Felix Van Gogh

We went to the instacare today! 

We were having a fun afternoon. Felix was playing in a mountain of blankets on the couch. He Attempted to get out of it and tripped and fell into the corner of the wall. When he came out of Justin's arms we could see he was bleeding. So we cleaned him up. The blood was really matted in there so we took him to the bath, where i discovered the nice gash in his head. So we took him in. 

At the insticare a nurse come out and put on some cold stuff on a cotton ball and wrapped up his head. He looked like a little Vincent Van Gogh. Or Jacob Marley if you want to be seasonal. ( I wish I had brought the camera, but it felt a bit inappropriate.) He was very calm and cute in the office. We talked about colors for a little while. Then we talked about what was going to happen. I asked if he remembered the last time he got stitches. He said yes. I asked if it hurt and he said no. So he was really calm and nice for the doctor. So he has two staples and I get to take them out in a week when it is done healing. Which should be cool. 

The staples!

My own little Frankinstein monster

No worries mom!

(And you can see the awesome hair cut he gave himself a few weeks ago.)

Photo Book

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Express Yourself - Madonna - Celebration Album Version

This song always makes me feel strong and empowered!

Felix Selfies

Frequently I find pictures like this on the camera. 

[Official Video] Royals - Pentatonix (Lorde Cover)

Justin showed me this. Pretty Awesome!
 check it out!

Louisiana Hot sauce and Perogies

I tried Perogies for the first time a few weeks ago. Awesome! Especially with sour cream and Louisiana Hot sauce.

So  fantastic. 

The internet has many recipes for these potato filled bad boys. 

Costco has some right now if you are curious. 

And the hot sauce. 

Awesome. I have never really liked my hot sauces vinegary. But this stuff is awesome! 

I am looking for things to put it in now. 

And I was like "Whoooly crap. I usually put hot sauce and vinegar in a several sauces just to add flavor depth. Now I only need to put in one ingredient. And the stuff is amazingly cheep. We got out bottle for 89 cents. 

So go out get yourself this Canadian treat! You will be so happy you did!

Rick James Super Freak 1982

You know what I want. I want Tim Curry to sing this song.
You know how awesome that would be...

Volcanoes by Felix

Masdavallia Floribuna Fatboy

This is Justin's amazing award winning orchid!

"Fatboy"

Michael Hearst's SONGS FOR UNUSUAL CREATURES - Episode 1 "Aye-aye & Kro...

Super fun the kid had a bast watching them!

A good Day

I must be he worst mom ever.

I just prevented candy for breakfast with chocolate milk to wash it all down.

There was a cacophony of sound when I took it away. 

( seriously never heard a sound like that from the children)

To our upstairs neighbors, I am sorry this happened at 6:30 a.m.

I did let them have the chocolate milk. 

Which felix said was only ok.

And I now have to find a new spot for their halloween candy.

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn

http://www.youtube.com/v/VV1XWJN3nJo?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=BkvrWnuPEnAGj40ozxNd9A&autohide=1&feature=share


This song always reminds me of my little sister Emma.

Big Photo post!

So it has been a while since I have posted, And to make up for it here is a photo montage of our family!

The boys and I made a mural for Justin in the bathroom.

Justin ran up Kings peak

Katie made pear jam

Rode the swings

Climbed the rock wall

Rode a horse
after Felix said " Mom can we get a horse?"

Pet the bunnies

played with cousins

Went to grandmas and helped pick things in the garden.

Ate dried green beans off the vine

played in a chalk house

Went into a corn maze

Found dinosaurs in the corn maze

Fished for goats

Pet the goats

Saw the Jellies

Swam with a school of fish

pet all the colors of starfish

Rode on a tractor

met a potato

Wore 3D glasses

Went to Radiator Springs

Met Mator

Raced cars

Met lightening Mc Queen!

And Had a happy halloween.

Funny story about Felix's costume. He had talked about being the crocodile hunter. Ad just as we were getting ready in our costumes he ran back to his room and got his old costume to wear. He insisted on it. So I cut the legs off his dinosaur costume and he wore the top as a sweater and the legs as leg warmers. Calvin was Daniel Tiger. And I was a flapper.

