Scrambled Eggs Super

So I just had to post this, because I thought it was funny:

We had scrambled eggs for breakfast yesterday, and Josh was helping. Josh can't eat eggs, as he is allergic and they give him this beautiful itchy rash all around his mouth. He usually eats scrambled tofu. Weird, I know, but he likes it and there's lots of protein, so who am I to complain??

Anyway, they were making the scrambled eggs, and Josh says, "Scrambled eggs....you know what I call scrambled eggs in my language? Scandaled eggs!" He thought we were laughing because he had found such a clever rhyme to scrambled. Oh well. Poor, scandaled eggs! Scandalous!!

Gowns and Ginger

Every November in the community there is a Marine Ball. This is a very nice, formal dance. I would like to go!!! I've never had a nice formal 'prom' type dress (all my dresses were nice, mom, but they really weren't formal...not like the ones you made for Celeste!! No Fair!!! Want to make me one???) The biggest problem, though? I will be 8 months pregnant. Blah. NO ONE makes formal dresses for pregnant women. I suppose they think that pregnant women don't want to be seen in social functions, or something. Then, there's the other problem: A modest dress. So, you put the two together--a Modest Maternity Formal Gown, and you really have an impossibility. what a pain!!! So, my thought on this one-- They have some really fantastic tailors here. You can bring them a picture, and your measurements, and they will make what you ask! So, I've been searching for some nice modest formal dresses that could possibly be turned into nice modest formal maternity dresses.

Does anyone else out there know of any sites where they might have some pictures or ideas of modest 'prom' style dresses that could be made into maternity styles? Or better yet, actual maternity formal dresses?? I haven't really sat down to search. Does anyone have any opinions of the ones I found? Likes/dislikes? I have a little while to search, but not too long as I don't know how long it will take a tailor to make a dress like this. I want to have a good cushion of time.


On another completely unrelated thought: I just opened a bag of the most delicious Swedish Gingersnaps today (Pepparkakor). They are absolutely fabulous--and if anyone is a fan of any kind of ginger cookies, I HIGHLY recommend these! They're really nice for morning sickness as well...AND they are completely natural! They use wheat flour, freshly ground spices, beet sugars, and NO hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrups! They're actually made in Sweden, so they must be good for you! :P Just my little plug...

Pioneer Day

The kids and I got a little creative the other day while it was raining cats and dogs. I realized that Pioneer Day is coming up (the 24th) and so I told them the 'Reader's Digest Condensed Version' of the pioneers; how they traveled across the US in search of a place where they could live in peace, without mobs chasing them out and burning down all their homes! We talked mostly about how they had to walk the whole way. They had all their things inside of covered wagons, and they cooked over a fire for every meal (of course, that's not too awfully strange, as most people do that here, too...) So, we pulled out our 'tent', got out our 'food', and I made a 'fire' right in the living room!



Josh is 'cooking' over the open fire. So is Claire, but, ummm...I didn't know that Andrew's shoes were on the menu! Look at how happy little Andrew is! :) They had so much fun! :)



Now it's one of their favorite pastimes! Josh is always asking me, "Mom, I want to play pioneer!!"

Kindergarten Woes

No, it's not Joshua having woes about kindergarten. I am desperately sad to send him off to school!!!! Has anyone else had this problem??? Every time I think about sending him to school, I have this overwhelming feeling of guilt: That I am the absolute worst mom in the world because I'm sending my child away when I am perfectly capable of teaching him here at home! Of course, I had planned on homeschooling the kids if we had stayed in Virginia (or at least the states...), but had decided that if Devin got this job that I would let them go to school since we would have access to some pretty fantastic international and private schools. So I don't know why I'm having all these struggles. I guess mostly I'll just really miss the little guy. I keep thinking that no one will be able to teach and take care of him like I can. I also know that he can sometimes be ...uhm... quite the handful. I'm worried that someone will make some comment on his boisterous nature and I'll get rather defensive. And then, what if the other kids are mean to him? I don't know that I could handle that, either. And what if he picks up mean stuff from the other kids at school? Or, worse yet, what if he likes it so much there that he doesn't ever want to come home? I just feel like sending him to school is going to rip this big hole in my chest, and I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. Although, I suppose it's better to start getting it over with now, than to delay it until he's ready for college or a mission. Is this a little of what it feels like to have your kids leave home??? Josh was helping me pick out some of his new school clothes online Saturday, and that was fun. He picked out his own shirts to wear. He didn't do half bad, either! :) Gotta love Old Navy--they have a nice back-to-school sale right now, and it's $7 shipping for as much as you want!! (We even got Devin some new shirts!) He just kept saying how excited he was to start school, and how he was going to take a bus there, and have a lunch and everything. It made me want to cry! Is this normal? Am I just being over protective and overly sensitive or is this really what every mom feels like when she sends her first baby off to school? I keep thinking I should be feeling relief that he'll be with other kids his age and learning fun things (well, it'll probably be an entire year of review for him...but he'll enjoy it anyway because it will be different than the way I've presented it) and doing activities that will keep him occupied and entertained and interacting with other people...that I'll have time now to focus on teaching Claire the same things that I taught him, and be able to have some nice one on one time with her... but I don't feel any relief. I just feel uptight and sad. Does it ever go away?

