Friday Favorites

(I never do this, but had a few things to share)

1.  This cookie recipe:

is one of my favorites of all time.  BEST texture ever.

(Thanks a lot Abbie.  Like I need more cookies in my life.)

2.  Bountiful Baskets (a food co-op.  You pick it up at a location near you every Saturday):

Go to www.bountifulbaskets.org and see if they have it in your state.  Tons of vegetables, for about half of the price, and I’ve been happy with the quality.  It is a ton to eat, but I love that it makes me learn how to serve kale and swiss chard and eggplant.  We’ve been eating so many more vegetables lately.

3.  This movie:

Ryan and I agreed: the best we’ve seen in a long time.  Uplifting, real, romantic, historical…you kind of can’t go wrong.

4.  These books:

 

So so so fun and addictive.  #3 and a movie coming out soon.

5.  This hairspray:

I started using it last year and bought a different less expensive one last time…and I’m really not happy.  I’m going back as soon as the garbage one I’m using is gone.

6.  Priesthood blessings (click on the link for more lds.org info) by this guy:

Let’s just say I’ve been having MULTIPLE parenting challenges (pre-teen daughter, sullenly disobedient son, tantruming toddler) and after numerous feelings that I should ask Ryan for a blessing, I finally listened.  It was amazing:  from God, specific, insightful, made me feel hopeful again.  A blessing, indeed.

7. This video (part of the Swagger Wagon series) that Ryan just sent me.  (If you know Ryan, you know why he’s feeling it):

8.  The spin pin (see Carie’s post for more details):

so easy to put in and it’s stayed put really well!

9..  This tube:

on this boat, driven by this person (aunt Heather):

in this weather!  (FINALLY!  it’s summer!)

Some of the Father’s Day Offerings

 

Seth’s:

Jane’s:

 

(anyone)

(a blue whale)

(Meghann)

(my aunt Heather)

(anyone)

(I would have him do my work)

 

 

 

Gabe’s:

 

(2 of my best friends)

(a moose)

(a lion)

(a clown)

(as all the numbers in the solar system)

(be the same)

The reasons I have cried 8 times in the last 24 hours

 

1.  Because I talked to Jane’s wonderful teacher (seen below hugging Jane) about her husband’s cancer return.

2.  Because I hugged my friend Stacey (of the Roll Post) good-bye for the last time.

3.  Because the weather stinks so bad.  (Okay, I actually didn’t cry about this, but I’d complained about it so much that when I called Ryan to tell him about Jane’s teacher and started crying, he thought it was because of the weather.)

4.  Because Faith threw another one of her 45 minute-wads-of-ripped-out-hair-throwing-up-on-herself tantrums (because I wouldn’t let her eat a friend’s daughter’s big old chocolate bar) and it is so stressful listening to your daughter scream and scream and scream.

5.  Because Faith’s tantrum made me miss Emma’s award assembly.  (I kept trying to go in but Faith would NOT stop screaming, so I walked around the school with a flipping-out one year old in my arms while they called Emma’s name).

6.  Because Emma was sweet and understanding about me missing it (AND because she’s such a good girl to win that citizenship award).

7.  Because the whole school lines up and slaps hands with the “graduating” Fifth Graders as they leave the school for the last time.

8.  Because it’s the last day of school.  And we all know those are happy tears and sad tears.

Further evidence that no one’s going to be asking me to teach a Home Economics Course anytime soon

((What?!   I can craft!) 

Conversation from today:

Emma:  “  So…who are we going to get to sew on my buttons?”

Me:  “I can do that!”

Emma:  “YOU CAN?!”

Me:  “Yes!”

Emma:  “Do you even have a needle?”

Me: “Um…”

 

Conversation from yesterday:

Seth: “Dad I need some tape.”

Me: “What do you need tape for?”

Seth: “To fix my doggie’s ear.”

Me: “Oh … tape won’t work for fabric.  We’ll have to sew it.”

Seth: “Sew it?!?  What is that?”

Rennid Sdrawkcab

Drawing on a time-honored tradition from Ryan’s childhood, we did the easiest Family Home Evening ever:

BACKWARDS DINNER!

Start with inviting your kids to backwards dinner by putting on all of your clothes backwards and asking them to do the same:

Then, feed them dessert first.  Tell them they CANNOT have broccoli unless they eat their ice cream and fudge, first!:

Next, feed them the rest of their courses backwards (Main course, Salad Course, Bread Course):

Encourage them to eat backwards as well, till you realize what a mess-making idea that is:

 

Refer to them by their backwards names.  Here is Htes:

Try your best to speak in backward phrases:  “?here cute Faith Isn’t”

This takes about 5 extra minutes out of your evening (to change into your clothes), besides the dinner you were already planning on having, and your kids will think you are the funnest parents around.

