Happy Birthday, DoDo!

I don't really have as much to say as I thought I did, so to sum it up, here we go:

1.) First up is a birthday shout out to Freddie! Ethan and Grace really wanted to come to your birthday party -- we miss you and wish we could be there to bake you a cake.

2.) Ethan is honing is art skills at school. This is an apple tree that he came home and drew for me one day.

I think they were learning about Johnny Appleseed. But apparently our efforts to go green have really entrenched themselves in the kids. Evidenced first by Ethan's tree-hugging picture, and second by Grace's latest line of questioning when a neighbor was over to play -- "Um," she said, "Do you recycle like us?" To which HE responded "I don't really know," and ETHAN responded, "Yes, you do. You have two recycling bins and we have one." (His powers of observation are astounding).

3.) I have this weakness for matching pajamas on the kids. It's ridiculous I know.

Grace's skeleton jammies ------------------- $6.50 at Once Upon a Child
Ethan's skeleton jammies ------------------- $14.99 on eBay
Sophie's skeleton jammies ------------------ $0.65 at Gymboree after a $10 reward card

Their excitement at having matching Halloween pajamas? --- Priceless

And that is the end for today. I REALLY didn't have as much to say as I thought I did. Until next time, Anonymous. Hope you had a happy day!

I Have a Legitimate Excuse!

I know, I know. I failed in my challenge! A solid week of blogging and I almost made it, but I do have a legitimate excuse.

You see, a little thing called the-tail-end-of-Hurricane-Ike blew threw, and boy did it blow! Sunday morning dawned inauspiciously enough, and aside from the minor set-back of 2 sick girlie bugs needing to stay home from church, everything was on course for a typical Sabbath day. It was a little windy, but nothing to write home about.

Then, around 1:30 or so, the wind started to pick up. Grace was doped up enough on Children's Motrin to be in a frolicking mood, so she scampered outside to swing and otherwise be one with the wind while I seized upon the opportunity to get dinner started in the crock pot and bake a batch of the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in the world to take pictures of for my recipe post. (Side-note -- this exercise in daily blogging has caused me to realize that I have a tendency to craft overly long sentences. See what I mean?).

I had just finished up in the kitchen, and Grace had just come inside to get a cookie, when the wind started to pick up even MORE, and a little after 2 PM the POWER WENT OUT. Sophie was just waking up from her nap, and we spent the remainder of the afternoon being entertained FIRST by watching someone's garbage can blow back and forth and up and down our street, and SECOND by watching Grace reenact the same scene as she rolled across the main floor of the house saying "Save me, save me! I'm the garbage can." (It wasn't until much later that we discovered that garbage can we had been watching blow away was actually ours).

The wind continued on into the evening, and we quickly realized that the power would not be coming back anytime soon. The next day we discovered the extent of the damage. I was shocked to see trees down all over our neighborhood and across town. I had noticed on Sunday that it looked like the pole in our back yard that all the wires were connected to was leaning to the left a little:


And when we went outside the next day, I quickly realized why:

(It was hard to get a good shot of this, but this is our next-door neighbor's backyard. The neighbors behind HER house had a bunch of trees get knocked down into her yard, and right on TOP of the wires connected to that pole, thus pulling the pole towards her yard and causing it to lean).


(One more shot showing all the trees that went down).

Anyway, Ethan didn't have any school and we spent the day picking up the yard (kind of). And trying to find emergency type supplies to buy. Because even though I HAVE gotten started on my 72 hour kit (we DO have our 3 day water supply), we were missing some of the basics -- such as flashlights. We also needed an ice chest and some ice to be able to salvage some of the stuff from the fridge.

Knowing how many lines were down all over town, and realizing that some were down practically in our own backyard, I thought it would be DAYS before we got power again. So, let me tell you that I was ECSTATIC this morning when the power came back on around 7. ECSTATIC.

So now that my computer and the internet is back up and running, I present to you the long-awaited recipe post. Without further ado, here it is:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy of my good friend Lindsey F.

