What would you have done?!

Saturday we headed to IKEA to fix some cabinet issues. It was our first trip for that reason and only took 2 hours out of our day. On the bright side they do provide ample opportunity for you to spend more money on fabulous things....like hot dogs and Mountain Dew from a fountain.

Anywho, on our way home we saw something that really, really bothered me. As we were waiting to turn onto a busy, 4 lane street I was looking at the vehicle in front of us. It was a large econovan that's made to hold many passengers. And yet, in the very back, there were three children (under 10) playing around and did not seem to be buckled in in any way. I was freaking out. In this day in age, who doesn't buckle their kids in seat belts, or car seats, depending on their age?! As we followed them, while CG listened to my ranting and I looked from all angles to see if they were really running free in the back of the van, they got on the freeway! The freeway, people! Where the slowest driver goes 5 miles over the speed limit and they are passed with great annoyance!

I was seriously tempted to call the police on them, but didn't really know if that was what I should do. The van did seem to be full and I saw younger children that were fastened into car seats. And there's the possibility that they were buckled into the back of the van. Facing backwards. In the kind of seat belts that let the kids roam from one side of the van to the other. Like bungee seat belts.

As I was sharing my shock and annoyance with a truly riveted CG, he quickly passed them so that the option of calling the police and giving them the license plate number was no longer an option. But. It's bothered me ever since. CG pointed out that maybe they couldn't afford a car large enough to fit all of their children. And, since I'm assuming that we were not all born wealthy and have had money to spare our entire lives, that we can relate. If there is someone like that reading my blog, then I think we need to become better friends. ;o) It was the getting on the freeway that really freaked me out. That just seems so far beyond irresponsible that the parents should not have looked so relaxed and happy in the front seat.
Maybe it's just me. Am I overreacting? As much as I love large families (for other people), would you continue to have children knowing that you cannot transport them safely and lawfully? Is this where my righteous judgementalness comes in?! What would you have done if you had been in my situation? I need to know so that I'm prepared for the next time.

Kitchen Remodel Part 2

This was the view from my kitchen table last week. Not depressing at all.
The first cupboard up......YAY!
Something horrific we found behind the fridge. No, not anything rotting, but the emerald paint with a wallpaper border that used to be in our kitchen. Our kitchen is not all that big, so that particular decorating motif must have been claustrophobic!
Behold, our first wall of cupboards completed on Saturday.
Now 5 out of 7 upper cupboards are complete. Except that one without the door. It was damaged so we had to go back to the store (again!) get a new one today. On the bright side, while we were there we saw Hairyshoefairy and got to chat for a while. Technically, she saw us because I had reached that point of no longer being aware of my surroundings because you are shopping with two children and are tempted to just leave them there. But I didn't. They both made it home, safe and sound.

Earth Hour 2009 Report

Where was I last night at 8:30 pm local time?! In the shower of course. What else would I be doing?! Before the mocking begins, let me explain.....that way you have all the information to work with in order to craft the perfect mock.

Saturday was spent working on our kitchen remodeling project (pictures to come later). It's been going really well, but it's still a major project. After we got the girls bathed, dinner eaten and those same girls into bed, it was my turn to take a shower. As we all remember, a shower by myself is a rare treat and something to be savored. So I was taking this opportunity to think about things. Important things. Like why no one (at that time...thanks Jo!) had commented on my last two blog posts. Because I'm a deep and meaningful person and all. As I was pathetically thinking about my lack of comments, I was trying to remember what my last two posts were even about. Well, I guess I can see why a discussion of the letter of the week and Earth Hour were perhaps not the most riveting thing I've ever written seeing as it was pictures with about 5 sentences, so maybe that's why. Speaking of Earth Hour, I wonder what I should do during Earth Hour. Maybe read with my book light, because I'm a super exciting person? Or meditate and be all Earthy-hippie-like? Now, I've got to make sure that I remember to do it because I've been losing track of my days and hours lately. Saturday night at 8:30 pm. Wait a minute.....what time is it? Crap.

Yes, I am a big, fat, giant hypocrite. Go. Me.

Friday Favorite-Letter of the Week

These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are brought to you by the letter O.


This art work is also brought to you by the letter O.

It's an ostrich. A colorful, feathery ostrich.

