In Search of a Can Opener

For some mysterious and frustrating reason, I can't keep a can opener longer than a year. Okay, granted, they aren't too expensive, and they are easy to find, but I get SICK of asking for can openers EVERY Christmas. Maybe I would like to ask for something more exotic! We have tried about seven can openers--the first, ECKO, was a wedding gift. These run standard at King's and Kmart. When that one broke, we got (after using the camping model for a week before we got to the store) another ECKO, which broke after a few months. Then we went through a couple I don't remember very well, after which I decided to splurge so we would "never need another can opener again" and bought a stainless steel KUHN RIKON
which promised that I would have no "dangerous sharp edges" and it actually has not yet broken. So it is still in my drawer. But it only opens cans that are NOT Western Family/generic or #10 cans (the main cans I possess :-) I would use the can opener on a can, only to find out that the can was impervious to this particular style of opening. Then when I tried another can opener, I ended up with a nice ring of SHARP edges--half on the can and half off. Definitely a hazard. So, instead of boycotting Western Family, I gratefully accepted a brand-new-favorite-colored Kitchen Aid

can opener from my favorite mother. This can opener somehow ended up with stripped gears or something (after a month) and had to be held at a precise angle to operate--and even then only MOSTLY opened cans. Grrrr. Then it quit altogether. So again, I purchased a cheapo model for the interim. Which broke TODAY. And when I say broke, I mean came apart in pieces and a spring fell out. So, I appeal to YOU my dear friends.

WHERE DO YOU GET A DECENT CAN OPENER?

Then I can put it on my Christmas list for the LAST time.

Mnemonics Gone Wrong

Remember when you were memorizing stuff and you used those memory aids--like "Every Good Boy Does Fine" is the line notes of the staff EGBDF and the seven warning signs of cancer are CANCER--Change in bowel or bladder, A sore that does not heal. . . okay maybe I won't go there. But TONIGHT I found a paper on the floor and I was very perplexed. This is what it said:

My
Vet
Eat
My
Jumpy
Sucker
Us
Never
Pee

Any ideas? I was worried that Joseph was teaching Gideon a new code to use on the bus. But THEN I flipped it over, and lo and behold:

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

So next time you want to remember the order of the planets--try Joseph's mnemonics--even better than this one on Wired.

Being Pregnant

So I am. Yes. I put the disturbing baby ticker up on the blog without posting about it--I thought that way people could find out on their own time. I also didn't tell anyone in the ward (other than my relatives and the people in the primary presidency with me). And now, everyone in the ward knows, but they think it's supposed to be a secret so they don't say anything to me about it. So I'm thinking I kind of missed the boat on that one--no one comes to tell you congratulations when they think they're not supposed to know. My friend just found out she was pregnant last week, and she told the whole ward during Relief Society two days later--that way she got to shock everyone, and see their excitement/surprise. I think that may be the way to go. Maybe next time. ANYWAY, we are having a BABY in the end of April--just after my birthday. We're very excited, and we hope you are too. So now you know. You can all congratulate me. Oh wait, you did already!!!

Thanks Dad, I think!

As a belated birthday tribute to my father, I wanted to share a list I've compiled of some qualities I've learned from him. Mind you, these are qualities that I did not want. These are skills I fought hard and long to avoid. But however I fought, now I possess them. Thanks dad!

How to teach a boy to do a correctly postured push-up
How to play, and then COACH soccer
How to pick an apple tree, cleanly and well
How to clean a sink
How to implement sterile technique, in the home and abroad
How to wash my hands
How to take a joke, even if sometimes the punch line is a little too close to home
How to use pruners (although I still have not mastered the actual pruning of an entire tree)
Basic car maintenance--changing tires, oil, and checking and re-filling fluids
How to calculate mileage
The importance of appreciating kid power
How to look a word up in the dictionary, then use it in the course of the day
How to pop a baby's elbow joint back into socket (this one I am especially grateful for)
How to drive a stick shift
The list could go on, and on, and on. . . . . . . . .

I can't even begin to finish all the things I learn from my dad--but Thanks, Dad!! Thank you for sticking with it, even though I was such a stubborn learner!

Wondering what to do with your leftover ELK LIVER???

