Halloween Fare

Recently this site has been running traditional Halloween menus from her family, her husband's family, and then a tie-breaker to see which menu people liked best. I have to say, I was a little disappointed. They all seemed like everyday meals to me. So, I'm posting how Janae & I do Halloween. She's better at being consistent, and every year she serves mummies, ghosts and goop. My kids won't eat the goop (tomato soup topped with cheese), so I just make the ghosts and mummies. The mummies' eyes gave me trouble because I have the humongous mustard from Costco.


Personally, I like the ghosts best, but that's probably because I grew up on a potato farm. They are just twice-baked potatoes with the bottoms cut off, then frosted with sour cream. We usually use green onions for the eyes and mouths, but I had an open can of olives in the fridge, so I used them.That's as festive as I get for Halloween. Since my kids went trick-or-treating this afternoon, they are watching a movie and waiting anxiously to answer the door and give out candy. I think they love answering the door more than the actual trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween! We had a church trunk-or-treat party on Wednesday, so I took the kids' picture that night. (The boys weren't allowed to wear their costumes at school until after lunch today.)

Dylan was a good sport about Ethan choosing the same costume. So, Wednesday night we were supposed to "decorate" our trunks for Halloween. This was the extent of my decorating.

It looks better without the lights.
Ooooh! Scary. (Can you guess which pumpkin is Mazie's? The heart eyes are kind of a give-away.)

First Steps

A few weeks ago Josie walked five or six steps. We were delighted. (Finally!) Afterward, that was about all we could get her to do, until this week when she discovered Mazie's doll stroller. Now she's totting all over the house, filling the stroller with books and toys. She'll only walk with the stroller for the time being, but it's a start.Here she's getting ready for a pivot-turn. She has great balance. She can dance and squat down then stand all the way back up, but she hasn't wanted to take steps before.
Heading back the other way.
She had to prove she could stand without the stroller. There's my big girl--- with some serious bed-head! :)

Food Fun

I don't know what's gotten into me. I seem to be blogging about food a great deal. It's kind of fun sharing ideas, though, so I'm not going to stop anytime soon.



My wonderful in-laws came to visit a few weeks ago and they brought me four boxes of apples. I was delighted to put it mildly, but since we recently realized that our food storage needed rotating, we're trying to use up a lot of home-canned fruit before doing any more. Therefore, I cannot can anything this year. We got the boxes just to eat. It has been wonderful being able to send an apple in my kids' lunches everyday without breaking the bank. We've been able to share with our friends, and we still have a lot left. Two of the boxes were Granny's. My kids love the tart apples. One box was Fujis, and the other was Golden Delicious. Of course the Grannys and the Fujis will store for awhile, but the Golds were starting to get too ripe, so I decided I needed to freeze some pie filling and bake with the rest. I made baked apples with dinner the other night-- just like Grandma Savage made for us one time we went to visit her. They are great with vanilla ice cream, and they are SO easy. You just hallow out the core from the top. (I used a melon baller.) Add about half a teaspoon of butter to each then a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. (Sorry, but I didn't measure any of this.) Bake them at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. They taste like apple pie without the hassle of making a pie crust.





Then, I volunteered to take treats for Ethan's Halloween party. I scoured the Internet looking for a fun recipe, but I didn't find anything that really got me excited. I tend to veer toward things that include ingredients already sitting on my shelves. Finally, I decided to bunk the Internet and come up with something on my own. My mother-in-law brought me two 10-pound bricks of dipping chocolate when she came (getting me ready for the holiday season). We used some of that to make spiders. If I would have done them myself, they would look more like actual spiders, but I let the boys help. Here's one with four eyes.

We had some gooey marshmallows, so we just rolled together a few of them for the bodies, dipped them in chocolate and put chow mein noodle legs on them. The eyes we hand picked out of some sprinkles.


So, there are my kitchen adventures this week. Tomorrow I have to make eyeballs on crackers (just cream cheese and olives) because I feel obligated to take something that isn't straight sugar to the school.

Just Finished

I just finished reading this book. It's her seventh or eighth, I think. Sarah Dessen has a very engaging style, although sometimes I have issues with the way she treats characters. In This Lullaby, the girls felt more college-aged than high school. Lock and Key was very good, although I think I still like The Truth About Forever better. Her books are not squeaky clean-- there is drug use, mentions of sex, but I think she deals with tough issues well. If you've never read a Sarah Dessen novel, start with Dreamland. She'll have you aching for Caitlyn and Rogerson and their destructive relationship.

