Now My Eights

Today's Meme is brought to you by the number 8! It's pretty simple. If you wanna play along, just copy and paste to your own blog, changing the answers to reflect you, and viola!

8 Shows I like to watch:
1- Cake Boss
2- What not to Wear
3- Say Yes to the Dress
4- Toddlers and Tiaras
5- SYTYCD
6- Community
7-Little House on the Prairie
8- Cosby Show


8 Favorite Places I like to eat and drink:
1- Olive Garden
2- Taco Bell
3- OCB
4- Hacienda
5- Pizza Transit
6- China One
7- Chao Cajun
8- Aunt Lorene's

8 Things I look forward to:
1- Birthday parties
2- vacation
3- reunions
4- packages in the mail
5- holidays
6- going out to dinner
7- Girl's night out
8- Sundays

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1- woke up
2- ate food
3- made fruit pizza
4- made handprints of kids in plaster
5- laundry
6- cleaned house
7- went online
8- talked to people

8 things I love about winter:
1- trees are pretty with snow
2- get to wear sweaters
3- sledding
4- wearing gloves
5- possible snow days
6- woodburning stoves smell nice
7- hot drinks; cocoa, boiled custard
8- animal footprints in snow

8 things on my wish list:
1- personal assistant
2- keyboard
3- fabric
4- winter coat
5- an extra kitchen cupboard
6- phone charger for my van
7- a couch
8- new tennis shoes

8 things I am passionate about:
1- music
2- cooking
3- eating
4- planning
5- traveling
6- story telling
7- shopping
8- talking

8 words/ phrases I use most often:
1- I don't know
2- or whatever
3- anyway
4- like
5- just
6- okay
7- I mean...
8- yep

8 things I learned from the past:
1- use your time wisely
2- everything usually works out just fine
3- remain calm
4- sometimes you just need to ask
5- make up your mind to be happy
6- everyone's special but nobody is more special than anybody else
7- be honest
8- don't put metal in the microwave

8 places I would like to visit:
1- Wis Dells
2- Austria
3- Disneyworld
4- California
5- Hawaii
6- NYC
7- Chicago
8- a ghost town

8 things I want/need:
1- a break
2- chocolate cake
3- massage
4- a wardrobe that fits me
5- slippers
6- a bag/purse
7- a mop
8- family and friends

The Blankets

Our ward has been asked to make blankets for people in Haiti. We were only asked to make 13 but they had to be made to certain specifications and they must be done by next Saturday. I was there yesterday for about 4 hours. I had a great time. I mostly did tying. I hated having to leave last night. We only had three quilts completed. I dreamt about it all night. Every time I close my eyes I see the blankets. I really want to go today but I can't figure out what to do with the kids. I'll probably get to go for a couple hours right before Tony goes to work but I know it's going to kill me all day to not be there. I'll probably do some calling around later this morning to give people a chance to wake up and then hopefully I can find someone who wouldn't mind taking them for a while.
Anyway, last night when I was there, I started work on a blanket that one brother had started. Of course he wasn't doing it the normal way so two sisters explained to me his method and I began working. He came back and he worked with me. Then another brother showed up and he asked what he should do. Nobody wanted to give him a job so I said he could come tie while the other brother and I threaded the blankets with yarn. I forgot to mention that the one that started the blanket was using orange thread. There wasn't enough for the whole blanket so we needed to find two more colors to go with it. The blanket itself was a grayish blue. We didn't have a lot of choices and I knew I couldn't use any reds, pinks or browns because they all clashed. I opted for a blue. Then we needed a third color. I held some colors up to it and then chose black. The brother thought that was a good idea.
As the brother began threading the black one sister began throwing a fit. She marched right over there and told him he could not use black. He told her he thought it looked nice. He was totally taking the heat for the choice. I said that I thought it looked nice too. He just kept working even with her over his shoulder shaking her head. It was so funny. The other brother seemed offended that she was telling us what to do with our quilt so for the rest of the night he kept talking about how great this quilt was looking and that the black just really made it pop. I was giggling on the inside. After we finished two sisters came to check our work. They scoured the blanket looking for mistakes. They didn't find any. It really was beautiful. Then everyone there had to admit that the black did look great even the one that threw the fit earlier.
So now you see why I want to get back there so bad. lol.

