Tagged

Okay, so my friend, Kelly, tagged me (admittedly a while ago), but since I did not have access to my photos yet (lack of computer), I couldn't post anything.  I am supposed to post the sixth picture from the sixth folder in my photo library.  I don't have my photos organized into folders like that (just a mass library of them in iPhoto), so I am improvising.  I closed my eyes, scrolled down and randomly chose a picture.  And here is what I landed on:

One of my many experimental shots testing out different depths of field with my camera.  I like that this angle makes him look like he still has the chubby cheeks he had as a baby.  Like these:

Your Wallet or Your Waist

So, after dropping the Liams (mine and his friend, also named Liam) at Joy School, heading to the YMCA for a nice long workout, then picking the boys up again and dropping Friend Liam off at his house, the boys and I were starving and Liam was clamouring for chicken nuggets (we had driven past a McDonald's on the way to Friend Liam's house).  By this point, Caleb was done being in the car and crying and whining and we were right next to Burger King so I decided to stop.  Okay, so I'm a drive-thru junkie, whatever.  Contemplating the fact that I had just finished working out, I rationalized that I could order a grilled chicken sandwich with little or no sauce and not feel guilty or gross after eating it, and then I looked at the menu board.  Their most basic chicken sandwich was 3 times the cost of a regular cheeseburger....3 times!  It appeared as though my choice was my wallet or my waist.  

While I appreciate that fast food

 places are making efforts to offer some healthier options for those of us whose children don't want frozen chicken nuggets from home but "the real kind", it's very frustrating that that "healthier food" costs so much.  Not that it is surprising...I have long fought the battle of "the budget versus the bulge", recognizing that o

ften, the healthiest foods are often not the cheapest (does anyone want to talk about the price of Ramen versus the price of...well, anything else).  I know, I know, it would have been cheaper and healthier all-around to just go home and make some lunch.  But I didn't...whatever.  

Anyway, it frustrated me as I sat in the drive-thru deciding what to eat.  I won't bother telling you what I ended up ordering, but suffice it to say that next time, I will just have to pack a tuna-fish sandwich before I leave home.

Adventures in Wheat

So, today I went to the Dry Pack Cannery in my continued quest to amass large quantities of dry food to be consumed in the event of the apocalypse.  Covered in the dust from Flour, Fruit Drink Mix, and Powdered Milk, I left feeling quite satisfied with my work and my acquisition of supplies. 

In preparation for this event, I have been recently contemplating how to use wheat.  Just plain old hard wheat.  In the past I have not really considered wheat a great option for food storage for us personally (mostly because I figured I would never get my kids to eat it), but after recent conversations with my sisters and some other friends, I have been inspired to look for more and more ways to use wheat.  So yesterday, I found several recipes online and starting experimenting with some wheat that I had already.  You're right, Cindy, wheat blender pancakes rock!  (OK, my words, not yours).  They were so tasty and the boys LOVED them...although that might have more to do with syrup than the pancakes themselves, but at the very least they didn't spit them out and continued to ask for more.  I guess that just means I need to make sure and have brown sugar and such to make mom's syrup (in the afore-mentioned post-apocalyptic scenario where I cannot buy syrup at the grocery store, of course).  But I digress.  I've seen several different recipes, and I will have to try a few more, but here is the recipe that I found that I liked:

1 Cup Whole Wheat

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1/2 Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

3 tsp Baking Powder

2 TBLS Sugar

1 tsp salt

And now that I am looking at it, I realize I only used 3 teaspoons of sugar instead of 3 TBLS (apparently I cannot read, but whatever), and that seemed sweet enough, so I think I will stick to that.

I also tried making cracked wheat cereal like my Grandma Wahlquist used to make.  I used my Ultimate Chopper (food processor) to chop the wheat up coarsely and then added it to boiling water and salt and simmered it a long time (just like you said, Mom).  I think I need to keep trying.  :(  The fresh cream from the farm might have had something to do with why Grandma's was so good, and since I don't have a cow...  :)  Oh well.

Anyway, those have been my adventures in wheat.  Other ideas that I have recently heard and am ready to try:  Cooked wheat (crock-potted overnight) in Oatmeal, Spaghetti Sauce, Hamburger, etc.  Wish me luck!

