Thursday Thirteen...Sunday Nights

When I was growing up we ate our fancy Sunday dinner immediately after church, no matter what time we went to church. My mom is not only a fantastic cook, she's very, very fast. So, we always had a nice roast or chicken or whatever it might be for our Sunday dinner. But at some point during the evening hours, we would be hungry. So what did we eat? Popcorn. A lot of home popped popcorn. As a side note, our popcorn pan looked pretty bad, because we never washed it, which is actually very important to making a great batch of popcorn! The lid never fit and it was always so exciting when it started to pop. I have an old pan with a lid that doesn't fit, so I make a pretty good batch of popcorn.

But I digress...

On occasion, we too have popcorn for our Sunday night dinner, but there are a few other things on our list:

1. Scones. Filled with butter, honey, jam, pretty much anything!

2. Jello and toast. Did I mention we had Jello...every Sunday growing up? We aren't quite as good at that, but we do have it and it is good for a treat at night with a little bite of toast.

3. Peaches (or pears or applesauce) and toast. Also very good.

4. Big Chips. Just fry up some corn tortillas and you've got some good stuff, baby. I didn't say these were healthy options! Dip in refried beans or salsa and sour cream.

5. Tostadas. Did you know you can buy big chips already made? They are just crisp corn tortillas sold in a big bag by the other tortillas. Open a can of refried beans, spread on tortilla, top with cheese and cook under a low broil.

6. While you've got the broiler thought on...cheese on toast is fantastic, especially on French bread or homemade bread. Get those peaches out again!

7. We've also been known to have granola bars dipped in applesauce, though that's not the most filling dinner.

8. Scrambled eggs...as long as you didn't have that for breakfast!

9. Cold Cereal...see #8!

10. Frozen pizza/burritos/fish sticks

11. Go to your moms or your mother-in-laws

12. Or maybe the neighbors...don't you think we should all be getting together more?

13. Homemade lunchables...cheese, crackers, cold cuts...and a little cookie. Nice!

So, what do you eat for Sunday 'dinner'?

John and Kate and 1/2 of 8

O.K. I love Jon and Kate Plus 8. The new episodes are on Monday's and I drive John crazy with my recording. As I have watched it I have come to realize that we too could be t.v. stars because we have a LOT in common!

1. We have kids the same age. Jack is the same age as their twins, and Jane is the same as their sextuplets. Well, in t.v. seasons they are pretty much the same, although I think Kate's kids are older in real life :). Don't you love how I call her Kate, just like she's my friend?

2. We have the same names. This really should be number one. It's just that I don't go by Kate and John has an h and is not really named Jonathon. But it's really close.

3. She is very organized and has lists every where.

4. She feeds her kids organically. I, too, feed my kids.

5. We have the same phone, set on the same ringer. One time I had it on and their phone rang and John called for me to answer it! Hah!

6. Kate and I have short hair. Her's is cuter but that is beside the point.

7. In the early episodes you can see that she has the same table set that I do. It's funny though, because she gave hers to her brother, and I got mine from my brother. I think I am a nerd for even knowing this.

8. They go to church every Sunday.

9. She and Jon sometimes get stressed out.

10. She's very tired at the end of the day.

11. She loves a good bag.

12. Wow, I am running out of things we have in common! Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to think I could be t.v. star!

13. What do you watch?

13 Cheap Thrills

(Editor's note...I started this entry in April (found the draft today) so the first 5 things were written then. #4 has since been cleaned up!)

What makes you smile?
Here are 13 wacky things that I've smiled about this week...you're tagged if you want to or leave your crazy wacky things in the comment so I can smile some more!

1. Getting Katie Anne out of her crib in the morning or after a nap. Her huge grin and arm/leg wagging makes me feel like such a rock star!

2. Singing You Light Up My Life through the grocery store. It was playing on the overhead speakers so it isn't that wierd.

3. Jane's funny comments as I got dressed this morning.

4. Buying a sundae to share with John on our engagiversary and it sloshed all over the cupholder in the van. It is still there to bring me continued joy of an out of the ordinary moment.

5. Jeffrey putting food in only on the side of his mouth because he has a loose tooth.

6. Playing 'Driving Princesses' in the pool...thank's for the idea, Shar!

7. Laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away all on the same day!

8. Making something everyone likes for dinner.

9. Getting more than 5 comments on a post.

10. Fixing a toy that the kids thought only Daddy could fix.

11. Getting a high score on my scrabble game online.

12. Buying something new and not needed (like I bought a nightgown yesterday after sleeping in t-shirts for the last forever). (Also, this cheap thrill can get expensive so don't do often!)

