Count Down

We are officially 1 week away from a birthday. Ruthie was born a week short of 5 years ago. Where, oh, where, has the time gone?? Just look at my beauty!

So to celebrate her last week of being 4, the boys and I came up with a plan. I won't tell you yet. But her shirt may provide a clue!
When I picked Ruthie up from preschool, she came out like this... (Sing the words, "I'm a mean old witch in a hat...")
Here she is at the school while we waited for the bell to ring. I told her the boys would surprise her, but I wouldn't give her any hints.
Sam came at us with a skeleton and weird glasses. He had a hard time keeping his big mouth shut while we waited for Isaac.

Finally Isaac came and posed!

Both boys told her the news together..."We're taking you to see Highsical Musical 3!!"

She dropped and screamed! Sorry you can't hear her.

I think she was pretty excited! We jumped in the car so we could get to it on time. We only had about 25 minutes!

We were the only ones in the theater until two girls came in. "Hi guys!"

Sam. What more can I say?

I should put in a quick word here about the title of the movie. Ruthie has been calling it Highsical Musical. We just call it that! When Troy first poured his sweat onto the screen, Ruthie said, "Troy!" Then when Gabriella stood up in the white dress among the red cards, Ruthie breathed, "Gabriella!". We got the same reaction about "Chad!" "Sharpay!" "Ryan!" What's that girl's name?" "Shh. Talk quieter. Taylor." "Taylor!"

Why is it that Troy always looks like he's in pain when he sings, and Gabriella always sounds like she's in pain when she sings?? I was hoping that being in their 20's would help them get over that. Oh well.

I love that there was a splash of Footloose in Troy's number. I also loved the little sound of Queen in another. I loved that Ryan asked Kelsey to the prom. I loved that Martha was a cheerleader (Big girls can cheer, too!). I love Sharpay and her need for the spotlight. When she arrived at school with her pink boots and pink skirt, Ruthie started singing "Fabulous". Then when any song had the same line over and over, Ruthie would start singing along. I loved it!

I had to leave the theater on about 4 occasions. If it was more than that, I lost count. It was long. It was cute. I don't know what happened after Troy and Gabriella came back for the musicAl. I also don't know what they are all doing now that they've graduated. I did see the tear in Taylor's eye as they upclosed her.

Most of all I loved when Ruthie leaned over and kissed my arm then looked at me with a huge smile on her face!

I'm also very, very glad I'm not in High School anymore!

Tuesday Musings

Here we are. It's almost the end of October and it's going to be in the upper 60's again today. I don't like it when the heat kicks on at 6:30 am and then I have to open the windows to cool the house off at 10 am. Then at 7 pm, the house starts really heating up because Daniel goes around closing all the windows because it's cold outside. So I open them again until 8:30. Enough time for the house temperature to drop to 72 before we head to bed. Not that we head to bed at 8:30. But you never know! When we do go to bed I'm usually cold. That's always nice for Daniel. Then the heat kicks on again at 6:30 am.

What, may you ask, does that have to do with the price of eggs? I really don't know. I have been trying to talk Daniel into getting chickens so we can have the eggs without paying a pretty penny. So far I don't have chickens. And I do pay a pretty penny for eggs.

I do keep telling Daniel that having chickens would be better than sliced bread. Speaking of bread, and sliced bread at that! I haven't been baking bread for a while. I think it has something to do with a hot kitchen and a hot summer. So I have been buying G-ma Sycamore wheat bread. It goes on sale for $1.50 sometimes. So I buy 10 loaves (you wouldn't believe the weird looks I get in the store!) and put them in the freezer. It's the best freezing bread. So I don't have to buy bread for a couple of weeks.

And speaking of laundry. What's that? We weren't speaking of laundry? Well, now that we are. I have a load of clean kitchen towels sitting in a basket in the laundry room. I also have a load of clothes in the dryer that have been sitting in there since Saturday. So, I don't have clean kitchen towels in my kitchen. I also don't have the laundry basket for the dirty clothes that are piling up in my closet. I also don't have those clothes folded and put away and ready to be worn. Hmm. Maybe that's why we couldn't find any jeans for Isaac this morning. Good thing it will be warm today. He had to wear shorts to school. It will be in the upper 60's today, you know. I need to go start opening windows. The house is warming up.