Earth Hour 2009

This Saturday, March 28, is the official Earth Hour from 8:30-9:30 pm your time. It's a world wide event to help bring attention to environmental issues. You can find more information here. So, this Saturday night, instead of vegging in front of the television or computer (not that I ever do that!) turn your lights off and do something that is best done in the dark. It's for the environment! Just keep the details to yourself. ;o)

Kitchen Remodel Part 1

We have officially started our kitchen remodel. CG has taken down the majority of our upper cabinets. All 4 of them. We just have one other upper cabinet to take down that currently has all of our dishes in it, but we're waiting until we have the others up and the counter cleared of all that belongs in those cabinets before we tackle that last one. Of course, I have some pictures for your enjoyment/mocking.

Here's a before picture. Aren't you impressed with my domestic skills. Some days I just lack the energy to have a sparkling clean kitchen. Or sparkling clean anything, really. But my girls look super cute and happy so it's all good.
This is a current picture of our cabinet-less wall. Beautiful, yes?
Our microwave. Up on blocks. Classy.
And here is a drawing of what it will look like.....eventually.
Wish us luck!

Let Them Eat Cake!

On March 14 we celebrated yet another holiday. Pi day. As in 3.14blahblahblah. My brother in law (a fellow computer geek) informed CG and I of this impending holiday and I just couldn't resist. We had to celebrate it. There always has to be a reason for cake to make me feel better about eating it.

Now, technically, since it was Pi Day I should have made pie. But I'm not a big fan of pie. And I figured since I was the one making it, we'd go with something that would appeal to the whole family. For dinner we had pizza.....as in a pizza pie. But it was on a cookie sheet. I like to think of it as pi squared. (Yes, I totally just went there. I am lame.) The best part of our celebration was the dessert. It was the best cake EVER! And I'm going to share the magic with you. I can't really call it an official recipe because it's made from all prepackaged foods and put together in a magical combination.

I present to you Chocolate Oreo Cake!
It's a chocolate cake of any variety you like....mine came out of a box, of course. Then I used chocolate frosting, from a can, and added crushed Oreo's to it. I recommend putting them in a plastic cup and stabbing them repeatedly with a butter knife. If you put them in a bag to crush them, they slice up the bag and you have a big mess. Don't ask me how I know this. Then you frost like normal and enjoy the yumminess.

BEST. CAKE. EVER!!!!

My Spinning Thoughts

Last week I kicked spinning's butt. This week, spinning kicked my butt. As is, totally kicked it to the curb! Sure, I didn't get more than about 4 hours of sleep that night and Babs had woken up at 6:30. In the morning! But, the fact remains that it kicked my butt. I have been humbled. Again.

And on a completely random, and hopefully non-offensive, tangent I'm going to share something that I found amusing. While walking into a local recreation center for the previously mentioned spin class I saw a vehicle with a decal advertising a business of some sort. And, because I have to read every single one of those things that I see, I was looking at it as I walked past about 100 feet away. Near as I can tell, it's a woman who assists others in "greening" their lifestyles. This isn't the first time I've heard of this, so that's not the humorous part. And it's actually a great idea and service. It's the fact that it was on an SUV. Ya know, the giant, gas guzzling cars. Now, it wasn't the biggest SUV I've ever seen in my life, but still pretty big. I just found it ironic that someone who advertises themselves as an expert in environmental responsibility is sitting in a parking lot in their SUV....with it running. I'm sure there was a bit of a judgemental smile on my face because when this lady looked at me she glared. Which just made me smile a little bit more.

And now you know what a nice person I am and the loving thoughts that go through my head. Being more judgemental isn't exactly one of my new years resolutions since I'm not as cool as Kristina, but I seem to have a pretty good grasp already.

Are Wii Fit Yet?

So, a while back we bought a Wii. Wii love it. It's wonderful. It's actually the only game thing that I've ever enjoyed playing. And I really do enjoy it. At least the Wii sports games that came with it. Who knows about the other stuff.

We also got a Wii Fit at the same time. There's a little bit of a love/hate relationship going on with it right now. It is lots of fun and the whole family has gotten in on the action. Even little Babs. When Lolly is playing she insists on having a turn. She even points out her Mii whenever someone new is selected. And although whenever I'm trying to exercise I can't seem to get her to stay off the balance board, she absolutely refuses to get on it when it's her turn. Not at all frustrating. There are some really fun activities to play and it has helped me improve and expand my yoga repertoire. Go ahead and laugh. Any sentence typed by me that contains the phrase "yoga repertoire" deserves a good laugh.

