Mom and Dona's Visit

This is everyone. Mom and Madi in the upper left. Donalyn with Madison, Lynsey, and Scott on the left. Me--under Porter and Lane. And, Mom on the right.

Twin Apples

I caught the twins eating apples. I came downstairs and they had gone out to the refrigerator in the garage to get apples. They were perched on top of a chair chatting away and didn't even see me coming.

Why is everyone sleeping?

We went to the eye doctor yesterday for Madison. I am getting all of the kids checked for a lazy eye. Brant has a lazy eye and everyone tells me if you catch it early you can help prevent problems. It was such a ridiculously long appointment. We were there for four hours and probably spent a maximum of 30 minutes with the doctor. There were 3 rounds of quick exams in 3 different rooms. In between each we had to wait out in the waiting room with a hundred other people. I was so exhausted from doing nothing with Madison. I have to take the boys on Friday, so I will be a little better prepared. Madison screamed bloody murder when they had to put the drops in her eyes to dilate them. Then for the final exam, she wouldn't let the doctor touch her. We ended up with me forcing her head to be held in place while they pried her eyes open. She's my kid that is convinced it's going to hurt if I cut her toe nails. I have to do it when she's sleeping. I was surprised when we got home and she told Dad "It didn't hurt."
Porter of course woke up at 3 a.m. this morning. I was already up with Lane at 2 a.m. He's teething and congested so he was having a hard time sleeping. I've had no sleep all night. I continue to chant, "It won't last forever. They'll grow up before you know it. Who needs sleep anyway. Sleep deprivation is fun." Then I say, "Screw positive affirmations, I need some Coke and chocolate." It's going to be a great day.
My Mom and Dona left on Saturday. It was so fun to have them. I wish we could stop time and visit everyone forever. We are so looking forward to our trip home for Thanksgiving. I have a lot pictures that I haven't posted so I am putting them up in a montage or just adding a bunch with their captions. I remind myself that this is for the book I want at the end of the year with all of our memories so I won't forget this time in our lives.

Little Lane

Lane is getting so big! He's already 15 pounds and not yet 6 months. The twins are still around 28 pounds and they're 20 months old. Lane has outgrown his cousin Cambry who is a month older than him.

Navajo Taco Recipe

Growing up in Page, Arizona, we lived next to a Navajo Indian Reservation. We had the opportunity to learn a lot about their culture. In a small community, the ties were tight. When someone needed help, religion, race, and who your friends were didn't matter. Everyone pitched in. Whether it was a death, an illness, or someone just needing something. A favorite fundraiser was Navajo Taco Dinners. Everyone in town supported those. Part of it was the giving nature of the community, but the bigger part was that there was nothing like authentic, homemade, fresh Navajo Tacos.

The interesting thing about making Navjao Tacos is that a "recipe" does not exist among the Navajos. Traditionally, cooking is about knowing what to put into a meal without having to measure anything. You're not really considered a good cook if you have to measure. I wanted to learn how to make them and could not get any Navajo I know to give me a recipe. I finally asked Annie Slowtalker if she would help me. Annie worked for my family at our Taco Bell for 15 years. One day, in the Taco Bell kitchen, I had her show me how to make the dough. I kept telling her I had to make it myself to make sure I got it right. I had to make it four times that day. It's kind of hard when you don't measure. They literally would say, just a little bit of this and a little bit of that...oh and add some water until it "looks right."

So I made my own measuring recipe...for those of us who can't make something without one. If you have a mixer, it works great. You can't let the dough get too dry or it doesn't taste as good. The dough should be a little wet. You can use flour on your hands to keep it from sticking. If you mix my hand, you have to go slow and add the water slowly. It can clump really fast. Navajo girls can flatten and flip the dough like nothing I've ever seen. I can't do that. I have to flatten and stretch and flatten.

It is also a Navajo tradition to make fry bread for your in-laws when you get engaged. I guess they want to make sure you're worth your salt and won't starve their son. I actually did that for my in-laws the first time they came to visit my family. It was kind of fun. We explained the Navajo tradition...and my fry bread passed.

By the way, for those of you who don't know how to eat frybread, you can eat it plain, with powdered sugar, honey. Or, you can make a meal out it by using beans, chili or whateve meat you like. Then you put your choice of lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, olives, ranch dressing, or salsa on top of it.

By popular request here it is...