The Only Thing I Like About Halloween

I don't like Halloween. I really never have, even when I was a kid. We never did extravagant costumes, and it always seemed like we were scrambling to find something neat to wear. Now I like Halloween even less. I hate wasting money on a costume that will get worn once. Making your own is even more expensive, it seems. I also hate that by and large, trick-or-treating has gone from a fun thing, where you visit your own neighbors, to a complete greed-fest-- people dropping off van loads of kids at neighborhoods where they know no one, and trying to get as much candy as possible.

I recently read an article criticizing Halloween givers. It was something like "the ten worst Halloween treats." And, it's final point was to say how lame anything "fun sized" was, as if every household in America should be giving out full-sized candy bars to kids, because gee, most of America isn't fat enough. Reading it, I was unbelievably irritated.

We're lucky. We live in a small town where the businesses do a Halloween Parade for the kids, which means that the children pre-school aged to third grade go trick-or-treating down the main drag in the middle of the afternoon. It is awesome, and my only complaint is that the kids get too much candy. Seriously, WAY too much. We get a few trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, and mostly, we know them. This is a big change over how it was when we lived in Washington.

However, there is one thing I love about Halloween:
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. Four years ago I called my step-dad and asked him how to make good roasted pumpkin seeds. He gave me the secret. Boil the seeds in salt water for about twenty minutes, then spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for an hour and a half to two hours.

So, last night we carved pumpkins.Usually, I'm lame and only buy one, so we carve a single pumpkin for the entire family. But, last year everyone loved the roasted pumpkin seeds and they were gone as soon as they came out of the oven. So, this year I let everyone get their own pumpkin, just so we'd have more seeds. Crazy, I know.
Last night, we only finished half of the carving project (the gross cleaning part), because we couldn't find the dandy little carving set that Nathan bought last year. We're planning to buy a new one today and finish the faces. Now if I can only find the candles!

Filling the Spiritual Bucket

Oh, blogging friends, where have you gone?

It must be a busy time of year. Have you noticed people posting less these days? I keep checking back and looking for new posts, so I decided I should write one.

Last night I went to the annual State Auxiliary Training meeting, where we were taught about the new stuff for the year. Have you all seen the new Nursery Manual? It is wonderful. I'm very excited for Josie to be in Nursery next year and have all those wonderful lessons. I really want a copy of my own at home, and it is recommended for use at FHE.

Also, this month in the Friend is included one of the new songs for next year that is not in the Children's Songbook. It's called My Eternal Family, and the kids are going to love it. It has a marching sort of beat like Called to Serve. We learned it in our lesson last night.

Needless to say, I'm very glad I went, even though I didn't get home until ten, and Nathan had to leave early this morning to fill in for someone at work. I needed to be in the room with all the other Primary Presidencies in the stake, and hear their great ideas and get myself excited about another year in this calling. I was glad I had a chance to drive an hour with two of my good friends and talk and laugh and just be away from my kids for awhile. I was also glad to hear the stake president's remarks and goals for the year and to start feeling more motivated to share the gospel. All around it was a good evening.

Wednesdays

I have a love-hate relationship with Wednesdays. It's either a day that I'm so depressed, I can hardly get out of bed or the day that I jump out of bed, look around and have to begin frantically cleaning, because Wednesdays are the shift-change day at Nathan's job. So, he's either leaving for work (hence, the depression) or he's coming home (frantic cleaning).

Today is a good Wednesday, and thanks to my awesome real estate agent, who has shown my house thrice this week (albeit unsuccessfully), the house is basically clean. Mostly I' m doing laundry and willing away the hours until Nate gets off work and begins the three-hour drive home. It's just nice to know that tonight I won't have to sleep alone.

Outside it's sunny and the sky is beautifully blue. It would be a nice day, but the wind is howling, and I learned when I took out the trash that the wind is COLD. Days like today, I love my little house. It blows and blows, and occasionally our window screens rattle, and that's about it. Solid log walls don't shake in the the wind. Often I have no idea how windy it is until I actually step outside, then I usually feel guilty that I made the boys walk to school. Today, however, I did drive them. (Check mark on the good mommy chart.)

