Jogging

Well I have kept my goal and have jogged on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yesterday morning I was really tired and didn't want to get out of bed, but did. I really had to push myself to jog, it was like my body was pushing against me. Hopefully this will get easier. Also, on the days that I jog, I am really tired for the rest of the day. I thought exercising was suppose to give you more energy...

Big Horn Show

Jeff took Mason and Cooper to the Big Horn Sport and Recreation Show this morning. Jeff's Dad, my Dad, and my brother, Michael also came along. I, on the other hand, had NO interest in going, so I spent time running other errands.

If you look closely at the pole, there is a leopard climbing up it.
My cute boy.

Here is a video of the leopard.

When the boys got home Cooper told me that he learned about Cats....big ones.

Bountiful Basket

There is a company based in Utah (I think) that is gets fresh produce at really cheap prices and then passes those savings onto their customers. They just started this program in Spokane a few weeks ago. The people who assemble each basket are volunteers, just one more way of saving money. This week I decided to get a basket to see if the produce is any good and if it really is worth the money. For $15 I got:

15 red potatoes

8 tangerines

6 grapefruit

13 apples

7 bananas

1 head of lettuce

1 bunch of celery

2 bunches of asparagus

3 cucumbers

1 lb baby carrots

3 beats

The only thing I have no clue what to do with is the beats. Anyone know what to do with these?

Reminder

Lets play a round of "name these pictures"

Any guesses?


The first picture is red hard wheat.

The second picture is red hard wheat ground into wheat flour.

Did anyone get either picture right?

The real reason I posted these is because I FINALLY used my grain mill I got for my birthday. Every time I have made pizza dough, post grain mill ownership, I have thought to myself, hey self you could make some wheat pizza dough! Then my lazy side would kick in and say nah that would take WAY too much time. Well yesterday I kicked the lazy side to the curb and ground some wheat. Yummy! That pizza good! And the best part was that it only took a few minutes to grind the wheat. Eating the yummy pizza, reminded me of how good the food was that I ate at a class I went to where I learned how to cook with wheat.

The second reminder I got was from Mason. While I was rolling out the pizza dough, Cooper was playing with the un-ground wheat. Cooper spilled some on the floor. I looked at the spilled wheat and said, "ah crap". Then Mason said, "Mom you are really good at saying things we are not suppose to say".

Thanks for the reminder Mason.

Flash Freezing

Tuesday I got another 40 pound box of fresh (never been previously frozen) boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.58/lb. These chicken breasts are so big! They are at least twice the size of Costco's frozen chicken breasts. Last time I got the chicken I made 16 meals and froze them. With the remaining chicken I portioned it into amounts our family would eat and froze those portions in freezer bags. I really liked doing it that way, but if we had someone over for dinner I had to thaw out another bag, even if I only need half of it.

So this time I decided to try flash freezing. I'd never done it before, I just knew that frozen chicken (or other foods) from the store have been flash frozen first so that the chicken isn't stuck together in one big clump, thus allowing you to use the right amount of chicken or other food for each meal. I looked it up on the internet and all it said was to use cookie sheets and put wax paper over the cookie sheets, then place the desired food on the wax paper, being careful the food is not touching, then freeze until completely frozen (2-24 hours). Sounds easy enough, well it was!

The first batch I froze, I portioned into meal sizes and added in the bags either BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, or an oil/honey/soy sauce/garlic marinate. I ended up with 9 meals. Now I am so excited to fire up the grill!

The second batch I cut the breasts either in half....

or in strips....and froze them. Then I put them into freezer bags. I ended up with three gallon size bags of halved breasts and one gallon bag of strips. My freezer is so full of chicken now. Not only do I have this 40 pounds, but a few weeks ago frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts were on sale at Safeway for $1.69/lb so I got 28 pounds then. The same chicken is on sale again at Safeway this week, I am seriously considering getting another 20 pounds. Am I crazy? I don't know...we do eat way more chicken than any other meat... and I do have room in my freezer for it...but then I wouldn't have room for anything else if there was a great sale on another food item.

A sure way...

to get all your markers taken way.

Mason's "art" is not so noticeable. (He has a yellow mustache and beard.) Watch out Leonardo da Vinci!

