A little Football and a Great Man

DISCLAIMER: I cannot believe that I will be dedicating any time to the Ute's on my blog, but I fear that I must so that this all makes sense.

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I have no local University affiliation, I went to a community college, but since marrying The Man he has encouraged a very diligent campaign to support the University of Utah Football Team (UTES) as opposed to my parents' favored Brigham Young University Football Team (BYU). In Utah there is a definite division of love and hate where these teams are concerned. The Man graduated from a separate University so his love of the Utes' is something of a way to egg the father-in-law on.

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So today I asked to take my parents to lunch for an early celebration of my dad's upcoming birthday. He picked the place, a local Italian joint, his hang-out, I was ready for them to shout out "Norm" as he came in the door. We walked in and I knew that we were in for it by what was displayed on their "Specials for the Day" sign. Below the Grilled Cod and the Chicken Caccitorie was a proud statement:

GO UTES!!!

I knew that they were in trouble.

First, he asked for a blue pen, it was in the back.

Then he asked to see the manager, he was not in today.

Then he told them that they should be ashamed to have that there and promptly erased it.

All this as we are trying to get seated with all the workers coming to witness the commotion. In the end my mom and I kindly reminded them to make note of who's' glass they were spitting in was not ours........

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We order lunch and Dad gets' his usual pizza lunch meal and it looks great. I have to say that the service was amazing; someone came along to ask us how we were doing several times and then it happened.

The discovery!!

Under the pizza, there was a note, a partially eaten note that said........

My dad loved it!!!

He was up and in the kitchen in a flash and that was when the laughing really began. Fellow patrons got in on the joke and it was a regular celebration in there. As Dad put it, "the best birthday present I have had in a long time."

It was a great afternoon spent with two of my favorite people, that just happen to be my parents!

Dad, I love you so much for who you are; for the person that you helped me to become, for all the fun that I have when I am with you, and for loving my family with such devotion. I love that The Man can come to you and know that he will get support and counsel, and most of all understanding. I love that you gave me my tool box with the knowledge of what each tool did and helped The Man become my "fix-it" man. I love that you are always there to help in whatever way we need it. I love that all my greatest memories in my life have you in them. I love that I get to spend time with you, especially when we went to the Temple together. I love that you married your sweet-heart, your true soul mate, and work so hard at being eternally blissfully happy. I love that no matter what crazy thing we are doing that you are supportive and willing to help out. I love that you love me and I know it each and everyday.
Dad I love you so much!!!
Happy Birthday Dad!!!

What was in my washer.....

We live right next to a BIG park with lots of trees a great place to play for all the kids in the neighborhood.

So each and everyday after school my kids go to the park and rake the leaves, climb the trees and do Fall kid stuff. Today after their play it was time to wash their coats. I feel they can only go to school and play and school and play so many times before they could walk on their own. It was time.... I load them into the washer and go about my life......

Time to put them in the dryer and I cannot believe what is in the washer!!!

Apparently they had pulled grass, collected pine cones, pine needles, numerous leaves, rocks and various berries from the bushes and placed them in their coat pockets.

I was so pleased!!!!

As with any problem that they cause, they must clean it up.

Two kids trying to fit into one Washing Machine filled with nature. The conversation amidst cleaning out the machine was hilarious.

DQ: "Why did you not leave all that stuff outside?"

SB: "You told me to put it in my pocket."

DQ: "And you could not take it out, we needed that for our nest!"

It continued on but I had to leave that part of the house so I could laugh. Then things got quiet, too quiet!!!

This is what I saw when I entered the laundry room.Sweet-Boy making an attempt to clean nature up with my lint roller.SB: "Mom, Drama Queen will not help me do the rest."

To which my darling daughter goes berserk telling me that she did all the work and the he could do the last of it. She was done!!!

This is what my washing machine churned out of their pockets. It does not look like much but it really was something to behold.

I leave the room for a second and hear a muffled "Help me Mommy!"

This is what I saw on my return.

Not only was he hanging in the washer but somehow he was stuck in there. I had to laugh then.