Navajo Tacos

2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 T vegetable oil
¾ C warm water
oil for frying

Makes 12 Circles of Bread
Mix dry ingredients together, then stir in oil and water and mix until smooth (a food processor will do this in a minute). Knead lightly for a minute until dough is elastic but don't work it too hard or it won't roll out.
Pinch off 12 balls of dough and flatten each with your hand into 3-4 inch circles. Roll again to make the circles as thin as possible, 7-8 inches in diameter. The thinner the dough circles are, the better they puff in the oil.
Dust the tops of the circles lightly with flour while oil heats in a wok or deep skillet to 375° F. Slip rounds one at a time into the hot oil and brown about 1 minute on each side, turning them with tongs or a slotted spatula. Drain on paper towels.

We just happened to run into Tito Ortiz

Last night Brant came home from work and asked if I wanted to go out with him. Heck ya! Getting out of the house without kids. Of course, I felt a little like Cinderella. I had to get the kids fed, ready for bed, and tell Geneva (who graciously babysat for us) all the little things to do. I was so busy getting ready to go, I didn't have time to get myself ready. It was getting later and later so I thought, "Who cares what I look like. It's the time together that's important." So I kept my t-shirt and black stretch pants on and threw on a red, zip up sweatshirt. I said, who needs makeup anyway? And pulled my hair on top of my head in a quick up-do. I looked housewife frumpy.
Brant asked where I wanted to go and I thought Buffalo Wild Wings would be good. It wasn't too far away and I like their wings. While we're sitting down, we noticed a little commotion in a corner. Then an announcer comes over the intercom. He announces that the "Bad Boy of Huntington Beach (Tito's moniker)" is in the house. Brant, a major UFC fan, and me a second-hand fan (cause Brant watches it so much) recognize that at Tito Ortiz. We're thinking, no...but sure, enough...in fact directly in my line of vision...there he is! I have to add that I do like watching him fight, but I'm a bigger fan because of his entrepeneur endeavors, his charity work, and his performance on The Apprentice.
People were lining up for autographs and pictures. I asked Brant if he wanted to get a picture. He was so calm. He said, "Celebrities don't do it for me. There's just no Wow in for me!" Okay, Mr. Cool. I am not too much into celebrities either. I wasn't that excited to meet Steve Young some 20 years ago. But now, I think it's cool that me and my family got a picture with him. I kept debating whether or not to go over and finally thought, "What the heck. I'll regret it if we don't."
So after eating we stood in line with the other fans. Yeah, me with my frumpy looking housewife attire. We had to show I.D.'s because they also gave you a signed can of beer. My diapers practically fell out of my purse when I was digging for my I.D. By the way, you'll be happy to know we didn't drink any beer. When I got my turn I told him that my husband liked his fighting and I was rooting for him on The Apprentice. He was very humble and said thanks. He said that it got shady towards the end and he couldn't play that way. I agree. He had a lot of integrity on the show. Brant snapped a picture on his cell phone.
Unfortunately, when we got home the cell phone pic would not open up. We can see it in the tiny little pre-picture, but it won't get big. Oh well. I did get an autograph from him. It's my only proof. So will I make sure to get dressed up next time I go out? Probably not. Frumpy seems to suit me fine. And my real life man is my favorite celebrity.

Silent Night, Yeah, Right!

He is so sweet. Such a great baby too! He is always happy and smiling and giggling. Mom bought this onesie for him at Walmart. It is so true! He has started sleeping 3 hours at a time at night. So that's been nice for me. I don't mind. I know he'll grow up so fast. And, getting a good night's sleep means that I don't have a baby anymore.

