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The Trials of a Busy Mom

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Greetings from the Land of Random

February 26, 2008 / / 3 Comments

While braiding Jenna’s hair this morning, the radio was on, and Donny Osmond did his little “8 track play back”. Among other things, he said that the Eagles released their hit “Hotel California” on this date back in 1970- something. I just had to chuckle, since just this very morning at Curves, I actually asked Chris, the circuit coach, if she could skip that song when it came on. I’ve never asked them to skip over a particular song. Usually I just keep on working out and try to ignore the song if it’s one I don’t like. But something came over me this morning, and I boldly asked if she could skip that song. “What? Hotel California?” She asked, “you don’t like that song?”

No, I don’t really care for that song, ok? Add that one to the list of songs Paige avoids. She actually went in the back and skipped to the next Eagles song. Thank you, Chris!

But then I thought it was really funny that Donny would mention that same song not an hour later. Maybe there is something to that Hotel California that I’m just not appreciating. Probably not.

*(*(*(*(*(*(

Last night for Family Home Evening we decided to all go to the library.
Since there is no library in our town, we have to travel about 20 minutes to our old neighborhood to go to the library. It’s not really on the way to anything, and not convenient, so we don’t go very much in the winter. As we were getting ready, I told Megan that she could still give us her “lesson” for FHE, since she was on lesson this week. So, in the car, she gave her super condensed lesson, which was to read 1 Nephi 3:7. Do we all have that one memorized? ‘I will go and do the things which the Lord commanded’, and then we sang the song Nephi’s courage. In the car.
It about drove Ryan crazy (he’s a real big supporter of “quiet in the car”), and after we sang that song, he said, “You know, kids, since we’re in the car, you don’t really need to be extra obnoxious.”
I had to chime in with a comment after that one. “Just the regular amount of obnoxiousness will be fine, thank you.”
And then John, behind us in the middle seat, pipes up with, “To the Library!”
They LOVE going to the library. You’d think I was taking them to a water park or something. Maybe for spring break, I’ll say, “We can’t afford to go to Disneyland like your friends are doing, but……..we get to go….to the LIBRARY! WOO-HOO!” Or maybe not.

They all enjoyed picking out books at the library. For Ryan, they had free Wi-Fi. Wow. So he wasn’t grumpy. I even splurged and got a few movies. As I was looking for movies, I wanted to find Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s been years since I’ve seen that movie and I realized my kids haven’t seen it at all. Can you believe it? My kids have NOT yet seen Raiders. What an unfit mother I am. (Wow, it says on Amazon that they have used copies for one cent! But VHS. Who watches VHS these days. Do any of you have this movie and you’re tired of it and just want to mail it to me? Anyone?) Well, they didn’t have that at the library, and we had to get this one instead. It’s not quite gonna do it for me, but the kids will enjoy it.

What’s for dinner?

February 25, 2008 / / 3 Comments

For dinner on Sunday I made this Chicken curry with sweet potatoes and coconut rice. There’s pictures on that link, and the whole recipe. It was SO GOOD! My husband even said it was “restaurant quality”. The rice was yummy, the sweet potatoes delicious and the chicken not too currylicious. With the kids it was hit and miss, with some of them liking it and some of them not. But it’s impossible to please everyone around here. Natalie said she might like it if there weren’t so many flavors. Too many FLAVORS, huh? Well, excuse me. The only problem with this recipe was the smells that it left on my hands. Garlic, onion and curry…before church? Not such a good idea. All through church I’m smelling my hands and hoping the nobody else can smell what I just threw in the crockpot for dinner. Hand washing–doesn’t help. Lotion–not really covering it up. And my house still smells like curry. I guess that’s what you get.

And one of my new favorites is this Greek Pasta Dish

pasta
12 ounces penne (whole wheat)
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
2 tablespoons pine nuts
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, chopped, thawed and drained
4 large plum tomatoes, chopped
½ cup fat free cottage cheese
4 ounces feta cheese
Jar of calamata olives
Salt Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Drain and set aside. Cover and keep warm.

Sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add pine nuts and stir until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and tomatoes and cook until just heated though. Do not over cook.
Drain the cottage cheese in a strainer, and pour into a small bowl. Add the feta cheese. Using a pastry blender, combine cheeses together.

