It Finally Happened...

My family moved to Utah from Nor Cal in July of 1988. I was 17 years old and impressionable. I began my senior year of high school at a new school with no friends and no car. I did get a car later, but I shared with my overpowering sister. She's only overpowering when we're in high school and finally have a car and she wants to drive. And when we shared a bedroom and she wanted to watch TV late at night while I was trying to sleep. Otherwise she's pretty nice. I hated Utah. Really. Really. So when I graduated, I moved to So Cal to live with my grandparents. I ended up staying for about 18 months and worked and went to school. I came to the conclusion at one point that home wasn't California. It wasn't necessarily Utah. It was where my family was. My family was in Utah. So I moved back home.

Several years later, all of our extended family came for my sister's wedding. I had been back in Utah for that long minus another 18 months for a mission...in California. My aunt and I were talking and out of the blue she says, "You really sound like a Utahn". I was shocked and dismayed. Really. I had grown to love living in Utah. But I still made fun of the way Utahns talked. So I began really listening to myself. She was right. I did sound like a Utahn. I didn't say Fetch or You Bet or Oh My Heck and I certainly was over the big permed hair. But my accent had become Utahn. Did you know Utahns have an accent? Well they do.

Today I ran over to the school to drop something off for the upcoming kindergartners. The secretary was so excited and was thanking me profusely for what I gave her. As I turned to walk out of the office, she thanked me again. To my horror I answered back with a jubilant, "You Bet!". Seriously? Did I just say that? I have never said that in my life except to poke fun at all the Utahns.

I know I am a Utahn. I love my State. I love my accent, which I sometimes really overuse! But I suppose over 20 years of hearing the Utah way of talkin, it has finally risen to my mouth. Oh my heck! I just can't believe it. Fetch! I must be a true blue Utah girl.

28 Days...

I realized this morning that I have 27 posts so far for January 2009. Today is January 28. So I am making an even number of posts. Welcome to post 28 on January 28. Am I starting a trend? Will I have 365 posts this year? No!!! I am an even person and this just makes so much sense in my warped brain! Rather than ending with that, I thought I'd share some cute sleeping pictures. Because we all know we love our children best when they are asleep!

Ooohh...

Aahhh...

Love the eyelashes...

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Niu Year

Welcome to the year of the Ox. Ox in Chinese sounds like New. Thus, Happy Niu Year!

It is a scientifically known fact that eating Chinese food makes children...

HYPER!!
HYPER!!
HYPER!!

But it sure was fun!

Sweetums Cookies

Introducing....Sweetums.

He is a Muppet!

And the winners are.....

Sean

Crissy

Peggy

I will drop cookies off to Crissy this week, bring cookies to Katie to give to Sean on Saturday, and Peggy, I will send 1 dozen of my fantabulous chocolate chip cookies to you before the week is out. Unless you plan to visit out here soon!

Make A Meal Monday

Velveeta Mac and Cheese

This is yummy! I don't care what you think about Velveeta.

Mmmm...
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter or Margerine, divided
1/4 cup Flour
1 cup Milk
1/2 lb (8 oz.) Velveeta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups Elbow Macaroni, cooked, drained
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 Ritz Crackers, crushed
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk; cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add Velveeta; cook 3 minutes or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in macaroni.

Spoon into 2 quart casserole sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with Cheddar. Melt remaining butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.

Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

Yummy!

Project Picture.

Aahh. Pictures. Almost missed it! But here they are...

Monday...We went to buy sleds for a snow trip next month. When we got home they ran out to the only (very small) patch of snow on the front lawn. They sledded down that small hill for about 45 minutes. Screaming the whole time!

Tuesday...filled with lunch with a friend and a baby shower for a niece. Ruthie loved that we got to buy baby girl stuff!
Wednesday...You've already seen this one. But it represents our Wednesday perfectly!
Braces!

Thursday...The braced mouth hurt really bad. Isaac got to stay home and even got some Wii time with Ruthie. Doesn't he look pained?

Friday...Presidency Meeting!

Saturday...After the kids go to bed, Daniel gets some Wii time. I think we should make it WE time!

Sunday...The Sunday nearest Chinese New Year gets dressed up. Aren't they cute?? I will be doing many CNY related pics this week!

Have A Happy Week!

A Belated Magical Christmas Moment.

