yea!!!

1 wedding and 2 births in October...good month. added 4 grandchildren and 1 daughter in law.

oops

I just saw that Baby E is due in 6 days. It has now been removed, because Kerry refuses to put Katie back in.

this and that from washington

I believe that Jenna has had her first poptart this morning. I am trying to find things that she will eat by herself so that it is less work on Kerry. She now eats peanut butter on ritz crackers (sandwiches) for lunch. Certainly it is less nutritious than the baby fruits and vegetables she was eating, but lots easier if the mother involved is starving herself. Once we started on food she could eat herself, she is not too thrilled to eat baby food. On one hand, it adds to her independence which she should be working on at this time. I even made her use the spoon and put milk on her cheerios. She likes the spoon.

Breastfeeding seems to be going a little better for Kerry and Katie (the two KJE's here). She is latching on better and will sometimes take both breasts at the feeding. She, Katie, needs to work on sleeping soundly at night instead of the day. She still is hard to wake up in the daytime in order to feed, which is frustrating Kerry alot--Kerry wants to sleep at NIGHT.

Pictures will have to wait until I go home...2 weeks and 1 day to columbus. not that I am counting or anything. It is nice here, but I MISS MY HUSBAND AND MY HOUSE AND HAVING EVERYTHING HAVE A CERTAIN PLACE TO BE.

No word from Carolyn, so I suppose all is still the same. Carolyn, I pray for you at least daily...sometimes more. This last bit of pregnancy is soooo hard. not like the beginning is a piece of cake.

I have to go grocery shopping today..I have put it off for 2-3 days. Now, instead of sunny I have overcast, but if I don't go today, Jenna will run out of milk. but not Katie!!!!

Well, Jenna just unfolded and threw around the clothes that I folded yesterday. Serves me right for not paying attention!!! So, I guess I better go to the store.

slow cooker chicken cordon bleu

I made a delicious, easy meal here that I want to remember so I can make it at home. Sorry, Carolyn, I don't think Dan likes stuffing:

Ingredient:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (can put in frozen). enough to cover the bottom of the crockpot for three, layering if you want to serve more.
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 oz sliced ham
4 oz sliced swiss cheese
1 8 oz package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter melted ( the day I made this, we had no butter in house, so I poured on some half and half.

Directions:

Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the woup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and swiss cheese. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top. Drizzle the butter over the stuffing. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. (or longer if you aren't ready to eat yet.}


Man was this good. mmm, hmmm

BTW, this came from allrecipes.com

level of busyness

I truly have to say that I am much busier here at Kerry's than I was in Portland with swimming 3 days a week. People who think stay-at-home mothers have lots of free time haven't been around them very long. I am still reading the first book I started. Lots of attention to laundry, Jenna, meals, etc.

I am enjoying myself, but it sure is busy

ah, primary

so, I went to Primary with Kerry today. I stepped right into "go sit where the teacher didn't show up so all her kids are acting out". I was sitting with the ctr 5 class. This very active guy showed Kerry how to bowl (during program practice), told me he was moving to Japan (sayanara, dude), and that he was going to a soccer party at 2 and he wanted to be at the party (Yeah, I can tell that). Then he told me how when he grew up he was going to be in the army, get a rifle, and proceeded to mime mowing down the primary with his rifle. Yeah, I remember military wards. It was shivery. Just like when I really was in one. There are certain dynamics that must be eternal.

Oh, and I was driven to Washington state yesterday by Ryan and Vicki. Thanks. And I forgot to give you gas money before you left!!

Welcome home

I am the one in charge when the boys get home from school. I almost always call out "Welcome home" when they come through the door. A couple of days ago, Sammy said, "I feel very welcomed." It kind of reminds me of a friend's blogpost. Now I was a single parent myself once, and also have had to work sometimes when married. But I believe the ideal is to have mom home to say "Welcome home" is a value. Feel free to have your own opinion.

politicsand the bailout

I don't usually get too political. But this bailout of wall street makes no sense to me. For an interesting take on this, comparing it to the Titanic, see this.

