I drive myself CRAZY!

I wish I could be a "chapter or two a night" kind of reader.  My children wouldn't get ignored, my laundry wouldn't pile up, and I might actually cook something decent and healthy for my family.  I would just climb into bed around 9 p.m. and read for an hour or so and then pick it up again the next night.  Isn't this what most normal people do? Instead, for 1-3 days (and nights - depending on the book) I completely engross myself in a book, devour it, laugh, cry, wheeze and finish.  I only do what is actually required of me - but nothing above and beyond (chicken nuggets, here we come!) Luckily, this only happens if the book happens to be a good one - but  if it's a REALLY good one (like the latest above) I'm devastated to be done and a totally irritated at myself for devouring instead of savoring. In order for life to go back to normal, I have to take around a 2-3 week hiatus before I start the cycle again. So, with a heavy heart, I'm off to start my first load of whites.

It's been sparse around here lately...

...and here is the main reason why. I've been starring in a major role since late September. It's called "Stage Mom." And last night the big production went down. My girl Kalli was Portia in Shakepeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Of course I'm going to say she was wonderful, magnificent, and beautiful. Because I'm her proud mom - and she was.

Something's Gotta Give

*Image of my favorite house in one of my favorite movies as per listed above...

I'm finally just coming up for a breath from nearly a month of my life running me versus me running my life. I'm hoping this choke-hold I've got on it this week will last for a bit and slow down this beast known as our schedule. When life gets this crazy - something's gotta give ... and it's not only been my blog. In all the madness, however, there have been many shining moments and that's what I'd like to share and what I hope you'd like to hear (rather than what's been making me pull my hair out.)

1. On October 10th, a special little girl at our house celebrated her 9th birthday. It was a Saturday so the whole day was dedicated to indulging her - including soccer games, shopping, burgers and shakes with Grammy and Paca, a chocolate cake with a rainbow (her specific request) and topping the night off with a 3-d movie in Paca's theater. (Have I mentioned before that friend birthday parties only happen on "even" numbered birthdays? Love that.)

2. Kalli has been cast as Portia in "The Merchant of Venice" for her 6th grade play. We've been waking up early to attend 7:15 a.m. play practices and memorizing lines. She's amazes me every day. Keeping up with that girl's schedule is a full time job in and of itself!

3. Max is a boy with a sweet and sensitive heart. We had Monday off of school and we drove by a different elementary school that was having recess. (With the windows rolled up, of course) the girls and I laughed and teased, "You have school...and we don't...na na...na na...na." Max didn't participate in the teasing and with a fornlorn look on his face he said, "Aww those poor kids shouldn't have to go to school if we don't have to." Needless to say, we all melted and stopped our teasing immeditately. :)

His "sweet" does have a limit, however. After an afternoon matinee watching Aladdin with the girls, I asked him what he thought of the movie. Without hesitation he said, "Too much kissing."

4. I was in charge of a dinner for the faculty of our elementary school during parent/teacher conference night. I had most of it catered, but did make a little treat for each of them myself. I bet you can guess what these are. Think chocolate. I swear I'm never making them again!

5. We've been working hard on our primary program (which was last Sunday...whew!) and I love every minute I get to spend with the kids in my ward. Honestly, I do! I treat them much like I treat my own children. If they do particularly well on a song (I'm chorister, remember?) I praise them upside down and inside out and sometimes even surprise them with a treat. If the song is well...not so good...I'm honest. And we try it again. After one particular song that was only "so-so" I told them, "On a scale of 1 to 10, it was about a 3." One cute boy from the front row said to me, "Sister Roberts, you are the Simon of Primary Idol." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

6. I spent one lovely night last week indulging myself in a little birthday shopping spree at a couple of my favorite stores. I told Bryce he is lucky I consider "a couple of my favorite stores" TJ Maxx and Ikea.

7. Bryce had a couple weeks worth of sick days when he came down with bacterial pneumonia. On the bright side, it wasn't the swine flu.

8. Ella has been obsessed with this song lately. I don't know why...but she won't stop singing it. I can't help but smile and sing along.