Just Stuff

I just feel like journaling today. I don't have any one thing to post or blog about. Just a lot of little stuff.
Mom and Dona are still here. It's so nice to have family to visit with. It's like a warm feeling to know your famliy is around. Kind of like snuggling up in a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Then, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. There is something so important and precious as home and family. We probably take it too much for granted.
Madison and Porter have had so much fun with their cousins even though they are alot older. Scott is really patient and good with them. It makes you feel so happy as a Mom when other kids are good to your kids. It hurts when it is the opposite and children are mean to them. It makes me so sad.
My tooth is killing me! Fortunately for me, my Visiting Teaching partner's husband is in dental school at UNLV. I am going to try to get in with him. Our insurance doesn't kick in until January. I know if I wait, I'll have a bigger problem on my hands...er, uh in my mouth. We had our visiting teaching get-to-gether in the park yesterday. It was fun getting out--without kids--and visiting with the women.
I am so sad we are going to have to move in a couple of months. Just when I am starting to get to know everyone. This will be the third place we have lived in since moving back to Las Vegas. We have lived in NINE places since the twins were born. This will be their 10th home. I wish we could just settle. We finally were ready to stay in a place and then the circumstances changed that we couldn't help. The home we are renting is going into foreclosure.
I am thankful for our home, our health, and Brant. Brant has been the pillar of our family. He is working so hard to provide for us. I can't believe he works as much as he does; gets overtime; takes welding classes; does crane testing; and is getting as much driving practice in as he can so that he can get his Class A CDL. (He already has a Class B and has the Class A permit.) On top of all of that, he came yesterday and took all THREE kids and insisted that I take a nap. He also brought me flowers. I know he's so tired and yet he still tries to help me out. I am thankful for him.

The small things are the big things

I have not had time to blog I have been so busy the last couple of days. I am actually happy-tired and that is the best feeling in the world. I think when you're tired 'cause you're so busy and having fun it's awesome.
My Mom, my sister Dona, and three of her children: Ashley, Lynsey, and Scott have been here for a national dog competition. They are going to end up being here for about a week. It is so fun, because we don't do anything of great importance. Actually, we sit around and talk and visit which is really fun. And, everything else is just everyday stuff.
We have been doing things that we used to do as kids. Like eat tuna on club crackers. My Mom HAS to have Best Foods. Which is of course, is what I buy too. We have also been drinking Coca-Cola alot. I thought I was over that and had kicked the habit. It shows you what happens when your drinking buddies show up. I couldn't say no. We made dinner together. I have a Kung Pao Chicken recipe that I love. That was fun too. Although Dona's youngest, Scott, is 3 years older than my twins, they have still had alot of fun playing together. We worked on cleaning and organizing my garage. I de-junked alot of stuff they are going to take. Cleansing feels so good. I also got to run to the store with Mom and Dona while Ashley and Linsey watched my kids. It is such a sweet feeling to up and leave with no kids.
When they get back from competition today, we are going to make Navajo Tacos. That's an old-time favorite too. We grew up right next to the Navajo Reservation. I was lucky enough to have Annie, a dear friend to our family, teach me how to make authentic fry bread. It's so good.
I cherish these memories we are making so much. It has been fun just to have them here in my day-to-day life. So we haven't done anything special. I guess that's why the saying is, "It's the small things in life that matter. Because sometimes the small things are the BIG things."

Mommy Days

The kids for the most part are potty-trained. They only wear diapers for nap time and when they go to bed at night. Which is why I was so baffled that Madison would decide to take her skirt, underwear, and shirt off--and then go and pee on my bed. She is like one of Mom's poodles that pees on your stuff when she gets mad at you. Yesterday, she did a lot of things that did not make me happy. But she also made me laugh several times. I don't know where she picks up half the stuff she does, but it was very cute.
She was sitting in my black office chair with a small, red, paperback Book of Mormon. I said, "Madison what are you doing?" She said, "I'm reading my scriptures, Mom." (Like Duh, what does it look like.) I was thinking, maybe she could do that for the rest of the day. But I guess she only reads a couple of minutes a day.
Because we live with their cousins Aundra and Jantzen, there are often squabbles between the four of them. I usually approach it non-chalant and try to find out what happened before hugging or sending anyone to timeout. So I hear Porter crying and all four of them are in the loft. As I'm coming over, I see Madison standing next to Porter putting her arm around his shoulder and then rubbing her hand up and down his back. She is quietly leaning into him and saying, "What happened? Are you okay? What happened?" When he is still crying and not answering her she says, "It's going to be okay." I was laughing because she was doing exactly what I do. I showed up and said, "Okay, Little Mama, I've got it from here." She said, "I not a Little Mama." Then she bounced away.
I had to wash their sheets because their diapers leaked. When I was back upstairs with the bedding, Porter was pulling the mattress off of the bed. Madison, "Porter don't do that." Then exasperated, she said, "You are making me so sad."
I'm not sure if yesterday was so rough because I was up with the kids all night and as a result was tired, impatient and cranky. So maybe the incidents seemed worse than they were. Porter gave me a very hard time at nap time. He woke up Madison twice. Then she woke up Lane and by then Porter was fast asleep. This whole scenario took about an hour and a half. I was hoping to get a nap with them. But, no luck.
I am so thankful for my husband who came home from a full day of work and said, "Don't worry, I'll take it from here. You go get some rest." I went to bed at 6:30 p.m.

