Blondie Has Returned....

Do you have any idea how good it feels to look in the mirror and recognize myself again! Thank you thank you thank you Kim! Having babies definitely takes its toll.....Hurray for Beauty Salon's and talented people like my friend Kim to bring us back to normal.

Oops!

Sorry guys. I thought I posted the recipe with the Oreo post. I was in a hurry though....off to work! So, here it is but dont say I didnt warn you. You WILL love them and you WILL gain 2 pounds with each one that you snarf down.....and trust me.... snarf you will.

Cookie Part:

1 box Devils Food cake mix

2 eggs

3/4 cup shortening

Mix these ingredients well. It will be thick! Roll into little balls....or big if you want bigger cookies. Bake in 350 deg oven for 8-10 min. I only do 8 minutes because you get a softer cookie that way. Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1lb box of powdered sugar

1 cup of butter (yes that is 2 whole sticks!....not a fat free cookie :) )

1 8oz block of cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

Mix butter and cream cheese together first with an electric mixer. Then add Powdered sugar. Add vanilla last.

~~I chill the frosting first before spreading onto cookies. The room temp frosting oozes out too much and makes quite a mess. After frosting all the cookies, I would also store them in the fridge.....you will see why if you try to eat one that is at room temp!~~ ENJOY!

Ear Nose & Throat....

I was just thinking the other day that I should have become an Ear Nose & Throat doctor. When you think about how many people suffer from colds/flu/allergies......and all of those ailments affect those 3 areas. My family has a history of nasal issues. I'd have been set for life just from my family of patients! Well, I didnt become one so I will save that for another life.....until then, it looks like we will be making a visit to one for Evan. Evan is my middle child. This poor soul has been plagued with Ear infections since birth. At one point we almost had to conisder putting tubes into his ears. Luckily, they seemed to taper off after the last big infection in 2003. But he usually ends up with one every year. Yesterday he complained of a headache at dinner time. I gave him some Tylenol and let him skip dinner. Then I went to work. When I got home at 5:oo in the morning, he was in my bed and Denver said he was up all night with an earrache. At this point, it was obvious that his eardrum had ruptured....obvious from the steady stream of pus oozing out of his ear. Blech! So, I took him to the doctor today and after the doctor attempted to see the eardrum, which he could not do because of the aforementioned pus, he then turned his focus to Evan's tonsils. He continued mentioning how Large they were. Finally I asked if this was good thing or a bad thing since the marveling didnt come with any confirmation of good or bad. No, its not good. Oh. So it isnt normal? No. Ok. Well, what does that mean exactly? .... are you getting the sense that I am DRAGGING information out of him? What it comes down to is that #1) It is possible that they are large due to the ear infection and the sinus infection (I forgot to mention that one.....he has that too) and #2) Tonsils are not normally this large due to genetics....in otherwords bigger is not better and if they do not go down in size after 2 weeks on antibiotics, I will need to see a specialist. Enter Ear Nose & Throat doctor. What this translates to me, is that Evan will probably be getting his tonsils out down the road and also possible a skin graft on his ear drum. The doctor feels that Evans eardrum did not heal after the last rupture and that he has had a hole on his eardrum since that time. This would explain the continuous flow of pus and fluid and no relief from pain. Normally when a person has an ear infection and all that fluid is building up behind the drum, he/she is in a lot of pain. Then the drum bursts and the pressure is released and there is significant relief from the pain. This did not happen for Evan. He is in continuous pain. Not mild pain either. It is really sad to see him so miserable. Anyway, cant leave an open hole so, if it hasnt healed over in 2 to 3 weeks, skin graft. Good Times.

For the Love of Oreo's......

Who doesnt love Oreo cookies? Ok, I admit it, I dont. Well that isnt to say that I wouldn't eat a whole package of them if I knew they wouldnt show up on my rear the next day...... I just dont LOVE them. The Double Stuff are the best. In fact, they should stop production on the regular ones all together. The extra frosting makes them much better.....I also like the new "Golden Oreo's"..... a vanilla cookie instead of chocolate. A few years back, I was working for Discover Card. I worked with a girl who was obssesed with cooking. She brought some pretty tasty stuff to our Pot Luck meals.....one day she brought Homemade Oreo Cookies! Wow. Really, they should be banned from human consumption based on the calorie count alone. but Wow. After eating 10 of them, I was able to get the recipe from her and they have become a family favorite. I made them yesterday to bring to church today for Aisha....she is the Japanese girl in my primary class. Her birthday is coming up. I am proud to say that between yesterday, when I made them, and today....I only ate 4. Believe me this is nothing short of a miracle. I really could have eaten every last one.

