Real vs. Not Real

Jane was convinced it was the real Santa--"His beard was real Mom!"

Max thought it was a "Really nice Grandma and Grandpa, but not the real thing."

David thought that Santa was really a cowboy in disguise--"Did you see the belt-buckle on that guy?  You could use it for a satellite dish!"

Blake didn't really know what to think. 

I'm tipping the scales in Jane's favor with my vote--so that's one for a "grandpa," one for a cowboy in disguise, and TWO VOTES FOR THE REAL DEAL!!!

Christmas Story Tribute

Don't be surprised if you see the Leg Lamp up in our window.

Betcha Didn't Know That!!

I was looking through a coloring book trying to find a page for Blake to destroy when I came across this "puzzle page" done by Max.  

It made me laugh out loud. 

Free Meal!

So tonight David had to work late and told me to be a "single mom" for the night.  That being said I was looking through my planner for something and saw all the "free" stuff that my kids had built up from school and decided that tonight would be the night.

First called Applebees and got Max his free kids meal from being "student of the day" at school--chicken fingers/fries.

Second, off to Del Taco for two free tacos from Max's other time being "student of the day"--Jane requested one of them be without lettuce.

Third we went to Pizza Hut for Jane's free personal pizza for finishing her reading for the month...they said it would take 20 minutes before it was done....sooo......

On to Cold Stone for both the kids to get their small kids size ice cream for reading 5 books a piece.

What an evening.  The kids thought it was great that we got free stuff from everywhere, and mom got to use up all those little coupons that have been bugging my brain.  Blake ate little bits of everybody's meal and needless-to-say I'm wondering when the barf-fest will ensue. Nuggets, Pizza, Tacos, and Ice cream?....bluuhhh!

For Noell (and other Masaman fans)

I told my friend Noell that I'd get this recipe to her, and since I've had a few other people ask for it, I'm posting it here.  This is a favorite at our house and at my brothers as well.  The recipe I'm including will easily feed a family of 5-6!  Enjoy!

The ingredients for Masman (Masaman, Musaman, etc) are fairly simple.  Chicken (can be made without), coconut milk, masman paste, potatoes, cashews, and the secret ingredient (a TBSP or two of sugar).  You can add more vegetables (onions and carrots) depending on what you like. I've found that red potatoes work well because of the extra flavor.  

Cut up two chicken breasts and cook in a skillet.  Set aside.

Cut into bite size and boil roughly 10 red potatoes (or 3-4 regular potatoes)

Put two cans of coconut milk into a pot and heat on medium.  Add approx. 1/4 cup masman paste (this is where it gets tricky....if you like it spicy add more.  Each time I make the curry it ends up tasting a little different depending on how much of the paste you put in).  It takes a while for the paste to break up, but make sure that it's all smooth or you'll have one heck of a spicy bite if you get too much paste clumped together!)

Put in two TBSP of regular sugar.  This tip was given to my brother by the owner of Thai Village in Orem.  It seems to make all the difference.

Add potatoes, chicken and 1/2 cup of cashews (I like the salted ones from Costco).  

Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let all the flavors mix.  

Serve over rice.

You can find the coconut milk at most grocery stores in the Asian cooking section.  

The masman paste might be a little harder to find.  We buy ours at Chao's in Provo, but I know you can find it at other places as well.  Just look for an Asian market in your area and they should carry it.  
Happy Cooking!

Magic of the Glue Gun

I might have a problem.  I started making a few hairbows for Jane and got a little carried away.  The funny thing is that she really doesn't like them in her hair.  I think they are so stinking cute and I'm trying to get the most out of my one little girl before we have yet another testosteroned filled boy enter the Rubert house.

Perfect Christmas Light Day

From the moment Jane woke up this morning she was begging David to let her get on the roof to help put up Christmas lights.  She was a patient little girl waiting most of the day playing with her friends, asking every so often if it was time to get on the roof.  

While she didn't exactly "help," she had a great time playing with one of her stuffed animals while David put up the lights.  We got all the lights up today and I'm thrilled that we can check that off our little (or not so little) list of things to do.  Next it will be my job to decorate the inside of the house....but I'm waiting at least until next Saturday.

I suppose I could've moved the trash can and bags of leaves, but give me some credit....I took this photo in my robe at 8:30pm and had to get inside fast--it's COLD tonight!

Moving Day

We moved the kids into their own bedrooms!

It's not as cramped as it looks and it makes our house seem a lot larger :)  Okay, so actually we moved Max and Jane downstairs.  They are both thrilled about it.  They are right next to each other and both LOVE that they have big beds.  It will free up another room so Blake and the new little boy will have their own rooms. Hopefully that will facilitate sleeping through the night faster this time!

They are not decorated or done up yet, but at least you get the picture.  Max is thinking he wants a Pokemon themed room and has already enrolled some of his friends to help him draw Pokemon figures all over the walls (that will not be happening....however we are going to put up posters frames that he can change with his drawings whenever he feels the need).

