"To Dog or not to Dog"

That is the question. This past week we have spent dog-sitting my mom's shiht-zu Molly. I never thought I would like a little house dog but we have thoroughly enjoyed her. My kids have been begging us for another dog ever since we put Sam to sleep. I have said that if we do ever get another dog it will be an "inside" one so we can actually play with it. I have spent hours the past few weeks on KSL classifieds and Craiglist searching for the "right" dog for us. Here is the criteria:

1. Cannot shed
2. Cannot stink
3. Cannot pee in the house (or poop)
4. Cannot bark
5. No puppies.

I have had a hard time finding one! Actually I have had to modify the list a little. I still don't want one that sheds. The stinking I think I can control with frequent trips to the groomers. I definitely want one that is house-broken. (please..I already have one in diapers and one in pull-ups!) and I would prefer one that is at least 1 year old. I am thinking after doing my research that I would want a Shihtzu (by the way..what do you call a mix between a bull-dog and a shihtzu? I'll let you figure it out. Noah has gotten a lot of mileage out of this joke!) I would also consider a cock-a-poo, a maltese poodle, a pekinese or a lahsa-apso? The problem is, Alan wants a hunting dog and aside from a lab, they are UGLY, they STINK and they SHED! The kids and I agree on wanting a little dog and as of now..it looks like we are winning the battle. What do you think? Am I crazy for wanting to take this on? or should I leave my already crazy household as it is.

p.s. I have actually been driving around with this dog on my LAP all week. I never thought I would do that. Of course I never thought I would let my kids wear Spider-Man crap either! (pictured below-zoom in!)

Classic Connor Statement!

"Mom, old people aren't cute...they're just all gross and moldy!"

Families are Forever...

I know we all find comfort in these three words but there are days when I really have say..."Do I really have to deal with these kids for an eternity?" Let me explain. Getting ourselves out the door for church each week is quite a feat when we start at 9am. Well, getting ourselves back home from church has proved to be the more difficult task these days. No matter how simple we try to make it...(everyone meet at the exact same spot each week after church)....it never seems to happen. Today was no exception. After rounding up the gang, Connor caught wind that Noah and his friend were walking home from church and of course he wanted to join them. We knew that would not be a good idea so we told him "no". Well that didn't fly. He threw a major hissy fit in the hall, kicking and screaming and calling his dad an "idiot". One of kids from a more "righteous" family turned to him and said "hey..that's a swear word at our house!" So, while Alan is dealing with him, Abby has decided to take this opportunity to show her independence and insists on walking by herself all the way to the car. I picked her up kicking and screaming and put her in the car along with another kicking and screaming child who by now was saying he "hates us!" Alan and I both looked at each other like... "and our family is supposed to be better from going to church?" After arriving home it was child abuse time. That consisted of Alan and I holding Connor down and putting tabasco sauce in his mouth. I felt kind of bad but not really! He was then sent to his room where he proceeded to scream more obscenities at us. (These included more of I hate you's..shut ups and an occasional you idiot!) So back upstairs for more tabasco! Back down to his room and then back up for this time..cucumber melon flavored soap! (obviously the tabasco wasn't working!) Well after about 45 min of this, he finally conked out and went to sleep. He woke up an hour later and said "the bad Connor had gone away and the good Connor was back!" So, as much as I love my darling family pictured above, there are days when I wonder if I can really endure this for an eternity!

There, I have just "aired my dirty laundry" for the week! Just in case you were thinking we were PERFECT! ha ha

Chicken Tacos with a Twist

Dinner tonight was a "slam dunk" as April would put it. I was feeling unmotivated to do anything that took effort so I pulled out the crockpot, put in some frozen chicken breasts, dumped some leftover salsa from the fridge and decided "hey, why not throw some brown sugar in it as well!(knock off of Cafe Rio pork) Well about 4 hours later after some pinto beans, sour cream, cheese, romaine and of course homemade tortillas from Costco--voila...the best darn chicken tacos I've ever made! Everyone loved them! Sometimes the least effort provides the best results, huh?

