The Three Stooges . . . er . . . Aliens

Derek opted to skip school because he jammed his big toe into one of the stairs and didn't want to hobble around all day for field day. He limped, or mostly crawled, around the house (Hyrum seemed to love having Derek down at his level), playing with Nathan and Hyrum all day.



He and Nathan morphed into aliens with choppy monotone voices, weird hats, stiff posture and a determination to not crack a smile.



Soon Hyrum joined the band of alien brothers. Blue is for apprentice, red is for novice, or so Derek claims. So much for not cracking a smile.



Nathan started pulling all kinds of faces. This was my favorite.

Patient: K

Name withheld to protect the victim. Photo is attached since even those who know her would not recognize the poor inflicted soul due to her past ability to fake normalcy . . . until recent days.

Diagnosis: Emotional wreck, patience non-existent, physically drained, nerves are shot, frustration level extremely high, hanging on to last shred of sanity (or so she claims).

Prescription: Single serving size (4 oz) Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche for comfort



Follow-up: Patient overdosed with a full PINT (16 oz!!!) Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche, ate the entire container in one sitting!



Current side effects: Intense sinus pressure due to dairy sensitivity (complaining of "frothy sinus cavities") , a very bloated stomach and swollen hands, and an ornery, guilt ridden mood. Also, maintains all previous symptoms.

Evidence:


Conclusion: Hopeless. Destined for the loony bin.

Season 1, Episode 4: Laundry Trauma

Nathan wears his "Ralph suit" every day! The ironed on emblem on the shirt was getting so bad from all the wearing and washing that I made a second shirt for him. I don't think HP intended their iron on printer paper to go through so much use.



I had a hidden agenda with that second shirt hoping to have one to put on him while the other one was in the wash. It didn't work. He packs around his spare shirt while wearing the full outfit. If he spills on his shirt he will take it off and put on the other one whether it is clean or not. He does occasionally change out of his suit during the day but it is never for very long and he is usually carrying it around with him when not wearing it. He never wears it to bed though he does sleep with it.

The suit had been worn for 5 days straight and could nearly walk by itself with the amount of spilled food and dirt that it was accumulating (not to mention the skin cells, but that kinda gives me the heebie jeebies). So as he got ready for a bath I tossed the suit into a pile of laundry that was in the hallway - thinking (or just hoping) that he was distracted enough not to notice.

He bathed, we read, he said his prayers, he climbed into his bed. He didn't notice! He was all snuggled into bed and I was working in the office (if you can call blogging working) and I heard his sweet little voice, "I need to go potty". Without any fuss he independantly took care of bathroom business and climbed back into bed. Later that night I went to put that pile of laundry in the wash. As I picked it up I thought to myself that I was sure it was a bigger batch than that but hey, it was past 10:30 so I wasn't really concerned about the size of the batch, just that it got done.

Some time around 11:30 I went to check on the little boys before I went to bed and as I covered Nathan I found a pile of clothes in his bed, all from that batch of dirty clothes that had been sitting in the hall. He was curled up in fetal position with his arms wrapped tightly around a red ball of fabric. It was the suit that I was supposed to have washed and ready for wearing the next morning. I gently tugged it from his grasp and put it back in the hallway with the other dirty clothes that had been in his bed, thinking that I could still get it washed in the morning before he woke up.

Boy was I wrong. He was up unusually early and the first thing out of his mouth was, "where is my suit". Even coming out of his groggy slumber he was well aware of his missing treasure.

He refused to let me wash it. I let it go assuming that I would get it washed during the coming night. No really, I would this time.

Later that morning he set his suit down (I'm not sure why he didn't have it on) to do hand actions to some songs that we were singing. He seemed distracted enough while singing that I thought it might be my chance to get out of some midnight laundering so when he wasn't looking I tossed it out of the bedroom into the hallway again. After the song was over he turned to pick up his suit, saw that it was missing and demanded from me in a very disgusted, bordering on panic, voice: "where did you put my suit?".

He stomped out of his room, found it in the hallway, scooped it up and held it tighter than ever before and in the strongest three year old commanding voice bellowed, "don't touch my suit ever again!". I tried to calmly explain that it needed to be washed. I had him smell it, hoping that his 3 year old nose could understand the stink. I showed him the food and mud spots on it. He was slowly giving in.

But on his terms. I was NOT allowed to touch it. He put it in the washer and watched the entire time that it filled up with water.



When I wanted to close the lid he stomped his feet on the clothes basket that he was standing on while I explained that we didn't want water to splash all over. He didn't go any further than the kitchen while the washer was running so that he could hear it the whole time. As soon as the washer stopped he ran in thinking his suit was all finished. Then I had to explain the drying process.