Do You Remember.....

I just woke up from a peaceful 4 1/2 hours of sleep so forgive me if I sound a little distant....or punchy. For some reason, possibly because of a dream I had, I am feeling a bit nostaligic and old. My song list is playing Michael Jackson at this moment...."Remember"....and I just sent an ecard (I know, so impersonal) to my best childhood friend, Shannon.... Her birthday is on April 1st. I typed a small message which included the statement "you are a big part of my best memories"....or something to that effect. So, now of course this has me thinking of those memories. Barbies on the lawn. Eating Venison for the first time. Watching her dad smoke and wondering if it tasted good. Wondering the same thing about the coffee. Playing until dark outside..... She has a brother that is my brothers age and they were best buds too which was fantastic and horrible all at the same time. Great because my brother and I were buddies for a long time and so we were still connected even when with our friends. Horrible because who wants to be around their kid brother all the time! Either way, for me, that time in my life holds some of the BEST memories that I have. I dont seem to remember any of the bad stuff....maybe it is selective memory but who cares. I prefer to focus on what was good in my childhood. My mom owns some of those memories....listening to Michael Jackson always draws me back to those days in West Valley. She was a cleaning fool. And she never cleaned without her music playing. When I smell cleaning products, I think of her and of Rod Stewart...and Earth Wind & Fire....The Beatles....Michael Jackson....and on and on. She had a great music collection and between her and my dad Im sure that is where I got my taste in music. Of course I cant leave Dad out.....The Secret Garden, Star Wars, my Prom dress.....mmm, to go back for a day. Actually it would take more than a day to re-live those memories. Now, Shannon is turning 37 and although this isnt a particularly significant age, it is inching awfully close to 40. I didnt really blink an eye at 30 but I believe 40 might just get me down.... a bit. I can remember my mom turning 30. I also found out recently that when my family moved into our new "BIG" home in Sandy, my mom was exactly the age that I am now. I was 12 then......where has time gone? I sound more and more like my parents everyday. I wonder if my kids are going to have wonderful memories of their childhood as I do. Am I doing enough to give them those memories? Will they have children one day and appreciate us (Denver and I) as profoundly as I have grown to appreciate my own parents? 1971 must feel like several lifetimes ago to my parents....but Im sure they remember it as though it werent all that distant. Ian (my oldest) turns 8 this year. 8 years since his birth.....it doesnt feel like its been more than 3 and 3 years disappears so quickly you dont even realize it has passed. Until it means you will turn 40....which will be the case for me. Ian will be 11, my youngest will start kindergarten....and I will probably type another post about this subject again. "Do you remember when...."

So Much for Spring....

Im sitting here watching the snow fall. It was 63 degrees yesterday and this is what I wake up to? I suppose I shouldnt be surprised. Snow in March happens every single year. But, I was so ready for Spring. Im sure it will melt tomorrow.....only to snow again this weekend.

Horton Hears a Who.....

Well, the kids' spring break is nearly over and we really havent done anything fun. So today, since Soren left us early to get a shot (ouch!) I decided to take the kids to see Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. I figured any movie with both Jim Carrey and Steve Carell in it, kid movie or not, has to be great. And, I was right. I thought it was very smart and witty. The kids were cracking up all through the movie. And it was just long enough to keep their interest without fidgeting too much. Now Addison was a different story. We went to the 4:00 movie and she hadnt had a nap yet so my hope was that she might just fall asleep in the middle of it. Yeah right. She was all over the place. Up the stairs, down the stairs. From one end of the isle to the other. On my lap, off my lap. It was a good thing that we went in the middle of the week to a matinee because there werent too many people in the theater.....she wasnt noisy either which was a bonus. Of course there was that little issue of her loading her diaper halfway through the movie. And brilliant Vanessa forgot to pack diapers/wipes. I remembered the illegal treats though, very important.....but diapers, who needs those! It was painfully obvious how unaccustomed I am to going out these days. Thankfully there was no gagging or dry heaving from the horrid smell. This is one of the reasons I let her walk around a bit....I was hoping it would allow that wonderful aroma to be evenly distributed rather than hover like a toxic cloud in one spot! Ok, so enough of that. Im sure you are all happy to hear about my daughters diaper issues. The movie is a hit in my opinion.....Go see it! Especially if you like Dr. Suess and the ever talented Jim Carrey.