This post is dedicated to all of my "new recipe starved friends"

What's a girl to do without good friends?

As a young girl, I don't remember my mom "hanging out" with friends. She seemed like such a "mom" to me and "moms" just didn't do that. Well, either times have changed or I haven't started to act like a "real mom" yet. I often think about the wonderful friends I have in my life. I feel so blessed to have so many. They all have such unique personalities that have truly helped to shape me into who I have become and still want to become. Every close friendship that I have is an influence for good. Some friends help me to become more spiritual, some to be less critical, some to laugh a little more, some to be a better homemaker, some to be a better listener, some to serve more and all of them help me to be a better mother! (If you're reading this and trying to figure out which friend you are...don't!) I honestly don't know how you get through this difficult yet beautiful life without friends to share in your sorrows as well as your joys. I am just grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such great friendships that I know will last a lifetime! I hope I can always be deserving of this wonderful blessing.

Now enough of the mushy stuff..did you guys have a great weekend? Because I sure did!!!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Today is my baby's 2nd birthday and I am sad and also glad at the same time. Sad because she is growing up way too fast and she is my last baby. Glad because she is finally old enough for me to buy her "girly" things. As of tonight, we have a pink doll stroller rolling around our house and I could not be happier! This is my chance to "play house" as an adult! We had such a fun evening with her running around in her "princess" outfit. She was pushing her new "Merdaid" doll around in the stroller and drinking gatorade out of her new tea set! (I had no idea about the gatorade...Connor apparently put some in the teapot!) Anyway, I love this little girl with all of my heart and only hope that when she is older she will still love me and want to be my friend. I hope she still won't be hanging on my leg and calling me "Kristen" all day! I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane...so here's to you Abby!

Tonight on her 2nd birthday!
These are her "Look Connor..I'm a princess!" poses.
Is she cute or what?

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween night and as tradition goes, Alan is out with the little kids trick-or-treating and I get to be the one home passing out candy. (I love that part!) The big boys? Well they are on their own this year. Later we will head over to the campfire and homemade donuts at the swim club and then on to our neighbors "haunted garage" for ice cream and nachos. Yes I am hating it--no self control! Oh and just wait for the kids to fall asleep tonight so I can rummage through all their candy and take out all the snickers bars and almond joys. yum yum! Oh I just love the holidays! As you can see, my kids look pretty cute this year. Noah insisted on being "Hannah Montana" (in case you couldn't figure that one out) but I think he pulled it off okay. Zach pretty much just looked in our costume closet and found something he could put on to justify going trick-or-treating since I told him this is his last year. Connor, well let's just say he can play up ANY PART to the "T". At his preschool parade today, all the other kids were pretty reserved and were all in these cute costumes and Connor was running around scaring everyone with his fangs! He had all the moves down and believed completly that he was a real vampire! Abby is just as cute as a "bug"!

Pumpkin Carving at its Best!

The kids wanted to carve pumpkins the other night and Alan and I both looked at each other with dread knowing it had to be done but neither having the energy to accomplish the task. Thank goodness for an ambitious, excited and overzealous 12 yr old who immediately put newspapers out on the driveway, got out all the appropriate tools, and even thought to set bowls out to put the guts in. It wasn't long before they needed help cutting and scooping and before we knew it, Alan and I were right in the thick of things carving our OWN pumpkins. Thanks to Alan's parents for growing enough for everyone in the family. Anyway, for what seemed like a daunting task, it actually turned out to be quite fun and was a bonding experience for the whole family. No one was fighting. Zach and Noah were actually complimenting each other and encouraging one another which is a rarity in our home. Connor of course picked the biggest pumpkin and as you can see drew the face all by himself... and Abby? She just drew all over herself with marker.

And I wonder why I feel FAT...