Spotlights

Our ward primary decided to do spotlights this year. They had a form for all the parents to fill out for each of their children. I filled out a lot of it but some of the questions I asked the boys. They keep changing their favorite colors and favorite school subjects and things like that. So as I was asking them questions and filling out the form it tickled me some of the answers they gave me. For example, one question was; What is the child's favorite scripture story? I thought I knew Koen's but I wanted to ask anyway. I was right and it was the Joseph Smith story. Eades said he loved the story about Nephi leaving Jerusalem with his family. Dougan said his favorite was about the Holy Ghost. I wasn't sure what he was talking about so I gave him some examples of stories and we decided on Noah's ark. It was just fun getting to hear their answers. Another was favorite song. Koen decided on Smooth Criminal. He wanted Dirty Diana, but I didn't think that would be appropriate. Smooth Criminal isn't much better. I didn't even know Koen knew Dirty Diana. Eades chose Beat It, and Dougan of course was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Towards the end it asked what Christlike attributes they have. I got to write about things that I see that maybe others haven't noticed. It also struck me again how different my children are. The last question was anything that I thought they should know that they might not know already. I was filling Koen's in first so when I got to this question my first thought was his webbed toes. Then I thought how that might embarrass him because then everybody would want to see his toes and he doesn't really like a lot of attention. So I decided not to write that down. I'll let him reveal that secret on his own. But yes, it was fun getting to brag on my kids a little and I hope they aren't too embarrassed with what I wrote for them.

Kahlua Pork

I decided to share this story in case some of you hadn't heard it yet.
One day when I was in the MTC I was feeling a little low. I sort of hit a wall with my section 4 memorization and I was having a hard time with the language. I was also a little homesick. I was halfway through my time at the MTC and I knew I still had another month. I think I was getting a little stir crazy. So I was sort of in a bad mood that day. At dinner while I was sitting there feeling a little sorry for myself someone walked by and a gust of wind came from nowhere and blew all the trash off of their tray and into my lap. I thought, How could it get any worse?
That night as I was kneeling and saying my prayer I was telling all my woes to the Lord. I realized that in the MTC everyday is pretty much the same. We had a very strict schedule. The only thing that changed from day to day was the menu. I asked Him if it were possible to let me have my favorite meal the next night. I loved the Kahlua pork. It was very tasty. So after my prayer I went to bed. The next day was much better. I was able to memorize more, the language was clicking and I was very happy to be in the MTC. I had forgotten my prayer from the night before. When I went to dinner that night, what should they be serving but Kahlua pork. I remembered my prayer from the night before. I was reminded of how much he cares for each and every one of us.
The more I thought about it my mind really started to get blown. I prayed for such a silly thing. I was reminded that the Lord sometimes works by small and simple means. I was also left with the question, was Kahlua pork put on the menu last minute just for me or had it been on the menu months ahead of that. Did Heavenly Father know that I would ask for it that exact night? For me it was a miracle even as ridiculous as it was to pray for a certain dinner. Why does the Lord spoil us so much? He does because He loves us.
So that is my story of Kahlua pork.

Crack

I was talking to my younger sister yesterday. We were talking about a bunch of different things but then we started talking about appetizers. She was telling me about something she wants to make with crackers and I was telling her about a dip that I want to make for an upcoming event. I am really excited to make this dip because it is really simple but very delicious. I have one small problem though. My friends that taught me how to make it call it "crack". I don't think I can show up to a R.S. activity bringing something called "crack" or "crack dip". So I will give you the ingredients and you help me find a good name for it. Because this is for a large group I'll make a full recipe.

"Crack"
5 packages cream cheese
1 1/2 large jars salsa
1 package sausage

That's it. You serve it with chips. Now Ruth made one suggestion. "Salsage" It cracks me up. I'm sure some of you have some good ideas too. Let's hear them. I really do not want to tell everyone that it's salsage crack.

