If you need me, this is where I'll be

Am I looking forward to going? I suppose. I'm a little weird about preparing to travel. I don't like to do it. I would much rather wiggle my nose and have all the packing be done, lickety split. In fact, it would be great if the actual travel time could be taken care of in the same way. Long trips and me don't really get along. I'm kind of thinking that long trips and Peyton won't get along very well either. I'll be happy once we're there. Only then will I allow myself to be excited and have a good time. Yes, I am a little ridiculous at times.

I failed

I failed at my FJ1W goal. I'm not being hard on myself, or trying to generate sympathy by saying that. I really failed and did it big time. I screamed my head off every.single.day this past week. I'm more than slightly disappointed. It's obviously something I need to work very hard on and for a very long time. So, I'm going to continue with it this week. (Along with my reading goal. I'm still going strong with that one.) And probably every week after for the rest of my life.

I've been thinking long and hard to come up with my next goal. I wanted something that would make a difference in my life and impress my husband as well. Impressing my husband really means I want him to notice and comment about it. I'm a kind of needy. This one is going to be hard for me and I really mean it. I'm not being trite. Here it is:

For Just One Week I am going to wear socks and shoes every day. Not around the house because I think it's stupid to wear them at all times in your home. I plan to do it when I leave the house. Scoff if you want, but this is going to be tough for me. Like, throwing a hissy fit because I don't want to do it tough.

You see, I despise socks with just about every fiber of my being. I can't stand for my feet to feel hot. It makes me feel like I'm suffocating and thereby causes a panic attack when they are. I like socks just fine in the colder months, when they serve the purpose of protecting your feet from the elements. Any other time of the year I feel they are stupid and pointless.

I also hate shoes, let me clarify, lace up ones for the same reasons. I know my feet wouldn't cramp so much when I ran if I wore proper support all the time. Something my husband nags reminds me about daily. I don't care. Shoes that lace up are tight, restrictive, hot, a pain to get on and off, etc.

Despite all of these reasons, I'm going to try. I'm going to show my husband I am capable of doing it. (You might remember I do a lot of things out of spite.) Hopefully, by the time this week is over, my hatred of socks and shoes will be diminished. Even just a small amount.

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What's on the menu today: Tortilla Stew.

Happy Birthday Peyton!

*Waring. This is a very long post. ☺*

Today, my baby is 2 years old. These past 2 years have gone by so quickly. I know that everyone says that, but they really have. In fact, from the very beginning, everything with Peyton has been so surreal and happened fast.


We decided in early January 2007 that we would like to have one more child. I assumed it would take around 6 months to get pregnant because it had taken that long with our other 3 children. I was wrong. It took about 2 weeks. Surprise. One of the things I was looking forward to when I had another baby, was delivering at the new hospital, IMC. I became pregnant so quickly this time around, I missed the opening by one month. I had to deliver at Cottonwood Hospital. Oh well. I had two others there.


The pregnancy was just like and not like all of my others. My hips hurt, my sciatic nerve hurt, everything hurt, and hurt pretty bad. In fact, those things hurt more than any other pregnancy. I spent a day in bed here and there because I couldn't walk. It wasn't fun, but I survived.


We didn't find out the sex because we kind of like surprises like that, but I just knew from the beginning that he was a boy. I bought lots of boy clothes on the assumption that my hunch was correct. Lucky for me, it was.


I had delivered all of my other children around 3-4 weeks early. I assumed it would be the same this time around. A few days before the 36 week mark, I began having contractions. At my 36 week appointment, I had to have the Strep B test. My doctor checked me and found that I was dilated to a 3. He asked if I was having contractions. I said yes, but that I thought nothing of them and I didn't think it would be happening anytime soon. (I secretly knew that it would be.)


I went home and went about my day. I did everything as normal. The contractions continued, but were still nothing I considered uncomfortable. At around 8:30 p.m., I decided to take a teaspoon of Castor oil to see if it would push me over the edge. I called my friend who had delivered her little girl 4 days earlier. We chatted for a while and I continued having contractions. I remember telling her I was having them, but they just didn't hurt. After hanging up with her, there was a knock at the door. It was a Cub Scout and a member of our bishopric collecting for Friends of Scouting. The bishopric member asked if I thought the baby would be coming soon and I said, "yeah, probably tonight."


I put the kids in bed and sat up for a while. Ryan kept asking me what was happening. I told him there were contractions, but none that really hurt. By around 11:00, I was pretty tired and I was also having much stronger contractions. I had told Ryan to just go to sleep and so he did. At around 11:30, I had a couple of really good ones but I decided I was tired too and I didn't want to pay attention to them. I just wanted to sleep. I went to bed and went right to sleep. I woke up just after 1:00 because I thought I had peed the bed. Ummm...yeah, even being my 4th pregnancy, I thought my water breaking was me peeing in the bed.


I went into the bathroom and called to Ryan that he needed to call somebody to come and be with the kids. He wanted to know who I wanted him to call and I said I didn't care, he just needed to get someone there fast. I was thinking to myself, "I don't care if you call Santa. Just call somebody." My water had never broken on it's own, but once it had been manually broken, the kids were born in less than an hour. I knew we had to get to the hospital fast.


I got myself dressed, picked up the bag I had packed earlier and said to Ryan, "it looks like we'll have another child born on the 27th of a month." (Tyler is in January and Avery is in July.) I then went to sit in the car. Ryan came out just as his dad got there and then we were off.

The drive went quickly. I was having contractions the whole time, but I don't remember any of them hurting. The first time it did hurt was when Ryan turned off of State Street to go to Cottonwood Hospital. There was a large dip and the car rocked back and forth. That really hurt, but I didn't let it phase me.


Ryan parked the car and I immediately got out and went inside. I didn't even wait for him. I didn't want to waste time. I walked to the desk and told them I was in labor and needed a room. A nurse asked me if I had pre-registered. I told her I had not, I forgot. She sort of tisked, tisked at me and then proceeded to take her time to find out my information. After about 9-10 minutes, they were ready to lead me to a room. I told them to hold on a second, I needed to finish a contraction. I then followed. The nurse asked me to get a urine sample. I walked toward the bathroom and thought to myself, "no. I don't want this baby to be born on a toilet." I asked Ryan to get them in there and sat on the bed. The nurse strolled in saying, "it looks like she was in labor for 17 hours with her last baby." Ryan said, "ummm....well, I'm pretty sure she's ready right now." She checked and said, "oh my! You're at a 10." She snapped on a pair of gloves and started calling in others. Hearing I was fully dilated was all I needed to hear. I pushed and his head was born. The only people there were the nurse and Ryan, but they were enough to get the job done. The nurse asked me to hold on a second and she suctioned the mouth and then she and Ryan delivered the rest. It took about 20 seconds before anyone remembered to find out the sex. A boy. Just like I thought and born about 12 minutes after we got to the hospital. And just like that, it was all done. It was what the nurses call a "stop and drop".

I would like to let Peyton know that I am so glad to have him in our family. He's such a fun little boy. It pains me to say that he's a little boy now because I can't believe that he is. I've tried and tried to make him stay a baby, but he just won't. He may think (at least most of the time ☺) that his dad is more fun then I am, but he's coming around. He's actually starting to miss me when I go somewhere and that just does my little heart good. It's about time he loved his mom.

We all love him very much and wish him a very Happy Birthday!

Friday tunes Sep. 25th edition

1. Yellow - Coldplay
2. Falling into Grace - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Concerto for 2 Keyboards and Orchestra - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
5. Spiderwebs - No Doubt
6. St. Elsewhere - Dave Grusin
7. I Don't Trust Myself (with Loving You) - John Mayer
8. American Baby - Dave Matthews Band
9. Part of Your World - Jodi Benson / The Little Mermaid Soundtrack
10. Soul Bossa Nova - Quincy Jones & His Orchestra

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Just so you know, I'm failing and failing miserably at my FJ1W goal. I've been screaming my head off all week. This one is going to have to be a long term goal, accomplished with tiny baby steps.

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If I hear Cameron ask me one more time what the plan is for Disneyland, I just might go insane. I love the boy, but oh.my.hell. Enough is enough. I know he's excited and all, but, well you would just have to be around him to know what I'm talking about. He takes nagging to a whole new level.

