I Am Legend

Anyone see this movie?

We watched it this weekend and I'm curious to know your thoughts on it.
I never say this, but I almost felt like it was too short. I felt like the first 50 mintues was gripping and then it got increasingly less interesting and tried to resolve itself too quickly, stopping short of being a great film. At the end it said it was from a book. Now that surely was a great book. I can see that clearly. It made me wonder what we are doing--medically, environmentally-- that may jeopardize our health later. How tested are our scientific 'breakthroughs'?

I liked it, don't get me wrong, but I feel like it didn't quite reach it's potential. Smith's performance was very strong, though. Let me know your feelings on it.

If they could just stay little

The oven is working brilliantly.

The streamers are in the trash.

The cake all got eaten.

And my baby is three years old.


With earrings.



We had a great day on Saturday, starting with a friend's baptism and going through the party in the afternoon. We have such generous family, and it's overwhelming how much they love and support our family. We probably don't deserve it most of the time, but we are so blessed to have them nearby and and see them so much.

I really am having a hard time with her getting older, though. My mind was surely playing tricks on me, but I swear she just looks so much older than she did last week. She is certainly no baby anymore.


More fun b-day pics.

Oven update

Jess, Rachael, you are both so generous. Thanks!

I just got back from the appliance place. The element was just $35 so we are cool. Not a snap-in, so I'll need to wait for hubby for the install. But now we can cook without burning the house down.

Thanks for the concerns!

Good news, bad news

Great news! The first rail is in!! I love it so much and I just keep staring at it.
Picking out the stain was a whole other ordeal. I was SO disappointed in the selection at Lowe's. And you can't buy a sample unless you are getting outdoor decking stain. Lame! And all the examples show oak and pine...we have maple. So how am I supposed to know how it will look? The smallest can is a $4 size, so we had to get that. Fortunately we tried it on a chunk of maple last night and love it so far. We are going with a pretty light natural colored stain.




Bad news...

My sisters were going to come over last night. But first we had to go pick out our wood stain. Get back from Lowes, snap on the oven to preheat for a yummy cheesecake dessert to share with them. "Hmmmm, what's that strange whooshing noise?" Strider and I look at each other and then simultaneously jump to the oven door and open it. Sparks and flames! Woah.



So um, no oven. No cheesecake. You don't take a cheesecake away from a PMS woman.

Princess birthday tomorrow. No way to make the birthday cake.... Making cake instead of buying to save money because of all the kitchen stuff!!!

Still need $40 of trim to finish kitchen.

Still need van inspected before April.

Going broke quickly.

AAAAhhhhhhhh!

Works for me Wednesday - freezer inventory

Since we were forced to make our living room into our kitchen for three days (see here) ...we had to seize the day.

To move the fridge so far we had to empty part of it. My hubby saw that as a chance to wipe down the freezer and I saw it as a great opportunity to take an inventory of what we had in there.

Boy am I glad I did! We had many things I forgot about way in the back. We had more of some meat than I thought, and less of others.

If it's been a while since you took stock of your freezer food take the time to do so. You may be surprised! Post the list in the kitchen, refer to it first when planning meals; cross off what you use and add what you buy.

For more tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer!

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Why can't I get anything done today?

Well, I ran the most minimal errands, but my house is really looking bad. It was decent yesterday, but I didn't hardly do anything except make my bed and put away a few dishes today.

Maybe I should get off the darn computer and be productive. Like maybe put the potatoes in the oven for supper?

Yeah, I'll get on that.

After I check my email.

Monday: Poppy Seed Chicken
Tuesday: Loaded Baked Potatoes
Wednesday: Chicken-Spaghetti Casserole
Thursday: busy church day: Tacos or Hamburger helper
Friday: Ham Pot Pie




Poppy Seed Chicken


4 C. cooked chicken* -- cubed

*NOTE: 7 large chicken breasts = 6 C. cooked chicken. You can use combination cooked chicken and canned chicken. Put chicken on bottom of cake size pan.

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1-1/2 C. sour cream

Mix soup and sour cream together. Spread on top of chicken (like frosting).

6 TBSP. butter or margarine -- melted
2 sleeves Ritz crackers -- crushed
1-1/2 TBSP. poppy seeds


Combine: butter (melted), crackers and poppy seeds together. Sprinkle topping over chicken. Bake 350˚F for 30-40 minutes.




