Long Lost, but Happy Still

So, I'll catch up with all that has happened, but I'll just start with Chloe's Daisy Ceremony-Potluck for the end of the year. Chloe received her prizes from selling the Girl Scout cookies, of which her favorite was a matching Panda-baby and a little girl t-shirt. She named her Panda Chelsea, and she was so bummed after dirtying her shirt... 3 days of wearing it finally got it dirty.

She said a temporary good-bye to her beloved "Aunt Di" and we snapped a picture of her and her B.F.F. Mathias.Aunt Di/ Daisy's has been a huge pull for Eva to 'get with the learning program' and read. She's willing to let me homeschool her so that she can go to Daisy's with Chloe.Aunt Di always let Eva participate in as much as she could and definitely has lit up her mind with the Brownie-way. I'm excited for her confidence and energy to be put in a good direction, and Aunt Di is old fashioned with manner's, etc., so I LOVE HER! I hope to be a Girl Scout leader in the fall.

And Chloe did lose her second tooth the Sunday after she lost her other tooth - which was a Friday. The story is hers to tell, and I hope she writes it somewhere. It's humorous though- a hard cupcake and her super -loose tooth that just 'fell' out.

Freezer Success!

I made a bunch of breakfast burritos and were sure they were ruined but warmed one up and thought.. hmmm... pretty darn good still...

It's awesome and now B has breakfast on the go with protein and all! Here's the instructions:

You can vary the additions to this recipe for breakfast burritos. Add onions or frozen hash brown potatoes, omit the salsa, try using different types of cheese or flavored tortillas. The possibilities are endless!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. pork sausage, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup chunky salsa
• 2 cups Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese
• 24 flour tortillas

Preparation:

In large skillet, melt butter. Beat eggs in large bowl and add to skillet. Cook eggs in butter, stirring frequently, until scrambled and set. Add cooked sausage and salsa to egg mixture and mix gently.

Warm tortillas as directed on package. Place about 1/2 cup egg and sausage mixture onto each tortilla and sprinkle with some cheese. Roll up each tortilla to make burritos, folding in the ends and rolling up. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and freeze until solid. Then wrap individually and package in zip-lock freezer bags.

When you're ready to eat, unwrap the burritos, wrap loosely in microwave safe paper towel and heat in the microwave on high power for 1-3 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

You can also thaw burritos in the refrigerator overnight, then wrap each in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until hot. The thawed burritos can also be deep fried for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. 24 burritos

I was able to make 27 burritos with this recipe, and used eggs, hashbrowns, cheese and sausage. We'll decorate with salsa as needed, but the girls don't like salsa all the time, so I left it optional.

It's Special... and WHAT!?

We had a movie set to play for our date night this weekend and in my effort to chase Eva to bed, I said, "Hurry and get to bed before you see them kiss. EEWWWWW, GROOOSS!"
She swirled around and looked at me, smiling and replied, "Mom.. it's not gross it's sweet and special. (This is where I think... hmm that's kinda sweet - I'm a good mom- and then she continues) That's how we get married. I've kissed a boy. Sam and I kissed each other."
I said "Are you married now!?"
"No, mom. You're so silly."
Needless to say my mind was a little bit preoccupied during the beginning of the movie. When will she realize every boy has cooties?

Meanwhile Chloe's school has boys chasing her to kiss her, and all the drama of "He said he likes you. He wants to kiss you" etc... OY! She replies, "My dad will come here and beat you up!" At least that's the report that I hear...

When did my girls get interested in kissing and boys???

TOOTHFAIRY, TITHING AND TESTIMONY!

We are proud to announce the first visit from the Tooth Fairy this weekend... twice!! Chloe lost a tooth on Friday and then yet another yesterday during a cupcake snack. She was nervous when both teeth were so ready and was eating only on the sides of her teeth to avoid those loose ones. She is so proud of her new smile, and we're reinforcing the concept of tithing.. 1/10 of all we earn goes to the Lord, it is naturally his part for blessing us. She will be a tithe payer this year.. and I think it's a great time! She also wrote down her testimony in her journal the other day after our talk about what a testimony is (Something one believes to be true) " I believe / I have a testimony- "and so on. She wrote " I believe Jesus loves me. I believe Heaven is real. I believe I am a daughter of God." It was really sweet. I will get another picture with both teeth missing and post it, too!

Spring Cleaning

I've been spending several hours outside weeding our yard this week, and planting the flowers we bought last weekend. It's been work and as always rewarding to see something you've worked hard for turn out beautifully. It's a time of year when Chloe really can get her hands dirty and she absolutely loves it. She just 'gets' the gentility that nature needs and the rules for it make sense to her. Chloe shines here - Eva is deterred by the dirt and sweat she'll experience, but she'll still be a good sport and try it for us. We put mulch on this year and it's something I think the girls both really liked to do - sprinkle here and there and everywhere!!