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Yesterday, I was shopping with Avery and Peyton. We were browsing in the little boys clothing section. On older woman walked up to me and asked me if I could tell her what size an outfit was. She was having trouble seeing it on the tag. I told her and she then asked the price as well. I found it and told her. She thanked me and we started to walk away. As we were walking I started experiencing a feeling of dread. I just knew Avery was going to say something. I tried to walk away quickly so that whatever she said wouldn't be heard. She was too fast. She said in a snotty, I know everything kind of voice, "hmmmm....it looks like she can't read very well." I reached over and clapped my hand over her mouth as she was saying "well". I shook my head vigorously to try and get her to stop. I removed my hand and she said it again and so I covered her mouth again. All the while I was still trying to walk away. I took my hand away and she said it again. I covered her mouth again and when we were finally far enough away, I took it off. She then yelled, "WHY DO YOU KEEP COVERING MY MOUTH!? I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT SHE CAN'T READ VERY WELL!" I told her that the problem was she couldn't see very well, not that she couldn't read. I told her that what she had just done was very rude. Especially since she said it loud enough for the whole world to hear. She just said, "humph" and shrugged her shoulders. Yes, it was nice and embarrassing and she was a huge brat. We've been talking a lot about manners since.

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I love the recipes I've received. It's been so helpful. Please keep them coming.

What's on the menu today: we're having a make your own pizza party with homemade Garlic Bread sticks. I'm using the same recipe for the pizza dough as the bread sticks. I think we're going to go with easy pepperoni as topping.

I don't recommend this

I really don't like this gum and let me tell you why. It starts out kind of sweet and tart at the same time. It's almost like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. The flavor crystals, or micro-bursts, are crunchy in the beginning and then turn slightly minty in flavor. After that, the watermelon flavor mellows out and is mildly sweet. All of that's okay and not what I have a problem with. If it stayed that way, it would be great. What I have a problem with is the fact that it almost melts, for lack of a better word, and does that as soon as the flavor crystals have all been chewed up. It turns into this runny, squishy blob in your mouth. Almost like slime. I can't chew it for more than 5 minutes before it makes me feel gaggy and I have to spit it out. It feels like it's going to slip right down my throat. I don't recommend it and I especially don't recommend that you buy a box with 12, 14 piece packs in it, totaling 168 pieces. Yeah, that's what I did and now I'm stuck with it.

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Ryan worked really late last night and I almost went totally crazy. I'm always partially crazy, but last night, my kids just about pushed me over the edge. They were being total butts and I was being zero tolerant and or patient. That's all I have to say about that.

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What's on the menu today: Salsa Chicken.

A hiccup

I've had a little hiccup with Halloween costumes. The sizing chart was all wrong on the website I bought Tyler & Cameron's from. (Or, I don't know how to read sizing charts. This is more likely.) Tyler's costume didn't fit him, but it did fit Cameron. Cameron's didn't fit him, but it did fit Avery. So, I've talked Cameron into wearing Tyler's and Avery into wearing Cameron's. There's nothing wrong with a little girl being Mario. Right? I just didn't want to go through the hassle of shipping them back. It was much easier to return the one I already bought Avery rather than doing that. I now have to find something new for Tyler. He's decided that he wants to be Link from The Legend of Zelda. Do you think there are any licensed Link costumes to purchase? No. There are not. If he's really set on that, I'm going to have to make it. Great.

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What's on the menu today: Tater Tot Casserole. My kids love this one. Ryan, not so much. I don't care though. If the kids will eat something without complaint, I'm all about it.

I don't remember

I have a terrible long term memory. Actually, my short term one isn't great either. I can't list every teacher I've ever had. Maybe 1 or 2. I don't recall any of the combinations to any of the lockers I had in school. I can remember the phone number and address to the house I lived in from 2-14, but I can't remember the address of the house after that. I can only remember the phone number to that house because my parents still have it. I have no idea what their current address is. I know the general area and I know it's in a circle.

I've been married to my husband for 11 years and still have no idea what his parents address is. I know what street it's off of, but that's it.

If I need a phone number and can't find it written anywhere, I ask my son Tyler. He has one of those freakish, photographic memories. If he's heard a phone number and dialed it at least once, he remembers it forever. It's like he has a little Rolodex in his brain. My whole life I've dreamed of being that way and last night, I came very close.

We were sitting at the dinner table and discussing our upcoming trip to Disneyland. Our plan is to leave on Tuesday, the 29th and drive to St. George, Utah the first night. We're going to stay in a condo that Ryan's grandparents have there and then go on to California the next day.

