A New Project

Have I ever mentioned how seriously amazing my sweetie is?

You know he finished that cute apartment for Dog Walker and Cat Lover, as well as the floor tile in the basement, and now he is going through our bathrooms one at a time and refinishing cabinets, painting, and adding tile where it is needed most.

Our half bath has been the biggest problem. After 25 years, the toilet decided to finally go out on us so a couple of weeks ago, my sweetie tossed it in the dumpster. It has been quite a change to get used to it being out of commission. In fact, Baby Doll just came downstairs and when I questioned her, she sleepily admitted to needing to use the bathroom. She was very nearly to the bathroom door before she remembered that she would have to choose a different one.

Next week is our spring break, and the plan is to have them all up and running by then. Knowing my sweetie, he will simply move on to the next project...

Raingutter Regatta

Tuesday night we had the Raingutter Regatta for our Pack Meeting. Curly was so excited when my sweetie came home at noon to help him finish up his boat. They carefully cut the sails and curved them into a cone instead of the traditional way. My sweetie helped him paint and then wax the pontoons so the boat could be the fastest on the water.

Curly was so excited! He was the first one to do a trial run and he easily beat his competition. As the races went on, he also trounced his second competitor. But by the third one, he was running out of breath. Yeah, that's right, breath. The boys are required to power their boats with only a straw and their own lung power.

Unfortunately, Curly has asthma.

When my sweetie was the Cubmaster, he used fans on each lane to power the boats so kids with breathing problems weren't penalized, but our current committee doesn't do it that way. Curly lost the 4th race and was eliminated from the competition. By the time he returned to his seat, his head was pounding and he nearly passed out. He was also in tears. This cute boy is fiercely competitive; but this was one contest he just couldn't win no matter how hard he tried.

He got home about 7:30 and headed straight to bed. It was a rough evening.

SuperGirl's Placement

Our sweet SuperGirl was placed with a foster family last week directly from the hospital and before we even went to court. It's unclear what the future holds for her although Batman and Cat Woman have promised to fight the placement.

Hopefully she will be back with our amazing extended family sometime soon. We will definitely keep you posted.

So Excited for Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp

You all know I'm a US Family Guide blogger. We have had so much fun participating in their promotions! One of our very favorites was the Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp. We were so excited to see them on the list of available offers again this year. Last year I drove Curly down to Utah County every day for his camp, and this year we have even more opportunities right here in the Salt Lake Valley, except this time, Scout will finally get her turn.

I have been looking for something new for her to do. She tried tackle football last year, if you remember, but it was not nearly as fun for her as she thought it might be, and she was pretty jealous last year when Curly was the only one who got to play soccer. The week-long camp comes with an awesome ball, a t-shirt, and a jersey (I highly recommend getting the shorts too!) and the British program was fun and informative in so many ways. Curly even learned to speak with a British accent.

It's easy to register. Just follow the link for Challenger Sports and you can find a program close to you. Make sure to use code BSC18 at check out to get free shipping for your goodies. See you at the field!

Annual Family Easter Egg Hunt

Bossy planned and orchestrated our family Easter egg hunt today in spite of those few stubborn snowflakes that insisted they fall on us. Other than the cold though, we had a great time watching the little ones gather eggs and small toys from our front lawn. 

Then, as usual, Bossy and Drama Queen gathered everything and eventually sorted it all into bags with names on them. Li'l Sis and her sweetie brought their kids over to join in the fun. When we were finished, we had sandwiches and pot luck salads. It sure is easier when the kids all pitch in to bring something!

Good times...

Guest Blog: Being a Mom by Princess

I asked mom if I could write a blog post about Tadpole, but I really should have just asked her if I could send her a whole bunch of pictures to post. I sure do love this sweet little boy. He is almost two months old now and I have to say it has been the fastest two months of my life; but at the same time it feels like I was pregnant lifetimes ago. Actually, I can’t really fathom that this little being used to live inside me, but that’s a whole other story. 

