Did you know....

Did you know that you can eat the yellow squash blossoms from your zucchini plants? They are soooooo good. Stuff them with a rice mixture and steam or roast them. Serve with a tomato sauce or just plain. Delicious.

Proud Parent

I am so proud of my girls!! They finished 2nd grade and Kindergarten today. Audrey got straight A's except for a B in Math and, well, that is Math and it should count as an A.
Hannah did very well. She is just happy that she gets to sleep - in now. I must say that the accomplishments my children make far surpass my own and bring me great happiness:)

The snail died (it lived longer than I thought it would). Hannah built it its own cemetery on the back porch. It looks like stone hedge...just smaller.

Love Robbie

Every year when school is finished, I go through the school work (we have collected enough paper to reforest the Amazon) and keep what I think will be cherished and recycle the rest. Audrey had a booklet from being "Star of the Week"...that is when you get special attention and get to do special activities that spotlight the child (unfortunately, Audrey was star of the week when she got the flu and was out 3 of the 5 days). All the kids from her class drew her a picture in this book. One in particular caught my attention, my mouth dropped to the floor...he wrote her a note:

"Dear Audrey,
I mist you so much. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were lamb days! Near Easter I hope you will be back! Happy St. Paddys Day Audrey!
LOVE,
Robbie

This kid said "Love" to our little girl. It was cute and scary at the the same time. Ironically enough, the Friday I found the note, all the 2nd graders went to the park for the day, and the parents were allowed to go to spend time with their child. Wes went over (I had to wait for Hannah to get home) and Audrey introduced Wes to Robbie's Dad. I guess 3 minutes into their converstation, Robbie's Dad leaned over to Wes and told him that his boy had it really bad for our girl. I would have paid money to see Wes's face.
Poor Robbie, Audrey has a crush on Ethan...you jut have to say his name and she turns bright red. Unrequited love.

Never Say Never....

A few weeks ago I went to Hannah's Special Person Day. Hannah was so quiet and just not herself. She looked uncomfortable in her own skin. I think this is what her teacher was trying to articulate to Wes and I but we had to see it to understand. Never say never...we changed our minds and Hannah is going to pre-first. It did not take a lot of convincing for Hannah to be happy with the decision, I think she may have been relieved. It is amazing how different your child can be in two different places. I have been reassured that the treachers will do everything they can academically to challenge Hannah so she does not get board.

#100....What Does Your Door Bell Say To You?

This is my 100th post...Yay me!!! You would think that I would write something enlightening or ground breaking for such a important milestone...nope!! I am going to write about our Door Bell. We have lived in this house since October 2007, you would think we would know what our Door Bell was capable of. Audrey and Hannah were playing outside on the front porch and all of a sudden I hear "God Save The Queen" in door bell chimes...what the? I suddenly thought I was back in school in Canada and this was the sound of my mind snapping. I guess if you are going to lose your mind there are worse things than hearing God Save The Queen; but Wes heard it too, thank goodness...I am still sane (I guess that is also a matter of opinion). He told the girls to hit the bell again and it played "Clair De Lune," and a few other melodies. Who knew?!! The key is you have to hold the door bell down or it just makes the normal "ding dong" sound. I wonder if it takes requests?

I read Twilight, a New Moon and Eclipse in 2.5 days (that's only because I had responsibilities). It's amazing what you can do when you don't have technology to distract you. I can't wait till August 2nd for a New Dawn. They were soooooooooo good!!!!! I am going to read The Host next. I hope it will be just as good. I love the whole vampire/werewolf thing though, that is going to be hard to beat.
I am looking for other books to read. Does anyone have any suggestions? I love pretty much everything!!! Honestly I do not know how I am going to make it 2 more months . It has only been a week and I am already wanting to throw in the towel. I just need the internet (that way I can watch T.V.):)

We had a bonfire this weekend with our neighbors. It was so weird to have a raging fire in the backyard. I kept thinking we were going to burn down the whole town. I guess there are some perks to not living out West. We roasted hotdogs, made smores, had music blaring and the girls played on the neighbors' slip and slide. Good times!!!

The Squirrel!!!

