Christmas Memories

Evelyn knew Santa visited long before Christmas came. She saw his bags in Mommy's closet. She knew she wasn't allowed to touch the wrapped gifts, or Santa (Heigh-Ho-Ho) would take them back. So you can imagine her consternation when on Christmas morning she found the bags were missing!

She signed "Where" and asked repetitively "Ere dey go??" So we brought her into the front room where the tree was all lit up and this was her reaction:

After breakfast it's traditional for my family to dance to Mannheim Steamroller's Joy to the World. My mother used to wake us up on Christmas morning to this particular song blasting out the windows. I think anytime members of my family (Or my mom's immediate neighbors) hear this song, it's instantly Christmas morning. Here's Evelyn and Michael dancing:

Evelyn was at the perfect stage for present opening. She was young enough to still be thrilled with only the boxes and wrappings, but old enough to appreciate the real toys too.

We got Evelyn a "Heigh-Ho" and she immediately started singing the song when she saw it.

Then she very properly introduced Grumpy to her new baby-doll. "Heigh-ho? Baby. Baby? Heigh-ho!"

Over all, it was a perfect Christmas. Though Evelyn didn't quite get it all--when she went in Mommy's closet later in the afternoon, she still asked "Ere dey go?"

Christmas Challenge

Growing up, my mom always strove (Strived?? Striven??? oh well) to give us a Christ-centered Christmas. We would do Sub-For-Santa's, caroling at rest homes...anything to get us more service minded and thinking about the real meaning of Christmas. One tradition that lived through every year was our scripture memorization. Mom would collect 25 scriptures throughout the standard works and write them on little 3x5 cards. Then, every day we would memorize a scripture to count down to Christmas Day. She would entice us by giving us exciting rewards like a mint M&M for memorizing the scripture of the day! Believe it or not, that mint M&M was a real motivation! My siblings and I would strive to be the very first to receive our prize of honor. I'm sad to say that usually meant parroting the scripture back and not really memorizing it. I probably memorized the same scriptures year after year and they were only semi-familiar.
When my older brothers and sisters moved out and I become sort of an only child, scripture memorizing lost it's appeal for me at home. So I brought the scripture cards and the bags of candy to school and challenged my friends! After all, it was tradition and I couldn't give it up. In college I posted scriptures on the white board on my dorm room. I don't think anyone but me looked them up, not to mention memorized them, but it was still there.
Then I married, and believe it or not, a mint M&M didn't sound too appealing, and alas! Days started to slip by when I didn't even look at the scripture cards! I started using the same scripture cards year after year, and only the short ones were getting memorized...over and over and over again. So this year, I decided my little family needed to do something else to get Christ more into Christmas...at least until Evelyn can memorize scriptures and get excited over mint M&Ms.
So I thought of a new challenge. I know December is halfway over, but there's still two weeks! Here it is: are you ready?

Write a Carol or a poem to your King!

It has to be original text, but you can set it to existing music, or simply create a poem expressing your feelings about the Savior's Birth or Ministry.
I'd write mine here, but it's not quite finished....
Anyway good luck! And let me know if you're up to the challenge!

Evelyn's Graduation

The cause:

Evelyn has never climbed out of her crib before. Unless of course you count the time in that short little hotel crib when Michael turned on the shower and the sound scared her so badly, she did a back flip over the edge of the crib. But that doesn't really count. Yesterday before her nap was the very first time. I had no idea she had climbed out, so she ended up sleeping on her blanket on the floor next to her crib. I discovered her when she started jabbering and I went in to take her out of her crib. She was so proud of herself that she asked me over and over again to put her in her crib so she could show me again how she did it.

The effect:

She was so excited to go to bed last night. We didn't hear a peep from her. I went in to check on her to make sure she wasn't getting into any trouble, but she was lying in her bed with a big smile! She knew she was a big girl!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

I apologize for the blurriness of this picture...Evelyn was running around doing somersaults and all sorts of cute 0f stuff, but I couldn't get her to hold still.