Being a new mom, I am asked several questions: “Is it everything you thought it would be?” “What has been the most surprising?” “What’s the hardest thing?” “What’s the best thing?” My poor mommy brain has yet to give a good answer to these questions. I usually give some sort of answer, but I really wanted to stop and think it through; so here are my answers.

Is it everything you thought it would be? I hate this question. There really is only one correct response: “It’s so much more.” I mean what am I supposed to say? No? Yeah that makes me sound like a terrible mom. Yes? Now I sound super proud. The truth is, I know a lot of moms and I did a lot of reading about motherhood. I’m fortunate (being one of twelve kids) that I had quite a bit of experience with babies. Yet, I don’t think anyone can ever truly understand what it’s like. Some things are not nearly as big of a deal as I thought they were going to be: like cutting his fingernails. I had heard horror stories and fears and so I put it off for several weeks. Not really sure what the big deal was there. Try cutting Sport’s nails. That’s way harder! (In his defense, I haven’t cut them in a few years). Some things are a much bigger deal; basically stressing about another person’s bodily functions. 

What has been the most surprising? I knew babies used a lot of diapers, but that first couple days Tadpole really brought that to a new level. In the NICU they were worried that he was dehydrated so they had him eating more than the average newborn and they were pumping him liquids through an IV. Long story short… so many diapers! Also, I was quite surprised to have a little red head and that my hair is also turning reddish. 

What is the hardest thing?

When he cries and it takes a long time to calm him down. He seems to have tummy troubles (like his daddy) and it makes him quite unhappy. 

What’s the best thing?

Tadpole’s little smile. Especially when he is sleeping. Also, from day one he has put his pinky out while he eats. It melts my heart. I mean, what’s not to love?

Guest Blogger: The Apartment by the Dog Walker

I thought I wrote just recently about the honeymoon that Cat Lover and I have been on. But my mom asked me to do another one, because she and my dad have been having going through the day of helping Catwoman and her little Supergirl go through the custody trial. We're still hoping that things will work out for them.

Anyway. My mother kept on asking me about the little apartment that all of your followers are hoping to see. At first, I thought she was still going to do that, but since I'm living down there with my wife, she asked me to describe of how the little apartment is going for the both us. We're enjoying it so far ever since we came back from the Honeymoon.

The way it looks from the pictures, it sure makes it look exactly like we have entered an apartment with an outdoor hallway, but it still is in my parents' basement. We're so glad that my dad has had the time to get the sink and the oven/stove in full operation for the both of us to use the kitchen appliances. We have been making some meals with these appliances as test runs and they all work really well.

Another thing that we're also glad about having is this Roku television set secured to the wall. We're happy snuggling together on the bed and the couch watching some fun movies and even watching Studio C with the BYUtv app on the TV set. From what we just watched tonight was Fireproof. It really was great to be learning on how to keep a marriage from ever falling apart, just like in the movie.

And speaking of marriage, we're still loving each other, even if we are working at jobs or if we're doing other things that may acquire being temporarily separated during a marriage. Cat Lover sure doesn't want to get a divorce and neither do I. We are still working on making sure we're responsible for the things we're doing in the little apartment. Like, we still have to pay rent, even if the utility bills are still under my parents' household when we're living here.

All right, I just realized that I'm getting off subject with the little apartment. We set it up like any other home could be like. We still have the walk-in closet that we can put our clothes inside and we received these two big red shelves with white drawers to store our things inside. One of them is inside the walk-in closet while the other is being used as a little pantry. Space is quite limited in this little apartment, but we're also working on being careful with our money, so that someday, Cat Lover and I will have our own place to live in and start a family.

I hope that I explained a lot of things that are understandable to see, but I also hope that these pictures do show of how the progress has been accomplished. Now another thing that we need to work on accomplishing is to start making our own family. I'll keep in touch with you all.

Sad Day

We are heading to court this morning to see where they might place our tiny Supergirl. Her very young parents are struggling. Please pray for them.

Sweetie's Day Off

My sweetie took the day off work today.