Audrey had a birthday party Saturday afternoon. We had just dropped her off, when a black squirrel ran out in front of the car. I then proceeded to watch its last moments of life in the rear view mirror. Wes put his hand over the mirror so that I could not watch anymore. I was crying and was feeling as though I was a murderer. I could not believe how bad I felt, I had not taken a life (not including insects, they don't count) since 1996 when I hit a rabbit with a U-Haul. I know many of you are probably thinking I am pathetic, that it was only a squirrel but I was sad for taking another life. I started thinking of the reasons the squirrel was crossing the road: he was on his way to his wedding with his squirrel girlfriend who had just came out of a comma and they had been waiting for this day for years...and I Jenny Jordan just struck him dead with the car. Wes, said that it was a girl squirrel on her way to the hospital to give birth to triplets. These scenarious were not helping the situation. So my sweet husband did what any loving man would, he told me the squirrel had just murdered a whole family of chipmunks and was on the run and I had just done the forest community a great service. I started to feel better. To think the majority of you are related to me.

Off the Grid...

I have a gardening question...

I need to know why our tomato blossoms are drying up and falling off. Can any of you tell me why? Is this normal?

Last summer we had major problems with our digital modem which ended up being a long, huge hassle to fix (we did not have service for a long time). During that time we saved money that we would have paid for cable, phone and internet and were able to do more summer activites with the girls. It turned out so well that we decided every summer after "Good T.V." was finished and school got out, that we would go off the grid. So we got rid of the cable, internet and phone (and are now only using a cell phone). This will accomplish many things...it forces me to leave the house and to go to the library (unless I have errands I never go out during the week) to use the internet. I have a HUGE internet addiction so this is going to be really hard for me to do. I will still be blogging, just no pictures till the end of August. We will save us upwards of $420 (can you believe that is how much we pay for 3 months of service?) to spend on summer activities.
Hannah is having a hard time losing the cable but she will adjust. I think it is important to teach the girls to go without and how to cope. I hope I am going to be a good example and not give in before the end of the summer break.

Father's Day

"Walk a little slower Daddy,"

Said a child so small.

"I'm following in your footsteps

And I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,

Sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower, Daddy,

For you are leading me.

Someday when I am all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child

Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,

And know that I was true;

So, walk a little slower, Daddy,

For I must follow you."

Hannah gave this poem with her footprints to Wes for Father's Day. I thought that it was the perfect gift. Father's Day was very low key, just the way Wes likes it. I made him his favorite meal and we went for a hike.

Things That Make Me Feel Special!!!

Hannah had Special Person's Day at school this week. It was so nice to be able to go and spend time with her in class. We sang songs, had snack, and did an art and craft project.

The flower petals are my hands and the leaves are Hannah's.

Hannah thinks I am special because - "I make rules to keep her safe."

Audrey made this shark. It is hanging up in the school hallway. I LOVE IT!!!

This tomato plant makes me feel special because it has not died yet. On the contrary, the plant is growing and starting to flower.

Besides the fact that Ben & Jerry always make me feel special(!!!), they are now making mini Ben and Jerry's. It even comes with its own spoon:) What could be more special than that?!

Public Service Annoncement 15

Public Service Announcement 15

DO NOT GET BENGAY ON YOUR FACE!!!

I have recently been having some neck problems and Bengay has really helped relieve some of the pain. We have been applying it before I go to bed and some of the Bengay had gotten on my hair. My hair then touched the right side of my face. It happened so fast. All of a sudden, my tongue is tingling, my lips are going numb and my face is getting hotter and hotter. I am sweating so bad and it is really starting to hurt. I knew better than to wipe it off because that would just activate it more. I just laid there and suffered, tears running down my face, while Wes just laughed at me. I would have done the same, it was quite funny:) Learn from my mistake, don't let this happen too you.

This has been a Public Service Announcement

Random Thoughts...

I would like to start this post by taking a vote; I am under the impression that Rabbit (Winnie The Pooh) is a girl and Audrey and Hannah are adamant that Rabbit is a boy. I ask you all then, why was "it" wearing a pink robe, and had "it's" ears in curlers?

I really enjoyed reading Marcie's political blog. I have been wanting to write a political blog for a while now. Marcie has inspired me to finally write one, so read on at your own risk.

Wes and I are probably the only people on my side of the family that wanted Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic Nomination. We were very disappointed when she did not. I think that she would have been the best choice for the President (of course my own opinion). I was thrilled and excited to see a woman running for the highest position in the land and doing it so strongly. It was a great thing to be able to show my daughters that it was just not a boys club, that if they set their minds on something, they too could achieve whatever goal they wanted. I am not going to go into a political rant on why I thought she should become President over everyone else; that is pointless now, considering that Obama has won.