Happy Spring!

School Projects and Tagged....

For Denvers art class he had to do an "expressive" piece that shows how he feels about his life. Denver chose to show his feelings about "the grass is greener..." I thought it turned out pretty good. Although the perfectionist in me cant handle Addison's smeared handprint.... Anyway, he was telling me about some of the other class members' project and personally I think his has a lot more depth than the others. Granted Denver is 37 years old and has a lot more life experience than the "kids" in his class :) That probably helps! Here is a picture of his final project.

We just received word from Ian's teacher that not only do we have to do his speech on an Austrailian animal (the Mallee Fowl) but now we are also doing a Science project on plants. He has to make a Hypothesis, set up the experiement and document the progress each day. Then report about whether it worked or not and why....or why not. What? This should be interesting.

In other news, I have been tagged. This latest and greatest tag is fun because I dont have to spill boring facts about myself :) So, this is it:

"Grab the book nearest to you with more than 123 pages. Go to page 123 and find the fifth sentence. Post that sentence on your blog."

Well, the book nearest me is Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (yes I am a Harry Potter nerd). So, without further ado......

Page 123, sentence 5 :

"And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank You!"

Hows that for a sentence! Profound.....yes? Anyway, Im supposed to tag 5 people but I dont exactly have 5 people to tag so, I will tag Melanie and Kim. Have fun!

Hoppy Easter!....

I sure hope everyone enjoyed Easter yesterday. We had a pretty full weekend and having to work graveyard shift didnt necessarily mix well with everything we had planned. I feel like it all passed by me in a blur. Oh well, the kids had a great time and of course that is what is the most important! We did the obligatory egg coloring on Saturday night....I should say that MOM did most of the egg coloring. The kids insist on doing this activity but then just want me to do all the work! Thats ok though. We made some pretty eggs. Sunday morning of course they all found their baskets complete with Pokemon, bunny rabbits, and enough candy to rot their teeth right out of their heads.....hey, isnt that what holidays are all about? After that we hurried and got ready for church (did I mention I hadnt been to bed yet?....) Of course we had to wrangle the kids for an Easter picture which you can see was about as successful as usual. After I slept through church....(we had to leave early because I was nearly snoring....and drooling....during sacrament meeting) we came home and I went straight to bed for 5 hours. Had a yummy Ham/potatoe/roll/ green bean dinner and then the kids hunted for the eggs they colored the night before. After that we went on a little drive because the weather was so nice. Came home just in time for me to realize I left pies in the oven (which are now burned) and I have to run off to work. Good times. I just got home and now I am off to the gym! Enjoy the slide show of our Easter weekend.

10 Years Together.....

I can hardly believe that tomorrow I will have been married to Denver for 10 years. It doesnt seem like it has been that long since the first day I met him. In fact it almost feels like yesterday. We knew each other at a distance for a year or so before we actually started dating. Then it took another year before we actually married.

March 21, 1998 was a beautiful day in Pacific Grove, California. It was during the time of 'El Nino' if you remember that and I was so worried that the place we were getting married was washed away. The chances of any flowers being intact were slim to none. But, the day we got married this field of yellow flowers had completely bloomed. It was GORGEOUS! We couldnt have planned it if we tried. Funny enough, the next day all of those blooms had blown away..it felt like they had been there just for us. Our wedding was simple and perfect and I will never forget it. The next 10 years have flown by and yet so much has happened. Ups and downs of course, as in any marriage. But great memories and 3 beautiful children. I look forward to 10 more HAPPY years with you Denver....and then 10 more after that.....etc, etc, etc.

Im Back.....