It all started when my little ones didn't understand this reference:
...Bueller?... Bueller? ... Bueller? ...

We didn't manage to make it work as well as the famous Ferris Bueller in the movie, but it was fun. My sweetie had each of the kids do a chore with the promise that we could go to the ball field and hit a few balls with the new bats. It wasn't long before jobs were finished and they were loaded and ready to hit the road.

It was a quick trip to the stake center and Baby Doll hit a dozen balls before Curly took a turn. Soon he was pounding them into the outfield. Scout was next and she managed to hit some good ones too. Then I volunteered to try out her new bat. (I prefer mine...hers is too light for me, but just right for her.)

My sweetie told the kids he would buy them a treat if one of them caught a fly ball, but they weren't even close. Finally, I told my sweetie to lob one over the plate and I popped it up right to Curly's mitt. An easy catch and we were on our way to the Village Inn for lunch. (It had been the plan all along since we still had a few free kids meal coupons that expired the end of March, but we didn't tell the kids that.)

After lunch we picked up Cat Lover from work and then we came back to the house so my sweetie could put on Ferris Bueller's Day Off for the kids to watch since they had never seen it before. I was surprised at the high profanity levels, but other than that, it was fun and gave us all a good laugh.

Maybe next time we will have to watch Baby's Day Out. Now that's a funny movie!

A Quiet Weekend

Finally got around to reading the Dog Walker's post... whew! He had me worried for a minute there...

Yesterday was absolutely exhausting. We spent 6 hours selling Girl Scout cookies at Smith's. The nice thing is that we unloaded nearly all of the cookies, but smiling and being social for 6 hours straight is pretty rough. I wouldn't make a good politician.

After that, I spent the evening with my sweetie, stitching and watching TV without little ones for a change. I probably should have been more productive, but we really needed a little time together. It led into a slower-paced Sunday. Princess and The Frog came over and spent the afternoon playing games with the kids which meant I got to hold our little Tadpole. You know how I feel about babies.

Princess tried on my sweetie's old graduation gown to make sure it would work for her when she graduates from UVU next month. It's pretty wrinkled, but she makes such a cute graduate! 

Then we had a fireside on the temple rededication before my sweetie and I slipped upstairs again this evening. I know I will pay the price tomorrow, but the little kids are off track, so I can sleep in a bit and maybe I'll be able to convince them to help me get things cleaned up a little.

Oh, and the Leprechaun trap did its job! Baby Doll and Curly were ecstatic to find a little gift for each of them even though that pesky little guy got away yet again.

Guest Blogger: The Honeymoon by the Dog Walker

Here's the moment that you've all been waiting. This is the time that Cat Lover and I have been on the best moment after a wedding reception: HONEYMOON! It was quite the time that Cat Lover and I have been on a little vacation as husband and wife. This is how the Honeymoon went. Momof12 set us up to a fancy hotel to stay at for a couple of nights. When we went to the hotel to drop off our things, the hostess there wasn't letting us in, because we didn't have a credit card with us to check in. Cat Lover and I were so stressed out about that, because Momof12 set up a reservation for us, but it turned out that the hostess she talked to before wasn't there and we ended up talking to a different hostess. So they let us in after all, because we had the receipt of proof that we had a reservation set up for the both of us to stay a couple nights.

This hotel was quite interesting. They had these fancy looking lamps the size of a box and they had hotel room locks that don't make you stick a card through a slot, but that it has a sensor to scan your card. We wanted to go for a swim in the hotel pool and relax in the spa, but the evenings inside the pool area were always crowded, so we ended up going to it in the mornings when it's not crazy. We wanted to be by ourselves, because that's where the romance comes on a honeymoon. Maybe on our first wedding anniversary we'll find a hotel's pool to have to ourselves.  We had this entire king-sized bed to ourselves to sleep and snuggle with each other on the nights. 

