It's Time for May to be Over!

Is May over yet? May is always such a busy month and it feels like it drags on forever even though we are constantly running. Here is a quick rundown mostly for my benefit.
-The boys had their MayDay dance on May 1 but we did not go because a piece of Caleb's braces broke and we had to take an emergency trip to St. George to get them fixed. We decided to have Family Fun Night and went to see X Men-which by the way I did not get to see the end of because I promised Cayden that if he did not like it then I would take him out and sure enough 20 minutes before it was over he wanted to leave. He had a much better time looking at all the TV's and furniture at Ashley Furniture next door to the movies while we waited for Don and Caleb to come out. Cody was on his Choir trip in Vegas and Connor went to McGill with Grandma and Grandpa. After the movies we went to Fiesta Family Fun center and played mini golf and the boys did the bumper boats and the mini cars. Next time we do Family Fun Night we need to make it FREE Family Fun night because all of that was a fortune. I did not have my camera either so sorry no pics.
-Cody had his final spring concert for Encore. They did the songs from Mamma Mia and did a really good job. They even choreographed the songs so they were dancing and singing up a storm. I was really proud of Cody because he was partnered with a girl in a wheelchair and he did a great job moving around with her and making sure that she could be included even though the snotty girls that choreographed the songs did nothing to help the girl be a part of it. I really wanted to slap those snotty girls and they would have deserved it too but I didn't. Cody has a really tender heart and he felt bad and he knew that his friend felt bad but he did his best to make a crappy situation good. Needless to say he won't be doing Encore next year because there has just been too much drama with teacher and the kids in the class and he would rather take theatre anyway.

-Caleb did his science fair project on how quickly different things burn. He really enjoyed playing with fire.


-I made 4 batches of Strawberry freezer jam.
-I went to the emergency room on May 14 with horrible pain in my chest and after 2 shots of Morphine, a chest Xray, an EKG and a CAT scan they sent me home saying it was Pluerisy-yeah we need to come up with a better name than that. My sweet mother-in-law drove me to the hospital, sat with me and then drove me home after I barfed in the Del Taco drive through (not many people can say that now can they!) She stayed with me and the kids until Don got home late from Kansas City.
-Connor went to see his diabetes doctor on Friday May 15. His AIC is still high. For the life of us we can't get that kids to understand the neccesity of taking care of himself. AAARRRGGGHHH!
-I drove to Provo on May 16 for my sister-in-law's baby shower. I got up at 5:30 and left by 6:30. I was an hour late to the shower but I still made it. I was supposed to leave on Friday but I was not sure how I would feel and if that horrible pain would come back so decided to leave Saturday morning. Friday night when I was packing Cayden asked if he could go with me but I got up so early that I did not want to wake him up. When I called the house Saturday night to talk to the kids Cayden said " mom you forgot to take me to Grandma Penny's." and now he keeps asking when just me and him are going to go to Grandma Penny's by ourselves. I told him maybe when Aunt Anne has the baby we can go. While I was in Provo I hung out with my brother, his very pregnant wife and my sister Calley. Me, Anne, Chris and Calley and my mom went to see Star Trek on SAturday night-LOVED IT!! Then we went to Angels and Demons-did not love that one-We ate at Chic Fil A of course and then Sunday after church we had a Star Trek marathon just to help us figure out everything from the new movie. I got to play with my cutie patootie niece Abby and I held Owen as much as I could. Monday I had a lovely massage that was myMother's Day present-yes I did remember Mother's Day but I greatly dislike Mother's Day and spend most of it wallowing in self pity so I will not burden you with the details other than to say that I got flowers early in the week and roses on Saturday and Cayden make me a bouquet of paper flowers at school. I did get breakfast in bed and a tasty dinner but my children did not have a labotomy and acted like their normal fighting, arguing, mess-making selves.

