Chickens are Digging it!

Signing up for Netflicks has opened up a whole new world for my kids who, up till now, have survived on a movie only diet.

Unfortunately they have developed an obsession with one show in particular: Power Rangers.

I swear my I.Q. has dropped since they started watching it. What I didn't realize is that there are about 23476234987 different Power Ranger series, and my kids are determined to see them all.

Seems I'll be brain dead before long.

They also sit around and argue over who is which color. The girls both want to be the pink ranger, and the boys either want to be the red or green ranger.



Last night, the following took place.

Power Ranger Green says, "So, what's the rule about wearing suits on dates, eh? 'Cause I bet chicks would dig it! Am I right? Or am I right?" 

Then Jacob pipes up, "I'm the Green Power Ranger and chickens are digging it! Am I right? I am right! Cause chickens dig!!"


I bet his dating life is going to be awesome.

P.S. I doing a 100 fan giveaway on my FB Craft Page starting at 12pm MST! Don't miss out!

Dentists and Dirty Looks

Sorry I skipped the Recipe Round-up this week. All truth be told, I didn't get around to grocery shopping until Thursday night, and after that goofy vlog I did on Friday in which I said, and I quote, "I hope we have a good weekend too, and no one ends up puking like they did last weekend..."

Ya, guess who was reacquainting their face with the toilet a few hours later? Huuhh? That right, MWAH!

It was so.... not awesome. My stomach muscles still hurt from that. Then all day Saturday I was super nauseous and light-headed. At least Hubby was rather grand and delicious, and cleaned the house for me. At least by yesterday I was feeling all better.

Then I discovered that my dinner list is lost. Blast it all.

I promise we'll do it next week though!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took all five children with me to the dentist last Thursday since the three older kids and myself all had appointments.

My children weirdly love going to the dentist. They get to watch TV on the ceiling and pick out prizes. Fixing cavities and needle pricks are apparently a small price to pay for such delights... er, something.

We always have the same hygienists work on us so obviously over the past couple years they have come to know us rather well, even though we only go in every six months.

The hygienist who always cleans my teeth is this really sweet, young mommy of two. She just had her second baby a few months ago.

Every time we go in she peppers me with questions about how many more kids I want, how closely my kids are spaced, was it all planned, how do I deal with this situation or other, how do I feel about this or that, what are my outlets to all the craziness, how do I rejuvenate as an individual, etc. I do my best to answer her questions without drooling or spitting on her, or biting her fingers off while they are in my mouth.

Because that would be awkward.

When we finished up this last time, she smiled and said, "I just love talking to moms like you who aren't afraid to admit they love being a mom or to have lots of kids. It really inspires me."

For some reason this made me pause. I don't know exactly why it stuck with me so, but in truth I never really considered that having children, or loving them and actually wanting to be home with them, would be something someone would consider "inspiring". It both uplifted and saddened me.

In truth I don't care how many children someone decides to have. (outside of certain bad or terrible circumstances of course) It's not my place to pass judgement. Since I can never truly understand someones upbringing, personality, desires, needs, or capabilities, nor will I know all the good or bad things that have happened in their life that have shaped them into who they are, why would it ever be my place to judge someone who has one child or eight?

I've seen the judgement passed both ways. Some on those who have no or few children, and some who have a crazy amount. But I've known people who have struggled for years on end and spent oodles of money to get that one or two children, just like I know people who have become pregnant while using two or three forms of birth control.

I can still quite distinctly remember my "oops... surprise!" pregnancy with Jacob. My third baby in less than three years, the disapproving glares, the snide remarks, and the questioning of my intelligence was all a little too much for me at the time. It got to the point where I was actually quite embarrassed to go out in public because I dreaded the reactions.

Now, that I am a older and hopefully a bit wiser and tougher, I only feel sadness for those people who belittled me. They did not understand the situation, they did not know me, they did not know how tough it was for me. They simply... judged me.


By the time we were all done at the dentist, it had been two and a half hours. HOURS!

Do you know what happens to a group of toddlers after they have been trying so hard to be good for HOURS in a small space?

Ya... they start to not be so good anymore. In the last half hour before we left, I had stopped Alayna from jumping on the puzzles, broke up four fights, told the kids to stop running and screaming through the doors, and to not bother anyone with a stinking touch phone by asking if they have any games on them! Gah!

