fire station

I went with Tyler's preschool class to the fire station last Friday -- yes, I spent my birthday with my son's preschool class. And after spending the morning at the fire station, I had lunch with him too. It was really a nice day. Here are some pictures. The teacher in the white t-shirt is an ASL interpreter. Tyler has a little girl, J, in his class who is deaf. J is right in front of the teacher in the pink shirt, and Tyler is just to the right of her. J really likes Tyler. She is always so excited to see him, and sat by him on the bus coming and going. She even stops me sometimes to say hello, too. She's such a nice girl.



The kids loved the lights and sirens! This was especially exciting for J because it was the first time she's ever "heard" them. She has a hearing aid in one ear that helps to amplify vibrations. She thought it was the neatest thing!

free handbag

Handbag Planet is giving away free handbags every hour for 24 hours October 15. Someone's going to win, it might as well be one of us!

Check it out here: http://www.handbagplanet.com/

called to serve

I love love love this video! I have such a soft place in my heart for missionaries. I get goose bumps every time I see missionaries sing this song. The spirit bears witness to me that these truly are members of God's Army. Watch it. Love it. Share it.

apple orchard with ensign's

Grandma and Grandpa Ensign, Uncle Brian and Uncle Jared came to visit us this weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon at the local apple orchard. They had kiddie games, a haunted house, food, a children's play area, and a pumpkin patch.

my smart little man and his beautiful sister

Tyler had been outside playing when he called me to come and see something. I thought it was another one of his scooter "tricks." But when I walked outside in the garage this is what I found:

He also showed me his elephant.

Tyler's been in school now for about 6 weeks, and after just the first week he started writing the letter A. He'd write one, and then ask, "Mom does that look like an A?" "Uh. Yeah. It is an A." He also started trying to write his numbers after I made a hopscotch game on the driveway. He's loving this writing thing. I'm sure he finds it empowering, and I knew he would, he would just never learn it from me. Believe me, I tried. But now that he's in school he's asking me all sorts of questions about words and what things spell, and when I read to him, he now wants me to move my finger under the words as I read them. He also good at sounding out the letters and trying to figure out what the word is. I can't believe the change in him in just a few weeks. I love it!

Addie likes to watch Tyler do his art and letters. Here she is eating a whole wheat chocolate chip cookie -- Great Grandma's recipe. Yum!

She just looked too cute this day for me not to get a picture of her. One of her other favorite things to do outside is to sit on the front steps like Mommy does, and watch all the cars go by.

peek-a-boo

Adeline has started "hiding" in every cupboard she can find. She will sit in it with just her feet sticking out with the door as closed at it can be. The best part is when she's really underfoot and just need a couple minutes without her I can tell her to go hide, and she will find a cupboard in which to hide!

bad wife or just a busy one?

By Orson Scott Card

Published: Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008
I wondered if my wife had a kind of Joan Crawford thing going on when she told me, about six years into our marriage, that she could not live with the idea of my taking my shirts to a professional laundry.

"What is it?" I asked. "The plastic bags? We can tie them in knots so the kids can never play with them."

"It's not the plastic bags!" Kristine looked so miserable. I decided to cheer her up with humor.

"The wire hangers?" I asked, pointedly.

Since this was only a few years after "Mommy Dearest," she got the joke. It didn't cheer her up at all. "You think I'm some kind of monster."

"No," I said. "I don't. I think you're a very busy woman, doing things that the whole family needs you to do."

The list of what she was doing really was quite remarkable. Our then-youngest child was born with cerebral palsy, and Kristine was taking care of him along with our other two children -- and handling the family finances, and dealing with scheduling and transportation, and anything that required making a list and remembering 10 minutes later that there was such a list and where it had been put.

The traditional division of labor was not for us. I had vowed to myself before I even proposed to her that there would never be a job so loathsome, tedious or difficult that my wife could do it and I couldn't. I could clean a toilet, wash and dry dishes, cook a meal, and vacuum a floor (not in that order, of course).