Cause to Celebrate

You'll have to excuse me if you see me dancing around the gas pump in town. The last time we filled up our Expedition, it only cost $75. This summer the pumps only pre-authorized to $100, so we'd pay $100 and still not get a full tank. Seventy-five feels like a party. Can we get to fifty? Fifty, anyone, please?

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

The Easiest Dinner EVER

Originally I received this recipe as an appetizer, but I decided to make it into a very simple meal. Here are the ingredients: Put however many meatballs you want into the Crock Pot and top with BBQ sauce. A few hours later you have this:
These are so good. I'm serving them over rice (made in a rice cooker). Is that not the simplest meal ever? Okay, I suppose I'll throw in some veggies on the side to make it a balanced meal.

I had to do this when Nathan wasn't around because he doesn't like barbecue sauce. I've taste tested the meatballs (since it's only three o'clock) and it's totally his loss. These are YUMMY!

**Edit: Well, I thought it was good, but everyone shot me down. The kids complained. They didn't like barbeque sauce-- too spicy, too sweet---complain, complain. I guess I won't be making this very easy meal again.

Calling No One

I tried my husband's cell phone yesterday and got the voice mail. Then I text messaged him to give him the news of Tif-do's husband's new job. Last night, I realized he didn't get either of those messages because his phone got run over by a water truck. He called late last night and the company name came up on the caller ID. I was like, "What are you doing at work?"

He said something broke down, so he had to stay, and then he told me about his phone. He accidentally left it on the hood of a truck. It fell off and then was run over by a different truck. He has to drive about 45 miles today to get a new phone, and he really needs one-- not just because he has a needy wife. The computer where he works calls him at night if something breaks down (isn't that crazy?), and he has to go in and fix it. So, if he doesn't have a phone, he can't get the call ins, and that's bad.

Anyway, he tells me, "I'm going to get one for you, too."

I'm probably the only person in the world without a cell phone. When we lived in Washington, we had only cell phones, so it was like carrying my home phone around all the time. That doesn't work for me now because I have high speed Internet through the phone company and I have unlimited long distance. Since I'm nearly always at home, I don't think I need a cell, but Nathan likes me to have one since we live so far from the nearest Costco and Target. Still, I've resisted. I drive a new car, so my chances of breaking down are pretty slim, and hey, I live in the old west, where people still stop and help and turn out not to be serial rapists or meth addicts on a mail-stealing rampage. But, if Nathan does get me one, it will mean he'll only call the cell because all our calls to each other will be free. I wonder, will he call me more often? Probably not.

By the way, I had my first sale on my etsy site-- some Christmas cards. I was very excited. A whole five dollars. Man, I am just rolling in cash! ;)

Run Away

Last Tuesday, October 7th, I was talking to Nathan on the phone. I admit I was depressed, down-trodden, completely pessimistic. I was tired of not knowing where we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to be doing, tired of the house not selling and worried that it will, tired of writing and writing and getting rejected over and over again. (I think I failed to mention my last rejection. Needless to say, I'm NOT getting that great agent I'd hoped for.) So, in this phone conversation I was UNLOADING on Nathan.


He sighs and says, "Why don't you just go downstairs, plug in the treadmill, and go for a walk.


Seriously, do you think that is what I wanted to hear?


At my silence, Nathan replies, "Now you're mad."



"No, you're right," I said. "I'll call you tomorrow." Somehow I didn't want to talk to him anymore, BUT here's the amazing thing. For once I listened to him. I went downstairs, found and extension cord, plugged in the treadmill and instead of walking, I ran. I ran two miles. Since last Tuesday, I've logged fourteen and a half miles. And, here's the jaw-dropping part-- I've been looking forward to putting the kids to bed each night, so I can run. This is so unlike me, but everyday after I step off the treadmill, I feel great.

The other day, Nathan and I had a nearly perfect morning. We sent the boys off to school, put Josie down for her nap, Mazie was watching a movie, and Nathan and I went down to the basement. While I ran, he set his mountain bike up on the stationary stand and biked. He had the stereo down there, tunes pumping from the iPod, and my thought was, "Hey, we're back!" This is the couple we've been intermittently when we didn't have a newborn or sick kids, when Nathan had a schedule that allowed us time to work out together. He's very committed to fitness; I'm the slacker.

