Farewell

Last night I finished the ninth and final book in the Work and the Glory series. If you haven't read these I totally recommend them. Wade got me the first two movies for my birthday and I love those as well. I'm also excited because the third one comes out in time for mother's day (hint, hint Wade).

I started this back in the fall - August or September, and I figured out last night that I have read all 5254 pages, which is similar to reading the entire Bible (Old and New Testament) almost two times through! I wish reading my scriptures were as fascinating as reading fiction books, but reading scriptures is a totally different type of reading.

For now I must say a farewell to the Steed Family (the family in Work the Glory) I will miss reading about their trials and triumphs. It's almost like I will miss them like they were real people. I'm crazy and when I read and become so engrossed in a book the characters become real to me and I am sad when the book ends and I don't know the rest of their life. I'm not sure what is next on my reading list, perhaps the last Harry Potter so I will be refreshed when the new one comes out.

Back in the Saddle Again...

We finally did it. We bought a new HP slimline mini tower computer this morning. I am still a little sad that we haven't been able to get my pictures off my old computer but someday it will happen. I have to have hope that they aren't all lost for good.

But for now I have my own new computer up and running! YEAH!

Family Recipies

I attended a recipe club this week where there is a monthly theme and you bring the dish and recipe of your choice to share. This months theme was family favorites. I couldn't narrow any one dish down so I decided to share a family recipe with a story instead.

What are you favorite family recipies and the stories behind them? Here is mine:

My maternal grandmother never learned to cook from her mother, since she was the youngest. She remembers that by the time she was old enough to have memories of her mother in the kitchen she was so organized that she would have all the pots and pans washed by the time dinner was ready. It's easy to see why when she was married she wasn't even sure how to boil water. Lucky for her, my grandfather was a meat and potatoes kind of man, which didn't require lots of recipes. However, my mom did remember her having rhubarb in the garden and making this upside down cake. (I was never able to meet my maternal grandmother, so stories like these are even more fascinating to me!)

Rhubarb Cake

5 cups diced rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 pgk. strawberry jello

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cake mix (white or yellow) prepared as directed

Layer diced rhubarb and sugar mix on the bottom of 16x9 pan. Add marshmallows evenly. Pour cake mix over and bake at 350 for 50 minutes to one hour. (I like to serve with a dollop of whip creme.)

Sitting Up

My little Noah can now sit up on his own. He loves being able to see everything going on around him. He also loves this little Ninja Turtle toy in the pictures. Funny.

He also is not sleeping - yes, I really am posting this at 3am. He and Gage have some strange allergic reaction to something this weekend and have hives all over their little selves. Gage's has gone away with Benadryl, but little Noah is having a tougher time. He doesn't seem that bothered by it during the day, but man, he sure seems uncomfortable and unable to sleep at night.

Today I was reflecting on a blog I read this past week. It was from the blog of Lisa Bearnson, the editor of Creative Keepsakes, a scrapbook magazine I love. The other day she wrote about her youngest daughter, who I think is 5, and watching Sesame Street for the first time. YES, I said, 5 yeas old and watching Sesame Street for the FIRST TIME. I wish I could be a mom like that.

But I'm not...
That being said – I know I shouldn't’t be proud – but today for the first time Noah paid attention and watched a Baby Mozart DVD. He watched for about 20 minutes, and I have to admit this was one of the nicest 20 minutes I had today (beside nap time). I was able to cook dinner AND take the trash out.

Other blogs I like to check out from time to time are:
Scrapabiliy
Scrapbooks Etc
Ali Edwards

What are some other blogs you like to read? Besides those of the family/friends that you know?

Rite of Passage

We attended Wade’s Rite of Passage Ceremony tonight at DMU. Wade is not one to like these types of things, but he is required to go, so we went. It was a nice program. If you don't know, this is a ceremony that they have to recognize the class as they pass from academic work to clinical work. Wade has put in a lot of hard hours in the past two years and I am very proud of the work that he does.

Since their class is small they let the students sit with their families until their names are called. Then the student goes to the front of the lecture hall and is presented with a pin. They then all read a student oath together after they have all received their pins.

After the ceremony they took a class picture in front of the DNA artwork in the commons area at DMU. I was only able to get a picture from below, but I have a friend who took a couple pictures from the balcony above. (Don't waste time looking for Wade - he is in the back.)

Simply Prim

My dear friend Kim lived beside me when we lived at the U of U student housing. She is the mommy to two great girls and is such a fun girl. She is so talented in everything that she does. We applied to Podiatry school together and her hubby is a second year pod student at Barry, so I have hope that maybe some day we will live close again so we can craft together. She has started a new website, it is awesome. Check it out if you have time.

http://simplyprimcreations.blogspot.com/

Things

1. I finished The Work and the Glory, Volume 7. I know only have two more books in the series to finish. I can't wait.
2. I went to the library without Gage on Tuesday. It was nice. I found two new books about scrapbooking that I am loving looking through.
3. I got my new Creative Keepsakes and the new Simple Scrapbooks magazines. I now have a lot of scrapbook reading to do.
4. We got family pictures taken today, we haven't had any taken since July of 2004. I think it was about time we got a new one.
5. Wade semester has really calmed down and he comes home around 2 every day. It is soo great.
6. There was a sale at The Children's Place and I got MORE matching shirts for the boys. See previous post for my opinion on matching. I can't resist a cute shirt and a sale though.
7. I wish I could say I get more done since I don't have a computer now, but I can't. I just spend more time reading magazines or watching tv.
8. At this moment Wade is cooking dinner and cutting an onion. Gage keeps telling us that it is hurting his nose and tells Wade to stop cutting them.
9. Snow in April in Iowa is just not funny. My tulips were blooming in front of our house and now they have died. Gage told me the other day that Jesus was going to come down from Heaven and fix my dead flowers. I suppose this reasoning must come from Easter? I had to explain that yes, Christ would come to earth again, but no, I didn't think that my flowers would come back to life. At least not this spring.
10. I took Noah in to the Dr. today because I thought he might have an ear infection (excess fussiness) and found out that no, he doesn't have an ear infection (so I don't' have to feel guilty when he cries) but he weighed in at 17 pounds. Not to spark any debates again, but what a porker :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We have a date to go to Wade's Rite of Passage Ceremony. I'll have pictures to post when I get a computer!

Stay Tuned

My computer is now fried. We are in the process of buying a new one, so I must have really needed to learn about controling my "computer time." How will I ever wait until Wade gets home with his computer! How did I ever function before a computer?

Theory

If there is a theory that California is going to fall into the ocean at some point in time, I think there should be a theory that Iowa is going to blow away with the wind. It's only appropriate.

You can call me a dork if you want to...

But I bought the boys matching shirts anyway. Now let me defend myself.

I didn't ever imagine myself buying matching clothes. Not even when I found out I would have having another boy. There is nothing wrong with wanting them to match, I just didn't think I would do that kind of thing.

But then I couldn't find Easter shirts that went well together so I just bought them the same one. Then Target had this great sale where you could get 2 shirts for $6. (I totally stocked up.) I just couldn't resist.

So the matching has begun. I never said anyone had to like it, but I think they are pretty darn handsome.

5 months

Noah is 5 months old today. I was getting Noah all decked out for his picture when I had the thought to go see what Gage was wearing for his 5 month. Here is the outcome. Can you tell who is who? I think this one is pretty easy.