When she handled the check writing, the checks went where they were supposed to go and did what they were supposed to do. When I wrote checks, they often found their way to the Great Banking Trampoline. Our lives became so much better when I no longer carried the checkbook. Ever.

And while our firstborn loved the lullabies his mommy sang to him, when it came to seriously trying to go to sleep, that was daddy's job. From infancy on, he needed a deep baritone voice to fall asleep to. (In my years of teaching, I've found that many children and adults share this trait. I'm always happy to oblige.)

In my son's case, getting him to sleep was a long, long labor. I spent years lying on the floor of his room every night, with a little slant of light from the hall letting me see and grade student papers or stories that I was going to review, and all the while, hour after hour, I'm singing the only song that he'd accept, "Away in a Manger," over and over, in every season of the year. All versions, all verses.

It was my job because he would accept no substitutes. He has no memory of this, though it persisted till he was 5. But I still dream it.

We divided the labor according to my mom's and dad's old slogan: "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." (None of us knew that it was an old Communist precept.)

When it came to my shirts, though, I ran into a wall of irrationality.

Because, you see, my wife had internalized the idea that a good Mormon wife irons her husband's shirts.

"So let me see if I understand this," I said. "You can't let me take my shirts to the cleaners, even though we can easily afford it, because if I do, it will mean you're a bad wife."

features continue below advertisement
"Yes," she said unhappily.

"So the shirts pile up in the laundry room until there are 30 shirts there and I have to buy a new one. Or iron them myself. My mother taught me how. I have the skill. Only I don't want to iron them, I want to take them to the cleaners. Why won't you let me?"

"But if you take your shirts to the cleaners, it will mean that I've failed as a wife!"

"To whom will it mean this?" I asked. "Not to me. Not to the kids. Who else will know?"

"It'll mean that to me!" she wailed. "I know I'm being irrational, but that's how it feels."

"It also feels like a colossal waste of your time to iron them, and that's why you don't do it," I said, "because at any given moment on any day of any week of any year, you have something better to do than iron any shirts of mine."

"But if the other women in the ward found out that I ... "

And in that moment, she knew and I knew that I had won. I gloated immediately. "I thought we prided ourselves on making our own division of labor based on what worked in our marriage."

Glumly she nodded.

"Right now I own 30 shirts, all of which are in the laundry room, most of them clean and waiting to be ironed. Other men don't have to own 30 shirts in order to have a hope of a clean, ironed shirt to wear."

"Go," she said. "Take the shirts. Have them washed and pressed by the pros."

You'd have thought it was 1870 and she was giving me permission to take a plural wife.

Skip a few years. Now we shall talk about bread.

I grew up on homemade bread. There was no better food in all the world -- no, not even a spice cake with penuche icing for my birthday, not even pistachio ice cream in Brazil or France or Italy -- than my mother's bread, white or wheat, when it was still so fresh out of the oven you could barely slice it, eaten in thick slabs full of melting butter.

If they don't serve that in the celestial kingdom, I'm not going. Not that I expect my mother to bake bread every day in heaven. Once a week will do.

My wife knew this. But she is not a bread baker.

Don't misunderstand. Kristine is a great cook. She makes perfect pie crust every time. Her gravy always tastes perfect and never has lumps. And she never serves me Jell-O or anything involving Cool Whip. But for one reason or another, she never learned to make bread.

So when, in the late 1980s, I turned up with a breadmaker, she didn't view it as a cool piece of cutting edge technology. She saw it as an insult to her Mormon wifehood.

Because, just as Mormon wives had to iron their husband's shirts, they apparently also had to bake bread for their families.

"But you don't bake bread," I pointed out helpfully.

"Because I'm a terrible wife!"

"You're a wonderful wife who doesn't bake bread. Every now and then I'd like a loaf of hot fresh bread. Making bread is a lot of work and neither of us has time to do it or even time to learn. But this machine already knows how. Let's let the machine bake bread for us."

