Peter's Obsession

Peter has an obsession with little things. He loves things he can hold in the palm of his hand and carry around the house. He especially loves them if they are people. We have our share of G.I. Joe's, and the famous plastic Cowboys and Indians, and we have a little Toy Story play set with a small Woody and Buzz, and more things than we can count to suit Peter's fancy. Well, this morning while I was busy (of course!) Peter found his way to our board games. It is a family rule that these are not to be taken out by anyone but a grown-up. But he must have forgotten that rule. He discovered game pieces!! Even better and smaller than any of his other toys, he loved it! He had Clue, Disney Sorry, and Disney Monopoly (didn't you know we were big Disney fans?) all set out with the game pieces neatly placed on the boards. It took everything in me not to be upset and put him in time-out, and put it all away. But how could I??? He was playing so cute! So I praised him for playing so nicely and we had a talk about how grown-ups need to be with him to play these games so we don't accidentally loose any pieces. (I can admit that I am a freak about having to have all the pieces to games, dolls, anything, I hate loosing things!) He was not happy about the arrangement I proposed. He wanted to keep playing, and more than that he wanted to keep the Clue people! After a few minutes I had convinced him to go and watch a movie for quiet time, and I cleaned up the mess. Normally I would insist upon the help of the children when they make a mess, but I didn't think it would be a pretty sight to see. Imagine, with each piece he picked up he would find a reason why it should not immediately go in the bag or box where it belonged. It should be played with one more time. And one excuse would lead to another and then trouble would occur. It would be far too long a process for Peter and me. So now it's all neatly put away and the house is quiet again, for the moment. The games are put away and I am seriously thinking about putting a child lock on the game cupboard door. Now that he knows they are there, there could be no stopping him...

But he was so cute sitting on the floor playing so innocently...

Snails by the Dozen

Peter and 2 of his friends from his playgroup (Josh and Josh) were eating their snacks outside. While eating they were doing what boys do and they were looking for bugs. And they were in heaven because they found snails! And not just one or two, they found fifteen baby snails!!! I couldn't believe it, it was like it had rained snails! They went along great with the 3 big snails and shells we had been saving (saving until the snails died so we could (clean first) paint the shells, 2 down and one more to go). We must have spent an hour outside with the snails. What fun!

Peter's Playgroup

Peter is 3 years old. He has too much energy to contain, he is a sugar magnet and can find the oldest piece of candy hidden in the deepest part of the couch cushions without any effort at all, he is finally potty trained, he has those huge blue puppy dog eyes that make it hard for me to discipline him, and he gets sad when Sophie is always going on a play date to a friends house, or going to preschool. So, I decided to form a playgroup for him. There happens to be 3 other boys his same age right here by us(I can see 2 out of the 3 houses out my front door.), so now once a week they are all getting together to play! I didn't think any structure would be a good idea since boys are boys and they are still a little young. But this morning Peter was so excited that his friends were all coming over to HIS HOUSE to play. He has been running and jumping all over! At this moment I can hear loud sounds of laughing and having fun, so on day one of playgroup we are achieving what we set out to do, get our boys together to have fun, and give us moms a break for a little bit. Have you ever noticed that when you have other kids over that all the kids entertain themselves and it is sometimes easier than having only your children at home? I often experience that. My Peter is growing up, and he is getting old enough to have friends of his own to have play dates with. He has been waiting for this day!

Jello Makes Everyone Wiggle !

Jello Salad Recipe

(The above video was supposed to be on this entry, but it didn't work. I love all the old Bill Cosby Jello commercials! They're the best, and so is jello! J-E-L-L-O)
Last night we had a family BBQ for Labor Day and it was my job to bring a salad or side dish. It was my plan to make a jello salad (yummy!) but at 5:50pm I got home from the store and the BBQ was at 6:30pm, clearly not enough time for anything jello to set. So, we called my sister in law for her recipe because we thought it was a fast one. It was, and here it is.

