The conversations I had during what was suppose to be my 5 minutes of alone time in the shower and it is only the first day of summer!

Katie: Mom, can you help me set up the slip n slide?
Mom: I can't right now. I'm in the shower. You'll have to wait or ask Finn or Annie.
Suzie: Mommy, can I go to the potty?
Mom: Yes (because I am the bathroom permission giver)
Katie: Mom, Finn says he won't help me set up the slip n slide.
Mom: Tell him I said he needs to help you.
Annie: Mom, can I have a lemonade stand today?
Mom: No, not today.
Annie: PLLLLLLLEASE!
Mom: Nooooooo.
Annie: Oh-kay.
Katie: Mom, Where is the pump to fill up the squishy part of the slip n slide? I really want it to be squishy.
Mom: In the hall closet. ( Because I am the household supplies clairvoyant.)
Finn: Mom, where is the ibuprofen? I need it for my sunburn.
Mom: In the medicine basket.
Annie: Mom, the phone is for you.
Mom: Take a message and tell them I'll call them back.
Katie: Mom, is the pump in the hall cupboard or the hall drawers?
Mom: The hall cupboard.
Annie: Mom, the music store called and they don't have my recital piece.
Mom: Okay, I'll call them when I get out of the shower.
Katie: Mom, is the pump in the hall cupboard or the hall drawers?
(No, I didn't accidentally type that question twice. She came back and asked it again. I don't know if she didn't hear me or couldn't find it.)
Mom: In the hall cupboard.
No part of these conversations were invented or exaggerated. So much for Calgon takin' me away.

The Great Chicken Experiment

One "organizational" tool I use is a weekly menu. Each week I "try" to plan out my meals for the week. Sometimes is works, sometimes it doesn't. That's why I write it out in pencil. Last week I was planning out my meals for the week and everything I came up with had chicken in it. I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny to see how long I could go serving chicken to my family before they noticed or complained?" And thus "The Great Chicken Experiment" was born. These were the rules: I would serve chicken every night we were home and I would only stop when someone either 1.- asked why we were having chicken all the time or 2.- complained about having chicken all the time. Either way the word "chicken" had to be in the sentence. I have to have standards when it comes to my experiments or else they are completely useless. I mean what kind of experiment would it be if I just stopped when someone gave a general complaint about what I had fixed for dinner. Then it wouldn't be an experiment; it would just be part of the normal daily pre-dinner conversation.

I was telling a friend about my little experiment and she asked, "Are you doing this because you found a great deal on chicken?"

"No." I responded

Then she asked, "Is it because of the health benefits of chicken over red meat?"

"No." I said,"This is just how I amuse myself."

So in an effort to have accurate documentation of my experiment, here is a list of what we had each night. If there is an online recipe I used with chicken in it, I provided a link.
Day One: Chicken Fried Rice

Day Two: Chicken Parmesan

Day Three: Chicken Tortilla Soup

At this point I did start to get a few complaints, but it was things like "How come we never have Bacon Pasta?"- one of our family's favorites that Eric made up. Or "Why can't we have spaghetti?" But alas the word "chicken" was not included so I treaded on with my experiement.

Day Four: Italian Crock-Pot Chicken

To be honest in all my dealings, I do have to admit that on Day Five Eric and Finn were at a Father and Son's Campout so I had no control over what they had to eat and desiring a day off I took the girls out to eat. So day five was an unforeseen sabbatical in my "Chicken Experiment."

Day Six: Amber's Training BBQ Chicken Salad- There isn't a link for this one but I do think Amber should post it on Tried and True. It is an awesome salad for the summer that even my kids will eat.