The kids were wondering if they had ever been to Grandpa & Grandma Hendriksen's condo. I reminded Tyler and Cameron that they had. I had taken them there(I was pregnant with Avery), along with Ryan's parents and little sisters for a weekend, just over 5 years ago. Ryan said he didn't come because he had been really busy at work and was working the whole weekend. Then, something magical happened. A light bulb went off in my brain and I remembered that wasn't the case at all. I remembered that he just hadn't been able to get off work on Friday and so decided to stay home. I also remembered that he wasn't working on Saturday. He went to his brother's house and helped him with some phone and or electrical things. I believe he was working on the phone that was in their detached garage. I remembered that he spent the entire day there and when he got home he cooked himself some buffalo wings. When he tried to take the pan out of the oven, he spilled the wings in the bottom of the oven and on the door. I remembered that because every time I cook buffalo wings, I think about it.

I was practically bouncing in my seat and clapping my hands because I remembered so much and remembered with almost perfect clarity. Then Ryan and Tyler both said (Ryan has the freaky memory too), "I don't remember anything like that. I'm pretty sure none of that happened." I kept insisting that it did. I was so frustrated that I was finally having a shining memory moment and nobody could back me up on it. I started to doubt myself and think that I had simply imagined it all. It was almost like the old proverb, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" I had no one to back me up and now I'm not really sure if any of that happened the way I thought I remembered it happening.

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What's on the menu today: Orange Chicken.

My report

I've finished my first complete week of For Just One Week. Remember how I said that once I tried this during the week of Avery's birthday and my goal was to go without sugar for the week. Well, I only succeeded 6 out of the seven days because of her birthday. I was silly to think I could resist cake and ice cream on a birthday. This time around, I'm 7 out of 7. You're right, I rock. Here's the breakdown:

I read the first 97 pages of The Book of Mormon and now have a schedule to finish it by the end of the year. I haven't read it cover to cover since 9th grade seminary. That was like 6 years ago, ☺, or 6+14.

I also read this novel and am 100 pages into this one. I'm not good at book reviews and so I won't even try. I'll just tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed the first. It was a nice, easy, fun read. As for the second, I'm enjoying it so far. It's a modern/contemporary retelling of Hamlet and I've found it very intriguing. It's actually been hard for me to put it down.

This was such a good goal for me, I plan to continue with it indefinitely. My brain really needs the exercise.

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Now, on to my goal for this week. FJ1W, I am going to try my absolute hardest to not YELL. Most people think that I'm just so quiet, mild mannered and easy going. I am. In public. In private, it's an entirely different story. I yell and sometimes, I yell a lot. I let frustrations get the best of me and end up blowing a gasket. I know it's not pretty. I especially know that it's not nice. It gets the whole house riled up and agitated. I really want to NOT do it. So, for this week I am going to try my best to keep my temper in check.

"A soft answer turneth away wrath." -Proverbs 15:1

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What's on the menu: Ravioli Lasagna. I got the idea for this from my sister-in-law's mom. It's really good and for some reason, my kids will eat it better than regular lasagna. Don't ask me why, because it's pretty much the same thing.

Food stuff

I have a teeny, tiny request. If you've tried any of the recipes I've posted, could you maybe leave a comment on the particular one you tried on my cooking blog? I would be interested to hear how they worked for you, if you liked them, didn't like them, what changes you did or didn't make, etc. My friend Angelique told me she tried the Mexican Pie, but had to make some changes because she didn't have a couple of the ingredients. She said it turned out well. I'd love to see what the changes were. Wink, wink Angelique. I mean, I know you told me, but that was like 24 hours ago. I've forgotten already. Leave me a comment telling me and I just might try them. My sister in law left one on Chili Relleno Casserole. I'm intrigued by her ideas and will most likely try them. I think cooking is a very personal activity. Most of the recipes I've posted are nothing like they were originally written. They're posted with the changes I've made. I know what I'm capable of doing and what I like. I like to make my recipes suit me. If you'd like to tell me what you've done to make them suit you, please leave a comment.

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What's on the menu: Well, I sort of forgot that there was and Elder's Quorum party last night. A dinner Elder's quorum party. I didn't need to cook anything, but I didn't remember until my Chicken Cacciatore had been cooking for about 2 1/2 hours. I should have remembered it because my husband is in the presidency, he sent me an appointment in Outlook and Outlook reminded me about it when I checked my email in the morning. Yet, I still prepared the chicken. Oh well. We're having it tonight. We were supposed to be having baked potatoes, but I kind of forgot to buy some potatoes. It's kind of hard to have baked potatoes when you have no potatoes to bake.