I was still not allowed to touch it and had to help him reach into the washer to get his suit and put it in the dryer. Once again, he did not leave the kitchen/mudroom area until the dryer buzzed. Then he ran to the dryer, nearly climbed in looking for it and pulled it out . . . without me touching it.




Reunited at last!




He then ran to the kitchen, pulled off his clothes and put on his suit. It was "warm and all clean".

With the separation anxiety gone he is once again a very happy hero!




Though I love the smile in this picture I think I'll skip the rerun and just get it washed while he is sleeping.

Nathan and Kish

Each morning Nathan does his self-declared job of feeding Kish, the neighbor's horse. As soon as Nathan exits the garage Kish perks up and comes over to the fence and together they run up and down the fence line. While running along the irrigation ditch, Nathan gathers bundles of tall grass, and presents his offering for snack time.

Only once has Nathan's finger been nipped by Kish, presenting just barely enough blood for a band aid. When I suggested that he not feed the horse anymore he replied, "it's ok, it was an accident, he still loves me". I'm sure he does love Nathan, but those are pretty big teeth to be eating from the hands of a 3 year old. We're in the country now so I guess we are up for country battle wounds.

Levi and Caytlyn at Prom

Just Kidding!

This is at the ballroom dance recital the night before Prom. Caytlyn was in the last dance of the night, an 80's medley (which I totally had a hard time not singing and dancing to) so she was still in costume for the picture.

A better Prommy picture:




Once I gave up my expectations of what a Prom dinner should be I had a fun time preparing and presenting their dinner. It was a bit hard not to go all out with my own menu and decorating but to do what the boys had asked for (which seemed a little Idaho picnic to me, but again: not my prom). I tried to use their menu and fulfill their expectations with a flair of my own expectation without taking over their night. I couldn't help but use the dishes that I had borrowed, or fancying up the dessert that one of the other mothers brought over on a paper plate. I even swallowed my salad snob pride when another mother brought over a bagged salad and a bottle of ranch dressing as I put it in the fancy serving dish without a grumble (of course that could have been lack of snob due to the migraine that was soon to take over the evening).



The kids got back from playing at the ice caves and sand dunes in time to wash up (and shake of the sand) for dinner. Notice the picture of all of them hiding their faces? They are actually in their "cubbies". Anytime someone does something that Caytlyn is embarrassed about she goes into her cubby, a bit of silly which the rest of us have picked up and copied. To show their embarrassment for being a bit under dressed for dinner, they took a picture of all of them in their cubbies.



The rest of us left the house so that they could have a private dinner and because there was no way my migraine was going to let me make dinner for anyone else so we had to go out to eat (I actually slept in the Yukon while everyone else ate at Wendy's). I admit I was pouting a little because I had wanted to see all the kids in their formal clothes but I let go of that expectation and sent the camera with Caytlyn (not Levi) with pleading instructions to take pictures for me to look at later. Caytlyn's mom caught on to that pretty fast and gave them strict instructions to come back to our house so that I could see them all and take some of my own pictures. (Thank you, Barbara!) I mustered up the energy to enthusiastically Oooh and Aahh over their dresses, hair and flowers (oh and the boys a little too) ignoring the pounding, echoing, stabbing pain in my head just long enough to get some pictures and show my sincere appreciation for them coming back to the house. They all really did look fabulous!



The prince and princess rode off into the sunset in their carriage (ok, it was a yukon) to dance and laugh the night (and a bit of the morning) away while I crashed in bed with a very unhealthy dose of drugs in my stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~

No need to feel sorry for me and my migraine. It was totally brought on by me. I had been fighting that headache for two days when I went to an IHOP breakfast with some friends and I gave in to the overwhelming craving for a Belgian waffle and butter pecan syrup. The friend time was exactly what I needed to boost me into the hectic week to come but the physical aftershock from the food was not really worth one bite of that waffle. Don't know why I can't learn that lesson already!

When strawberries were on sale

I picked up enough to do a batch of freezer jam. This is the first time I have ever bought fruit for jam and it really made me miss (and in hindsight, appreciate) my strawberry and raspberry gardens at the other house.



Nathan is a great sous-chef!



He measured, mixed, twisted all the lids on, and licked his fingers with yummy enthusiasm.

If anyone close to me knows of free raspberry or strawberry plants or berries, please let me know. I would be happy to transplant and/or pick.

I needed a break

from all the running around that has been going on during the last week. Once Kara and Max headed home to Utah and I had the little boys down for a nap I found myself wandering around the house not knowing what to do in my free 2 hour block before the teenager rush would hit at 3:45. I should have showered, or done some laundry, or blogged about all the activities I have been to with the kids during the past week, but I decided to play around on Photoshop.