1 c. margarine (although I always use real butter)
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 package chocolate chips (although for my personal preference I only ever use 1 c., and I LOVE milk chocolate chips in these cookies -- especially the Guittard brand. Simply divine!)

Mix ingredients until blended. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (or 10-12 minutes at lower altitudes, e.g. outside of Utah).

There you have it. The BEST cookie EVER. They are my new favorites.

Alright before I go, I have a couple more items. First off, there are many people out there who see my husband and then see Ethan and say "Oh, wow, he is the spitting image of Scott!" A much less-vocal minority see him for what he is -- a fairly good mixture of both of us, but definitely leaning more towards my side of the family. On Saturday night, I took him to the mall to get his 5 year old birthday pictures taken (you know, only 3 months late) and it took me a few days to realize what exactly seemed familiar about this picture:




And then all of sudden this afternoon, it just hit me. So, I frantically searched all around the house (through several, as-of-yet-unpacked boxes) to finally track it down. My kindergarten picture:


I'll let you be the judge.



And finally, one last item and a contest to boot. While Grace was playing in the backyard yesterday, and Ethan was busily raking up piles and bagging debris, I slipped and almost rolled my ankle on one of these small, green, ball-like "acorns" (for lack of a better word) that are scattered all around the bases of the trees in our backyard. I was talking to my neighbor a little later, and she mentioned what they were, and I was completely flabbergasted. I will send a prize to the first person who comments that knows what these are:

(and a second prize to whoever comes closest to guessing how many are in there -- although that number may not be completely accurate seeing as to how Ethan and Grace were the ones tallying them up after I shamelessly exploited there labor in a little contest of "let's see who can pick up the most 'acorns' ").

Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Top Ten

The last few posts have been fairly text heavy, so for tonight's edition, I thought I'd liven things up with my Top Ten Favorite Pics of the Day:

Here we have the first jack-o'lantern of the season. Ethan pulled out his tooth this morning and can't wait for the tooth fairy to come. Anyone know the going rate for a baby tooth these days?



Scott took Ethan and Grace to an amusement park today and this is my favorite pic of their festivities. Apparently this was taken as they were going UP the hill. Coming down the other side was another story as it left them clutching at the rail. BUT they still had a blast, says Scott.

Ethan was so excited that he was tall enough to ride on this one all by himself. And although he said afterward that it made his stomach hurt, I still think that the day's festivities made it the best day in his whole existence.

I heart "Once Upon a Child." (And so does Grace).

Sophie hearts her tutu. (And once again, I heart "Once Upon a Child").

Grace was so aptly named.
(And she hearts Sophie's tutu as well which is something I was so hoping wouldn't happen).

Those of you keeping track may have noticed that was only 6 photos, so I guess I overestimated how many pictures I would love from today's upload. I apologize.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I will make your mouth water with a recipe for the BEST peanut butter chocolate chip cookies EVER. And I'll even have a visual.

TGIF

Alright my friends, it is the end of a VERY long week, and I couldn't be more thankful. My brain is fresh out of juice tonight, so you'll have to deal with an uninspiring blog post mostly about nothing.

First off, thank you for all your condolences and sympathy with the hair scenario. I have good news to report, though, in that my call went fine today and I think I was able to explain myself pretty well. At any rate, it went a lot better than I expected and as compensation I now have a new appointment set up for next week with a different hairstylist free of charge! I plan on being much better prepared this time.

Other than that, not much has happened today. You know other than being housebound all day thanks to rainy weather and a runny nose on Sophie and Grace which kept me from taking them to the YMCA so I could get my workout on. Oh, and listening to first Sophie and then Grace throw screaming fits all morning long. And then trying (unsuccessfully) all afternoon long to get Ethan and Grace to help clean up their messes all over the house. So yeah, thank goodness it's Friday.

