It's more important to give than to recieve

A Death Star Story

Matt came home with this story and I wanted to share it. Happy reading.

"The Death Star Is"

"A powerful space station"

"It can destroy one planet"

"The Empire is going to attack the Rebel base"

"Rebel Attack!"

"The Rebels are protecting their base"

"The Rebels are going to destroy the Death Star"

"When they try to fire, it explodes"

I wonder if Matt's teachers ever get tired f hearing about Star Wars. I know we don't.

Halloween 2009

I thought I'd put up a picture of our Halloween costumes this year. I wanted to do Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and 3 little pigs. Except that I mentioned to the boys about cute pink curly tails and then they instantly vetoed that idea. Mental note: never mention cute and pink in the same sentence and tell boys you want them to wear something like that. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Instead they all wanted to be ninjas. So I had to go search for something for me. What goes with ninjas? Well, a geisha. (a modest one!). Here we are at our ward Halloween party.

I hope you all had a great Halloween. I look forward again to next year. Granted, we'll be in Paris and I'm not entirely sure they celebrate Halloween. I do know that the Paris Embassy does activities. And I'm sure that we can find someone who will appreciate our annual Halloween dinner. ( I think I might have to have someone mail me the Halloween cookbooks next year when they are at the checkstands. I'll deal with that next year.)

Halloween dinner

We had our annual Halloween dinner with friends last night. (Check here to see last year's menu). Here is what was on the menu this year.

Tostada faces. We let the kids decorate their tostada's with silly faces.

Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures. This one is mine.

Spider Fajita Pizza. The spider is made with breadsticks from a tube.

Taco Tarts. These "pumpkins" had taco meat and cheese inside.

They are painted with an egg yolk wash.

Crunchy Mummies. These tasty appetizers are made with celery, Boursin cheese,

strips of ham, and tiny Craisin eyes. Doug made these all by himself.

Tortilla/vegetable dip. This is a cream cheese/salsa mixture layered with

guacamole and a piped sour cream web.

Spider cookies. These were a pain to make so I only made a few. The boys really liked them. They are Double Stuff Oreos with licorice legs, sprinkles and Nerds for eyes

We also had our peach smoothies with pumpkin faces drawn on the cups and the always child friendly Jello Jigglers. This year I actually put black food coloring in my jello to make it black. I made some Cream Puffs with a pumpkin filling. I also didn't get a picture of that, but they weren't as good as I thought they would be. I'll have to experiement with cream puffs and get better at it.

Have I mentioned that I love Halloween? Later this week I'll get out my sewing machine to make some last minute costume additions. I'm so excited.

Miniature golfing on Tattooine

Today we celebrated Doug's birthday. (Because he had the day off). We went miniature golfing. At the 18th hole after the balls disappeared out of sight, the boys raised their golf clubs above their heads and started making weird noises...just like the Tusken Raiders. I wish I got a picture. They were raising their clubs up and down just like the Tusken Raider did when he was going to attack Luke. Pretty good imitations. Of course the more Doug and I laughed, the more they did it.

Arise and Walk

Yesterday Timmy took his first solo steps. It's about time. Maybe now he'll slow down while walking because that little boy is so fast when it comes to crawling. On more than one occasion I had to round up the troops to locate him. The last time he headed downstairs. At least he's pretty good about going down the correct way.

I wanted to get some footage of him walking but he is not cooperating. Maybe later.

My eating machine

Timmy is an eating machine. That boy will eat anything I put in front of him. (well, except sweet potatoes. He won't even eat the canned ones that have been sitting in corn syrup). He loves being able to feed himself. He loves cottage cheese. He shovels that in by the handfuls. He'll even eat avacado and tofu. His favorite, by far, is spaghetti and meatballs. The boy gets red sauce up to his eyebrows. It's very entertaining to watch.

Change is good

The membership for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing around the world. And in No VA. Apparently in the past few years the Stake has grown by 400 members...enough for a whole new ward. So, yesterday a new ward was created. And that meant changes for existing wards. So, we're going back to where we started 3 years ago. I'm grateful that we already know people in the Oakton ward, but I'm sad that the changes also took away other friends. (not to mention other friends who were in the ward but moved away. Yeah, you know who you are).

So, here's to new changes and old friends.

Meesa baaack...

Why did I title this with the annoying Jar Jar Binks quote? Guess I'm tired.

