Congrats to the Student of the Month

Congratulations to the latest Student of the Month, kindergartner at P.T. Elementary, who happens to be my grandson! (wow-he's tall!)
We heard the Story and Song about "Chocolatina," the girl who loved chocolate SO much that she turned into CHOCOLATE!

And in between songs, we were entertained by the antics of these two...

This one happened to be wearing the cutest pair of capris!.....I want some!

On Giving Birth....

'Tis the season for birthdays at our house.

21 years ago today I gave birth....again....for the fifth time.

You know how when ladies get together, they like to compare birth stories? The first one says..."I labored for 50 hours." Then the next one says...."oh yea, I labored for 55.5 hours and then pushed for two hours!" And then the next one says...."oh yea, I labored for 56 hours, pushed for 2.5 hours and then finally gave birth in the back of the pickup truck!" And so on and so on.....

So for you to be suitably impressed..

I labored for quite awhile with this one, can't remember how much, but for at least 12-15 hours.

He was born at 4:00 AM.....ug....an AWFUL time....up all night...the dr. barely made it...

And here's the clincher.....His chest circumference was 1 inch bigger than his head circumference.

Ouch!

Suitably impressed?

That being said, Happy Birthday to #5, my Elder Steve, who I will be seeing in exactly 7 seven days and 12 hours....mas o menos......

Another Random Idea

So anyway, in order to justify my time surfing the 'net, I actually do come across some really cool stuff......Here's something......

See this here jug?

Well, what do you do with it when it's empty?

Throw it away?

Of course not!

You rinse it out thoroughly, fill it up with water and then mark on it SOAPY WATER with your trusty magic Sharpie pen. (random side note-did you know that my son served on his mission in the town that is called the Capital of Sharpies????)

Then you put it on your food storage shelf to save the soapy water to use when all he// breaks loose and we don't have water. It could be used to wash dirty dishes, clothing, bodies, etc.

Great idea.......eh?.....yes......si?

Ok-well I thought it was an awesome idea.

Opinions Please

Does this make my butt look big?????





JK....

Miss Liss....aka Boofus....says that these bedspreads are too girly.

I know it is a horrible picture-my flash is acting screwy-but it IS brown and blue after all. But-I don't think they are too "girlie."

Bubba D says...."whatever, I don't care." (which is pretty much his answer to everything)

P.S. The room doesn't usually look this good. I had to kick a bunch of dirty clothes out of the photo.

Feeling a Little Provident-ish...

Recently, I was totally inspired by this lady's post. I'm a frequent lurker to her site. So when I saw a sale for 8 lbs of Idaho potatoes for $1.98...well, I snapped up a few bags and spent the other day doing this:

First, I washed the potatoes. One of these could have fed a family of four for a week! They were GINORMOUS.

While I cut up the potatoes, I sterilized my jars in the oven at 200 degrees.
Then I cut them up into little pieces and put them in a large bowl with salt water. Potatoes don't like fresh air. They turn a nasty brown in fresh air. Yup, I left the peels on. I figure, more nutrition.
Then I put them in the hot jars, with some boiling water and 1/4 t. salt, put on the lids and pressure canned them for 35 minutes at 12 lbs. pressure (pints). You MUST pressure can potatoes.

The lovely result is over 50 pints of potatoes, I figured the cost was less than $10.00. What can you do with canned potatoes?

Well, I created a little "veggie hash" recipe for breakfast when we went off eggs for awhile. I put in chopped potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, a little onion and if I have it, some chicken sausage. (I'd put spinach in if it wouldn't cause an all-out rebellion) Yum. And you can use the already cooked potatoes for potato salad, a stew or chicken pot pie-a family fav around here. You could even mash them up with a little butter and milk!

P.S. If you're wondering about my weird title for this post, go here..

On This Day in History....

Maryland was founded in 1634 by settlers sent by Lord Baltimore.

In 1775 Patrick Henry gives his famous speech...."Give me liberty or Give me death!"

Tennessee bans the teaching of evolution.

Martin Luther King leads 25,000 in the Alabama Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to protest the denial of voting rights to Blacks.

Retired dentist, Barney Clark, dies 112 days after being the first person to receive the first artificial heart.

Abraham Lincoln was born....and so was Sarah Jessica Parker!

And............Sixty years ago a little boy was born in a tiny little hospital in Philipsburg, Montana.