I think the machine has made two loaves of bread since 1989. Why? Because we both know that when the breadmaker comes out of the corner of the kitchen counter, my wife feels like a failure.

So we buy all our bread at Great Harvest Bread Co. It's almost as good as my mother's. If you toast it or nuke it, you can get butter to melt on it.

Somehow buying good healthy bread from a bakery is something a good Mormon wife can tolerate. But at least one good Mormon wife can't let a machine bake bread for her.

O my fellow Saints, ye males and ye females! Hearken to my voice!

There are so many ways to be a good Mormon wife. They involve taking all the talents and all the time and all the means that God has given you and using them to serve others, especially your family.

The key phrase is that you use the talents God has given you. And you use the time that you actually have.

Not everybody is good at everything. I can't manage money. Kristine can't write novels. So I write the books and she pays the bills.
Not every possible use of your time is as important as every other use. Kristine didn't have time to take care of our kids' needs (including the handicapped one), do her church callings, run our business, and learn to make bread and iron my stupid shirts.

Here's what a good Mormon wife does: Whatever must be done for the good of her family.

Here's what a good Mormon wife does not do: Beat herself up because she can't do every good thing that she's seen other Mormon wives do. There is no article of faith or temple recommend interview question dealing with shirt-ironing or bread-baking or even money-managing.

We all have our own marriages, our own talents, our own lives. Keep the commandments, be kind to each other and provident and wise with your children.

After that, whatever you do is what Good Mormon Wives and Husbands do; and whatever you don't do is obviously something that you don't have to do to be a Good Mormon Spouse.

deceptively delicious -- deviled eggs p.99

These are great!! One of my favorites recipes from this book. I make this with carrots, and I replace the mayo with salad dressing -- like Miracle Whip. I also leave out the salt. I have never had a bad comment about these eggs, and I've even served them to guests. YUM!!!

deceptively delicious -- chicken nuggets p. 75

I always make homemade chicken nuggets, and I am always looking for new breading recipes. That being said, this is not my favorite. I've only ever made it with broccoli, just because, out of the 3 suggested veggies I could use, broccoli is my family's favorite.

I don't know how they managed to keep the veggie from showing in the picture, because it doesn't work that way in real life! This is one of the other reasons I use broccoli, because it doesn't stay hidden. I also recommend baking these rather than frying them as the recipe directs. To bake them place the nuggets on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. I usually turn it over once during the baking.

deceptively delicious -- pancakes p.57

These were good. I used pumpkin pie spice in it to try to make it like little pumpkin pie pancakes. I do remember that these took a little longer to cook than the book says.

deceptively delicious -- french toast p.49

This one was pretty good. I've used it with sweet potato, squash and pumpkin. The only thing about this recipe is you don't get a lot of the "secret" ingredient on the bread. If you do try to get a lot on the bread, then the bread gets soggy and it doesn't work well that way. It's a nice way to use up any leftover sweet potatoes, squash or canned pumpkin.

tagged

8 TV Shows that I love
Monk
Psych
House
Chuck
Anything on HGTV
NCIS
West Wing
Project Runway

8 Favorite Restaurants
Olive Garden
Red Robin
Applebees
The Greek restaurant around the corner from my apartment in Berlin
Wendy's
Subway
Chili's
TGIF

8 things that happened yesterday
I fed my family
I walked Tyler to school
I cleaned the downstairs bathroom
I cleaned the upstairs bathroom
I washed all the bathroom mats
I swept the upstairs -- we have wood floors and tile
I mopped the kitchen
I picked up Tyler from school

8 things I look forward to
bedtime
getting out of debt
watching my kids grow
losing weight
nap time
Christmas
my birthday
cooking dinner

8 things I love about fall
color of leaves
cool weather
smells
pumpkins
apple everything
red little noses
little humidity
open windows

8 things on my wish list
an enclosed basement bathroom
a master bathroom
a Mac laptop
nights when Tyler will not have nightmares
someone to do my laundry for me
all new kitchen appliances -- mostly a dishwasher
world peace
happy healthy and faithful children

what's your color iq?