 Anyway on the first day of our honeymoon trip, we ate a delicious breakfast from the lobby's breakfast area. After having a little bit of a swim and relaxing at the pool and spa, we drove all the way to the district to find some fun things to do during our Honeymoon. We ate lunch at a Denny's where some waiter thought that we looked more like high school students to be a married couple. Well, everyone just has some opinions about how marriages work throughout society. Anyway, after lunch, we went to see the Greatest Showman movie in theaters. It was quite amazing to learn the history about how the circus began in our world and how it became the greatest show on earth.

 After the movie, we went to Neilson's Custard to have a Concrete Shake, one of the most expensive ice cream shakes that are worth buying on a honeymoon. We drove around the district to see a lot of fun things, like new parks that have been made by Mountain Mike's and Neilson's Custard. When we were hungry for dinner, I was going to take Cat Lover to Texas Roadhouse, since she told me it's her favorite restaurant. However, that entire restaurant was so crowded a lot of people had to wait in a long line from outside. There was no way Cat Lover and I were going to wait that long to get food, so we decided to find some other place to eat out. We went to IHOP that was near by and we ordered some delicious food that was quite interesting. They had red velvet pancakes that tasted a lot like the red velvet cake mixes for fancy birthday parties, and many other kinds of pancakes. Cat Lover just chose a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches and fries, which that's okay with me. Because as a spouse, you can't expect your own spouse to chose the same meal while eating out.

Anyway, we went back to the hotel to snuggle in our bed some more. This had been a short honeymoon for us, but it was worth the time and effort to have this, since Cat Lover and I have been living in my parent's basement with that little apartment that we're staying in for a while until we make a budget to have our own place to live in. We're happy to be married and we're almost thinking about starting to have children.

The Leprechaun Trap

My two little ones are sure hoping for the "luck o the Irish" today! When they got home from school, Baby Doll was telling everyone how a leprechaun had come into their classroom during lunch recess and made a terrific mess. She was sure that she now knew how to make a trap so she could catch a leprechaun of her own.

She made Curly her partner in crime, and together they commandeered one of my cookie boxes and started working on a trap. After cutting and taping and gluing, they were finally satisfied. Now they had to come up with something that would attract the leprechaun so he would venture inside.

Baby Doll immediately thought of glitter, while Curly was a bit more creative. He convinced his dad to let him spray paint a few rocks gold. Then they added glue to the inside so the rocks would stick and the leprechaun wouldn't run away with them.

Curly felt that they needed a bit more enticement, so he spent four of his hard-earned dollars on a box of Trefoils and Baby Doll put in a gold medal from basketball. Finally their trap was ready!

Do you think they just might catch that elusive leprechaun? Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Suprise Pi Day

Today was a rough day that ended in a wonderful way when Dog Walker and Cat Lover brought in 5 homemade pies they put together in their very own kitchen and cooked in their own little oven. It made me so happy to see them using their resources and making something fun to share with everyone.

I had to giggle a bit when I asked him about the pudding pies and was told that he didn't have a blender in his apartment so he had to make them using snack pack pudding and scooping it from the little cups into the premade crust.

Such a resourceful guy... happy Pi Day.

Cave Tools are Perfect for Pi Day

You know my life gets a little hectic now and then. So even though today is officially Pi Day (or 3.14), we couldn't manage to have much of a celebration with everyone running different directions. Instead, we got most of the family together on Sunday to share a meal and of course eat pie.

Pulling it from the marinade.

Since we have had such beautiful weather, my sweetie opted to make barbecued chicken outside on the grill, which worked perfectly with the fact that I had an opportunity to review another Cave Tool product. I love pretty much all of their stuff, but this is one of my favorites; the Complete Grill Set.

Tongs do a great job too.

It comes with three different pieces, the spatula, the fork, and the tongs, all of which will likely be the best you have ever used. My sweetie's favorite are the tongs, because he can easily grab and lift any size piece of meat and still keep his hand far away from the heat. I like the spatula, but I mostly use it inside for flipping cookies and french toast.

They are all heavy duty and I just throw them in the dishwasher in the top rack since they are too tall to fit in my utensil holder. You know, Spring is coming and you will definitely need something nice for yourself from the Easter Bunny and to sweeten the deal, you know I can hook you up with a discount if you order directly from Cave Tools. Just use coupon code GRILLSET15 to save 15%.