Why not make Pâté? I'm sure your family and friends will all rave about it just as the recipe claims! No. I did NOT make pâté with the liver from the Elk Aaron killed yesterday. But HE DID. So if you want to come to our house for appetizers sometime in the next week. . . . . . . well, I'll leave that entirely up to you!!! You may want to read this article first.

Comments

Okay, what is up with this? Two weeks after I post something, I get a comment from someone named Susana or Joanna saying some generic thing that KIND of goes along with my post, but is obviously NOT written as a personal comment. How annoying. So I have enabled comment moderation--making it so you have to be approved after the first little while. I'm hoping that this doesn't deter those of you I actually know from leaving comments. I really appreciate them. They validate my worth as a human blogger.

Heaven in Idaho

Everyone has their own definition of heaven. Joseph asked me where heaven was going to be on earth, and I was thinking about that one. Heaven defined: any place of complete bliss, happiness, and peace. Usually for me, heaven is rather short-lived, but I have learned to enjoy it when it occurs. Here in Idaho, my boys experienced heaven the day we did the DRIVEWAY.

SEVEN large trucks, complete with dumping, loud rumbling, and lots of construction They even set up chairs on the porch to watch the goings-on while they ate their breakfast. What a show!! And NOW you can drive up our driveway without fear of jolting out you teeth. Of course, now we have trenched up every other square foot of the yard for sprinklers, but we're hoping to have it filled in soon.

And for me, heaven is watching my baby--whichever boy it happens to be at the time. I love to see their eyes sparkle when they discover something new. This is Malchy enjoying time with his cousin who is only 1 1/2 months older--if only she didn't live so far away :-(



Thanks for the visit, Alaska clan! Hope you find heaven up there in the cold as well.

CAN ALL YOU CAN

It's that time of year again--well actually that time of year is almost ending, or I wouldn't be able to blog about it at all!!! Can all you can--or is it Can all? You CAN!!!

CANNING TIME.

Oh the joy of hot, sticky kitchens, loads of large metal bowls and pots to wash, boiling lids, taking out huge loads of compost, and watching the pressure cooker with nervousness for hours on end. And all for what end, exactly? Admittedly, the full shelves in the downstairs storage room are fulfilling to count and recount. At the end of the day, you can actually tally your accomplishments. But is it all worth it? Last week I canned green chili enchilada sauce . I had a surprise bumper crop of green chilis, and I thought I should use them up! We love green chili chicken enchiladas, but green chilis and the green sauce are expensive!!! One can of green chilis (4 oz) is $1.79 and a can of enchilada sauce $2.49 (10 oz) adds up too. Well, my chilis were pretty much FREE so I thought I could save a bundle. Here's what my six jars of enchilada sauce ended up costing:

1/2 hour picking green chilis from the garden, hauling them up and washing them
1/2 hour prepping chilis for roasting on trays--I'm not counting the 1 hour I roasted them, because I was making salsa (a WHOLE other story) during this time.
2 1/2 HOURS peeling, de-seeding, and chopping the green chilis (conference was on, so there was some multi-tasking going on.
2 cups chicken broth (free from an over-turned semi truck last year)
1 onion (from the garden)
4 cloves garlic: $1.00
various spices: estimated 25c
1/2 hour mixing and cooking the enchilada sauce
1 hour watching the pressure cooker with only one blow-out episode (first of the season)

TOTAL COST: 5 hours of Aneesa time: Hmmm shall we say--$50?
$1.25 food that I actually had to pay for
$51.25/6 half-pint jars= $8.54 a can. Hmmmmm. Only $6 more per can than from the store!!!

So why then, do I can?

Because I can!

Malchy's first Haircut

Since our baby boy is now over two years old, and FINALLY wearing size 2T clothes, I decided the day had come! I knew that those of you who missed it would be wanting pictures. So here they are!This is the "BEFORE" one with a Rolo candy, one after the Rolo was gone. I should say that this boy just woke up from his nap--so he wasn't in the best mood to begin with.

Here is the "DURING" Don't you love that somber look on his face. He knows he is just about to grow up.
Tah Dah! There he is, all happy and shiny and new! Haircuts are the best thing EVER!

