So Thankful!

We've spent our fair share of Thanksgivings without family around. Many years we've invited friends over and have even enjoyed a few by ourselves. Curt and I are HUGE fans of the meal so we always have to make the whole dang thing. Being without family usually meant days of cooking and then days of eating but the good news is that I totally know how to make a turkey!

This year, my brother and his family came to visit us. We had such a fun time! The weather was absolutely perfect-mid 70's all week. They were here for 5 days and we packed a lot in:

1) A trip to the Beach Club. This is a couple of lakes and parks just a few minutes from my house. We walked/ran 3 miles and let the kids play on the playground and exercise equipment.

2) We drove to the hood for some top ranked Mexican food. We got lost several times and the kids were hysterical with hungar but the quesadillas and queso were fantastic! Here is a review I just saw of this place online: "really good basic Mexican food - very inexpensive - lousy, dangerous neighborhood." Information that would've been helpful yesterday (in an Adam Sandler voice!)

3) There was lots of swimming. Turns out that 65F water isn't a deterrent for my neices! :) It helped that we warmed up the hot tub.

4) On wednesday night we made 6 pies, brined the turkey and started the rolls. I still use my friend Melissa's recipe for "Icebox Butterhorns" and they are the best. But couldn't you tell by the name? We usually make our own pie crust but decided to just buy some this year. If I could do it again I would have made the crusts. They hardly take any time and taste SO much better. Note for next year...

5) I wanted to do the local turkey trot but it was super expensive and crowded so we just decided to meet a bunch of our friends at a local elementary on Thanksgiving morning. This turned out to be one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories ever. We played a huge game of kickball (such a perfect game b/c it's fun for 3 year olds and 40 year olds). Curtis was happy because he had the opportunity to peg me in the back with the ball when I made a run for home. There was a really great playground and the kiddos got to play on the swings, play basketball and throw footballs/frisbees. Seriously such a great way to start off the day.

6) We finished prepping the meal and had an amazing Thanksgiving feast that night. Everything tasted so good. I love this meal. I mean I love this meal. Oh and I forgot the cranberries! For reals. (Wow! I found the clip here.) Luckily Kroger was still open and Riche and I made a run for it. We also stocked up on lots of whole nuts for cracking, some subpar chocolates (dang- we should've planned and had Sees!) and a bag of Brock's candy mix that made all of us think of our grandmas. :)

7) We hit Dewberry Farms on Friday. It was meh. Actually Daniel got a huge goose egg on his head within the first 5 minutes. (I think he ran into a post) Then Maya's flip flop broke so she had no shoes (a little gross at a farm- even to me and I'm so not a germ-a-phobe) and then Lauren got huge blisters on her hands from the zip line. So we headed home and rested up until the adults went out for a special date. We took Rich and Steph to "Taste of Texas" which is hands down our favorite restaurant in the world. It has never disappointed. Everything was fantastic: stuffed mushrooms, onion soup, the salad bar and of course the steak. Oh and the wait was pretty long so we headed over the Cavenders to look at cowboy gear. Steph and I got boots. Red boots. Seriously a perfect date! :)

8) We saw several movies. Curtis kept wanting to see "Holes" again, so we rented it. What a great flick. The kids loved it. One night Rich and Steph and Curtis and I stayed up watching "Crazy Stupid Love." It made us laugh. We only hit the theaters once and "Puss 'n Boots" rocked. I'm a huge fan of that kitty. Even stole a little happy meal toy from Lucy recently because it's just SO cute!

9) Just hours before my brother's fam needed to be at the airport we decided to jump out for dinner one more time, just the adults. We went to Pappadeux and enjoyed amazing cajun seafood. Unfortunately I had eated my 4th or 5th plate of Thanksgiving only a few hours before so I couldn't eat much. But I did try alligator and yeah, it tastes just like chicken.

We have so much to be thankful for I hardly know where to start. Freedom, Food, Safety, Comfortable homes, loving families, Friends, Peace through faith.... too many more. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend too!

Color

Went a little crazy with the bathrooms and laundry room. I can't stay away from bright colors. They make me too happy!