13. Making up a fun song and not hearing anyone say, "Quit singing Mom!" like they do when I sing regular, already written songs.

FHE Thursday Thirteen

Here is a helpful Thursday Thirteen to those of you like me who may not always get FHE planned until the last minute.

Use the gospel art kit to have some fun, quick lessons.

1.For this first activity, pull out all the modern day prophet pictures. You might have to find one of President Monson to add to your collection! Next, the caller calls a prophet's name and the other family members take turns being the finder. For the younger kids they would wave their hands over the pictures while we sang. When we were soft they were far from the picture, when they we close we sang really loud! Once the picture is found I read a small quote off the back.

2. Another game is to pick out several pictures from just one section. The Book of Mormon and New Testament sections work best. Mix up the pictures then have the kids put the pictures in order of when it happened. They might be surprised to find that the Ether comes way before the other stories in terms of chonology.

3. Have each person pick a picture out from anywhere in the box. Then they have to tell as much as they can about that picture.

4. Each person picks a picture and slides it into a file folder without anyone seeing what they picked. Then they give clues about their person or event until someone guesses what it is.

5. Have a basket of 'props'. Pull out a picture or have some already set aside. Have one person be the 'director' and the rest of the family are the actors. Act out the story on the picture. (We did this with David and Goliath, a bowl from the kitchen for a hat, a foam sword, and a lot of rolled up socks!)

6. Another variation on #5 would be to give a minute to each person to run find 5 things to use for their 'show'.

7. Practice listening. Pull out a picture and read the back to the family.

8. Practice asking questions. After the story is read, have each person ask a question about the story.

The next 4 in my list are web resources (just click!) for quick FHE's, but may require more than a minute to prepare! (You can find even more web sites by typing Family Home Evening into your google bar. Most have lessons for all different age groups.)

9. LDS Living FHE lessons (You can get on an email list to have this sent to you every Monday.)

10. Idea Door

11. The Homemaking Cottage

12.SugarDoodle

13. And for one last quick idea...pick a primary song, divide up the lines, and have each person in the family draw a picture to go with their line. Then sing the song! We have done this to a few songs and it's very fun.

I'm glad I'm not a skunk cabbage!

"I guess it doesn't matter what a person's name is as long as he behaves himself," said Marilla, feeling herself called upon to inculcate a good and useful moral.

"Well, I don't know." Anne looked thoughtful. "I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage."
--from Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery

Kathryn Chart

Sophie tagged everyone to talk about their names, and I have wanted to do it since she wrote about her wonderful name. I too love my name, and always have. Here are 13 things about my name...

1. I love the way it is spelled, and for those of you who spell it wrong, I'll have it here for reference! K A T H R Y N
2. I love having a Y in my name. It keeps it unique so by association I am unique!
3. I have been called Kathy by 3 people.
4. My boss, Bub, was one of them and he was very particular that his name was BuB, not BuD.
5. Mary, a lady I worked with at the Old Rock Church also called me Kathy, although for a while she really did try hard to say Kathryn. She was so fun and nice that I forgave her.
6. The third person was a boy I dated so you can see why I didn't marry him!
7. Speaking of boys...when John the husband says my name I get a little thrill!
8. My mother alone can call me Katrinka.
9. The kids are into this phase of calling us by our real names in conversation. Yesterday Jeffrey was joking that he was the mom and Jane replied, "No! Kathryn's the mom!"
10. My name is of English origin and means pure.
11. For various reasons I was called Chicken by nearly everyone throughout my school years. I also loved being called this and it's variants.
12. Early on in my last pregnancy I thought I could have twin girls named Katie and Annie. When I saw there was only one she got both names!
13. I hope all my kids love their names as much as I do!

If you'd like to tell about your name then "Tag! You're it!"

I want my mommy!

I have been fighting some form of sickness for a while but yesterday it came at me like a Mack Truck. I have the flu. So I don't feel like doing much and thought maybe I could come up with thirteen things about being sick. Hope it's not contagious via the web!