I am cursing Alan's dad right now for giving me bags of fresh apples picked from their trees. They happen to grow the BEST apples! Well, since then, an apple pie has been calling my name. This is the reason that I curse his dad. (not really) Growing up, I hated fruit oriented desserts. (cobblers, pies, apple crisp, etc.) They always seemed like "old lady" desserts. Well, I guess I have become an old lady because I would now almost always pick pie over cake. Alan's dad is quite the pie maker and a few years ago I wanted to challenge myself to learn to make pie and I have to admit, I succeeded. It is Sunday afternoon and afterall, what is Sunday without a yummy dessert? So I have been in the kitchen the past hour making an apple pie. Considering I ate half of a HUGE piece of Mud Pie last night on our double date with Katie and Josh and today will be indulging myself in a rather large piece of apple pie..it is no wonder that I feel I am busting out of my jeans! All of my efforts to go to the gym this past month are not paying off and my lack of self control in the area of food is the reason. Why can't I be like Brooke and be satisfied with only a sliver? Should I wait until after the holidays to begin to restrain myself or should I use the upcoming holiday season to learn some self control?

p.s Abby laid in her crib for over 2 hours attempting to take a nap this afternoon. She never cried..just hollered out a few times for a drink or to tell me she pooped. I finally conceeded and got her up and she said "nice nap mom!" She is so funny!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall?

Is it a Man Thing?

I am not much of a TV watcher in the summer. I have to admit though, as soon as it gets dark and cold at night, one of my favorite things to do is wash my face, brush my teeth, get in my cozy pajamas and ......turn on the TV! 9pm has become one of my most favorite times of day. My house is almost always quiet and I can hardly wait to get down under my big fluffy comforter and watch something really uplifting and inspirational on tv. (like The Bachelor!) It really frustrates me when they get you all hyped up for a new season of shows and then they start throwing some old episodes in with the new. (Like we aren't supposed to notice that Olivia from Law & Order SVI has her hair super short in some episodes and long in others?) Anyway, the inspiration for this blog came from the sudden panic that just came over me when I just realized that it's pushing 9pm and Alan actually got to the remote before I did. Which means he will be lying in bed channel surfing for the next 30 min. Then before he can get involved in any particular show he will break out into a loud snore and I will be ticked because it is 9:30 and any show I wanted to watch would be half-way over. Should that bug me? Because it kinda does!

Is channel surfing a "man thing"? or is it just an "Alan Thing"?

The Chicken Cordon Bleu was a Hit!

What's on the table this week...

Wow, second week in a row of meals planned and we actually ate all of them minus the tomato soup and grilled cheese so as you will see it has moved into this week's spot. I have planned another menu for this week and thought you would like to get ideas or copy the exact menu as my sister Tara did last week. (Her poor kids. They are at my mercy now with what shows up on their table!)
*** Chicken Cordon Bleu (as per Zach's request)
*** Cahoon's Pot Roast (the best pot roast EVER!)
*** Hamburger Casserole (Johnson Family Cookbook p. 55 -for my sisters' sake)
(basically hamb, corn, cr mush, cr chick soups, sour cream, onion, egg noodles, bread crumbs- sounds good and EASY!)
*** Parmesan Chicken and Lemon Peel/Zucchini Pasta (sounds fancy but it's not)
*** Chili Verde Pork Burritos
*** Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Side note: I have decided that while I may be an okay cook, I am a terrible baker! (except for my mean apple pie!) Lately, I burn every batch of cookies, my zucchini bread is soggy in the middle and my apple crisp that I made Sunday night was yucky! The apples were crunchy. I had it at a party and it was AWESOME! I followed the recipe to a "T" and it was gross. (I thought it was anyway..Zach has been eating it for 2 days straight! It's so great having a 12 yr old in the house that's the size of a small horse-literally!)

p.s. is my blog hard to read? or is it just me? it kind of makes my eyes hurt but it sure looks cute, huh?

Bye Bye Binky?