My problem now is that I don't want Obama or McCain for President and I am really having to reevaluate my views on many of the stances each candidate has. I do not believe Obama is going to bring the CHANGE that he so strongly says he will bring to the White House. Frankly, I think there has been too much CHANGE in the last 8yrs and we need someone who has experience and can get things DONE. I think he is either naive or politically spinning the idea that he is not your "typical" politician, he will not make backdoor deals or involve himself with special interests. No, he just takes his advice from bigoted Pastors and crooked land developers. Why pretend that the government is not full of liars and hypocrites? Call a sheep a sheep. I think that if he were more forthcoming about what lengths he may have to take to get things accomplished and fix this mess that we are in, he might earn my vote. I will be honest, I am having a hard time looking past the color of his skin, not because he himself is black but because what he DOES represent to many black people in our country and what he DOES NOT represent to many whites in this country. I am afraid that there will be a racial divide greater than what we already have. I was stationed down south and saw the prejudice and closed mindedness of many people. I even saw a KKK rally, driving to KFC (real story). Racism is alive and kicking in the United States of America; just look at the church he attended for the past 20 yrs of his life. I have seen two of his Pastors on T.V. being racists. Obama has had to have a massive Secret Service detail and has had more death threats than any other candidate in history. If that does not show that there is a division in our country, I do not know what will.

John McCain... I do not even know where to start. He will NOT be getting my vote!!! Unless he changes the following; plans on pulling us out of Iraq (and I am not talking in 100 yrs) in the near future (of course he will have to be smart about it), changes his whole Health Care Package, and becomes Hillary Clinton.

I respect McCain, especially for his POW status, but I do not believe that a man who has that kind of emotional scarring can be completely rational or unbiased when it comes to combating our enemies. We do not need another person making irrational decisions in the White House; we have had enough of that for the last eight years.

There are a lot of Democrats who feel the same way I do (mostly Hillary supporters). The Democratic Primary had a bigger voter turnout than any other in history. The irony is, if we can not find someway to champion Obama, the General Election may have the lowest voter turn out in history.

Bees, Butterflies and Snails... O My!!!

All of a sudden the temperature jumped from the low 60's to the mid 90's in the matter of 24 hours. We have no air conditioning (What's the point? Its winter here 9 months out the year). These are two important facts to remember when reading the following...

Last night (Friday) I got home from grocery shopping to find a SWARM of 200+ Bees at my backdoor. I have never seen so many Bees up close and personal, and frankly it is not something I want to experience again. The girls and I RAN to the front door, trying to be as calm and secretive as we could, we did not want them to follow us. Well you know me, I have 1000 thoughts running through my mind trying to think of an extreme solution to this extreme problem!! Weird enough, the first thought that popped into my head was that I hoped that these bees were not Honey Bees. The Honey Bee population is in danger and I am about to wipe out a whole colony. Chef first, Bee Slayer second.

We got inside the house and about 20 Bees had made it inside. Let me tell you that Wasp and Hornet spray kills on contact, I am soooo lucky that my neighbor had some. I was like the Bee Hunter for the next few hours, patrolling the house to make sure no other Bees had broken in. My neighbor went outside and sprayed the swarm as I looked safely out my back door window. I am a coward, and I am not too proud to admit it. Bees were dropping like flies (ha ha ha) but more and more just kept coming, so we decided that a exterminator was going to have to be called. We can't get one until Monday!

So we still have an angry or a mildly ticked swarm of bees outside the house and we can't open the windows....or the doors. I am afraid that an Army is going to attack in defense of their comrades who died in battle. It's 90 plus degrees in the house and we are dying. I went upstairs and the gerbils looked as though they were walking towards the light. I am sure that if I would not have gotten to them when I did, this would be a completely different blog. I moved the gerbils downstairs, splashed them with water and made sure they were going to live. You might say to yourself, "Boy she has a lot on her hands", no... no; Wes is getting out from work early, the one time in the whole year, and he is bringing three people home from work for dinner in a couple hours. So, while I was resuscitating the gerbils and killing Bees, while calming the children and putting away the groceries, I was making a gourmet meal! I had the oven on, and all 4 burners, in my 90 degree house, and I CAN'T OPEN THE WINDOWS!!!! I would like to see them do that challenge on Survivor. I really think I got heat exhaustion, but dinner was fabulous. Wes went out when it was cooler, and the bees had gone too bed, and HEAVILY sprayed that whole area with tons of poison. They are no where to be found, does anyone else think this is odd that 200+ Bees have disappeared? Sorry there are no Bee pictures; taking pics was the last thing that was going to happen in that chaos.