Ok, so it has been a while since I have posted anything. We had guests this past week and my computer is in the guest room therefore, unless I really needed it for something, I didnt use it. Today Denver's cousin Mandy and her friend Valerie returned to Michigan. They have stayed with us since last Tuesday and we really enjoyed having them. They were very fun and well mannered young girls. The kids adored them....especially Addison and she was a little upset today when they were leaving. I hope they can come and visit again because we really had a good time. Hopefully they werent too bored with our homebody lifestyle. We werent much for entertainment! My parents also came in for a visit over the weekend and its always fun to see Gma and Gpa. They treated us to a nice breakfast Sunday morning as well as a couple of little "extras" that I appreciated very much. Oh and on Friday night, Ian participated in a Chess Tournament at the University. It was a Blitz tournament which was pretty challenging for Ian because he couldnt take the time to think much about his moves. He was a little upset because other more experience players were "yelling at him to hurry up and move".....how rude! He won 3 out of 12 rounds which isnt great but still a good experience for him. When I asked him why he was having a difficult time, his response was "MOM, These players are very complicated!...." and that is a direct quote from my funny Ian. He was so excited that Gma & Gpa came to watch him play too. On Saturday the boys had "tryouts" for their baseball teams. It really should be called "placement" not tryouts because nobody gets cut. They just evaluate the players to make sure the teams are evenly skilled. Our boys are going to play on the same team and Denver is going to be their coach so it should be pretty fun! They will play 2 games a week for 3 months.....my guess is that they are going to be pretty sick of baseball by the end..... Other than that, there isnt much more to update. This is Ian's first week of a 2 week spring break. Evan's spring break starts next week and his is just one week. Of course Easter is coming up and then it will be time to focus on Evan's 6th birthday and my Vegas trip! So, here are a few pictures from our recent week. Hope everyone is well!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby......

Happy Birthday to Denver! He turned 37 today.....that is nearly 40! I would laugh at him except that I will turn the same age in less than 6 months from now. Not funny at all! It is hard to believe that we met when we were just 26. Scary how fast time flies. When Addison starts Kindergarten, we will be 40. Ok Im done. Love you......

Biscuit Heaven.......

This Post actually belongs on a food blog but since I dont have a food blog and I dont want to forget my recipe, Im posting it here.....sorry
I think I may have found the perfect biscuit recipe. First let me explain. My husband and I have been on a quest to find the perfect biscuit recipe. The problem has been that he prefers a chewy biscuit whereas I prefer a fluffy biscuit. He is from the South and likes gravy on his biscuits (blech!) I am from the west and prefer honey or jam......you can see how this has caused some issues. I do, however, want to provide him with enjoyable biscuits once in a while and so therefore, I have attempeted about 5 or 6 recipes since we have been married and none have been worth talking about let alone eating.

One night a week or so ago, I looked up some recipes online because I was going to attempt a new recipe in the morning. Weirdly enough, Denver was at work doing the same thing and neither one of us had mentioned it to the other. I guess that is what 10 years of marriage starts doing to you......the next morning we both tried our recipes and felt the same about each one......not great. Not bad, but not great. So he called his mom and got her take on his grandmothers recipe which he then made......he liked them but I didnt. Way too chewy and dry. Today I was thinking about it again and went online one more time to try and find the answer. What I found out was interesting.


1) Biscuits should not be made with anything LESS than a ratio of 1/2 cup fat to 2 cups flour. That ratio can be increased but never decreased.

2) Shortening causes a more tender biscuit but butter gives it more flavor. Whether you use shortening or butter it should be very very cold.

3) Using cake flour instead of all purpose will make the biscuit light and airy instead of dense.

4) How thick you roll it out matters! I used to roll my dough too thin and could never figure out how to get big fluffy biscuits. Most good recipes only yeild 6-8 biscuits because you dont roll it out too thin

5) If you want the sides of your biscuits soft, you must place the biscuits on the pan so that they are touching each other. A round pan is the best type of pan for biscuit making.


So with this information, I made the biscuits. I must say that although they are not as good as my favorite biscuits.....from Sweet Tomatoes......this is the perfect combination of fluffy and chewy. It satisfied both Denver and myself and so for now, this is going to be our biscuit recipe of choice! I think they will be even better when I actually purchase the proper tools, such as a pastry cutter and a biscuit cutter ( I used one of my kids' plastic cups) and I know you are all so excited about this information so Im going to please you even more by posting my recipe creation! Happy Biscuit Making!



