Sunday Pleasantries

If your car "check oil" light came on and then died a mile later as you tried to cruise into a gas station, thus finding out that your car was completely, totally BONE DRY of oil with the oil filter falling off, would you...

a. take it back to the repair shop that just changed your oil the previous day?
b. get a tow truck?
c. kick the tire and scream?
d. bum a ride with passing church members? (thanks Thompson's)
e. leave obscene phone messages at the repair shop and show up on their front step at 8am Monday morning?

Well, personally we choose "all the above".

With our "cow in the mire" and 1/2 of our cars dead. We are really up a creek!! Especially since 5 seats + 6 people don't = a comfortable ride. Or even a legal one.

On the way home from this lovely Sunday experience I reminded the girls that if Daddy's car was still broken we weren't going to be taking our only vacay of the summer down to our cousins house in San Antonio. I think you could hear their sighs of unhappiness for miles. They were very upset. So I reminded them to say a prayer if it was that important. Sydney quickly offered a suggestion to ask a friend if we could borrow their car. =) I reminded her that cars are not so easily acquired and that they are too much of an expensive commodity to ask friends to loan.

But not 2 seconds into the house our phone rang with a dear friend offering us an extra car!!!!!

Apparently, the girls prayed REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard!

(thanks Weavers!)

Going Green...Money Green That Is.

This morning I got up super early to beat the crowds and
enjoy fresh pickings of the newly stocked aisles at the grocery store.
(thanks to Larry for getting up early with the kids, he's a trooper!)
There's nothing more relaxing then to be able to focus on the $$ saving
aspect of the groceries and
not whining kids that want to run up and down every aisle.

I spent the previous 2-days organizing myself
by searching through coupons, online coupons, the store ad
and then making a 2 week meal list.
(it's a tedious process, but a necessary one)

The funny part is that coupons aren't ALWAYS the biggest
$ savers.
Most of the time, even with a coupons purchasing the store
brand can save you more.

And after all was done I came out saving $46!!

But I'm also excited to say that my $ making is getting better too.
Currently my "ehow" articles have profited me a
WHOPPING
$7.11!!!

I'm rich!



(kind of)

Mirror Image

Like Father, Like Son

Everyday Ben becomes more and more like his Daddy.
The love of long baths, GI Joe's that make shooting noises,
any balls that bounce, and his quick mastery of new skills!

(you'd think with my supposed "dominate" gene of brown hair and brown eyes that I'd have children that looked like me!)

(I'd just like to know how Larry keeps on winning?)

With a Shovel and a Pick-ax

It might be awhile before I dig my way out of these piles of paper, bills, receipts, shame, embarrassment, shock...
You know all those things that come along with putting a BUDGET together!
Scary!

Hopefully you'll find another way to bring excitement to your day.

Crafts Gone Wrong

Lately I've been swooning over those cute hair clips and bows that
little girls have been wearing.
Many of them have started using silk flowers instead of ribbons.
So to create my own I found a cute flower that I wasn't using anymore,
deconstructed it,
hot glued it and attached it to Keira.





Let's just say...

it didn't quite turn out as I expected.

Poor girl doesn't even know that an alien spaceship has landed on her head!

At this point, I'm surprised that she can still hold her head up.

Thus, to avoid humiliation and unwanted stares
Sydney opted to wear the flower in her hair.


(she needed some ice on her neck when she got home from church)

Waldorf Salad+ Chicken Salad Sandwich=

Today my Visiting Teaching partner and I put a lunch together to
meet up with some of our friends.
We though some light sandwiches would be fun.
This is what I came up with.
It was DELICIOUS!!

Waldorf Chicken Sandwich
by: Rachel Roberts

1 canned chicken, shredded
3 chicken tenderloins baked and diced
(feel free to use all fresh chicken or canned chicken)
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c diced apple (sprinkle with lemon juice)
1/2 c quartered red grapes
1/4 almond slivers
2 T diced green onion
**place in bowl**

In another bowl make the dressing:
2/3 c mayo
1/3 c softened cream cheese
Dash of Worcester sauce or Tabascco
1 t horseradish (for a kick, but not necessary)
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t Mrs. Dash
1/2 t garlic salt
1/4 t white pepper
1/4 t dried tarragon
***whisk together, just before serving mix the 2 bowls together
and serve on croissants.***

A Quick Dip to an Oklahoma Baptism

A few weeks ago I (Larry), yes it is me writing on Rachel's (I mean our family blog) for the first time. Anyways, a few weeks ago my mom called and told me a cousin of her's/mine had been talking to a friend about the church and was interested. She didn't know how to get a hold of the missionaries, so I got the call. After perusing LDS.org I found the referral number for the mission mormonaries and gave it to my mom so she could refer them to my cousin Pam. So long story short she had talked with the missionaries and decided to join the Church. My cousin lives in California but was to be baptized in Oklahoma. Her friend Les who lives in Indiana has a place in Oklahoma where he stays during the summer, etc. Anyways, she decided she would be baptized in OK. So I made the trek there to be at her baptism, speak on baptism, and be a witness for the baptism. Rachel and the kids opted out of the 3+ hour drive, since there was no way the kids were going to go to sacrament and then sit in the car for over three hours, try to sit and be reverent through the baptism, and get back in the car for another three hours. However, I made the trip and got to be able to see a member of my family (although a little distant) make the wonderful decision to follow Christ and join His Church. Below is my cousin and Les who performed the baptism.


