Life with the Brudfam

A Sunday with the Brudfam

Today was a good day.  I love Sundays with no obligations other than church.  

* While dinner was in the oven cooking, the whole family went in the backyard and read books on a blanket.  Turns out, reading didn't last long.  The Guy, Drama Queen and I quickly fell asleep, and Freckles and Blue Eyes ended up going into the house to play Polly Pockets.  I slept a little long, and the roast ended up being a little dry. oops. But the sun felt so good!

* The Guy and I made our weekly visit to Grandpa B's house (The Guys dad) to take him Sunday dinner.  We drove the whole way with the windows down.  So happy for some spring weather!


 

* This evening, we hung out in the kitchen making zucchini/whole wheat/fat free muffins for breakfast tomorrow.  Jury is still out on whether they are edible or not.

 * We ended the day with an exciting game of baseball in the backyard.  (And I didn't whack anyone with the ball this time, which was good.)

It was just one of those delightful days hanging out as a family.  Several times, The Guy and I just looked at each other and smiled. We are so very blessed!

A good day.

Today was a good day.  Well, aside from the fact that Blue Eyes (whose eyes incidently, are starting to be more green, but we're not going to change her name) was sick.  She was moaning and tossing in the night and I was certain that it was the "dreaded" moan---you know, that horrible moan that precedes vomiting.  It wasn't.  It was the moan of a fever and a sore throat.  And it's my fault.  She had strep throat a week and a half ago.  And I stopped giving her the antibiotic which was helping her feel so much better.  It got pushed to the back of the fridge and I forgot.  Until today. And now she's back on the medicine and feeling much improved.

But back to today.  We left Blue Eyes home for a short while so we could attend sacrament meeting, after which I headed home and left everyone else at church.  I put on my jammies and Blue Eyes and I lay on the couch, all cuddled and snuggled up underneath two blankets.  Ferocious the dog also joined in and warmed my cold body (brrr!  it was snowy and cold out today!).  And then we decided we should read.  So I read the Ensign and Blue Eyes read The Friend until neither of us could keep our eyes open any longer and we slept.  It was heavenly.

When the family got home from church, it was The Guy's turn for a nap.  He slept while I read some more, wrote in my journal and finally got on my feet to make dinner.  Freckles wanted to help me.  We chopped onions and garlic and sauteed them in olive oil and butter.  And then added butternut squash.  The smell floated past the kitchen and thru the house.  mmmm.  We heated crusty bread in the oven and made a spinach salad.  And set the table with goblets and candles.  The blinds were closed and sparkling orange was poured in the goblets and we invited everyone in to dinner by candlelight.  And christmas tree light.  It was lovely.  Only Drama Queen refused to eat butternut squash soup.  It sounds disgusting, she said.  So she ate bread only since she isn't a fan of salad either.  

We cleaned up dinner and Freckles and I made chocolate chip cookies.  Divine, delicious chocolate chip cookies.  And we gathered on the couch, drinking milk (except me, I drank a little Coke Zero) and eating cookies while we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  We unanimously voted that this is a new tradition, to do this the first Sunday of every December.  Except Drama Queen wants something besides butternut squash soup for dinner.  Fine.

I left out a few details, like sibling squabbles, someone getting their mouth washed out with soup (for saying "butthead") and the part where I ate 5 cookies (or was it 6).  So much for my sugar-free diet I've been faithfully following for the last 2+ months.  I'll return to it tomorrow.  But as for today, I felt so abundantly blessed to have a beautiful family, a warm safe home, food on my table, and the chance to reflect on the life of our Savior.  A perfect day in my book.**

**and I'm sure The Guy would agree, except that he's alone in bed and is wondering why on earth I stay up so late, doing who knows what on the computer.  So I'm going to go join him in dreamland. G'night.

Connections

 Last month, I was feeling nostalgic and domestic.  I love early fall and the abundance of produce available.  So I talked my sweet mother into coming up and teaching me how to can peaches.  And tomatoes.  

 

We spent the day talking and enjoying one another.  We talked about my amazing Grandma Grace (my mom's mom), who put up bottles and bottles of peaches and pears, cherries and pickles.  I have vivid memories from my childhood, visiting my grandparents in Lake Tahoe each summer.  Every morning my Grandma would have us set the table with her china.  And she had the cutest small bowls that we would set at each place, and it didn't matter what else we were eating for the meal, there was always a jar of fruit that we would serve in those bowls.  I think the cherries were my favorite.  