Do you ever feel like as a mom, it's easier to see what other people's kids "should" or "shouldn't" be doing but don't have a clue what YOU are doing? I had one of those moments today as I realized how often I am SHOVING a binky in my daughter's mouth anytime she bawls or even starts to stick her bottom lip out. (slight exaggeration-it's not that bad! Well, she does have it in her mouth most of the time.) I think it finally hit that I was making a big mistake when I realized her top teeth are starting to buck out a little from sucking on the darn thing so much. Okay she just came up to me while I am writing this and saw the picture of her with her binky and immediately started crying for her binky. Do I need to say any more?
So here is my question..Is it bad to let her keep it for a while longer since she is my baby and it makes her seem more babyish as she is approaching 2? If I am going to make the separation, do I do it gradually like just start giving it to her for naps and bedtime? Or do I just be heartless and cut the nipple off like others have suggested? Please help me! If this were your child I would have all kinds of wisdom to share with you but I am not the most objective parent right now!

What's on YOUR dinner plate?

With the cool weather upon us, I am anxious to get back into my routine of cooking. There is nothing worse for me than to look at the clock, realize it's 5pm and I have NO idea what I am going to make for dinner! For those of you who know me well, know that I am kind of a planner. I enjoy making lists each morning of what I need to do that day and TRYING to accomplish those things. Although I have to admit, the things I don't want to do almost always end up coming up again on the next day's list. Anyway, for several years now I have become pretty consistent at planning out my weekly menus. I SWEAR by this! I like to even plan when we are going to eat what depending on who will be home and what activities we have planned that night. It saves me several trips to the grocery store and in turn, saves me $$$! Well, as I started "planning" my day today, I came up with several meals that I had previously purchased the stuff for and here is what I came up with. I post this not to BOAST at my fancy dinners (which you can see they are not!) but to give you an idea of what WE eat on a given week. I am always wondering what other people eat for dinner? Do they regularly eat Hamburger Helper and Fish Sticks? or are they Chicken Marsala kind of people? I think we are somewhere in between. Dinners at the C house this week will consist of the following:

**Chicken Noodle Soup (made from leftover Rotisserie Chicken from Costco)

**French Dip Sandwiches

**Creamy Pesto Pasta w/Chicken (Knorr's seasoning packet--very yummy!)

**Chili and Cheese Baked Potatoes (leftover chili from conference sunday)

**Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (Noah's favorite and total copout dinner)

**Beef Enchiladas

As you can see, we are not too fancy at our house but the ultimate goal is to get everyone fed and to hopefully "sit down together for family dinner" as Elder Dallin H. Oaks pointed out the importance of in conference. Do you remember the statistics he gave-something like 40% of kids who regularly sit down and eat family dinner, stay away from drugs and alcohol. (something like that.) This just reinforced to me how important this really is. I love to get ideas and suggestions for new meals and something about the fall weather really gets me excited to start cooking nice meals again for my family so do you mind letting me know "What's on Your dinner plate?"

SpiderMan..SpiderMan..Does Whatever a Spider Can!

Spins a web..any size...Catches criminals..just like flies!

Okay scarey, huh! I know the song! This blog is dedicated to my sweet 4year old. With Halloween upon us I think maybe we might retire the spidey costume and explore other options. As of now, he wants to be a MUMMY!! oooh scarey! It HAS to be scarey! So what...do I wrap him in toilet paper? I will have to think about this one.

I have to tell a funny Connor story. The other day he did something that made me REALLY mad. He does this so often that I cannot even remember what it was. Anyway we were in the car and I told him when we got home he was going to have to go to time out. He said "mom, that was just the BAD Connor that said that so you can only put the BAD Connor in time out!" I kind of ignored him and as soon as we got home I went to put him in time out and he said "No, I am the NICE Connor so you can't put me in time out!" I said, "where is the BAD Connor?" He said "He's not here anymore it's only ME the NICE Connor!" Nice try, huh!

By the way, he insisted on wearing his costume (mask and all) to the primary program practice last week. We were in the chapel and here he is sitting up on the stand in his costume! It was pretty funny I must admit!

Chiroptophobia aka Fear of Bats!!!

