July 26th Updates

I'm back!  Seriously, who ever planned these last few weeks has SERIOUS mental issues.

But hey!  The flu is over, the explosive poo fest is over, the husband's two week chest cold THING is over (and hey! It's in my chest now!)  Umm...oh yeah, and Mimi is potty trained.

Pictures.  We need pictures.


Whoops, not a happy picture.  Wonder Boy's had some tough weeks.



Aww.  He found my foot.  HE WANTS MY FOOT!  (We're even, because I just want his thighs.  My goodness.)



Ernie, keeping Mimi safe during a particularly tense moment in "Tangled."



Oh look!  10:30 PM and somebody's not sleepy....



Wonder Daddy did a time trial race up a crazy hill with switchbacks that look like spirals.  We cheered him through the finish line!  In the rain!  (The bikers were NOT happy about the rain- can't use racing bike tires in the rain, had to pull out their chunkier commuter tires.)



It was a TOUGH hill, OK?



But everyone looked pretty chipper before he set out for the race.



Wonder Boy tried melon.  He thought I was a nut case for calling it food.



We're in our fifth week of 1st grade for Ernie, and Mimi and Wonder Boy are becoming best buds- they lay there sucking their thumbs and getting their "touch" buckets filled by holding hands or feet or whatever they can reach.  Do other kids just need to hold onto somebody to feel fulfilled?

The Lazy Meme

I found this Meme at Ticia's...and who doesn't love a good meme?  No one, that's who!  It’s hosted over at Making Home.

The instructions with this are to bold the ones you've done, leave the others in normal type.

1. Started your own blog (4 started, and 6 that contribute to!)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I invented one, does that count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (don’t remember it though)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (but you can’t take pictures)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

The Temple Is The House Of God

How about something a little off topic??

Ernie gave a little talk in her primary class at church on Sunday- every Sunday a child gives a little 2 minute message on whichever scripture is assigned that week, and the primary presidency likes to collect and keep the talks for future reference.  So, I'm saving it here for our own records...just in case I ever get my act together and actually print my blog into a book.  (I spent weeks getting blog books ready at the beginning of this year, for 2008, 2009, and 2010...and I just can't bite the bullet and hit print.  Three years at once is too expensive!  How do you print your blogs??  Do you print your blogs?)

Ernie's dad helped her write the talk, and helped with the structure, but she told him what to write.  She did a great job reading this to her primary!

My talk is about how the temple is a house of God.


In "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" it says, "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in the holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."


This makes me feel good because I like staying with my family.


When I am 12, I will go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  I know that the temple is a house of God, and I know that families can be together forever.


AMEN.

Trouble, A Song

I'm a cow.  I've been listening to my fabulous husband practice this piece, so what do I do?  I sit down and record it, mostly in the hopes that he'll see this and go REALLY record it himself!  See, when I record something it's me, a point and shoot camera, and some books-cum-tripod. Oh, and a rattle-shaking baby off to the side.  When he records something, it's mics and mixers and spit screens and glory.  I love to hear his glory :)

So, without anything else, here's me...singing Trouble, by Coldplay.  (Oh, and Wonder Boy too.)


Trouble from Myrnie Twin on Vimeo.

The Day We Got Something Done

Today...worked.  Mostly.  Doesn't that deserve to be shouted from the rooftops?

Ernie and I got school done quickly this morning.  In science she learned about standard measurements, like rulers.  She liked that much better than yesterday's lesson on non-standard measurements, like using her hand to measure the desk.  Totally blew her mind, but centimeters were very comforting today.



We got the upstairs vacuumed- school room, and all three bedrooms!  The kids' laundry went into the machine, which is kind of a personal triumph for me.  Laundry is hard to remember, isn't that silly?

We spent the rest of the day with the cousins- there was an impromptu dance party during the end credits of "Cars."