Take this quiz and find out. I scored a 12 with 0 being the best.

http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

BYU 59 UCLA 0

Continuing the Quest!!! Go Cougars!!!

deceptively delicious -- pita pizzas p.96

These were surprisingly good. The recipe says to spread the spinach out on the pita and then use the pizza sauce to cover it up. We found that when you bite into the pizza and the cheese makes everything slide off the pizza -- even if you let them cool for 5 minutes like the recipe suggests -- all of a sudden you see the green stuff on your pizza. Not a big deal in our house, but it could be in yours. I would suggest mixing the spinach directly in with the pizza sauce. Also the recipes calls for tomato sauce -- I don't know if that's really what you're supposed to use, because to me tomato sauce is gross by itself -- but I just use our favorite pizza sauce.

We also add toppings to the pizzas. Obviously, you don't want to do too many or it's too much, but we've done pepperoni & olives and even pineapple & ham. And, I grew up doing mini-pizzas on English muffins, but never thought of doing them on pitas. Such a great idea, and I can get the whole wheat pitas, which goes over better with Dallin than our homemade whole wheat pizza dough.

We've also found that they are filling. One is enough for Tyler, and Dallin and I may eat 2 depending on how hungry we are. I usually serve these with a raw veggie or a salad.

deceptively delicious -- review introduction

I got this book for Christmas last year, and I have to say, I really like it. I've read some of the reviews of it, both good and bad, but I think it was helpful for me to even get inspired to try "sneaky" in veggies in other dishes. I know there's this huge thing about using this technique to get the kids to eat veggies without teaching them to enjoy them. I am blessed with a 4 year old who is bribed with veggies to eat the rest of his dinner, a 1 yr old who will eat every veggie but broccoli, and a husband, who says he loves veggies, but only if they're cooked until they're soggy, and dripping in butter/salt/pepper -- you get the idea. So, I still put veggies on the table -- and if I remember correctly, I believe the author said she did the same. I use these recipes as a way to get a little bit extra in our diet -- no matter how small it is. I would like to try the Sneaky Chef cookbook, and in fact will be borrowing from the library tomorrow to look at and try out.

Okay. Now that I have that out of the way. I've been asked by a couple people for my reviews on the recipes we've tried in our family. So that is what I'm going to do. For the sake of the copyright stuff I'm not going to post the recipes, but I will tell you which one it is, and on which page it can be found. Obviously, I've tried things I knew my kids eat normally.

The concept of this book is that you use pureed veggies, beans, or fruit in recipes to try to get extra nutritional value out of your family meals. Obviously, some value is lost in the steaming/pureeing part of it, but like a said before, any extra amount of nutrients I can get in my family, the better. I have found that it is easiest to do your cooking and pureeing all at one time. I buy most of the veggies in the fall -- when they're less expensive -- and I steam/bake them until they're tender-crunchy -- except the squash & sweet potatoes -- those I cook all the way through. Then I puree them, and divide them into 1/2 cup portions (most of the recipes call for 1/2 cup). I use Glad Press & Seal, but you can use freezer sandwich bags. I then label the package with the veggie name & the amount in the package. Then I stack them horizontally in the freezer.

27 Mormons in NFL

I just thought this was cool.

By Aaron Shill and Robert Walsh
Mormon TimesPublished: Sunday, Sep. 7, 2008
http://www.mormontimes.com/MITN_sports.php?id=3444


Week 1 of the regular-season schedule is under way, and Mormon Times counts 27 Latter-day Saints on NFL team rosters.

Among the most notable names are Baltimore tight end Todd Heap and nose tackle Haloti Ngata, San Diego safety Eric Weddle and linebacker Derek Smith, Philadelphia receiver Kevin Curtis, Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel, Green Bay linebacker Brady Poppinga and Chicago offensive lineman John Tait.

Heap, who played college ball at Arizona State, is in his eighth season with the Ravens. He has started in 82 of the 88 professional games he has played and is a two-time Pro Bowl selection. His teammate, Ngata, has started every game the past two seasons since being a first-round draft pick out of Oregon.

