The best $7 I have ever spent

If you sew even more than just a little bit, you probably have tried to use a spool of thread for the serger on your machine.... especially for white and black.  It's so cheap!  But I'm sure you've also discovered that those big fat spools of thread don't work well on a regular sewing machine.  

I now present the Cone Thread Holder.  Maybe I'm the last person on earth to get one of these, but I can already endorse it as I used it last night for baby blanket assembly.  
You can find them at Joann's on the notion wall.  I asked the gal who cut my fabric and she walked me right to the spot to get one.   Now I just need to get the sewing desk cleaned up so I have room to do some serious sewing!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Birthday Boy Gets the Party of His Dreams

Finally, a month later, after the actual day of birth is celebrated, we had Ian's birthday party.  When your birthday is less than a week before school starts, it's generally not a good time to try to schedule a party with friends.  Too many other things going on.  So we waited a few weeks, and it paid off well!

Ian has been dying to visit Jump Street, the local indoor trampoline play zone.  Think Pump It Up for big kids.  Let's just say that it did NOT disappoint.  And a tip for my local friends - Tues/Thurs are the cheapest days to go ($10 for 2 hours) and it was totally empty, too!

The Group... all tired, sweaty, thirsty and hungry.  We headed back to my house for Pizza and Cake.

Happy Birthday Ian.  You are such a wonderful kid to have in our family.  You bring much joy and happiness to us.  We can always count on you to make us laugh, usually when we least expect it.   We love you!

Trial and Error

The reason this cheese block looks "wrinkled" is because I just pulled it out of the freezer. 
Yes, it's true, did you know you can freeze cheese? 

That's my new dining motto.  Except the "error" part results in an evening of excruciating stomach cramps, with frequent trips to the bathroom and unpleasantness coming out of both ends of my body.  (Sorry if that's TMI....)  But, none the less, it's been the story of my life since the first of July. 

What all this "trial and error" has revealed is that I'm lactose intolerant.  (Cue depressing music here...)    And NO, I'm definately not pregnant.

I knew it was coming eventually, but I really thought I had another 15-20 years before it manifested itself.  My parents have recently become lactose intolerant, which is common for people in their age bracket, so I just assumed that it was a done deal at some point in the future... but a very long time into the future.  Alas, not so... and I thought being allergic to Sesame was a bad gig.  So far, this one has been worse. 

You don't really realize how much dairy you consume on a regular basis until it starts making you sick and you have to cut it out of your diet.  Some examples of things I eat just about every day that contain dairy:  milk, cheese, sour cream, butter/margarine, ranch dressing, cream cheese and ice cream.  Okay, I don't eat ice cream just about every day, but you get the idea. 

A few nights ago, I made BBQ chicken, rice and a green salad.  I put a little bit of ranch on one side of my plate and a little bit of italian on the other side.  I'm not a lover of italian dressing, so I was testing the waters to see if I could eat all my salad that way.  After about 3 bites, I had to go back to the ranch.  So, I went to the cupboard, pulled out the trusty box of Lactaid pills and took one.  Then I sparingly ate the rest of my salad dipping it in the ranch side of the plate, but trying to eat as little as possible.  Three hours later, I was writhing in agony with symptoms already described above.   Lesson learned:  one lactaid pill isn't enough... next time, take two.

So as I go through this "trial and error" process, I'm learning that some things affect me more than others.   But I have learned some interesting things, too.  For example, one of my most favorite things, mayonnaise, has no milk in it.  Yay!  Don't have to give that one up!  Yogurt is also okay, and though I don't LOVE yogurt, it's nice to know that I can make smoothies for the kids and still have some too.  Unfortunately, my beloved Kraft American Cheese has been put on the chopping block, but as my husband tells me, it's not real cheese anyway, so I'm better off without it.  The good news on the cheese front is that most Kraft cheese, like the ones pictured above, are already lactose-free.  Hooray!  Because giving up cheese is harder for me than giving up milk or ice cream.  I recently had to eat a burger from Wendy's without cheese on it, and let's just say a burger isn't a burger without cheese.  It was not an enjoyable experience.

