A Ray of Hope

Sending this out for my parents. Those fantastic souls are about to brave a miserable 15 hour drive through the most boring section of the United States. To get them through the pain I took a few shots today of the end prize. EYE ON THE PRIZE GUYS!

Look at me being all Suzy Homemaker

So if you'll remember last spring I learned how to make freezer jam. I actually went to a farm picked the strawberries and made my own jam. Yum. I learned a few things. The picking part sucked. It would have been better without two whiny kids. The picked strawberries also made a really watery jam consistency. They tasted fantastic, but more soupy. My friend Jill taught me to mix half picked and half Sam's Club. I also attempted to make Peach Strawberry- total bust. There are so many reasons why it could have gone wrong that I am left stupid on that one. I also attempted to do blueberry syrup. It didn't go well either, but I am more optimistic about that in the future. This year I was all ready to send Jeff to go pick me some strawberries, I so wasn't gonna go picking berries pregnant. Then we got flooded and ruined all the local strawberries. Sad, but I moved on and made it all Sam's Club style. This is the result. Yum!

In the last few years I, along with everyone else, have fallen in love with Basil. Isn't it great? So yummy and smells so good. I have tried to grow it for the last two years with limited success. I barely had enough to make anything at any time. This year after a rough start, the plants have gone gang busters! Today I celebrated by making homemade Pesto! How cool is that? Yeah, I know probably not that cool, but I feel totally awesome about it so there.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my dad. If he lived here I would actually make the stupid loaves for church this morning. As it is, I ordered him a personalized steak brander from William Sonoma cause hey, they they barbecue a lot and they even raise their own cow so they deserve one to let every one know whose meat that is. Max reminds me a lot of my dad. Everyone likes Max and everyone likes my dad. They are just good guys. Happy Father's Day dad!

p.s. oh yeah and that moment I was talking about in the last post, gone with a stinky diaper and a whine about TV programming, but at least Jeff is still asleep.

Moments

I think it was President Monson or one of the Tweleve who recently said that parenting is about moments of happiness. Right now I am having a moment. Mae is walking around in an adorable tank top and short get up that is a smidge too small for her making her look extra chubby cute. She is clutching her sippy cup, which she has been doing a lot recently, and just exploring the room occasionally stopping in front of the t.v. to watch the puppet parts of Baby Noah. Max has made a fort in the climber in our living room and debating with me whether or not to change Spike's name to Spiderman or Doctor Octopus. Jeff is asleep on the couch and so far Mae has not slammed her sippy cup in his face, so good Father's Day for him. Oh now Mae is trying to hide in the entertainment unit. I know that by the time I finish this entry someone will have an issue and crying will probably be involved, but right at this moment things are good.

Unexpected Consequence

So as many of you have noticed from my posts and just from talking to me, I have been quite miserable for the past few weeks. Blame it on the weather, the pregnancy, the nasty colds, or all of the above; regardless I have just felt like crap. Today was a new day. The morning was a bit rough, I was still super doped and tired, but Jeff and I dropped the kids off at my visiting teacher's and went to the doctor's visit. The doctor didn't really give me any good news, like why I had the contractions or any change of dates, but that's okay. When I got home I just crashed and slept for over an hour. It felt amazing. When I got up I suddenly felt like I had the stuff to make it through the next two weeks. Jeff took the kids to run errands and for the first time in a long time I was able to just sit and relax without worrying about getting something done. My kitchen is SPOTLESS thanks to my visiting teacher who scrubbed every surface so hard that I am frankly embarrassed that someone knows how nasty it was in the first place. My friend was nice enough to bring over dinner despite not feeling super herself. I feel like a new person; like I am Mario and have been given the big mushroom just in time to finish off the level. I even have less aches and pains thanks to the super muscle relaxant they gave me last night. So even though last night was utterly miserable, things are maybe taking a turn for the better.

Best Husband Ever!

Jeff has been a bit tired today. I asked what was up and he confessed that he had been up all evening watching my breathing to make sure I wasn't going to go into labor. BEST HUSBAND EVER!

Last Night

So yesterday wasn't the best day. I had some mild contractions all day and lots of errands to run. By the time that Jeff came home the contractions had come pretty close together. I was having them every three minuets for over an hour. We packed a bag and went to the hospital. Grrrr so much pain from around 6 p.m. til they sent us home at 10 p.m. Unfortunately although I was having painful contractions every three min for four hours they weren't doing much to dial ate me. They gave me a shot to calm my uterus and some pills to help me sleep. The contractions did eventually stop about and hour later, although they are back more softly and sporadically this morning. The killer part was the sleeping medicine though. It was awful. I felt like those poor people who go under for surgery and can't move or talk but are TOTALLY AWAKE! Jeff thought I was out last night but I was awake almost the entire night. Only when the drugs started to wear off in the morning was I able to get some actual sleep. Uggg as if the evening wasn't bad enough. To top it all off I got a preview of my new crappy hospital. It would seem that, through choices that are not my own, I am going to hit all the hospitals in the area. This time I am at the crummiest. I have visited people here before and was always glad I wasn't in one of those closets. Well now it's my turn, but not last night. Should be interesting to see how the next few days and weeks go.