1. I always crave popcorn and cheeto's when I'm sick.
2. I remember being sick as a child and laying in my old brass bed and staring at the white walls and feeling like the room was very stark, which it wasn't, but it felt that way.
3. One time when I was laying in that bed I heard my mom playing the piano for a women's singing group who was practicing for a Christmas program. As they sang Away in a Manger I felt all warm inside, and it has been my favorite Christmas song ever since.
4. When I have a fever it feels like everything is fat, and that my chest is fat from the inside, making it hard to breathe.
5. I also hear loud voices when the fever is high enough. This used to really scare me, now it's just annoying and I can stop it.
6. Apparently I'm a little psychotic when I have a fever! yikes...
7. I was sick on my mission once and was told I should rest all day. I even had permission to read a book. I felt very weird relaxing with a book but I felt much better the next day.
8. One of my companions that I trained was sick and took this medicine that made her very loopy and awake all night. She would wear these silly hats and we would laugh and then cry as she realized there was no way she could stay in the field. She went home just after Christmas.
9. I had my tonsils out when I was 14. I didn't find out until I was older that I was bleeding uncontrollably during the surgery and they weren't sure if they could get it to stop. I'm glad they did!
10. Being sick isn't so bad when I think about the pain of kidney stones. However, when I had my last stone they gave me a shot in the hiney and they hit a nerve, so when I have the chills with the flu that spot hurts really bad.
11. I never think about having a t.v. in our bedroom until I'm sick, then I wish I had one in there to veg out to.
12. I am really a big baby when I'm sick. I try not to be, and try to pull out the quiet dignity I wish I had, but really I just cry.
13. I am thankful for healthy bodies! I most definitely appreciate our bodies and the amazing things they can do, and that it's just the flu. And it came to pass, eh!

Thursday Thirteen #4

By the numbers...

1. The number of times I wish I only had to tell my kids to do
things.
2. The number of hours of sleep I got in a row last night...Jane wasn't feeling too good and whimpered all night.
3. The number Jane will be soon.
4. The number of kids I have.
5. The number of days John's camp out stuff has been spread out in the living room.
6. The number of ounces Katie Anne normally gets in her bottles these days.
7. The number of times I get asked, by EACH kid in our family,
"What's for dinner?"
8. The number of loads of laundry in a typical week...sheets, towels, boys darks, girls darks, our warm water darks, our cold water darks, whites, unexpected washings, of which I always expect at least one!
9. The number of minutes each boy gets to empty their rack of the dishwasher. It really shouldn't even take that long, but we're working on it!
10. The amount of plastic food I 'ate' while playing tea party.
(Incidentally, the name on the play soup was 'chunky bucket'. Who would think of that???)
11.The number of gray hairs I pulled out this morning. Ugh.
12. The number of days until we go to Disneyland!
13. The number of times I actually tell my kids to do things!

Thursday Thirteen #3

It's that time of the week again! I thought that today I would share my love of games. Here is a list of 13 games we play with our kids. And just because Janie is so little don't think that she can't play, she wins at Uno a lot! Here you go...

1. Uno
2. Sequence
3. Skipbo
4. Swipe
5. Yahtzee
6. Sorry!
7. Chess
8. Memory
9. Mexican Train with dominoes
10. Trouble
11. Cariboo (from Cranium)
12. The Marble Game (mancala)
13. Kerplunk

Thursday Thirteen #2

Every spring we get an influx of visitors, which is just fine with us! I think most are trying to get out of the wintery weather, go somewhere relaxing for spring break, or maybe they just want to come and see us! However, sometimes there are a few fears that come along with that. Here are 13 of them...

1. They'll see under the bed,
2. Or worse, under the fridge.
3. That they'll be late getting here,
4. Or worse, that they'll get here a day early (and see how we really live).
5. My kids will do something embarrasing,
6. Or worse, they will say something embarrasing.
7. You won't have anything to do,
8. Or worse, you'll do too much and not just enjoy each other.
9. They won't like your cooking,
10. Or worse, your cooking will make them sick.
11. That you'll be sad when they leave,
12. Or worse, that you won't!
13. But the biggest fear of all is that it will be too long before you see each other again!

Thursday Thirteen #1

My cousin is part of another blog group called Thursday Thirteen. I really like the idea of it but am too computer illiterate to know how to link up to it. I'll try to figure it out later...but the basic idea is to make a list of 13 things every Thursday. And since I LOVE LISTS then this is for me. For my first one I will list

13 things I love about having a newborn:
1. They are a miracle in every way!
2. Tiny hands, noses, lips, toes, etc.
3. Sweet little outfits. But...
4. A baby in just a onesie is about the cutest thing around.
5. If I'm cranky I can blame it on being tired.
6. I feel an extra portion of the spirit is given for those first weeks.
7. Snorts and little exhaust sounds.
8. Watching the older kids play and talk with her.
9. The floppiness and therefore the cuddliness of a newborn.
10. Staring into each others eyes without the slightest hint of self-consiousness.
11. Sharing her with others to bring them a little joy.
12. No guilt about watching t.v., reading, or blogging. I have to sit to feed her anyway!
13. The smiles, definately the smiles!