P.S. SNAIL WATCH, DAY FIVE - Alive and Happy!!!

We went to the Children's Museum in Rochester today (45 min away) and went to the Butterfly Garden. I did not get enough of flying insects from the night before. It was good "bug therapy" though, not all bugs want to invade, hurt and destroy you!!! The butterflies were so beautiful and there were so many. The girls LOVED it!!!

There were a couple of new exhibits at the museum: Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Bernstein Bears.

I wonder how much the Tooth Fairy will give me for this baby?!!!

My Grads....

Kurtis graduated from Kearns High today!!! Kurty Baby is all grown up. Wes and I are very proud of his accomplishment.

So little and cute...

Do you have to use a lot of Gel to get you hair like that?

My brother Mike also graduated from High School last week. I am very proud of him!!!! He starts at the University of Edmonton in the fall for Sports Medicine.

Only Danielle and Adam are (we have a few years for Adam) left to graduate. The time is flying by so fast. I remember when I was a kid and everything seemed like it was in slow motion, but as I get older months whizz by and Christmas does not take an eternity to come around again. Maybe if we could slow life down, everything would be more fulfilling and enjoyable, instead of going from deadline to deadline.

So here is my advice to the graduates, savor all the time that you have...the good and the bad and try to make choices that YOU will be proud of when looking back on your life when you are older. Enjoy this time with limited deadlines and be a little silly:) and remember no matter what you do in life, I will always be proud of you!!

Use 5062 For Press'N Seal Wrap

Good news Hannah found a new snail and I did not run it over with the car, my luck is changing:)

Hannah has named the snail WMJ (Wes's initials) and is living in a glass jar on the kitchen table. She loves this snail so much, you would think that WMJ named Hannah's first child or walked her down the aisle.

I could not find the lid for WMJ's home so I used Press'n Seal Wrap (don't worry I poked holes in the top).

The stuff is AMAZING...it is better than duck tape. If you have not tried Press'n Seal yet I highly recommend trying it, it is sooooooooooo much better than plastic wrap or as I like to call it, "plastic crap."

I am hoping that WMJ is going to have a nice long life, at least a week.

Look Mom No Hands....

We went to the Zoo this weekend (of course) and the female Asian Elephant was working hard for her peanuts.

It was raining out, the pig did not want to get wet.

Whiskers is getting nice and plump

Checking Out The OCD Way!!

I don't know about everyone else, but I have an exact system of how I put my groceries on the conveyor belt at the grocery store. All the "same items" have to be grouped together as they are bagged and in a certain order; i.e....cans with the cans, then boxed goods, produce, I think you get the point. My BIGGEST PET PEEVE is when the bagger puts my meat in with groceries that are not meat, I literally freak out...BACTERIA, people, really bad bacteria!!!

I know this system may sound ridiculous but it makes putting away your groceries at home so much easier. Your cold items stay cold and your bread or a box does not get squashed by a heavier item because they are not in the same bag. This also determines what order the bags go back into the cart. Items that should not be within close proximity of each other are not. In other words, your rolls are not going to be pancakes by the time they leave the store. Another really good point (that Wes just made) is that it helps an inexperienced bagger get you out of the store quicker and teaches him/her how to bag. Just doing my part to make the World a better place:)

Homesick

I am so homesick it has been two years since I have seen my family not including Danielle. My family is getting together this week. Dad(Ken), Eric and Jen are already in Vegas visiting Andy and Andrea, and going to one of my favorite restaurants...I do not know why New York state does not have a Maggianos. Then on Wednesday, Andy, Andrea, Eric and Jen (it is going to be confusing having another Jen in the family...poor Andrea, both of her sis-in laws are Jens) are going to Salt Lake to be with the family for Kurtis's graduation. It is hard being away from family for so long and not having that support and interaction that only ones family can provide. Two years people, and it does not look like I am going to see anyone anytime soon.