I'm hungry!

Last week I made a small pilgrimage down to my mom's house with Ruthie to do something special. You see, I wanted some tortillas. Not just any tortillas. The tortillas my sister in law had at the cabin in Flaming Gorge that she cooked herself. I also wanted cheap semi sweet chocolate chips. The milk chocolate ones just don't do it for me in cookies. So why do I need to go to my mom's? She has a Costco membership. I don't. It's a long story. But I will be getting one as soon as Daniel and I get our new debit cards. Daniel couldn't find his. So I had to "lose" mine, too. Anyhoo, we decided to just make a fun day of it. So off we went. We got to my mom's and then headed to the local members only store. My grandma, Meme, met us there. It was kind of fun to have 4 generations of girls! I got lots of neat stuff. I got 2 10 pound bags of semi sweet chocolate chips. You got it. 20 pounds of yummy cookie making goodness. I got Ruthie a beautiful black and gold dress. She fell in love with it. So we put it in the basket with the chips. Then I looked for the tortillas I knew I needed. And...I found them. They are uncooked. They are divine! So I got 2 packages with 44 tortillas in each. I will need to go back soon. We went through 25 of them for dinner Thursday night. We've since gone through another 19.

They come raw. That's what makes them so good.

For future reference. This is what the package looks like!
I had some trouble with my pictures loading today. Is it breaking the Sabbath to blog? Here is what they look like when they are ready for consumption..

But first you have to cook them. Just a meduim hot non stick skillet! That's it!

I could have just put a picture of me eating one of these beauties. But Sam is a cuter eater. Believe me!

You can just roll them up and eat them plain. You can put some cheese on them and make a quesadilla. You can put chicken or beef and then some beans and salsa and sour cream,etc, and make a burrito. Oh! I'm hungry. I think it's time to get the second package out and thaw it!

Prop 8---In Support of Marriage!

I read my friend Tiffany's blog this morning and she had this post. She suggested we copy and paste it on our own. So I am. Please read and "go viral"!! And on a more personal note...I do not fear when it comes to standing for truth and righteousness!! This matter touches EVERY family in regard to what our children are taught in school, right over to a family member in the homosexual lifestyle. My comment board will NOT be a catalyst for slander or degradation. On either side of the issue! I would also like to point to a really good source of what the failure of this issue would mean to us...The Book of Mormon. Thank you...Me.

PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children.If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs.Including adoption agencies.

A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

For your information:
On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California. Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his kindergartner was taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boy out of school. He was taken to jail.
Click Here for the story.

A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules.
Click Here for more info.

Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about.This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote.

So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!

"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord."
--President Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton. A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: http://www.preservingmarriage.org/October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state. Click Here to get one.October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail” Click Here for info.November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do:In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same.THANK YOU!

Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go!

I had a doctor appointment this morning. I got up. I got my boys out for school. I took a shower. I got Ruthie dressed and brushed and shoed and stuff. Got myself dressed. Walked out the door with a bottle of water, 2 granola bars, 2 boxes of raisins, a bag of crayons and a coloring book. We got to the appointment. It went well. My Diabetes are doing fine. The youngest is graduating from college. (Aunt Peggy, if you read this, you understand. Right?) And then I got a flu shot, got blood work done and left. On the way home, we stop to get a really cheap lunch from a window on the side of a building. Then we sat in a grocery store parking lot and ate. Then went in to see if this store had cheap semi sweet chocolate chips. They didn't. (I can't find cheap semi sweet chips anymore!!! What's up with that?!?) We headed home. I got a bug to drive the long way-meaning we were almost home-to the library to make sure they were doing early voting so I don't drive there tomorrow to vote and it's not there. It was. Then we finally headed home. Got home. Checked the mail. Not here yet. (I want my ads!) Came in the house. Looked in the big envelope on the front porch to see if any more talks for the Primary program were turned in. (None were.) Returned a phone call to a fellow preschool mom about a birthday party. Got Ruthie in the house, finally. I start to check email. Then do the inevitable, check blogs. I read a few to catch up. Then as I'm sitting on my stool, I realize I GOTTA GO!!! I haven't gone since early, early this morning. So I figure, this would make a fun blog post. (That's all I really do anymore) So I start typing. I think my bladder's gonna burst. But I really can't stop what I'm doing to go.