We also talked about my other amazing Grandma Luana (my dad's mom), who canned her whole life.  She even went so far as to have a second kitchen put in her basement with two stoves in it. I now appreciate how much she must have loved being able to can away in the comfort of a cool basement.  Canning is hot.  And takes a long time.  And involves a lot of pots on the stove.  Yes, two stoves would have come in handy.  

Canning became more to me than just harvesting and preserving produce for the winter.  It connected me to the past.  Remembering my grandmothers, both of who have long since passed away.  And gave me a new appreciation for their hard work.  And memories of them suddenly came back.  

 Plus, I got to spend a lovely day with my mom.  She inspires me to be a better person.  She is wise and thoughtful and patient and full of grace.  

 

what's for dinner?

 

I've been thinking alot lately, about how to find more enjoyment in the day to day duties as a wife and mother.  Particularly when it comes to say, cooking.  To say I've struggled with cooking dinner might be an understatement.  And I can't figure out why.  I want to feed my family.  Family dinner is so important to me---I love gathering everyone around the kitchen table each night.  But lately I've been throwing whatever together.  No planning ahead or making sure I have ingredients on hand.  So it's not been a coordinated effort.  Rice with butter.  Pasta with parmesan.  But not real meals.  So I am working on that.  

I am posting my weekly meal plan in hopes that I follow thru. I'll let you know how I do.

Monday:  Chicken Curry with toppings

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday:  I'm out of town on business. hmmm maybe I'll freeze a chicken casserole for them to reheat.  Or reheat leftover curry.

Thursday:  I'm still out of town, so they will have to fend for themselves. I'm guessing Cafe Rio might be involved.

Friday: Minestrone with cornbread

Breakfast, on the other hand, is fully covered. Thanks to my most amazing husband who wakes up early and makes breakfast every. single. day.  Thank you very much.  French toast, yogurt with toppings, pancakes, scrambled eggs are all part of the weekly breakfast rotation (see above chalkboard in the kitchen where he posts the weekly menu).  Lucky kids.  It's his special time with them and they love it.  While he cooks, I make the kids lunches.  I love all being in the kitchen together each morning.  It's a great way to start the day.  But there are sure a lot more dishes than the old days when I made breakfast.  I stuck to the basics of cold cereal and hot cereal. Easy peasy on the dishes.

Family Night

Today I've been feeling a bit under the weather.

So to calm my quesy stomach, I made chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles for dinner.  mmmmm good. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.  It's a keeper.

Afterwards, we played a very long round of CLUE. I can't stress enough the word long.  In the end, it was Ms. Scarlet (that tramp!).  And it just so happens that I won, thank you very much.  

   

Poor Drama Queen had too much homework, and couldn't join us.  Darn those teachers--don't they know it's family night?

It's been a little while...

...since I last posted.  And it's not because I am lazy (although, sometimes I am).  It is because I have been busy.  What have I been doing, you ask?  Well, here's a brief rundown.

* Celebrating my father-in-laws 90th Birthday, with family in town for the big celebration.

* Attending my sister-in-laws sealing in the Salt Lake Temple.

* Planning and taking 40 teenagers to Moab for an adventurous weekend rafting down the Colorado River.

* Throwing a bridal shower.

* Attending a family reunion/camp-out.

* Folding lots of laundry.

* Hosting out of town guests.

* Getting ready to celebrate The Guys 39th birthday tomorrow!  (dang, we're getting old)

* Finishing final preparations for girls camp in two weeks.

* Hanging out with my 3 girls, enjoying the warm summer weather.

* And selling lots and lots of swimsuits!

I have hardly had a second to breathe this summer, but I am looking forward to a calmer week ahead.  And I am grateful for a 3-day weekend ahead and time that will be spent with my family.  

oh yeah, I am counting down the days until this arrives at my local apple store.  I will be standing in line on July 11!

