"Wholesome" Home Made Bread

I don't know why I feel like blogging about this. If you don't like girly, feeling stuff, you might want to skip this one. Every time I bake bread I can't help but to think about an old friend of mine.

This was kind of an odd friendship. I don't know how or why, but somehow this guy and his friends started sitting with me and my friends at lunch in high school. We didn't really run with the same crowd at all. Only we happened to have the same lunch period, and I guess some of his lunch time friends were friends with my friends. Anyway, as I remember it he sought me out for friendship. He started calling me everyday after school. It was like clockwork, I could always count on his phone call. We would talk for at least an hour, sometimes two everyday after school. From his appearance, you'd assume he was a bad boy, but he was really a great guy on the inside. He kind of reminded me of Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) in looks. Anyway, why did we become friends? I don't know. I think he liked me in the crush sort of sense, and I'd have to say that the feeling was mutual. However, neither of us ever made any move in that direction. We were only ever just good friends. He seemed to see something in me that was better than I was at the time. I remember him telling me that he could see me someday in the future baking bread and playing piano. He said he just pictured a husband coming home from work and there I'd be playing the piano with a "beautiful loaf of bread." (He also liked the word "wholesome." Why, I don't know, he said it just sounded cool.) I told him he was silly because at the time, I neither knew how to bake bread or play the piano. The funny thing now is that piano has become my absolute favorite hobby. (He had nothing to do with it. I just fell in love with the instrument.) I remember feeling like I should try to do some missionary work with him, but I was a chicken, and never plucked up the courage to try.

Anyway, about a year after he graduated high school, he was murdered. It was rather horrible. I wanted to go to his funeral, but I didn't. I kind of felt like an outsider. He was the only person in his circle that I really knew. I wasn't friends with his close friends, and I'd never met his family, so I just felt like I would have been out of place. Anyway, I can't make bread or hear the song "Brown Eyed Girl" (That song seemed to play over and over again on the juke box at in the high school cafeteria. He's why it's on my play list.) without thinking about, and fondly remembering my friend who turned out to be right about me.

Not Yet Anyway

It makes me happy that my kids still want me to walk them to the bus stop. What makes me even happier is that they still like it when I'm silly around their friends. Yesterday I walked to the bus stop with the kids, and I was in a jolly mood. Lydia started me in on our game (which originated with my father) of pretending that we have rules against smiling or laughing. I very sternly tell all the kids that we must not laugh or smile, or else there will be punishments. "No Laughing, only Crying!" This, of course produces laughter from the kids (fake at first). I have to get more insistent that no one laugh. "And we don't hug either, only smacks!" More laughter. More insistence. So it goes, until I can't help but crack a smile or laugh myself. Then I have to start spanking myself, or hitting myself in the head. Now the kids are rolling.

A few minutes later I was singing "YMCA" and crazy disco dancing, with the Ed Grimly dance thrown in there a few times. As the bus pulled away, I Ed Grimlyed some more. It makes me extremely happy that Lydia still likes it when I act silly in front of all her friends! She's not embarrassed by her weirdo mom, not yet anyway

It's No Wonder That All My Mail Carriers Seem To Hate Me

I'm looking at a name, on a piece of mail, that I hadn't seen before: "Bathsheba Meyer Smith." I always figured it was my dog that the mail carriers hated, but I think it might also be John's silly mail. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the joke. I'm laughing, but seriously I have three mail carriers that I see on a regular basis, and two of them seriously seem to loathe me! I try to be friendly to them, but they can't seem to do anything but give me dirty looks. Is is Chloe? I don't know. Partly, but maybe not totally.

OUCH!!! My Poor Baby!

You can somehow always tell the difference in the cry when they are really truly hurt. Either that or something just nudges you and tells you that you need to run to the child. I swear you people out there must just think I'm a terrible mom. My poor Justice was jumping on the trampoline last night, and he fell and bashed his front teeth on the bar. He chipped one tooth, and pushed about 3 or 4 of them back and to the side a bit. I took him to see Brother Lindsey, a dentist in our ward, last night. He said that the teeth will most likely straighten out by themselves. His front teeth might turn dark though. The poor kid can't eat anything but pudding type stuff. I can't get him to take any Tylenol. He just won't let me anywhere near his mouth, no matter how much I tell him that it will help him feel better. He was up half of the night crying. I hate it when my kids are hurt. I just can't look at his poor face without almost crying. We are taking him to the doctor this morning. His poor lip is swollen like you can't believe. He is acting better this morning. He's even smiling and playing a bit. He'll be alright, but I hate it for him!

