Let Summer Begin

Yesterday was the kids last day of school.  Actually I think “school” as we know it ended last week because all they have been doing is signing yearbooks and having parties.   I’m so glad school is out, but as much as I wanted it to be over with, I wasn’t ready for the end of year teacher gifts.  I knew that gifts require cards so I did the fun part first and made the cards. 

I couldn’t think of anything that was both inexpensive and fast so I did a repeat of last year (since they didn’t have any of the same teachers).  I found some nice water bottles and filled them with Crystal Light drink packets and put a little tag on them that said, Thanks for quenching my thirst for knowledge.  I knew it was kind of lame so I made the kids write their teachers thank you notes inside the cards.  I figured it would mean more coming from them.  Kyle really knocked his out of the park, I knew his teachers would really appreciate  it.  I helped Lana organize her thoughts and then made sure she used her best handwriting, luckily we have some erasable pens.  

The past week and a half has been exhausting.  We have had promotion ceremonies, award assemblies, locker and desk clean outs, a phonics party, a lacrosse party, birthday parties, swimming parties, and did we get pictures of any of it?  NO.  I did take some video but I’m not going to share it with you out of respect for others privacy.  So I’ll show you a picture taken a month ago after my parents returned from Hawaii. 

Kyle is still taller than me.  I know this isn’t going to change but it still surprises me every time I see us standing together. 

It’s the first day of Summer Vacation and what are my kids doing?

Having some much deserved couch time! 

We Interrupt This Blog for This Important Message

Dear Mr. Jamie Oliver,

You are so stinky adorable.  I love your fun hair.  I love your accent.  I love your trucker style hats.  I love that half the time you eat with your fingers.  I love watching your Food Revolution program.

BUT, can you please tell my children it’s OK to eat pizza every now and then.  Seriously!  And while your at it can you inform them that if their choice at McDonald’s is a hamburger or chicken nuggets, that chicken nuggets is the better choice.  They used to always choose chicken until your lovely chicken nugget experiment. 

I have somehow managed to teach my children that veggies are not optional.  Not only do they eat them, they request them.  If we have spaghetti and I forgot to get the salad out there are questions. 

What I would like you to teach them is that there isn’t dessert after every meal.  This is one thing that no matter how many times I tell them they refuse to listen.  This very morning my daughter asked “what’s for dessert” after breakfast!  They do not get dessert after every meal nor do they get it after breakfast but they still ask and it’s getting really annoying. 

One other thing before we go…If parents are so outraged by school lunches why don’t they make their kids lunch?  I grew up brown bagging it, my kids brown bag it, and we are still alive to tell the tell.  I don’t feel it is the school’s job to feed my child, they are there to learn. 

Thanks,

Shawna

Wasting Time

So I’m supposed to be packing for our spring break trip, but I’m finding myself distracted with all the little details.  We are flying on a different airline and they charge by the bag.  I’m so stressing about their guidelines as to what a carryon is.  So much so I’m about to take a little drive to the airport and see if they would measure my bags.  I have measured them  and if I squish them they are the right size…almost… We picked this airline because they saved us about $600.00 so I guess if I have to pay an extra $80 for a bag I shouldn’t stress about it.  We are also going to miss the kid’s Spring Play.  It’s more of a concert than a play, but it was going to be SOOOO cute this year.  They have a fabulous music teacher who I just adore!  She has the kids singing pop songs and they are so excited about it. 

Lana’s class is singing New Soul by Yael Naim, such a cute song for her to sing.  Take a listen:

Kyle’s class is singing Replay by Iyaz.  While Kyle’s class is singing the chorus Lana’s class is going to be freestyle dancing, little kids dancing always cracks me up.

The whole school is singing Fireflies by Owl City. 

They are also singing Don’t Stop Believing the Glee version.  The older kids sing while the younger ones do the Da Da Da’s.  

Kyle’s class and the older kids are also singing Viva La Vida by Coldplay

Kyle was going to be in a group of boys singing Nine in the Afternoon by Panic at the Disco

 

Wouldn’t you be so bummed about missing it too?  Maybe there will be an encore performance after Spring Break.  On the bright side we are in for a week of chilling to the max.  It’s so relaxing when we go to visit Ronnie’s parents, I’m so looking forward to it.  I hope you all have a great Spring Break!

I am Persistent if Nothing Else

So Today I was totally free.  No grocery shopping to do, no helping at the kids school, no laundry, no cooking to be done, no driving anyone to anywhere, totally free.  So I had two things I was thinking about doing, getting my eyebrows threaded or making a baby gift for a baby shower. 

I want to get my eyebrows threaded and need to also but for some reason I keep putting it off. 