I must always have a whisk. It's just a simple fact. For eggs. For gravy. For French toast mixing. For pudding. For sauces. For...well, you get the idea. For Christmas I got 4 new whisks. Of the We Whisk You A Merry Christmas kind. 2 from Daniel's parents, 1 from one friend and one from another friend. I thought, "What in the world will I do with all these whisks?" Ladies and Gentlemen, I was mixing a white sauce the other day for a Macaroni and Cheese dinner (watch my Make a Meal on Monday for the recipe) and all of a sudden, my whisk broke! I couldn't stop mixing to step over and get another of the many whisks I now own.
So I yell to Daniel, "Help! Come find me a whisk! Hurry! This is hot and it's burning my hand!" You see, the handle had just snapped off and I was now holding on to the tiny metal part where the wires meet each other. He ran over and started going through drawers looking for a whisk. "Where is a whisk?" Huh? Come on. "LOOK WITH YOUR EYES...MY HAND IS BURNING!" He then found a whisk and took over for me.

So the point of this post is to thank all those who gave us a whisk as a Christmas gift this year. I have never been so thankful for the simplicity of Whisking someone a Merry Christmas.

So I am Whisking you all A Wonderful Saturday!

Mom or Grandma?

I took Ruthie grocery shopping with me this afternoon. As I was putting groceries up and loading them into my cart, the register lady asks, "Is she your daughter or granddaughter?" Stunned silence!!! Ruthie starts laughing and I say, as calmly as I can without bursting into tears, "Daughter!" Then Ruthie says, "Did she ask if I was your daughter or granddaughter because you look so old?" That just added insult to injury. I asked her to wait until we could get outside before I talked to her.

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you are just trying to keep yourself together? When little nudges and seemingly small gusts of wind just knock you down? Yep. That's the week I'm having.

Seriously!! Do I look like a grandma? Really?? I really wish I had a comeback for it! I still can't think of anything. Am I losing my creative and snarky touch? Maybe I am getting old and senile. It better not ever happen again. If it does, though, what snarky thing can I say back? I'm too deflated to think of anything. Maybe a nice cold caffeinated beverage will help.

Have a Happy and YOUNG Friday!

Brackets and Wires and Pain. Oh My!

It's done. Isaac has braces. Let me give you some detail...

I picked Isaac up from school and off we went. It was the day he'd been waiting for. Braces. When we arrived at the Orthodontist office, I told him I wanted to take his picture out in front. He bolted and got into the office and signed his name on a paper and sat down before I even got out of the car. Not excited, are ya? He then got to sit while the girl who would brace him was finishing with another patient. This is Isaac showing his plain old not braced mouth while not missing a moment of Horton Hears A Who on the TV.

When his name was called, he bolted once more back to where he would be braced. The girl had the metal stuff that would go over his back molars and across his top palate on a mold of his teeth. He liked looking at the mold of his teeth. She fitted them on him then got the glue out. When those were in place she said he was done and walked away. He went to rinse his mouth then came back for the doctor to check it. The doctor says, "Why don't we put the brackets on?" She asked me if I had time for her to do that. Ummm. I thought that was what we were doing today! Yes, please, hook him up. She got the 4 brackets out and the doctor placed them carefully on his top 4 front teeth. Aaahh. The wonder of metal on teeth. Isaac was nervous and I watched his eyes and the anxiety in them. But before you know it, those were all on and then the doctor wanted to put a 5th bracket on a baby tooth. So he quickly did that and then it came time for the wires. Wires! She connected them quickly and when those were done I asked Isaac how he was and he gave me a thumbs up! Then I looked at the braces and called him "Metal Mouth". He laughed. He looks awesome in braces!
Soft foods for right now. He got fries on his way back to school. He got a mouthful of M&Ms when he got home from school and quickly learned that a mouth full of M&Ms is not cool. He sounds like he has something in his mouth when he talks and seems to always have a mouth full of spit!

Last night the pain was too much and this morning, even after Tylenol and a bit of soft eggs for breakfast, we decided he should stay home and get used to them. He hurts, but he's keeping busy. We need to practice eating and talking without too much embarassment. He is needing to repeat himself a lot until we figure out what he's trying to tell us. It's gonna be a fun 8 months!

Sweetums updated.

Sweetums is a character. In a movie/TV show. Sean got it right. He apparently watched the same show that Daniel did growing up. I know the character, but didn't know the name until Daniel said it. Any guesses??? I'm Waiting....

I Know...

