Trick or Treat Fun

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween

 

 

Wednesday night we had the Trunk or Treat at the church and the kids were stoked about getting candy sooner than they thought. As I was getting Syd ready she kept looking in the mirror saying, "I pretty momma, I pretty" over and over. And yes she was pretty and growing way to fast.

It was a fun night especially when the fog machine set off the smoke alarm and real figherfighters came. At first Syd just wanted to hand out the candy then it dawned on her that she too could go around filling up her bag. Before we left I told her she need to say "Trick or Treat" to which she added, "Smell my feet." Apparently her brothers already taught her the ropes. I am happy we got some good pictures. Our little "Rella" fell of the kid table outside and now has a lovely scrape and bump on her forehead.

 

Zach and his preschool buddy in their football duds. Go Packers! Go Broncos!

 

Today the kids are out of school for inservice so I took advantage of sleeping in and being lazy. We made Pumpkin shaped pancakes with chocolate chip nose and eyes and whipcream mouths per Alex's request. This afternoon we are carving pumpkins and having friends over for mummy hotdogs and then more Trick or Treating! Tomorrow is a full day with Cris working in the am, two basketball games, craft day, and a latenight movie with BCF Steph to see "Secret Life of Bees." Hope it is as good as the book.

Last but not least "Happy Anniversary" to my favorite boyfriend. It was 13 years ago today that he showed up to my apartment to see what we were doing for FHE. We quickly dressed him in a purple robe, shower cap and spread a Mary Kay face mask on him. (If only I had the picture) I was Pipppy Longstocking and we partied as only a Rick's College student can do. I don't think he will ever let me put another face mask on him even though I think he secretly liked his smooth skin. He has 11 days left on crutches and we are all counting down the days.

More to come on our very fun road trip to Vegas/Phoenix. It has been back to life, with lots to do and too little time.

Welcome Fall

 

One of the great things about moving to Idaho is the chance to experience all four seasons. Fall in Phoenix is really just a continuation of hot weather and I always became a little grouchy as is would still be 95 degrees mid Oct. Yes, the leaves changed colors but you really had to drive to Sedona to see anything. So far this year, I have not been disappointed. On Sept. 1, my "Welcome Fall" sign went up and the fall wreath hung. It took a good month for the leaves to start to turn but they are now my favorite shades of green, orange and bright red. From my kitchen sink I can see two beautiful maples showing their bright cranberry color and it simply makes me smile. Last week I thought Mother Nature was going to simply skip my fall plans and go straight to winter. We had a nice cold front that brought freezing temperatures, sleet at our house, and snow in the moutains and some areas. My parents had a nice 12 inches on their picinic table. However, the weather has since warmed up to and we again have perfect fall days.

The past couple of weeks have been a little busy. Cris' leg is recovering nicely. We went to the doc on Monday and got the stiches out and cast off. He said all looks good, just four more weeks on crutches. He has been working from home on his laptop and catching up on the soaps (jk). It has been nice having him home. Zach loves to sit by him and color all afternoon. Syd takes her turn with lots of storytime. He is a pretty easy patient, but is very anxious to be back on two feet.

 

Our first winter storm. You can barely see the sleet in the photo.

 

Zach's freezing soccer game. He is on the left in the black beanie.

 

Last Thursday I set out on another culinary adventure. With peaches from my parents tree and help from Aunt Arlene and Syd, we ended the day with 20 jars of the best canned peaches ever. I need to do more next year as we already eaten three jars. Yumm.




On Sunday I decided to break down and make bread. I have been craving it for a long time. But I have no will power when it comes to homemade bread and toast. It turned out great and the house smelled soo good. Best of all I made Cris' day.


We are off on another adventure tomorrow and thus I need to get to bed so I can drive and drive and drive. But it is all for a good cause. Wedding Bells ringing for Grandma Terri and a long awaited visit to friends and family in AZ. We can't wait even if it is expected to be in the 90's all week.

Surgery Update

I am happy to report the surgery was a success. It was completely ruptured but they were able to get it all back together. Whatever that means! It was explained to me that it was like reconnecting spaghetti. Cris had a rough evening as his stomach doesn't like anethesia. After a phone call to the afterhour's doc and a 10:00 run five Walgreens away I got him some medicine to fight off the nausea. He had thrown up twice and was anxious to get some pain meds down. The meds worked like a charm. No more puke. Turns out the original script was turned in wrong. So instead of one strong pain meds we got two. Too bad becoming a dealer is not on my to do list. I think I could make some cash. So far, almost 24 hours later the block hasn't worn off yet. They say this is normal so we are waiting for the pain to kick in. He has been taking meds to combat the oncoming pain.

The kids are all home today for inservice and they have enjoyed keeping their dad company. Syd likes to eat his crackers and sing songs. I think she passes the cutest nurse ever test. Hopefully, the worst is over and the next 10 days will fly. It is my positive thinking ritual!