Umm sorry I did burden you with the details but back to the Provo trip. After my massage I went back to my mom's and took a nap and then we went to dinner at Brick Oven-what a tasty place! Tuesday I went to the temple with my mom and Suzanna while Calley watched Owen and Abby. During the temple session I noticed that my arm was starting to be very tender and painful so when I got my long sleeved dress off I noticed a large swollen knot on my arm-yes that would be a blood clot diagnosed by my brother when we went to his house after the temple and then confirmed by Dr. Peterson. Now this was not the kind of clot that would swim up my veins to my heart and kill me-bummer-but the doctor thinks it was from the lovely IV that I had in the hospital the week earlier. It has gone away now for the most part soIi guess I will live. I drove home from Provo on Wednesday which was Don's birthday. We surprised him by meeting him and the Priests group at the Rec Center in Mesquite with pizza and cupcakes. My nieces Laura and Taylor made the cupcakes for him so that it would be a surprise. I did lose my cute earring up there somewhere and I am quite bummed about that. We had bundt cake after we got back from Mesquite and no my kids did not have a labotomy that day either. Don got a watch, some shoes, a couple golf shirts, 2 books and a boom box for his satellite radio that incidentally just came yesterday.

-We harvested 11 huge zuchinni from our garden and 5 yellow squash. We borrowed Dena's Cuisinart and shredded 3 zuchinni to freeze in less than 5 minutes. We also had very lovely uniform slices of zuchinni to fry. I traded my neighbor 2 zuchinni for a dozen eggs. I am almost ready to get my own chicken coop like they have -ALMOST ready.


-Don and I went to Vegas to see Terminator-not as good as Star Trek but good.
-For Memorial Day we took the kids to Mesquite and went to Pizza Hut and to see Night at the Museum. Cayden had lots of Dr. Pepper and did not go to sleep until 12:30. Consequently no one went to sleep because Cayden was bouncing off the walls. Caleb and Cayden did not make it to school until noon.


-Caleb was awarded his Arrow of Light last night at pack meeting. Our Cubmaster does a great job and works way too hard on these things but the kids love it. Two other boys earned their Arrows as well. Bo Redd and Trent Barlow. I was the narrator for the story and our Bishop played Akela and painted their faces like Indians and they got a really cool arrow. Caleb will be 11 on June 21 and will no longer be a cub scout-I unfortunately will still be the scout leader and will be until I die.
-Don is in Phoenix all week.
-The last day of school is next Thursday.
-This has been our lives this month notwithstanding the ordinary, mundane, running around back and forth to school, mutual, karate, and all the other things we do. If you noticed on my Goodreads site I have been unable to finish a book this month. Go figure! Here's to June being less crazy! Yeah right!

I Think

I think that Jr. Mints and White Cheddar Cheezits should be non-fat non-caloric.
I think that toilet paper should not cost $10 for "a double roll" pack of 12 and that's at Walmart.
I think that Deseret Book should send out a notice when they decide to close stores in Las Vegas. (They have closed 2 now without notifying me. Could they do that after Mother's Day?)
I think Cub Scouts should be banned and illegal.
I think that there should be a rule that mother's of boys do not have to be the scout leader EVER!
I think that mothers of young children should not have to be in the nursery.
I think that if your child has a cough when their happens to be a current pandemic of Swine Flu you should not send them to school.
I think that white girls should not talk about "my girls".
I think that skinny people should not be on exercise videos.
I think that peach Crystal Light is better than water.
I think that I would be a mean drunk.
I think that some people ought to drive their kids places and actually pick them up too.
I think "the morning" should be at 10:00am.
I think that Wednesday ought to be at the end of the week.
I think that boys hair shouldn't grow so fast.
I think that bad stuff should only happen to mean people.
I think stupid people ought to have to wear a sign.
I think that when someone asks you how you are you should be able to tell them" not so great but hey thanks for asking and by the way do you have some lemon juice you could squirt in my eye?"
I think dirt should be banned.
I think that there shouldn't be lines at wedding receptions and viewings at funerals.
I think nice people should get stars on their foreheads.
I think pedicures should last for longer than 2 weeks.
I think that everyone should look in the mirror before they leave the house.
I think I am tired and have a headache.
I think I am done telling you what I think.

The Best Chicken Recipe In The World

Have any thoughts for dinner and feeling like celebrating Seis De Mayo? I found this recipe yesterday at noon and thought it would be a good Cinco De Mayo dinner. It is the pork recipe for Cafe Rio but as I am not a fan of pork-nothing to do with Swine Flu either-I used chicken breasts. I sort of combined 2 recipes-the pork from Cafe Rio and the chicken from Bajio. We ate it on the uncooked tortilla shells-that we cooked-the kids loved it! It was quite tasty and definitely in the keep section of the recipe box. So for your dining pleasure here it is. (Keep in mind that I pulled the chicken out of the freezer at exactly 12:00 and defrosted it in the microwave so this can be done even if your chicken is frozen solid!)