Quote

"Yesterday's failures are today's seeds that must be diligently planted to be able to abundantly harvest tomorrow's success." --Unknown Author

Isn't great to know that our failures are the very thing that will help us to be successful? You can learn more about a person by learning what they have failed at in life, than knowing what they have succeeded at. I think we get so caught up in trying to have it all or live up to our own expectations we don't give due respect to the refiner's fire that builds our character.

A Day At the Park...

...and a half day to get there. My mother-in-law and I decided to start taking the kids to the park once a week. The catch--we were going to walk to the park. It happens to be a couple of miles away. I'm not sure on the exact miles, but I AM going to find out. We were just going to take my kids, but then Geneva needed a babysitter Wednesday morning, so we took Jantzen and Cambry. We had a mini-caravan going. We've been walking every night for about 30 minutes so we thought we would be up for it. But, it was a challenge. I am overweight, but my MIL is so skinny. She's works out all of the time and even lifts weights a couple times a week. I have a good role model.
It was a lot of fun and an adventure. I kept telling myself, "At least I'm not a pioneer trekking across the plains. I only have to do this for a couple of hours. Not all day every day."
The kids had a blast although I think they thought we were kind of slow in moving. If the weather is still good, we will probably do it again next week. I just wish I would have lost 5 lbs from it. It felt like I worked that much off.
My Mom and sister are coming on Friday for some dog show beauty contest or something. They compete nationally so it's pretty big. I am so excited to have family come. I love having company. My kids are excited too--because I've been talking to them about their arrival all week. They say, "Mimi (that's grandma) and Aunt Dona come. They sleep in my room! I clean my room. They bring dogs." They transposed a little of the information yesterday and Madison said, "Aunt Dona come to clean my room!" I thought, now that sounds good. Madison also wanted to call Aunt Dona yesterday. I'm not sure if she was excited about the dogs or her coming to clean her room.
Lane is moving about on the floor a little more. He's still a wobbly sitter. He's not as advanced as Porter was. He's more at Madison's pace. He is sure a happy baby.
We have started our temple prep class. It was really good although nothing special about the content. Granted, it's great stuff. I said that wrong. It's good stuff, just plain and simple truths. I think it was more of the feeling of the Spirit with the group of people. There are some great people in our group. It is always exciting to be a part of progressing and watching others progress as well.
I had a dream last night. In it I could jump REALLY high. I showed Vicki and Ron. They were impressed. There was also a turtle that died. Brant had started playing computer games again. I looked up "jump" and "turtle" at www.dreammoods.com It said that jump meant needing to taking a risk. And, that turtles indicate slow progress. I'll have to think about that.

I think I can, I think I can...

I walked 5 miles today pushing 3 kids in a stroller. Wow! I can't believe Haley and Travis ran a marathon. They are overachievers! I have a lot of respect for runners and athletes. All of the things, which I am not. I'm just trying to get rid of this extra weight that seems to think we are best friends. I tried to outrun it today--but sadly it stayed with me. I'll post pictures of the park later. I'm too tired to do anything else.

David and Goliath

I read a story in one of Dr. Phil's books. It has been something that has been on my mind this past week because it is about your perspective. He says that when the townspeople saw Goliath they said, "He's so big, we can't defeat him." When David saw Goliath, he said, "He's so big I can't miss him!" I have applied this to my "Goliaths" this week. I am realizing there is so much power in how we look at something. Is my problem so big I don't believe I can defeat, or is the problem so big there's no way I can miss it?

Just Monday Morning Stuff

We had a really fun weekend. Nothing too exciting, just lots of little odds and ends.

* HALLOWEEN NIGHT WAS a lot of fun for the twins. Brant and I were just plain tired by Friday night. Their cousins were getting dressed up and getting ready to go trick-or-treating. So, obviously, they wanted to get their costumes on. We told them they could get their costumes on, but it was their turn to give candy. We did not want to go out and hoped this ruse would work. We know next year it will not. They were actually very excited about the doorbell ringing constantly. Just answering the door is fun for them. They were taking turns passing out candy. Then they would wave their little hands and say, "Goodbye! Happy Halloween!" It was so cute. Brant and I were laying on the couch ready for bed--at 8 p.m. Their uncle, Kendall, came home and realized we weren't taking them out. He was not impressed with our lack of parenting in teaching our children the "ways of Halloween." We were laughing about what bad parents we were, but we didn't care. We were tired. He volunteered to take them out and they were thrilled. I told him he could have half of everything they collected. As far as us being losers, I mean tired, tired, parents. I just want to say on our behalf that I have been up for the last 4 nights at 3:30 a.m. because of one or all 3 of my kids. Brant gets up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for work. So 8 p.m. is really late for us.