Jello Junk Salad (I take personal liberty to rename recipes to my fancy)
1 tub of cool whip
1 (24 oz) tub of cottage cheese
1 small box of any flavor jello (sprinkle over the cool whip & cottage cheese & mix together)
add anything else you want (that's why it's called junk salad, you just throw a bunch of junk in!)

we put in crushed pinneapple & mini colored marshmallows, more examples could be any kind of fruit, nuts, coconut, etc. It was so yummy and was all eaten up before the night was through. Now I can expand my jello recipes from one to two. Try it out!

Max

Maxwell Richard Dean Ford

Max is currently, and for a while will be, the baby of our family. He is wonderful!! I can't believe how fast time has gone by with him. He is already 7 months old!! When I was pregnant with him Rich and I were so curious to see what he looked like. I know everyone curious and anxious to meet their baby, but you see, our other kids are clones of us. Sophie and I are identical from our curly hair and petite body frame to our natural beauty!! So are Rich and Pete. They look the same and are both funny, and scared of everything (as a kid Rich was a scaredy cat - thankfully he has outgrown that now, all but the ferris wheel.) So we wanted to know if Max could break the mold. And he has. He is a genuine mix of the Cozby and Ford genes. And his personality is different too. It seems that he has picked up the good from both of us. Sometimes I call him my sanity (sometimes). I could be having a bad day, and then pick him up and he will smile and coo at me and it almost solves world peace. But I guess he hasn't hit the tantrum and whining phase of life yet. And I don't even mind the (sometimes 5/day) feedings of solid food. He loves baby food as much as he loves nursing. Sweet potatoes are his favorite. Just a couple days ago he started being able to find and eat the cheerio that he picks up and hides in his fist. He can now roll over (he's been doing that for a while) and he can sit up really well. He can't crawl yet though. He swims on his tummy, and has been getting up on all fours, and I'm sure that's a sign that crawling is right around the corner. I am excited for that. I love seeing all the milestones come. No teeth yet. He has some funny quirks too, like when I nurse him he likes to scratch over and over at his thigh, or his ears. Since he has had a summer wardrobe consisting of mostly onesies, he has several sratch marks on his thighs. I'll be glad to cover those up with regular jammies and pants once fall comes. He sleeps around 12 hours a night now. No more midnight feedings, yeah for me!! We always get comments on what a happy baby he is, and it is so true, he is such a good baby, we are truely blessed. We love Max, he is so perfect for me and our family.

Preschool

Today Sophie started Preschool! She was so excited, and so was I. (At the end of the school year last year I was so ready to be finished with her preschool, her playgroup, and her singing class. I needed a break from the early routines and all the picking up and dropping off, especially since Max was such a tiny baby. But these last few weeks I have been noticing that I need some routine again. I have been struggling on my own to find it, and I know Preschool will help.) I am doing a neighborhood preschool. All of us 7 moms will take turns teaching every 7 weeks at our own homes. And we have work books and pencil crayons for each kid to keep and to put in their backpacks. (When we got those I realized her little backpack would not do, so we got to go to the store and pick one out! She loved it and wore it on her back in the store till we were done shopping. Of course it is pink!) I love the fact that Preschool is on Tues & Thurs from 10 - 12:30. The later start will make my life a little easier, without the usual morning rush. Last year we were not usually the first one there on account of Sophie sleeping in, not wanting to get out of bed, slow eating of breakfast, feeding or changing the baby at the last minute, doing - and fighting about doing - her hair, and the list goes on. Today was wonderful and there were no problems with getting ready for preschool. She even let me do her hair!! That never happens. I did it in her favorite style, down with clips. I am also looking forward to having some one on one time with Peter. If Max keeps his schedule, he should sleep the entire time Sophie is at Preschool and then I can get a few things done, and spend time with Peter. (Last year when Sophie was in preschool I was working, with Peter at work with me. It was not easy, but that's another story...) I also think the sibling rivalry the last few weeks is partly due to boredom on their part. Sophie needs something different (ie: preschool and more structure) to help her. She will love spending more time with her friends and having her special time at school. So yeah for preschool!!!