Daniel Boone

No, this isn't a post about Daniel Boone...there are no 'coon-skin hats involved...maybe. Today is my little baby brother's birthday! :) I've often thought about what I would write about my little brother for this blog today... One of the hard things has been that I am 9 years older than he is...so quite honestly, he is perpetually 10 years old in my mind!!! I only really remember him as a baby and all the funny things that happened to him. I remember when he was born, and that my sister was sick at the time. (My poor, poor mom! I don't know how you handled all of that!!!) I remember him running around outside when we lived in that little trailer out on our 10 acres in southern California. What a funny little kid! Andrew reminds me a lot of you, Danno! I remember you being very happy all the time. You were always so laid back--and you still are. I remember the time we were watching a friends' dog and it was chained up to the tree in the backyard and you got all twisted up in the chain and it almost strangled you! Yikes!

Sadly, our scanner doesn't work anymore, so I can't put in some of the pictures I REALLY wanted to put in. I was hoping to find the twinkie pic...fun times, eh? And I have so many of this guy as a little tiny person... He is, of course, not so tiny anymore. :)


I remember all your friends coming over to play swords with you--although I must admit that this is a much more 'recent' memory. :)

(I have NO idea when this was taken, but you have a cool sword...'I see you have a sword! I have one, too! They are very manly and tough!')

I thought it was so awesome that you learned to play pretty much every brass instrument...and that not only did you just learn the basics, you actually played a different one in each group you were in! I'm just happy you played the French Horn! :)

(Just one of the many brass instruments he played...here he is with the Madison Marching Band...my old alma mater!)

He definitely has the Edwards' sense of humor! He's always right in the middle of some silly antic or another! But, of course, he learned from the best, right dad?
Silly boys! Daniel is the second in from the right.


Now, he is a missionary in Australia! How cool is that? He has been there for 22 months--only 2 more to go! But who's counting? :)

Elders for Sale???


Ummm...these are just gross...but, hey, he's my brother!!



Extreme close-up!



We love ya, Danno! I mean, Elder Edwards! :) Come again, Mr. Robin Hood, sir, on my birthday! Happy Birthday! See you in December!! :)

Dreams are for Rookies

I had the most interesting dream the other night, and decided it would be funny to share. In this dream, I was at a huge pool party with a lot of 'young' people (probably high school age, because I think I remember recognizing kids from my high school experience). I was walking around with some friends, and as we would pass by people, they would see me, cringe away and start screaming!! I kept wondering why they were doing that, and it was starting to make me feel bad! I looked down, and I was fully dressed; I didn't have anything like food or whatnot on my face or shirt... Then I found a mirror and looked in, and realized they were screaming at my face and I cried! I looked in this mirror and saw myself with this really horrible haircut with gray streaked throughout, and my face was covered with acne and wrinkles. I also had on those huge old-school clear plastic rimmed glasses (you know the ones that are about the size of half your face). I looked like a wreck! I woke up crying! And I have to admit, that that dream made me realize that I'm getting old! HA!! I don't really think I'm that old. I don't FEEL old--and my dad always says you're only as old as you feel (or act, for that matter). I still feel like a teenager many days. Only on days like Saturday when I throw my back out completely and can't walk, do I feel like I may actually be getting old. But this dream made me think about the fact that I'm really not getting younger. :) I suppose as I close in on that 30th birthday mark in September that I'm starting to get cold feet. Can I back out of that one? I know that 30 is not old, although I remember (or I remember my mom telling the story) when I was a little girl and I said to my mom (something to the effect of), "You're 25. Then you turn 26, then 27, then 28, then 29...and then you die." So I suppose this has stemmed from early childhood, this idea of 30 being the point of no return. :) Devin and I were even discussing the other night about how we could possibly retire when we're 50...then we discarded that idea because 50 is too young! :) When did I start thinking that 50 was too young? :) And why do I think that 30 is super old, but 50 is young? What a complicated mess I have in my head! :)

