Farmer's Market

Today Sunnie moved into her new apartment downtown and while the big strong menfolk were helping with that, the rest of us went to check out the Farmer's Market in Salt Lake.

Dad and the big boys stayed for the beginning and we sat and listened to a jazz band play.

Then we got to look at some of the booths from local artisans, including this one where the artist painted and carved some incredible dollhouses out of tree stumps.
The kids got to sample home made noodles, some fresh blueberry jam ( we picked up a yummy jar or five) and some homemade hummus. Jane loved it, even the spicy kind, Kate wasn't a huge fan.

We also picked up a fresh berry pie with real whipped cream and five forks and the kids devoured that in about 5 minutes.

Afterwards we were thirsty and looking for a drink that cost under 3 dollars a can, so we wandered out of the park for awhile. We didn't find any cheap drinks, but we did find this giant piggy named Penelope.

We also found a kettlecorn booth and bought the last of their big bags before they closed up shop. You know how I love the kettlecorn.
It was a fun day of shopping, checking out the handy work of some local artists and the cooks and getting some of that wonderful sunshine that took entirely too long to hit our state this year.
I think I'll have to hit this event again when we have more time.

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Grey got a gift card from Grandma and Grandpa Olson for his birthday a few weeks ago and today he got to spend some one on one time with Mom to go spend it. Two Manga books and a Lego Star Wars book with a bonus Lego figure. I think he spread that gift card out pretty well, he has some fun reading for the next week.

Afterwards, I took him to Roxberry for a breakfast smoothie-- good stuff.

I love you, Little Boy.

A Better Day

There you have it: proof that Mom keeps her word.

The kids played in the pool all afternoon. we invited over the neighbors and Taigen, Felicity and Colby swam with us until it was time for a late lunch.

I made ice cream sandwiches with chocolate chip cookies for the kids, and they all had a blast. In spite of making sure everyone had sunscreen, Jane is fried. She and Kate waited in totally different lines when the lord was passing out skin, I swear.

I relaxed in my hammock and read The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, his new series that is pretty much exactly like the Percy Jackson series, only with Egyptian Gods. I guess if an author finds his niche, he should get all of the work out of it that he can. After I finish it, I'm finally going to cave in and start reading.....no not Twilight- never Twilight.

Harry Potter.

I put it off long enough and it's about time I got around to reading it.

If I ever say that about Twilight- please shoot me.

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My back feels much better now. It hurts where I got the shots and I feel pretty stiff, but the aching all over is gone. I think the shots did the trick, now I need to work at strengthening those muscles and getting stronger so I don't have to have them as often, because Holy Moley- they sucked. My head still hurts enough to whine a little, but it's a big improvement.

I felt well enough to cook up a fun dinner for the family, we had Fajitas, home made cinnamon sugar tortilla chips and home made Horchata. Then we watched the rest of the Doctor Who series 1 and went outside to catch the fireworks for day 1 of Taylorsville days.

I started to cry, thinking about Marcus Holmgren and how he always came out to look at the fireworks, and would come over with a robust "Hi neighbors!" and chat with us while the kids watched from the front lawn.

Marcus didn't come out and visit tonight, but oh, dear friend, I felt you there with us. How was the show from where you were? I know you were watching, I just know you were. We miss you, we miss you so much.

As I watched the fireworks, standing there with my kids on the lawn and my husband's arms wrapped around me I remembered that I was very very blessed. And my heart sang "God be with you till we meet again" as I thought of our dear friend, neighbor, and brother, Marcus Holmgren who was there watching the show too.

Life is good.

So, so good.

Not Complaining

It's 3:30 am.

I can't remember the last time I was completely awake at 3:30 am.

I've been tossing and turning, but not literally because that hurts. My head hurts. They said the day after those shots will possibly be quite rough, I started dying at about 8:30 yesterday.

I was sitting an Knit Night and my back just felt stiffer and stiffer. There were popping noises and bending down to pick up my scissors was the worst. My sweet husband walked from our house around the corner and came to drive me home. Cortisone shots can crystallize and hurt for a few days after you get them if you're one of those who gets side effects.

Lucky me.

