Hey, thanks, PBS!!

We were driving in the car with several of our kids (I think we were on the way to Grandma's funeral). Our son, Matt was riding in the back seat with the little girls. He started to laugh! I asked him what was so funny and instead of answering me, he proceeded to ask Kelsey (our 5 year old) where she had heard that word. "Word Girl." came the answer. I guess I have PBS to thank for educating my baby! Apparently it was "sweltering" in the back seat! We could all use a couple more words like "sweltering" in our vocabularies! I think I will start watching "Word Girl" myself.

Thoughts on Ear Piercing and Parenting...

My girls have all gotten their ears pierced for their 8th birthday. Katie just turned 8 and couldn't wait for the big event! Kelsey will be 6 in February and really wanted her ears pierced, too. So, being the worn-out mother that I am, I figured "what the heck" and I let them BOTH get their ears pierced. You know, kind of a 2 for 1 deal....1 trip to the mall, 1-6 week stint of applying ear solution and twisting earrings. I guess am just getting old and tired! Well, you should have heard some of my other girls complain about it (who, of course, all had to wait until they were 8 for the blessed event...you would have thought I had just committed some major injustice!). Well, all I have to say is....."Get used to it, girls!" I am old, I am tired and if it's the easy thing to do I will probably do it again! ;)

I am finding that I say yes more easily and more often...which benefits all of them! I am still trying to be a diligent parent, but some of my hard and fast rules have become soft and slow!! Hopefully it is not only because I am old and tired, but because I have learned a little something about parenting that I didn't know before and discovering not everything I thought in the beginning of my life as a parent was accurate!! good or true. Here's to always trying to improve and hoping to someday get it right!

Happy 19th Lauren!

Last week we had yet another birthday!! Lauren turned 19 on Thursday. Happy Birthday, cutie! I am so proud of her. She just graduated from Evans School of Cosmetology yesterday, too! She has been plugging away now for just over a year. She gets up and gets herself off every morning, no complaints, no sleeping in, she just gets up and gets it done! She is a hard working gal, too. She has been working part-time for most of the time that she has been in school....and they love her, because she really knows how to work! She is a beautiful, fun loving, tender-hearted sweetheart and we are so happy to have her be a part of our family! Love you Lauren! Hope you had a good day. Good luck with the exams in the next couple of weeks. (Just when I thought we were finished with birthdays until after Christmas, I learned that Lauren's boyfriend, Chris (pictured above) has a birthday on Dec. 11.....I told him he couldn't marry Lauren as we already have too many pre-Christmas birthdays.) :)

More Hallowe'en Pictures

This is my son Matt ("V" from V for Vendetta) and his wife, Kelli (ladybug!).

Left to right, Michelle, Matt, me, Stacy, Marisa, Dylan, Katie and Kelsey. Five of my seven kids, and two grandkids in this picture!

My sweet DIL, Kelli posted these pictures on her blog! Had to show you how cute my little family is! We went to their house before we went trick or treating and took these.

Ben's Birthday!

My son-in-law, Ben, had a birthday on Thursday! Happy Birthday, Ben! He has been a part of our family now for almost a year and is a great son! We love him! He is kind of quiet (which might not be the case if we weren't all so boisterous!!) and contemplative. He is very bright and handsome and kind! The two youngest girls LOVE him and pester him to death...and he is very good to them. He is the big brother who never grew up! He loves to play with them and jump on the trampoline with them, and spin them upside down...and they love it. Hope you had a good one Ben!!

Grandma Sally's funeral

My grandma Sally, aka Clara, passed away last Tuesday morning and was buried on Saturday, November 15. She married my grandpa, Howard Oliver in 1980, and has been the only grandma Oliver most of my siblings and I have known. Our grandma passed away in 1970 when I was a young girl.

Sally always had the energy of someone half her age and she was always up for an adventure. I remember her loading us into the car and hauling us around shopping all day, or for a quick trip across the border to do a little Mexican shopping, or site seeing all over the place. We would get worn out, she was still raring to go! She loved getting in her car and driving...anywhere. No place was too far, it was just a little jaunt for her.