2 c Flour ( I used self rising so I didnt have to add leavening ingredients)
1 Tbs Sugar
1/2 c Butter or shortening - very cold
1 c Buttermilk (you might need a little more but dont make it too runny or soft)

Mix dry ingreds. Cut in butter or shortening until mix becomes "mealy". Make a well in center and pour in buttermilk. Fold together with hands. Place on counter and fold over itself 2 or 3 times. Roll out to desired thickness and cut into circles. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-14 min at 400 deg. (Im guessing on the time. I just watched them and when they turned a little brown on top, I took them out) **** if you dont have self rising flour, make sure you add some salt and baking powder. Dont ask me how much because I wouldnt have a clue***

***and yes Mom, the picture above is a picture of my actual biscuits! Arent they pretty!***

Bless the Irish.....

Ok so technically I am only Irish by marriage. Denver brings all the Irish we need into this family! But seriously St. Patty's Day is coming and to honor the day, I have added a new quote to my sidebar. The Irish surely loved song and poetry. I found so many sayings, and poems and all of them had to do with smiling through the tears or looking for rainbows in the rain.....it gave me the distinct impression that the Irish went through some rough times but managed to keep a smile on their face in spite of it. Well, that is our family theme...smile through the good and bad....we MUST be Irish! Anyway, we are hoping that eventually the LUCK of the Irish instead of the Struggles of the Irish will soon make its way into our lives! Im still looking for that four leafed clover........

Funny Ian....

I forgot to mention something funny about the boys' haircuts yesterday. We were driving home from getting the cuts and I told them it was nice to see my beautiful boys again...haircuts make such a big difference! And then Ian said....so matter of factly.... "I know mom, we look like we could go to the prom....." It wouldnt have been so funny if he was joking. But he was dead serious and that is what is still cracking me up this morning......

Breathe In, Breathe out......

Do you ever have weeks where you just want to disappear for a few days and then re-appear and have everything worked out and put together? Well, that is me today. My head is swimming with to do lists, finances, kid stuff, you name it....its probably in there somewhere. I dont even want to start because then I will undoubtedly remember something else to take up that sliver of space that is left in my brain. AH!

We are having a guest(s) next week. Denvers cousin and her friend are coming into town for a wedding and are staying with us. Im trying to get the house ready for that. My parents are coming next week also plus it is Denvers birthday. Easter is the following week, our 10th anniversary is the same week as Easter, Im going to Vegas 2 weeks after that and then shoved somewhere either before Vegas or after Vegas is Evan and Addisons birthday. Baseball is starting for the boys the first week in April also and I cant even remember piano lessons half the time. I just realized that we missed Ian's lesson this week....AH! Of course each one of these items of business costs money so there is that to consider on top of everyday living. Calgon take me away! So, after I woke up from sleeping today (I worked last night) I took a shower and got the kids ready and just left the house for a while. Did a little shopping and got the boys hair cut. They desperately needed one! And of course we had to take pictures. They are funny about their hair. Ian has to have his hair smoothed over....not messy at all. Evan however loves his spiked up. Like black and white they are. (that sounded like a Yoda' ism)

Now I am home and still dreading the business at hand. The good news though is that it was 55 degrees today! Yay for Spring. I cant wait.

Fun with Evan....

Today I got to participate with Evan's class and read Dr. Suess books to them. The kids got to bring their blankets and pillows and we sat around and read 3 or 4 different Dr. Suess books. It was fun. The best part was how excited Evan was to have me in his class. Its nice to know that he isnt embarrassed by his mom just yet. :) I brought Addison and Soren with me since I really didnt have a choice, but that was fun too. All the little girls in the class wanted to play with Addie and Evans teacher had fun holding Soren while I read. It was a neat experience. I always love being able to do things like this with the boys. That is one reason why I work the shift that I do.....it is worth for days like today. Oh, and I guess the report cards for Evan wont be out until next week...it was a misprint.

