Tatiana & Co.

egg-stra clever

2011-10-23T16:34:00.002-07:00

Hillary gets a little crafty on Sunday afternoon.

She's really cute.

She let Little help draw the faces.

With care, she strung them all together and hung them over the dining table.

This summer we grew pumpkins.
Here is our little harvest.
Maddi helps me cook and puree them so that we have a constant supply of frozen pumpkin to make all types of yummy pumpkin goodness.

We love you, Fall.

first day of school, and what is wrong with my camera?

2011-08-22T16:05:00.007-07:00

This is Madgie-May.

She is in High School.

What?

How does this happen?

She is at my old high school,

and I am so proud of her.

She is taking harder classes than I ever did.

She is my hero. and she is stunning.

This is Tiny Bro-Bro.

She went off to junior high today.

She is blissfully content 99% of the time.

She has 9th graders in her math class, oh my!

She is stylish and full of spunk and moxie,

and her teachers already love her because she is the sister of Madgie-May.

Lucky girl!

and she is darling.

This is Smalls.
He is the tallest child in the 2nd grade.
(not even including his fauxhawk)
He is sort of a ladies' man.

His new school shoes were a little too tight today- help me.
Lunch is his favorite subject, and recess is never long enough.

I am certain he daydreamed about making duct tape wallets.
and he is adorable.

Here we are. The only two left at Knowlton.

I'm sure glad to still have a buddy at work.

I had the first-day jitters, too.

This is the lunch-maker.

He makes sure the lunches are in line with the food pyramid.

He walked Little to school today with some of the neighborhood kids.
He's a really good dad.

Yay for school and for the many things these three will learn this year!

good things come to those who wait

2011-08-08T19:41:00.005-07:00

Thirty minutes of Jedi Academy Training, and then we leave Disneyland, right?

Not if you don't get chosen by the Jedi Master.

You wait for the next Jedi Academy Training that starts in exactly 45 minutes.

At least that's what Little says we do.

I say, "Buddy, what if we wait and you don't get picked to come up?"

Little says, "Please, Mom. I know he will choose me next time."

Could you ever say no to that?

I couldn't.

So we wait.

And his sweet big sisters wait.

And Daddy waits in the car in the parking lot.

And we all remain optimistic, because we know this means the absolute world to Little.

Jedi Master comes out for the second time, and Little raises his hand higher and more earnestly than any of the other little hopefuls.

It shows, and he is chosen.

This is the face of "I knew I could do it."

Training begins.

This is such serious business.

Totally in the groove, now.

Darth Vader emerges, through smoke. It is scary.

The young padawans are ready.

They will be selected to duel either Darth Vader,

or...

this really scary dude.

Henry took him on without even flinching.

Take that, Darth Maul.

Thank you Hillary for capturing all of these great photos.

It really might be the happiest place on earth.

Dale, not Chip

2011-06-03T23:18:00.003-07:00

I knew we would own this hat the minute I saw it.

It is just "So Henry."No to Mickey ears, no to Jack Sparrow, no to Goofy and Donald.

And on the 3rd day,
Yes, to Dale!

It is not Chip, nor is there a Chip hat on Disneyland premises.

we looked.

Little's idea.. just play along girls, just play along.

Still having a good time reliving our fun adventure.

fearless herself, finds the tables turned

2011-05-31T22:07:00.005-07:00

Hillary is our thrill-seeker.

Maddi is our safe-seeker.

My, how things can change.

This is Mickey's big wheel, found in California Adventure.

I purposely sat next to Maddi to help her cope with the anticipated fear factor of the ride.

She didn't need me this time.

However, Hillary nearly climbed out of the little gondola from pure terror.

It's a big ferris wheel, with each cage on its own separate coaster-thingy.

As the big wheel turns, each cage rolls around on its track-thingy.

(I know you've all been there, so you get it, right?)

Big Henry has never laughed so hard.

He and Little sat across from us, in complete hysterics over Hillary's unexpected reaction.

Not so scary for Mr. Casual.

You were a really good sport, Hillary.
So glad you got back on the horse and found your mojo.

looney tunes

2011-05-28T19:29:00.002-07:00

First stop: toon town

so cute, shiny, and curvy

I loved it!

We got to meet Mickey.

I must say that I was totally star-struck

He is the real deal.

(until Madge told everyone that Mickey is always played by a girl)

we threw the ninny-muggins in the looney jail

it's pretty fun to play pretend... even at 40

Much more to come.

on a wing and a prayer

2011-05-26T22:47:00.004-07:00

Here is a boy that sits in an airplane for the first time.

take off is moments away.

he is headed for Disneyland, and life is good.

Two rows ahead of us, Hillary is weaving a belt to pass the time.

In the row ahead of her, Maddi is window-seated next to a stranger.

a row ahead of her is Daddy.

crazy is the person who chooses to fly stand-by,

but we all made it on the same flight.. just barely.

Los Angeles is whizzing by in the background as we are taken to our rental car.
I'm not sure if this photo depicts the first or second attempt we made to procure our rental car. good times. they are cute.

It's a small world looks just the way I remember it did 26 years ago.

You cannot go to Disneyland and not get this shot.

It is necessary.

Stay tuned for more chapters of our family vacation.

fifteen

2011-05-08T00:29:00.002-07:00

My pretty Madgie is 15 today.

She is warm, kind, lovely, and good.

And she came to us.

We get to watch her bloom. It has been a blessing beyond measure to be her mother.

How lucky for me that Mother's Day should share such a wonderful day as Maddi's day.

Happy birthday, Maddi!

We love you!

Little, getting bigger

2011-04-21T22:16:00.011-07:00

Happy Birthday Henry!

today you are lucky number 7

you requested bacon, pancakes, and orange juice for breakfast

you even opened some presents before school!

you performed in the school spring chorus performance today, and

you sang in this new shirt, which reminded Maddi of.....

this shirt.

so, we sat you on that very same step to see how much you've grown.

it's a lot!

(those blue sneakers are killing me. I want them back.)

this was your 2nd birthday party, and we will never forget your crazed-happy reaction to your new motorcycle. we have it on video, too.

*****

fast forward to a subdued little 7 year old guy.
he is easy to please, and quick to thank the gift-giver.

after a trip to Iggy's, we returned home for cake.

you really loved the new yellow bike that Daddy picked out for you, but over dinner, you mentioned that you wished for an ipad II.

Always dream big, Little!

We love you to the moon and back.

Mommy, Daddy, Maddi, Hillary

applesauce

2011-04-05T14:51:00.012-07:00

Today is day 2 of my spring break. Yesterday, on day 1, I took the kids to Krispy Kreme to get a half a dozen donuts each for their awesome grades. Little enjoyed showing us all of the workings of the donut assembly line, as he had just recently been there on a field trip with his first grade class. It is a fantastic sight! Very Willy-Wonka-ish. I'm pretty sure that I would be the ticket holder who would fall into the vat of glaze, while trying to run my tounge under the waterfall of frosting.

Next, we drove to Boondocks to redeem game tokens for their awesome grades. Even Maddi pitched in her grades and gave the tokens to Little. It has recently taken me aback to watch Maddi become less interested in doing the little kid things, and more interested in increasing the fun for the little kids. It was quite a treat for me to go to Boondocks and not even shell out one red cent for all the fun. Delightful. On Little's last game, he managed to drop the ball into the 250 slot and the 250 tickets came shooting out. Little's joy cannot be contained. He shouts, "That was awesome!"

Now, back to day 2 of spring break. I decided to finally tackle my kitchen floor. I love my kitchen floor, but I also hate it. Together, Henry and I installed all 180 square feet of the tile by ourselves, so for that reason, I love it. I will always remember setting tile at 4 am (on repeated nights) while my babies slept at Grandma's house. I hate it because it's slate, and must be cleaned while on one's hands and knees. So for that reason, I vacuum it more than scrub it. Anywho, as I was traveling around the island on my hands and knees I got a little nostalgic. Looking up, I saw the finger painting under the counter top that had happened unbeknownst to me, and irked me at the time, but now just warms my heart. Rounding another corner, I could see it; a three inch circle of dried applesauce. It was in an odd location. Not under a bar stool or by the sink, but over by the door, under the window. Right under the window is where the high chair sat for several years. My babies went through a lot of applesauce, and I have cleaned up many a crusted over applesauce spills. So to see that new little spill, right in the very spot that it used to be made me smile, and wish for a little applesauce flinger to be sitting right in that little space meant for a small one.

Day 3: something less emotional.

you didn't say how

2011-03-07T00:40:00.003-07:00

After church today, Big asked Little to go hang up his sweater. We discovered his honest effort later this evening.

100 Years Old

2011-03-03T01:53:00.003-07:00

A while back, Little celebrated the 100th day of school.

His teacher asked the children to draw themselves as a 100 year old.

This is his prediction of himself in the year 2104.

I absolutely love it.

What a sweet little old man he will be.

Merry Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T18:02:00.002-07:00

I don't ever want to forget these images... ever.My babies, all snugly on Christmas morning,

minutes before descending the staircase to see what Santa brought.

Little, seeking out all of the gifts that might have his name on them.
( think: "Ralphie searching for his red rider BB gun" on this one.)
Henry and I felt like there was something that Little was hoping for, but didn't get. Little never articulated what it was, but Henry and I both sensed it.

and lo and behold, this is what it was.

a pillow pet!

It came hours later, when we went to grandma's house.

Thank you, cousin Emily!

Little has been asking for one of these for ages.
It's as if he was exclaiming on the inside,

"Someone finally heard me!"