I feel like I can't close without at least ONE story, so here's one for the road. A couple of nights ago, we were trying to wrap things up at bedtime, and we were reading Book of Mormon stories in Ethan's bedroom. The kids usually struggle to be quiet and pay attention during the reading, and this night was no exception. While Ethan was actually listening, Grace was being Grace and was messing around with Sophie. Which basically meant that she was doing all kinds of things to aggravate her and make her scream (which of course, just made Grace laugh). Sophie had brought a couple of toothbrushes in there to play with, and Grace thought it would be fun to stick them down the back of Sophie's zip-up, footed pajamas. I saw it happen and then forgot about it until I was putting Sophie down in her crib for the night and immediately upon being laid down she let out a screech. So, I took it out and tucked her in and called it a night. What I found out in the morning however, was that she had slept all night long with the other toothbrush firmly lodged down the back of her jammies! Poor little supermuppet.

Okay, that's it folks. I apologize. My life isn't ALWAYS as action-packed and fabulous as I make it appear.

Harumph

Grace has this face/look/pout that she does whenever she's mad about something. She folds her arms over-exaggeratedly, furrows her brow, and bobs her head emphatically while pouting an audible "harumph." It's hilarious. I've even made up a bedtime story for her about a little girl who has similar tendencies. I'll save that for another time (although I do have to say that I made it up on the fly one night, and it was so funny to me that I could barely get it out).

Anyway, this post isn't about Grace, it's about me.

Harumph.

(And yes I do realize that this is a highly unflattering picture of myself. I like to think that I don't look that bad).

Here is my tale. Last week I went to get my hair done. This is like my one completely self-indulgent luxury. And for me, the hardest thing about moving to a new place is finding a new person to do my hair. Especially a new person who does a good job doing my hair. After doing all kinds of research I finally settled on the salon I wanted to go to which had rave reviews of being the "best" salon in town.

My first red flag should have been when I called to set up an appointment. I asked if there was any possibility to squeeze something in that week and the receptionist answered that Cara (name has been changed) had an opening that afternoon. This was A LOT sooner than I was expecting to get an appointment, and as a result I was NOT prepared. I usually go armed with a hair magazine or two where I have found potential hairstyles to discuss with the stylist. I hadn't done this yet, and knew I wouldn't have much time, but I still managed to find something I liked.

The next warning sign was when I got to the salon. Call me stereotypical, or judgmental, or WHATEVER, but I knew as soon as I saw Cara's hair that things were not boding well for me. I have found in my experience that if the hairstylist's hair has no style, then I'm kind of out of luck. However, at this point I couldn't exactly say "nevermind" and leave the salon. So, I tried to stay positive and maintain hope that things would still be okay. I showed her the picture of hair color I wanted (a much darker blonde for the upcoming fall and winter seasons) and the cut (a sort of compilation from a couple different pictures of a layered, slightly longer than chin-length bob). I was assured that she could do both these things and that it would look "really pretty."

THEN, she brought out a hair color sample card. Do you know what I'm talking about? The thing with all the loops of hair in various shades of color? And she asked me which color I wanted. Huh? Isn't that your job to choose what's going to look good on me? Didn't I show you the picture of the haircolor I wanted? Aren't I paying you a huge chunk of change to cut and color my hair? Let's just say, that when a hairstylist brings out the hair loops, I start to hyperventilate just a little -- because it almost always is a harbinger of horror.

Anyway, we moved on to the cut and as she started blowdrying away, carefully curling under with her round brush, I realized that this was NOT the style I showed her. And the sides were uneven. That is one of my pet peeves about getting my hair cut. If I with my untrained eye can tell that one side is longer than the other, shouldn't a trained professional be able to? I actually managed to speak up on that issue, which is a huge deal for me, because I am NOT good at that kind of thing. And then when she was finished round brushing my hair out and I saw that what she had given me was basically a blunt bob, I managed to speak up once again and ask if she could add some layers like in the picture.

Oh, sure she said and proceeded to texturize only one side of my hair. Could you add a few layers to the other side as well, I asked? Oh, we'll just get some pomade and piece it out so you can see them, she said. After the "piecing" was done I asked again if she could cut some layers in the other side to make it match a little more, and she finally got that done all the while saying she just really wanted to make sure that I loved my hair.

