Ride 'Em Cowboy

So I am going through all my videos now that they are accessible on my computer. Here is a classic video. It was on my MySpace so some of you might have seen it. First of all I can't believe that Collin got near the sheep let alone got on it. Enjoy!

For You Suzanne - Hunter and Collin

I have finally downloaded video to my new (6 months old) laptop. I am having fun watching Christmas 2006 with brand new baby Brody. Here is a clip of cousin Hunter who is in China now so obviously we never get to see him. Collin and Hunter are 2 months apart. Collin is not quite 3 in this clip. Such a toddler! My little boy is all grown up now.

Three Month Thursday - Playing Catch Up

So here we are on Sunday afternoon after a long exciting weekend. I really didn't buy anything specifically for my 3 month storage this week. I ended up having extra stuffing so I put that in, as well as a couple taco seasonings. My Aunt Elise gave everyone a 100 hour candle, from Emergency Essentials, as a gift at our family Christmas party. (Future posting about that. ) So this week that is all that I have. Every little bit helps. No excuses people! I want some reports on what you got this week. If you haven't started NOW is the time! Fill a shelf, a box, under your bed, in your closet, or wherever! Make a space devoted specifically to your long term and 3 month supply. I want you guys to tell me what you are doing to store food. Have you started? If not now, when? What did you buy this week or this month?

Blog Background

So I had to change that other turkey background. It was just too crazy and busy for me. I also changed the pic to one of my favorites. It basically sums up my life. I tell Collin to go get dressed and he comes back like this. Collin is constantly joking. He is so funny.

Collin Chatter

So we went to the party store today to buy some stuff for Brody's birthday party. We are doing a dinosaur theme. Collin was looking at some of the other decorations and said, "Mom, what about doing a Peter Potter party?"
I said, "I think you mean Harry Potter." :) It's laugh out loud funny every time I think about it.

Three Month Thursday

Alright, my friends, it's week four. I know most of you don't have your butt in gear about this, but you need to!! Go out on your next shopping day and buy something extra. This week I chose to get a few non food items. I bought a 4-pack of toilet paper (this much MIGHT last my family a week), a large bottle of dish soap, a 3-pack of paper towels (I got this accidentally because I thought I had ran out, but I had a whole unopened pack so I put this weeks purchase into long term storage), and two pack of wipes. I bought the 6 pack box of wipes and just put two into long term storage. I also decided I wanted to get some soap, maybe a couple bars. This isn't too much stuff! You guys can do it. A little here and a little there. I mean look at my shelf! It's getting full and fast!
Designate a spot in your house that is specifically for your 3 month storage. No one has an excuse, because I can say fairly confidently that I have the smallest living space out of everyone who reads my blog! Put it under your bed in a box if you have to. Find some room and start putting a little bit away....today!
Also if you notice in the picture I have 2 lighters. I bought those to light the pumpkins and never did. I decided I would save them in my storage so that was a nice little bonus.
One little thing I have been doing is I make sure that I don't run completely out of something. Particularly diapers and things like shampoo and body wash. Never be completely out of something. Have a back up under your bathroom sink. Suzanne is really good with that kind of storage. When we went to her house she had lotions, toothbrushes, shampoos, and all kinds of things under her bathroom sink. This was to always make sure she had extra if her guests forgot something as well as a great way to have a 3 months supply, whether she thought of it that way or not. :)
So I hope that I have either pumped you up to go get some storage OR made you feel super guilty about not having storage so you go out and get some anyway.

Needy

So I am asking you guys for a lot of info these days! Well, it's not gunna stop! This one is a pretty easy one though. I need some book recommendations. I am looking for something that is a relatively light read that I can take to the gym with me and read while exercising. Nothing too intense. I like mystery type books and girl power books. I never know what is good when I go to the library. I just stare at the shelves like a lost little puppy. Oh and if anyone recommends "Twilight" I will kill you on the spot. Just kidding. I don't know why I don't want to read that book. I guess I just don't want to follow the crowd. Darrell told me that I should just read it and get it over with. I might give in to the dark side someday, but for now I am irrationally boycotting it. I know, I am weird.
Oh and sidebar- Do you like my new background? Finally I did something after all this time!