Jane is going back and forth between Hello Kitty and Princesses.  We'll see what she finally ends up with, but for now she's just happy that she kicked mom out of her sewing room and has a desk in her room where she can draw.

All in a days work.

I love the look on his face.  "Don't bother me, I'm working here!"

Jane put some hairbands on her arm this morning and I told her she looked just like Rainbow Brite.  Of course that is just too old school for her, but once I found some coloring pages of the retro-Rainbow she fell in love instantly.
Max doing what he does best.  Reading (and playing gameboy) although the two don't really go well together, he is working on his multi-tasking abilities.

Tax write off.

Another fun New York story.  

I took a few of my bagettes to New York hoping to pass by some cute boutique shops and drop off a bag or two with my business card inside.  I carried a few with me wherever we went and as it turned out I was able to give 3 bags out to celebrities!

The first bag I gave went to Marcia Cross when we were waiting in the stand-by line to get into Regis and Kelly on Monday morning.  She drove into the little garage and I literally caught her eye and showed her the bag and although she didn't get out of the car, she saw the bag and I tossed it under the garage door as it was coming down.  When the door opened 5 minutes later (after she had gotten out of the car) the driver of the towncar had the bag in the front of the car.  Hopefully she liked it.

After we didn't get in for Regis and Kelly we took the subway to South Manhattan for lunch at Katz Deli.  While we were there Mare Winningham came and sat down at the table next to us.  I gave her a bag too.  She was so cute about it.  As I was walking away my mom heard her say "that was so cute of her" and she held it up for her lunch date to see.  She was very kind and sweet.
So the last bag that I gave was to Lauren Conrad.  And if you are thinking "Who is Lauren Conrad" then you're with me.  Apparently she is uber-famous and I guess all the paparazzi were waiting outside the Late Show with David Letterman was proof of that.  I actually took this photo as she came out and a few minutes later I gave her a bag.  She said "cute" and then handed it to another girl in her entourage.  

Who knows what will happen with any of the bagettes that I "donated," but I tell you what, if it helps me count my trip as a tax deduction then I'll take it!

Happy Halloween

This little froggy costume has made it through 3 children.  Hopefully it will make it to kid #4.

Jane decided she wanted to be a witch.  We braided her hair and put ring spiders through the braids, painted her face and she couldn't be happier.
Max wanted to be a skeleton but we didn't get to the store in time.  He had to settle for the grim reaper which he seemed to enjoy just fine. 
Our evening ended with Blake puking on the front porch after eating too much candy and Max and Jane falling asleep around 8:30.  It was a great Halloween with an early evening.  Mom actually got to bed at 9:30!  Happy Halloween!

New York, New York!

So last Tuesday I received an email from Delta about last minute flights to New York.  $219 round trip for a non-stop flight.  It's totally insane, but I called my sister and mom and we decided to go.  We left on Saturday and got back this morning.  It was a surreal trip that was awesome!  We saw two Broadway plays (Mary Poppins and Lion King).  I'm still singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and wish I could've memorized the dance that went with it...it was awesome.

We took a walk through Central Park on Sunday on our way to church at the Harlem ward....my poor mom walked the whole way in high heeled shoes and her feet were not very happy with her afterwards.

I have more stories to tell, but they'll have to wait for later posts.

Autumn

Blake figured out how to make a big mess without driving mommy crazy.

He certainly did enjoy himself.  

Happy 7th Birthday Max

Today Max turned 7.  Technically he still isn't 7 until 11:59 tonight, as David tried to explain to Max tonight while tucking him in, but we'll let it slide. 

Max has been such a hilarious little kid in our family.  He is certainly starting to grow up and we are starting see him moving into another stage of life.  I miss the little boy who used to play with my hair when I'd tuck him in at night, but I also love the fact that today when he came home from school he ran inside, pulled out his homework and started working on his math before I said anything.  
He's growing up and there isn't much we can do about it.  

Happy Birthday Max.  

Fresh Salsa

My neighbor went out of town and asked me to bring in her trash can.  When I did I noticed some beautiful tomatoes in her garden that may not make it upon her return.  I called and asked her if she minded if I raided her garden.  Luckily for us, she didn't mind a bit.

I'm not much of a cook, and I have to follow the recipe with exactness if it's going to work out, but somehow Salsa has become one of my specialties.  I don't need a recipe, just looking at the portions of tomatoes, onion, serrano peppers, and cilantro seems to work for me.
Oh, and it works just fine for my kids as well.  I swear each of my kids ate their weight in salsa tonight and that includes Blake who isn't pictured here because we had to put him in the bath after his go-round with the salsa bowl.