Day Seven: JJ Loves my Rosemary Chicken

Day Eight: BBQ Chicken Pizza


Day Nine: Coconut Chicken Strips- The only thing I did different with this recipe is I dipped my chicken strips in coconut milk before I dipped them in flour and the rest of the steps shown in the recipe. These was the first time we had tried them and they were very good.
So as I was pulling the Coconut Chicken Strips out of the oven, Finn said to me "Why can't we just have spaghetti? I'm tired of all this fish and chicken." Oh, no! Does that count? I mean he did say "chicken" in his complaint but he included "fish" too. I decided to ignore it for the moment and decide what to do later. But Finn didn't disappoint. About 10 minutes into dinner he said, "We've had chicken for like 3 days. I'm tired of chicken." Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! I smiled and at him and said, "Finn you won my game. We've actually had chicken for about 10 days." Annie said, "No we haven't" and Eric looked skeptical. I listed everything we had eaten over the past week and a half. He said, "I didn't even notice!" This was a surprise to both of us because I thought for sure Eric would be the first to protest. He is usually quite particular about what we eat and how often we eat it. I think the genius of my experiment was the fact that I mixed up the flavors and styles of chicken dishes... bbq, grilled, salads, italian, chinese, coconut, etc.
And honestly making dinner has been a bit boring since my experiment ended. Does anyone have a new ingredient I can try to serve my family everyday without them noticing? The only one I've come up with so far is zucchini, but that will have to wait until mid-July. At least I have something to look forward to...

Not in the Job Description

This morning as I was struggling with my daughters to try and do some sort of hair-do... not a fancy one mind you just something basic like a side ponytail... my girls DO NOT like getting their hair done... I was thinking how being a "hair-wrangler" was not one of the jobs I imagined I would have as a mother. Before I was a mother there were certain responsibilities I expected to have like cooking, laundry, cleaning, taxi-driving, helping with homework, shopping and the list goes on with countless duties that I saw my own mother perform. But there are certain jobs or more accurately certain nuances to these jobs that I can only suppose are in the fine print of the motherhood description. So in honor of Mother's Day this weekend, here are some of the other "not in the job description" jobs we mothers perform often:

Bathroom permission giver- Anyone who has ever had a 3 or 4 year old has had this job. At first I thought it was just my own children who would come up to me holding their pants pleading "I have to go to the bathroom."- like I was the one blocking the toilet from them. But I have witnessed other children seeking approval from me to use the bathroom. So it must be universal.

Public Bathroom Locator- This job is closely related to the above job. Again anyone who has ever had a 3 or 4 year old knows the location of most public bathrooms... whether it is in Wal-Mart or at the park or in Jiffy Lube.

Garbage Disposal- When I was a kid I remember my Dad having this job, but somehow it has fallen to me in our family to finish up half eaten chicken nuggets, already bitten bananas and crusts of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I think this is my job because I don't have the heart to throw food away and I do have the stomach for it.

Grocery Whisperer-I do not take this solemn responsibility lightly. I have to have a highly developed 5th sense of knowing exactly what groceries are in the house at all times... which ones are running low... which ones I can wait another week to buy ... and which ones we have plenty of. Heaven help me if we have spaghetti without Parmesan cheese or hamburgers without ketchup. Believe me it has happened before and it wasn't pretty.

Household Supplies Clairvoyant- Again closely related to Grocery Whisperer is the Household Supplies Clairvoyant. I don't think very many dads could tell you when the toothpaste is running low or if you are out of tape. And not only do we moms have to know the inventory of all the household supplies we also need to know the exact location of all these items. Even for the Dads, "No, Eric I don't know where you put the studfinder or last year's taxes or the remote control."

Nail Inspector &Trimmer- Before I had kids I honestly never thought of having to check the length of my kids' finger and toenails. Apparently this is not something kids take the initiative to do on their own. Now I am inspecting 50 toenails and 50 fingernails.

Underwear Monitor- I really wish this wasn't a job I have, but after doing laundry for some of my kids and only finding one pair of underwear in a week's worth of laundry I decided this situation merited a discussion about how often one changes ones underwear.

Barbie/Polly Pocket dress fastener and changer- If you don't have girls this one may not apply to you. But with 3 girls, I for one have changed many a Polly Pocket dress and fastened several Barbie dresses in my day.

Speller- "Mom, how do you spell puppies?" "Mom, how do you spell Halloween?" "Mom, how do you spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?"

Lunch money Allocator- It is a tricky business trying to keep track of how much money each kid has in their lunch money account. Especially when they find it mortifying to be told their mom needs to send more money or when the school sends home over a dozen notes reminding parents that students absolutely CANNOT charge a meal after May 1st. "Methinks thou dost protest too much" lunchladies!

