Quiche

My mother-in-law is a lunch lady at her local Jr High.  They make quiche there.  It is so delicious.  I love quiche.  My kids love quiche.  My husband tolerates quiche.  I want my mother-in-law to live with us and  make us quiche every day.  MMMMM....  quiche.

Sad and glad

Due to circumstances beyond our control, Betsy Lou will not be coming home with us.  I have cried my last tear.  I was so excited for that little ball of fur to come into our family.  But the landlord would not relent.  I guess "small pets" does not include Shih Tzu puppies.  At any rate, I am counting down the days until we are able to buy our own home and we can have one of those cute little guys.  I will have to wait for the next litter.  But I think it will be worth the wait. 
We are currently looking for a house.  We looked at one yesterday that I really liked but it was old and the furnace was ancient.  There were some things that need done in order to make it a house that we could live in, and we could just not afford to do the work anytime in the near future.  The bathroom that would be the main bathroom does not have a shower!  And Justin really wants a master suite with our own bathroom.  I loved it because it was in my friend, Erin's, neighborhood.  But it ain't gonna happen.  So we will continue our search.  That was technically only our first home that we have looked at.  And we have nothing but time.  So we will keep looking!  I love this process.  Looking at houses is fun!  But I know it might get old pretty quick.  So we shall see where it takes us.  The housing market is wonderful for buyers right now, the interest rates are low.  I don't think we will make it in time for the first time buyer credit, because Justin does not like to rush things... but we shall see what happens.  Meantime, if you know of any houses for sale in Rexburg... let me know!  I have looked at all of the listings online, but if it is an owner sale, then I have no way of knowing it is out there.

Our Unofficial Spring Break

Because it was the week that Justin had off from school, we took the kids out of school and went down to Utah this week.  We spent the week cleaning out my Mother-in-law's cupboards, straightening things, getting ready for spring.  We did some shopping down at IKEA in Draper.  That was my first time there, and I must say that I was totally impressed!  You can furnish your entire house on $20!  Well, practically.  We found all kinds of little things that we needed and could not live without and cannot believe we have gone this long with never having them.  So, now that we are looking around for a house, we know where to go when we need things for this house.  IKEA is my favorite place in the world.  The kids would like to live there.  You have everything you need.  You could live there forever! 

So then we went to In & Out Burger in Draper.  I had heard all the hype and was prepared for an amazing burger experience and was left wanting.  First, we had to sit on these little stools at a counter because it was so packed that there was nowhere else to sit.  And we were there at 4:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday.  That was a little ridiculous.  And when we got the burgers, seemed pretty much like a burger to me.  And the fries, eh...  Okay, not great.  Give me some 5 Guys Burgers and Fries any day.  In & Out was a little cheaper than 5 Guys, but we always eat at 5 Guys for $20, and for a family of 5, that is pretty dang good.  Even the kids liked 5 Guys better.

We also saw How to Train Your Dragon while we were in Utah.  We saw it in 3D.  It was fun.  Lorelai fell asleep about 20 minutes in so she was not impressed.  The kids liked it.  I thought it was pretty good.  I was entertained.

We went to the Union Grill at Union Station one night, which was yummy.  I had the vegetarian pasta salad which was delicious!!!  We also went to Wing Wah while we were down there.  Love me some Wing Wah Chinese food.  MMMMM...  And I had a Chick Fil A sandwich for lunch one afternoon at the mall.  I really miss that place.  While we were at the mall...  Caroline got her ears pierced!!!  It was a very spur of the moment thing.  She has wanted them done for years and years.  But Justin has not let her.  He told her she could do it when she was ten, and then changed his mind when she turned ten.  Even as we were in Claire's he was trying to talk her into waiting until she was 12.  But I got my first holes when I was 5 and my second holes in 4th grade, so I really had no objections to her getting them done.  So, since it was so inexpensive, and we knew we could use this as leverage all week to get her to do whatever we wanted...  we let her get them done.  She was a real trooper and did not even flinch!!!  She said she did not even feel it!  Now she is proudly displaying her turquoise titanium tiny little balls to all who will see.  She gets to put in some new earrings in 6 weeks and she is practically counting down the days.