I am lost

and alone on some...forgotten highway...traveled by many, remembered by few (source????)

It has been a long time from home, 4 1/2 weeks, if the count is right. I miss my hubby. I miss my home. I miss my friends. I miss my ward.

I am truly glad to be able to provide this service for Ryan, Ryan and Vicki, R, V, and Sam and Jacob. I am excited to go to Kerry and Braden's home this weekend and play my heart out with Jenna and help with delivery, recovery, breastfeeding, sibling adjustment, etc. I don't see enough of this family.

but I miss hubby, etc.

Just sayin'

love,
mom

nice quote

On segullah.com/blog (i think), I found this lovely quote:

Sister Hinckley once said:

“I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden.
I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

So Ryan received his endowments on Wed, Oct 1. He looked sorta like a deer in the headlights, but hasn't said to us anything about it. The wedding was Oct 3rd at the Portland temple. This temple is GORGEOUS. I really like it. The celestial room has a mezzanine! And lots of polished wood throughout the temple. The sealing took place at 11:00am. They looked handsome and beautiful, depending on which you were talking about. Vicki's 2 boys waited with Nana in the foyer, which has an attached atrium (probably because of the frequent rain here) where you can take some pictures. It was predictably rainy, but we did get a brief period to take some outdoor pictures before it absolutely poured. Ryan says no pictures on the blogs until he posts. Well, anyway, I don't know how to put pictures up on this computer.

Afterwards, we had a brunch at Sweet Tomatoes, which has salad bar, soup bar, bakery, breads, drinks. It was lovely, and thanks to the Wellings who paid for it.

David and I then took naps back at the little house.

There was a ring ceremony with welcoming addresses by Vicki's grandfather, her uncle Terry and David (my david). Ryan wrote a lovely poem for Vicki that he recited. His soft voice prevented me from hearing all of it, but he left it up on his computer, so I actually saw the words. Very lovely. Vicki had some words for Ryan, and then they exchanged rings. Ryan is wearing his on his right ring finger, cause that's the way they do it in Russia. (weirdo russophile).

The reception was in the evening, 7-9. The 1/2 cultural hall was decorated lovingly by some of the ward sisters and a relative of Vicki's (I can't remember the connection). There was an arch where more photos were taken. The ward sisters baked a variety of bar cookies and cookies. I read a toast that Ryan's sortatwin Ty wrote because she couldn't come and was the best Man/person/woman. Vicki's mom read a toast from Jacki, who is Vicki's twin sister, who is in Korea and couldn't come. They drank and Ryan spilled sparkling juice on
Vicki. Later, they had a first dance...a waltz that they had been practicing almost daily for. They looked nervous at first, but then loosened up. When they cut the wedding cake, no cake was smashed.

The plan had been for them to leave for Bend for their honeymoon right from the reception, but when Ryan changed out of his tux, he realized that he had no shoes, so they came back to the house to get some. The church, where they had the reception is only 5-10 minutes away, so this wasn't too bad.

Then came the cleanup, and then David and I came home to collapse.

All in all, a great time.

Portland Street names

Okay, so I love Salt Lake City and its grid system. Wherever you go, you know where you are by the address. You can find anything.

Portland has at least created a quarterly system: You live either in NW, SW, NE, or SE. East and west are divided by the Willamette River (pronounced will AM it). North and South are divided by, I think, Baseline Road. So, you can tell which quarter of the city you are in just by the street name, for example, SW 170th street. NW Blah Street (ok, I made that one up, but I am in the SW so that's pretty much what I know) (except there is probably a NW 170th also).

My peeve is this. SW Blah court, SW Blah lane, SW Blah street, SW Blah Ave., SW Blah Road, SW Blah cirle, etc. I mean it. And there is no rhyme or reason for where these streets are located. If you are aiming for a BLVD, and are on a street, you could be ANYWHERE in relation to where you want to be.

yikes.

I LOVE SNL

Just in memory of our snl debate video. I did not get to see the actual debate because of the time difference I missed it.





And Governor Palin: