Blogger Swap at Exponent and Doves and Serpents

Today begins our week-long swap between bloggers at The Exponent and Doves and Serpents.

I did a column called, "Ride to Church" featuring all of the churches I saw in my short 3 day trip to Europe.

Check out the Exponent post here, too.

I hope to be blogging more here as well, like maybe the kid's first day of school pics, you know since they've been in school for 6 weeks already.

Visiting Skopje, Macedonia

My work with the hemophilia community too me to Skopje, Macedonia last week. I'm evaluating the local patient organization for a potential twinning program. As an established chapter, we would spend 4 years helping the Skopje association work towards better organization, fundraising, programs, and services for members of the bleeding disorders community. Although this is my first trip to Europe, I'm amazed at how comfortable I feel, not only in the hemophilia community, but in the city. One of the well-traveled staff mentioned that Americans sometimes say that America is the "best" country. I don't believe that because each country has it's greatness and it's problems.

I loved the people, the food, the city. We traveled out of the city up to a beautiful lake called Matka (First photo). We ate at a restaurant up there and visited a very old Orthodox church. I learned from a Macedonian I met at the airport that Matka means "womb." I found it very fitting considering how beautiful the area was and how difficult it was to access.

The people of Hemalog, the Macedonian hemophilia society, were very kind and generous. One man, Simon, gave us some of his homemade wine and brandy. They also treated us to meals and showed us around the city and surrounding areas.

We toured the medical treatment areas for hemophilia and I was impressed at how well it seems

to operate. Many patients are now on home care for their bleeding disorders which is a huge step toward a healthier population. In the future, we hope to help them as they continue to advocate for increased access to clotting factor.

Despite some drama on the return trip home (Tony, my traveling companion lost his passport and I was forced to leave him at the last minute), the visit was really amazing and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.

But, the twinning program lasts four years, so it is likely that I will return in the future. I look forward to it.

Here's my webalbum.

Update!

We had a such a great time in Michigan, I can hardly believe we've been back for over a month.

As we gear up for fall travel, I'm thinking about what else we can do with our family.

Here's the link to our webalbum.

Jaxon (age 9) just started 3rd grade and Asher (5) just started Kindergarten. Both of them like their teachers. Jaxon has a pet hamster in his class named Brownie. Asher has 28 children in his class, but they are hiring a new teacher so he should be in a smaller class soon!

Finn is ready to start preschool on Tuesday. He's been soooo bored at home without his brothers. He asks to play with friends EVERY DAY. If you live nearby, let's get together and play.

Mark is loving BYU football season and is beginning a business venture with a friend.

I'm volunteering more with the AZ Hemophilia Assoc, in fact I am going to Macedonia this week for an initial visit for a twinning program between our chapter and theirs. I still teach Zumba 4-5 times a week and am looking to build my private class with friends and family. I'm thrilled to have a small following of people who follow me around to different clubs where I teach.

Recently I blogged at Exponent about getting ready to start a career. I got great advice from friends (and strangers) about how to get back into the workforce, go back to school, etc.

We love having my mom here living with us. She is such a loving person and a resource for our family. She has great ideas on how to teach and feed my kids, clean the house, and organize my life.

This fall Mark's brother, David, gets home from his mission and I hope we get to fly out to say hello to him.

Mark has a business trip to NYC this fall and I want to go with him and see The Book of Mormon, the musical. But I just looked at tickets and they are more than $200 each! Sigh.

Maybe when it comes to Gammage in a few years :)

Also, our family has a team for the Hemophilia Walk on Nov 6, 2011. The Walk is at the Phoenix Zoo and we're inviting all of our friends and family to join us. (Here are photos of the Walk we did a few years ago)

If you are interested in joining us or donating to our team, please visit this website.

Goodbye to Grandma Michele and Grandpa Larry at the airport!

That's us at the minor league baseball game that was rained out (it only rained 3 days the whole month we were there!)

Asher is holding some of his fabulous pre-school art.

Jaxon helps his Uncle David fix the soap dish in the shower. David is such a great kid, he's nice and so helpful!

So there is a lot of randomness from us, and a little update of what's going on in our lives.

I Scream! You Scream! More Ice Cream!

I just looked through our Michigan pictures and about half of them have us eating ice cream.

I guess that's a pretty good sign of a great vacation!

An Adult Mind in a Child's Body

Jaxon's been his funny self lately.

We were organizing the house in preparation for my mother moving in with us for a few months. I got a big plastic tub for each of the kids and told them it was their memory box. I gave them each their baby books, small framed baby pictures, trophies, and other memories to put in it.

As Jaxon is loading his soccer trophies (that have previously been on the shelf) into the box he says to me, "Mom, why am I doing this? It's not like I'm packing for college."

Oh yes, Jaxon, it's not like that. But thanks for seeing through my plan to de-clutter your room!

2. Yesterday our A/C went out, again! I took the kids to Neilsen's for ice cream (and we shared a hamburger). Let me be clear, I didn't get my own ice cream because I'm realizing that it makes me feel sick and I don't want the calories, etc. So I was just sampling Jaxon's lemon custard and didn't realize how much I had eaten until he asks me very politely and innocently, "Mom, why didn't you order your own?"

Yes, you see through me again, Jaxon. :)

3. This morning Jaxon asked me if I thought "Jaxon" was a good name for an adult. He was worried that his name sounded too kid-like. I asked him what name he wanted when he was an adult.

"Nick," he replied.

And June Is Almost Over. . .

I've thought about blogging maybe twice this month. I guess I'm out of practice :)

Here's an update of our lives.

Mark- Just moved offices at work. Now he's by himself, with a lot of room. Apparently the person before him was really messy and had a lot of furniture so people walk by the office and do a double take. He's enjoying the slightly shorter commutes of the summer.

Me- Teaching Zumba 5 times a week. Four at Fitness Works and once at home/ in a studio soon. Check out my Zumba blog for more info. I'm also considering going back to school to get my MBA. I still have a lot of other ideas on the table right now, but since Mark's program seemed so easy (because Mark makes everything look easy, even parenting) and it's a pretty diverse degree, I'm thinking about taking the GMAT and applying for next fall.

Jaxon(8) starts 3rd grade next year and we anticipate success. Second grade was a real turning point for him, as his behavior and reading improved a lot (thanks, Concerta). But honestly, we're really proud of him! He went to Hemophilia Camp for the first time, or as he would say, "Homophilia Camp" and LOVED it. On the way home he said to us, "I can't wait to go back. And when I say I can't wait, I mean I can't wait." Of all the things he did at Camp HONOR, learning to skip rocks was on the top of his list. Jaxon turns 9 next month.

Asher (5) starts kindergarten this fall and will ride the bus with Jaxon and stay all day! We're excited for him. I think he'll love it. He's busy being a little bear cub around the house. He's rough and wrestling, but still loving and sweet. He's my biggest helper around the house, helping me cook and volunteering to take out the garbages and vacuum. Both of his brother's play well with Asher and he's a very brave swimmer, jumping off the diving board at the public pools!

Finn (3) will go to preschool 3 days a week this fall (both of us can't wait!). He is our little social butterfly. He's always asking for friends to come over, or to go to a friends house. More mature than our others, Finn generally asks to play with girls who are older than him, including his long time crush, Mina (5). He's taking swimming lessons for the first time and loves it. He's so independent he doesn't want help and just swims as far as he can holding his breath. Finn is also our most responsible child. He comes into our room at 6:30 AM already dressed and continues to help me out throughout the day.

Our kids are all in swimming lessons for just 2 weeks. I also do a playschool (or I try) a few times a week to keep them interested in something other than the TV.

Big news for our family-

1. My mom is moving in with us for a few months. She and my dad recently divorced and she's going to stay with us for a while to figure out if she wants to go back to school, get a new job, etc. We're excited to have her and hope that we don't drive her crazy with our noise and mess.

2. We're headed to Michigan for July! I've been trying to make this trip happen for a few years, but this year I finally convinced Mark. And while I've been planning the roadtrip since January, I only yesterday decided it was better to buy plane tickets. I'm going to give the credit to my friend Danielle and also to Jaxon who says EVERY TIME we talk about the trip, "I don't want to drive to Michigan. I want to fly." And he has no idea how long 31 hours each way would be. So we dodged a bullet on that one.

Thanks in advance to Mark's family for hosting us while we're out there. We hope that we don't drive them crazy with our mess and noise (Is there a pattern here?).

3. We just returned from a trip to San Diego for Mark's grandfather's memorial service. Grandpa Barney was a wonderful man and we'll miss him deeply. You can see the photos from the funeral here and from our quick visit to the beach (it was 68 degrees!).

Mark's Family at the Gravesite

Grandkids and Greatgrandkids

Super-Dad Mark in Action!

Almost the whole family. . .

(Notice my necklace, it's a photo of Barney when he was young in the Navy) Thanks, Margo!

For Mother's Day!

Just now I got this from Jaxon. It says, "Mom, we love you with all are heart's :)"

Pretty adorble.

I love my kids.

Kids Update

Recently I took Jaxon fishing. It's been fun learning together. He really loves it.

Here's Asher fishing with his friend, Kode.

Here's Finn and his friend Ruby.

This is Jaxon at the Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet. He loves scouts and has a great time working on crafts. Check out his amazing headress!

So here is Finn, 3 years old, thinking he's hillarious by trying on mom's bra. He just cracks me up.

He can be so sweet one minute, then the next minute he's a little demon.

But more than our other kids, he's mature. Yesterday he had a dentist appt and sat still and had x-rays. At 3! Jaxon was almost 7 and Asher as more than 5 when he was old enough for that.

The new bad word in our house is "poopy diaper." It's only a bad word because it really embarasses Jaxon. It's actually kinda funny.

Orange Marmalade Part Deux

Did you know you can make marmalade out of any citrus? Yes! Grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, you name it! And it's really not too hard. It's cheaper than regular jam because you don't have to buy pectin because there is so much pectin in the fruit rind.

About a month ago, my friend Danielle and I made orange marmalade at her house. We use a difficult recipe (that says it's easy!) and it took us about 5 hrs to make 7 pints. There was the peeling, the slicing, the double batch, the boiling, the sugar, the boiling again (2 hrs!), then the attempt at canning with a pressure canner. So much work! So when my mom gave me 3 bags of oranges I decided to try a new, faster recipe.

So the faster recipe did have it's drawbacks. I had to stir a pot of volcanic marmalade for 20 in. Even reaching as far as I could and wearing an oven mitt, the hot jam splattered all over me. It was messy and dangerous. But, the results were delicious!

I've also found I like marmalade with brie on crackers. You should try it sometime!

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Here's a picture of the first recipe vs the second recipe. The first recipe cooked a lot longer and has a darker color, plus more pieces of orange rind because I peeled and julienned all the rinds instead of using the blender.

It's hard to pour the marmalade after it's cooked, so I cut out part of an apple container and cut a hole in the top. It worked better than my funnel which was too narrow. Necessity is the mother of invention?

Here's the place I cut out to make the plastic funnel.

Leftover Magic

I'm learning to use leftovers, which is something I'm starting to have now that I'm cooking again.

Thanks to the Food Nanny, Leslie's aunt, I've put more emphasis on planning, preparing, and cooking healthy food for my family.

And now we have leftovers!

So here are some of the meals we're having and how I'm using the leftovers (in addition to sending them with Mark for lunch). Note- this menu isn't complete because we'll have salad almost every night or add hummus and pita bread if the meal seems sparse, but you get the general picture. Also, I'm planning and shopping for 2 weeks at a time, which makes things a lot more manageable.

M- Pinto Beans and cornbread

T- Taco Salad (use some pinto beans and a can of chili)

W- Grilled veggies and pineapple

Th- Veggie Quesadillas (use some pinto beans and slice up leftover grilled veggies)

F- Pizza (use sliced grilled veggies, add feta)

S- Baked Potato Bar (wrap potatoes in foil and cook in the crockpot for 4 hrs on high. On the back porch if it's too hot inside)

S- Breakfast for Dinner- Eggs and Hash Browns (grate leftover baked potatoes and cook in coconut oil)

M-Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches (leftover grilled pineapple)

T- Spaghetti and Meatballs

W- Stir Fry with brown rice

Th- Enchiladas

F- Soup (if it's not too hot)

S- Tilapia and Lemon Rice

S- Chicken Bryan and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These are just a few ideas. Do you have ideas for easy healthy meals and how to use leftovers?

CARE Conference 2011

3-15-11 Washington Trip

(Click on the photo to see the album)

I got back from Washington last week to a happy family and warm weather.

Now that Spring Break is over, I have time to blog about our trip.

My good friend, Kay Gaisford, coordinated the trip with the CARE staff. They helped us financially by providing a hotel room and 2 free tickets. We managed to get five of us to the conference (Kay, Sue, Lilly, Holly, and Me). These wonderful women are part of a lunch/book group that I attend.

Along with 1200 other attendees, I celebrated International Women's Day at the CARE conference in Washington DC. It started with a celebration of Int'l Women's Day on March 8th. We had a lovely party with performers including India Arie and Michael Franti. I danced and sang along as we celebrated the lives of women across the world.

The next day we had speakers and panels explaining the needs of people in developing nations and what CARE has done to help them. Over the last 5 years, CARE has been involved in 70 countries, staffed by mostly local people. Since I read Half the Sky, I've been more in tune with the issues surrounding maternal mortality, child marriage, and microloans. These issues and many more were covered by experts from around the world.

One of the experts was our friend Sylvia Cabus whom I met at the Exponent retreat last fall. She's a Gender Analyst for the Food Security department of the USAID. We met her for dinner the night before the conference and learned about what the government and private organizations are doing to help families in impoverished nations. In fact, later in the conference I heard one Congressman say, "Poverty is a political condition. We have the means to feed the entire world. What we lack is the political will." I was stunned.

The fabulous lunch keynote was Melinda Gates. She was articulate and passionate about salient issues like immunizations, contraceptives, and health care in developing nations. I was also impressed by the Bush twins who sat on panels and introduced their mother for the evening keynote. Their passion for motivating us to reach out to help others was really uplifting.

But what moved me most was the presentation of the "I Am Powerful" award to Peninah Musyimi. She was presented this award by two women who own WNBA teams. They shared her story of impoverished life in Africa and how Peninah worked to get good grades in school so she could attend college. She was disappointed to learn that the only way she could get a scholarship was to play basketball. So she taught herself how to play basketball in one month! So she got the scholarship, went to college, then on to law school. After she established a career, she went back to her home town in Africa (I'm blanking on the country) and started a non profit called Safe Spaces to provide a place for youth to hang out and take classes to promote their interests and education.

Although the entire conference made me teary, this award was really powerful for me. I was so impressed with this woman's life and sacrifice. In her acceptance speech, she thanked many people in her life and then said, "I thank myself for working so hard." I cried for her and for so many women like her across the world. I wish they could all hear her story and gain strength to fight their everyday battles.

We gave Peninah a standing ovation when she accepted her signed basketball award.

Thursday on Capitol Hill started with a visit to Jeff Flake's office. We had only a few moments with him and he remembered us from a visit to his local office last fall regarding a child marriage bill in his committee. After we discussed our issues he responded, "I have never voted for any international development bill."

His comment quickly deflated our enthusiasm.

Luckily, our other appointments went better. For the most part, the staffers were supportive of our message, especially the Democrats. On the other hand, McCain's staffer didn't know that Cindy McCain was on the board of CARE for years. I hope that he'll support CARE's initiatives in the future.

I know that our voices on Capitol Hill are meaningful. But even more meaningful is our helping each other to support issues that really make the world a better place.

One staffer said it right, "We need you to tell your friends how devastating these cuts can be." The other legislators need to know that slashing the budget will hurt the most vulnerable people. Spread the word."

So that's what I'm doing, spreading the word. I'll keep you updated via Facebook and Twitter about what you can do to support CARE and it's work in developing nations.

In the meantime, right now you can buy chocolate. Here's the deal- From now until the end of this year Full Circle Exchange will match your purchase dollar for dollar (that's 100% of your purchase!) in donations to CARE. The chocolate is amazing (and I hear the coffee is, too!).

I'm so glad I went to the CARE conference this year and I hope to go back in the future.

Mark's Birthday

For Mark's birthday, we went out to lunch. We had a room all to ourselves and the food was great. It was a fancy restaurant (the kind that has heavy silverware).

That night we had some friends over for snacks and games. I'll upload some of the videos when I get over to Mark's side of the computer.

 

 

Domestic is my Middle Name

Before Christmas I took down my old plaid curtains and bought some greenish tweed and put them up for curtains. They looked terrible. I just folded and stapled them. The garland made them a little better but when that came down I went back to the fabric store.

Then I painted the kitchen and sewed these damask curtains yesterday. I actually bought a braid with tassels for the bottom but it didn't look as good on the bottom as I thought it would.

Here's our TV room before the paint.

Here's the same room today! (It's the same color as in the kitchen, but the lighting is different)
The kids are having school with their animals. It was a lot of fun. More fun than painting, even!

I realized I haven't put the photos of the floors up yet, or the other painted walls, so that's next.

And I made marmalade with my friend Danielle yesterday (it took 5 hrs for 7 pints. I recommend strawberry freezer jam instead).
Then I made orange rolls for breakfast.
The kids also just ate the banana pops we made last night.

Jaxon has a special day at school sometimes where they can bring in anything that has the word pop in it. For 'Pop Friday' Jaxon usually brings plain popcorn because the other alternatives are unhealthy. But this week we dipped a banana in chocolate and froze it. All the kids loved it!

Jaxon Says

• 
• Jaxon and Lyda put on a magic show for us. After it was over Jaxon scolded Lyda, "Why did you only say 'Abracadabra'? You were supposed to say, 'Abracadabra, Alamazoo!'" Poor Lyda.
  
  (Here are some other funny Jaxon quotes)
  
  
• "Bakugans are not kissable-proof! (Finn was kissing his Bakugan toys). Kissable-proof means they are not kissable!"
  
  
• One day I started to sing a lullaby Jaxon interrupts me and says, "That's going on my imbecile list."
  
  
• I told Jaxon I liked one of his drawings and he says, "Thank you for appreciating it."
  
  
• Jaxon says to his brother, "Can you get me a spoon, Asher? You are really handsome, Ash."
  
  
• During lunch Jaxon says to me, "Mom I need a phone to call a great detective. Someone took a bite out of my cheese crisp." (It turned out to be him)
  
  
• Jaxon says, "Picking up my stuff is part of our imbecile family!" (he used this word for a while)
  
  
• We drove by an older LDS church with a satellite dish in the back. Jaxon pointed at it and said, "That's how we communicate with God. It's a spaceship."

My Birthday!

Because it's already Asher's birthday (he's 5 today!) it's time for me to blog about mine!
We went to a great church party for New Year's Eve. Lots of good food, friends, games, dancing, kareoke, ping pong, etc. We had a great time. Thanks to my mom for watching the kids!

On the night of my birthday we went to The Melting Pot for the first time with some friends. It was a great experience. I loved that it was more than just a meal, it was a whole event. Delicious food and great friends!

I had to include this photo of the chocolate fondue en flambe!