I packed away my scale. For now I'm focusing on getting in shape, and I know that I won't automatically drop pounds doing it, so I'd rather not know. I'd be happy dropping a few inches (around the middle).

So, the next time I get a devastating rejection letter, instead of drowning my sorrows in cinnamon rolls (yes, I did that), I'm going to run until I catch the tail of my dreams again and have the drive to move forward. Rejection is a killer on inspiration. I haven't been able to write a single page since that letter came, but running is good for my mind. Usually, I don't listen to music, and my thoughts run with me. If I'm on a creative train, the repetition of running often gives me the words. Lately, however, I keep missing the train.

The Divine Institution of Marriage

I put up this post a few days ago and removed it after only a few hours, at which time I got an email from C asking where it had gone. I took it down because initially all I had offered was a link to the church newsroom article, and I thought it was something I should take a little more time on.

Recently I read a blog post by another woman who was explaining our (LDS) stand on the institution of marriage and also opposing states which have legalized same sex marriage. Whenever Christians try to stand up for values and institutions that are ordained of God, people accuse them of being intolerant. That is why I was so moved by the church's news release, and I wanted to share parts of it with you. You can read the full article at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage
The quotes in this post are all from the above article.

"The California Supreme Court recently ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in California. Recognizing the importance of marriage to society, the Church accepted an invitation to participate in ProtectMarriage, a coalition of churches, organizations, and individuals sponsoring a November ballot measure, Proposition 8, that would amend the California state constitution to ensure that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized. (Information about the coalition can be found at http://www.protectmarriage.com/).
On June 20, 2008, the First Presidency of the Church distributed a letter about “Preserving Traditional Marriage and Strengthening Families,” announcing the Church’s participation with the coalition. The letter, which was read in Latter-day Saints’ church services in California, asked that Church members “do all [they] can to support the proposed constitutional amendment.”

"The focus of the Church’s involvement is specifically same-sex marriage and its consequences. The Church does not object to rights (already established in California) regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. "

"The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility towards homosexual men and women. Protecting marriage between a man and a woman does not affect Church members’ Christian obligations of love, kindness and humanity toward all people.

Tolerance, Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Freedom
'Those who favor homosexual marriage contend that “tolerance” demands that they be given the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. But this appeal for “tolerance” advocates a very different meaning and outcome than that word has meant throughout most of American history and a different meaning than is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Savior taught a much higher concept, that of love. “Love thy neighbor,” He admonished. [13] Jesus loved the sinner even while decrying the sin, as evidenced in the case of the woman taken in adultery: treating her kindly, but exhorting her to “sin no more.” [14] Tolerance as a gospel principle means love and forgiveness of one another, not “tolerating” transgression.
In today’s secular world, the idea of tolerance has come to mean something entirely different. Instead of love, it has come to mean condone – acceptance of wrongful behavior as the price of friendship. Jesus taught that we love and care for one another without condoning transgression. But today’s politically palatable definition insists that unless one accepts the sin he does not tolerate the sinner.
As Elder Dallin H. Oaks has explained,
Tolerance obviously requires a non-contentious manner of relating toward one another’s differences. But tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination. [15]
The Church does not condone abusive treatment of others and encourages its members to treat all people with respect. However, speaking out against practices with which the Church disagrees on moral grounds – including same-sex marriage – does not constitute abuse or the frequently misused term “hate speech.” We can express genuine love and friendship for the homosexual family member or friend without accepting the practice of homosexuality or any re-definition of marriage.
Legalizing same-sex marriage will affect a wide spectrum of government activities and policies. Once a state government declares that same-sex unions are a civil right, those governments almost certainly will enforce a wide variety of other policies intended to ensure that there is no discrimination against same-sex couples. This may well place “church and state on a collision course.” [16]
The prospect of same-sex marriage has already spawned legal collisions with the rights of free speech and of action based on religious beliefs. For example, advocates and government officials in certain states already are challenging the long-held right of religious adoption agencies to follow their religious beliefs and only place children in homes with both a mother and a father. As a result, Catholic Charities in Boston has stopped offering adoption services.
Other advocates of same-sex marriage are suggesting that tax exemptions and benefits be withdrawn from any religious organization that does not embrace same-sex unions. [17] Public accommodation laws are already being used as leverage in an attempt to force religious organizations to allow marriage celebrations or receptions in religious facilities that are otherwise open to the public. Accrediting organizations in some instances are asserting pressure on religious schools and universities to provide married housing for same-sex couples. Student religious organizations are being told by some universities that they may lose their campus recognition and benefits if they exclude same-sex couples from club membership. [18]
Many of these examples have already become the legal reality in several nations of the European Union, and the European Parliament has recommended that laws guaranteeing and protecting the rights of same-sex couples be made uniform across the EU. [19] Thus, if same-sex marriage becomes a recognized civil right, there will be substantial conflicts with religious freedom. And in some important areas, religious freedom may be diminished. "