Weddle, a versatile second-year pro from the University of Utah, will start at free safety for the Chargers this season, while Smith, who attended Snow College and Arizona State, gets the starting nod at inside linebacker in his 12th season. Former Nebraska defensive lineman Ryon Bingham is the Chargers' primary backup on the defensive line.

Curtis, a former walk-on at Utah State, is coming off a 1,000-yard receiving season with the Eagles. The South Jordan, Utah, native and returned missionary, however, is currently sidelined with a hernia.

Two former Cougars, Keisel and Poppinga, return as defensive starters for their respective teams. Keisel had 39 tackles and two sacks last year, while Poppinga had 50 tackles and an interception in 2007. Another BYU alumnus, Tait, is entering his 10th season in the league and has started every game he's played in since 2000.

Former BYU defensive lineman John Denney is the starting long-snapper in Miami, while seven-year pro Eric Heitmann of the 49ers starts at center. Edwin Mulitalo, in his 10th year out of Arizona, starts for Detroit at left guard.

Bingham, Buffalo offensive lineman Kirk Chambers, Bills defensive end Ryan Denney, Dolphins offensive lineman Shawn Murphy, Cardinals safety Aaron Francisco, Chargers tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke, Giants rookie linebacker Bryan Kehl and Jets nose tackle Sione Pouha are listed as primary backups on their teams' respective depth charts.

Former BYU offensive lineman Scott Jackson is on the Texans' injured reserve list.

Name, position, team, college

John Beck, QB, Dolphins, BYU
Ryon Bingham, DL, Chargers, Nebraska
Kirk Chambers, OL, Bills, Stanford
*Kevin Curtis, WR, Eagles, Utah State
John Denney, LS, Dolphins, BYU
Ryan Denney, DE, Bills, BYU
Aaron Francisco, DB, Cardinals, BYU
David Hale, OL, Ravens, Weber State
*Todd Heap, TE, Ravens, Arizona State
*Eric Heitmann, OL, 49ers, Stanford
Chris Hoke, DL, Steelers, BYU
Scott Jackson, OL, Texans, BYU
Bryan Kehl, LB, Giants, BYU
Brett Keisel, DL, Steelers, BYU
Spencer Larsen, LB, Broncos, Arizona
Brandon Manumaleuna, TE, Chargers, Arizona
*Edwin Mulitalo, OL, Lions, Arizona
Shawn Murphy, OL, Dolphins, Utah State
*Haloti Ngata, DL, Ravens, Oregon
Marvin Philip, OL, Browns, California
*Brady Poppinga, LB, Packers, BYU
Sione Pouha, DT, Jets, Utah
*Derek Smith, LB, Chargers, Arizona State
Naufahu Tahi, FB, Vikings, BYU
*John Tait, OL, Bears, BYU
*Eric Weddle, DB, Chargers, Utah
Scott Young, OL, Browns, BYU

*Starters

new title

Dallin thought we should change our blog name. So, I have. We'll see how long it lasts. I may change it again. :)

preschool, walking, and a scooter trick

Tyler started preschool this week. He wasn't too sure about it at first and was mad at me because he wanted preschool at home. I told him just to try it out for a little while, and if it was really something he didn't like, we'd look at doing preschool at home. We were able to go in the day before he started and meet with his teacher and have a tour of his classroom, so I think that helped a little. When I picked him up that first day the first thing he said was, "Mom, I LIKED it!" Now he gets up every morning happy and ready to go to school. He often waits by the door until it's time to go!

Adeline has been walking now for 3 weeks. She is getting pretty quick on those little legs of hers. I've realized, however, that she has a hard time walking in her sock on the wood floors upstairs. So, either I need to get her the no-slip socks or put her in her shoes all day -- which is easier said then done. She loves shoes, and loves to put them on, but loves just as much to take them off again!