And he grew up to be my #1 main man, eternal companion, and all around good guy!

Happy Birthday TL!

P. Day

P. Day means Preparation Day.

And around here we are preparing for some big changes!

Because in two weeks our missionary boy is coming home!

Gotta get the room ready for two boys again...

Since we took over the extra bedroom for an office, and I'm not willing to give it back..

(I think I need some new bedspreads....looks a little blah...what color?)

And my music-lovin' teenagers kindly put together this:
The chest on the right......so big brother would have a place for his clothes and stuff.
Thank heavens for Ikea!

And willing teenagers.....

How To Get Teenagers to Do Almost Anything-A Tutorial

As the mother of teenagers, with the 7th and final child in process of being raised, I feel that I am fully qualified to present A Tutorial on How to Get Teenagers to do Practically Anything.....

Step 1:

Select the proper time of day. Anything before 11 AM in the morning is considering an unholy hour and expect to be greeted with sullen looks and resistance.

Step 2:

Be prepared to provide large amounts of food-the greasier, the better.

Step 3:

Provide the proper atmosphere by allowing the choice of music to accompany the hard workers. The ipod adjustment is extremely important. (large purple sombrerors are optional-go rabbits!)

Step 4:

Using tools as microphones can provide good incentive to get the job done.

Step 5:

Volume is not optional-the louder the better. (earplugs provided upon request)

There you have it-my brief tutorial. What were they doing? Well, sheesh, I have to have something to blog about tomorrow don't I?

Happy Birthday M'ija!

I love the word M'ija......it's a sweet endearment in Spanish which means "my daughter.....Mi Hija...specifically.....That explained.....




She was my baby when I was still a baby myself.

And I apologize for not having gorgeous photos of you when you were little....
But I think you turned out to be pretty special!

Have a happy, happy birthday!!

The Good News & The Bad News

Which do you want first? The Good or the Bad? Ok.....The Good...

The potatoes have sprouted! Yippee! ( just checked the heat wave lettuce-it's sprouted too!)

The Bad?
I can't get ANYTHING DONE with these !@#$%^ kids around during Spring Break!
(not pictured-Boofus with her friend, also lounging)

When do I get a spring break?????

Mystery Project

We have had a pile of boxes here, waiting to be opened; a new project to be assembled for WEEKS! Due to the lack of time and other more pressing engagements....we didn't have time to get 'er done until last Saturday.

What on earth could it be?

Why oh why does it always take longer than you think to get something put together?

And after a few tense moments, (and maybe a few muttered curses) we have...

A composter!!

Just another step closer to granola-ism......

Now the pile of garden refuse, grass clippings and kitchen scraps can be transformed into...

Really good black stuff to put into the garden!

Shock & Awe-In the Garden!

Ok-I am about to confess how truly weird I am when seeing this sight, I run screaming into the house to grab my camera.....Green beans sprouting!

Squash sprouting!

And the look of delight on the grandkids' faces is the best entertainment ever!
To hear their squeals of delight when they pulled up their giant carrots was hilarious!

Latest 'Lil Project

When I'm not obsessively compulsively conjugating Spanish verbs or digging in the dirt, I'm trying to work on some 'lil projects for some 'lil projects that are currently hatching.....(meaning quilts for the arrival of new grandkids) It took me two weeks to put this quilt top together in brief snatches of time but here's the newest for little V....due to arrive on May 31st!

I love the sweet pinkness of it!

Mom-does it look as cute as it did at the Cotton Shop last summer???

I've got some more piles of pink and blue cotton to create some more delicious softness for the other little bundles arriving---as soon as we know the gender!! But I'm thinkin' it may be wise to get ahead of the game and start creating anyway-these little bundles are arriving faster than I can keep up!!

Flashback Friday-A Blast from the Past

**I'm not sure if this can TRULY be classified as a Flashback Friday since the photos are definitely modern-ish.......
This little gem showed up on my counter the other day. I have no idea where it has been living lately.....Upon examination....
I find that it is an ORIGINAL piece of art created by one of my children in days of yore back in a high school ceramics class......please don't make me an offer....it is NOT for sale....

I have decided it makes a perfectly wonderful salt cellar for the lovely, natural sea salt, complete with extra minerals, sitting next to my stove...........

and gosh, Jen, you don't need to thank me for all the money I spent on those expensive ceramics classes. This is definitely my repayment ♥!