I started with this picture of Erika (she's sending out a kiss to . . . )



I added a grunge background, erased the grunge from Erika, gave her a glow, added soft focus and here is my first experiment with Photoshop. The key (for me) to ending up with a great photo is to start with a great subject. Isn't she gorgeous!

Dates, Dates and More Dates

Date with Derek ~ April 3rd

Derek planned a fabulous date with a lunch at IHOP and a tour of the Titanic exhibit at the Idaho Falls Museum. Lunch was sweet! I haven't had a waffle with butter pecan syrup in about 6 years! I paid for it later with a terrible sugar headache but I sure enjoyed it while it lasted (the waffle, not the headache). Derek finished off a grand slam breakfast with all the trimmings and then finished everything that I had left. No wonder he grew 3 inches in a year!

The Titanic exhibit was fun to go to with Derek. I had gone with LeRoy the week before and did it the way LeRoy does a museum: no reading, no stopping, just look as you walk through. Derek on the other hand stopped at nearly everything and read all about it, which also gave me the opportunity to really take it in as well. He commented, he was amazed, he criticised some decisions, he almost cried when he read about some of the people, especially the kids and he was nervous at the end when he was looking to see if the person that he was representing had lived or died. Luckily, to end our time there on a happy note, we both lived. However, he was in awe looking at all of the names (and totals) of those who had not. We spent almost 2 1/2 hours there.

I then added my twist to the date. We went shopping for food storage. I had planned everything that I wanted to pick up and where to pick it up so that it would be fast. Derek had no clue that I was using him as free muscle labor. He didn't hear at all that we were shopping for boring food storage, he only heard that I needed a buff, strong, handsome young man to lift all those boxes for me . . a job description which he filled perfectly. We laughed and joked so much that it will forever stand as my favorite food shopping spree!

Date with Justin - April 18th

With the freedom to choose anywhere he wanted to go for lunch, Justin went with Taco Bell.

The meal came with entertainment as Justin tried to eat a taco that he overfilled with fire sauce. Fire sauce Dragon breath and Root Beer burping belly . . . cheap date but unforgettable memories.

Justin wanted a more active date than museum wandering so we went bowling. We have always been bowling in a large family group so when we were asked if we wanted to bowl just one game or bowl for an hour Justin said an hour. An hour goes by so fast when you have 7 people bowling and you don't get a turn very often. Our hour still went by pretty fast but WOW! did our wrists and hands hurt as we rolled our way through five games. That's 50 turns per person! When our hands started to hurt we had to get creative with our bowling which only made our scores dropped considerably as our concentration go to full silliness and laughter. We started out terrible with the left handed game but by the end we weren't doing to bad. It takes a lot more brain power to bowl lefty if you are right handed, especially if you want to stay out of the gutter.

Levi and Caytlyn - May

Levi asked Caytlyn to prom using Shawn's (brother-in-law) toilet seat idea. Levi has been planning to use the idea for as long as I can remember and now he has found a girl that can handle that kind of silliness. Just like a wishful teenager, he is hoping it will work as well as it did for Shawn (he asked my sister Kellie to prom their senior year with the toilet seat, survived the separation of a 2 year mission, and have now been married 10 years).

Levi's creation:

Caytlyn's response:

What potty-mouth kids!

(Nathan thinks the plunger is his special sword from Caytlyn)


Future Dates:

Friday - 8th: Lunch with Bunco girls, Ballroom dance recital for Justin, Erika and Caytlyn

Saturday - 9th: Breakfast with friends, make dinner for Prom kids

Sunday - 10th: Neighborhood Mother's Day lunch

Monday - 11th: Fuller family over for dinner and FHE

Tuesday - 12th: Levi's orchestra concert, Biggest Loser Finale party at my house - girls late night :)

Wedneday - 13th: Derek's orchestra concert, Erika and Justin's choir concert

Saturday - 16th: Dress shopping with Erika

Sunday - 17th: Dinner with Dabell family

Wednesday - 20th: BUNCO!

Thursday - 21th: Caytlyn's graduation

Friday - 29th: Last Day of School!!

Saturday - 30th: Justin's gymnastic recital

There, now I shouldn't forget anything in the month of May. (I hope!)

Renaissance Man

The 7th grade classes had a big Renaissance Fair a few weeks ago. Derek really wanted to be a knight in full armour since he has practiced for years the part of a warrior and because he really didn't want to wear a "dress and tights". As we were picking through costumes he became a little more excited for the time period and once he started trying them on he remembered how much he likes to dress up and become a character from another time, even if it isn't the part of the warrior.