As I trudged out the door, dragging my by now loud and whinny children behind me, who also happen to be starving since it was almost 6pm and they hadn't eaten since lunch, I could feel the judgmental stares boring into my back.

And I confess, in the moment, I felt quite embarrassed.

If only those people knew how good the kids had been for the first two whole hours we had been there. And instead of passing judgement, they could have just... held the door open for us.

What that little hygenist doesn't know, is that she too inspired me. She simply saw the good. And sometimes, that's all we should do.


I hope I too will always pause before passing judgement and remember that most of us are simply doing the best we know how.

A Friday Vlog

I've had a bit of writer's block this week, so sorry for cheating and doing a vlog.

It's a bit long-winded, and has no point to it whatsoever. Sounds awesome, right?

No? Oh....

If you actually watch it, I will give you one of my Cadbury Mini Eggs!

Oh wait... I ate them all.

Blast.




Wow. I've never realized before just how many times I say, "anyway". Huh...

Anyway, guess I better work on that.

When Facebook Reveals Your Secrets

This picture was taken at a water park a couple years back by one of my children and had at one time been my Facebook profile picture.

Yesterday, it was brought into the spotlight.

So I guess what they say is true. Facebook really does reveal all your personal information!

Dang.

Alayna Moons the Congregation

In case you're wondering if the title of this post happens to be some sort of metaphor for something, let me assure you, it's not.

Sunday morning dawned, bringing with it a sick Savannah (my oldest). She kept complaining about a hurting stomach and was soon throwing up.

Naturally today she's perfectly fine.

In any case it was decided that daddy would stay home with her, and despite his best efforts to convince me to take Claira as well, the baby stayed home with daddy too. Somehow he has failed to understand that I can only be bribed with chocolate.

So I only had the three toddlers (ages 3, 4, 5) to handle on my own. Pah... cake, right?

Unfortunately by poor choice on my part, Alayna was dressed in a loose fitting brown skirt size 4/5. True she's only three but I had to whip out all the 4T - 5T clothes to cover her rather robust little frame.

Near the end of Sacrament meeting, Alayna, who had been coloring next to me, stood up in her seat to sit on my lap. Unfortunately, the edge of her skirt was caught under her boot which subsequently pulled both her skirt AND her undies down, flashing her cute and naturally tan bare little bum for all the congregation to see.

Pish, some people have all the luck.

The naturally tan bum part, not the mooning the congregation part! Just so we're clear.

Oh, and did I mention we were sitting only one row back from the front? In the middle section? Yea......

I glanced back to see a couple people drop their jaws and burst out into quiet laughter.

Greeaaatttt....

The only thing I had going for me was the little old ladies sitting directly behind us were mostly asleep and seemed to have missed the whole episode altogether.

Good thing too. The last thing I want is to be responsible for giving one of them a heart attack.


You know, this brings back memeories of the time Alayna pulled my skirt down in the middle of church....

Recipe Round-Up

One of the biggest reasons I started doing these recipe posts is that I would be inspired and driven to actually cook the recipes I found on Pinterest, rather than just, Ooooh-oo-oooohhh, that looks yummy! Piiiinnn iiittt.... *yawn* Wow, what a productive afternoon! Now, what's for dinner.... mac n' cheese anyone?

Oh come on, you know you've done that too. *crickets chirping*  No?

*cough* Well... neither have I! It was just... an impersonal example. Yea.... yea! That's all it was! *shifty eyes* Honest!

Anyhow, these are the new recipes I tried out this week.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

My kids don't particularly care for enchiladas and up till now, I had always thought it was the hot or spicy-ness of the dish in general.  However,  I am now re-thinking my opinion. I'm starting to believe it must the name, or perhaps the dish's general appearance that they find to be so offensive. For, despite this dish being sweet n'tasty, all but one turned their noses up at it right from the moment I set their plates down. Pish, whatever. They can eat saltine crackers for the rest of their lives.

Granted, it took a lot less bribing coaxing to get them to finish their dinner than it does when I make regular enchiladas, so I guess that's something!

Hubby and I really liked it. It was different, sweet, and yummy.

Just be forewarned: The recipe does require a bit of fore-thought since you marinade the chicken.  Which is why this has been on my dinner list for four weeks but I just barely made it last night. That's how much fore-thought I put into dinner.

Taste: 4 out of 5 stars

Ease: 3 out of 5 stars
Time: 2.5 out of 5 stars


Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bow tie Pasta

I'm considering setting up a new recipe rating system.  This new system will based on how dirty my kitchen is afterwards and how many dishes it took to make . Gah!

This recipe was down-right delish, seriously, it was really good. But holy pain-in-the-dishwasher! I think I used a gazillion dishes to make this baby and when I was done, my kitchen looked like it threw up itself. 

Well... more than it usually does anyway.

And this was the recipe mentioned in THIS POST. You know, when Savannah's all upset at me for burning the chicken? Yea........

Anyway, it took a bit more effort than I like to spend on an average dinner night so this one will be reserved for special occasions only.

P.S. I don't have a food processor so put the corn flakes in a ziplock and used my rolling pin to crush everything.

Taste: 5 out of 5 stars

Ease: 2 out of 5 stars
Time: 2 out of 5 stars

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not that I'm one to boast or brag about such things, but I've eaten a whole lot of cookies in my time, a whole lot. So, I gotta be honest. These were NOT the best cookies I've ever tried. And in truth, I didn't particularly love the chocolate chip cookie part. I would recommend just using your own favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

However, I will say they were heavenly eaten fresh and warm, when the oreo cream was all gooey and the chocolate chips were melty.... yea baby. Total yumminess.

So I did nuke them in the microwave every time I snitched, cause they tasted the best when they were warm. Ahem... not that I snitched in the very often mind you!

The weirdest thing though, I had to lay on my back and suck in real hard to button my pants the other day. Can't quite figure out why.....

They are also the size of your hand! Well, my hand anyway. And you all know how looooong my feet are so, just imagine how long my hands are!   (Pissstt... *whipsering* Just so you know, I don't like to use the word "big" when talking about my hands or feet. They don't seem to care for that term very much and are a little a little sensitive about it.)

Taste: 4 out of 5 stars

Ease: 4 out of 5 stars
Time: 3 out of 5 stars




Okay, time to spill the beans! What recipes have you guys tried or made recently? Link up or comment and let me know! (P.S. I do have several of your recommended recipes on my dinner list. I just haven't made them yet, but I will!)

A Successful Mom

You know you're a successful Mom...

....on that day when you realize the kids have developed your awesome fashion sense.

Perhaps I should be more aware of what I'm wearing on days I'm not going anywhere.

Not too long ago, I was getting ready for bed only to discovered I had been wearing my shirt inside-out all day long.


Now that's fashion sense.

Granny Saves Valentine's Day

True story - My mom (aka: Granny) sent my kids a big package of Valentine's Day goodies, which we received last Friday.

True story -  I may have *ahem* snitched a few of the chocolates. Also, when I realized I didn't have any treats for the young women I was teaching in church last Sunday, I may have... "borrowed" a few treats from the bag.

True story - I bought another bag of chocolate Monday morning to replace all the, er... missing pieces.

True story - By Tuesday afternoon, the bag of chocolate was gone.



Hey, *pish* in my defense, I didn't eat every single piece myself! Hubby ate.... a couple. *nervous laugh*



But it was when I realized the chocolate bag was empty Valentine's Day afternoon, that also I realized something else. I had nothing grand planned for family dinner or anything! No heart shaped pizzas, no pink pancakes, no special pink-frosted cookies, nothing.

Blast.

I hereby nominate myself for the World's Most Un-cool Mom award.

Now I had double guilt.

Then a flicker of a life-saving idea began to shed light on how I could save the day... with a little help from Granny.

I went to the package she sent and pulled out the coloring book she had also included.

True story - That's as far as my decorating went.

I do take some small comfort in the fact that the kids LOVED it and were totally excited about it. Fighting over who got to color which picture only lasted a few minutes. So that was good too.

And that's what guilty people do, try to find things to make them feel better about their evil misdeeds. (not that snitching chocolate is an evil misdeed, more like... mild misguidance)

At least one person overlooks my faults.

The fact that she doesn't know any better has nothing to do with it thank-you-very-much!

Okay, by the way Claira is looking at me in this picture I may be slightly incorrect in my assumptions.

Anyway.... after a very non-exciting dinner, the kids got their Valentine cards and treats from Granny and Papa.

Even Claira loved hers.

True story - I was feeling so guilty about their candy that I made Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies, but by the time  they had actually stuffed their faces with all the other candy they still had from Granny, believe me, they had had plenty! So they didn't get any of the cookies that night.


The only complaint I got was that there hadn't been any balloons.

Note to self: Next V-day, balloons. All the way.

So, thank you mom for saving Valentine's Day this year! Who knew you were going to do such a thing when you mailed that off, eh?

And this is for you, from the kids. If you can understand them.



True story.

P.S. My "Kind Words" post was featured over at Or So She Says yesterday!

A Family Night

I speak only truth when I say, letting your little toddlers help in the kitchen is messy, frustrating, and messy. Did I mention is was messy, or that it was messy?

Just checking.

But sometimes I'm okay with that. Sometimes I just don't care. Especially when the dinner I'm making has already turned my kitchen into a junkyard of dirty bowls and appliances, flour has been scattered clear across my counter tops, and oil has painted my stove with splatters.

I won't be making THAT recipe again for a while, that's for darn sure.

Savannah usually doesn't show much interest in helping me cook (she doesn't like to get her hands dirty) but last night, when I offered to let her"beat" the chicken, she was all for it!

She started out a little timid,

but she soon got the hang of it and let that poor chicken have it!

Once the fun part of beating the chicken was accomplished, she took it upon herself to be my "recipe reader".

"Mom, you need to do this now... Did you do that right... Are you burning it!?!? That's wrong! You're not suppose to burn it!!"

Oh ya, so helpful.

She even read all the comments at the bottom of the recipe and later, while we were eating, she said, "Mom, you need to leave her a comment and tell her you messed up, cause you burned this chicken."

Thank you.... thank you very much for that.

New rule. No body's allowed to help me cook, unless flattery falls from the mouth at all times. "Wow mom, you're so great to burn the chicken so that we can remember to be thankful for all the times you don't burn it. Thank you for being such a great mom like that."

I do what I can.

It was almost bedtime before we got around to our family home evening activity which was, helping the kids make their valentines!

They took this very seriously and despite my efforts to insist that everyone stop fighting and have fun because hang it all, this is going to be fun, Savannah and Joseph didn't allow anyone to touch the ones that were "theirs". All that was missing was a, "But he's looking at mine!" That would have made my night complete.

 When I found this idea and thought I was so smart and clever and cheap for choosing it, it wasn't until we were ready to start making them that I realized three things.

One, my printer is almost out of ink.

Two, by the time we printed out enough capes and masks, we would be broke trying to pay for all that ink. (Okay not really, but it sure seemed like it.)

And three, cutting out all the masks would be a pain in the royal bum. (not to be confused with a royal pain in the bum)

So Hubby came up with the cheap solution.


What they are suppose to look like.

Original idea, instructions, and print outs, HERE

What the teachers are getting.

I think the tape sticking out like alien ears is a nice touch.

What all the other kids are getting.

I think the construction paper is very classy, don't you?.

I still can't decide if my exceptional drawing skills make the "mask" look like an actual mask, or a pair of nerdy glasses.

And despite my desire to have everyone love and adore me for my great and marvelous creativity and exceptional skill in all things crafty, let's face it.

I'm just too darn cheap and lazy to ever achieve that.

The end.

"I'm so awesome."

No time to blog today.

So this is for you... again. My favorite picture ever.

When Jacob saw that I was posting this, he said, "Hey! That's me asleep on the toilet! Hahaha.... I'm so awesome."


Well, at least my children don't have a shortage of self-esteem.

Grocery Shopping and the Recipe Round-Up

I do my grocery shopping on a two-week schedule. Every other Saturday I take my list of groceries that coincide with the 14 dinners I have planned out, and make the grocery run that fills my cart to overflowing.

I found this really cut back on what we spent since I wasn't replenishing the snacks every week.

On the rare occasion that Hubby comes with me, we always end up with really nasty food, like corndogs and fish sticks.  *gag, heave, bleh*

When I go by myself, I usually end up grabbing a few teensy little "extras". You know, an "extra" bag of chocolate chips... or two... or four. An "extra" bag of whatever holiday candy happens to be out to tempt the poor unsuspecting, delicate little souls to break down and ruin any diet or healthy eating scheme that the sweet, innocent little creature happens to be determinately trying to do, effectively killing any sense of self-esteem that person may have developed over having achieved this goal for a new record of 16 hours and sending them on a down-spiral of chocolate binge eating and candy hogging! And there's no one to blame but the stores!

*huge intake of breath*

Or not.

