Smells!

I wish I couldn't smell right now! Why is it that when smells seem at their worst in the middle of the winter, all shut up in one house and no fresh air coming in, that my pregnant nose feels the need to notice every whiff that breezes through this house?

Mornings are the worst for me because of showers. Yes, showers! I am grateful that my children shower daily but wow does it wreak havoc on my senses. First of all, the showers are a combination of 3 different body washes. Erika of course needs something fruity or flowery, which to me just smells sickly sweet, Levi adds to that the AXE smell and Derek tops it off with the latest teenage version of Old Spice, Justin uses whatever is within reach. As if that combination isn't enough, add AXE body spray (of course not the same smell as the AXE used in the shower), Derek's deoderant and Erika's spattering of body spray, deoderant and enough hairspray to blow up our house! Did you know that toothpaste can actually create a smell as well. Levi has the kind that is best for his braces, Derek and Justin use vanilla something-or-other and Erika has the usual mint Crest. As we all pile into the Yukon to head to 4 different schools they all pop the gum of their choice into their mouths and off we go . Let me tell you, that the combination of all of these smells just ruins breakfast for me and it all chemically adds up to the equivalent of TOILET BOWL CLEANER. And a strong one at that! It would seem that the simple solution to this would be to use only 1 body wash, everyone have 1 toothpaste, and limit the hairspray but since they don't like "the cheap stuff" that I am willing to provide in this household, they each buy their own. Now I have no control over it.

This morning (once again a snow day for the kids . . no school) I thought my nose would have a break but instead I woke up to this aweful moldy smell permeating throughout the entire house. I tracked it down (yes, like a sniffing dog) and found the source. Levi's room. Two nights ago he woke up in the middle of the night to find his fishtank almost empty and the hose (to whatever part of the filter it goes to) siphoning all of the water from the tank directly onto his floor. Well, since it was the middle of the night, he threw a towel on it, unplugged the filter and went back to bed. Certainly not the mothering thing to do, and he even admitted that he secretly didn't care if the fish died in only 2 inches of remaining water. That thing is a 10 gallon tank, most of which was now on his bedroom floor spreading underneath his dresser, bed and throughout all the organized junk on his floor. The next morning he attempted to wipe it up a little better (remember he is a teenage boy and I'm a pregnant Momma who is NOT getting down on the floor to do it), he refilled the tank, yes the fish still alive!

Well, now we get to smell moldy fishtank water until it is all cleaned out of the carpet for good. Levi's thinking is that the carpet doesn't matter because the new homeowners are tearing it all out anyway when they split this house into 2 apartments. I'm thinking of the next 8 weeks before we move! So as I type, Levi is pushing everything away from that side of his room and we (mostly he) will clean that carpet and dry it until this smell is gone. Now he is grumbling about what a waste this is for a snow day. Oh well, parenting it tough!

Woops!

Last night Nathan was standing at the top of the stairs hollering something down to Levi and the other kids were at the top of the stairs laughing their little heads off. I was sitting at the computer trying to get payroll done so wasn't really paying attention until Levi came and insisted I listen to Nathan. He had a package of peanuts that he cleverly stole from LeRoy's lunchbox (I didn't know he could do a zipper!) He was trying to tell Levi, "I got peanuts" only it came out "I dot peanus . . ." missing the 't'. Well you get the idea. This was sudden comedy to my brood and Nathan didn't know what he was saying, only that he was loving the reaction. They kept asking, "what ya got Nathan?" just to get him to say it again. I rolled my eyes, admittedly supressing my own giggle, and told the kids to stop.

Suddenly, I was whisked back to my teenage years when one of my little brothers (I think it was John) couldn't say the "b" sound, instead he would use the "f" sound. So all of us brilliant older siblings would have him say "bucket". That was really funny as a teenager but now as a mom I would have the constant worry that my child would announce during the quietest moment in Sacrament Meeting his latest word or phrase. How did you handle this mom? I was too busy laughing - and being a snotty teenager.

Note to self: express gratitude in my prayers tonight that Nathan has perfected the letter "b" and never take peanuts to church!

Thoughts

I had many emotions and thoughts as I watched President Hinckley's funeral today. The one thing that really stood out to our whole family, including the kids, was when Bishop Burton spoke on behalf of the youth.

I was in a primary presidency the year that the theme was "Follow the Prophet" and I was able to see President Hinckley really became 'their' prophet as we spent the year teaching about prophets, focusing alot on President Hinckley. He is the only prophet that my kids remember and they are having a hard time imagining that any one else could be their prophet. I feel for them because I felt the same way when President Kimball died. I actually didn't like President Benson until the year that I taught the kids in Primary about all of the latter-day prophets (I think 2001) because I thought he was so blunt and didn't ever speak to the kids the way President Kimball had. Having experienced this, I feel for my own children and will do my best, in prayer and love, to help them accept our new prophet.

