Hope you all have a great one. Whether it's filled with roses, rings, or paper crafts, hug the ones you love today.
Craig Family Reunion - Junction, Utah
5 weeks ago
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday at the Zoo
Since we had school off on Monday I thought I'd take the kids to the zoo. Ellie could barely even remember going before. I was feeling like a bad mom because of that. So here we are. It was a perfect day in Sacramento.
My favorite part was the Amazon bird that could talk. I was amazed at how much it was saying: Hello, meow, what's up?, (howl like a dog), (laugh), pretty bird, and more. It had a pretty good vocabulary and wasn't shy about sharing it. I loved it. And I always like the monkeys the best.
Ellie loved the lions. She's a little obsessed with lions because she plays lion and lion cub with Richard. She also insisted on carrying her elephant, Ellie, around with her the entire day.
Lauren liked the snakes. Who woulda guessed?
Emma liked the giraffes. They are her favorite animal for some reason.
Maddie spent the day with another friend so we took Emma's friend, Miranda, with us.
Favorite Co-ops
Since I've been thinking about getting ready to leave Elk Grove I've felt a little saddened at the prospects of leaving behind some good friends that I've made here. And it occurred to me that I met all of them, almost exclusively, through the various co-op groups that I've been involved in. I truly love serving others and have found the most joy here from being a part of these groups. So, I thought I'd share the joy and let you know what these different groups have been about. In chronological order they are:
Book Club: When I first moved here this was one group I started attending right away. We met monthly at a different members home and discussed the "book of the month". It was always a fun, social event with good food, good friends, and intelligent discussion with other adult women. I liked that the books were suggested by other members of the group and then voted on. I felt like we were always able to get a good variety and everyone's ideas were validated. I have to confess that I didn't always finish the book or even really read it, but that was okay with everyone there. Sadly, I had to quit the group after only about 8 months due to Richard's work schedule, but I enjoyed the time I did spend.
Dinner Co-op: This I did with my friend Laura Blum, who has moved to Hawaii, and I have missed her now for 3 1/2 years. We had a lot of fun making meals for each other. Here's how it worked. We each picked a day of the week. She had Tuesday and I had Thursday. On our day we would make dinner for our own family and for the other family and take it over. It was a great opportunity to try other people's recipes and also try new recipes that you might not otherwise have done. Because, in an effort to impress your friend, you might also impress your family. I made some of my best and ate some of my best meals during that time. I do remember that my family always thought Laura's meals were really saucy and her family thought my meals were really dry--just differences in personal tastes. We did this for about 9 months and then she moved. She had previously done it as a threesome. You would just have to make more on your day.
Babysitting Co-op: I had been having the idea to do this for quite some time when a great gal in my ward, Kristin Claridge, came along with the same idea and a little more initiative. She put the whole thing together with cutsie little "bucks" and everything. It was very well done. Here's how it worked. She announced at church, at "park day", at preschools, etc. what she was doing and created a list of people who were interested. On the sign up sheet you indicated what time/times you were available to "work". All you had to do was set that time aside and be available and willing to take kids during your time. Every weekday, morning and afternoon, was taken care of. So, if you wanted to go shopping without kids, go to your doctor appointment, or whatever, you just called and let the person who had that time slot know that you needed them and it was done. You paid with "baby bucks" (or something) and of course, earned more bucks the more you worked. I loved it. I have seen other versions that use a schedule posted on the computer, and other more technological strategies since then, but it was great for me.
Music Makers: This was started here locally by my friend Cheryl Forbes. It was designed to be a musical experience for baby (newborn to K) and Mom. Moms took turns leading the group for a month at a time or would sign up with a partner so they only had to do part of the lesson or part of the month. The group started out with a welcome song (the same every time), circle time songs, rhythm and movement, good-bye song and a story. It was fun to see how different moms changed it up every month and I learned lots of kid songs that I never knew before (and I always thought I had a pretty good repertoire). This group has morphed over time and we are just about to graduate for good. Yes, I'm feeling old.