All the single ladies received a handmade quilt from Aunt Connie.

They are gorgeous, cozy, and exquisite!

Connie designed them with love and care in the girls' favorite colors.

And the cherry on top:

The entire collection of cousins.

Hillary, Sarah, Maddi, Johnathan*, Megan, Emily,

Madi*, Clark, Henry, Chase, Chloe*.

*darling, and possibly married to a cousin in the future.

That's it.

It was a perfect Christmas.

santa's little helper

2010-12-12T23:07:00.001-07:00

Little's leisure time on a Sunday afternoon, just 13 days until Christmas.

priceless.

gnome men

2010-11-08T17:23:00.003-07:00

Dear Henry,

Today was first snow.

We drove up to the house and you said, "Yes, there's enough snow to make a snowman!" I was beastly and muttered under my breath that there probably wasn't enough.

You raced to the snow gear and didn't even complain that your snow boots were 2 sizes too small. I zipped you up tight with mittens and all.

I drove off to run carpool, and returned to find your handiwork amidst the front lawn.

Three jaunty little snowmen, no higher than my knee.

My heart melted.

twigs and blades of grass used for adornments.

precious.

I love the heart of this boy!

dear hillary

2010-11-04T12:30:00.003-07:00

Today I went to Biztown with you.

I was just a mom-helper.

You were the CFO of Zions Bank.

You issued loans, took in deposits, and wrote all of the payroll checks for your employees. You were busy.

At one point, I stopped by to check in on you and you said urgently to me, "I am missing an invoice, and if I don't have and invoice, people don't get paid!"

Such a capable individual.

On task at all times.

Pleasant and even-tempered.

And look at this.

You received one of only four "Outstanding Citizenship" awards.

I think that I was the proudest mother today in Biztown.
Love you little CFO.

MOM

first tie

2010-10-30T17:48:00.003-07:00

Little wore his first tie for the Primary program.
Also, his first official oxford shirt, which he said was, "scratchy."

Nine o'clock church is too early for our family.

Lovely, Handsome, and Lovely.

Ready for church.

dear maddi

2010-10-21T09:17:00.006-07:00

Today you received your first piece of literature from a university.

Your are 14.

The mailer contains words like,

"options"

"early college"

"concurrent enrollment"

"eligibility"

I'm not sure that I know what to do with this information.

Did I know that you would be applying for colleges on that day when I posed your tiny body on the blue, shaggy carpet? I'm sure that thought was safely tucked away in my mind somewhere. Certainly, I must have hidden it in a place so that I wouldn't cry about it like I did today.
Daddy's not crying. He says this is great news. I need to get over myself, and I will.
We are proud of you baby girl, and we love you like crazy!

snake

2010-10-13T19:59:00.002-07:00

Ok, this is snake number 3 that has turned up within 50 feet of the house.

He is by far the biggest and the creepiest of them all.

Note the bloody wounds around his face. Gross.

Yep, that's my babe coaxing Snake into the paint bucket with tennis rackets.

Little Hen, Soph and Parks witness the captured reptile. I just shudder.

mrs. crafty pants

2010-10-01T13:13:00.005-07:00

Undeniably cute

I'm not sure about this one. It's really circle-y.

Too much?

Preschool. Hillary loved this teacher!

Perhaps Henry and Sophie's first outing together.

Who frowns at elephants?

Maddi all grown up now, with her cool peeps.

once in a while,

2010-09-16T12:46:00.003-07:00

I get some surprises on the memory card in my camera. My kids capture the best shots.
Borrow my camera anytime, youngins.
love.

jump

2010-09-09T11:12:00.002-07:00

Little just picked this up a day or two ago, and now he can't be stopped.He's worked up to 65 jumps in a row!

He's got the jump-rope fever.

It's a mother's right...

2010-08-29T12:56:00.002-07:00

to take back to school pictures. Maddi looks so darling. One year until high school!

She is sporting Sopie's HSM backpack as a little joke that she and her besties came up with because they are cool like that in 9th grade.
I want Hillary's whole outfit, especially the purple keds.

Taken just hours before Little's whole world was rocked when he realized

that 1st grade is 7 hours long.

"It's so long. I hate it!"

Henry and Hillary reached for each other's hand as they left for school each day this week.

I watch them hand in hand until they dissapear down the street.

Best Buddies

2010-08-20T23:14:00.002-07:00

Sophie and Henry

ready for first grade! Couldn't be cuter.

1 to 6 in no time flat.

2010-08-03T13:20:00.001-07:00

Today.

Just yesterday.

I guess I don't even know what to say about that.

I just found a new hobby.

2010-07-29T16:17:00.003-07:00

No more paper, no more glue stick, no more scissors.

and...
I only have about 7 years of photos to catch up on.

saving up for...

2010-07-17T13:29:00.001-07:00

a bigger bed for Little.

Happy Birthday Hillary!

2010-07-11T19:19:00.008-07:00

So you say you're not five anymore?
How time does fly! 11 candles on this cake.

Hillary opening gifts with her bff, Morgan.

Morgan made this pillow all by herself, just for Hillary.

A totally awesome turquoise camera from grammy.

A little friendly competition on the racetrack.

Trying to drench Maddi and Henry on the bumper boats.

A few days later at grandma and grandpa's house,

the celebrating continues.

Grandma's latest cake request is Hillary's famous

"yellow bear"

It is a perfect likeness.

He's old and sweet, and has been taking care of Hillary since she was 5.

Thank you Grandma for stitching him back up over the years.

Happy birthday sweet Hillary!

You are lovely and we are proud of you!

a coordinated effort

2010-07-05T12:02:00.006-07:00

What do you do when all the girls wear black and white

to church without even planning it?

You must take a picture!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

2010-06-21T10:08:00.003-07:00

build forts, of course.

aaaahhh, summatime!

2010-06-17T21:41:00.004-07:00

My cute sister invited us up for a day to come play with them at Snowbird.

It was a chilly day, but the pool was warmer than bathwater.

Little Henry's hair is like seal fur. It stays dry, no matter what.

Hillary doesn't even let her dad win.

Maddi checks the buckles.

Little calls it his "life guard."

Hillary and Sarah telling secrets

Lotta love now, but later, Little has a gnarly rash on his cheeks from his lifeguard.
Oh, and he lost another tooth on the top row.

All the single ladies

Thank you stay-cation.

Thank you Tiff and Rich. We had a blast!

Maddi goes 4 for 4

2010-06-11T12:52:00.001-07:00

Click to enlarge and see what Madgie has been up to for a while... Seriously Maddi, how ever did you do it?

We are so proud of you and all of your hard work.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Miss Nelson is Missing, for 3 months, that is.

2010-06-04T14:18:00.007-07:00

Gifts of Diet Coke and chocolate can only mean one thing...

It must be the last day of school!

Hillary's two teachers love this stuff, as do I.
Miss Hill and Mrs. B are pretty special.

(I can't believe that I don't have pictures of them.)

This Mrs. Neal. She is the kindergarten princess.

She is grace, beauty, and organization to the tenth power.

See the way that Little looks at her?

She casts a spell on them, you see.

This is me with my Dream Team 4th grade class of 2009-2010.

We are sitting on the steps at the State Capitol.

I had to say goodbye to them today, which is always difficult, but this year was particularly hard. They are the cream of the cream of the crop.

I always insist on first day of school pictures, but today I demanded end of year snapshots. Here is Maddi giving me her, "Seriously, Mom? I'm like, 14 now." face.

Maddi, just 80-some days away from 9th grade.
That's a Freshman in some lands.
She is one cool kid, with 28 straight A's this year.
More on that to come.
She just asked if some boys could come over
to hang out tonight with her and the girls.
Wait, I didn't get that, Boys?

Oh my goodness, look at Middle.
She is in that dreamy stage right now.
She is easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.
Could 5th grade have come and gone already?

And then there's Little.
I will spare you my lamentations about my baby not being a baby anymore, but it must be said that he won't come home until nearly 4 o'clock next year! Who will I have lunch with? Who will be my buddy?

*On a side note. There is considerable debate between Big Henry and me regarding Little's jean shorts. I say skater/surfer dude. Big says Hee-Haw with a piece of straw between the teeth. What do you think?

I've got just one more year of these two shmoopies walking to school together. I will treasure it for sure. Hillary has been a really good big sister to help Little and Sophie get to school safely. She just pleasantly does stuff like that.

Goodbye for now, school, hello Summer!

the second-hand garden

2010-05-20T19:13:00.005-07:00

Earlier today, this was the extent of green on my front step.

This evening, my cute friend Jeni passed on some unwanted ceramic pots... to me!

I love the addition. Welcoming, times 3!

The plants were already in my garage,
waiting to be planted elsewhere, but were given a sudden, new location.
Thank you Jeni!

I heart pink geraniums!

On a completely different subject,
yet happening simultaneous to the planting came this little treasure of a sound bite.

Henry says,"Mom, I really, really need to go potty. Can I just do it out here?" Of course I said, "Absolutely not!" Hillary is giggling mightily.
And yes, he dressed himself.

This body language is priceless.

Thank you, Kodak moment.

winner!

2010-05-17T14:54:00.007-07:00

Hillary received a surprise phone call after school the other day.

She is the lucky winner of the April drawing at Dr. Brown's office.

It's a really cool prize.....

It's an ipod!!!

She even got to choose the color!
Bright purple!
Hill and I were squealing with delight all the way home.