4-5 boneless chicken breasts (this fed my family for one night with a little leftover for salad today. I would probably add 2 more pieces of chicken just to have more leftovers because it was so yummy!)
1 cup Salsa any kind
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 ts Chili Powder
1 can Sprite
Salt and Pepper

Put chicken in crockpot and season with salt and pepper. Put in salsa, brown sugar and sprinkle chili powder. Dump in Sprite. Cook on high for 4-5 hours turning chicken occasionally. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crockpot and let cook for another 30-45 minutes. Serve on salad or with tortilla shells. I bet you could freeze leftovers of this too!
If you want to spice it up add a can of green chiles or more chili powder. Hole! (that would be O-lay but I don't know how to do that little thing over the e) Happy Seis de Mayo!

Thankful Thursday

I have not posted Thankful Thursday for a while but today I thought it was a good idea. Today was the Special Olympics Unified Track and Field day. Caleb and Cayden both went and competed for our school. I wa quite surprised that Cayden participated because the first thing that he said when he woke up was "I don't want to go to the Olympics." He was fussing about it all morning bu then when we got there he ran the 100 meter dash (so did Caleb) and they both did the javelin throw. When it came time to do the 50 meter dash Cayden flat out refused to do it. They did not make him of course so he sat out but atleast he did the other 2 events. So now why I am thankful. I have gone with my boys the last few years and I always drive my car because I am not a fan of the school bus. We got there earlier than the school bus so we had to wait a few minutes. As we were waiting I saw lots of different schools coming in with their kids. This event is for handicapped kids-whether it is mental or physical-and also some non-handicapped from their schools. I saw a few kids in wheelchairs and one that had to wear a helmet to protect their head. I also saw a blind boy with the stick being helped by one of his classmates. The first race we saw of the day there was a little girl probably 4th grade with Down Syndrome who ran her little heart out even though she came in last. I just had this overwhelming sense of gratitude that my kids can see, and run and play even though they have their own struggles. Cayden was asked by the modified PE teacher to participate in these games and she wanted Caleb to come and help with moral support. Cayden almost needs modified PE but they have not tested him yet to see if he qualifies. Even though he has his developmental delays and struggles so much in school he still is progressing and retaining which some of those kids may never do. There is a thought that says if everyone laid out all their problems and struggles on a table that we would most likely want to take our own back and not someone elses. I did not get good pics of the races and I missed Caleb's 50 meter all together because it was just utter chaos on that last race and they did not go in the order they were supposed to but the kids had a good time. I am also thankful that I can go with my kids for these things.

Ode to My Kitchen Aide

The Adams household suffered a terrible loss Sunday evening when their (who am I kidding I am the only one who loved this little piece of heaven disguised in steel and black enamel!) beloved Kitchen Aide unexpectedly suffered a major heart attack Sunday evening. (sniff sniff) We have been through many ups (the bread actually rising) and many downs (many failed attempts at bread). I have enjoyed experimenting with you dear Kitchen Aide on banana muffins and the age old debate as to which is the best kind of chocolate chip cookie-the thin and crispy or the chewy and gooey. I will sorely miss our pizza dough making days when I tried valiantly to keep you from throwing yourself off the counter onto the floor. Alas, I could not save you this time though even though I salvaged the cinnamon rolls by borrowing a Bosch. (Is Bosch a bad word to say around the Kitchen Aide) You had a short life of a little over 3 years-maybe 4- can't quite remember but don't fret even though your memory will still hover over us like the wafting scent of broken zucchini muffins that lingers throughout my house, you will soon be replaced by your 6 quart capacity brother who dang well better not kick the bucket after a measly 4 years! (Um I think I am a little bitter about the demise of my trusty sidekick) Love you my traitorous Kitchen Aid! RIP! Anyone have a Kohl's coupon?
P.S. The Zuchinni Bread recipe does not work well when trying to make muffins. Still tasty though while mostly crumbs and bits and pieces. Any thoughts on how to turn that recipe into a muffin recipe? They were really flat and stuck to the pan like crazy even though I sprayed it with Pam.

