Bath Time for Mommy

This evening I decided to take a bath. Because I was cold. And because I just got a hair cut and I had itchy little hairs itching all over my chest back and neck. The kids were so gracious to come in and scrub my belly and head with toothbrushes. Jake pointed to a pair of body parts that I own and said either "pee pee" or "baby" and then tried to pinch one of them off ( this is his regular ritual when I bathe...that and trying to get in the tub with me...sometimes he succeeds.). This is why I lock the door most of the time when I use any part of the bathroom facility of our house and Nate is here to entertain our kids.

brrrrrrrr

So, I've decided that I don't want to live in a cold place.
I've lived in Germany where it rained ice and I learned how to drive...on ice.
Then I was off to college in Rexburg Idaho. In Rexburg the moisture in your nose freezes to your nose hairs. When you come inside it all melts and your nose runs.
Then I finished my BA in Flagstaff AZ. It snows there too and I would go running in my shorts. Yes. Shorts- and a beanie.
Graduation...and then back to Germany. There I continued to run in sorts in the snow and one of my student's parents said "look at that idiot." Hmmm.
I came back to AZ in the winter and worked for Anasazi Foundation. It snows in the higher elevation - even where cactus grows. I would camp amongst the snow capped cacti and try to start fires. It was not so fun- but I did it and even came back week after week...even when it snowed in April.
I could totally handle the cold.
Almost 8 years ago I moved the valley full time and have not lived in a cold place for a while.
Today we are having a cold day. The high will only be 60ish.
I ran in my running capri's rather than shorts.(I did take my long sleeve off after a few miles).
When I actually get dressed I'll have to probably wear a long sleeve and possibly a fleece. I'm debating whether or not flip flops...because in my opinion it is FREEZIN BEEZIN today.
And I don't like the cold.
remember this and this.

sugar cookies‏

From:	heidi garner (heidileagarner@hotmail.com)
Sent:	Tue 1/27/09 3:53 PM
To:	nate_garner@

Hey Nate,
The kids and I are going to make sugar cookies tonight. We will decorate some and then decorate a ton on the 11th (i think that is the Wed before Maesyn's valentines day party. I assume they are having a party.)
We are going to wal mart to pick up a few thing and then head out to my moms to get my cookie sheets and some powdered sugar. can you believe i am on my last bag? At Easter i'll need to stock up on powdered sugar and flour. The dough needs to rest for 2 hours, so this will be a good activity while it rests.

This morning Jake and I played at the park and when Maes got back from school we all went to the library-where jake made a huge poop and it was so stinky. We checked out tons of David Shannon books, 3 Junie B. Jones books and then just other ones that the kids grabbed off the shelves. I also scheduled the windshield to be fixed and it is now done! I also got caught up on the laundry. Mostly. It is on the couch- but it is folded and the hang ups need to be hung. Although I have not been perfect at getting things folded right away- it has yet to get out of hand on the couch like it did before. The month is almost over so I will say it has been a success. I made a resolution not to let it get out of hand. Next I will resolve to have all laundry put away before going to bed. We will see if I can do that perfect by March. Soon it will be habit like making the beds.

I'm glad I got up early this morning. It really helped to start the day. I am tired now, but I'm glad I could get some of my own stuff done (running) when it was not cutting into the kids time. And Jake could play at the park. It makes it better for him - he just has to always watch Maes go to dance, and go to school. He needs some fun too.
I don't know if I told you, but I also registered Maes for Kindergarten next year. We will have some stuff in May to go to regarding that.

Ok, i've gotta get out of here if i'm going to have enough energy to chase Jake around wal mart!!!

What do you want for dinner?

Oh, notice that this is typed a bit better than normal? I realized that a lot of my e-mails to you are just telling you what I do all day- it would be great to put in our blog and funny to look back on. Especially because I am so dang proud of myself when I get things done!!!.

Love ya, and I'm happy that you will be home earlier tonight .
Love ya
Heidi

Mamma's Boy

This man is in love with his mom.