Joyschool: If you aren't familiar with Joyschool you can get the whole scoop here. But basically it is a co-op preschool. Moms take turns teaching the pre-designed and fully directed lessons. You register to use the lessons and then just prepare them as instructed. It's really easy and a great, cost effective alternative to regular preschool. The kids just love it when their mom is the "teacher" and "school" is at their own house. Lauren did this for a year and then Ellie did it the next year. I was able to arrange nearly every lesson to coordinate with the lessons I had previously taught and so prep time was reduced to almost nothing the second year. It was great.
Biggest Loser: In an effort to motivate myself and also friends of mine with whom I had discussed the issue on occassion, I launched the Biggest Loser Club. 12 people signed up and about 6 lasted the entire 12 weeks. The idea here was that the group would meet weekly, weigh in, discuss what was working for them, bring up pitfalls and let the group troubleshoot in an effort to encourage, inform and motivate dieters. I didn't want it to be costly, so I didn't charge much for the experience, however, if I did it again I would probably make the weekly meeting have a payment of $3 for weight gain, $2 for no weight loss, $1 for 1 lb. loss, and $0 for more than that. The money would go into a kitty and the kitty would be given to the biggest loser at the end of the 12 weeks. We didn't end up with much of a reward the way we did it. I would also use groups instead of individuals, because people are more motivated if they think they are letting the group down rather than just themselves.
Service Group: I got this idea out of the Ensign about a year and a half ago. My friends and I have been doing it since Jan. 2007 and it's been so excellent. You get a small group (we use 4) and you take turns doing a service for one person a month. For example, we meet every third Thursday. On our first meeting we went to Suzette's house and she wanted to clean out and organize her garage. A daunting task if you had to do it by yourself. But, we all got together and had her garage cleaned out, swept out, organized, built a storage shelf unit, and got her D.I. pile ready to go in 3 hours. The kids just played around us. We have since painted baseboards, thoroughly cleaned a kitchen, washed windows, steam cleaned carpets, organized boxes of kids clothes, painted a fence, etc. Whatever task you have to do that seems like too much for one day is the perfect task for this group. Besides that it is a great excuse just to get together and hang out once a month.
So, now you know what keeps me busy. I just hope that I will be able to find some fun things like these in Naperville. I'm sure I will. They have been lifesavers for my sanity in the realm of "stay-at-homers". Maybe you found something that sparked an idea in you. Go for it. You won't regret it.
Book Club: When I first moved here this was one group I started attending right away. We met monthly at a different members home and discussed the "book of the month". It was always a fun, social event with good food, good friends, and intelligent discussion with other adult women. I liked that the books were suggested by other members of the group and then voted on. I felt like we were always able to get a good variety and everyone's ideas were validated. I have to confess that I didn't always finish the book or even really read it, but that was okay with everyone there. Sadly, I had to quit the group after only about 8 months due to Richard's work schedule, but I enjoyed the time I did spend.
Dinner Co-op: This I did with my friend Laura Blum, who has moved to Hawaii, and I have missed her now for 3 1/2 years. We had a lot of fun making meals for each other. Here's how it worked. We each picked a day of the week. She had Tuesday and I had Thursday. On our day we would make dinner for our own family and for the other family and take it over. It was a great opportunity to try other people's recipes and also try new recipes that you might not otherwise have done. Because, in an effort to impress your friend, you might also impress your family. I made some of my best and ate some of my best meals during that time. I do remember that my family always thought Laura's meals were really saucy and her family thought my meals were really dry--just differences in personal tastes. We did this for about 9 months and then she moved. She had previously done it as a threesome. You would just have to make more on your day.
