Food, glorious food

I was at a loss as what to write for this week's Thursday Thirteen list. I asked my kids for help and here is what they thought of. BEHOLD... the list of thirteen things (okay, really they are foods) that we like to buy from Costco.


1. Chicken Nuggets
2. Vitamins - these are Jonathan's favorite. Not because he likes vitamins so much, but because they are DINOSAUR shaped.
3. Capri-sun
4. Cheese sticks
5. Costco muffins -especially the chocolate ones. Mmmmm. Yummm. I have given them up though. Now I can only crave them from afar.
6. Bagels- except not anymore, what with me counting carbs and all these days. Stupid Diabetes!
7. Already cooked bacon- such a time saver! (And who doesn't like Bacon?)
8. Jamaica-me Sweet Hot and Spicy sauce - really good in tonights meatloaf
9. Rotisserie chicken
10. Costco cakes - I think I will buy one for Rachel's baptism day party and that will probably keep me good for a few years. Well, really it WON'T, but if I keep saying it maybe it will come true. Wishful thinking, right?
11. Fruit leather and fruit snacks - Jonathan would DIE if he didn't have one or the both of these to snack on every day.
12. Vegetable lasagna- I always try to have these in the freezer so that when I am stressed out when Mike is travelling, I can whip it out and it's almost like a homemade dinner. And it specifically has to be when he is travelling, since he doesn't like it.
13. Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches! Enough said.

Just for today (I hope)

I've got lots on my plate today. Oh yeah, I started a new medicine for my Diabetes (recently diagnosed and it sucks!) this week, so I have not been feeling great. Not that I feel any better today, but things have to be done around here! It's all piling up and I think that I've lost a kid or two in the mess. Yikes!
Here goes with my Thursday Thirteen:
1. Do our laundry (2 loads of darks, 2 loads of colors, and one load of whites).
2. Put chicken in the crockpot for dinner.
3. Get showered.
4. And dressed in something other than jammies.
5. Read from Harry Potter to Meghan and Rachel (it's a new thing I am starting-it might be put off until tomorrow).
6. Watch Mansfield Park that I recorded from Sunday when it was on PBS.
7. Maybe get a nap when Sidney and Jonathan go down for theirs...if I can get the bigger kids to cooperate too, that is.
8. Vacuum the living room so that Sidney can't find anything to put into her mouth from off the floor.
9. Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
10. Read everyone's blog. Don't feel bad if I don't comment on yours- it's likely that I won't get to it.
11. Color with Jonathan and Jenny.
12. Snuggle with Sidney.
13. Watch LOST!!!!!

The "Word Jail"

In an effort to curb the use of some words at our home, I copied the idea to have a "word jail" from someone that gave a Relief Society lesson once. So, for the last year or so, we have had a Word Jail at our house. It works like this:



Words that should not be used by children (or any of us, for that matter) are written down and that places them in the word jail. If the offending word is then said, a fine is charged.



My Thursday Thirteen for today are the words in our Word Jail----

1. Dumb

2. Stupid

3. But

4. Shut-up

5. Hate

6. Enemy

7. Kill

8. No- as in "No, I won't do what you say". I'm not THAT mean. My kids ARE still allowed to answer "yes or no" questions with the word "no".

9. The "A" word

10. The "S" word

11. The "F" word

12. Hell

13. FAT



Some words just shouldn't be said, right? (I hope you all know to what word I am referring)

What's in your cleaning bucket?

I cleaned a bathroom today. Yah, I know. WOOHOO! Go me! Whatever. I still have 2 more to go, plus laundry, plus vacuuming (which Mike and the kids will probably do if I wait long enough), plus sweep and mop the kitchen, etc etc etc.

You get my point.

Cleaning the bathroom, however, got me thinking. ( Scary, right? :D )
....And I thought about the products I was using to clean and it occured to me that a few of them I can NOT live without. It just is not the same without them. That is why I stock up on them and try, try, try not to run out of them.

Problem is I couldn't think of thirteen household products that I can't live without. And it's Thursday Thirteen folks! I can't just have a couple! So I have three. That's right, three. And your job is to leave a comment with the household thingies that you can't live without and together I am sure we will come up with 13. Go us! Hee hee

Without further ado:
1. Magic Eraser. I DON'T care that there is this email going around with pictures of a little boys face and hands that were "burned" by the chemicals in the eraser. I have used these things for years with not problems and I scrub like crazy, as do my kids. AND.... these suckers get ANYTHING off of ANYTHING! BUt hey, they are magic right?

2. Kirkland ('cuz I shop at Costco) cleaning wipes. LOVE these things. I use them to wipe down any surface and just like that...it is clean! Hooray!

3. Windex. What better invention is there than this? Oh don't spoil my fun by telling me that there is a better one. Just let me think that windex is the shiznizzle of cleaning products and let me be happy. And to clarify, I am not talking about Western Family brand glass cleaner. OH NO! Only brand name WINDEX for me.