Chicken-Spaghetti Casserole

2 C. Cooked spaghetti
2 C. cooked chicken or turkey chunks,
cut in 1" cubes (can use canned)
2 cans cream of chicken soup, condensed
1 can cream of mushroom soup, condensed
Season All
3 TBSP. minced onion
1 C. cheddar cheese, shredded
Milk -- mix with soups

Combine: soups and milk to desired consistency.
Add: minced onions, season all. Stir together: until well mixed. Spread: grated cheese on top,
Bake: 350˚F oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot throughout.

Happy Easter

Saturday is a special day

We had a busy Saturday getting ready for the holiday. Strider was on a campout with the Scouts till about noon and he had just enough time to shower before getting to Hale Center Theatre to see Civil War, with Merrill Osmond. It was great, and we got to take Potter which was very fun. We aren't able to have too much time with just him, so the outing was unique.



Then we got home to find this on the porch:



Yeah, my sister brought me fresh eggs from her own chickens! Just in time for coloring! It was so cute.



After we got back we also had to start returning the appliances to the kitchen. I can't boil eggs without a stove! So Strider worked feverishly on installing while we gathered outfits and stressed about Sharing Time in primary the next day.

Here are the goofballs having fun with their creative side.

Hip Clips

Okay, I'm a little obsessive. Really obsessive usually. If I get interested in something it's pretty much all I can think about until I either a) get bored or b) do something about it.

My princess has the most wonderful dress for Easter tomorrow and I'm so excited to get her all dressed up.


The only problem is that there is nothing to put in her hair. Most days we're pretty casual around these parts, so her daily hair routine is like "hmmm, yellow elastic or white elastic"?

So we have nothing dressy enough OR the right color, which is a unique iridescent mauvey-pink.

Enter the obsession.

I have seen so many of those cute flower clips on little girls and I knew I wanted one BAD. So I did some googling and some experimenting. $30 and a couple hours and I have a boatload of cute clippies, plus supplies to make oodles more. I am thrilled at how fun they are to make and I kept getting better the more I practiced.

Check it out.

Phase Three - Complete

Cleaned and sealed!

Phase Two

Grout Day!

Phase One

If I had a hammer....

What's the way to a little boy's heart? Why, let him make holes in the wall. With permission, of course.

Just before bed the other night we were getting ready to tear down the kitchen wall and decided to let the kids have a few swings of the mallet before we busted out the sawzall. Thanks to brother in law Mr T for the extra help.

Let the demolition begin!

Goodbye Pergo


Goodbye old linoleum


Goodbye nasty half wall



Hello tile



Hello custom railings

We are probably going with a maple square box newel (post) like this...





but with our rails alternating between wood and iron like this...




I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! We should be getting started with the tile sometime on Wed which means we'd have a pretty kitchen in time for Easter. Yay!

Princess Wishes

Well last night was amazing. One of my sisters got tickets for my little girl to see Disney on Ice for her upcoming birthday. I and another sister decided to go along and have a fun girls night. It was so magical! I was looking at her face more than the ice, I think. It was so special!

To-Do

What's on your list today?



exercise
shower
scriptures
make bed
help Potter with homework
read paper
2 loads laundry
pick up living room
pick up bedroom
load dishwasher
read over Primary lesson
practice choir song for Easter
get money from bank
find Easter stuff
get a second bid on kitchen tile
start new kids chore system for next week
Disney on Ice with the Princess :)

Finders keepers

I was rushing the kids out the door for school when I noticed my son's jeans pockets bulging. I asked him what was in his pockets. He shot me a weird look (kid's code for 'I'm really in trouble').

He just stood there like he wanted to start with an explanation, before he actually removed the contents.

Hmmmm. Waiting, son.


He then takes out his wallet. Big deal, right? Except for the fact that he asked the other day of he could take money to school to buy books from the Book Fair, and I said no. We have too many books right now and he hates to read, so ????.

Deal with wallet in a minute.

Next pocket.

Fifty-six pieces of Trident gum. This is the same kid that broke the "only gum when you're not in my house" rule last week. So he lost ALL gum. No gum chewing. Ever.

Where did you get all this gum, son?

Uh, from a friend.

Why would your friend give you all this gum?

Well, he had a sign in his backyard that said "FREE GUM" so he gave it all to me.

At least we got that straightened out.