What's this I found?

What a strange piece of laundry. This basket is G's latest mode of transport from upstairs to downstairs. Despite the look on her face, she really does love it.

Self Portrait Tuesday

I'm trying something new. I found a website where each week she gives you a theme for a self portrait. This week was "Cinco de Mayo", and was pretty much whatever you are grateful for. the catch is that it has to be smaller than a deck of cards. This is what I decided on. My mouse. I'm very grateful for this little guy. Because of it, I feel like I have connected with family that is far away and I would probably never know otherwise, I have discovered many ways to organize my home, parent my children, survive pregnancy, whiten whites, heal cracked heels; I've found a dog groomer, a skin care specialist, and many many other services and people whom I feel have made life easier for me. So many times we hear how the internet can be so evil and bring horrible things into our homes, and yet I feel it has made my home a better, more organized, calmer, cleaner place to be. So thank you little mouse, you are wonderful.


Have you ever tried to take a picture with your left hand? Tricky.

Pretty food

"Little" baby Gracie. She is 3 weeks younger than Gretta, and she weighs a pound more. She's the meatball, and Gretta is the Noodle.




Chicken and Sirloin Strip shishkabobs. Is that even how you spell it? I'm not versed in my East Indian cuisine.

This last week I spent time in Las Vegas visiting my sister. They blessed their new baby, Gracie, yesterday. It was a crazy, fun filled week with lots and lots of family coming and going. But amidst all the chaos, (not the FlyLady kind of CHAOS), we managed to make this yummy dinner. I was kind of struck by the beauty of the bright colors against her dark counter tops. And let me tell you, it tasted as good as it looks. Vegas was fun, as always, and we are never at a loss for entertainment. Between the pool, play ground, and HUGE sandbox, the 10 kids were always entertained. The boys all went to the Super cross, while the men went golfing. That means Sean and my dad went golfing, while the other guys went to the races. The girls all enjoyed a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory in Summerlin, where I enjoyed the Chicken Madeira and a yummy Lemon Torte. All in all, it was a great weekend, and it's always good to see family. Now if only they read my blog......

Soy Joy

I've done it. I've crossed over. It may be my old age, or just giving in to a "healthy" lifestyle, but it has happened. And there's a story.

Friday afternoon. Nice afternoon, breezy, cool, but not cold. Just right. So Sean and I decide to take advantage and get a babysitter for the afternoon and go house hunting. Mostly just for ideas, by the way. We also make plans to meet friends and family for dinner later. It is shaping up to be a fine afternoon/evening.

We head north to Fruit Heights. There is a model there we want to look at. Now, anyone who has ever driven North through Salt Lake at 4:00 PM knows how bad traffic can get. It was worse. We pass through the Murray area, and it hits. The pain. The gurgle gurgle. I knew I was in trouble. We make a pit stop in Bountiful. Better, but a few minutes back in traffic and it starts again. We take a detour off the freeway, and get stuck in more traffic. By this time I was pretty miserable. We decide to nix the house idea, and just head home before our dinner plans. Well, south bound traffic is at a standstill. Even in the carpool lane. About now I was vocally expressing my pain. Okay, I was groaning and moaning. And I knew exactly why I was in so much pain. I had eaten ice cream earlier that day.

Now, while I was pregnant, I became a little lactose intolerant. I figured it would subside after delivery like most other ailments (ie heartburn), but it hasn't. I knew better than to eat ice cream, but it just sounded so good. I gave in.

So here we are, stuck in traffic at 5300 south, and no way to get off the freeway. I was laughing at the situation. I was also eying the Big Gulp cup in the cup holder. I wasn't that desperate, but I was planning ahead just in case. I also knew dinner was out of the question for that evening. So our plans were ruined. We finally arrived home, and just in time, I might add. The babysitter went on her merry way, and we had cereal for dinner. It was a very troubling experience, and I decided I didn't want to go through that again.

I've been putting off trying anything Soy. I'll admit, I'm scared. I don't like new foods. I like my comfort foods. I'm scared that it will taste horrible, and somehow ruin my taste buds so they will never taste anything the same again. Or maybe I'm afraid the Soy fairies will jump out of the carton and pull out my tongue. I don't know why, I just am. But last night I got up the courage, and poured a bowl of Count Chocula with Soy milk. And what do you know, I survived. It wasn't too bad. It does taste different, but not at all what I thought it would taste like.

Nearly everyone I know drinks Soy milk. Even my mom. She likes the Chocolate Silk. Ty likes Rice Dream. Meg likes 8th Continent. So I guess I'm just part of the crowd now. I don't know if I could drink it straight just yet, but in cereal it was fine. I hear it's an acquired taste at first and once you start drinking it regularly, cow milk tastes weird. Maybe I'm growing up. Maybe I'm old. But I'm doing something new, and I survived.

Outside Day!

Yesterday was such a nice day here, we couldn't let it pass by without enjoying the warm weather. I had all the windows open during the day, but when Sean came home from work, our house was 76 degrees! Anyone that knows me at all knows that I start getting really annoyed when my house gets over 68. You can imagine my mood! So thankfully Sean turned on the A/C for me, and I was blissfully chilly all night. But here are a few pics of the kiddies outside enjoying the evening.





Gretta enjoying her first time outside on the grass






My 2 babies. Aren't they cute? I swear, Maggie looks so sweet and innocent in pictures. What you don't see is that in exactly 13 seconds from this shot, she peed her pants, put them in the dryer, and turned it on. What a nice girl.






Emma playing Nintendo DS. Thanks to Nunn for letting us borrow it. Emma has this habit of getting so excited about things that she'll wake up at the crack of dawn, or earlier, just to get the day started. I think she's been up at 5 AM the last 3 days because she's so excited to play Dogz on the DS.

Have you ever...

Totally lost it and screamed at your kids?

Taken a 3 hour nap and then slept for 10 hours that night?

Been pretty sure your head will explode from the sinus pressure?




I did all of these yesterday. Not a good day.

I'm better today, thanks for asking.

Lava Hot Springs

This weekend we spent some time up at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. We went to support Meg's boyfriend, Ty, who had a road bike race in Inkom. We had a good time, as always. The weather was chilly and it sprinkled off and on most of Saturday, but nothing too major. Ty took 3rd in his race, and then we went to the famous Hot Springs in Lava. The girls had a lot of fun in the warm water, and Sean and I even went back later that night while Meg and Ty watched the kiddies. Any time we can take the Trailer and have Meg and Ty along is a great time.