To serve, place the warm pasta in a bowl. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Toss until well coated.
Add the spinach mixture and toss.
Finally add the feta cheese mixture.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Top with a handful olives.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 400 calories. 15 grams fat, 17 mg cholesterol Adapted from: Healthy Homestyle Cooking 1994

I didn’t have pine nuts or those olives, and I added some bacon bits, but it’s delicious! And it saves well, too, so it’s good for a nice lunch the next day. Again, some of the kids don’t like it, but they can just eat the noodles plain, instead of with all that “stuff” on it, right?

Oh, and I made that cheesecake again, but with Splenda instead of sugar. It has kind of a weird taste, darn it. So, there you have it. Some ideas for dinner this week. Let me know if you try them.

TGIF

February 22, 2008 / / 3 Comments

Yesterday was a hard day. We were overscheduled already, and then we had to cram parent teacher conferences for Cole in there. Since I let Cole go down to Arizona to visit his cousins and he missed school on Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I knew that his grades would not be the best. I didn’t know they would be as bad as they were. Two D’s and an F, to say the least. I had asked Ryan if HE could go to this parent teacher conference, but he ended up sick all day. So, I hauled Cole and John to the dentist at 3:00, go to the Parent Teacher Conference by 4:30, and was pummeled with bad news for almost two hours. My favorite was his English teacher, who was so sweet and nice in saying, “Now I know you didn’t forget to do all these assignments, did you? And you are surely working on your research paper that’s due on Monday, right?” I think my eyes may have bugged out of my face a little bit and I’m very lucky my entire head didn’t explode. Research paper? I got home just in time to meet a friend to go to our book club, thank goodness. Book Club. My night to forget about the kids and their homework issues. And it was indeed fun. I’m so glad I have my girlfriends, who swap stories on everything from divorce proceedings to our church callings. And yes, eventually we even talk about the book!

Must you scrape all of my gums off?

February 20, 2008 / / 14 Comments

I’m back from the dentist.

Ow.

I don’t really enjoy the dentist to start with. I mean, who does? My husband actually does, that’s who. He says it’s relaxing. Relaxing? I don’t think so!
But I scheduled an appointment all by myself, so I wouldn’t have to wait a long time to get all of us in there. Have I mentioned before that I hate waiting at the dentist and I’ve actually threatened to go elsewhere if I am kept waiting a long time again? Well, I am. So, while John was at preschool, I used my valuable “no children time” to go in for my 6 month check-up. I forgot to mention to them NOT to take x-rays, since our insurance only covers them once a year, and I guess we all got x-rays last time. But when I take the boys tomorrow, I’ll remember that small detail.

I don’t know where the nice young hygienist that I usually get was. Instead I got grandma scraper from hell. She got right in there and started stabbing, scraping and poking, all the while chatting on about American Idol, even though I told her I haven’t been watching it this season. I lay there in the chair, trying to relax (by the way–wouldn’t it be GREAT if they gave manicures or pedicures at the dentist? In keeping with my great ideas to combine businesses, I think this one would be good! You could have someone there making your feet all soft and your toes all pretty, and when you were done with the torture of the dentist, you would have beautiful feet! I should have suggested it.) and listening to the radio. And if it weren’t bad enough to have Mrs. Pain there with her hands in my mouth, one of my most hated songs of all time came on the radio.

“Must we?” I thought, “Do we REALLLY have to play that song, My99.5?”

What song? Tainted Love by Soft Cell. And I love you all too much to include a link to the music or the lyrics. If you don’t know that song, just count your blessings and forget about it, and be thankful.
“Will the torture never end?” I felt like shouting. Well, the song ended, but she just kept scraping and digging and poking. Then came the polishing. Usually I don’t mind the polishing, except for when polish or water gets flinged onto my face. But this master of all discomfort made even the polishing uncomfortable. She was really PUSHING that polisher to make sure my pearly whites were actually pearly and white.

Somehow I managed to keep from screaming, but I did notice that my hands were clenched together like nobody’s business.

Eventually I got out of that hated establishment, with an all clear from the dentist, by the way. Even though I don’t like to floss, I’m an excellent brusher and I haven’t had a cavity in years.

Two hours and three tylenol later, and my mouth is still in pain. PAIN, my friends.
But at least I won’t have to go back there for another 6 months. Well, except to take my boys. That would be tomorrow. And the girls next week. But after that, I’m DONE with that place for SIX WHOLE MONTHS. Take that, Madame Pokey-instrument!