Rainbows and Candles

>





So Lucy turned three last week. I can't believe my little girl is getting so big. But seriously she turned into a turkety overnight. Church on Sunday was a nightmare (maybe we could blame daylight savings?), today she chased me out of Target and she has suddenly become this screamer, grabber, toddler rule person. Arghh. Guess we were due for something difficult with her. She has pretty much been the sweetest baby ever from day one.

The party was so much fun! And wow, I just cannot believe how little girls actually play the games at the parties. I'm used to boy parties that always end up being a giant battle or wrestling match. These girls were dancing and playing musical chairs and hide 'n go seek. So cute.

The cake was fun and easy to make. Colors just make me happy. Got the idea here although I did not use her recipe for "diet cake" cause it just sounded gross. And I had to have smarmellosh (Lu's word) on the cake for a little cloud vibe. We did recycled gifts because I knew Lucy's friends all had lots of girl stuff around their houses. Lucy loved it! She got all kinds of cute dress ups and bags. What is it with girls and bags? I'm writing a whole post on this soon!

Love my little girl. Happy Birthday Lucy!

Whew!

I'm so happy Halloween is over. The whole thing stresses me out. Actually though, it was super fun trick or treating with Lucy. When our boys were that age we lived in Minnesota and every Halloween it was like 20 F, so we didn't really enjoy the event. But last night the weather was absolutely perfect and three is seriously the perfect trick or treating age. Lucy was edible. She kept telling the people handing out candy "I like your costume." Most of them weren't dressed up. Towards the end she got pretty bold and kept taking piece after piece of candy from the bowls. But no one could say no. The boys went off in a couple of different groups and had a fun time. I didn't want to do anything for their costumes so we pretty much came up with them yesterday. :) Jonah and his buds were ghosts. Isaac a bag of jelly beans and Daniel a Lego Jedi knight. Found Lu's costume at Target. Curtis and I joked about whether it was Little Red Riding Hood or a slutty barmaid. It was WAY shorter than I realized! :)
Now on to the candy. I bought out quite a bit of the boy's candy with books but there is still a lot in this house. I sort of want to force feed it to them tonight so I don't do a repeat of last year. (Eat candy for weeks on end!!!) Ideas? Don't think I can just throw it away... arghh!

Hope you had a fun night too! :)

One Thousand Gifts

I'm not even halfway through this book and I already love it. It took me 10 or 20 pages to get used to the author's writing style. It's different but very poetic- I like it. It's helping me to view the world and my life a little differently.

This morning Jonah missed the bus. He looked sideways at me to gauge my reaction. The sink was FULL of unwashed dishes, confetti all over the floors (courtesy of Lucy), Daniel still in bed. I was no where near ready to host the playgroup that would be starting in less than 2 hours... but words from the book were fresh in my mind from the night before. I quickly told him I was glad to drive him to school so we could have a few more minutes together... and realized I meant it.

The bayou by our house was filled to brimming with fog, the moon a sliver and the sky turning pink. Breathtaking. We talked about condensation and his classes. It was 5 minutes that could have been hurried and ending in curt waves. Instead there was just a sweet peaceful feeling as we said our good-byes. Defnitely a better way to start the day. Recommended reading? Definitely.

Marinara Miracle

Emily gave me Giada's marinara recipe a few months ago and I am seriously in love. So simple and so delicious. Most pasta sauce from a jar tastes blah to me and the good stuff is way too expensive. So here is the solution: About once every 6 weeks make Giada's recipe (doubled). Freeze a bunch and you will have it on hand. We have pasta, bread and salad every Monday. The kiddos all love this meal and it is easy to prepare. If you buy a #10can of diced or crushed tomatoes you save even more money (these cost $2.79 at Costco).

Ingredients:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 small onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 #10 can crushed or diced tomatoes plus 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
4 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. I don't chop everything super small and so at the end I use my immersion hand blender to blend it up right in the pan.

Freeze remaing sauce in tupperware for future fantastic meals. We love this dinner with Artisan bread and a basic salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. (I just started making this because I'm sick of throwing away salad dressing from the store). Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 T Balsamic vinegar
few shakes of salt and pepper

Running

Welp! It's 8 months later and I'm still running. I cannot believe it. Really. I remember back in college when I worked at Great Harvest. A lot of my coworkers and our customers were runners and they would always be talking about it. I thought they were braggy and sadistic. :O The few times I had tried running were pretty much torture. Then I decided somewhere along the way that running couldn't possibly be good for you b/c of all the stress it causes on your joints, not to mention that juggling of your organs part.