Cooper's allergy test relults

I just got a call from Cooper's allergist. The nurse said that Cooper is VERY allergic to peanuts (yeah we knew that). She said that the test results came back with the highest possible number, so I guess the good news is that his allergy can't get any worse. Is there any possible way that he will grow out of this since he is as allergic as a person can be? Yes, but only time will tell. So unless we want Cooper to stop breathing, no nuts for him. Sorry kid.

Jogging

A week or so ago I went jogging with my sister DeAnne-that felt really good, but I wasn't very happy with my self that I couldn't jog for a good distance without wanting to stop. I have to admit, I have not worked out regularly in at least six years, and that stint only lasted a few months. Before that, it was when I was a Sophomore in High School. I was in great shape then. Too bad for Jeff that he didn't know me then, he would have thought I was H. O. T. During my Sophomore year I took an aerobics class from a great teacher, who had a gift for motivating even the laziest person. During that year we jogged M, W, F and did step box aerobics or some other aerobic workout on T, Th. After a very short time I was able to run 6 miles during the 75 minute class period. Pretty good eh? Well that was the last time I was in THAT good of shape.

I have been wanting to start jogging again for a while now, but I have used excuses like: "with a husband, two kids, a house to run, a church calling to fulfill- I don't have time" and "it's too cold out, the road might be icy, I would fall and hurt myself". Well, the same sister I mentioned above just completed a 5K run this weekend. I finally decided that if DeAnne can find the time, then so can I. This weekend I set a goal for myself that I would run M, W, F and do some toning on T, Th, Sat. Then when my mussels and body get used to jogging a bit more I will jog on T, Th too.

This morning I was up at 6:45, stretched, and out the door by 7:00. I jogged/walked for 30 minutes. I would say that I jogged at least half of that time. Hopefully over the next few weeks I can build up to jogging the entire time and lengthen the time I jog for too.

Thanks DeAnne for giving me the inspiration I needed!

Bowling Birthday

Mason and Cooper were invited to their cousin Magan's 6th birthday party today at a bowling ally. The best part of bowling....the shoes.

Mason with his cousin Connor
Mason bowling, with Daddy trying to help him with his "technique".
Cooper's technique-getting down on his knees and pushing his ball.
Cooper waiting, and waiting, and waiting to see how many pins his ball would knock over.
Cooper with his Great Grandma Long

Mason bowling

Cooper bowling

Cooper trooper

Earlier this week Cooper had to get his blood drawn to see if he is still allergic to peanuts. Cooper did really well, considering his age. I held him in my lap and held his "extra" arm down, while one nurse stabilized his other arm, and another nurse drew his blood. Cooper did cry while this was being done, but once the tourniquet (rubber band thing) was taken off his arm he did stop. I'm not sure when we will get the results, probably this week. My hopes are not high that he will no longer be allergic to peanuts. Maybe someday.

Once we got out of the office building, Cooper became pretty lethargic so once we got home he drank some OJ and perked right back up.

Can you see the "lethargic-ness" in his eyes?

Giveaway

My friend told me about a giveaway from the Dress-Up Drawer. The giveaway is for a Mikarose dress. Sadly, I've never heard of the Milkarose clothing company before- they have some really cute stuff- I've really been missing out! Go check it out and enter to win!

http://thedressupdrawer.blogspot.com/2010/03/monday-is-finally-here-i-have-such.html

Crazy busy

Lately my life has been crazy busy! I feel like I am just barley surviving, doing the minimum requirements in life. And sometimes not even that. I can't tell you how many days in the last month we have either had leftovers, or even better, "I don't know what's for dinner, I guess whatever you want to make for dinner, Jeff". I'm sure Jeff could tell you how many nights were a "quality free" dinner night. I can't tell you how many times I have heard from different people "gee you have not made cookies in a while". This. Is. Not. Normal. I usually have yummy cookies made. I can tell you though, that I have not done a deep cleaning on my house for at least a month. Again. Not. Normal. And I can't tell you the last time I played with my boys, I mean really played with my boys. Not. Normal. Not. OK.

