Fall Break: Productive, Perplexing, Painful

Sigh.

Fall Break.

Just thinking about it has filled me with joy this year. Not to be rude, but I believe this is the first time in the history of my kids being in school-that I have actually looked forward to them {and me} being out of school--except for that one time we headed to San Diego for fall break--now that was a good time.

I have made some big plans for Fall Break. It does not involve a fancy vacation. It does not involve taking my kids on a grand adventure. It doesn't even involve spending a lot of money. All I want for my festive fall break, is a whole lot of deep cleaning--and maybe a little fun on the side.

We kicked it off last night with my sis and her family.

Taco Soup

+Homemade Carmel apples

+Kids

+Charlie Brown

=A pretty good time

note to self: next year get mom's famous Carmel apple recipe before making them--then you will avoid the issues of Carmel peeling off the apples

Productive

This morning, we cleaned and cleaned our little hearts out. It was great. I can't remember ever being this excited to clean house. The slaves pitched in and we got quite a bit done. A very productive morning indeed.

Of course, since I was beautifying my home..it didn't leave much time for beautifying myself. I did take a shower this morning. But, I got distracted with a couple of chores, and before I knew it my hair had dried all crazy-like.

"Not to worry," I thought to myself. "There will be plenty of time for doing my hair."

Perplexing

Just as I was heading into do my hair.

The doorbell rang.

At 2:30 in the afternoon.

And it was a friend of a friend of mine who was dropping money off so she could do a few crafties at our Fab Fri next week. We had never met before, and I was mortified. My hair was slicked down to the sides of my head. Glasses. No makeup. I was wearing a holey shirt. Oh and sorry grandpa--skip this next sentence if you are reading this Bra? NOPE.

Then, of course, my new BFF came in and wanted to see the crafts. And boy howdy, did she just love my clock wall. And where did I get that cool old door? Good grief. I was so freaked out about my appearance I could barely converse.

Finally, I said, "Listen. I am mortified that my hair is not done, I'm in holey clothes, No makeup. I am not at my best. But--have you noticed how clean my house is?"

She mentioned how nice it was to see that other people don't get ready for the day until noon--cause she has days like that too. I hated to bring up the fact that it was after noon. So I kept my mouth shut.

Painful

This morning, before the clean fest, I promised my slaves that we would go to the movie if they were good workers.

I called my sissy Jill, my sis-in-law Ali, and we all met at the dollar theater to watch "Space Chimps."

I hadn't heard much about it before.

That should've been my first clue that it might be lame.

Second Clue?

Opening credits of the movie.

Did I mention--Painful?

Okay. Okay. So there were a few funny parts. But the lameness by far outweighed the humor.

There were so many mini-plots--it was a joke. It was like the writers couldn't make up their mind on what they wanted the movie to be about--so it was about nothing.--and not a Jerry Seinfeld show about nothing either.

At one point, I leaned over to my sister and said, "This sounds like something Jay and her friends would write." To which Jilly answered, "Hey, isn't that being kinda rude to Jay and her friends?"

As a bonus, the kids liked it except for Jay--who, by the way, was highly offended that I inplied that her and her friends would ever produce such lousy cinema.

Another bonus? It was at the dollar movies--so it wasn't like we spent bunches of money on a doozy of a show.

Tomorrow's To-Do List?

more deep cleaning {don't tell the kids}

hair cut and colored--early so my hair will be done early too

Shop for some Halloween costumes--Savvy wants me to make her a bumblebee costume well actually she wanted to be a devil--and I said--no devils for you sista--and so then she said--well how bout' a bumble bee instead--talk about polar opposites and Aussie needs a mummy costume.

Read.

Relax.

Sew.

Drink some DC.

Good Times.

So, what are you

doing for fall break?

What Would Freud Do?

A few weeks ago, I came to the realization that if I wanted to have time to blog--I was going to have to be more organized with my efforts.

{You see, I had underestimated the power of a new part-time job, a busy church calling, a house without a maid, a phone that needs answering, a kitty-cat, 3 kids, and a husband.}

I enjoy reading a blog called Scribbit {its written by a gal in Alaska who I think of as a professional blogger}. So, I remembered an interview that I had watched on her blog where she shared tips on how to be an

effective blogger.

One of the ideas she shared was that she actually writes her posts a couple of weeks in advance. That way, if she has a crazy week like if there is a moose stampede and all power is lost she pulls a post out of her magical writing hat and she is all set.

I knew this was the plan for me. I decided to implement it toot sweet. So, a couple of weekends ago, I blogged up a blogging storm. I wrote some posts, saved them and waited. It worked great.

During the week, all it took was the push of the publish button. And you, Loyal Readers, were

none the wiser.

Using the same plan over conference weekend, I was able to write up a few more posts. Again, the plan was to scatter them througout the week--helping me to feel better about the whole being to busy to blog factor.

And then something unexpected happened.

One of my friends from AZ, Kelly B, stole my thunder.

I had just gotten off work and had settled down at the computer with an icy diet coke. I checked a few emails and then clicked over to Shenanigans and to publish my "Dream a little Dream" post. When what did my wandering eye notice on the sidebar? Kelly B had just updated her blog. Being a fan of Beeswax, I quickly clicked over to read it.