She was very generous and forgiving and genuinely concerned for every one's well-being. She joined our family almost 30 years ago and from the very beginning has made me feel like I really belonged to her. I never felt like I was a step-grandchild. I just always knew that she loved me. She accepted and loved us all just like we were her own. I'm going to miss her.

Katie Bug's Birthday

Aaaah! Missed a birthday posting. November 7th was Kaitlyn's 8th birthday. She is getting soooo big! Smart, fun, sassy, usually silly, busy, busy, busy...and she looks a lot like the jack-o-lantern she carved for Halloween too! She is missing a whole lotta teeth! Look carefully and you will see them....or NOT see them, I mean!

Freezer Meals

OK, so as if I need one more "group" to be a part of....book group, card group lunch, card group make and take.....LOL. Anyway, I am now part of a freezer meal group! Once a month (or every 6 weeks, I think) you meet and swap (just like card group only with food!) homemade frozen dinners. I just made mine today! Of course, since I had my old energy-hog freezer hauled away about a year ago, I had to purchase a new freezer first! But it was delivered on Monday and is up and running and beautiful! I made crock pot ham and potato casserole x 20. There are 10 people in our group and all but 1 of us want half meals (which means they get 2 of whatever meal I make and the full meal gets 1 double sized one). It was crazy trying to figure out how many pounds of ham=30 cups! But it turned out perfect! And the really wild thing is that in the past two weeks, everything that I needed for my recipe just happened to be on sale at one store or another! Here's the recipe in case you want to try it!

Crock Pot Ham and Potato Casserole

1 1/2 cups ham, cooked and cubed

2 cups cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen hash brown potatoes (32 oz.)

Mix ham, 1 cup of cheese, pepper, salt, evaporated milk and cream of chicken soup together with frozen hash browns. Place in greased 3 1/2-5 qt. crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 1/2 an hour before done, sprinkle last cup of cheese on top.

Yearbook Yourself

Oh, my gosh....how funny. Some of these could be out of my real yearbook! Like the first picture is supposed to be 1984....I looked just like that!!! Too much fun! Of course, some of these were from before I was even born! The site is called Yearbook Yourself....check it out!

I've been tagged!

Susette Fisher tagged me...and I guess I am supposed to name 6 quirky things about myself! I don't think I'm quirky at all...LOL!

1. I have never slept very well...sort of an insomniac. I had trouble falling asleep and sometimes would wake up in the middle of the night.....until this job at Costco (where I start work at either 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.). Now, I have NO TROUBLE falling asleep, and nothing wakes me during the night, but if I wake up at all.....I very rarely am able to fall back asleep. I might as well get up and get something done!

2. I have never found a food that I didn't like....except maybe some bad sushi at a chinese buffet!

3. I LOVE to exercise. I mean it, I really LOVE it. And not just afterwards, you know, when you are proud of yourself for doing it. I mean before, during and after.....I LOVE IT! If I had no other responsibilities, I think I would exercise several hours every day!

4. I sing all the time. I bet you didn't realize there is a song for EVERY subject. Sometimes things that people say will remind me of a line in a song and I can't help myself, I belt it right out! Maybe not at that exact moment, I don't usually like to sing for an audience (unless it's my family....they are so used to me singing I'm not embarrassed any more). Too bad I don't have a better singing voice!

5. I am kind of a perfectionist....but only selectively! I like things neat and tidy (I organize my spices alphabetically in my kitchen cupboard, sort my stamp sets by size of box, socks by color, you get the picture) but I can go a week without mopping my kitchen and not have it bother me...? Hmmm.

6. I can't stay awake in a vehicle while it's moving....especially on trips longer than about 15 minutes! Even if I'm driving! Aaaah!

So there you have it, I'm really not quirky at all! I tag you! Gina, Ginay, Dana, Deena, Stacy, Kelli, Susan and Janelle.

Twilight Movie Tickets

I just found out about this site from a friend of mine (thanks, Susette!). It is called Gracious Rain and she is running a contest where you send her your favorite soup recipes and she enters your name into a drawing for 2 Twilight tickets at the Jordan Commons in SLC. Just thought I would pass along the news. Give it a try! http://www.graciousrain.com/ Can't wait for this movie!