On Saturday, I was heavily involved in making my crafts at Super Saturday, and then realized that I had needed to go for a while. I still didn't go. Not till I got home.

So does anyone else have this problem?? I just don't have time to take out of my busy day to go! Seriously. I have heard that in really olden days, that women's bladders would really burst because it was inappropriate to leave whatever they were doing to go. Have you heard that? I didn't learn that in History class. Now that I think about it...the Ingalls kids would go to the outhouse, but I never ever saw Caroline go! Hmm. I wonder if her bladder ever burst. When I do go, I usually realize that I haven't sat down all day. Except on the stool. It doesn't really count. I usually end up standing anyway. Like right now. Maybe it's because I gotta go! Maybe I should end this and just go. K. Bye!

Oh The Dirt

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm not ashamed. I don't fear the repercussions. I will shout it from the rooftops if you wanted me to. I Am Not A Good House Keeper!! You couldn't call the heath dept, but I don't clean my walls everyday. There you have it! I feel better.

Every year when the house gets stuffy inside and the windows get to open in the Spring, I turn on the fan over the kitchen table. It pretty much goes all the rest of Spring and Summer and into the Fall. So you can imagine what it looks like when I finally turn it off for the duration....

Not so bad, you say?? Look closer...
No! Seriously! Closer! That is months and months of spinning over my kitchen table. Go ahead and say it. Say it loud. GROSS!
So I got a rag and got up on the table (after I took the gross pictures of course) and wiped all the blades down. I even wiped down everything else up there.
Well, at least the parts you can see.
There, I've done something constructive today. I feel much better. I even seem to be breathing easier! Imagine that.

I'm A Nut!

I'm a little acorn brown
Lying on the cold, cold ground
Everybody steps on me
That is why I'm cracked you see
I'm a nut (crack, crack)
I'm a nut (crack crack)
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut (crack crack)

The "crack" is when you click your tongue on the roof of your mouth. It's also the sound of me cracking.

Why am I a nut, you ask? Why am I cracking? It's Primary Program time. Not enough detail? Parts, music, who sings what verse, how many kids can give the same talk, how are we gonna get over 110 kiddos on the stand, do we have them up there during the Sacrament or just all come up right before we start, will they get all the talks written and back to me on time, will the little kids sit reverently, will the littlest kids sing, will the president's head explode???????

I hope not.

I mean I hope my head doesn't explode. I DO hope they sing, do their parts, are reverent, etc.

It'll be fine. Just smile and wave. Enjoy the cracking. It'll be all over soon.....

8 Tag

I was tagged by Sarah and here are my answers...

8 TV Shows:

1. The Office
2. Survivor
3. Biggest Loser
4. Extreme Makover: Home Edition
5. M*A*S*H
6. I Love Lucy
7. Cosby Show
8. Ace of Cakes

(As you can you see, mostly I live in the past and am not in touch with reality!)

8 Restaurants

1. Cafe Rio
2. Burrito Grande
3. Olive Garden
4. La Frontera
5. Quiznos
6. Wendy's
7. Rice King (I feel bad that they don't seem to get a lot of customers, so we get all our Chinese there!)
8. Outback (Have you ever had sirloin steak, honey?)

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Cleaned the house
2. Took my kids to McDonald's for lunch
3. Took my kids to the dollar store to spend some fun money
4. Played school with my kids
5. Played kiss tag with my kids
6. Made dinner
7. Got my hair cut and colored (YAY!)
8. Watched The Office and Survivor

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

1. A clean house
2. A stay at home date with Daniel tonight
3. Super Saturday
4. Primary program
5. St George with my mom and sisters
6. Ruthie's 5th birthday
7. Christmas
8. A clean house

8 Things On My Wish List

1. A clean house
2. A finished basement
3. New carpet
4. Happy, well adjusted kids
5. A good cloning service
6. Self made dinners
7. Instant weight loss
8. A clean house

There you are. So now I get to tag. I'm not tagging 8 people, but if you aren't listed and want to do it, go right on ahead! Crissy, Melanie and Kim H. (who just started her own blog and needs something on it so I can go back and read it again!!) You are all tagged!