The more likely scenario is that that person is really a hardened choco-criminal whose veins bleed brown and they understand that grocery shopping every two weeks is for one sole purpose.

To replenish the chocolate supply.

But sometimes circumstances turn out such that I miss that other Saturday (not that I was actually talking about myself back there you know *cough*) and by the time I get around to going, it could be any day of the week. You sure learn to be creative during those extra days and the bright side is that you eat up everything. Any leftovers, all the least favorite fruit.... the celery.

Well this week I had missed that last Saturday and didn't go until late Tuesday night. Then I had the cooking lazies and only bothered to make a real dinner a couple times this week. Because I'm Super Awesome Mom.

So here are the few new recipes I tried out this week.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

We love spinach dip around here, and on occasion, we may or may not actually make that a whole meal.

Mostly because I don't make anything else. But meh, who keeping tabs?

Still, I thought this recipe sounded interesting so we gave it a try. Hubby and I liked it and the kids didn't seem to mind it. They ate some anyway, so that has to count for something! Right?

My Alterations - The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of hot sauce and red pepper flakes. Knowing how much my kids detest spicy food, I only put in one teaspoon of hot sauce and no pepper flakes. It was just the right amount for us. So beware, if you don't like spicy food, don't put in the whole tablespoon! Oh, and I didn't use any white wine. 

Taste: 4 out of 5 stars

Ease: 4 out of 5 stars
Time: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pizza Casserole

What's so funny about this recipe is that I didn't really pay attention to it! I just did a quick look-over of the ingredients and jotted down what I needed. It wasn't until I was in the process of actually making it when I realized something. The recipe was almost exactly the same as another dish I make fairly often - because it's easy and that all my kids will eat it - Baked Pasta. The only difference with this recipe is that it uses egg noodles instead of penne pasta, and you stick pepperoni on top. That's it!

So in this house, it was already a tried and true meal, especially for the kids.

Taste: 5 out of 5 stars

Ease: 4 out of 5 stars
Time: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Chubby Hubby Truffles

Okay. So I confess. One of the main reasons I wanted to try this recipe was because of the title. I laugh every time I say it. I mean seriously, "Chubby Hubby Truffles". Hahaha! I could say that ALL day long! And I have. I don't know why. I just think it's awesome.

Anyway, this was a pretty simple recipe and yes, it was delish. I told Hubby I was making them for him; they are called Chubby Hubby Truffles after all. Hahahaha....... eh hem, sorry. But he didn't believe me. He said I had ulterior motives.

Pish, what kind of a girl does he think I am!!

And the fact that was right has nothin' to do with it!

Chubby Hubby Truffles.... tehehehe.....


My Alterations - I read in one of the reviews that theirs was a little dry, so I took half a cup off the crushed pretzel amount. I also used regular, salted butter and just skipped the "pinch of salt". And last, instead of drizzling with melted peanut butter, I used leftover Dulce de leche. (Fancy carmel sauce, it comes in a can and you can find it at your local Walmart. But wow is it tasty!) 


Taste: 5 out of 5 stars
Ease: 5 out of 5 stars
Time: 4 out of 5 stars


Oh, and one last thing. HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME THE LINK TO THE SNICKERS PIE WAS WRONG???


I can only be perfect for two days out of the week you know. And clearly the day I posted that recipe was not one of them. So I fixed the link from last week's recipe roundup and here it is again. Just because I'm sorry, humbly and deeply so if it caused you to miss out on gaining the ten pounds from eating this whole thing yourself. Snickers Pie

Your welcome.

Now, get to telling us what yummy recipes you've tried lately and link up the ones from your blog. Even if they are old ones!

Of Messes and Wrinkles

And you thought your house was messy.

HA! See, now isn't your day just looking so much better already?


Okay, in self defense, this wasn't my fault! This time anyway. And I would like to think that no matter how awesome my kids are, or how thoroughly trained and talented they are in the art of mess-making, even I would be impressed if they could take all the furniture apart and move it around.

Very impressed indeed.

Not that I wouldn't put it past them.

And no, we aren't moving either. Last Saturday (as in a week ago) we got our carpets stretched. And believe you me. They needed it! There were wrinkles everywhere, in every room.

It was like how my stomach looks a few weeks after giving birth... or eight months after giving birth... *awkward silence* you know what? Let's just not talk about that anymore.

But having wrinkles and inch or two high in your stomach carpet is really bad for it and ruins it when vacuumed and walked over, so it needed to be done.

