Monday is not a holy day

So I read this really great article in this month’s Ensign and I committed myself to read the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes a day. This is how it went this morning:

Verses read before a tantrum was being screamed: 2
Amount of time with a child crying: 28 minutes
Average number of children crying: 1.5
Minutes before one child climbed on me: 1
Minutes before both children were on me:5
Minutes before children were trying to hit each other while on me:1
Times I lost my temper before turning hypocritically back to the scriptures: 2 in the first 5 minutes
Minutes before I went and hid (in the bathroom): 8
Minutes before a child was raging outside the door:2
Minutes both children were raging and kicking outside the locked door with the fan on: 2
Minutes into the 30 min that children were deposited into their beds: 14
Minutes into the half hour that I gave up and turned on the computer for this blog: 22
Minutes before Simon came out and gave me a hug: 5

So I don’t feel as guilty as I had that I haven’t been accomplishing very much scripture reading—but this just proves how much our home really needs it . . . til tomorrow—not giving up!

My Harry Potter contribution

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Since we're waiting for our book in the mail, and waiting on the movie until our kids can handle being left for 3 hours (or are grown up or it comes out on dvd, whichever comes first) HERE is my contribution to the Harry Potter mania! Our friends found a quiz to sort which house you're in. I was close to being a Ravenclaw.

The Best News

My big bro Aaron and fabulous Amy got engaged last weekend!!!

Carpe Di-worm!

It was a rainy day. We didn't sleep well, with all the thunder. We dragged ourselves out the door to drive Mark to school. We walked back to the front door after, wondering how we would fill this day. When, alas!, there it was:

We watched him for about five minutes and I could tell our day was looking up. The kids didn't really need to go inside and get changed out of their p.j.s; they didn't really need to keep from getting wet. Being the one who's been on the earth the longest, I knew it fell upon me to be the first to touch the worm. I don't mind worms, really, but it always takes a minute to get the guts to do it the first time after a few months (or years)!

Soooo, TX worms are much more muscular and slimey than the Idaho variety. The thing was flopping all over the place like a catfish, getting some pretty good air, and I couldn't get it off the sidewalk. The kids were squealing and would reach down and touch it's belly and all three (two kids and the worm) would go berserk. We ended up helping that one into the mud with a stick.

I locked the front door back up and we spent the next hour worm hunting, mud fishing, and learning to say "worm" in Chinese/Korean/some other asian language: "cho yu-on". We have a neighbor lady who loves the kids and can only say "hi. hi. hi." and "byyye!" She gave them some pretzels, which saved the intrepid explorers, since we hadn't had breakfast either. Simon found another worm pretty early on--"Jimmy"--which he walked around holding as eagerly as he holds my hand. Here's Jimmy in his temporary home--til Simon decided a few hours later that he looked sick and let him go.

A day well spent . . . so far. One of my favorite reality quotes:

"Find joy in your children. Don't overschedule them or yourself. You may not be able to take them on exotic vacations. It doesn't matter. When the day dawns bright and sunny, take an excursion to the canyon or the park. When it's cloudy and wet, read a book together or make something good to eat. Give them time to explore and learn about the feel of grass and the wiggliness of worms." ~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

***Lest you think all is rosy, a child did cry through the making of the end of this post. I made her food to eat, she just wouldn't have it. Any suggestions for a child that prefers to moan through her mornings, refuse nearly all food, and finally eat and cheer up around noon?

You will need to eat this.

Hello all my dearly beloved. I have something that you need to make this week. You are not supposed to pass this by. It is called Moo Shu Pork Pockets. You are thinking that is a boring title, I know. I passed by it for over a year myself. Desperation and complete boredom with everything I have ever cooked caused me to try it. It has the best ingredients and a neat look. You will be preparing a regular weeknight dinner and then suddenly feel romantical thoughts as you roll the pockets up for your Date. You realize after not much effort that it's going to be really good and the kind of thing people with time and resources and taste make. You make this and your night becomes instantly a Date Night. And I quote Mark (as I set down his plate) "Oh wow, I've been waiting 5 years for you to cook something like this! You've finally done it." [Two disclaimers: 1-He thought it was fried. 2-Mark always raves about my cooking. So for him to put this as the ultimate dish of our marriage . . . big compliment.]