So, there are my three. What are yours? Let me know!!!!

Dear Mr. Snowplow man,

I am so mad!
Thirteen things that I want to say to Mr. Snowplow man:

1. You are a jerk!
2. You are a big jerk!
3. Didn't you see me?
4. I was standing RIGHT THERE at the end of my driveway!
5. I was ALREADY shoveling the snow OUT OF THE WAY that you had just pushed to block the end of my driveway.
6. I was kind of in a hurry to leave.
7. And then I got stuck digging myself out AGAIN!
8. Did you hear me yell at you?
9. I was very mad!
10. I saw that you did this ALL OVER the neighborhood, not just in front of my house.
11. I bet other people were mad at you too.
12. It would've been better if you had just left the snow there to melt, because then I wouldn't have a 3 foot high mountain blocking the only exit from my house.
13. But I have the last laugh...my 4-wheel drive got me over Mt. Everest. HA HA

*but please don't do that again

Breakfast,anyone?

This morning we went to breakfast. In the 10+ years that I have lived in Utah I have never eaten at "Doug & Emmy's Family Restaurant and Cafe" in Layton. This restaurant is pretty cool and it used to be the old train depot. It is redone into a restaurant now and serves tons of good home cooking.

Here are my thirteen favorite breakfast foods from Doug & Emmy's (and pretty much anywhere else):

1. Pancakes- the classic is the best.

2. Biscuits and Gravy- for the carb addict this rocks!

3. Scrambled eggs- Mike likes his eggs over-easy. I say, why eat them raw when you can have them cooked?

4. Sausage- in links or patties, this is my favorite!

5. Bacon- my kids could eat this all day long and still be skinnier than rails.

6. Hot chocolate- always a plus on cold days,with lots of whipped cream on top. MMMMM!

7. Orange Juice- yummmmm! (Just not right after I have brushed my teeth, okay?)

8. Syrup - My husband says this is a condiment, not a food. Whatever. On my list, it's whatever I say it is.

9. Hashbrowns- hello, potatoes. What's wrong with that?

10. S.O.S.- **** on a shingle. Mike had to explain that one to me. Seriously, I did not know. It was a yummy gravy on top of hashbrowns. Rachel was not a fan of this, but I sure liked it!

11. Scones WITH honey-butter - OH MY FREAKIN HECK! Their scones were sooooo good.

12. Krispy Kreme Donuts- yummy on-the-go, or not breakfast (and anytime) food. Not offered at Doug & Emmy's, but still had to be a part of my list.

13. Fruit- I have to make my list kind of health conscious ya know.

Thursday Thirteen...celebrating MEGHAN!!!

Wow! Thursday 13 again! Didn't I just do it? Maybe I should rethink this.
Anyway, this weeks edition is devoted to my sweet Meghan. She turns 9 years old today!

So without further ado...here we go.

#1 This is the first picture that we ever took of Meghan. I will always remember her this way, even as she grows older and gets a bigger attitude. She was 4 years old when we met her and she always smiled and her eyes truly seemed to sparkle.

#2 This is Meghan and I on the third day that we visited her at the orphanage. We got to take her for an outing and so we got her all bundled up and away we went.

#3 Meghan on her first day of Kindergarten! She was so excited. Don't ya love the pose?

#4 Meghan (on the left) and Rachel in their costumes for their dance recital.

#5 Meghan with Princess Atta in Bug's Land at California Adventure. This was from our first jaunt to Disneyland in 2003. Meghan had only seen this movie (A Bug's Life) one time, but she still wanted to take a picture with Atta.

#5 This is her and her birthday treat for her 6th birthday. We always let the kids pick if they want a cake or not and for this year she chose ice cream sundaes.

#6 She is always willing to let me snap funny pictures of her. This one also includes her sister Jenny (left) and Rachel (right).

#7 Meghan and her broken arm. Oh yeah! Monkey bars are death traps! She was "trying to fly" and fell off them the beginning of the school year of 2nd grade.

#8 Seriously, could she be any cuter?

#9 Meghan dressed as a DIVA for Halloween. Sometimes she acts like it is Halloween again, just with no costume.

#10 Meghan and her friends for her 8th birthday party. I gave manicures and that is what they are all showing off in the picture.
#11 She claims this is her first snowman. Lest you think that my kids have no opportunities for fun...this is not her first, but rather her 5th or 6th. I just didn't think I needed to document every single one of them just to prove it isn't the first. Sheesh!

#12 Meghan and her dad on her baptism day last January. She describes this day as "one of the best EVER".

#13 Trapped by Jafar when we went to Disneyland in October. She seriously giggled the whole time!

As you can see, we feel really blessed to have this special and sweet spirit in our home. Happy Birthday Meghan dear!!!!