I had no intention of ever running as a hobby or even for exercise but it has honestly become a huge happy part of my life. I really can't believe it. And now I totally get why people talk about it so much! It's a little bit life changing!

It actually started right after Lucy was born when a few friends and I decided to walk 3 times a week. We would walk for about an hour in the morning and then let our kids play at the park. I got to know several awesome women from church and really looked forward to our time together. Actually as a side note, this is when I stopped hating Texas. Coincidence? :O

Anyway after a year of walking, a couple of my buddies moved away and a couple more had babies. But I also found that walking was making me restless and I was sort of fighting the urge to run. So I started run/walking with the boys to school. It was okay and I liked that I was working out while getting my kids where they needed to be. I'm all about consolidating.

Then two things happened. The first was that I read some of the book "Born to Run." Not sure if I even believe all his crazy adventures and not sure I have any interest in trying the five finger shoes. BUT... he reminded me how much I loved running as a kid. I mean, I loved it! My best friend Cheryl and I were the only girls in elementary to not join the safety patrol because we could not bear to miss recess. Ever. We played with the boys every day and I wasn't even really boy crazy yet! Games like Jailbreak, Cops and Robbers and tag of course. The book also stressed that running is very natural for humans and we're designed for it. I serioulsy had not sprinted as fast as I could in years and I wanted to feel that again. So then my awesome friend Jen told me I needed to get serious. So I did my first 3 miles ever. It was horrible and took me 37 minutes. But I was proud of myself for making it. I started running 3 times a week with a longer run on Saturdays and was amazed at how much easier it got with each run. About half the time I run with friends and it's so great to talk and laugh while we're getting some exercise.

I've also decided that I am not a treadmill person. Tried that a few years ago and detested it. Running outside makes all the difference. I'm a nature nerd and love looking at the trees and flowers or stars and sunrises. It puts me in a great mood. I kept thinking all summer long that I would probably stop running in the ridiculous heat and humidity but I really didn't want to. This was maybe the hottest Texas summer ever so I pretty much had to run at 6am or 8pm but that actually worked out. It will be so strange to run in cool weather. I'm thinking I'll like it. :) I also think it's sort of interesting to map out different trails and time myself to see how fast I can go. I'm not fast btw. The other thing I love about running is that I get a serious high afterwards. Yes I'm sore but I feel great and motivated.

For the first month I had some aches and pains. My IT band gave me a little trouble but two things seem to work for that. 1) I stretch it out using this big tube pillow that Curtis uses for his back and 2) I have to run 3 times per week. If I let 5 or 6 days go by without running my whole body complains. The good news about that is that it's helped me to stay consistent- which is pretty much a first as far as exercise goes for me.

So long story longer I'm signed up for a half marathon in a few weeks. I'm pretty nervous b/c I don't want to feel the pressure of everyone watching while I run... but I'm going with a bunch of cool girlfriends and my BF, Lou from high school is gonna be there too. We are so excited to just talk and catch up! I'm following the Hal Higdon Novice to Half Marathon plan and just did my first 9 mile. It went great. I cannot believe it! I've found that if I drink and eat really well the day before, get a decent sleep and have a banana with peanut butter before the run it goes very well. I also bought some energy fruity snacks and eating those halfway through gave me some energy. Haven't figured out the best way to carry water yet. Working on it...

Someone asked me if I was still in the honeymoon phase of running. That sort of bummed me out b/c I'll be sad if I just stop liking it one day. But three of my good friends here have all been running for years and said they all still love it! So there's hope. Wish me luck on the race. :)

That time again!

I can't believe General Conference is here again. As I get older I appreciate this wonderful weekend more and more. Sitting through 8 hours of church talks doesn't sounds appealing at first but the messages are so uplifting and hopeful we end up feeling rejuvinated. I am so grateful to live in a time and place where I can easily hear God's prophet speak!.

