My 3 Monsters: June 2008

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6.30.2008

. . . And I'm Back!!

Temporarily. I am frantically doing my laundry so we can leave again in the morning for Utah. We're all excited to go see the Gregsons up there. Hopefully I won't get quite as much sass out of Don and Ann as I did from my dear little campers. Of course I won't be responsible for getting them to clean latrines.

So, Girls Camp in 5 words:
  • Difficult
  • Sassy
  • I Survived!

We had a wonderful time, but we had a few girls who were a little more than a handful and a little less than cooperative. Miraculously, I held my tongue (against all odds) in the face of one of the biggest brats I have ever met. This girl was very, VERY needy (emotionally) and liked to threaten to kill people (including a cabin mom, a couple of her fellow campers, and our bishop). Yikes! This same girl accused me of bullying her and said she (SHE!) didn't feel safe. I had asked her kindly to remove her half eaten food from the table outside our cabin and join us sweeping the lodge (our evening chore). I'm such a bad a@#! Also one of our girls is autistic and she is sweet as can be, but she likes to wander off. This was especially problematic since a mountain lion had been spotted in the next camp over and we were asked to keep close tabs on the girls. I spent a lot of time "finding" McKala.

Everything else was fantastic. Good food, sweet girls, fun activities, no complaints. I even survived Temple Canyon!! We did the 5 hour hike in a little less than 4 hours. Sweet!!! Those girls were bookin' it and I didn't think I could keep up, but I did. Yeah, Me! Now, I have to run, but I'll post pictures of all my adventures when we got home next week!


6.26.2008

Gone Camping . . .

I'm officially off to camp. Wish me (and friend Jamie who is watching my kids while Brent is at work) luck! See ya' in 4 days!!!!

PS. Pray for me Saturday morning when I'll be out hiking Temple Canyon with my 3rd years. It's supposed to be really difficult and the leaders who went on that particular hike last year came back much worse for the wear. Yikes . . .

6.25.2008

Reminiscing About the Early Years

Brent and I have been married a long time. It's kind of fun once in a while to think about when it was all shiny and had that new relationship smell. Today I happened to wander down that lane. I was thinking about ordering a pizza on Friday night and trying to finish the New York Times crossword puzzle. I remember meeting on the quad for caffeine free Dr. Peppers. I remember watching old Full House re-runs together every evening while I did my homework and Brent . . . er, watched Full House. I remember playing Phase 10 with Cathy and Erik and cheating our pants off. I remember spending every possible waking moment together and it was never enough. Life seems like it was so much simpler then. Ahhhh, to be a newlywed again and really appreciate it.

We're Going to the Circus!!

As if life within the four walls of our home was not circus enough, we are going to real live actual circus. The kind that is for entertainment and not just the exhausting home grown, real life variety. Today is opening day and tickets were half price so I thought, "What the heck! I'm sure I won't be stressed out about leaving for camp at 7:00 am tomorrow. Lets spend the night at the circus." That's how I roll. Jealous??

6.24.2008

The War Wages On

The long standing feud between Brent and myself has reached epic proportions and this time the gloves are off. After the Kimbo Slice bombshell I took my time to strategerize and rally the mental troops, before attacking with this . . .



Boo ya! Usually we try not to hit below the belt, but all's fair in love in war. So roused to action was he that he launched an immediate counter strike with this . . .

Ohhhh. I hate that Charlie Brown. I have three words for you, Brent Gregson: Shock and Awe. Watch your back, dude.


6.23.2008

Things That Make Me Go "Hmmmmm" -- Part 1

Let me preface this story by saying that we live in a good neighborhood. Not super fancy, but middle class at least. (Should I be proud of that? Anyway . . . ) One of the best school districts in the state. Not very much crime. Conveniently located. Good, good people. Remember that.