Jake is a big time lover. Sometimes he just wants to give loves and kisses...nose kisses, lip kisses and kisses on the cheeks. Other times I will ask for a kiss and he will say "ew yuky". However, if he thinks that he will get something (say popcorn at target) he will smother me with love. Here are some photos of Jake giving me some unconditional Sunday Morning Loves.
He also loves to rub his face and lips on my chin mole. Strange.

Green Smoothies

Apparently if you eat one raw meal a day you will have a lot more energy. "Raw" meaning un cooked fruits and veggies- and no processed foods- IE no processed salad dressings-no juices from concentrate or pasteurized fruit juices. At least that is my understanding. A full raw diet is supposed to be very good for you. It boosts your immune system and cleanses your body. It gives you energy and helps you loose weight. I am all about the energy and boosted immune system. I'm also about getting my kids to get enough fruits and veggies. I am not that disciplined and too lazy to figure out the correct food combos to ensure maximum nutrition and full proteins...so for now I'll try one raw meal a day and I'm trying to get in one green smoothie a day. I'm not so good at it. So far we have done green smoothies several times a week...but I love my carbs, so it is hard to do one raw meal a day.
Jake loves his green smoothies and often has a green mustache.


here is what Maesyn thinks of green smoothies...
My green smoothies are just fruit smoothies with baby spinach in them. When it is on sale I buy tons of bags and then put them in the freezer. A simple combo is fresh oranges and spinach...but it is green. Maes will eat them if i have berries in them- black berries and raspberries make them dark purple. Spinach is a super food. If I have left over smoothie I will make pop cycles out of them.

growing up, having babies, and orange chicken.

Although Nate and I protest, Maesyn is growing up. Sometimes I just watch her carrying on or interacting with others and I can see that she is becoming this independent kid..a big kid. And she totally hangs with the 6 and 9 year old girls that I have in my clay class.
When holding (thankfully she sometimes likes to be held and requests snuggles!) her the other day I asked her why she had to grow up. She said she needed to grow up so she could get married and have a baby. She is really into getting married and having babies. She does not know who she wants to marry at this point (which is OK- she is only 4) but she does want to get married in the temple and have babies once she is married.
She also asked me a while back what I ate in the hospital when I had her. I could not really remember. The food in the hospital was not that great. She asked me to bring her orange chicken when she has a baby. (funny, because I did not care for any Chinese- or Asian food when I was pregnant with her). Orange Chicken is a current favorite. We will see in 20 or so years if the request still stands.

Bathroom Art

I hope Laura does not mind, but I wanted to share this cool piece. Silhouettes are very popular in decorating at the moment and this is a very classy piece, if you ask me. I cannot wait to hang it in my bathroom.

Throwing up and Barfing.

Warning.... may contain graphic material.

So, Maesyn and Jakie both had tummy aches last night and they both began throwing up... it seemed that there were points that as soon as one kid and their stinky mess was cleaned up the other would start.
At their current ages Maesyn and Jakie are very different at throwing up. Jakie will quietly throw up and just want to be held, even while throwing up. I have held his vomit in my hands to keep it from getting on the furniture or I have allowed him to throw up on my shoulder while he holds tight to me.(I have no idea why this does not gross me out). We then have to force him to rinse his mouth and then he will snuggle off to sleep (after we hose him off if needed).

Maes on the other hand is not so pleasant- as if barfing is pleasant. I think she is more like me, and does not like to be helped when she is uncomfortable. Although, if she needs assistance it is me that she calls on. She will do her business while yelling the whole time. And then insist on sleeping in her own room away from people. (I won't let her though. I have a fear of my children choking on their own vomit.)