Hillary's first ipod was washed in her jean's pocket by her mommy. Rats!
Her replacement ipod was a first generation, pink ipod.
Cute cousin Megan passed it down to her.
Poor thing, at full charge, it would only last 3 songs.
Never a complaint was heard from Hillary about her old, uncool ipod.

Good things come to those who wait.

Congratulations Hillary!

fourteen

2010-05-11T21:14:00.007-07:00

This was once upon a time.....

Really, it feels like yesterday.

This is today. Fourteen.

oh my goodness.

For her 14th birthday,
Maddi allowed me to experiment with her "take to junior high" cupcakes.
Personalized hostess cupcakes.
With cream-filled goodness

Joyous Maddi receives a stack of season tickets to all of the Real games. Woot!

Aunt Janene springs for the gorgeous Bakers cake.
Oh, for buttercream's sake!

This is the little ghetto cake that could.

Cheesy on the outside, tasty on the inside.

I have a long way to go before I can hold a candle to my mother's cake skills,

but Sweet Madji likes it anyway.

Little negotiates the blowing out of the candles.

Maddi is old enough now to share the fun.

Happy Birthday Magic!

We love you so much. You are our first treasure that came into our lives,

and we are lucky beyond measure to share your birthdays with you.

May you have many, many more!

Love,

Mom & Daddy

The never-ending birthday festivus

2010-04-30T19:33:00.009-07:00

Happy birthday, Little Henry. You are one lucky boy! All the people who love you celebrated your 6th birthday..... all. week. long.

Here are some of the highlights.

The Connors (even Gummy at midnight) create all sorts of celebratory street art.

How fun is it to see your name in lights on your way to school?

Yep, I'm 6.

Henry and Parks in the back seat.
Parker creates a fine hat in which to partay in. He wears it for 3+ hours.

All the buds at Subway. Parks, Hen, Timo, and Soph.

Henry is geeked up, to say the least.

Birthday week continues with Henry's first soccer game.

He's plays with 6 and 7 now. No more kindergarten babies.

Another party with some of the dudes at Boondocks.
Arcade games are his obsession. Especially if they shoot out tickets that can be used to by all things junk at the redemption counter*.

*see: a mother's patience

These are my lovely party assistants. I could not have pulled it off without them. They were my race car drivers and my laser tag chaperones.

I love these girls!

Andrew and Austin are wild boys. Seriously, the one on the right could have hustled me out of everything that I own.
Gotta love the Chinese handcuffs*.
*see patient mother at the redemption counter.

Ethan and Spencer are two cool cats.

Light saber. Awesome gift.

This is how fast Little moved all day and night at Boondocks.

For six hours, bless my heart.

Beautiful, patient Hillary ran the show on the golf course, too.

Sunday celebration with the fam.

You say you see the exhaustion in Mommy's face, yes?

I'm not even kidding. A Lambroghini even took Little for a ride on his birthday.

That is the face of, "Yes! It's Legos!"

Grandma Reynolds makes the requested cake.

She is masterful. She should build ships in bottles.

She should have her own book of cakes.

She is our Ace of Cakes.

This was the cherry on top of it all.

Thank you everyone for sending the good love Henry's way on his 6th birthday. He enjoyed it immensely!

Saturday nights, as they should be.

2010-04-14T14:53:00.008-07:00

The wait is over.

Cue the championship flag.

Cue the Lion.

Cue the crazy people.

Cue the dad who acts like a boy at game time.

Insert a tie, which was darned-near a loss.

2-2

Add the happy family, and you have yourself some REAL fun!

Summer has officially started!

The road to financial independence begins with the tooth fairy

2010-04-03T11:55:00.008-07:00

Henry's Problem: I love Lego's so much that it hurts inside to look at the Lego catalogue.

Solution: Ask Mommy for, "this, this, this, this, this, and oh, that one, too"

Problem: Mommy says, "We cannot buy all the Lego's that you wish for. They're expensive."
Solution: Ask Mom for just my top three wishes.

Problem: Mom says my birthday is coming up... in 21 whole days!

Solution: Must find out how money much is in that silly old bear!

So, for days, Henry and I have been planning to take all of his money to Target. Therein lies the holy grail... The Lego aisle.

We shaky, shaky, shaky all the coins out.

joy, yes?

Embarrassing scenes of me at the checkout with 10 lbs of coin keep me awake at night.
I suggest that we stop by the bank on the way.
Henry: "Are we setting up a bank account? 'Cause I don't wanna have them take care of my money." (the young boy has a point, there.)
Our bank has this nifty little self-serve coin-counting thingy. It was an absolute leap of faith for Henry to pour all of his life's savings into the deep, unknown abyss.

Pressing on with faith, Little scrapes it all away.
Finally, the machine gives us a tiny little piece of proof. A receipt.
$33.86 worth of proof.

Fast-forward.

I will spare you of the play-by-play inside Target. Just know that it involves 30 minutes of comparing, contrasting, cost-analysis, combining, questioning, obsessing, and many other levels of critical thinking that can occur inside a young, Jedi warrior's mind.
It was intense, but I loved witnessing every minute of it. It's a very hard lesson to learn that one does not have enough money to buy at least three-fourths of the Lego selection.

Luckily at this age, quantity rules over quality.
Look at this toothless, happy face.
Just enough to buy all four sets. Some good guys, and some bad guys.
Actually, Little had enough for just 3 sets. I chipped in for the 4th. Earnest children who save their money will always compel me to try to make up the difference.

Now for the show. Hillary and I helped with the assembly. Henry makes all the "guys," but he can just about put the rest together by himself.

Ownership is a beautiful thing.

Henry's comment as we drove home.

"I need to loosed more teeth."
Good job, little buddy. I'm proud of you!

file under: warms my heart

2010-03-24T13:47:00.006-07:00

Once in a while, I will find the children quietly playing together. When it happens, I do not disturb, for this is a blessed moment. Yesterday, I discovered such bliss while Henry and Hillary were legoing together, and it just warmed the little cockles of my heart. I couldn't help but pay tribute to some other moments that still just get me.

Easter mornings

nine years or less

up-doos

adoring sisters

Mom & Dad

dads who kneel down in support

girls who take ballet because Mommy asked them to

daughters that make honor roll...every time

first days of school

full-out tantrums while on vacation

frowning at the zoo

family pictures that work out

bare piggie-toes

cousins

I could go on for days. I'm a lucky girl!

ps. I have to add acorn collecting.

Three small people just emptied their socks filled with acorns right onto my desk.

"These are for faces, and these are for hats!"

Dreamy.

this reminded me..

2010-02-23T21:26:00.006-07:00

of the day that Henry and Sophie dressed up and asked for a picnic lunch.

They both raided my costume box. Soph chose Princess Jasmine, while I converted a princess gown into a handsome, prince robe for Henry.

Instead of a blanket, I brought out a fringed rug, (magic carpet) for Jasmine.

They were only three years old.Fast forward Two days ago, Henry asked for a picnic lunch.

It is February and in the high 30's.

He invited Sophie and Parker to join him because I wouldn't brave the cold.

Parker is three now, and officially "in the group."
Look at his peace fingers.

It was all over in about 8 minutes, but oh, the joy!

naughty turned nice

2010-02-15T15:48:00.003-07:00

Taking it too far? Sort of, but I'm used to it.

The Gummy Bear Offense on Mother continued throughout Valentine's Day.

Kinda sweet? Well, yes.

Henry climbed out of bed at 1am to pull this together. He and Hillary were in on it. Actually, Henry is rather artistic. He removed all of the green bears for aesthetics.

Really, I don't like gummy bears, but Yorks are my fav!

One thing I have to look forward to for about the next nine years, will be the onslaught of "Sometimes I eat ten." inside jokes that Henry will serve up at any possible time. Great that Maddi and Hillary will be fully able to participate in the teasing of their mother.

Shuggie took to posing the bears... special.

Hooray for Valentine's loot!

Little finally gets the Star Wars Lego Wii game that he's been dreaming of.

Maddi, with some metallic flip flops and a new shirt.

Hillary, with the new shirt from Justice... Right on!

Happy Valentine's Day!

by the way,

Henry turns 41 in 9 days,..... hmmm.... could be interesting.

Sometimes I eat 10!

2010-02-13T13:41:00.009-07:00

GUMMY-VITES OF THE WORLD UNITE!

AND TAKE OVER!

How much fun is birthday money?

2010-02-01T22:03:00.013-07:00

After much, much deliberation and research, this is how I finally spent my birthday money. I needed a new camera quite badly (proof to follow). My obsessive tendencies reared their ugly head as I went about my camera selection. The cool person in me really wanted a great camera like Pioneer Woman so that I could take majestic photos of cattle and ranch hands. The realistic person in me that was holding the money reminded me that I am a basic type of girl with just a couple hundred bucks in hand.

I found this at Costco. It's pretty easy to use, probably the equivalent of a Honda Accord.

Taken with my old, hand-me-down camera. I thought the colors were true....

...until I took this one with my new baby. Good job, baby.

And who could forget old goldie?

...ok, contents of vase are different, but image quality.....
In my research, I learned that the graininess in a photo is called "noise." Noise o'plenty in the before shot. Now I'm really relieved that I didn't buy shoes with my birthday money.

Actually, I just needed a good "Mom" camera. One needs to capture the moments of their hooligans, right? This camera will snap infinite rapid shots in succession, so that I can get just the right amount of "ham" per frame.

Did I say ham? I meant cheese.

This. So typical of boys. "Take a picture of our bums!"

Thank you, Mom, Dad, Sis, and Grammy for the cash.