Some of the things they remember, and always will, from President Hinckley are the 6 Be's, his love of the temple and building so many temples, how cute he and Sister Hinckley were together, asking us to stand a little taller, standing for something, raising the bar for missionaries as well as all of us, and waving his cane. These are some of the things that the kids have brought up as we have discussed his passing during the last week. It is good to remember the things that we learn from him because our immediate response to his passing was that we were only 6 days away from the Cultural Celebration that the kids are performing in and he would be at and only 7 days away from being in the temple when he did the dedication here in Rexburg. We felt a little jipped, but quickly our thoughts went to him being with Sister Hinckley - as was mentioned at the funeral and in the news throughout the past week. It is my dream that some time in eternity LeRoy and I will have a relationship like theirs. I hope that in our old wise age we will look as adorable together as these two.


I enjoyed the funeral, with tears and with laughter, as well as the broadcast shown after the funeral. As they rebroadcast his testimony, Levi came in from his room and said "I remember him saying that" and watched the rest with me. That is very much how it was when President Hinckly would speak. The kids could be distracted during conference, especially by Sunday afternoons after 8 hours of conference, but as soon as they heard President Hinckley's voice they would come and listen. We all loved him and will remember his teachings, example and humor.

Kata left a great link to his testimony and I agree with Mike . . . it is well worth watching the funeral and the footage after at http://www.byu.tv/ .

Feeling Great!

This past Tuesday I went to a new chiropractor. It was a desperate attempt to relieve days of constant pain - more than had been normal for this pregnancy. I was to a point that I spent 2 nights trying to prop myself in the sitting position to try to get some sleep - which didn't work very well. I couldn't lay down at all, both sides screaming at me if I tried. Walking was more painful than ever because I had a constant pain going down my right leg and sitting was very difficult. The jumpy legs were only getting worse, as was my attitude and mood.

Tuesday's appointment was great. The Dr. explained that many times it can actually be a foot problem, not necessarily a sciatic nerve problem. When he told me that I explained that my right foot had been bothering me for almost 2 months and that most of my pain was in the lower calf down to the foot. He explained that there are 28 bones in the foot and if that is not lined up right, we walk different, causing the ankle to accomodate it, then the knee, all the way up to the hip. So he worked on my foot, ankle and knee and as he worked on my knee my hipped adjusted. I loved the work that he did, I felt immediate relief before I even stood up.

So why didn't I post this on Tuesday? I was afraid it was a fluke. I was in so much pain that any improvement would seem a miracle but I wanted to see how it lasted. I was a little sore - though not in pain - during Wednesday, but I slept better Wednesday night than I had slept in months! I had a follow-up appointment on Thursday where he worked on my foot, ankle, knee, hips and back again and during Thursday I actually had moments where I felt completely normal, not even pregnant. Thursday night was Glorious!! I slept all night long, on my side and woke up without any pain! As I have gone throughout the day today I am quickly reminded that I am pregnant and I do waddle but it doesn't hurt. Oh, what a blessing!

President Hinckley

The picture in this that really caught me was President Hinckley at Sister Hinckley's funeral. I'm so happy for both of them.

Keeping Up With Nathan

Derek and Justin were so proud of themselves for teaching Nathan how to open a door. Then Nathan quickly went the rounds of the house opening every door, exploring the world of each room and leaving his own little messy trademarks throughout the house. By the time I caught on to his quiet little tactics he was chewing 2 different kinds of gum, had one of Erika's headbands in his hair, a tie around his neck and was wearing shoes much to large for his little 2 year old feet to fill. I knew he had been too quiet for too long!


Needless to say, we protected each room the next morning with these handy little inventions. We all seem to like them with one minor glitch . . . Levi keeps running into his door. He thinks he turns the knob far enough and walks into the room before the door is actually open. Oh well, at least his treasures are secure beyond the door knob stopper.

Snow, Wind, Ice and More Snow

We just received notice (at 8:01 pm) that school is already closed for tomorrow. The blowing, snowing winter wonderland of Rexburg is a beautiful drifting white land. Perfect for staying in, playing games together and eating!! ** Added Friday Morning: there were 21 School Districts closed today! **

This storm is reminding me of the 'olden days' of the early '90's when we had storms like this all the time. My brother Josh even called from Twin Falls because they have been having a similar storm and it reminded him of our Rexburg days together. That makes twice this month that he has called me just to reminisce about the good ole' days. Here is a picture of Josh shoveling the snow off of the roof back in '92. - also re-enacting Fiddler on the Roof just to make the work more fun. It might not look like there is much snow there but it was shoveled off many times that winter.