Some things that help our family through the weekend:

1) Good food. Popcorn and apples, fruit smoothies, a huge veggie plate with hummus and Red Hot Blues (yumma), M&M cookie dough, and ribs for dinner (this is my kid's all time fav). I bought the ingredients to make ice cream and if we are champions we'll get on that!

2) Conference coloring and writing. Some years I am really cool and make each kid a folder with some great printouts. Some years we just have paper and colored pencils. I even like to color while listening

3) A comfy space to watch and listen. This year we got rid of cable but we are able to watch it on our computer upstairs. Beanbags, pillows and blankets help us stay comfortable while watching and allow for that inevitable conference nap. :O

4) For the last few years we have invited friends over to watch the last session on Sunday and then stay for dinner. We have been really suprised at how well behaved the kids are (especially if you invite someone they don't know as well) and it's just fun to have some company (helps curb the Sunday afternoon nap as well!). This year we are going solo since Isaac has a fever and was throwing up yesterday. dang!

The End.

I just wanna sew!

Just stumbled across this and I so want to make it for Lucy. I have several other projects in the works, now I just need some time...



I did finally finish Lucy's bed quilt. (I gave the one that used to be on her bed to my mom.) It's mostly made from "Little Folks" with a few other random prints thrown in. I'm such a one trick pony but I just never get tired of this fabric.


I made her the skirt above after seeing this one. I didn't follow the directions exactly because I'm too lazy but I still think it turned out cute and it took me about an hour to make. I used leftover fabric from her chicken Halloween costume. Speaking of... is it really that time again? I have nothing left to give to this holiday. I don't want to spend any money and I'm not feeling creative at all. Hmmm. I've sort of dreamed of seeing Lucy in a blue gingham dress with braids and ruby slippers and thought about bribing the boys to dress up as Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow... but that's a lot of effort for one Kodak moment. Goodbye

Get rid of that junk drawer (or 12)

So it's really happening. I am junk drawer queen. This problem has only gotten worse because 1) I don't have a defined place for things and 2) I probaly wouldn't put them there if I did. Curtis is the type of person who puts things back exactly where they go and after 14 years I've decided his way is better.
So... I started cleaning out my junk drawers the other day. It was like therapy. Here's some of the fallout:

I finally decided that tape and scissors get a drawer all to themselves. It's disturbing to think of the hours of my life spent searching for these two items. The thing is that organization does not come naturally to me. Some people just look at a room and know what to do. Not me. I just start stuffing so I don't have to see any of the unpleasant stuff. And I hate waste. I keep things around thinking that I will find a use for them but often that ends up just being another thing to do! But I just keep repeating "A place for everything, everything in it's place."

I think I may have finally found a solution to the school paper problem as well. The last couple of years I used filing folders in a drawer and it was pretty much a nighmare. This year I have a clear bin for each of the boys and if there is anything at all that we don't want to throw in the recycling bin, we stick it in here. The bins are big enough to fit those big art projects that we don't want to hang but are not ready to throw out yet. I'm planning to go through these maybe once during the year and then again with the child at the end of the year, keeping only a couple things. In the meantime I don't have piles of papers laying around and it's making me SO happy.

Also trying to get better about taking all the school handouts with impt dates and info, writing what I need in my planner (no I don't use an electronic planner... yet. I just learned how to burn CDs people!) and then chucking those papers. Our school is getting much better at sending things electronically so that's helping too.

Lastly, I've started keeping a bag hanging in my laundry room for any random toys that we get from Happy Meals or birthday parties. Then I periodically give them to teachers for their treasure boxes at school. It's helping to keep the toy clutter down. :)

Inspiring quotes

I like the idea of having inspiring quotes/scriptures throughout my house. Especially in places where people linger like the front door or bathroom. One of my pals in Minnesota said her mom did this and words from those signs where always rattling around in her head. One in particular that she mentioned always rattles around in my head: "Choose Your Friends Wisely, For You Will Be Like Them."
One of my sisters has a bunch of awesome quotes typed up and glued to cute wooden magnets on her fridge. They make for great kitchen reading. Lisa, I still want that one about fashion!!! Here is a very short list I've been compiling and I'd love more, so if you have any you love, please share.

