I don't know why I ever thought that summer would be less crazy! Is it because I feel like I need to get everything done that I didn't get done during the school year that I am still nuts? Or could it be that I still have many cupboards and closets that I literally took the contents straight out of the box and shoved into the cupboard and slammed the door? Or could it be that I feel like I should take my kids to the pool every day and create great memories for them while trying to do everything else to keep the house going? Oh, and Vaughn is going to be gone for like the next 4 weekends. All I know is I am going to Target for some retail therapy tomorrow! Because I don't have enough STUFF in my house! :))
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A new blog
I started another blog---middleagedmommyblogs.blogspot.com--feel free to pass it on to your friends, neighbors, the lady whose teenager is throwing a tantrum in the checkout line... Hopefully, it will be a place for those of us in the throes of parenting hormonal teens and/or preschoolers (like me) to swap ideas or favorite methods of torture. Come check it out!
Friday, March 27, 2009
An addition to the family!
No, I am not pregnant! We do, however, have a new "baby"!
This is Sugar, Rachel's new puppy. She is a West Highland Terrier and she is about two months old. She showed up on our doorstep on Rachel's birthday, along with Daddy! (Yay!) We are enjoying being a complete family again, and also the antics of the puppy. She drives Sara nuts.
In other news, you can see, if you look really hard, that Rebekah has lost her first tooth! She was so excited to have a visit from the tooth fairy! It has been a very eventful couple of weeks.
Currently, we are awaiting the arrival of a huge snowstorm later today. Don't worry, I stocked up on bread and milk! It is parent-teacher conference day for all the girls, so they are all having a pj day. I have stew in the crockpot and bread rising on the counter and we are nice and snug. The little things in life are really what make it so great! Hope you are all well!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
When being positive is a bad thing...
That would be when you are in the clinic with your child (the only one not to have the flu yet) and they are doing a swab to test for flu. Of course it was positive! Actually, maybe it was a good thing, because Rachel was able to get the very last box of Relenza left at Walmart and is feeling so much better today. So now we are four for four on the flu front. Andy and Rachel have both had the stomach flu. I am hoping that Ellie and Bekah skate out of that one. Whine, whine, moan, moan, gripe, gripe, murmur, murmur. Okay. I feel much better now. Although, I have still not come down with anything...Keep me in your prayers!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Top Five Ways to Spend President's Day
This list is not for the faint of heart!!!
Of course, those of you who know me, know that I am your classic overachieving mormon girl supermom wannabe, so I did them all! But you may not want to try this at home!
Idea number one:
Drive your husband to the airport. :( It was nice to spend a few hours together as a family this weekend! Vaughn sent me this great picture of an airport cop on a Segway (Paul Blart?)
Of course, those of you who know me, know that I am your classic overachieving mormon girl supermom wannabe, so I did them all! But you may not want to try this at home!
Idea number one:
Drive your husband to the airport. :( It was nice to spend a few hours together as a family this weekend! Vaughn sent me this great picture of an airport cop on a Segway (Paul Blart?)
Idea number two:
Take your son to the ER for IV fluids due to hyperemesis, otherwise known as puking up your guts every 30 minutes all night long. Actually, you won't be taking your son to the ER, since you are on your way to the airport (see Idea Number 1), so you will have to call one of the three people you know to have them come and rescue your son, who you thought could hold out until you were back from the airport, but alas, got sicker and sicker. Thanks so much Carol (our bishop's wife) for dropping everything to spend part of the day with someone in the ER that you AREN'T EVEN RELATED TO!
You can tell Andy is trying to be positive but he was pretty darn sick.
Idea number three:
Give your daughter a bath in the jacuzzi tub to try and break her fever, which she is on day 6 of, due to influenza, not the stomach kind, just the good old make-you-and-your-mom-miserable-for-10 days-kind. Rebekah was also a participant in this fun, but was just starting to get better. (On a side note, do you give the ibuprofen to help them feel better, only to have them run around like lunatics and not get any rest until the fever hits again? Or do you just have them stay feverish and feeling yucky until bedtime, but at least holding still? All these years being a mom, and I still don't know which is better.)
Idea number four:
Wash everything you can get your hands on with the sanitary setting on your washer. No explanation necessary. Also, Clorox wipes, Clorox hard surface spray, baking soda, peroxide, flamethrowers, and just torching the house are great options for cleaning.
