WHAT did you get into THIS time?!?

Take a look at my cute little Troy. This is the kind of thing that happens when I decide I actually want to hear the person I'm talking to on the phone. I was in my bedroom, door closed; otherwise the kids are right where I'm at, yelling about who knows what. It always seems to happen when I'm on the phone, too, that they magically can't do it themselves and need help. I heard Troy outside my door, but didn't really think much of it. Then he started knocking on the door. I decided, hey, I can handle one kid in the room with me, right? Lo and behold, my eyes are met with this sight. What in the...

Well, he needed a bath anyway. And maybe he instinctively knew that, because he had climbed up to the boys' bathroom sink and covered his own head with hand soap. And not just covered, he heaped the soap on. But hey, at least it was soap, it could have been, like, poop or something.

A Picture of a Picture

Brock turned three. And as is custom in our house, it's picture time. I've done "professional" photos (JCPenney or Wal-Mart, thanks-that's about all I choose to afford professional-wise, and I totally use coupons) at 6 months, then a year, and every year hence. So the time had come, the walrus said. And it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He walked right in, but as soon as the lady tried to pose him, like "Can you put your hands in your pockets?" or "Okay, sit on this crate thing", that was it for him, and he ended up on my lap. But at least this year my shoulder isn't in the picture with him. We got a couple of smiles, and then tears, and then he wouldn't show his monkey's face-he covered his monkey's eyes with his hands. That was the end. But hey, we got one shot, and that's all I needed.

So here's a picture of the picture-I don't have a scanner. It's on the mile-long list of wants. Before ever getting a scanner, we need to pay for kidney stones and a baby girl...and like I said, the list is a mile long. If you want the real picture, and I know you, let me know and I can send one your way! Because you totally need this kid's dimpled adorable smile to brighten up your fridge front!

My Not-So-Old Dad

Alrighty. I'm way late on posting about my dad's birthday. Because going up and down the stairs is difficult for me, every time I come down without the camera, there's no way I'm going to go back up for it. So now that I finally managed to remember to bring the camera down, I can do a little posty-posty.

My sisters already did an incredible job of posting about my cute dad. So check out Karlenn's post and Brianna's post for their descriptions of the man we all love and his birthday party this year.

Here are the top 10 reasons I love my dad:

10. He's a dang hard worker.
9. He has the most integrity and honesty of anyone I know.
8. He's so photogenic! I wish I would have inherited that trait (along with the others, of course).
7. He's fun to be around.
6. He's super generous with his time and money.
5. He turns the other cheek-I've seen people be super jerks to him and he'll always forgive and forget.
4. He's a really good Sunday school teacher.
3. He's way athletic-he's competed in a triathlon before, and only a couple of years ago.
2. He'd do anything for anyone, regardless of what he gives up for himself.
1. He put up with 5 women in his house. 'Nuff said.

Well Dad, you're the best, end of story. I hope tax season doesn't kill you this year. Only 6 days left! Love you!

Alphabet Nat

Kar tagged me, so here goes:



A-Attached or Single? Attached
B-Best Friend? Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.
C-Cake or Pie? Oooh, depends on the kind. Can I have both?
D-Day of Choice? Fridays. Pete’s home, we get stuff done, we relax…it’s a good day.
E-Essential Item? My contacts. Someday I’ll get laser eye surgery…
F-Favorite Color? Green. Most of the rooms in my house have shades of green in them.
G-Gummy bears or worms? Worms, but I can’t have too many-they make me sugar high really fast, and then I feel sick.
H-Hometown? Idaho Falls, ID
I-Favorite Indulgence? The rare naps I get.
J-January or July? July-the 4th, my birthday, summertime-can’t get better than any of that!
K-Kids? 3 and ¾!
L-Life isn't complete without? Coca-Cola. YUM!
M-Marriage date? June 21, 2002
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 3 awesome sisters
O-Oranges or apples? Totally apples. But not red delicious-I call them red yucky.
P-Phobia or fears? Spiders. And I’m always scared that my kids are going to get run over in the parking lot or kidnapped.
Q-Quote? To infinity-and BEYOND!
R-Reason to smile? My boys give me hundreds of reasons to smile every day-they’re so funny and cute!
S-Season of choice? Spring, when everything starts blooming and smells so wonderful.
T-Tag 3 people: Amy, Kristine, and Chels.
U-Unknown facts about me? I hate sandals, and I think my feet are really ugly, especially without my toenails being painted. Weird, I know.
V-Vegetable? I love fresh peas from the garden.
W-Worst habit? Repeating myself.
X-X-ray or ultrasound? Either, I guess. I’ve had more ultrasounds than X-rays.
Y-Your favorite food? Chocolate
Z-Zodiac sign? Leo!

