A video post

Several days ago my sister sent me a text asking to take a lot of videos of our Christmas moments and email them to her so she could make a video. 

Hmmm, 

I slacked off and didn't really get much recorded. 

But she did what she could with what I gave her and mixed it with the Trinnaman Christmas back in Utah. It almost feels like we were all together. 

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

And just because this is awesome. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again,

I may have given birth to spiderman. 

He's goin' for that bowl of stocking candy on top of the fridge. 

Notice his disappointment when he fails. 

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this boy. 

Dinner Date.

I had more fun last night than I've had in a loooonnng time! 

Hurray for awesome friends!

A night at the Nutcracker

Our trip to the St. Louis Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker was fantastic!

It was unfortunate that Lydia was not entertained in the least bit. 

She did like dressing up, and the atmosphere, but she was a pain in the neck during the performance! 

I guess Lydia won't be going to the theater any time soon. 

Gracie was completely enchanted. She was on the edge of her seat the entire time. I couldn't stop her from dancing and twirling in the hallways during intermission. 

I guess there is a reason why Lydia quit her dance classes after 3 weeks and Gracie wishes she could go to class everyday. 

It was magical for me! I constantly had chills going up my back and when the principal (playing the sugarplum fairy) was performing. I may have found my chin quivering and eyes filling up with tears. She was absolutely breathtaking. 

Visions of a sugarplum fairy

I can't wait!

I got tickets for me to take my girls to see the Nutcracker Ballet tomorrow night.

They have no idea.

*squeee!*

I'm so stinkin' excited. 

This will be their very first experience with the professional theater.

Counting down the hours. 

Every Night...

these two are tucked into bed separately. 

And EVERY NIGHT they end up like this:

Last night I suggested to Lydia that she just bring her pillow over so she doesn't steal Henry's. 

After getting them tucked in, together, Lydia giggles and says, 

"It's like we're married!"

MakeOver!

What do you think of my make-over? It was time for a clean sweep. I've changed, my life has changed, therefore, my blog needed a change. It feels clean. A round of applause for my famous sister Gentri!

**My husband has pointed out to me that the first words on my last post are brian fog...as opposed to brain fog. Just another example of my fleeting brain (spelled it right that time!)**

Morning time with Chablis

Brian fog is a real problem people. 

Just as proof that it's an actual symptomatic condition of RA I found an article. 

If  you so desire, you may go HERE to read it. 

I'm sure none of you will care to read it, but I wanted PROOF that I'm not just nuts. 

Mornings are not my best time of the day. 

This a.m. while the girls were eating cereal and I was managing to throw together lunches for the two we had a conversation that went like this:

Gracie and Lydia were fighting over who got to look at the back of the cereal box. 

So, I took the box away and put it out of the way. 

Gracie then stomped her foot and let out a squeal of frustration. 

I turned to her and said,

"That is un.....(inappropriate was the word I was searching for) COOL!

If you two can't figure out how to treat each other and the the cereal box....(kindly is the word I would have used, but alas) LIGHTLY then you can't have the box at all."

The girls could see the hesitation in my face as I tried to form coherent sentences. 

Not my proudest moment as a mother. 

We managed to read a page of the scriptures and say our prayers before I declared, 

"Now go and grab your cat...I mean jocket....whatever, you know what I mean."

Coat or jacket Chablis. Pick one and run with it.

A new attitude

Several weeks ago I wrote a post, late at night because I couldn't fall asleep and I was feeling sorry for myself. The following morning I felt uneasy about it, so quickly deleted it. Some of you may have still read it through Google Reader. 


It went a little something like this: 


Warning: this post contains personal whinery and has no pictures. Viewer discretion is advised.

I've been thinking.

Bad. I know. (why don't you just be smart and STOP thinking, Chablis)

Here comes the serious part:
My personal, inner self life is crashing and crumbling. You may be thinking, "Oh no! Something serious has happened! Did her husband die? Are her children sick?" No. My life is wonderful. More wonderful than I deserve. You see, I have a very bad case of "keeping up with the Jones'" in a sort of sense. I don't have any idea where I got this notion inside of me but it goes something like this:

"If I don't have all the external stuff all together, meaning, if I don't look pretty and my house doesn't make an impression on people, and if my children aren't dressed well, and I'm not being creative and strutting my hostess skills around and baking and cooking for the neighborhood, then...well...what the heck do I have to give to others so that they'll like me?"

There are too many external forces binding me up to be able to uphold all of these social checkpoints I have in my head. RA is a big binder. My lack of financial and caloric restraint are also finding their stringy ways around my hands as well.

I'm finding I can't keep up the important spiritual aspects, prioritizing of my family and such, AND all the other stuff too and make it all work. Something's gotta give.

