Back to Earth

   I suppose the fact that I am once again finding time to sit and write here means life is returning to normal, at least I am counting on this state of normalcy for the next 30 minutes or so.
   As previously mentioned in my last post I found myself pregnant for the 4th time and then fell off the face of the earth for almost a year, which pretty much sums up my pregnancy. Looking back I really wish I could have (fallen of the earth). Instead I found myself unable to get off the couch for at least a year. People tell me it was about three months, but I'm pretty sure it was longer. I can look back now and joke about it but at the time it was completely serious and boring and uneventful. I really could not think of anyway to write anything worth reading about feeling sick all day every day, all night every night, all meals every meal, all the time, for ever and ever and ever that is pretty much how those 3 months felt to me.
   Luckily I have the, The, THE most amazing Mother so I was able to literally lie on her couch for three months while she looked after me and the 3 boys. I really did try to be grateful when she cooked such healthy good food though I could only eat about 7 bites of it.
   I completed way too many knitting projects to the point where I was sure knitting around and around on my circular needles was making me ill from feeling dizzy which was a refreshing different kind of sick feeling.  Did I mention I had morning sickness? And afternoon and evening and night sickness and if I did anything and I mean ANYTHING like walking more than about 20 steps per day or standing or sitting in an upright position for more than 20 minutes per day made me violently sick for the next 24 hours or so.
Yes it was a long long long 9 months and looking back I can say I learned some good lessons from it though why I had to learn them in such a stinkin hard way is beyond me.
  I learned that it truly is better to give than to receive because when you are receiving it is because you are completely unable to do anything for yourself which is a humbling place to be in especially when you really do want to look after your family and your three little boys but instead you can barley sit next to them because everything smells so bad, even freshly washed little boys and especially unwashed little boys.
   I learned how to knit lots of stuff.
   I learned that Nate is right we should win the lottery so he doesn't have to go to work ever again then he could have stayed home with me and looked after me though he would have had to learn how to cook- a lot.
   I learned to gracefully accept help and I learned what people truly mean when they say they can't thank you enough.
   I learned to find peace which I realized I had never found before which is a quality I cherish and don't really know how I coped before I found it.
   I learned that I am completely absolutely never ever ever getting pregnant again.

Symptoms of ?

I find myself finding great joy in rinsing, scrubbing and sterilizing the kitchen garbage and recycling cans.
I can smell what peoples houses smell like inside when I am walking by on the sidewalk.
I can not even think about thinking about writing about eating the leftovers in my fridge.
All I want to eat is clam chowder, pretty much anything that contains my daily quota of calories in a half cup serving sounds delicious.
I change my pillowcase every morning.
I bought giant lavender dryer tea bags to put in my bedroom so I could walk through it to take a shower before 2 pm.
I try not to think of what I am going to make for dinner until I am eating it.
I hate and love breakfast, I think I hate it more.
Nathan smells like a man, usually in the good way - the old spice way.
I make the boys take out the garbage almost every day instead of once a week.
I washed the couch, I washed the beanbag chair, I washed the couch pillows and the throw pillows.
I need to learn how to clean my oven, it smells, that's how much we have moved in the ten years we have been married, I have never cleaned an oven before.
I have cups of baking soda balanced precariously in my fridge at nose level.
I can't bring myself to clean the bathroom.
Walking by KFC smells like they keep live chickens in the dumpsters - maybe they do, OK I can't go there.
I am always hungry I am always full.
I am freezing and too warm.
I am tired and exhausted.
I am tired and productive.
I am tired and sleeping.
I am tired and simply staying awake.
I am excited and sad.
I am mad and happy.
I am pregnant!