A man is what he thinks about all day (Hinckley movie)

Love me when I least deserve it because that is when I really need it –swedish proverb

Scripture on definition of charity (I'd really love to stitch this one out but have never seen a pattern for it and don't know if I could figure it out for myself)

I stitched the one above on our trip to Canada. Don't look too close- I'm sure real embroiderers (cuz that's a word) would be offended. Can't decide where to hang it, maybe in one of the boys' bedrooms. :)

Squishy

Blueberries

When I was growing up our family often went strawberry, raspberry and apple picking. I have happy memories of me sitting on the kitchen table dipping strawberries in sugar and eating them. Curt's family has a similar tradition except it involves wild blueberries and sometimes bears. But the result is always the most amazing blueberry pie you have ever eaten! Usually when we visit Ontario we aren't there during blueberry season but this time the stars aligned and I finally got to go. Twice! It was dreamy. The perfect combination of spongy, piney scented groundcover that crackles when you walk; soft, beautiful and sweet berries; and a little bit of industry (which always makes me happy).

Curt's Gran (who turned 86 this summer btw) has been picking since she was a small girl. She and her siblings would go out in the bush all day get paid just a few pennies for their work. She said she's seen bears on occasion but only been chased out once. Yikes.

And I'm so excited. My boys finally like blueberries. The tart, tough skinned ones we get here have never interested them. But at least now they know what a real blueberry tastes like. We managed to take 2 quarts home with us and are so happy to have a little slice of Canada back here in Texas with us.

O Canada

We just got back from a long trip to Ontario. I wouldn't say it was relaxing but we made a lot of wonderful memories. It was so nice to escape the Houston heat. Some highlights:

A huge Brisson Family Reunion to celebrate Gran's 86th birthday including Games, Fish Fry and Blueberry Pie, a FamilyTalent Show, Watching the sun set while the kids played in the lake, Air Soft Wars, Quiddler, Blueberry picking, Testimony meeting at the Dryden Branch, Canadian Rye bread, Tubing behind Uncle Kent's boat, Fishing... there's more.

The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the gorgeous Canadian landscape. Curt's Gran told us about some of her grandparents who were passing through Dryden to another city but decided to stay. I can see why. We didn't do a great job of taking pics but we do have some good vids:

Man I Love This Guy

Today is our wedding anniversary! I can't believe we've been married for 14 years! Can't believe I'm married to someone who still makes my heart speed up. I love the way he banters with our boys, the way he adores Lucy. I love it when he comes home from work and then asks me to hang out with him in the living room so we can talk about our days. I love listening to him play guitar and that he tells me I'm a champion every time I go running. I love that we were sealed for eternity in the Toronto Temple 14 years ago this morning. Oh and I love the picture for this post. We were cutting the cake and didn't realize there was a cardboard base between the layers. Yeah, that's us trying to cut through the cardboard. :)

Smoothie-topia

I am so lucky to have a great group of women here who are really interested in healthy eating. Not the lame fat free kind of diets but just an emphasis on eating whole foods. We meet once a month and share ideas. We even have a blog to keep all the recipes in one place. Last week a lady came and taught us how to make water kefir. She even shared some grains with us and mine is brewing on the counter now.

I've also been checking out Green Smoothie Girl for awhile and have started to adopt some of her smoothie ideas. I've actually never been that interested in the traditional fruit smoothies because I feel like fruit is easy to eat and I don't need to blend it up to get my kids to eat it. But vegetables are another story. I truly didn't believe that a shake with spinach in it could taste good. It DOES!

So here are my three favorite smoothies. It helps to have a powerful blender, especially if you're adding kale but you can definitely make them with a basic blender. In fact I was using my $20 hand held for several months before I got a better one.

Blueberry Smoothie

1 naval orange, peeled
1 banana, peeled
1/2- 1 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup of crushed ice (you don't need this if the banana is frozen)
1/4 cup water kefir or just water
Blend and enjoy! Curtis loves this one for his ride to work

Cilantro Smoothie
I know this one sounds crazy but it is seriously so fresh and delicious. Recipe can be found here.