Idea number five:
Enjoy a piece of cheesecake from Olive Garden.
I know, I know. Who would even think of Olive Garden on a day like this? Well, it was on the way to the airport, and we ate very quickly. No matter which way I cut it, I wasn't going to get home to take Andy to the ER for about three hours, so 20 minutes for lunch with my hubby before he left us for another month didn't seem like asking too much. 
I will admit that I was stressed about the kids the whole time and it wasn't even the black tie cheesecake, because they were OUT! (Could this have anything to do with me? See previous post--Hmmm.) And I think you will agree, that after a straight 8 days of feverish kids, plus the puking, plus all the driving, medicine giving, and nursing around the clock, I deserve some chocolate!
Luckily, we are all on the mend. Although Vaughn came down with strep about 2 days later, and Andy is in the throes of influenza as we speak. Not the stomach one! However, due to my previous experiences with Ellie and Bekah, I figured it out much sooner and got him to the Dr. today. He just started showing symptoms last night, so they were able to start him on antivirals.
I plan on blowing up the house tomorrow. I can't think of any other way to kill all the germs. Amazingly, I am still relatively healthy. Sane, no. But still in one piece.
I actually feel really blessed that we live in a time where we have ibuprofen and popsicles, or things could have gotten really bad! Perhaps you can see why I haven't posted for a while? Hopefully, things will get better and I will be able to send all of my children to school next week, every single day. *Sigh* It really is the little things that make us happy, isn't it? :)
Hope you are all well. If you aren't, I hope you get better soon! If you are, I hope you stay that way!
Friday, January 30, 2009
My other love...
Those of you who know Vaughn know that I have an amazing husband! I could not love anyone more, but anything else... I must confess! I love chocolate! And since I am currently without my husband, this is a way to medicate my pain! Also, a way to reward myself for getting through my crazy, ice-stormed, housebound, grouchy kids week. I walked right into Olive Garden and asked for a whole Black Tie Mousse Cake to go. Yes, the whole thing. It's much cheaper that way. :) I am thawing a slice for tonight and saving the rest for other chocolate emergencies. Like when my sis comes to visit next week! I must have looked particularly desperate, because the counter lady put in not a fork, but a SPATULA! What, she didn't think I could eat it fast enough with a fork? What was she trying to say to me? Oh, well, only two more hours to bedtime and then some chocolate bliss (or at least as close as I will get to such a state until I get to see my hubby again). Call me if you need a piece!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Salty Caramels
A couple of you asked me for this recipe-- I totally stole it from my SIL Laurie's blog. She is a fabulous chef! We spend lots of time talking about food! :) Anyway, here is the recipe-- I think we are making another batch tonight or tomorrow.
Mary's Caramels
2 C heavy cream
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
2 C sugar
2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C butter
kosher or sea salt for sprinkling
Combine cream and condensed milk in a double boiler and scald. {We did this step in the microwave.} Combine sugar and syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Let mixture boil with lid on for 2 minutes. Remove lid, add butter. Gradually add cream mixture a tablespoon at a time to boiling syrup, stirring constantly. Do not let boiling cease. This process should take approximately 20-25 minutes. Cook to 230 degrees or until a firm, soft ball is formed in cold water. {This usually takes about 20 minutes after all the cream is added.} Remove from heat and pour into a buttered, shallow pan about 11x16. Sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt. Wait till cool and firm, then cut with a buttered knife into small pieces, wrap with waxed paper.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Mary's Caramels
2 C heavy cream
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
2 C sugar
2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C butter
kosher or sea salt for sprinkling
Combine cream and condensed milk in a double boiler and scald. {We did this step in the microwave.} Combine sugar and syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Let mixture boil with lid on for 2 minutes. Remove lid, add butter. Gradually add cream mixture a tablespoon at a time to boiling syrup, stirring constantly. Do not let boiling cease. This process should take approximately 20-25 minutes. Cook to 230 degrees or until a firm, soft ball is formed in cold water. {This usually takes about 20 minutes after all the cream is added.} Remove from heat and pour into a buttered, shallow pan about 11x16. Sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt. Wait till cool and firm, then cut with a buttered knife into small pieces, wrap with waxed paper.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
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