Where have I been, you might wonder. Yeah, me too. This summer went so fast and everything I wanted to do (well almost everything) didn't happen. It seemed like the majority of my summer involved making doctor appointments (and setting up babysitting) so we could all be medically cleared to go to Paris. As of today, we have all received our medical clearance. Now we just have to wait for the funds to be available for the move.

So there's nothing really new to report. I have daily blogs going on in my head. They just never make it to the computer. I'll try to be better.

Matt started 1st grade on Sept 8th. He is taking the bus this year. He loves it. He always has a smile on his face when he gets off. In fact there are two of his classmates at our bus stop. He enjoys doing his homework every night and exclaims, "this is toooo easy!". In a couple weeks he will start a French class after school. It's sad that we're spending money to do this when we could do it at home, but I want him to feel excited and prepared.

Thomas is in his second year of coop preschool. He is in a group with 7 boys! (thank goodness I only have to host every 7 weeks!). The boys all think it's cool, but one of the boys was concerned that there weren't any girls to chase. He's having fun getting to know new kids.

Family prayer: Matt and Thomas style

The conversation of this evening's bedtime activities were quite, um... well should we say a little weird. After reading the scriptures and having a conversation about missionaries Matt says, "I'm not a good missionary because I'm a Star Wars Fan"

Then it was time for family prayers before bed. Doug asked Thomas and Thomas said, "I can't because I (hic) have the hic- (hic) cups". So Thomas was off the hook and Matt was asked. Well an argument started because Matt didn't want to. So the bickering started and Doug said, "Just say it Matt, it's your turn!" To which Matt replied, "Only if you bawk like a chicken!" (Of course I can't keep a straight face at this point, but it's a good thing I was reverently folding my arms and bowing my head so no one could see my giggles.)

Then all of a sudden next to me I hear, "Bawk- bawk- bawk! BAWK BAWK!"

Yes, Thomas started bawking like a chicken, and once he was done he immediately (with the hiccups) started in his prayer. (At lightning speed I might add). When he was done, they were off to bed. Doug looked at me and mouthed, "Where did that come from?!"

So, if you're having a problem getting your kids to say their prayers, just bawk like a chicken.

Paris update

I thought let you all know where we are in the process of going to Paris. We just finished with all our doctor appointments. We faxed in the papers and are now waiting for our medical clearance. Doug and I have actually already been cleared, so now we're waiting for the kids. We are told that it takes up to 4 weeks for the medical clearance, Meanwhile Doug gets to attend a training session and then all our requirements are done. After the medical clearances, then we are put on a list to wait until the funding is available to move us over there. Hopefully the funding is available by the end of fiscal year (end of Sept). Once we are told that the funding is available, then we have up to 90 days to get ready, packed, and move. So we're thinking that the earliest we could be in Paris is Christmas. It seems like a long way away, but there are many things to do to be prepared. We're still super excited and we are practicing our French. That is all for now. A bientot!

...and Timmy came tumbling after.

Last week Timmy and I went grocery shopping. When I came home I put him in the living room behind the gate and went out the bring in the groceries. After bringing in all the groceries I hear a thud and a cry.

Apparently the other gate blocking the living room from the kitchen was not up and Doug didn't realize it because Timmy escaped and made a mad dash up the stairs. He made it up these stairs all by himself.

He must have been too tired to make the second half of the stairs because I found him crying on the landing. At least the most he could have fallen was 5 stairs.

He's a fast little guy. You always need to be watching him!

My useless knowledge

I often accuse Doug of having a lot of useless knowledge in his head (which he ought to put to good use on Jeopardy). He's always coming up with random information about things and I wonder how he keeps it all in his head. I'm certainly not like that. I therefore accuse him of being like a nerd sometimes.

Thanks to my friend's blog entry the other day, I found out that there are some things that I know alot about and Doug does not. I also wasted a bit of time playing around on YouTube. I have to admit it. I spent alot of my youth watching TV. And just to prove it, I took the following quizzes. I'll put the answers in the comment section of this post. Have fun!

Yeah, I knew the majority of these. Should I be proud of that? I had a crush on the kid from#4 and was totally envious of his play room. He's LDS by the way (another piece of random knowledge).


I loved TV in the 80's! I miss alot of those shows. The theme for #11 always makes me smile because who wasn't in love with that guy and of course we all wanted that car! I love the theme song for #16 and I can still see the guy's curly hair. One of my favorite shows was #4.