Bibbity Bobbity Boo

We had a great time on our trip to Disney World.  David and I both commented, however, that the 4 parks were so spread out and large that we felt a little overwhelmed trying to see everything.  The last time I was a Disney World I was 10 years old and can still remember little bits of the trip.  I wanted to make sure that my kids had memories to last as well.  Blake was left at home and had a wonderful time with David's mom (I figured being 5 months pregnant AND taking a 19 month old would be enough to make it a little less of a vacation for us all. :)

My mom was the one who made it all possible for all 21 of us to go on this trip.  This is a picture of the 9 grandkids that came (two were left home) and my mom with the fairy godmother.  
Time out for popsicles.
For the most part my kids wanted nothing to do with the characters.  When I'd say "Hey look there's ______, do you want to go see them?"  My kids would reply with  "nah".  But for some reason they both wanted their picture taken with Pinocchio.  I thought it was hilarious that he would be their character of choice, but what the hey.
After 3 days at Disney World it was time for the Cruise.  We had such a great time.  My kids told us that if they had to do it again they would do the "boat" and not go to the parks.  I have a feeling that we might be doing it again sometime.

Necessary Preparations

We leave tomorrow for our Disney World trip.  One of the absolute necessary items of preparation were pedicures for the girls.  We've all been so excited for the trip that it's going to make it hard to sleep tonight.  You know that commercial where the kids are too excited to sleep because they're going to Disneyland the next day and the parents can't sleep either?

Well, I actually couldn't even sleep last night because of excitement and my mind racing thinking of last minute preparations (good thing we got the pedicures out of the way--Phew!)

Late Night Camping.

Tonight we decided to take the kids on a "family date."  We went to the Nickelcade in Orem, then got Slurpees at 7-11, then on the way home Jane said "Hey dad, you said that we were going to sleep in a tent tonight."  

It was sprinkling, it was windy, and it was also  8:45 at night.  I started to tell Jane about how late it was, how dark it was, etc. trying to give David an "out" so he wouldn't have to camp in the front yard.  Apparently I'm married to a true SuperDad because he replied:  "Sure Jane, do you want to sleep in the front yard or back yard?"  

Right now Max, Jane and David are crammed into a two man tent eating popcorn and watching Mulan on a laptop.  

My kids do not know how lucky they are to have a dad like David.

On the way to school.

Yet another funny snibbit.  

We were watching Nemo on the way to school and one (there are many) of our favorite lines is said "Curse You AquaScum!"

Jane repeats it:  "Curse you awesome skunk!"

I like Jane's version better.

Where do they come up with these things?

(This post was edited this morning by David who told me that it was Jane who said the following, not Max like I remembered it....it goes to show how important it is to write things down at the time they happened and not try to recount it a year later).

Ever see this sign?  Do your kids know what it means?  Last year Max would tell me everytime we drove past it that it was the "no robber" sign.  One fateful day we were driving carpool and Jane says:  

Jane:  "Mom, why do they put those 'no robber' signs up"

Mom:  "Because they are telling you that the people in this neighborhood are watching out for each other and they are trying to keep people from stealing."

Jane:  "yeah, like the Hawaiians."

Mom (horrified):  "Why would you say that?  Why do you think Hawaiians steal things?"

Jane:  "Well, and the Chinese."

It was at least good to know that she was not totally single-minded in her 4 year old racist mind.

Funny Things Kids Say

Last night in Family Home Evening we talked about journals.  I am not that great at keeping a journal, but one that I've tried to keep up (and again, not very well) is a little book of funny things that the kids have said while growing up.  Who doesn't like to hear about the funny little, quirky things that they said when they were kids.  Now I can share the joy with the invention of mommy-blogging.

A few years ago Max and I were driving past a yard sale and the following conversation took place:

Max:  "Mom, stop over there at the yard sale, maybe they have some toys for me."

Mom:  "Max there is nothing there but junk, it's not worth it."

Max:  "Mom, what's butt-junk?"

What did you do with your kids today?

I tried to shove mine into cupboards....darn kids kept crawling out.

I need another good book

I just finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer yesterday and now I don't have a good book to make me want to crawl into bed.  Help me if you can by suggesting a few good books that I could really "sink my teeth into."  What have you read latley that will make me want to read and not just want to fall asleep.

One Year Ago

It was almost one year ago to the day that David, Blake and I went to Beijing, China.  Watching the Olympics has brought back so many of those memories.  It's so much fun to watch the special segments they do on China and to have it be familiar.  We were there for 8 days and truly fell in love with Beijing.  

One of the best things about being there with Blake was all the attention he got.  People just ate him up.  We were stopped all over the place while people tickled his toes and tried to get him to smile.  I wonder if having the Olympics there is going to change the way the Chinese look at foreigners coming to their country.  I hope it never becomes commonplace for them to see blond babies.  I'm sure the novelty will eventually wear off, but let's hope it's not soon.

One thing that I'm sure Michael Phelps is not eating in his 12,000 calorie diet are the delicacies of the Wangfujing Night Market.  I'm sure they all would pack plenty of protein, but I have a feeling the gag factor might kick in and you'd loose all the calories you were trying to load up on.  We never actually ate any of the funky food (scorpions, seahorses, maggots, etc), but if I had to pick something to eat out of all of them I think I would've opted for the grasshoppers....at least they would've reminded me of the pioneers or something.

Didn't Emma have to eat grasshoppers on a stick at least once?  I'm betting she'd be just fine in China.