I am going to have lots of fun.

confession

2010-01-20T15:53:00.002-07:00

I have a problem with these: Thank you Smith's, for your savvy product placement of this pink and white kryptonite. Apparently, grocers are on to us "perimeter shoppers" who try to avoid the temptation of highly processed, white flour, sugary foods that are within the aisles. For three weeks, these have been heaped in piles right adjacent to the produce section and the ever-elusive "claw game" that Little will never understand how Mommy simply cannot win him a prize.

a serving size is 6 cookies....seriously.

Just "hanging" around with Mom

2010-01-08T22:38:00.003-07:00

It only takes one or two new pieces of artwork to upset the entire apple cart of home decor. If you replace one, something else has got to be moved, and so on. I have a slight aversion to wantonly pounding nails into freshly painted walls. I always have, but my left-brainedness makes that condition slightly more acute. Henry is way worse than me, so I hang pictures during his absence. I also suffer from "interior designer's daughter syndrome." It shall be referred to in the future as "IDDS." One of the side effects of this syndrome is that I cannot hang a picture without my mother being present. It's not that I can't do it, per se, but that I know that my execution will be just seven or so degrees off of "just right." Why not just wait for the big guns to come in and do the job right? Especially if the guns live eleven minutes away. So when Mom arrived yesterday with her bag of tricks; levels, measuring devices, hammers, hooks, and nails of all types, I just stepped aside and let the artiste work. Just kidding, it's not that dramatic, yes it is. But this one above the fireplace was a real doozie. Heavy like rocks and came with two hooks, so the measuring had to be spot on.

Now these birdie nests, I did myself. But look at top rightie-pants, not so great.

Kevin's a girl? So, these two chairs remind us of Carl and Ellie's chairs in "UP." This painting given to us by Mom and Dad for Christmas this year. I love it! We hung it down in the family room.

Hanging a grouping is like a black diamond ski trail. You better just watch yourself. This trio of frames came with the dreaded double hook of death. Big payday, however to hang such lovely images of my two girls. Thank you, sweet Jeni for taking those pictures!

Egg and nest relocated to above the piano. Mom handed me the wheel, and just like Russell throwing the GPS out the window, I dropped the little hanger right behind the piano... oops.
Thank goodness for extras.

Ah, a first anniversary splurge of mine and Henry's. Very fond memories. I like its new location.

A little 45 record cover given to Henry from John and Ashley. Pearl Jam, of course.

It's so enjoyable to see things hanging in a different place for a change. Even more enjoyable are the memories of the picture hanging giggles Mom and I got while medicating my case of IDDS.

Thanks Mom, from the bottom of my heart.

Riots-Disturbances & Hostage Situations

2009-12-28T14:28:00.006-07:00

Will I post about New Year's resolutions? Not one bit, however I do have really great intentions and today I began a quest of organization. Mom and Dad handed down a groovy little filing cabinet and I decided to discontinue our habit of placing all of the bills and important stuff in a cute little aluminum bucket with star cut-outs that my good friend Jeni gave us eons ago at Christmastime. It should really hold cookies, plants, or muffins, but never the DMV registration or dental bills. Not to sell it short, Henry and I have treasured it and will always, respectfully refer to it as, "The Bucket."

Along with the file cabinet, Mom passed down some nifty little hanging folders with the accompanying little plastic label do-dads. Turns out I have the 3rd generation version. Mom said I could just remove the little label cards and flip them over to write my own stuff. It also turns out that it's difficult to fold over other peoples' stuff and write your stuff over the backs. Difficult, but meaningful.

Most of the files were labeled by my mother, and a few by my dear Grandpa Wright. Ernie Wright was the head of Corrections for the state of Utah during the Matheson era. His file names tell me that he had a little more on his plate than just keeping Oreos stocked in the jar for my visits. His files read:

"Sentencing Guidelines"

"Annual Report Bear River Mutual" (he was president)

"Riots-Disturbances & Hostage Situations" - oh my!

Mom's represent her business side as well. Some of them read:

"Mouldings and Crowns"

"Lighting"

"Window Treatments" This file is still full, and it's all great stuff!

"Kitchens"

"Floors, Rugs, Wood, Tile"

"Looks"

"Bookcases and Built-ins"

"Upholstery Details"

"Fireplaces"

Not to leave out:

"Teaching"

"LDS"

"Family Relations"

What a lovely little time capsule for me to unfold and contemplate. I will try my best to keep and create order in the way that my mother and her father so beautifully demonstrated. Thanks for sharing, Mom.

It's Christmastime, how can I resist?

2009-12-14T15:45:00.007-07:00

My babies lose their baby teeth while they're still babies. By now you've heard me carry on about how my babies are growing up too quickly. Factor in that the tooth fairy actually pays the child for such a crime against babyhood and you have yourself some serious irony.

This is little henry about three weeks ago. He "losed" his tooth while sprinting mach-7 on the treadmill. He very well may have experienced his first official "note to self" moment regarding speed to length of legs ratios and what not.

That's five teeth gone by 5. Dang, he's cute!

By 6 o'clock last night, we have the whole top row missing. Grampa Darrell kindly yanked the other to make a lovely pair of gummy sockets. I didn't even know it was that lose!
My only true non-lisper is now a full-on lisper. It's pretty cute and hopefully temporary.

Babies losing their teeth remind me about babies getting their first haircut and not looking like this anymore:
I will post about first haircuts when I am emotionally prepared to do so.

Suffice it to say, that "All he wants for Christmas" costs a lot more than his two front teeth.

beautiful things

2009-11-30T20:05:00.002-07:00

Just the other day, an announcement came over the intercom while Hillary was in class. Turns out, we have ourselves quite the little poet at our house. Hillary won in the Literature category in the Reflections contest. Her entry will move on to the "council" level of judging. I was teaching in my classroom when I heard the good news. Let's just say that I was completely bursting with joy, pride, and happiness. What a fun moment!This is the poem that she wrote... all by herself. It is a beauty.
So proud of you, Hillary! Keep writing.

well deserved, boys

2009-11-23T16:41:00.004-07:00

Big Henry went to bed last night with visions of sugar plums dancing in his head.

Well, you know what I mean. It was like Christmas morning for him when this happened...

Very happy boys

Lead in to the dog-pile on Robbie.

magnificent mid-fielder, sorta cute, too.

clutch.

double-clutch.

no pads, no helmets, right?

hot, but humbled.

Nick Rimando is a hero.
He was David against Goliath last night.

Our whole family had a blast last night watching the game at my folk's house. It was more fun than we ever would have had seeing it live, in Seattle. I'm so glad we stayed put.

Henry took Maddi (who is a true fan) and Bud Bud to the airport today.

Maddi got her jersey signed by Andy Williams again, and Little Henry picked up on all of the RSL chants. We are planning to venture out the the parade tomorrow.
Let's hope for another great season!

As far as home improvement projects go, I bet I'm the tortoise, not the hare.

2009-11-16T17:17:00.014-07:00

Before...

Much later...

Bought this tile very early in 2009. I cannot resist a good deal. Even if the time is not right. I'm just funny that way.

After.

We bought this vanity in 2007. It was one of those, "Henry, I have to have this, even if you're not on board. We must buy it! And yes of course, shuggie, I know that we haven't even started the bathroom." He indulged my whim for the millionth time.

Ah, the dreaded hidden cost of the shower door. Thank you, girls for patiently waiting for us to pony up the dough to pay for it.

I know, it's a toilet, but it hasn't been peed on yet by certain males in the household. We've had it since 2004. Talk about your delayed gratification.

Oh, and then there's this. Not at all related to the new bathroom, but the tubbie concept is in line with the theme. And well, he's just so dang cute. Note: bubbles spilling over the edge.

Credits:

My dear, dear, brother-in-law Richard.
He has bent over backwards to help us out with many of our basement projects. Thanks to you and your trusty soldering iron. We love you very much!

My talented mother / in-house interior designer.
Thank you for your design help, tile shopping, and color-scheming. You are a life saver!
We love you too!

and...
Our dear friend, John.

He kindly installed the crown moulding for us. Rats! I didn't get it in the photos. It is lovely and really makes the room oh-so special. Thank you friend.

My little bucket-filler

2009-11-12T19:51:00.003-07:00

Usually, it's the little comments from the 3 little people in my life that make it all worthwhile."Mommy, you make the best brownies in the world."

-Little Henry

Jonny be Good

2009-10-22T16:58:00.009-07:00

A conversation just after school on Thursday:

Hen: "Mom, will you rake the leaves into a big jumping pile?"

Me: "Ah bud, not today. Mommy doesn't feel so well."

Hen: "Oh, sorry."

Me: "Let's ask Daddy to do it when he gets home."

I soon forgot about this conversation.

Fast forward 24 hours.

After lying in bed all afternoon with a case of who-knows-what, I schlep into the kitchen to take my dose of meds that aren't really working. I see this through my kitchen window:

secretly taken through the glass.

my heart leaps.

fun to watch without being discovered.

ok, you got me.

Apparently, Henry asked is older buddy Jonny, to help him
rake a "jumping pile" of leaves.

Jonny obliged. He is a good soul.

Little boys will do anything that their older friends can do.

Jonny told Henry that he scored "10 points" on that slide.

They raked them back up and Jonny scores a 10 on his slide.

How I love you Fall.

Thank you Jonny for making Henry's day.

How lucky for me to see your sweet face five days a week!

say cheesy

2009-10-09T15:47:00.005-07:00

A tribute.

