Ask the Missionaries! They Can Help You (do grody things!)

So, one cold morning last week (the morning after Cyndi arrived, incidentally) I went to take out the garbage and recycling and discovered a dead, squashed rodent near the garage door opening. It was positioned so that I would squish it entering and leaving the garage (which is likely how it got squashed in the first place).

I couldn't leave it there until DMP got home, because that would mean that it would be totally squished into oblivion as we entered and left the garage. It had to be moved.  So, naturally, I did what any good wife would do and called DMP and insisted that he come home and take care of it.  He works in downtown Dallas and it is a long drive and he had a lot of work. He told me "I would totally come and take care of it if I wasn't so far away, but I can't."  Great. I decided I needed to put on my big girl panties and just move it myself...

So, I steeled myself, got the shovel and proceeded to try to pick it up.  Then, I squicked out and squealed and jumped around like a little girl. It was SOFT y'all! It would require SCRAPING! I took a deep breath, talked myself up like a super-bowl coach at halftime and tried again.  More squealing and loud declarations that there was no way on this good green earth that I was going to be able to do this.  Apparently my "coach speech" was much the same as the Bronco's coach at the Super Bowl...

So, plan B involved calling DMP back and declaring that there was no way I could do it.  I frantically racked my brain for a solution... Home Teachers? Nope- they were at work. Bishop? He works from home, but did I really want to bug him?  Then, Ta Da! I thought of our Elders (i.e. Missionaries for our Church assigned to our area). 

So, I called the Elders, asked them how strong their stomachs were and asked them to come rescue me.  And they totally did- they scraped up that bad boy, bagged it and threw it in the garbage for me.  Cyndi and Kate (my big sisters) totally think I'm a wuss for calling in the Elders, but c'mon! They love service and now I owe them kolaches.   Plus, it is probably a great story to write home about :)

I think it gives a whole new meaning Elder Nielson's talk "Ask the Missionaries! They Can Help You!"

And then I had a Birthday!

I had a good birthday this year. I'm very excited to be 33 in 2013.  It is a great year for 3's in our family- Bear is 3, Birdy is 6 (which is 3+3) and EJ is turning 9 in a couple of weeks (3+3+3, of course).  Seems like 3 is our lucky number!

I used my birthday to justify all sorts of "presents" for myself- a dog and a food processor and pretty much anything else I wanted. Birthdays are good like that.  DMP took me out for real sushi, at a restaurant (SO Yummy!). I haven't had sushi at anywhere but Walmart (also really good) since we moved to TX, so it was really fun.

Not so fun was when DMP had to fly to Atlanta the day before my birthday. I got a lot of mileage out of it with the kid, though, so and I was mostly able to guilt them into being good for most of the day :)  Bear is posing with my birthday feast- Funyons, Diet Coke and Walmart sushi (seriously, it is good- hand-rolled right in front of your eyes at the fanciest Walmart ever).  It was a yummy feast!  There were also neon pink cupcakes with animal-print rings in them somewhere, but this is what happens when you don't have backup to photograph important events!

I'm looking forward to my year of 3's. It is good being a double-digit year. It feels lucky- like major foundation problems lucky! Just my year!

Visit to UT

As I've mentioned before, I got the very best Christmas present- EVER.  My parents flew me to UT for 5 days kid-free to see my favorite people on the whole planet.  It was so nice to spend time with all my siblings and spoil all my nieces and nephews.  It was also great to sleep in, not change diapers, feed anyone, or break up any squabbles. I could just sit back and bask in the awesomeness that is my family.

The highlight of the trip was, of course, these guys!  Kate, Matt and Mia came from London (which was why I came to UT, too).  My favorite part of the whole trip was bowling with Mia.  We went to the Bowling Alley for a burger and fry sauce (Dear TX- why can't you get on the fry sauce bandwagon- please?) and she was so cute saying "I'd like to have a go at that game."  We cheered each other and generally were goofy. She is a doll!