Pampered

The other night I went to a Pampered Chef party. I've gotta be honest-my idea of "pampered chef" is when a chef comes to my home to cook for me while I'm getting a pedicure or massage. But they have all sorts of cool gadgets, some of which I'd never even think of. The demonstrator, named-not joking here-Mary Kae, made this fabulous salad, and I wanted to share the recipe. I don't know if I'll get in trouble, but it was printed in the catalog of overpriced kitchen tools, so I'm probably safe. It was really light and scrumptious, and believe it or not you can make it without all the special bowls and measuring spoons, although we did use this and it was rather handy. Enjoy!

Chicken, Avocado, and Grapefruit Salad

Chicken:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. citrus and basil rub (basically just basil and lemon pepper)
1 tsp. olive oil

Dressing and Salad:
1 large ruby red grapefruit
1 Tbsp. orange marmalade
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Salad:
4-6 radishes
1 ripe avocado
1 (6-oz.) bag spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced red onion

For chicken, combine basil and olive oil to make a rub; rub it on the chicken. Cook the chicken on both sides over medium heat until done.

For dressing, zest grapefruit (grate the peel) to get 1 tsp. zest. Cut the grapefruit in half and remove the sections. Squeeze the grapefruit for 1/4 cup of its juice. Combine zest, juice, marmalade, oil, salt, and pepper.

For the salad, slice the radishes and dice the avocado. Slice the chicken into thin strips or chunks. Combine spinach, chicken, grapefruit sections, radishes, avocado, and onion. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until coated; serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Tuff Stuff

Today I took Brock to the doctor's. He was overdue for some shots, and he's had a thing growing on his face pretty rapidly. I thought it was a wart, my mom thought it was maybe a mole. The doctor's verdict: a wart. We decided to basically cut it off while there. And let me tell you, Brock is a tough cookie. Three nurses had to hold him down and attempt to keep him still enough so the doctor wouldn't bludgeon his face while trying to remove said wart. He got it off, but not without some serious wrestling and sweating on Brock's part. Then the poor kid still had to get one shot in his leg after he thought it was all over. I'm just glad we didn't take Jakob-my cute neighbor watched him for us-thanks a ton, Arin! The last time Jakob went to the doctor's he got seven shots. Had he watched Brock through this ordeal, I think he would have sworn off doctors for life and thought we were the meanest parents in the whole world. Now for the hard part for me-keeping a 3-year-old's face clean!

Trim, Trim, Trimmy-Trim, Trim

I've mentioned in a previous post that we're working on finishing the two bedrooms in our basement. This weekend my awesome brother-in-law Mark came and did the trim in both rooms; my father-in-law came and helped him. Mark is a construction worker by profession, so he of course did an amazing job. And we're that much closer to having those rooms complete. Thanks, Mark! This isn't an actual picture of the trim he did (this is elsewhere in our basement)-I'm being lazy and didn't feel like taking a picture, uploading it to the computer, etc. But it looks just as good, if not better.

And because I'm super cool and clever, the reason I titled this post "Trim, Trim, Trimmy-Trim, Trim" is because I was thinking of the movie "The Muppets Treasure Island". There's a part near the beginning where a guy is about to die and wants to talk to Jim, the boy on the show. He goes, "Jim, Jim, Jimmy-Jim, Jim", but to the wrong character, who then says, "I'M not Jim, Jim, Jimmy-Jim, Jim. HE'S Jim, Jim, Jimmy-Jim, Jim." It's funny. I tried to find a clip, but it wasn't happening. But I did find other funny clips from that movie. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhygKI2NmQ

I love the Muppets!