"After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relative." -Oscar Wilde

Friday tunes Sep. 18th edition

1. Takin It to the Streets - The Doobie Brothers
2. Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
3. Where It's At - Beck
4. Bad - Michael Jackson
5. Kodachrome - Paul Simon
6. Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
7. White Flag - Dido
8. Not The Same - Ben Folds
9. Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
10. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John

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What's on the menu today: Chicken Cacciatore.

An ode to Certain Dri

First, before I begin rhapsodizing, I need to say a few things. My love and use of this product has not diminished. I simply use Certain Dri at night and the clinical deodorant in the morning.

Next, I am not a constantly wet, dripping, sweaty mess. I'm afraid this being my second post about an anti-perspirant might imply that. I just don't like to feel sweaty. At all. Anything that I can do to combat that, I do.

Finally, I need to thank Boob Nazi for telling me about it. Why, oh why, did it take me so long to listen to you? I should have tried this ages ago.

Oh, Certain Dri, I love you so. I've only been using you for 3 days, but I've already felt and seen a difference. You have totally changed my world. I simply swipe you across my skin a couple of times before I go to bed and you take care of the rest. Nary a drop of sweat escapes. I feel dry all day. I love you so very much and never want to live a day of my life without you. You are that amazing.

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What's on the menu today: Baked Mac & Cheese.

18

18 days. That's how long I lasted. I said I was going to grow my hair out and yesterday I had it cut off. I went to my sister in law to have her do a color and a trim. I even said when I sat down "now, I'm trying to grow this out so don't let me talk you into cutting it off". After the color, when it came time to cut it, she asked the expected question. "So, what do you want to do with it?" I said something like: "I'm not sure. (2 second pause) Just cut it off. I'm not afraid. It's just hair and it grows back. Nothing you do to it will scare me." I also blame Chad, the owner of the salon I think there's an actual website coming soon, because when Stephanie said to him "Chad, what do you think I should do?" He said, "here's what I would like to see happen. I would like to see it cut like this" and it involved cutting off my shampoo commercial tresses. So, I have a basically short style again. Yes, I am weak, but I am not sad. I knew I wouldn't be able to grow it out for long.

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I've been giggling just thinking about the dinosaur books I got for Peyton. I had to get them out last night and read them. They're just so funny to me. No! I will not grow up.

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What's on the menu today: Beef Stroganoff. Yeah, I didn't really think when I planned this one. Two creamy meals in as many days will probably cause my husband to complain. Oh well. If he doesn't like, he can cook dinner tomorrow. Uh-huh.

Dinosaurs

Peyton has fallen in love. Our pediatrician gave him a book called "How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends?" at his 21 month check-up. He's been hooked on the creatures ever since. I love the way he says "dinosaurs" and I try to get him to say it all the time. He says it with that lisp little kids have and nods his head up and down. It's really quite cute.

The book is hilarious. There's a whole series of them, in fact. I decided to get a couple for his birthday. (It's on the 27th of this month.) I found this one and and another one at Barnes & Noble yesterday. I sat with Avery and Peyton reading them and laughing my head off for a good 10 minutes. Avery laughed some, but mostly the two of them wondered what was so funny and why I was so crazy. It's just I know exactly what the naughty dinosaurs are like because I see it everyday. And, yes, I'm easily entertained by a children's book. You would be too if you read them.

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What's on the menu today: Chicken & Rice a-la Tina Banks. Except, I actually make it like her Pork Chops & Rice recipe. Well, sort of like it.

I know I can do this one

Erin, a blogger I just love, has been giving herself personal challenges or goals the she will do For Just One Week. The idea is simple and the name says it all. Pick something you want to do, a goal you want to accomplish, etc. and focus on it for 1 week. I've tried a couple of times. The first time was to go a week without sugar. Dummy me decided to do that one the week of Avery's birthday. I faltered on that day and ate some cake and ice cream, but was good the rest of the week.

I'm publicly announcing my goal here in the hopes that I will be better. My goal is FJ1W I am going to read my scriptures everyday. (I'm totally copying Erin on that one.) When I say read them, I mean actually open the real book and read them as opposed to listening to them on my iPod. I plan on doing it for at least 10 minutes everyday. I'm also going to read something else everyday. A novel, a magazine, whatever. I used to be a great reader when I was younger, but I've slacked off. I need to exercise my brain a little more.

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What's on the menu today: Mexican Pie.