Isn't She Lovely!

Yesterday, Ruthie was invited to a Princess birthday party! Oh, Joy!! She was so excited and read the invitation, which started with, "Hear ye, Hear ye!", many times for many days. So Monday night we planned Her Stunningness' wardrobe choice. We decided to go with the princess dress that didn't have shredded fabric. So it was this royal number. Isn't she lovely?
Tuesday morning she took a shower and I washed and conditioned her hair. She got out, into her skivvies and I dried the moussed coif and then began my work.
Curls! Lots of curls. Now I need you to understand that her lovely hair is straight as a bone. Seriously! Straight! It doesn't hold curl well, either. So I sprayed every curl with hairspray as I went. It was pretty stiff when we were done. (TWSS!!!!!)
But, my goodness! It's awesome! Look at the loveliness! Doesn't she look royal?? This pose means to say., "Oh, Queen Mommy, I love you and what you have done to my hair. I will be the most beautiful girl at the ball!"
Then she came home. She had a goody bag bustin with treats and stuff! She was so excited! Then she found the lipgloss. Bright pink lipgloss. She's a lipgloss girl, too. (Kristi, this is all in good humor and we love the lipgloss!!) The doorbell rang that afternoon and it was Ruthie's friend from next door. So she bolts right by me out the door and down the driveway to inspect the snow run off in the grass and gutter. She is intrigued! I tell her to get her hiney back in the house! She runs in and flashes me a smile. A really weird smile. A Clownish smile. Seriously! I stop her and tell her to look at me. "What is on your mouth??" Lipgloss! WOWZERS!!!
She wanted to wipe it all off then, but I wouldn't let her. I do have a blog I need to fill, right?!?! So there you go. Our Wednesday morning offering. Bright pink lipgloss! But she's still so dang cute! Happy Wednesday!

I have a friend...

...And his name is Arthur-Itis. And don't make fun of my hand in the picture. I have small hands with a lot of stuff in them. That makes them plump and fluffy. Actually, at the time of this picture, this particular hand is feeling quite svelte! Anyway, I have arthritis in my right handed middle finger. I would have held up the finger for you but thought that might be just a tad offensive. So here's what you get...
You see that plump and fluffy middle finger? Yep. That's the one. It's the afflicted one. Last Friday morning I woke up to a throbbing, extremely painful, swollen middle finger. I check my blood sugar. Out of control blood sugar causes a painful reaction with arthritis. Nope. Just fine. So I try to move it. Movement will be the death of me. So all day Friday. All day Saturday. All day Sunday. My throbbing, swollen middle finger can't do a dang thing. It hurts!!

I wonder...is it the weather? I take some pain meds that are advertised to help arthritis pain. Not a thing!! So I go to my old standby...ibuprofen. Yum! I can actually move it enough to make Sunday night dinner...thanks for the onion powder, Amie!

Then I wake up on Monday morning. The sun is shining. No snow is falling. (we had well over a foot!) And the day is supposed to be much warmer than the last three days. My fluffy middle finger is no longer swollen and can move pretty well. Hmmm... Do you think? Could it possibly be?? Could I be getting old enough that the weather will now determine my ability to use my fluffy middle finger??

Oh I feel so old. I use reading glasses. I have arthritis. I have been told to take a baby aspirin everyday so I don't die of a heart attack. Yeppers. I am coming close to old age. The gray hairs have slowed down, though. Weird!

So now my favorite time of year, Cold, is going to be the death of my right middle finger. Oh well. I shouldn't be using it anyway! Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Sunday Snow!

