Five Favorite Things

1. I absolutely love my salad spinner. This year we planted a garden and it is amazing how much dirt clings to the vegetables. This salad spinner makes the cleaning process so much easier. Click for more details here



2. I purchased the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone a few months ago and I have loved it. It has really helped me discover that vegetable can actually taste great.



3. Timez Attack the computer game is by far one of the best multiplication games out there. Arick really struggled last year to memorize his multiplication tables. Now that school is in session and he will be learning division, Arick needed a refresher course. Thanks to this game, he has had a lot of fun and he is truly mastering this. If you go to http://www.bigbrainz.com/index.php you can try a free version. You will not regret it. We bought the full version with a coupon and have been very happy with out purchase.



4. My favorite meal right now is Stouffer's Stuffed Green Peppers. Yummy and healthy for you!



5. The television shows Monk and Psych are back on. Yay! If you have not seen either, especially Monk, then you must go out and rent the DVDs. You will be laughing in no time. You can see clips and full episodes at www.usanetwork.com

Update coming soon

We are back from vacation and my camera card is full and I have so many stories to tell. While you are waiting you can see this picture of me with the kids. Excuse my hair as the wind in the salt flats of Utah is not kind to short hair.

Ten for Tuesday

Here is a list of things that have been going on around here.

1. Brianna had her teeth fixed yesterday. She broke 4 adult teeth in the scooter accident. Unfortunately, she will have to go back when she is an adult because they can't do porcelain work this young. For the molar in the back that means a stainless steel crown. I will post pictures of before and after later.

2. Arick and I will also be visiting the dentist this week. Arick is happy about his appointment while I am not happy about mine. Arick will have his braces removed. He is so excited, especially to be able to eat the restricted foods again My visit ioday was to deal with cavities. I loathe going to the dentist. Ugh.

3. Andrew has had some great success getting grass to grow in the bald areas of our lawn. Maybe by this time next year our lawn will be perfect. We can always hope.

4, I started making pasta from scratch this week. I made ravioli with a shrimp filling which came out pretty good. My ravioli were not pretty at all, but at least they were tasty. Yesterday I made fettuccine noodles with a lovely Bolognese-inspired sauce. Inspired because I didn't use the 2 cups of red wine called for in the original recipe. It was a huge success. Brianna wants me to try to make herb pasta where you include the herbs in the pasta dough. We shall see.


5. Andrew and I celebrated 13 years of marriage last month. Maren babysat for us while we enjoyed a night out. We went shopping at a mall which felt luxurious without kids. We got to go to all the stores we wanted to that kids would have been downright bored in. After the mall, we headed to PF Changs for a romantic dinner for two. We chose a late reservation to avoid big crowds and it worked out great; very few people were there. We really enjoyed the food, especially the honey chicken and the cakes at the end. I love going on dates with Andrew.


6. Our gift that we chose to mark our 13th anniversary was an ice cream maker. While shopping at the mall, we went into Williams and Sonoma and immediately fell in love with this. We would have purchased it there, but I have learned never to pay full price, so we decided to find it cheaper and then we could purchase it. We didn't have to wait long. I found it the next day at Costco for $30 less than Williams and Sonoma. Score! We have made 4 batches since then and it is true that you can never make a bad batch of ice cream. The thing we love about this model is that it is two quarts, which is perfect for our family of six.



7. I am still busy with photography. I still have two years until Ella is in school full time, so I don't do any marketing as I am not ready for full time work. The above photos are of a recent client and her newborn baby.


8. This has been my favorite summer with the kids yet. I have tried to do lots more fun things with the kids. One of the fun things we do is to go bowling. We signed up for the Kids Bowl Free program and it has been a lot of fun. The kids get two free games and 4 tokens for the arcade. I do have to rent the shoes but the cost is still pretty low. I bought a pass so Andrew and I can bowl too. Of course, I am terrible at it which the kids think is funny. I will have my revenge though when they bowl without bumpers and realize how much harder bowling actually is.

9. We went fishing on Friday night. Arick caught three blue gills and Brianna caught one. We then sat and enjoyed a great fireworks show that the local yacht club hosts every year.

10. We spent the 4th doing lots of things. Andrew weeded for 3 hours and patched holes in the walls. He also performed in the band concert at the town party. I spent the day making ravioli and rolls to bring to the party at my mom's house. We headed to the party at 5 and enjoyed lots of great food and fireworks (when it wasn't raining). We also watched Home Alone 2 with the kids and we were all in hysterics. The kids thought it was so funny!

Little Miss Sassafras

Oh help me. Little Miss Sassafras has learned the not-so-subtle art of sassing. She does not like to be punished and if I try to punish her, she tries to give me the same punishment. All the while telling me how I am such a mean mommy. I am going to have to grow a thicker skin with this one. Other than that, she is a sweetheart. She loves snuggling, hugging, andgiving kisses. She tries to be my little helper and is much better about not making huge messes. She is totally into anything princess and loves hanging out with her big sister. I love her to the moon and back, but the sass has got to go . . .