And I'm not complaining (okay, I'm totally complaining) but I am awake. Everything hurts. Matt's asleep and I don't want to wake him while I try and fall back asleep with some inane television show like "Chef Vs. City" or "Help Me Sell my Ugly Dirty House." I love those ugly dirty house shows, they make me feel like I'm not doing that bad with 7 adorable but SO lazy children within these walls.

Did I tell you that this summer, I've been making them help more?

Yep, and they have all survived. That whole Mommy Martyr scene is for the birds. I'm giving it up. If Dianne can do it, so can I.

Being awake at 3:30 am is also for the birds.

Owls, probably.

I think tomorrow we will have a nice, relaxing day worshipping Vitamin D. I'll let the squids sing and I'll rest outside in the sun with a book and I won't complain even a little bit about how sucky the past 24 hours have been for my body because I have good friends who love me, good kids who still love me even if I make them..gasp..do chores and a good husband who I love enough not to wake up with complaining and an Iron Chef episode at 3:30 am, even though I am wicked curious to see what Bobby Flay is going to do with papaya.

Did I tell you...we got a new pool? The old one just wasn't working. This one hasn't collapsed yet.

Kids...meet your new babysitter while Mom lays in the hammock and DOES NOT COMPLAIN even one tiny bit.

This is Why it Hurts

Nice picture, eh?
I went to my back doctor today.
Yesterday I had my MRI and he looked at it and didn't call me to cancel my injections scheduled for today, so it wasn't "just fine" as my regular doctor said.
I'm annoyed with her, she has great bedside manner and makes you feel like she's going to take great care of you, but in the end, she has managed to miss the last 3 issues I went in for, passes me off to one of her colleagues and I realized she was a great lady, but a crappy doctor.
We took a look at the MRI and a blind person could see there were problems.
You see those lovely disks in the spine?
I have two vertebrae that don't really have any. What little tissue one of them has-- is torn.
That's why it hurts. I have almost no tissue in parts of my spine - I have the last one in the picture. It varies in pain level, but for the most part, it hurts all of the time.
It's not going to grow back, either.
I have 'degenerative disk disease,' which isn't so much a disease, as it is a condition.

All I can do is lots of physical therapy and take anti inflammation medications. Injections are going to be a regular part of my life if I want to be close to pain free.I might never be fully pain free again.
I can always have surgery and fuse together the vertebrae in one area, but the other area, is in too sensitive of a spot to do surgery on, too many risks to ever really warrant surgery that high up. If I have the lower back vertebrae fused, it will be a huge surgery and it will be crap again in 10 years. I'm only 37 and it's better that I put that off as many years as possible since it's only going to last 10 years.
Awesome, eh?
So...I got my first steroid shots today.
Holy freaking ouch.
But you'd be proud of me, I didn't swear. the experience was very swear worthy.
I came home and cried for a little while, I'm processing what I learned. I'm annoyed that my primary doctor acted like I was just fine and didn't order the right tests. She's fired. It was scary to see the MRI and clearly see sections of my spine that were not like the others. It kind of made me sad and it made the fact that I'm aging more real to me.
And I'm okay, I'm not depressed or freaking out or anything but I can't pretend the clock isn't ticking and I'm not getting older. It was a whack in the head with a cane today and it smarts.

I know it's going to be okay, but it was scary to see those films. I'll come to terms with it soon, but for today, i reserve the right to be a little overwhelmed and freaked out.

Recipe

Buko Pie

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
1 piece egg yolk
1 tsp. vinegar
1/4 cup ice water

Filling
4 cups fresh coconut meat
1 cup coconut water
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 cup cornstarch
Instructions:
1. Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter. Combine yolk, vinegar and water; slowly add the liquid to the flour mixing until dough can be handled. Divide dough into 2 parts with one part slightly bigger than the other. Roll bigger dough to about 2 inches larger than a 16-inch pie plate. Fit dough into a pie plate, letting sides hang. Roll out remaining dough for the crust. Set aside.

2. Combine filling ingredients in a thick saucepan. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Cool then pour into prepared crust. Cover with top crust; flute or crimp edges together to seal. Bake for 1 hr. at 425 degrees F. Cool before serving.
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MY TIPS:

The crust started to burn about halfway through, so cover the edge with tin foil. I would imagine if you are short on time, a store bought pie crust will work just fine.

