And So We Begin... On Monday

I am going to begin potty training Grace... on Monday. I am not terribly excited about it. Adam was just so difficult. BUT, she's been 'showing signs of readiness' for about 6 months now. I wasn't in any hurry, however, because it's barely been a year since I've gotten Adam completely trained. I deserved a break!!!

So I ignored her readiness. And ignored it. And ignored it.

The past few days, though, every time I went into the bathroom, I found a puddle of urine in front of the toilet. I just knew it had to be Adam, so I tried talking to him about cleaning up after himself and aiming. He insisted it wasn't him, but who else could it be?

Last night, Adam yelled to me, "Mom, come see this!" I walked into the bathroom, and saw Grace standing with her diaper around her ankles, right in front of the toilet, holding her crotch, and urinating. SO, she decided to take matters into her own hands, apparently, and train herself. Just like she's seen Adam go.

I'm pretty sure if she continues to pee like a boy, she's going to have some issues down the road. So, I am gathering underwear, reward stickers, a small toilet, and LOTS of patience. And putting it off until Monday.

Wish us luck!

I Want to Make These!

While I was browsing around this morning, I saw instructions on Martha's site for taking a pair of Dr. Scholl's sandals (which would probably feel better on my feet than my $2 flip-flops), and making them cute by painting them! Here's the link.

I really, really want to make them. BUT, I'm pretty sure I should finish my quilt first. And Grace's 2nd birthday dress. And finish Adam's Transformers pillows. And scrapbook all of those pictures on my table now. (Okay, I mean, I actually should feed my family first and do the laundry, but I mean on the craft-priority list). :)

Aren't they cute (well, not that pair exactly in picture, but the idea)? She shows lots of different colors in her instructional video, too. They seem very summer-y. But, I'm not sure how much Dr. Scholl's sandals are... probably more than $2. :) Anyway, I'm going to post this on here, so that one of these days when I have no projects going on, and happen upon a cheap pair of Dr. Scholl's sandals, I will know just what to do with them. :)

Adam Missed His Cousins, So We Bought Him a Fish

Yeah, I don't really see the logic in that either.

Last night, he woke me up crying about how much he missed everyone, and I tried talking to him, but I really was exhausted. So, I told him he could have a fish. And he went back to bed happy.

This morning he reminded me of my promise. So, we are now the proud owners of Henry, the blue beta fish. I don't know where the name Henry came from, but his middle name is "Blue-y," because he's blue. And apparently needs a middle name. Isn't he pretty? I think that he needs a plant or something, though, because his bowl is a bit sparse.

He has been everything that I had hoped a pet would be (i.e. the kids have pretty much sat and stared at him, while I cleaned scrapbooked). Adam did try to feed him a piece of a Wheat Thin, though, and has 'petted his head' twice so far, and Grace shook his container Darla-style (think Finding Nemo), while in Wal-Mart, so I'm not sure how long he's going to survive. But, hopefully being a pet owner will instill some responsibility in him, and make him forget the fact that we live far away from family.

Okay, I don't really want him to forget our family, but I really would like to get a full night of sleep. :)

Heartbreaking Conversations

As we were leaving the party yesterday, Adam was still crying. Mike asked him why he was so sad, when all of his cousins were so happy?

He stopped crying, and thought for a bit. And then said:

"Of course they are happy. They get to play with each other all the time because they all live in the same place."

I couldn't be mad at him anymore, when he's just sad that we don't live by family. I get sad about that, too.

He slept and was pretty quiet until Kingman. And then he said:

"I just don't understand why life is so tough on me. I just want to be by my family. I just don't understand."

What to you say to that? I don't understand either.

Dishonest?

So, today we got a check in the mail from the other insurance company, to pay to fix the Focus. We were involved in a minor fender-bender a few weeks ago. The Focus already has some dents. I wasn't even going to bother fixing it, because what's a few more, you know?

But, the other party called the insurance to report it, and since it wasn't our fault, we decided to go ahead and follow through with it. So, today we got the check for it.

Now... here's my question. The amount in the check would pay for the brake's to be fixed on the Focus (something rusted, so Mike doesn't feel comfortable changing them himself), and would be enough to get both cars smog tested and registered, and there might even be some left over to make us official citizens of the state we live in. What can I say? Driver's licenses are pricey here. :)

But is that honest? Ethical?