I suppose you could say I'm being forced into a redirection of my energies. I'm not sure how to go about my new life without all the busy-ness (aka: shopping at Target) and "prettiness". I'm pretty sure I'm being flagged down from above in an effort to grow in my testimony and redirect my focus into my children. I know this, but can I do it?  

I'm not sure where to go from here, and I'm not sure how this blog may suffer (heaven knows it's been suffering for the last year). A part of me wants to just get rid of the blog to end it's poor suffering and help me keep focus. Another part of me can't quite let it go.


Silly, right? I think it's an all too common theme for women. Especially stay-at-home-moms. And you all  can vouch for my excessive complaining and whining about my RA. 


Well, I've changed my attitude. Thanks to some help from a few fabulous books written by Carol Tuttle. I AM enough. I am happy and I love my family and my friends. I am blessed with a fabulous body that does what I need it to.  


There are a certain few people whom I adore, but never felt good enough for. I'm so happy these people are so talented and blessed. I don't need their affirmations to be whole. I love me because God created me, and he doesn't make mistakes!


My blogging has suffered for a long time. I used to blog because I felt I needed the support and affirmations from the comments. I used to find things to blog about that would bring positive comments to lift me up. But I've realized that this was a very unhealthy relationship with blogging which is why I've disabled the comments. 


I have no idea where my new found attitude will take me with blogging. I may forget about it completely. Of course, I will never stop looking at all of your dear blogs! I LOVE them. Who knows if I'll have anything interesting to blog about and who knows if I care to plug it in, even if I do have something interesting! It doesn't matter because I don't assess my worth through this blog anymore. 


I love you all! Thank you for your support and love. Especially to those of you who took the time to email me from concern for the changes on the blog! I am so grateful for you. 

Exploring our community: Magic House

This is easily exactly how I picture our future home. 

I mean, it's gorgeous! 

The magic house is actually a dreamy children's museum. 

The most amazing I've ever seen. 

My kids were completely overwhelmed. 

I was completely exhausted. 

It was a good day. 

 The beanstalk is three stories high:

 They climbed it several times. 

Smashing our faces into the "pin mold" was one of or favorite activities:

One of Scott's favorite historical stories is of Lewis and Clark's exploration. 

There was an entire floor dedicated to learning about the adventure:

We have big plans for Henry. 

I'll be bringing him here every week so he can become better acquainted with his future digs:

Random thoughts

* I can't believe I've never seen this movie before:

Thanks to Netflix I am now a fan!

With all the theatrical movies I watched with my mom as a kid I can't believe we skipped this one... and I would have related to her hatred of red hair so much! 

* Last night I had a bunch of ladies from my church over for a soup and bread night. 

I can't believe how much this (@#%*) RA played a part in my day. 

A thing gathering like this would have been nothing to me back in the day.

 I mean - I adore planning and preparing parties. 

Yesterday was SO HARD for me. 

My knuckles swelled up like I've never seen before last night. All I did was chop a few veggies and clean! 

Ugh - I'm still getting used to the "new" me. 

*It was 60 degrees when I put my kids on the bus this morning for school. Now, 4 hours later, it's 42 degrees. I suppose I can't complain since it's a mere 12 degrees in my beloved Alaska today. 

*I played baseball with Henry this morning. His batting average was 60%. Pretty darn good for a 3 yr old with his gimpy mamma for a pitcher! 

*I'm dying to buy THIS album. I'm having insane cravings to listen to my favorite artist in a new album. 

I must not give in to temptation. I must wait until at least the week of Thanksgiving!

Salsa Verde

When we were living in Virginia there was a "Spanish Speaking Branch" that met in the same building as my ward. 

For those of you who don't speak "mormon" talk: members of our church who speak Spanish met separately and had their own church services each week. 

My friends and I asked the ladies of the Spanish branch to teach us how they make salsa. 

Holy moly, there is nothing like the real, hand-me-down, traditional foods from Mexico. 

Here is the recipe for Salsa Verde:

10 tomatillos (little green tomato looking fruit that has a green husk around it, the husk leaves a sticky mess on the rind of the tomatillo)

2 cloves garlic

1 jalapeno (depending on how spicy you like it you can leave the seeds in, or cut the jalapeno in half and scoop out the seeds)

1/2 onion

1/2 bunch of cilantro

pinch of salt

Peel the husk off the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos and jalapeno until soft. Drain water and blend all ingredients in a blender. 

This stuff is SO yummy! It's delicious warm or cold and is awesome on tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, scrambled eggs, or just with tortilla chips. 

Wishing you all a

HAPPY McHALLOW-e-i-e-i-EEN!

{timer pictures never really turn out with this family. When will I learn to just run and ask a neighbor?}

Puzzles on the kitchen floor and Uncle Rico moments.

This morning I cleaned my kitchen floor. 

(yay me!)

Henry always knows it's safe to pull out the giant floor puzzles after I mop. 