You are all just waiting with baited breath for my next Once Upon A Time installment. Well, I'm ready to deliver...

Once Upon A Time... Part 20

We decided we would get married in the Bountiful temple. It was right in between our parents' houses. There was a dilemma, though. Dan's parents and sister and my brother wouldn't be home from their missions until September. That was 8 months away! Dan's parents couldn't leave the mission for a wedding unless they wanted to just end their mission early. This really put a damper on our plans. We knew it was right to get married and the more we talked about a date, the harder it was to plan to wait until September or October. We went to the temple together and prayed and fasted about what to do. We decided that we needed to get married. Soon. We weren't getting younger, you know!

Dan told his parents. They were disappointed to not be able to be here. I think they may have been even more upsest about it than they let us know. I cried about it for quite a while. I still have guilt even now. But this was about starting our life together. We would miss them. We would miss having Shelba and Alex there, too. But we needed to get married.

We decided on May. I called to make an appointment in the Bountiful temple. No openings in May. I knew June would be a crazy month. So what does a girl in love do? Go earlier. How about April? April 30? Okay. Sounds good to me. Considering it was February, we knew we needed to get on the ball. The date was set and other arrangements were now being made.

I called the Joseph Smith Memorial building to book a room for the reception. We are firm believers in our family that the family should actually enjoy the reception. It would be such a long and tiring day, anyway. So my mom always gets great deals on flowers, cake and dresses so we can have a reception center and catering. Then we can sit back and enjoy the day. I got a room booked and ready to go for the evening of April 30.

My mom's good friend said she would give us a really good deal on a cake. Done! We went to a florist that did my sister's wedding. Oh! Calla Lilys. That's all. Just Calla Lilys. Simple. My colors are black and off white. Perfect!

My mom and sisters had made a game of getting wedding dresses for as cheap as they could. Considering you only do this once, the cheaper the better. So we headed out and actually couldn't find anything! Lots of fluff. I'm not a fluff kinda girls. Lots of bows. I need to not accentuate the area where the bow would go. We looked through the clearance holiday stuff. We found the perfect top. It was off white (perfect) and had beading all over it. It was heavy! It fit. It was $50. Sold!

My mom made a skirt in the same color to match. I bought shoes to match. It was perfect. I didn't want anything in my hair. You see, the regular wedding day fair was just not my thing. I didn't like the white puffy marshmallow dresses with bows and a huge veil. I had a hard enough time making myself thin without all the fluff to make me, well, fluffy. I would actually have just worn black! That's slimming! The main thing was that I loved what I got. This would be the most important day of my life thus far. With a string of pearls for my neck and a wrap of pearls for my wrist, I added the pearl earrings that my 3 sisters had already worn on their wedding days. Everything was perfect.

Sweetum-isms

Daniel calls Ruthie Sweetums. It's cute. Our sweetums has said some funny things lately. I thought I'd share...

Sunday night while having a movie night and cuddling on the couch...

Me: "Ouch, your head is hurting my leg. Lay your head on my tummy."

Sweetums: "Oh, mommy, your tummy is the softest tummy in the whole world."

Tonight at dinner while discussing the children's desire to go somewhere very expensive...

Dad: "That would cost a lot of money."

Sweetums: "You could start saving your money now by not spending any money this weekend!"

Now that the world is aware that my tummy is the softest in the world and that Daniel and I apparently become big spenders on the weekend, I have a question for you...

Who is Sweetums?

And I am not referring to my daughter. Go on and guess. Let me know. I'll give you a plate of cookies if you can tell me who Sweetums is and/or in what movie s/he can be found.

I dare you!

Make A Meal Monday

I know no one liked last week's meal. Daniel thought it was funny that so many people hate Shepherd's Pie. I can't please everyone. I do my best. But, I fall short sometimes. It's easy for me to fall short because, well, I am short. Five foot...ummm...two. Yep, that's it! I hope you enjoy this one. It's from my sister Katie. So I won't be discouraged if you don't like it. I'll just blame it on her. But we all love this meal at our house. I hope you will, too.

Skillet Sticky Chicken

1 1/2-2 pounds chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2-1 small onion, slivered (optional)

1 small green bell pepper, seeded, slivered (optional)

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)

In a large pan, saute onions and pepper until semi soft. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Add chicken and cook until just done.