It snowed. Obviously! When we left for Stake Conference this morning, our driveway was still clear and the roads were okay. 3 hours later, on the drive home, the roads were snowy and icy and our driveway had about a foot of snow on it! WoW! So we got in the house and got lunch and got snow suits on and ran out to play in the backyard. I didn't. Daniel didn't. The kids did.
Isaac has gigantic hands because I wasn't prepared just yet for snow. So he's wearing his dad's gloves. The tramp had a wall of snow this morning on the net. So they went out to jump in all the snow that fell into it!

They also tackled each other. It's no fun unless you can tackle your siblings with great big boots and gloves and snowsuits on!

I think they tried to build something. But they got cold. So they stopped. Sam had to have a newspaper bag on his cast arm with a sock over that. No gloves could fit over that cast! It did stay dry!
Isaac crawled under the tramp and made a tunnel to the other side. He was met with snowballs and tackles from his siblings!

On to lighter things now...We went to Stake Conference this morning (is lighter the right word?) as I said above. Our Stake Presidency had some great counsel for us. Our President gave great counsel on our families. We are living in some perilous times and it was a very timely message! But the talk that I really appreciated came from one of his counselors. He talked to the kids. I wanted to take a nap, but I knew I needed to listen to be able to quiz my kids later. He talked about being obedient and following our parents. He told the story of Jonah and the whale. Because Jonah went the opposite direction the Lord wanted him to, he was swallowed by a whale. (the condensed version, thank you!) Then he told another story. But all I remember was a horse names Dandy. He left his pasture and was hit by a car. Then he left his pasture again and ate some oats with rat poison in them and died. So the moral is...listen and be obedient or you will be swallowed by a whale...and...be obedient or you will eat oats with rat poison and die. Okay. Not really. But my kids now are told that they are being swallowed by a whale when they have to sit on the stool. So far only one has had to be swallowed. Maybe we'll try rat poison. Kidding!!!! No. I would never do that.

Back to the pictures. I didn't go outside. I needed to be barefoot AND warm. So I took pictures through the back window. I think I've mentioned before that I don't clean windows. I already know what it looks like outside. So the pictures are not great. But I think you get the idea.

And here's a funny for ya! As we left this morning, we saw many cars passing as we were ready to drive out of our houses. They all had their Sunday duds on and we just figured them for all the other Mormons going to Stake Conference. So we got in line behind them. When we got to the stop sign where we figured we would turn right to get to the Tabernacle, they all started turning left. So Daniel says, "Is it at the Stake Center?" I say, "No, they said it's at the Tabernacle." So why are they all going to the Stake Center?? So we turn left, too. Then we realize they are all turning to go into our church building. WAIT! NO! They are turning into the Catholic church parking lot. DUH! So we almost went to the Catholic church this morning! Needless to say, we laughed the rest of the way to the Tabernacle!

Ooops! Someone needs to be swallowed by a whale. Gotta go!

Once Upon A Time... Part 16

That night I had a smile on my face that could never be erased. I was happy. This was it! He would be mine and I would be his. My sisters had left and the rest of the family had gone to bed. I went down to my room and swooned just a bit. I was in heaven and Dan was my angel. As I lay in bed, knowing I wouldn't get to sleep soon, I thought over the last almost 12 years of dating.

My first date was my junior prom. He didn't have his license yet so I drove his mom's car. He ended the evening by standing on his tippy toes, rocking back and forth asking, "Do I get a good night kiss?" The relationship ended when he yelled ugly remarks across the school courtyard to my good friend. There was the one who would be at every Regional Dance just to dance with me. I always knew when he sent a letter to me because a 10 foot radius around the mailbox would reek of cheap cologne. At one of the dances he requested King For A Day by Thompson Twins and dedicated it to me. There was the one who I was set up with just moments before they were to leave on a group date. We played pool then went to a play. After the play he asked me what I thought was the oddest question. "In your opinion, what was Christ's best quality?" I realized after he took me home that I never even knew his name. There was the one who asked me out and with every question he asked me, he would disagree with my point of view and say awful things about my opinion on the matter. He was very upset when I said I didn't want to go out with him again. There was the one from work who had to pull over every 10-15 miles to put another quart of oil in his car. He talked a lot about hunting and dead stuff. There was the one who took me to see Legacy and talked about how he and his friends could do a better job than the prophet. I called him on blasphemy and asked him to just take me home when he asked if I wanted to get something to eat. There was the one I wrote to on his mission for 2 years and when I went back out to California to see him, made eyes at my sister's friend who had come to keep my sister company while I went on a couple of dates with him. I drove all the way back to Utah myself and played The Carpenters really loud over and over just because I knew she hated it. There was the one from my ward who was a fun friend and who I knew was much younger and who I knew kinda had a crush on me. He took me to a concert in the park and we talked about how long we'd been home from our missions, and I said I'd been home a couple of years. He said in a slow voice,"How old are you?" I said I was 26. (He was 22) The rest of the date went not so smoothly and friendly. There was the one who I went out with a few times. He got a cold and stopped calling me. I took a "get better soon" basket with tissues and hot cocoa and meds in it. He wouldn't come to the door. I never saw him again. There was the one who actually asked me out 3 times, even though he never went out with a girl more than twice. He had told our Bishop he would marry me "if he had to". Whatever. There was the one that was a polygamist. There was the one who beat his wives.