I brushed my crust with an egg wash first because I like the way that looks.

You should be able to find fresh young coconut in your local Asian Market, do not use the dry stuff you find in the baked goods aisle in the supermarket. You need soft, unsweetened coconut meat. This pie isn't a super sweet sugary pie, but as you can see, it's plenty sweet.

It tastes better cold, so give it a few good hours to cool off in the fridge before serving.

Good luck!

Hard Work Pays Off

In my first apartment as a single girl of 18 years old, I only had to sweep my kitchen floor once a week. I only had to mop once a month.

And I whined about it.

I can't believe I actually whined about having to sweep once a week and do a few loads of laundry on a Saturday.

Life was so hard.

Fast Forward a few years......

With 7 kids, those days are gone. Every day you have to clean stuff. Sometimes, you can find a great way to even get the kids themselves to help clean things.

One way to get my kids to mop the floor is to tell them to put on shorts and announce that we're going to have indoor Slip-N-Slide.

I pour hot water with some pine sol on the floor and give the kids a washrag and tell them they can do whatever they want, as long as they get the spots cleaned up.

They slide across the floor until their knees are raw and when I go in afterwards with a towel, all the greasy globs of peanut butter, black patches of dried maple syrup with dog hair mixed in and KoolAid bloodstains are gone.

Success.

-------

After tricking the kids into mopping, I decided that my dear husband, who has been clocking in a lot of extra hours at work lately- needed a special treat. he has been working really hard trying to get his current projects done. He loves his job and company, and lately he has really been putting a lot into it.

I went over to the Filipino store and picked up some ingredients and made Matt a Buko Pie. When he came home he tried to guess what kind of pie and he was totally shocked to see I baked him up a special dessert from the Philippines. He said he only had this once while he was on his mission, and it was a special Christmas treat.

It wasn't that hard to make and he loved it.

I love you, Matt and I appreciate all the hard work you do, your humor and the joy you bring into my life.

You are a man who is loved.

I hope you know that.

XOXOXO

Sew......A Needle Pulling Thread

Romy has been asking me to sew her something for awhile now, so today I made her this cute skirt, officially dubbed the "Two Keane Skirt" because it took me 2 full Keane CD's worth of listening to finish it.

I saw some really cute colorful skirts at www.persniketyclothing.com for toddlers and was inspired to sew this up for Romy.

Not as cute as the stuff at Persnickety, but I have the patience of a gnat. Two Keane's worth was all I had in me. I haven't used my sewing machine in about 10 years, so if I wasn't out of practice, it may have been a one Keane skirt.

It turned out super cute.

I'm freaking Supermom.

Okay...maybe dinner was handmade by Stauffer's and there is a strong possibility that there is a basket of unfolded towels on the kitchen table, but aside from that, I'd call it a productive day. Supermoms are overrated and more often than not, super annoying anyway.

I went to a new doctor today for my back. Those shoes didn't do much to help and I need to have this dealt with. The new doctor was a spinal pain specialist, my sister referred me to someone who wasn't going to tell me to just buy shoes and call them in a month.

The doctor said he believes I have very weak core muscles, so the aren't supporting my spine properly. I'm getting an MRI tomorrow and then I should start on some cortisone shots in my back.

Fun Stuff.

Not.

Only 5 Golden Tickets!

Just like in the movie, when you buy a Wonka Bar, you may be one of the lucky winners of one of five golden tickets hidden in their candy. A Golden Ticket means an all expense paid trip around the world!
This weekend, we all gathered together and watched the 1971 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and when Charlie opened his Wonka Bar that contained the Golden Ticket, Mom surprised all of the kids with Wonka bars that contained the same hope for a winning prize inside....

Nobody had a Golden Ticket, but it was fun, for just a moment to have that same hope that they all have read about in the Ronald Dahl classic and to still enjoy a yummy bar of chocolate after they opened their wrapper.

I challenge anyone to come up with a better twist to family movie night than that.
It totally made the Oompa Loompa nightmares worth it.

Father's Day 2010

Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart! You are completely loved and adored by us all!

