Brittany's bridal gown

Here is the picture of my youngest Brother Kirk's wedding to his wife in the white dress SIL Brittany. The wedding was in May but I am including it today because I thought I should keep a post of what sewing projects I am working on. Mostly so I can feel good that I am accomplishing something tangible. (Oh ya that guy on the right is my younger Brother Calvin who is married to Brenda.

Today my SIL Brenda called and she was at the bridal shop that Brittany picked the style from, helping her friend with her wedding dress and she said she saw the dress that I copied and she was so amazed at how well it turned out. She always makes me feel so good about myself. I love her.

I know this is not a good picture of the dress and I will try to get a better one from Brittany. This was one of the only projects I did in 2007. It was difficult. I only had pictures to go by and there were some design details that I just made up as I went along. The dress was probably a little tight but that's a mistake I couldn't foresee. The original dress was sleeveless and strapless. She needed something that would be modest for the temple. She had tried this dress on and asked if I could copy it. I told her I would try and that I would make no promises but I would get it as close as possible. She said she would be happy with whatever I could do. And she meant it. She was very easy to work with.

The only problem I had was with bustling the train. I hadn't really done that too many times before. I followed the instructions in my handy sewing guide but the loops kept breaking. Tomorrow Brenda is bringing over her friend's dress and we are going to bustle it. I will see what I can figure out.

My current project is alterating my Grandma's temple dress. It's nearly done but I fitted her one more time today before I completely finish and it looks great. I am glad. It's always stressful when I start cutting things up and hope I get them put back together correctly and cut correctly. I just have to trust my judgement. I have made mistakes but luckily not any huge ones.

Warning about Zesty Minestrone

Warning because of the high bean content in my Zesty Minestrone recipe it might make you gassy. I will not give details on how I know that but just trust me.

Zesty Minestrone and Italian Rolls

I tried a new recipe tonight that I got from kraftfoods.com. It turned out good and it was really filling. I was surprised some of my kids ate it since it was so colorful. They usually only go for the monochromatic meals.

Then I made Italian rolls to go with it. I have been making these a long time. They don't always turn out pretty for me but they are so yummy. I make the dough in my breadmaker.

Here are the recipes:

Zesty Minestrone

1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

1 cup chopped onions (about 1 medium)

3/4 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

3/4 cup chopped carrots (about 2)

1 can diced tomatoes (14 1/2 oz.), undrained

2 cans red kidney beans (19 oz.), drained, rinsed

2 cans vegetable broth (14 oz.)

2 1/2 cups water

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

2 cups small shell macaroni, uncooked

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese

1. HEAT dressing in a large nonsitck skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and carrots; cook 2 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Spoon into slow cooker. Add tomatoes, beans, broth, water and Italian seasoning; stir. Cover with lid

2. COOK on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.

3. STIR in macaroni; cook 15-20 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.

Jazz it up: For extra flavor stir i8 crisply cooked slices of bacon into the soup just before serving.

Note: I changed the recipe a little from the original to make a larger pot of soup.

Quick Italian Rolls

1/2 cup water, warm

1 cup milk, warm

1 egg

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. italian seasoning

1/2 cup parmesan

4 cups bread flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat and 3 cups better for bread white flour)

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Dump all ingredients into the bread maker in the order given and let it run on dough setting. When done melt some extra butter or margarine. Divide dough into 4 then into 4 again. Dip each roll into butter then in some additional grated parmesan cheese. Place in well greased 13 x 9 pan. Cover-put in warm oven for 10 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Yummy!

Update on the sick people:

I took Ballerina back to the doctor. He apologized for my bad experience with the on call Dr. He listened to her lungs and said she does have Bronchitis so we started anitbiotics. He told me that I need to make sure all messages go directly to him or to his nurse not the triage nurse. He said he will always make time for my family even if his schedule is full. I loooove my Dr. My DH won't be jealous because I have said that so many times. He likes our Dr. too.

Em is very sick too, Dr. listened to her lungs and she sounds fine. She still has a coming and going fever and her eyes and nose look like little waterfalls. She keeps telling me she isn't sick. I tell her she sounds like her Dad.

DH stayed home from work today and slept on the couch. He has to be really really sick to miss work. He also missed his church meetings and a work meeting tonight. If he stays home tomorrow he will miss several important things. We'll see how he does because he still has a fever. I feel bad for him.