Now there was Dan. My dark brown eyed angel, Dan. Dan who thought I was wonderful yet knew I had so much potential. Dan who knew that creating a family would be tough yet who would do whatever it took to get our family here. Dan who thought my nose was the cutest nose he'd ever seen. Dan who loved to listen to the sound of my voice when I taught Gospel Doctrine and wanted to ask me out just to hear my voice again. Dan who knew that without me, he would be lost and alone forever!

OUCH!

No! It wasn't my daredevil of a son, Isaac. He who has been swinging from ropes and monkey bars and tree limbs since he was 3. He who has jumped off high places into water or onto a trampoline.

And it wasn't my twirly whirly girl, Ruthie. She who loves to twirl and whirl until she falls, usually into something. She who has bumped into the same wall, which has remained in the same place, more times than I can count.

No. It was my too cautious Sam who broke his arm.

Yes. Broke his arm. We went to my parents house last night for dinner and birthday fun. Sam and his cousins were out playing on the swing set and my too cautious Sam decided to jump off the swing. Being the cautious boy that he is, he put his hands out to catch himself. The right one landed okay. The left one landed tucked under his arm. So we iced it. We medicated it. I planned for him to go to school today. Then I saw my sweet Sam's face this morning...
How can a mother send that face to school? So we dropped Isaac off and got dressed and headed for the Insta-Care. He thought it was all fun and games. I told him to at least pretend like his wrist hurt so they would think I had a reason to be seriously concerned. This is what I got...
Uhuh. Then the x-ray came back. The bone buckled right below his left wrist. (At least he can still take spelling tests!) So the Dr. said it needed a cast. So he sent us to the cast room. Aren't you in pain, Sam?
The same room where he got the stitch in his lip when he crashed into his brother's head. He knew the room well. Then the Dr. came in and started wrapping his arm. He got quiet and still. He still hasn't moved and we've been home for about an hour. I think it traumatized him. He picked the blue cast. It's his favorite color.

We dropped Ruthie off at preschool as Sam called Abbie and Dad to tell them the news. Then we headed to the new McDonalds to grab some lunch. He gets to sit on the couch for a while now and eat and watch mindless cartoons. Then we're going to the school to get this week's homework so he can get started. His right arm works just fine, thank you. We'll also practice washing hands with only one hand and pulling pants down and up for potty breaks at school.

Because he will be back at school tomorrow. The cast will be on for 4 weeks. Maybe this will teach him to land wrong on his hand! It already itches. Darn!

P.S.

Dingers in the fridge are amaaaazing! Thank you Holly, thank you very much!

Freaky Friday!

Well, it's really Thursday's dinner and I know I'm 4 weeks too early. But these Mummy Yummy dogs were irresistible. I mean seriously! Easy. Cheap. I had the ingredients. My kids loved them. Introducing Yummy Mummies (from The Taste Of Home Show)

This is Isaac's mummy. Notice the trail of "blood". (Ketchup is so great!) Apparently this mummy was shot in the middle and the blood oozed out. Love it!
Sam's mummy had the same thing happen. I think this mummy's "blood" was thicker than Isaac's mummy's. Who can be sure. I didn't even realize mummies had blood. I mean, haven't they been dead for thousands of years??
They are hot dogs, after all. Ruthie was too hungry to wait for pictures. The "blood" was easy enough to wipe the mummy through to make a tasty entree.
Yummy Mummies

8 hot dogs

1 package crescent rolls (the original recipe used Rhodes rolls, I didn't have any)
Cut one crescent triangle into strips and roll into one long snake.