Leaving for work this morning at 7:10 on the dot, I look over and see my neighbor as I do most mornings. I'm about to wave hello when I notice that she is digging through a bag of garbage. As if that weren't enough, she is pulling each item out, one by one, and smelling it. SMELLING IT! I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth and then said, "Hmmmmm . . . "

6.22.2008

My Weekend in 5 Words

Here's another installment of everybody's favorite post:
  • horrifying
  • super attractive
  • missing tooth

Allow me to explain:


1. This is how much white hair I have. No, not gray. Pure, sparkly, wiry white. And, AND no matter how often I color the white is ALWAYS there. And in my eyebrows. My eyebrows, people! Sickening. I hope none of you are eating right now. The quality of the picture is atrocious, but I think you get my point. I'll spare you the close up of my chin hairs. Getting old is nasty stuff.


2. This is my new "super attractive" swim suit. I thought since I'm getting old I'd buy one of the grandma swim suits that have been beckoning to me for the past couple of summers. I finally gave into their siren song at Wal-Mart last week. I tell you what, I have never been happier with a suit. Sure, it's too loose across the chest since my ample hip line is sadly out of proportion with my boobs. Sure, it's . . . giraffe print (?). Nothing says "I've been married twelve years and have three kids" like this sweet, sweet number.


Dylan lost his first front tooth tonight. He was wrestling with Brent and kneed himself in the mouth. If you look closely, you can see the tooth marks on his bottom lip. He was very excited to get his dollar from the tooth fairy. Well, first he was hysterical about the blood, but THEN he was excited.

Hope your weekend was a good one, too.


6.21.2008

What I Need (I think)

. . . is to read a more uplifting book. The past two books I have read have been real downers. I am thinking it may be partially to blame for my dumpy feelings lately. I have come to the conclusion that I know nothing of real suffering, which you would think would be at least a little bit uplifting. But you'd be wrong. "There, but for the grace of God, go I." I was no literature major (Maren, maybe you can help me with this), but I venture to guess that the theme of The Jungle is equal parts horror and hopelessness. At least that's what I get. Poor Jurgis Rudkus can't catch a break and just when you think he has, he gets beaten down lower than before. From his experiences we come to believe that an honest working man will never, EVER prosper. Sad. Now, I know we've come a long way since the turn of the century with all of it's political corruption and indifference toward the lower class, but have we really come far enough? I don't claim to know. Just a few things I've been thinking about lately. Anyway, I've had about enough. Judy Blume, here I come!

6.20.2008

Pancake Update

Delicious. Light and fluffy. Utterly enjoyable.

6.19.2008

Summertime . . .

. . . and the livin' most definitely aint easy, folks. (I actually stole that line from another blog, but it so perfectly described my week I had to borrow it -- just for today.) We have officially hit the middle-of-the-summer-pool-is-as-warm-as-bathwater-too-much-family-togetherness-and-too-little-solitude-it's-freaking-hot-outside dumps. And I am in them deep. Brent says it's just separation anxiety about camp. I say no way (there's nothing that sounds more delightful right now than a little separation from my home and work responsibilities), but he says I acted just like this last year. And the year before that. I have been burning the candle at both ends this past week. Maybe I'll come home from camp refreshed and with a whole new outlook on life to get us through the tail end of summer. Here's hopin'.

On a more enjoyable note, I found the coolest product at the store tonight. I have been hearing about for a while, but never seemed to run into it in my grocery store. Until tonight . . .

Pancake batter in a spray can. PANCAKE BATTER IN A SPRAY CAN!!! The livin' just got a little easier. It cost $5.00 which is a veritable fortune in my tightwad world, but I simply had to try it. I'm going to be eating well tomorrow morning, kids. I'll let you know how it turns out.


6.18.2008

Crap for Camp

My "Needing to be done" item for the past week or so has been' "lots of crap for camp" or something to that effect. I thought I share what I've been up to. I've always said camp around these parts is more like a Broadway production than an actual camp. Maybe now you'll believe me.



I helped the girls make these bags out of t-shirts. Can you believe how cute they are?! I ironed on the picture and added the cute initials and ribbons. Too much fun.

We always get matching pajama pants for everyone. The overall theme for camp this year is "Oh the Places You'll Go" (Dr. Seuss) and our ward theme is "Hop on Pop". Obviously our ward color is orange. I ordered the iron on letters from a Canadian web site. They turned out OK. Not my favorite.