Personally, I feel threatened by the legalization of same-sex marriage, because it quickly stops being an issue of tolerance and sudden becomes the new standard of right. Schools in Washington state (my sister's district) are already adopting books for elementary school children such as "My Two Daddies" and are teaching that this is an acceptable lifestyle. We simply cannot allow this drastic value shift in our schools or our society. Have you noticed that nearly every television sitcom now has a token gay or lesbian as part of the plot? And their plots nearly always praise the families who stand by the decision to be openly gay. The church's statement hit on the issue of education, too.

"As just one example of how children will be adversely affected, the establishment of same-sex marriage as a civil right will inevitably require mandatory changes in school curricula. When the state says that same-sex unions are equivalent to heterosexual marriages, the curriculum of public schools will have to support this claim. Beginning with elementary school, children will be taught that marriage can be defined as a relation between any two adults and that consensual sexual relations are morally neutral. Classroom instruction on sex education in secondary schools can be expected to equate homosexual intimacy with heterosexual relations. These developments will create serious clashes between the agenda of the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children traditional standards of morality. "

I don't live in California, and I don't have to vote on this issue... yet. I'm very much afraid that this trend will sweep the nation. When the church asked us to write letters to our congressmen opposing same-sex marriage and asking for a Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as one man and one woman, I did. I received letters back from all the congressmen I wrote to, and one said that while he supported marriage between a man and a woman, he was not willing to take such drastic steps as to amend the Constitution. But that is where good people get caught. We don't want to push our beliefs onto others, so they push their beliefs onto the government, and we all have to swallow it.

It is so very rare for the Church to take a stand on any political issue. That is why I know that their involvement has come as a response to divine revelation. The Lord knows what will happen if same-sex marriage is legalized, and he wants us to do all we can to stop it.

THIS is fall!

This morning we woke to this.... We got about four inches.
Two days ago I picked these flowers. This is my flowerbed now.
I miss summer already! However, I know that this snow won't last long. It will get warm and sunny again. We will have some more nice days before winter hits in earnest, but still. SNOW! I was completely unprepared. I don't have snow pants to fit all the kids, didn't know where the hats and gloves and boots were. It was a frantic morning looking for everything.

I have been baking in earnest. This kind of weather makes me think of cinnamon rolls. I baked a huge batch to take to my sister-in-law's house today. I also made pumpkin spice bars and banana muffins. Good thing there are ten kids between us to eat it all!

A Very Special Person

She's the first person I call when things go wrong.
The one I can't wait to tell when things go right.
She's one person I can trust unconditionally.

She's the reason I learned about the gospel.

She was always there for me during our parents' divorce.

We've been together through good hair days... and very bad hair days. :)

We both wish our behinds were still that small!
She introduced me to my husband.

She's the first face I look for at his family gatherings.

She's the reason I needed another girl, because I didn't want Mazie to miss this bond.

Sometimes we disagree (although not very often).

She's my closest friend. She's my sister.

Happy Birthday, Janae! I wish I could be with you to share it.

Fall Favorites

After reading tharker's celebration of fall, I thought I would list my favorite things about fall and include my two favorite fall recipes. I'm still trying to figure out how to put flickr photos into my posts, so forgive me if it isn't visual enough. Here are some of my favorite things:

Beautiful trees I took both of these pictures on my street. The little red one has been stunning for a month now, but the yellowing ones below are almost bare from the latest wind.
New school clothes and shoes

School supplies

Football games.