It's Easy Being Green Smoothie (from the vitamix cookbook)
1 cup green grapes
1 orange (peeled)
1/2 cups pineapple chunks
1 banana, peeled
1 carrot, halved
2 cups spinach
1 apple, seeded
6 cups ice cubes

This one is really delicious and I cannot believe it but my kids actually like it. Daniel and Lucy wouldn't drink any of my smoothies for the first 2 months but they just started and were actually fighting over the remnants of this one the other day. :)

Overscheduled?

Curtis and I both believe in downtime. Non structured quiet, family downtime. We like to play games or just sit out in the backyard. We need time to read or watch TV together. But trying to reconcile that with all the worthwhile activites out there has got us stumped.

We have a pow wow several times a week about how to juggle it all. Basically there aren't enough hours in the day. A few extracurriculars we're committed to:

1) Piano- I just don't know anyone who plays and wishes they didn't. But I know tons of people who wish they had learned. And let's face it, learning as an adult is way more difficult. I think one of my brothers says that his kids don't get their driver's license until they can play 25 hymns. I love that idea. So far Jonah and Isaac really enjoy it. Daniel is starting this summer. I know it's going to get rough, probably in about 2 or 3 years but I'm really hoping we can stick it out.

2) Scouts- I think it's a great program and want all of our boys to earn their eagle. I know several boys at church who earned theirs by the time they were 14 or 15. That way they are done before they get super busy with high school.

3) Sports- Both Curtis and I love to play sports. For Curtis it is the only way he enjoys exercise. Team sports offer all kinds of great lessons and I want my kids to have that exposure before they are awk pre teens and too self conscious to learn. Right now we are in swim team and we love it. The boys are really improving and have many good friends on our team.

4) Church acitivies- Sunday meetings, Family Home Evening every week and daily scriptures and prayers.

But now Daniel really wants to play flag football in the fall- actually they all do. And then Curtis and I have talked about letting Daniel be in a play at the local theater. And then of course there's lacrosse, which Jonah played last year but now we're thinking of bagging it because it is WAY more contact than I remembered. Turns out that I like the sport way less when it's my kid out there getting checked instead of my old high school buddies. :O Oh and Jonah wants to play the trumpet in the band at school and Isaac's been begging to try basketball or karate... arghh.

I remember listening to a talk in college at BYU about prioritizing. The speaker said that God allows us to have too many options (and I mean good options) so that we are forced to decide what's really important. I don't think I can get rid of any of the 4 above. I wish the school day could be shortened. I mean we all know half the day is wasted standing in line. But I don't see homeschool in my future, so... for now I guess we will just keep trying to juggle all the activities. I'd love to hear how other families manage things, especially those with older kids.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

Happy Flag Day

One of my favorite things about my neighborhood is that six times a year almost everyone in the neighborhood has a flag placed in front of their house. It's all organized by a boy scout who lives here. He collects $35/year from anyone interested, stores the flags and poles, puts them up and takes them down on: Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day and Memorial Day.

I think it's the perfect project for a scout and as a homeowner it's really convenient. And driving through the neighborhood on these special holidays puts me in a good mood. Happy Flag Day!

And if you're like me and sort of wonder why we celebrate Flag Day, click here. :)

A Tribe Called Quest

So school is out! I'm so happy and of course so are the kids. Lucy's glad to have the boys home to play with (and order around) and the boys are looking forward to taking it easy. This was a great school year. I still get a little sad when I realize that basically the minute school gets out the weather becomes super unpleasant. Wish they would give us our "summer" break in January! :O But I have all kinds of plans on how to keep busy this summer. I really want the boys to learn how to type and hope we can keep up with piano and reading and math. I swear we're gonna be regulars at the library this summer!!

Swim team will keep us busy for another 3 weeks. Speaking of which, today we had our first swim meet! It was long and super hot but awesome. Turns out that all three of our boys like the Butterfly. I'm so impressed with each of them. I've tried that stroke and it just looks like I'm drowning. Our team worked really hard and won the meet. There were a lot of close races and it was so exciting to watch.

So this link is dedicated to my old g-mates. Apparently there's a movie coming out about "A Tribe Called Quest." Dang it's R but it looks so good. Didn't Tara introduce us to this great tune?