As a whole, dining out has lost it's appeal.  If I can't handle one little squirt of ranch dressing, how will I ever eat a slice of pizzeria pizza ever again?  And I'm depressed thinking about how I will probably never again get to order my favorite item on the Elmer's menu, the cheese enchiladas.  At least I can still eat at YC's Mongollian Grill.  No dairy anywhere in the menu, except at the soft serve ice cream machine that's available to patrons for an after dinner treat.  But I am usually too full to think about ice cream at that point anyway, so no loss there. 

So, I will just close this out with a warning to my brother, who has become quite the food connoisseur in the last few years:  YOU ARE DOOMED.  Enjoy dairy while you can, because you never know when it is suddenly going to turn on you and bite you in the butt. 

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Disclaimer:  I am attempting to blog via email from my cell phone.   Not sure what the outcome will be.  Having said that,  here is the post I wanted to share.

Since yesterday Ian has been bugging me to get out the wheat grinder.  Today after homework he only wanted two things:  go watch the Top Shot series finale and grind wheat.  

I hope the picture I've attached comes up in my post.  This kid might be destined to run the LDS grainaries one day.  I prefer to borrow an electric grinder when ever I need wheat flour but with this guy to help me I will never have to worry!  Now I just need to make some time to do some baking!

Adjustments

I feel the pull to blog today, but I don't really have anything I want or need to blog about.  Things are settling into a routine around here.  The dishes have been caught up for 2-3 days and all the laundry is caught up (Huzzah!) as of yesterday. 

It's amazing how a clean house puts you in a better emotional state.  When my house is messy, I can't focus on anything.  Cleaning is even hard, because it feels so overwhelming, I don't know where to start.  Thanks to flylady's guidance over the years, I've learned not to try to do it all in one day.  There are still a couple rooms that need a deep clean, but I will tackle them one at a time, while I maintain what's already clean.  It's all about maintenance.  I've had periods like this in the past where things were clean enough for me to be in maintenance mode, but it's been a couple years since that kind of miracle has occurred around here.

I even have a scrapbooking date with a friend tomorrow... which is very exciting... I haven't felt in control of my life long enough to scrapbook in a very long time.    I still have a very long "to do" list, but I feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

So if you want to know how I like having all my kids in school all day?  I LOVE it.  I'm not going to lie.  It's fantastic... I get everything done I need to do before they come home and I can dedicate all my focus and energy to helping them with homework, etc. and not be constantly distracted by other things pulling my attention away.  And we've been swimming almost every afternoon.  The kids come home so hot and sweaty from the bus, that I throw them straight into the pool to relax and cool down for about half an hour.  Not that the pool is cool... I'm about ready to get some ice blocks if it doesn't rain soon... but it helps everyone calm down so they can focus on homework.  Our pool has gotten more use in the last two weeks than it has all summer!

So if you'll excuse me now, I'm going to go plop myself down on the couch with a Diet Coke and the book I need to have finished by Tuesday night for Book Club and enjoy my afternoon, guilt free! 

What If?

Do you ever play the "What If" game in your mind? 

For all the many years when I had at least one child in a 5 point harness car seat, one of the many bad recurring dreams I dreamt, involved me crashing into a lake and having to get everyone out of the car safely before we drowned.  I don't know why I dreamed this dream over and over again... I've never driven on any roads that could result in my crashing the car into a lake, but none the less, every time I dreamed that dream, I wouldn't be able to complete the task before I woke up, sweating and shaking, and trying to tell myself it's only a dream... it's only a dream.  But then, I would lay in bed for the next 15 minutes, trying to figure out how I would actually accomplish this task if I were ever really put in this situation, because it's good to be prepared for this kind of thing, right?

Thankfully, those dreams haven't plagued me in a while.... maybe because my kids are growing up, and Taylor and Megan are now both the size of adults, so I have like triple the manpower in an emergency, right?  And Brayden is out of the 5 point harness, so he can get in and out of a buckle pretty quick without any help.  It must be taking a huge load off my sub-conscious mind!

Over the last two weeks, while my kids have been gone from 8:30 to 3:00, I've had other types of "what if" dreams.  Not really while I'm sleeping, because I've only succumbed to a daytime nap once, and I was pretty sick to justify it, but the day-dream-fantasy-type dreams, that I now have during the quiet of the day, when there is just me to talk to.  (Which is never a problem for me... yeah, I'll admit it, I talk to myself.)