Mix together:

1 Package Onion Soup Mix

1/4-1/2 cup BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup jam (apricot, peach, jalapeno)

1/4-1/2 cup Water

Pour over the chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has reduced. Serve over rice.

See all the (optional)s up there?? I haven't ever used those ingredients. No one here likes bell peppers and I just rarely have fresh mushrooms. So I just put a bit of Olive Oil in the pan and start with the chicken. I usually only use 1/2 a package of the soup mix. I have only used homemade apricot jammmmm.

Try it. You'll like it!

Seriously!

Picture Project

So there you go. I changed the name. Again. And I won't guarantee that I won't change it again. So there! But another week has passed. Another 7 pictures are here. Ladies and Gentlemen, our week...

Monday...Family Home Evening. We all moved into the boys' room to play Ruthie's choice of activity-Sorry. And yes, we had brownies while sitting on the boys' bedroom floor. Every time we play this, we have melt downs about why someone sent my only guy out on the board back to Start. Sorry!

Tuesday...A still life of Ruthie having an all out scream fest. Sorry you can't hear it. Well, maybe you're lucky you can't. Let's just call this one Tantrum Tuesday.
Wednesday...I started making large calendars last summer and haven't been able to stop. It makes it easier for the kids to know what's going on. We cross off every day as it passes. And here we are at the end of Wednesday. I took this picture in the hopes that the week might move faster.

Thursday...Ruthie had a friend over and I made cookies. Need I say more?

Friday...Ruthie got the camera and went on a mission to take pictures. This is what she got. We'll call this one Trampoline Through the Window Screen.

Saturday...Sam on the time out stool. He wasn't amused. If you want a full version of how Saturday just may have gone to put Sam on the time out stool, just check the post below this one.

Sunday...When all my boys go get their hair cut I'm just happy. I love the clean lines around their ears and necks. I also love to kiss their necks!

Another week gone by. Have a happy Sunday!

Stick Jobs

I make my kids do Stick Jobs on Saturday. They hate it. I hate it. They complain. I complain. They wish they lived somewhere else. I invite them to look for another home that doesn't require cleaning. Saturdays are blissful!

These are the sticks with a job on each of them. When they finish breakfast, they have to clean their rooms. The first one done gets first pick of about 3 sticks. Last one done is always sad.

Today Isaac took his time cleaning his stuff in his room. Sam and Ruthie were done with their stick jobs while Isaac was just playing with what he should have been cleaning. He was bummed to find the "Sweep" stick gone and the job finished. So the three sticks left for him were "Wash Walls", "Vacuum" and "Empty Dishwasher". He wasn't as psyched as I thought he should have been.

He saved the dishwasher for last. I am watching over him to make sure he completes his jobs before the sun goes down. He says, "You just watch me and don't say anything and see if I get everything in the right place!" Game on!

He got everything in the right place. He actually smiled as I smiled at him after he put the glass bowl in the right spot on the shelf.

Moments like that make me happy to be a mom.

But next Saturday the sticks will make for another day of complaints and tears and on and on.

Maybe one of these days they really will go looking for a house that doesn't require cleaning.

But who will clean the bathroom counter here then??

Enlightening

One of Isaac's Wolf requirements is to look at ways to save energy. When I asked him what we could do in our house to save energy, he said, "Turn off the lights." I remember as a kid being told over and over to turn off the lights. When you walk out of a room, turn off the lights. If the blinds are open and the sun is shining, turn off the lights.

So I congratulate Isaac on recognizing the importance of this issue. Because lately, I don't know if it's because it's winter time and it's just automatically darker, or what, but it seems like the lights are always on.

So I went around the house this morning with my camera to prove a point....

The family room and dining room. They are pretty much the same room and at 8 in the morning, it's still a bit dreary outside, so, okay, these lights can be on. The problem is, they will be on all day if I don't continually turn them off.

The entryway. Now no one came to my door this morning. No one was playing in the adjoining play room. But the light was burning bright.
And then we get to the real problem. The hallway and bedrooms. Every light in the kids rooms and the bathroom and the hall was ON. My boys are at school and Ruthie is with me and no one is going to the bathroom.

I can honestly say that I can walk through the house from one end to the other and turn off ALL the lights, because they are always on, and then I can start walking back the way I came and they will all be on again. I don't know how they do it. Maybe it's not my kids. Maybe there's a light midget that lives in the walls and turns on lights right after I turn them off. He's probably the cousin of the midget who lives in the 3rd grade bathroom at the school teaching all the same jokes that he taught to us when we were in 3rd grade.