Wrap around a dog and crimp edges together.

You can take a small piece of dough and wrap it around his head. The hats just fell off when served.

Repeat with each crescent triangle and hot dog.

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

Make mummy eyes with 2 dots of mustard.

Garnish with ketchup.

Yum!

Offerings...

Now what would induce me to wake up at 5:30 am?? Short of someone throwing up, which wouldn't be pleasant at all, it's this cute little thing:

This is Ellie.

Her brother had a dentist appointment at 6. So she got to wake up on my couch.

Isn't she cute?? And she really didn't look this worried the whole time.

That picture was taken by Ruthie.

Ellie and her cute brother Tres came to visit us this summer. Their mom went to the dentist. I'm thinking there is going to be a direct link of the dentist to me for these kids. Hmmm. Maybe they should come play while their mom does something more fun!

Then there are the cuties that belong to me. They were all up frighteningly early this morning. Bed will come as an early shock this evening.

But here's the thing. I got an offering from their mom Sarah (you can catch her blog here!)

She's so sweet. She also reads my blog and knows how I tick...

I had even just opened my last Diet Pepper (as Ruthie calls them). So it was a welcome offering. Besides, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? Especially when there's my favorite cold beverage and chocolate in the balance!

Holly (who you can find here!) told me to put the Ding-ers in the fridge and eat them cold. So I did. I'm impatiently waiting for them now.

Thank you Sarah!

Quirky Tag

I was tagged by Tiffany (you should check out her blog) to do some quirks. Now I think I remember writing in one of the Once Upon A Time posts about quirks. So I suppose this is the time to let you all in on them! Yikes!!

1. I am a very even person. Not tempered. Just numbers. I have to take an even number of steps inside a square. Eat an even number of bites on each side of my mouth, eat an even number of M&Ms, have each hand do an even number of tasks. I know it's wierd. I guess that's why it's a quirk.

2. I eat my Oreos by taking them apart, then biting the cookie part around the cream, then eat the cookie half, then enjoy the cream with just the little bit of cookie that's left.

3. I've kinda grown out of this one. But since I'm racking my brain for another 4 quirks, I'll share it. I used to read license plates and know when the car was purchased. It had to do with the beginning letter of the letter set. Utah plates go 123 ABC and by that first letter, I could tell you when it was purchased. I was getting quite good at the centennial plates in which the letters started on the other end of the alphabet.

4. I could call this one good scheduling, but it really is a quirk. I have to have homework and laundry and dishes and lunch (for the next day) making all at a certain time. Homework started by 4 and done with each boy sitting in a certain place at the table. Laundry on Wednesday and Saturday. Only if necessary on other days, but it really bugs me. Dishes right after we eat. And we have to eat by 5:30, otherwise I get cranky cause it throws off the rest of the evening, like making lunches for the next day right after dishes are done.

5. All the chairs at my table have to be in under the table a certain way. During the day, and especially when kids are all home, the 2 end chairs need to be tucked behind one side of the table "feet". After the kids go to bed, I take them out and they just go in normal.

6. (Whew! Finally!) I really don't mind dust. Is this a quirk or just bad housekeeping?? I don't care. If I did, it would be a quirk to go around dusting everything at least once a week. Right?

Okay. The rules. I just did 6 quirks. I usually don't ever actually tag people because I don't like the pressure. But if 6 of you...hmmm...Laurie, Melanie, Kim, Crissy, Leanne and Holly, would like the challenge and don't mind the pressure, please amaze us all. And anyone else who wants to. No pressure! Share 6 quirks and then tag 6 more people. If you can handle it. And if any of you listed doesn't want to do it, well, just run to your local grocer and get yourself some Ding Dongs and rest easy!!