I've been yearning for a space outside for the kids to play contently so we'll see what I can create for summer fun.

By Small and Simple Things...

I hear these words a lot, " I just CANT DO IT!" Whether it's me frazzled at children or weeding, or my kids in frustration about something, they come to mind easily sometimes. Now, those words aren't really allowed in this house as it should more appropriately be stated, " I just WONT DO IT!"

As I was watering the plants the other day, cleaning the floors and doing the dishes, I was thinking how powerful water is as a substance. It does so much for us. It is nutritious and relaxing to listen to, and yet the constant flow of water on a substance wears it right away. Hot, cold- it is a life sustaining necessity. But, it's just a little water here and there really. I've had those sticky spots on pans and silverware that seem to take a lot of water and scrubbing to get it off, but it does come off. If I didn't have that water, some of this dishes I have would surely get tossed given the patience I have for things like dishes.

I thought about this power of water, of the Hoover Dam and the power that the water brings to the area and how it changed this areas economy and industry out in the west. That's amazing to me. But what's even more amazing? The Grand Canyon. I'm sure when it started waaaay up on the top, no one would have ever imagined the power it would have on 'just a little dirt'. Yet the water has gradually worn down all these layers of stone and rock. The deposits are being moved and relocated into another location downstream somewhere. This stream has meant several things to several people in the last several several centuries. Yet it is only one river.

Never underestimate the power of one person... and never say "I CAN'T DO THIS!" We limit ourselves too much! The song comes to mind, "Put your shoulder to the wheel, and push along." We don't know how many people are touched by us, weeds will always need pulling, and the kids will always need tending. A mother's influence is unfathomable. Just like water against the Grand Canyon walls. At least for me...

Thinking Day

Chloe had a little presentation for us to watch Saturday. She is in the local Girl Scout troop and has had a blast! It's been great to watch her get out of her little reclusive shell she'd been in and get to do things she wouldn't have the chance to do normally. In the earlier spring she was able to go see Disney on Ice and roller skate. We joined the troop for the roller skating and she had a rollin-good time. Eva can't wait to be a Girl Scout and they let her participate whenever it is OK.
Chloe was a Fairy who painted Tulips for a lady (a folk tale). She got to read an important fact about England and hers was about the first public zoo.
We had so much fun with this outfit and then she was able to get an 'old' outfit (But seriously I remember my friend wearing this to her Girl Scouts meetings... so it's not THAT old... right? ) It was too cute. We couldn't sport the beenie that it came with due to the bun in the hair for the skit.
She did a great job. She also brought a potato and it's seeds and the girls formed the number 100 while they sang the Girl Scout Song... it was actually a little touching. So sad that it was a family function and only 1/20 of the girls' parents were there. Eva got dressed up to have fun that day too- Great lookin- Daughter's of God. I stuck some flowers in her hair so she looked fairy-ish and springy. She was a great sport and posed like ... a model or something when I took this picture.
Gabriel was a pretty good sport about not wrecking all the displays and screaming his head off all the time. He did sweep the floor for the Girls Scouts, try all the food as well in the cultural food section... many he did not like and the faces he made were humorous! Look at all those teeth! He's currently teething on his bottom i-teeth. He sticks his tongue over the spot and constantly looks like he has something in his mouth. He's getting better at listening to me as I allow him more independence a little here and little there. I love the Girl Scouts for my family!

Easter Saturday

Because of the hype of "The Bunny" we decided to leave Sunday sacred and do the fun wild on Saturday. We dyed eggs the night before and after Gabe spilled pink dye all over the table (and after Brian pulled it out of the wood using our miracle liquid gold cleaner) we had dinosaur eggs, monkey eggs and Tinkerbell eggs in a variety of colors.


The Easter Bunny got the girls some fun things which they discovered at 515am and I just so happened to get only about 4 hours of broken sleep that night. Complete cooincidence, I know. I don't know how I missed that silly Easter Bunny. Chloe wrote the Easter Bunny letters and offered her dress up bunny ears, a card from all her siblings and then asked a question. I've taken a pic of the letter and hopefully it will post well.
On Sunday our Easter ham turned out scrumptious (Thanks Safeway) as well as our cheesy potatoes a-la Nana. It was an extra fun thing to make bunny shaped biscuits with the girls. Totally cute and fun!
We watched our church's broadcasts of General Conference on Saturday and Sunday as the kids actually did settle down and listen - especially with the packets I printed out (Thanks, Sugardoodle.com) Chloe's favorite thing was learning to be modest and not show off our bodies. That means no tank tops, shorts above the knees or belly revealing clothing. I know that she'll be protected by her angels as she follows the councils of the Prophet in all she does, and it's nice that we both agree on modesty. We'll see if we can keep that up for those nice 'agreeable' teenage years! Eva 'wrote' some words she heard them say several times and was also really good at keeping the noise level down during the talks. We could all feel the Spirit in our home for sure. I really liked just letting Gabe play happily while I was uplifted and not having to worry about him getting into another Sister's purse, or screaming etc. Ah- but we are back to church today and he's doing a little better every week - I think. And here they are together - and mostly looking at the camera.