This girl was another highlight- I have only seen her twice in her whole life and she is so adorable. She also looks like Lu's baby twin. I loved smooshing her cheeks :)

I can't tell you how cool it was to hang out with all the nieces and nephews at once.  Sure, we missed my kids (well, everyone else did) but I loved the opportunity to just be an aunt.  Also, don't you wear mardi gras masks and crowns at all your family parties? No? Sad for you...

I remembered my deep love for sitting in Cyndi's kitchen, eatin' stuff. I plan to spend a solid week this summer parked at her counter while the kids run feral in the cul-de-sac.  That was the thing that made me most homesick (and it wasn't just the awesome chocolate and TJ's cookie butter and toe nail polish- I miss hanging out with Cyndi, too.) Plus, Sis is SO big and cute. We played Strawberry Shortcake together!

I miss Beto's steak and egg breakfast burritos SO much.  A lot of these pics are crappy, because they are from my phone. I took a lot of pics to send to the kids back in TX.  This one was Birdy's favorite of all the ones I sent.

I am eternally grateful to Kim who picked me up from the airport, took me to delish Indian food, put me up for the night and THEN drove me to Heber.  Also, her girl is so adorable, I just want to eat her- look at those lips!  I think I'll have to settle for an arranged marriage between her and Bear.  I think Kim and I would be awesome co-Grandmas.

I can't get over how big and beautiful and smart these girls are. Their Mom's are doing a great job with their newly-minted teens and it give me hope that maybe we'll survive the teen years.  I got to have a sleepover with them and it was fun talking to them about their interests- Muppets (Abby) and 1D (Lauren).  I'm glad my girls have such great cousins to look up to.  Also, I'm super, super bummed that they are too far away to babysit. Maybe this summer?

Last but not least, these two and Grace (and Cyndi's boys, who wouldn't sit still for a picture even when I bribed them) Norah cracked me up with her long, blond fake hair and she played so cute with Mia. Cubby knows the whole Gagnam dance and is energetic and hilarious.  Grace is sweet, and squishy and funny. 

Super big thanks to Mom and Dad for bringing me in for all the fun. I really had the time of my life and it was so, so nice to have a break from being Mom and RS Prez for a bit. I came back energized and ready for the new year! Also, I read TWO long books in 2 days. That is unheard of people!!

And then I had a birthday...

I had the best birthday!  On Friday night, I went to The Hunger Games movie at the Dollar Theater, then on Saturday, I got to eat yummy food (Which Wich, Red Robin) and go back-to-school shopping with my family.  My actual birthday was on Sunday, so it was a great, relaxing day!

I had Ward Council in the morning, and I got a surprise when I got home!  The girls had decorated and hidden and jumped out and yelled "Surprise!"  DMP said it required a lot of discussion and practice to get it right. They drilled Bear on saying "Surprise!" so effectively, he did it every time I entered a room for the rest of the day!

After church, I got a long nap.  Then it was time for some seriously awesome steaks DMP made, along with fresh peaches and Asian cabbage salad.  Of course there was Ginger Brew to drink (not beer...)

After dinner it was time to open my presents.  The girls got me surprisingly thoughtful gifts from the dollar store.  Much better than the squeaky dog toy I got in years past!  The girls made some cute cards. Here is EJ's

"Mom is the bom, go to her .com, she'll shine and she doesn't drink wine, her name is Melissa not lisa! XOXOXOX Go mom."

Birdy's says "I love Mom! Mom's the best, mom is great! Mom makes me happy, Mom lets me play!" 

After dinner and presents, we played DIsney Scene it and had brownie hot fudge sundaes (instead of cake).  It was a fantastic birthday!

The Big Chop!

Sooo, Texas doesn't like my hair. No matter what I did it went crazy and frizzy. I pretty much kept my hair in a ponytail, claw clippy thing, or braid every. single. day.   You can see from these "before" pics that it was pretty long, but also frizzy.  Also, you can't see it, but it is HOT!  I don't know how EJ can stand her long hair (it's almost to her waist these days).

My friend Holly has a great stylist who does cute things to her hair, so I decided to free my hair from it's perma-ponytail and chop it all off!  This isn't the best picture of me, but you can see my new hair cut. What do you think?