That stinkin' Kelly B had posted about her dream the night before.

And it was similar to mine.

Only funnier.

Well-written.

And smarter.

I'll be honest...there were places she was visiting in her dream that I hadn't even heard of--and the analysts? Oy Vey!.

Curse that Stinkin' Mindreader.

Why can't she just mind her own Beeswax?

The Sunday Funnies

Our primary presidency gives a FHE lesson and treat to the birthday kids. It just so happens, that Aussie's and Savvy's birthdays are tomorrow {hooray for double digits!} So, today the kids brought home their primary gift. Savvy was quite excited because there was a packet of punch in her kit.

"Mom, can I make it? Can I make it?" she begged. "We didn't even eat our treat last year."

{For the record, last year's treat was microwave popcorn--and we did eat it--just not for a FHE treat}.

"Sure, go ahead." I answered.

At that point, I failed to pay attention to the complicated steps she used in making up her packet of punch. {Okay--so the steps aren't really that complicated...but they are important.}

"Jay, will you taste my punch? It is kinda sour," I overheard Savvy say.

See Jay drink. See Jay's face scrunch up. See Jay perform a fabulous spit-take.

"Savvy! Did you pour the whole packet into one cup?" she asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Ooooh! It's so gross! Did you even add sugar?" Jay said.

"Ummm. Sugar?" she answered.

Who knew making punch could be so difficult? {I guess I should be relieved that she learned how to make it before her 10th birthday. }

Perspective

I substitute taught in my kids class today. I work as a teacher's aide everyday till 1230--so it didn't seem like a big deal when the teacher asked me if I would stay till 3.

Boy, Howdy! It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I have a new appreciation for why my kids' teachers are sometimes grouchy. Plus, my feet are killing me! No wonder {most teachers} do not wear cute shoes to work.

I will admit to being a little overconfident in that I figured I could have those kids wrapped around my little finger--without raising my voice. I had planned on employing the ever popular

bell-ringing procedure .

Genius, really.

First, I asked the class if they thought I was nice. They all said I was did I really leave room for anything else?. Then, I asked them if they would like me to be nice for the rest of the day. They again said yes. Finally, I told them of my expectations {by the way...do you like my step by step instructions--I am implementing what I taught the students today}.

After the expectation speech, respect, listening, paying attention, blah, blah, blah I told them that when I wanted their undivided attention I would ring a bell two times and say, "Class Perfect" and they would assume the perfect position--facing forward, sitting up straight, eyes on me, feet on the floor--etc {hey--it worked like a charm in primary--why wouldn't it work in a 4th grade classroom?}.

Surprisingly enough, the day went pretty smoothly. The bell ringing idea was fab. I had their undivided attention for most of the day until 2:55 when it all went to he!!--because apparently I didn't follow procedure.

But, for the most part, I felt like I had them wrapped around my little finger.

Until we were on our way home from school today.

I asked the twins how I did.

Aussie informed me that *Stan thought my art project which I spent many days stressing about and wanting to make as fabulous as possible was lame.

Savvy told me that the bell ringing "thingy was weird". AND that I was kinda mean especially to the boys it was really only two and I still had them wrapped around my finger--even if it involved minor threats.

Perspective, loyal readers. Perspective.

*Name has been changed to protect the innocent.

When Pumpkins Drink...

My cute Auntie-G forwarded this to me in an email...love it!

New Recipes 101...

When trying out a new recipe...
...save it for a day when your in-laws aren't visiting.

When trying out a new recipe...

...be sure to follow the directions carefully--and use the correct ingredients.

When trying out a new recipe...
...if it calls for Pepperidge Farms seasoned bread crumbs--do not assume that it will be fine to substitute Seasoned Ranch Dressing.

When trying out a new recipe...
...no matter how good it looks and smells--the taste is much more important.

When trying out a new recipe...

...understand that when El Jefe stops at just one serving...it ain't a good sign.

When trying out a new recipe...

...realize that when your father-in-law takes a third serving--at the insistance of his wife--it is only because he thinks you might cry far be it from anyone in my own immediate family to care about my emotional well-being--and for the record I did NOT shed one salty tear.

When trying out a new recipe...

...if it tastes nasty and is beyond inedible--and you make the comment, "I think this is the worst thing I've ever made." Do not be offended when a chorus of, "No, you've made worse," is shouted at the top of their lungs.

So, what's the worst thing you've ever made? Or if you are the perfect chef--what's the best thing

you've ever made?

The Sunday Funnies

Aussie and Savvy went to their first competitive swim meet this weekend in Park City. Good times were abounding--even if the weather was rainy, cold and blah.

After swimming in his first race, Aussie talked to his coach. She gave him a pep talk, and then instructed him to go to the cool down pool and swim a 100 easy {translation: 100 yards nice & slow--FYI: 100 yards is up one length of the pool and back--twice}.

Noticing that Aussie had been cooling down for quite a while, I headed over to the cool down pool. There he was swimming his little heart out.

"Aussie, hop out," I said. As he climbed out of the pool, I asked, "What are you doing, bud?"

"Finishing my laps," he answered. "Coach told me to swim 100 laps and I'm only on 48."

Poor kid.

His cool down needed

a cool down.