Bell Photography, you are no Annie Leibovitz, nor Busath, but I hold you dear in the sentimental corner of my memory. Mr. Bell, it was you that placed me back row, center for every grade school class photo that was ever taken in my life, except for third grade, when by some miracle, you seated me front row middle and let me hold the sign with our class nameplate. Even now, as a faculty member, my domain of top row center is held for me. Surely by now, I am a familiar face to you, Mr. Bell. One year, in second grade, you captured a great shot and you double-exposed me. It was ever so lovely; one of me forward, and another of me, gazing off to the side at who-knows-what. Cherishable.

Even today, you snap the pictures of my own children. Historically, they have been dreadful. Your young, untrained photographers do not have a mother's eye. They do not care about hairdos, crumbs about the face, or fake smiles. They are paid, I'm certain based on sheer volume. And your backdrops? The rustic barn, the floral canopy, I can't even go there.

But this year. I took a risk on you, old Mr. Bell. And guess what? You did ok! I even sorta teared up a little as I pulled the glossy paper from its sleeve. I'm thinking, this'll do as fair trade for my thirty dollar payment. The fact that both children are listing to the right is no biggie at all.

a kindergarten baby

fifth grade and fabulous, dawling!

Faith restored, Bell Photography! Keep clicking away. Just keep my girls off the top row. One can be neither cute, nor demure on the top row, center. Take it from an expert.

I have this friend...

2009-09-23T14:56:00.009-07:00

...who takes amazing photographs. I have known this for years, so I asked her if she would photograph my girls, and she graciously accepted.

these are my angels

uh...this is my 13 year old, I think

she captured every ounce of innocence on this one

I love the balance of this one

simply precious

Jeni does a million other things just as beautifully as she takes pictures. Thank you for sharing your gift with us. I can't wait to get framing!

weirdisms

2009-09-22T13:20:00.006-07:00

I get a secret pleasure out of discovering the random word that is generated by those security device-thingies on the Internet. You know, these:
I try pronouncing each one, just for fun. I even thought of collecting them in a journal and then assigning each one a new definition, sort of like a Sniglet. (see: blivett, backspackle and grantnap)
Today I got "tationce"
Clearly, my name is just a letter or two away from complete randomness.

*and to Maddi: Even though you will complain that it's not, this lame post does indeed count as "adding a new post, thank you very much."

Summer in review (part 3)

2009-09-05T21:37:00.011-07:00

Every August, my extra cool sister-in-law, Connie invites us all to her family's cabin. We have more fun and laughs than anyone should be allowed to have. Just look how happy my punks look. They don't even argue with each other whilst in the wilderness. It is a beautiful experience.

My big brother Tony at 3 hours into the cabin. "Fun" is different for everybody.

Henry nearly slept on the 4-wheeler. He ate lunch in that helmet, so as not to miss the next ride. His eager little helmet-head slays me.

My turn to take little forest out for a ride.

Gramps teaches all of the kiddos to safely shoot the bb gun.

Meet our cruise director. Right above Hillary is Aunt Connie. This year she brought it with tie-dye and a menagerie of paintable ceramic ponies, puppies, and kittens. In this photo, she is teaching the girls how to cover journals with all sorts of girlie embellishments. Connie is the best!

Look how groovy!

"Oh what fun it is to ride..."

Big Henry was 4 weeks overdue for a haircut. Sorry about that, babe.

The boyz gettin a little crazy.

Cousins quadruple the fun.

Waiting for your turn is part of the excitement at the cabin.

"Ready when you are!"

Goodbye summer. Thanks for the fun!

summer '09 in review (part 1)

2009-08-22T23:10:00.016-07:00

Here we are at the Children's Museum at the Gateway. Henry asks to go every time we stop at the mall. We finally made it back in July for Hillary's birthday. She brought her friend Morgan and they disappeared quickly to explore the big kid stuff without me. Henry still digs hanging out with me, so I sat and watched him strengthen the right side of his brain. It was glorious. Phrases in the voice of my college child development professor played over in my head.

****

Boys will make friends whenever pulley-thingies and large blocks are handy.The "contraption-thingy"
"I am learning cause and effect through play."

"I can make choices for myself, whereby developing autonomy."

cuteness to the fourth power

"I can take risks."

"Large, immovable, plastic horses are not as fun as the 25 cent horse at Wal-Mart."

Five year-olds never wake up wondering if they'll get to sit in a real, live helicopter. It just suddenly happens to them. The look of joy on their face is the real deal.

We ended the day at Iggys, Hillary's favorite place for eats.
Hillary is the only kid I know who goes "strictly vanilla."
Aw, summer. You come and go so quickly. Thanks for the good times!

summer in review (part 2)

2009-08-22T22:32:00.016-07:00

Here is my cute family. We like to do wild and crazy things like going to rodeos and such.

We are rodeo wannabes. We do not own giant belt-buckles and wrangler jeans. We are from the burbs. (Ok, my sister, from another mother in the corner is rockin the cowgirl hat, because she can, but that is as good as it gets.) We think bull-riding is highly dangerous, and riding bucking broncos, well that is insane behavior, but we likey to watch it.

Little Henry has never seen men fall from the sky. I must say that the pregame show to a rodeo is full of excitement. Mother will find access to under the bleachers when said mother accidentally drops small, white, plush puppy into the the deep, dark unknown below.

Cousins make cousins do the silliest stuff.

The post-game show proved even more surprises. Could you imagine, motorcycle jumping? See the ramp-thingy, and the Dodge truck. Another ramp-thingy is out of view. The little blur above the tailgate is a dude on a bike! There were three kids doing crazy stunts their mothers wouldn't approve of like flying over the truck - even doing back flips and handstands in midair!

I am pretty sure that we all screamed like little girls, and the cowboy community might have wanted to bounce us out of there, but what a good time it was!

Thank you Tony and Connie for inviting us to the rodeo. Thank you Gram and Gramps for treating us. We loved it!

Sweet Sixteen

2009-07-31T22:01:00.003-07:00

Oh dear heavens, I love this man!

Thank you for sixteen dreamy years.

I am the luckiest girl to have found you!

Happy Anniversary, Shug!

I love you to the moon and back.

-Hona-

Real fun

2009-07-14T22:14:00.008-07:00

Here we all are at the glorious Rio Tinto Stadium

(big henry's heaven on earth)
Forrest and little Forrest

henry approaches Leo. moments later, they fill up the Jumbotron together... priceless.

posing in front of the crazy section
waiting for the fireworks to start

love that maddi

love that man

snow angels

chillin'

this is the chicken dance on its side. I cannot figure out a way to turn it, but you get the idea that Henry is still going strong at 11:00 pm.

60 minutes later, Henry has entertained the entire parking lot with the "It's peanut butter jelly time" song. He received cheers, honks, and glow sticks for his dancing and singing. As soon as we are in the car and rolling, he is lights out.

Happy 10th Birthday Hillary!

2009-07-08T12:23:00.015-07:00

Could it have been ten years already? What a joyful day!

Your 1st birthday

How cute is 2?

The best hair a 3 year old could ever have!

Turning 4A princess at 5And now we are six

Lucky number 7 at the cabin. (it's a mousie and a cheese wheel, by request.)

No longer a baby at 8 - just a beauty

The evidence for number 9 is somewhere, I just can't find it yet.

Hillary requested the perfect cake for her 10th birthday.

She's our sun-shiny happy faced girl.

A new bike! Hillary is the best present-getter! She just can't contain her happiness.

She loves her grandma and grandpa. Thank you grandma for 10 "perfect 10" cakes.

We love you Hillary Paige. You have blessed our family with your talents, your constant optimism and your loving heart.

We love you forever!

cheap thrills

2009-06-30T19:18:00.009-07:00

We love the Gateway fountain!

Best friends Hillary and Morgan came along, too.Run for it!

I wonder...

2009-06-23T19:07:00.004-07:00

at what age did we stop moving around in our beds at night?

Feline like a pushover

2009-05-26T21:10:00.004-07:00

Mysterious orange kitty showed up last night on our driveway. Hillary and Henry sat outside with it for a good hour. That was mistake number one.

Kitty was on our porch this morning as both girls left for school. Henry discovered it when he woke up as well. He played in the shade and I got the camera. Taking pictures of Kitty with children.... that was mistake number two.

I don't like cats, but this cat really likes Henry

Little Henry convinces me to hold Kitty whilst he takes the photo.

(I was in my pajamas with residual mascara smudges, so that was mistake number three.)

It's about 4 o'clock now, and I have called several neighbors to get the 411 on this cat. Nobody seems to have any idea. I also called animal control. No calls have come in about a lost orange cat. I refuse to have them pick it up, because we all know what happens to lost cats after about 72 hours, don't we? I don't hate cats that bad.

I even called the neighborhood vet. Apparently, I can bring it in to have some "testing" done on it (at my expense) to see if it has the swine flu or any other horrible diseases. They will be happy to scan it for that little computer chip thingy at no charge to me. I will do that at my earliest convenience. I heard that cats love to ride in cars, so that should be an interesting road trip.

This was mistake number four.......

I caved at about 4:30 today and that is tuna fish, in a saucer, on our front porch. Kitty has imprinted successfully on all three children. Note the pure joy on the faces of my youngins. I like cats a little more today than I did yesterday.

Hillary has been googling "what to feed a cat" for hours. She learned that it is absolutely not milk. I am considering this an educational experience.

Approximately 8:00 pm tonight. Kitty has a blanket on the north side of the porch.

As I tucked Hillary into bed tonight, we had this exchange:

"Goodnight Hillary."