At least the pictures are of the ceiling. The floors are another issue. A safety issue. But that's another Wolf requirement for another post.




So I think it's time I turn into my mom and dad all in one and start the on going campaign to TURN OFF THE LIGHTS.

The Sarajune Project

This morning Ruthie and I took a trip to the local grocer to pick up some prescriptions and decided to make the trip more fun by picking up a donut. Or 2. Okay, 4. I have 3 kids and I need one, too. We ran into a mom from last year's Joy School. She had her baby not too long ago so we looked at the cuteness.

As we walked over to the donut section, Ruthie said, "I really don't want to look at any more babies. Unless it's Sarajune."

Today we celebrate 28 months of endless waiting. Is celebrate the right word? No. We are tired of waiting. Tired of questions. Tired of not being done with our family and not being able to do anything about it. We're just tired.

In less than 2 weeks the Spring Festival starts. We call it Chinese New Year here in America. In China it's just called Spring Festival. And it lasts 2 weeks. Do you think anyone would complain if we took a 2 week vacation from everything? In China they do. Not complain. They take a 2 week long vacation. No one complains.

I have already made arrangements to go to Isaac's class to do my CNY presentation. I am working on getting a time set up for Sam's class. I got Ruthie's new Chinese dress the other day. She grew out of the old one. The boys still fit in their Chinese outfits. If I don't fit in my Chinese jacket, I'll just wear my Chinese scarf. Daniel's Chinese ties are still in good shape. When we wear our Chinese outfits to church on January 25, people will most likely ask if we are wearing our Chinese clothes to celebrate that we are going to go get our baby! I will again say No, we're just celebrating Chinese New Year. When we go get our baby, you and everyone in a 55 mile radius will know!! Trust me!

I'm looking forward to Chinese food for dinner on Monday the 26th. I love putting up our CNY decorations outside and inside. I really like that everything is red. It's my favorite color.

And I really don't want to look at any more babies. Unless it's Sarajune.

Get Your Freak On

Last night at dinner my kids were talking about wanting to stay up till 9. (Um, no) So I said "You can't stay up till 9 because there are freaks out then." "What???" So I start singing, "The Freaks Come Out At Nine..."

Take me back to 8th grade! 1984. Uhuh. I know. Many of you weren't even born yet. Whodini. Remember them? The era when many would wear one glove, tight pants and zippers in everything. Feathers in our hair. Get your cassette tapes out and get ready to push Record when the DJ says Whodini is coming up next. (Or Madonna. Or Michael Jackson. Or Culture Club. Or Chaka Khan. Or Deniece Williams. Or Hall & Oats. Or...oh, stop me now!) Where's my boombox??

Oh, you know who you are! The Freaks Come Out At Night. The Freaks Come Out At Night. THE FREAKS COME OUT!

So I just changed one word and told my kids that the freaks come out at nine. So they have to be in bed by 8. Hey, it worked.

My Freaks...

Wait. No. They are way too cute to be freaks. That's why they go to bed by 8. If you ask Ruthie when the freaks come out, she'll sing, "The Freaks Come Out At Nine..." I love it!

Hut 1 Hut 2. Hut Hut Hut...

Make A Meal Monday

Here is what I've told my kids about this recipe. I have to remind them of it whenever I make it. There's always a critic!

"When Jesus was born, who were the first to come and see him?"

"The Shepherds!"

"What do you think the shepherds ate?"

silence....

"Well, they would take what meat they had, add whatever vegetables they had laying around and they topped it with the potatoes that were soft and starting to go bad."

"Eeewww.."

"Don't complain. If you were a shepherd boy or girl, you would have LOVED this and you would have begged your shepherd mom to make it every night!!"

"I still don't like it!"

"I don't care! I did add seasoning to it and the potatoes are fresh and wonderful. EAT IT!"

And we'd just go on from there!

Shepherd's Pie

This is a great recipe, especially in the late summer and fall. You can use any and all veggies from your garden. Or you can just use what veggies you have in cans, in the freezer or fresh.

1 Pound Ground Beef, cooked, drained

Add and heat through:

Any Veggies Available

Chopped Onion

1 Can Tomato Sauce

Season with Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper

Top with Mashed Potatoes. Sprinkle with Grated Parmesan Cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

How's that for simple?

Mmmmm...I think this is what we'll really have for dinner tonight!

