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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Clearance Sale Fabric


Our JoAnn Fabrics is moving to a new, bigger location and has put the remaining inventory at their old store 70% off. Friday, since all of the kids were finally back at school, Chloe and I ran to see what they might have left? I came across this adorable 'flip-flop' print, hot pink ball fringe, and lime ric-rac and couldn't resist.

Today after church I broke out the sewing machine and whipped up this sundress, head scarf, matching doll dress and diaper bag for Chloe. The flip flops were at baby Gap for $4.50 (sweet find). Now all we need is some sunshine.


To my sisters and sisters-in-law, be expecting packages to show up for your little girls. There was a minimum 5 yd. purchase on the fabric and trim.




Friday, February 20, 2009

A week in review

You know this guy is not a mechanic and is a construction worker just by looking at his jack system. Construction workers like putting good studs to use whenever possible.



Last Friday, exactly 7 days ago, was the kick off to a 4 day weekend. Just a little preview the school likes to give you of what summer break will look like, minus the nice weather. After a few hours of hounding my kids to do some bare minimum jobs around the house, breaking up one too many 'disagreements', and picking up one too many empty capri sun wrappers, I loaded the brood into the suburban for some much needed time away from the casa. Carter had kicked his 4 day weekend off a little earlier than the rest due to a sore throat, cough, nasal congestion and fever keeping him home. Being a 14 year old boy with energy to burn (even when sick), he had also developed a serious case of cabin fever. At his suggestion we headed out to do a trade of the DS game he had spent the previous 2 days conquering. Getting his brothers to willingly go to a game store requires no prodding. If only they were as responsive when it came time to make their beds, pick up shoes, etc. After making our way through the 4th game store, Carter was finally able to secure an acceptable trade on the game he wanted. I rounded up the kids, prying the sample game controllers from their little palms, and herded them back to the suburban. It was almost 3:30 and I couldn't wait to get home and get ready for the date night Larry and I had planned with some neighbor couples at one of my favorite restaurants. It would be asking far too much of the day to expect the car to start. It would make the sounds of turning over but it wouldn't fire. Having far too much experience knowing about dead batteries, I knew this didn't qualify. I called Larry and he said he would be there asap, but was a good 30 minutes away. I sent the boys back in to the store to resume playing the sample games. Once again, not a hard thing to accomplish. When Larry arrived his fears were confirmed and he recognized that the fuel pump had gone out. We illegally loaded the 7 of us into the front of Larry's truck and headed for home. Larry started calling around and found out that a minimum of $750 was required to replace the fuel pump. He was able to find one at the auto supply store for closer to $300, but it was a DIY project.

We made it to our dinner date 30+ minutes late and had a fabulous time and delicious food. I almost forgot about the car troubles. Almost.

The next afternoon, Valentines Day, after a nice lunch together, Larry and I headed over to tow the suburban home. There was a white letter under the front wiper. I assumed it was a notice from the shopping center for leaving our car there too long. As it turns out, it wasn't what I though nor was it a Valentine card. It was a note letting us know our car was hit while parked and the front passenger side was damaged. Lovely. Romantic.

Satuday night the several hours of confinement in the car with the sick child take over the rest of the family. The fevers start along with coughing--which in some family members triggers vomiting. Again, lovely and romantic.

Sunday is not a day of rest. At least not for me.

Monday, I take the 3 sickliest kids to the doctor who prescribes antibiotics, collects his co-payment x 3, and sends us on our merry way. Larry stays home and works on the fuel pump.
He gets it replaced with one minor glitch, the fuel gauge now doesn't work. That's worth a $500 savings in my book.
Tuesday morning I drive our fixed suburban (gotta love that Larry) to take 2 of the 4 schoolgoing kids to school. The other 2 plus Chloe are home in their sickbeds.
Wednesday, I start antibiotics for myself and rejoice in the fact the Tatyana does not make it to the final 12 on American Idol and that Danny does.
Thursday, we all start to see the light at the end of the sickness tunnel.
That brings us back to Friday. Today. 4 kids go to school. Although we are far from being 100% better, we are far better than we were this same time last week. My sister in law Karin drops by a pan full of homemade cinnamon rolls for me to bake. Not only do we get to enjoy delectable rolls, but we also get to savor the scent of them baking! Karin is great. Let's hope this signals the start of a nice weekend.


Thursday, February 12, 2009

This is a tired baby eating breakfast

Chloe sucks on her toast and tries to keep her eyes open. If I try to wipe her face or help with her food she turns into an angry little tiger and growls at me.



Wednesday, February 11, 2009

What a great way to spend a Friday

The family with Grandpa and Aunt Haley in front of the entrance.

Last week Larry told us he needed to make a quick trip to Utah on Friday. I checked into the Draper Temple Open House reservations to see that we would be able to get tickets for Friday--something that wasn't possible for any weekends before it opened and was dedicated. We felt justified in having the boys skip school and made the drive down with Larry. It was beautiful! When I was a little girl probably between Chase and Corbin's ages, I went to the Jordan River Temple Open House. It had a powerful impact on me and I decided that was where I wanted to be married some day. Larry and I ended up being married there.

Monday, February 9, 2009

We've been making a lot of dough.

Lately as breadwinning has become more challenging, we've looked for ways to cut back and be thrifty. When Grandma & Grandpa Hawkes (Jim & Jan) asked what we could like for Christmas, we requested a grain mill. They gave us a dandy. We have taken to opening up our cans of food storage wheat, breaking open the cookbooks, grinding the wheat and making dough. I have baked a minimum of 4 loaves of bread per week. At first I would stick 2 in the freezer but would end up pulling them out before they could get cold. It has been an economical and healthy way to help fill up four growing boys. Each week I have tried a different wheat bread recipe. At first we experimented with coarseness of grain and honey vs. molasses. Then I broke down and did a white/wheat combo which is the most popular with the kids. Tonight I just pulled out loaves that have mostly wheat flour, a little bit of oats and an equally small amount of white flour. Tomorrow morning I will hear the response as the kids make toast. Carter and Chase used to only want school lunch (which I think alternated between a slice of Pizza or a crispy chicken sandwich) but now they take a homemade bread sandwich. I usually have a little whole wheat flour leftover and make a batch of oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies with it while the bread is rising. The best ones have been oatmeal white chocolate chip and coconut. This was Caleb's idea and they turned out awesome. Oh yeah, I have been doing really good pizza crust instead of going out for pizza on weekends and I want to try tortillas. I know many of you have been doing this for years but my previous idea of homemade was asking Great Harvest to sell me a loaf unsliced.
If you have a favorite recipe, please share it with me.

Monday, February 2, 2009

What would you do in this situation?

You pull up to the drive-thru to order a grilled chicken sandwich then proceed to the pick-up and pay window. The employee that greets you has a name tag on that states his name and title. It reads: Manager. You pay, he steps back to retrieve your food and you hear him yell to the back, "Oops!... Five second rule."
So, what would you do in this situation?
It happened to me and luckily a different employeecame to the window after a few minutes to tell me that my chicken had been dropped on the ground and it would be a ten minute wait unless I was willing to take crispy. Why is that guy the manager?