"Mom? what will we feed the cat?"

"I will buy some cat food tomorrow."

"Oh, thanks Mom. I read tonight that you can just donate the leftover cat food to an animal shelter if the owner comes for their cat."

"That sounds like a good plan."

"Oh and Mom? I hope it doesn't have that computer chip thingy in it."

Happy Birthday Maddi!!

2009-05-07T21:27:00.038-07:00

The day my life turned on its end, and finally felt right to me.

Happy 1st birthday! A piglet cake that would later prove to be only the beginning of Grandma Nolene's masterful cake-making career Two years old Maddi turned 3 while we lived with Grandma and Grandpa...
lucky for us, we lived there for another birthday, too

Doesn't every girl ask for a Barbie cake at some point?

See how the babies from our neighborhood have grown!
Lucky number 7
Great to be eight! clearly not a baby anymore

..........Happy 10th birthday? Where are you??...... scrapbooking and I have parted ways.

back on track in year 11. Maddi became part amphibious that year.

Just last year at 12 years old. Wasn't that just yesterday?

what about this one? Bear Lake was just last year.I know that "buried in blankies" was not as long ago as the date on the reverse side insists.

Now we've arrived at this??
it is physically painful to accept

Just today at the Junior High. Moms are still very cool when they show up with cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Maddi! You are such a blessing to our family, and I love you more every day!
Love,
Mom

Lately,

2009-05-02T11:58:00.016-07:00

I am shocked to realize that I no longer have babies to baby. These days, they can pretty much do whatever they want or need to do by themselves. At some point in the past, I thought this would be a devastatingly tragic time when there would be no more babies. I might have even dismissed the notion held by so many that "every stage is a wonderful stage." I'll tell you that it is true. My kids get more enjoyable each day, well.... each year. We have our days. Anyways, I still have little Henry to latch onto. Most of the time, he lets me. The girls have come into their own, as of late. Just look and see what their little autonomous selves did this week.

Maddi staying on top of her educational game.

Hillary in the Knowlton 5K. It was a torrential downpour. She finished it, no complaints at all. And yes, I will work on my "anticipation of subject entering frame."It was so much wetter than it looks.

Scooter boy is not particular about rollin' in his jammies. He won't go anywhere without his new 5-piece Transformers protective gear.

If you ever wondered what Kermit the Frog or Elmo look like on a scooter, just push "play."

Wicked good

2009-04-25T22:27:00.021-07:00

The day finally came. Four small pieces of paper sitting in my cupboard for 120 days never proved to be so enjoyable. If you get the chance, see it. You will smile for 3 hours straight. it's not easy being green - Elphaba has such a good heart

random acts of kindness- perfect strangers who offer to get the whole of you into the frame.

perma-grin gals

If my new playlist is working, you will hear some Wicked tunes. (Big ups to me for figuring it out all by myself.) If you listen long enough, you will get all John Mayer all the time. I encourage you to become a fan, or, just scroll to the bottom to shut it down if it gags you. Oh yes, Mr. Ihrig made me throw in a Pixie's song on the last track. I am not a fan, but whatever makes the boy happy makes me happy.

Happy Birthday Henry!

2009-04-23T21:30:00.013-07:00

It has been a week of celebration. Somehow our family can really milk a birthday. It takes a lot of careful explanation to convince a four-year old that he will be celebrating his birthday on Sunday; a family party. On Tuesday; your "real" birthday. And, again on Wednesday; your friend party. Of course, he did not offer one complaint. Three parties? okaaaay! Well, the balloons have all popped, and the banners are put away for next year. It's official. My baby is 5. Sad? a little. Blessed? a lot.

Henry requested a Transformer cake. Granted by Grandma Nolene.

hillary lovingly assists

wait for it....Legos!

how many 12 year olds get up at 6:30 am to make an awesome sign like this? (love that girl!)

"Mom, could I have chocolate milk for my birthday?" (requested days in advance)

Maddi even took him kite flying with Sophie on his "real birthday."

what is more joyful than chasing a kite?

great pals

Such a good day!

2009-04-18T18:21:00.008-07:00

The knobbiest knees in the west.

double click the photo for maximum viewage.

He's only four

3 on 3 is a great way to play. no goalie. how fun is that?

Here's a bit from today's game. Henry gives his best showing yet, and can finally lay claim to one goal. You'll notice that he throws the ball inbounds to himself, and scores a beauty. Also, note the fists-in-the-air cheer he gives himself to the two boys on the blue team. It's actually a classic H move from oh, about '87.

Next on the to do list today was the swim meet for Hillary. She is doing so great! Her cousins Sarah, Emily, and her friend Eva all competed as well. Go girls!

Here she is in lane three (from the bottom) rocking the freestyle. What a little worker!

This clip is quality videography. I was running my camcorder simultaneously with the other hand. Hillary is in lane one. As my camera continues to roll, you will get a lovely shot of my thighs and miscellaneous bodies around me. It's the work involved in this stroke that makes me tired just in watching it. I am so proud of your work, Hillary!

industry

2009-04-11T14:45:00.020-07:00

The Saturday before Easter Sunday is always a marathon of tasks. Today we stuck to the fun projects and let the cleaning and scrubbing wait for another day. (That makes it sound like I clean religiously every Saturday... Ummm I don't) Anyway, let's begin with the coloring of eggs. I hardly have to do anything now that the girls can run the show. Where are you looking, Hillary?

Thank you Henry for unabashed joyfulness

Both Henrys on either side of the frame messing with my composition (see flying PAAS box)

ninnymuggins on egg ring display detail

The eggs are now nestled snugly in their chilly beds. Does every fridge in America smell like eggs and vinegar for the next week? Egg salad baby, I'm coming home to you. See you Monday around lunchtime.

Moving on to the next big thing. It's sugar cookies. They represent the height of culinary unselfishness. They take ages to make and I can't even look at one until the following day.

Maddi was upgraded to "Master Sprinkler" which also involves the task of mixing color.

Hillary went from "Assistant Sprinkler" to "Associate Sprinkler." She doesn't think that sounds like much of a promotion, but she is well on the heels of her big sista's position. She has patience as well as artistry and creativity.

bunches and bunches of bunnies

Thank you Easter Bunny!

Oh, and by the way, Little Henry brought me a collection of chocolate Easter bunnies that he somehow located in the crawl space. "What are these for, Mom?" Hmmm, not sure how to handle this one.

Happy Easter to all of you!

attention kmart shoppers

2009-04-03T21:12:00.007-07:00

In recent posts, there has been some mention/debate of using the "good butter" in baking. See "med student cinnamon rolls" http://justahintofsalt.blogspot.com/. Adrianne recommends paying the extra money to use the really good butter in this recipe. I whole-heartedly agree with her. My first experience with the really good butter was on about week 11 of my first pregnancy. I would rate myself a 10 out of a possible 10 in the feeling of constant car sickness at the time. Little did I know then that the ranking system would reach past 20 in subsequent pregnancies.
Anywho, as I was saying... This lovely woman from across the street brought over a congratulatory/consolatory crispy baguette paired with a chilled cube of Land 'O Lakes unsalted butter. How seasoned a woman to know that white bread and butter would be just the ticket for me. I thanked her and went to work. On that night, I polished off the baguette and the entire cube of butter! Oh my goodness that was good butter! It tasted like fancy-shmancy hotel butter. And that was my first ah-ha moment with dairy. So, I would be totally remiss if I didn't alert as many good friends as I possibly could that the $4.89 "good butter" is on sale at Smith's for $1.99 !!!!!! You may select from salted or unsalted. (Martha really gets nasty about using that unsalted butter, you know.)

But wait......

That's not all.....

There's a coupon stuck on the boxes for an additional 55 cents off!!!

I'll do the math here. That's $1.44 for the $5.00 good butter!!! Ta-daa!! There should be some really majestic music playing in the background here.

All I'm saying is, friends tell friends when the good stuff goes on sale.

Sale goes through April 8th.

ps Did you know that you can freeze butter?

birth order tendencies

2009-03-31T20:48:00.007-07:00

After ten years of teaching, and spending many hours with many ten year olds, I believe there is great merit behind the idea of birth order behavioral traits. Give me two weeks with a child, and I can probably identify their place in the litter of youngins. This year I have a group of middles; an absolutely charming lot. Tonight I gave pause to the idea that my own children are living up to the supposed expectation of their own place in the family. Mind you, this is only a tidbit of the evidence.

exhibit A: Maddi has already determined the color of her parachute. I'm not sure what color it is, but it ends in "ologist" and requires schooling through the 26th grade. She has already scoped out her dream Land Rover and she knows how much it will set her back. She has researched the average hourly wage of a dozen or so medical fields. The girl is on task. Good thing she loves math and science. Go Madge and keep bringing home the A's. You make your mom and dad proud!

exhibit B: Hillary wears a white hoodie that says, "GO WITH THE FLOW." She doesn't wear it to remind herself to chill, but only to spread the good word. This girl is super casual. She's been laid back since birth. She can amuse herself to no end. I'll find her legoing until her fingers bleed, or petshopping in her room for hours. She casually keeps a journal and writes poetry. We try not to let her more-than-easy temperament go unnoticed. She is a gem. For the last two weeks, she has quietly curled up in the front room (home teacher room) to read 321 pages. Finally, someone is using it for the expressed purpose that I intended. It warms my heart see that chair enjoy a reader like it deserves. Hill, you make your mom and dad proud!

exhibit C: Little Henry. The last baby always gets to stay the baby. McDonald's? sure. Print color images of every Power Ranger? I guess so. Three jelly sandwiches before noon? of course. Unlimited cookies at Grandma's? One for each year, baby. You get the idea. The wonderful thing about Henry is that none of this goes to his head. He is one grounded baby. Stay golden, Little Henry. You make your mom and dad proud!

everyone loves a puppy

as seen on tv

2009-03-27T20:01:00.005-07:00

Do my kids watch too much tv? Okay, maybe. Today I came to pick up Henry from a friend's house. I retrieved him and we got back into the car. I began to feel around for my cell phone. My cell phone is really thin. I'd say really cool thin, but about an inch too long. It's always falling out of my pants pocket when I sit down. I knew that I had it with me, so I checked my pockets, under the seats, between the seats, and on the road, under the car. I was just about to walk back into their house to call my phone. After opening all four doors, I found my sneaky little phone lying under a stack of overdue library books. Great! As I came back around to my door, Little Henry offers this,

"You should get a Smart Clip."