Another Tribute to My Grandma Ward

My Grandma has so many sayings and poems that are hilarious. I posted a few of them a few months ago. My poor little grandma recently was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The kind she has has made her memory deteriorate quickly. So what I am saying is that she is a little crazy. :) She also has dementia and she is seeing things that aren't there. Very sad. We went to visit her a few weeks ago. Here is a little gem that I had never heard before:

A bee is a busy soul,
who doesn't have time for birth control.
And so you find in times like these,
there are so many sons of bees.

My grandma is a temple going, Institute graduating (in her 60's), religious paper writing, hebrew reading, woman of God. And yet all of her sayings are a little irreverant.
So here's to you Grandma! I love you! :)

Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome

So I just came across this article on KSL.com, our local Utah news station. It's about a woman who is allergic to the cold. Sounds familiar! My wonderful husband is allergic to cold too. Crazy! Most of my loyal blog readers know about this already. It's such a bizarre thing. For Darrell it's not always the cold that he is allergic to, but also being wet and then drying in cooler air. For example like the time he was life flighted after being in the lake. His lungs were expanding and he couldn't breathe. Usually if he can remain dry the hives don't come as quickly. When he snowboards the biggest challenge is staying dry not necessarily staying warm. Anyway enjoy the article about weirdos! LOL!

To Work or Not To Work??

So I had my first night of work. I was supposed to work in the childcare of the gym from 4-8pm. First of all let me just say that the lady who hired me is a little kooky. I guess just let me start at the beginning.
I heard that the gym was hiring on Thursday last week. I thought it would be a great little job to get me out of the house and to keep me busy. I interviewed on the spot, sweaty head to toe, and the interview went really well. She said she would call me Monday to let me know because she had a few more interviews. She calls me Saturday and left me a message telling me my schedule. Um, ok, so I guess I got the job. I called her back to tell her that I would have to rearrange my hours on Wednesday morning because Collin has preschool, but the other two days were fine. No problem, she says.
So I arrive today for my first 4-8 shift. Turns out she hired me to clean the gym and only help out when the childcare became too full. There were 3 other girls working in there and the law permits only a certain ratio of children to childcare workers. Um, ok, I guess. I had to vacuum the gym during one of the busiest times of the day! Not to mention that the vacuum was a jet pak you strap to your back. So embarrassing!! The stupid thing electricuted me too! LOL! I burned my two fingers on an exposed wire. What an idiot! :)
Then she tells me that she needs me to work next week doing the cleaning while she is on vacation. She said it takes about 4 hours per day and I can come in whenever. This wasn't a question, I was on the schedule. So I would be working every day next week. Then a little later I start to pick up a little more info from her. (The woman is more scatterbrained than I am.) She wants me to do the cleaning, yes, but she also needs me to cover all her childcare times too. What!! So Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat I would have to work from 8:45 am - 1pm with the 3-4 hours of cleaning either before or after. Are you insane!?!
Sorry, but a whopping $6.50 an hour is not worth screwing up my Thanksgiving. My husband is out of town all the time and I am going to enjoy the time that he is here. Plus my girlfriend, Lynne, from Hawaii is coming to town and she is taking me back to the temple. (First time since August. )
Oh and she tells me that we are not supposed to wear jeans. The dress code is black or khaki (tacky as she called it) pants or capris. She said it like I should have known. Oops, I wore jeans. Crazy me, I thought I would just be playing with some kids in a room with the door shut! Anyway I am going to quit after one day.
Collin and Brody were both sick of being there that long so I am not going to torture my children. We don't really need the money, although extra money is always accepted here. :)
Anyway it's going to be a little awkward going back to exercise at the gym that I just quit my job from. Thank goodness I don't give a crap!

What have I gotten myself into??