If asked what life has been crazy busy with, I probably couldn't give you any specifics, just life. You know, family, watching my nephews a couple days a week, trying to keep up on the clutter that somehow accumulates ALL THE TIME, church, grocery shopping, serving in the YW (anyone who has served in that organization knows how time consuming that is and how much preparation goes in), making sure my boys don't starve, running errands, blah blah blah. I could go on, but I know all you moms know what I am talking about.

Then to make it even crazier, two Sundays ago, my Bishop asked me to teach at a "Teaching Conference" that was held this morning. Myself and one other person were to cover about 100 pages in the "Teaching, No Greater Call" manual, in 45 minutes. Yeah sure Bishop, no problem, I have nothing else to do over the next 13 days. Gulp.

THEN as if things couldn't get any crazier, I got a cold last weekend and have been dealing with that all week.

This week I decided I would just do my best, but above all, I WAS going to play with my boys.

A few weeks ago, I told Jeff that the domestic diva in me was lost. "Yeah, I've noticed" is all he said, he's so kind. I promised I was going to try to find her. This week I made dinner every night AND even got 3 extra meals made and in the freezer, to be used in the next few months. Even though I had lots of other things I needed to do, I figured, I'm making this meal anyway, I mine as well double the recipe and freeze the other half. Just doing that little extra and getting a few meals in the freezer made me feel like I wasn't drowning.

Oh and just to show what a wonderful husband I have...After complaining to him one day that I just have not been able to keep up on the house work and telling him all the things that had not been cleaned in a LONG time. IE: microwave, fridge, floors. He said," well then Saturday morning, I'll clean the fridge". I argued with him for a minute that he didn't need to do it and that I would get around to it...some day. He insisted. I pretty much thought he would forget. That next Saturday morning I came down stairs to my husband hard at work with more than half the fridge clean! What a guy! That's (one reason) why I love him.

In my "spare" time, when I didn't feel like my head was going to explode, I read through the manual and tried to get my lesson all ready for today. I didn't get much spare time, thanks to a little boy *cough* Mason *cough*, who doesn't think he needs to nap anymore or leave me alone and not talk to me for, oh lets say, FIVE minutes. But somehow, even with the lack of spare time, and a clear head, I was prepared this morning. What a miracle. And oh let me tell you, I think the lesson went well, what a relief. What's an even bigger relief? It's over and done with. No more reading like mad. Please don't ask me to teach for a while. Thanks.

Here is the most important thing I did all week. I played lots with my kids every day. Most days we played outside on the swing set, my personal favorite thing to do as a kid. We even played on the swing set on Wednesday when it snowed. The slide was WAY fun that day, with it being wet, the boys flew down it. We also got some good quality play-doh time in too. After a day or two of play-doh I think Cooper decided he'd rather have Daddy do the play-doh thing. I don't make a good train like Daddy. Cooper said so. I guess I'll just stick to what I do best, under doggies and twisting. (You'll see what I mean in the video.)

One more thing. Mason and Cooper both brought their best friends outside to play with them. See if you can spot them. You might not be able to see Cooper's until you play the video.

The worst...and the best.

Some of you may know this already, Jeff has written a book and has a goal getting it published this year. He gave the book to one of his co-workers who edited the book for him. He has received the book back full of corrections to be made.

Jeff wrote the book using a laptop that is at least nine years old. I know this because the first Valentines Day that Jeff and I were together (9 years ago), Jeff had to work late, so I snuck over to his house (with his Mom's permission) and spread Hershey Kisses ALL OVER his bedroom floor. I left a card that said, "I kiss the ground you walk on". Well, that was the first time I met his Dad, who was so engrossed in whatever he was looking at on his laptop, THE laptop Jeff has been using to write his book, that he didn't even look up at me, rude huh? Oh well, he's a typical guy, and I'm glad I didn't judge Jeff's Dad on this first encounter, because he is a great guy!

Anyway, back to the story about Jeff's book and the laptop. The laptop has been having problems not turning on and turning itself off randomly while Jeff is trying to edit the book. I knew this must be very frustrating and something that probably couldn't be fixed with such an old laptop.