I Left My Wallet in El Segundo

I'm gonna have to add that one to my ipod. Tonight I tried running with music. Okay, that's way more fun. I think I shaved several minutes off my time. Any good workout music suggestions? Please? Happy Saturday Night

PS: Someone teach me how to make a photo collage!?! :)

Evolution of a word

I grew up asking for an "underdog" while swinging. I married Curtis and discovered that in his neck of the woods it's called an "underduck." He then explained to me how his word makes more sense because the parent ducks under the swing while pushing the child. I couldn't argue and since I've adopted many of his crazy Canadian phrases (excluding but not limited to garberator and cutlery) that's what I say to our kids. The boys usually ask for a twisty underduck actually.

So Lucy loves to swing and could swing for hours. I actually should have just installed a big swing in my kitchen- would have gotten so much more done these last 2 years. The other day I was pushing Lucy and she kept saying "Fun! This so fun!" And then she asked for a (wait for it) "Funderduck." I had to do a double take to make sure she wasn't cussing. But seriously... it's brilliant. Because no one can deny it's fun and then there's the ducking... I love kids.

Too much

So I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now. And I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have a serious "avoidance" problem. I like to just skip past anything unpleasant. That could be the mounting pile of papers the kids bring home each day, having an awkward conversation or scheduling an appointment with the dentist. There's just so much to do every day and every week.

I've heard that moms should run their home like a business. It rings true but I'm totally a fly-by-the-seat of your pants kind of mom. I don't always grocery shop with a list. I usually make dinner plans for the week but am so good at breaking them. Sometimes I get a burst of energy and do tons of housework, unpleasant phone calls and the like. Other times I have a huge list of things to do: yardwork, cleaning the pool, dusting the house (which is NEVER done), laundry, dishes, meal prep, hemming a pair of pants..... and what do I do? Nothing. Deer in headlights.

Arghhh. Not complaining b/c I know that's not allowed. I have freedom and safety and food to name a few. But being a SAHM is such a test of self control. No one's looking over my shoulder and I can still get by with a messy house and lame dinner.

Maybe I should try to be more organized in my approach to motherhood. Right now there are literally 20 things I should be doing and I'm on the computer. But.. I did make some pesto the other day that freakin rocked. Here's the recipe:

2 c. fresh basil (buy a plant- it is easy to keep alive and SO much cheaper than buying fresh herbs)
2 cloves garlic (Discard the green center part & gently boil clove for about 1 minute- the flavor will be more muted and you won't have laser garlic breath for days)
1/4 c. nuts (pecans, walnuts or pine)
1/3 c. olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 c. Pecorino Cheese (or parmesan)

Combine all in a food processor and enjoy over pasta or with bread or even as a dip for fresh veggies. Oh and the recipe called for 2/3 c olive oil but it seemed like way too much so I cut it in half and it turned out great.

Look at that color! Yummy and beautiful! Oh and I think Mother's Day is a super awkward holiday and I wish we would get rid of it or at least change it to a Monday so I could actually enjoy it (working in the nursery at church is not relaxing). The good news is that Curtis and I both got to talk to our awesome mom and mum and the guys in my house made a lot of yummy food and hooked me up with some rad cards.

The End.

Lamb and Lemons

Happy Belated Easter! This week is a blur. We attempted our Easter Week activities again this year and it went pretty well. We weren't able to visit a Cathedral but did most of the other activities. Sometimes we just did them at dinner. It really helped to make the week more meaningful. I tried making Matzo Ball soup this year for Passover. Curtis and I both loved it. Jonah, Isaac and Lucy tolerated it and Daniel would not touch the Matzo. We really enjoyed watching "The Prince of Egypt." I had forgotten how great that soundtrack is.

I went running somewhere in there and my knee was SUPER sore but after a lot of icing and a soak in the hot tub it felt much better. I'll try running agin tomorrow and hopefully everything will be fine. Curtis and I also spent the better part of two days digging in our yard. We replaced two drain pipes, put in some plants and unloaded a yard of mulch. Oh and it was in the upper 80's. Arghh. The good news? I thought to wear my swim suit for a lot of it and my awkward tan lines are fading.