I can honestly say that throw up is not a problem with me when it comes to parenting. At least my own kids. I remember having to clean up after my younger brother when I was a pre teen and dreading the day when I had to do this with my own kids.
I don't know how well Nate handles the pungent messes. However, last night I realized that in all of our barfing episodes that Nate has never had the opportunity to strip the soiled seat cushions off of our couches and prepare them for the wash. So I graciously gave him the chance. He did a pretty good job and also cleaned up the floors. Thank goodness we have wood floors- no carpet (in the barf zones). I did notice him dry heaving though- so I don't think i'll ask him to do it again.
All in all we are having a lazy dasie afternoon of movie watching, bread making and laundry doing. I don't think I get to get the hair cut I scheduled and Maesyn was OK with staying home from her beloved pre-school. I introduced her to JUNIE B JONES. And now she is ready for PBS kids on the computer.

Dropping in.

While we were up in Flagstaff we decided to drop by and see Sara Maier. Sarah went to school with Nate and she and I were at NAU at the same time-we recall seeing each other but did not really know each other. After all, Sara got married her sophomore year at the tender age of 19 and I waited until I was an aged spinster of 23 (I wanted Nate to marry me before I turned 24) to steal away Nate's Youth.
At any rate, Sara ran into Nate at their 10 year reunion and suggested getting together to play music. Sara and I shared our blogs with each other and a new friendship was forged. I probably know more about Sarah than Nate at this point (at least recent things)- as go the world of Mormon moms in the blogosphere.
Our Flagstaff destination was very last minutes but I did not want to go up there with out letter her know that we were in town. We played in the snow and then Sara had us over for a yummy dinner. The kids played like crazy. Jake learned some more tough boys things from her 3 sons and Maesyn fit right in. They had a blast.
After dinner the kids played and played and played some more and Nate and Sara sang some songs. Sara has the most beautiful voice. It made me wish that I could sing. We shared some of our favorite bands and I even requested Sara to lean a new song for me. I am so demanding!!! I cannot wait to get together with them again. I think a camping trip is in order.
And Sara and her family are totally invited to come to our house in the valley when ever they want so that we can return the hospitality. even if it is last minute.

Flagstaff Snow Trip

On Saturday we took the kids to Flagstaff to play in the snow. We wanted to make sure we could do it and Nate's school schedule has taken up a lot of Saturdays so we had to mark our calender to make sure we got up north before the snow melted. The kids had so much fun. I think that all they really wanted to do was eat the snow. We were playing in an area that had a lot of people traffic so I was hesitant. But we found a pretty "untouched" area and I dug down under the crust to some of the softer snow and let them much away. Nate said it tasted like poison and they could have eaten a little spray of deer pee. We will see if they survive. Even though I tried to limit them to the "cleaner" snow they just ate what ever snow they wanted to when ever they felt like it.

Stick em' up

Nate insisted that I take a picture of this tree that we saw up in Flagstaff. When he saw the pictures this afternoon he said "See, I told you that was a cool tree." I did not want to take a picture of it because I'm not that great at taking pictures of landscapes. But it was an interesting tree.

I told Nate that I would upload the picture and he could blog about it.
His reply: "No, I'm not going to blog about that tree. Like I care about that tree. I just thought it was cool. Like someone was saying "Stick 'em up". And to be honest. If I lived near that tree, atHalloween I'd put a Jack O Lantern up in it."

Food storage experiment

Two of the items that I have listed on our 3 month supply is dried apricots and dried cranberries.

Maes loves the cranberries, she also likes raisins. Jake won't do the cranberries and neither will really eat many apricots. But having fruits available are important to me.
I wanted to find a way to rotate them efficiently so I tried an apricot and cranberry cobbler with a cake mix topping. Although fresh is best I think that this turned out pretty good. I just let the dried fruit simmer in water and added a bit of sugar and cornstarch (to thicken up) after the fruit had returned to its "normal" size and shape.
Now, I'd love it if anybody has a good cobbler recipe that does not call for cake mix or bisquick. I love both but would like a tasty alternative without the processed boxed foods. r

Fridge Art By Maesyn

When Maesyn showed me an amazing drawing while I was in the bath this afternoon
(that's right, I did not get around to bathing until after lunch)
I asked her to hang it on the fridge with some magnets from the front door.