Dirty Laundry

So, I have decided that the kids need to help even more around the house. It does get rather difficult to do that if you actually have someone there everyday with the sole purpose of cleaning your house for you--but Devin and I have both felt that it is in the best interest of our kids that they help more, instead of just watching our housekeeper do all the work. So, along with the other jobs they already had on their job chart, I added doing the laundry. So every day these guys help me sort the laundry in the morning, then Josh turns on the water to the washing machine and they pour in the soap and baking soda that I've measured out for them. Then we pick a batch of laundry to wash, throw it in (this involves a lot of giggling...) and we watch the water fill up. When the washing machine is done, I hand the wet clothes out to everyone and they throw it into the dryer (which involves more giggling). It's been a great way to involve the kids. We've done it now for over a week, and it's been really fun. They even pause whatever they're doing (including a movie if it's that time of day) to help do the laundry! Pretty cool! :)

Here is Andrew, after we've put everything into the washer. He likes to lie on the dryer and watch the water fill up to the top! How fun! :)




Isn't that blue tile on the walls pretty? ;) Ha! :)

Punch Balls

We needed a quick boredom buster at our house this morning--so I pulled out the big guns! Punch balls! The kids were completely overwhelmed with excitement (Claire kept yelling out, "This is magnificent!") and we all had a lot of fun for a long time, punching the balls, throwing them in the air and trying to touch the ceiling with them (especially the 20 foot high one, that one had them occupied for quite a long time!!), running around like crazies holding onto the rubber band and dancing to music...a fun time was had by all! :)

Soccer

We had some of the neighbor kids over a few days ago, and Devin decided to entertain everyone--so he moved the couches out of the way, stuck the big area rugs together, and set up a rousing game of soccer!!!

Just see for yourself...




It is nice to have a living room that is big enough to do things like this in. We are SUPER spoiled!!! :)

Hat's Off To You

Josh just saw the video that I posted yesterday--and when it got to the end, and Claire suggested a new game, he got very excited and told me that it was such a fun game! Then he proceeded to tell me how to play:

"Do you want to know how to play that game? If someone comes into your house and you don't like their hat, you try to get it off them. And they have to try and not let you take it off. If you get their hat off the right way, then you win. But if they don't let you, and you don't take the hat off of them, you miss."

Sounds fun to me.

Disclaimer

I just wanted to make a quick clarification about my last post: I was, admittedly, being slightly sarcastic. Ok, maybe a lot sarcastic. Bedtime at our house is NOT a quiet affair. It is very loud and boisterous--full of not only lots of giggles, but lots of screaming ("Don't throw your toothbrush at your sister!" "Don't push your brother over!" "Sit down, please, and listen!" "It's time to relax and be quiet"--"NO! I DON'T WANT TO!!", etc.) I just wanted to clarify so people don't think we're perfect (thanks, Robyn! :P) because we are most certainly not! :) Hugs and stories are my favorite part, because by the time that is all over, I'm ready to collapse! And I can! :) (And very often, do!!) Just thought I'd let you know! :)

Pyjama Party

Getting ready for bed at our house is always a very calm and peaceful affair. Here are some examples of the quiet dignity at our house before bedtime:

We dress up like random animals and throw balls at each other:


We wear strange hats:


We pull said hats over our heads and play Marco-Polo:


It usually entails a LOT of running as fast as possible in circles to very calming music (I don't know how that works, honestly!):


I always thought calming music wasn't really to run to, but my kids think otherwise. Usually, though, after about 20 minutes or so, the running starts to slow a bit...

Or, we show off how strong we all are...

Thankfully, it really does end happily, with the scriptures (which isn't always a very calm affair, either) and family prayer (which CAN be a calming affair as long as they're not already started on the giggles), and the brushing of the teeth (which is Andrew's favorite: 'Bruss Teet! Bruss Teet!') then some nice big hugs and stories. That part makes my whole day!!! :)