Recommended by the Queen of Clean

Recommended by the Queen of Clean {which, unfortunately, is not me}, Fels Naptha is one magical tool to have in your laundry room. Last week, a tube of chapstick went thru the wash and INTO the dryer. Greasy chapstick was left all over the laundry. Have no fear, I grabbed my bar of Fels Naptha and a spray bottle. I sprayed the spots with water and the rubbed the bar of soap all over the stains. Then I let it sit over night. I threw the load back into the washer and voila, all the chapstick was gone. It is seriously something everyone should have. Plus it only costs about $1.50 at the grocery store and lasts forever--I think I've had my bar for 2 or more years.

Fels Naptha also has other uses besides spot and laundry treatment, it also rids plants of pests like aphids and mites, remedies black spot fungus in roses (who knew?), treats poison ivy and rids pets of fleas and ticks. Wow! It almost sounds too good to be true! Click here
for detailed instructions on using Fels Naptha around your house!

Painting Project & Fun Gifts

Life has been rather busy lately (as opposed to other times when life is, well, rather busy), but I needed to do something crafty, so I bought some turquoise paint and painted lots of items around my house. So now there is a splash of blue in most of the rooms in my house. It was a perfect solution to pick me up and pull me out of my winter funk.

So here is the first thing I painted: two of my kitchen chairs. I didn't want my house to look like an RC Willey or Tai Pan showroom, so my table is a flea market find--an antique table from Hungary, that I added extensions on to make it wider, and then stamped a faint green border around. I love it. And I have mismatched chairs around the table, which I also love. And now two of them are blue!

And I wanted to show you a late birthday gift I just received from my crafty friend, Kelli. She is a talented seamstress, and always comes up with clever and fun gifts. One year, she gave us {we have a group of 7 friends that hang out once a month) all birthday banners, that she sewed and painted. I'll post a picture sometime, but it is adorable, and I hang it out on my front porch on every birthday. So this year, she gave us all Birthday Stockings. It's a fun tradition she has in her house to fill a stocking on your child's birthday and leave it by their bed or hang it on a chair. So we are about to start the tradition with this sweet stocking that she made:

We have two birthdays in May, and I am already thinking about what fun things I can wrap up and put in it.

Kelli also gave us these cute little files called "Family Facts and Funnies...a kitchen journal" where you can record the funny little things that happen in your family. It has divided tabs, so you can file the funnies into the appropriate person's file. And storing it on my kitchen desk helps me to remember to write stuff down. At least sometimes. I have a tendency to think I'll remember it later and write it down then. I usually forget. But sometimes I do remember, and as I look back at the cute and funny things I've written down in the last year, I am so grateful that I took the time to record these little things that happen in our family. I love having such crafty and clever friends!

Good thing I have a H.E. washer

It's a good thing I bought a high-efficiency washer and dryer a few months back. Because for 3 days in a row, I have had to RE-WASH the same load because I forget to transfer it to the dryer. 24 hours later I remember and kick myself for forgetting and go re-start the load. This morning I decided to set the buzzer so that I would hear when it finishes and promptly put the wet clothes in the dryer. But that's still no guarantee!

So Random

Here are a few random things on my mind...

1. A few posts ago, I complained that the Guy was really sick and really grumpy. Now I am eating my words because I am really sick and really grumpy. Serves me right. This was day 4 of feeling achy, tired, having chills, sore throat, headache, cough, and now chest pain. Seems to get worse each day, and I don't mean just my grumpiness. The Guy has been extremely patient and helpful thru my sickness, so thanks!

2. I spent one hour and $700 at the orthodontist today--getting Blue Eyes fit for a thumb-sucking guard (which by the way, she is thrilled about. I don't think that she has realized that it will mean that she won't be able to suck her thumb anymore. She is just excited that she is going to have some kind of orthodontic device in her mouth. They warned us that once it is in place, we should be prepared for 2-3 weeks of extreme grumpiness (runs in the family) as she adjusts to life without the thumb). Drama Queen also had molds taken of her mouth, and is ready to get braces in 2 weeks. Thanks to genetics, she will be lucky enough to wear a neck gear at night, just like her mama did! Lucky girl.

3. Was it actually 50 degrees today? That's what my car said. Maybe spring is on its way. After the long, cold, snowy winter, 50 degrees has never felt so nice.

4. If you're up for a good laugh, check out this silly YouTube video of a Marshmallow Challenge on a Japanese Game Show. How do they come up with this stuff?