Matt and I both taught the lessons in church today and we enjoyed great talks by Russ and Doreen. Matt opened gifts and later we'll be making chicken skewers on the grill and sticky rice.

It's been a nice, easy day .... just perfect for Father's Day.

I don't know where I'd be without you, Matt. You are the best man I've ever met. You're totally hot, hilarious and brilliant. You're responsible and take such good care of our whole family. You have just enough of a wicked streak in you to keep me giggling and on my toes and did I mention that you're hot yet?

Thanks for being my best friend, my partner in crime, my rock and my inspiration for everything. You mean the world to me and also you're hot.

Manti Pageant

Thursday evening, we loaded up the crew and headed south to catch the Manti pageant and bring Emma to our ward Youth Conference.

They were kind enough to save us seats right up near the front. From what I hear, when they opened the grounds, our boys charged forward like football players to claim some of the best seats in the place and save them for our ward. They were dodging strollers and toddlers and leaping over chairs to claim the best real estate.

It helps that we do have two football players and a rugby player among our youth. Those families with kids didn't stand a chance,LOL.

The pageant was fun, but we were freezing. We had blankets and hoodies, but we're pretty big wimps, so we whined a little.

We got home at about 1 am and we all were asleep within minutes of hitting home. The older girls had spent a good 10 hours in cars that day and the next morning there was no way we were going to do anything but play and relax. The kids slept in and played video games and enjoyed themselves.

No road trips, no plans, just unscheduled summer fun, the way we like it.

It Grows back, You Know.....

When I was a teen I always always wanted pink hair.
I was told that nothing short of death would happen if I ever did pink hair.
So I tried to be a redhead with a dye that was supposed to wash out.
Check me out and my 8th grade hotness and while you're at it, add Corey Haim to my list of ill fated romances....


I got in a LOT of trouble for it. Especially since it didn't wash out like the box said it would. I was taken to my aunt who stripped all the pigment from my hair, leaving me polar bear colored and we had to dye it back to blonde. My hair was fried for a year and technically i was grounded for life, so I'm still in trouble for it.

When I was in my 20's I considered the pink hair again. Again I was told it was absolutely forbidden and I'd suffer some horrible outcome if I did it.

So I didn't do it.

By the time I was smart enough to realize it was just hair and nobody actually would stop loving me if I had pink hair except maybe my mother, I was a little (a LOT) too old to go dying my hair bright pink. That ship has sailed and as weird as it may sound, I regret that I never allowed myself that pink hair in my younger days. When I see women my age now with bright colors in their hair, I agree that they look insane, but I can understand why they do it.

Last summer I took Emma out and let her do what she wanted with her hair. She chose candy apple red hi lights and burgundy tones. It looked great, it looked current and she loved it. Until she got in trouble for it at her other house and then being told every day it looked bad and "unnatural" wore her down and she started to feel bad about the hair color she loved.

This summer, she decided she was going to give it another go and wanted her hair dyed again. I wasn't gong to spend 80 bucks on it like last time only to have her swim all summer and ruin it so we hit the beauty supply store and Emma, Kate and Romy all chose new hair color and I dyed it here at home.

Emma chose an auburn that looks great with her skin tone.

Kate chose blond hi lights that are subtle but make a big difference.

And Romy.............

Well, Romy chose pink.

That's my girl.

How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation......

Today I ate three fortune cookies.

Two of them had this message inside:

I guess the universe is tyring to tell me something........

I think it's trying to tell me "Don't eat more than one fortune cookie or you'll ruin the magic."

-----

And from the "What on Earth is wrong with my children?" files........
How do you get an entire smooshed and dried tube of toothpaste removed from a 14 dollar bath towel?
If I allow myself to wonder how it even got there in the first place, I may just kill one of the kids.

Asian Festival

Today we went to Sandy, Utah and attended the Asian Festival. We saw booths from all sorts of countries and enjoyed the incredible culture and arts from around the world. There was a Tibetan fashion show, karate shows and dancing. The kids got to try sticky rice and chicken from the Philippines.

A dragon chase Greyson and tried to swipe his Frisbee.