Oh, you are thinking, sure, the grownups will eat it, but a tortilla with bean sprouts and ground pork with gingersnap crumbs and etcetera is not going to cut it for the childrens. So, enter, the Jasmine Rice Sundaes. Also, they should have 1/4 of a Pocket, appetizer style--they'll eat something from it. And they'll be excited that you've given them a sharp implement (i.e. toothpick) without any coercion.

You will need to acquire a few new sauces possibly. But it will be good for your family. Hoisin sauce--this is an Asian dipping sauce that your family needs to have access to starting tomorrow. Also, duck sauce (don't worry, those who are slightly vegetarian inclined like me--its main ingredient is apricots). Toasted sesame seeds. All affordably priced at Fiesta--which is an entirely different endorsement post that I'll make soon.

Thanks Rach--any thing she concocts gets a green light to change things up on our dinner table. Let her take you on some culinary risks!

OH, AND ON CLOSER LOOK YOU NEED TO CHANGE THIS RECIPE A LITTLE FROM THE LINK!: MY BOOK SAYS USE A CAN OF WATER CHESNUTS (drained and chopped) in with the ground pork instead of the cabbage/coleslaw. also, it did not have the cabbage inside the tortillas. hey, you go with what you want, ok?

I'm so glad when my mom comes . . .

She's coming tonight. For four days. Oh happy DAY!!!!!

Publication numero uno!

Here it is ladies and gents! Mark (and BYU colleagues) have their research published this month (Mark is the second author). Their photo even made the cover of the issue. Scientists' merit is measured by the number of times they've been published, so off we go! The research focused on creatures called cuttlefish, native to the Atlantic and Mediterranean--familiar to the lay man as the donors of those little bone things that pet birds like. For more, go here.

Blog Theory

Hi. I'm developing some theories about blogs. One theory (that is almost a fact, from the random samples I've done) is that people read more than they write. So after scanning all my favorite blogs this morning and finding nothing new I thought I'd better avoid another tag frenzy by writing something fresh on mine.

How blogdom is like a small town (in a good way):

• In a small town, everybody knows who your "people" are. Where you come from. Who your grandpa is. What your parents look like. What you've liked since you were a kid. You have a history--it's not just the now and small talk of a three month acquaintance. Since bloggers are writing for their family and friends and selves, all of this starts to come out. Knowing what some of my ward friends' parents look like helps me know the friend better and my parents can know the families we run with here (assuming they go past our page).


• When anything noteworthy happens in a person's life, the town knows; either from standing on the curb watching the ambulance (and filling each other in) or from watering the neighbor's plants while they're gone for a wedding, etc. Now, the blogger gets to decide what is postworthy. But once they do, people can know better what's going on in the many spheres of their life: in their mind/spirit, family, relatives, interests. Because no one's going to go systematically through the ward list and say "hey jenny, i had a no good very bad day. here's details. k-i've got to go call mary . . . and nancy . . . and olive" and on down.

People are able to love you better when they know what's going on with you.

So those are my thoughts . . . now readers (and writers) of blogdom, go add yours. ;)

***Children were mildly harmed in the making of this post. They were watching t.v. and not getting their breakfast before 10am . . . Yikes!

It's a small world

She's

Alli's Nursery teacher . . .

She's Simon's

Sunbeam teacher . . .

And Together they're my Visiting Teachers!!!!!

Our family loves these two ladies soooo much!

It's Tag Time!

So I was so flattered about a week ago to be tagged by my friend Ginger . . . and then it went like it usually did when I played tag as a kid. I wasn't fast enough and I got surrounded by taggers and lost miserably. So here's my belated attempt to respond to all the tags (thanks Audrey and Korrin); I had a lot of fun with this. I imagine it's somewhat like the kids in our Primary feel like when they're finally the Spotlight.