So after he was rescued, washer all cleaned out, garbage dumped, floor swept and things back to normal, Sweet-boy told me, as I tucked him into bed, that, "I never want to clean nature up again."

Hmmm, I think a lesson was learned tonite and it was good for a post too.

Try-It-Tuesday

Okay I know that I have not done this in a while but I think that we have been living on pizza and spaghetti and I think we all know how to make that. But here is one that I love but the family is not fond of. I think it is the Broccoli. But here it is.

Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Fixings you will need:

8 chicken breasts, simmer till done and torn into pieces

1 bunch cut broccoli, cooked till tender

8 oz cream cheese

2 cups milk

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Place in a buttered 13X9 baking dish the cooked broccoli. Cover with the cooked chicken.In a blender mix the cream cheese, milk, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese and blend. If you want thicker sauce decrease the milk to 1 1/2 cups and increase the cheese to 1 cup.
Pour into sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till it comes to a boil.Pour the sauce over the broccoli/chicken and cover with more Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes to brown top.

This is really good the second day after the sauce has thickened.

Enjoy!!!

What makes a true friend....

The year was 1998 and I thought that my life had ended.

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The man had been out of a job for about 4 months and we had just had our first child. It was not the idyllic setting that one thinks should be, when so many wonderful things are happening in your life. Finally, a job opportunity came along but, it was out of state. What? I had never lived away from Utah my whole life. All my family was here. Everything that I thought identified me as me was here. What was I going to do in Idaho!!!?? Needless to say that I did not leave the state as a happy camper, looking forward to this new adventure. I was MAD!!!! I was mad at my hubby for taking me away from my family, away from our first home, away from my life.

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We moved into a townhouse and I was determined to not be happy. The couple that managed the complex seemed normal and were very willing to help us move in but I was not going to like any part of Idaho.

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Time passed and I cried most of the days away. I played with Drama Queen and thought how pathetic my life was.... Day after day, the manager's wife would come and knock on our door. I tried to hide but with one car it was apparent that I was home. Slowly, I opened the door and let her in. We had the same likes, the same crazy laugh and our babies were 2 days apart. She was the sister that I never knew that I needed. She became my best friend and someone that I almost did not let in....

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Today is her Birthday and I want her to know how much I appreciate her. She has saved my sanity, laughed and cried with me during moments of my life that I will always cherish. She is an amazing wife, an incredible mother and I marvel at how she can continually serve those around her with such devotion and no thought for herself. She is humble and true, she is filled with the light of our Lord. Besides, she can laugh loud and hard just like me until our sides ache and our faces are wet with tears of joy. She is a true friend and even when we moved back to Utah she has remained a strong part of my life. Daily we talk, daily I feel her love for me and daily I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing my life with someone that I can truly call a friend!!! Thank you Busy Lady for 11 years of friendship!

Happy Birthday!!!

Halloween Parties and Pumpkin Carving

Here is the gang ready to go out and haunt everyone.... I had so much fun scaring the kids.

Yes that is me as Death.

Over the weekend we had a visit from the best Grandparents ever!!!

Sweet-boy just loves his grandpa!!! Sweet-boy at his class party.

I fixed his Optimus Prime costume so he could walk better. Gotta love felt and a glue-gun! Sweet-boy's teacher. She was so funny in her costume. What a sweet face.

Drama Queen in her costume and her favorite pj's.

I love the look of them together, don't you?With the class parties done we were off to our next activity, carving pumpkins. Sweet-boy wanted to take a picture of the insides of his pumpkin.

The Man looking for the face in his pumpkin.
Drama Queen loved pulling out all the "guts" of all the pumpkins. Sweet-boy done carving his pumpkin.

Behold the finished pumpkins. We are ready for a night of Trick-or-Treating.

Happy Halloween!!!

You've all been Boo-ed!!!

This is such a cute picture and I know that you want to take it.

Go on, you can really have it. Motherboard gave it to me and I want everyone to get Boo-ed before the big day.

So if you have not been "Boo-ed" take this and add it to your blog.

Happy Halloween!!!