Potato Salad and Purple Puddles

I thought I might elaborate a bit on our party on the 3rd. Thursday was a day of surprises for me...I was expecting it to be busy, but not completely overwhelming. Wednesday night, I had another migraine just thinking about all the things I had to do. Luckily, I really didn't know about all the things that I had to do, or I would have just dropped to the floor in a little purple puddle and done nothing at all. I'm losing my ability to cope lately...but hopefully it's just pregnancy related for now... Anyway, after I relaxed myself to sleep--telling myself over and over again that it really won't be so bad--I just had to make a gigantic potato salad and get everything ready and together for the 4th of July party at the embassy. No big deal. It was playgroup day, but I wasn't planning to send the kids because Pascaline wouldn't be able to go with them since she was helping at the embassy for the party, and I definitely couldn't take them because I had to make potato salad and get a bunch of other things together. So, that did uncomplicate things in my mind. THEN, I sat down at the computer in the morning just to do a quick morning check of email, and realized that playgroup was at MY house!!! Oh boy! And wouldn't you know it, that day everyone turned up! So, since it was at my house, it was my responsibility to have a snack for the kids--we hadn't been grocery shopping for a long time, and I hadn't thought about it ahead of time so I wasn't prepared with some fantastic snack all ready, and I had no money to go out and find something...so I delayed the potato salad and whipped up a couple of loaves of banana bread (thank goodness for super cheap plentiful tropical bananas!!). Ok. So, that was taken care of and in the oven to bake for an hour, and I began to tackle the chopping of 40 million potatoes. Because, really, what is the 4th of July without potato salad?????? :) I finally got the potatoes chopped and threw the 20 eggs in to boil with them just as everyone started to filter in for some fun and games. Unfortunately, since I didn't remember that they were coming, I didn't have the toys out yet. The kids wanted a fort that morning, so I had pulled all the couches to the back half of the living room and threw a giant blanket over the top--they thought that was the absolute coolest thing! And the other kids thought it was super cool, too, so that kept them busy for the whole 10 minutes it took for them to tear it apart! :) But we ended up with 10 little kids there altogether, along with their nannies or moms. Normally, this is something I absolutely revel in. I love to have company. I love to have people over at my house visiting--to chat, to eat, to play... But I must admit I felt super overwhelmed. Now that I look back on it, though, I think it really was a blessing, just because Josh, Claire and Andrew were kept entertained happily playing with lots of friends and I didn't have to worry about them running in and needing my constant attention, so that was a good thing. And I did get to have some time to chat while the potatoes and eggs cooked. After the food was cooked, I sliced up the banana bread, made up some Kool-Aid (yes, I know, I'm super against the colored sugar water, but the kids were begging and I admit, the stress made me give in!) and threw some raisins at the kids and they ate it all up. Meanwhile, I was digging the eggs out and putting them in cold water and fishing out all the potatoes. Then came my most favorite part: Peeling eggs. I don't know about anyone else, but I really hate to peel hardboiled eggs. There must be a better way!!!!! But, I sat for 45 minutes peeling those dumb things! I had just finished peeling the eggs, and was starting to add the rest of the ingredients when the phone rang. I picked it up and heard the voice of our nurse at the health unit, which brought back to my memory that I had a Dr. appointment that morning! I was already 1/2 hour late!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I hung up the phone, and yelled up to Josh asking him to gather up all the swimsuits and towels for everyone, because we needed to go NOW! Luckily, the kids love swimming, so they were all more than helpful at that point. Josh gathered everything up and threw it all into a bag (it's so nice that he's bigger and more responsible and able to help like that...) while I was madly throwing the stuff into the biggest batch of potato salad I've ever made (AND at this point I realized I had forgotten to do the celery--and my potato salad HAS to have celery! especially since I searched it out purposely for the salad...so I had to hurry and wash it off and throw it in bleach water so I could put it in)... Well, 45 minutes later, I walked out of my house with a finally finished potato salad, three kids with all their swimming gear, and my housekeeper. Good grief! Then we sped over to the embassy and flew in to the health unit where the Dr. chiding me for making her wait for over an hour! My appointment, of course, lasted only about 15 minutes, and then we were all free to finally go down to the party place where I was supposed to be helping...but I'm afraid that I really wasn't much help. I was so completely exhausted and starving that I could barely stand!! (I also woke up at 4:30 am that morning...did I mention that??) And the day was REALLY hot--but I didn't really want to go into the overly crowded swimming pool, so I basically just hovered in the one spot where there was shade: by the food! :) I ate my hot dogs and hamburger, potato salad, fruit and cookies and cake.

Devin and the kids swam in the pool for a few hours (almost 4, I think), and then we went home and watched a movie. Wow. I'm tired just thinking about all of that! I paid for it yesterday, though, as I felt very sick and tired all day long, and everyone let me just sit around and do nothing. That was nice. Thank goodness for days off, eh?

Story Time: On the Farm

So, here is the long awaited for update from our storytime on Wednesday. Yes, it has taken me a long time to update, but it has been a LONG week! Whew!!!!! Funny thing--I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for my story time (well, not all day, obviously--just the evenings). Tuesday Josh and I got to do some school together and that was so nice. I'm going to miss those times with him! I suppose that just means it's time to start doing that stuff with Claire! :) She needs some one-on-one attention, too. Poor kid.