I can't find anything illegal about doing it per se, but I don't want to do anything wrong, you know? Would it be wrong to use it for something else on the car? Thoughts?

Seven

As of this past weekend, Mike and I have been married 7 years. Seven years. That's crazy! In some ways, I'm like, "There's NO way it's been 7 years," because it's gone so fast. And then I look back at all we've done and been through, and can't believe it's only been 7 years.

Mike and I celebrated by going to see the new Indiana Jones movie and eating dinner out. We had so much fun talking about the past seven years, and what we've accomplished (and didn't accomplish) and learned.

So, I thought about it, and decided to write a list of the 7 most important things that I've learned in the past 7 years:

1) Always, always, always check for that stray red item in your whites. Because it will be inevitable that one will sneak in and turn your whites pink. Which is fine when it's your daughter's white onesies. Not so much when it's your husband's church shirt.

2) That no matter how hard life gets, no matter how debilitating a trial may be, or how much pain we may be feeling, that there is ALWAYS joy to be found in life.

3) That the best thing you can EVER do for your financial health is pay your tithing. And then, save. Even if it's only $10 a paycheck, save something.

4) That no matter how much you scrape, pour sauce on, turn over, or otherwise try to change burnt food, it will never taste good. Ever. (Sorry about all the burned meals over the years, Mike. I will continue to blame the altitude. Or the oven. Or our pans. :) )

5) That it's great to have a plan. BUT, don't be surprised when those plans change. For you. :)

6) A good sense of humor is so important. I've always loved laughing and having fun. But, having a really good sense of humor has really helped our marriage. Because sometimes when every thing's going wrong, the best thing you can do is just laugh.

7) That Heavenly Father truly loves us. That He knows us. That He has a plan for us. That He holds us in the hollow of His hand, and can carry us through the most devastating moments. I am amazed when I look back at the things we've been through, and how everything has just worked out so perfectly. I know that Heavenly Father watches over my family. We couldn't have made it through the past 7 years without Him. I'm so grateful to Him.

Mike told me that the most important thing that he's learned in our 7 years of marriage, is that everything always works out in the end. I completely agree.

I love you so much, Mike! Can't wait to see what the next 7 years holds for us!

Breakfast for Dinner

We LOVE having breakfast for dinner. It's inexpensive, fun, and super yummy. We normally do French toast or pancakes once a week, every week. The kids LOVE it! I rarely make these kind of breakfast items for breakfast, so it's the only time they get them. And we're all okay with that. Or, at least, I am. :)

Mike loves German pancakes (aka 'Pop Up' or 'Puff' pancakes), but I have never made them before for him. I have mixed feelings towards them... they are extremely rich. And the kids don't like them. Last week, however, I found this fun recipe for making them where you put the batter in muffin tins, instead of a 9 x 13 pan like Mike normally does, and decided to have it for dinner tonight. The recipe:

German Pancakes

1 cup milk

1 cup flour (next time I'm going to do half whole wheat)

6 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

dash of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 muffin pans well. Blend all ingredients together in blender, and then pour into muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Pop out, and top with berries, syrup, powdered sugar, etc.

They turned out SO good! I loved the little muffin-sized ones, and they were SO super easy! We had ours with strawberries and syrup. Caution: Using Pam cooking spray does not make for well-greased tins (mine stuck a bit), and some of mine burned on the bottom, so watch them. I think my oven is just funky, though...

But, anyways, even though Mike said he didn't like them as much as his recipe (because of the decreased amount of butter... but, whatever), we all agreed that they were fun and yummy. And we'll definitely be making them again. I like making dinners that the kids actually eat. :)

One Can at a Time...

Our new ward/stake is really focusing on food storage right now. Every week I leave Relief Society a little more scared about the current state of the economy, and having enough food storage. We don't have a year's supply of food stored up yet, and every time I try to get to it, I feel SO overwhelmed, that I give up (this seems to be a recurring theme in my life... :) ).

So, our ward began doing a "One Can at a Time" project. With the though being, if each family could just spend $1 or $2 a week on food storage, that by buying one can of food a week (or whatever you can afford), by the end of the year, you'd have at least 52 cans of food, etc., and be SO much better off.

Every Sunday, this sweet sister in our ward brings in several bags of food, and shows us what's on sale, and how much you can get with just $1. She totally psyched me up, and I decided to talk to Mike and go for it.