The Police - Message In A Bottle

While I was cleaning the house I heard Felix singing this song.
 "sending out an S.O.S to the world..."

Attenborough: Amazing DIY Orangutans - BBC Earth

Two ways to add a little paprika into your life.

I have been playing with paprika.
Fun subtle spice.
I tried it in mayo with some chili powder.
Whamo!
Made it super awesome.
I liked that so much I was like how else can I use paprika.
And I was like "oh yeah it is way good on baked potato fries."
So I added some onion powder and salt to the paprika and made tasty fries.
Then I was like I really like this spice mix what else can I use it on.
And I thought popcorn!
It is awesome!
A very adult popcorn flavor and I seriously could eat a whole bowl of it.


In fact I did... and am probably going to do it again today...


So try it out
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
mix it up
make some popcorn
melt butter
put a little butter on the popcorn add a little spice.
taste and add more if you like.

The Muppets Music Video - "Man or Muppet" (2011) - Jason Segel Movie HD

Heard this song again today. I freaking love it!

Food Friday: Bananas

Bananas are great. Tasty and full of vitamins and nutrients. Sadly there is a banana blight which effects the yellow bananas you get at the grocery store. I guess the same thing happened to another variety of the banana like 50 years ago. There was an awesome interview on NPR about it. So in an effort to diversify and general culinary curiosity I tried some new bananas. 

Small finger bananas: Taste about the same but much smaller. ( great for little ones)

Red bananas Taste like bananas but are much sweeter and buttery. And they are fully ripe. You don't have to wait for them to ripen at home. And the little bit at the end of the banana that I don't like stays in the peel instead of coming out. (huge bonus) And the fruit is a beautiful color!

The red bananas are my favorite so far. So that is what we have been getting. So if you see them in the store try them, they may cost more, but their flavor is better, and you can help smaller growers!

 check out the article it is a good one. 

Ready for Fall!

Finally!!!!! I have been waiting for this cool weather. My tomatoes have not. It stinks Just as they started producing a ton. It has gotten cool enough that it feels like forever for them to get ripe. I picked a few to ripen inside. To see if that will go any faster.

I am also ready to get out my fall wardrobe!!! I have been itching to since I saw the first few trees change color in the mountains. 

And it is cool enough for the orchids that I can open the windows at night and for most of the day. ( I am so excited for out bill to go down) 

The boys are begging to go to the pumpkin patch every time they see halloween decorations. 

Fall is in the air and the holiday season is coming! Are you ready?

Water Heating Woes

As some of you know our washer broke two weeks ago. I have been working on saving up money for a repair and washing clothes at my parents house. So yesterday I went over to do laundry. Having a nice time. Calvin has taken to spilling glasses of water just because he's two. I noticed that there was a wet spot in my parents carpet and I was a bit irritated that he had made another water mess. I grabbed a towel to clean it up and when I stepped on the towel there was a gush of water. Not good. So I checked the storage room and my parents bed room no water running in there. Then the water heater closet. And the floor was wet and the water awesomely enough was not draining into the drain in the floor even more awesome. I went up stairs to wake up Emma because this needed more than one adult. And took some pictures and sent the to my parents. Emma got the kids a movie and began trying to get ahold of my dad.  I found the water leaking out of the bottom of the water heater. Yeah! Emma looked up on you tube how to shut the water off to the water heater and i read up on how to turn the heat off and the gas off. we turned the water to vacation and tried turning off the gas but the knob would not turn past pilot. We then began draining the water heater. I tried collecting it in buckets and Emma got the shop vac and cleaned up under my parents bah tub and cleaned out the drain so the water would drain better. She also got out the fan and soaked up water from the carpet. Eventually we decided to just let the water drain out and use squeegees to guide the water into the drain. This was way faster.  We did this for about two and a half hours. Then my mom came home Then my parents neighbor who knows how to fix these things came over and hooked up a hose which made everything way easier. ( I will remember that for next time.) My dad came home and another neighbor brought over a shop vac that worked better and they cleaned up the carpet really good. When it was empty I helped my dad take the water heater outside. And the men hooked up a new one.
So now I know a little bit more about water heaters. The crazy thing is that if it is older it could go pretty much anytime. They were saying that many people come home to find their basements flooded and ruined sometimes after weeks. ( vacations) Crazy day yesterday. 