Jump ahead 15 years and you have my son Derek building a snow fort during a week of heavy snowing and school closures.

Can you even see his fort? Tricky huh! There are many times that I look out the back window and it just looks like 1/2 acre of flat white. Then all of the sudden . . .

Derek pops up out of nowhere, hidden in his camoflouge hut. He quickly takes position . . . .

Ready to defend the homefront. What an imagination . . . and endurance for the very cold temperatures and wind!

Recipes

I didn't realize that it was proper blog etiquette to give recipes if I was going to drool about the food we'd had for the week. So to tempt your tastebuds further, and honor a few requests, here are a couple of recipes. It took me a while to put it together because I wanted pictures so I just made the same things again. There have been no complaints from my family!

Breadstick Pizza Pockets

(For those with the Fullmer Family Cookbook, this is mom's breadstick, pizza dough recipe)
Dough:
1 TBSP yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
let is rise for a few minutes

Add:

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar

Mix and knead for about 3 minutes. You don't want it stiff but you might need to add a little more flour so that you can handle it. Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Divide into 10 balls. Roll out each ball to a rectangle (these will be very thin). Add toppings, fold over top and seal edges. Place on a buttered baking sheet, brush with egg mixture (1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tsp water), let rise 10-15 minutes. Bake 350 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top.

Toppings: (just use your favorite pizza toppings)

Pizza sauce -homemade or canned - when you spoon this onto the dough leave the edges free of sauce, this will make it easier to seal edges. You don't have to have these perfectly shaped, by the time they rise a little and bake they look great.

Italian sausage
Pepperoni
Canadian Bacon
Pineapples
Peppers & Onions
Mushrooms
Olives
Cheese



The 2nd time that I made these I just mixed all of my toppings together rather than applying 1 topping at a time. It saved a little time in the end and because it is folded over no-one sees how carefully (or not) you applied the toppings.

Chunky Cheesy Broccoli Soup

The soup that I made I actually got from Kara and she got it from Magirk - just to give a little recipe geneology. You can view the recipe on Magirk's recipe site. She also has some other great recipes there that you can check out.

Homemade Bread

I make this bread with a little whole wheat flour and ground flax but you can just use white flour in place of the WW and flax.


In a large mixing bowl combine:
1 1/2 TBSP yeast
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup warm water
Let rise for a few minutes

In a microwave dish heat for 1 minute:
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 TBSP butter/margarine
Pour into yeast mixture and add:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup ground flax
2 TBSP sugar
2 tsp salt
Mix well and then add:

3 cups flour (and a little more if needed to make dough manageable but not stiff)

Knead just until mixed well, not too long or it will be a stiff bread. Let rise 15-20 minutes, punch down and shape into 2 loaves. Place in 2 large greased bread pans and let rise. Bake 400 for 10 minutes, then 350 for 20-25 minutes until loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. If your kids are like mine, eat the 'heel' before the kids get to it. It is the best part of the bread!

Another Tuesday Done!

Whew! I made it through another Tuesday! I've decided to quit counting Sundays because they are actually getting better for me (all an attitute thing I think, the schedule hasn't changed) and because Sunday falls before my due date on a Monday. Instead I count Tuesdays . . . 7 left before this baby comes. Please don't anyone remind me that it really is 8 weeks from yesterday, I'm enjoying living in denial!

Tuesday is the busiest day of the week for me running kids where they need to go and this week I didn't forget 1 thing. Yeah!! Last week I forgot gymnastics for Justin. You'd think the kids would remember their own activities but there is so much packed into one day that it's easy to forget something.

Tuesday's usually mean a quick dinner that I can set on the counter and everyone just eats when they can but tonight I gave in to laziness and let everyone eat cold cereal. LeRoy went down to mom and dad's to hook up a water heater for them so with him gone and the kids and I running it seemed like a great idea. The kids were all for it! I picked up a salad for me, they finished off the gallon of milk and filled their bellies with sugar cereal. What a great mom am I! Maybe not the healthiest choice but everyone was satisfied. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself out trying to make meals every night knowing that someone will not be happy with the food put in front of them. Oh yea, nutrition :) Hopefully no one wakes up in the middle of the night from the sound of their tummy growling.

To top off the night in reward-yourself-for-a-busy-day-done fashion the kids and I sat in front of the TV for 2 hours flipping between "American Idol Auditions" and "Biggest Loser". Hey, I can only handle so much productivity in one day. Having a little reality drama to top it off only seems appropriate to reward such fine efforts!

Luv Note from Levi

While I was on the phone with Kellie, Levi slid this napkin under the door. The Gimbal's Jelly Beans are mixed flavors and on the back of the bag there are fun recipes that you make with the mixed jelly beans. I'm not a big jelly bean fan but I'll take love notes any day!