I tried it and now I like it (I am listening to Yo Gabba Gabba as I type)

A little while ago costco had really good coupon for photoshop elements. Although I have gone back and forth over whether or not to buy this for a long time the coupon was so good I just couldn't pass it up and since everyone raves about all the wondrous things it can do for your photos I bought it. We got our new camera (cannon rebel xsi package from costco) and I was in heaven. I had a great camera and the end all of photo editing for amateurs at least. I installed it and you know what? I hated it. It is not user friendly, and although all the reviews on the internet said it is just one of those programs you have to just mess around with to figure out all the tips and tricks which could be kind of fun, I do not have time for that. I needed to know how to use this program. So after it sat installed on my computer for a few months I decided to give it another try and wallah!!! I finally figured out how to do some basic things like get rid of unwanted things, adjust my lighting and colors, make some vintage looking photos, and enhance my kids eyes since they have such beautiful baby blues. Now I am pretty sure this will suck up a ton of my extra time since I have discovered that if I google what it is I want to do to my photo I can find a step by step tutorial on how to do it. Don't ask why it took so long for me to think of doing that. So here are some pictures from Easter this past weekend. I realize I have none of kids actually hunting for eggs, but since they were all running in different directions I'll take these instead. There are more of Ashton not because he is the favorite (I am listening to Mackenzie scream and Landon kick things because he is mad so by the end of today he just might be the favorite) but because he was the only one who would sit still and not shove handfuls of candy in his mouth.

Mackenzie and Chloe
Fatty Ashton

Ashton

Ethan

Ashton

Landon

I am going to get this one framed. This picture shows what Landon lives for...Frosting. According to him, if it doesn't have frosting on it, it is not dessert.

Basketball 2009

Well, I am way behind on the basketball season post since it ended in Feb. Better late than never though. This year both boys played basketball. Landon did so well and was very good at doing exactly what the coach told him to do. Sometime he was a little to good at it in the beginning. He would go to the spot the coach told him to for defense and his feet would not leave that spot until coach said to. He would lean forwards, side to side, and wave his arms all around to play defense but his feet did not leave the spot. When I told him he needed to move a little bit to play defense he informed me that coach told him to go to that spot. He finally figured it out just in time for the season to end.

Ladies and gentlemen, we found Ethan's sport. Constant movement, being loud is necessary, and he can steal the ball and not get in trouble. He loved basketball. I was a little worried that he might a whiner about other kids running into him or bumping him but he didn't care one bit if the game got a little physical. In fact, at the end of the season Jared ended up on the court having Ethan apologize to one of the other players since Ethan decided if you shove I'll shove back harder even if they did it on accident. He is very excited to play next year. Ethan's team was the ideal set up for me. One of our neighbors who is in our ward said he would coach and since you can request coaches 5 of the nine kids on the team were from our ward which meant carpooling and lots of time to chat with friends.

We also realized a few things this season as well. I cannot watch any game that gets to physical with teams that don't seem to be evenly matched. I encouraged a few elbows and some "pushing back", hence the problem later in the season. My dad can only watch about 10 minutes of games and should never coach a kids league. When he started yelling " Do you think these kids are playing for full rides to college, let the other kids have a chance at the ball!" and "Does that coach think that scouts from Duke are watching these kids, they need to back off" we started tuning him out, although the other parents didn't. All in all it was a great season and the boys had a great time.

I just have to say Landon's coach was so entertaining to watch. We never saw him in the same athletic attire or matching athletic shoes twice, he wore shirts and ties to the games just like a professional, his love for the Lakers and Kobe was extremely apparent when he wore a shirt with the number 24 done in purple and gold rhinestones ( given to him by his girlfriend I'm sure), and the fact that he coached three YMCA teams and he has no kids shows some serious love for the game.

(my favorite children's book)

My last few posts have been not so happy. Today I entered what felt like the 9th circle of hell and at the very end made my way out of it.

I was up late the night before so I was tired this morning. Not out of the norm as usual. Then it began, the running around trying to find things for school, get kids out the door on time, etc, etc. Ashton cried most of the day (except while at mackenzie's dance, I am grateful for small miracles) he won't eat much and he just keeps tugging at his ears so we are headed back to the doctors tomorrow. Mackenzie had one meltdown after another today, went through 5 different outfits to ensure I had enough laundry to do, and pooped on the lawn in the backyard which resulted in the mother of all meltdowns after she got in ginormous trouble for that. Landon complained all afternoon that "it's not fair". You name it, it's is not fair for him. Eventually I found him outside in his underwear peeing on the rocks in our backyard. Why? Because it's not fair that mackenzie got to poop in the backyard.

