Miscellaneous Pictures

These are some miscellaneous pictures from the past week. The two boys, Lane and Porter, on their way to the eye doctor. Lane, alone, sitting in Madison's favorite purple Dora chair. All three, with eyes glued to Barney first thing in the morning.

Kim's Baby

Kim just called me. She is 38 weeks and still no obvious signs of going into labor. I hope she has the baby while we are there next week. It would be so fun to be there when she has her baby. By there, I mean in Utah, I don't care much for the hoopla in the delivery room.

Working Hard for the Money

I haven't seen Brant much this week. He's trying to get all of the overtime in that he can. Maybe so I'll buy him an Xbox. He worked a shift Thursday morning (yesterday); then went to welding class; came home to shower and went back to work another shift for another department. He got home at midnight and then left for work again at 4 a.m. this morning. He's going to be tired tonight!

Porter's Picture of Health

Thursday night I gave the kids ice cream. I handed them each a small cup of it. The sugar bug (Madison) was all over it. Porter said in an interrupted voice, "Mom, I'm eating Broccoli!" I said, "Well, you can have ice cream too!" He said, "Oh!" And, decided to dip his broccoli in the ice cream. He finished the broccoli, but not the ice cream. If only I could find a way to reproduce his good eating habits. I could bottle it and sell it.

The Eyes Have It

I finished with all of the eye appointments today. Lane and Porter went in this morning. We were checking to make sure they didn't have a lazy eye. Brant had one when he was younger and my MIL thought she the kids might have it. So, better safe than sorry. Madison went in on Monday. She screamed her head off when they dilated her eyes. Porter wasn't very happy about it, but he did okay. Unfortunately, he had to have it done twice because they said for some reason brown eyes don't dilate with the drops as easily as blue eyes. Porter got a lollipop when he was finished. Madison did not. The doctor also made sure to let me know that she was relocating next year and gave me her card. (After Porter's appointment, not Madison's.) They came back with perfect results...all of them have no problems for now. I'm more worried about them inheriting my nearsightedness. Lane was stealing all of the Assistants hearts...he has such a bright smile. He would grin and giggle at them. They loved him.
I told Porter that we could get french fries afterwards. He was quite pleased with that. We went through the McDonald's drive-thru. I ordered him a water as well. He was so happy about his water he didn't want the french fries. I kept asking him if he wanted them and he said, "No, I have water." He finally did take the fries.

Quips

Porter--When he pees on the toilet he says, "I'm empty, Mom!"

Madison--She held earrings in her hands and said, "You have holes, Mom. I don't."

To buy or not to buy...that is the question

My husband wants an Xbox 360 for Christmas. Here's my dilemma...we don't have cash to pay for it. We would have to put it on credit. He doesn't ask for much and this is all he wants. He always buys me tons of stuff for birthdays and Christmas. His love language is gift giving. I could care less for gifts or giving them. I'm a bit of a tightwad, Scrooge, whatever you want to call it. Mostly because I actually get very excited at the thought of paying off bills. I don't know why. There is just an immense thrill for me in not having a debt. I realize I have a problem. I'm not saying it's good. I actually wanted to get movies and books out of the garage and wrap them up for Christmas. (An original idea from Bobbi, I might add.) They're brand new to the kids. And, they're only two. What do they know. We have to take advantage of their guilibility while we can.
Anyway, I can't decide. I know he would like it, but it makes me cringe at the thought of getting into debt over Christmas. By the way, I don't have to worry about him reading this. He never reads our family blog.

Little Lines of Laughter

I was singing Kids songs to the twins today. I started in on "I've been working on the railroad...." Madison interrupted me and said, "No you haven't, Mom."

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.