Many of us have developed phobias over they years. I have a small fear of heights but not enough to consider it a phobia. I do however have a fear of BATS! Let me explain where this fear originated from. Growing up in Michigan, we lived in several different homes. My mom apparently had a "phobia" of staying in the same house too long. Well, we finally settled down in an old and rather large home set on a wonderful street that was just two blocks from town. I especially liked it because it was only a few houses down from my boyfriend's house. Well, this quickly became another home remodeling project as did most of our previous homes. My mom has an incredible talent of turning anything into something beautiful. This home actually had a lot of potential and it wasn't long before it became an amazing place to live. (except for the bats that is!) There were four stories to this house and the 4th consisted of two bedrooms and a large attic type storage room. (if I remember correctly). Tara and I quickly turned this level of the home into our own "private quarters". We each had a darling room with a little nook where we put our beds. Well, these little "nooks" soon became my place of terror. I spent night after night lying in bed hearing bats fluttering and screeching in my wall behind my bed. My parents finally took action and hired an exterminator. He found hundreds of them in the attic hanging like clusters of grapes. (am I exaggerating Tara? I don't think so!) He got rid of them. However, several of them were forced into the rest of the house and it wan't uncommon to have a bat dart above your head every now and again. So tell me this, do I have reason to have "Chiroptophobia"?

I Need to go to Bloggers Anonymous!

I have decided I have a serious problem. I have become addicted to blogging. I am no longer in denial..it is out in the open. It's all my sister's fault..afterall she got me started. I am in a slump. I am only getting the bare necessities done. I now have 3 hours each day in which I have a completely quiet house with NO ONE bugging me and I am wasting my time. Now I know blogging is not a WASTE of time but there are much more productive things I could be doing especially because most of the people I blog with I pretty much talk to almost everyday anyway. What is it about blogging that is so appealing? (to me anyway)

Please help me! Do I need a life? Maybe so. I keep thinking of all the things I could be doing with my "spare time" and quickly think, "who cares if my storage room is cleaned out or not?" or "do I really need to go around and dust all my light fixtures?"

The laundry is usually done, the house shouldn't be condemned, most evenings I have a hot meal on the table (even if it is tomato soup and grilled cheese) and most of the beds get made. Is there really any more that HAS to be done? Nobody really cares but me. The kids could care less. My hubby never complains as long as he has clean "g's" and pants to wear to work. So why am I feeling guilty?

Should I take a "blogging leave of absence" or would you miss me? I am setting myself up with that question, huh?

Thank Goodness for Pools

I just returned from visiting Tara in Arizona. All I can say is thanks goodness she has a pool because IT WAS HOT! The little kids literally swam all day long. They were little fish! It was so fun to watch them. It was about the only activity that didn't cause "gender issues" between C and E. The rest of the time they were arguing about "girl" things and "boys" for example according to E bees "only sting boys" which of course put C in an uproar. E finally convinced C to play barbie.com but it did't last long. They would move on to playing house and C insisted on being "Alan" and E wanted to be "Tara". Well I informed them that it wasn't the most appropriate idea so Emma agreed to become "Kristen". Tara and I were laughing at them. They were so cute. A pretty much followed them around trying to keep her bangs out of eyes. She told Tara that hair was "broken". I had a great time and at times like this am glad my sisters live out of state because then I get to go visit them! I love you Tara!

Internet Safety

Last week we had a youth fireside for parents and youth on Internet Safety. We had a woman Linda Criddle speak to us. She has a written a book called Look Both Ways. I know a few of you are already doing some of these things but for some of us who are new to the blogging world I thought I would post a few of her cautionary suggestions.

1. Avoid using specific names on your blogs especially your childrens. Don't make reference to your last name either. It takes only seconds for people to do a search and come up with a name, address and phone#.
2. Be careful of the pictures you post. Make sure they don't have a lot of personal information on them (ie. house number in background-if it's your home, school team names, street names, license plates, etc.)
3. Be careful of information we talk about on our blogs. (ie. kids schedules, school names, when we are out of town, when our fellow bloggers are out of town, etc.)
4. Avoid posting "online quizzes" on your blogs. Often they give out way too much personal information.
5. Consider only letting a "restricted" set of people to view your blogs.
6. Remember "a friend of a friend" is a STRANGER to us. Everyone knows a criminal. We just may not know they are a criminal.
7. Avoid using public information as password for accounts, etc. (ie. marriage date, high school graduation date, birthdates, maiden names, etc.) Especially for the password memory refresher questions.