Negotiate like a mexican flea market vendor- Case in point- Suzie wanted a drink after she had brushed her teeth and was in bed. This is how the negiotiations went while Suzie was in her bed and I was across the hall laying down on my bed because I had just "clocked out":
Suz: I want a drink of root beer in my sippy cup.
Mom: No, you just brushed your teeth.
Suz: Can I have some apple juice in a sippy cup?
Mom: No, Suz. Go to sleep.
Suz: Can I have some milk in a sippy cup?
Mom: No, go to bed.
Suz: Can I have a drink of water in my sippy cup?
Mom: No, mommy is tired and doesn't want to get off her bed.
Suz: Can I come get a drink in your bathroom?
Mom: Alright... as long as you get up on the sink by yourself.

X-ray vision to see dirt on the floor, smudges on the windows, weeds that need to be pulled- I am truly like Superman in this respect because I am the ONLY one in my house that has this super-power.

Quality Control- I am the supreme authority on the state of all things in my house-from how close the milk is to going bad to whether an item can be fixed, saved for a sibling or sent to DI.

Phone Directory - I must have an accurate, current knowledge of all home phone and cell phone numbers of all friends and their parents, family members, doctors, piano teachers, schools, gymnastic centers and poison control.

I know this list could go on and on. And I don't meant to sound like I am complaining about all the extra duties. Motherhood is the hardest, most rewarding job on the planet. And one of my biggest prayers is there is a mother of one daughter and three mothers of sons out there who don't mind doing all the thankless, invisible jobs that allow a child to be a child so they can one day grow up to be the kind of parent who will do all these jobs for my grandchildren. My only intention is to bring a little humor to the daily-ness of motherhood. One of my favorite quotes about motherhood was said by my Aunt Kathryn. She was a bit older when she had children and had had a successful career before becoming a mother. My mom once asked her what she thought of being a mom. She replied with exhaustion, "Its just so daily!"
So Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite moms out there- mom, mom-in-law, aunts, sisters, sisters-in-law, grandmoms, friends, neighbors, soon to be moms- and thanks for daily doing all the "Not in the job description" jobs!

Hiking, S'mores & Shut your pie holes

For spring break our family made a trip down to Zion National Park for some good hiking, playing in the mud, roasting hot dogs and marshmellow fun. Despite twisting my ankle the first day of our vacation and not on a hike mind you... just walking to the bathroom with my girls... we did a few good hikes as a family. We went on the "Canyon Overlook" hike with all the kids which Eric and I tried to do about 6 years ago with my parents when Finn and Annie were 4 and 2. We ended up turning around because I kept freaking out about the drop-offs and I do remember envisioning my two children plummeting to their deaths off the narrow trails and into the canyon crevices. Here is a picture of us at about the point we turned around last time.

So needless to say I was a bit hesitant to try it again with 2 additional children that were about the same age. But this time we made it to the end of the hike. When we got to the actual "Canyon Overlook" I decided that the hike wasn't nearly as bad as I had remembered it. Plus the view at the end was definitely worth it. I was remarking about this to Eric and off-handedly said, "I must have mellowed over the past few years." He said, without hesitation, "Uh... yea!" He also offered this theory as to why I wasn't as worried about my kids this time. He said it was because the first time I only had 2 children and they were both precious to me. But now that I have 4, a few are dispensible. That makes sense too!:) Either way it was a hike we all enjoyed. I also noted to Eric that the supposed "scary" drop-offs I experienced the first time basically stopped at just about the point where we had turned around. Oh well, live and learn! Here we are at the end of "Canyon Overlook" where if you go just a few feet past where this picture was taken you would plummet to your death into the canyon!Another fun part of our trip was roasting marshmallows for s'mores. While watching my family enjoy this time-honored camping tradition, I couldn't help notice that there are two schools of thought when it comes to the actual roasting of the marshmallow. The first is to haphazardly stick your marshmallow into the flame and either expectantly hope it will catch on fire or ignore it until it bursts into flames and someone has to tell you that your marshmallow is on fire. This produces a "blackened" still chewy marshmallow that lends a charred flavor to the entire s'more once the flames are blown out. Not surprisingly it is the under 12 set that enjoy or embrace this method of marshmallow roasting. I also witnessed a peculiar subset of this school of marshmallow roasting thought that strangely only occurs to boys ages 9-12. It is to completely abandon any pretense of using a marshmallow for the purpose of a s'more and just throw it into the middle of the fire. And of course what follows is a barrage of "Wow"s and "cool"s and "Did you see that"s by all the "blackened" marshmallow devotees as they watch the marshmallow burn then expand then burn and expand over and over until it shrivels to its non-s'more fire ash death. Although its fire dance performance was enjoyed by all those under 12, I'm not sure it felt it meet the measure of its creation, not being in a s'more and all.

