Ahhh... Pickle Soup!

I have the most fantastic Polish neighbor. If you don't already know about Bogda, stay tuned because I plan to dedicate at least a few posts to her. Anyway, she likes to cook for us and one of my favorites is Pickle Soup. At first I was afraid to try it, but when I did I fell in love! It is the perfect marriage (is that the culinary word?) of sour dill and creamy goodness. I keep asking her to teach me how to make it but she always tells me we have to make our own pickles or it won't work. This summer we were supposed to go to the farmer's market and get the right kind of cucumbers for making the pickles for the soup-- but it never happened. I was depressed thinking I had to wait another year before I could make the soup myself.

Because of sick children, today was my third consecutive day indoors and I am probably getting a little stir-crazy. It was cold and snowy out and I decided pickle soup would be the perfect meal for a day like this. I took things into my own hands and looked up a few recipes online and made the soup myself. Contrary to Bogda's beliefs you CAN use store bought pickles! It was so tasty and warm I almost ate the whole pot. I am not joking. John even likes it.

If your mouth is watering like mine would be had I not had my fill, or if you just have a brave pallet, I would be glad to share the recipe, but you have to ask...

I love you pickle soup! (See the crazy eyes?)

Mmmm.


Yesterday was the first day of enough snow to play in.


So fun!

The Wright Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Spanksgiving!

Wow. I am having a hard time being thankful today! I have been yelling at my kids all morning (and it's already 8:30). They have been going at each other since 7:00 this morning. I currently have Katherine on my lap "fake crying" according to John. So when I was yelling from the bathroom trying to keep the peace and I heard the chaos continuing I wondered if I was a "helicopter parent", you know the kind that hovers around. For some reason I think that is a bad thing to be.

So I am trying to let them work it out as much as possible. I did do that one other time when I was on the phone and just didn't want to deal with the screaming. I went into the bathroom (interesting) to continue my conversation. I could hear the screams of bloody murder, the tears from both of them, the pauses while they attacked each other, and then I tuned it out. When I finished talking on the phone and came out of the bathroom they were playing together quietly.
So what am I supposed to do with these kids of mine until 3:00 when we can eat? Man am I a grouch today! Grrr.

My New Obsession

Ok, not quite, but kind of. Have you ever found something that you truly love and you can't really explain why? It doesn't happen that often for me, but this is it. When my grandpa died last spring I inherited a little Pyrex refigerator dish like the one in the photo. I love it and have it sitting on my window sill until I can find the perfect use for it. Every time I see it, I smile. I like to pick it up, take off the glass lid (which is so cool) and then put it back on. The other day I was browsing the local antique store and found my little dish's round, 1.5 quart casserole companion. Five dollars never brought so much joy to my life. It too has a flat glass lid that I love to take off and then replace over and over. This evening instead of doing anything productive I decided to check Ebay for more Butterprint Pyrex. I would like to expand my little collection and perhaps venture into other patterns. Like, did you know they have pink Pyrex? I know, the excitement!

Imperfect Timing

John's Scarecrow-- I love the mouth, the hat, and most of all, the patch on his pants.

We went to the town's Star Lighting event on Saturday. We went last year and left before the star was actually lit, this year I thought we would go a little later. By the time we found a parking space to accomodate the F350 monster, the star was lit, the fireworks were over, and everyone was headed back to their cars. We walked around while all the vendors were taking down their booths. I felt bad enough that I bought $10 worth of glowing crap for my kids. I knew it was a rip-off but for some reason the glow stick guys were the only one's keeping thier booths open. Maybe next year we can forget it all together. Bah Humbug.

Ok, with this cheesy grin I think she may look a little like me...

She totally posed to copy John's pose in the following picture.


He said, "Take one of me with the ladies."
I don't think that I'm ready for "the ladies"!

This morning we woke to a thick layer of ice everywhere. Most of it had melted by the time I walked John to school. There were, however, a few lingering patches of black ice on which we both slipped slightly. On my walk home I was walking at a faster pace and forgot about the ice. That is until I slipped and my arms went all crazy and I stumbled to catch my balance. That episode got me thinking about how much I hate ice and walking on it. I once fell four times in one day in Rexburg, Idaho where the ice is a permanent fixture until June. The last and final time I fell that day I just sat there for a minute not wanting to get up.