Anyway, Wednesday was our storytime. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera until after the stories were all over--but I did get the craft and the activity after! :) Our theme was Animals and we read some stories about different animals (Never Tease a Weasel, Harriet and the Fox, No Matter What, and Going to Sleep on the Farm), we did a felt board story (Peter Rabbit), and sang some action songs between each story to help the kids stay sort of focused (the music was thanks to my mom and her gift of a lot of Janeen Brady cds...we hopped like rabbits and stood like flamingos and pretended we were lots of different animals). I think the kids really enjoyed it. Then we painted on giant pieces of packing paper on the floor of our dining room (gotta love tile!)--we made big red barns (which really ended up being animals instead) and they could glue cut-out animals if they wanted to. Then I gave the kids animal headbands, and I thought of doing an animal charades, but it turned out the kids just wanted to run a lot, and I'm ok with that! :) But it was nice to be with lots of little kids, read stories, and chat with moms! :) Rejuvenation! :)

Here is some of the work space. :) Crayons, paint and fun abounded! Ha!


Josh is painting his 'barn'...which ended up being a cow inside a barn, with a chicken on it's nest of eggs up above it! :)


Josh as: A Duck!


Claire, the big purple bunny:


Elijah is a duck, too:


Ivy is a piggy:


The back of the piggy...I have to admit, the curly tail was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself! Ha!


Louis the sheep! Love those fuzzy ears! :) (He refused to take it off--which was SO cute and so different from all the other kids who pretty much tore theirs off after the first few minutes!)


Andrew only looks happy here because I'm taking his picture and he knows that when you get your picture taken, you smile. He was actually a very unhappy camper and screamed at me. He wouldn't let me put a cute little headband on him, but ran away screaming. Oh well. He's still cute. I think he was just super tired.


Here are a bunch of the kids playing. For some reason, everyone loves to stand on this table. Probably because you're not supposed to stand on tables.


I have to admit, I joined in on the fun, too. I rather liked my horns...I made the cows sort of purple because of the poem:

I've never seen a purple cow;
I never hope to see one!
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!!

So, I was a purple cow. And a good time was had by all.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, which, in the United States, means parades, hot dogs, potato salad and fire works! :) We celebrated today at a poolside party with lots of Americans and lots of hotdogs and hamburgers and food of all kinds! :) It was a nice day--very hot and sunny, just like the 4th of July should be! :) The kids got to swim for almost 3 hours, so I think they had a good time! And I got to eat a CHEDDAR WURST! Whew!! Oh it was yummy! :) I must admit, that I am sad that we will miss out entirely on fireworks, but, well, you just can't have it all! Maybe we'll download some pictures and flip through them really fast so it looks like the fireworks are exploding. :) Not quite the same thing, though. Those of you in Idaho and going to the Idaho Falls fireworks--I am JEALOUS!!!!! Think of me as you're sitting on the guardrail at the side of the freeway above the river and watching that glorious half hour of sparkling fun! Someday we'll make it back for a 4th of July celebration in I.F.! :)

I am proud to be an American!
Where at least I know I'm free!
And I WON'T forget the men who died to give that right to me!
And I'm PROUD to stand up next to you and defend her still today!
'Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land!!!
God Bless the USA!!!

Same ol', Same ol'

Here are some funny pics from the past couple of days:

Josh is cozy and comfy on the couch. Reminded me a bit of the Princess and the Pea. You have to ask yourself, Why? Who needs that many cushions??

(An interesting aside: He is watching My Little Pony! The original Saturday morning phenomenon from 1986! That was really funny to watch, and the kids LOVED it!! I'll have to see if I can't find some Smurfs! I think they'll like that, too!!)

Claire is showing off her nice baguette. Doesn't that just look yummy?!? The trick here, is, when you buy the bread, to find the one with the least amount of ants crawling on it. :) Oh, I love Africa! :)


We had our first Story time here at our house today, and I think it was a fun time had by all. Once I find my camera, I'll post the pictures and report on our fun morning! :)

On to some good news: I am not violently sick anymore! Yea!!! I think that after 6 weeks of sickness, it has finally left me. I consider myself very lucky compared to all the people who kept telling me their horror stories of how with their 3rd or 4th child, they were sick ALL nine months. I'm grateful to have been spared that. Maybe it's because there are no fast food joints, convenience stores or even grocery stores here that I (and my poor famished family) have been spared the 9 month long seasickness! So, I'm feeling happier, there's a spring in my step, and I'm enjoying foods and smells once more. I would still like a Big Mac, though.