I had such a lovely time

Ryan took me out to eat last night at Epic Casual Dining. I had never heard of it, but I'm very glad now to have been introduced. It's the sister restaurant to Tiburon. Quite delicious. We had an anti pasta of parmesan cheese, heirloom tomatoes and sliced sausage, drizzled with a balsamic sauce. Divine and the tomatoes were grown in Tiburon's own organic garden. You could certainly tell they were fresh.

Ryan, being the sneaky romantic that he is, had flowers delivered to me while we were eating. I really do love him so much and just wanted to make it known. Again.

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What's on the menu today: Lentil Sausage Soup. Not as good as what I had last night, but good nonetheless.

Eleven is the magic number

Eleven years ago today, on September 11, 1998, Ryan and I were married.

We've packed a lot into the past 11 years:

• we've lived in 2 apartments
• we bought our first house (condo)
• we bought our current home
• we've owned 2 different cars
• we've had 4 children
• we've tried to figure out how to raise our children
• we've laughed together
• we've fought with each other
• we've taken vacations together
• we've created lots of amazing memories together
• we've grown to love each other even more
  

I love you Ryan. Thank you for changing my world the day you asked me to be your wife. I will be eternally grateful.

Friday tunes Sep. 11th edition

1. Creep - Stone Temple Pilots
2. Canned Heat - Jamiroquai
3. More Than Words - Extreme
4. Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. King of Pride Rock - Hans Zimmer / The Lion King Soundtrack
6. Would I Lie to You - Eyurithymics
7. A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley
8. The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney
9. Jumpin Jack - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
10. Do You Sleep? - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

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What's on the menu today: Nothing! I'm going out to eat for our anniversary. The kids are going to get Ramen, macaroni & cheese, Spaghettio's, or whatever else is fast and easy. ☺

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I also need to wish a Happy Birthday to my brother Josh and Ryan's sister Rachel (You can look at her blog, but she's kind of an infrequent blogger. Just so you know ☺.) Yeah, I'm a jerk like that and got married on their birthday. (I can't remember my reasons for choosing this date, but they must have been really good or else I wouldn't have done it.) They're the same age (32), were born in the same city at around the same time (I believe), just in different hospitals. Weird. (I felt I should use as many (((parentheses))) as possible in this short paragraph.)

Yay Mom!

I was using my bathroom a couple of nights ago. I had the door shut, but I guess I didn't shut it until it clicked. So, Peyton was able to push it open. I'm very rarely able to go to the bathroom without having someone standing at the door and pounding on it. They always want to know what I'm doing. Hmmm...I wonder? Once I said to Avery, "I'm making cookies!" It stopped her dead in her tracks and she was silent for a few seconds. I could tell she was really puzzling over that one. She said, "no you're not. You can't make cookies in the bathroom." I said, "well, what could I possibly be doing?" She replied, "using the bathroom." I said, "ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! That's exactly what I'm doing."

Anyway, enough of my tangent, Peyton was able to push open the door. When he got in he said, "Mom toilet. Yay!" and then clapped his hands for me. I felt very proud of myself.

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What's on the menu today: Tomato & Basil Spaghetti. If I had to say what my signature dish is, it would be this. Anyone who has a baby, surgery, is sick, or needs dinner brought to them for some reason, usually gets this from me. I've never heard any complaints about it, so I'm going to assume that it's good. I think it is and it's so easy to make you won't believe it.

Pretty Please

I have been totally surprised by the amount of recipes I have since I started planning out my menus. I really thought I only had like 12 different dishes to choose from. Wrong! So far, I have planned out about 2 months worth of meals and I haven't had a repeat yet. It's okay for you to tell me I'm awesome. I am. My wonderfulness never ceases to amaze me too, but in order to maintain it, I would like a little help. Pretty please email me some of your favorite recipes. Be they desserts, entrees, soups, salads, whatever. I'll take them all. My Aunt Jill sent me one just yesterday and it made me think, "duh! Why haven't I been asking people to do this?" I can always use more and more and more. So, if you would like to contribute to my awesomeness, please email me at hendriksen.christa@gmail.com. Thank you for your time and have a nice day!

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What's on the menu today: Sweet & Sour Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Mango.

Stupid

I woke up about 15 minutes late this morning. Thus, only leaving myself 15 minutes to get Tyler and Cameron up and out the door to make it to breakfast on time. I thought I was going to have a terrible time. Fortunately, they were actually "good" and got ready quickly. In fact, I would say today was the fastest they have gotten ready so far this school year. They weren't very happy about it though and when Cameron isn't happy, he likes to run his mouth. Our conversation while he was getting dressed went like something like this:

Cameron: Getting up early is so stupid.

