Traveling

I'm hacking some internet from my parent's house. They don't mind. Sometime I'll have to tell the whole internet story, or lack-of-internet story.

Anyways, I'm sick of talking about it.

So we went on vacation, camping in Western South Dakota recently. It was super duper fun. One of my favorite camping tips (well just packing in general) is to put whole outfits for each of the little kids in gallon sized ziplock bags. So, for example, Gemma can go to the suitcase and pull out a bag with her name on it and inside ishe finds a shirt, shorts, and underwear. No digging through everyone else's stuff trying to find something that's hers. I do that for all the kids under ten or so.

So I thought I would take that concept to the area of snacks. We went up to visit my new nephew a few hours away. Instead of passing around snacks for the whole entire trip, I thought it might work for each person to have their own bag with a little of everything in it. Twizzlers and grapes, snack mix and drinks. Etc. So I labeled them all with each of their names and Nate and I placed bets on who's bag would be empty before we left town.



We nailed it.

Only one kid had food left in their bag by the time arrived at our destination. Noelle.

Next time it's back to free for all.

Moving

We are on the home stretch, packing packing packing.

I've got no blog posts.

The pile of packed boxes is getting bigger than the pile of empty boxes.

And yes, I let my baby girl eat cheerios off of the floor. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Mother's Day

Last week one of my kids had a "secret assignment" they were working on at school. The week before Mother's Day? What could it be? He needed a few photos of just him and mom. I was stumped. As I dug through my hard drive, I had all sorts of photos of the kid and a lot less of me, but almost none together. And that inspired my one request for Mother's Day. I didn't care if I got dinner out, or flowers or anything else. All I wanted was a photo with me and my crew and individual shots with each of them one on one. Nate humored me.

But I also got pancakes. Heavenly.

Googling

Things I have Googled in the last few days:

1. Beef Stroganoff because it's what was for dinner. And YUM!
2. Matthew Henry's Bible commentary I love me some commentary
3. (insert specific cell phone number here) I was texting back and forth with someone and I didn't know who it was. Still don't. But it was a lovely conversation.
   
4. Wii Cleaning Kit Fastest way to kill a Wii? Give it to us. I'd say 80% of our games result in the message "Disc could not be read". If dust can affect Wii performance, than I'd say we have a definite problem. Hopefully a problem that a Wii Cleaning kit can fix? Please?
5. Dulce De Leche recipe Why didn't I bookmark that dang recipe. Found it though. And it is yummy.
6. Taco John's Nutritional information How bad would it really be to finish off a six pack and a pound? I found the answer. Bad. It would be bad. Potato Oles are pretty much the equivalent to little pats of butter.
7. Broken Canon 50mm lens Yep. I dropped it again. But I also fixed it again. It's the lens that would not die. I love that thing.
   
8. Running after donating blood Nate and I both donated on Tuesday afternoon. I didn't run Wednesday even though I felt fine, just to play it safe. This morning I headed out for a few miles, ran about one mile, and then I died. Much walking ensued. I am totally worthless today. Tired to the core of my being. Turns out that's pretty normal so I don't feel like a TOTAL loser.

This is officially the most lame blog post ever.

The end.

Souvenirs

This year our school district finally gave us a real, true, Spring Break. A whole entire week off. None of this three day weekend business like we've had the last....forever. We had big plans for the big kids. Tyler, Caedmon, and Jack were flying out with Nate's mom to visit their cousins on the east coast. Noelle and Cam were joining Aunt Mariah and heading up to visit Aunt Holly in the Twin Cities. That left Nate and I with just the three littlest ones. It was a really different week, like stepping back in time ten years to when Tyler, Noelle, and Camryn were little. Very surreal.

They all had a great time, and by the end of the week, we were all reunited again. Everyone came home will stories and gifts and unique memories of Spring Break 2010. The boys, however, returned with a gift for me from Andrea. Remember when she gave me this? Well, this time she sent this heavenly creation:


Clearly she knows that my love language consists of peanut butter combined with chocolate. That only thing that could have made it better would have been if she would have brought it herself and we could have eaten it together.

Miss you Ann!

Easters

The Easter Bunny pulled a late night hiding candy. She was a little sleep deprived, staying up ironing spring clothes she had just pulled out of bins in the basement. Fifty degrees, you will not keep us from our short sleeves and spring dresses. Anyway, here is her handiwork:






Our church put on a Passion Play that was amazing to watch. It was so neat to see so many people involved. So powerful. The man that played Jesus was incredible.