They painted Chinese characters and ate fruit tarts from Malaysia. We bought soda from Japan and Mom picked up a few packets of Hi Chew Candy. Japanese kites were made and we all learned how to fold origami frogs, too.

We were tired and my back really hurts tonight, but the family had a fun time today.

Good Friends & Good Food

It's been a busy but fun past few days. This week I went down to Saratoga Springs to visit my friend since high school, Kayla. We met Senior year and she was hands down the smartest person I knew, and is still right up there in the top three. The girl is brilliant, down to earth and incredible. She has the most adorable blue eyed freckle faces kids I have ever seen with eyelashes to die for. Gorgeous children with sweet personalities, just like their mom.
I am so proud of her and all she has done working in the scrapbooking industry and with her family and life. I am honored to count Kayla among my friends.
She's got great digital tutorials on her blog, go check her out sometime, fellow photo art lovers...
http://www.digiscrap101.com/
Kayla, I love you!
On the way home from Kayla's right as the kids were whining that it was hot and they were thirsty, we stopped by the sno-cone shack and the kids enjoyed red raspberry and cherry sno-cones.

Romy has been closing her eyes in pictures these days, I'm hoping she grows out of that- Zane never did.

Today we wanted to go do something fun outdoors, but the weather turned and it has been cold enough that we turned the heater back on in the house. So, we skipped the plan and hit the mall instead. The kids enjoyed heart attacks on a stick (corn dogs and deep fried cheese) and we caught a movie.

We did a fun rainy day craft and made message boards to hang above each of their beds.

When we talked about what to do for dinner all of the kids said they wanted to eat out again and who am I to argue with a break from the kitchen?

We found the temporary new location for our favorite place for Chicago Dogs, Johnnie Beef's. www.johnniebeefs.com

The regular joint closed due to the crappy economy and we were all bummed out, but thankfully, Johnny has new, temporary location nearby and we headed over there.

BUT

When we got there, they were closed. Matt went in and the owner was just closing up. He said hi and asked how things were going and Johnnie told him to grab the kids and he'd cook up some Chicago Dogs just for our family.

We love this guy and we love his food.

The kids were thrilled and Matt was out of this world happy to enjoy the Italian Beef he'd been craving for weeks. Thanks, John, for giving Matt this smile:

If I Had One Wish Then It Would Be.....

Happy Birthday to Greyson!!!

(Grey age 2)
He had two chances to make a birthday wish this year, one on Sunday and one on his actual birthday, which was yesterday. Romy, Jane and Mom all made him this groovy looking tie dye cake with the cupcake shaped baking pans I got for Christmas. The girls really had a fun time making it, they also made tie dye cupcakes. Those were eaten before Dad even made it home. The icing is actually cherry icing, laced with blue food coloring.

To be honest- I couldn't eat it, it was a little much. Matt said three bites nearly put him into a diabetic coma. This means the kids all loved it and they were bouncing off the walls, as kids are inclined to do on summer break.



It had a pistachio pudding center. Pistachio was all we had in the pantry. It was actually sugar free pudding as if that made any difference in the sugar content of that cake.



On Grey's actual birthday he got to open his presents. he's really into Legos these days. This is a lego knock off, but it was such a great bargain, we couldn't pass it up. He got abut 5 lego sets for his birthday.

Since he loves cream puffs more than life, I taught Romy how to make Choux pastry and we did a cream puff "cake."

He loved it and polished off about half of that plate himself. His dad flew out from D.C. to help celebrate and we all went to dinner after he opened his presents.

11 years old already, time is kind of flying by as the kids get older. Those baby and toddler years seem to drag on forever and then all of a sudden, the years go by at warp speed.

Grey was a funny baby, temperamental and LOUD. Whatever noise was going on in the house, Grey had to be one level louder. He would swipe Mountain Dew whenever a glass would be left down, and as soon as he could open the fridge he'd run off with 2 liter bottles of Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew. He never touched my Diet Coke. he knew that stuff was just battery acid, sweet delicious battery acid. he was a Power Rangers junkie and knew the names of every power ranger, their sword and what they transformed into- for every season of the show. (Were you aware that the cast changed year after year? Did you care?)