Ross Magoo

The other day some girl at tae kwon do told me that Ross looks like Zach and Cody from the Disney show "Suite Life of Zach and Cody." As much as I loathe that show, (seriously one of the stupidest shows ever!) I'll have to admit that maybe she had a point.

I have to give Ross props. He's been very good this week since we've been back at school. He's been getting himself up with an alarm, getting ready for school and doing his pre-school chores with little or no complaints. He even did his homework today without being asked! Rock on!

Here's a self portrait that he did at school today. I'm posting it because I found the fact that he glued the hair down over his eyes amusing.

The Good Ol' Days

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Walgreens looking for glycerin which I had heard that you can make great bubble solution out of. I had visions of the kids and me, in the backyard making bubbles big enough for them to fit into. I had no idea where to even begin to look for glycerin. What is it even used for (besides bubble formula)? I had just heard that you could buy it at a drugstore. So, I asked a clerk. She said "I don't know if we carry that anymore." After I inquired where to look to see if they had any, she waved vaguely at the other side of the store and said "It would be somewhere in first aid." So, off I go to the first aid aisles. I look for a good long while, then I ask another clerk. "That would be in first aid." Gee thanks! So I ask the pharmacist "First aid" DUH! "What is it used for?" I ask. She told me a couple of vague things that I can't remember anymore. So, I begin to look for those type things. I even tried looking at the ingredients in products, hoping to find something that was glycerin based. I just figured it must be some old-fashioned remedy that no one uses anymore. No luck. I eventually gave up.

Disappointed, I was on my way home, when I noticed Rinderer's Pharmacy across the street. It's a mom & pop kind of a place that I'd never really paid much attention to before. I figured I'd give it a try. I stepped inside, and it was like stepping back into the sixties. ("Welcome to the Sixties! Oh oh oh oh oh-o-o-o-o!" -Hairspray with my Michael Ball. Quit it with the M.B. already, dork!) Everything there looked old fashioned from the shelves, their funky stockings, to the price tags on them. Clearly a store for old folks to buy their medicines, scarves for their heads, walkers and such. I decided not to beat around the bush, but asked the first clerk I saw. She was sitting at a large desk with another person across from her. I'm not sure if he worked there or not. They gave off the air of two people playing a friendly game of checkers, or something. They chatted friendily with me, and told me that I could make "bubbles as big as a house" with my glycerin. The woman pointed and said "the last aisle over there, against the wall, on top, in about the middle of the section." "Thanks!" I say and head over. I begin scanning about where she had directed. After about 30 seconds, when I hadn't found it yet, another clerk asked me if I needed any help. "Yes," I said, "I'm looking for some glycerin." She smiled and picked up a bottle and handed it to me. I proceeded to the check out lane. A couple of older women stopped me to admire my baby, and to talk about how they had had six of their own back in the day. Everyone there was very friendly. I left there thinking "I can't even remember the 'good ol' days,' but I think I miss them."

BTW, the bubbles ended up being a bit of a disappointment. Not really any better than store bought bubble solution. Maybe I'll experiment with it another day. It was about 500 degrees outside that day. I didn't really give it much time to impress me. So much for all that bother!

My Attempt at Photography

Okay yes, I know I'm no Amy, but I do know her favorite place in my house to take pictures (for the lighting). So I decided to try my hand. I was mainly going for pictures of Clayton, he being the new baby, but Justice kept jumping in. I decided to roll with it. Here's what I got:

Justice's Latest Hijinks

I swear, I should just rename my blog The Justice Story or something like that. What am I going to do with this kid? I was in the other room feeding the baby, and Justice was in the kitchen throwing a big bowl full of blackberries all over the place. This may be his worst mess ever. Luckily the only things that it stained were things that I was going to paint anyway.