We spent the afternoon at my Grandparents' house with most of my siblings. (Missed you Gabe and Naomi!) More egg hunting ensued and much delicious food was consumed. The pineapple upsidedown cake had my name all over it. And today it's back to school after a long spring break.

The end.

Thirty Five Is Middle Aged

We celebrated Nate's birthday this weekend, the big 3-5. It was a cram packed three days of fun that has been extended even longer due to snow and canceled school. Two of my brothers and their families were in town for the weekend, which added to the festivities. The long standing tradition is that the honored birthday person chooses their birthday meal and dessert. I was not surprised at all when I found myself cooking a full Thanksgiving feast for Sunday dinner. This man doesn't just love his meat and potatoes, he loves his GBC (green bean casserole) and stuffing. And also Boston Creme Pie.

I gave him a gift full of self sacrifice. I went snowmobiling with him. I've never liked it. It's cold and you end up smelling of exhaust. But Nate LOVES his sleds and I decided that the best thing I could do is go along, even manning one of the machines myself. Turns out it's kind of fun. And for Monday's actual birthday meal? Meatloaf. Another meal that I loathe and he loves. Opposites do attact. I stuck some random candles in it and called it a cake.


And sticking candles into a hot meatloaf results in melted pockets of wax. Just an FYI.

Happy Birthday Carnivorous, Snowmobiling, Man Of My Dreams.

Nate And Heth as Seasoning

Check it out. Nate and Heth as Salt and Pepper shakers:

One of the most amazing mommas I know made these a couple of years ago for all of the pastors at our church. Each couple received their own likeness as salt and pepper shakers. The other pairs are just as awesome as these. Angela's long black hair, Nate wearing his Fifth Element hoodie, Matt's guitar. Bill's might have been my favorite, complete with a bald head and microphone. These are up there in the top ten best presents I have ever been given. Kathy is a mom to seven kids, most of them grown now. She homeschooled them all and over the years (our families have been friends since I was small) I remember her having an intentional creativity despite a house full of kids. She has such a sweet, sweet spirit about her. Thank you Kathy, I think of you every time I season my food with salt that pours from my golden locks. Ok, now that I type it out, that sounds really gross. You know what I mean.

Whew. I Need A Nap

It's monday morning. The whole family oversleeping was a telltale sign of the pace of this weekend. Let's racap.

1. Nate was gone all last week on the West Coast. I was reminiscing that back in the day, when he would travel I would do some sort of a big project. Mostly repainting a room or something like that. Now? It's just survival mode. I get lazy, don't cook, stay home, and wear sweatpants 24 hours a day. It's fun times. Kudos to you single moms or military wives. You are amazing.
2. You all delurked. That was amazing and a highlight of my week. What an excellent and diverse group of readers there are here. I drank a cup of coffee out of my snowman mug for each of you. And boy am I on a caffeine high!
3. My birthday was on Friday. The highlight? Wii telling me that I'm 24. I'm going with it. Nate got home that afternoon and we had a date night at Pizza Hut. Don't judge me, that's what I was hungry for. I'm fancy like that. Also there were two trips to Starbucks. What more could a girl want?
4. Saturday night was Gourmet Club. I'm sure I've told you about Gourmet Club before but I'm too lazy to go digging in the archives for it. We've been meeting for ten years now, which is CRAZY! Maybe that deserves a post of it's own. The food was great, the theme country was Peru. Yum.
5. Sunday was cram packed and very busy but we made room for a quick birthday party with my parents. My mom made Red Velvet Cake. There are a couple pieces sitting on my counter right now, taunting me. I'm ignoring them but I can't ignore them forever.
6. Also, I'm so proud of this:

There will be no "before" picture because while I can be pretty transparent, I do have my limits. Let's just say, the kids were very surprised at how much space there actually IS on the counter when it's not covered in everyone's junk. Also, obviously it's time for some banana bread. The little Nate/Heth salt shakers on the left deserve their own post.

Super fun weekend, but now it's laundry, laundry, laundry and will power practice, what with that cake screaming at me and everything. Maybe it will be a reward for each load I finish...