The tale of Three Little Pumpkins'

Three little pumpkins start out for the night,

dreaming of Halloween tricks and delight.

Along the way they get distracted,

by a six-pack nicely wrapped'd.

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One sips, not too bad,

try two, now three and four, I'm feeling glad.

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The night goes on in a blur,

this partying all night is great, for-sure.

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Along comes the sun to awaken the brood,

but we find them all. in. a. mood.

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Ones head is aching, the other just hurts,

the last one is moaning then turns and he spurts.

Poor little pumpkin, his merriment gone,

wishing he hadn't tagged along.

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Dreaming of candy and tricks and treats,

instead of heaving on some guys street.

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The moral dear pumpkin for this sad little tale,

Candy is better, avoid the ale.

So sorry for my attempt at being witty.

I got these pictures as an e-mail and just could not pass up the fun and a friendly reminder to be careful and safe this Halloween.

Happy Sugar Coma Day!!!

Halloween *$%^&#* Costumes!

Generally I enjoy Halloween.

It is one of my favorite holidays and the kick off to all the best ones to come. In a perfect world I have discussed with the kids their desired costume for that year by August and by month end of September it is ready, hanging and just waiting for that magical night to finally be worn. This year - forget it. I delayed! I didn't even want to think about costumes, let alone the time needed to complete any outfit. So I waited and procrastinated even beyond the safe time needed to order something. Why was I so surprised to find all the costumes SOLD OUT when I finally got on line. I blog everyday and I could not check on the costumes, what was I thinking.....? Needless to say the problem still remained, two kids and no costumes for them. Okay, I can do this I have the machine, I have the desire (sorda), I can make them costumes.

We begin.

Disclaimer: I took sewing in High school. It was a disaster. I do not do patterns, I do not do instructions. I feel boxed in, stifled, my creative energy snuffed out when guidelines have to be followed. Needless to say my teacher just shook her head and in the end gave me a very acceptable B- for my many, many, many attempts that just did not seem to ever look like the picture.

Thus, we begin the formulation of a plan for Drama Queens' outfit. All I have to go from is a black/white page from the Internet. Boy is this going to be fun.......

I think I pinned thrice and sewed once. It was annoying to Drama Queen that had to come over so I could measure and re-measure and then pin, then try on and then re-measure again and then sew and try on yet again.

I always consider it a great accomplishment to get to the sleeves. If I could just do a big square with no sleeves I would be in sewing heaven. Curse you sleeves and zippers.

We are complete. Three broken needles, interfacing that gummed up the machine resulting in the need to staple the last hem and we are done. It is nothing like the picture, but she is happy with it and I can state that project is done.

Drama Queens' version minus the broom.

The much desired but completely sold out Internet version.

In the end $39.99 was a bargain for this compared to my pain and suffering.

Now that Drama Queen was all set it was time for Sweet-boy to get his costume. His was one that I thought would be easy to do with some card-board and lots and lots of colored Duct-tape. So I pulled out the measuring tape and began carving out the pieces. Turning 2-dimensional pictures into functional costumes is something I hope not to do again soon. Sweet-boy was really a good sports with all the measuring and testing of this and that to make it all come together. His costume was not as time consuming but still hard to make work. In the end this is what we got.

My version of Optimus Prime and the one that was $29.99 and completely gone as well. He was such a good sport about having it taped to him. He also had to develop a swagger to walk with all that card-board on him.

All this stress was in preparation for a Trunk-or-Treat at the church. They had great chili and corn bread. Games for the kids and a costume parade and then the high-light of the night..... Trunk-or-Treat.

This a great way to get candy and not go very far. All the cars park by each other, open up the trunks that are/are not decorated. So in about 30 minutes they get gobs of candy and then we all go home.

At the end of the night I think it was a good night. I asked the kids if they had fun and of course they did. Sweet-boy grabbed me and said, "Mom, the big boys knew what I was and they thought it was a cool costume!"

Wahooo!!!!

That says success to this tired Mom and for all my trouble they shared some of their candy with me and a big HUG.