9. And speaking of music, here's another funny one. Josie fell asleep in the car on the way home from my sister's house. I knew it was all the nap she would get that day so I decided to pull into the garage, turn off the car, and let her sleep for another 20 minutes or so in her car seat. I left the radio on to mask the noise of the garage door closing and the car door open so I could hear her the minute she woke up. After about 10 minutes, I checked on her...still sleeping. Another ten minutes went by...still sleeping. A few more minutes passed and I went to check on her and sure enough, she was awake. Not crying, as I suspected she might be after waking up in the car alone. No - she was singing. This song! Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. I'm still laughing about it.

10. And lastly, you'll never guess what amazing invention I've been parading around the house this week. It keeps me warm and amazingly enough, it keeps my hands free to do what I need. Are you stumped?

Yes, the kids got me a Snuggie for my birthday. Naturally, they want to be assured how much I adore it and insist I wear it each and every time I sit down. I'm sure Bryce had no hand in it whatsoever. It's currently the single most loved item in the Roberts' household. If you've ever wanted to see or touch one in real life, come on over and take it for a spin.

P.S.
On a completely unrelated and yet related tangent, did you know the "Something's Gotta Give" house has been for sale for year or so? Check it out on the Sotheby's Real Esate Section here. Don't get too excited, though. I'm pretty sure I'll find the house key in my stocking from Santa this year ;)

For B

Today I am in awe of my husband.

Just a couple of days ago he found out about an open spot in the infamous Lotoja bike race and his mind was immediately set on competing. He didn't have to try hard to convince my brother Dave (an experienced racer himself) to be his support crew. They put their heads together, came up with a plan, multiple lists, a schedule and they were off. This was Bryce's first race. Ever. He has been a mountain biker ever since I've known him (one of our first dates in fact :) but only took up road biking this spring. He didn't officially train (though he rides 20-50 miles faithfully nearly every morning). He's never even done a century (100 miles). But today he slayed 206 miles, three states (UT, ID, WY) and a total elevation gain of 9738 feet in approximately 12 hours.

Since everything happened so fast - we weren't able to make arrangement for the family to come. But you can bet the kids and I were cheering him on from home all day. We followed the map and checked in at every feed zone stop and then made up signs depicting how many miles he had left. We are beyond proud of this determined, persistent, and strong man.

Cake in a Jar

The kids are back in school and with my teensy amount of extra free time all I want to do is create. Somehow I had to let that side of my brain turn off when the summer camp counselor mom took its place for the last 3 months. It hasn't been but a couple of weeks since school began and I've already found myself up to my eyeballs in projects. I'm currently working on an art and photography collage wall in the family room, prepping the Halloween decos, having window seat cushions made, and of course cooking! I've been dying to try these cakes in a jar. Such a fun outdoor dinner party dessert or neighbor treat, don't you think? Just grab a spoon and eat it right out of the jar! Sadly, mine aren't nearly as adorable as Angry Chicken's, but I think next time I'll try the half pint jars simply for the cute effect. This one was poppyseed - but I imagine you could use any cake recipe you love. (Just don't fill it more than halfway. I learned this the hard way:)

Viva La STAYCATION

The kids went to Grammy and Paca's (thank you!) while Bryce was in NYC on business which left me to spend two days doing nothing but my own luxurious agenda, which included:

*shopping for new lipgloss and mascara
*pedicure
*decorating the basement bathroom
*salad from Costa Vida
*leisurely browsing at my favorite boutiques...Four and Twenty Sailors, Hip and Humble, Paisley Pomegranate, and Children's Hour
*jewelry making
*Target, of course
*organizing the laundry room (yuck, I know - but needed to get done)
*reading "7 Habits for Highly Effective Families"
*enjoying the silence :)

The family is back home (let the love and chaos resume!) and thus my staycation has come to a close. I hope I used my time wisely. What would YOU do with two days to yourself?

TODAY

Outside my window...hammer hammer; bang bang; buzz buzz. The workers are steadily making progress on our new garage. Can't wait to have a place to park bikes next summer and cars this winter. Simple pleasures.

I am thinking...how much I've enjoyed taking a few minutes each morning BEFORE the kids wake up to gather myself and my thoughts - to meditate and pray. It's been easier to allow myself this time in the summer when the kids are extra tired and sleeping in a little longer.