Earth toned clothes

Hooded sweatshirts- I miss my sweatshirts when it's too hot to wear them. This is my newest hooded sweatshirt, and I love it. I saw this exact sweatshirt in a shop in Springdale, UT when we were at Zion National Park. It was $70. Nathan would gladly have bought it for me, but they didn't have my size. So, I'm killing time at my friend's house and picked up a Cabella's clearance catalog-- there it was for $35. I went home and called them because I didn't have the catalog number. I love it because it's totally me, being brown and all, but I love it doubly because it was a deal!

Hearty soups- Nothing says fall like good soup. This is my favorite:

White Chicken Chili

1 pound chicken breasts, cubed

1 medium onion

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp oil

2 cans Great Northern beans

1 can chicken broth

2 cans diced green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup sour cream

Saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Serve immediately.

** Many thanks to Traci for always bringing this to our branch Halloween party. It is my absolute favorite chili!

Pumpkin Spice Bars (Sadly, this isn't my own photo, but it was the closest I could find to what they actually look like.) This is a fall tradition borrowed from one of my wonderful sister-in-laws. Tharker, this recipe is for you!

4 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups sugar

1 tsp soda

1 cup oil

3/4 tsp salt

1 small can pumpkin

1/2 tsp ginger

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp baking powder

Mix together eggs, sugar, oil & pumpkin. Add flour, paking powder, cinnamon, soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Pour into greased 15 x 12 jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting (below)

8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup margarine

1 tsp vanilla 1 Tbsp milk

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Beat until smooth.

***Mmmm! These are so good. Last year I was only making one pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and I had left over pumpkin, so I made these after Nathan had already harassed me about having too many desserts. I planned to put them in the freezer. I just refrigerate them until the frosting is firm, then cut them up and individually wrap them. This way I can eat them one at a time over several weeks. Well, everyone else started eating them, and none of them ended up in the freezer. They're that good. The kids were begging for me to save some for their lunches.

However, there are things I don't like about fall.

1. Wind, wind and more wind.

2. Needing the heat on at night and still having to mow the grass.

3. Leaves from down the street ending up in my yard.

4. Nice weather becoming hit and miss.

5. And, for those of you enjoying a mild fall, just know that our weekend forecast is calling for snow!

You see, I didn't mind fall until I moved to the land of five-month winters. Now fall feels like a prelude to the bleak, bone-chilling cold that seems to last forever. Here in the mountains, I live for summer!

Flying High

At the risk of giving my mother a heart attack, I thought I'd post these photos of Josie and her Daddy playing outside. Ready for take-off.

Launch.

All smiles, but ....

Daddy is tuckered out.

Change

Yesterday, as I was listening to President Monson's talk about change in the morning session of conference, I knew that he was right-- that there will come a day when I miss the messes and the piles of laundry because my kids are no longer at home. At the same time, looking back now, I never miss the years that they were babies. Sure, they were cute and lovable, but I am so much enjoying the people that they are becoming.

The other day Josie found a water bottle on the floor. It had a screw-on cap, so I didn't bother to take it away from her. I came back a few minutes later and she was drinking the water and then dumping it on the floor. I said, "How did you get that open?" Dylan was standing behind me, and he answered, "She's a smart little stinker." I don't know why, but it struck me as so funny. I guess because it sounded exactly like what Nathan or I would have said.

For awhile I was the mom who was surrounded by the flock of unruly children, the mom who felt like she couldn't go anywhere without causing a scene of chaos. Now my kids are getting older, they are mellowing out some, and I love their individual personalities. So, while change is an inevitable part of life, I don't dread it. I will look forward to seeing the kind of parents my kids will become.

And, as far as the rest of President Monson's talk. Well, I didn't get to see it because Josie crawled off my lap, started pushing buttons on my laptop, and wouldn't you know, she pushed the power button and windows started shutting down. I could have restarted it, but I took the prophet's advice and just enjoyed playing with her. I tickled her silly.

Here are my big boys all dressed and ready to hit the neighborhood selling popcorn for cub scouts.Dylan started scouts last year. We didn't do it in first grade because I was pregnant. Last year Ethan was upset that he didn't get to do all the fun activities, so he is delighted to be a tiger cub this year. Dylan has moved up to the bear den. This is them in the homecoming parade throwing-- I love the scouts for this-- sugar-free gum at the crowd. Ethan was on the other side, so we couldn't see him.

