I Win! I Win!

Today I won $140 from a radio station! I played the money bomb and got up to $140 then I said stop. Then I had to listen to how much I could have won and it went up to $200 before the bomb went off. So, I could have had that much but I'm super happy with $140! Wahoo!

Hop

We watch the movie Hop. It's a show about the Easter Bunny.  This was a really cute movie, the kids liked it a lot and want to watch it over and over. This movie makes Easter look a lot like Christmas. I've never heard stories of how the Easter Bunny comes, like the stories of Santa and his Reindeer. In this movie it's baby chicks and a metal coach that carry the Easter Bunny to all the houses. Then there's Easter Island, like the North Pole for Santa Claus.  Funny movie.

Unplanned Plans

Well tonight I did not get to do OR post what I wanted to actually do. This morning I went to the Chiropractor, Auto body shop then work. Then I went straight to someone's house to close a Tupperware party. I got there at 7:00 and figured I'd be leaving by 7:30. Nope, I didn't leave until 10:45. So it took 3 hours 45 minutes to close a party. That's definitely a first for me and a last! Also I'm sure it's a record too among Tupperware consultants. Not saying it wasn't worth it, just...oh there's so much I could say about it but won't. Then I drove home and started ordering it while eating some dinner. It's supposed to be ordered by midnight but I didn't get done till 12:30, thankfully the system still let me enter it and didn't reject it all. Then to top it off I missed the much needed girls night out. Good night, my back needs my bed!

Pantry Organization

I organize my pantry about once a year and it has been past time to do it again. It's so hard to keep my pantry organized and clean since my kids have access to it. It's gotten really messy and unorganized so it was time for the undertaking of a year of neglect.

The first thing I did was take EVERYTHING out and put it onto my kitchen table, then I washed off the shelves. I didn't think about taking a picture of all the junk on the table until I had already started putting things back in.

I already had this door hanging thing that I got from Walmart a couple years ago. I put my garbage bags, ziploc bags, tinfoil and wax paper and all that stuff in it.

 Here's the inside all organized! It looks so much better, I'm hoping the way I've organized it that it will stay that way.

 Here's the top shelf, things we use less often are on it but still easily accessible. I labeled everything. Don't be afraid to label something, if you decide not to keep something in a container or decided to change it to something else you can always re-label it. I used to not label things because I didn't want it to be definite just in case I changed it. Now I've realized that I need to label things, that just because it has a label doesn't mean I can't switch it and give it a new label.

 

 Here's the second shelf. I decided to have baskets that contain all the items (except for cold items) needed for one dinner. So on this shelf I have 3 baskets containing a dinner in each one. I had a little extra room for some other stuff like spaghetti noodles and taco seasoning and other stuff.

 This next shelf has 3 more baskets containing more items needed for dinners. So I have 6 baskets to put one meal each in. So, I'll go shopping when these are gone and buy enough items for 6 meals then go home and put them away into theses baskets. When it's time to make dinner, whoever is making it can just grab a basket and start making it. I already did this tonight and it was much simpler and I didn't regret making dinner so much because I had all the items I needed already in one location. I'm super excited!! I got these baskets for $1 at the Dollar Tree. This shelf is a lot wider than the top two shelves so I was able to fit a lot of stuff behind the baskets. I have nice Tupperware storage containers for most of my items that take up too much space and needed to be in better containers, also keeping them fresh.

 Here is the bottom shelf containing snacks and small packets, #10 can items and dry ingredients like sugar and flour. I need to get some more of the huge Tupperware storage containers for more items. If you're interested in any Tupperware storage containers like you see here, or any other Tupperware you can find them here at My Tupperware shop. They make for simple organizing. Tupperware is also where I got my nice big roll of labels.

 On the bottom shelf I had lots of room so I put stuff I use less often behind the stuff I use more often. I did make it so I could access it all easily though. I just need to remove the things in front which will be easy and then I can get to the stuff behind. In the picture below I had removed the items from in front of one section.

 I have mine and the kids aprons hanging on the side of the wall inside the pantry.

 On the opposite wall I have this Tupperware Place for Seals container to hold all my lids. I also have my dust pan hanging on this wall. My broom and mop and mop buck sit on the bottom of the pantry floor and lean against the wall.

I really think this will help my pantry stay organized longer. I haven't left much room for additional things to be placed inside it. I'm fortunate to have a nice storage room in the basement that I put extra food in. I do need to organize it, especially now that I've added to it...that will be another day. Again if you're interested in Tupperware go here My Tupperware shop. Boy does it feel good to have this project done!!