…Until you tell them that they since the dishes and table didn’t obey the rules of backwards night by going from Dirty to Clean during Backwards Dinner…they still have to clear the table and load the dishwasher.

!sometimes end to has fun The

Big News (that makes it excruciatingly obvious how mundane my life is…)

 

While I do the dishes, the smell of lilacs is wafting into my kitchen.  It’s about the easiest way to brighten my day, as I realize “I HAVE A LILAC BUSH IN MY OWN BACKYARD!”

Seth is riding a bike without training wheels.  It took about 3-4 sessions and quite a few falls, but he is now the proud rider of a 2-wheeler.  Now, if he could just start without me!

Faith MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH SACRAMENT MEETING WITHOUT BEING TAKEN OUT! I realized what a monumental achievement this was when I had no less than 4 people comment on it:  “Wow!  You didn’t have to take out Faith today!”  I should have realized we were a huge disturbance, when I started regularly hearing comments like “Watching Faith and you is the best thing about sacrament meeting” or “We purposely try to sit behind you so when can see what Faith does this week.”  Yeah.  But those people will have to find some other bad toddler to watch now, won’t they?!

Really.  It’s kind of hard to contain our excitement around here, with all these major goings-on.

I probably shouldn’t enjoy this email as much as I do

 

A May summary (also known as “dancing through the rain”)

This is what my camera says we did last month:

I made these AMAZING fish tacos for Cinco De Mayo.  (I have to take a picture because unlike others’ hobbies, I have nothing to show—other than my thighs—from my efforts).  I truly love to cook and it was one of those nice days where the kids were otherwise occupied and I got to just prepare everything from scratch and it turned out wonderfully.  (If you follow the link and make them, you HAVE to add the mango pico de gallo that it mentions.)

This is a picture of Faith’s injury.  Notice how it’s ONE INCH from her eye.  She was outside with Emma and was holding some long pokey thing and slipped and jabbed it into her forehead.  Our nice friend, Jared, who is a dermatologist, drove back to his office and got some suturing instruments and we performed surgery on our ottoman.  The scar is fading because he did an amazing job.

 

Gabe got to go on a field trip where they learn valuable skills such as how to turn cream into butter while dancing your head off.

Faith has decided she doesn’t like nursery after all and is throwing her famous fits when we attempt to drop her off.  Luckily, neither of us can really take her during nursery hours, so she basically has to learn to deal with it.  This picture was taken by Jessica A. —notice she’s not crying?  That’s cause Jessica asked her about her shoes and there is little in life Faith loves more than discussing her shoes.

Seth graduated from his preschool.  Please note a few things:  1) his winter coat over his Hawaiian themed attire. (aah! Spokane in May!) It dumped rain during the entire program.  2)  the pirate patch which was positioned for a Cyclops AND had shimmied it’s way down to completely shut his eyelid during the pirate song.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that between the slow hip circle dance and the eye patch, he had 2/3 of the adults in attendance doubled over in laughter.  It was the funniest thing that happened all month.  Not kidding.

Most of the preschool carpool:

Jane got to do her 1st grade music program.  I’ve really figured out that the key to decent pictures is to send Emma up to the front of the audience with the camera.  She sits on the floor and photographs while I enjoy the music in the back.  Jane was really getting her groove on throughout most the program.  (Continuing the Dancing Romneys theme we seem to have going here.)

 

Further enjoying the Rainiest May in History, we got to accompany Jane on Freedom Day.  Here is a picture of her butterfly, Isabelle, before she flew the coop (to mix metaphors a little). 

This is a picture of Ryan at his FIRST CONCERT EVER!  For Mother’s Day, Ryan gave me (okay I called him up and ordered him to purchase) tickets to the BareNaked Ladies concert.  It was so fun.  A little different from the last concert (Nirvana?), I attended in that  a)everyone stayed in their seat  b)the median age was 35 and c)the group threw in some songs from their kids album.

 

More fun for the grownups at our house:  A Cinco (Ocho) De Mayo party where Ryan drew on his Hayward upbringing to perfectly portray 60% of the males he went to school with.  Please note the ironed crease in his t-shirt.  He wants to make sure everyone appreciates his attention to detail.

 

We also had the annual piano recital.  All the kids participated but I’m only putting Emma in because she has gotten no other love in the post. 

And last, but not least, the birthday party—organized and executed by the cheap creative one in the family.  Here he is decorating the awesome cake:

It was an Almost Slumber party—as you can clearly see:

We had ghost stories,

breakfast for dinner

a “Sleeping Beauty” game that got derailed by, none other than

a Dancing Romney

Here are all the cute party goers:

I’d say Ryan hires out, but he’s a teensy bit busy these days. 

I CAN send a Dancing Romney your way, however, should you be needing some distraction in your neck of the woods.