So my mom is hosting Thanksgiving this year. I live so close to her that I had to bring a "hot" item to the party. She was making the turkey and with that comes the gravy. Also she was making the potatoes, because for some crazy reason she bought like three 50 lb bags of potatoes a couple weeks ago. Can't pass up a great deal, right?!? So that leaves me basically with the stuffing. I have never EVER made stuffing from scratch. I always just used the box kind and that's on the rare occasion that we actually eat stuffing. So I am asking my large fan base (ha ha) here on my blog for tips, ideas, secrets, and recipes to making stuffing. I know it's not that hard, but it's all new to me. So any help would be appreciated. Also if you have any cute, but easy enough for someone with the talent of a third grader, decoration ideas for the Thanksgiving table let me know. Geez, I am asking a lot. Sorry! Happy Thanksgiving!

Three Month Thursday

Yep, it's already been a week. This time I have photos. Sorry about last week. So this week I kind of got a variety of things. A few cans of beans - all kinds, a spaghetti sauce, 2 salt (33 cents at Walmart), 2 cans of chicken broth, green beans, and some pineapple. It's all kind of random stuff. What I did was buy an extra can of everything I was buying for the menu this week. It's stuff that I know we will eat. I wanted to make sure and get a fruit and a veggie this week as well as a little protein. I have plenty of carbs with all the rice and pasta.
I probably spent about $8-9 this week. That is a little more that I have spent that last two weeks, but I did get a lot of great stuff. So it's time for me to challenge you! Go out and buy 2 or 3 cans extra this week or go get a couple boxes of pasta. Whatever your pantry is lacking get a little this week. And then a little more. And then a little more. Look at my shelf already and it's only been 3 weeks!! It's not that hard. This week I just bought double of what I was buying already. A total no brainer! It's food that I know we will eat. So go forth and hoard food!

Play Time

I just came across this great article on MSN about kids and play time. It's great. It talks about how play time is very important and tells parents not to over schedule their kids with activities. It's good for every parent to be reminded of this. I think that sometimes I get so excited to enroll Collin activities that I forget to leave time for just fun.

Gym Modesty

I think that when us Mormons ( ha ha ) go to the gym it shouldn't be a free for all for immodesty. I know that while exercising we aren't required to wear garments, but I don't think that means you can wear short shorts and skinny tank tops. Roy is a relatively small town, surprisingly, and I see the same moms at the gym that have kids in the same preschool and tumbling. They are dressed very immodest at the gym and then I see them wearing garments to pick up the kids. Anyone have any thoughts on it? I want someone to give me a quote about modesty, specifically with garments and exercise.

Words to Live By

Collin's preschool is what I refer to as the "Nazi Preschool." They are very strict on the kids and the parents. They expect certain things and you have to follow it to the letter. I think that it's good structure for the kids, but on some things they are a little overboard. ANYWAY, one of the quotes that they say I have just fallen in love with:

"You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit."

I think those are words both kids and us grown ups should live by.

Lost a Tooth

Collin lost his first tooth this weekend. What! He's only 4 1/2, you say? Well here's the story on the infamous tooth. When Collin was not quite 2 years old he was coloring up at the table. He was sitting on a booster, but not buckled in. He dropped a crayon onto the kitchen floor. He tried to reach down to get it rather than get off the chair and grab it. Slam! Landed on his face! Lots of blood. His tooth seemed a little bit loose, but it definitely wasn't loose enough to come out. We went to the dentist. She took an xray (you never saw an almost 2 year old hold so still) and we confirmed our suspicions: Collin's tooth was dead. The dentist was so nice and she said her granddaughter had just done the same thing at age 3. She said the tooth was going to turn grey and then eventually fall out. She offered to put a little tooth color on his tooth if it got too ugly and noticeable. Well his tooth held on for 2 1/2 more years. In the last few months the tooth seemed to be getting worse. Then last Wednesday we went to play and have lunch at Arctic Circle. A kid ran into Collin, not sure what happened even though he was standing about 3 feet from me, but I think he bumped Collin from behind and Collin bit down hard on his lip. His lip was bleeding, but his tooth was extra loose. I knew that was the end for the tooth. We let it go a little while, but by Thursday night we were all sick of having to be cautious. I was sick of having to cut up Collin's food just so he could eat. Darrell just yanked it out for him. Hooray the tooth was out! I was getting Collin all psyched up for the event. I wanted to keep it positive for him, because I know that he was really worried about it. He was a little embarrassed to go to school on Friday. I told him that all the kids would think it's cool. I told the teacher to help keep it positive since Collin was a little upset. Everything went fine at school. He is totally ok with it now. Plus he got "tens" (dimes, his favorite) from the tooth fairy. Also the tooth fairy let him keep his tooth until after show and tell next week at school. What a cool tooth fairy! So the Saga of the Tooth is over now. It's good, because he would make some food choices based around how his tooth felt. Like not eating apple or corn on the cob. It will probably be a year or even two before his tooth grows in so we just gotta get used to this look. I am going to see a dentist to see if there is anything else we need to do. Just in case. I was really glad to have a really good dentist when it happened so that I can understand it all and know the options and outcome. Pretty much we just have to wait for it to grow in. Here are a couple pics of my toothless baby.