Aunt LoLo achieved amazing things today, canning dilly beans and sweet cherries.  I....ate her bread, and held Wonder Boy, and admired the furniture she was building in her garage.  But that's what I always do, so it doesn't really count :)

At home, I made an enormous dutch baby for dinner and the girls gorged themselves on cherries they were supposed to be pitting for the freezer, to make pies this winter.  Scamps.  Admittedly, I was an idiot to walk away from two hungry girls and three pounds of sweet cherries.  Oh, they get away with so much while Wonder Boy is eating!

Monster Update, Photo Style

Alright, are you ready for some pictures??

Installing laminate flooring makes him feel...buff.



Ernie was really conflicted about this sparkler.  Should I be shy?  Should I grin?  I'm so HAAAPPY!  What do I DO??


She warmed up to the sparkler.  A bit.


Mimi was a little more sure of herself.


But not much.


We lit the pull string on a confetti popper.  Repeatedly.

Here's yer sign.



The neighbor boys were INSANE.  Please tell me I will never let my boy run through the street in a pack of boys, playing kick the smoke bomb.  The LIT smoke bomb.  I mean, it's hot, right?



You can't really see it, but he's howling.  Mad as a dog.  He rolled over, and he's FURIOUS about it!


Ah.  Mimi learned to use scissors.  She spent two days cutting fringe into our scrap paper.

The Monster Update

I update Dad via daily e-mails when we don't see each other.  Seeing as this is the first time I've been on to blog in a while....oh, let's just see what I've been up to?  Here are the truncated versions of our updates.

(If you don't want to read it all, I made a lot of food, Mimi made a lot of laundry, everyone in the family was sick except Ernie, and we see a lot of our cousins!  Yep.)

July 2nd.

No blog post today, you get your own personal update!

4:00 Fed Wonder Boy

4:15-6:00 Sneezed 

6:00-7:30 slept 

8:30 J home, whole wheat pancakes with sprinkles, sliced oranges, and chocolate milk for breakfast.  Oh yeah :)  

++showers, nursing, etc.++

10:30 Leave!  Went to a park to celebrate a friend's graduation from the UW MBA program.  We've been friends since our K----- ward, the kids love playing together!   We ended up staying at the park until 4:30!!  J spent most of the time playing soccer with the boys ( the oldest is 6)  The kids ran around the park barefoot, ate all the goodies she made for the party, and had a blast.

5:30 leftover pancakes for dinner, with green smoothies for J and I (honeydew, kiwi, apricot, kale, carrot....can't imagine why the kids hated it so much! :)  We watched a movie downstairs where it was cool.

8:30 Get kids IN bed.

9:30 Last time Mimi comes out, we finally shut the door after 4 or 5 visits from her.  I promised to go in and see her once Wonder Boy was in bed (he was falling asleep on my lap, or she would have been dealt with much faster!)  Wonder Boy fell asleep around 9:40, I went and tucked her in one last time.

Now it's 10:20, I've had a shower to try and get the pollen off me, and a sink full of dishes awaits!  Ah, my glamorous life.  I wouldn't change it, though :)  

Love you!!  

July 3rd

Hmm....

Up at 5 with Wonder Boy

Can't quite remember the rest of the early morning...I know Mimi, Wonder Boy, and I were up at 7:30 and Ernie got up around 8:30...or was it M that slept in??

Anyway, toast and oatmeal and milk for the girls, loads of milk for Wonder Boy, and woke J up around 9.  Showers, more milk for Wonder Boy....dresses...and church!  We're all hit with allergies today, we were a little late.  We're kind of slow and grumpy....

Naps for the girls after church, M slept but E didn't.  She came out after a while and started puttering around in the school room with Wonder Boy and I.  She asked to play with my phone one too many times, so I found a big job for her: we cleaned out her desk AND the art cabinet.  WOW a lot of old projects and supplies hanging around!  Recycle bin is full :)  I have a stack of drawings to photograph, and then she can decide if she wants to give the originals away or recycle them.  She's remarkably unattached to her drawings :)  

I made rice, steamed eggplant with garlic and sesame, and potstickers my friend and I froze before Wonder Boy came.  Oh, and sweet potato chips- if you slice them super thin and microwave them to dehyrdate, they're crispy and yummy!  I'm loaded with sweet potatoes from our veggie baskets, and have given away bags of them, and am still looking for ways my family will eat them :)  Chips weren't a big hit, but I loved them anyway :)  Made a grandma-style cobbler with plum halves.  Again, the girls weren't crazy about it, but J and I loved it.  I predict the girls will be hungry in the morning :)  

All the kids are in bed now, I'm loading up a few photos, and need to draw up a bonnet pattern- the YW leave for Trek on Thursday, and a few girls need help with their outfits.  I have measurements from some online instructions, shouldn't be too bad.  Famous last words, right??