This Old House- Part IV

So, here is the wrap up to my house photos. Today I'm showing you the upstairs and the front door (since I forgot to take a picture of it until now). I realized as I started loading the photos that I had no pictures of the boys' room since it was finished, and taking pictures of it meant they had to clean it, so it took an extra day to get the post up.

The front door. Here is my beautiful new front door. It used to be white, but I really like the green.

Moving upstairs to the old living room... The before and after photos look similar, but we moved the wall back three or four feet.

This was the tiny closet and hidden bunk room.

Here are the new closets. We built the doors to look just like the ones that used to be in the house. They are the old barn-style with a Z pattern on the back.

Remember the gross little bunk room?It is now Ethan's closet. (Dylan's looks exactly the same right next to it.) The closets are so big, we keep their dressers inside. Mazie's room was baby blue and had some water damage.This is her room now. This was before Josie was born. Now the girls share this room, and the crib is where the toys used to be. The bathroom before.I really didn't want the window in the shower, so we moved things around in this bathroom. Unfortunately, there was no room to expand it, so it was a tight fit. It's hard to photograph, but this will give you and idea. The toilet is where the shower used to be and the shower is where the toilet and sink used to be. Now, for the final transformation. The old kitchen. Before:After. We moved that wall back, too. I wasn't sure our bed was going to fit on the wall, but it does, perfectly.The old built-in....... is now my closet. Nathan's is right next to it. The boys' closets are divided, but ours aren't. When I went to ask the lumber yard if they had a closet rod to fit, the guy working wrinkled his brow and asked, "You have a twelve-foot closet?" Yep! And they are very deep, as you can see. I store all kinds of stuff in my closets.The old cook stove is gone. I took this before we hung Nathan's closet door and the cubby doors, so you'll have to excuse the clothes.Finally, this is the hallway. I don't have a before picture, but we saved all the doors in the house and put new glass knobs on them.That's our old house, transformed into a new house. Before I go, I'll answer a few questions that have been raised along the way. First, did we know it would look like this when we started remodelling? NO, not at all. We just knew that all the gross stuff had to go. We hired one person to help us. His name was Lynn, and he was a carpenter, not a contractor. We hired him to do the framing, because we knew we wanted to move the upstairs walls back and we were concerned about shifting the weight of the roof to a new wall. He ended up helping with a lot more than framing. He convinced us to move the basement stairs. We didn't have a clue how to do that or how to build the new floor where the old stairs used to be. When our plumbing bid came back at $11,000, Nathan went to Lynn and said, "Can we do it ourselves?"

Lynn replied, "I hate plumbing."

Nathan said, "Will you help me anyway?"

Lynn just smiled and said, "Of course. We'll do it." And they did for a fraction of the price. About the time we got to sheet rock, Lynn was diagnosed with brain cancer. He has since passed away. We couldn't have gotten through this project without him. He was a great man.

As far as the finished product goes, it was mostly a lot of small decisions along the way that give you the overall look of the home. What color of tile, what kind of cabinets, etc. Back when we started, I never imagined we could make it look this beautiful.

Finally, about the money. I won't tell you how much it cost to remodel the house, but I will tell you this. We spent as much remodelling as the original purchase price. Essentially, we doubled our mortgage. Could we have built a new house cheaper? No way. Not by a long shot. If we finished the basement, the house would have 2700 square feet. It would have cost a lot more to build a house this size new. And, you can't find a house plan like this anymore. Our house is forward-facing, which is what I wanted. New houses are turned sideways. Because the house was so trashed to begin with, we got it cheap, and that's what we were looking for-- the most square footage with the smallest price tag, no matter the condition.

Nathan swears we'll never do another remodel. Building a new house would be so much easier. Well, you'd have blueprints for one thing. But, if we found another house in bad shape, we might do it again as long as it didn't need new plumbing and wiring. The most expensive part of the remodel was the new heating system, and (thankfully) installation was part of the purchase price. There was no duct work and no furnace in the house, just a little gas stove. We had them install an Energy Star furnace and A/C, so now we have central heat and air conditioning. We also hired out the sheet rock and the carpet installation, but everything else we put in ourselves.

I can't think of any more questions to answer. Feel free to comment and ask if you want.