My Old Journal

I found my old journal that I had written when I was 12yrs old. How embarrassing!! That was my first thought, especially when Rich wanted to read it! No Way. So, I have been reading it and reliving those memories. I have been sharing my journal entries with Rich after I read them to make sure it's OK. Some memories are good, and some bad. Boy girls are mean to each other at that age. And I was boy crazy! I was always liking a different boy (I will not be sharing any names). And I didn't make it on the volleyball team. That was a sore spot in my journal entries for a month. It's funny the things that are important at the time, looking back, most of those things don't matter. But I can see that the foundation for the rest of my life was starting to take shape. I had written goals, things like wanting to get married in an LDS Temple, and the kind of mother I wanted to be. I also realize that even at that age, family was really important to me. I also love my mom more today after realizing some of what I put her through. Sorry about that. I'm so glad that I wrote in a journal back then. I hope my kids do too. It's fun, and embarrassing to look back.

Our Date

Last night after canning and eating dinner Rich and I went on a double date with Holly and Tim. We went and saw The Bourne Ultimatum. It was so good! I loved it. I am a big fan of the other two Bourne movies, and this 3rd one was no disappointment! We went to a new movie theater in Ogden, UT and it was awesome. First of all you have assigned seating, crazy, but whatever. And we got there - not early - so our seats were over on the side, but the view was awesome! The screen felt like it was right in front of you. (A little too close of a feeling during all of those crazy camera shots where it felt like you were actually in motion.) But this movie was action packed to the max. Tim made fun of me that I was almost as much fun to watch as was the movie. I do tend to get into the movie and jump and scream a little. Rich knows this and always tries to spook me out and make me jump during movies like this. And I'm sorry to say, but it usually works. Anyway - go see this movie if you haven't yet! After the movie we went and had ice cream at Jake's Over the Top in Roy, UT. Holly and Time introduced it to us. It was so good. Rich and I split a regular and we were stuffed! But the best part about our double date was NO KIDS!!! Even Max stayed home with Robyn (one of Holly and Tim's daughters). She did a great job. Everyone was alive and happy when we came home! Let's do it again!!!

Canning

Yesterday I spent the day canning at Holly's house. It shouldn't have taken all day to can 18 jars, but it did. Kids do that for you I guess. It brought back so many fond? memories of being a kid and helping out canning peaches, pears, tomatoes, etc... While preparing for the day I was getting some jars out of the basement. There are 2 large storage rooms, one has mostly food storage, toys, and lots of empty canning jars. So I brought some jars up. Today while putting the new jars of peaches away I realized that the shelves containing canning jars were in a major need of an overhaul. Rich and I went to work. (Don't you love it when your spouse so graciously 'volunteers' his time to help you with your random-needs-to-be-done-now projects?) We took all of the jars off the shelf, sorted through them, and put them all back again in only a matter of 2 hours. Now the shelves look awesome! There are rows of wide mouth 'Ball' jars and rows of small mouth 'Kerr' jars and everything in between. We did, however, toss all the old mayonnaise and spaghetti jars that had been used or saved for canning. That part was fun for Rich becayuse he got to smash them all. We didn't think they would be needed or missed. Sorry Mom, we didn't ask... But now our few jars of peaches look out of place among all the empty jars. It made me catch a 'want to can' bug. Will I, probably not this year. But Holly and I do have plans to do more peaches. And I have to count the 28 jars of strawberry jam down there that I did last month

But that's another story.

I bought strawberries for an event Rich was having at the office, and I bought 3 flats! Way too many! So I was left with about 2 1/2 flats. I had to use them, thought about freezing them, but already have lots of frozen strawberries. So, I made jam. Sophie was a great helper. She helped me measure the sugar, and stir the pot. Peter was good at pushing the buttons on the blender to help me puree the strawberries. I don't like chunky strawberry jam, I like it smooth. We were trying to conserve the air conditioning, and it was so hot in the house that day. I had a fan blowing on me in the kitchen. When Rich came home he noticed that it was over 85', so we turned on the air. I was so grateful! I hadn't realized it was that hot in the house!! But now we are enjoying eating the yummy strawberry jam on everything!