I cut my hair yesterday....finally! I cant believe how long it had gotten. When my hair gets longer, it just gets bushy. I cant stand it. I still need to get some highlights but Im going to wait for my Vegas trip in April to do that. Anyway, I have lost 15 pounds since January. Im pretty excited about it even though I still have a long way to go. It is noticeable especially in my face. It is going to be a difficult time trying to get all of this weight off of me but Im feeling so motivated that I know I can do it by the end of the year. I go to the gym every morning at 5:30 so Im becoming a "morning person" which I never thought I would do. However, Im still struggling with going to bed before midnight.....Ive got to though or I wont last long! Last night I managed to go to bed by 10:40 which is better. Eventually

I need to be in bed by 9pm and then I will officially be an early to bed, early to rise person....Even though I do NOT like to have pictures of me taken and I especially dont post a lot of them on this blog, Im going to post my 2 face shots: the first is from January when I started my "healthier plan" (i dont want to call it a diet....because I need it to be permanent) the second taken yesterday.....I feel like you can see a difference in my face so I hope Im not dreaming! And please refrain from laughing....I know it will be hard for some of you, ha ha.

Wild and Wacky Wednesday.....& Report Cards!

This week at the kids' schools they are celebrating Dr. Suess' birthday. Apparently it was this past Sunday....who knew. Today at Evans school it's Wacky Wednesday where they were supposed to dress up in wild clothes and hair. Evan was very excited this morning and jumped out of bed. He was the most excited about spiking his hair all crazy. Of course I captured the wild man on camera and here are the pic's to prove that he went to school dressed like a crazy child.....

In other news, it is report card week for the boys. Ian's report card is always fun to decipher. You get 2 different reports. The first is the "regular" school district approved report card. For his grade the highest you can receive is a 3. Unfortunately this does nothing to help the ELP students parents understand how they are doing because his class always gets straight 3's due to the fact that they are more advanced. For example: the district number for where a 1st grader should be in his/her 3rd term of school is a 3.0 (this is based on some scale called STAR...????) Anyway, Ian's score on this scale is a 4.7....so you see 3's are what he always gets on the district report card. The ELP program instructors got together and decided one year to make their own report card to reflect the ELP students progress as compared with other ELP students. This way we have a better understanding of how they are doing. The scale is a 1-5.... 5's are rarely given out. Usually a child would have to have an almost autistic ability in something to receive a 5. A 1 would indicate maybe they should think about putting the student back into the regular ciriculum. So, after that lengthy explanation that Im sure you all care about, Ian's grades on the ELP report card were all 3's with a 4 in Science. Very good grades! In the behavior section he did well except he got a needs improvement in listening....being too social....and finishing his work on time. Gee sounds like how he acts at home! It's always such a relief to find out that he is doing well in the program. I always worry and wonder how he compares to other students. Right now I feel like he is in the middle to high end of the class.....so that is great! Evan gets his report card tomorrow so I will give the results then. But I know he is going to do just great.

Sunday Pics...

You know you blog a lot when your kids constantly ask you to take pictures of them to "put on the blog" . They wore their new church shirts today and Addie is in her new dress so I took some pictures and when we got home, Ian right away asked if it was time to put the pic's on the blog. Actually he stripped down first. I dont know where they got that from but the minute that our door closes, the clothes come off and they sit around in their underwear....stranges ones I tell ya! :) Enjoy your Sunday!

Random Things....

Evan claims he is the future President Lincoln.....mmmmm? I explained that Lincoln was the Presidents actual name and so Evan would have to be the future 'President Shannon' instead. He said Ok, but that he would still be LIKE President Lincoln, just with a different name. Ok then!

I asked Addison does she want to be President and this was her reaction....which is her reaction everytime I ask her a question with the camera in my hand.....goof ball

Here are my cute Nieces.....Kailey is almost 9 and loves cheerleading & High School Musical, of course. Kamryn is almost 4 and looks just like Addison or I guess it is more correct to say that Addison looks like her! Can you believe the resemblence? By the way, she is obviously being groomed by big sis to become a cheerleader too although I'd be willing to bet that when she gets older she is going to do her OWN thing. We miss you guys.....stop growing up will ya!

It is rainy and yucky outside with the news reports saying that it will turn to snow tonight. Great. Just what I wanted to hear....... I wish Spring would hurry up and get here already!