We were supposed to go camping Thursday thru Saturday but decided against it due to the fire ban. What's camping without a fire? Instead of bunch of our friends decided to do a progressive camping party and we had fun activities planned for 2 days. Including foil dinners over a fire, lots of guitar and singing, egg hunts for the kiddos, watching "Tangled," kayaking (which the Turners opted out of because dude we needed naps),swimming and eating Crawfish.



Sunday we were sort of toast right from the start. But it turned out to be a great day. I had planned to sing in the ward choir and singing always puts me in a good mood. I was also asked to speak in church yesterday. Usually I get pretty nervous but I think this week was so crazy I just didn't have time. I also actually wrote my talk on Monday so I wasn't freaking out on Saturday night. Score 1 for not procrastinating. :) I'm actually really glad I was asked to speak because it gave me the chance to ponder the atonement and resurrection of Christ. I was also sitting up on the stand during church so I was really able to listen to the meeting while Curtis wrestled with the kids. :O

As for Easter Dinner, we have been making lamb for several years now and it has become a tradition that I love! I personally don't love the gamey taste of lamb but found a recipe that we all really like. I didn't get a picture but I'll post the recipe. I also made a lemon curd cake this year. It turned out okay but I will try making a few changes next year. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter. LY

Easter Lamb Chops

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
4 lamb chops

In a medium bowl mix sugar and spices. Rub lamb chops and refrigerate at least one hour. Mine were in for about 5 hours and the flavor was so good. Grill on med high heat for about 5 minutes on each side. Brush grill lightly with oil (I forgot to do this and some of them were sticking quite a bit).

We quadrupled this recipe since we had invited two families over. One of my friends brought over a beautiful ham with pineapple and it was a perfect amount of food. Oooh and I also made Pear and Blue Cheese Salad from my sister's awesome cooking site. It was a pretty big salad and every bit was gone. Yumma.

Here's the link to the Lemon Curd cake. When I make it next time I think I will just use a white cake mix for the cake part and top it with fresh raspberries instead of frozen blueberries. :)

PS: I am making these next year for sure. Cool huh?

So many reasons I love this pic

1. No shirt, standard fare here 2. Completely immersed in "Diary of Wimpy Kid" 3. His brother did the make-up (it took a LOT of convincing to get him to wash it off before bedtime)

I'm not emotionally prepared for sunscreen

It's getting hot here. Not. Ready. It was 89F at Jonah's lacrosse game on Saturday. I couldn't bring myself to lather up with sunscreen. But I can't complain about the flowers. They make me so happy.

Last week was so busy. I found myself getting really crabby and noticed a few things that helped. Thought I would share.

1) I'm always a little annoyed with my kids' school. Their policies drive me crazy and I feel completely marginalized. ie: I have no voice there. I pulled out my Texas journal (which is pretty dang lean) and typed for an hour. Wow. Total therapy. I felt so much better after... and no harm done! (Reminds me of a great Deep Thought - see it at the bottome if you're interested.)

2) My awesome friend Jen is trying to get me running. I have never been a runner and the idea of running a marathon has literally no appeal. I don't feel the need to accomplish that feat... but! running is so convenient, especially here where there are miles of nice paved trails. And Lucy loves to ride in the burly while I run. She just reads books and chats with me (Never had that before-with the boys I was always that frazzled mom pushing an empty stroller while her children run wild!) Oh and running is cheap and 30 minutes is a great workout. Soooo, I'm giving it a whirl. I'll be singing a different tune when the heat really sets in but so far I love it. The plan is to run 2 or 3 times during the week and then do a longer run with girlfriends on Saturday mornings. I CANNOT believe how much easier it is to run when you are talking with friends. My knees were really sore the first day but everytime I go it gets better. I have a history of getting really excited about things like this and pooping out a month later so here's to staying power!

3) Getting together with friends. I know it's lame because dang! I'm in my thirties, but sometimes I find myself being really insecure about inviting friends to get together. I know that's part of why I didn't like it here for so long. I mean, it's uncomfortable to be vulnerable and sometimes you get denied but it's worth it to keep trying. Worth it to connect with people and build friendships.

And now for that Deep Thought:

Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the persons house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of its head with a note that says "You." After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done.