 

So today I ended up making a baby blanket.  As always something goes wrong every time I get behind the sewing machine and today was no different.  One of these days I’m gonna learn that there are some things I just can’t do well, but until then I will keep sharing my sewing mishaps with you. 

So I get the blanket all trimmed up and thread my sewing machine and load up the bobbin with matching thread and place the blanket on the machine.  I start to sew and then this happened:

  That’s my sewing machine needle, broke into two pieces.  I’m so special when it come to sewing, you just have to believe me.  So I figured out that my bobbin was too full.  Who knew it could be too full?  Luckily I had extra needles so I didn’t have to run to the store. 

I decided to make my baby blanket have rounded corner because it was something new for me.  I  left the opening on the corner because I didn’t know what I was doing.  Then after I pulled it right side out and was ironing it I realized I did not want the opening on the corner because it would be too hard to topstitch and make it look pretty.  So then I flipped it wrong side out again and sewed the corner and left a teeny tiny baby hole for me to turn it right side out through.  After pinching and pulling I finally was able to get it turned right side out and finish it. 

 

End result:  A finished baby blanket that passed the “can I give this as a gift” test. 

Sewing is just one of many things on my “I need to get better at this list”.  One other thing I need to get better at is bread baking.  So every Sunday is bread baking day.  Here are a few breads I’ve been baking:

 

Well, I’ve baked for 4 Sundays now but I guess I only took pictures on the Sunday when Ronnie was working so I could email him and he could see what he was missing.  I’m a nice wife like that.  The above pictured are cinnamon and dinner rolls made with potato pearls.  I’ve made whole wheat butter horns twice and last Sunday were plain white rolls shaped like knots.  I like the rolls so far because they actually rise.  Unlike my many loaves of wheat bread I have tried in the past. 

Maybe my next “free” day will be the day I finally get my eyebrows threaded. 

Where is My Gold Star?

Yesterday I was so productive.  My house looks like it was turned upside down but I got a lot of things done that needed to be done. And I always have the kids to help clean the house up on the weekend anyways.  Isn’t that the real reason we have kids, free child labor? 

So anyway, Yesterday I made Valentine bags for Lana to give to her class at school.  Kyle didn’t want anything to give to his friends, I guess it’s not cool anymore. 

Then I made Valentine cards for Lana to pass out to her class.  I seem to have an aversion to store bought holiday cards.  I’m weird like that.  I made the Valentine cards with a stamp set called tiny treats from Papertrey Ink.  I am in love with these stamps!

Then I went grocery shopping and got a really good deal on ground beef.  So I went home and made 4 tater tot casseroles and put them in the freezer.  Then I went back and picked up some more ground beef and made some taco meat and meat to add to rice or spaghetti sauce and froze it too.  I told Ronnie how I really wished all those Ziploc bags we just bought from Sam’s were freezer bags.  Then as he saw me trying to suck all the air out of the bags and my face turning three shades of red he said why don’t you use that food saver thing we have up in the cabinet.  Oh yeah we have one of those thingys.  So after wiping the dust off and using it I was no longer mad at our Ziploc bags and all was right with the world.  I also made some Valentine Cookies, but they were gone before I thought to take a picture.  They are probably my favorite cookies and I think every time I make them if I have any left the next morning I eat no less than  3 for breakfast.  So I have to give them away before the next morning.

While I was cooking I kept looking at my super cute recipe box my sister gave me and thinking how I should really start putting recipes in there instead of just admiring it’s looks. 

So I made some recipe cards.  I only made two but it’s a start.

Then I realized how little I actually use recipes.  Another realization I’ve had is how much my thumb looks like it belongs on a man’s hand.  Now if you sit by me at church and I don’t want to share a hymn book with you, you know it’s not you,  I’m just trying to hide my manly thumbs.  

So now since I got so much done yesterday, I’ve just wasted away an hour today blogging.  I’m cool like that.    :)

Year of Photos that Make Me Smile

I went through my photos and picked one photo each month that brought a smile to my face. 

Christmas…It’s Practically Here!

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  It kind of lost it’s luster this year because two very important people were not here.  Ronnie’s parents could not make it out this year because of cancer treatments and such.  Ronnie’s Mom, Sue, has been my Black Friday buddy for the past few years and I so missed her this year.  I couldn’t even bring myself to go out and join the crazies without her.  Our French silk pie didn’t taste the same without Ronnie’s Dad helping to make it.  Now I’m in no way saying this  was his doing but, one year I left the pie making up to the guys while I went to take a shower.  Upon my return to the kitchen I see everyone hovered over the mixing bowl.  Apparently an eggshell dropped into the mixing bowl as it was whipping around as fast as it could.  They managed to save the pie by picking each tiny eggshell out.  There may have been a strainer used in the process, I can’t remember all the details, nevertheless the pie never tasted so good. 

