Fine, and you?

Life has been busy here in our home. For two weeks, our whole family took turns being sick. I started out as allergies, but for all of us it turned into either a sinus infection, bronchial cough, or both.

There were a couple of discoveries I had while being sick. 1) Gone are the days when I could crawl in bed, turn on QVC and just be sick. Both kids were sick while I was. I took them into the Doctor and wanted to beg her to give me the same stuff she was giving the kids. I refrained. 2) I discovered the Netti Pot.

Isn't this the most disturbing picture? I still plug my nose when I jump in the swimming pool, so the thought of pouring water into my nose on purpose wasn't too appealing. After having the cold / allergies for about 5 days, I got desperate and went on a mission to Walgreens. I purchased one, (I must have been really desperate because I paid $15.00 for a plastic tea pot) I used it, and could breathe again. I highly recommend getting one of these for yourself if you have any sinus issues this allergy season.

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In other news...

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About a week and a half ago I was recruited to start teaching coupon classes for Grocery Smarts. I was calling the director to reschedule a class for some friends and ended up talking to her about teaching. I am really excited. I have been addicted to couponing for a few months now and am excited to be able to teach the system to people around the valley. I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in "training." It was a lot of fun learing how to be cheap, I'm sorry, frugal.

This was my purchase on Friday from Target.

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I bought...

2 large bottles of Soft Scrub

1 bottle of Pledge furniture polish

2 6 packs of applesauce

6 bars of soap

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All this for $5.49! I not only bought this on Friday night, I went back on Saturday morning and made the same purchase because I had more of the same coupons. Couponing is so addictive, but I figure saving my family money is a good hobby to have. I save an average of 65-70% each week on my groceries and household items, and it is all stuff that we would normally use.

On Thursday I got to go over to my friend Cathy's house and pretend like I was a photographer - something I always enjoy doing. She let me play around with her and the baby. All of my favorite shots are of her and her precious little girl. She was worried about not having done her hair or her make-up, but I thought she looked beautiful. This one was one of my favorites.

I usually don't post video, and here I am posting a second one of Clara in a matter of weeks. I had to share this with the out-of-town family (and you can watch it, too). Here she is getting a little distracted.

That about wraps up what we have been doing. Life if good.

When dad takes pictures.

I was searching for a recent picture on my little camera and found this picture that Steve had taken. I realized some things after studying it...

1. As you can see, the haircut hasn't done much to keep her hair out of her eyes.

2. Yes, my daughter was playing outside in her onesie in the middle of March. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm enough to be dressed like the middle of July. Come to think of it, this was a couple days before both kids came down with a cold. I wonder...

3. At least she did have shoes on...for about 30 seconds.

4. Would you believe she only weighs 20 pounds? She is very fluffy and does not hold her weight very well. We are still waiting for her to hit 23 pounds so I can turn her car seat around.

5. When she is a teenager, she is going to hate this picture. I, on the other hand, am going to love it even more than I do now.

Too young?

Clara has been attempting to use a spoon by herself. She was doing pretty well and actually getting pudding in her mouth! Then I walked away. Maybe she isn't too young to use a spoon on her own, but too young to be left unsupervised with a pudding cup.

Anyone know why I buy stock in paper towels?

Just pretend like it's still St. Patricks day.

We hope you all had a fun St. Patricks day. We did. Thomas was beyond thrilled because green is his favorite color. However, he did want to wear a yellow shirt yesterday. Who knows why. Here he is modeling our preschool project we did. I thought the kids would have fun making these beards. The hats were courtesy of The Dollar Tree, a store that will forever serve it's purpose. The beards were a little too hard for 3-4 year olds, but each one of the kids held their pipe cleaners while I tied all the knots. Thanks for the idea, Pamela!

Clara wore the beard about as long as she wears her shoes. If I would have been thinking, I would have had my camera ready to go, but I missed it and she would not put it back on.

It's good to be Irish.

Chocolate Fix

Clara recently started saying "I love you." I was trying to get it on video and got something completely different. We may need to find a new spot for our candy stash.

The one where I explain this...

Friday afternoon I was planning on driving out to Henderson to visit my favorite quilt shop. They were having a 30% off sale, and for everyone out there who is a fabric hoarder like myself, 30% off Amy Bulter and Heather Bailey fabric is not something to be taken lightly.

The original plan was to drive across town around lunch time. The kids and I were going to meet Steve at the Hospital Cafeteria for lunch and then I was going to head over to my happy place. Instead I spent the morning with my BFF and her son playing at the park with the kids and having a great time. When I got home from the park, I realized we were going to have to push the outing until later due to naps. That was my first mistake.

The wind always comes up in the afternoon. The wind has always been my nemesis.

Around 3:00 I loaded the kids into the van and turned the ignition. DRATS! The gas light was on and there was no way I was going to make it across town on fumes. I pulled into the station up the street got out. We were in the middle of a tornado (not really, but it was blustery). I opened my gas flap and started to walk towards the pump. Just then a huge gust of wind came up and blew my hair into my eyes. I took a step back and heard and felt a snap.

NO!!! My heart stopped as I looked down. There, hanging by the plastic cord attached to the gas lid was my flap. I fell to my knees and tried to figure out how I was going to re attach it. Why does this stuff always happen to me? I stood up after saying a few choice words that I would never say in public and wiped away the tears (the car windows were up, so the kids‘ ears didn‘t start to bleed). I walked back to the pump and swiped my card and filled my tank as quickly as I could so I could get on my way. I figured if I drove home I could duck tape the arm back together at the break. I screwed on the lid , jumped in the car and started for home with a glimmer of hope. The whole way home my gas flap was flapping in the wind hitting the side of my car. I felt like such a dork.