* SATURDAY WAS A great day for me! Brant did not have to work. It is one of the few Saturdays that he was not working. He usually picks up all of the overtime he can. This weekend he had off. Although I still got up at 3:30 a.m., I got a break. He took the twins to Walmart to do all of the Christmas shopping. I know we do it a little early, but I hate to shop. Brant loves buying gifts and I love getting things done early. Plus, we really weren't spending very much this year so it's not like there was that much to get. He was also able to ask them which toys they like better because he figured they'll forget about them in a couple of months. I have to say holidays are so much more fun with kids. I hated them when I was single, and now I know why. Kids make it great. I designed our family Christmas card last month--and am now awaiting the trip to Grandma and Grandpas in November to get our pictures taken. We're a little excited about the kids experiencing the holidays. I just want to get all of the tasks out of the way, so we can enjoy it without the rush. So gifts are done, cards are almost done, and all that will be left is fun.

* SUNDAY WAS DAYLIGHT savings so we gained an extra hour. Which surprisingly, made us late to church. We are usually on-time or early. Porter woke up at 3 a.m. I don't know what's going on with him. But, he also woke up Madison and she was not very happy about it. So by 10 a.m. Madison put herself down for a nap. Lane fell asleep and I didn't want to wake Madison up so we waited until she was done sleeping and then left for church. She was actually very happy and much better for Nursery. Brant and I were able to attend a temple prep class. We are very excited about it. We have to go to eight classes and will be finished in December. However, the classes are scheduled for Tuesday nights at 8 pm. That's like midnight for us--but we are still going to go.

* AND NOW MONDAY morning, it's 4:45 a.m. and only Lane is awake. I'm so glad the twins are sleeping. Maybe it was the week long of Halloween parties that kept them from falling asleep or staying asleep. I guess until the next big holiday, we'll have a break. I hope! They were killing me with their middle-of-the night waking. Brant's back at work and we won't see much of him until January. He's going to be working alot of overtime and still is taking welding and crane classes. I honestly can't believe how much we do now that we have kids. We used come home tired from work everyday and "pampered" ourselves when we both had jobs. Our old selves would be very impressed with our new selves. But, we would also laugh and feel sorry for ourselves. Our new selves would tell our old selves that it was all worth it. The baggy eyes, the lack of sleep, no money--it all matters little when some little person wraps their arms around you and says, "I love you Mommy." ADDENDUM: The twins woke up at 4:56--not too bad considering it would be almost 6 a.m. if there wasn't daylight savings this weekend. Maybe we'll get back on track. They crawled into Lane's crib to hang out with him when they woke up. (That's the pic.)

* OTHER SMALL THINGS that happened include: Lane cut his first bottom tooth yesterday. I am concerned about the welfare of his main feeding aparatus now that he has teeth. It could be very dangerous. I lost a part of my back tooth. I'm left with a jagged, sharp edge that cuts my tongue! I have been chewing gum to let gum buffer the sharpness. It will be about 2 months before we get dental insurance. I am actually thankful for this tooth as it is not so easy to eat. I am thinking this will be a good weight loss plan for me. There is always a silver lining.

* MY COUSIN'S FUNERAL was this weekend. He died of colon cancer. He was so young to me. I don't remember him being old. I was so surprised to realize that he was 50. I remember the last time I saw him was in Page not more than 2 years ago. He was with his daughters and stopped by my Dad's house. He was in perfect health. I would have never guessed. My cousin, Kayla, wrote a great post about it on www.http://thelegacylady.typepad.com/the_legacy_lady_online/2008/10/colonoscopy---got-yours-yet.html Death always reminds us how short our time on earth is. And, that hopefully our lives will be a tribute to our families. Jim's certainly was. He was a good person, father, son, cousin, etc. Kayla wrote a wonderful tribute to him. I can't say it much better than she did.