Updates

So much has happened in such a short period of time that it seems like nothing is new, however, I'm sure that something I'm about to mention will be new to some of you. This post feels a bit scattered to me, because I feel a bit scattered lately, so bear with me on this one.

E learned to whistle over the weekend, lucky me!

M has shown an interest in sitting on the potty, he has successfully hit his target one time.

5 Mondays ago A was offered and accepted a new job in Orange County, CA. My sister-in-law, Jodi, swears that A was created to perform this job, just look at him! For those of you who know the specifics about what this job is, please don't mention it in any of your comments, such as title, specific place, etc. Since then he has been living with his parents doing training, and working very hard. Meanwhile, I have been here in SoPhx with the boys, packing up our house, listing it for rent, screening applicants and generally losing my mind.
The move creates varied emotions for me. We have been hugely happy living in Arizona and would have probably stayed here for the rest of our lives had the economy not taken a ride on the porcelain express, and threatened our ability to provide food for our children, with A's previous job being directly related to the building industry. I have amazing friends here, a great ward, am involved in so many different clubs/groups, I love my house. But there are several things I will definitely not miss (look for a later post about the things I've learned living here).
We really feel like we have been guided by the Spirit to make this huge change and are trusting that we are doing what we have been prompted to do. A was raised in Orange County and it is where we met, fell in love, and married; so we have both always wanted to move back there, but never foresaw that it would be possible. The schools and opportunities of the area where we are moving are amazing for our children.

Having lived for almost a month without my husband has been a real challenge. I have no idea how single mothers survive and am even more astounded that anyone would choose this lifestyle, it is not pretty, and is clearly not what I'd signed up for. I've been hugely blessed by an extra measure of the Spirit in our home, have received enormous amounts of help from friends, and have only suffered one crying melt-down. But it is still really, really tough. There is a reason why Heavenly Father says there needs to be a mom and a dad. For those mothers out there who have lost their husbands through circumstances beyond their control, my hat goes off to you, I don't know how you manage everyday.
E has been amazingly well behaved, and has really strived towards obedience and has tried extra hard to help out. He is truly a blessing. He has deeply felt the absence of his father, but always looks forward to talking to him before bed and has even read him a story over the phone to help A go to bed. But by about 7pm every night I am completely done with the constant barrage of non-sensical noise that emanates from him. A 7:30 bedtime has been a real sanity saver for me. I am proud of myself, however, that I manage to keep a cool head and allow him to chatter at me to his hearts content, and respond in a positive manner.
M, on the other hand, would probably be an only child had he been my first born. Our first Sunday without dad saw me with a positive outlook about how the day would go: we were up early, the boys were both fed, bathed, and fully dressed, and I was minutes away from being ready, applying my make-up and we'd make it to church nice and early. I hear E yell: "OH MY GOSH!" So I go running out to the living room to see what is going on: M (fully clothed) is sitting on the bathroom sink, has it plugged up, water running out of the sink, onto the floor (at least 2/3 of an inch) and is soaking wet.
Fast forward two weeks. I'm showered, getting ready for a night out with my friends Jackie and Deidre, go walking back in to my bedroom, that's odd, I hear water running. M is fully clothed, in my bathtub with 3 inches of water and every diaper I had just purchased enjoying a little swim.
Moral of these stories is the old Arizona adage: watch your kids around water.
Seriously, I'm pretty sure that E was never this naughty. It's a good thing that M is cute because he'd be looking for a new place to live at this point, if he weren't.

There are exciting times ahead, and I can't wait to be reunited with my sweety! I will keep you all posted about what happens from here.

Mmmmm

I made a sandwich today and was a little disappointed. We don't have any pickles in the house and since we're moving soon, I hate to buy any at this point. I started thinking of all the food that I enjoy, no, am passionate about:
Pickles (Claussen, you can only find them in the refrigerated section, and they're a little more expensive than other brands, but they stay crisp and delicious)
Olives -- Any variety
Bacon
Tomatoes from my dad's garden
Avocados
Nectarines
Watermelon
Crusty sour-dough bread (it has to be true sour-dough bread or I won't waste my time)
Brownies
Cheesecake
Pesto Pizza
Oranges
Mango (not mushy, still a little bit on the un-ripe side)

I don't think life would be worth living if I couldn't have any of the above ever again. Hooray for SuperMarkets!

What are the foods that you could eat everyday and probably never get tired of?

Holla

For all you young mothers our there, I took one for the team today:

I was out getting lunch with my 2-year-old and the little boy I babysit after my son's Dr. appointment. I was ordering the food and the boys were behind me. M was tapping on the glass at the people outside and I hear a lady behind me say "He's banging on the glass!" So I turn around to see what is going on and this lady who is obviously past her child-baring years is giving me the dirtiest look I've seen in a long time.
My heart started pounding and the blood rushed to my face. I picked M up and looked at her and said, "If you've ever had kids of your own, please do not give me a dirty look," I turned around and walked away.
Whether you agree with my actions or not: It was hugely satisfying, and hopefully this bitter woman will think twice about giving one of you the evil eye when your children are behaving less than stellar.

