Here's another one...

"Do I Scare You? Do You Want Me To?"

Is there something that just scares you? Something that makes your knees shake? Something that makes your tummy hurt?

I was just asking.

But you know, there are a few things that do scare me...

• John Malkovich
• losing one of my kids
• getting in a fiery car accident
• throwing up
• men who wear tights
• water
• losing Daniel
• anchovies

That's just a few I could think of off the top of my head.

So here's my question....What Scares You?

And...

What movie is that quote from?? If you can answer it, I'll bring (or send) a dozen of my absolutely divine chocolate chip cookies. Come on! Don't be shy! It's not something your kids have seen. Daniel couldn't think of it. Can you?

This seems to be a tricky one. Here's a hint (another quote):

"I'm definitely gonna get a place like this when I move outta my parent's house."

The Lack

There has been a slight lack in my immune system lately. I'd like to blame it on a lack of something else....
I have cut back on the cold caffeinated beverages in my life. There must be something in this stuff that bolsters your immunity. Or not. I have to blame the illness factor on something.

And I just wanted to share my pain. My uncaffeinated pain. My Only 2 Cans A Day pain. That's a huge lack! 2 cans go so fast! Sniff sniff...

Ketchup

Or is it catsup? Oh, wait! No! It's Catch Up!

Well, I guess I've said it one too many times. Or maybe 15 too many times... "We never get sick!" "We never get sick!" "We never get sick!" "We have immune systems of steel!" Umm. I jinxed myself. 2 colds in the last 3 weeks and the stomach flu on Monday. Yuck!

So I will no longer gloat about not getting sick. But if I get sick one more time this season, I'll be really upset.

On to much happier things...

Abbie's Cookie Party....
Here's the whole group. Abbie made new aprons for the coming years. Some of the bigger kids looked like they were wearing bibs last time. This is my favorite group shot. Sam couldn't keep his arms down and I had to threaten to cut them off. Jeremiah just wasn't up for posing and decided to take a rest.

And here we have Isaac who frosted every cookie green and still hasn't eaten any of them.

Sam is just cheesy. He seriously would not do a nice face. It must be from his father's side!

And here we have Ruthie. Each cookie was just so with lots and lots of sprinkles.

The littlest ones were the best...Josh doesn't get much sugar. He was dancing and wiggling and smiling away with his dose of sweet! And Jeremiah loved to lick the frosting off.

The Draper Temple...

My brother Alex is a Lego connoisseur. He still loves to build things. His latest project was the Draper Temple.

Isn't it awesome?? It has flowers, a fountain, benches to sit and reflect on.

He just needs an Angel Moroni to top it off. Although, the Mountain Dew can there says a lot!

And...

For most of today I have been at the school helping with the Santa store thing. I have now caught my blog up and have done my school duty for a while to come. I have a messy house, dirty clothes, dishes to wash and mouths to feed.

I guess I should ketchup on those, too

What?? No Make A Meal Monday??

NO!

I've been puking all morning. I just barely got a popsicle down. I'm so dehydrated!

So you'll just have to wait...

Lucky for me I puked before Daniel went to work. So he's been doing all the kid running today. I heard it snowed. That's a good day to be home.

I'll share tomorrow. Maybe.

More Oodles of Noodles

In a flash of brilliancy (I have those every once in a while) I bought Ramen to appease the crying crowds wanting Noodles! (Click on Noodles if you missed it!) The crowds roared with praise. They love their mom! We snacked on them last night and then had some for lunch today...

Isaac would still like to move to China and sell them. Maybe if he can't figure out how to make noodles, he can just buy a whole ton of Ramen and cook it up and sell that to the hungry masses.
He sure did enjoy eating them!

Speaking of the Melamine scare in China... We weren't?? Well, now that we are... I took Ruthie in to the doctor one afternoon and had some blood and urine testing done to make sure she doesn't have any kidney problems resulting from possible Melamine contamination. Later that day, the doctor called and said the bloodwork looked good, but the urinalysis didn't. He wanted us to just come back earlier in the morning and pee in a cup again. (Pee in a cup??? Talk about giggle fest!) So we went in again and it's all clear. Peeing in a cup is an exciting experience for a 5 year old. Believe me! But we are very relieved and grateful that she wasn't "contaminated", or at least doesn't have any effects of it.

If you have a daughter adopted from China as early as 2005, go get the testing done!

Night Maneuvers

Night: When it's dark outside

Maneuvers: A procedure or method of working usually involving expert physical movement

My children like to get their snow boots on, their big coats on, their flashlights in hand. Then they head out to the backyard where they have "Night Maneuvers".

I'm not really sure what they do. They just run around in the tall grass out in the eastern forty. Then they yell their tactical movements to each other. They are very evasive in these maneuvers.
All we see are flashlight movements in the dark. These training exercises always have to happen after dinner when it's pitch black out and they are full of hot food. The operations are always done in extremely cold conditions.
I like to sit in the nice warm house and close all the blinds and pretend my sweetie and I are all alone. Sometimes we'll look outside and pretend we are watching fireworks on the 4th of July!

Make A Meal Monday

Homemade Sloppy Joes

(a.k.a. Sloppy Ikes, Sloppy Sams, Sloppy Ruths)

1 lb ground beef with onions, green peppers, garlic, salt and pepper.

Cook all those things together until meat is cooked and veggies are soft.

Drain.

Add:1 cup tomato soup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon prepared mustard.

Mix together and simmer until heated through.

Serve on hamburger buns or rolls. They are tangy and sweet and it always goes fast!