I embroidered (yes, by hand) each girls name onto this cute gingham fabric and then sewed it into pillowcases. Neat, huh? At this point Brent asked me if we were going camping or to a craft fair. Sheesh!

We have one night at camp when each ward has two hours to make up a dance to an assigned song. This is what my girls will be sporting for the show. Last year our theme was Lion King and I made the most awesome manes out of raffia and headbands for each of my 14 girls. This year I only have 8. Lucky me. When I broke this project out, Brent was convinced that no camping was going to be done whatsoever. I hate to admit he's probably right.

You may be questioning my sanity at this point. But you have not yet seen the handmade cards for each of the girls each day at camp. Or the cute little gifts that they will find sitting on their bunks when they get back from classes each day. Or the handouts for my devotional. (Because I just now remembered that I have to do a devotional.) This is all too much fun for me. I call it "crap for camp" but what I really mean is 100 little things that make camp worth doing. I am soooo in my element right now. And if you have ideas for a devotional I'd be much obliged.


I Heart Desserts!

As requested, here is the recipe for this delicious monstrosity. It's super easy (duh, it came from me, right?) and super yummy.

Eclair Ring Dough

1C. water
1/2 C. butter
1 C. flour
4 eggs

Heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour all at once over low heat. Stir until ball is formed. Cool for 10 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, with mixer. (I did this by hand plenty of times before I got my big fancy mixer. It's a sticky dough so it's difficult, but I have faith in you!) Spoon on cool pizza pan to form circular shape with hole in the middle, like a large donut. Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 400* or until golden brown. Cool away from drafts. (I guess that is to prevent it from deflating, but mine always deflates and tastes just as good. It's worth a try though, I guess.) When cool, split horizontally and pull out remaining doughy stuff. Fill with . . .

Filling

2 (3 oz.) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
2-1/2 C. Milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) carton Cool Whip

Mix pudding, milk and vanilla. Allow to thicken, then fold in Cool Whip. Spoon into bottom half of eclair, then put top back on. Drizzle hot fudge ice cream topping all over the top. (The more the merrier, in my humble opinion.) Thanks to my Aunt Jackie for introducing us all to this most delicious dessert.

6.17.2008

Verbosity

I love words. That explains why Dictionary.com is one of my favorite web sites. It explains why I love listening to people talk. It probably explains why I saw the word verbose on so many of my high school writing assignments. (And for those of you who may be wondering - ahem, Brent - verbose is not a compliment.) Anyway, I adore the writing of Lemony Snicket. If you have not read the Series of Unfortunate Events you should. I really could care less about the story line. He has this way of not only using wonderful words, but stringing them together to create these perfect visual images. I envy that talent. He is witty and folksy and altogether entertaining. Sometimes I laugh out loud and other times I sigh at the poignancy of it. It is everything I aspire to when I write. I have been reading his book Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid. It is (in his words) "a bouquet of alarming but inescapable truths" taken from his other works. It's not for everybody, I guess, but here are a few of my favorites:

"It is always sad when someone leaves home, Unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches."

"One's home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening -- the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life -- and can never find again. After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if your new home has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up, and no matter how many times you visit you may never quite cure yourself of the fluttery, homesick feeling in your stomach. Homesickness can even strike you when you are still living at home, but a home that has changed over the years, and you long for the time -- even if such a time only existed in your imagination -- when your home was as delicious as you remember. You may search your family and your mind -- just as you might search dark and winding country roads -- trying to recapture the best time in your life, so that you might cure your homesickness with a second slice of that distant faraway pie, but your search will end in vain, as you have lost the map that told you where to turn, and the restaurant has long ago burned down, and the baker who made the pie has gotten tired of waiting for you and has devoted her life to making tomato paste instead, but she is no good at it, and now you are lost in life, the darkness closing in on you, with nothing but a sad flutter in your stomach and a sour acidic taste in your mouth."

"Perhaps if we saw what was ahead of us, and glimpsed the crimes, follies, and misfortunes that would befall us later on, we would all stay in our mother's wombs, and then there would be nobody in the world but a great number of very fat, very irritated women."