Hope you had an amazing Sabbath, seeing everything there is to see!

July 5th

Wanted to get this sent before you log on again.

Alright.  Monday morning we spent at the park with your ward, the kids and I stayed till lunch time playing, it was fun :). I brought them home for lunch and naps, and spent nap time with Wonder Boy and cleaning up the playroom.  J spent the day laying down pergo in the laundry room and hall. 





 We had dinner with his grandparents and relatives from Hillsboro.  The kids had a blast!  We came home around 8:30 to do our pop-it's and go to bed, but the neighbor kids had bags of strobes and sparklers and smoke bombs and things like that...we were out there till 10:30!!  Wonder Boy was asleep till about 9, and was really afraid of all the lights and noise, so we watched from inside.  I let e stay up watching the aerials down at the beach park- we could see them over the trees!  She watched them from the living room with me for a bit, then fell asleep watching them from her bed.  Wonder Boy didn't sleep till 11:30...all the kids were pretty tired today!!

We had breakfast and school this morning, then we went to LoLo's house so I could do some trek sewing while the kids played.  Wonder Boy is grumpy tonight, we left around 9 pm to do errands, to put him to sleep.   it's almost 11:30 and he still won't sleep.  I gave him Tylenol, and hope to go to bed soon!  :)

Love you!

July 6th

Alright, I'm hiding in the basement with my phone and a baby.... :)

Perfect summer day today!!  I got almost no sleep last night, and woke up from a nightmare I was on the island...but I forgot to bring Wonder Boy...and I had a final in two hours...haha, I think I covered all the normal fears!!

I taught two lessons this morning, then taught Ernie her school lessons.  We met max and friends at the beach park at 10 and stayed till 1:30!!  Home for naps and taught another lesson  at 3:30.  Played with Wonder Boy, and made tuna melts and smoothie for dinner, with cherries and corn chips.  The neighbor girl came to see if Ernie could play!!  I think e could have a lot of fun with a playmate across the street :). The kids played till nearly 8, then we had scriptures etc. and turned off the lights at 8:30.  At 9:30 Mimi was still coming to the door and asking why she had to go to sleep...this has been happening lately, she won't sleep till it's dark!

Now the kitchen is clean, and I'm just waiting for Wonder Boy to end his day so I can go to bed!! :)

Love you!
Myrnie

July 7th

Ummm... Spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the carpet, finding acceptable food, and watching movies.  Mimi and I have a stomach bug- we both woke up sick at 6:15 this morning.  Wonder Boy has a cold, and possibly the stomach bug because his diapers were just as explosive as Mimi's.

I put Wonder Boy to sleep in the Bjorne on a long walk while J put the girls to bed.

Glad your days involve magical fjords, instead of laundry and exploding diapers!  :)

July 10th

Let's see.  Whirlwind yesterday- whole wheat pancakes and fruit smoothies for breakfast (mango peach banana, yum!). Ernie didn't like them.,..she doesn't like peaches or mangos.  





Made a cherry cobbler, and met lolo's family, Kate, and Jen for our monthly girl date.  We spent the morning at the beach park, it was fabulous :). Brought the kids home for naps.

Made oatmeal for breakfast today, and something we're calling jumjills- equal parts peanuts and raisins, ground in the food processor and pressed into a pan.  I cut them into cm squares and the girls adore them- score!!!

Breakfast is over, showers are done, and e unloaded the dishwasher.  Now we need to get everyone dressed, load and run the dishwasher, and be at church in an hour.  We can do it!  :). I'll leave Mimi here with J I think.