These are just a few of the key ideas that I jotted down during the fireside. This woman is basically hired to "act like a predator" in finding information on people from their websites, blogs, etc. She has actually called some of the people who's blogs have been too "public" and relayed all the information that she had gathered about their lives and it freaked many of them out. She especially mentioned "My Space" and other websites like it.

She pointed out that she didn't want to scare people away from the internet but just wanted people to take these things into consideration. There are predators out there who are specifically looking for people to scam, take advantage of and even worse. It was sure an eye opener to me. I think it's especially important for us to think about when we get to the stage where our children may "chat" with their friends or even have "innocent" blogs themselves.

Her website is http://www.look-both-ways.com/

Are you like me and whenever you see a recipe that calls for white wine you skip right over it no matter how good it looks? For some reason the idea of having to make a trip to the liquor store seems quite intimidating and a little scarey. Call me sheltered if you will but I don't even know where the nearest liquor store is let alone what kind of "white wine" to buy for cooking purposes. Today I was emailed by a good friend from back home in Michigan. She sent me a (what appears to be) a yummy recipe for chicken that she makes quite often. It seems I have heard that cooking wine is not the same thing and will not give you what you are hoping to achieve in a recipe. I checked on the internet and one site said to try white grape juice. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Yes..I'm Lovin' It!!!

I must admit, for the past year and a half people have been asking me "So what's it like having a girl? Is she different than your boys?" and I pretty much have told everyone that same thing. "She's not that much different yet..I just get to dress her a lot cuter. "

Well, I can say with a surety now that SHE IS DIFFERENT!! She has turned WAY GIRLY on me and I have to say I'm lovin' it! She discovered these cowboy boots in her closet a few weeks ago and wants to wear them ALL THE TIME! She FREAKS out if I don't put them on. I'm talking throw herself down and have a major hissy fit until she gets her way. Anytime I pull out an outfit she hasn't seen yet she says "Cuuuute!" and wants to put it on. This is why she is wearing a sweatshirt with her cowboy boots when it's pushing 100 degrees outside. I could go on and on and on about all the girly things she does but I am sure no one will find them as cute as I do..so all I can say is "YES...I am lovin' it!"

and her brother sure loves her too!

Football For Dummies!

Okay, one of my worst fears has come true. One of my children has taken up a sport that I know NOTHING about. I have never understood football, have never even liked football and now I look like an idiot parent! N had his first game on Saturday and I had a few different moms ask me what position he played and I'm like "I don't really know" (what positions ARE there?) Crap until Saturday I didn't even realize what number he was. For the record in case I forget..it's 41. We will be spending the next 9 Saturdays at games so I better get a crash course on the game. Maybe we could read this for our next book club??

Here is a picture of him from his game. Notice the nice sweaty-do! He's pretty cute though!

New Read for Book Club

We are going to read this for Book Club this month. I am pretty excited because it looks really good. I just thought I would post this to remind you fellow book clubbers to reserve it at the library and for those of you who read this blog, I will keep you posted on how it is.
http://www.holtzbrinckpublishers.com/images/Books/ReadersGuides/0312199430RG.pdf

Josh Groban Forever!!

Last night I had the pleasure of going to see Josh Groban in concert! I know I know...Colin Raye, REO Speedwagon and now JOSH? I seriously NEVER go to concerts and within one week I have been to two. Anyway, despite the fact that I came down with a major nose runner of a cold just hours before I left for the concert and spent the remaining time blowing my nose throughout the ENTIRE concert, IT WAS FABULOUS!!! Boy can that guy sing!! I cannot believe how powerful his voice is. He was so cute, so witty, so down to earth and SO TALENTED! I pretty much fell in love with him for the night. Don't worry Alan, as soon as I came home to your sweet melodies of snoring softly in my bed next to me, I was over Josh! I have wanted to see him in concert forever and it was better than I could have anticipated! If any of you get the chance to see him..DO IT!