This is a picture of my cousin Pam and I after her baptism (hence no tie, but I swear I did wear one). Can you see the family resemblance? She is my cousin once removed, I think.... Anyways, it was a great if not tiring trip and I am excited to have more relatives in the gospel.

Memorial Day

It took me 15 minutes of scrounging through the internet to find some proper pictures for my kids to color. I tried my go-to kids page, www.dltk-kids.com But it still didn't have any coloring pages with military people on them. How else are my kids going to understand the point of Memorial Day?
I really don't want my kids to think that the military is only flags, Uncle Sam and crosses. I want them to know people REALLY, TRULY work hard to keep us safe. So click here, if you want some great pictures for you kids! It would also be a great FHE activity!

Mile Stones

For weeks we have anticipated Keira learning how to move around on her own.
But with 20lbs of soft, squishy baby fat she's been going
NO WHERE...FAST!
We were surprised to find that she mastered sitting up on her own before rolling over.

Which has been a big adjustment for Larry and I.
All of the other kids were extremely fast on the development ladder.
Most were crawling by 5 months and walking by 9 months.

How dare she be normal?

So with no further ado' Keira is proud to announce that 1 week shy of
8 MONTHS
she can not only roll...
both directions,
but has 2 teeth!!

Keira was more then happy to gnaw away
at this corn cob.
It was a great form of "entertainment"
for her while we ate dinner.

And now, here's Keira,
starring in her 2nd movie appearance...

I'm trying to get her to say "Momma".

The Summer Blues

As the days become longer and the temperature rises the onset of summer is inevitable. Each morning Sydney tells me how many days are left of school. I'm not sure she fully comprehends that she'll be home with us every-single-day for 3 months or it's just the anticipation from other students that has rubbed off on her.

Personally I can't help but feel this impending doom. Like this summer will be the death of me.

Although looking back. Last summer was pretty awful too. The last months of pregnancy, swollen, sweaty, carrying around all that extra weight while occupying 3 kids at the pool. Words like "beached whale" and "shamu" flash through my mind.

Could this summer possibly be worse?

Yes.

Soon Keira is going to want to crawl. And for some reason crawling and hot pool decks just don't go hand in hand. And there's the petty arguments, the torturous bouts of teasing, the endless crying fits because someone stole their toy, the anthills/wasps/extra large flies, the constant on/off with the floaties, the double coating of sunscreen and then the ultimate summer declaration...oh yes...the inevitable statement....

"Mom, I'm bored!"

(Gee, I wonder why I'm not looking forward to summer?)

Barnyard Musical

Singing and dancing has been a long-time favorite of mine.
Years ago my sister performed in a "road show"
that brought to life the movie of
7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS.

Ever since then it has been a top contender for my list of
greatest musicals.
I have also been lucky enough to share with my kids
love and artistic appreciation.

This week Sydney performed in a school musical called
"Barnyard Musical".

Syd was soooo excited to show us all
the songs that they had been working on through out the year.
Each class was a different animal.
Her class were the goats.
They sang a song about "goat cheese" on top of pizza.
Called, "Making a Pizza Pie".

As we walked to the school I was shocked
to see how many people got there early
and "set up camp".

Who knew?

Ms. Lee is introducing the classes.
Sydney says that she's a great music teacher.

Since I was out of the loop on the necessity
of getting to the performance 2 hours early,
I was unable to get any good shots of Sydney.

Obviously!

Just follow the arrow.
It's like playing "I Spy".

I guess the bad part about being TALL,
is that you're always in the back.

Mrs. Leahy and Sydney.

Truly I'm surprised at how far Sydney has come along.
She's reading, writing, doing FRACTIONS
and all because of her fabulous teacher!

I knew my daughter was a "good kid",
but to be able to be good EVERY SINGLE DAY.
For 7+ hours!

The sweet satisfaction if doing a job well done!

Video Clips

Here are a few video clips of Sydney performing
with all of the Kindergartners and 1st graders
at her school in their yearly musical.



Sydney walking on to the stage



singing the theme song "Barnyard Musical"

singing the "funky chicken" rap

The Results Are In

And NO, I'm not taking about American Idol,
Survivor or Dancing With The Stars.

The clothes have been washed and
the stains have been removed!!