We've been watching a lot of TV while everyone has been sick. It will be a hard habit to break.

Sick Count is 3

Ballerina is still sick, she'll be going back to the Dr. tomorrow AM.

Em is on her 4th day of being sick.

DH came home sick today and thinks he can sleep it off in one night. It's only been 3 weeks since he was sick last. He's pretty mad about it.

Walking on water

Mya is showing us how thick the block of ice is that they pulled out of the pond.

Mya is standing on the frozen pond water.

5:00

I have been doing some really spacey things lately. I am too emberrassed to mention them all. I have decided the reason for them is so that I learn to laugh at myself more.

Well the one lately is that I changed Mya's piano lesson time and I can't seem to remember it. Last week was the first one at the new time. Tuesday at 5:00 pm. Even though I knew it was at 5:00 I forgot and thought it was at 5:30. So at 5:19 I realized my mistake. Her lessons are only 30 minutes. We went to the lesson anyway and her very nice teacher rescheduled me for the next day. I told Mya and DH that we would just do better next week. Well this week I did the exact same thing and no one questioned me until I realized again at 5:19 that I had messed up the time again. So I called her teacher and we rescheduled for Friday. I explained to her that I just had a mental block. She tried to help me but I told her I would just have to figure it out.

I wouldn't have felt half so stupid that I forgot again except for the other spacey things I had done less than 24 hours previous. I kept looking for some reassurance from my DH. He told me things like I am just human and I am good at other things. I told him I shouldn't be let out of the house but that's not really safe either if I recall the blowing up the 13 x 9 and almost starting the kitchen on fire several times, locking myself out of the house, and other such nonsense. And now I can't blame it on lack of sleep.

I just have to learn to except myself and laugh at the very stupid things I do.

Last night after DH got home around 8:00 I left to go see my Grandma and fit her temple dress. She bought this dress that was too big but the next size down was too small. I was planning to see her in the morning but I had to take the girls to the doctor instead. I knew I would be cooped up in the house with the girls this week so I wanted to get it fitted so I could put it back together. I got back late and talked to DH for a while. We headed to bed and when I went to turn down the heat I found a printed 5:00 on a slip of paper taped over the heat control. I started laughing because I knew this was just the beginning. I found another one on my clock on my nightstand. There were more, in my bathroom drawer, in my makeup, on the back of the bathroom pocket door just at the right heighth so I could see it when I went to the bathroom, on one of my shoes, on the ceiling on my side of the bed, and on the door to our bedroom. I found some more this morning, on the computer screen, on the clock in the living room, on the back of the phone. The kids got all excited and started searching for them everywhere. They fought over who found them first. I am pretty sure I have not found them all.

Thanks to my DH for being so sweet and helpful and making me laugh at myself.

The Doctor's Appointment

I was just emailing my sister J about my horrific trip to the Dr's office with Ballerina and thought I really should write this in my blog. You see I have had many horrible trips to the Dr's office with my kids and this ranks up there with the best of them. Most of the time I came home feeling completely worn out and almost in tears myself.

Ballerina has had a horrible cold since last Wednesday. She started with a croup cough and the next day she had a runny nose and a more gargly cough. She had a coming and going fever. I almost decided to take her to the Dr. on Friday but I decided that since she was still energetic and happy as long as she had tylenol in her then we didn't need to go. Her boogers went from clear to dark green back to clear which I saw as a good sign. She hasn't slept good at night because she kept trying to suck her thumb, then she couldn't breath, then she would cough. Also, for a couple days she would point in her mouth and tell me it hurt which I assumed was a sore throat. One day I got her to open real wide and looked in and it looked the normal color of red so I was pretty sure she was okay other than being miserable.

My regular doctor didn't have any appointments open today so I had to see the on call Dr. I knew that wouldn't be good because my kids recognize and love our regular Dr. So we went. Ballerina was a monkey while we were in the waiting area picking up every possible germ available in that room. Em was surprisingly pleasant even though she started a fever yesterday. DH thought I should have made an appointment for both but I decided I would just deal with the more sick one first. I had given both the girls tylenol early in the morning which should have worn off about the time we got there, around lunch time. But neither one of them had a temp at the Dr's office. That always happens. Kids miraculously recover just by going to the Dr's office. So I thought maybe Emily was cured and I didn't even have to pay the co-pay. No deal as soon as we got back home she started getting warm again and she told me she needed more medicine.