No one likes to do giant floor puzzles on a dirty floor.

This morning I also came across two blogs by young women who are living out a dream I once had. 

One I was a dance coach to, the other was a younger sister of my good friend and dance teammate. 

These moments always bring out the Uncle Rico living in a corner of my brain. 

My brain says,"If I wudda just done this - oh, life would be so different."

I'm so grateful for my life now. 

(all except the presence of RA- will I ever be grateful for that?)

I'm so grateful for the dance experience of my past. 

But sometimes it's hard to keep the Uncle Rico boxed up and hidden in my brain. 

Uncle Rico Could Have Gone Pro



Napoleon Dynamite
— MOVIECLIPS.com

Pinterest success and faliures

I thought I'd share with you a few of the inspirations I found on Pinterest that I copied and actually did. 

Some of them have worked out, and some of them...not so much. 

Let's start with the positive ones shall we?

First up is this great teacher gift:

{source}

Scored some major brown noser points with this one!

So much so that I didn't even feel bad when I didn't volunteer to help with the Halloween party. 

Did I take it too far? Possibly. 

Second is this garbage can for your car:

{source}

Loooove it! My car will never stay clean for more than a day, but this at least keeps the larger pieces of trash cleaned up. Now I just need a miracle for all those goldfish crumbs. 

I totally copied this image and had it printed in a 14x20 out at Costco for a whopping 3 dollars:

{source}

It's now on my gallery wall and looks like I paid 200 bucks for it! SCORE!

I'm a huge fan of southwestern flavored soups:

This one hit the spot with me. 

Not so much with my kids, but they don't like anything these days. 

There was no source, but the recipe:

Super easy super yummy crock pot soup: can of rotel, can of corn, can of black beans (drained & rinsed), 2 frozen chicken breasts, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 packet dry ranch dressing, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder. Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours. Shred chicken, and enjoy!

Now, sadly we must discuss the failures of Pinterest. 


This recipe seemed like a no fail, that's da' bomb, kinda deal:

{source}

Not so my friends. 

For me - the mixture turned into glue. Though it tasted like Oreo's, the texture was beyond gross. 

Like an Oreo cookie fruit snack. 

Now, the sock bun curls everyone talking about must do some good for some people:

{source}

Obviously. 

For the life of me, I can't get my hair to look like that. 

I think my hair needs to be longer, but it's pretty dang long. 

Here is the best result I got from the sock bun:

Bad lighting, bad angle, horrible shirt color, I get it. 

But all you need to see is the curl. 

Definitely does NOT look like blonde girls curls. 

Last, but not least is washing "poo" free with baking soda:

{source}

This was the image that came with the link.
Um, I am always up for something natural to replace chemicals in my shelf, but I used only baking soda for two weeks and my hair was NOT clean. I tried.
It was yucky. I couldn't take it any more.

I'm sure that all of these "failures" were due to my own inabilities.
Tips are welcome.
Just trying to give you another side to the story if any of these were on your "to do" list.  

This boy...

This boy is now 3 years old. 

This boy says he wants to marry his mommy. 

And I'm completely okay with that. 

This boy is obsessed with our neighbor "Joseph's house". 

This boy loves puzzles, trains, cars, and Little Einsteins. 

This boy gives me lots of kisses. 

This boy has stolen my heart. 

In grievance of his continued growth I've been listening to these two songs on repeat:

Taylor Swift - Never Grow Up

Mindy Gledhill - Hourglass

Have a baby growing up? Take a listen and cry a bit. 

I'm beginning to feel a bit like this woman:

Have you ever watched Everybody Loves Raymond?

While Marie is made to be the villain of the family, I am feeling a LOT of sympathy for her these days. 

Heaven help my poor son. 

Happy Birthday dear, Henry boy!

Exploring our community: Cahokia Mounds

To celebrate Columbus day we thought we'd do something educational. 

Though, this has nothing to do with Columbus, we did converse about how this Native American community was thriving, and then fizzled out roughly two hundred years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. 

I had never heard about this place. 

Ever. 

*Begin instructional lecture*

The Cahokia Mounds are a place where the largest ancient community north of Mexico City is, and is preserved. The Native American's built mounds of different shapes and sizes and each  had a different job. The rounded mounds were burial grounds. The pointed mounds were markers of the cities boundaries, etc.  The most famous mound, Monk Mound, is huge and it's suspected that the Chief lived in a large building at the top of the mound and there was probably several religious buildings as well. Archaeologists venture to say that it took roughly 170 years to build the Monk Mound. 

This major community thrived from roughly 7-900 AD until 1200 AD. At the time it was more populated than London and was home to more than 20,000 people. 

Okay teacher, do I get an "A" on my report? 

First we mosied our way around the museum and our favorite part was the wax, life like, scenes. 