My Rant of the Day

Today I was driving home from the grocery store and I pulled up behind a big dump truck filled to overflowing with rocks. On the back of the truck was displayed a large caution sign that read: "CAUTION! Stay 200 ft back. Not responsible for broken windshields." I stared at this sign in wonder. How can a person post a sign on their truck and assume that passes off the responsibility for them to purchase a cover for their truck? You hear of stories all the time where a rock falls off a truck and ends up crashing through some one's window and killing the driver. And I have personally experienced trying to dodge rocks the size of beach balls bouncing along the freeways. Posting a sign like that is like putting up a sign that says: "I'm an underage driver with no road experience, but I'm not responsible for any negligent driving. Just stay two blocks away from my vehicle."
Okay, maybe that's a little extreme. It just drives me nuts that our society is quickly coming to the conclusion that the written word can get them out of any legal difficulties. What happened to good old integrity? But it was probably begun by all those really dumb law-suits by people with no common sense that force iron manufacturers to exclaim: "Don't iron clothes while wearing them!" Or ceiling fans that warn you not to throw your baby into the ceiling fan. Or another favorite: a can of peanuts that has a nut allergy warning!?!?! As entertaining as reading these things can be, it doesn't bode very well for the intelligence of out culture.
I can just picture the Day of Judgement when someone says: "HEY! I don't have to suffer for all the stupid and wrong things I did my whole life! I signed a waiver!!!"

Gratitude

10 Things I'm Thankful For

1-Nuts; I love Almonds, Pecans, Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Walnuts, Sunflower seeds...etc. I probably wouldn't have survived the first week of November if it hadn't been for nuts. Besides, you can't make Chocolate Pecan Pie without pecans!

2-New Carpet that's soft on my poor feet. Plus it's fun to blow carpet fuzz around with Evelyn.

3-New Dishwasher that has a steam clean feature. Take THAT hard water!

4-Evelyn is starting to interact with people at church. She steals their kids' toys, and brings them back to me--but she doesn't run down the isle! AND she went to nursery yesterday!!!

5-Lots of Christmas decorations! And Christmas music! And staring at the glowing Christmas tree while snuggling with that certain someone.

6-Those sweet moments of motherhood, like when Evelyn just wants to snuggle with mommy, or when she wants her mommy to eat another helping of cake, or when she pleads: "Momma, temple, GO!! Please, Please, Please!!!"

7-"The Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and the movie "Scrooge" with Albert Finney. They always make me happy. But also for the opportunity to go on a date with Michael to Jim Carrey's new "Christmas Carol."

8- Watching snowfall while holding hands, Running in the snow, Rolling in snow, and Sculpting George Washington praying at Valley Forge in snow. Then drinking Stephan's Hot Chocolate (Hazelnut or Chocolate Mint are the best! --Though the peanut butter cup also has a special place in my heart.)

9-Coming home from choir or shopping or visiting teaching and finding my house clean and fresh Mike's Best in the World Cookies cooling on the rack. BEST HUSBAND EVER!

10-Conference Edition of the Ensign. Buy it; read it; love it; cry lots.

I thought I'd write a little Thanksgiving entry. I really could have gone on forever, especially since Michael and I have been keeping a blessings basket through the month. But I figured you wouldn't want to hear over and over again how hot Michael is. :D

Hmmm...maybe I SHOULD screw that into the wall...

So I was lounging comfortably; enjoying my Christmas decorations when I heard a CRASH from Evelyn's bedroom where she had been playing. The said crash was followed by Evelyn's cry of distress. I ran into her room to discover that she had unbalanced her dresser by opening all the drawers and it had tipped over. Did I pick up my child and inspect her for wounds? Did I comfort her and tell her that the dresser was not out to get her? Yes. But only after I grabbed the camera. What a great mom!

Look at that sad face! By the way, she wasn't hurt. She was bemoaning the fact that her kitty was stuck in the drawers. I rescued Kitty and she went off to play happy as can be!

Exercise time!

Daddy was doing his exercises and since Evelyn is copying everything he does right now, she did her own exercises. I'm just sad I missed the original push ups she did. But these ones were cute too.

Daddy's home!

Michael got home from his ten day business trip in Atlanta! One down; who-knows-how-many to go! Since then, life has been great! We've decorated for Christmas, made cookies and officially wrote the obituary for my diet, and even church went well! No dead Evelyns!

Evelyn is especially happy her daddy is home. She once again refuses to have anything to do with me, and daddy gets to change all her diapers! YAY!

Has your BRAIN been with your HEAD all day?

Some things you just take for granted that your children already know. I guess if I think about it, I realize that babies right out of the womb don't know anything, but by the time they're almost two, you think they pick up on some of those common sense sort of things.
For instance, today I was cleaning the toilets (a miracle, I know) and Evelyn was watching me fascinated. Then, out of nowhere, she leaned down and licked the toilet bowl! GROSS!!!! I never before thought to caution my child: "Evelyn, if you ever want to go anywhere in life, don't lick the toilet."

Static and bad hair days!