What was I doing ten years ago? I was 17 and hmmm, what was I doing . . . there was a good chance I was going to summer school P.E. so I could take orchestra and seminary. Not practicing my viola enough and feeling guilty about it--playing quartet gigs at random events. Making some small cash filing at a plastic surgeon's office. I'll have to check my journal for more details. I know I was in love with no one but I had some great buds I ran around wearing thrift store clothes with. Rocking out at SNDs (Saturday Night Dances) of course . . .


What was I doing one year ago? Watching Alli's hair grow back from the headband they shaved for her surgery. Enjoying Mark because his job and double-major were finished and he was not in school til fall--thinking it may be the last time I saw him since the PhD was going to start up soon. Stashing cardboard boxes in our bathroom like some kind of rodent.


Five snacks I enjoy:


anything with fresh basil. duplex cookies . . . the cheaper the better. fresh fruit. unsalted nuts. popsicles and tostino's 99cent pizza. I alternate between gourmet/health and utterly processed yumminess.

oh, and hello!, BLUE BELL ICE CREAM!!! i think "enjoy" is too light of a verb for that one . . .

Five songs I know all the words to:


I'm terrible at this. I'm lucky if I know who sings a song or what it's called. that's what i have mark for. oh, but being primary chorister, of course i have all of this year's new program songs memo-d. And for the nusery set: slippery fish, the wheels on the bus, tiny tim the turtle. Hey, somehow I know "I love you. always forever. near and far" that one. and "i'm on top of the world" by karen carpenter. ooooooo, HEY, i do know a bunch of songs--mark made me a mix tape right before his mission and oh baby do i have that one memorized--i'll post about it later


Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. make an extended family travel fund so we could get together more than once a year and without emptying someone's savings.


2. get a house with character and nooks and crannies and that is somewhat small and simple but has trees.


3. take my family to zimbabwe and stay for a few weeks and take them on all the paths i dreamed of taking them on when i was a single dreamer


4. get everyone in my family a new car with a lifetime warranty


5. ship books and art supplies to schools in developing countries

this is a hard one, because we've "built a lot of character" without 2 and 4.

Five of my Many bad habits:

• often not finishing things i start, from a glass of water to a crocheted hat to a letter.
• not praying in the morning.
• not wanting to be corrected.
• letting my kids watch tv while i do dumb stuff instead of playing with them.
• letting clean laundry sit in a basket unfolded until most of the clothes have been taken out and worn and never folded.

Five things I like doing: watching documentaries, playing in quartets, nursing, holding mark's hand, the zoo, listening to A Prarie Home Companion .

Five things I will never wear again:
my dad's shirts, jellies, rolled socks ( a different color on the inside), long boy shorts (hooray capris), East Jr. High Hornets reflective orange 'B" bball uniform.

Five of my Favorite toys: high speed internet, dishwasher, library books, bike trailer/stroller, piano; still working on acquiring the last two!

I tag Jennefer (though I doubt she'll know it) and Tara B, and Audrey/Korrin (hah--got you back!)

Now for the next set . . .

Tagged again!

4 Jobs I've held:

1. Dress Barn salesgal


2. PowerBar factory minion


3. American Heritage Teaching Assistant (at BYU)


4. Aide to apt of non-verbal developmentally delayed guys

Movies I Can Watch Over & Over:

1. It's a Wonderful Life


2. Pride and Predjudice (the long/BBC/A&E one)


3. While you were sleeping (every couple years)


4. Mary Poppins


5. Napoleon Dynamite

Places I Have Lived:

1. Idaho


2. Utah


3. Zimbabwe


4. Pennsylvania


5. Texas

T.V. Shows I Enjoy Watching:

1. Jeopardy (rarely get to)


2. Caillou (i thought he was a really weird looking kid before i had kids . . . he still is a bald 4 year old, but he's got a good show)


3. Sesame Street


4. Nature


5. any suggestions???