Mike and I decided that we could do $3-$4 dollars a week. This week at our Smith's, all of the Post cereal is 4/$4. So, I bought 4 boxes. Each of the "Use By" dates is about a year from now, and I've been told that if you freeze the cereal for the first 24 hours, and THEN store it on a shelf, that the bacteria is killed and they can last even longer. But, I'm not completely sure on that, so I'm going to have to research that a bit.

But, still. It's pretty cool. And not overwhelming at all. I can totally handle buying a little bit each week (storage space is probably going to be a problem at some point, but I'll deal with it then). And since we're going by what's on sale, if we ever had to use it in an emergency, we might be eating some weird meals (cereal with spaghetti sauce, anyone?), but it feels pretty good to be doing something towards building our food storage.

Yummy Food + Awesome People = FUN!

So, no pics, but, wow! P.F. Chang's was super good. It's the best Chinese food I've ever had (except for my dad's, of course, because his is the very best). But it was really, really yummy. Everyone ordered a dish, and then we passed them around, so we all got to try a bit of everything. We originally ordered Kung Pao Chicken and Honey Chicken, which were both SO good, and everything else was great, too. I was even going to be brave and try shrimp... but I just couldn't do it. I'm still a little too squeamish to try something that looks like a bug.

BUT, the best part was being with everyone. Mike's co-workers are just SO great. They are all so down-to-earth, interesting, and hilarious. I literally spent 2 hours laughing. I got to meet several of the wives that I haven't met before, and they are all awesome. We had such a great time!!!

AND... Adam and Grace were GREAT! They actually both ate ALL of their dinner (proof of how good the food was). And nothing got spilled or broken; no tantrums; no climbing onto the table. They were so good. I'm super proud of them! Now if I could just get them to act that way at home... :)

Of course, they had reason to be good: the bribes. I told Adam he could get whatever toy he wanted, if he was super, super good. And then I began to worry, because, toys are expensive. But I was just so desperate at the time, you know? However, when I asked Adam what he wanted afterward, he told me that he what he really wanted was $1 to be able to buy whatever he wanted at the dollar store, without me saying it was 'junk'. (Most of it IS junk, what can I say?). So... yay! We had an awesome time, and it's only going to cost me $1!

Is that a perfect night or what? :)

Bummer of an Entry: Summer Blues

[So, this is a totally whiny entry. But, I'm going to get it all out today, and then I will be perfectly happy the rest of the summer... or, I'll try, anyways. :) ]

It was 110 degrees today here. 110. That is so ridiculously hot. It's supposed to be spring still. We were DYING today while we waited in the car to get the tires inspected and replaced. What happened? Just last week, we were playing at the park, and I was actually thinking about how much I liked where we live. And then the 100s happened.

I think that the worst part, though, is seeing Grace try and deal with the heat. My kids were not built to deal with the hot weather. She isn't taking the heat too well. It began about 2 weeks ago when I would get her out of the car, and she would be drenched in sweat. And then, even though the A/C is on in the house, she would wake up from her naps completely soaked with sweat, too. And that was when it was still in the 80s! So you can imagine how she did today with it being 20 degrees warmer. Poor baby! Not a good day at ALL for her!

So you know how some people the 'winter blues'? I get the summer blues. I hate, hate, hate summer. The heat just drains me. It makes me grumpy. I never feel like cooking. Or cleaning. Or doing any work for that matter. And don't even get me started on the bugs. Bugs come out in the summer. Curse you bugs! And curse the fact that Grace thinks you are playthings and wants to hold you! Ewww!

And you know what else I hate about summer? The way kids smell after they've been out in the sun. I love my kids... I would do anything for them. But the way that they smell after playing outside makes me nauseated.

I can think of very few things I like about summer:

1) Fruit. I LOVE summer fruit. Strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe... oh my!
2) Swimming. Love swimming. Love that we have 2 swimming pools in our apartment complex. Love the smell of sunscreen.
3) Barbecues. Getting together with friends and doing the whole BBQ thing is super fun.
4) ..............

I totally thought that there was a fourth thing I liked. Nope. The kids don't like summer. Mike HATES summer because it's super hot in the back at D.I. Yuck. And he comes home hot and grumpy. We've got the summer blues around here. Big Time. And it's not even summer yet!

