Crepe Paper Flowers, Hullabaloo, Paper Doll Crafts, & Chocolate...all at the same time!

One of the things I enjoy most is watching to see what Addy will do during the day to entertain herself. Sometimes I think I should have put her in preschool, but she is always busy and I get to be with her everyday and I wouldn't miss that for the world! In the last 10 minutes she has been making paper doll crafts, which morphed into making me crepe paper flowers on pipe stems, playing Hullabaloo (and doing the winners dance every time), and eating her chocolate Easter bunny. Of course there were a few hugs and kisses thrown in too. I am so glad I get to be home with Addy and share this fun time with her!

Here is a look at our day so far:
Family Scripture study
Spanish Lesson
Breakfast
Morning Chores
Kids off to school
Get ready
Play Group (as we were leaving, Addy said she wanted a play date...never enough time with friends :)
Lunch at play group
Coupon clipping
Addy computer time (while mom makes a few phone calls)
and now the crafting, dancing, and chocolate eating....
the older kids will be home in a few minutes then we will go to....
Alex baseball
Connor Orthodontist
Alex soccer
Addy soccer game (taking Alex and his friend Sam)
Cassy Futsol (at the same time as the soccer game:)
Bookclub for me (YAY!)
and somewhere in there we need to practice piano, read 30 minutes each, do homework, & eat dinner, prepare sharing time lesson, etc.

When people ask what I have been up to lately, nothing ever comes to mind....clearly it is because I have lost my mind with all of this running around!

Bad things happen in 3's...

Well, they always say that bad things come in threes. We have had our share of not so great luck lately....

1- A couple of weeks ago I hit my poor Mishy cat with my car in the garage. I felt ssoooo bad!. Her leg was broken and part of her back. We had to have her put to sleep. Right after the accident, we were trying to comfort her and she actually started to purr. I think it was the goodbye gift she gave me. She had been a part of our family for about 17 years.

2- I broke my favorite sunglasses.

3- My cell phone has been missing for four weeks....how have I even survived? It actually hasn't been too bad. I hate to buy a new one, because I am sure it will show up (Matt is actually the one who is more sure). I'm crossing my fingers...

4- My car didn't pass inspection for the first time ever (it is 10 years old though)

5-My lens on my D5SLR is catching and won't take photos. The replacement lens is about $500 (of course I found one that is even better than the one I had :)

I am hoping that I am done with my run of bad luck and that I am not just on my second run of bad things happening in threes!

I have started planning a crazy lifetime dream trip. I am so excited, although I can tell my kids are a little nervous. I am hoping to take the kids to Europe this December until the end of April. CRAZY! Matt will come for a couple weeks at the beginning of the trip and hopefully again while we are there. The plan is to travel around and then live in a little village in Spain called Mijas for about 3 months so the kids can attend school there and hopefully pick up on some spanish. We have been having some morning Spanish lessons and the kids are doing great. Kell has loaned me her Rosetta Stone and we try to do a lesson or test every morning before school. More on that later!

Tag....with Grace

"Mom, mom, mom....I've got to tell you something," said Alex as I was reading to the kids just before bed.

"You know Grace? (big smile)"

"Guess what?"

"She played tag today..."

"With ME (bigger smile and THAT look)"

Jazz with the boys...

When the kids play basketball with the Junior Jazz program, they receive two free Jazz tickets (nosebleed section, of course). I had two tickets in my purse so that I could take Connor to his game, but in the meantime I had taken Cassy out to breakfast at Mcdonald's and there was a BOGO coupon for a McMuffin on the back of the Jazz ticket. I totally forgot that the ticket was for an upcoming game rather than one that I had already been to and I used it up. I realized this mistake the night before the game and had planned on just buying another nosebleed ticket (really, how much could they be?). We called Glen Draper (the Jazz expert) to get the scoop on where to get a ticket and such and he said that all the cheap seats were sold out. AAAHHHH! He said the cheapest ticket was $40. So...it was 5:05 the day of the game and it started at 7. I got a hold of Ogden city rec and they had some spare tickets. It turns out that I got enough for our whole family! Matt wasn't up for it, so I ended up taking Connor, Ford, and Alex.

We had a great time! Alex was doing some serious jamming to the music... I am sure if we would have had tickets close enough for the cameras to see us we would have been on the Jumbotron. After a jam session finished and Alex sat down, the Jazz resumed their game, and Alex leaned over to me... "Mom, will you sign me up to play with them next year?"

I love that he thinks I have the ability to do anything for him....and if I could, you know I would!

p.s. The Jazz lost, but it was a close game. It was sold out because Boozer ( a former Jazz player) was playing for the Bulls and it was his first time back on the opposing team. It also turned out to be coach Jerry Sloan's last game....he announced his retirement the next day.

Hell, Great Scot!, & A Monkey's Uncle...

I am going to try to get this blog going again! I want to remember every precious thing that my kids do and I have such a bad memory that I need to get it recorded or it will be gone forever....

Addy was helping me fix dinner the other night and as we were about to get started she looked at me and said,"Mom, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE FIXING FOR DINNER?"

"What did you say?"

"What the hell are we fixing for dinner?"

"Addy, that is a swear word."

"Oh..."

A couple of days later she was calling me from upstairs and I didn't respond as quickly as she wanted so she stomped down the stairs...

"Why the hell won't you answer me?"

"I didn't hear you, you just swore again."

"OH...Sorry"

About half an hour later she came in with a question.

"Mom, can I ask you if something is a swear word?"

"Sure."

"What about 'Great Scot!'"

I assured her she was safe with that one. A few minutes later....

"What about 'A Monkey's Uncle'?"

I let her know that one was OK too. A week or two later...

"What about 'Hail to the Princess Aurora'?"

TOO FUNNY!

Chocolate Mint Brownies

I just used two boxes of brownie mix and cooked it in a jelly roll pan as directed.

Mint Frosting:

1/4 c softened butter

2 1/2 c powdered sugar

1 1/2 - 3 TBS milk

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

green food coloring

I doubled this recipe since I did the cookie sheet of brownies.  To make the mint frosting, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the milk 1 tbs at a time, beating until it is smooth and spreadable.  Beat in peppermint extract and tint to desired shade with greeen food coloring.  Frost the cooled brownies, cover, and chill 1 hour.  

Chocolate Topping:

3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

3 tbs butter

I doubled this recipe too...Pour chips into microwave safe bowl, add the butter, and microwave on high for 1 1/2 min or until chocolate melts.  Stir until smooth.  Pour the chocolate over the brownies and smooth it with a knife.  Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until the coating hardens.  Bring brownies to room temperature, then cut into pieces.

Carmel Corn Recipe (the yummy, sticky, gooey kind)

1 1/2- 2 cups unpopped popcorn

Pop popcorn in air popper, sift out unpopped kernals.

2 1/4 c brown sugar

1 c butter

1 c light karo syrup

1/2 tsp salt

Mix together ingredients, heat on med to med/high, bring to a rolling boil.  Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.

1 c sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  Pour over popped corn and stir to cover.