5.31.2011

Foodie review

These are unsolicited reviews from my children about dinner earlier this week.

from cheekykitchen.com
Earlier this week I made this pizza. It was to die for. I didn't make it up cuz I never do, I'm not that creative. But give me a good recipe and I can usually follow it as long as it's not too complicated. I got this recipe from my favorite cupcake lady and you can find it here. I've tried quite a few recipes from her and they are all to die for.

But this night I made this pizza. I had to tailor it to fit my children. Or in other words I didn't put the veggies on their half of the pizza. But they liked it!

I got rave reviews. Here are some of their comments:

  • Do they make this pizza anywhere else cuz I've never had anything so good!
  • Can you make this again?
  • This is better than any pizza I've EVER had
  • You should open a restaurant!

I may not make a lot of things my kids like but when they like something they let me know!

5.29.2011

I Want You!


One of the first things we decided after Calvin died was that we would not live in grief but that we would celebrate his life. We decided that we would not let grief ruin our lives. As part of celebrating his life when we came upon new events we would use "What Would Calvin Do?" as our guide. When minutes after they told us Calvin had not survived and asked us to consider organ donation we both thought it was a good idea and both said "Calvin would want to continue to help others."

A couple years later Middle Child has started working on his Eagle Project. He decided long ago he wanted to do something about organ donation. He has finally put together his project. He wants to educate people about organ donation and hopefully sign people up to be organ donors.

This Saturday, June 4, he is setting up booths around town. He needs your help to staff those booths throughout the day. If you can help email him at eagle.proj@gmail.com. He would really appreciate any help you can offer. And don't forget, "What Would Calvin Do?" 


5.26.2011

What To Do After the Last Day of School?

It's the third to last day of school. Apparently Baby got in trouble at school. Again.

I hear the message on the answering machine the next morning. It sounds terrible. I'm surprised they didn't hunt me down. I'm expecting a court date.


Olaf hears the message and is quite upset too. We discuss punishment. Baby is grounded for the rest of the week. That makes him cry because it's the beginning of summer break!

Olaf goes in to the school and talks to the Principal. Turns out the situation wasn't as bad as it sounded on the phone.


We talked and decided to let Baby choose his punishment. He can either be grounded through the weekend OR he can pull everything out of his room, go through it and get rid of stuff and put some things other places, and finally put some stuff back in his room. But not all of it. Not anywhere near all of it!


Can you tell which punishment he chose? The Positive Punishment. So far he's been cheerful and willing. He actually likes cleaning his room out although we've never been this thorough before.


As you can see there isn't much left in his room. Tomorrow he gets to finish pulling everything out and commence making "Keep" "Throw Away" and "Move Somewhere Else" piles. And he has to have a place for everything before it goes back in his room.


We're both excited. Me because his room will be clean for a few days! Him because he thinks he'll be done right away after school and will be able to go play.


I don't think he realizes how much CRAP he has in his room and how much of it isn't going back in there.


The Next Day: Mission Almost Accomplished! Now to just get rid of the stuff that DIDN'T go back in the Room!

5.23.2011

The Rapture

This last weekend was supposed to be the Beginning of the End with the Rapture taking place on Saturday. Thank goodness it didn't because it would have ruined Sister's Weekend.



Tonight I stuck my memory card from my camera into my computer so I could download all my Sister's Weekend pictures. There were none on the card. I panicked. 

"Olaf! I took a bunch of pictures this weekend and they're all gone! What happened?

"Umm, I think you downloaded them last night."

"No, I was too tired."

"Why don't you just check."

So I did. Guess what? He was right. As I looked through them I proceeded to tell him about the pictures.

"You told me that last night." he said.

"No I didn't."

So he gave me the narration I gave him last night. Apparently I was/still am a Little Tired.



We started out by taking a 3 Hour Cruise. It would have been our luck that the Rapture would have happened then and the Captain would have been raptured and we would have been stuck on an island. So, thank goodness the Rapture didn't happen. I wasn't prepared to live Gilligan's life.