So I decided to surprise Jeff with a new laptop. All day I have been busy consulting some computer savvy guys, including that rude one I now call my father-in-law. Each savvy guy I talked to was very helpful and lead me closer to making a decision on which laptop to get.

I finally decided on a HP that was on sale at Staples. Jeff has drill with the fire department on Monday nights and is usually gone for about two hours, so I figured tonight would be the best night to get the surprise done.

Once Jeff left for drill I scrambled around the house getting the boys and myself ready to go. Soon we were off and running. We got down to Staples and all was well, or so I thought. I asked for help in the computers. So the "computer dude" as I will call him, was called over to the computers. While I was waiting for the "c d", Cooper thought it would be funny to run away from me in the store. Not once, not twice, maybe not even three times. Yeah, not so funny Cooper. As I'm dragging Cooper back the last time to the computer section, the "c d" comes over to help. At this point I am ready to just walk out, but decide not to trow the days research out the window. I ask for the computer I want and the "c d" starts asking me tons of questions about other software I might want to also purchase. To each question I say, "I don't know, my husband will be taking care of all that himself". After a few times of repeating myself, I was really frustrated and feeling like a total idiot not knowing all the computer lingo. So in an effort to get the "c d" to stop asking me all these insane questions I finally said, "OK you can stop trying to sell me on other products, I don't know what my husband will want to put on the thing, he doesn't even know I'm buying this for him, so if he wants any of the extras, he'll just have to come back himself". The "c d" told me he was just doing his job, and went to get the laptop, while (I'm sure) calling me a few choice words to himself. While I waited for the "c d" to come back, I continue to struggle with Cooper to keep him with me.

Finally the "c d" comes back to tell me that the laptop is at the register waiting for me. At this point Cooper has noticed a Thomas the Train computer game, which I let him hold to keep him from running, but then I had to pry it out of his hands. Hum was giving his the game worth it now?, I ask myself. Yes, it kept me from having to run after him.

We then make our way to the register, where of course the "c d" helps me. I put Cooper down from one second to sign a "return policy" form and off he goes. I look at Mason and ask him to go catch his brother, but to be nice and not hurt him. Off goes my trusty helper to the rescue. I try to pay attention to what the "c d" is telling me about tech support and all that boring stuff, while keeping an eye on the boys. Mason quickly catches up to Cooper, but can't get him to do what he wants. At one point Mason was pulling on Cooper's hood, probably choking him, so I told him to try to grab Cooper's hand. Cooper dropped to the ground, so Mason starting dragging him. Then Cooper got away and ran out of sight. The whole time I hear him screaming and crying, and Mason screaming at him trying to get him to "listen". Once I was done with the transaction (which took probably less than a minute, but felt like ten). I went to find the boys. When I did, Mason had Cooper tackled to the ground, with Mason laying on Cooper. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

As I walked out of the store, all embarrassed, I think to myself, this was the worst shopping trip ever! Jeff better think this is the best surprise ever!

As I write this, Jeff is still not back from drill. This is what he will see when he opens the door:

Here is what Jeff's new laptop looks like:

Told you he was the golden boy!

Remember me saying that Jeff is the golden boy to all his employers? I know what you were all thinking while reading that. Jeff the golden boy? Yeah right! Well, I have proof now!

Jeff has been working for his current employer for six months now and was just promoted to Branch Manager over their Kennewick branch last week. This has come as a complete shock to both Jeff and me. Definitely not what we were expecting so soon in his career with this employer.

Jeff is totally excited about this promotion and the new challenges it will bring. I know you are all wondering, will we have to move? No, we are not having to move with this promotion, he will work from Spokane and commute to Kennewick as needed.

Field trips

Yesterday morning Mason, Cooper, and I went on another preschool field trip. This time we went to two different places. We started off at Tomato Street. Two servers told us about the restaurant, the different areas of the restaurant, and the different job duties each employee has. They showed us how they cook pizza in this brick oven. Can you see the fire in there?
Then we got to eat pizza!

After Tomato Street, it was off to Hero dental. Mason learned about the importance of brushing and flossing his teeth and the different rooms in a dental office.

Brushing some dinosaur size teeth.

Going for a ride in the chair.

Mason with his preschool class.