So, Adam and I have officially began our countdown to Halloween to cheer us up. I had to do something... he was literally SCREAMING at the sun today to 'blow up.' :) Not kidding...

164 days 'til Halloween and counting.

[I'll post on the bright spot of today: P.F. Chang's tomorrow... I'm going to go sit in front of a fan for now.]

Have You Tried...

- Mint Crisp M&Ms?

I hadn't even heard about these until talking with my sis-in-law Danyel the other day. I picked up a bag after working out on Friday night (yeah, yeah, Mike's already made fun of me), and wow! They. Are. Good. Too good. I had to send the rest with Mike to work on Saturday so I didn't eat them all. Yummy!

- Saving the Environment?

Because if you are, I've gotta tell you, Grace is ruining all your good work. By wasting packages of baby wipes. This is what happened the other night while I was gone exercising. (Mike getting them ready for bed also explains why my girly-girl is wearing a nightshirt with dragon on it.) But, at least he had the good sense to take a picture.


- Growing a Tomato?



Because ours is dying. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Adam and Grace think it's not getting enough love. But singing, "I am a Child of God" to it (while very, very sweet) 20 times a day isn't helping much. Suggestions?

- Being a Grown Up?

Adam came out yesterday morning and announced that since he was almost 5, he needed to start dressing like a 'grown up' and needed a tie. I wish this was all it took! I would totally begin wearing a tie if I could give up the cleaning and cooking and bill paying! (I think he also wants to look more 'grown up' so he can make some friends in Primary... our Primary is so small that they have combined the CTR 5, 6, 7, and 8 classes. He's the youngest.)

- Catalina Chicken?




After being given the recipe many times, I finally decided to be brave and give it a try. Plus, we had all of the ingredients in the cupboard, so it was a good way to use them up. And it was pretty good. The kids LOVED it (with all of the sugar in it, I'm not surprised). We had it with rice pilaf and spinach salad. Not sure what Adam's gloves are about. The recipe:

1 bottle Catalina dressing
1 packet onion soup mix
1 jar apricot preserves (or orange marmalade)

Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 pan (enough to fill the pan... I only had 4, though, so I just used an 8 x 8, and had a lot of sauce). Mix the sauce together and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice (I opted for the rice on the side).


- P.F. Chang's?


Because we're going there tomorrow (D.I. is taking us!), and I've never been. Adam's beyond excited to try the 'fancy crab puffs.' I'm excited to try a new place and getting out of cooking dinner. Any suggestions on what to get?

I'm sure I'll post some fun pictures of our experience at the 'fancy restaurant' tomorrow. I'm hoping the kids are seriously good in front of all of Mike's co-workers and boss. I've bribed them enough, that they should be. We will see.... :)

"Ish, Ish, Ish!"

Okay, so I think that one thing I really, really like about living here is the endless list of fun, FREE, family-oriented stuff to do. I mean, it's everywhere! And we love it.

Grace has been OBSESSED with fish lately. She pronounces it, "ish" however. All day, it's "ish": "ish" books, "ish" coloring pages, "ish" puppets, the occasional trip to Petsmart to visit the "ish," and begging for her favorite movie, Finding Nemo. So, we decided to maker her super happy today by going to the Silverton Hotel's HUGE aquarium, and watching a sting ray and shark feeding.




It was a blast! I couldn't believe how big the tank was and all of the different sea creatures in it. Seeing the sharks and sting rays get fed was very cool, too. Grace was in "ish" heaven, and since the hotel is connected to a sports shop, Mike was in Dutch oven and outdoor stuff heaven, too. :)




We spent several hours there, and now have one more thing marked off of our "Things to Do While Living Here" list. (FYI, the pic below is of Grace's 'fish face).



Happy Monday, everyone! Hope everyone has a great week!

A Very Dangerous and Daring Mother's Day

So, my secret confession is that I adore old-fashioned things. I'm kind of nostalgic; it makes me sad how how many things my kids will miss out on, because technology has just replaced so much. You know... building forts and clubhouses; secret codes and spying; jacks and hopscotch and marbles. I mean, Adam and Grace still play hide and seek and tag, but more and more 'fun' stuff revolves around technology and toys that do it all for you, and it makes me sad. I enjoy rebelling against technology (but that's a different post altogether).