"Oh, and why is that?" (I am nearly on the ground laughing)

"You know, you can hook your phone to your belt, or to a bag strap."(motioning to an imaginary purse strap across his chest.) "You can use it for a flashlight, too."

He's four, right? Should a four-year old be able to retell, verbatim an infomercial? Probably not, but my oldest and my youngest seem to be mesmerized by that form of advertisement. They both almost perceive them as television shows......okaaaaaaay.

Maddi has been fascinated by those tv knives for ages. She just recently got over asking for the Silver Bullet smoothie makers. Hillary, not so much taken in by the savvy marketing techniques. Thankfully, this funny little exchange today came just in the nick of time. With Henry's 5th birthday only four weeks away, I almost forgot that I promised him these:

As Henry emphatically educated me about Bendaroos, he was quick to sell me on one final point:

"But wait, that's not all, Mom. If you order me Bendaroos right now, they'll send me two sets of Bendaroos, for free!"

This kid is so freaking awesome, I am totally ordering today.

kindergarten babies

2009-03-16T20:54:00.011-07:00

These days, everything arrives earlier than it should. You know that it's Christmas before Halloween arrives. You are aware of Easter candy before all of the "be mines" are done with. Maddi has even "pre-registered" for 8th grade in the third month of her 7th grade year. One event sort of cannibalizes the other. Do I complain about it very much? Nah, not so much, but try to put my baby into kindergarten a minute before I am ready???? I don't think so! Going to kindergarten only leads to going to 4th grade and then to 7th grade. I have my girls to prove that. Henry was invited to kindergarten orientation day. I suppose I went somewhat willingly. The following evidence proves that everyone else IS ready and willing.

vintage audio equipment; who doesn't love a good book on tape?

Parker is 3 and rolled in like he owned the joint; no anxiety whatsoever. Who's gonna break it to him that he's not coming back for a while? Those red, Naugahyde chairs are sweet!

future alumni on the left. happy camper on the right.

best-buds forever? I sure hope so!

The best little sheetcake in Texas

2009-03-10T20:58:00.017-07:00

In terms of cakes, I like them all. There is not one little cake that rubs me the wrong way. Every genre of cake has its merits. Even a borderline yucky cake is just "the little cake that could" in my eyes. I would like to share with you my very most favorite chocolate cake on the market. It was the signature cake of my Grandma Salt Lake. She could rock a Texas cake unlike no other. I'm sure that you have this recipe on file in your collection, but let me reintroduce you to an oldie but a goodie. I guarantee that it will put any boxed cake to shame. Today I am also pulling my original disclaimer card. (See original post) I am going to straight up rip off a technique used by one of my favorite foodies. *see http://pioneerwomancooks.com/ Adrianne, who is the sister to my good friend Ashley, gave me the original heads up on Pioneer Woman. Thanks, A. PW's blog is an absolutely beautiful piece of work. It comes off to me like art. Plan on sifting though her pages and losing track of time. One of the things I love the most is her photography. This girl has got it goin on. She's like some sort of photoshopping witch. It's also very obvious that her camera is all that. I've never been one for the cowgirl way of life, but she makes it look pretty sweet to me.

So, when pioneer woman posts a recipe, she organizes the information in a way that a four year old could carry out the directions successfully. Pictures for everything, and I mean everything are offered. I love the way she stages all the ingredients up front so that you can get the full visual experience. I also love knowing what brands she is using. She continues by showing every ingredient being added to the mix. While it is extremely thorough, it seems like a lot of work and maybe tmi. But go on, check her out yourself. I know you will find something that you can't resist trying out.

So here goes, Texas cake goes big time. Hold on....Here are the playaz. Let's address the butter/margarine debate. I've made it using both evils. Honestly, margarine performs the best. You will get a taller cake using the marg. On this day, I only had the butter. You can even go 50/50 using margarine and shortening. I'll let you decide.

Here are the bad boys. Yes, you should use half and half, or at least, whole milk... isn't everything big in Texas?

no worries, that 'lil divot will just get extra frosting.

you knew I'd bring this little genius out.

i know, it's hard to watch.

wait for it......

Yes!! so i got a little weird on my frosting detail. tried something new and it is bugging me.

My photos are not making me a happy camper. The taste of this cake does, however. Your guests will eat it all up and your kids will beg for a piece in their lunch.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup margarine
4 T cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Melt the fat, cocoa, and water; bring to boil. Pour over flour and sugar. Add buttermilk, soda, vanilla, eggs and mix well. Bake 20 minutes at 400. Grease and flour your jellyroll pan.

the frosting goes like this:

2/3 bag of powdered sugar (eyeball it)
1/2 cup melted butter (butter here for sure)
1/4 cup cocoa
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup milk product of your choice(half & half, i said)

Mix this together. You will probably need to add more milk. Just add it slowly. You cannot mess up frosting. Beat it as long as you feel like. The whippier, the yummier!

*it's possible that you may pour the batter in the pan, only to realize that you to forgot to add the baking soda. Pouring it back into the bowl and mixing the soda in will make you feel old and bird-brained. No worries, I think it might turn out just fine.

sister

2009-03-08T22:32:00.022-07:00

Guess which one is me?

yep, it's me, "chins" right there in the middle of two of the most loving people in the world.

Tiffany, my dear sister celebrates her birthday today. She has always been a tough act to follow.

She was born with physical aptitude that neither my brother nor I were blessed with.

*auditions for Nutcracker, en pointe...check.

*slalom water skier...check.

*100 and 400 meter hurdler (record-holding)...check.

*volleyball spiker...check.

*viewmont vykettes...check.

you name it, she could do it.

It could be enough to really make a person angry and resentful if she wasn't so darn wonderful inside. In my ninth grade year, she took me to the track, (on my request) because I had asked her to help me see if I could get my body to fly over a hurdle in the way that she could. Knowing the basics about genetics, I thought it feasible that I may have received a similar set of track-star DNA. It didn't take long for me to realize that her long, lean legs had something that had eluded me during heavenly registration day.

Later, I stole her old volleyball shoes out of her closet hoping that I might be able to "vibe" off of them and actually serve the ball inside the court lines, rather than behind me. It was a no go. For a tall girl, my unusual skill set was a real mystery to the athletics staff at VHS.

Tiffany was an all-star then, and now. These days she performs the mom, wife, nurse, cook, daughter, and sister duties with the same excellence and grace as she did the talents listed above. Lately, and not surprisingly, she's got a mean game of badminton.

She is my very bestest sister in the whole world!

Happy Birthday!

I love you!

chagrin

2009-03-06T19:07:00.008-07:00

Funny how life has a sense of humor. I had the house all to myself tonight, so with nobody to play with, I ate 2 bowls of cheerios, ran some laundry, placed a book order and ran the vacuum around the house. I was "puttering" as my mother would say. Thought I'd suck up the latest dead of my not-so-friendly box elder bug infestation just outside my front door. It was right then and there on March 6th that I saw this:

I'm sure this tiny tree is just laughing at me, knowing that my words have turned against me and he's standing right there to mock me about it. Does anyone remember my earlier post/rant? I went off about how Mr. Ihrig just wasn't feelin it in terms of moving our beastly Christmas tree. It was just too darn heavy for me to move all by myself, so I had to wait it out. Hmmm. does this little coniferous fellow look that intimidating? I'm not sure that I could lift all 24 inches of him out of that pot. Whatever, I guess I've just really let myself go. Seriously, I'm going to post this and then it should take me about 2 minutes to get rid of the tree. What on earth is my problem?

I think I feel a post coming on... something about wanting some meaner neighbors. Somebody needs to move in that would just ring the door and say, "Nice potted fake Christmas tree. Can I borrow an egg?" Yeah, that's coming next, meaner neighbors needed on Quail Run.

Would you like feet with that?

2009-03-02T18:01:00.027-07:00

Would you pay $3.69 plus tax for this?

I did today. I have a roomful of toys here at home priced at $3.69 plus tax, that have a street value of approximately 3 cents. Little Henry and his charming "please mom?" strikes again. Oh yes, I know that you pay for food somewhere in that cost, but can you count that as food..in good conscience, being a mom and all? Usually, Henry chugs the chocolate milk and jets away to play in what I call the "zoo section" of the eating establishment. Whose idea was it to combine bare feet and eating under the same roof? Really? Today Henry changed it up and I really got my money's worth. He ate all but one nugget.