I am thankful for...a brain FULL and a heart FULL of summertime memories with my kids.

From the kitchen...nothing since Saturday. I made cake pops as part of the centerpieces for Christina's surprise birthday party and haven't wanted to set foot in the kitchen since. Thankfully the fam ate Sunday dinner with Grammy and Paca; I think I'll swindle Bryce into grilling fish tonight.

I am wearing...workout clothes - at 2:56 in the afternoon. I opted to take Kalli to another Apple Camp session instead of the gym this morning so I haven't worked out yet. Hoping to get the gym before sundown.

I am creating...a list of ideas on how to celebrate our Utah pioneer heritage this week. The 24th of July (this Friday) is a huge holiday here in Utah and is the very date we celebrate the settling of this beautiful valley we call home.

I am going...to swim lessons this evening with Max. One of my favorite ways to wind down a summer day: ask Bryce and the girls to clean up dinner while I go one on one with my favorite five year old.

I am reading...a few newspaper clippings I recieved from my mom last week in the mail. She has been doing this for 15 years - since I first moved away from home. The topics vary from child rearing to the latest herbal mosquito bite remedy. They usually come complete with highlighted sections and her personal comments hand written in between the columns. I don't know if she knows how much I treasure them. (I love them mom - keep them coming!)

I am hoping...for a wardrobe "crisis" like Bryce is experiencing. Nothing in his closet fits him anymore since he went a got all skinny. Hence the reason I'm still in my workout clothes I suppose. :)

I am hearing...Novela in A minor - pianist Kalli Jensen Roberts

Around the house...dress-ups are everywhere. We had some serious wins at the D.I. (local thrift store) last week and the kids have dressed up as everything from oompa loompas to Sharpay Evans. Need to kill a bored summer afternoon? Head to your local thrift store and let your imaginations take over.

One of my favorite things...friends. These are just a few of them; but they are ALL wonderful, beautiful, kind, generous, talented, and amazing. I have the BEST friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week...shopping for a birthday gift, another Apple camp (that makes 3!), Discovery Gateway, our favorite neighborhood BBQ of the year, laundry laundry laundry, greeting one of our favorite cousins at the airport after not seeing her for 1 1/2 years!

Now dear blogging friends...its your turn. What does TODAY look like for you?

Sunday Dinner

...is not always a special occasion at our house; but today we had some special dinner guests so we wanted to do something memorable. It only took a slight craving for our favorite harvest holiday to head us in this tasty direction. Here's what we came up with:

A SUMMER THANKSGIVING

Crock Pot TURKEY Breast
(If you've never done this simple protein - you must. Buy one fresh or frozen turkey breast. They're usually around 7-10 lbs. Put it in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. DONE. Moist, delicious, and leftovers for about 2 days.)

SWEET POTATO Fries
Romaine Salad with CRAISINS (our cranberries) and candied Walnuts
CORN BREAD

And for dessert...
any number of frozen PUMPKIN creations, but this one from Epicurious looked the tastiest to me.

Now who's ready for a nap?

Coloring

As many of you know, I'm in the middle of an exterior remodel on my 60+ year old colonial home. Every day there is another question to answer, another decision to make, and another check to write. It's exciting and exhausting all at once. (I'm living a bit of deja vu from 4 years ago when we spent 7 months living off site to have our interior done.) At least this time I know how great the reward is in the end!

Today I'm obsessed with this tool on the Sherwin Williams website. The above picture is a sample "colonial exterior scene" that allows you to click and drag different paint colors to different parts of the home (has an interior option as well). I'm surprised how much I love my current door color "Porpoise" on the new clapboard on the top half of the house. I always thought I would go lighter...hmmm Sherwin Williams you got me thinkin! Welcoming your opinions!

Victorious

*Click on image to enlarge the type

Last week Kalli came home overjoyed with the news that her school had implemented a recycling program. (She considers herself a budding environmentalist.) She said, "Mom, I wish our school had a newspaper and I could write an article all about it." Clearly, she wanted to share her enthusiasm with someone other than just me.