When I got home, I tore the garage apart looking for duct tape. How could MY HUSBAND be out of duct tape! He’s MacGyver! He usually has everything in our garage. I went back to the van to inspect the damage again. I decided the break was too short on one side to be fixed with tape. Reluctantly, popped the cord off, threw the flap in the car, and started across town. I was sure that everyone I passed was laughing and pointing. I could just hear all the conversations around the dinner tables…. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw today, this lady, obviously a Mormon mom in a mini van, was driving around with her gas flap missing!” Oh, the humiliation.

Fast forward a week.


It’s taken a few days, but I am starting to cope with the big hole in the side of my car. Although the flashing neon arrow pointing to the hole is still getting to me. I’m not proud. I just keep telling myself that it gives the van more personality.

This morning I was in the shower. I do some of my best thinking in the shower. I was in the middle of washing the conditioner out of my hair when an enormous light bulb went off over my head….

Who would have ever thought Billy Mays would save the day.

The one about Clara's haircut.

I don't even know what to write. Yesterday was the final straw. Clara walked into a wall...twice. The poor girl needed to have her haircut and I needed to stop being a crybaby about it.

I taught her this look. I am very proud of it. When she gets a little older, she will be blessed with a little line right in between the eyebrows when she makes this face.

She is a true girl. She sat and watched herself in the mirror the whole time.


I could tell she was having a moment. Kind of like that moment when you put on glasses for the first time and realize how much you have been missing.

I don't understand why first haircuts are so difficult. She woke up yesterday morning as a baby and went down for her nap as a little girl.

I love it, even though it is a little crooked.

The one about Bonnie Springs

Way back, many days ago... like Monday, March 2nd we took a little field trip out to Bonnie Springs. We thought it would be fun for the kids to visit a petting zoo, plus the weather was great. When I was growing up, Bonnie Springs was a fun, nice place. ( Or maybe I was just too young to pick up on how gross it was back when I was a wee one. ) Guess what? It's not anymore.

This picture pretty much sums up the outing in a nutshell. It stunk. Not only was it really smelly, it was dirty and the animals all looked like they needed to be put out of their misery. We had fun being together, but we were anxious to get into our car and treat ourselves to a round of hand sanitizer.

Thomas and Clara were both fascinated with the jail. Hopefully they got it all out of their system.

I loved this lion. It reminded me of the one that was at the old Wonder World right outside the liquor store.

Thomas also like the Marlboro Camel Ride.

Then I got pooped on.

Clara has a new found love of dirt and rocks. At least she didn't eat this dirt, she has been known to snack on playground dirt.

Love it.

This is the only way I am able to get my kids to take a picture with me. I have to hold them down.

Clara couldn't understand why we let her have her hand stamped.

Random Rooster

"These pretzels are making me thirsty."

I love soft pretzels, but haven't really been able to buy any because, 1) I would have to go to the mall to buy one, and 2) If I am there, Thomas is usually with me and there is a big old sign on the window that says "Do not eat here if you have nut allergies."

I came across this recipe this afternoon and decided since I had nothing better to do, Thomas and I would try to make them. They are unbelievably good. They actually taste like the pretzels from the mall, go figure. Since I was bored, I decided to take pictures of the process and give you all a "bread" baking lesson.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup baking soda
8 cups hot water (almost to a boiling point)
kosher salt, for topping

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in the warm water. Here is something I learned from my sis-in-law, let the yeast sit for a good 20 minutes and proof. You need to really let it puff up and get "creamy."

2. In your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, sift together 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt. I use a whisk and mix everything together so I don't have to get out my sifter. The whisk will do the same job as a sifter.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the yeast mixture and the olive oil.

4. After you have dumped your yeast and oil in the well, add your dough hook attachment and turn the mixer on low. Let the hook mix everything together slowly. If the dough looks too dry and it isn't "coming together", you can add teaspoons of water, one at a time, until it all comes together. You then need to let the mixer knead your dough for 7 minutes. You could pull the dough out and knead it yourself, but why do that? You are going to get a good enough arm work-out rolling the pretzels and shaping them.

5. After you have kneaded the dough for 7 minutes, place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The dough will be smooth, but very dense. I like to stick my bowl under a window to let rise. If it is too cold, you can turn on your oven to 200 degrees with a pan of water in it. Heat the oven up, turn it off, and then place your dough in. The water and the heat will make the oven nice and humid (that is a trick I learned when I was working at Cinnabon 18 years ago )

6. Let the dough rise one hour. It should feel a lot less heavy and dense after the rising.

7. Now here is the therapeutic part. Take your dough ball and divide it into 12 balls. Take each ball and make it into a really long snake and twist it up to make a pretzel shape. I was having lots of fun doing this until pretzel #10, after that it got old and I was ready to be done.

8. While you are shaping your dough, you should be heating up 8 cups of water. Dissolve the baking soda in the water. You don't want the water to boil, just be really hot.

9. Once all the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution. Leave the pretzel in the water until it floats up the the top. When it is floating, take it out and place it on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. I did six, baked them, and then prepped the other 6 while the first batch was baking.

9. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Right when they come out, brush each pretzel with butter and remove from the pan.

The recipe yields 12 large pretzels, unless your 4 year-old decides he needs to make a pizza out of one of the balls. Yum.

Enjoy. We sure did.