Be My Valentine

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Icky Sickies

   Sickies around here lately. So nothing of note in the form of real life excitement. When your house is full of sickies weird things start to make your day and give one a false sense of excitement and adventure, such as finding enjoyment and satisfaction in making a wooden Thomas train track for the twelfth time of the day and organizing all the myriads of trains into neat lines and feeling a great sense of accomplishment because you managed to use all the pieces; or feeling like a great inventive cook because you invented boxed soup with peas and boxed soup with corn and boxed soup with rice - you get the picture. At least my self esteem as a mother is not affected because everyone is so grumpy it doesn't matter what I do, everyone just cries and complains which makes my job easier as now I am just simply "Evil Taskmaster" and you are either eating something you hate, doing something you hate or you are in your bed. I really tried making things they like, such as pork and potatoes but they complained as much as on soup days so I thought to myself well soup is easier and I love soup so we will eat soup, soup, soup it's healthier for the sickies anyways.
   Luckily, thankfully, gratefully I am not sick but am not feeling my best what with being cooped up with complainers and not getting more than an hour of sleep at a time if this post is a bit disjointed it's because I am taking breaks to stare at the wall.
   Honestly it's just a very bad cold that reportedly starts with a very, very, very sore throat then where baby is concerned croup and wheezing all night then a very runny nose and a nasty, nasty cough. There seem to also be stomach issues involved in the form of having to change the baby's diaper every 20 minutes and him getting multiple baths a day and Nathan lying in bed for hours and hours while turning greener and greener as the smell of dinner cooking wafted up the stairs.
I'm pretty sure I can be guaranteed a better week next week even if I get sick.

For those of you who are feeling fine and chipper and feel like making some very yummy pork chops these are my favorite.

4 pork chops

Mix together
2 eggs
1TBSP Dijon mustard
Roll the pork in the egg mixture.

1-2 cups bread crumbs
salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, etc.
Then roll the pork in the bread crumb mixture.

Cook on a rack in the oven, not the rack in the oven. I use a cookie cooling rack balanced on top of a cake pan. 400 for about 30 minutes depending on how thick your pork chops are.

Patriotic Eh?

  

   Attended a very patriotic event. Which is very out of my league. I being a legal alien of this country for the next 12 years, at which point I must either renew my card or become illegal. I never really know how to patriotically stand. As I am officially in Cub Scout uniform I am supposed to stand with my right hand to my eyebrow but if one is an alien they are to stand at attention without the salute but it doesn't say anything about what to do if you are an alien in uniform and then there is also the whole hand over the heart option which I don't think I qualify for either so I am at a total loss. Instead of switching off between the three I stand there looking American and feel very undecided and Canadian about the whole thing.
   The Cub Scouts put on a very nice Outdoor flag ceremony and since my son is a Cub Scout and I am a assistant leader we all went to see how it is done. I took a bunch of photos but feel there is an unspoken rule about posting photos of other children's faces on the internet.
  The boys took down the flag, folded it and put it back up. I was having a hard time getting a shot with all the boys in the picture thank you, thank you to the spider found on the flag which got them all up close and looking very intently and seriously at the flag = perfect photo!
  The flag made it down and up without ever touching the ground, and to think I ever doubted 8 year old boys. At least my faith has been restored in the rising generation and their abilities, I think I have been much to slack on my 8 year old's chore list.
  The outdoor ceremony was held at the local cemetery. I think the silence and somberarity of the place added to the effect. Apparently a cemetery is a great place for beginner drivers to practice and, no, not for convenience but for safety; honestly who can you hurt? But the fear of driving over someone is still present. I think it's a great idea.

Nephi Party

Last week we held a 2nd Nephi Party.

As 2nd Nephi has so many chapters of Isaiah it often feels like it will never end and reading the Book of Mormon as a family is a challenge that has never lasted past the first third of 2nd Nephi. So being a wise and courageous mother I promised a 2nd Nephi Party which would happen before moving on to the Book of Jacob. 

   The problem with promising a party two months in advance meant that the boys had time to come up with large scale party plans comparable to going to Disney Land and inviting 50 people over to play games and eat candy while jumping on a giant trampoline. 

   So, sadly, they were quite disappointed and also received a large bit of information on gratitude. 

   In the end the party was a success. What party would not be with delicious home-made apple pie made with locally grown apples harvested in the fall and seasoned to perfection in the garage. I even ran out to get ice-cream to make it yum, yum, extra yum! 

  Our scripture game was a silly one where you flip through the pages of 2nd nephi while someone hums, when they stop the verse you see first is the one you read. Whoever guesses closest to the correct chapter and verse wins! Somehow this is fun and exciting in a pointless sort of way, Auntie Em and I have perfected the art of enjoyable guessing from hours of random practice so that may be why. 

  Our 2nd Nephi Quiz consisted of twelve questions. 

  1. How many Chapters in 2nd Nephi? 

  2. How many verses in 2nd Nephi chapter 6?

  3. How many chapters in 1st and 2nd Nephi?

  4. How many pages in 2nd Nephi?

  5. How many minutes on average to read a chapter?

  6. What is the first word in 2nd Nephi?

  7. What is the last word in 2nd Nephi?

  8. Was Nephi a Prophet?

  9. Did Nephi write 2nd Nephi?

  10. Did you learn anything from 2nd Nephi?

  11. Is 2nd Nephi True?

  12. Do you think you will ever read 2nd Nephi again?

I tried to even out the playing field by asking very random questions but of course Nathan still won almost all of the mini bags of M&M's. 