Anyway, when I first heard about the book, The Dangerous Book for Boys, I was SO excited. It's my kind of book. I checked it out of the library as soon as I could, and renewed it until the librarian suggested maybe I buy a copy. I LOVE it. It's full of fun knowledge for boys, a list of classic books boys must read (I'm still trying to go through that list with Adam), how to tie knots, build a go-cart, play poker, make rockets, catch bugs, the best way to climb a tree, make a zip cord, etc. It's just FULL of fun stuff that involves being outside and using your hands and imagination and being rambunctious. I love that it's not full of warnings. It tells the boys what to do, and if they get hurt, fine. It's okay to get hurt. It's okay to be dangerous.

And THEN they came out with a girls book, The Daring Book for Girls, and I was insanely happy all over again. Both books are just SO much fun. I highly recommend them. Really.

But they are also expensive. So, I never bought them. BUT, guess what Mike got me for Mother's Day?



The pocket-sized version of BOTH books. They aren't the complete books, but have a selection of a bunch of "Things to Do," so they were less expensive, but still insanely fun. Adam and I have been picking out stuff to do this week all day today, and I think that he's probably a bit embarrassed about how super excited I am to make a bottle rocket, but I don't care. If I can just instill a bit of danger in him, and make him just a little more reckless, then I will be a happy mom.

I know, that sounds crazy. But, I mean it.

And to add even more danger to my day, Mike got into a fender bender this morning on his way to a missionary farewell (it wasn't really a big deal, he's fine, and it wasn't even his fault... yay!); I got sick after eating pie a la mode during Relief Society today; and smoke began coming out the oven when Adam and Mike made me dinner tonight.



Hope everyone else had a wonderful Mother's Day, too. Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

"I Won't Go Home Without You" by Adam

Adam LOVES making up songs, and then making up dance moves to them. And since he only likes rock and alternative types of music, the songs he makes up are... interesting. So are his dance moves. :) And I don't actually think that they can be considered songs, because most only consist on one line sung over and over. ANYWAYS, he loves doing it. He 'wrote' this song for all of our out-of-town family and he has been begging me to record him and post it on here. Enjoy!




(I think that there is an actual song that says "I won't go home without you" in it a lot, but I can't remember... so I don't think that his song is entirely original, but he's cute anyways).

Quilting Adventures Part 1

So, I decided to go for it, and stitched the top of the quilt I'm going to make for Grace together. I really, really like how it turned out. I'm going to add some fabric to the sides/top still, to lengthen it, so that it will cover her bed, but this is the main patchwork piece that will go in the center. If that makes sense.

Don't look at it too closely, because there are about 800 million mistakes.

But, it just gives it that homemade flair that I like to add to everything I make. :)

I LOVED making it, though. It was so much fun to piece and sew while I watched the kids play and while we watched a movie last night. And I'm really, really excited because next week for Enrichment we're tying and binding quilts, so I will learn how to finish quilts. And THEN I am really, really, really excited because once I learn how, and make a few quilts for the family for practice, then I can make a bunch of quilts for Humanitarian Aid, too. The Church really, really needs quilts, and it would be fun to contribute.

Apparently, the word 'really' needs to be said a lot when I talk/write about quilting. :)

This Family is Cute!

And I'm not even biased or anything. It's a fact! :)

Yesterday after church (and after Mike had his nap :) ), we went back to the temple. Adam wanted to show Mike the gun on top of the temple. Whatever. Why would he believe me? :) Anyway, the kids were so cute in their clothes, so I grabbed a few pictures.

Fun at the Park

We went to the park today. And had a ton of fun together! I LOVE the beautiful weather we've been having here... warm and breezy with lots of clouds. Perfection! The rest of the day was spent running errands (Lowe's, Wal-Mart, D.I., library, etc.), so there's not much to report there. But, here's a few pics of the fun we had swinging, sliding, running, and eating sand. Yum!

Wonderings on a Saturday...

* Why we only have 3 forks. When we moved from Flagstaff, we had at least 15. That means we've lost at least 12 . Where did they go?

* What to do with these pumpkins. Grace and Adam each planted a pumpkin seed about 3 weeks ago. And I guess I didn't think it the whole way through. Because now they are growing like crazy, and I know that they are going to keep growing, and I don't know what to do with them. We can't plant them outside, and I don't really think they will last long in these pots. Hmmm... (As I was downloading these, I just realized Grace was eating hers AGAIN! Ugh!)