At this point I could see that the cut was fine -- not great, but not horrible -- and the color, with my hair now dried, was a lighter blonde than I wanted -- but still fine enough. However, I was just ready to go home. I was done with the experience and annoyed that I was going to spend so much money on something I was not completely loving and aggravated with myself for not being the kind of person who can speak up more. And as I was paying and leaving Cara said to be sure and come back in if there was anything I didn't like about it in the next few days, because she just really wanted to make sure I loved my hair.

So, there you have it. My hair. Harumph. Like I said. Its not horrible, I just don't LOVE it. I'm mostly just aggravated. BUT, as I like to say, the difference between a bad haircut and a better one, is about a week.

But now I have a new problem. A couple days later, the salon emailed me a survey to fill out to tell about my "experience" there, and unfortunately that experience was still a festering thorn in my side. And apparently I feel a lot more uninhibited in my reviews when done under the cloak of anonymity. And so I just found out today (via a phone call from the manager who wanted to talk things over and "pick my brain" as she put it) that NOT filling out my name on the survey didn't exactly make me anonymous. And I'm kind of feeling really bad because I'm pretty sure that in the heat of the moment I might have said in my survey that "a salon is only as good as the worst hairstylist there." Ouch. That's kind of harsh. I probably shouldn't give reviews of things while I'm still worked up. So, basically I'm just left dreading her call back tomorrow. And wishing I had not rushed into getting my hair done. Another life lesson learned.

And there you have it. The hair -- one week later. Not horrible, but not great. (And please understand that I am in NO WAY trying to fish for compliments here.)

Epilogue:

Alright, So after reading this over one final time before posting, I feel really bad. Like I'm a super horrible person. Or at least a very cowardly one. If I have enough issues with something to complain about it to a 3rd party, I should be able to just suck it up and discuss it with the actual person. Right? Cara was REALLY nice and I feel REALLY bad if she read my review and took it personally. I am a horrible person.

The End.

Tales from the Schoolyard

With Ethan in kindergarten now, I think Grace is feeling a bit like she's missing out. Evidenced by the fact that in her imaginary world she is also in school. So when Ethan and I were sitting at the table the other day doing his homework (which was essentially a list of questions the teacher gave to help us in getting him to talk about his day), Grace set up camp as well and got started on her homework.

Me: Okay, Ethan. The next question is "Who is a new friend you've made at school?"

Grace: [pausing in her scribbling and looking up to wait for the answer]

Ethan: Um, Brooke. [Grace returning to her scribbling with renewed purpose]

Me: Alright, "What do you like about her?"

Ethan: I don't know.

Me: Well if she's your friend then you have to like something about her.

Ethan: I like her clothes. {Seriously? This is his answer?}

Grace: [holding up her notebook to Ethan] Is this what Broke looks like?

Ethan: [looking at it closely] No, she has brown hair.

Grace: [furiously coloring with a brown crayon around the scribbled blob and then holding it up again] Is this what she looks like?

Ethan: [staring at it for a second] Yep.

Grace's new friend "Broke"

And there you have it. Perhaps Grace has a future career as a criminal sketch artist.

Alright, alright. You can't expect "A-Game" material 3 nights in a row. Perhaps tomorrow night I'll be able to regale you with more entertaining tales.

This one's for you Anonymous

In case anyone is wondering what happens when I stay up way too late blogging and subsequently miss my very narrow window of opportunity to fall asleep easily, here it goes:

So, I couldn't fall asleep until well after 12:30 last night, and this proved to be quite cataclysmic this morning thanks to my early bird children. Grace was up before 7 wanting breakfast, and in my bleary-eyed, lead-footed stupor, I stumbled downstairs to get her cereal hoping I could sneak back upstairs and get a few more minutes of sleep before the others joined ranks, when Ethan stumbled himself down and wanted his daily bowl of oatmeal (because as I have heard him brag to others, I make the best oatmeal in the world -- if you'd like my "recipe," see the post script). Sophie soon followed and joined in the clamor for her breakfast of toast with butter (vegan that is) and jam. So toast it was.