Happily with a quiz like this everyone can get at least a few right. 

*If you have never heard of 2nd Nephi simply contact your local missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

to knit or knot

      I have been trying to remaster an old hobby that I started when I was young. This hobby has been handed to me, thrown at me and tangled me in it's clutches both times. The first when I was young and receiving my education, someone we knew knew how to knit so I learned how to knit. Ages later a gray lamb began to take shape though I mis-counted the rows so my lamb had a neck three times too long and always looked extremely front heavy but as is the nature of spending weeks, months possibly years making something it tends to grow on you so my odd gray lamb is tucked away somewhere on a remote Island in a blue trunk waiting for I'm not sure what. I don't think I would fix it now even though I know how.
   Recently I received a gift of knitting books and supplies from Nathan. I was doing some cross stitch during Christmas for a gift and he knew I enjoyed it. So being a thoughtful husband and wanting to get a surprise gift for me he decided to get me more stuff for knitting (he thought that's what I was doing when I was working on cross stitch). It was not until a few weeks before my Birthday that he asked me what I was doing but by then it was too late he already had the knitting gift. He asked me if I knew how to knit, I said I kind-of-did but didn't enjoy it. That gave him a few weeks to worry and time fret over his well thought out from the heart gift. But I have unintentionally been making Nate fret and worry for years so it is nothing new.
   I now have loads of knitting patterns and books by this awesome old lady named Elizabeth Zimmermann, if learning how to knit can make me a bit more like her then it is totally worth it.
   I already have much too much embroidery floss so knitting was a welcome change and has been an enjoyable challenge. I have pulled out more stitches than I have knit, strictly speaking that is not possible but I'm telling you knitting is miraculous in more ways than one. I find it both frustrating and liberating at the same time as I immensely enjoy starting experimental projects that don't turn out and liberating because it is so much easier and almost fun to pull out mistakes than with a seam ripper and a sewing machine.
I have managed to make slippers for the boys, which I am ninety-nine percent sure will turn out. I have had a hard time finding a leather hole punch in order to put the sheepskin on the bottom but I am fairly confident they will be warm and soft.
   Benjamin really likes a small polar bear I have made. I'm not so sure it is that great I think I'm scarred for life giving animals unnaturally long necks, though I may just be overly sensitive to the matter.
   I started my first actual pattern yesterday after a long stretch of unsuccessful experiments it's called a Moebius and if you don't know what that is, that is just fine as I will be posting a picture when I am finished I have 6 inches down and 54 left to go!

Snogging

   Ten years ago to the day at 8 o'clock in the morning I was twenty and knew what I wanted out of life, actually I knew what I didn't want out of life, actually I knew very little and still do though now I know slightly more because I will admit to how little I do know.
   Turns out 14 hours later I would know a lot less about what I wanted out of life as I received my first kiss. Yes I was twenty, and no I am not making this up for romantics sake and yes Mom I waited for love to kiss. Though honestly it was more of the sleeping beauty story, not because I am a fairy tale girl (though I do own a lovely cast iron pan) but because I was falling asleep on the floor after watching a movie and all of a sudden Nate was kissing me, kissing me! I'm sure my lips felt very much like those of snow white or sleeping beauty because I froze wondering weather I should 1. Hit him, 2. Pretend I really am totally asleep and just not wake up, 3.Yell at him or at least tell him off, 4. Kiss him back, what? All these thoughts hit at the life flashing before your eyes speed and if in the semi movie darkness he had not put his hand on my chest in an effort to find my shoulder my thoughts may have been a bit more gentle, though probably not. Turns out I chose number 4. And sometimes am still surprised by my choice, what with all those obviously more Sarah-ish choices. Though maybe my life did flash before my eyes and that is why I chose what I did. Not my life up to that point but my life forward from that point.

Happy Birthday Nate, I Love You!