"One day, when your mother is yelling at you, you might begin to hear a tiny voice in your head that will tell you that you are right and your mother is wrong. Over the years this voice might get louder and louder, and you might find that you prefer listening to this voice instead of your mother's voice, particularly if she has been yelling at you this whole time."

"If you try to avoid every instance of peer pressure you will end up without any peers whatsoever, and the trick is to succumb to enough pressure that you do not drive your peers away, but not so much that you end up in a situation in which you are dead or otherwise uncomfortable. This is a difficult trick, and most people never master it, and end up dead or uncomfortable at least once during their lives."

"What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet. You can wash it, and wash it, and still never forget what has transpired, a word which here means 'happened and made everybody sad'."

I could probably go on all night. I just love it all. It is even more wonderful in the context of the stories. Because of Lemony Snicket the phrase "a word which here means . . " has become a common one in our house. Any author who can teach my kids the word misnomer so that they can use it correctly in everyday conversation is a good author in my book.

6.16.2008

Action Photographer I am Not . . .

. . . and truly, it's for lack of the proper equipment not my lack of artistic vision or skill. When your camera has a 2 second delay between button push and actual shutter click it's difficult to catch a person, say, mid-dive. During Sydney's birthday party Riley took a much needed break from his self appointed pesky little brother duties. All he wanted in the whole wide world was for me to take a picture of him diving. What follows are my sad attempts. Enjoy a laugh at my expense. I assure you these are a mere fraction of what was on my camera when we got home.


I know you're thinking I wasn't even trying here. This was way too early.


Missed it by that much.


Seriously?! Maybe try not zooming in so much.

A bit late. (And actually maybe the wrong kid. I'm just remembering that Dylan wanted his picture taken while swimming under water. Oops.)

Success!!!! Check out that grin. When something is right you just feel it.

This whole little project kept him occupied, happy and out of big sis's hair for over an hour. Sydney, don't say I never did anything for ya.


6.15.2008

Look at my baby, all growed up!

Happy, happy birthday Sissy dear!
Happy days will come to you all year.
If I had one wish then it would be,
a happy, happy birthday to you from me!

Ah, the birthday lunch. One of my favorite Hughes family traditions. Our little "Sissy Biggars" turned 10 yesterday and requested lunch at Benihana. Time flies, you know. Seems like just yesterday she was crying and throwing tantrums like a tiny baby. Wait . . . that was just yesterday. Just kidding. (No, I'm not.) Sydney has made these past ten years such a fun adventure for us. I wouldn't change anything about her for all the world. Except maybe the weird wink in that picture, but nothing else. Anyhoo . . . we did lunch at Benihana where teppanyaki chef, Miguel (is that weird to anyone but me?) fed us and got us home just in time for her pool party.
She invited Maddie and Tristan, two of her best friends since third grade. We drank wedding punch out of coconut cups (another Hughes family favorite -- you may remember it sans coconut cups from our nuptials twelve years ago. You may not.) and swam for hours. She also requested Eclair ring instead of a more traditional cake. Patting myself on the back, I have to say that it was exceptionally delicious. All things considered I would say it was a good day. But I don't like to consider all things, just the ones that make me happy. So, it was a fantastic day by those standards. Boy do I love that sweet little girl! And that dessert. But mostly the girl. (I really do love that dessert, too. For the record.)

6.12.2008

A Real Dilemma . . .

HYPOTHETICALLY . . . What would you do if:

You are halfway to work when you realize that you have failed to put on deodorant? You are cutting it close time wise, but you HATE being late. In fact, you have never been late to work before. Ever. But let's just say, hypothetically, that you work with children and the chances of you making it through , say, 4 hours of work without sweating are slim to none. For fun let's also say you're driving a car with no air conditioning. What do you do?

Seeing as how I had also forgotten our lunch and Riley's glucose meter, I went back for the D/O. Oh wait. IF this had been me, I mean, that's what I would have done. Scatterbrain!

6.11.2008

Time Flies

My baby girl is turning 10 this weekend and today she shaved her legs for the first time. I'm still a little bit traumatized by the whole thing. I don't have babies anymore. Not a one. Need more proof? We e-vited girls to Sis's birthday party this year. We went to the library yesterday and came home with fifteen chapter books. Didn't even go down the storybook rows -- not for my lack of trying, mind you. My kids have money in the bank -- that they know and care about. Even Dylan eats Taco Bell now (a real sign of maturity in our home -- it does require a sophisticated pallet). I'm tearing up a little bit just now even thinking about it. Will there really be a day when no one needs me?! Say it isn't so . . .

6.10.2008

Hot Schmot . . . Ya' Big Baby!

Brent asked very nicely today if he could drive my van to work. I guess he's tired of driving his car or something. Maybe because it (forevermore) has no air conditioning. Maybe. You see, the a/c on that beast has plagued us almost from day 1. We've put nearly $1000 into it already. The stinkin' car only cost $4500 when we bought it. Now they say it'll be $1200 MORE. I say no thanks. Especially after today. The kids and I have been scooting all over town running errands and such and we are having a blast. Driving with the sunroof open and windows down, 32 ounces of Coke in the cup holder (caffeine free diet for the kids, regular for me) and 311 blaring in the stereo feels so completely, perfectly summery. The kids have never been so happy while I accomplished so much. And the 110* out doesn't even seem that bad. It's a dry heat, you know. Ha ha. (Arizona humor.) I'll admit, we have postponed our trip to the library until Brent gets home with the van this evening. I also understand how this whole situation would be a whole lot less fun for Brent, trying not to sweat through his work clothes at 7:00 a.m. So, do me a solid and don't tell him how much fun we're having. I'm gonna' try to milk this whole situation for all it's worth. Thanks. You're real pals!

6.08.2008

Weekend Update

My weekend in 5 words:
  • eating my weight in satay -OR-
  • laughing until my head hurts -OR-
  • working overtime to buy gifts -OR-
  • life is good -- real good.

I had trouble narrowing it down this week. I am reminding myself of my junior year in high school's AP English with the dreaded Dr. Osbourne. Every paper I wrote (and everyone else's, too, as far as I could tell) came back with the word verbose scribbled across the top in bright red ink. Oh well. I won the Junior award for English (highest grade, I guess) that year. But that is neither here nor there.

1. We had dinner with a group of ten friends on Friday night. My friend, Dee Ann, who served her mission in Thailand cooked a huge feast for us all and it was wonderful!!! She probably made 15 different dishes (not exaggerating) and we ate steadily for two straight hours. It was only at the two hour mark that she told us about the Thai custom of leaving some food on your plate to signify that you had eaten your fill and were happily satisfied. Sooo delicious!

2. There is nothing better in life than good friends -- the kind you can laugh with for two straight hours. So much so that you leave with a headache. The dinner Friday night was a regular laugh riot. Then again Saturday night we had the best family dinner just laughing and poking fun at each other. Good times. I absolutely LOVE to laugh with my friends and family. That was my favorite part of our Ensenada cruise earlier this year. It was my favorite part of our girls' weekend in Vegas two Octobers ago. It is my favorite part of any Gregson or Hughes family get together. Laughter is the best medicine.

3. I am so thrilled that I have a job where I can work as much or as little as I choose. And, oddly, I am liking it more and more the longer I work there. I love that when the sweet-as-sugar little babies grow up and reach the terrible twos there is always a fresh new batch of newbies to love. And my big, way-too-grown-up kids are sooooo sweet and loving toward these little guys. I've been working a lot extra lately because we have an abundance of summer birthdays in our family. Good, good fun.

4. I am feeling extremely blessed and lucky lately. There are so many things going right right now that I feel just about as happy as I've ever been. The kids are healthy, Riley's A1c is down, Brent still has a job with Countrywide/Bank of America for the time being (and a 1% raise, boo yah), I've definitely won the family lottery (on both sides), we have food to eat and a roof over our head. At times like this I usually feel the need to brace myself for the next big catastrophe, but this time I think I'll just enjoy the lull and roll with the punches when (if?) they come.

I hope your weekend was fantastic, too.


6.07.2008

Divide and Conquer

Pray tell why 5 people who love one another cannot peacefully coexist. I've been mulling this one over all week, and I am flummoxed. Remove any two people from the equation and all problems essentially vanish. But WHY?! Brent and I go out last night and the three kids are wonderful friends for Helena, the favorite babysitter. Dylan and I go to work today and peace, love and harmony abound at home. Brent goes to work, Riley heads out for a play date and life runs as smooth as the day is long here for the rest of us. Sydney and I stay home from the baseball game last weekend and good times are had by all in both places. Where is the logic in that? And what is the solution? Give up one of the children? No, thanks -- most days. Buy two separate homes? Not financially viable. Anyway, who would live in which house? There is no one person who is the "problem" and Brent and I would most likely go to jail if we left the kids all to fend for themselves. (I've thought about that one a time or two.) No one ever told me that three was the magic number for familial bliss. I will figure this out, but I'm beginning to feel like one of those mad scientists with the enormous chalkboard covered in equations that don't make any sense. 1300 square feet divided by 5 headstrong people times 24 hours a day times the past twelve years, carry the two . . . I love Brent, we love the kids, they love us, deep down I know they love each other. This too shall pass . . . Right?

6.06.2008

Game On! (A continuing saga.)

After weeks of Billy Mitchell on my desktop, I turned my computer on the other morning to be greeted by this gentleman:



For those of you not as hip to the mixed martial arts/ultimate fighting scene as I am (ha ha), this is Kimbo Slice, the most terrifying man in the world. Apparently in a fight last weekend he beat a guy until his ear exploded. I kid you not. Google his name and you'll find the video. The only way I know of him is that he was on the cover of Brent's ESPN Magazine last week and I happened to comment on just how terrifying he was. That'll teach me to go to bed early and leave my husband to his own devices. Ohhhhhhhh . . . It's ON, dude!

6.05.2008

Forgotten P.S.

Riley would rather be blind than wear his new glucose sensor. So says the seven year old with perfect eyesight. Mmmmmm . . . adjustment apparently not going well. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Defusing a Time bomb

We're two weeks into summer break and tensions between the monsters have been steadily mounting. Sydney says they simply can't spend this much time together. It's not good for our family and something needs to change. And she's only (almost) ten. I suggested that maybe the change could take place in her attitude as she spent some solo time in her room. That wasn't the change she had in mind. Anyway, that was last week. Today we reached critical mass between Sis and Riley and I needed to think fast. Soooooo . . . I made them write letters to one another listing the reasons why they loved each other. Pretty slick, huh? The letters were so sweet and, with their permission, you can read them, too. Enjoy. (This is why I love my kids so much!)

a lot of reasons i like riley
1. he's usually happy.
2. he's very occassionally fun to swim with.
3. he smiles a lot.
4. he has a cute cowlick.
5. he looks cute when he smiles.
6. he laughs when i tickle him.
7. when he is grumpy he doesn't take it out on us. (for the most part)
8. most of the time he likes to keep me company. [This was precisely what their fight had been about earlier. Funny.]
9. his laugh is cute.
10. he has pretty colored eyes.
11. he likes to give hugs.
I [drawing of an eye] [heart] U!!!

I like Sydney becuse she is a part of my fmiley and she likes to go swimming so do I. I like her becuse she beats my scores on Wii fit so I have anothor score to beat. I rilly like her when she is happy and she almost always is. I like her when she lets me clime trees with her. I rilly like her because she is a good big sister. I like her when she is nice to me. I rilly with a capitel r like her refreshments. [She made cupcakes yesterday.] I rilly think that she is a good reader and I like when she tells me a good book to read. Evin thow she gets mad and hits me I rilly like Sydney. From, Riley

Crisis averted. Afternoon spent swimming and generally enjoying life. We really are a happy family. Really.

6.04.2008

Still More Design Fun


Some of you have been to visit since we painted the brick wall in the boys room. Some of you have not -- yet. It is one of my more successful faux painting projects that I have attempted, so I thought I would post some pictures. I've always had this fantasy about living in one of those loft apartments built in an old factory in the middle of the city somewhere. This is about as close as I'll probably ever get.


Just the one wall is faux brick. All the others are that pretty faded-denim blue with white trim. We have red furniture (dresser and bunk beds) and red and blue plaid quilts on the beds. I have hung vintage-looking posters. One is a super cool Saturday Evening Post cover given to us by Brent's mom and dad. We also have a cool autographed basketball jersey my dad gave us that we are planning to frame and hang above the dresser.

This is the wall that we built (with a lot of help from Zach and his dad) when we bought the house. It was our first attempt at finishing drywall and, as such, needed to be hidden. When I found this cool anaglypta wallpaper I knew it was just the thing. First we (and by we I mean I )wallpapered the wall (to get the brick pattern and texture) then we faux painted the brick colors on top. I think it turned out pretty neat. Next project in this room: Applying cork with cool wooden frames to the closet doors so my prolific little artists will have somewhere to display their work. Photos will follow if it turns out well.


6.03.2008

Weekend Update

Once again, here's my weekend in 5 words:

  • four free tickets
  • piggy
  • pizza

1. My friend Shannon gave us free Diamondbacks tickets Friday night. Too bad there were only four. Bummer. We ended up with the boys at the game (it was fireworks night, yippee) and me and sis at home because she wasn't feeling well. We watched a Dateline about women hiring hit men. Bizarre, but fun.

2. I mentioned in the Top Ten list that our Wii Fit made my Mii obese. Here I am. Sooo not cute. Anyway, the kids think my Mii looks like a pig when she runs because she has those skinny little piglet legs. Sooo not funny, either.

3. We took Brent out to NYPD Pizza for his birthday. It was delicious. We ordered 'Da Works pizza and an order of Zeppoli for dessert. Yep, Zeppoli. That's deep-fried pizza dough drenched in powdered sugar and dipped in raspberry sauce. Delish! Obviously I made peace with piggy Mii. At least for that one night.

PS... Riley's sensor only checks his blood sugar every 5 minutes, which we discovered last night is WAY more than often enough when he started to go low at 3:00 a.m. He was woken up by the pump's alarm at 3:00 (and consequently, so was I). Then again at 3:15 (Still low). Then again at 3:30 (If that pump could talk it would have been saying, "I told you this darn kid was low. Are you going to do anything about it?!" And I would have yelled right back,"I gave him some juice! What more do you want me to do, stupid pump!! Now shut up and let me sleep!!!!" So, it's probably a good thing that the pump can't talk.) Then at 4:00 the pump and sensor were not communicating properly (more alarms) and we just turned it off until this morning. I'm a little sleepy today, but I think we now have it figured out. Fingers crossed.


6.02.2008

Big Fun Monday!

Today is a big, fun day. We are going to the hospital to get trained to use Riley's new continuous glucose sensor. We held off getting it for a while because I hate the idea of him having one more thing stuck into his belly. In the end, however, we decided that ANYTHING we can do now to make his life easier in the long run is worth doing. (Riley agrees, too.) And this thing sounds awesome. It checks his blood sugar every 10 seconds (or something ridiculous like that) and has an alarm that tells you when his levels are getting too high or too low. We're still praying for a cure, but this is going to be really cool. Wish us luck in figuring it all out!

6.01.2008

Also . . .

It's official now so I can tell you that I am the new Young Womens Secretary. In addition to Ward Camp Director. And they failed to release me from the Compassionate Service Committee, so I guess I'm going to be busy. Good thing because you know what they say about idle hands . . .

Top Ten Time Again! (First one on the blog.)