UPDATE: Yes,I did just barely realize that I can't count and I have two number 5's. It's a crazy week, what can I say?!

Thursday Thirteen - What is that supposed to mean?

Todays Thursday Thirteen is featuring 13 license plates I have seen around these parts in the last week and what I think they mean...
You know what I am talking about- those "personalized" ones. UGH, right? Actually, I have always thought they are pretty cool and even told my husband that I would like one for my car that says "PEZLADY". But, instead...we have the BYU plates and they can not be personalized. My problem with these license plates is that sometimes the message or whatever on them is only understandable to the person driving the car. How fair is that? Can't the rest of us be in on your little joke too? Here are my 13 examples:

1. RUCOMFY - this one I actually get. My neighbor does furnaces and air conditioning and this is on his work truck.
2. NDR2END - HUH??? I have tried everyway I can possibly think to figure this out and I must just be too stupid.
3. DR DNA - This car is always at the school to pick a kindergartener at the same time that I am. Is the person that drives it (or the spouse) a Doctor that studies DNA? You got me!
4. MUGLMOM - my only guess is that this person is a fan of Harry Potter and simply interested in stating that she is not a wizard.
5. REBAFAN - I pass this little truck every day on the way to school. My guess: Someone is a BIG fan of Reba McEntire. I am too, but I am not sure that I would put it on my license plate.
6. RU L8 2 - This is one of my faves...And I am!!!
7. BIG HAIR - this belongs to a person on my BFF's PTA committee. She has big hair, so there you go.
8. IZMINE - this was on a sassy little sports car. I guess they don't want you thinking you can borrow it.
9. MAUIGRL - I think she likes Hawaii. Probably wishes she were there right now since it is so stinkin' cold!
10. SECRET - Well, your license plate sure isn't! The secret's out just in case you didn't know.
11. OLEEE 1 - Once again, I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. I kinda wish I did.
12. FLYNAVY - Supporting your armed troops is my only guess for this one.
13. U II - I think this one is a play on words (aren't they all?). Trying to say that they are University of Utah or "U" fans and "II" for too. I think

Kinda fun, huh?

What's its name?

Today's Thursday Thirteen is devoted to the stuffed animals in our house. Some of them have unique names, others...not so much! But, I give all the credit to my spazo kids for the naming.

1. "Pups"- this is Jonathan's little squishy stuffed puppy. One time he went to stay at Grandma's house and forgot Pups. Grandma had to mail him to us. That was the longest week ever being without the favorite toy.

2. "Uni"- this is Jenny's purple unicorn. Her primary teacher gave it to her for Valentines Day.

3. "Tiger"

4. "Moo cow"

5. "Monkeyshine"

6. "Ribbit"- Jenny's first toy was a small frog. She got it right after the adoption when we were teaching her English. Since we were teaching the sounds that animals make, it only made sense to name him Ribbit.

7. "Froggy"

8. "Tot"- Meghan's tator tot toy from Sonic.

9. "Spicy Tot"- Jonathan's tator tot toy from Sonic. It has flames on it. Hence, the "spicy".

10. "Horny-head"- Jonathan's stuffed Triceratops that Sidney gave him for his birthday.

11. "Gorilla"

12. "Lamby"

And last but not least...

13. "Taddy"- my Teddy bear from when I was a kid. And yes, I still HAVE it!

Thursday Thirteen

So I was thinking of starting a "new" thing on my blog. I already have my Wednesday quiz and I saw this "Thursday Thirteen" on someone else's blog and since I am a cheater pants and a stealer I stole it and am using it on my blog. Ha Ha

I'm not really sure how Thursday 13 is supposed to work, but on my blog, it will consist of my thoughts for that day or things I plan to do. Basically it will be random thoughts on an assigned day. Exciting stuff, huh?

Here goes:

1. Handy Manny on Disney Channel is a pretty cute show for kids. My little boy loves it.
2. I am tired of winter and the cold already.
3. Boogers and snuffy noses suck. Well, to be precise, they do NOT actually suck, but I think you all understand what I am trying to say.
4. Dick Nourse retired from KSL as the anchorman after 43 years last night. Crazy!
5. I made bread this morning.
6. It is my attempt at using my food storage items and being prepared.
7. Plus it is saving us money since I don't have to buy the bread.
8. My wheat grinder is VERY loud.
9. People should not kidnap their 20 year old daughters and take them out of the state so that they miss their wedding. I'm just saying.
10. I'm doing babysitting kits with my Activity Days girls. Should be fun.
11. I need to finish scanning old pictures into my computer today. It might not happen until tomorrow or I don't even know when.
12. I finished "Eclipse" yesterday. Now I am bummed out that the next book doesn't come out until next year.
13. Thinking of 13 things to write was harder than I thought.