Sunday morning when I woke her up - Sadie announced to me that she had thrown up. Now, given this is Sadie, the first thing I ask her is "what did you get into?" I couldn't find any evidence in her favorite hiding places suggesting she had gotten into any cough syrup or eaten an entire tin of my ginger mints followed by Matt's deodorant (yes, she has taken a bite of all three before) so I felt confident I didn't need to go have her stomach pumped. So, she stayed home from church. Since I got tagged to play the organ for the back up organist (which makes me the back up back up I suppose), followed by 2 hours of playing the piano in primary, to be followed by playing the piano for choir practice; Matt got the extreme pleasure of being the parent to stay home from church with the sicko. (I have a sneaking suspicion that he is starting to regret not having stuck with those piano lessons.) So he wouldn't get bored just having to tend to one sick spewing child, I let him keep Adam at home too (who was doing some spewing of his own - though out the other end, gotta love those intestinal bugs) and also Nathan, who had copious amounts of green goo issuing forth from his nostrils. I as forlornly and apologetically as possible, donned the requisite Sunday outfit and a pair of heels and minced off to church with the older three spewless, goo-less children. When I returned home, Matt was happy to report there was no more spewing of any kind and we figured all was good.
Monday night we got the dreaded 2 am visitor. "Mommy, I'm sick!" Cue lights and action! We managed to get Garrett to the bathroom in time and then settled him down with a bucket and towel and tried to get back to sleep.
3 am: The baby starts crying. I lay still in bed, my eyes closed, hoping he's just fussing and will settle down in a little bit. Then, I hear it - the telltale sound of a child being sick. Cue lights and action! I passed off the baby to Matt who got the fabulous job of cleaning him up. I got the fabulous job of stripping and remaking the crib and procuring clean, dry pajamas. Once we get Nathan settled down again, we hear Adam moaning in his sleep. I said to Matt "and he will be the next to hurl . . ." We settled back down into bed and I told Matt as we tried to grab whatever shards of sleep left to us that night, "The good news is - 50% of our children have now been sick and so we are halfway done." Adam manages to hold off until 2 minutes after Matt leaves for work at 6 am and right before I send Trent out the door for seminary. I'm starting to run out of buckets. I'm rummaging in my food storage for open cans. No one wanted the can that had had the minced dehydrated onions in it, because, and I quote "I don't like onions!" Whatever. All told, I got about 2 hours of sleep, Matt claims 2 and 1/2.
Last night Matt and I were both asleep before 10. No nocturnal visitors. Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be a round 2. Maybe.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday Special Done Monday Style - Feb 23rd
Alright, I admit it - there is an awful lot of Nathan on this here blog, especially lately. What can I say? He's cute and sweet and often tastes like peanut butter and usually has a bruise or two on his forehead. Who wouldn't love all that? Besides, he's also growing up way too fast. He followed me into my bedroom this day, closed the door, parked himself on the floor and refused to leave until I took his picture. I made it black and white for variety and also to disguise the fact that he has a bruise on his forehead and a smear of peanut butter over most of his face.
I'm just going to have to tell the other kids it's time to bring on their A games if they want to make a Sunday Special, because there is just some stiff competition going on there.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday Special Feb. 15th - Valentine's Schmalentines, We Had a Birthday!
On Saturday, the Monkey House was abuzz - not with excitement over Valentine's Day, but because a certain little occupant of the Monkey House was turning 2!
Preparations were made. While I busied myself with the cake and a special meal, the kids busied themselves with special table decor. They've had plenty of practice drawing on the walls - so this was a piece of artistic cake.
The theme for this occasion was dinosaurs. Nathan has taken a liking lately to the scaly reptiles. Why? Well because dinosaurs are fun, big and noisy and they like to eat people!
A special meal prepared - all the preferred edibles for the little guy. Dinosaur chicken nuggets, homemade mac and cheese, pineapple and tator tots! For a 2 year old, he has a very discerning palate!
Nathan was a little uncertain about the lit candle and just exactly what he was suppose to do about that.
After the cake was cut and served however, he had no confusion as to what to do next!
Nathan looking at Trent as if to say: "If you were any brother at all, you would hand over that cake to the birthday boy!"
Happy Birthday Sweet Little Man!
February 14th, 2009
Preparations were made. While I busied myself with the cake and a special meal, the kids busied themselves with special table decor. They've had plenty of practice drawing on the walls - so this was a piece of artistic cake.
The theme for this occasion was dinosaurs. Nathan has taken a liking lately to the scaly reptiles. Why? Well because dinosaurs are fun, big and noisy and they like to eat people!
A special meal prepared - all the preferred edibles for the little guy. Dinosaur chicken nuggets, homemade mac and cheese, pineapple and tator tots! For a 2 year old, he has a very discerning palate!
Present time!
Cake time!
Nathan was a little uncertain about the lit candle and just exactly what he was suppose to do about that.