Coupons

You know you're a coupon-a-holic when you're children are playing and one says to the other:

"Would you like some water? It's free with a coupon!"

Wonderland

I belong to a Dinner Group with 12 other ladies who live in my neighborhood. Two people pair up and once per year we host a dinner. We go all out with invitations, place settings, menus, etc. It is one of my favorite nights out. On April 18th, my amazing partner, Jennifer, and I hosted an evening with 'The Critters of Wonderland'. Our original idea was a mad-hatter tea-party, but it morphed into a full dinner, and it was so easy, I couldn't have been more pleased. Of course we couldn't have done it without her amazing husband, Brent, who helped us by making 48 boxes, set up, clean up, plating, technical effects, and moral support, big kudos to my friend Brent!

Here are the pictures and the recipes we used.

Our menu was:

The Ladybug and Butterfly

The Caterpillar

The Cheshire Cat

The Doormouse and Turtle Tea

At her front entrance we propped a mirror next to the doorbell, and this sign:

The sign reads: Step through the looking glass and Ring the Bell to take a trip down the Rabbit Hole!

We hung up a plastic black tablecloth at the end of the hallway and used red flashing lights to create the "Rabbit Hole"

We had her son dress up as the White Rabbit (it took a bit of 'promises' to encourage this activity), he answered the door and was supposed to say "I'm late for a very important date!" and run down the hall, but I think most of the time it ended up as a conversation about how the rabbit hole scared him.

For Appetizers we did Ladybug Appetizers and Butterfly Cheese Sandwiches

Using the boxes that Brent made we stamped a label to put on top of each box that read "Eat Me". We removed the labels from bottle of sparkling juices, and stamped a label that read "Drink Me". We refrigerated these and set them up on the appetizer table next to the food.

These crazy teapots were 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and they were just too perfect to pass up!

Jennifer bought some adorable colored paper lanterns and Brent hung them up with some out door lights around her gazebo. We also used them and some perfect butterflies and dollar store pink and yellow placemats for the place settings. We made Mango Lemonade, Kiwi Limeade, and Blackberry Lemonade and put them in these beautiful curvy carafes that Jennifer had as part of centerpiece.

Each person was given a menu card with a colored dot, representing the color of a lantern. next to the name of each course. Between courses Brent piped to the outside speakers the sound of the Mad Hatter yelling: "Clean Cup, Clean Cup, Move Down!" from the Disney movie. Everyone had to get up between courses and move to the colored dot shown on their card.

Our salad course was The Caterpillar. We took mixed baby greens, melon balls, carrot slivers, and Mint Dressing for Fruit

To the dressing we did add some honey since the vinegar was a bit overwhelming, salt and pepper, and substituted parsley for the cilantro because we have parsley in one of the other courses.

The Cheshire Cat was our main course. We used Greek Pork Loin, Greek Browned Butter Pasta, steamed baby squashes, pita bread toasted with olive oil, herbs and Parmesan cheese. We arranged the pasta in the shape of a cat with a tail, used the pork loin as the face, which was resting on pieces of pita for the ears, green olives for the eyes, a kalamata olive for the nose and extra pasta for the whiskers.

We pan seared the pork before putting it in the slow cooker and let it rest for several minutes so that it would slice up easier without falling apart.

For dessert we had the Doormouse and Turtle Tea

We used Carrot Souffle cut in a round to look like cheddar cheese. I was really unsure of the idea of carrot souffle but Jennifer made it for me a few weeks before the party and it really is tasty. It had a strawberry dipped in white chocolate and painted on eyes, nose, and feet. Brent was a master at plating it with fruit, caramel, and some delicious cinnamon whipped cream that he made himself. I didn't get a picture of the turtle tea, but we used Mascarpone Brioche Sandwiches with Chocolate Soup as the Tea, we drizzled it with caramel and sprinkled it with pecans to make the 'turtle' part. Jennifer was really unsure of the idea of chocolate soup but I made it for her a few weeks before the party and it was a hit. We made the chocolate soup the night before then just stored it in the refrigerator and put it in a crock pot the day of the dinner to get it warmed through.

We approached the evening with a modest budget, and a really relaxed perspective and I think it turned out perfectly. Everything was just as I'd hoped for and there wasn't a huge amount of rushing around last minute. We actually had the opportunity to sit with our friends and enjoy the dinner. And everyone said that we served food that they would make again, so it was a big success as far as I was concerned.

I love Gourmet Group!