Or if you would rather use Amazon, they are available there by clicking this link.

Happy grilling, everyone! And happy Pi Day!

**We received a set of Cave Tools Complete Grill Set for our open and honest review of the product.**

Drama Queen to the Rescue

Drama Queen has Mondays off, so she came over this morning and spent the entire day with me. It was so nice to hang around with her again, even if we were busy running errands. It was a quick trip to Sam's Club and then a run to the Girl Scout Council to pick up 15 more cases of cookies. (I know, but they offered me a $50 bonus if I would take them! Just for the record, my sweetie offered me $50 if I wouldn't...)

No, seriously, he is so supportive! We spent most of Saturday out delivering cookies and then we headed out about 6:30 tonight when Baby Doll got home from dance. We have been making great progress, but I still want to get most of them delivered before the booths start this weekend.

But I digress...

Drama Queen and I picked up Cat Lover from work and then we stopped by WalMart to grab a few things. It was fun to find Dog Walker and let him have 30 seconds to hug and kiss his wife. Then my amazing Drama Queen took me to the Maverik, filled up my car with gas, and once we got home, she unloaded all the groceries for me and made dinner while I took Scout to the chiropractor and did a quick workout at Curves.

Why are there no pics of us together?

She ate dinner with us before she headed home to take care of her own house and life. I just love Mondays.

Hello Girl Scout Week

It is the beginning of Girl Scout Week; did you know that? Our council gave us t-shirts and patches if we would do something fun to celebrate girls and women, so last Friday we had a resume and scholarship fair for the older girls and some fun sensory activities for the little ones.

Li'l Sis handled the resume writing part of things and Prima Donna was in charge of the little girls. She was helping them earn the senses badge, so they started playing games in the yard (we had beautiful weather!) and then they came inside to smell some extracts before turning them into frosting for cupcakes so they could taste them.

Now Prima Donna is great with kids, but for some reason, she didn't learn one simple truth from the Cupcake Club about making frosting. DON'T TURN ON THE MIXER BEFORE ADDING THE MILK!!

Now in her defense, it wasn't actually her fingers that flipped the switch to high, effectively sending a shower of powdered sugar all over the girls and all over my kitchen, but she was definitely in charge. Fortunately, things cleaned up quickly and all is well.

Half cleaned up

We just love these life lessons we learn in our awesome scout troop!

Happy Girl Scout Week everyone.
#girlscoutsofUtah

Grizzkids Pizza Party and Hockey Game

Another busy Saturday!!

We delivered cookies for almost 6 straight hours before we finally quit for the day and got ready for the Grizzkids Pizza Party and Hockey Game. If you remember right, last time we went to a hockey game, we signed up our 3 youngest and Taco and Burrito for the kids' hockey club.

They were all so excited when the invitation showed up in our email for the party. Adult tickets were only $10, but Bossy and Gamer decided to sit this one out, so my sweetie and I took the 5 kids and Sport to the game. We had so much fun!

The party started in the Centennial Room with pizza and drinks. There were a couple of players there signing autographs, but the kids were way more excited to see Grizzbee, the mascot, than actual hockey players. When we were finished, we still had about 45 minutes to kill, so we wandered the concourse. The Army booth was a favorite and the kids were given earbuds, water bottles, and pens. They also loved the one with the rescue dog (it had candy, which helped).

We settled into the game with kettle corn and cotton candy. After the 2nd period, Baby Doll was approached about doing a dance-off on camera. Unfortunately, she was bumped for someone who didn't even want to dance, but the MC gave her a cute Grizzlies frame for being a good sport. He also gave something to Taco and Burrito who were her entourage.

We left the game hungry since we had eaten at 5:00 and headed for the Village Inn to use my free coupons. Lots of fun and laughter followed and we ended up taking the grandkids home about 11:30. Tomorrow will be a rough morning, but it was pretty worth it.