We got new carpet! It makes life so much fun! I love picking up my keys and getting zapped, or looking in the mirror and seeing my hair that I spent 30 minutes doing is looking like I just put my finger in an outlet. I had no idea of all the joys of new carpet! Evelyn and I have fun chasing each other around and shocking each other, and then I have to kiss all the places she got shocked and make them better. But I can never get her to kiss my "ouchies", she just laughs and shocks me again.

Evelyn has been especially susceptible to static-y hair. Observe:

Hurray for Static Electricity!

The Cleanse of Doom!

This week I am experimenting with my will-power. My sister's doctor said that autoimmune diseases (such as arthritis and allergies and diabetes and so forth) are spurred by the digestive system and a low amount of the good bacterias like probiotics. He told her about this way to cleanse your digestive system and hit the re-set button.
Day 1-2 you eat only raw fruits, veggies, and nuts.
Day 3-5 you eat a nauseating concoction of squeezed lemons, real maple syrup and cayenne pepper. That's it. Just this suicidal lemonade.
Day 6-7 just when you're ready to swear off all healthy foods and get on a pure chocolate cake diet, you get more fruits and veggies and nuts. YAY!
I'm on the part of the nasty lemonade. I think I'd rather be anorexic. Why the junk would you want to feel like you're starving to death and then pour burning, foul acid down your throat for nutrition? Anyway, I'm questioning whether this whole thing is worth it.
The upside is even though it may not cure me of my arthritis or allergies, I may actually see my pre-pregnancy weight again. And I'm appreciating chocolate more. You never do appreciate what you have until you lose it. :)That's why I picked November to do it. It reminds me of all my November experiences growing up. My mother always had way too much fun thinking of horrible ways to teach us to be truly "grateful." We would give up white bread, red meats, sugar, our Christmas presents...all with the hope of making good citizens of us or something like that. I think all I ever really learned was how to eat what I wanted when Mom wasn't around. And to skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas. Now THERE's a holiday that teaches gratitude. :D

Reflections

As many of you know, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. It's been a...difficult adjustment to say the least. But I have had some really amazing experiences with it as well. Last night I was reading in the scriptures and I came across a couple chapters that talk of how the Lord chasteneth his people because he loves them. This made me stop and reflect on all the trials I have had and what I have learned from them. It was easy to think of things I've learned from trials that are past and over, no matter how difficult they were at the time. But it was more difficult to see what I've learned and how I've grown with this arthritis. Maybe I haven't been humble enough.
The miracle came after I pondered a while and things started coming to my mind. I was amazed at the ways I have been blessed and the things I've experienced and learned. I have discovered that my life is as good as it is BECAUSE of the Arthritis. For instance: I am a better mother than I would have been without the arthritis. Sure it makes things difficult, but I have to prioritize what I can do because I can only do so much, so I have to make sure the important things get done first. It has strengthened my marriage. I appreciate Michael so much more for what he does for me, that I can't do for myself. I also appreciate the things I CAN do, because I've experienced losing the ability to do them: simple things like buttoning buttons, opening cans, wearing shoes, and lifting Evelyn out of her crib. Most importantly, I have learned of God's love for me. I know He is there for me and has strengthened me countless times.
I never would have thought of bad health as a blessing before. It reminds me of Liberty Jail and how they call it the "Temple Prison." We really do learn the most from our hardest trials. It is our price to get acquainted with God, and if you think about it that way, it's so much easier to accept His will.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me during my hard times and encouraged me when I have been down. It's been hard learning to accept being on the receiving end of service, but I can't express how much your service has been appreciated.

Evelyn Monkey

Evelyn's monkey faces! We wanted to make her a little kitten, but even all the baby-sized kitty costumes were "sexy." What's with that?!

Happy Halloween Everyone! I would write some creative festive mementos, but I think all my creativity has been sapped by the Halloween goodies. Bleh.

Thanksgiving Point

This week has been a blast, thanks to Michael getting laid off. Or maybe I should say thanks to him getting a new job so fast. Anyway, regardless Michael has been home all week with no reason to be stressed. So we decided to make a few memories. Today we went to Thanksgiving Point. We live within 15 minutes of it and decided it was silly not to take advantage of going while we live so close.

Evelyn was adorable making all the sound effects of the animals. She knew what all the animals said, except for maybe a llama--if you can figure out what to teach a kid about what a llama says, you let me know. She also insisted it was a "Mama" instead of a "llama." I personally don't see the resemblance.
She loved especially the horses, and riding the ponies. She was thrilled!

Here are some other pictures of our day:

I love the quaint way this sign was written!