Random Monday

I turned the air-conditioner on for the first time in 2009 yesterday, glad I did, it's warm out there.

We had a garage sale over the weekend. It's amazing the junk people will buy if it's cheap enough.

Reading Isaiah is like reading poetry: sometimes you come across something that is a literary feast, but other times it's just confusing.

We've had visitors for almost 11 days straight, I'm ready for things to get back to normal.

An evening in Wonderland turned out exactly as I'd envisioned. I kept a clear head this time and a positive attitude about it, and it went so smoothly, I couldn't have been more pleased.

I'm grateful for the oranges that Suzette gave us with produce co-op this weekend, and especially grateful to Deirdre for letting me use her juicer, we'll be having a super yummy treat tomorrow for breakfast.

I really need to clean my house, that's at the top of my list of goals this week.

Only 24 more days until I get my travel fix. Going on a cruise with my favorite girls in the whole world!

I rented the whole series of "My So Called Life", a great blast from the past, I feel like calling Erika, who I haven't spoken to in about 11 years, she would get a good laugh from knowing I'm watching it again.

My other Erica and I are determined to go to the Galapagos Islands with Alex Trebek. (Don't laugh at my dream).

I'm ready to stop waiting for change.

Outrageous Brownies from Barefoot Contessa = $11.60 per 20.8 oz box at AJ's still waiting to see if they're worth it. But the house smelled AWESOME while they were baking.

It Just Makes Sense

2 Nephi 2 is on my list of favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. Lehi explains the Plan of Salvation so perfectly: It Just Makes Sense.
Also one of my top ten favorite scriptures is in this chapter: 2 Nephi 2:30, it voices my sentiments about the way I teach my children and the reasons I teach them about the gospel. I'm sure parents everywhere can echo his words in this verse. -- Love it!

Here a Little, and There a Little 1 Nephi Chapter 11

The concept of line upon line, precept upon precept has been reaffirmed to me again today. When the Spirit of the Lord Nephi if he understood the mission of the Savior his reply in verse 17 reads: "And I said until him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
Even Nephi, a spiritual giant had to learn little by little.
He started our first knowing that God loved him, and from there his knowledge was taken to unimaginable heights. By knowing just that very basic principle so many other things can be unfolded to our minds.
First: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ -- The rest after that comes as we are ready for it.

What Time is It? 1 Nephi Chapter 10

In today's reading I thought about the children of Israel, how they wandered in the desert for 40+ years, how they were carried captive in to Babylon and how they have been scattered over the earth.
Verse 3 reads: "That after...the own due time of the Lord, they should return again...and possess again the land of their inheritance."
I think about my own trials and experience that I'm gaining; I know they only end or become fully understood after the due time of the Lord. And I think that I probably echo the sentiments of the house of Israel in asking periodically: OK Lord, what time is it exactly? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm done with this one... (sigh)... Only to wait it out just a bit more.
I was also thinking about a testimony that I heard in church on Sunday from Brother Johnson where he stated that the church is so true that we are asked to gain a testimony of our very own. I really like that! Even the great prophet Nephi practiced this. In verse 17 we learn that after his father had prophesied regarding the house of Israel and the coming of the Messiah, Nephi was desirous to know by the Spirit if what his father said was true, so he took it to the Lord to find out for himself. Based on several years of reading the scriptures, I know what comes next chapter, so I can tell you that the Spirit confirms all that his father had told him. What a huge blessing it is to have that ability. To have a member of the Godhead come and tell you stuff, personally, without having to rely on the word of others. I can know for myself. I DO know for myself! What a special blessing!

I need to digress just a moment to clarify my thoughts/intent of my last post.

My point of Sam v. Nephi is not to suggest that emulating Nephi is not a valuable idea. He is an amazing person and had tremendous faith, he even saw the Son of God, which I haven't since I've been on the earth, so it goes to show that his experiences working towards salvation are at a rate that are vastly different than mine. I'm sure the reason we have the books that he wrote are because he is such an amazing individual, and the lessons we learn from his wisdom are vital to salvation, or they would not have been included in the scriptures. My point is this: Nephi's best is different than the best that is expected from me. We are not required to complete the exact same tasks in mortality. He was called as a prophet of God, I have been called as a Mother in Zion in the dispensation of the fullness of time. I don't know what Sam's calling was during his life, but I know based on the scriptures cited yesterday that he fulfilled that calling to his utmost, or he would not have been saved. I love the great prophet Nephi, he is a huge example of a true believer and I want to be like him, but I always felt like Sam got the shaft in the whole experience because he wasn't a prophet, therefore, since I'm not exactly like Nephi, I am just not worth noting. But this is not true. Sam was saved, just like Nephi was. They each did their best and the Savior made up the rest. I'm doing my best and the Savior will make up the rest.