Emotions

February 19, 2008 / / 8 Comments

Today must be just one of those emotional days for me. Chalk it up to hormones, lack of sleep, I don’t know. As I was driving home from Robert’s Crafts today, John Michael Montgomery’s song “The Little Girl” came on. Yes, on the country station. Want to make something of it? Well, I’ve heard this song before, but this time it got to me. Even before the end, I was crying. I guess I knew how it ended, and it made me cry. Here’s the whole song if you haven’t heard it, or it you would like to hear it again. Maybe it will make you cry, too.

Later I choked up when I was watching last week’s episode of the Biggest Loser, and Trent (my favorite member of the blue team) volunteered to be sent home. Crying. I’m oh so glad that none of my kids were watching me bawl about some guy who has to leave the biggest loser ranch. Ok, Paige, get a grip!

On the other end of the spectrum, we have laughter. Saturday night, my friend Tess invited a few of her fun girlfriends (me being one of them) out for a girl’s night out. We all went to see Rockapella in concert. You may remember them from their days on PBS, singing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.”

It was a fun concert, and we enjoyed the music. There’s something about men singing a’ccapella that is just beautiful. A few of the women in our group especially liked their bass, a tall good looking black man. -Whew- Anyway, during the concert, Tess whispered something to her friend, Michelle, and the both of them just started laughing. When the concert was over, she shared her little “joke.” “Can you imagine,” she said, “if someone were to throw some panties up on stage during that one song?! That would be hysterical.” We all laughed about that one, and I said, “Oh yes, I always keep some extras in my purse for just such an occasion!” We laughed and laughed and commented on how HARD it would be to actually get your underwear off (if you were wearing it) in order to toss it up on the stage. And as Mormons, that would make things just a little bit more interesting, right?
Tess could not get over the hilarity of that image in her mind. We went to dinner at Los Hermanos, and about half way through dinner, she started cracking up again for no reason. What’s so funny? We asked. She could barely speak, she was laughing so hard. “I just keep thinking about throwing the underwear up on stage!” We all laughed again. And yes, it’s still making me chuckle. I’m not sure if she told her husband that one, or not, but I could always send him a link to this blog post, right?

So emotions are funny things. Sometimes they creep up on you unexpected like. They give our lives depth and color, don’t they. Sometimes annoying, but I’d rather be emotional than not.

Guten Morgan

February 19, 2008 / / 8 Comments

Warning–this is another post about my silly dreams. So, if disjointed dream stories annoy you, click away now.

That said, I’ve been having the most vivid “right before I wake up” dreams lately. I mean I’ve always been a dreamer, but for the past few days I’ve been waking up with very specific dream memories. Last night I dreamed I went to get my haircut. Not just any haircut, however, this was a combination hair salon/ car detail place run by some Greek immigrants. So, I dropped off my van on the outside, told them I wanted the wash and vacuum option, then went inside to get my hair cut. Brilliant idea, isn’t it? I’ve also thought that the Orthodontist should team up with an oil change place so that you could get your child’s teeth adjusted while getting your oil changed! Isn’t that brilliant? Anyway, back to my dream…In my dream, these people, even though they were Greek, were speaking German. I guess that’s from my experience with many immigrants from all over who once they lived in Germany, they had to learn German–more or less. So, since these dream people were speaking German, I was also speaking German. They complemented me on my German, in fact. “Hast du in Deutschland gewohnst?” they asked.
“Ja, aber es ist 16 Jahre vor!” I replied.
“Ach, so! Dein Deutsch is noch gut.” They said.
“Vielen Dank!” I said. (And if you are a German speaker, you are probably cringing right now, as my German REALLY isn’t good anymore, and I appologize for putting you through such a painful experience.)

Now, it’s been a good 16 years since I have exercised my brain in speaking German, and it’s a wonder my brain didn’t explode. But in my dream, I was conjugating those verbs, using ‘Sie’ and ‘du’ appropriately, and coming up with words I haven’t thought about or used in quite some time.

Which makes me wonder–does my brain still have all that German knowledge all stored up, just waiting to use? I hope so.

Another item of business–My administrator switched my blog to a new server (or something like that), and a friend of mine emailed me yesterday asking me where my blog was…she couldn’t find me! I sent her a link and then she was able to get her, but I’m wondering if any of you faithful readers (I know there are at least three of you) had difficulty getting here. Are the links still working? Is anybody out there even reading this? Sometimes I wonder.

Compassion

February 16, 2008 / / 2 Comments

This week I’ve been following the stories of some of my favorite bloggers who have gone to Uganda with a group of Christian bloggers sponsored by Compassion.