I Love Her More Than Cream Cheese Frosting

You know you really love someone when you want to buy ALL the sappy Hallmark cards for them. It was hard to narrow it down to just one when I bought my Mom her birthday card this year. There are so many things I wanted to tell her about how much I love her and what she means to me, it's impossible for one little card to sum it all up. So in addition to her card and gift, I made her a heavenly carrot cake and I slathered it (and I mean slathered) in cream cheese frosting.
Dessert is our family's love language. I talked to her this morning and she was eating the leftovers for breakfast. See where I get it? It's in my blood. Love you Mom.

Welcome to My Couch

So you want to sit on the couch? Beware of chewed up hot dogs and remnants of Oreo cookies, creme filling long gone. It's like a buffet in the living room. And also a calculator. Seriously?

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Can you tell which caramel apple was made by a 2 year old?

Halloween 09 Report

Trick or Treat this year was a "raid the dress up box" theme. We re-costumed. Road kill made another appearance, so did Tyler's old Karate uniform. (Not sure what you even call them, I'm sure there's something official) Jack threw on an eye patch and a bandanna and called himself a pirate, and Gemma went as a mommy complete with a purse to put her candy in. Not a bad idea... note to self: a traveling secret stash could be convenient. Toby went as The Two Year Old Boy Who Refused To Wear A Costume. Whatever. The big two stayed back and passed out candy. Nate grilled steaks while we were out and tortured all the parents with grill aroma as they came near our house. Everly slept in the wrap, oblivious. It was so much fun to trick or treat with Andrea. She was visiting from out East. We ate more candy than we should have. The bonus is that the only thing left the Monday morning after Halloween is a handful of Tootsie Rolls. We are all about The Binge.

I give you costume photos:

Advanced Secret Stashing

Peekaboo.

It's a good thing my kids don't read my blog. For the record though, the Cinnabon Caramel Pecan Crunch isn't very good. I'd almost rather have the Crispy Rice, except for the box is empty, which is the whole point. Now throw a box of Reeses Puffs or Waffle Crisp in there and that's a different story. Those are two cereals worth hiding. But what can I say, I succombed to end cap display marketing once again. It's a weakness of mine.

I Can Explain

The cup holders in my van tell a story. Actually, five little stories. Here, let me share them with you. It's bound to be mesmerizing.

Story number one. The fake Sigg bottle on the left. I bought water bottles for the kids and went with not-plastic because I am starting to believe the buzz about plastic but that's a whole different post for another day that I probably will never get around to writing. Probably because I have spent too many years drinking out of plastic bottles and now my brain is fried. Anyways, I bought the kids bottles and I couldn't resist the super cute ones with designs and everything and I paid a few bucks more for the pretty pretties and Spiderman ones. Then Nate expressed interest in a bottle of his own so I picked up a manly grey one that just happened to be cheaper, yay! It turns out the screw- in seal is crap and totally doesn't work just a month after I bought it. Awesome. (Hey, I never said these would be stories with an actual point.)

Story number two. The Starbucks cup, front and center. We drive up to the little speaker thingy and I order a Decaf Venti Caramel Macchiato. After pulling around to the pick up window the man hands me my drink and I realize what a difference one little left out word can make. "Iced". Dang it, I wanted iced. Shattered Expectations. It's not that I don't like hot Caramel Macchiatos, I was just all geared up that I was getting an iced one. Nothing like a five dollar cup of disappointment.

Story number three. Blue streamers in the back. Needed to wrap a present at the last minute and didn't have any wrapping paper and we were running out the door so I grabbed a roll of tape and the obvious solution, streamers. Wrapped it in the car on the way there. (This is the part where you make a note to self about never inviting me to your birthday party)

Story number four. The toothbrushes on the right. Last week I secured my place in the insanity hall of fame by taking seven kids to the dentist on the same day. At the same time. I guess my philosophy is the same as the dentist. Get all the pain over with at once. I picked them all up from school and we headed out. Thus the toothbrushes. No dentist wants to see what a kids had for lunch stuck between their teeth. I have no idea who's brush is who's so I just grabbed the whole lot of them and put them in the logical place...the cup holder.

Story number five. The receipt behind the toothbrushes. It's a receipt for a pack of gum. Exciting huh?!

So there you have it. The why behind the mess. The chaos explained. This is all I can handle in one post, I'm not even going to begin to tell the stories from the rest of the van. It would be a novel.