5th Grade Hershey Track Meet

Kadin had his track meet today and it was a lot of fun and a little bit chili weather but still really nice. He took 6th place in the softball throw out of tons of boys, over 100 at least. In his heat for the 800 meter run he took 9th place out of 15 and in the 200 meter he took 4th place out of 7. So, he didn't do as well as last year but he still did really great and his best and I'm proud of him. Last year he took second in a couple things. He loves doing it too! I never did, so I think it's awesome!

In this picture he's getting ready for his heat of the 800 meter.

 Getting closer to his turn for the 800. He's in the front there in the orange shirt.

 Listening to the rules.

 Just about ready, he's second from the end in the orange shirt. For the 800 they run around the track twice.

Here he is getting ready to run the 200 meter. 

 This is the video of his 200 meter run. Look over close to the school, that's where they're starting. Oh sorry, I didn't pay close attention to the camera in one spot.

Great job Kadin, you're awesome! Levi's turn in a couple weeks!

Game Addiction

I NEVER thought I'd see the say but my friend...let's call her "Jewls" has stooped to my level, wait that's not the right phrase...my friend Jewls has RISEN to my level and is addicted to a Facebook game so badly that she's asking strangers to be her friend just so she can have more neighbors. She even asked ME (the horrible, wait no...AMAZING gamer) advice on finding neighbors!! Hahaha!!! I just about fell off my chair laughing when she asked me! So I gave her ways of finding neighbors and went to work today and indeed she is addicted to the game Hidden Chronicles and has found some new friends. Then she TRIED to get me to join her in her new found fun. I told her "no way, that I absolutely can't start another Facebook game like that, they NEVER end." I didn't give in either. I had my go at Farmville (even going so far as to calculate and type up lists of the best things to plant and so on), Fishville, Cafe World, Treasure Island and last but definitely not least Mafia Wars. Yes, I can totally be a gaming freak, nerd, addict, whatever you want to call it. That is why I have to block all Facebook games as soon as they start. They. Don't. End. Ever. NEVER. Jewls, I'm glad (I think) that you are getting a little taste of how it is to be addicted to a game...for your sake I hope it's short lived and doesn't last for years like mine! :) Hahahaha!!! Still didn't ever think I'd see the day!

 Anyone recognize her? Love her hair today! Love these pictures! She refused to look at the camera though!

Scoliosis

Well I found out two things today. The first is that Geico is going to be hard to work with. The accident was Wednesday and I just heard from them for the first time today and the experience wasn't that great. Then I heard from the a second time today and it was the guy who's supposed to get the estimate of the damage the guy did when he hit me. Since he's not local we need to take it to a body shop and get an estimate and have them take pictures and email them to him, they won't just take the ones my insurance already got. I'm fine with taking it to a shop but he has NO idea if we are even able to drive it to a shop. Also, this means that Geico has NO local agents, I have a feeling this is going to be a long process. My insurance Bear River Mutual called me and the person I hit the next morning. I love Bear River Mutual!

The second and worse thing I discovered today is that I have Scoliosis AND very bad posture! The Chiropractor said the Scoliosis could be from the accident. If it is then it should improve quickly and easily, if I had it before it will take longer and be harder to improve. So, let's hope I got it from the accident, but the way my back and neck and stuff were hurting before I wouldn't be surprised if I had it already. Also I was looking at past pictures of myself and my right shoulder was already lower than my left...that doesn't mean I did have it already but I at least had that problem before.

In this x-ray it shows how much lower my right shoulder is from my left. He said that a lot of people's strong arm hangs lower than their other arm. I have 3 (the green circles) curves in my spine, it's not uncommon for someone to have a curve but I have 3 so I have scoliosis.

My posture is really bad, the red line below is where my spine should be. I hang my head too far forward. When I had this x-ray taken I thought I was standing up really straight so I was surprised to find out how bad this is. After today's appointment he put some tape on my neck to remind me to have good posture. When I look down or to the side or slouch it pulls on my skin a little and reminds me to straighten up. I knew my posture was getting bad but I had no idea I was this bad. My spine is tired of holding up my huge head!

In this x-ray I'm looking down and my spine is curved too much and he says that that IS because of the accident and that it should be able to be corrected easily. I sure hope so. When I look down it burns along my spine, from the top of my back to about halfway down.

OK so friends, whenever you see me slouching or hanging my head please tell me to straighten up. I won't be offended, I'll just be grateful! Thanks bunches!

Johnny English Reborn

We watched Johnny English Reborn tonight and there were some scenes where we laughed so hard, Rowan Atkinson is so hilarious. I loved him as Mr. Bean. This movie is PG, there is one spot that I wish my kids hadn't seen, the humor in that type of scene isn't the type we like. The rest of the movie was fine and very funny. I didn't see the first Johnny English, I didn't even know about it. I'll have to rent it.