Someone please have mercy on my sanity.

I met jared at the door when he walked in from work and I walked out to stop by a friends and run some errands. I left 3 dirty kids and a house that looked like a natural disaster had occurred inside it. This could have been a picture of me at the very moment jared got home.

I left. I came home just over an hour later a little less stressed. Walked into the kitchen and found it all cleaned up, no toys on the floor, no cupboards cleaned out and on the floor courtesy of ashton, no shoes strewn throughout the hallway, and best of all no kids awake. Jared rescued my sanity and made tomorrow start off a little better since I can now sleep without having to think about what I didn't get cleaned up. I also have to say that Ethan did his best to help me. He did everything I asked him to when I asked him to do it. That I would say is a giant miracle and I am even more grateful for those ones.

Poor Ashton. The kid can not catch a break. He just finished his medicine for an ear infection a week ago and then Sat. night we were up all night with him, and after a visit to the urgent care Sun. morning we found out he either has another ear infection or the last one didn't totally clear up. So we are on meds again. Then today at my mom's house he pulled a lamp down on top of his head.

I was very proud of myself since I didn't freak out. I can remain calm and think somewhat logically when something happens as long as my own kids are not involved but when it is one of my own I tend to lose it. Today I did not, even though when I got to him blood was pouring out of this tiny wound. Why do heads and faces have to bleed so much, they make you think it is so much worse than it really is.

So we came home got him all cleaned up and now he has a nice little bald spot on his head complete with butterfly just to make sure it stays closed and heals up a little bit better.

There is nothing quite like waking up to see you child's eyes looking like this. Since from here on out your day will only get better with all the things that come with a little gunk in the eye. The hand washing til they almost bleed, the 5 tons of laundry since every last thing in the house has to be washed, the near choking death from inhalation of Lysol that must be sprayed on every surface of the house, and the best part of all getting the eye drops into a screaming little girls eye.

I hate pink eye. In all the times my kids have had it (which is plenty, did you know you can get it from a swimming pool chlorine does not kill everything) I have managed to only get it once. Once was enough for me. I spent 3 days laying on my bed with a cold wash cloth over my eyes(which had to be changed often) since I was pretty sure that they would burst into flames at any moment. Here is to another week of scrubbing. Yay me.

Will wonders never cease......

I sit here typing this still in shock and amazement over what I did this morning.

I MADE DINNER.

Yes, folks dinner for the Simpson's was done and cooking before noon today. To make it even better, it took me less than 30 mins. to cook, assemble, and clean up. No joke, 30 mins.

3 of my kids were at school and I didn't have the 4th one roaming my kitchen squawking at me to move so that he could proceed in emptying the cupboard I am standing in front of, since he was taking a nap, so that probably decreased the amount of time it would have normally taken, but anything less than an hour is good enough for me. So to give you a reason to use the second greatest invention of all time (the first greatest is the epidural of course) the crock pot here is the recipe. It is so good.

1 lb Lean ground beef
1 Small onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 (10 3/4-oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (4.5-oz) can Chopped Green Chiles
1 (10-oz) can Enchilada Sauce
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
12 oz (3 cups) shredded Monterey Jack cheese




1. In large skillet, cook ground beef, onion and garlic over medium-high heat until browned and thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently, Drain. Stir in soup and chiles.


2. Spray 3 1/2 or 4- quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom of slow cooker. Place 4 corn tortillas over sauce, overlapping and breaking in half as necessary to make an even layer. Top with 1/3 of beef mixture, spreading evenly. Drizzle with about 1/4 cup enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.


3. Repeat layering twice, using 3 corn tortillas and half of remaining beef mixture, enchilada sauce and cheese in each layer. Sprinkler paprika over top.


4. Cover; cook on low setting for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours.


5. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce or whatever else you like.

POOP

(Landon June 2005)

Yes, you read that title right. I said poop. That is what I have been cleaning up the last two days. Poor Ashton has had some sort of nasty bug that has wreaked havoc on his little bum. It has been a long two days full of cleaning, laundry, and multiple baths. Then last night it stopped, just as fast as it started. Today was the first day I dared to venture from my house to take Mackenzie to dance class. I was pretty sure that whatever he had, ran its course and we were done, but I was still nervous since my kids have played cruel tricks on me before. We did make it through dance class with no incidents to speak of and for that I am very happy. So now I will resume my scrubbing and washing of everything and hopefully be back in a few days with happier things to report on like the end of the boys basketball season and our trip to Disneyland. Until then happy cleaning.