33

Last week I celebrated turning 33. The party was wonderful. My Mom made me a delicious dinner with all my favorites: shrimp, artichokes, frog eye salad, and fruit salad. Andrew and the kids gave me a panini maker which is a big hit is our house. I also enjoyed eating this darling cake that was super yummy (one layer is chocolate, the other is carrot cake). To top it all off, I received lots of birthday wishes from the people I love.

I am really hoping that this year is awesome. For most people, they choose their resolutions around the beginning of the new year. I prefer to set goals around my birthday. I have set the bar high for myself this year so I shall see how it goes. Let's just say that the number 33 is in a lot of them.

Photo diary of a fab vacation

Updates

1. Brianna had her braces surgically removed and her mouth continues to heal wonderfully. It will be July before we can get her three broken teeth fixed. She needs time for the swelling in her gums to go down.

2. I am on week 4 of bronchitis and I am sick of being sick. This is my 6th illness since Feb 24th and I just don't understand what I am doing wrong, lol. Bronchitis however tops the list as being the worst of all of it because I just can't get it to go away. The coughing is horrible but it is the fatigue that I can't handle. I have so much to do, and I just don't have the strength to do it all.

3. In the last few months, I have been trying to clean things up but it is a slow process thanks to item #2. It has become aware to me that my kids have too much stuff to keep clean/organized by themselves. This has led to a huge amount of purging on my part with lots of stuff heading to Good Will.

4. To keep the toy clutter from growing back, I have decided to change what gifts I plan on giving for birthdays and for Christmas. I will now give them experiences instead of toys. The only toy they will receive is the one they ask for from Santa. I have told my Mom this, and she totally loves this idea and is going to make her gifts experiences as well. Some ideas we have come up with are swim lessons, summer camp, a day at the water park with Mom or Dad, dinner and a movie, spa day, an outing to a museum, or a class. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them?

5. Andrew and I are getting caught up on our food storage. We now have water storage and by Saturday, we will have a 3 month food supply.

6, Andrew has been keeping very busy with gardening this month. He made a 20x40 foot garden in our backyard, where he has planted potatoes, corn, 24 tomato plants, green beans, peas, lettuces, parsnips, corn, herbs, cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelon, onions, carrots, radishes, beets, and peppers. Hopefully it all grows well. Andrew also planted a lot of plants in our front yard and added three new flower beds. It is looking really good. Some of my favorites that he has planted include dwarf gardenias, iceberg roses, and caladium.

7. I finally gave up and I am trying to finish Ella's potty training. She is doing pretty well but really prefers not to be potty trained. The silly girl.

8. Ty is sick with a fever. My poor little buddy.

9. Arick's team won their soccer game yesterday.

10. Today is field day at school for the kids and they are so excited. Just a couple more weeks of school!

My neck is freezing!

Today, I decided to get my hair cut short. I was very nervous and I almost backed out, but I wanted a drastic change. So I told the stylist to cut about 15 inches off. 15 inches! This is the shortest my hair has been since third grade.To ease the pain, I donated the hair to Locks of Love. It is very strange having short hair and I am starting to get used to it but, wow, is my neck cold! I understand now why scarves exist. It is to keep necks warm. Amazing concept I know, but you see, my neck has never been cold. Well, until now. Apparently my hair kept my neck warm for all of these years.

My sister

My sister and her family moved her to Tennessee recently and it so much fun to have her here. The kids are loving having their cousins so close.

A newer photo of Brianna

Just wanted to share a photo of Bri, to show how well she is doing.

Ponytails and headbands

What do ponytails and headbands have to do with this beautiful little girl pictured here? Well, our darling Ella got her little hands on a pair of scissors and decided to give herself a haircut. She cut out about a cup full of hair with a large section very close to the scalp. I can't bring myself to cut her hair really short so she will just have to wear head bands and ponytails for a long time.

So where did she get the idea to cut her hair? Let's just say that Ty will be getting his hair shaved bald (again!) tonight. He has learned a very important lesson of being a good example for his little sister. Ty is not very happy about having to go bald again. When I let him know he will get his shaved, he exclaimed "Aw Phooey!" Well said my little one, well said!

Friday Fifteen

I am so sorry for the lack of posts lately. Sicknesses and life have kept me off the computer more than ever lately. Here is a list of things that have been going on around here.

1. Brianna is doing fantastic. She did not have to wear elastics this week. The doctor is trying to balance the need to heal her jaw joint on one side and the fracture on the other. She goes in today for xrays to see how it is healing.

2. My sister and her family have moved here. We are all so excited, but the kids are especially excited to have their cousins close.