* Quilting. I really, really want to make a quilt. A patchwork one. But I've never done it before. I've got the squares cut out, and I'm ready to sew it together. But, I'm wondering what to do AFTER I stitch the top together. I'm probably going to bring it to to my sis-in-law Danyel and beg for help. :)

* Why I couldn't fall asleep until 2:30 last night.

* Why both Adam and Grace woke up at 4:00 in the morning this morning, rearin' to go.

* Why I'm not exhausted.

* Why one of Grace's feet is so much larger than the other. And, I know everyone's feet aren't exactly the same. But, her left foot is literally a size larger than her right. And I usually buy her shoes a bit big, so it normally works out okay. But, now her left church shoe doesn't fit at all, and her right is a bit loose. And I can't even cram it in, so she's going to need new church shoes. Darn! :)

* Would Payless let me buy shoes that are different sizes? Hmmmm...

* Why Adam is so... I don't know the word. So, since he was 3, he has been obsessed with Hot Wheels. Crazy about them. Then, literally, on Christmas last year, he completely changed and was all about the Transformers. Overnight. Didn't care about Hot Wheels. And then last week, all of a sudden, it's Legos. He's obsessed. It makes it incredibly difficult to buy toys on sale for him for future birthdays, when he changes so much. And his birthday is coming up, so I'm not sure what to do...

* What IS that word? It's bothering me a lot. Fickle? Nope. Not it.

* Why I can't possibly EVER get a normal picture of these two together! Alone, they're great. Together, who knows.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Star Wars and the Temple

I had planned on giving the kitchen a deep cleaning today (really), but then Mike called and told us that he had some extra overtime that he's not allowed to have, so we brought him lunch and ate with him.

And then we went to the park and the kids made some friends while I tried to tan.

We left about an hour later, and as we were driving, we saw the temple. We are SO blessed to live only 5 miles from the temple, and the kids love driving by there. They were both reasonably clean, so I asked them if they wanted to walk around the grounds.

As we drove up, Adam yelled, "Wow! Moroni is holding a gun and he's shooting the birds!" What?!?! We've talked about the angel Moroni before, and I don't know where he got THAT from. So, we walked around and talked about temples and eternal families, and it was a really neat experience. Or I thought so anyways. The grounds are so beautiful, and Grace was thrilled to be able to stop and smell all 8,000 flowers. And Adam was very disappointed to learn that people are NOT baptized in the fountains outside. But, whattaya do?

We walked back to the car after a half hour, and I put Grace in. Adam had been silent for a few minutes and was staring at the temple as I buckled him in. And then he said, "You know, Mom, I learned something today." And I totally thought it was going to be about how he can be married in the temple or be with us forever or something spiritual like that.

Silly me.

"What did you learn today, Adam?"

"That I was wrong. And you were wrong, too. Moroni isn't holding a gun... it's a light saber and he's using it to fight off the bad spirits!"

So much for trying, right? :)

Silly Kids

A few funnies:

- Yesterday in Adam's chef class, they made donuts. His teacher told me that he said to her, "Thank goodness we're making donuts... I was getting sick of all that healthy junk."


- Adam wanted some water this morning, so I poured him a cup, and then handed it to Grace, and asked her to give it to Adam (she loves helping). She walked over and poured it on his head! Not sure why she did that... but it was sure funny!

- Adam taught Grace how to 'hoot' like an owl on the way to the grocery store this morning. So... she "hoot-ed" at the top of her lungs through all three stores. Nice!

- I decided to be super nice and get Mike a box of his favorite treats at the store (Little Debbie Nutty Bars). While I was making dinner, Grace grabbed the box, hid in her closet, ripped it open with her teeth, and proceeded to eat her way through the plastic and treats. She's a bit on a sugar high as a result. :)

- Mike's work won an Excellence award, so the staff + spouses are being treated to dinner at P.F. Chang's. Unfortunately, it's on a Monday (forget FHE, I guess :) ) and I probably don't have a chance of getting a baby-sitter. So, we're allowed to bring Adam and Grace, if we need to. When I was asking Adam about what he'd want to do (baby-sitter vs. being extra good at a nice restuarant). He begged me, "Please let me go, Mom! It might be my only chance to eat fancy crab puffs!"

They make me laugh.