But here is where the hate part of the relationship comes in. Every time you do a body test it weighs you and starts you out at a tiny little anorexic Mii. And then as your weight quickly goes up during calculation, your Mii rapidly packs on pounds and it kind of bounces up and down a little. Or maybe it's just my Mii? Anyway, it's a little hard on the self esteem. And the irony that it's a tool to help you lose weight, but also mocks you with unspoken fat jokes each time you get on to exercise, does not go unnoticed. It also makes fun of you if you haven't done it in a while. I actually find that totally hilarious. CG hadn't done it in about two weeks and finally got back on dreading the Wii's possible torture. Of course, it didn't let us down at all. It kept calling him the wrong name, mocking his long hiatus, and made him select a reason for various things like lack of activity and weight gain. CG was not amused. I, on the other hand, was giggling like a school girl the entire time.

So, the moral of the story and the reason for this long and possibly painful post? Near as I can tell, I've been losing and gaining the same 3 pounds for the last 2 months. But at least it still remembers my name, right?!

Um.....Welcome Spring?!

Friday was supposed to be the first day of spring and it was living up to my expectations. But today, not so much. Mother Nature just likes messing with me.

But there is hope.
Where there is a rainbow kite, there is always hope.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In fine Chaos Family tradition, we just have to celebrate the heck out of every holiday and this one is no different. Plus, I figure I've given birth to two leprechauns and this should be celebrated! And now I will share all the details with you. And pictures!

We started our day with green milk in the cereal, compliments of CG. I was so proud!
After a fun trip to the library with friends, we headed up to CG's work to go to lunch with him. The girls love going to Daddy's work and we don't make it often so it was extra special.

And, no over done holiday is complete without the holiday dinner. I present you with Corned Beef, potatoes and cabbage! And it was actually good! I also made the same Irish scones I made last year, but dyed them green this time around. And some flavored drink I found in the cabinet and added green food coloring to.
And the best dessert EVER! Mint chocolate chip ice cream. No food coloring necessary.

Happy Little Leprechauns

Don't you just love how clean the kitchen in the background is?! Yeah, we won't talk about how a neighbor stopped by to drop off some cupcake tins they had borrowed and had to witness the horror that was my kitchen. Or the ensuing embarrassment.....ahem

On a completely unrelated note, as we were driving home from lunch with CG it was sunny. Really sunny. Which is a good thing. I am SO not complaining. But, well, ya'll know what happened to my sunglasses and I haven't found a replacement pair yet and it was really sunny to the point that it was affecting my fabulous driving skills. So I grabbed the only thing that I could.
If you saw a crazy lady driving around town wearing shamrock sunglasses, that was me. Go ahead and be jealous. I can't blame you.

Random Life Update

Because I lack the whatever it takes to write a coherent post, I'm going to do a bullet point list of random thoughts to share. It's my version of Twitter, if you will.

• The date has officially been set. Our kitchen remodel. I may not be blogging all that much during the week of April 6-10, but I will have lots of before, during and after pictures. And most likely some tales of the blood, sweat and tears that went into it.
• On Saturday afternoon, while we were grocery shopping at Walmart, Lolly needed to tinkle and I went along to assist. During this process my sunglasses fell into the toilet. The toilet of a public restroom. At Walmart. Enough said.
• I totally kicked butt at my spinning class tonight.
• I'm currently enjoying a shamrock shake and fries, effectively undoing the good of my spinning class. But kicking butt in class somehow makes the treat more virtuous.
  

A Lolly Mommy Date

On Saturday afternoon Lolly and I ended up going on an unexpected Mommy Daughter Date. It was nothing spectacular by any means. She just went with me to run a couple of short errands and it was just the two of us. Once you have more than one child it seems to get more difficult to have one on one time. And it's the one on one time you spend that really helps you enjoy that little person for who they really are on their own. Siblings change the dynamic of things and the more people there are, the harder it is for me to concentrate. A.D.D. anyone?!