He is dressed somewhere between the merchant and peasant classes, with a denim dose of the 21st Century.

During the activities he had fun learning:

* drop spindling (making wool into yarn)
* how to joust (his favorite for the day)
* about the black plague and wacky methods used to try to get rid of it
* foods and medicines from that time

Food for Thought

I found out the hard way that it is better to put my contacts in before cutting up fresh cilantro. I did wash my hands really well after cutting it but that stuff just sticks in the fingerprint and transfers to contacts. My eyes watered for a good 15 minutes.

~~~~~~~~

Hyrum loves black beans! In one night he ate almost half of a can (15 oz can!) of black beans. I tried to stop giving them to him but he would throw his head back, stick out his lip and squeal at me. His excitement over more beans being put on his tray and the adorable way he picked them up with his chubby little fingers were just to irresistible. Only 2 hours later he drank almost a full cup of blended peaches from his sippy cup and then headed off to bed. I will not even attempt to describe the aftershock that his little bowels went through during the next day. From now on I will put a limit on black beans and peaches!

~~~~~~~~

I had my back to Nathan while he was eating lunch and I was cooking at the stove. When I turned around he was literally hanging from the chandelier above the table. His feet were even tucked up under him. That darn Curious George!

~~~~~~~~

I have wanted to make Massaman Curry for my family since, oh, December. I finally found the courage to stick yet another new meal in front of my family, preparing myself for the awkward silence while everyone avoids the topic of taste. To protect my over emotional feelings I once again put the comment bag on the counter. I at least wanted to enjoy the meal whether anyone else did or not. After quite a few sniffs as it was cooking and a careful eyeing of the new dish on the table, the eating began. And it is a winner! I was shocked when Derek, who is my pickiest eater, remarked with emphasis, "this is sooo good! I love it". Majority rules (sorry LeRoy and Justin), I'll be making it again.


~~~~~~~~


Daily conversation with Nathan:

Me: What should we make for dinner?

Nathan: Soup

Me: What kind of soup?

Nathan: Green soup!

~~~~~~~~

I tried a new chicken stir fry recipe which turned out great. Everyone else at the table was doting praise on the cook, which I happen to really love, except for Levi. When I asked him what he thought of the new meal he simply grunted, twice. After he had his third serving I figured out that a 2 grunt reply must mean it is really good. Since I get it in response to such a variety of questions, I'm still trying to decipher the 1 grunt reply.

~~~~~~~~

While eating lunch during our Easter Saturday family get-a-way, Erika shook some pepper into Levi's Dr. Pepper when he wasn't looking. Because he also has a tendency to pull pranks on her, we kept our mouths shut. Just as he was ready to drink it, her guilty conscience got the better of her (as well as her giggles) and she confessed. Then it turned from prank to dare and yes, Levi drank some Dr. Pepper that was doctored up with pepper. At first he just shrugged and began to say "that's not so . . . aghhhh!", then gagging with tears forming in his eyes. Then we became the spectacle of entertainment for the lunch crew as each of my children, as well as my husband, each tried to drink it without giving the same puckered expression. Since I was smart enough not to try it I can only tell you that at first it has a spicy hint to it that is almost good and then after the drink goes down your tongue is left with a nasty coating of, to their description, burning puke. It was hard for me not to be embarrassed at the gagging nonsense going on while others in the restaurant were trying to eat, but I also enjoyed watching the laughter and bonding going on in our family as we make this memory that will last forever.

~~~~~~~~

I love having children that can cook. It is great when they answer my evening question, "what should I make for dinner" with a proposal of their own volunteered baking skills taking over for the evening. They do a terrific job presenting enchiladas, grilled sandwiches, spaghetti, taco salad and of course raman noodles. I do find sweet joy in my children, literally. It comes in the form of brownies, carmel popcorn, no-bake cookies and peanut butter chex mix. . . all of which I love. All of which I should not eat.

~~~~~~~~

Ever since Nathan's birthday fruit pizza, Hyrum has been downing the kiwi. He makes the most adorable pucker face while eating it which is followed the next day with a bit of a painful puckered face as I pick off the little kiwi seeds that stick to his little behind.

~~~~~~~~

Bonus
(which has nothing to do with food but I happened to think of while typing)

Hyrum is learning to stand by himself. He occasionally stands with his back to the couch and without realizing it he is standing. The part that we all laugh at so hard (and probably shouldn't) is when he lunges forward doing a face plant on the carpet. You can almost see him thinking that his feet are going to move and he will walk but he hasn't quite made the connection from his brain to his feet. He tried it once in his bed and ended up with a red mark on his head after smacking into the bar across from him. I was kind enough not to laugh that time.