The only problem with having Michael home all the time is that he's so fun, Evelyn doesn't like Mommy anymore. He plays with her, picks her up, throws her, gets dragged around by her....come to think of it, maybe this is not such a bad set-up after all!

Beautiful, Wonderful Fall!

I love the Fall! It is that wonderful time of the year when the leaves change colors, the air turns brisk, and Christmas songs invariably get stuck in your head.
This year had been extra fun because Evelyn is old enough to notice and appreciate the change. We've had a great time introducing her to all the new fun fall experiences.


This is the little Tabby-cat that lives by us. Evelyn chases it screeching "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" We're surprised the cat keeps coming back for more. Evelyn also loves to give the kitty a drink.

We made fall shaped sugar cookies!
This is our "Blessings Basket." In it we place papers with the things we are most grateful for. It's a great way to get ready for Thanksgiving.

Dear Hannah,

I regret to inform you that Evelyn has taken an extreme liking to your version of "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." She demands I play the song over and over again, and whenever I stop playing it, she wanders around the house singing: "Happy, Happy, Happy!" (Which is her way of saying "Hippopotamus.") Just this morning, Evelyn was begging for yet another encore, and Daddy told her,"Sorry, Evelyn, no more Hippo's. Mommy and Daddy have a low-hippo tolerance." One must question your reasons for making that particular recording so darn cute and fun.
Respectfully Yours,
Pamela Adams

Gardner Village

Evelyn with her cousin Rachel.

Evelyn loves all things watery. But not as much as her cousin Seby loves sprinkler systems. He ran around the whole day unearthing all the sprinklers in the corners of the landscaping.

This is Evelyn and Ki. I love the dreamy look in Evelyn's eyes.

Sad Story

Once upon a time there was a frumpy little mom who longed to be beautiful. So she decided to get her hair professionally cut. The haircut looked great when the hair-stylist did it, and the not-so-frumpy looking mom went home happy. But the next morning the poor woman realized she had no idea how to do it herself! The result of her effort was pitiful.
This story is a sad but true one. If anyone has any brilliant ideas on how to make bangs behave, please enlighten me. I think the magic of a roundbrush and a straightener has run out.
(Notice I didn't include any pictures. :D)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I decided that in order to have a respectable housewife's blog, I needed to add a recipe. So here's one of my little family's recent favorites.
It's kind of similar to Pier 49's Nob Hill. ) I was going to post this a while ago, but my tummy couldn't wait long enough to take the picture of the beautiful result!)

1 pizza dough crust (you can use Sourdough if you want it more similar to Pier 49, but we use Wheat--I figure the pizza needs some semblance of healthiness.)

You can put a thin coat of pizza sauce on the base of the pizza if you want more tomatoey flavor.

Garlic Alfredo Sauce:
Heat up 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cube butter in a sauce pan.
Add Three to Four Fresh Garlic Cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TB Flour
Melt in 1/2 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Top with:
3/4 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
1 cooked and diced chicken breast lightly coated with the Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 -18 minutes

Sprinkle diced tomatoes and green onions on top. You can also add olives if your little girl isn't allergic.

Enjoy, but don't make yourself sick eating too much!

My New 'Do

Michael got a new haircut. I wanted a new haircut too! I considered cutting it really short, but decided that could wait until the weather warms up again.
I think I look like my sister Susan--not a bad deal at all, I would say!

Little Girls try to grow up too quickly!

Here's my proof:

Evelyn knows just where bouncy balls go!

"Heigh Ho's"

Evelyn loves "Heigh Ho's." In case you haven't ever heard of them, most people call them "Dwarfs." In this family there are nine recognized dwarfs instead of the typical seven: Doc, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Rumpelstiltskin, and Santa Claus. Actually, I think that anyone with a belly and a long beard would qualify. I'm just waiting for the day when she sees a motorcyclist and joyfully cries: "Heigh ho!!!" and starts whistling.

What a Sweet little Girl!

Evelyn's been very expressive lately. I just hope she isn't mirroring any of my expressions. I would like to blame her lack of politeness on being almost two...But I might make that face when I have to sweep the floor.

Grown up Evelyn

Evelyn found Daddy's deoderant. We wondered what she would end up doing with it and she surprised us by knowing exactly what to do with it!

By the way, who is that child's mother?! And why didn't she brush her hair?!