Tempting Kitty Part Two

Apparently cats like Borscht. I compost our leftovers by burring them in the garden. I hate how compost piles smell and this method id so easy you dig a hole fill it with the waste. Then dig a hole next to it and use the dirt from that hole to put on top of your food waste. Well I was a bit lazy the other day. We had some leftover Borscht. ( for those that don't know it is a tasty beet soup from Eastern Europe. No meat in it at all.) I took it out to the hole in our garden and poured it in. I decided that I would be burring stuff later in the week so I just left it. That night when Justin came home he asked me " So what did you put in the garden?" "Borsht why?" "There are 3 cats out in the garden eating it out of the hole."
So if you are interested in feeding any ferrel cats in your neighborhood. Make a pot of borscht eat what you like and then leave  the rest out for your neighborhood cats.

Also, I made a smoothie this morning with mountain dew in it. Felix has taken to opening the cans of soda. I am so excited! So instead of wasting it I added it. I have gone form barely having my eyes open to being alert enough to make several paper airplanes. I think this morning is about to get much better...

What we have been up to

Eliza and I at Chris' wedding.
None of my other pictures turned out good. 

Good times at Calvin's 2nd birthday

Having fun!

Happy Birthday Calvin

Funny story about Felix. Every time there has been a birthday party this year he has sidled up and tried to blow out the candles. Seriously one min. he is playing in the other room, then he is right next to the cake. We should get that boy a box of tic tacs...

Weird Wednesday: Tempting kitty

My goal with weird Wednesday was to share something funny silly or just plain odd.


    So yesterday I was at my parents house doing laundry and I decided to take the boys on a bike ride on the canal road. We rode a mile in and Calvin was done so we got ready to turn around and like 5 yards ahead I notice a cat jump out of the bushes. All spitty and hair up at some runners. I was like oh gosh what a silly cat. Calvin saw and was super excited. "Kitty KITTY!!!!! mom KITTY!!!" Surprisingly with Calvin making all that noise the cat walked over. Felix at this point had taken off on his bike and was having a great time. The cat was middle sized not an adult but not a kitten. And cow spotted. Super cute. It had a silky coat and seemed friendly so I pet it first. The cat seemed to enjoy it so Calvin pet the cat. The cat was just fine with that and seemed to like the attention. At this point I noticed how far Felix had gotten away from us so it was time to go. I finally got Calvin on the bike and we were off. Oddly the cat seemed to be going in the same direction. Which was great because it kept Calvin on the move. After about half a mile I thought it was odd that the cat was still headed in the same direction.

    Then Calvin was having a fit because I wouldn't let him run after the cat into the bushes and was being a general pain. So I picked him and his bike up. Oddly enough He became super calm after a few min. of me carrying him. I looked behind to see why and there was the cat on the road following us. By the time we caught up to Felix ,who was busy throwing rocks into the ditch, the cat was walking right next to us. At this point Several people we had seen on the way up were on their way back.
"Is that your cat?"
" Cute cat"
   We got to the part of the canal where you have to cross the road. I stopped with the boys the cat stopped to and we all crossed together. At this point I a thinking "what?!!? Do cats follow people home?" And it did. Followed us the whole way to my parents house. When we got home the cat let us play with it. And then it took a nap on the front porch. The boys and I went inside and had lunch and I finished laundry. The cat was still there when it was time to go get Justin from work. And at this point my sister and I have texted the people we know that have cats to see if they want a new one. No luck.

   We took the cat with us to get Justin. And it curled up at the boys feet and slept. Then we took the kitty to the shelter. It was sad. He was such a nice cat. Calvin completely broke down. I was also a little misty eyed. It was extremely tempting to keep this cat. But, we figured that it must belong to somebody. He was so kind and great with the kids. He was clean and well behaved. And taking it to a shelter was the best way to get him back to his owner. But I super wanted to keep it.

Workouts and Eating less

I love food. 