Scott was uncomfortable at all the bare chested - life like - women and suggested that they really don't know if the women didn't wear clothes and should have erred on the side of modesty. 

{reason # 6,043 why I love him}

 It was a glorious day for a walk.

That's the Monk Mound... from way far away. 

This is me where I begin to think,

"I already almost died on my run this morning. I wasn't prepared for all these stairs. Ay crap."

I almost didn't make it to the top and Henry had to pull me up the last three stairs. It was quite a dramatic scene. 

 There was an awesome view of St. Louis from the top:

As you can see, Autumn is just barely beginning to make it's mark here in Illinois. 

 I'm ready for crisp temperatures, blankets, jackets, boots, and comfort food!

Our trip to the Cahokia Mounds was great. It's right off of both I-64 and I-70, so if you're driving through I definitely recommend the stop. It's free! 

The Barbie Doll Dilemma

Up until a week ago my daughters had roughly 23 Barbie dolls between the two of them. 

Hoarders?

Maybe. 

I secretly thew away the old and "dying" dolls and managed to leave only 5 dolls. 

As I was clearing this mess I had a thought come to me that there may be a better toy out there for my girls to play with. 

Then I read this blog post

and the thought of ridding our home of Barbie's completely has been constantly on my mind. 

I happen to agree with everything she says both from observation and personal experience as a child. 

Several months ago I realized how much my girls enjoy playing with Calico Critters:

And so yesterday I bought them each a family of fuzzy animals. 

I made them give me a Barbie in payment for the critters. 

They didn't hesitate for a split second. 

3 Barbies left. 

My observations of the girls playing Barbie vs. the Calico Critters are this:

When they play Barbies, the dolls have attitudes (usually) and they're usually have a fantasy kind of life. (The witch captured her and she must be rescued, etc.)

When they play Calico Critters the animals take care of each other. They are teachers, or cleaning house, you know normal life stuff. 

I don't think it's a bad thing for the girls to play fantasy life, but I like that they role play motherhood and real life even more. 

Go read this article and come back and tell me what you think!

Am I being looney and over dramatic or loving and taking advantage of a great turning point here?

Maannn catchin' {chicken}

{name that movie}

:) 

A while back I got an email from my friend with a recipe for 

"engagement chicken"

It's darn good. 

Here's a pic of what ya get when you're done:

And here's the "man catchin'" story:

First comes chicken, then comes marriage? Be skeptical if you must, but this recipe may be charmed. It all began 26 years ago, when then-Glamour fashion editor Kim Bonnell gave the recipe to her assistant, Kathy Suder, who made the chicken for her boyfriend, who, a month later, asked her to marry him. “It’s a meal your wife would make. It got me thinking,” says Jon Suder, who now has three children with Kathy. Details of the simple dish passed from assistant to assistant like a culinary chain letter. When Bonnell heard that her recipe had inspired three weddings, she dubbed it Engagement Chicken.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)
4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

Don't forget to tear that chicken apart and freeze the extra meet! 

It makes the BEST cold sandwiches and is awesome for recipes like tacos or soup.

Now ladies, if you're trying to get a ring... make it.

If you already got a ring, but want to go shopping...make it!

I am not kidding when I say that after we ate dinner, my eight year old was a delight and she cleared the table AND washed the dishes herself. This stuff is like a magic potion I tell you!

You wanna come in?

Just in case you're interested, 

I took a few pictures of the parts of my house that are mostly done. 

Nothing is ever completely done, right?

Just agree with me. 

Nothing of Chablis' is ever completely done is probably a more appropriate statement. 

Suggestions welcome. 

Just know that:

1. I will not paint this house. If we are leaving in one year, it's not worth my effort. 

2. I've already spent too much money so unless your suggestion has the cost of a can of spray paint, it's not really welcome. 

The wall of pictures. 

My mom thinks it's cluttery. 

I had a look I was going for that is much more difficult to achieve than I planned. 

Luckily most everything on this wall is hung by the awesome command sticky strips so a massive redo is only the cost of my effort and time. (which costs A LOT mind you)

Henry and Chuggington add a special touch to the room. 

My poor piano got beat up in the move. 

sniff...

sniff...

A closer look a the wall of clutter pictures.

I spy my gorgeous grandma Trinnaman and the amazing gr8, gr8 grandma Sarah Suzanna Stone Lloyd.

The wall is not complete until I get a picture of my in laws, but I have lost my discs. 

I shall find a picture somehow. 

See that empty 8x10? That's for you Ron & Judy!

The kitchen.

Blah. 

Whatevah.

I need a chandelier and a rug of awesomeness...someday.

(and curtains, and a barn wood table, and)

This is not worth seeing, but I'll show you anyway because it has caused me great angst. 

The office/computer area. 

I hate it. 

It's in the kitchen. 

We need a desk. 

Plus, I let you see a peek of my room of doom, aka junk room.
You're welcome.