Nathan looking at Trent as if to say: "If you were any brother at all, you would hand over that cake to the birthday boy!"
Happy Birthday Sweet Little Man!
February 14th, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Sunday Special - Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?
Was it you?
Who Me??!!
Yes you.
Couldn't be!!Then who?
Uhhhh, Daddy did??!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday Special - Snow Day
The first day it was ice. The second day it was snow. The third day it was ice & snow. The kids were in school all of 2 days this week. Yes, it was noisy, chaotic; we drank hot chocolate by the gallon and it will take at least a month for the house to recover (and me!).
I am happy to report though, that not only did we finally get some decent snow - we finally got some decent snow! Decent enough that the kids could have snowball fights, make snowmen and go sledding! I finally got around to tackling a craft project I've been wanting to do. All in all, it was a good week.
I am happy to report though, that not only did we finally get some decent snow - we finally got some decent snow! Decent enough that the kids could have snowball fights, make snowmen and go sledding! I finally got around to tackling a craft project I've been wanting to do. All in all, it was a good week.
Snow!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sunday Special - Recycling Girls
One of Sadie's most favorite things to go and do is visit the recycling center. She likes to toss the boxes, bottles and cans in their proper spots. (I find a perverse sense of fun dumping the glass jars and having them break.) One of Jessi's favorite things to do is go to Wal.Mart. We headed there after the recycling.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Of Old Dogs and New Tricks
Yes, two days in a row - will you be able to stand it?!
I didn't get a toaster when I got married. I didn't get a waffle iron either. Two things that, while I hadn't counted heavily upon receiving - would have been well received. I like toast. I like waffles. I mean, I really like waffles. We did receive a few items that warranted returning as they were duplicates or not needed. We returned items and exchanged them for a set of Visions cookware (cranberry - which was my favorite at the time), a set of sheets (since we had none) and a waffle iron. The waffle iron was, unquestionably, very important. Maybe even more so than the sheets. Just ask my best friend growing up. Every time I spent the night, my friend Linds made me waffles the next morning for breakfast. She just made really good waffles, or I was a little obsessed. So, naturally, when setting up my own kitchen, waffle iron = mandatory piece of equipment.
Now, as newlyweds we were quite adept at turning shopping excursions for waffle irons or other mundane household items into cheap dates. College students, newlyweds = no money. (and you all thought I was bad at equations!) I remember spending quite a while in the small kitchen appliance aisle at the Shopko in Orem, trying to make this all important decision. Finally we settled on the big whack mack daddy of all wafflers. Square, cast iron, with reversible plates (italics = pay attention, this is important people), nifty "done" light and 4 temperature options. We pressed it into service. The waffle iron performed diligently for many years. Sheets have long since gone by the wayside. I broke every single piece of that Visions cookware by the time we had our second child - all that remained was a small lid. Shortly after moving to where we live now, I bought a Belgium waffle iron. I really kind of wanted a round one - but they didn't have those, so I had to stick with the rectangular variety. Now, for you waffle connoisseurs, Belgium waffle irons have deep, deep pockets. We use these deep pockets for catching ooey, gooey butter and syrup or juicy, sweet fruit with oodles of whipped cream on top. Old Faithful got stuck in the cabinet, forgotten, shoved under the only twice used wok (that, interestingly enough, we did receive as a wedding gift) and next to the old, too small, crockpot. Collecting dust, never to be plugged in again - that is, until tonight. In a small twist of fate, our little discount grocery was out of flour tortillas. Not feeling brave enough to face the hordes at Wal.Mart on a Friday evening right before dinner time - I just headed home, no tortillas in hand for dinner, and decided to try making them myself. Now, I have tried this in the past with a bought tortilla mix. It was not a very successful endeavor. I could not get my rolled dough to stay flat; it would shrink up in the skillet and become too small, fat, kind of bland and non-malleable. I did a little internet perusal and gleaned a few ideas for trying this venture again and gave the tortilla mix another go. This left me still however, with the non-flat, shrinking tortilla dilemma. Now, I know they make tortilla makers for this. However, me be rather practical and really not being able to justify spending money on an appliance that specifically only makes something that is actually fairly cheap to buy, and something that I am not certain I would make all that often - I do not own a tortilla maker, nor do I think I want one. Ever. Then it occurred to me - I had a waffle iron with cast iron reversible plates. Plates that reversed from waffle to completely flat and made a double sided griddle whose sides pressed together flat. Yeee-haaaaaaw! Go on, say it - sheer genius!
I added oil and onion salt to the tortilla mix and also instead of warm water - scalded milk. While the dough "rested" (sad when dough gets more rest than I do around here) I dug out my Old Faithful waffle iron and reversed the plates. The iron needed a little spit and polish - but was quite serviceable and efficient. Rolled out my dough and voila!