Gelatinous Mass

   With all these cold rainy days and pretend snowing days that never come to fulfillment, fulfillment equaling snowing enough to go sledding I have been making a great quantity of Gelatinous Mass. Gelatinous Mass is smelly and looks like well a big pot of gelatinousness but it does make the very best food and if your baby decides he is only going to eat starch for dinner day after day you don't have to worry because it is secretly full of gelatinous mass. And as bad as it sounds it is very healthy which, of course it is, because anything that sounds absolutely delicious is most likely bad for you.
   I use Gelatinous Mass in everything except breakfast cereal including rice, gravy, mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce, of course soup, soup, soup. How do I go about making this amazing concoction you ask? First you have to get a bag of bones (chicken, beef or my favorite, lamb) a crock pot, water and 1/4-1/2 cup vinegar.

   I am so happy I finally found a use for this crock-pot I have that has moved around with me three times and takes up half a cupboard. I knew it had a secret use other than making everything I made in it magically taste just like every other thing I made in it, and that is one thing I can not abide. I need food variety. Anyways I have a new respect for my crock-pot and it's ability to turn bones and water into something so flavorful time after time. 

   Put the bones in your crock-pot in the morning (they can be frozen or thawed.) fill the pot with water, add 1/4-1/2 cup white or apple cider vinegar let sit about 1/2 an hour then turn on your crock-pot to high.  
   Before you go to bed turn it to low.
   The following morning turn it off, let it cool, scoop out the bones, strain it.
   Put it in the fridge.
   When it is cold scrape the fat off the top and there you have it a Glorious jug, bowl or pot of Gelatinous Mass that can be added to just about anything. 

If you fill up your crock-pot with bones your Gelationousness will be very Jelly-atinous but will liquify with heat.

The Big Toe

   Here it is 2011. And here is a very, very typical resolution, I know it is, because for the last two weeks the display at Costco consists of (in order) the front door, vitamins, exercise equipment, protein shakes, runners, socks and stretchy pants and then of course loads and loads of food in huge quantities including very high fat all you can eat samples.
    In my defense and to clarify that I am not falling into the all american model I wrote this post before Christmas and before I saw the Costco line up although if procrastination isn't all american as well I don't know what is. So when my Green Card expires I won't even have to write a citizenship test I'll just show them this post and they will see Costco shopper + procrastinator = American...stamp the card or whatever they do.  
   I have been trying to think of a way to involve my circumference of thought in my new improved soon to be exercise program which is less of a program and more of a desperate attempt to lose some fat.
   So as I was lying in bed last night for hours, mind you that is a different story...OK I'll tell you because it is probably more entertaining than fat. My son came down with a fever yesterday in the middle of Office Max as I was trying to buy printer ink, which I succeeded in doing by the way. Our printer is a story in itself too but I'm pretty sure a fever and fat are more exciting than printers though probably not as frustrating!
   So Fever son being who he is doesn't know if he needs to cough or puke or have a headache, luckily he decides to go the fever/headache route so I was up with him getting him a cool cloth for his head every half hour from 11pm-3am which is when the second son started having coughing fits every hour or so till 5 am and there is a reason we call him the "barrel chested" because when he coughs it jolts me awake like there is an explosion in his room. Of course when 8 o'clock rolled around they thankfully miraculously feel all better and are ready for breakfast and I am very thankful that they are better but it has been very hard to show it.
   Back to contemplating my fat while lying awake in bed, I thought this would be a boring enough subject to put me right back to sleep as sheep are out of the question as I have recently taken up knitting and thinking of sheep makes me think of wool which turns into a downward spiral of of awakeness and excitement thinking that if I am just lying in bed why don't I get up and knit some more so you can see how exciting exercising is to me, as compared to knitting, it is boring.
   So I started thinking of why and where people get the motivation for such things as running on treadmills and climbing up multiple flights of stairs.
   Unfortunately all the fun ways to exercise are too expensive so I am reduced to the level of hamster which, by the way, no matter how much they run on those wheels they always look fat. I may have to rethink my strategy.
   Enough "by the ways" here is the plan. I will be taking along an Exercise Buddy. The auditions are closed, they happened Tuesday Night and The Right Foot wins. So without further ado I will be going to the gym accompanied by my big toe. My right one to be precise as my left one kept tripping me up on the stair-stepper on Tuesday after only 30 flights. My right Big Toe is very excited about this opportunity to gain fame as I post a short, sweet and odor-free recap and a photo of the improvements this program is sure to produce: naked, unphotoshopped and waxed here comes The Big Toe. And wait before you erase this amazing link from your bookmarks it's my big toe, not me, just my toe, just thought I should clarify.