Project: Picture.

And I think that's what I'll refer to this weekly post as...Project: Picture. I tried to think of something snazzy to go with the S in Sunday. But this ensures I can get the pictures up no matter what day I do it! Thank you very much!

Monday...It snowed all day. That's our mailbox. It's a dog.

Tuesday...It snowed. That's our little tree in the front yard.
Wednesday...Spacers in Isaac's teeth to separate them for the stuff they'll put on this next Wednesday! He was soooo happy!

Thursday...I have had type 1 Diabetes for 25 years. Yep, I'm old. My BIL, Sean (Hi Sean!) emailed me with a deal to get a new moniter and free test strips. In all my years of testing my blood, this one takes the least amount of blood and time.

Friday...My friend Holly was puking her brains out, so I snagged this cute little thing and her older brother, when he got out of school, to play at our house till their dad got home. See Holly? She had a great time and read books for a while, too!

Saturday...I just love freshly cleaned floors.

Sunday...Last night Daniel helped his mom and dad get their email account set up. They have joined the land of email! And blogs. Daniel hooked them into my blog. I hope they check in often!!

I'm excited for Make a Meal Monday! I am. I just don't know what recipe to do. All my pictures look, well, yucky! I'll see what I can do....

Old McDonald can't count some change. E I E I O

So I was reading some blogs this morning and caught a gander at mine and realized my posting abilities have slowed down. Mostly because I am constantly thinking about taking a picture every day because I said I would take a picture everyday and I keep spelling picutre like that and I have to keep going back and respelling it. So I started thinking about anything in my life interesting enough to blog about.....Primary teacher training, for which I realized last night, I am not prepared for...on to preparing something. Getting back on a budget after the holidays...I'm not ready!! And the first few days back to school again, which includes Lots Of Homework again!, driving on icy roads and finding matching snow boots and wondering why,when it is snowing, moms still let their kids wear their nice tennies instead of snow boots, because you know no matter where you drop them off they are going to go walk through the foot of snow covering the grass out in the fields. I know they do. I see them!

Aahhh...I feel better. Thanks for letting me purge.

But I actually had a blogging idea moment today. So now that I've got your attention let me share it with you...

I go grocery shopping on Friday. I just do. It's a control thing for me. On my way home I drive through a drive through to reward myself for a stupendous shopping experience. I usually just go to the same drive through and get a little junior burger with cheese and bacon on it. It's only .99, so I get myself a little value sized drink, too. Yum.

But today I felt a little saucy. Or something. So I went to a drive through belonging to a place my kids fondly call Old McDonalds. (Ususally I would gag here, but today I am enjoying it!)

"Can I take your order, please?"

"Why yes, you can. I'd like a number (use your imagination here!) with a diet coke to drink."

Pause....

"That will be $6.33 at the first window."

Pull up to first window...

She opens the window and only holds out her hand. She is asking someone through her mouthpiece hooked to her ear if the happy meals are for boys or girls. I'm not privvy to the answer.

The window closes and she stops taking the order. She has my reciept in her hand. She's just standing there. Looking at the register. Umm, excuse me, I'd like my food now. Then it becomes very clear what she is waiting for...I hear the clink of my change falling from the little slide that comes out of the register. She opens the window and hands me my change. She doesn't say, ".67 cents is your change" She doesn't know how much she is giving me. It is correct change because the register isn't going to offer extensive change to someone like me.

So I have an epiphany. You know, when you are enlightened by something. Old McDonald himself does NOT require that his servants can count out change. Hmm. Why is that? Are kids today not learning how to count? Is it too much pressure to be standing at that window, one of 2 windows I might add, to take an order while collecting fees while trying to give out correct change?

I wonder.

That's really all I have for today. I hope you all have a great Friday and may all your change be correct.

He Lay There Like A Slug...

It Was His Only Defense!

Make A Meal Monday

What do you get when you combine a dish full of Tater Tots..

And a pan ful of creamy meat sauce?
Tater Tot Casserole.

Now I understand the cheese looks, well, yucky. But what can I say? This one of the few things ALL my kids will eat without complaining.

Tater Tot Casserole
1 pound ground beef, cooked, drained. Add 1-2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (depending on how saucy you like it!). Add a dash or 2 of garlic powder.

Pour over a layer or two of tots, slightly thawed.

Put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Add cheese to the top and bake another 3-5 minutes.

YUMMY!