3. Arick has started soccer and he is doing great. He is the fastest kid on the team and should do pretty well. His first game is this weekend.

4. I read the book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and I enjoyed it, although I felt like it ended quite abruptly. It is about the Nazi occupation during WWII on the island of Guernsey which is off the the coast of England.

5. I made a batch of whole wheat bread this week. I love the smell of baking bread.

6. Andrew and I are enjoying the new season of 24.

7. I recently listened to the book The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. It was fantastic and I highly recommend the audio version as it is quite well done.

8. My studio is almost complete, yay!

9. Andrew worked incredibly hard this last week and finally got our 40'x20' garden all ready for planting. That meant shoveling in the 5000 pounds of dirt. Thanks Andrew! Hoping to plant the cool weather veggies this week.

10. We bought our tickets for our trip to Utah this weekend. The prices fell a lot, so we jumped on it. We are so excited! Our van rental might cost as much as our tickets though, ouch!

11. Arick came in second place in the pinewood derby. We were not expecting that at all. His car was slow at first and he lost in his first race. In the second chance race, his car got faster and he won. Every race after that, we watched his car get a little faster. It was very exciting. Arick was thrilled. It is the first time he has ever won anything.

12. Andrew joined a community band and it has been fun to hear him playing tuba in the house. His first concert was in March and another one will be in May. Hopefully Bri and I can actually attend that one!

13. Ella is completely obsessed with being a princess. Everyday she must wear a pink frilly dress and her tiara. Fancy shoes and a purse usually complete her ensemble. It is so adorable.

14. This weekend, I have to work on taxes. I am not looking forward to it at all.

15. My new favorite games on my iphone are Wheel of Fortune and 10 balls 7 cups.

Pics of Brianna

We wanted to show some pics of Brianna to show how good she looks. (these are cell phone pics)



Brianna after the surgery.



Brianna showing her metal mouth!

Brianna is doing great!

Hello everyone! Brianna has a mouth full of metal now and is at home relaxing. She is feeling great and everything went better than they expected. They were able to avoid wiring and instead used elastic bands. These bands keep her mouth shut but we can remove them for mealtimes and brushing her teeth which is a huge blessing. She won't be able to chew anything for a month or more, but as far as treatment goes, it could have been much worse. We are so grateful. Yay!

Chipmunk Cheeks

We now have a chipmunk living in our house. Her name is Brianna. So how did she get this new nickname? Yesterday, she suffered a fall from a scooter. The neighborhood boy found her crying and carried her all bloody back to our home. Arick cried out telling me that Brianna's hand was cut and bleeding really bad. If only it was her hand. I sat her down and saw lots of blood on her face. I had her open her mouth and I saw that half of her front tooth was missing. A stinky thing to have happen, but manageable. Call the dentist and get it fixed. If only.

The bleeding was still profuse, so I examined her more and I found a large cut under her chin. Scratch the dentist, go to the ER for a set of stitches. If only. We put the towels on the cut but she was still bleeding. So I examined her again and found a terrible laceration under her lower lip. This is where I completely started freaking out. Scars of the faces of boys are war wounds, not so much for girls. It doesn't help that this was the worse cut I have yet to witness on any of my children. So now we were definitely off to the ER to deal with what I thought was an awful situation. If only.

We chose to go to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital since our last experience with stitches at Summit Hospital was less than good. What I thought would be a three hour experience, ended up as a 10 hour ordeal. If only, this had been a simple case of needing stitches and fixing one tooth. In the end, Brianna was found to have broken 3 permenant teeth, fractured her jaw in two places and she did receive stitches for her two icky cuts. If only it been just a hand injury, right??? She is a sight to behold, bless my heart, as her face is very swollen.

So that is the story about how Brianna earned her new nickname. Tomorrow is her appointment to get more x-rays to see if there is more dental damage (please pray there is no more damage!) and to go over the details of her surgery on Friday. Please keep her in your prayers that the next couple of months will fly by and that her discomfort will be minimal.

As a mom my heart is broken for my little girl. I hope and pray the damage is not worse and that there won't be any lasting effects of the injury. Of course, Brianna is handling this incredibly well. She is most disappointed to miss soccer for probably the entire season and her snow cone party at school on Friday.

My blogging vacation is over

This past month has been incredibly busy and stressful for me. I am trying to go through and declutter the house, as well as turn my office/craft room into a studio. It has been many hours of work. Add to that being busy with clients, my calling, the childrens' activities, trying to keep the house clean, illness, etc and you can see I do have valid excuses. Just thinking about these past three months makes me want to go crawl in bed and sleep for a week.

So I will resume regular blog posts about family life later this evening. I just have to share this video with you now. Watch it. This talk is probably my favorite talk of all time. The entire message can be found here: