4/2/08

Warning: This is another LONG post!

I started this post on Monday and I'm just now getting around to finishing.

I've been feeling inclined to plant something, but the above picture is all I've come up with so far. The little tiny pots I got at Target for $1 each. Randy is growing chives, Jenna is growing marigolds, and I am growing basil. And, then there's an avocado pit. I started saving our organic material again. I put it in a bucket under the sink and take it out to our garden spot every few days and bury it. (I'm too inexperienced/lazy to actually start composting.) Dion doesn't like this because he thinks saving old food is gross. My Mom said my grandparents used to do this for their garden and they always had wonderful gardens. So far, I don't seem to have a green thumb, but I do try. There are several farmers in my ancestral lines, why aren't those skills coming out in me? It's at times like this that I wish my Mom's dad was still alive because then I'd ask him for advice. When he was still around I wasn't in the gardening stage of my life. My step-Dad grows awesome gardens, he makes it seem so easy.

Dion has been doing GREAT with his workouts. He goes nearly every day - I think he's only skipped two days. He's also been more into family history of late. He's visited the Family History Library downtown 2 days in a row. He's finding some good info on my Froelich line. I think I married Superman - Dion works full time, he's ward Elder's Quorum president, he's taking some pre-requisite on-line classes in preparation for his MBA this summer, and he somehow manages to be a good dad (he even played Duck, Duck, Goose with the kids last night after FHE). How did I get so lucky!

Oh, I read this in BYU Magazine. Amazing! This lady had quintuplets! The smallest one was 2 lbs. heavier than Randy was! What a miracle.

The Sunbeams were wonderful on Sunday. Even Randy answered questions, raised his hand, didn't struggle like a maniac every time I tried to hold him still, sat in his seat for measurable amounts of time. It gives me hope! I am excited that this Sunday is General Conference and we can just watch church from home.

Despite my consistent efforts with Randy and the potty, we have seen no results yet. Changing topics here - I often complain that Randy isn't a healthy eater because he won't eat fruits or vegetables (except dried mango and apple juice). However, he does love oat bran hot cereal AND he'll eat hummus, which is reasonably healthy. He and I are the only ones that like hummus in our family. Unfortunately, Dion says I smell like garlic all day whenever I eat it, even when I eat lots of other stuff to cover the scent. Bummer.

Dion mentions, on the Sandy blog, that we found our camera. We have a chest in our entryway with 4 drawers in it that we put shoes in. The camera was in there - hm.

We participated in the Earth Hour Lights Out on Saturday. We lit a bunch of candles and played charades. Jenna was really into it and took lots of turns. (Playing charades satisfied a requirement for Scouts for Corey, too.) Dion put up a clever post about it.

Jenna's doing well. She puts up some fuss about practicing piano, so we agreed that she only needs to practice every other day instead of every day. She really has a knack for it. She brings snacks to her school class this Friday - we are sending chocolate chip Teddy Grahams and apple slices. We also bring the snack to Corey's soccer game this Saturday - Capri Suns and Scooby-Doo graham cracker sticks were what he chose.

I've been reading food labels more lately, which makes shopping with children a bit more time consuming and miserable. The Flylady food person suggested recently to steer clear of partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated anything and high fructose corn syrup. I've known for a long time that these are bad ingredients, but I am now making more of an effort to not buy stuff with them. It's hard! I bought organic graham crackers for way too much money (my homemade ones just don't cut it) and the only jam I could find without high fructose corn syrup was a small, pricey jar of "spreadable fruit."

The kids found this show called Fireman Sam on the on-demand Comcast menu. Dion said the show bugged him, but I'd never really watched it. So, I checked it out on line. It's a Welsh claymation type show. Well, of course, if it's from the UK I'm going to approve! Anyway, the website had a recipe section and I decided to try the Welsh Rarebit. It was easy to make and everyone here liked it. However, it isn't very good for you. I thought the part about the beer in step 3 was pretty funny - sheesh, this is a kids' website, isn't it?

Yesterday was a hard homeschool day where Corey would NOT complete anything, would NOT concentrate, etc. On days like that I just want to throw in the towel. But then today was fine - he was pleasant, cooperative, helpful.

On March 26th our ward commemorated the Relief Society's inception with a Relief Society birthday party. Since I'm on the Enrichment committee I made 3 large pots of penne pasta. The meal was a pasta bar (spaghetti, tortelloni, penne noodles with a choice of marinara, alfredo or meat sauce) with salad and sherbet and cupcakes for dessert. I also helped serve the dessert and I was on the clean up crew. Luckily, some young men wanted to use the gym to play basketball so they helped us put away tables and chairs to move things along. It's enlightening to be on the Enrichment committee and see how much work and planning goes into things like this. I am so impressed with our Enrichment coordinator! Anyway, it was a success - always fun to visit a little bit since I don't see most of the sisters on Sunday.

On Sunday we sat behind the Lillywhites. They moved out of our ward 6 months ago, but they'd come to see the blessing of their old neighbors' baby girl. I was really so glad to see them - I didn't realize how much I missed them! Their kids are all very mild (at least around other people, but the mom claims it's different at home.) Their daughter is Jenna's age and is such a neat girl - quiet and reserved, yet not afraid of bugs. She and Jenna were in pre-school together. Their two boys are red heads. I had both of the boys nursery before they moved. The mom is a very graceful and slender, soft-spoken, elegant, red-haired women who plays the piano wonderfully and grows lots of vegetables and flowers. I think I'm a little in awe of them.

I think I'll try to dust the main floor before bed. My new plan is this: Monday-mop, Tuesday-bathrooms, Wednesday-dust, Thursday-vacuum. If I do a little bit of cleaning each day my house will be pretty well kept up. But, I don't have to cover the WHOLE house with any one of those task. For example, this Tuesday I cleaned the toilets, counters and mirrors in the bathrooms. Next Tuesday I'll do the tub/showers and floors. If I dust the main floor tonight, next Wednesday I'll dust the bedrooms, etc. Some people, who are really clean, may think that's not enough cleaning, but for me, this would make my house more clean, more thoroughly, more often. So, I'm trying it. Flylady says it's all about babysteps. We do pick up toys and clutter and do dishes and sweep most nights and I do laundry every day - so the house is tidy, but I just need to get a handle on the actual cleaning part.

Actually, it's 11:50 pm now. If Dion and I are going to read Timeline tonight we'll be up way too late if I dust! So, I've got to choose. . . I can dust tomorrow.