Oh, and what do you put your tooth in? A cupcake paper, of course! He was carrying this around before the tooth fell out. Just in case! The things this kid thinks of just crack me up.

Three Month Thursday

So it's Thursday again. What a week! Did you get yourself some food storage? This week I got some rice. I got a 10 lb bag from Walmart. It was about $6. I didn't get a picture up yet, but it's been kind of crazy day so at least I posted something. Go out and get something for your three month supply, rice or something else you need! Go! What are you waiting for?

Some Positive Notes

I am not going to talk about any politics anymore, because it just gets me all worked up and crazy! Here are a few fun pics.

Brody is ALWAYS putting his finger up his nose. Gross!

Here are the boys and their great grandpa. My dad's dad.

Obama? Really?

It's not suprising, just depressing. Anyway I just can't even talk about it right now. Came across this blog, friend of a friend of a friend. :)

Check it out!

The Boys Christmas Lists

Collin and Brody have very different taste in toys. Collin is very creative, imaginative, and artsy. Brody is all boy. Vroom, vroom. So here is the start of their Christmas wish/idea lists. I will add more as I think of them.

Collin:
1. Stickers - any kind
2. Craft kits - the kind you glue together, foam or wood type
3. Colored paper
4. Super hero items
5. Church clothes
6. Pjs
7. Learning to read books
8. "Boy" read aloud books
9.

Brody:
1. Large toy set - Pirates, castle, boat, construction
2. Church clothes
3. Puzzles
4. Race cars
5. Something Batman
6. Finger paints
7.

I will add more as I think of them. There is always something where I think to myself "Oh! Collin would love that." Then I forget what it is. Hopefully this will help me be a little more organized.

My Christmas List

Ok, I am not going to be shy, my friends. Every year people ask what I would like for Christmas. Typically I don't need/want anything and that's the truth, but this year is different. I am doing a little nesting, because I am not going to be traveling all over the country anymore. I need LOTS of normal housewife stuff that all ya'll regular people have acquired over the years. So I am going to put a link to this posting on the main page so you can click to see my updated Christmas list as it expands. :) I don't care if you get me a gift or not, but here are some ideas if you are getting me one anyway.

1. A good mixer
2. Canisters to store flour, sugar, rice. I prefer glass, but anything cute and functional is great.
3. Cute kitchen towels
4. Nice baking pans and casserole dishes
5. Any kind of food storage items
6. Clothing - shirts, preferably not t-shirts, but something nice yet comfy and jeans
7. Misc. kitchen items, apple corer, pot holders, potato peelers
8. Classic movies on DVD - Princess Bride, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, etc.

More to come.....

Politics

So who else is ready for the election to be over? Who else is terrified for the results? I am absolutely not someone who gets involved with politics, but how can you not with this election?!? I would be terrified if (when) Obama wins the election. I am not a big McCain supporter although I do consider myself a Republican. I think one of the smartest things that he could have done was select Palin for his running mate. That came out of nowhere (at least to me), but I think it was very smart. It's going to be a close race, I think. I will be so happy for it to be over though.
P.S. If you got my mass email today about infanticide sorry. It was anti-Obama, but it was also to make people aware that this was even happening! Crazy! I bawled when I first heard it. Maybe ya'll knew about it already. I try to stay ignorant. :)