As a parent, one of the best tools I've learned to utilize is the art of channeling - when you discover something your child is excited about and then utilize that excitement to create an experience for them that will further their love, learning, or both. (For example, an animal lover in our house developed a particular fascination with elephants. We found a zoo that fed a live video stream online of their elephant habitat and we checked in on our new friends frequently. We even learned their names and began to be able to identify each of them. Not to mention learned many new and fascinating facts about elephants and their habitats.)

Because Kalli's enthusiasm of this new recycling program was immense - and she dreamt up this idea of writing an article about it, I gave her my nod of approval and told her she should go for it - even if there wasn't a newspaper to write for. All of this in the name of channeling. We talked about what resources she would need and she decided to ask the principal about the program. (The mere thought of Mr. Faber, my elementary school principal, sent shivers down my spine but Kalli's always been a bit more daring than me.) The principal happily agreed to be interviewed - and here's the best part - suggested she e-mail her the finished article and perhaps they could publish it into the school's monthly bulletin sent out to parents. Kalli sacrificed playing that afternoon and took the evening to write and edit the article and then e-mailed the finished piece.

On Monday, she got to see her name in print on page four of the March bulletin. She was so proud and beyond excited. We all were! Thanks to her determination and enthusiasm, a receptive principal, and a little bit of channeling magic - she had an unforgettable learning experience. The simple moral of the story for me is this: When I listen a little closer to my kids (and their relevant OR irrelevant ramblings), when I let them find and direct their own passions, often times I get the lucky opportunity to urge them on a little farther and take part in an unforgettable childhood victory.

Pop! Pop!

I finally found a reason to break out the Bakerella and go for it! It wasn't easy or
breezy (and I need an army of cleaning ladies to bail me out of the aftermath),
but oh my goodie - aren't they cute?

This one ate the top off first and savored each and every bite.

She licked right down to the chocolaty center.

Always a photo op with this one.

And the baby bunny of the bunch thought it was so tasty,
she just had to take a moment to savor.

Projects Not accomplished Last Year...

OK, so despite my previous eager beaver post about resolutions - there are several from last year (and probably the years before) that I dread. Here are a few:
1. Transfer home movie videos to dvds so we can actually watch some next Christmas!
2. Figure out what to do with those boxes and boxes of pictures
3. Have some cabinets made for my laundry/craft room and resolve to keep it disaster free.
4. Get creative and use what materials I have for projects instead of purchasing more.
5. Buy Less and Consume less!

I'm probably going to regret publishing these...oh the accountability.

Something about ME...

I am an optimist. I choose to accentuate the positive, look on the bright side, see the glass half full (insert additional cheesy cliches here). That said, I love a good start to a new year. I love compiling lists of resolutions. Every January, I find myself absolutely sure that by December I'll find each one marked off and successfully completed. And although this has NEVER happened, it doesn't stop me from finding new energy and excitement each January in revisiting these lists and seeing what I can accomplish this year. Last year I started a blog (yeah!), sold my first item on eBay, took a photography class, cleaned out and donated about half my garage (was supposed to have a new garage by now, but that's another story. Trying to keep this positive remember?) and successfully survived my first full year as a mother of four. My lists are still evolving, but these items are campaigning hard to make it:

1. Organize my recipes into my new book.
2. Decide upon window treatments for the house...so lame, I know
3. Do more service
4. Learn a little Photoshop
5. Go to a country where English is not the first language
6. Take the kids to Disneyland at least a couple of times (gotta use those annual passes!)
7. Be a little kinder
8. Love my treadmill more
9. Try my hand at square foot gardening
10.Be a better mom and wife

The Countdown is On

Only 7 Days! With only one week left, I'm disappointed that I never put together an advent for my children. I'm hoping next year I'll be better and do something like this (via Black Eiffel). I love the idea of these little cloth baggies full of surprises (think Slinkys or jacks) or special privileges just for that day (staying up an extra 30 minutes with mom). On the bright side, we've been busy doing a 12 days of Christmas service project, getting white elephants together for school parties (remember the giant clown-size sunglasses from the 80s?), practicing parts for our Nativity on Sunday night, and of course baking. I'm hosting a holiday cookie exchange at my house tonight and you're all invited! Wishing you a very merry (and snowy if you live near me!) Thursday.

Our Neighborhood Shoppe

*If you want to come and didn't get an email or flyer, contact me for directions at bamroberts@yahoo.com

-amr