Copy and Paste: My world with a smile...

I am being a slacker... I'm copying and pasting my FB statuses... "Life may take you where you least expect it -- always have faith that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Interesting thought... they say Faith is an action... at what point do you take action and make your life as close as possible to what you want? or do you just sit back and let things happen?" I was feeling sorry for myself this week... yeah, I'll go into it later - or NOT.

Today I'm thinking I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, because this is the world I am used to: "Well, this is my world: Kaia is sick with 104 degree fever and coughing, Zeke's been in New Jersey for work since Dec. 10th! and he's finally/hopefully coming home today, Beck is throwing crayons and making Zoe cry, but you know, I'm still happy, life is good. I'm so thankful for medicine to help Kaia and I'm so thankful for my Mom and for my neighbors who gave Kaia a Priesthood blessing last night. :)" Thank you Brother Sullivan and Brother Hale :)

Anyway, we had some Christmas travel plans... who knows with Kaia being sick. She has reactive airway disease and a small cold can give her pneumonia overnight. Really.
But what can I do at this point? We've actually been very blessed this fall... she hasn't been sick since Halloween and that IS amazing for her. It sounds crazy, but I actually feel at peace... we don't have to juggle schedules or trips yet... it all depends on when Kaia is feeling better. I believe Heavenly Father has a plan for us, for everything. Of course I don't want Kaia to be sick ever, but I just feel like there is a reason why she is right now.

Even though, Zeke has been gone, the kids and I have done pretty well. They have been very good helpers and we've had a lot of fun in spite of missing Dad. I had a special movie night with each of the 3 older kids, just one on one, they got to pick the movie... I think this will become a tradition. Not that I want Zeke to go out of town for work all the time, but hey, it is what it is and I'm trying to make the best of it. Netflix is awesome, by the way :)

Gabe's movie: "Fear of the Dark" what was I thinking?!?! Now, don't judge me, or if you do, don't tell me about it, because I don't care. I checked the movie on the internet movie data base and it's as "good" as a horror movie gets. We were both scared... but it was fun.

Zoe's movie: "The Princess Who Never Laughed" an old 80's "Faerie Tale Theater" It was actually pretty good. It had a good message -- YOU decide how you feel. Even though Howie Mandel was in this movie (and he had hair!) I still liked it. See, I got the message.

Kaia's movie: "Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief" Okay, she's really sick and I love her and I said she could choose... but seriously, I despise this movie! But I kept my thoughts to myself and she fell asleep before it was half way through (phew!!)

I had an awesome visit with my Mom yesterday on the phone. I don't know what I would do without her. REALLY. She is my therapy and my idol! At one point, my Mom said, "Now, I know this is the wrong advice and you probably shouldn't listen, but... and she went on to tell me anyway." I LOVE THIS WOMAN! Seriously, she is THE best! You are Grover and I am Percy. You are my protector, Mom.

I had an interesting road rage experience the other day... I was pulling out of the parking lot of the post office and planning to turn left (no light). It was VERY busy and well, it was going to take a minute. The guy behind me starts whaling on his horn like no tomorrow and I'm thinking, "What the heck?!" There is NO opening for me to pull out... I do NOT know what this guy is thinking. Whenever someone is being totally irrational like that, I like to think up a story to explain their rude behavior. Like, maybe this guy REALLY had to go to the bathroom or something!

Well, crazy I know, duh, but all of his honking just made me more stressed! NOT HELPING!! So when I was finally able to pull out onto the street, I was MAD. Yeah, I have a temper, and it's not good, but I'm trying to control it. I'm not one to EVER swear at drivers or make obscene gestures or anything, but I just HAD to yell something. So he was in the lane to my left, I unrolled my window, smiled my biggest smile, waved both my arms and yelled, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, it made me feel a lot better. Zoe was with me and she said, "Mom, you are WEIRD!" It was so worth it to see the confused look on his face. :)

Okay and now, I am so excited... my wonderful roommate/missionary who brought me to church with her way back when... she found my blog! Yay, Jen! I hope I'm not embarrassing you (ha ha ha) but this really made my day. We haven't been in touch for awhile and well, I love this girl!

Anyway, I need to go check on the kids... Beck is terrorizing everyone this morning (oh wait, that's normal too). It means I need to get off the computer. Merry Christmas to all... and I mean that in the most "non-angry will you please stop honking at me?" way. REALLY :)

E. coli 101: Everything you never wanted to know but should.

My son's 5th grade teacher affectionately labeled us the "E. coli clan" yesterday on Facebook and I thought it was funny. If you can laugh at it you can live with it, right? Thanks, Mr. Barker!

Well, I thought I'd fill you in on recent events. Here's a flashback in case you're just tuning in...

Kaia (my 6 year old) got sick on Oct. 1st, I took her to the Dr. and her tests came back positive for E. coli. Yeah, E. coli! These results will be sent to the state Health Department for further investigation. At this point, we're pretty sure it came from contaminated ground beef... I'm very freaked out about eating it again!