Ok so we get in the exam room and the nurse asks me what we are there for? Even though I explained it twice on the phone I have to explain it again. Then after 15 minutes of waiting for the Dr. he comes in and asks me what we are there for? Aaaaaaah! That is the part I hate about the Dr. Next time I see my regular Dr. I am going to ask him why they do that. He checked Ballerina's ears, nose, throat, and lungs. She did not like it but tolerated it for the most part. He says nothing and starts to pullout his RX notepad. I asked him what thought. He said she looks like she pretty plugged up on one side of her nose. DUH! I asked him if he was sure she had an infection because I was pretty sure he was writing a RX for antibiotics. I don't usually question the Dr. but this time I felt like I needed to. I told him that she gets a runny nose a lot. Seems like once a month, at least, more than my other kids. So he said she is old enough to be treated for allergies and that allergies can cause a low grade fever. I had told him that her fevers had never gotten more than 100 degrees F.

He left to look for a book that told him the proper dosages for a child her age. When he left he left the door open. This really bothered Ballerina she kept mentioning the door was open and I kept telling her it was okay the doctor was coming right back. A nurse peaked in and asked if the doctor had seen us, I think she was curious why the door was open and why my child was getting upset over it. She came back with some stickers for the girls. Ballerina wouldn't take hers at first so I said I would keep them. So she screamed that she wanted them back. I gave them to her and she threw them on the floor. I gave them to Em then she really wanted them, that was kind of my plan. But then she threw them on the floor again. So I kept them this time.

By the time the Dr. got back she was crying and mad. He tried to hand the RX to her to make friends, she kicked it out of his hand. He seemed slightly uncomfortable. So while she squirmed and cried in my arms he tried to explain to me the series of drugs I should try and that I should get the antibiotics by Thursday if she doesn't get better.

I had to put her down to put my coat on and gather up our things. She threw herself on the floor again. "That is a very dirty floor, please get up!" I said for the fourth or fifth time. It only worked the first time. This time she seemed to think she needed to mop the floor with her body. I picked her up but only got out of the room and into the hall before she wiggled out my arms again. All the nurses are watching me deal with my screaming child. I told her she could stay here or come home with me. She started to come then threw herself on the floor again. I told her I would count to three then I was going to come get her. That got us as far as the waiting area. I had to leave a message at the front desk about something else so while I was doing that she hung on my leg and howled and screamed. Everyone wanted to know what was wrong with her. I calmly explained she is sick and is very angry about it. I think they were wondering what was wrong with me and why I wasn't more affected by the noise and drama.

As we were leaving she wanted to stop and play in the kids area. I did not want to because all she needed was more germs and it was close to nap time. Without a doubt she definately needed a nap. So I grabbed her and she started spitting all her drool at me and blowing snot. We were finally getting out the front doors when the ear exploding screaming started. So I rushed Emily along so we could get to the van as soon as possible. The security guard patrolling the parking lot asked me if she was being kidnapped. I quickly explained she is very sick and very angry. Because it really did look like I might be kidnapping her. He took my word for it and laughed. We got to the van and I had to peel her off of me so I could get the keys because she was trying to attack me.

Em was climbing in th bushes which were full of litter. "Gross!" Em quickly climbed in the van. I had to hold Ballerina down firmly because she was stiffening her body straight as board so I couldn't buckle her in. Luckily this time it didn't take long. I tried to give her her favorite blanket which she threw on the floor. So I got in and Em reminded me that I hadn't buckled her in. We finally got on our way and first she was crying because she wanted her blanket. I told her she threw it on the floor so she couldn't have it unless she stopped screaming. She screamed some more. Then she started crying that she did not want to go to the store because earlier I had told her we had to go to the store to get the medicine. She usually likes going to the grocery store so I thought that might distract her thoughts and cheer her up. So I told her that we were going home. Because there was no way I was taking her anywhere but home, I kept this tidbit to myself. After a minute she started screaming that she didn't want to go home and the closer we got to home and she recognized our neighborhood she got more angry.