My first mistake of the day was letting them have a "special occasion" to watch TV after breakfast. However, in my half-awakened state, it was far easier to surrender this victory than to stand my ground. The result? Even though we were up for almost 2 hours before Ethan needed to get to the bus stop (which is only just up the street), we still managed to miss the bus. I loaded the kids up and drove the 2 minutes to school only to have to wait another 10 minutes until teachers and buses and students started showing up.

Since we were already out and about, and 2 kids are always much easier to handle at the store than 3, we headed on over to Wal-mart to buy some organizational implementational kind of things to help me get my act together and become something other than the world's worst housekeeper.

Here's a shot of my girlie bugs upon our arrival home:

What's that on the right you say? Meet Grace's newest junk: Hello Kitty.

*Side story. Yesterday Ethan and Grace had their semi-annual dental check-ups and unfortunately, Grace did not pass the test. She has 3 cavities that we'll need to go back and get filled and the dentist is checking to see what else can be done to stop the thumb-sucking. Ethan did pass, and has 2 loose teeth to boot. They each got to pick out a little toy at the dentist's office when they were done, and Ethan's turned out to be a dud. He was so sad when we were leaving that his junky little trinket was not working that I felt really bad and told him we could go to "Once Upon a Child" (this awesome, children's consignment store) to pick out a small toy as a reward for having no cavities. Well, when we got there that "small toy" ended up being not so small (a bike), and Grace somehow finagled her way into picking something out as well (the life-size Hello Kitty doll). Oh well. I take comfort in knowing that we saved a ton of money because we bought them second-hand. And we contributed to our on-going efforts to be green. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Back to today. We walked away from Wal-mart with only ONE item that was not on the list -- a Backyardigans DVD that Grace wore me down into buying -- so really, a successful trip by any standard. And once home, I managed to start cleaning the kitchen before Ethan got back from school AND I even remembered to put Sophie down early for her nap so we could get to gymnastics on time in the afternoon.

And that's when my sleep-deprived brain reared its ugly head again. You see, I got us there right on time for 2:50. Which is when I thought gymnastics STARTED. Which is actually what time the class ENDED. I'll let you just conjure up your own mental image of the fit that ensued from Grace when she realized they wouldn't get to go in the gym at all.

In an effort to appease them and regain my status as the best mom in the whole world, I promised we'd stop at the store on the way home to buy "The Wizard of Oz" (which I have convinced them they want to be for Halloween even though they've only seen YouTubed clips of the movie so far). However, the movie doesn't seem to be in stock ANYWHERE. Evidenced by the fact that loading all 3 kids in and out of the car while looking at 2 different stores on opposite ends of the city was to no avail. Not to mention it made us late getting home for dinner which ended up slightly burning in the crock-pot.

So, there you have it. That was my day. I'm living the dream my friends, living the dream. It is almost 9 PM, I still have not showered for the day, my house minus the kitchen is still a mess (Okay. Well, minus the kitchen counters, because the floor is a nightmare and still needs to be swept let alone mopped), and my sleep window is rapidly approaching. *sigh* Tomorrow is another day? (expressed tentatively with a small hint of hope.)

Post Script:

The Best Oatmeal in the World (or at least Ethan thinks so)

1 c. milk (I always use what's on hand -- 1%)
1/2 c. Whole Oats (NOT the quick-cooking kind because Ethan does NOT like those)
4 spoonfuls of brown sugar (slightly mounded but mostly leveled out on a regular spoon that you eat with)

Turn stove to medium. Pour milk in saucepan and let it warm until it is hot but not scorching. At this point add the oatmeal but DO NOT STIR. Apparently this makes a difference (according to Alton Brown of Good Eats fame). Set a timer for 6 minutes (or 5 minutes if you live at high altitude such as in Utah). While the timer is ticking, measure out your sugar into the bowl. When timer dings, stir oatmeal and dump in bowl, mixing with the sugar. Ethan doesn't like his with cinnamon, but you can certainly add it if you want. Voila.

Incohesive Ramblings

A photo-journey of the last month and a half.