Babysitting Co-op: I had been having the idea to do this for quite some time when a great gal in my ward, Kristin Claridge, came along with the same idea and a little more initiative. She put the whole thing together with cutsie little "bucks" and everything. It was very well done. Here's how it worked. She announced at church, at "park day", at preschools, etc. what she was doing and created a list of people who were interested. On the sign up sheet you indicated what time/times you were available to "work". All you had to do was set that time aside and be available and willing to take kids during your time. Every weekday, morning and afternoon, was taken care of. So, if you wanted to go shopping without kids, go to your doctor appointment, or whatever, you just called and let the person who had that time slot know that you needed them and it was done. You paid with "baby bucks" (or something) and of course, earned more bucks the more you worked. I loved it. I have seen other versions that use a schedule posted on the computer, and other more technological strategies since then, but it was great for me.
Music Makers: This was started here locally by my friend Cheryl Forbes. It was designed to be a musical experience for baby (newborn to K) and Mom. Moms took turns leading the group for a month at a time or would sign up with a partner so they only had to do part of the lesson or part of the month. The group started out with a welcome song (the same every time), circle time songs, rhythm and movement, good-bye song and a story. It was fun to see how different moms changed it up every month and I learned lots of kid songs that I never knew before (and I always thought I had a pretty good repertoire). This group has morphed over time and we are just about to graduate for good. Yes, I'm feeling old.
Joyschool: If you aren't familiar with Joyschool you can get the whole scoop here. But basically it is a co-op preschool. Moms take turns teaching the pre-designed and fully directed lessons. You register to use the lessons and then just prepare them as instructed. It's really easy and a great, cost effective alternative to regular preschool. The kids just love it when their mom is the "teacher" and "school" is at their own house. Lauren did this for a year and then Ellie did it the next year. I was able to arrange nearly every lesson to coordinate with the lessons I had previously taught and so prep time was reduced to almost nothing the second year. It was great.
Biggest Loser: In an effort to motivate myself and also friends of mine with whom I had discussed the issue on occassion, I launched the Biggest Loser Club. 12 people signed up and about 6 lasted the entire 12 weeks. The idea here was that the group would meet weekly, weigh in, discuss what was working for them, bring up pitfalls and let the group troubleshoot in an effort to encourage, inform and motivate dieters. I didn't want it to be costly, so I didn't charge much for the experience, however, if I did it again I would probably make the weekly meeting have a payment of $3 for weight gain, $2 for no weight loss, $1 for 1 lb. loss, and $0 for more than that. The money would go into a kitty and the kitty would be given to the biggest loser at the end of the 12 weeks. We didn't end up with much of a reward the way we did it. I would also use groups instead of individuals, because people are more motivated if they think they are letting the group down rather than just themselves.
Service Group: I got this idea out of the Ensign about a year and a half ago. My friends and I have been doing it since Jan. 2007 and it's been so excellent. You get a small group (we use 4) and you take turns doing a service for one person a month. For example, we meet every third Thursday. On our first meeting we went to Suzette's house and she wanted to clean out and organize her garage. A daunting task if you had to do it by yourself. But, we all got together and had her garage cleaned out, swept out, organized, built a storage shelf unit, and got her D.I. pile ready to go in 3 hours. The kids just played around us. We have since painted baseboards, thoroughly cleaned a kitchen, washed windows, steam cleaned carpets, organized boxes of kids clothes, painted a fence, etc. Whatever task you have to do that seems like too much for one day is the perfect task for this group. Besides that it is a great excuse just to get together and hang out once a month.
So, now you know what keeps me busy. I just hope that I will be able to find some fun things like these in Naperville. I'm sure I will. They have been lifesavers for my sanity in the realm of "stay-at-homers". Maybe you found something that sparked an idea in you. Go for it. You won't regret it.
Update on Brussels Sprouts
I've confirmed it for you all. No need to try it yourself. They're really yucky!