I hate slipping on ice almost as much as I find it hilarious to see someone else do it. Don't you hate it when you slip and fall and a passer by asks if you are ok? Even if you feel like you broke your hip you immediately jump up and act like it was no big deal, laugh it off, and try hard not to limp too much as you stagger away. And what about that split second when you are falling, it is almost like it happens in slow motion, you feel your arms flail and your legs fly over your head and there's nothing you can do.

I remember walking home from high school and noticing a splat in the snow next to the sidewalk. I was cracking up as I got home and told my sister that I could totally see where someone bit the big one in the snow around the corner. She was like, "Hey! That was me."

Speaking of biting the big one, last winter I was walking across the church parking lot with Kitty in my arms and John holding my hand. I totally fell on ice covered in snow, Kitty bumped her head and John fell on top of me. We were kind of hurt. The sweet couple driving by at the same time backed up and asked if we were ok. There's nothing like walking into church with snow covering one side of your body. The whole thing traumatized poor John-- for months he would draw pictures of us falling on the ice and would make it pertain to his church lesson that week. For example, if the lesson was on being a peacemaker his picture would show him soothing us after we fell on the ice. Or if it was on obedience, his picture would show us walking carefully on the ice because I had told them to walk slowly.

The final memory I relived today was from a slick day in Provo. I was walking to class, with hundreds of my fellow Cougars, through a narrow construction zone on campus when suddenly the guy in front of me biffed it on the ice. I am so embarrassed to admit that I looked at him on the ground and just stepped over him and continued on my way... Who does that? I do.

My Best Girl

This is Katherine. She is our sweet three year old. Katherine is different from John in so many ways; they equalize each other so well. I don't know what I was expecting my children to be like-- they have both suprised me so much. Katherine has her own independent personality that I would never have guessed my own daughter would possess. She is a crack-up! Here is Kitty's list of attributes:

• She is very even tempered.
• She understands my sense of humor.
• She runs or skips everywhere.
• She wants to please.
• She is the only one in the family that cleans up after herself.
• She loves to sing.
• She loves to dance.
• She is better coordinated and agile than I ever was.
• She has a tender heart.
• She LOVES her daddy.
• She is a good friend.
• She is affectionate.
• She gives me a big hug and pats my back-- that's my favorite!
• She has a great imagination.
• She is social.
• She is bubbly.
• She loves her brother and would do anything for him.
• She sleeps with all 81 of her babies (ok, maybe a few less).
• She will eat anything, including sand and dog food.

Kitty is such a light in our home. She is a calming force that the rest of us need. She is so tender and loving, but witty and funny at the same time. She has an independent spirit and knows what she likes and dislikes. Kitty is my best, most cheerful helper.

My Favorite Boy

This is John, he my 5 year old Kindergartner. I decided to write about him today because sometimes I need to remind myself of how much my life has changed since he has been in it. These are the reasons I love John to bits and pieces:

• He tells it like it is.
• He won't put up with injustice.
• He sees the world in black and white.
• He has a thirst for knowledge.
• He is mechanically inclined.
• He is a quiet observer.
• He absorbs EVERYTHING in a split second.
• He wants to be just like his daddy-- even down to his socks.
• He tries so hard.
• He has a photographic sense of hearing (I don't know what you call it).
• He has his daddy's green eyes and dark lashes.
• He isn't afraid to stand up to others.
• His face lights up when he smiles.
• He know when to be proud of himself.
• He still wants to sit on my lap.
• He loves his sister.

Last week he spent A LOT of time in the Principal's office at school for one reason or another. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to figure out how to get him out of his slump. No one could figure out why he was having such a difficult time keeping it together. Yesterday when I picked him up from school he came running to me with a huge smile on his face and he said, "Mommy, I did it!!" He had made it through the entire day with minimal problems. There is no better feeling in the entire world than to share the joy of true accomplishment with your child.

I started a blog and it was okay...

So I have been toying with this blogging thing for a few months now and still haven't convinced myself to actually do it... I mean, who am I to think that anyone even cares what I am doing? My life is not so exciting that I feel like everyone needs to know about it. And why would anyone even care to read my ramblings on about nothing in particular? Oh well, maybe it's for me.

It kind of reminds me of one of my favorite cartoon books by Scott Dikkers, I Made Some Brownies and They Were Pretty Good, not to be out done by my other favorite in the same series, I Got a Job and It Was Okay. The books are a series of cartoons in the form of a journal, Jim's Journal to be exact. One of my favorite entries is when his friend dresses up as Pat Sajak for Halloween and the little drawing of his mask actually looks like Pat Sajak. I still laugh thinking of it!

So here is my blog if anyone cares...