Holy Crap I'm 30!

Hmm. Best way to forget a milestone birthday (or at least diminish the importance)? Have a baby a month before :) Next, just for good measure, send your spouse for his first week of grad school which is all day an hour commute away.

To top it off, have your "strong willed" three-year-old decide to not adjust well to the transition to having mommy stay at home and test her boundaries by flipping out 6 or so times a day. Nothing like repeately getting hit or kicked and being told "I hate you, you are a stupid mommy" to make a happy, happy birthday!

The good news? The newborn is the best birthday present of all- super sweet and mellow!

10 Random Things I Like Lately...

1. Food Network- I'm addicted to Chopped, The Next Food Network Star, and pretty much every other show (except Good Eats- Love Alton Brown in Iron Chef, hate his show).
2. Twix Bars- must be a preggo thing- they taste SOOO good to me lately.
3. Sno Cones- Thanks Mom for the shaved ice machine- it's getting a lot of use!
4. Books- Currently reading Percy Jackson book 2 (reccomend) just read "The Thirteenth Tale" (meh) and The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched (good- fun chick lit). That is all just since last Thursday.
5. Mint.com- could this be finally be the vehicle that helps the MAK/DMP family stick to a budget?
6. Birdy's Lionel Richie curls- her hair is getting longer + swimming lessons every day = long, droopy spiral-y curls. I'll try to get a picture
7. Getting stuff in the mail - Paperbackswap.com books, free samples, magazines.
8. Weddinggawker.com- found it via foodgawker. Makes me want to get married again (except with better photography!)
9. Cute baby boy stuff! - Cute clothes from Cynj and Bek, jungle-themed blankets, I didn't think how nice it would be to take a break from pink girly stuff!
10. Summer Stuff- swimming, festivals/fairs, parades, grilling. If only I wasn't so big and preggo!

Taste Of Salt Lake

Way back in June, the girls, DMP, Chester and I participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides walk for work. As part of that, Ancestry purchased a table at their annual Taste of Salt Lake event and raffled tickets. We won and I had almost forgotten about it until I got the invite a couple of weeks ago.

As I looked at the invite, I noticed it said "Black Tie Optional". I had no idea what that meant dress-wise so I looked it up. Turns out, I had me a perfect excuse to get all fancied up for a big party. So I went shopping for a new outfit, and yesterday I got a massage and got my hair and makeup done to get ready. It was so fun. I mean, how many times do you get an excuse to get all dolled up and go on a fanny date with a handsome guy?

The best part of the event was that there was something like 30 restaurants from the Salt Lake area (including some super-fancy ones) that were all there with small portions of yummy food. We literally ate and tasted everything until we couldn't eat any more- which was a shame because it was mostly very, very delicious. I was in heaven!

The food highlights of the evening (for me) was the ahi tuna tartare (with a hint of wasabi and sesame) from the Sundance restaurants, a lamb and goat cheese cannelloni (sooo good!) and some super-delicious lamb from Mazza. Desserts were awesome and the red velvet cake from Everything Bundt cake was fantastic, and so was the chocolate berry custard cup from La Caille.

There was a silent auction there, too, and DMP and I bid on some things early on and got outbid quickly. We re-visited the auction about an hour before close, and bid on 3 things, thinking that we'd be lucky to get one. We won all 3!! It was unexpected but fun (and the money goes to a good cause). Now we get an overnight stay at the Mariott with dinner and breakfast, a bunch of eating-out certificates, and some other fun goodies!

Just for fun, I decided to take a "before" and "after" picture. BTW- I feel these pics make me look over-made-up, but it must be the lighting, because it looked great in real life.

It was such a great, fun night. Good food, handsome date, fun new outfit. My idea of a good time!

Domesticated Mak

DMP took the girls to ID last week for a few days. He had a funeral for a High School buddy to attend, and it was a good visit with Grandma & Papper and Mark & Kathy. I couldn't go because of work, so I was left to decide- what to do with my time?

