Sucker for a Sob Story

I didn't sign up for any college classes this semester because I had a feeling that life was going to be really crazy this winter/spring. I was right. Things have been very busy and I can't imagine what life would have been like if I had added school on top of things.

On Tuesday of this week the phone rang and I saw that it was the elementary school. I groaned inside fearing that one of my boys was calling to tell me they had thrown up at school. With both Brett and myself falling victim to the stomach flu and various others in the neighborhood dropping like flies I figured my kids are gonners. But instead, it was Smiley asking if I was going to go on the 2nd grade field trip the next day. I had already told Smiley before that I would not be going on this particular field trip but that I would go on the one to the farm so I was confused as to why he was calling and asking. I told him no and figured that was that. He asked again, "but are you going on the field trip tomorrow?". Huh? Didn't he hear my answer? I told him again that I wasn't going to the aquarium but would be going to the farm. "But can you go on the field trip tomorrow?" he asked again. Seriously?

This was going nowhere. Then I made the mistake of having him put his teacher on the phone. That was when his teacher explained that they were in DESPERATE need of parents. -sigh- Desperate huh?

Ibuprofin and Maxalt here I come.



At least I was smart enough to meet them there instead of joining the bouncing/screaming 2nd graders on the half-hour bus ride to the aquarium. My group of six was a great group of excited kids who insisted that I see everything that they saw. It reminded me of my boys. I lost count of the number of times I heard, "Look at this! Look at this!"



I didn't bring my Canon with me and just took pictures with my phone. They don't allow flash photography in the aquarium which makes it difficult to take good pictures in a dim environment. But the lighting was just right for a great shot of the jellyfish.

We had a great time (noisy time) and at the end the kids even had an upclose encounter with a tarantula.

They quickly became bored... BORED! And turned their backs on the giant arachnid. I, however, kept a close eye on the hairy beast. I also gave myself a pat on the back for even getting as close as I did. I also resisted the urge to scream for my dad to come and kill it.

Happy Easter!

You know you have had a great Easter if you get to the end of the day and you are so tired that you feel like you have been run over by a truck. Now that's a great day right?

I wasn't so sure at the beginning because it began with the usual sibling rivalry but when the Easter Bunny didn't show up in the morning the kids thought that perhaps their arguing had something to do with it. On the way home from Grandma and Grandpa's later in the evening they made an attempt to stifle it in the hopes that the Easter Bunny might show up at our home while they showered and bathed. They were in luck.



They were a little confused about why the Easter Bunny would give them gardening gloves but personally I think the Easter Bunny doesn't like hopping around in weeds.



I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself and doubled my production at this year's Easter egg hunt at John and Roxy's. I found two eggs! Brett is seriously considering disowning me. We came in third at the hunt. Not good. Not good. Especially for such a competitive man. :) But I don't worry about such things. I'm too busy taking pictures (but don't tell him that or he might take away my camera and make me take the hunt more serious).












I probably should have taken a photo of the yummy 7-layer salad I made but I was too focused on the kids and my beautiful brand new niece who is adorable.

I'm also grateful that my dare devil son did not end up in the hospital. Thank goodness for helmets.

As if we weren't spoiled enough with a huge egg hunt, a treasure hunt and a great lunch, there was the treat table at the end of the day where everyone got to choose an item.

Thanks so much John and Roxy for a great day!

Beyblade or Bust

Friend party number three is over and done. Thank goodness. When Giggles told me he wanted a Beyblade party I have to admit I cringed a little inside. We don't watch Beyblade so I don't know anything about the show. Nothing. It was time for some research. Thank goodness for the internet and Google.

But even after several internet searches I still felt at a loss. The cakes were all too elaborate for my taste (ability) and there were so many characters that I wasn't sure who to focus on. Bad guys became good guys ... who was really the good vs evil in this show? So I picked who seemed to be the main good character and randomly picked another character. Too bad if I was wrong.

For this party I chose Hot Beyblade (hot potato), Tic Tac Toe (with Beyblade characters), pin the Beyblade, and of course a piñata.






I did the games in a tournament form making two teams - Tyson vs. Kai (Beyblade characters) and each game was assigned points. We also have a ping pong table and airhockey table which we included in the tournament.

For the cake I decided to make cupcakes using Beyblade colors and put them in a Beyblade stadium which Giggles could play with afterwards.





I don't love the mess of more toys being added to the house but I do love the looks on my boys' faces when they get just what they wanted.







One more friend party to go for this year. Not surprisingly Wannabe has still not made his mind up. I anticipate several more revisions to his plans before May.

How to Create Jealousy

Little did I know when I became Primary President that one of my jobs would be to put together Priesthood Preview for the 11-year-old boys. I'm still learning new things even though I am already 5 months into my calling.

Tonight was my first Priesthood Preview program and despite the fact that we only had five boys turning 12 this year and really only a potential of three showing up for the program, I wanted it to be a good one for them. And part of that, of course, means good refreshments right?

So I decided on a black and white theme because I thought it went well with white shirts and suits that the boys have to wear to church to pass the sacrament. I spent my Saturday working on a few things ....



When I made the cupcakes my kids asked, "what's that for?" I answered, "Priesthood Preview."

When I made the dipped pretzels they asked, "what's that for?" I answered, "Priesthood Preview."

When I made the mint chocolates they asked, "what's that for?" I answered, "Priesthood Preview."

There was a lot of weeping and wailing. "Why can't I be 11?" they all said.

"One day you will be," I said.

"But they won't have these same treats!"

They're right. I probably won't do that again. Although they look great it was too time consuming. I think next year I'm buying a box of frosted cookies from Wal-Mart.

Daring or Stupid?

I can't say I'm the most daring person when it comes to food but I do consider myself a step above my father who sticks to the same boring meals every week. He is a meat and potatoes guy. In fact he only eats Chinese take-out because he was forced to eat in downtown China Town on occasion where the menu didn't offer steak and potatoes. The closest my dad gets to authentic Mexican is Taco Bell, or as he calls it the Taco Bells.

This past week I experimented with a couple of vegetables that I had never cooked with before...bok choy, lemon grass, and I still don't know what the white root vegetable was that I sliced up and added to my stir fry. But it was round and took on the flavor of the sauce. Wannabe was daring and Sheriff was horrified at all of the bok choy on his plate. He hopes we never eat it again.

But today as I exited my car to do my shopping at Wal-Mart, a total stranger approached me and asked me if I wanted to buy some tamales.

Really? I'm not sure if I would classify that under daring or stupid. I mean... who buys food from a stranger in a parking lot?

How long have they been wandering around trying to sell their tamales? Hello food poisoning. And what is in said tamales? Maybe these are the best tamales in the whole entire world... maybe. But I'm not going to find out. No way.

How to Hold another Doctor Who Birthday Party

First you need another kid who loves Doctor Who.



Then you need to make another cake.




You have to create some Doctor Who party games like Musical chairs to the Doctor Who theme song, Doctor Who bingo...


and Weeping Angel Freeze...



You also need to make a TARDIS piñata...



and a bag to put the treats in (not to mention a bow tie cupcake to take home).



Two parties down and two to go.

How Smiley Earned his Name

Today I decided it was finally time to back up my 2011 photos. As I worked on transferring the pictures to my external drive I looked at some even older pictures. I couldn't help but laugh at a few pictures of Smiley. It reminded me of how he came by his blog name. He no longer smiles this way but he is still a very animated boy and has to insert himself into the photo whenever the camera comes out.



Although he says he wants to grow up and be a doctor I am still thinking ACTOR.