I was wishing I were back in my comfort zone (Glendale/NC ward) so I would have my resources for help with everything. However, our friends and ward has been great and I am very thankful for their support.

 

 

Before surgery. The swelling moved down into his foot causing lots of pretty bruises.

 

 

Zach kept asking why Cris' leg said "On". I explained it wasn't "on" but "no" so they didn't operate on the wrong leg. "Oh, so does his other let say yes?" he says. We will have to wait and see.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Church Basketball

If you know my husband then you know he loves to play basketball and most of the time he plays at the church early in the morning or late at night in pick up games. While I don't normally mind this activity it has at times caused some "pain" in our household. I never could understand how he could get up at 4:45am to be on time to play early morning ball at 5:00 am but then have a hard time getting up so we could be on time to our 9:00 am college classes. Then their have been the times when basketball schedules and my plans would overlap and one of us had to sacrifice personal time so the kids wouldn't be left to fend for themselves. All in all not to big of a deal. But this past week the biggest "pain" has come from those late night games. Cris came down with the ball heard a loud pop and fell to the ground only to realize his Achilles had ruptured. So on this Thurs exactly two years from the last basketball required surgery (broken orbital bone under the eye/repair deviated septum in the nose) he will be going under the knife again and then a fun recovery to follow. The timing of it all is rather inconvenient as we again have to push back our trip to Phoenix one week and he will be on crutches for 6 weeks. In the last week of him being on crutches and hopping around I have come to realize how much I depend on him. Having said all of this, I do love church basketball for one big reason. I probably wouldn't have met Cris as that is how he met the missionaries. He found out some guys played ball at this church on Mondays. He studied, learned, gained a testimony, served a mission, went to Ricks College met a girl from Burley and the rest is history.

 

 

 

I politely explained if he really wanted to watch football all day on Saturdays and not mow the lawn and do honeydo's he didn't have to go to such extremes.

Venting

So I have spent the last 48 min and 15 sec on the phone with Sprint (still on hold) to resolve what seems to be a monthly occurrence for my cell phone bill. It seems what I am told and what happens are two extremely different things and each time I am told it will be resolved once and for all. I should be more sympathetic from my days at Schwab but I am not and know that it shouldn't take 5 phone calls to make a situation correct. I am also known as a "low talker" and I assure you there has been no low talking going on this morning on the phone. No need to turn the volume up today. Doesn't help when you can't understand the person you are talking to because of their thick accent. They would tease me at work that I spoke in a "normal" (loud to me) voice when I was pregnant. I must have been frequently annoyed. At any rate hopefully this will be my last hour long phone call to Sprint. Jafet in Mexico just assured me it would be and then he added that Mexico was South of America. Don't make the red head speak louder Jafet!!!! The sad thing is I still have to call Cable One - bill is $15 higher than normal and I got a random bill ($175) from Cris' face/nose surgery that happened two years ago. What? I know. The office said they had some billing issues. Really -- two years later. Should have cancelled my forwarding address.

Well I do feel much better blogging this as Mason and Syd didn't care to hear me vent. Off to call Cable One and Cigna.

What we've been up to!

Nothing too exciting has been going on at our house lately and we kind of like it that way. We have been able to work on our never ending To Do List and enjoy some cooler weather. Last Saturday we had a fun rain storm that came and went all day. It was enough to cancel Zach's soccer game and then came back again in the late afternoon. The kids had fun playing outside in it and Alex played football in the backyard. For some reason he has been dying to play football in the rain. Two out of our three fav college teams won so it was a good day.

Last week Syd, Zach and I broke out the wheat grinder and made flour. It is amazing to them and to me to! Then we made these cute heart shaped waffles and froze them for future breafasts. Hopefully, this is a healthier alternative to the Eggos we have been eating. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. I think they are great and just pop them in your toaster when it is time to eat. I found this recipe while blog surfing late one night. The flax seed meal just adds some good nutrition.

Whole Wheat Waffles

2 c. wheat or white flour (or use 1/2 and 1/2)
1/2 c. flax seed meal
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 T. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. oil

Mix together well, allow to thicken a little before cooking. May need to thin with more milk.

 

 

 

My other project I recently bought,started and completed in a two week period (this is rare for me) is this cute apron. I have seen lots of cute aprons designs out there and desided my bargain 4th of July Old Navy one just wasn't cutting it when it comes to looking cute. I saw this fabric and decided to try it out. My put together pattern needs a few adjustments but I like the end result.

 

Alex has been working hard to earn his Bobcat in Scouts and received his award tonight. Thankfully, we got there just before they called him up. For whatever reason I was sure Packmeeting was on Thurs not Tues but we made it. But since I was unprepared I didn't have the my camera.