Now Christmas is right around the corner.  There are so many fun things to do this time of year but so little time. We did make it to the kids Christmas Program at school where a very nervous little kindergartener ran from the stage throwing up.  That’s a night we wont soon forget!  Lana is getting over her stage freight and can now stay up on stage without crying out DADDY, DADDY. DADDY.  Kyle can sing wonderfully and  really enjoys it but you could never tell from the look on his face.  During the whole program he had a scour look on his face because it’s no longer “cool” to smile.  I tried to get a good picture of them all dressed and ready to impress but…

   

We have been to many places where Lana has visited with the Jolly Ol’ Man himself.  Places like Opportunity Village, Ethel M, the Church Christmas Party, and even Wal-Mart.  Each Santa she visited with she told them she wanted the same thing.  Now here is where I wish I could scream this from the rooftops because it makes me look like a good mom, she told all 4 Santa’s that she wanted a book.  A BOOK, not a video game, or bike, or the latest and greatest toy, but a BOOK.  Now here is where I tell you the truth behind this.  She has given Grandma a list of things she would like from her.  Then when my parents asked her what she wanted she couldn’t come up with anything because she knew that Grandma would get her everything on her list so she needed to think of something new for them to get her.  We were over at my parents house one day organizing craft supplies using a label maker when Lana discovered this new device.  She then asked them to give her a label maker for Christmas.  Then when we went to the 4 Santa’s she was out of gift ideas so she asked for books, because you can never have too many books.  Regardless of how this came to be, Santa will be very happy to buy her books, I’m just sure of it.

   

We finally got the Christmas cards in the mail and now we can eat dinner on the table without being surrounded by cardstock, tape, sticky dots, pictures…all the CRAP STUFF craft stuff it took to make them.  Ronnie actually came up with the idea this year.  We tried to mimic the It’s A Wonderful Life DVD cover.  Incase you’re wondering, yes I made Kyle squat down.  He’s about as tall as I am!

The kids made puppets one night. 

They also got to play in snow.  They have a teacher at school that lives on Mt. Charleston and he drives a truck so when it snows he brings snow down for the kids to play with.

And at some point Lana turned into a singing elf.

 

I think she was singing…All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

Halloween Happenings

Kyle and Lana’s last day of school was Thursday since Nevada Day is Nov. 30th (Friday).  So the Halloween parties were held that day.  Middle School kids kind of get a bum deal, they get to carve pumpkins at home then bring them in for the pumpkin carving contest and if they are lucky some parents bring in snack for them to eat.  Lana’s grade had an all out party.  With me being room-mom had to plan and organize said party.  They first had to get dressed in their costume for the Halloween Parade.  Lana was a mermaid…yes people use your imagination. 

She is a very reverent child, so much so she even folded her arms during the parade.  NOT!  It was windy and cold that day.  Then they played some games and made some crafts and ate some snacks. 

Then the glorious bell rang that ended the day.

Then wicked wind had blown all the cold air away and we woke up to a beautiful day.  Ronnie was off work, the kids were out of school, so we stayed in our PJs until noon.  Then we went to a corn maze in Glendale.  I heard that you had to pay $10 per person, but when we got there they said you can just walk through it for free.  It was kind of lame, I would have been mad if we paid $40 for this. 

Lana was our leader so we would not get lost and Kyle found a friend:

 

Then we found Ron’s car from Harry Potter, we almost lost Lana to the spider:

Then we went home with our dusty dirty shoes.

The next day was Halloween.  We went to the ward Trunk or Treat.  Kyle was a hobbit and we tried to make Lana’s costume look more mermaidy, but it just wasn’t happening. 

Our trunk was decorated and we were parked next to the cutest “chicken rider” I have ever seen!

The kids came home with loads of candy, but sadly hardly any chocolate.  Jerry, I know you’ll be disappointed to hear that there wasn’t a good pile / bad pile this year.  Only once did I hear, mom my tummy hurts, so all in all it was a great Halloween.

What’s Going On In There?

Some things that have been taking up space in my brain:

                                                                                                                          My sister had her beautiful baby boy Layton.  He was born on 09/30/09, weighing in at 8lb 8oz and 21 inches long.  He has her long fingers and toes and I’m just sure he is going to be the next great piano player.  His mom might say the next great basketball star.  Words can’t express how beautiful it is to see a young woman transform into a selfless caring mom.  She is a great mom and Layton is a very lucky boy to have her to look up to. 

 

 

Sam’s Club pumpkin pies totally beat Costco pumpkin pies but Costco blueberry muffins are far superior than Sam’s Club blueberry muffins.  Why can’t all my favorites come from one place?