Places I have Been on Vacation:

Grand Canyon, Utah (over and over), McCall Idaho and various ID woods, Missouri, California, Seattle, Banff Canada, Arkansas (when I was two).

Favorite Foods

I can't do this. I really like foods. I want to be a foodie when I grow up. I don't love meat so much. When I was in high school I got an aptitude test back that said I would like being in the culinary arts and I was offended because it didn't seem academic . . . but now, I know they were right--good thing it's somewhat in my job description now!

Websites I visit (almost daily)

Blogs, NYTimes, Hotmail, see my sidebar for ones I like but hit less often.

Places I'd Rather Be right now:

• Ethiopian highlands (saw some monkeys there last night) wow wow wow google it!


• my parents' house and raspberry patch


• an Idaho lake


• at a Springville bbq

Hey Ginger, you're it!

A table instead of a T.V.

There was too much t.v. going on in our house so I banished it into the spare room one night. It's been a month or two and I like it. Of course, I can't internet/blog as much because Simon likes to start watching a dvd on my computer while I put Alli down for a nap. For a while, the kids fought less because control of the t.v. was their main struggle--now they've just found other things to fight over, though they share mildly better lately.

A Father's Day meal . . .

Well, this, and a 24 oz steak. I was so nervous about ruining the steak (being formerly and nearly vegetarian) all I had an appetite for was a sweet potato. Luckily the day was about Mark and he worked himself into a happy carne-coma.

There's a beach an hour from here????

Since the kiddos finally saw the ocean in San Diego, now I can take them down south without Mark missing a major milestone. Of course, it's always better with him, because he's fun and has crab ESP among other skills. After lots of weekends with meetings, moves, work, and other schedule-grabbers we PROTECTED this one as a full-on family day. YAY!

The water was over 80 degrees!!!

Simon's CA cousins taught him the "No Fear" mantra, so he attacked the water--a relief from his more timid moments.
For all the West Coast readers out there, yes, it looks overcast, but in TX that's a good thing.
We took turns with Alli out in the dry sand and she promptly jabbed a sandy finger in the eye of the available parent as soon as the other one was out of earshot. YOUCH!!! But, she's cute. . . . once you can see again.

ZOOBILEE

A free event for zoo members that keeps the Zoo open late and gives the kids canvas bags and no suckers??? Yah, we're all about that. Mark got to talk to a toucan for 10 minutes--very important for him developmentally. Also, zoo members seem more inclined to read the signs and not call the anteater a fox--creates a nice climate. Then Mark's not gritting his teeth and muttering under his breath "It's not a toucan, it's a hornbill!"

We're good for the earth. . .

This morning Mark figured out why we've been hearing a lot of cooing each morning from our porch. I have this hanging pot that's supposed to hold a plant that's been empty for almost a year; turns out there is a pair of morning doves nesting in it. We feel pretty good about that. Especially since most of my plants have been dying since I abandoned them without a thought and spent a week in CA. I thought this would be my year to learn to help plants grow and have a successful garden, since everything's green and warm and frequently rained on here. The garden was plugging along pretty well and had produced 5 tomatoes (2.5 taken by squirrels); the tomatoes are so sad now it deserves a picture (coming soon). I got blisters digging out the turf grass for a teeeny plot--should I weed it for the pittance of vegetables I have left? Anyway, it seems that the barren pot I felt most guilty about will end up being the one most likely to produce new life.

The sky just burst open for the first time in a month--guess my garden's been pardoned!

Julianna marries new Uncle OOOOO-wen!!!

That's real CA lemonade! from the wedding luncheon . . .
I think he got her first--nice cake, huh!!!??!

Mr. and Mrs. S
all the N's and two S's

A very beloved Aunt!!!!!

We were worried about the kids getting into the swimming pool at the reception--the cousins (and Matt) got lost in the woods below instead.

The Big Five bros and their SISTER

anudder brudder!!!!!

Allianna, Charlie, and Simon

And how were we feeling at 10:30pm after a day of wedding???

Pretty great!




Thanks to Lindsay N and Meghan A for some of the photos!