As a result, we took everything, and I do mean everything, that was touching the floors in all the rooms upstairs, and moved it into the kitchen. Everything else that wouldn't fit we just played musical rooms with until all the rooms were taken care of.

Then we got a brilliant idea. We should clean the carpets too! Because yes, we are brilliant like that thank-you-very-much.

So Hubby called up the Bishop of our ward, who happens to own the discount theatres around town, and asked if we could borrow his carpet cleaner. He was gracious and said we could.

Later that afternoon, hubby picked it up and came back with this hunk-a-thing. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this fancy gadget!

When we were finished, our house smelled like theatre popcorn.


It was really late Saturday night by the time we were done, and since we needed to let the carpet dry, we had the kids sleep downstairs.

Sunday after church we moved the big furniture back into the living room and hubby put the kid's NEW used bunk beds together.

Yes, you read right. FINALLY, after my kids sleeping on mattresses on the floor since they were each old enough to be moved from the crib to make way for the next kid, we got bunk beds!

Nothing fancy to be sure. We found them at a used furniture place for $69 each. EACH! Wahoo! So we got a set for the boys and the girls.

Apparently they were from an army base, but are solid oak and very sturdy. Come spring, I intend to paint them and the kid's rooms, and for the first time in their lives, decorate!

Oh ya... I've got plans I tell you. Big plans.

And yes. The safety rail is just tied on. The bunks didn't come with any so we bought wood for Hubby to add to them. He just hasn't gotten around to attaching them yet, so they are tied on.

Because we're awesome like that and not at all ghetto. *cough*


The down side to this tale.

Here we are, Friday morning almost a week later, and I STILL have not put everything back. Seriously, my kitchen looks like it threw up on itself.

Awesome.

So today, I will attempt the tame the disaster beast that is currently residing in my kitchen, consuming all in it's path.

Maybe by the time I'm done wrestling with it, I will have smoothed a wrinkle or two of my own.

From my stomach.


I know how to dream big.

That's What Moms are For

picture by Seriously Gina

I got a call from Savannah Friday afternoon.

S: Mom? I accidentally had an accident.

Me: Uhhhh.....  really?

S: Ya. I was trying to open my juice but somehow it broke and spilled all over me and now I'm soaked.

Me: Oh.



Ohhhhhhhhhhh..... gottcha.

After a few more minutes it was decided I would drop off some new clothes for her. I threw the other kids into the car, somewhat literally, and drove over to the school. Leaving the car right in front of the elementary's front doors, I ran in to hand Savannah her clothes.

I walked her to the bathroom and waited so I could take her wet clothes home with me but since I had left all the kids in the car, I felt she was moving along way to slow. I told her to open the stall and I went in and helped her change and tied her shoes in a hurry.

By the time we were done the bathroom had magically filled to overflowing, the only way a girl's bathroom can, with other little females who appeared to be about Savannah's age or a bit older.

As their eyes shifted from the two of us as we walked out of the stall together, to the pile of wet clothes in my arms, I could tell what they were thinking.

That she had had THAT kind of accident.

Savannah stood next to me, smiling up at my face, completely innocent as to how the other kids were interpreting the situation.

A weird sort of defensiveness rose up inside and I felt the need to set everything straight so she wouldn't get teased or made fun of, even though it was clear Savannah didn't know any of these kids.

So I stood in the middle of the twittering crowd of little girls and said loud enough for all to hear, "I'm sorry I didn't bring you a new juice box since you spilled your other one all over your clothes."

Savannah said it was okay and we started to leave. As I walked by a couple of the girls, one leaned over and whispered to the other, "So that's what happened!"

I felt relieved and I confess, a bit proud of myself that I had taken the extra moment to set the record straight even though it probably didn't matter. But I think we are allowed to be proud after a moment like that.

It's a mommy thing. I mean, come on, who else gets super excited and proud when their kids poops in the toilet for the first time? Geesh.

Savannah will probably never know how I had helped her, but that's what mommys are for.

Makes me wonder how many times my mom saved my bacon and I never knew it. Which only makes her that much more awesome. Especially since she didn't have a proud mom cheering her on in her corner of life's arena.

Her mom preferred the heavy hand and cruel tongue method. You would never know it, but she survived a lot. More than most people know.

And that's why she's so awesome. She decided she would never be like that.

And she wasn't.

Although, she does play a mean game of Angry Birds.