If you've been to McDonalds lately, you know that they've gone "full disclosure." I know that the 89 cent hamburger I ate contained 230 calories and the small fries added another 250. (Insert sorrowful guilt here.) I'd say they've gone a bit heavy-handed on the savvy marketing tools. I'm no genius, but I can clearly see that they are working me hard core in the subliminal messaging center of my brain. The color scheme is neutral, the artwork edgy and adult, and I can even watch CNN to see that the sky is really falling while continuously refilling my diet coke.

But where else can you do this....

or this?

You know it.....AT A PARK! And we will in about 25 more degrees. More posts soon to come from the real great outdoors.

What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man

2009-02-23T20:59:00.011-07:00

I remember the day that I saw this little boy picture of Henry. We weren't engaged yet; possibly not even seriously dating. I was in his room and somehow came across this charming little fellow in a red, marled turtleneck sweater. I think I almost cried just staring at it. Could any human child be so cherishable? I wanted to tuck it in my bag and keep it where I could look at him whenever I wanted to. Instead, I got to marry him for keeps... lucky, lucky me.

Happy birthday, Henry! Lucky for us that you came down from heaven forty years ago, on this 24th day of February. Who would have thought that this little face would become a hero to Maddi, Hillary, Little Henry and Hona. I love you very, very much! You are just as handsome and angelic today as you were in '73.

a place for everything and everything in its place

2009-02-22T00:16:00.007-07:00

It's 12:16 am, do you know where your reciprocating saw is? Mr. Ihrig has it and he's rocking the home improvements at our place. My basement storage room is now really a storage room. He's gone and shelved floor to ceiling. No longer are my holiday wreaths strewn about hither and yon, but hanging out of the way, ready for next year. He's been nesting like an expectant mother for days! Don't even get me wrong, I am the luckiest girl I know! It's just that a moment ago, I took a break from writing to look for some lost pictures, (see three days from now,) I 'round the corner to continue my post, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a Mr. Ihrig on a ladder in the front hall with a paint roller in his hand. It's 1:17 am. He is micro-focused now. I don't even say a word, but "wow, shug!" He has been nonstop for days. At this rate, he could go all night. He hasn't even cracked open a diet coke. In fact, his zest for organizational chi has inspired me to change my blog palette. I'm going for minimalist, here. It reminds me of what Mr. Ihrig's dream home would look like:
I vetoed this look years ago because I could never visualize a baby in this setting, just sushi and adults. It's really beautiful, though. In fact, I need to give big ups to Henry's taste. He has always been the visionary in our relationship. Even now, I'm siding with him on the marble tile debate for our downstairs bathroom. Whatever is driving him, (turing 40 on Tuesday) I like it. He is constantly making me happy.

You're My Favorite Deputy

2009-02-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

Henry just did this. I didn't even ask. I got home from the gym, and there they were, Forest and Little Forest all snugged up together reading about Buzz and Woody. I enjoyed eavesdropping for a few pages, and you know what? Shuggie never skipped a page. It's fun to hear the boys getting in their quality time.

Peas and Carrots

Hard Work

2009-02-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hillary getting it done

T-minus five days and counting until the swim meet. This is a pretty significant event for both of the girls. For Hillary, it will be her first swimming competition... ever! She has been such a little trooper to agree to compete only 8 weeks into her swimming career. For Maddi, this will be her first competition since her spinal fusion surgery. She has waited patiently for seven months while her body has recovered. She looked strong today. She's our little technician in the water and I'm so glad she's back! When her doc gave her the green light to swim again, she got in the pool, swam half a length, stopped, and yelled up to me in the bleachers, "I'm home!" That was a good day.

Maddi working on the legs

Not Keeping Up With The Jones' Very Well

2009-02-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

We live in at the end of a cul-de-sac among the loveliest of friends. They all own snow blowers and have zero percent slope to their driveways. We possess an ergonomic snow shovel and enjoy a driveway slope of.... I don't know, enough to prevent my Jeep from reaching the garage when there's the skiffiest skiff of snow on the ground. Irony?? You betcha. So often our sweet neighbor men-folk have come to bail us out of a doozy snowstorm and I am so grateful for that!

Just the other day, the snow came. Nobody wanted it to, but it showed up anyway. Along with it came some chilly nights to keep the snow right where it had fallen. After repeated comings and goings with the car, we incurred some gnarly ice pack accumulation. After school, I took my powerless shovel and made some futile attempts to chip away at the ice in the critical areas of the driveway.

Insert fun here: Little H man comes out and says, "Hey, where's the sled?" With sled in unmittened hands, Henry finds the silver lining in the driveway situation.

work with what you've got

and seize the day!

Take Me Back To *1983

2009-02-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

What's the most desirable, coveted food choice that Lunch Lady could ever offer you? Yes, it would indeed be the peanut butter bar. What a fine school day it turned into after rounding the lunch line to see those gems laid out just beyond the mystery meat. Talk about a silver lining! Well, I had never successfully crafted them in my kitchen. But, yesterday I came across a real winner. And it's legit, too. It's written in the hand of our very own Knowlton Elementary Lunch Lady. She had to like, one-eighth the recipe to accommodate a non-industrial sized cookie sheet. Go ahead and make these and you'll recall a freer time; before peanut snacks were banned in schools because 9 out of 10 children had severe peanut allergies. FYI: I am certified in epi-pen administration. It's sitting right in my desk drawer and I'm not afraid to use it.

Anyway, the whole family loved them so here's the goods. Give them a try and don't you dare put canned frosting on them. And yep, I mixed it all up in my handy-dandy food processor.

Peanut Butter Bars

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 teas. salt

1/4 cup peanut butter + 1 cup for topping

3/4 teas. soda

1 teas. vanilla

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

Cream together butter, sugars, peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Press into ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Do not over bake. Spread on about 1 cup peanut butter over all while still warm. Cool and frost with chocolate frosting.

*This post would be so freakin awesome if I could get my play list up and running. You would hear John Mayer sing "83" to get you right in the groove of yesteryear. I'm working on it.

Lucky

2009-02-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'd say that I've read at least one bedtime story every night to at least one of the litter for a solid twelve years running. If I'm being honest, I've grumbled about that responsibility more than a few times. It's a hoop that I must jump through each night in order to earn my own time. Admittedly, I designed the hoop, so I asked for it. And, after all is said and done, I wouldn't change a thing, either. Mr. Ihrig can and has taken on the mantle of reading to the youngins, when needed; when I just can't take another minute, but the kids say he skips pages to finish quicker.

So, tonight it was Lassie and the Deer Mystery. Henry assimilated the words "weapon" and "slingshot" into his vocabulary. It truly is amazing to watch a little person's mind work. There is no substitute for a book. It trumps almost any learning device you can put in a child's hands. The best part of tonight's book choice is that the title page is inscribed by my Great-Grandma Idaho to my big brother Tony on his 7th birthday, 1968. The price tag indicates she paid 29 cents for it. Sweet dreams, little man. Mommy loves you.

Where Have You Been All My Life?

2009-02-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

Meet my new best friend. Fifteen plus years of marriage and I've been way overworking myself. This little dandy put the spring right back in my culinary step. You own this guy already? I've heard that most of you do. I'm embarrassed to say that Henry bought me one two years ago, but I took it back! I KNOW!! Crazy! So having read one too many recipes that state, "Place ingredients into food processor and pulse." I determined that I should wise up. A few days ago, Henry spotted a tiny little black and white sale advertisement in the newspaper and ripped it out and headed right over to Macy's, by himself to pick it up; no prodding from me, I know!! cute!

So, I'm not sure where this blog is headed, but I figured that I'd dedicate a fair amount of space to fooding. I like food, and lately, I've challenged myself to up my game a bit in the kitchen. Now that I have my new little gadget, I feel like shouting my ideas from the rooftop. So tonight I launch installment #1 of the "Cuisinart Monologues."

Bread Crumbs 101

Four slices bread, (dried out- unnecessary, mine were fluffy) Cut into small chunks and process 30 seconds. Done. End of story. No more stale, prepackaged, nasty old crumbs sitting in your pantry. Brown in skillet with 1 tablespoon butter to toast them up if you like. Today I used them as a substitute for pie crust. Just press into a greased pie plate.

ps. Henry actually found two surprises for me that day in the kitchen department at Macy's. The other was this fab new blender. Don't even get me started on the fun we're gonna have makin' smoothies. Stay tuned.

Today is February 2nd...

2009-02-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

...and this is what is standing in my front room. This not-so-lovely artificial tree mocks me every time I round the corner to head upstairs. And yep, you can see it from the street. Now that's classy.
We took the ornaments off weeks ago, which was great, except I am not a closer. I tend to leave a lot of projects unfinished. Problem is, this baby is heavy! I would do it myself today if its tri-sectionedness wasn't nearly welded together. The bottom two thirds is a 2-person job for sure. Mr. Ihrig has all that beefy upper body strength that I lack and he's just not feelin it. So I'll wait.

Uncle!

2009-02-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

I give in. Here is my blog. Pop culture, you win. I figure this was inevitable. I have been surfing the blogs of friends whom I know and love for the past year now. I guess after a while, I just felt like a bit of a moocher; like I hitched a ride for a semester and never offered any gas money. Now I just feel plain yucky about that. In no way am I saying this will fly at all; this is strictly a trial run. For legal reasons, a disclaimer follows:

I may not be clever or funny, ever.
My readership will be scant, at best.
I will make egregious spelling and grammatical errors.
I might accidentally offend you in my posts.
I will never be offended by your comments.
You may wonder if I plagiarized or ripped off from another, cuz I might have.
If on any level, blogging is similar to scrap booking, I will fail.
I may spend more time revising the color scheme of my template than blogging.

Now, let's begin.