203. Spring Flowers. These are the beautiful happy faces that greeted me in our garden two days ago. The daffodils are budding. Yesterday the first one started to unfurl. Beautiful. Two beautiful sunny spring days.





This is the confused bird we saw outside our window this morning. Wondering with the rest of us, "what the heck happened?"

Everywhere I went yesterday, it seemed like people were saying, "They say it's supposed to snow tomorrow, but it's so beautiful right now, I don't see how." By dropping 30 degrees in 3 hours, that's how. And it's supposed to snow harder before we're done. Up to 8 inches, they're saying. We were done. We were all right with only tying the record for snowiest winter. Really.

Spring Break Sampler

I know. I've been out of the loop a little here. Spring Break, doncha' know!

199. A relaxed spring break. We feel quite lazy. We've been working, but we've found time to watch A Day at the Races, (the kids giggled off and on the whole movie. For more fun look here or here) Also, play Star Wars for an entire day, play scrabble, make scones, read, write music, go to museums, and play outside. A neighbor invited the girls to watch the Frog Prince on their giant projector television. (They are now singing the songs.) And we saw a cool map exhibit about early maps at the Archives and had a picnic. We've also played tennis several evenings this week. Unfortunately, at the end of the week we are also starting to discover some computer games. Got to nip that one in the bud! But the low stress has been nice. We've been very relaxed.

200. Getting to post 200! Wow. Over half way to my goal. Still posting. I wish I had had a blog when my children were younger. I used to call my mom with funny things my kids did or said. She would say, "Write them down. You'll forget." And I didn't. And I did. I think the act of sharing them with her took them out of my head enough that I didn't feel the urgency to nail them down any other way. But now, sharing things in a blog makes them much more permanent to me. I can go back and look at what I wrote. The very act of writing it makes it doubly real. The S-Train is going to have lots more stories from being his age than his older sisters. Not because he necessarily has more stories, but because I have them written down. All mothers with small children - be wise and have a blog. I love that I can slurp this into a book later. (And yes, that is actually the term they use.) It can be a private blog that no one sees but you, or a blog that you share with one other person that has to log in. It is a fun way to save the sweet stories.
(Side note: It also saves them on the web in case something happens. A friend of mine is loading her photos onto a private blog to keep them safe. No one can look at them without permission, but if anything happens to her copies, she's covered.)
I prefer to record my happy stories here. I certainly have enough material to create a blog that is "things that tick me off everyday." (Or stronger language, depending on the day. But then, I prefer to keep this blog G rated.)
I think something sweet and special has happened as I've kept this blog. I've been noticing and keeping track of the things that make me smile more. And I remember those things more than the bad bits. Those things still happen. Sometimes they still drive me crazy. But now, not as crazy. This blog has made me realize the beautiful things in my life are there staring at me every day. I really have it quite good compared to most of the world. I whine less. And I treasure the small moments I used to wish away more.

But - enough introspection.

201. $3.00 paint samples at Home Depot. Toted most of the girls' room over into our room, and washed and vacuumed every little cranny of it that was left behind. Sorted clothes to give away. Washed curtains and bed skirts. Took off light covers. Spackled and sanded. Then painted some trim, got a sample color, painted most of a wall, lived with it for a day, and.... nope. Back to the drawing board for a different shade of pink. We'll see if we like tomorrow's color better. But it's better to decide we don't like it with a $3.00 sample than with a whole GALLON!

202. Young Missionaries. Mr. C. helped some people in our ward chop down some trees today. They invited us over for pizza and the missionaries dropped by. We have two new ones. They are so young. Something was mentioned about graduation years and how people seem so much younger or older. The younger missionary said, "Yeah, I graduated in 2009. You ask some missionaries when they graduated and they say 2008. That was like, forever ago."
He was serious. His companion then said, "I graduated in 2007." "Really? I was only 17. That was a long time ago." The adults in the room (There were five of us. The youngest was 40.) did an excellent job of not laughing. Things will look so different to him in 20 years.


(ACK! One more post before OKGO goes off the front page. Qu'Horreur!)

Long Post with TMI about our week.

195. Flautas. We had these the other night. Experimenting, thanks to my sister. She made these when we were together at Christmas, and they were so yummy we wanted to try them again. The angels didn't quite sing, but Mr. C. did say he liked the flavor. :-0. So maybe we'll have them again sometime.



196. Window sills on again!!!! The window sills are finally on the front windows!!!! Painting coming up this week!

197. Walmart Clearance. Lots of things for $1.00! Water balloons for this summer, 25 cents a package. They are going to remodel our Walmart. Filled in some holes! (Sadly, they are getting rid of the fabric section. They put it on clearance two weeks ago and it's mostly gone! Sad. Or good - my budget was glad the selection was so low.)

198. A Happy Full week. This week was a whirlwind. The oldest had New Beginnings, piano lessons, Junior Piano Festival, a Biology packet due that was challenging reading by college standards, a major English Research paper due, a dance, and, oh yeah, her other homework, getting ready for Solo and Ensemble with her band quartet and Band instrument, and seminary. Happily she'll be able to sleep this week.