I Know He Will Never Be Terrible

Toby turned two on Saturday. We celebrated by going out to eat as a family. Since little Mr. Man hasn't had the greatest track record at restaurants lately, we decided to go somewhere that would be appropriate for a squirmy two year old. Burger King Playland.

We drove to the nearby Bigger Town and hit a BK that we had never been to before. We ventured into the unknown and explored strange new worlds, we sought out new life and new civilizations, we went where no man has gone before. We came out with an obscene number of little cheap Star Trek toys that say "Beam me up." when you hit the button. Imagine how fun the ride home was. They have all been confiscated.

Here we have birthday boy appropriately celebrating with two toddler sized burgers.

Happy Birthday Toby.

Food and Fun and Food

The internet has undoubtedly expanded my recipe choices. Thanks Al Gore! I hit my family with something new, yet again. This one went over a little better, for the most part. There is just something about a salad for supper in the summer time. Light, fresh, and yummy, it always hits the spot on a hot day. As soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to try it. Spicy Honey Chicken Salad. Mmmm.





The avocados were not a favorite with some of the kids, but they loved mango. Everyone was asking for more chicken, it was fantastic.

We got together with friends for some Memorial Day grilling and I knew I wanted to make that chicken, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I also took a Pioneer Woman recipe. She hasn't let me down yet. Everything on her site is amazing. The Fluffy New Potatoes went over well. They were just the right size to pop in your mouth. Not necessarily a good thing.

A for sure good thing? Playing the paper game with a fifteen crazy friends. Hilarious.

Making My Kids Eat Gross Stuff- My Life's Mission

I'm sure that my children truly believe that I sit around all day, cackling and plotting what kind of new nastiness I could possibly make for supper. That making their nightly dining experience miserable is my sole purpose for living.

They may be right.

Remember when I made the super colorful chili that was so beautiful? The one that they deeply despised? Another time I tried to serve them soup that had peanut butter in it. I know. I'm not sure what I was thinking either. But this time it wasn't soup.

This time it was black eyed peas and tortillas. I thought it sounded good but what do I know anyway? As they simmered on the stove and the aroma (if you can call it that) wafted across the room, I began questioning my own judgment. It smelled bad. Really bad. But we persevered. I dished everyone up a tortilla filled with beans, sour cream, salsa, and cheese and we dove in. Well, some of us did. Those of us who attempted a first bite were pleasantly surprised and continued eating. Others were in tears begging for chips. And for a couple of them, I'm sure breakfast and "ceeyo" can't come fast enough. I'll let you guess who that would be.

Final stats:
People who had seconds-2
People who had firsts and finished them-2
People who took one bite and were done-1
People who just ate the tortilla after dumping out the contents-3
People who didn't even attempt-1

Want to come over for dinner? It's risky.

A Whole Bunch Of Nothing

It is still pretty dark in the mornings when I run. Normally I would be anxious for the sunrise and for running when I can actually see the ground in front of me. For the sake of humanity, it's probably a good thing that my running wardrobe is cloaked in darkness. You don't want to see it, believe me. As soon as it gets light out, I don't know what I am going to wear. Spandex doesn't quite fit the same way when you are sporting a 19 week belly.

Last weekend I ran a local 5k. It was super fun. I give you the sparkly, magical, blue tights that carried me through:



I promise you, this is my one presentable running outfit. When this ensemble is dirty, the random stuff comes out and it's not pretty. I had no idea what kind of a time to expect for this race and I was happy when I finished with a 25:55. When I was pregnant with Toby I was able to continue running until about 28 weeks or so. That puts me at the end of May, we'll see how I feel by then. So far, so good.

I have been one week without a coffee maker. These are desperate times. Just ask my poor family who is shouldering the weight of my lack of caffeine. Again, for the sake of humanity as a whole, I will purchase one today and get back on the drip.

Today I also promised my family that I would go buy groceries. It turns out they like to eat. Who knew? I guess it will be best for everyone in the long run. I'm getting kind of sick of the whole "It's 4:30, what in the world am I going to feed them?" thing.

Happy Friday Internet.

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays

Camryn's birthday was on Sunday. She's ten now and I'm not sure how exactly that happened.

There are two sides to Cam, the side most everyone knows:

And the Cam we get to know:

Oh to laugh like that every day.