I didn't get too many of these correct. I guess that with jobs, college, and a mission I didn't spend too much time in front of a TV. My family did routinely watch #5 together, although I'm not sure that it is a good quality family show. My roommates got me addicted to #10 and #27. Doug is proud to admit that he's never watched #27.

Yep, this is how I spent my quiet time today. This, and cleaning the bathroom. Lame I know.

National Cheesecake Day

Today is National Cheesecake Day. The Cheesecake Factory is having a special where any slice is half price. (Go here for more info) So go to your local Cheesecake Factory and have a great girl's night.

That's all I'm going to say on that subject. Gotta go. Cheesecake is calling my name!

Happy Birthday Timmy!

Today Timmy turned one. This past year has gone by quickly and I can honestly say that I've enjoyed having a baby around. He has been so much fun. He's easy going and super cute.

Timmy now officially has two teeth. The first one came during vacation earlier this month. Of course it was during the week when we had to share a room and he woke up every night. The second one is currently working its way down. I'll get a picture of the teeth soon. He didn't cooperate earlier when I wanted to take a picture.

He's pulling himself up on to anything that is next to him. He's pushes and walks behind a toy so he's beginning to get the walking movements. I'm fine with him crawling around. It keeps him a baby a little longer.

It's been a lot of fun to watch him try new foods. He'll try just about anything as long as he can feed himself. He loves eating bread. I can't break the bread up into pieces fast enough to keep up with him. I need to teach him to quack because it reminds me of feeding the ducks.

Timmy after eating bananas. It looks like one is in his nose.

Timmy's first taste of chocolate pudding. He loved it!

Here are some pictures of his birthday. We had some friends over to eat cake and ice cream with us. Our friend's kids actually want to have Timmy as a little brother. I'm proud of Timmy and his willingness to try a new food. I put a spoonful of vanilla ice cream on his tray and without hesitating he picked it up and started licking it. Must have been cold!

Birthday cake and "smash cake"
You can see where my piping skills went crooked. Oh well.

Before...

At this point he was a little wired. I think you can see some frosting being flung off his hands. Matt actually ducked for cover under the table. Sorry there is no sound, but you can imagine the squeals of glee. He was happy.

After!

Happy Birthday Timmy! We love you!

Quotes of the day

There's always something that a child says (or that I say) that get locked away in my head because it was funny or random. Today was one of those days.

"Mommy, are dragons real?" by Thomas
-Normally this is an OK question. It is NOT OK to ask this question at 5:30 AM This is how my day started.

"Kyle left his apple downstairs, and we are killing the ants" By Matt
-Kyle came over Friday night, so that's how long an eaten apple has been downstairs. I saw the boys running over ants with hot wheel cars. This was at 9:00 AM

"Hurry up boys! We need to leave in 15 minutes!" by me
-As I uttered these words I realized that it would be nearly impossible to leave in 15 minutes because the boys were in their PJ's eating breakfast, and I was in my PJ's unshowered and hungry. You tell me if this is feasible to get 4 people out the door in 15 minutes. Actually I'm impressed to say that we did it in 25 minutes (me still unshowered and hungry), but we were on time for our movie. (which Timmy fussed and squirmed through practically the entire time). Oh well, it was free.

"Which would you rather do; clean or take a nap?" by me
-I decided that I was tired of things being cluttered and I was feeling overwhelmed. So I uttered these words out of desperation. Never give kids choices that you are not prepared to follow through with. They were supposed to choose the nap option so I could get some peace and quiet. They both chose the option to clean. I said, "Fine. After your nap." Moms never play fair, do we?

"Mommy, Timmy is falling down the stairs" by Thomas
-As Matt opened the door to go outside, he let in a wasp. Unfortunately at the same time I had removed the gate to let Timmy crawl down the hallway so we could go run another errand. I was busy watching the wasp, in order to make sure it went back outside, that I momentarily forgot about Timmy's mad dash down the hall. Thankfully I was standing at the top of the stairs and I felt something by my leg, so he only fell down one or two stairs.

"This too shall pass." by old lady at the craft store.
-As soon as we get to the store Thomas announces that he has to go to the bathroom. Thomas goes in to the bathroom while Matt and I wait outside the door (because I have stuff in my cart along with Timmy). So as I'm peaking in and out of the bathroom telling Thomas various dierctions, there is an older woman watching us and smiling. She said that she was in my shoes 25 years ago. Things will get better she said.