Sue had Pi day (in honor of Einstein's birthday) and the normal end of quarter stuff, along with choir, and a day at the Broadmoor center (technical high school). She came home with a chef's hat, wooden spoon, screwdriver, safety glasses, and a new appreciation for fine chocolate. She and her dad spent the week having book wars. They were both reading the latest Pendragon book and each kept taking it to read whenever they found it unattended. We even played Settlers of Catan for her today, to her great delight.

Lou had her student of the week week this week. (say that five times fast.) She took her stamp collection, played her violin, and took the family favorite popcorn for a treat. She helped begin the spring cleaning on Friday and scrubbed the top of the fridge when we pulled it out to clean behind it . (Scary.) This was difficult because grease from the wok had gotten on the fridge. She is still hoping for a day by day hour by hour run down of what we will do for spring break. She is unlikely to get it.

The S-Train still needs a haircut. (This week it will happen.) He has been his usual creative self, creating shields with paper, duct tape and cereal box handles, mini hang gliders with mini paper people on them, and yes, more flags. He has also been sorting the books in his room by size and type. Great learning to sort opportunity. Unfortunately, he has just pushed them over to the side of his room at bedtime, and the oldest is wading to bed. Had a great time going back to school in the afternoon for movies and munchies. It was so cute to see all the kids in his grade together waiting for the movie, each with a drink and a snack. They were really being quite good. I wanted to eat them up, they were so darling.

Mr. C. got the windowsills on, and we took the old windows and stove to a friend's house and dropped them off so they could go away for bulky trash day!! (YEA!!) He also got seeds planted in the garage for the garden. He's been working late this week to try to make up for what he missed when he was sick. His hearing seems to be coming back slowly.

And I have been in the middle of all of this. Picked up more Chat n chew pizzas. Got some career stuff done. Went to a writing conference. (and ate a Chipotle's. LOVE that place! YUM!) Did some spring cleaning. Did some sit ups. And I'm still waiting for spring! Whew! Also did a bit of studying for the GRE. (ACK. The MATH!) I'll be helping the oldest with her homework for the next bit. Showed her a problem. She said - "This is what we're doing Right Now!" She's going to feel very good about herself for awhile. She will definitely know more than her mother. (Of course, I used to know all this stuff, but now I need to remember it again!) Also - Who knew that reading old Regency Romance novels was the ticket to great vocabulary training? If you want to take the ACT, SAT, GRE, or any of those tests, I highly recommend reading Georgette Heyer as a vocabulary refresher course. All the difficult words they throw out seem to be ridiculously 19th century. Reading Mrs. Heyer (and comparable novels) also helps with the vocab section on Free Rice. (Click on the link to feel smart, and help solve world hunger.)

and for a p.s. we have the Russian Salad Dressing Chicken Recipe.

RUSSIAN DRESSING CHICKEN
1 (8 oz.) jar apricot preserves 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix 1 bottle Russian salad dressing 2 cut up fryers Mix first 3 ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 1 hour. For an appetizer, cut boneless chicken into bite-sized chunks. Pour sauce over and adjust baking time. Serve with toothpicks.

I used chicken thighs. And I didn't have any onion soup mix on hand. (*GASP* I KNOW!) So I threw in dried onions and some beef bullion. It seemed to work all right. Mine was in the oven for longer than an hour. I covered it to cook. I think that helped keep it moist.

This is really probably TMI for a public blog. So it's a good thing we are the only ones who come here. (I may have to think about going private if I keep this up!)

Pi Day

193. Sometimes we crack ourselves up. This is the cherry pie we sent for Sue's Pi day at school. Saw the pan and had to do it.




194. Yet another Song Video. They just keep coming. (for this one, the video is actually just the lyrics.)

I loved it. I thought.

192. Ninja Attack goes Viral. Lou's Activity Day leader taught the girls a game called 'ninja attack.' Lou wanted to teach it to her class for her 'how to' speech. I thought it was one of those things that you had to play to understand, but she was determined, and with the help of her big sister she put together a great speech.

Now her whole class is playing it all the time. They are going home to teach it to their families. She LOVED this game. But now she's almost sick of it. Her favorite moment was when one girl was playing and said, "Hey, that's against the rules!" And Lou thought, "Hmmmm. Really? I taught the game, and I don't remember that being against the rules."

Just shows what a good idea, a determined child, and a good speech can do.



p.s. Second gray day in a row. Supposed to be more tomorrow. The oldest is in a great mood because of the weather. Really, one day she should live in Seattle. As for me. I got nothing done yesterday. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa. (That was my primal scream therapy.) I'm determined to push through it and get something done today. It's just not nice to tease like that, Mother Nature.

More about Ordinary Days

191. Another Video.

Just found this this morning. For all the moms. Even when it is a horrible crazy day. Wow. Just try to watch without crying.

190. Happy Spring Pictures. Spring has sprung!! We are walking to school!!

The crocuses are up.

And I've done a bit of spring decorating. I fell in love with a green metal basket at the thrift store. So I decided to fill it with some flowers. Unfortunately, the more I look at them, the more it looks like a cheesy 70's flower arrangement. But it's a cheery spot of color. So - yeah for having done something!