It's Me Versus Them

Yep, It's all out war these days. I mean, it's between me and the birds! The sweetness of the juicy, ripe, red strawberries attracts those pesky birds so it's a battle every day to get to the berries before they do! I'm not sure if I'm winning the war though...

More than 50% of these babies have a few peck marks in them.....

I recently bought a food scale to keep track of my harvest. These folks have completely inspired me. Although I don't garden on the scale that they do-they manage to harvest between 6000-8000 POUNDS of food each year off their ordinary city lot. That's alottafood folks!

My harvest total Tues: 4 pounds!!!!

Nearly 4 oz of berries

7 oz of carrots

3 lbs of lettuce!

Woo-haa....only 5996 pounds to go.....

If the birds don't get it first!

To Your Health

Yesterday I laughingly described my 12-hour marathon day last Sunday-leaving the house at 8:45 and not arriving until 8:30 that night to my mom. (I did have a few pit stops at home a couple of times) Sunday is definitely NOT a day of rest. If you are not going to meetings all day, you are staying home husband-less with a houseful of restless children to entertain while he goes to meetings all day.

So, to reassure my mom, I'm posting my vows to try to maintain good health even in the midst of a crazy, busy life....and I know all who read this can relate-whether you are doing what I'm doing or have a houseful of busy children or a job, yada yada yada......I can't give to others if I don't take care of myself. If the well is dry, it ain't going to give any water!

Dear Mom:

Just so you don't lay awake at night worrying about me and my stress level-here's what TL and I are doing:

**We're trying to get to the gym nearly every day-don't forget to exercise-even if it's throwing the kids in a stroller to walk around the block a couple of times.

**Get enough rest. I've had the habit of taking a nap every day for years. I had to lay down in the afternoon and sleep-just for a few minutes-every day when my children were little so I could survive the early morning risings and the late night activities. If my phone is busy in the afternoon these days---well-I'm havin' the little siesta.

**Eat lots of fruits and veggies.....I'm drinking a fruit smoothie every morning and cramming in as many fruits/veggies as possible in it. Also I have a huge salad for lunch every day. I CAN'T forget to eat either....

**Vitamins....we've found a liquid vitamin at our health food store that we take every day. I also take extra calcium and some herbs to "try" to balance my wacked out female hormones.

**Water....I'm keeping a glass at my computer or taking a water bottle with me when I'm running around. The only problem is, I have to look for a bathroom too!!

Ok Mommy-I'm trying hard to be a good girl. Don't worry about me.

Love,
Me

P.S. Elder Steve comes home a month from TODAY!!!!

This Lady Changed My Life

Go to this Link!



I went to a food storage seminar that Wendy Dewitt presented a year and one-half ago and it was the first time EVER I felt like-hey, I CAN do this! Her blog has an outline that you can print out and there are also instructions on how to go to BYU TV and watch her presentation on the "Living Essentials" program.



I don't do everything exactly as she does, but she is truly inspiring and will help you realize that getting your food storage is an attainable goal!

A Month of Firsts

Ok y'all, this post may be boring but since it's my blog and I can do what I want, I am documenting this part of my life and saving a photo of my first agenda in Spanish.

A month of Firsts:
First agenda written in Spanish
First meeting conducted in Spanish.
First visits in Spanish.
First talk given in Spanish.
First Council meetings in Spanish.
First Enrichment in Spanish.
First welcome to a newly baptized member in Spanish
First of many, many, many mistakes spoken in Spanish.
Doing a few other things in Spanish, which cannot be shared.

I'm usually scared spitless the majority of the time but I sure have a lot of help-both seen and unseen! And this is definitely a labor of love.

Soccer Boy

One of the really fun things about being grandparents is that you can go watch the grandkids perform and truly enjoy the whole process. You don't have to drag the kids back and forth to practices/lessons, nag them to practice, go crazy trying to juggle schedules of 3 different kids in sports/lessons/scouts, etc. etc. You can just go hang out and enjoy the game/performance!

Here's our little soccer boy early one morning (it was freezing cold!) doin' his thang.....

I LOVE the fast shutter speed on my camera.

This is my favorite boy-in-action shot...

And here's Soccer Dad, the assistant-to-the-assistant coach pretending to look all knowledgable and wise.......

(he gave me a dirty look just after I took this shot-tee hee)

Go Team!