(And yes, that is the best lead sentence I came up with after half an hour of thinking).

The kids enjoyed the summer.

Is it wrong that I secretly get a kick out of how raggamuffin my children can look?

We added on to the family.

Meet Hamley and Baby. Sophie has become a MASTER at working the system at bed time. She can't go to sleep without her baby, her monkey, a few more junks, her pluggie, and about 3 blankets. Hmmm. Nature or nurture?

Our baby grew up.

First-day-of-nursery-bliss.

And Scott did, too.

The birthday boy and the rugrats.

Don't let this Caramel Cake deceive you -- it may look pitiful (especially with the 2 used and dilapidated birthday candles), but this was the uber-cake. Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen. Which is probably why a 1/16th slice of this cake was equal to 13 points, Weight-Watcher-wise. Let's just say that I can't have this cake lying around the house ever again.

The kids got along (mostly).

Sophie's current 4 favorite food groups: Hot Dogs, Spaghetti, Toast, and Applesauce. Here she is chowing down on some hot dogs, and boy can this girl eat.

We painted -- kind of.

In a moment of generosity, I told the kids they could pick out whatever color they wanted for their bedrooms. This is what Ethan picked out (its a very light blue which looks quite white on the wall, which has caused Ethan some buyer's remorse for the color)

And THIS is what Grace picked out. The color is called "Snow White's Song," but I think Pepto-Bismol Pink is a better descriptor.

Grace was Grace.

She convinced me to cut bangs. Its taken me a while to get used to how she looks with them, but I've now reached the point where I no longer think they look horrible. She, on the other hand, has been pleased as punch from the get go.

Ethan started school.

Here's the Kindergarten boy on his first day of school. And no, I did not cry. (His first day of high school, however, may just be a different story as I have recently found out that our ward meets at 5:45 AM for seminary). Am I the only mother in the country who longs for all-day kindergarten? At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is basically Preschool Part II.

And in typical, Jessica-the-procrastinator fashion, I realized at 10 PM the night before school started that I had a whole packet of information that I was supposed to fill out as well as an "assignment" for Ethan that needed to be turned in the next day. The above picture is Ethan's finished homework that we more than managed to finish in time the next morning seeing as to how his school doesn't even start until 9:10 AM. Does anyone else find this ridiculously late? Almost every morning the first week, Ethan was literally sitting on the kitchen floor watching the timer tick down on the microwave for the 20 or 30 minutes he had to wait until it was time to leave.

Sophie was cute.

And a drama queen. Not that this picture illustrates it, but I needed some sort of visual for the statement.

We enjoyed a lovely Labor Day weekend/week housing a few hurricane evacuees.
On labor day itself, Scott took Ethan and Grace to go visit the cousins. On the way home the kids apparently threw the mother (or "mutha" as Mayor Nagin would say) of all fits. He somehow managed to capture the magic WHILE he was driving. AND managed not to get in a wreck. Here is the photo montage:











I got new running shoes.

Now that I've finally found the 10 K I'm going to run this year (on Thanksgiving Day), I decided it was time to get serious about "training." Scott and I went to a "real" running store and got "fitted" for our running shoes, and its a good thing we did. Apparently I need a size 8 running shoe and I've been wearing a 6.5 my whole life.

And so did Scott.

To bring you completely up-to-date with the WHOLE fam, here is Scott. He has decided to jump back into running after a 3 year hiatus -- meaning he literally has not gone running in 3 years -- by training for a marathon. Crazy? Maybe. Or at least the password is. Hahahaha. Check out his blog to see Scott run.

I decided I need to blog more often.

While this may come as no surprise to all my faithful readers, I was quite chagrined to realize tonight that I have blogged only SEVEN times previously this year. That is quite pitiful. Thus, I am taking it on as a personal challenge to blog EVERY night this week. We shall see how that goes.

The End

Well, folks. I think that's all for tonight. As it is, I've whiled the evening away blogging when I REALLY should have been cleaning and organizing my house. But, as they say...tomorrow is another day.