I went with the marinated brussels sprouts because it specifically called for frozen sprouts which is what I had. It called for tarragon vinegar. I couldn't find it at the grocery store I went to, but I did have some basil vinegar on hand. I figured that small substitute probably wouldn't make that much of a difference. But maybe, because what I got turned out to be quite awful. But I'm thinking the basil/tarragon differential couldn't have changed the outcome all that much. I don't think there is a seasoning out there that could cover up that nasty taste. Let me try to describe the taste. Imagine the taste of the broccoli stalk mixed with the core of a cabbage with just a hint of ear wax. Then top it off with saurkraut (that might have been just my recipe with the vinegar) all tucked into a tiny head of cabbage; lots and lots of little, tiny bitter leaves-delicate and disgusting.
Truly, these are not meant for human consumption. I did manage to gag down two of them, but I felt like I was on Fear Factor and my kids were cheering me on. They might have been better blended with a few mealworms or grasshoppers. Do not do it.
Next up will be eggplant. Any recipe suggestions? It can't be worse than brussels sprouts.
I went with the marinated brussels sprouts because it specifically called for frozen sprouts which is what I had. It called for tarragon vinegar. I couldn't find it at the grocery store I went to, but I did have some basil vinegar on hand. I figured that small substitute probably wouldn't make that much of a difference. But maybe, because what I got turned out to be quite awful. But I'm thinking the basil/tarragon differential couldn't have changed the outcome all that much. I don't think there is a seasoning out there that could cover up that nasty taste. Let me try to describe the taste. Imagine the taste of the broccoli stalk mixed with the core of a cabbage with just a hint of ear wax. Then top it off with saurkraut (that might have been just my recipe with the vinegar) all tucked into a tiny head of cabbage; lots and lots of little, tiny bitter leaves-delicate and disgusting.
Truly, these are not meant for human consumption. I did manage to gag down two of them, but I felt like I was on Fear Factor and my kids were cheering me on. They might have been better blended with a few mealworms or grasshoppers. Do not do it.
Next up will be eggplant. Any recipe suggestions? It can't be worse than brussels sprouts.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Brussels Sprouts
Have you ever really tried them? Well, I haven't. I've actually never even had the opportunity that I can remember. They have such a bad rap that I have always assumed I didn't like them. But that is all about to change. I will soon know for myself whether I like them or not. I picked them up at the store (a frozen bag) a few weeks ago and have been looking for the best recipe to try them out. I'm vascillating between the Saucy Brussels Sprouts and the Marinated Brussels Sprouts Appetizers. If it turns out to be good I'll post the recipe. If it doesn't, I won't bother.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Our House
I thought I'd post some pics of our house since I haven't had many people come to visit and I thought some of you might be curious to see where I've been living for the past 4 years. Besides, my friend Erin came over and volunteered to take photos for the MLS listing and it hasn't looked this clean in a while. I'd like you all to think that it's always like this.
Front of house
View from the entrance
Looking toward the front door from the back of the room. You can see the shadow box cabinet thing that I designed for this spot and Dad made. I have loved it.
From another angle
This is the family room right off the kitchen (see the kitchen in the mirror). You can also see the china hutch Dad made.
and the kitchen
View of the back yard
Were you dying to see the shed? or maybe the trampoline. Picture a garden growing back there. That's what it looks like in the summer.
This is Richard's office
My room
There's more, but I think you get the idea. The cutest room in the house is probably the big girls' room. It's purple. They love it.
Front of house
View from the entrance
Looking toward the front door from the back of the room. You can see the shadow box cabinet thing that I designed for this spot and Dad made. I have loved it.
From another angle
This is the family room right off the kitchen (see the kitchen in the mirror). You can also see the china hutch Dad made.
and the kitchen
View of the back yard
Were you dying to see the shed? or maybe the trampoline. Picture a garden growing back there. That's what it looks like in the summer.
This is Richard's office
My room
There's more, but I think you get the idea. The cutest room in the house is probably the big girls' room. It's purple. They love it.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Lauren's Birthday
So, what does a girl who is petrified of dogs what for her birthday?
A PUPPY PARTY!! naturally.