Until this last year, Grey hated school- he hated everything about it. When we lived in AZ, we lived around the corner from his school and he and his brothers would walk home. As soon as they crossed the crosswalk, I could hear him wailing.."It's too HOT! I hate walking! My backpack is too heavy!!" and I could hear his loving brothers respond with "SHUT UP! We're going to leave you! STOP BAWLING!"

He's mellowed out a lot now and he says some of the things that crack us up more than anyone. Grey was the child who made Matt's girls realize that having brothers was a whole different game than they were use to and that whole Brady Bunch idea was going to be a little more work and a lot more fun than anyone imagined it would be.

Grey is a fun kid and as sweet and loving as can be, and not in that creepy way Romy is. He loves having his own room now, listening to his ipod, swimming and watching rugby. He's a good brother who supports his siblings and treats everyone the same. He's responsible and kind and such a special part of our family. his unique way of looking at things and his love of all desserts is something we have all come to rely on and we love about him.

Happy Birthday, Gecko. We love you.

Change Your Shoes, Change Your Life!

I saw the orthopedic doctor today and we discussed my back problems.

She checked all of my joints and looked at my Xrays and asked me a bunch of questions.

The verdict.......I wear bad shoes.

Apparently flip flops and Converse Sneaks are horrible for us old people who have spines that suffer from all of the pounding when walking and lack of support. Those arches in our feet are there for a reason and need support. My platform Sunday shoes are not helping either.

So this morning I hit the shoe store and picked up these beauties....... Yeah, they're ugly, but my back really hurts.

I first had a pair of these in 9th grade when they became the fad at Meridian High in Idaho. I loved those shoes. I saved up babysitting money and had to go all the way to Boise to find my first pair of Birks. When we moved to Arizona, nobody wore "Jesus Shoes" and I traded them out for some penny loafers.

I got another pair when I got pregnant with Greyson and wore them throughout my pregnancy with him and with Romy. After 2 babies in 3 years, I never wanted to see those shoes again.

But, old age has won this one. My back hurts so bad most of the time, I am willing to risk being mistaken for a tree hugging granola eating hippie in order to feel better and enjoy my life again. Believe it or not, even with my love of all things sloth like- I'm tired of being stuck at home while my back throbs in pain.

The doc says these and some daily Yoga will help.

If she asks me to start eating vegetables and recycle, I may have to move to a commune.

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

Our first 24 hours of summer break were surprisingly jam-packed. I'm not one to plan a bunch of stuff to do, I am a firm believer in taking a break over the summer and most days, we play it by ear. We sleep in, we eat Poptarts, we chase "sparklies."

I think we were all just so excited for summer to begin that we just wanted to start playing right away. I'm a 'yellow' http://www.colorcode.com/ so I am all about playing.

Late night dog walk.trip to the park. While we were there a little boy about 3-4 years old came up and introduced himself..
"Hello, I am Optimus Prime."

"Well, Hi Optimus Prime, are you having a fun time at the park?"

"I am preparing to defeat the Decepticons. I am Optimus Prime."

Who are the people in our neighborhood? Who are the people that we meet when we're walking down the street?

Optimus Prime, Yo. You don't see that on Sesame Street.

After that we popped some popcorn and watched Arthur and the Invisibles- a DVD my dad sent us, he said it's his favorite. The kids loved it.

I took Parker and Zane to the airport this morning. They flew out to Phoenix so they could go to Disneyland with their Dad's family. They will be home next Monday.

Today the freezing pool was ready to try out again. We had to drain it and start over because the ground is so un level at out house. It's still wonky, but it's too hot to get perfect.
Grandma and Aunt Lolo came over to visit. Nathan had a great time with Emma, You Tube videos are on their way. What a happy little guy. We're so blessed to have him home with his Mama and Papa. BTW- Brent is in Haiti right now, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

After all of that, we had our first official cookout on the grill, it was only hot dogs, but it was still great. Then we went upstairs and watched the Rifftrax http://www.rifftrax.com/ version of Avatar. Rifftrax are the guys that use to do Mystery Science theater- only they do current movies now and you just download the heckling and sync it with the movie as you watch. They do tell some PG 13 jokes here and there, so screen them before you watch with the kiddos.

I fell asleep in the middle, but that movie is 200 hours long.