We were finally home and I pulled her out and carried her into the house, kicking and screaming. I set her down on the floor. She threw a fit next to the door for about ten minutes. She did eventually calm down and I wiped her nose and face and took her for her nap. A big smile on her face as I layed her in bed.

Usually these precious trips to the doctor's office leave me frazzled, angry, and in tears. Usually I find some way to blame the whole thing on my DH. Or on myself that I can't handle my own children or one bad day. Maybe this one wasn't so bad because I only had one unhappy child. I have some good stories from Dr's visits past. I don't know why but this time was different and I found the whole thing kind of amusing, Ballerina's fits, everyone's looks, it just didn't bother me. It's either because I am a really insensitive mother or I've dealt with worse.

Anyone who has more than one child knows this story isn't unusual at all but rather expected. I couldn't really get too mad at Ballerina because she is the one who has been sick for a week and has had very little sleep. Over all it made me grateful that I haven't had to go to the Dr.'s office for a long time. Several years ago in February alone I made 6 trips the Dr. for sick kids. $90 in co-pays. Since then my regular Dr. always says, "You never come to see me anymore." I laugh even though I don't find that amusing.

I think both the girls need their immunization shots updated so soon I will return and pay the Dr. and Nurse to inflict pain on my healthy children.

Another Dream-This one's for you Anth

I just remembered another dream I had about Anth. I was sitting at the computer trying to type and I kept mispelling everything. No matter what I did I had to keep fixing everything. And Anth was sitting behind me laughing and laughing and laughing. All of a sudden I made the computer do something really cool. But I couldn't figure out how I did it because it was a mistake. More laughing.

This was definately a non-fiction dream but we won't be making a feature film about it. Maybe an after school special.

Other interesting news. DH and I went on a real date. We went to dinner, we walked around the mall (amusing people watching), then we walked around Wickes and found a bed set and dresser we like. As Mya would say it was soooooo romantic. DH kept trying to make out with me when no one was looking. It may not have been "romantic" but it was fun and we needed a break together. Saturday DH took the three not sick kids to OMSI and I stayed home with Ballerina. She has a very bad cold and cough. She took a nap and I had a lot of quiet time. I do feel refreshed.

I decided today one of the best things I have taught my babies is to lift up their bottom when I put their diaper on. I just say "up" and they lift up their bottom so I can slide the diaper under. I have taught each one of them and it's one of life's little blessings. I've had to change a few other baby bottoms lately and when I say "up" they didn't do it. I wonder if I am the only one who has taught their baby that?

My Dream Last Night

Well I dream a lot and here's the one I had last night. I was driving in Boise, Idaho where my sister lives. I was driving my husband's Honda. He loves his car. I hit a really big dip in the road and rolled the car several times. Even though the top of the car was completely flattened I ended up on the sidewalk. Then my brother J who lives in Utah showed up with his wife and kids. I was going on and on about how my husband was going to kill me for recking the car. And I kept asking my brother how he knew how to show up at that moment but he wouldn't tell me. My SIL told me I had a huge cut on my head but I told her it didn't hurt. She told me I would need surgery. I thought if I was injured enough to have surgery my husband wouldn't be too mad about the car. Oh and then I tried to make a phone call to get my husband there but just like all my dreams I never seem to be able to dial the right number. It's so frustrating. Most of the time I can realize that I am dreaming and then I can control what's going on in the dream which is fun or I can end the dream by waking myself up. But this time the dream took me another place and started a completely different story.

For the record my husband in real life would not have cared about the car he would have definately been freaked out that I got hurt. And very grateful that he didn't have to raise the kids without me. When I told him about the dream he faked being mad about the car.

Some of my dreams are pretty outrageous and would make a great movie.

Ballerina has an inside joke

Ballerina has a little joke she only tells herself when she is playing by herself. It goes something like this (imagine it in a cute 2 1/2 year old girl voice)...

"Knock, knock,
Who's There?
Is anybody there?
Banana
Banana Who?"
Repeats at least 3 times.

Today she was helping me with laundry. I would hand her the wet laundry from the washer and she would put it in the dryer. She would say thank you for each piece I gave her then she would say the name of the person who that piece of laundry belonged to.