The truth is that her original desire was to go to My Gym, a children's gymnastics center that also offers birthday parties. It truly is a fun place for a party, but when I checked out the pricing for the place I soon realized we wouldn't be offering that place up. So, I checked around some more and some more and some more and after looking into 13 different places I knew two things. 1) We probably would never do that kind of a party, and 2) I really need to go into business running one of these places. SHEEESH!!!
Anyway, so the puppy party was one of the options because we needed to find a party theme suitable to a boy or a girl since Lauren's very best friend is a boy named Manoah. He ended up being the only boy who came, but told me during the party that it was the "funnest party I've ever been to since my whole life." It really did turn out great. Her best friends were able to make it. We played fun games and did fun crafts.
Our opening activity was to make a dog collar for the puppy they each brought. Then we played fun games like "Dog Pound" (a variation of the popular Fruit Basket game), "Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone",
"Over, Under Relay", "Sniff out the Treasure"-treasure hunt, etc. We had a couple others as options for good weather, but it was another rainy day here, so we weren't able to play the Jump Through the Hoop game or the bone on a spoon game. We did a freeze dance to "Who Let the Dogs Out" which the kids enjoyed far more that I thought they would. And of course, had puppy paw cupcakes and ice-cream.
and Puppy Chow with Dog Bones/Scooby Snacks
Richard's big job for the day was to scoop ice-cream and pretend like he was the chef.
When the party was over we all went out to eat to celebrate the birthday and also Maddie's straight A report card. Yay for her!!
(This is Maddie being tres chic I think. I'm sure she will kill me when she sees this.)
Maddie chose The Spaghetti Factory (of course) so we went to the one downtown where the restaurant is in an actual old train station and the train goes right by it while you eat. We had a perfect view and let the kids go right up to the window when the train came by (They are standing about 10 feet from the train).
A PUPPY PARTY!! naturally.
The truth is that her original desire was to go to My Gym, a children's gymnastics center that also offers birthday parties. It truly is a fun place for a party, but when I checked out the pricing for the place I soon realized we wouldn't be offering that place up. So, I checked around some more and some more and some more and after looking into 13 different places I knew two things. 1) We probably would never do that kind of a party, and 2) I really need to go into business running one of these places. SHEEESH!!!
Anyway, so the puppy party was one of the options because we needed to find a party theme suitable to a boy or a girl since Lauren's very best friend is a boy named Manoah. He ended up being the only boy who came, but told me during the party that it was the "funnest party I've ever been to since my whole life." It really did turn out great. Her best friends were able to make it. We played fun games and did fun crafts.
Our opening activity was to make a dog collar for the puppy they each brought. Then we played fun games like "Dog Pound" (a variation of the popular Fruit Basket game), "Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone",
"Over, Under Relay", "Sniff out the Treasure"-treasure hunt, etc. We had a couple others as options for good weather, but it was another rainy day here, so we weren't able to play the Jump Through the Hoop game or the bone on a spoon game. We did a freeze dance to "Who Let the Dogs Out" which the kids enjoyed far more that I thought they would. And of course, had puppy paw cupcakes and ice-cream.
and Puppy Chow with Dog Bones/Scooby Snacks
Richard's big job for the day was to scoop ice-cream and pretend like he was the chef.
When the party was over we all went out to eat to celebrate the birthday and also Maddie's straight A report card. Yay for her!!
(This is Maddie being tres chic I think. I'm sure she will kill me when she sees this.) Maddie chose The Spaghetti Factory (of course) so we went to the one downtown where the restaurant is in an actual old train station and the train goes right by it while you eat. We had a perfect view and let the kids go right up to the window when the train came by (They are standing about 10 feet from the train).
On her real birthday, which was on Monday, she got fresh donuts for breakfast and opened the gift from our family, which was all new soccer clothes and accessories. The real gift is that she got to sign up for soccer this spring. She has been wanting this for a while. I hope she enjoys it and is able to listen to the coach and follow instructions (her most difficult task in life).
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