Graduations and Chins

Well, Tyler graduated from PreSchool last Friday and he was very proud. He is excited to go to Kindergarten across the street at the new school in our neighborhood next year. He is excited to turn six and be at the "big school." He asked me on Sunday

"Mom, when will I graduate from Church so that I don't have to go to that anymore either?"

I think some of the families around us heard him because it was during the closing prayer of sacrament meeting, hilarious, I had to try not to laugh out loud.

Brandon cut his little chin open last night at about 8pm. He was going off the jump that Brian made the boys and he didn't "landed it" as he usually says. He "landed" on the sidewalk and gashed it pretty good. We took him to the ER and they glued him up. They asked if he had ever been there and I surprised myself by saying no, I could't believe that this was the first ER trip with either 3 of my boys. I was, however, there with Brian in January when he gashed open his leg on a snow mobile. Can you imagine the money that the medical industry will be making off us in the future? Especially with the dirt biking that they plan to do together more and more??? Well, good thing Iam a calm and composed mother! I used to teach First Aid for the Red Cross so I feel like I can handle most things...some of you know a thing or two about that. I even had a SHIRT and a BADGE at one time.

Well so those are the happenings around here. Ethan is as cute and crazy as ever at 9 months now. He loves his brothers and his parents and anyone else who takes an interest in him. He took a step the other day so who knows what will be in store for that kid soon.

I love this picture of Brian and the boys. They were checking out the song that David Cook sang with ZZ Top on the Amercian Idol finale, it was pretty cool...Brian likes ZZ Top. The other pics are of Tyler playing T-Ball and Ethan trying hard to play the piano. I just heard Brandon in the kitchen with Tyler talking about his "owee", "you can't touch it, it has glue on it".

So I think I am going to start posting recipes that I like each week....it's fun to remind myself of good easy dinners that I like and I thought some of you might like the ideas.

Here are the recipes of the week

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1 bottle catalina salad dressing

1 jar apricot jam

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

mix those together and spread over chicken in a caserole dish. Bake 350 drgrees for one hour and serve over rice. S0 Good and So EASY.


Sweet Strawberry Salad
dresssing: 3/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1tsp salt

2-3 cloves garlic

put in blender and pour over salad. You can add poppy seeds for color if you want also.

I use:

-romaine lettuce

-sliced fresh strawberries

-shredded monteray jack or mozzerella cheese

you can also add the following if you want the salad as more of the main dish...

-almonds (chopped and toasted)

-bacon bits

-green onion

-cooked chicken

I like to make this in the Spring and Summer and serve with a toasted Thomas' Everything Bagel with butter-yum.

Per Grandma Laraine's Request

Aparently, a post is not a post without pictures. Grandma Laraine says "I like the stories but I really like the pictures!" Sounds like a little kid doesn't it? A book without pictures is just boring! So here are today's happenings with the practically 90 degree weather. Like my mother in law said in an email today, we went from Winter to Spring on one day! I swear living here in the high desert as they call it, it's either hot or cold. This last picture is of Ethan when he gets mad and sad and is sniffing through his nose being funny at the same time. It's the best shot I could get today. He is kind of an intense little baby at times! My cmaera is not nearly as good as Mari's!!! I might be making a new investment soon...her pics are so good! Might be an operator issue as well who knows.

When You Aren't Exciting Enough...

I have been wondering when I would post another addition to the old blog because there is really nothing exciting to report. The only things to report really are the funny things that Brandon says because he is three. He learned how to do a "Cannon Ball" into the pool and yell it at the same time which is very cute. He says it all day long even though we never really swim! He says it for every little trick that he does throughout the day and believe me there are many. So the funny thing is that he doesn't say "Cannon Ball"....he actually says "Canyon Ball!" These are the things that I enjoy about being a parent.

Here are a few more...I found this on my friend's blog today and it's perfect.

"Thinking of Having Kids? Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1

1.Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior. Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.(Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast.Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive) Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.Leave it there.2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air. You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly.(Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room."

My Life as a MOM

So this weekend my Dad came to visit and it was really nice. It's always nice just to have an extra hand and various times. Brandon however I felt was very naughty! He had major temper problems. Three year olds take the cake over 2's I think. He just gets angry over nothing really and can't stop until way later. It's KIND OF funny but really annoying at the same time cause it's not like he tells you what is the matter as if you could TRY and help him figure things out.

I was getting ready for the day this morning and Ethan had already had a bottle and a bath so should be totally happy right? Well, he was at my feet, holding on for dear life to my legs like babies do. I was trying so hard not to let him fall while doing my hair, I grabbed the hairspray to try and hold the hair in place so that I could rapidly go throughout my busy day. What I really grabbed was the half eaten bottle of formula and poured some over my hair...it didn't really give the same affect as the spray and was much wetter. The point of the story is that you know your a "MOM" when you can't even do your hair quick enough to be in the bathroom alone for 5 minutes and be able to grab the right stuff to get the job done! Needless to say while trying to balance a baby carefully at your feet so he doesn't topple into the cupboards or onto the hard bathroom floor, this resulting in guilt because they scream in pain and look at you like you just tried to hurt them.

I was thinking that I might start a book about the funny things that you have to do and then what you get used to doing while you have little kids. The funny ways that you sneak out of the room while they aren't looking so that you can get SOMETHING done that hour or even that day. Only to be discovered missing in action two minutes later and paying for it for the next 20 minutes with mass histeria in your arms. This is the way it is when you have an 8 month old who thinks his world is ending when you think for even a minute that it might be OK to leave the room or have the nerve to actually walk by without picking him up!

Now about Brandon, he actually can be quite sweet and helpful. He just informed me that Ethan needs a diaper change he is getting me all the necessities to do it. Being a mom is like being on a roller coaster! Happy kids, sad kids, grumpy kids, not to mention that my emotions might change a bit during the day as well! Tyler is at school at the moment so I have a couple seconds to catch up here on the blog, or as I like to think of it my journal! Tlyer is doing well, just a little attitude here and there. I can't believe that I am actually old enough to be rasising three kids and teaching them the life lessons that I remember trying hard to understand as a child. He is really sweet to his brothers most of the time and really helpful with Ethan. I love what a smaller sibling can teach an older one. Both Brandon and Tyler are cute the way that they talk to Ethan as if he can understand them. Life seems short at times and I really want to cherish the present time, other days it can really drag on, it's kind of wierd. Like I said, roller coaster.