Online banking makes me a spy

I can track my DH's moves online by seeing what he spent. I just opened the checkbook and I can see he bought something at Great Harvest. I hope it's a loaf of cinnamon bread for me. But I'm guessing it's not. Poor me.

New Year's Resolutions

Anth asked me if I set NY's resolutions so this is my answer to her and to myself. We had a lesson in RS on goal setting that actually didn't get me any more excited than I was before but it was at least a reminder to finish what I started.

In high school I took leadership classes and read a lot on developing skills, setting goals, and becoming principle centered. It didn't make a lot of sense to me then but since I have matured it has more real life value. For the first few years of our marriage I did make goals, wrote them down, only to review them later and figure out that I had failed either by setting my goals too high and unattainable or setting them too low and completely forgetting about them because they seemed too simple. Another problem would be that I would set too many and it was more than I could possibly fit into a year, trying to improve all my faults at once. The main problem being I am a procrastinator.

I don't read many self help books any more, although I may try some in the near future. A little too irritating for me. Too much energy and determination to conquer the universe. That's why I liked them in college because I did really think I was going to conquer the universe somehow. Now I am more of the slow and steady wins the race.

Well I did get discouraged because I am a procrastinator and I hated feeling like such a failure. After I had my 2nd baby I didn't get any sleep and really depressed. But when I dealt with I was re-ernergized, felt like my self again, and started doing a house cleaning program on Flylady.net. It really worked well for me. Even thought I don't do all the habits, I do a lot that make my life much easier. I would definately reccommend flylady to anyone although I am sure it's not for everyone. But even after that and adding 2 more babies to the mix and much more responsibilities I did get into ruts. I know it sounds textbook but I don't regret any of it, even the really difficult times because I have learned so much and have been richly blessed.

In 2007 I decided to set some goals but only in my head. I was not going to write them down because that was a sure way to failure. My goals were simple, reasonable, and things I really needed to do. And I just did them. I didn't let set backs stop me, I just kept working on them. It was a really great year. Now that those things are habits I can clearly see the next set of goals I need to make.

Soooo this year I am going to try and write them down. I started writing them in a notebook I use for random things but that was already getting annoying and seemed like too many responsiblity hanging over my head. Goals should be exciting and something you want to do not stuff that makes you feel horrible about yourself.

I am a little stressed that I am writing them here for all too see but they are not anything so private and I think I will be more likely to read them occasionally and even revise them throughout the year. There seems like a lot but a few are carried over from last year and things I just need to continue to think about so I don't get out of the habit.

• Create a more aggressive face cleansing regimen to help reduce my acne problem.
• Keep my hair colored and trimmed regularly because when I feel beautiful I feel more energetic and confident. That is shallow but it works for me.
• Do more relaxing spa things like paint my nails, give myself a pedicure, manicure, deep conditioner treatments, and foot or face massage.
• Exercise 5 days a week.
• Take a class or two. (1. Quilt block class, 2. Cake decorating class at Michael's)
• Continue to clean and organize my house.
• Redecorate Bathroom.
• Finish decorating the little girls room.
• Magnify my calling as RS Education counselor.
• Go to the temple once a month, if possible with my husband, if not I'll just go on my own.
• Visit a friend or relative I haven't seen for a while-at least Once a month.
• September do pre-school with Em and Ballerina.
• Spend individual time each day with each of my children.
• Tell my kids I love them everyday. It's sad that this doesn't come naturally but if I keep practicing it will come naturally.
• Teach Mya and Cor to sew.
• Each month work a little bit on Christmas projects so we can have a homemade Christmas 2008.
• Complete all my sewing projects.
• Eat sweets only once a week.
• Eat more fish.
• Read or Study Scriptures everyday.
• Kneel for prayers twice a day.
• Plan dates with Scott twice a month, which can include the trip to the temple.
• Stop thinking that I am an after thought by the people I love and those who love me. This is a middle child syndrome and I really need to let it go.
• Stop being afraid to fail.

Tuesday's Picture of the Day

Ballerina got the bag of tortilla chips and loaded up her plate. She made this goofy face just for the camera. That cornbread there is sooooo delicious, we got the recipe from Anth.

Picture of the Day for Monday

I was busy all day with 2 funerals so I didn't have time to get a good pic. So I added an old picture of Scott and I at Homecoming 1992, our Senior year. This is my favorite photo of us, premarried life.