Parable of the Purple Bunny and Other Stories Starring Cayden

Cayden has done some pretty amazing things in the last week or so. Easter Sunday was our Fast Sunday because of Conference. We were sitting on out bench and Cayden was sitting by Don who was sitting by me. He leans over and says to me
Cayden "Mom, you go up there."
Mom "Go up where?"
Cayden 'Go up and bear your testimony.'
Mom "Why?"
Cayden "You have a testimony."
Well how do you not go after that? I thought that was pretty sweet!

This Sunday morning we had another experience with him. He had gotten 2 of those bendy plastic rabbit toys at school and one of them was missing. He had been playing with them all week and so he was looking all over the place trying to find the purple one. He even brought in a book that was purple so that he could make sure that I knew what color we were looking for. He was outside for 20 minutes, then he was under beds, upstairs, looking in the bathtubs etc. He was pretty sure they were around the trampoline but we looked 3 times and they weren't there. I was trying to get ready for church and had wet hair so I told him we would find it after I got ready for church. A few minutes later he comes in with Connor and tells me that he said a prayer to find his toy. So now what? Do I have enough faith to believe that the Lord will help this little boy find a silly plastic toy? When he came in and told me that he said a prayer he said "Ok mom, go outside." I said "Sweetie I don't think that they are out there because we already looked." He said "But I said a prayer!" quite emphatically! I said I know honey and we will find them." But he just knew that they were outside and that because he said his prayer they would be found. I still was not ready for church but we went back outside. They were still not there. At first we thought that they may have been run over by the lawn mower but as there were no body parts laying around the backyard we had to keep looking. If you know how my house works, it is usually me who does the locating of missing shoes, lunchboxes, Ipods, plastic bunnies etc. I knew that I had to help look and that it may be that the spirit would tell me where those toys were. Sure enough-after I was finally ready and I went to help him look-and get him dressed for church-the boys were looking in different places that I told them to look and then I remembered that they had all been to Overton in the Suburban and that was the last that I had seen the runaway rabbit. I said to Caleb-go look in the Suburban. Rabbit Found! We said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for helping us find them and I thanked him in my heart for answering a sweet little boy's prayer. I'm sure that there were bigger and more important prayers being said that day and the missing bunny was not one of the top ten pressing matters at the moment but it was important to this little boy and important to his mom that his prayer was answered! I did have the faith to believe that even if that rabbit had been chopped up by the lawn mower, Heavenly Father could put it back together for my child. I even told Don that while I was rushing to get ready for church so that bunny hunt could start in earnest. I am so grateful for these sweet learning and humbling moments where the spirit testifies of the truth and gladdens my heart.

One more-Tonight Cayden said the whole dinner prayer on his own from start to finish. He has never wanted to say it all by himself and so he says "Dear Heavenly Father, and then a little quieter to me with one eye open he'll say "Help me" then I will say something and he will repeat it after me. If I pause at all he will say "help me". Tonight we told him that he could do it all by himself and that he knew what to say. It was such a sweet prayer. He thanked Heavenly Father that dad can work and that mom can make us dinner. He was so proud of himself and we were too. It is a huge milestone that he will do it on his own. We knew that he could and tried to get him to before but he just never would. He always says We thank thee "dor" this "dood"-because he has such a hard time with certain letters. I am so glad that he is progressing. It takes him much longer to do certain things but he is doing them-we just have to give him the time that he needs. He wanted to say all the prayers the rest of the night! Silly Boy! These are the reasons I am a mom and I have not run screaming off into the desert.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Kevin Bessey, Cody Adams and Sterling Waite-these boys are all in our ward.

The tat!

The last week of March the Moapa Valley High School put on the play "A Dark and Stormy Night". Cody is not actually in the theater class but a lot of his friends are and they needed someone else so the teacher asked him to be in the play. He only had a few lines and those were at the very end of the play but they were the pivotal lines and he did great! He was a Portuguese sailor turned nurse named Euphemio Porter. He sounded like Indigo Montoya from Princess Bride. He even had a tattoo painted on every night. One night it said "Mom", one night it said "Team Monson" and the last night it said"Marissa"-one of the girls in the play. Here he is at the end of the play. The play was great and really quite funny! The kids that were cast in the different parts were perfect and they all did a really good job! Cody has decided that he wants to be in theater next year.