Of course the more mature s'more consumer adheres to the second school of thought when it comes to roasting a marshmallow. This thing of beauty consists of gently placing the marshmallow just above the flames reach and slowly rotating. You could also place the marshmallow in the sweet spot of the fire where the wood has stopped producing flames but is still smoldering a bright red. But this spot only comes after the fire has been burning for awhile. This method requires patience as the marshmallow slowly roasts turning a golden brown but the end result is a gooey, smooth lava flow of sugary goodness that compliments the chocolate and graham cracker much like a fine red wine compliments a steak... not that I know, but from what I've heard. You know the marshmallow is ready when it droops down from the roasting stick. Then you know your patience is just moments away from paying off. Of course once the 1st school of roasting participants taste the sweet nectar that results from the 2nd school of roasting they are easily converted.

And if you took the time to read a post mostly devoted to s'mores then you are worthy of receiving the following recipe. This recipe, courtesy of the previous post's subject, kicks a s'more up to a whole new level that they can't even be called s'mores anymore. These are deservedly called "Shut Your Pie Holes" and once you taste them you won't go back to a plain old s'more again! The trick is after you put a marshmallow on your stick to roast it, you then slide it down a little further and add a caramel. Roast the two together, preferably using the above-mentioned second method, then when you slide the droopy, golden brown marshmallow off it envelopes the caramel. Proceed to make a s'more like you normally would and then savor this sweet little campfire ambrosia.

Happy "Shut Your Pie Hole" season!

"A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a best friend will join you in jail and then talk about what a good time you had in there."

Have you ever had a friend who "gets" you? Have you ever had a friend who you can say just about anything to and you know they won't judge you or take it the wrong way? Have you ever had a friend who you can completely be yourself around? Have you ever had a friend who can bring out the silly, fun, ridiculous side of you? Well if you haven't I hope you do someday and if you do I hope you realize what a precious gift it is. My friend, Julie, is one of those people for me. We have only known each other about 5 years but our connection was so instantly strong that I'm pretty sure when we met it was just a reacquaintance from a previous relationship. (If you are LDS read: pre-existence; If you are Hindu or Buddist read: previous life.) I am not being glib or trite when I say that I truly believe our relationship was divinely guided. She came into my life at just the time when I needed a best friend like her. She has a gift to make people feel instantly comfortable and loved. I am always amazed to see how people transform in her presence.

She has truly become like another sister to me. In fact my younger kids think she is my sister. Just yesterday Katie was listing my sisters. She said, "There's Michelle and Natalie and Julie." I told that actually Julie wasn't my sister. She looked at me shocked and said, "She isn't?!?" But I do feel like she is a sister and
I have been accepted into her extended family as another sister too. (Even though only about half of her brothers and sisters recognize this!) It is a terrific arrangment because I get the benefits of another family... love, interest in me, including me in events, etc. and none of the responsibilities... if I don't want to go to said events I don't have to and I don't have to help anyone move. And speaking of moving that brings up the only problem with being a member of the family is they all love me and leave me. Julie's sister, Amber and sister-in-law Jen have both become good friends and then moved out of the state. And now even Julie is going to love me and leave me. She isn't moving out of state just probably about 20 minutes away. But that is really going to limit our leftover lunches, GNOs, hanging out at each other's houses and wasting time, and being able to drop everything and go to lunch. But I know 20 minutes won't change the great love and respect we have for each other.

So happy birthday to my sister from another mister! Thanks for joining me in my "jail" for awhile and then telling me what an awesome, amazing peron I was for making it through. And for making it sooooo much fun. I love you!