“For the first time, Compassion is bringing 15 Christian bloggers to see the ministry’s work firsthand. The bloggers depart for Uganda on Feb. 10 and arrive back in the United States on Feb. 18. Read their blogs and get an insider’s view of Compassion as the bloggers send live updates.”

As I’ve read their accounts of seeing these children and the conditions they live in, it’s tugged at my heart. It’s amazing that these kids have so little, but can still be happy. I was especially touched by Shannon’s account of when she met the child that she has been sponsoring. Or this story of how a stuffed panda made a woman break down and cry–even before she met the child she was sponsoring.

And when I contrast the stories of these kids–that have literally nothing–with my kids who have everything, I feel guilty. Guilty that we have so much. I’ve spent most of the day and part of yesterday cleaning out my son’s closet. I’ve taken 5 full garbage bags to the trash. Bags of broken pencils, crumpled papers, lego pieces, toys that don’t get played with, socks with holes in them, candy wrappers (some with candy still in them) and so much “stuff” I can’t recall what it even was. I’ve organized his clothes and his books and his games and tried hard to not just throw everything away, but to keep the things that I think will be important to him. And I’ve filled a box with clothes that are too small, including a pair of shoes that I think he wore twice, before they got lost in the mess that was his closet. I’ll donate those and hope that someone else’s boy gets some good use out of them.

Do I give my kids too much “stuff”? Yes, I’m afraid I do. Do I have too much “stuff” myself? Yes, I really do. Maybe what we need in our family is to sponsor a child. Maybe that would help us give more of ourselves and think less of ourselves. And maybe you’ll consider it, too.

Valentine’s day wrap up

February 15, 2008 / / 2 Comments

Well, yesterday was a fun day. Valentine’s day, while not a big one in my mind, is one that is still important for the kids. The kids didn’t do elaborate valentines for friends, but they chose from what we had and chose some candy or pencils to tape on there. Megan made her own box, and Natalie used the one that Megan and Cole made last year. But I was in charge of the 6th grade class party for Megan’s class. I thought I had it all planned out, with three moms coming to help, and one brining treats, and one bringing drinks. I planned a game and a craft, and my friend had an activity, as well. But I guess I forgot the most important rule of party planning–follow-up. Because when we got there, it was just the two of us moms. I set up the craft and the game, and had to ask Megan to explain the craft while I started explaining the game. After about 10 minutes, one of the other moms came, and she said she had brought the drinks. I put her in charge of the game, and we continued in our festivity. But when it came time to have our treat, there was no treat. I saw some boxes on the counter that looked like bakery boxes, and I peeked in. Oh, Donuts! I asked the boy whose mom I had called to bring treats if he had brought those.
“No, I brought those,” said Sabrina, “it’s my birthday.”
“Oh, can we use them for our party snack?”
“Sure,” she said.
Whew!
So, the party wasn’t a total disaster, but it seemed very disorganized to me, and I’m the one who planned it!

In the afternoon, there was a knock on the door and it was a delivery guy standing there with flowers! OH! Hooray, My hubby loves me, I thought.
“Um, they aren’t home,” said the guy, “can I leave these with you?”
Oh. They aren’t for me. Oh well, I can enjoy them for the day, I guess. Not that I WANT my husband to send me flowers. If he did, I would probably get on his case for all the money wasted on delivery, when he could just stop by Costco on the way home and pick up more flowers for less money, right? But every woman loves to get flowers, whether she admits it or not. This neighbor sent 3 flower arrangements! One for his wife (with a box of chocolates), and two for his daughters (with little teddy bears attached). Or at least I think it was from the husband. But he also has a son, I hope he didn’t leave him out!

We had a fun dinner of heart shaped meatloaf, stuffed potato skins, grapes and green beans. Everyone got a fun gift from mom and dad, too. Each of us got a new book, and then another little something. I gave Ryan the book, 1000 places to see before you die. book He was checking off the places we’ve already seen. I got a lovely red purse, because we all know a girl can never have too many purses, right?

And yes, I ate some sugar yesterday. I didn’t go crazy, but still I did eat. So did Robin. We started over again today.

Today I got my hair cut in Provo, and experienced a small shock as I drove by Deseret Towers at BYU. Um, where are they? There’s only one tower left. Well, one and a half, I guess. I had heard that they were tearing them down, but—Wow! Where are all those students living, I wonder. And speaking of Provo, do you guys remember that restaurant on University Parkway, and it used to have that old car coming out the front of it? What was that called? Caddies? It was one of our favorite places to go. Now it’s a jewelry store. Go figure.

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