First of all, we went to Saver's. Exciting date destination, I know! I was looking for a specific book and also wanted to pick up some new books for the kids. On the plus side, after a few minutes of wandering, Lolly decided she wanted to ride in the cart and look at books while I looked for more books that were in good condition. Bonus for both of us. Also, the deal of the day, I found a Leap Pad reading system for $3. Go us.

Then we headed over to Nordstrom's to pick a little something up (details to follow...again). Little did I know that they were just opening up their new, fancy schmancy store and had a few little extra things going on. In the make-up department they had a free sample (we got lip gloss) and were doing free 2 minute make up touch ups. They actually took at least 30 minutes, but whatever. Lolly insisted that I get this done. I asked her if she wanted to get her make up done and she refused to because she was too little but I had to get mine done. Oh, the things that I sacrifice for my children. Actually, after waiting about 10-15 minutes I suggested that we move along to the rest of the store instead of getting my make up done and she got very upset. So we stayed and I was a little pushy and asked how much longer we had to wait. Shockingly, even though I was standing right there with a stroller and a red head, they had forgotten we were waiting. I guess they could tell that I wasn't actually going to buy anything. ;o) So, we finally got our make up done and the girl who was helping us was so adorable....she put blush and a special pink lipstick on Lolly so we both had our make up done. She was even nice enough to humor me and take a picture of us.
It was a wonderful day and I truly enjoyed spending that time with Lolly. And it made me look forward to the future as well....going with my girls for prom dresses and getting make up done for fun and just spending girly time with them. This is one of the many, many benefits of Mommyhood.

And, I may not be cool enough, but Happy Love Thursday, anyway!

The Last 12 Hours

On Tuesday nights I've been taking a sketching class (more details in a future post...sometime) with my sister in law. We tend to chat quite a bit after each class and last night was definitely no different. At 1:30 in the morning I found myself laying in bed, wide awake but I decided to turn off the lights and try to go to sleep. I finally fell asleep around 2 am and it's a good thing I did. Around 5 am I woke up because the girls light was on and I could hear Lolly up wandering around. She wanted to come in bed with me and I just didn't want to wake up Babs so I said it was fine. But Babs, she has this uncanny ability. One among many actually. She always seems to know if Lolly is out of bed when she is not and feels that it must be rectified immediately. About 10 minutes after Lolly was quietly settled into my bed, Babs woke up and insisted on the same location for herself. We tried for about 10 minutes with all of us in our queen sized bed, but the girls were a little too excited to go back to sleep. At 5:30 in the morning. Painful. So, I took the girls into the front room so CG could get some sleep before going into work. And, being the good mother that I am, I put them on the couch with warm milk sippies and let them watch the Disney channel while I attempted (unsuccessfully) to get a little more sleep. I'm not saying I was completely conscious during this time, but I wasn't sleeping. Lolly also informed me that she didn't get enough sleep last night. Um, YEAH! Eventually Babs snuggled up for a little nap so she's much happier and Lolly snuggled up but I'm not sure if she slept. I may have also slept during this time. We are SO taking a nap this afternoon!

I Really, Really Don't *Heart* Daylight Savings Time

Ya know, the actually day of Daylight Savings isn't so bad for me, even when we have to be at a baby blessing a half hour away at 9 am. With a fabulous breakfast casserole freshly baked. It's the next day that's painful. Is it just me?! And, seriously, why are we still doing this?

Friday Favorite-Logan

I love Logan. As in the adorable little town of Logan Utah. I'm not sure what it is seeing as I've never lived there. But I do have good memories of staying with my sister when she was going to school at USU. And I seriously wanted to go to school there. It's just so.....quaint.

Yesterday CG had a meeting up there so the girls and I were invited to tag along. We went to lunch at my father in law's favorite place, Angie's, which is kind of diner like. Then, during CG's meeting I took the girls to The Fun Park. It was pretty cold and we needed something fun indoors. My fabulous, wonderful, talented friend Hairyshoefairy was nice enough to send me information on some local kid attractions. So, if we ever get to go in the summer we now have some outdoor options as well.