My Favorite March Arrival Arrived 11 years ago today!

So my all time favorite March arrival came 11 years ago today at about 3:15pm. My favorite son, Finn, was born and heralded in not only the spring season but also a new season in my life. So to commerate this occassion here are 11 things I love about Finn:

1. Unlike Charlie, see previous post and disclaimer, he WAS a pretty baby and 11 years later he is still a handsome devil.

2. He is so much like his father it is scary. A few weeks ago he was questioning me about why I was taking Suzie to have professional pictures taken of her. He was sure that our digital camera would do just as good a job as the photographer's camera and said that we should just take pictures of her at home. I informed him that on this subject he gets no opinion- a practice I have had to perfect with his father!;)

3. He is the consummate boy scout. He was born with the boy scout motto of "be prepared" running through his veins. Once when he was about 5 we were getting ready to go to a cabin for the weekend. He wanted to pack everything but the kitchen sink in his backpack. I weeded out several useless items but he insisted that he bring his flashlight. I tried to assure him we wouldn't need a flashlight because he were staying in a cabin with electricity. But he wouldn't part with it. And wouldn't you know it the power went out at the cabin just when we were getting ready for bed and whose flashlight do you think we used... yep, Finn's crayola one!

4. Not only is he prepared he is also extremely responsible. This past weekend I was running a race in Moab and he overheard that I had to get up at 6:30 am to get ready. At 6:35am he came into my room and woke me up saying, "Mom, its 6:35- you need to get up for your race."

5. He has worked really hard this year to keep his grades up.

6. Despite some standard brotherly teasing, he is a terrific older brother to his 3 crazy sisters.

7. He has a quick wit and a great sense of humor. (Warning: 11 year old potty humor coming up!) We were at a restaurant with Finn's cousins- Michael and Jeffrey and Eric asked the boys if they wanted refills on their drinks. Finn said he didn't need a drink refill but that he needed to go give the toilet a "refill."

8. He is so much like his father in several good ways that it just has to be mentioned again. He is Eric's "mini-me."

9. Even though he has started to be more reluctant about it, he is almost always obedient.

10. He is a great example to his family and friends.

11. He has a tender, kind heart that he can't hide from his mom... just like his Dad can't hide either as much as they both might try!

Love you Finn!

March Arrivals

There are a few things that are making their appearance in March that need mentioning.

First-place arrival- I am an aunt for the 18th time! Here is a picture of my sisters's 6TH BOY!

Charlie Paulsen Wood
Does she and her husband ever produce some manly babies or what? He looks very much like all his brothers and he is very cute, but not a very pretty baby! Don't worry- my sister was the first to say this. And all her boys are extremely handsome. I'm feeling so guilty about saying he is not a pretty baby that I have to include a picture of all her boys in case you don't know her.

When my sister found out she was having another boy, I think I was more shocked than she was. She had had a very distinct dream about a little, blonde girl in a pink sleeper even before she was pregnant with Charlie. I also have had a distinct dream about a little dark-haired girl who looks like Eric when I was pregnant with Katie. So since all my girls have very-red hair and all Michelle's children have very manly parts and faces, we have decided that her blonde-haired pink adorned little girl and my dark-haired female Eric are off playing together in the clouds. Just don't expect any appearances any time soon. They must be grand-daughters or something!

Tied for first place arrival in March:

These people are coming home this month! We are excited to have them back. And I think they are ready to come home. My Dad fell a few weeks ago hurting his foot and my mom worked herself into a week-long headache last week. So they are ready to come home and relax and of course resume baby-sitting duties!;)

A close second place arrival in March:

These are a close second to the birth of a nephew and the return of my parents because although I haven't seen my parents in 18 months, it has been a full year since I have seen these beauties! It always brightens my day when my cute neighbor shows up on my porch with a bag full of these. And I almost always forget that I have ordered them. And don't worry I ordered even more from another friend's daughter and they will be making their arrival around the middle of March. Of course I have to hide them from my children not because I don't intend to share them but because they come in like a swarm of termites and do this to a full box in 5 minutes flat!

I already have a special stash of Samoas in my bedroom for just Eric and I.

Isn't March grand?!?