P.S. props to Jeff for always saying and doing the right thing. I was worried that my visiting teacher would be doing the dishes or cleaning while she was watching the kids last night. When I was brought home by Jeff I was only half aware of anything and asked him if she had cleaned. He said no, and I was so relieved only to come in to a spotless kitchen this morning. He said he told me what I needed to hear to get to bed. Too True. Just another reason he is gonna be Jeffrey Spike.

Sweetest

My guy is the sweetest guy around. His new obsession is helping me out in the library. He gets up on a stool and hands out chalk and pencils. When you approach he asks, "What do you need?" Today after church we went to an open house party of my friends and while fun, it was like a thousand degrees and shade was scarce. At some point while I was watching Mae and talking to a friend I had finished my water bottle and it wasn't long before Max came up to me and brought me a brand new bottle. He said I was thirsty and that he had gotten it for me. I am so blessed to have this amazing little person in my life.

No Itch

Well we survived the seven year itch and for the first time in my life I can say I was not itchy. Happy Eighth Anniversary Jeff!

Bang your head on the wall and just wait for next week's craziness.

So I LOVE my ward. I really do. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else or be in any other ward. They have been supportive to me and my family, and I appreciate the wonderful Spirit that I often feel at church. That being said they sure do some incredibly CRAZY things. Over and over again. Sometimes it feels like every week there is some new email that just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs, What is Wrong With These People?!? Today I came home from a play date and opened my email to see that for Father's Day this year they are going to make individual loaves of bread for all the guys. Now if whoever came up with the cockamamie idea wants to make 130+ loaves themselves then I say, "more power to you Sister," but no, this person, suffering from temporary insanity, wants us all to make our own- cause I am sure we don't have enough to do to get father's day ready at home. Nope, I am sure none of the mother's are going to be working to help kids make/buy a present for dad and make a special meal. I appreciate that it is a new idea, "thinking outside of the box," if you will, but it is a really incomplete idea. There is a reason we all do the chocolate bar thing, it's a winner! Everybody wins!

I am not going to say much about last week's enrichment, mostly cause I love so many of the lovely ladies on the Enrichment committee, and mostly cause I think the following email speaks for itself.

Good Morning Sisters,

Just a quick little reminder...
Hoof it to the Church on June 2nd at 6:30 pm and join us as we learn about being an 8 Cow Woman! From Mad Cow to Holy Cow and every Cow in-between!
Be an 8 Cow Woman emotionally, physically, & spiritually. Then stay to make Sunday quiet activities that will help contain the herd.
Invite any stray Heifers to join us!

So wrong and so beyond offensive in so many many ways..... I feel like I need to live in fear of opening my email each week.

The Cookie Carnival

When I was a small girl in a time when people still rented videos from grocery stores, my mom used to rent a VHS tape of Silly Symphonies from Disney. My favorite of these was a short 10 min cartoon called, The Cookie Carnival. It is the story of a Mardi Gras/Miss America type competition in a land of cookies and pastries. It starts with a parade of beauties such as miss coconut and miss licorice.
The you meet a wandering cookie man who comes across a crying cookie girl. He asks why she is so sad to which she replies, "I want to be in the parade, but I haven't any pretty clothes to wear." Yeah what woman on the planet hasn't felt like that before? I must quote that to Jeff at least 12-15 times a year.
The guy then proceeds to give her a frosting makeover that is fun and delicious.
She is entered in the parade and wins! In all the excitement the man is overlooked and our queen is rushed off to choose a king from the candidates.
And if you think the makeover was awesome well wait til the guys come. My favorites are the Angel Food cake guys who sing, "You should marry one of us because we are so good." Great line! The the devils food cake, which in today's day of PC is probably totally racist but whatever, These guys have a great scat song that my sister Krista and I memorized in college and couldn't stop singing, "we're naughty but we're nice, we're nice and naughty oh yeah!"
We'll our queen doesn't choose any of the guys but instead chooses her makeover genius and we get a happy ending that has what can only be described as the greatest scene ever created.
So why the mention. I recently found this on you tube, and Mae is obsessed. She wants to watch it constantly. She giggles with delight when the opening music comes on and watches it intently. She claps when the girl wins the parade. Yesterday when I was applying my makeup I powdered her face a bit and she WENT WILD! She was so delighted to be made over like the Cookie Queen. Today she came in and demanded make-up. She even knows that the lipstick is not for eating, but puckers her lips. What a girl! But isn't that what all parents secretly want, is their child to adore the exact same things they adored as a child? Now before anyone freaks out, I do not really put makeup on her face, nor do I intend to start any time soon. But one of the greatest things about my mom was that she did let me start wearing some simple makeup, blush and gloss at a much younger age then many of my friends. It was cool and I really don't think it did me any harm. So thanks mom, for the make up and for the VHS rentals, I have passed on the love.