This is Tyler's "trick." He has another one he can do on the deck in the backyard.

more pictures

The same weekend we moved was my brother's Iowa wedding open house. Here are some pics of the happy couple. They are a super awesome couple. They helped us move into our home just days before the open house. Thanks, you two!

Lauren & Mark

Addie and Grandma at the open house.

I've had Addie's chair on the floor the last couple of days because I haven't had a place to put it at the table. The last few days Tyler has decided to join her there.

Addie's personal space. She's trying to climb out here because she saw the camera. But I have actually caught her inside just sitting there.

Trying to get the kids to sleep in their own beds has been slightly difficult this week with the move and all. Dallin found us like this Saturday morning.

pictures...finally!!!

Here are the much anticipated pictures of our new house! Mind you, I took these pictures the day we moved in so things were not absolutely perfect!

Front of House

Back of house with L on deck

kitchen

living room

Master bedroom

Tyler's room


Adeline's room

upstairs bathroom

our utility room. it now has a washer and dryer in it.

yes. this is our downstairs bathroom in the utility room.

more utility room

play/game room

basement guestroom

basement office/scrap/craft room

connected to the outside world

We're here! Our move went smoothly, and we have settled in nicely in our new home. I love living in a house..finally! It still feels like we're just on vacation in someone elses home, but the more we unpack and set up rooms the more it feels like ours. We got internet and phone yesterday -- it was supposed to happen Monday -- the cable guy swears he came and no one answered the door. I don't buy his story, and after yesterday he knows I don't buy his story. Anywho. We are finally connected to the outside world! We bought our first washer and dryer yesterday Wednesday night. They will arrive tomorrow afternoon! I'm so glad because we are running out of clean clothes! I'm hoping to get on tomorrow and finally get some pictures posted! It's been forever since I've done that.

tagged

3 joys:
1. my family
2. alone time
3. shopping

3 fears:
1. creepy crawlies
2. rodents
3. falling from anything high

3 goals:
1. get a teaching license
2. finishing upgrades on our new home
3. having patience

3 current obsessions:
1. packing
2. getting rid of stuff
3. agatha christie novels

3 facts about myself:
1. i hate cleaning
2. i love cooking. i find it relaxing.
3. i've only been admitted to the hospital because of pregnancies

i tag shelley, rachel, tya, thais, and jamie.

in progress

We're still waiting for our loan to clear the bank, but that should happen any day now. Dallin leaves for Fort Dodge this Sunday. We won't see him until we move out there -- and working that out is proving harder than we expected! Hopefully, we'll get it all worked out. I'll keep you updated.

what color?

You Are a Purple Crayon

Your world is colored in dreamy, divine, and classy colors. You hold yourself to a sky high standard, and you are always graceful. People envy, idolize, and copy you without realizing it. You are an icon for those who know you. And while it is hard to be a perfectionist, rest assured it's paying off! Your color wheel opposite is yellow. While yellow people may be wise, they lack the manners and class needed to impress you.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/">What Color Crayon Are You?

home sweet home

We have bought ourselves a house! We still need to do the inspection, appraisal, and have our money clear the bank, but we are on our way! It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with a finished basement, a fenced in yard. It is near all the cities amenities without being too close. We are on a quiet street near the high school and in the boundaries of one of the better elementary schools in town. We'll be about 5 minutes from church. We close on the 20th of August if all goes as planned, and we'll move that weekend. It is the same weekend as Mark & Lauren's reception, but we're hoping to make it work! It's going to be a crazy move -- but we're kinda used to that.

memories

Nearly every blog I visited today had this little game on it. I thought I'd try it too.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you! Reminisce away…

computer woes

I know I haven't posted pictures from our trip. Our computer is dying a slow and painful death, and shuts off on us randomly. If I upload or download anything it shuts off. It has taken nearly all week to get the pictures off our computer and in an online album to protect them should we lose them like did all the others on our external hard drive. We've also been busy getting approved for a home loan, and searching for a home online. So any computer time is used sparingly and on the most important things first.