Here are some examples of my "what if" daydreams:

~What If I went back to school to become a hairstylist?  I've been cutting the kids hair their whole lives and I could actually learn how to do it professionally and get paid to do it for other people.  But then I stop and think...  what if I ruined some one's hair? 

~What If I went back to school to study Interior Design?  That was the major I was planning to switch to, just before I met my husband, and plans got derailed to accommodate his educational needs.  But could I really design a room for someone in a scheme that I personally hated?  I don't know.

~What if I had become a flight attendant?  Completely putting aside the fact that I hate flying, I sure am jealous of the benefits.  Getting paid to travel, and being able to go on dirt cheap vacations on your time off.  But then, I remember how you have to spend a whole five hour flight on your feet (and they don't always get super comfy shoes to wear), and then, turn around and do it again... sometimes back to back flights all in one day.  Ugh.

~What if I became a professional photographer?  Not only would I have to hone my picture taking skills, but I would have to learn how to use my camera like a pro and learn photoshop too.  And then what if you were doing a wedding and the pics turned out awful?  You can't exactly do a re-shoot for something like that.  No thanks, too much pressure!

~What if I became a professional blogger?   What?  That's when I "wake up" and snap back to reality.  After all, there are always toilets to be cleaned and clothes to fold.  As much as I hate those tasks, at least I know how to do them.  :)

BBQ in Benicia

I have almost as many fond memories of my aunt's house in Benicia as I do of my grandma's house in Concord.   So many get-togethers and sleepovers with our cousins.  Good times!  Now it's time for my kids to play with my cousins' kids in that same back yard!

When your back yard has two levels, it's automatically easy for boys to find a way to entertain themselves with some game or another.

And Uncle Stan has plenty of entertainment for the older generation of kids too.  Taylor was in heaven getting to go for a ride in the Cobra.

Goofy uncles... some things NEVER change.

Boys... check out how tall Jakob is... he's only 11!  Unfortunately, we didn't get this picture before Jayden had been put to bed, so we'll have to photoshop him into it later! 

Jakob gets the tall genes from his mom and dad... in this picture of Heidi and I, I am standing on my tip toes and she's still a bunch taller than me!

I'm so glad someone had the sense to make sure we got this picture.  Four generations of girls:  Grandma Bea, her two daughters Carol and Karen, then me and Heidi, and our daughters, Megan and Cami.

 It was wonderful to spend some time together with Heidi, Rob and their kids... even if it was just for a couple hours.  And I'm glad we got to squeeze in another afternoon with my grandma, even if we did wear her out!  I think she'd say it's well worth it!

This was our summer vacation grand finale... and I'm glad we were able to squeeze a visit in before having to get ready for the back-to-school rush.  I've learned that living far away from the family makes time visiting so much more precious and meaningful.  No one has a perfect family, but I am truly grateful for the families that Eric and I have been blessed with.  We love you all!

Time Well Spent

Since the pool is out of commission this year, the kids made sure to take full advantage of the hot tub facilities at grandma's house... and grandma took full advantage of their willingness to take Charlie in the hot tub and give him some swimming practice.

Later in the day we went to the other grandma's house... and the boys found two sets of boxing gloves that are as old as Eric.  Taylor set up a boxing clinic for the younger boys out on grandma's trampoline.

Look at how cute Brayden and Dallyn are... thank goodness they weren't trying very hard to hurt each other.

Things got more serious once the shirts came off...

My boys wanted to take the boxing gloves home so badly.  And Mom, being the awesome grandma that she is, said "okay".  But I said "NO WAY!"  I want them to have something fun to look forward to doing when they go to grandma's house to visit, and if it's boxing on the tramp, then so be it. 

Put together boxing gloves and a trampoline and you are bound for some great action shots.  Many thanks to Megan who was the photographer for the afternoon.  She did a great job!

Meanwhile, Mom and I were inside taking down every picture in her house and re-arranging them on the walls.  It was a fun project to do, and I'm so glad I could help her do it.  I think she was worried that this wasn't how I wanted to spend my vacation, but it was the exact type of stuff I wanted to do.  And to prove my point, the day before I spent the day helping my mom assemble an Ikea dresser.  I am just kicking myself that we didn't take any before/after shots of Mom's walls.  The transformation was awesome!