It was Mrs T in the Pantry with a Sack of Potatoes

So...

I confiscated the red nail polish from 

Miss Vee & stashed it on the 

top shelf in the pantry...

you know, 

so it wouldn't get 

spilled on the carpet...

Good Catch Mom.

Yes, it would have been
had I not accidentally knocked
the red nail polish off 
said top shelf
and onto the tile
that Very Same Afternoon.

By the way,

nail polish remover = 
good on tile, 
bad on paint, 
horrible on the brain cells.

as IF i had any left...

Epic Fail + morning addition

Some days I question my sanity, ok MOST days I question my sanity... however every once in awhile there is a day that must be classified as
EPIC FAIL
...............
Sure I'll make 40 amazingly beautiful AND delicious cookies for our Young Womens meeting tonight (from a recipe I have never tried, but looks & tastes delicious in my mind)
Of course I'll make a "you are beautiful" sign to hang at the meeting (which I had planned on sewing {yes, out of fabric} but ended up being scrapbook paper on poster board...bleh)
and it's a early release day for school?
Well why wouldn't we invite
half the neighborhood over...
when the house is
unreasonably (and atypically) clean?
...............
So here I am
baking cookies, tweaking recipe, baking more cookies, tweaking recipe again, baking cookies, telling kids to get their paws off the cookies,
borrowing cream cheese from
Karen & Kristin, (seriously, thanks!)
breaking out in a cold sweat, tweaking recipe...
BREAKING
MY
BOSCH
(actually, just the beaters, but it still hurt)
...............
crying & cussing
(on the inside)

the cookies were finally made...
I thought,
"Hey! It's going to be ok."

until I took a stroll around my house and found
THIS
...............

And
THIS
...............

And actually, something like
THAT
in every room of my house

EPIC FAIL
by the way, Brooke, you're a gem and I heart you
...............
And, oh, did I mention that I rushed the cookies & sign over to the church at 8:05 with my 3 youngest, barefoot, half-naked, not-yet-fed children in tow (husband working late) for a meeting that started at 7:00 that I was supposed to be attending?
...........

**Morning After Addition... i woke up this morning with a realization
In my weary, dreary, beaten-down state last light, I failed to acknowledge the fact that the children (and me... there MAY have been some mid-cookie disaster dancing to some very catchy tunes) had a glorious day.
And... for the record, cleaning up the aftermath was nothing short of therapeutic. There's just something about picking up, sorting, distributing & re-organizing that gives me oooohhhhhhm.

This Little Piggie

Would You Believe Me If I Told You
We Had
Swine Flu?
Well, technically not WE...
just McKay (*and Jon)
and
Would You Believe Me If I Told You He Happened To Be Stricken With A Severe Case Of The Swine Flu On The SECOND DAY Of His Week-Long Church Camp?
honestly.
the humanity...
so I loaded up the troops on a
rescue mission
3 hours
to Flagstaff
This is the scene that greeted us when we arrived home,
thanks to Sam & his mom.
Seriously, THANKS!
(even got a brief smile)

His fever was so high,
his eyeballs were RED.

So we went into QUARANTINE mode,
making sure he had no contact
with the littles.
McKay spent the next 5 days
in my bedroom.
Slowly but surely he got better.
He even had a few visitors
to cheer him up!
(and bring him candy)
Thanks ladies.
you rock!!!

And what would we have done
without our
Swine Flu Survival Kit?
(from the creative genius)
Thank You!
or the meals that came at just the right time.
my family Thanks You.

We are happy that our
"epidemic"
is over & happier still that it
did not pass on to
family or friends.
A huge
thank you
to our awesome friends for their
acts of kindness & support.

*side note: We did conclude that McKay
contracted the Swine Flu from none other than...
JON
(who so kindly brought it home with him
from EFY in Provo).
Thankfully, his case was very mild.

Life With Tony

I'm in the kitchen doing dishes
Tony & Val are in the family room talking, playing, giggling.
Not really paying attention...
doing dishes.
Chitter Chatter.
I really love their chitter chatter.
Favorite Background Noise.
until I hear this...
"I. Cut. Your. Hair."
Wha....?
WHAT?!?!

Tony thought it might be a good idea
to give Valerie a
"little trim".
Well, cut off her entire ponytail.
Luckily I caught him before I had to write another post entitled,
"Goodbye Goldilocks"

The scissors are now confiscated.
My "confiscated" pile is growing alarmingly large.
I'm gonna need a storage unit.

We Interrupt This Program

For a short injury time-out...
and while we're at it,
let's play a little game
WHO'S (bloody, gashed) LEG IS IT ?

'
'
'
'
'
v

and the winner is....
McKay !!!

and let this be a lesson to you... never try & balance on a razor-sharp, non-stable object to try & win the affection of the lady folk.

unless you live by the old mantra
"Chicks Dig Scars"

Why I've Been Grumpy

Because I live with a two-legged,
blue-eyed wrecking ball...

and his sassy sidekicks

so you think they look innocent, eh?
see for yourself

Ok, so maybe this is only PART of the reason,
but still...
AND if you don't think I've been grumpy,
then Never Mind.

But Mama...

I didn't MEAN to pull out a HANDFUL of Valerie's hair...

my hand slipped.

Farewell Friend

When Mike & I were first married (almost 18 years ago), we got this fantastic West Bend slow cooker. It has been with us through thick & thin. It has cooked us (and others) the most delectable meals, despite the chefs' shortcomings. It has been tried and true, my "go to" pot. So, you can imagine my dismay when...

It happened in the blink of an eye, as I was lifting the lid to check on our highly anticipated BBQ beef. And that was it. The end of my trusty crock. sigh.