"Do you want to eat chicken roll ups or pizza for dinner?" by me
-I had dinner all planned for tonight. But then I remembered that tonight was buy one get one free at Dominoes. I still haven't showered, and I'm still feeling overwhelmed with cleaning and packing and sorting through stuff for our move, that I gave into ordering pizza online.

Today was one of those days. I'm looking forward to vacation.

My first week of summer break

Summer vacation is here. I'm not sure what to think about it. I love that I don't have to set my alarm to wake up. It's nice to go to bed instead of realizing at midnight that I haven't made the lunch yet. And maybe Timmy will get a good nap schedule instead of being dragged out and about shopping (cause you know you have to take advantage of having just one child around to do those errands). So, I thought I'd document the things that we do during the summer break. That way, when I completely loose it by running away at the end of the summer, there will be documentation to prove my case. So, here's what went down the first week of summer vacation.

Fri 19th, the first day of vacation:
Timmy celebrated the first day of the break by getting up at 6:30 AM. Thomas was up shortly after that. Fortunately for me Timmy went back to sleep after I fed him. Or at least I think he did. I'm not entirely sure because when I got back into bed I put a pillow over my head to drown out the noise of Doug's shower and the chirping birds.
I told the boys that we would celebrate by going to Chuck E Cheese first thing in the morning. We got there at 9:30 and there weren't that many people. Chuck E Cheese is a nice place to go when there aren't that many people. We spent a few hours there. Then came home, had lunch, and everyone took naps. So, why was I on edge by 4 PM? I don't really know. All I do know is that I was loosing my patience with them late afternoon. Maybe if I didn't have to plan out and cook dinner I would be more easy going between the hour of 4:00 and 5:00.

Mon 22: Today people slept in. I told myself that we weren't going to spend a lot of time in front of the TV this summer. My original plan today was to go to the library in the morning. However, the boys were playing nicely (and the TV was on) so I took advantage of it. I put Timmy down for a nap, gave the boys a snack, and went to go take a shower. Then I packed a lunch and a couple hours later we headed out for the park. Of course on our way out the door the boys were whining about this and that and I was ready to call it quits. But I figured that if we play at the park and postpone our naps then perhaps everyone will sleep a long time (thus giving me peace of mind for a couple hours). They were pretty good at the park. Thomas attempted to ride a scooter down a slide. Matt pushed a plastic pic-nic table close to the monkey bars so he could get on it, and Timmy discovered dirt. I had to fight a little with Thomas when we got home because he was convinced that he wasn't tired. Once he stopped crying, he was asleep in 5 minutes. I'm sure I'll regret the late naps when we try to put them to bed later, but it sure it nice right now.

Tues 23: Once again the boys sat in front of the TV in the morning. I discovered that it is my fault that we don't go places in the morning. I'm just not a morning person. I was in my PJ's until 11, but both boys were ready long before me. Oh well. After a load of laundry, lunch and Timmy's nap, we went to the library. We were there for nearly 2 hours. The boys were putting puzzles together and Timmy was banging on the shelves and crawling all over. Everyone had a good time. Now they are sleeping. So far so good.

Wed 24th: Today we went to the park and had a picnic. Then we came home and had quiet time. After dinner Doug and I did an inventory of all our stuff. We had to estimate how many boxes of stuff we would have to move. Of course I was also doing an inventory of what we're going to get rid of. It will be nice to move because then we can start fresh and clean. And this time we don't have to do the packing or moving!

Thurs 25: This morning was spent in front of the TV. Matt slept in until 9:30. Thomas had a playgroup to go to at 10:00. Matt and I went to Target (in and out and home within one hour I might add!). Then it was quiet time. I fought with Thomas encouraging him to stay in his room. I don't care if he doesn't sleep, he just has to give me some quiet time. Actually he really does still need to nap. If he doesn't he's whiny and mean by 5:00. However today we went to the pool. Why does it take 1 1/2 hours to get us out the door to go to the pool? And I even had the pool bag together before today. It's amazing how slowly people move in order to get out the door. Once we got to the pool we all had fun. Thank goodness I had girl's night. We have a group of girls that get together to watch So You Think You Can Dance. It's something fun to look forward to each week.