Gas Prices

Tonight after running some errands we had to get gas in the van(Chevy Venture WB, 2003). I was shocked when I saw that the $40 we put into our 22(?) gallon gas tank almost filled it! We weren't quite on empty, but close enough. We paid $2.55/gallon at the local FlyingJ. That is the lowest since I can remember, and it is about time... I looked it up and we were paying an average of $2.98/gallon here in Utah last August. But I can clearly remember paying over $3/gallon in the not so distant past, and paying more than $70 to fill my tank from empty to full! Crazy! It's a good thing the comute to work is less than 2 miles from home.

Here's to hoping that doesn't happen again any time soon, and to celebrating the here and now with the $2.55/gallon at the pump tonight!

I found this also and thought it was interesting. How much do you pay at the pump???

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Kisses from Max

Max just woke up from his afternoon nap. I heard him on the baby monitor (I actually remembered to turn it on today!). So, I walked up stairs to see my little man. Sitting in the glider with him standing on my lap - he loves standing up - I started giving him little kisses, making that lip smaking sound. He thought it was funny, so of course I kept doing it. When I would go to kiss him on the mouth he would open his mouth (why do babies do that? All of mine have) and I would make that kiss sound in his open mouth and it echoed. Max loved it and started leaning his face close to me with his mouth open, wanting more kisses. So, I kept it up, over and over for a few minutes. Then I realized how much I love him and how fast he is growing up. He is 7 months old now!! And I am so thankful that I can spend so much time with him, even if it is just sitting together, kissing!!!

Our Monkey Sophie

Nicknames are a funny thing. Where do they actually come from? And why do some of them stick so well? Those are some of the mysteries of life. Our Darling Daughter Sophie has the nickname of "Monkey". I know this may be a common nickname used by parents out there. And I assume and imagine that some of those children get that name from the fact that those kids climb on anything and everything, like monkeys. That is not our case. I can't recall the first time we started calling Sophie 'Monkey' but it is a nickname that has come and stuck. These pictures of her climbing in the peach tree is probably the fist time she has climbed anything. Not that she is scared. Infact, as of late she has become super adventurous and even wanted to go down the super steep water slide at Seven Peaks in Provo this summer. (She couldn't because she was too short, but I believe she would have if she had the chance) My kids just don't climb. Not even out of their crib, or to get a snack out of the cupboard. But I love them anyway. And our little Monkey will probably keep her nickname.

Mater

Peter, and thus the whole family, is really into the Disney Movie "Cars". We know all the characters and all the words to the whole movie. When we stopped to get gas on the way home from Colorado visiting Grandma and Grandpa we were in heaven!! There it was... a real, live (well actually we were pretty sure it was dead) Mater!! It was even the right colors and everything. So naturally we had to climb aboard to capture the memory. Peter was only a little disapointed that he didn't have any eyes on the front windshield like his toy car does.

Picking Peaches

We have a peach tree in our backyard. Last year it yielded only a handful of peaches, but this year they have grown in abundance! Maybe the tree was holding out for this year when I have time to think about what I will do with the thousands of delectable things! (Yeah right - time is my worst enemy...) Well, they are starting to come in and drop off so I called my Dear Sister-in-law, Holly, to see if she had more time than me. Nope! But somehow we are making time to can some of them tomorrow! The kids and I had fun picking some of the ripe ones this morning. Only, Sophie and Peter had a hard time telling the ripe from the not ripe and ended up picking all of the ones they could reach. So I hope they will blend in with the good ones when we can them. They thought it was great fun because since the peaches have started growing I must have told them a thousand times "DON'T PICK THE PEACHES!!". While picking I realized how many we actually have. I picked an overflowing box today and probably have 10 times that many still out there! No joke...