Chloe is 6!

Chloe turned 6 and I'm so happy! She is such a help to our family,and sense of general calm in moments of frustration. I can tell she has confidence and courage now - a big difference from just a year ago. She never would go up front for singing - very shy around everyone but immediate family. Now she lets her vibrant personality shine all the time - no matter where. She is riding a 3 wheel bike - with only one training wheel on as a compromise between no training wheels and two. She has a huge heart and compassion that just seems to be the perfect thing when someone gets hurt or is sad. She's a great example for the other kids to follow and I'm grateful for that.
She had a Secret Garden party where she could invite 6 kids and they did some party games, had cake and ice cream and then decorated and planted their Snapdragon pots. Chloe picked those out for her birthday plant. We'll see how well they do. The pots looked great!
B and I got her a camera this year, trying to support her interest in taking pictures. She's coming into her own world of artsy and english hobbies (hooray for me!)She's a great reader, too and I think she takes after my mom there. She does voices, and pauses for all the breaks just like someone was talking. She loves Junie B Jones and has just gotten the loose tooth edition. She has two loose teeth up top and two loose on bottom.
Well, here are some of the pictures from her day.

A NewYear - What a few months

I know that I haven't been very up to par with this blog -as the decor dated it around Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Christmas went well - B's mom came out and we were able to do lots of things with her. My favorite thing was visiting Oatman. Eva walked right into a burro's big barrel chest head on - and looked up at its head about 6 in. about hers. She didn't scream, cry or move really. Then there was the waiter who was licking his hands - and wearing skulls and roses on his shirt. Then there was a magnet that read "It's so hot in Oatman even my ass is sweating- (the reference to the animal prevalent there.)" We had brought a 5lb bag of carrots with us and man - it's truly the catnip of those burros. We had to duck behind store doors and wait for some of them to go find someone else to harass. One burro snatched the bag right out of Nana's hands and you know - she turned around and grabbed that sucker back. It was just hilarious the things that were happening. We even stayed for the gun fight. It was pretty neat but one of the actors had just had hip surgery so we watched him die s.l.o.w.l.y. And one of the shots actually hurt the other guy although they are just blanks - it was not supposed to be pointed right at the other person. So - we made all sorts of memories there.


In February our ward boundaries were redrawn and I was released as RS Counselor. Now I am the Activity Days Leader. I am really excited about all the fun things we can do. The girls are too cute too - and before they get too cool for fun things. Ages 8-11. I'm jazzed, needless to say.

Brian is the ward assistant clerk mainly responsible for membership records. He graduated with his Master's Degree in December, and we celebrated by going to OH for a few days and doing 'the walk' down in Columbus with several other students.

Our visit to OH brought the realization again that AZ is really where I feel at home now - although there's so many great and wonderful people in OH. The sky was gray... the snow was gray.. Gray. Yep. And it was cold. And snowy. I mad a topsy turvy cake for Brian's graduation.



SO in the realization that we felt at home here in AZ - we started looking for a home. We've looked and looked and looked, but in the end it still comes down to savings. Debt to income ratio - yada yada. We don't want to be here forever, but a few more years will not hurt us for sure. Renting was the outcome out of all this hectic chaos for all those who know me. Thia family rearranged practically the entire house this weekend to refresh our flow and view on the house.

Eva had her 4th Birthday ala Tinkerbell and I made a nice cake for her that looked like a pro. I was pleased. She got everything she wanted plus some and she had a blast at her party when we danced Irish jigs and made fairy crowns with pipe cleaners, beads and ribbon. Then they decorated their own fairy wings. It was cool.

B had a birthday and turned 27 - and he's still so handsome. Eva decided for him that he would have a Spiderman birthday and so he did. I think his best gift was the 42" joint grad / birthday gift that we got that outsourced my favorite Entertainment Center. How much do those go for in garage sales, anyways? So we have the 'clearest' TV ever - per Chloe. He's still going for a second Master's in Information Systems Management. The girls did their cards all by themselves and they were so proud - I loved it. They got to pick out who gave dad what. Gabe just isn't too into the production yet - but he liked the recordable card. So much that he's torn it apart to see where the sound was coming from and well - ya.