Then, on Oct. 7th, my 9 year old daughter, Zoe, got sick as well. And to even things up, on the 9th, my sons and I also got sick. My husband was a little sick on Saturday, but we thought he was going to be okay. It was good too, because he and the girls took care of us on Saturday and Sunday. We also had a Harry Potter movie marathon... fun, but we had to pause the movie every time one of us had to use the bathroom (um, like every 20 minutes or so). So we didn't get very far on the movie marathon... but you know the books are better than the movies anyway. :)

Tuesday night (the 12th) Zeke started getting sick too... oh boy, I keep thinking of the scripture in D&C where the Lord tells Joseph Smith "...thou art not yet as Job..." Now, I am not trying to compare our lives to Joseph Smith's (or Job's) -- no way. We have it so good! But it's been a rough 6 months or so, especially for Zeke. He's actually doing the best out of everyone, thank goodness.

Everyone has been in for blood tests and now all 6 of us will have to go to our doctor every Monday for the next 4 weeks or so to have our blood pressure checked and to leave a urine sample to make sure our kidneys are working properly. What a fun activity for family night! ha ha ha

Seriously, though, we are very lucky so far. I've been told we have a mild case. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to have a serious case. Most people are hospitalized.

Did you know after you have ingested E. coli it can take 1 to 14 days for your body to show any symptoms? I didn't.
Did you know that E-coli can cause kidney failure? I didn't.
Did you know that even if you cook ground beef until it's "no longer pink" you could still be at risk for getting E-coli? I didn't.
Did you know that some people have suffered strokes, blindness, paralysis, and even death from E. coli? I didn't.
Did you know that E. coli has been classified as a potential bio-terrorist weapon? I didn't.

I just thought I'd use this bizarre and unfortunate "opportunity" to inform everyone. Please read up and take precautions. I thought I was being careful, I guess you just never know.

By the way, my friends and neighbors have been SO awesome helping us with groceries and dinners and such. Thank you Lorie, Jenny, Lisa, Denise and Kolton, Jennifer and Nathan, Diana, Nicki, and Jessica. You know you're sick when you ask your neighbor to please go buy some more toilet paper for you. Sheesh!

Thanks for your concern and prayers. I am so thankful for the power of the Priesthood. It is such a blessing to see my children getting better :)

Confessions of a Book Snob, Seven Silly Eaters, and Tortellini Vegetable Soup

I was in a blogging frenzy last week.... this week, not so much. I've just been busy taking care of my children and my house and the million other little things that go along with it.

I'm feeling a little "link happy" this morning...
you have been warned.

Saturday night, we rented "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" from the Redbox. Zoe and Gabe have loved the books and we have been wanting to see it. We really enjoyed the movie, even though it strayed from the book quite a bit. I thought it was hilarious... some of you Moms out there may think a few scenes are a bit off-color or whatever... maybe you don't have sons, but it's okay, I forgive you. It's a cute family show and I would watch it again. Steve Zahn is the dad, and he is one of my all time favorite actors for sure. So funny!

I've decided I need to confess something... I am a total "BOOK SNOB". Yep, it's true. I'm sorry, I'm working on it. I get bugged when people freak out and gush and swoon over movies such as "Chronicles of Narnia", "Harry Potter", "The Lightning Thief", and now "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I'm sure there's more... don't get me started. And I am happy so many people have enjoyed these movies and have been exposed to them, because they are such wonderful stories... but the books are SO MUCH BETTER!!! They are missing out... "The Lightning Thief" for example, is NOTHING like the book! Who is Clarisse? yeah, I bet most people don't know. I guess I just need to let it go.... my husband makes fun of me. I am obsessed with Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy books. I'm almost 36 years old, so maybe that's a little strange, but I don't care. Maybe you won't be as upset as I am when they leave out or change major parts of your favorite book. Then you don't know what's missing so you can just enjoy Annabeth, even though she isn't mean at all and she doesn't have brown hair! Yeah, I have a problem.

Just one more thing, "Dear screen play writers and movie producers, please take special care of my good friend, Fablehaven"!!

ok, breathe...... I'm good.

So now, I have a wonderful book, I want to recommend to you. It is one of our family's top ten favorites! It's called, "The Seven Silly Eaters". Read it, you will love it. It almost makes we want more children (I said ALMOST!) And I don't think anyone will ever make a movie of it for me to complain about either.
This is Kaia and me reading a book (July 2007-ish)

Tonight for dinner, I'm making one of my favorite soup recipes. I got it from my good friend and neighbor, Lorie. Thanks, Lorie.
It's called "Tortellini Vegetable Soup"

Here it is:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small zucchini, diced
5 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
1 med. onion, chopped
1 med. carrot, peeled and diced
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
8-9 oz. fresh or frozen tortellini (meat or cheese filled)
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot. Add the vegetables (except tomatoes) and saute over moderate heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to a low boil. Cook for 2 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for another 5-6 minutes. Gently stir in the parsley and pepper during the last minute or so. Goes great with a big loaf of french bread :) Mmmmmm, I love soup in the fall!