Photo Flashback

Well, We finally got our new computer and I can access all my photos again!  Yea!!  So, I have been sorting through and cleaning out the unbelievable masses of photos that I have taken in the time that Andrew and I have known each other and have had a great time flashing back.  Liam's cheeks were so big, I had forgotten how round his face was.  And the 4th of July parade at Mom & Dad's...well, who can forget that.  :)  Good times!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Okay, so the clovers might be a little much, but I thought it being St. Patrick's Day soon and all that I needed to embrace my Irish Buckley/MacGuire roots and style the blog up right. :) Don't worry, Andrew, it will be subtle and masculine again soon enough.

This past week has been pretty busy. My sisters were here to visit (which was so fun!), I taught Joy School this week (not as much fun), went visiting teaching, then hosted a baby shower for a friend. I know, I know, it doesn't really sound like that much stuff, but I am finding that I am less organized than I used to be, and the addition of small children to the mix cause everything to take a little longer...at least for me, anyway. Anyway, it was a good full week, but I'm glad it's over (except for the sisters' visit).

These were the flowers I got for the baby shower (Baby Lily and Mommy Rose). I love flowers.

Things I Never Thought I'd Do

Disclaimer/Warning: The following is not for the feint of heart/stomach, or those who think children's bodily functions are inappropriate to blog about...which is me...usually. Momentary lapse in propriety, I guess, but..sorry. Just look at the cute pictures and skip over all the silly words. :)

Things I Never Thought I'd Do:

1. Speak the phrase "Throw up on Mommy!" Yes, words I never thought would come out of my mouth, but when you have a sick 3 year old and it's a choice between me (with blanket), both of which clean fairly easily, and the couch, which does not...well...

2. Dance around the room with my two children singing a song about...well...potty (Thank you, Karen - and Elmo's Daddy of course-, for the song). But when are trying to potty train a 3 year old and have had no success you will do almost ANYTHING when you do have some success. Yes, success! And that is worth a song and dance as far as I'm concerned. And a few phone calls to important people (Dad, for one). In fact, I was so excited that when we went to Liam's doctor's appointment today for his "Owee sick", as he calls it, I had to fight back the urge to share our triumph with the doctor! (Seriously, what's happening to me???) But I think my mother would be proud of the self-restraint I exercised. :) As for the dancing...the kids love to dance around anyway and watch their mom be totally silly.

So there you have my week. A sick 3-year old who apparently felt like being sick was the perfect time to take an interest in potty training. A haircut, managed through tears, screaming and Peanut Butter M & M's. And Caleb, who has started shouting "No" about everything and is practicing his faces: Mad Face, Surprised Face, Scared Face, etc. Here he is doing his Surprised Face:

To Sew, or Not to Sew

So, I sewed. It is only the second sewn quilt I have ever made in my life...I tend to crochet more than sew, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. My bobbin quit about 3 seams short of finished, of course, but after many fights with it, counsel from others (thanks, Mom! And Karen!) and letting my machine rest overnight (ha ha), it finally got completed, and just in time. Happy birthday, Charlie! And love to proud parents, Jim & Kate!


(And my picture loaded sideways for some reason...hmm.)

A Little Behind

So, I'm a little behind on my posting, but I wanted to get up some of the pictures from the hiking we did with the Olsen's a week or two ago. It was so beautiful up there and the boys loved being in the mountains. I was about done halfway through, so the girls (myself, Allison, and Avery) rested on the trail for a while, then headed back to the cars, while the boys pressed on the see both waterfalls. Thanks for not letting Caleb fall out of the backpack and into the rushing river at the dropoff, babe! :)

The boys were exhausted afterwards.

My Favorite Things

Just a quick post with some pics and some of my favorite things that the boys are saying, doing these days:

They are both obsessed with ramps (for cars, balls, anything that rolls)...they'll make a ramp out of books, cardboard, pillows, my body, anything that works.

They both love to play chase! We run around the kitchen/entryway, living room circle taking turns chasing each other and they just squeal and laugh the whole time. Talk about cardio!

So a week or so ago, Liam put on his pants all by himself for the first time, and I cheered for him and told him how proud I was of him and gave him a big hug, to which he grinned and replied: I'm proud of you, too!"


This morning: "You look so pretty, Mom." Aw...

"Baby K-Bob, you're making mom so angry up." (I think he means angry and upset)

And my personal favorite from the other day, "My life is so hard, Mom." Wonder where he heard that one. ;)




Well, what do you think? Look familiar?

Snowshoeing in Boise

I went snowshoeing again this year in Idaho. This time it was the day after Christmas up at Bogus Basin ski resort in the mountains just north of Boise. My brothers Alexander and Sam, Sam's friend Tyler and I were at about 6,000 feet and it was 15 degrees the whole time and snowed a bit - luckily, we made it out alive and didn't even have to eat each other. It was great.