Michael's haircut

Ever since Michael got out of the military in March, I've been able (Miraculously, I might add) to get him to grow out his hair a little. He's always had the standard military haircut "High and tight." The other day Michael and his co-workers were talking about how when they were bachelors (*GASP*) they were free to be as "Cool" as they wanted but then they got married and their wives get to pick their style and color of clothing. Michael pointed at his hair and teased: "Style and Color!"

When I heard this story, I, in a fit a pure unrighteous indignation cut all of Michael's hair off, with him protesting the whole time. But I stubbornly insisted that if he wanted short hair then DANGIT, he was getting short hair--like it or not! Poor Michael! Here are the before and after pictures.

You are free to vote which you like better ...your comments will be respected and anonymous. :D

Sins of the Parents

Every year when I was growing up, my dad would take me out to dinner for a birthday present. It was a special time which I loved. You see, having grown up at the bottom of a family of nine children, we rarely had the resources to go out to eat. But not only would my dad take me out, he would take me to a sit-down restaurant, not just a fast food. It was a momentous occasion to look forward to. I always carefully planned where we would go out to eat, and, being a growing girl who loved food and lots of it, I usually decided on an all-you-can-eat place like Golden Corral or Sizzler.
As much as I cherished this one-on-one time with my dad, there was one small part of the experience I didn't particularly relish. I would go out and come back with my plate heaping full of all my favorite delights and he'd take one look at my plate and say: "Why are you eating all the cheapest things?! This is an all-you-can-eat restaurant and you are going to fill up on rolls, mashed potatoes, corn and cookies?!" Then an argument would ensue. "Dad, I LIKE these foods!" "But you should fill up on the more expensive things like meat!" "But I don't like any of the meat!" "Well, how are we going to get our money's worth when you are filling up on fluffy rolls!?" "Why don't YOU eat our money's worth, dad?" So he would try, and I'd feel bad, so I'd try to make up for my cheap meal by putting lots of sunflower seeds on my salad. Sunflower seeds are expensive, right?
Anyway, through the years, I learned more and more how to eat my "Money's worth." But sadly now I don't enjoy going to all-you-can-eat restaurants anymore, because even though I have married and left my parents, whenever I'm in those joints, I can feel this little daddy-devil sitting on my shoulder yanking on my ear lobe and shouting: "HAVE ANOTHER HELPING OF SHRIMP, PAM!" And I obey, even though I don't even like shrimp that much.
Today, for instance, My mother-in-law and I went out to lunch to Pier 49 and ordered the all-you-can-eat meal. I wasn't too worried because it was Pier 49 and I love Pier 49. But as soon as my stomach began to feel like it was ready to quit, that little daddy devil showed up and said: "You only ate four pieces of pizza! For that price you could have ordered a whole pizza and saved leftovers for lunch!" So reluctantly I went back for more. I ended up eating six very large pieces of sourdough pizza smothered in toppings and fattiness. So my daddy may rest assured that he instilled in his daughter the trait of eating her money's worth. But really all he gave me was a legacy of heartburn.

Musicsick (I mean like that homesick)

I was a music major once upon a time. I am going CRAZY right now because I haven't sung in a while. It's even September and my ward hasn't started up choir practices for the Christmas program! Don't they know that you're SUPPOSED to sing Christmas songs in September?!
Anyway, the following links are songs I sang from the concert "Prelude to Glory" written by Russell Wilson.
http://www.preludepress.com/Audio/10womanch.MP3
http://www.preludepress.com/Audio/08johnnych.MP3
http://www.preludepress.com/Audio/13bringch.MP3
I like the way I said "Butter" in Johnny's gone for a soldier. It made me feel like Barbara Streisand. I dare you to say it better. :D

It's Finished!!!

I finally finished the quilting project I've been working on for 2 years! Just in time for Fall, too!

And yes: I am comfortable enough with myself to admit that I cleaned off and decorated the table with the sole purpose of taking this picture. (Hey, this blog has added benefits of making me clean my house!)

World's Meanest Mom

Poor, poor Evelyn. On Saturday I picked up her last intact bottle and found the nipple had a huge hole bitten into it. So Evelyn is getting weaned from the bottle. It really hasn't been such a horrible experience as I thought it would be. You see, I tried to wean Evelyn from her bottle once before with disastrous consequences. Evelyn screamed for her bottle the whole day-and when I say scream, I mean it, for Evelyn has inherited my...Lungs.

Anyway, I really didn't want to go through that again. So I decided to give in a little to the devil on my shoulder and I put buttermilk in her bottle. She can have her bottle whenever she wants it. But when she tastes what's inside, she gives it the world-famous snub. It's working like a charm.

Above is Evelyn glaring at her traitorous bottle.