Chiropractor and X-Rays

Today I went to the Chiropractor, I got a small massage (with a handheld vibrating thingy) and an adjustment, then went to another office for some x-rays. I have the x-rays on a disc that I need to bring back on Monday. I was able to view them and save them to my computer.  Anyways, when he adjusted me I couldn't believe how much my neck, back and hips could crack, does that mean I'm way out of alignment? OK I really don't need to ask that because I know my alignment is way off, the way my shoes (especially my right) wear I've got to be really bad, but then I've always been that way. Plus it's obvious from the x-rays because everything is lower on my right side. Well, I feel a little better tonight but now my back hurts a little in other places too. I guess that's the price you pay to get everything as it should be. I just hope that's possible because I've had problems for a long time. I probably should go to the chiropractor for the rest of my life. Hmm, this is reminding me of the exercises from the pain free book. I really should do those again because they were helping my neck and back pain. They just got hard to do, major pain in my calves during it, I guess I need to do it and endure that for a short time till I'm realigned.

Guess I'll find out on Monday what all this means.

The Death Cure

I finished The Death Cure, the last book in The Maze Runner trilogy. I'm so sad that I'm finished, I want to read more. I can't wait till August when The Death Order, the book that takes place BEFORE the first book. It should be really good. James Dashner is a very talented writer, he has a great imagination and a knack for adding just the right twists.  This book provoked some teary eyes, one of my favorite characters died. OK I think I've cried a little in every book but more in this one.  Not that it's easy to make me cry! These books drew me in very quickly, I'm so glad I didn't have to wait for any of them to be written.  A lot of times the last book in the series (The Mockingjay...for me) is a little disappointing but this book wasn't a disappointment. Yes, I wanted more but the book was great and had a awesome ending to an amazing series. I think I'll check out his 13th Reality series soon.

Hope Of America

Here's Kadin after his Hope Of America performance. Oh ya and he's got his new tooth, they weren't able to use his old part that broke off because it there was too much missing. See how banged up he got though? Looking a lot better though.

Today we went to Kadin's Hope of America program. That was an awesome program! I got goosebumps all over a few times. I loved this program, I can't wait for my other kids to be involved in it. It was really fun. I did get in an accident on the way there though. Long story short because I want to go to bed...we were almost there and I needed to switch lanes so I looked behind me to see if it was clear, then I turned my head back around and the car in front of me was slamming on her breaks. So, I slammed on mine and swerved to the left but still hit her. Then immediately the car behind me slammed into me, I didn't even have time to look in the mirror to see if anyone was going to hit me. I had Fisher and Kadin with me, we're ok. My neck is very stiff and back hurts so I think I'll probably go to the chiropractor. I took 3 ibuprofen 2 1/2 hrs ago and my head, back and neck all still hurt. :( 

So, we were so close to the Marriott Center but I couldn't send Kadin there walking alone and I couldn't leave the car. Thankfully a mother from Kadin's same school recognized us and took Kadin with them, that was a huge worry lifted because we had sat there for 35 min. by that point, the police showed up 45 min. in. Anyways, all is just hunky dory with us. Good night!

This is all the kids making a flag. Pretty awesome huh? I think so!

Kadin is part of a white line in the middle.

Here's part of one of the songs they sang, this was really cool with all their flash lights.

I wish I could download all the videos onto here but this one took long enough.

Halfway through this video the officer who came to the scene of the accident called me to ask a question so I had to turn the camera over to Kerby and Skylar started screaming because she wanted to come with me so sorry for the screaming and camera moving at the end.

War Horse

We rented this movie and really liked it. It's a little long but that's ok because it was good, I guess maybe the beginning didn't need to be so long but they have to show a little bit about the horse before it goes off to war. It's a clean movie, the only reason it's PG13 must be because of the war violence, even then there's not a lot, probably also because of lots of dead horses being shown. It's a very good movie, sad at times but good. The kids liked it a lot too and now they want a horse they can train!!

The Scorch Trials

I already finished the 2nd book in The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner. I couldn't put the book down. Here's what I thought about the first book Everything Kristi!: The Maze Runner and this one is even better! These books are quickly becoming my favorite books I've read! I don't want to say too much about the books because I don't like giving away the stories, but I'll tell you a little bit. The human race is dying because of the hot sun and a virus called the Flare, the Government is using teens to try to find a cure. I'm so nervous for these teens!

They are such good books, I can't wait to read more! I can't wait for the movies either, I just hope they do a good job!