The cruise was pretty awesome. We cruised the Bay area and basically it was a Military Tour since that's most of what is up and down the Bay. My boys are going to love that next time we're in the area.


But we did cruise by this awesome old sign.


And there were several sailboats and kayakers out. Crazy People. There are big ships in the Bay and it wouldn't take much for them to get run over.


At one point an F-18 Hornet took off and flew right over out heads. I lost my hearing.


When the cruise was over we went to Coronado Island, which really isn't an island, it's more of a peninsula. The island is covered in beautiful old houses. At this point the weather was so beautiful and the town was so incredible I started texting Olaf that I wasn't coming home. Ever. It also has this beautiful famous old hotel. Gorgeous. And the beach was covered in fine white sand. It's the kind of sand they use in Beach Love Scenes. I've never been on a beach where the thought of lovemaking in the sand seemed even remotely romantic.


Apparently someone else thought the sand was worthy of romance.


Here's some of the Party climbing on rocks. Thank goodness no one fell off into the Ocean, it's on the other side. We were careful and scooted off the rocks like a three-year-old.


And then we found this pub with $3 pizza slices. We were hungry and stopped in. The waitress started her spiel by telling us it was Happy Hour. Not to exciting to a bunch of Mormon girls. Then she proceeded to tell us that all appetizers were half price! That elicited a huge sound from this crowd. And she finished by telling us that pizza slices were $2! Another round of Ooohs and Aaahs! We were served an insane amount of food for $40.


The next day we started out in Old Town San Diego. Here I am sitting on an old tree in the second oldest graveyard in San Diego. I think the Haunted Tour stops here at night. Don't expect to see me there after dark.


And we found the Sheriff's museum. Here's Sister Accountant with a sweet, standard-issue, Salmon-colored Police car.


That night we went to La Jolla Cove for the sunset. But the clouds had returned. So we had to be satisfied with beautiful cliffs, flowers, beaches, rocks, seals, and noisy sea lions. Even though there was no sunset it was a beautiful evening.


And we rounded off the night with a quick stop at the San Diego Temple. I couldn't believe how beautiful it is. The glass work is amazing.


My last morning we went South to the Border. But we didn't cross it. We took The Very Last US Highway Exit. The fence behind the outlet stores? It's the Border. When we left we encountered signs such as the following:


I wanted to go home, so we didn't turn left.

I flew home and returned in the middle of a rain storm. Thank You Utah. You know how to make a girl wish she had missed her flight. Forever.

5.17.2011

Rattles

For the last week there has been this horrible rattle in my car. My new car. A Falling-Apart rattle every time I went over a bump. I tried a lot of things trying to discover the rattle. And every time I heard it again I would get cold with worry.

"What if my car is falling apart?"

And then after a week of this I noticed it was getting worse. Now I was really worried. I checked a few other things. Made sure the seats weren't loose. Made sure something wasn't rolling around in the trunk. Looked under the seats. Repeat. Once I even pulled over to try moving something. Still rattled.

And then one day when it was horribly loud I happened to look up. The sun visor was loose. I hooked it in and haven't heard a rattle since! Sometimes I'm a little slow. But thankfully my car sounds newish again.

5.15.2011

The Creature From the Processed Food Box

Last night Baby's best friend, Z, was over at dinnertime. What passes for dinnertime at this house is usually bedtime for lots of other people. So I figured he had already eaten and was hungry again. So as I prepared food for my two offspring I asked my Wish-He-Was-Here-For-Dinner-Every-Night Adopted Son if he wanted to eat too.

He did, of course.

So I grilled some brats and hamburgers for everybody. And we chowed because by nightfall we were all starving.

After dinner he thanked me for dinner and added, "Please don't tell my Mom I ate dinner here. I didn't really like her Hamburger Helper."