When I got out of the bath I saw this:
The drawing is of the condos that we stay in when we go to Mexico.
When ever she does work that she wants to give away or surprise someone with she will fold it over and over again- thus the creases.

The Start of a New Tradition?

On Tuesday Jake and I made bread together while Maesyn was at school.
I think that I might make a weekly habit of this.
He is always so sad that he has to see Maesyn go off to school or dance while he is forced to join me on my boring runs, or to chill while I shower and get ready for the day.
I think that this will be fun for us and ensure that we always have bread in the house for Cinnamon Toast.
The results were pretty tasty, but I could always use some advice if you have a great (simple) bread recipe.
I prefer to use whole wheat in at least half of it.

resolutions....please

so, while wasting time looking at blogs that belong to people i don't know (the ones I see on my friends and families blogs) I read a post about a families resolutions. They make goals and then they get rewarded. For example one boy will get $10 each month he goes with out candy.
So, as I looked at my sofa that is free of unfolded laundry I felt pretty proud that I have gone almost 2 whole weeks without letting it get out of hand (I had a load of whites that sat for a few days- but it was one basket). All in all I have folded most loads hot from the dryer...hot from the "re fluff". I totally want to keep this up and incentives would help. I cannot imagine getting paid by my husband for keeping goals, and far as rewards go... if I want something (with in reason) I usually can just go get it.. (ok, I'm not rich or spoiled.... the things I want are usually paper towells or lampshades). There are some high dollar items. A mini van....a house with a back yard and a garage...and a kiln, but we already have time frames for those items.
Does anybody have any suggestions for helping me keep my goals. I think once I get in the habit i'll be golden. (I used to not be a bed maker, but now I cannot stand to get half way through the morning without making it).
Other goals include: Meaningful morning scripture study....hmm...hmm. hmmm.. I cannot think of any other things right now. It is not that i'm perfect and have nothign to change, but those are 2 of the things that you can actually measure that I'm willing to work on.
So, fire away.
(i realize i don't have many readers, but one comment would be good)

Tea Pots

Don't you wish your kids were in my clay class?
Check out this site.

Call to all Artists and Crafters

I just e-mailed a letter to some of my friends requesting art. However, I realized that I don't have the e-mail addresses of all of my artsy fartsy friends and some of you might have some hidden talent that I do not know about. So I am extending this request to all of my friends and strangers out there in the blogospher that might look upon this post.

Here it is:

I have a request. I am a little stumped with bathroom decor beyond mirrors, shelves with bottles of pretty soaps and baskets. The one thing that I really like are toilet pictures, drawings and paintings. I have been doing toilet drawings and paintings for years and have given them as gifts on occasion. I'd like to have more than just my own art in my bathrooms now. Currently I have some watercolors of toilets in one bathroom and the other has a picture of me nude at the toilet (don't get excited ya'll...i was 18 months old) with toilet paper everywhere because I was toilet training. The picture is from 1980- so it is square cut with round edges. At any rate.. I would love to acquire some more toilet art... so I'd love to commission all of you- if you have time- to make me some toilet art. PLEASE. I will pay you back with my own prints that are in my Etsy shop- just tell me what you want. You can decide on what your work is worth and tell me the appropriate trade. Let me know if you have any interest. all types of 2d art will be greatly loved.

Oh, and the first one to post a comment saying that they are in gets to pick an additional card from my shop!!!

Old School

I believe this picture is from the summer of 1997- the summer I moved from Germany to nowhere.
Well I went back to Rexburg, Idaho to finish up school and my parents moved to Oklahoma.
So this picture is over 10 years old.
Yikes.
It is funny because I am back to my old hair cut and Nick Read has a beard again- only a much LARGER beard-at least according to their latest blog post. Kari Sowell is still super cute with white teeth and is a world traveling philanthropist and big time Lawyer.
Nick's wife Laura is a new blogging friend that I have never met in person, but I'm glad she is my new friend because when I first saw their blog I though
"I should totally be friends with her"
-so I am now- because I said so.