Me: Well, the earlier you start school, the earlier you get out in the afternoon.

Cameron: I don't care. School is stupid and I'm tired and I was really comfortable in my bed.

Me: I'm sorry, but you still have to go to school.

Cameron: School is stupid. I don't want to go.

Me: Too bad. You have to go.

Cameron: Whoever invented school is stupid. School is the stupidest idea ever. Who invented school anyway?

Me: Uhhh...I don't know. Probably the ancient Greeks.

Cameron: Well, I want to hit them for inventing something as stupid as school.

Me: You can't. They're all dead.

Cameron: Well that's stupid and I still think school is stupid. Why can't you just home school us? School school is stupid. Home school would so much better. Then we would never have to get up early or go to some stupid school.

Me: No freaking way.

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I wonder if the jerks who create worms, viruses, or Trojans ever catch one of those things themselves. I certainly hope so. They deserve it. They also deserve to have bamboo splinters shoved under their fingernails while they are forced to watch someone smash their computers with a sledgehammer. That seems a little harsh you say? I think not. ☺ We were dealing with a nasty problem this weekend. We have tools in place that catch the viruses and deal with them, but it's always such a disruptive pain in the butt. I'm really glad Ryan is capable of fixing problems when they arise. There are plenty of people in this world who can't fix it themselves and the fact that hackers prey upon them really makes my blood boil.

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What's on the menu today: Tacos. Pretty self explanatory. My kids really like hard shell tacos. I like to heat them in the oven at 325 for about 7 minutes. It makes them more crunchy and tasty.

Isn't he lovely

Wouldn't it be nice, if after seeing how upset you were over your busted iPod, your husband went out the very next day and bought you one of these little lovelies?

Another hypothetical situation

Written on 9/2/09

Again, speaking hypothetically:

Don't you hate it when you go use the bathroom and come out to find your 2 year old sucking on the adapter end of your iPod. Even though you keep it in a zippered pouch and keep that inside your purse and keep your purse up high.

So, you snatch it out of his slobbery hands and begin desperately trying to dry it off. After it's dry, you try using it and it won't do anything. It won't turn off. It's stuck on. The toggle won't work and shuffle around and you start to get really freaked out because you really love your iPod and you haven't even had it for a year. You don't want to have to buy a new one.

Feeling helpless, you do what you dread. You decide to call your husband, even though you know what he'll say to you. You call, shriek that the 2 year old was using your iPod as a pacifier and you can't get it to do anything. He says, "well if you wouldn't keep it where he could reach it, this wouldn't have happened." (That's exactly what you thought he would say.) You say, "You creep! (That's what I would say if something like this ever happened to me.) It was in a zippered pouch and that was inside my purse and my purse was up high where he couldn't reach it. I don't know how he got to it." However, after you say this, an image flashes in your mind. An image of your purse sitting on your bed. You turn around and sure enough, it's sitting on your bed and that's why the 2 year old was able to get to it. You didn't remember to put it back up the last time you got into it. You don't tell your husband this fact. You stick to your original story.

Your husband says to let it dry out for a while and then try resetting it. You let it dry for a couple of hours and hallelujah! You're able to do a reset and it works again. Well, after a fashion. It now decides to freeze up every once in a while. Like when you're in the middle of a run on your treadmill and you try to change songs and turn up the volume. So, you have to stop the treadmill, reset the iPod and begin the workout all over again.

Remember, I say all this hypothetically. It would really suck if something like this were to ever happen.

*Update: 9/4/09 Wouldn't it suck if the reason your iPod was intermittently acting crazy was because it was slowly dying. Slowly dying because it took a few days for the slobber that got in there to oxidize the circuits and short them out. Thereby, turning the iPod to toast. Yeah, that would suck. It would suck so much that you just might pout and cry about it for an hour because you're so mad at yourself for leaving your purse with your iPod in it that you've had for less than a year within the reach of your 2 year old.

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What's on the menu today: Chili and scones. As per Tyler's request. I try to not have similar things, like potato chowder and chili (you know,they're both kind of soup), within the same week. Since he asked for this, I'm going to make it. I'm going to buy frozen rolls from the Naborhood Bakery to make the scones.