I'm surrounded

Sometimes when I'm just sitting down relaxing I notice that all my kids are gathered around me. I'm not even doing anything fun. I'll just be sitting there and I realize I have the baby, my 2 yr. old and my 4 yr. old on my lap and the 6 and 7 yr old will be right beside me. I love it. I know there are times when I'm trying to get things done that I want my space but for the most part I don't mind having kids crawling all over me.
I really don't know what that says about their security level or their separation anxiety or any of that. I just know that as I walk around my house I usually have two to three kids following me around.
Lately my kids are changing. Well, I guess they always are but I've really noticed it lately. I've been getting random compliments on my children. I've noticed Koen really stepping up to the plate and helping out. I've been finding time to just play with them. We had a Dance Party USA Friday night. We had glow sticks, a strobe light, a toy guitar, and the music cranked up. We were having a blast and then I realized my neighbors were watching us. I just laughed.
I really enjoy my kids. Today the primary asked me to fill out a form for the three older ones for spotlights. As I was filling them out I realized how amazing each of them really is. They are so different but they all have great qualities. I mean they are just plain cool. I'm not saying I have the best kids in the world and that this is some sort of competition. I'm just saying that I love my kids as I'm sure other's love theirs. As they go through their stages of life I find myself getting excited and emotional. Sometimes just the thought of having them go to dances or on missions or having families of their own is so overwhelming to think about. So I guess it's a little Sentimental Sunday but there you have it.

The Garlic Solution

My two youngest have had earaches. I took them to the doctor and got them started on antibiotics. I also took Dougan in and he just had a bad cold. So a couple days after that Eades got an earache. It was 11 pm and Tony was at work. The other kids were all still not feeling well. I really didn't want to take all the kids to the ER because I knew it would be awful. I text messaged Tony to wake me up when he got home so I could take Eades in. I figured it would only be a few hours away and Eades would just have to wait it out. But Eades was crying and I could tell he was in obvious pain. I remembered a commercial about home remedies and it said to use a blow dryer. I put it on low medium heat. He said it helped a bit but after I stopped it hurt really bad again. I knew I couldn't just sit in the bathroom blowing into his ear for a few hours. I decided to put the internet to good use and see if there was a way to relieve the pain. I found a website that used home remedies. It said to make some garlic oil. I got out my olive oil and some minced garlic and mixed it together and put it in the microwave to heat up. I then stirred it some more and waited till it wasn't too hot anymore got rid of the garlic and got a dropper. Eades was a little scared about the whole thing but very willing to try it because his ear hurt so much. As soon as I put some of the oil in he relaxed. I massaged his ear and neck like the website said and then we drained his ear. He said it didn't hurt anymore at all. I did it again 30 min. later just because it said you might need to repeat it. He was fine. It worked. Yeah, I was so excited. Eades went back to bed and slept the rest of the night. He went all day yesterday without any problems and even another night. His ear doesn't hurt at all. I don't know why I'm so amazed by it but I sure do wish doctors could just prescribe garlic oil because it's quicker and not as torturous as thick antibiotics twice a day for five days.

Oh, why thank you.

I was talking to my friend about how sometimes homemakers just don't get enough compliments. I know that sometimes I don't feel like I'm really good at anything but changing diapers and they don't really thank me for my speed do they? So I was saying for me, it's cooking. I like to cook for other people because they actually compliment me. I will go all out for a potluck or a brunch or snacks or even items for a fund raiser. I admit it's really only because I like the oohs and aahs as I walk in with my masterpiece. The friend I was talking to about this, let's call her Christy, because that's her name, said she hates cooking. She was the type who would bring a bag of chips to a potluck. I couldn't believe it. She says her husband usually does the cooking in their family. Well anyway, for me, my self-esteem is boosted anytime I get to cook for other people.
So Christy said that for her it was being a gymnastics coach. She was great at it and she finally got some recognition for her talents. We thought it was funny because we are both pretty down to earth people but yet we thrive for these compliments. Then tonight I was talking to a sister of mine, oh, let's just call her "Baby Ruth" and she was saying she just got a little self-esteem boost because her blog ideas have been being copied as of late. She felt really cool that others thought she had a good enough idea to do the same on their own blogs. She was so proud of herself in fact that she found herself bragging a little to her husband. I found that so totally something I would do.
So, I think that as sister soldiers we need to make sure we're giving each other that boost. Sometimes nobody cares how fast you can fold laundry, or how much time you put in to study for a final, or even that you manage to make it to church on time, but if we notice something we should give the praise. And when someone gives you the praise, don't do the whole "this old thing" routine. Say thank you and give yourself a pat on the back. You're remarkable. You are uber-talented. You did a bang up job. Then pay it forward and give somebody else the two-thumbs-up or two-snaps-in-a-circle and share the love.