The Maze Runner

I finished reading one of the best books I've ever read, The Maze Runner by James Dashner. If you like Hunger Games then you'll like this. In fact I think I like it better than The Hunger Games, it all depends on how the books end (the ending of the Hunger Games trilogy kind of made me like it less).  People are comparing it to The Hunger Games, myself included but it's quite different.  It's along the same line because teens are forced to do terrible things but I didn't come away angry or really sad like I did reading The Hunger Games....maybe that's because The Hunger Games numbed my emotions. Nah, I don't think so, it's just not the same. I borrowed them from my friend Amanda but I plan to buy them. Ok I'm editing this post and adding this...if you DIDN'T like The Hunger Games I still think you should give this a shot because it really is different and it's very good! I don't like to give away the story line so I won't tell you what's in the book but I think you'll like it.

The Maze Runner is intense and exciting and just when you know what's going on or what will happen next the surprises come again and you're left wanting more. I anticipate the next books in the trilogy to be just as good. Possibly my new favorite trilogy! All 3 books are out, the 2nd book is The Scorch Trials and 3rd is The Death Cure. Also he's writing a 4th book called The Death Order and this book is supposed to take place BEFORE the events in the first book The Maze Runner. I can't wait for the movie in 2013!

Chipped Tooth

Ok I thought all our troubles ended along with March but apparently we weren't done yet. I think I need to wrap my kids up in bubble wrap. First Kadin's arm, then Levi's stitches, then Skylar's finger now this. I was thinking (until last month) that we were a pretty lucky family and that my kids weren't clumsy like their mom! Ok, so maybe they're not THAT bad, but still!

Today Kadin was riding his scooter, slowly just on the driveway. I was at work and Kerby says Kadin was pretending to crash but actually did crash, he fell flat on his face on the cement. He didn't even have time to put his arm down to stop himself.

I called the Dentist and they are out of the office till Monday. I was able to talk to one of them though and he said to find the piece of tooth and put it in a bag of water, so I have a piece of Kadin's tooth hanging' out in my fridge! Kadin says it doesn't hurt too bad, mainly only when he sucks or pushes on it.

Green Banana Fries

So I got these bananas 2 weeks in a row from bountiful baskets and they just weren't ripening. I put them in a brown paper bag for about 2 weeks when someone told me that they're not supposed to ripe, that they stay green. Even the ones on the ripe that are slightly yellow still aren't remotely ripe, they're hard just like the green ones. So, I started looking online for green banana recipes and decided to make green banana fries. They weren't bad, but not my favorite fries. They're healthier for you than with potatoes though. They were pretty good once I started dipping them in ranch and the thinner ones were better tasting and had a slight crunch to them. I only used about half of them so I'll find another recipe for the rest. These were good and interesting, but I prefer regular fries. They're pretty dense too.

Recipe:

Green Banana Fries

Set deep fryer on 375. Cut into thin strips and deep fry for 5-7 minutes. Make sure you put one in at a time so they don't stick to each other. When done pour onto a plate with a paper towel on it, sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings you want. I sprinkled Weber Season Salt onto them before I cooked them. I'm sure you could bake or broil them too to have them even healthier.

 They're hard to peel so you need to cut them to be able to easier. I read that the juice from them stains your clothes and you can't get it out...

Raw they taste pretty much like nothing but the texture is really bad, I had to spit it out. It's a powdery, dry texture...hard to explain. Basically like a really unripe banana! They smelled like cucumbers to me and Kerby (after they were cooked) said they tasted like pumpkin seeds to him. I took a couple pictures of them cooked but can't find them anywhere...weird.

Hiking To The P

Today my kids and I along with Tina and her kids hiked up the the Payson P. The weather was really good until we got almost to the top.

 Crossing the crazy rickety bridge!

 Let's just say with my poor balance I was a little nervous to cross this with Skylar but we managed, even though my legs were shaking.

 It didn't take long for the boys to get ahead.

 Skylar's really excited!

Tina with Mason and Landon walking in front of her with his short little legs. Kadin went down to lend him his jacket and help him up the hill.

 There they go again, running ahead. Oh by the way,we took the long way up but it wasn't as steep as the short way.

 So cute! Landon and Skylar helping each other out!

 They did really good!

 Of course the kids made it before us, there's Kadin clear at the top of the P.

 

We made it! Ok so I haven't even hiked up to a letter before so I had no idea they were made from cement! Crazy but smart and duh!!!

Looking down on Payson. Um we probably better start heading down...after a few pictures. Look at that storm coming in!

 They're so happy we made it!

We're potty training Skylar right now and she's doing really good. Maybe my easiest because she just turned 3, we'll have to see how the rest goes but so far easy. Anyways, this was the first time she went pee outside, she thought it was so funny she was peeing on the P (not literally, she peed in bushes but still funny).

 Fisher, Kendyl, Levi, Jonah and Kadin!

 Jonah, me and Skylar.

 Jonah, Mason, Tina and Skylar.

 Headed down.

 The short, steep way. It started raining pretty good and was really windy while we were up there.

 There's a trail to the left in this picture.

 Fun times!