I told him I'd keep our secret locked up inside me somewhere. I think it snuck out the back-door though.

Then both of my children asked, "What's Hamburger Helper?"

5.12.2011

Amusing Amusement Parks

We went to Lagoon last weekend. It's the local Amusement Park. And it's amusing in more ways than just rides. Those places always attract amusing people. Of which I didn't take any pictures. But we went for dancing.


But not my boys. They were just watching. It was a competition. And I know that Sister-in-Law Fashionista could tell you all the details but all I know is that I got to watch Niece Dancer dance with her group.


They were really good! They have worked really hard and it showed.

After the girls were done with their last dance Baby and I were walking back to the tents. He said, "Cousin Dancer has some hot girls on her team."

I replied, "Yes she has some cute friends."

Baby just walked on in silence. Then I said, "Were you talking about the older girls?" (In the dance not pictured the high school girls danced with the younger girls. And they are quite pretty.)

"Yeah. They must have had plastic surgery."

I was about to protest. My 10-year-old should not be noticing things like that quite yet. And then he showed his naivety and innocence, "They're just so pretty." And I breathed a sigh of relief.


And then I dragged SiL Fashionista on Wicked. The awesomest roller coaster this side of the Rockies. It's steep. It's fast. It's smooth. It's twisty upside-down.


The second time through she took her glasses off to protect them. Didn't help. They fell out of her pocket on this twisty upside down! So after informing the ride attendants of missing glasses they called in reinforcements, shut the ride down, got everyone off, and ran out to look for them in the dark.


And they found them!


Albeit she won't be wearing them anytime soon.

5.10.2011

Teenage Folklore

Middle Child came home from school with an awesome story.

"One of my friends told me about these two kids at school. They both had lip rings. One day when they were kissing their rings got stuck together. They couldn't get them apart cuz it really hurt. They happened to be outside the Science room and the Science Teacher came out to help them. He told them to undo one of their rings. They tried but it hurt way too much. Then he remembered he had just received a new acid for a science experiment. So he went and got his new acid and put just a drop on one of the lip rings and it melted the metal. Then the kids could finally pull apart."

I love that the stories haven't changed (much) since I was in school.

What stories have your kids told that you remember spreading as gospel when you were their age?

5.08.2011

Happy Mother's Day Mom!


Not only is my Mom sweet but she is Hip. Check out the material of her shirt. 
So retro. And so is that lamp. And the material on the chair.


I love this pic of us both. She looks like a Movie Star. Thanks Mom for putting up with me 
and helping me through the rough times throughout my whole life.

5.05.2011

Yet More Trailer Trash

I'm not sure how I am so busy. I only work part-time. I only have to take care of two kids. Actually I own two slaves who can cook and clean for me, too bad they're not scared of me and don't listen real well. I don't have a ton of hobbies; sewing, reading, baking, watching TV, but definitely not housework. It's not like I have a lot to show for at the end of the day. But I haven't gotten around to putting anything on here in over a week and I keep meaning too!

Last weekend we went to the Car Show in Moab again. It was so fun! And I fell in love over and over again. I used to think Leno was crazy, but I'm beginning to understand. I will spare you the details and only show a few of my faves.


One of a few Woody Wagons. For some reason I love them.


It was a soft top and the inside was a wood ceiling! And check out the rivets around the wheel well and wood siding? There is no insulation in this baby. It's really meant for beach weather.


My Aston Martin was there again. Still For Sale. Isn't Mother's Day coming up soon?


This beautiful pink car with a great trailer. Just perfect for those picnic afternoons at the beach, complete with surf board.


And then we found this. Be Still My Beating Heart. After years of telling Olaf we will NEVER own a trailer I retracted all past statements.


I told him if he could get me something like this I would be happy.


And never ask for anything ever again.


Even the propane tanks match!


And while I noticed the Car Show attracts all kinds of people it apparently attracts Aliens too. Just the frosting on the cupcakes.