Here are 2 examples of stains that
were on a changing pad of Keira's.
I won't tell you WHAT the stains are,
but I'm sure you can imagine!!

Stain #1

Stain #2

And after 1 wash and no "pre-treatment" application
the stains were gone.
Plus these stains were NOT fresh.
They were at least a few days old.

So the "SURVEY SAYS"...

this home-made laundry soap ROCKS!

The crazy part is that even though the Fels-naptha
bar had a scent to it when it was boiled,
the clothes had NO scent after being washed.

Which is great. No scent means clean.

Although I know many of us love that fresh smell.
So you might want to use some drops of **essential oils**
like the recipe suggests.

HAPPY CLEANING!

Provident Provider

Recently I have become a little preoccupied with
keeping things simple and eliminating
the dependence I feel on others.
Especially with the ideas of our weakening government,
failing economy and poor money decisions by large corporations.
(need I say more?)
When it comes to the prophet from my church telling
us members to have food storage and eliminate debt,
I've also started interpreting that as making
sure I can make things for myself.
Over the years I've tried to learn new skills.
Skills that can help me fend for myself.

Besides my parents starting me with the basics,
like gardening and cleaning and car repair.
Lately I've asked them and others to teach me things
like more cooking from scratch, crocheting, sewing, etc.

It has become freeing to know that even if things fail around me,
I'm still in control.

I can still grow myself some food.
Keep my car running.
Sew some clothes for my kids.
And now...
wash my clothes without spending $22 on liquid detergent!

With the help of the "Duggar Family"
and their spiffy little recipe,
I can now wash 180 loads of laundry for $2.

Refreshing isn't it!

With these few things...
Washing Soda, Fels-Naptha (or any bar soap)
and Borax (I used Oxi because I already had it).

Technically you're supposed to use a
5 gallon bucket,
BUT
I was improvising.
(hopefully soon I'll upgrade)

Here's my concoction.

If you'd like the recipe leave me your email address and I'll forward it to you.
The original recipe tells you to take these 5 gallons of soap
and mix it 1 for 1 with water.
But I'm beginning to think. WHY?


So let my independence begin.
No more needs for over-extended, poorly run large corporations for me!
(maybe.)

**note: want to keep your liquid detergent cup clean?
throw it in with your laundry and it will come out clean with the clothes!**

Boy-friends

Throughout these past 6.5 years Sydney has
developed many relationships.

Especially with boys.

It seems her best friends are always
sporting a different chromosome.

And it's not like she isn't girly!
She proudly wears her share of skirts & dresses.

But seems to get along best with her little boy-friends!
Starting at 6months old with BRAEDEN.

Braeden and Sydney didn't have much of a choice.
They were going to be friends if they liked it or not.
Their parents were neighbors and good friends.

But now, separated by a few states,
we still keep our fingers crossed
at rekindling their love in 20 years!

NEXT,
GEORGE.

When we moved to Texas George and Sydney
became 2 peas in a pod.
With Dad's in law school together and mom's in a
similar situation they were instant BFF's.

Lastly,
MERIK.

Once again, Sydney has latched onto a younger man.
This little cutie (sporting the name Mer-Bear)
is her partner in crime at church and school.
Together they have earned their way into their teachers
"Fabulous Five"
group.
By being the most patient, hard workers, and good listeners.

But sadly, Merik and his family will be leaving us this summer.

I'm not sure what Sydney will do.



Personally I think she should stick with this guy!

This BOY will always be around!

My Entourage part 2

...gosh that paparazzi never gives up!

"Come out with your hands up!"

Ben is screaming at the paparazzi
(aka: me)
"No pictures!"

He's still huffy about the photos.

And maybe a little slightly less annoyed once he sits down.

Where's Waldo?

I told you the kids needed to be

REMINDED
to not pick the flowers!

My Entourage part 1

entourage, n.[ahn-too-rahzh]

:a group of attendants or associates,
as of a person of rank or importance

My entourage is highly sought after,
and photographed where ever they go.

Dallas Arboretum

Spring time is my most FAVORITE season.
A little warm, a little sun,
a cool breeze and colorful flowers GALORE!!

And what a better way to celebrate it
then to take a trip to where
flowers are the main attraction!

(Emma 4, Keira 7mon, Ben 2, Sydney 6)

The kids certainly enjoyed it,
but had to be reminded NUMEROUS
times to NOT pick the flowers!

Our Zoo pass also got us into some great
craft booths set up for the kids to enjoy.
Everything from color sand filling, butterfly display,
pinwheel making, and this great idea...

Where the kids place colorful flowers, leafs, grass...

...in between 2 coffee filters...

...and then pounded away at it with a mallet
to see all the colors that come out!

Very creative!

Another great feature were the playhouses
being displayed as the main attraction for this year
at the Arboretum.

There were 12 different playhouses
coordinating with a Storybook tale.

The kids were amazed at how each house
reminded them of the story!