Fri 26th: We didn't get out of the house at all today. I did 3 loads of laundry, babysat my friend's little boy, and cleaned to prepare for company. But, surprisingly enough, I didn't have to yell at anyone today. The boys were nice, they took naps, and I let them play video games after their naps. I didn't get a shower until 3, but it was a good day. And at the end of the day we all made some new friends.

So I think that this first week of summer break actually went well. Then again any day where I don't loose my patience and yell alot is a good day. Maybe we'll all have fun this summer. Tune in next week for my update to see if I loose it. Maybe next week I'll actually get some pictures to make this post a little more interesting.

To know or not to know...that is the question

Do I really want to know why the toilet seat was wet when I sat down?

Creepy crawly

It's never a good thing when a child comes to you and says, "There's Starburst downstairs and there are ants all over it. I don't know how it got there."

I went downstairs and sure enough, there is an open bag of Starburst jellybeans with little tiny ants around it. Lovely. What a wonderful way to start the day.

11 months old!

Today Timmy is 11 months old. One more month and he will be one. Wow. How the time has flown.

He is really enjoying eating. He eats pretty well and you just have to know his signs of being done or else you get splattered. He really enjoys eating bread. I break it up in little pieces. It's like feeding a duck. I should teach him how to quack. I am gradually weaning him off of me. I nurse him about 3 times a day and he takes a couple bottles of formula. I am so ready to be done wearing nursing bras!

Recently I taught him how to clap. All you have to do is say "clap your hands", and he will! It's so cute. He is a crawling machine. He gets around quickly doing the army crawl although he can get his stomach off the floor to crawl. He pulls himself up on the furniture and is quite proud of himself when he does it.

He sleeps all night (although I'm sure that will change when he gets teeth. He still doesn't have any). I sometimes don't even know when he wakes up because he plays so quietly in his crib. I've noticed that he is not a crier. He rarely cries (unless he gets hurt). I am greatful for this. He is a happy baby and a joy to have around. We'll see what happens when he starts to copy his big brothers.

Friend or Foe?

There is a love/hate relationship in my home. My arch nemesis is here. Temptation surrounds me. I can't rest until it's gone. But on the other hand, I love having it around. It's sooo good. Darn you. Darn you to heck!


Gingersnap cookies. My kryptonite.

I love my grandma's recipe for gingersnap cookies. It's more like I have an addiction to them. Whenever they're around I can't walk by without eating one. I have even put them in the freezer so they're out of sight. But I know that they're there. I suffer from this temptation until they're gone. And usually it's me who makes sure they are. Then, of course, I feel crappy because I ate 2-3 dozen cookies in about 48 hours. (you think I'm kidding, don't you?). So why do I make them? Because they never fail and I love them so much. The smell of them cooking is heaven. I once took some dough over to a friend's house for a girl's night and we baked up fresh, warm gingersnaps to eat. There were some left over when her husband came home and he told her, "These are the best cookies you've ever made!" She had to inform him that she didn't make them. So, a note to hubbies out there- Make sure you know who did the cooking before you make exclamations about it being the best she's ever made, cause you never know!



So you're wondering if I will share the recipe, aren't you? OK. It's not like a secret. Besides I need some fellow addicts.

Winter's Best Gingersnaps

Cream together: 1 1/2 c. margarine (or butter), 2 c sugar, 2 eggs

Add: 1/2 c molasses (spray the measuring cup with nonstick spray first and it's easier to get out), 4 c flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cloves, 2 tsp ground ginger (not the root). You may need to add a little more flour if the dough is really sticky because you're going to be rolling the dough into balls. Sometimes it helps to chill the dough a little before rolling.

Roll into balls (ping pong size), and roll in sugar (about 3/4 c).

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (depending on whether you like them soft or crunchy and also depending on the size. I personally like smaller cookies and perhaps that's why this batch usually makes about 6 dozen). You know when they are done when they get the little cracks on the top.

Bon Appetit!

I made 6 dozen on Saturday evening.

I gave away 3 dozen.

This is all that's left. Help me!

Actually, maybe I just need an exercise buddy! We'll eat cookies while we walk!

We're moving!

Yep, we are going to be moving. Somewhere far, far away. We found out this morning from Doug's work. When? Well most likely by Christmas, but these things take time. Where? Well let me be your tour guide. At the end of our tour take a guess as to where we're going.

Have you guessed yet? OK. Here's a big clue.

OK, here's one more clue.

Ready?

Keep scrolling!

Ta da! Or should I say "voila"!

(Yeah, I know. We're pretty excited too!)