Picky Girl

I don't think I'm a picky person. I usually know what I would like and I don't mind waiting to get it. Sometimes I just don't know what I want so I'll wait until I figure it out instead of making a rash decision and being disappointed later. So the other day I was with my friend Christy. She wanted me to get a winter coat. I knew which one I wanted because I found it online. I didn't buy it when I found it because I wanted to think about it some more. I told her it was at Burlington Coat factory. One day while we were visiting she said, my girls are watching your kids and we're going to get you that coat. So we went to the store. They did not have my coat. So I did not want to get one. She said we were not leaving until I bought a coat. So I started looking at the ski type coats because the one I really want is a wool walking coat. It's a beautiful coat but not good for snow play with the kids. My friend said I could not get a ski coat because they are too hard to clean. She said I had to either get a leather coat or a wool coat. I didn't want to get a wool coat because I knew I would eventually get the one I wanted. I didn't want a leather one because I think I look weird in them. She would not drop it so I went to find a leather coat.
I hated all the leather coats plus they were like $50 and I didn't want to waste $50 on a coat that I knew I would only wear while I was visiting her. So I kept saying that I wanted a ski coat. So we walked and searched and dug through coats aimlessly. Finally she told me that I was too picky and I obviously didn't have 5 daughters. If I did then I would just say, "If it fits, get it". I couldn't believe it. I didn't think I was being picky. I thought I was trying not to waste money. So finally I found a white ski coat that I didn't hate. I didn't really love it, but I didn't hate it. So I decided to buy it, even though she was really against it. Before we got to check out her daughter called. Christy talked to her privately and then said that her daughter had a coat that I could have. Yippee! I put the coat back and didn't buy anything. I didn't really care what the coat looked like, because it was free.
So now I'm all concerned that I'm picky. I remembered when I went to buy paint. I was there for a long time trying to figure out what I wanted. Once I found what I thought I liked the sales person told me I didn't really want what I picked out. So she tried to get me to change my mind. I got frustrated and left. I went somewhere else and bought the paint. I don't really think I am picky. I think I just don't want to be wrong and waste money. I do know that before I buy anything I think about it for a long time. If I want to buy a pair of shoes I look at it for about one month before I purchase it. I think it's good that way because I only bought two pairs of shoes for myself in the last few years. It's because I ended up with what I really wanted. I once found a skirt I liked online and I went to the store to try it on. Then I thought about it. I finally bought it. Then I needed one of a different color. I went online and bought the exact same one in a different color because I knew I'd like it.
I consider myself a wise shopper. I don't want to spend money on something that I'm not 100% on. Is taking a long time to decide what you really want being picky? It's not like I only want the best or the most expensive. I just want something that's me that I won't hate every time I wear it. Do you think I'm a picky girl in denial???

My 2010 Expectations

I'm jumping on the bandwagon Ruthykins and I'm also not posting resolutions rather expectations.

1. I expect to have my van paid off in a couple of months.

2. I expect to give my kids each a nice birthday party this year.

3. I expect Koen to have a beautiful baptism this summer.

4. I expect to work on some goals such as organization, better parenting, and a healthier lifestyle.

5. I expect to try new things and go out of my comfort zone at least a couple of times this year.

6. I expect change to happen and I expect to let it gracefully.

7. I expect to have a lot of fun and make some new close friends.

8. I expect to keep in close contact with my family even if it is only through media.

9. I expect to be more honest with my feelings and more willing to share them.

10. I expect to write a lot of blogs this year.

Our Big Vacation

I spoiled the kids rotten this Christmas break. First we opened presents early. We did that on Tuesday. Christmas Eve we drove to Uncle Sam's house. We had a great few days there where the boys got to play video games, make gingerbread houses, and play with two very fun dogs. Then we went to the Barclay's where they got to play laser tag, went to a big play place full of balls, went to two arcades, went to the dollar movie, went to two parties, watched a ton of movies, played Rock Band and Dance Revolutions, and some other video games, and just had a blast being with the Barclays. Spoiled huh. They really are, and I was too because there were plenty of adults to help with the kids.