Love you lots!!

Giveaway Winner!

We have a giveaway winner for our fabulous pillow from Cha Cha!  I am so late in picking this name, I know...suspense is a GOOD thing, right??



First, I need to tell you guys that Cha Cha has set up a discount code for you!!  Use "WONDER" to get a 30% discount off ANYTHING in Cha Cha's fabulous little shop, Cha Cha's Treasures.

My girls love this pillow- it stays on Mimi's bed, and it stands up to the abuse my girls heap upon their "treasures."  (You know what I'm talking about, right?)  The stitching is great, and the fabrics are darling.  Have I mentioned how much I love the pom pom trim??

Alright, our winner is...Giveaway Rae!

Rae, look for an e-mail from me, and congratulations!

First Week Done (Recipe: Sweet Potato and Carrot "Mac and Cheese")

We made it through the first week of first grade homeschooling...oh man.  The first few days were rough, I can't lie.  We tried doing school in the afternoon, we tried doing school in the late morning, we tried doing school instead of nap time (ACKK!  Never again!)  In the end, it worked best to start after breakfast around 8, so we could be done by 9:30 or 10:00.  Haha, not that you need to know that level of detail!  Consider this as me decompressing.  Ernie loves her new curriculum, and we're both really looking forward to this year (especially since a few of her good friends are starting home school this year too.  Hooray!  Finding friends to play with is hard when everyone's in school and I teach in the afternoons a few days a week.)

I actually got my big camera out today- we had our cousin over (Ming Wai) and I wanted to capture the day.

This big girls came up for a dancing party- Jack Johnson was a great sound track for this!  All the girls are totally digging skirts right now.  Ironically, both of my girls were wearing skirts made by Aunt LoLo...and Aunt LoLo's daughter was wearing a skirt handed down from Ernie.



Wonder Boy did what he does best in the middle of a room full of girls.



Yeah, he's playin' it cool.



If this kid naps or falls asleep, it's most likely in my lap after a snack (but that never lasts long) or he drifts off during blanket time, in the middle of everything.  If he just won't sleep in the evening, most of the time I'll stick him on a blanket and just do my own thing until he falls asleep!

Lunch.  I cut up TWO POUNDS of strawberries, and made 5 sandwiches.  The girls ate it all.  Lunatics.  I was going to make a pie with the leftover strawberries, who knew they could eat so much?



Later in the afternoon, I saw our new neighbors had arrived...and there was a little girl carrying things from the truck!  We packed up a fresh loaf of bread, a gallon of homemade lemonade, and some cups, and trooped over to say hi.

I realized later that while that all sounds great, I actually stink at being nice.  The bread wasn't sliced yet, and now she has to remember to bring back my pitcher.  Smooth.  Plus, I think I scared the daughter.  She came back with us to play in the yard.  I wouldn't let them play in the house (mean!) and I kind of ripped into Ernie when I came outside and found they'd nearly stripped my strawberry bushes bare.  They'd even eaten the green ones!  So, I wasn't yelling, but I get the feeling she wasn't used to seeing kids being PARENTED in front of her.  Luckily, none of my kids got a stomach ache, I hope the neighbor girl was as lucky!

Ah, here we have Mimi basically collapsed, waiting for dinner.  How can these kids be so hungry?



I totally scored with dinner tonight, thanks to Aunt LoLo.  I'll let you know when she posts her real recipe on the cooking blog, but I steamed two sweet potatoes and three carrots in the microwave, while sauteeing 2 onions with some oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and dried basil.  Once everything was nice and soft, I threw it all in the blender with a can of evaporated milk and whizzed it smooth.  Half went into the freezer for later, and the other half got added to a pound of hot pasta, with a few handfuls of Tillamook cheddar and some splashes of pasta water to smooth it out.  The kids all ate THIRD helpings, and my husband ate an enormous bowl of it (and he despises sweet potatoes in all forms.  I have found the only sweet potato preparation on this earth that he will eat.)