 

My deadline for getting my NV driver license is coming fast.  Don’t ask why I don’t have one yet.  To make things even more fun I have to get a new Social Security card since mine was stolen along with my wallet in June.  So I have to get that before I can get my license. 

 

The whole Boy Scout program totally mystifies me.  I know the Personal Progress program backward and forward, too bad Kyle had that darn Y chromosome thingy that made him ineligible for the Personal Progress program.

 

I’ve been putting together a breast cancer awareness meeting for church.  I’ve been working on it for about a month.  We found out a week ago that Ronnie’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  At first they thought she had leukemia.  Then they came back after some tests and said it looks like breast cancer that has spread to a bone.  We also had a women in our Ward that was diagnosed a week or two ago.  Coincidence?  I think not.  

 

 

I am so loving the .39 cent tacos from Taco Bell.  They taste even better when they are that cheap. 

 

                                                                                                                           The Clinique’s free gift from Macy’s this year is very cute!  It could double as a teacher gift if I were a nice person and saved it for someone else.  I’m not, I opened up my stuff as soon as I got in the car and played with the new colors.   I really love the lipstick color. 

 

 

 

My most played song on my iPod right now is In The Meantime by Spacehog.  It’s best when played loud without any kids in the car so they can’t make fun of you when you are signing.  Spacehog always reminded me of David Bowie.  Take a listen if you want:

My New Fav

Each Fall we are inundated with new TV shows to hit the airwaves.  And I have a new favorite.  I haven’t even seen a commercial for it because life has taken over and I haven’t had time to watch TV very much.  But I did see this picture on hulu and it caught my eye.

So Ronnie and I watched it.  Then we watched two more episodes that same night and it was going on 1:30am.  We were laughing so hard we woke Kyle up, but I doubt he was really asleep, probably up late reading.  We got caught up on all the episodes that night and had a wait week to see the next.  I was not even prepared for the next episode!  It was the best one yet.  It started out with this clip:

Then ended with this one:

So far my favorite episode.  It comes on Wednesday at 9pm, usually before Kyle’s in bed.  But thanks to hulu we can watch it when we want to, after the kids are in bed.  Not a show I would watch with the whole family.

Ronnie has hooked one of our computers up to the TV in the effort to rid ourselves of cable.  It seems to be working for us.  We get to pick what comes on our TV and when for free.  We also use Netflix watch instantly and a few other internet sites that have full episodes to TV shows.  He has even downloaded an iPhone and iPod app that turned them into a mouse for the computer.  So it’s like our remote control for the computer. 

A Few Sweet Things

I kind of have this thing for candy corn decorations, can you tell?

I really can’t stand the taste of candy corns but they sure are cute to look at.  Speaking of cute take a look at these two:

One blogger called them literary luminaries, but I call them CUTE.  I just made these tonight and they weren’t hard at all.  I saw them here and had to make some right away.  They are old novels just folded.  I actually made one of them while making dinner.  Well I’m not Supermom, it was Hamburger Helper so I just watched it and made sure it didn’t bubble over as I folded page after page.  Hey no judging here, there were crafts waiting to be made!  I haven’t named them yet but I’m thinking the more shapely one is a girl and the other a boy.  Jack and Jill is just too predictable…hmm.  Maybe Emerson and Christie.

Pennsylvania Part Deuce

Catching up again…

Ronnie and I had a great time in Altoona, PA.  I learned two things about people there, one – you can’t live there is you’re not a sports fanatic.  You have to own a Steelers shirt if you are going to live in Pennsylvania.  On our airplane ride home the captain updated us 4 times with the football score because the Steelers were playing.  They put a Steelers logo on anything that will stand still.

 

 

Normal everyday products for sale have the logo

They make their pizzas Steelers Pizza              I’m sure he made his mama proud with this

Second – They are big fans of putting faces on things you eat. There’s a restaurant called Kings and they are home of the Frownie.   I introduce to you the Frownie.

If you buy a pack to go it’s called a pity party.

Then they even have a dessert competition called the Angry Mob

 

Then there’s the happier side, a restaurant called Eat ‘n Park has smiles everywhere. 

Smiley Cookies

Smiley Waffles

They even try arrange the food you order into a smile when possible.  It did make me giggle, so I guess smiles are contagious. 

It’s not surprising that the Frownie originated near Pittsburgh, home of Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon, if you didn’t know, is the birthplace of the emoticon, thanks to Scott Fahlman, who started the whole sideways smiling business more than 25 years ago on the University’s Computer Science community b(ulliten)-board. He invented the frowning emoticon, too. In the same message, no less.

There reason why we went there…

To see these two get married…

and start their life together.