Potatoe Man

I have a little chef that helps me when ever I get in the Kitchen. When Sweet-boy hears the Kitchen Aid mixer scrapping across the counter he comes running. For him it means, "I get to make cookies with mom."

But his favorite thing to help me with is cutting up potatoes and making rolls.

Tonite for dinner he cut up the potatoes, placed them in the pot and chopped them some more.

Then he worked on making those wonderful buttery crescent rolls.

It looks difficult but I think he was ready for the camera to go away.


I love having a little chef in the kitchen. I remember my brother always cooking up a storm and to this day he is a really good cook. Maybe Sweet-boy will take over and I can just show up at the table for a wonderful meal.....that would really be something for a mom to enjoy.

Just a Little Quirky

I was tagged by this incredible lady. So as any tag goes there are rules to follow and here they are: Link the person that tagged you, mention that there are rules on your blog, then tell 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself, then tag 6 fellow bloggers. Got it? Lets go.....

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1. I cannot throw away anything that my children make at school. Every year I go to Target and purchase a big rubbermaid tub to hold all their masterpieces from school. I write their name, age and teachers name on it and start the hoarding. At the beginning of the next school year I go and look at what they did the year before and see how they have changed and grown. It is so fun and something that I am sure they will be annoyed with when they are older and I make them go through and get rid of it cause by them there will be 13 boxes for them to sort through.

2. I am a big time purger. When toys or pieces of a game get lost I feel that the item is damaged or not worth hanging on to so it gets sent to the DI or good will. At the end of a season I sort through clothes, shoes, anything and everything and get rid of it. I hate things lying around and not getting used.

3. I drive my car. The Man hates my car. So when we go anywhere in my car, I drive it.

4. I cannot go to sleep without doing the following routine. The kitchen must be clean, no dirty dishes waiting, or glasses laying about. I am happiest hearing the dishwasher running. The table cloth must be replaced on the table with chairs tucked in place. I turn off all the lights, check the doors to make sure that they are locked and make sure that the garage door is down and the outside lights are on. Then I proceed to the kids room, each one is re-tucked into bed, kissed on the forehead and stroked across the head to move hair away from sweet faces. Then I proceed to my room; fold down my bed, get a glass of water, check my alarm, climb into bed and read for a half hour, turn off the light, roll onto my tummy and go to sleep.

5. I cannot set a table. Okay let me clarify that one. I know that there needs to be a spoon, fork and knife around the plate but as far as where they go I have no idea nor do I care to learn. When we were first married my mom and her new husband were coming for dinner. I set the table in what I thought was the right way and awaited their arrival. As we sat down to eat they both commented on the unusual arrangement of the silverware. I thought there was nothing wrong with it, but in that moment I found out that my husband knew how to set a table. So when we have nice parties guess who gets to set the table - yep him. I am sure that he is wishing that he never mentioned that one to me.

6. I have a weekly routine that I have to follow or I get terribly lost. Monday is laundry day and general organize the week day. I make up my "To Do" list for everyday of the week. I also decide what we are eating for dinner that week and get the list together for the store. Tuesday is work in the yard day, pulling weeds, turning my soil and giving my plants some love. Wednesday is mow the lawn day and general errand day. Thursday is garbage day, make cookie day and any other job that needs to get done day. Friday is laundry day again and prep for weekend projects day. Saturday is project day or if no projects I work day. Sunday is church, maybe work and rest day. This is the day that I try to let loose on some of the rules and just enjoy being with my family day.

Bonus Quirky Habit:

I have normal hearing, no problems, no deficits, but for as long as I can remember I watch TV, listen to lectures/speaker, anything that requires a long time in listening with my head turned. It is always to the left so I look like I am looking at you out of the corner of my right eye. It makes people crazy that I do this. So The Man has to sit on my right side so he does no think that I am staring at him the whole time we are watching a movie.

Now if that isn't quirky I don't know what is??!

There is more but I do not want to frighten anyone......

Now that you know my quirky habits, lets find out more about these bloggy friends.

I tag Pocket Change, Pawly and Sandy, Manwaring Moments, Fenn Bunch, Crazyland, and This is the day.