Which has made loosing weight hard for me. I get to a certain spot and I maintain. Not because I don't exercise everyday or stay active. 

It is food.

 So I have been working really hard on portioning better, making healthier choices, and listening to my body. It has been hard. But I am feeling great. I have finally broken the barrier and am loosing inches around my thighs and arms.

 I don't feel that I look like a stuffed sausage in skinny jeans anymore!

My advice to anyone looking to loose weight:

Eat less crap and eat more veggies

Run at least 6 miles every other day

On your non running day walk to get groceries or any old errand.

Take Sunday off and give yourself a treat 

Do some kind of weight training daily

If the weather is bad, locate an indoor track or GYM to run in.

Making this change has been very hard for me, but every time I look in the mirror I know it is worth it. Because I am worth it. 

And I still love food.

seriously guys 

it is 

awesome.

Food Friday!

Today is food Friday. I wanted to talk about two things.
#1 Pintrest. Love it for finding new things to take me out of the boring and into something new. So many of the things posted are healthy. Thank heavens, because it takes a lot of will power to not add the ingredients needed for home made fudge, toffe, twix bars, and samoas, to my grocery list. Pintrest is a great tool for a good home cook.
#2 Mrs. Renfro's Green Salsa. Wow! By chance I picked this up. Normally I just get Pace. It works it's not great or bad. But I am always looking for something new. This is a keeper. I love it. The ingredients are jalapeno's onions vinegar and garlic. And some spices too. I love it, and have been having it on anything I can think of. It was good on grilled cheese, and on a plain tortilla. But it is not kidding when it says hot. It is hot. But if you eat it in moderation and not smother your food in it you should not set your mouth on fire like I did earlier today. ( I was feeling greedy) At most it will be a nice tingling sensation with a little bit of forehead sweat. The salsa is made in Texas and It is only 10 calories per serving! Which is also awesome.
#3 Ok I lied,
 I tried elderberry jelly this week. Fantastic! Also a keeper. The Jelly I tried was from Windmill Farms in Perry Utah. Tasty stuff. Awesome on PB and J.  Just a little bit tart and sweet and it is somewhere in between grapes and cherries as far as flavor is concerned. I  now look forward to my kids unfinished sandwiches these days. It was fantastic on whole wheat toast with fresh goats cheese. Made for an amazing lunch.
I now want an elderberry bush or 7 so I can make my own jelly.

food is awesome!

Best foot forward

Well now that school is over I have decided to kick my workouts up a notch. I have been daily doing weights at home and walking with the boys. I've started by trying to run three or two miles a day. But last Saturday I decided to run the 3 miles straight and walk the rest back. Well I made it three and was like I feel great so I ran the rest of the way home. I am very slow. But my goal is to run six miles three times a week. I am worn out by the end of the day but I am loving how I feel.

photo 1 portfolio

Here is portfolio from my photo 1 class.

Garden Blues

At the beginning of Spring our garden had great potential. But since planting We have come up against several problems.
The Goats and Horse:
                 They will eat anything they can get at. So I did my best to keep plants away from the goats.
               
Children Feeding the goats and or Horse:
                 I swear I have kicked out every child in the surrounding area.
                 The small kids are between the ages 1 and 5 so you can't be to mad most don't know better.
                 The bigger kids just pull out plants. And don't care.
                 Also their parents don't care.
                 And even a few adults have been by, but they mostly pick the fruit.

Rabbits: Seriously this morning I found them munching on the garden.

Heat: It has just been really hot!

So far we have lost:
2 watermelon
3 squash
1 summer squash
4 red cabbage
a row of green onions
handful of carrots


And all the picking of the leaves had slowed the production of fruit from the plants.  I have not even gotten any zucchini yet! It's not like my neighbors haven't been kicking out kids either. Thinking about replacing it all with thorny Berries! Or electrifying a fence. Or creating a series of booby traps...

Anyways, next year the garden will be different. We may only do a porch garden.

Some pictures of the kids cause it is fun to post them

Felix on his bike at the park.

Calvin dressed himself

hanging out with dad.

looking at fish at the waterfall

Playing at the splash park

Calvin and his new bike.