Hey all! Another month has come and gone and you all know what that means . . .
TOP TEN THINGS SEEN AND HEARD IN OUR HOME
MAY 2008

10. (This is actually a left-over from last month, if we're being technical.) Brent and I rented Mr. Woodcock from Blockbuster.com. We never seemed to find the time to watch it which became kind of a joke between us. Then, because Brent is Brent, "watching Mr. Woodcock" became a euphemism for -- well, you know. Luckily the kids are still too sweet and innocent to get it. One day Brent had a conversation with Sydney that cracked me up because I think they were talking about two very different things.
Sis: When will I be old enough to watch Mr. Woodcock?
Brent: When you're married.
Sis: But by then I probably won't even want to watch Mr. Woodcock anymore.
Brent: That's pretty much the way it works . . .

9. Lunch dates. Is there anything more wonderful than meeting someone for lunch?! Husband, girlfriends, I don't care. The food is cheaper, the restaurants less crowded, and, in my opinion, the sun shines just a little bit brighter when you're done. I live for the first Monday of every month with the girls and the odd Tuesday meeting with my husband. Life never seems quite as good as it does over lunch with friends.

8. Riley takes advantage of the substitute school nurse. Our regular nurse was out sick. The sub called Riley down to her office to get his blood sugar checked, but by the time he arrived she had forgotten why she had called him in the first place. She asked him if he was feeling sick. Riley, intelligent boy that he is, saw a golden opportunity. She was asking him if he wanted to go home. And he DID want to go home. She called me. I ran to pick up my poor, sweet, sick little boy. In the car on the way home I happened to ask him how his blood sugars had been at school that day. Riley says, "Oh . . . about that . . . " and the truth comes out. I couldn't help but laugh. That little punk! Sweet, conniving, little punk!

7. Our new dining room table. It's a hand-me-down from our good friends, but it is big and square and beautiful and I love it. If you come to visit we'll feed you a delicious meal. It seats 8 comfortably (which is a tricky thing in a 1300 sf house).

6. PSSSHHT!! This month I got some Lysol Freshmatic air fresheners on sale. You've seen the commercials -- the ones that automatically spray every 9, 18, or 36 minutes. I got one for each bathroom and set them all for 36 minutes. Just my luck, they don't all spray simultaneously. And they are REALLY loud. So every 12 minutes or so (around the clock) wherever you are in our home you will hear the lovely PSSSHHT!! sound. And heaven forbid it go off while you are using the bathroom. Yikes! I have kind of a love/hate relationship with them because, while I hate the sound, I adore the lovely fresh aroma that wafts out and fills the surrounding area a minute later. Yes, life really is dull around here. It's official.

5. As if further evidence were needed to confirm our dullness . . . The Coolest Toilet Seat Ever! OK, maybe not EVER. I will say it's the coolest toilet seat in the $20 or less price range for mothers of small boys. That would be a fair statement. The hinges actually unlock and pop off so you can clean underneath them and (AND!!) rinse them out in hot water when you clean the bathroom. It is a truly wonderful advancement in toilet seat design. I've never felt quite so good about the cleanliness of my bathroom. I'm a happy mama.

4. Riley's sleep over. Riley had a friend sleep over a few weeks ago. It was cute and they had a good time. Until it was time to go to bed. This sweet little boy had never slept over anywhere before and to say he had trouble falling asleep would be an understatement. At one point he came into my room and said, "I just need someone to rub my back and sing to me." Ummmmmmmm . . . . that's the stuff law suits are made of. I don't even rub my own kids' backs and sing them to sleep. Does that make me a bad mom? A bad host?

3. Economic Stimulus. Did you feel it? Did you feel us stimulate the economy when we used our wad of cash to pay off Brent's kidney-stone-hospital fiasco? That was good, huh?

2. Our obese Mii's. I'm embarrassed. Brent got Wii Fit for his birthday/father's day/probably Christmas gift yesterday. It is super fun, but I have a love/hate relationship with that, too. It says that we are borderline between overweight and obese. (head hung in shame) And it made our Mii's fat. Stupid, stupid video game. Can you really trust it though? It says Riley is overweight, too. Riley! Come on.

1. Riley: "Mom, this TV makes your room look junky." Really? Really?! Are you sure it's the TV, and not the junk that you kids have left everywhere in here, that makes the room look junky? Hmmm. Note to self: Clean up bedroom.

And there you have it. Another month worth of our particular brand of madness. Hope you are all well and happy.

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