The other day, Justice came up to me and handed me a steak knife saying something about "in the basement." I figured that one of the other kids had left a steak knife in the basement, and he was returning it to me. (We keep the steak knives on top of the fridge, and since the dishwasher is now installed, rather than on rollers like it used to be, he can't reach the top of the fridge.) A while later, I went into the basement to find that Justice had poked about a million holes in our downstairs couch with the steak knife. They are all over the thing. There must be at least 100 holes. That's scary, a two year old with a steak knife. *Shudder*

On a lighter note, Bruce gave all of the children father's blessings the night before they started school again. Justice was apparently impressed with this, because he has since been going around pretending to give Clayton and himself blessings. That reminds me of a story:

My dad says that his sisters used to play baptism with their dolls. They would dig a hole in the yard, fill it up with water and say "...in the name of the Father, the Son, and in the hole you go!" as they threw their dolls into to muddy water.

Ahh, Back to School, Back to Structure

I can't believe it's here already. By the end of a school year, I totally ready, and in dire need of a break from school, homework, etc. By the end of the summer, I am ready, and in dire need of the structure of it all back. By now, my summer resolutions have all fallen to crap, (having a baby, and remodeling the kitchen had a hand in that) and I like the new start.

Structure is good. It's good to have the work that school is to do. Good to have everybody up, groomed, dressed and fed by 7:30. (I'm listening to Liszt on my play list right now. Totally dig it! Sorry if my play list annoys anybody out there, but I like it. And if anyone is curious about my crush, Michael Ball - he's on here - Empty Chairs. Give him a listen.) ANYWAY (It just switched to White and Nerdy, what a contrast!) ANYWAY ...

I got up at 5:00, fed the baby, went running, showered, got the kids going on getting ready for school and doing their pre-school chores -love it-, made breakfast, packed lunches, took the boys (including Dax and Blaine, my before and after school extras) to school. Bruce took Lydia to her school. Now I just need to pry my bottom off of this chair and get some work done. I'm going to call my piano teacher and tell him that I'm ready to come back for lessons again. I just need to figure out what to do with my children while I'm there.

I love structure. Back to cooking dinner at 10:30 am (actually cooking real meals). Love my crock-pot, love cooking breakfast. What a weirdo. I just love having things to do that make me feel like I'm accomplishing things. By May, I'll hate it again, and I'll need a big break. Really, I'll be ready by Christmas break, or Thanksgiving. But today, I'm loving it.

So Freaking Busy!!!

Dratted kitchen! I made a boo-boo that is costing me quite the headache! I let the grout dry on the back-splash before I tried to clean it out. DON'T DO THAT!!!!!! What a nightmare!

I ran for the first time in months today! Yay! It wasn't pretty, but I didn't expect it to be. I'll get it back eventually.

Kids go back to school next week. Another year of Blaine and Dax. Don't know whether to celebrate or to cry. I really need the money, but dang! DANG!! If only I didn't need the money so bad. There is no WAY!

I seriously need a day away from the kitchen to go and play with the kids. I didn't end up doing it the other day. What did I do instead? I don't even remember. I suck.

I Have The Socks of Justice!

A Day Off From The Kitchen?!

Well, the kitchen project is coming along. We've got new sub-walls (so we could add insulation), new cabinets, a new tile back splash, and a new tile floor. We still have to clean the grout out of the back splash, seal that, put up new dry-wall on the ceiling plus mud, tape, sand, and paint that. We still have to paint the walls, and trim, put in a new basement door, and I'm planning to paint my ceiling fan. See here to see the ceiling fan I did in the living room last year. I liked that one way much. Is that all? I don't know. But we just put the last coat of sealer on the floor this morning. So, gosh darn-it! I can't go in the kitchen today. So sad! (Much sarcasm here.) So, here I am, dorking around on the computer. I'm jamming to my new play list here on the blog. Sorry if it annoys you all. I think I'll go and play today.

Hey, one week till I get to run, bike, and lift weights! Hooray!!!!!! Cain't wait. No triathlon for me this year. It's this Saturday. But, I do have a few races in my future. I'll have to hit the ground running literally asap!

Oh, and Trent's Birthday is coming up again. It's my tradition to torture my great little brother each year on his b-day. We've got something special planned for his 18th birthday. I'd better not say too much here just yet, in the off chance that he might see it. Just trust me, this one (if we can pull it off) will blow the others out of the water. He He He!!! I can't wait! John, Liz, you'd better plan on being there. It will be worth it. ((((SSSSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!))))

Okay, I've got to do some real things now. Bye!