Monday evening I took the big kids down to Rich and Ginny's house to visit and to also see my cousin, Matt who came up to see us!  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and with my cousin's kids.  Matt has 3 girls that are around Caroline's age and she had a blast.  Elizabeth, my brother's 4 year old was very sad to see us all go.  But we had a great visit.  It had been almost 10 years since I had seen my cousin!  We grew up together and always played together, so it was nice to catch up on what he has been up to.  He has been a bishop for the past 6 years and was just released and it seems that his burdens seemed lighter.  And my brother told me he had completed his Masters degree!!!  That is incredible news!!!  And his son Cody was there as well.  Cody, 19, is now in college at Weber and planning on going into the Army following in his father's footsteps which could not make Rich any prouder, I think.  So it was great to spend some time with my family.

We got home yesterday afternoon and today we need to go down to Idaho Falls to buy some food.   We have eaten out all week and I have to actually start cooking tonight.  Justin starts back to school on Tues and he is in a play, so the fun all begins again in a couple of days.  I will not see him except in passing in my dreams...  The kids have 5 weeks left of school...  and I have...  ummmm...  a lot of reading to do!

Spring Break

This past weekend was Spring Break, so it was mandatory that we have activities to fill the time so I did not hear whining...  We did very well and the kids hardly complained at all!

 Our first day was Thursday and that was the fun-filled day, packed with tons of stuff to do and see.  I thought if I started off with a good day, then I would be kind of off the hook for the rest of the weekend.  I was right!  Thursday was a huge success!  First, I invited Caroline and Hilton's best friends, Taylor and Tristan to spend the day with us.  I thought that would keep the fighting to a minimum and I was right.  The Tuttles are so well-behaved and polite.  I love having them with us!  We went to the library first thing in the morning.  Hilton really wanted to get The Lightening Thief, so I had put it on hold and it was ready.  We kind of looked around and got some books and then it was time for Hilton and Lorelai to get haircuts.  After that it was lunchtime.  I took the kids to the Wendy's in Rigby because we were on our way to Ririe to see the puppies!!!  The kids loved this.  We cuddled and played with all three of the puppies for an hour.  They were so sweet and soft.  I cuddled little Betsy Lou as much as I was permitted by 5 children.  They watched the puppies nurse from their mommy and thought that was pretty cool.  After that, we went home for a little break and then it was off to the movie theater for The Lightening Thief.  That was an adventurous and fun film!  We all had a blast watching it!  Even Lorelai was into it.

 Then it was time to pick up Justin from work and we grabbed a couple of pizzas and headed home.  The kids were exhausted but still wanted to hang out with their friends.  I insisted that Taylor and Tristan go home and we all went to bed.
Friday was low-key but the kids played and played.  They made forts and practiced their play, "Peter Pan," that they have written themselves.  They are going all out.  They made a schedule for rehearsals, a cast list, even a director's notebook.  I just don't know where they get it! (wink)  But that kept them busy all day long while I was able to do laundry.  They even included Lorelai!
Saturday was another low-key day.  We watched conference and went out to Wingers for dinner later.
Sunday was Easter and I did not do a lot of candy this year.  After hundreds of dollars at the dentist, I was not going to go that route again.  Plus, I did not want to be tempted myself.  So the kids all got Webkinz and Caroline got a handheld electronic game called My Life.  Hilton got some Bakugans and Lorelai got one of those magnetic drawing pad thingys.  Plus they all got a big chocolate bunny.  We hid 50 eggs in the house for them to find... (there are still 5 unaccounted for!) and each egg had 2 or 3 jelly beans or m&m's in them.  So that was the candy.  We had a wonderful dinner which I prepared.  Ham, funeral potatoes(I have found we like the shredded hashbrowns) roasted asparagus, deviled eggs, and for dessert a marshmallow lemon cake that looked like it was dead, but tasted delicious.  We had our friend from Louisiana, Jason, over and visited.
Monday Caroline had Activity Days all morning.  So the little kids and I went to Walmart and bought potty stuff for Lorelai and had McDonald's for lunch.  Then we went home and the kids played and played.  They all practiced their play and played on the computer.
So you are wondering why they did not play outside on Spring Break?  Well, it snowed.  It blizzarded.   (I know that is not a word.)  It was supposed to rain, but we got snow, snow and more snow.  After all the snow had been melted and we had had several weeks of warmer weather... my kids went to school this morning all bundled up.  We have several inches on the ground with more projected to come.  Okay, I am totally done with winter.  You can go away now...

Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month and April 2 is World Autism Day. Please learn more about Autism and the early signs. Early intervention makes a world of difference with these kids. www.generationrescue.org www.tacanow.org Some facts I'd like to share:

Did you know ...

• Autism now affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism

Prevalence vs. Private Funding

• Leukemia: Affects 1 in 1,200 / Funding: $277 million
• Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 100,000 / Funding: $162 million
• Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 300 / Funding: $394 million
• Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $156 million
• Autism: Affects 1 in 110 / Funding: $79 million

National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation

• Total 2009 NIH budget: $35.9 billion
• Of this, only $196 million goes directly to autism research. This represents 0.5% of total NIH funding.

Spring Break

And so begins the yearly ritual of Spring Break.  Who is it a break for, exactly?  Must be for the teachers, because surely people don't care of children get a break.  Parents don't get a break, do they?  Why is it that whenever there is some kind of break for the children, there is always candy involved?  Harvest break, Christmas break, Spring break...  So our children get all hopped up on sugar and chocolate and drive us nuts for a long weekend.  Then they get off of their schedules and when it is time for them to go back to school it is like you are pulling teeth.  So I am ready for my break from Spring Break and Spring Break hasn't even begun.  Well, it has, I guess.  The kids are out of school.  And why is it that the weather has been gorgeous the past couple of weeks and now that it is Spring Break and I just want to send the kids outside all day it gets cold and wet?  I just walked outside to throw away the trash and had to put on a jacket!!!  Freezing!!!  And it has been so nice to have weather in the 50's.   So I am going to take the kids to see the puppies tomorrow.  Just to cuddle and play with to kill time.  And we may go to the dollar movie which is really $2.  And maybe get some bowling in at some point over the break.  Or maybe they will miraculously find some way to occupy themselves!!!  Yeah, right.

New Jeans!

Okay, so not new jeans, but they feel new.  I have not worn them since I was staying in Ogden with Justin's family, 2 years ago.  So even though I have only lost 17 lbs, I must be losing inches.  Right?  My hard work is paying off.  I have an extremely long way to go, but I feel good that I am seeing results physically if not from the scale.  I tried these jeans on right before Christmas and I could not even get them up passed my thighs!!!  So, yes!!!  I am getting results.  Slowly, but surely.  I know, I need to get a tape measure.  I used to have one, I just can't find it.  So, next time I get to WalMart, I will try and find one.  Yea me!

Betsy Lou

Lorelai and I went to see our little Betsy Lou today.  Isn't she so cute?  She was playing with one of the older dogs.  She is so playful.  She is the smallest of the litter.  There are 3.  She is also the only girl.  They still have one boy that has not been claimed.  He is just gorgeous.  So if anyone is interested, let me know.

The results

So I went back to get my hair fixed and I am very happy with it.  it does not show up as much in a photo, but my hair looks less silver and more golden.  They put a different color toner on it and I am very pleased.  It is not exactly how I want it to look... but it is much better so I can live with it for a couple of months.  I have learned my lesson, that I do a much better job of it myself.

Disaster hair!!!

So, I got my hair highlighted on Saturday and I am not happy with it.  I wore it curly today so that takes the edge off of it.  But I still pretty much hate it.  It is not golden blond.  It looks like I have gray hair streaked with my natural mousy dark blond color.  I am going to have to go in and have it fixed or fix it myself... which I am too frightened to do.  For now, I may just wear a bag over my head.  To confirm my suspicions about my awful hair, my husband does not like it and not one person said one thing to me about it at church yesterday.  When people say nothing, that means it does not look good.  So... here is hoping I can fix it!