I also found this cool bowl at the thrift store. I think it's actually a forgotten punch bowl base. But, I needed a change, and I love it on my table. Nice and bright for spring.


Did I mention it warmed up and we went out without coats today! I even opened the windows. Whew. Finally.

The other day I had tons of energy. I was going to town on the cleaning, and I thought, "Wow. Where did all this energy and clarity of thought and purpose come from?" Then I realized it was the second sunny day in a row. AHHH.

ps. the Russian Dressing Chicken recipe was great. It seemed spicy enough for Mr. C. and sweet and mild enough for the kids. Yum. If anyone's curious, I'll post it. (and that phrase, Russian dressing chicken. Is it a Russian, dressing chicken, or a Russian chicken, dressing?)

For Your Listening/Viewing Pleasure

189. Fun Videos. These are stuck in our heads now.

188. The Marriage Ref. Is anyone else watching this show? It makes me laugh. The oldest caught a bit of it last night when I watched. She said, "But this is the kind of stuff everyone disagrees about." I said, "Exactly! That's the point. And that's what makes it so funny." Jerry Seinfeld's been on both weeks so far. He's not scheduled next week, so we'll see if the quality holds up. The ref is very funny. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

ps. Mr. C. still can't hear very well. Hopefully soon....

187. Came back from church after YW's. Table is back in the middle of the kitchen floor. The S-Train is watching 'The Alamo' with John Wayne (his choice) and making a HUGE flag of Texas with four sheets of paper. (He's on a binge to copy all the flags of the world in his Children's dictionary - but usually they are only one to a page.)

Random things

Mr. C went back to work today. It should be interesting. Here's an actual conversation this morning.

Me: "How are you feeling?"
Mr. C: "WHAT?"
Me: "HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"
Mr. C: "BETTER. BUT I STILL CAN'T HEAR VERY WELL."

Last night watching the news we had it up so loud I was sure the kids would wake up. Visions of things to come.

185. Dr. Seuss Parade at School! The kindergarten was so cute in their hats! The camera is being temperamental and kept telling me to change the batteries, so I didn't get any pictures. But it was great to be there. Fun hats. Keyed up kids. Big Smiles. A Parade. Dr. Seuss. Recipe for a fun afternoon.

186. Russian Dressing. There's an interesting chicken crock-pot recipe out there that calls for Russian salad dressing. Last time I looked, it was nowhere to be found. I asked the grocery store manager about it. Apparently he took note, because this morning, there it was, safe in it's little row of wishbone salad dressings. I'll try the recipe today let you know how it turns out.

More news, no numbers

Well, the ENT didn't tell Mr. C much more than the other doctor. But he did vacuum the wax and junk out of his ear. He's definitely grounded. No trip. Which is sad, because he was going to stay a little longer and hang out with his cousin. He's on cooler, bigger, badder antibiotics than before. And hopefully that will knock out whatever this is. He was wondering what they would do for this infection before antibiotics. I know he would be in extreme pain!! I still keep forgetting that he can't hear me, and don't talk loud enough.

Lou still has a bit of a cough, but otherwise seems to be feeling better. And the S-Train is down to a day and a half on his medicine. So. We're on the home road out!! (knock on wood)

The oldest came home today with ice cube red hands. She didn't take warm enough clothes for soccer try-outs. BRRRR. I don't think she thawed out for awhile. Luckily there was hot dinner and a hot shower waiting!

More S-Train stories

183. Table Wars. The S-Train is convinced that the kitchen table should be in the middle of the kitchen floor for his cafe. I would like it against the wall, because it gives us more room to walk around. Often one of us will move the table where we think it needs to be. The other night he came in and said to his sister, "Ol-l-dest, the table is supPOSEd to be in the middle of the floor!" And moved it. I came in later and moved it back. I was wishing he'd come in and say, "Ol-l-dest, this floor is supPOSEd to be Clean." or "These counters are supPOSEd to be washed." And fix it. :) Yeah, probably wishful thinking.

184. And it Came to Pass. Yesterday in church I was marking a few scriptures. The S-Train wanted to mark some too. I gave him a colored pencil, and it was obvious he was going to just start marking everything. So I whispered to him that I only marked special scriptures. I pointed a good one out for him to mark. He marked something else. I had visions of what that was going to look like shortly, so I whispered that maybe he could mark the parts he could read. He looked over the page and found a phrase he could read. "And it came to pass that..." And marked it. A moment later he said, "Mom! There it is again." And marked it. And then a moment later, "They're everywhere!"
At this rate half the book may be blue.

Not so smiling

If you are reading this, say a little prayer for Mr. C. One of his ear drums burst yesterday. The other one is still clogged up. He went to the doctor this morning. He's scheduled for the ENT this afternoon. His trip to Idaho (he's supposed to fly) is probably canceled. He may even need tubes in his ears.

But the funny side is that maybe we'll get him an ear horn. He's like a slightly deaf grandpa at the moment. WE HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDLY for him to hear us. So, we'll see how that all works out.