See here, I have made tortillas . . . in a waffle iron!
Matt said they were tasty and he liked them. Which is saying something, because usually he only has one word for whatever I make for dinner: "okay". "Okay" for Matt may mean he loved it, and it was the best thing he has ever tasted and wants to eat it every night for the rest of his life or, it was a real stinkeroo and "if you ever make it again there is not going to be enough salsa in the world to get me to choke it down" and all points in between those two extremes. The tortillas he liked, what we stuck in them - not so much. We had fish tacos for dinner. The kids like them.
So, I have proven that you can use an old waffler for new tortillas.
Next time though, I think I will skip the mix and just make them completely from scratch and see how that turns out.
Or not.
Next up: Making laundry soap in your food processor (just kidding! Though maybe . . . . . .)
I didn't get a toaster when I got married. I didn't get a waffle iron either. Two things that, while I hadn't counted heavily upon receiving - would have been well received. I like toast. I like waffles. I mean, I really like waffles. We did receive a few items that warranted returning as they were duplicates or not needed. We returned items and exchanged them for a set of Visions cookware (cranberry - which was my favorite at the time), a set of sheets (since we had none) and a waffle iron. The waffle iron was, unquestionably, very important. Maybe even more so than the sheets. Just ask my best friend growing up. Every time I spent the night, my friend Linds made me waffles the next morning for breakfast. She just made really good waffles, or I was a little obsessed. So, naturally, when setting up my own kitchen, waffle iron = mandatory piece of equipment.
Now, as newlyweds we were quite adept at turning shopping excursions for waffle irons or other mundane household items into cheap dates. College students, newlyweds = no money. (and you all thought I was bad at equations!) I remember spending quite a while in the small kitchen appliance aisle at the Shopko in Orem, trying to make this all important decision. Finally we settled on the big whack mack daddy of all wafflers. Square, cast iron, with reversible plates (italics = pay attention, this is important people), nifty "done" light and 4 temperature options. We pressed it into service. The waffle iron performed diligently for many years. Sheets have long since gone by the wayside. I broke every single piece of that Visions cookware by the time we had our second child - all that remained was a small lid. Shortly after moving to where we live now, I bought a Belgium waffle iron. I really kind of wanted a round one - but they didn't have those, so I had to stick with the rectangular variety. Now, for you waffle connoisseurs, Belgium waffle irons have deep, deep pockets. We use these deep pockets for catching ooey, gooey butter and syrup or juicy, sweet fruit with oodles of whipped cream on top. Old Faithful got stuck in the cabinet, forgotten, shoved under the only twice used wok (that, interestingly enough, we did receive as a wedding gift) and next to the old, too small, crockpot. Collecting dust, never to be plugged in again - that is, until tonight. In a small twist of fate, our little discount grocery was out of flour tortillas. Not feeling brave enough to face the hordes at Wal.Mart on a Friday evening right before dinner time - I just headed home, no tortillas in hand for dinner, and decided to try making them myself. Now, I have tried this in the past with a bought tortilla mix. It was not a very successful endeavor. I could not get my rolled dough to stay flat; it would shrink up in the skillet and become too small, fat, kind of bland and non-malleable. I did a little internet perusal and gleaned a few ideas for trying this venture again and gave the tortilla mix another go. This left me still however, with the non-flat, shrinking tortilla dilemma. Now, I know they make tortilla makers for this. However, me be rather practical and really not being able to justify spending money on an appliance that specifically only makes something that is actually fairly cheap to buy, and something that I am not certain I would make all that often - I do not own a tortilla maker, nor do I think I want one. Ever. Then it occurred to me - I had a waffle iron with cast iron reversible plates. Plates that reversed from waffle to completely flat and made a double sided griddle whose sides pressed together flat. Yeee-haaaaaaw! Go on, say it - sheer genius!
I added oil and onion salt to the tortilla mix and also instead of warm water - scalded milk. While the dough "rested" (sad when dough gets more rest than I do around here) I dug out my Old Faithful waffle iron and reversed the plates. The iron needed a little spit and polish - but was quite serviceable and efficient. Rolled out my dough and voila!
See here, I have made tortillas . . . in a waffle iron!
Matt said they were tasty and he liked them. Which is saying something, because usually he only has one word for whatever I make for dinner: "okay". "Okay" for Matt may mean he loved it, and it was the best thing he has ever tasted and wants to eat it every night for the rest of his life or, it was a real stinkeroo and "if you ever make it again there is not going to be enough salsa in the world to get me to choke it down" and all points in between those two extremes. The tortillas he liked, what we stuck in them - not so much. We had fish tacos for dinner. The kids like them.
So, I have proven that you can use an old waffler for new tortillas.
Next time though, I think I will skip the mix and just make them completely from scratch and see how that turns out.
Or not.
Next up: Making laundry soap in your food processor (just kidding! Though maybe . . . . . .)
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