), read the instruction book, and I was a-grindin' away.  And it actually was really easy, with my awesome Nutrimill [thanks again, Lynda!!  :o)] 

The problem came when I tried to bake the bread.

The first batch came out really crumbly, and definitely not the texture for sandwiches, which is kinda the point of the whole thing.  So I called my friend Kathryn, who is totally the homemade bread guru (her family hasn't bought bread from the store, ever?), and she gave me a couple of pointers, like, using vital wheat gluten, and applesauce in the recipe.

However, the only place to buy vital wheat gluten is at Whole Foods, which had an odd smell of body odor, but could have just been something exotic from the salad bar.  I also didn't appreciate the guilty feeling while I shopped, but I made it through with only vaguely disgusted looks from the cashier and bagger because I didn't bring my own reusable bag. 

So, I made another batch yesterday, with very high hopes.  However, the bread itself turned out to be very flat.  I did some reading, and I found out that Kathryn's recipe, which works fantastically in the mountains of the Utah desert, doesn't work the same when you're in high humidity, and close to sea level, which we are in good old Wake Forest, NC.  Oh, and the weird squiggles were me spraying Pam on the bread in an attempt to make it prettier.  Yeah, that didn't work.

The good news is that the inside texture of the bread is beautiful, just what you dream about for sandwiches, or bread and butter to go with soup--it's just very very flat. So, basically, I'm thinking that I need to keep the vital wheat gluten and applesauce, but pretty much double the yeast that's called for.  I also am going to try to use the bread maker that Jeff got for me a couple of Christmases ago, and see if that's any better.

Because, (imagine a Scarlett O'Hara accent here) I'll never buy bread from the grocery store again!