Friday tunes Sep. 4th edition

1. Fall to Pieces - Velvet Revolver
2. Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
3. I've Had the Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes / Dirty Dancing Soundtrack
4. Wake Me Up Before You Go-go - Wham
5. Swept Away - Yanni
6. Stand by Your Man - Tammy Wynette
7. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
8. Leaving Netherfield - Pride & Prejudice (2005) Soundtrack
9. Crazy for You - Madonna
10. Fields of Gold - Sting

If you want to play along with motherboard, feel free.

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Yesterday, in the car, Avery asked me if I would help her decide who she should marry. I told her, "no. I don't want to do that." She said, "why not?" I said, "you're only 5. I don't even want to think about you getting married yet." I glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see her roll her eyes and shake her head in disgust.

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What's on the menu today: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

We're not slobs

Yesterday morning, Ryan thought he might have heard a mouse in our spare bedroom. Currently, the room houses toys and our sofa sleeper. We had a few mice a couple of years ago, but haven't seen one since that time. The only way to find out if there was one in there was to clean it. I asked Avery if she would like to help me. She wanted to know why we needed to clean. I told her we needed to check for a mouse. She said, "do mice not like clean rooms? Is that the best way to get rid of them?" I said, "ummm...something like that. Come on and help me clean it." She said, "great. I guess that means we're going to have to clean the whole house now so we can get rid of any other mice that might be in here."

For the record, we are not slobs. We do not have such a messy, cluttery house that every single room in it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Also, for the record, there were only like 10 toys on the floor of the room we did clean and the sofa sleeper was pulled out. That's it. Oh yeah, and I found no evidence of a mouse. Ryan must have been hallucinating.

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What's on the menu today: Potato Chowder

Peekaboo

Last night I walked into the laundry room, bent down to open the washer, when suddenly....Peyton pushed open the door of the dryer (he was sitting inside it) and said "MOM!" Scared the holy crap out of me. What a little turd. I'm going to be traumatized for the rest of my life.

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What's on the menu today: Apricot Chicken. I can't wait for dinner tonight.

To date

My thoughts on my menu planning adventure thus far.

I'm loving the freedom it has given me. It's so nice to know exactly what I'll be making for dinner. No wondering and shuffling through cupboards or cookbooks to figure out something at the last minute. On the other side of that, and this is going to sound ridiculous, I do sort of miss the spontaneity. Not necessarily the mad dash and rush part of it. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I miss some of the adventure of it. I guess I need to find another way to live dangerously.

It's also lovely to have the kids now only ask me 50, instead of 100 times a night, what we're having for dinner. All they have to do is go look at the menu posted on the refrigerator.

Since I love it so much, I can't see myself giving up this planning thing anytime soon. It's really been a lifesaver to my sanity.

I mentioned a while back that I found a book called I Dare You To Eat It . I haven't read it cover to cover yet. I've pretty much just skipped around in it. Basically, it's about building up and then using your food storage. The thing that jumped out at me was how to plan your menus. I can't remember the length of time she advises you plan for. Let's just say that you plan out a month's worth of menus. What the author recommends is that when you go shopping, purchase 3 months worth of the item. In other words, enough to make the dish 3 times. Of course, this doesn't mean that you buy three months worth of the fresh fruits or vegetables that may be in a recipe. They obviously wouldn't keep. This is talking about pantry items that would be used in the recipe. Let's use this recipe as an example:

Burrito Casserole

10 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

2 c cheddar cheese, shredded

1 4-oz. can green chilies

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1/2 c milk

1 16-oz. can enchilada sauce

1 c olives

Fill tortillas with beans and cheese. At times, I have also filled them with seasoned ground beef, or canned chicken. Fold in sides and roll up into burritos. Place the burritos in a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Combine the remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 c of the cheese, and pour it over the burritos. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

Instead of buying 1 can of anything listed there, buy 3 and you have enough to make it for three months. I don't shop for an entire month's worth of groceries at one time. Although, I suppose if you planned right with budgeting, etc. that would mean you only have to grocery shop (for ingredients) once every 3 months. You would obviously have to go more often for fresh items and other staples. I shop for 1-2 weeks at a time. Even if I have 2 recipes that use something like Cream of Chicken soup, I buy enough to make each recipe for 3 months. Instead of buying 3 cans, I buy 6. You will be amazed at how quickly your pantry and storage will build up.

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What's on the menu today: Chili Relleno Casserole. This one is super easy.