Day 1, I relished in the alone-ness. I watched Twilight (I hated the book, but the movie is better) and read a book until way to late with Chester on my lap. Day 2 pretty much was taken up by parent-teacher night at EJ's preschool.

Day 3, I got tricky and decided to make some yummy strawberry-jalapeno jam. I'm not usually a fan of the jalapeno jams, but I had this stuff at a Ward party poured over cream cheese with crackers and it was like crack. No kidding.

Here is my attempt:

Don't mind the one on the far-right. It was a little runty :). I think my first attempt at jam-making could have gone a bit better. I actually didn't have enough pectin, so I had to "remake" my first batch to make it a little more set.

I also learned the hard way that when you are chopping 15-18 jalapenos, use gloves. I was careful not to touch my eyes or face, but even the oil on my skin burned. Just so you know, soaking your hands in milk, applying hydrocotizone cream and Tylenol works.

I also decided to can peaches this year. So Saturday I spent time turning these:

Into this:

Don't they look pretty all lined up like that? In my opinion, the work to can peaches is totally worth it- they taste wayyy better than store-bought.

Just to round out the weekend 'o domestication, Birdy and I made some banana bread with the brown banana's we had hanging around (just ignore the fact that it is "well done").

Next week? Some sort of tomato canning, I think. Maybe Salsa? Maybe Tomato Soup? Maybe we'll buy an apple peeler and try apples??

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great birthday everyone! DMP and the girls met me for lunch and presents. They picked the presents out at Target all by themselves (Thank you dollar section!). EJ picked a mirror "to put on my makeup" and Birdy picked a pink doggie squeaky toy. Thankfully, the squeak seems to be broken :).


They were both so proud of their presents. Birdy was the funniest- if I'd comment on how much I liked EJ's present, she would say "Do you like my present?" and have to get praise, too! Here is the best picture we could manage of them with their picks for my birthday presents.

DMP took the evening off (big suprise for him on a Wednesday night!) and arranged for the girls to go to Grandma's for the night. We had a fun evening that included sushi at one of my favorite restauraunts in Provo - Shoga and a sunday at Coney's frozen custard as my "cake". I was bummed that we didn't bring the camera so we could share pics, but I did have the flip, so here is some video of just some of our yummy dinner!

Bliss!

Last weekend, DMP took the girls with him to a friend "reunion" of sorts in Logan with my Bro and Sis-in-Law. He stayed with them overnight Friday and came home late Saturday. This means that I had a full 24+ hours with no one but me and the "furbabies". Bliss.

I spent Friday night doing absolutely nothing. I got halibut fish and chips (from Magelby's Fresh- Yum!) and watched some shark week. Then I alternated between watching TV and reading. Chester and I were both in heaven.

I went to bed late, knowing that there would be no Birdy cheerfully waking me up with the (adorable) "I'm awake! It is a sunny day! MOMMA!". I still had to get up early to let Chester potty (I'm too worried about the new carpet to do otherwise) but I was able to go right back to bed.

Through it all, thanks to therapy and medication, I was able to squash the little voices that say "Maybe you should clean the bathrooms" or "Gee, that stuff in the spare room needs sorting for D.I.". That is progress folks.

I told some coworkers about my family-free weekend and they couldn't believe I wasnt' doing anything. "Don't you want to go out??". Nope, I want to sit in my silent home and not have to talk, cook, help or otherwise interact with ANYONE. I realized that except for a few times when I've been sick and DMP has taken the girls to church without me, I haven't been alone (especially not at home) for as long as I can remember.

Don't get me wrong- I love my family and I think that it is because I try so hard to spend good, quality time with them when I'm not working that it was so nice to be alone!

The other best part was that in the morning, after I woke up "for good" around 10, I drove north to Cyndi's house and we went to lunch and did some serious shopping. I got new Pottery Barn sheets (thanks to Downeast Home) and TONS of super-cute clothes for the girls at the best Kid to Kid ever. It was so nice to build in some "girl time" on top of the me time.

What did you do this weekend?