The Library

With the Holidays over I am trying to get back into some of my positive habits, like going to the Library.
Maesyn and I are dedicated to reading the BFG this week and will try a
Junie B Jones
book. Then we will decide if we want to go that way with a series, or back to
Ramona.
Although Jake can say Ramona, he likes shorter books, with pictures.
Our picks this week.
Robert Munch and Laura Numeroff books.
There are 52 weeks in the year, and I'd like to explore some new authors each week with Jakie and Maesyn .
Help me out.
What are your favorites?

Letters and Drawings By Maesyn

My good friend and Artist,Vincent Fritz, suggested that I post more of Maesyn's drawings or even give her a drawing blog.
I am not so great at keeping up my clay class blog, so I decided to post her work in our family blog where I am always posting new things.

did you notice the pause in my typing just then? Mr. Bo Jakles (aka Jakie brother) just came in to request "giant peach" and gave me some gratuitous neck luvin', cheek blows and kisses. Then he jumped on me for a while and kissed me some more.
So here are some of her latest drawings. Feel free to click to in large and please look forward to more of these in the future.

On being frugal

This afternoon while getting Nate's oil changed I read an article in Readers Digest about a family that decided to have a no spending month. They had a catchy name for it that I do not remember- so not so catchy.
The decided that outside of their regular expenses for necessities (mortgage, utilities, fresh milk and produce etc.) that they would not spend any money. The limited their cash to $100 for the entire month.
Being a self proclaimed princess of Penny Pinching I was very interested in this article.
(only a princess... you see I buy a lot of un necessary items that I want if they are on sale- thus the large collection of shoes every member of my family owns. And sometimes I don't look for the best deal in emergency situations, like when I found 2 roaches in our kitchen. I was on the phone ready to pay the big bucks for a man to spray poisons all over my house. Well, I got a $10 discount for dropping my mom's name. Or like tonight when I sent my Husband to buy a replacement DVD player after ours died. When you have young kids in the home and sometimes rely on movies to get you through a long day a dead DVD player constitutes an emergency situation).
So this evening I looked at our budget of necessities and cut our gas in half (there is no way Nate can get to his job in Phoenix and school in Tempe for free). Necessities included Tithing, Utilities (including cell phones) Pre-school, insurance, Mortgage etc. I cut our food budget from $240 for the month to $100. I realized that we had $X left. Ideally I'd like to put this money into savings. Even after our normal budget that included more grocery money and date money and gas money I have money left, all of which I'd like to put right into savings. But things come up like car repairs, food storage items on sale, diapers on sale (in which i stock up) and sales at Target, Old Navy, Banana Republic, J. Crew (yes, those places have worthy sales, just ask my $2 J. Crew top). Not all of that money makes it's way straight to savings. Soon those extras will be included in my budget. But the article was not about tweaking my budget. It was about not spending money on things you don't need. Ultimately the idea of the article was to cut out the un necessaries. They came up with interesting things:
Using their neighbors Internet (unsecured line).
Reading his neighbor's paper before the guys woke up (funny).
Taking his kid to Costco to roam the store and eat samples.
Avoiding calling a plumber by searching out home fix it concoctions on the Internet.
Getting a free hair cut from a lady trying to build her clientele.
Craigslist.
Freecycle.
Interesting and fun ideas.
It got my mind turning on more ways to be frugal. Like having more free date nights. Or even making it a goal to clip more coupons for buy one get one FREE meals at restaurants.

In the end the author learned a lot and saved over $2000 that month!
Wow.
My conclusion on this wonderful and insightful article.
WHAT THE H**K were you spending an extra $2K on each month?

all is safely gathered in. we are working on the gathering in

Our Church counsels us to be prepared not only spiritually but also in other areas such as having a savings and food storage.
We are currently working on our 3 month supply of food.
I made a little chart of meals for 15 weeks and listed all of the things we would need for those meals.
They are all non perishables with quicker cooking times.
I have yet to get a complete 3 month supply, but I am stocking up when things go on sale.
This weeks major accomplishment:
120 cans of GREEN BEANS

($0.29 a can- stock up price)