Anyway, The Fun Park. It really was fun! And at only $3 per child, SO worth it. There was an indoor play ground that even Babs could play on, with some help. There's also bowling, laser tag and a skating rink, but we didn't do any of those things. There was also a little arcade that had games that Lolly could play. After about an hour on the play ground the girls opted to explore some games and managed to win 40 tickets which were exchanged for a bracelet, ring and eraser for each girl. Quite the haul, I tell you. For all that fun and excitement we spent a whopping $6. Worth every little penny.

Afterwards, we picked up CG and began our beautiful journey home. Both girls were asleep before we made it out of Logan. And I just watched the scenery go by and relaxed. It was a very good day.

Recipe Swap Wednesday-Chicken Tortilla Soup

For Valentine's Day CG took us to Red Robin for lunch and I had the most fabulous Chicken Tortilla Soup EVER! Afterwards, I was driven to find a recipe for a Chicken Tortilla Soup that was just as yummy. So, I did what every modern girl does and googled it. On recipezaar.com I found a recipe called Chicken Tortilla Soup II and thought I'd give it a try since it had such a great rating. You can find that recipe here. Although it was good, it was a little too spicy for my young family and so I set out on a quest to make a similar recipe that was more Chaos Family Friendly.

And so I present to you......

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Part Deux
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 cup onion, diced (about half an onion)
1 can of corn
1 fresh garlic clove, diced or smooshed in a garlic press
Salt & Pepper, sprinkled (more pepper than salt around here)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (not necessary for crock pot version
8 cups chicken broth or 4 15 oz.cans chicken broth
1 packet of taco seasoning
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
3/4 cup corn meal
1 cup milk
Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream & corn chips to garnish

Saute carrots, celery, onion, corn, garlic, salt and pepper in oil until tender.
Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
Add taco seasoning and chicken
Remove about 2 cups broth and whisk in corn meal and then add back to soup.
Add milk and bring to boil making sure cornmeal is blended well.
Serve with cheese, sour cream & corn chips.

As an added bonus, the crock pot instructions....that I totally made up along with the recipe.

Combine carrots, celery, onion, corn, garlic, seasonings and chicken and cook on high 4 hours. About an hour before serving, remove 2 cups chicken broth, blend in cornmeal and return to soup. Add milk. Cook for another hour, stirring often to make sure it's well blended.

The thing I like about this recipe is that is filling. VERY filling. CG is not a big fan of soup and he loves it. My kids love it too. And I think you could add pretty much any vegetable you have on hand to make it that much yummier. And healthier. Now you have something to make with all that zucchini people will leave on your door step this summer.

Tip Tuesday-Secret To My Success Part 1 of....

We all want to be the fun mom. Admit it. Everyone wants their kids to grow up with happy and fun memories of their childhood, and more specifically, of YOU. But, let's face it. We're exhausted. At least I am. Maybe it's just me, then?

Anyway, I'm always looking for ideas that will make our days more fun and that are realistic to do all the time. I've even shared a tip a time or two. As these long winter days supposedly become shorter, I find myself even more in need of these handy dandy ideas. I'll share one of my kid friendly favorites with all of you and maybe karma will help me out and I'll get some ideas in return. ;o)

Secret #1: Food Coloring

Yes, you read that right. Food coloring is frequently used around here to make the mundane a bit more fun. On the rare occasion that the girls take a bath we're faced with quite the quandary. Lolly loves bubbles and Babs, not so much. How do we fix it? We let Lolly choose the color of their bath. Babs calls every color "lellow" and CG gets freaked out by a yellow bath so we usually just let Lolly choose for now. Everyone is happy.

Recently we checked out the classic "Green Eggs & Ham" which the girls just loved. No we don't own this book yet....don't call CPS on us, we'll get it eventually! So of course we had to make green eggs that went along well with our pink heart shaped pancakes for our President's Day breakfast.
Personally, I think they're disgusting looking and could barely eat them, but the girls thought they were just fabulous. Success achieved.

Another fun idea I found online was to put shaving cream on a paper plate and put their favorite color (or more than one if you like brown) and then let them smoosh it around and make whatever fun mess they want to. When they've lost interest turn over the plate onto a piece of construction paper, flatten plate on paper, remove and let it dry. It makes a fun and clean art project that smells pretty good too.

With food coloring the possibilities are endless! And I'm pretty sure it's organic too.

Parenting Is All About Containment

Of course, they can escape from this particular containment when they apply themselves. They just don't want to.