Egg Noggin'

There are times when the children align with a parent over something rather significant. This year it is egg nog.

Me, well, I don't care for it. Wouldn't cross the street for it. Have had PLENTY of gross egg nog, and don't get that nostalgic feeling when I see it in the grocery store.

Matthew, on the other hand, LOVES it. He loves to drink it, guzzle it, dream about it. This year I got him a few egg noggy things. Like egg nog salt water taffy. He's gnawed on it here and there, and now, a new variety of drink that looks like a festive alcoholic put it together. Southern Comfort. Isn't that, like, a whiskey? They have "Traditional" in a black container, and "Vanilla Spice" in the pagan red. He goes more for the spice. As does Benjamin. "Can I have some milk nog?" Blech. You should see them, the two of them, just guzzling away with the most contented look on their faces. I don't understand it, I don't try to understand it, it's just one of those things that IS.

Abigail, it seems, is more like mom. Egg nog smegg nog. She doesn't seem to think anything about it. If the two of us were the only ones in the house, it would probably go bad (though how would WE know it?). It just doesn't hold the same appeal. I did catch her digging in the pantry and eating a handful of chocolate chips straight out of the bag though. WHEW! Now there's a girl who takes after her mom! What can I say, 'cept THATS my girl!

Abigail is Baptized

Abigail is Eight!

Abigail is 8! She had a fantastic party a week ago with some of her friends. Here she is with Lisa, who made her a horse birthday cake. We made reindeer cookies and had an elf tossing tournament. We also incorporated a fun poem at gift time, that my mom did at our parties when we were young. It's a way for the birthday person to give a wish back to the gift giver:

Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head (gift hangs above head) what do you (birthday person) wish (gift giver) with a BUMP on your head!?

Then the kid drops the present on their head. A heavy bump doesn't ever get a good wish, but a light one usually does. It's funny to hear the wishes, "I wish that you would get everything you want for Christmas!" or "I wish that you could have a REAL horse!"

But, now this weekend, she's getting baptized. Does anyone have some stellar advice for making this a truly memorable day? She my first and only girl, and I'd like her to have a wonderful experience.

She turned 8 a week ago, and we are getting ready for the big day. I am charging the camera, getting ready for family, breaking out the soda dispenser (modeled here by Reagan this past Thanksgiving), packing up a little bag of stuff to bring, and trying to organize what we'll do after. Let me know if you have anything to add!

Worth 5 min of my time...

There are some prizes that go with this, so I thought I'd take a shot. Try it yourself! Chicks who Click.

Southwest casserole

For Mish who wanted it too....

Lisa's Southwest casserole
Preheat oven 350

1 lb ground beef browned and seasoned

Bowl:
Mix ground beef
2 8oz cans of tomato sauce
can of drained corn
1 pkg taco seasoning

Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray
line with flour tortillas

put on beef mixture
cover with 2nd layer if tortillas

blend cream if celery soup with 1/4 C milk, pour over tortillas

Sprinkle with grated mexi cheese

Bake 25 min or until edges are brown. Serve it up!

People with OCD should not read....

I should stay the heck away from books. It is totally ruining my life. I thought that I would just get a novel to peck at before bedtime. Since then, I've gone through sleepless nights and hours of non-productive reading. I'm like a stinkin' drunk in a bar. I just get going and then can't stop. People who have loaned me books ask incredulously, "Didn't I just give that book to you... like day before yesterday?" Yes.

Reagan gave Matthew "The Pillars of the Earth" for his birthday, and I started reading it for him. Gads. 1,000 pages later and I feel like I can finally go to bed. I was up 'til 4 am trying to plow through it. It's not an easy read, due to length, and it doesn't have tons of depth, but plenty of rape,murder, and brutality. At many points it's just plain depressing. And it doesn't help you get your laundry done, or the house clean, and can tend to make you late for appointments. Grrrrr.

So, I'm back in the land of the living and hoping to win at free blog giveaways. Yeeees, so much better use of my time...

Living in Utah

This one is for Mary Henninger who asked how it was living in Utah. This is just my own experience, so feel free to add your own observations. I'll just give a few pros and cons:

Pros:
1. No one schedules birthdays on FHE or Sunday.
2. The seasons change
3. The Scout program is really strong with more bling per outfit than South Harlem
4. Costco and Sam's Club are ubiquitous, buying in bulk is standard here.
5. Being nice isn't such a rarity. You get great customer service.
6. You have access to all things Mormon.
7. Everyone knows your name in your neighborhood and kids go outside and play regularly (at least in my neighborhood.)
8. People sincerely offer their help, and will watch your kids, loan you a ladder and hold your baby while you go discipline the toddler.

Cons:
1. Every Sale table has been cleared out long before you got there. A new grocery store opened near here and I saw well-dressed mothers with 6 well mannered children who were maneuvering huge grocery carts of sale items that were gone when I went to the shelves. There are lots of early birds here.
2. No one sings in church. Well, not enough people, I should say.
3. Church has more fashion extremes than I've ever seen anywhere else. From boots to flip-flops, and mom's wearing dresses that would be more appropriate on a daughter. Or a midget.
4. Your Home Teacher will cut you off in traffic.
5. Ostentatious houses that rival Beverly Hills
6. Being pregnant isn't so special, and about 30% of the population is. You are more likely to be asked, "What number is this?" than, "Oh! Are you having a boy or a girl!"
7. Suburbans that can't park and will take up TWO parking spaces. And they all like to park next to each other.

It's where we live though, and we're having a great time. Feel free to come on out for a visit!