Esther's Wedding

Last month, Aaron's favorite-sister-named-Esther got married. Here are just a few photos that no one else got to see. First, Esther and Robert crashing the Beutler siblings photo. They didn't think anyone should be taking photos at the wedding that didn't include the two of them, being newly married and all.
Here's Aaron's baby sister, enamored after catching the bouquet. We're really hoping she waits a little while.
Here's what happened in the nursery during the reception. Eight little boys in matching vests took over, although they did allow a girl or two to participate as well. They had a great time!Here is a grandchild photo from the temple grounds. The front of the temple landscaping is being completely re-done (fountain and all) and so the only temple grounds photos are from the back. We didn't mind. It was shady on the west side!!
We managed to get a family photo before the boys destroyed their matching outfits. Maybe someday we'll manage to get them all to look at the camera at the same time as well!!
Congratulations Esther and Robert! We hope you have a long, happy marriage with lots of sons. As far as we can tell, the more sons the better!

Remember when Jack Died?

Aaron and I have been reading the "Little House on the Prarie" series to the boys at night. Well, tonight, Jack (Laura's beloved dog) died, as of about thirty minutes ago.

I am now listening (and have been continuously for the past thirty minutes) to the sobs of my son, Gideon. He is very, very upset. Somehow he has projected his grief from our reading onto the memory of a plastic lizard that I accidentally flushed down the toilet a year ago, and his mourning is now being re-lived in a most distressing manner. Oh the sorrow. My heart aches for Laura and for Gideon.

I am just amazed that Laura Ingalls Wilder could write such a book (and 7 or 8 of them) that lives on and on and on and is loved by every generation, undimmed by the time that goes by.

I would like to write something like that. First, I suppose, I'd have to live something like that--or maybe her talent was not in living the extraordinary, but seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary life.

That's a gift.

I can't wait to meet her someday, and maybe Jack too. They might even know where to look for the plastic lizard.

July is Over!

Time to take a deep breath!!! WOW what a month!!! Here are some highlights in bullet form for ease of reading!!! Just as a disclaimer--if you go back to previous posts, you'll see that July is the only month we really do anything, so don't think we are super ambitious or anything--we just PACK it IN in July.

• Malachi turned 2 years old and learned 10 new words, bringing his total up to 20 words. Included are: ba-bye, da-da, uh-oh, bubbas, dat, ow-ee, boo, nose, eye, ear, and my personal un-favorite: no . At least it wasn't his first word!!
• Joseph, Gideon, and Samuel ran the mile! They all finished in (personal) record time and got lots of good prizes. Joseph is wearing a green shirt, and Gideon is in the royal blue stripes. Samuel is right next to Gideon, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts. That's Grandpa Melvin behind him pacing him :-)

• Aneesa ran her first 5K since she was 8 years old!!! Time: 28:18 and 2nd place in her division!!! I think that strollers and canal trails are not a good combination for extra speed.
• Our family went to the annual 4th of July pancake breakfast with Grandpa Ray, a wonderful tradition with delicious food. Thanks, Grandpa!!!!
• 

• Gideon turned 7 years old!!! His birthday was on the 7th day of the 7th month and he turned 7!!! I thought that was pretty cool. We had a family over for dinner, and he got a wooden castle for his birthday.
• 
• Joseph turned 9 years old!!! In the last year, he has learned everything he needs to know for the rest of his life, and now he shares his vast stores of knowledge with the rest of us.

• Aneesa ran her second 5K for the 24th of July. Time: 27:06 and still with a stroller. I won a 25 POUND SACK of FLOUR!!!!! How cool is THAT?!!!!!
• 

• Aaron ran his hundred-something 5K and beat Aneesa by a LONG ways, but then came back to help me for the last 1/4 mile. Thanks, Aaron.
• 

• The entire family worked to finally get rid of the pile of trusses that have been piled in the yard since last year. We found one snake and 5 wasp nests. We also found a pretty good sunburn!
• 

• Aneesa officially fit into her pioneer day dress and wore it to church. No seams ripped, and the dress is still completely intact. HURRAH!! I have not worn this dress for FIVE years.
• 
• We went to a family reunion at Porcupine Dam and went SPLUNKING (kind of) . It was really an abandoned mine, but it felt like a cave. Malachi especially enjoyed it.

• I also became an official 4-H Leader and helped my mother-in-law with 4-H cooking classes. Lots of fun, and good eatin'!! It's amazing I fit into that dress at all!

• Aaron turned 33 and is still alive and well. He also completed about three major yard projects this month and the yard is looking a LOT better.
• 
• We had OFFICIAL VISITORS who SPENT the NIGHT in our GUEST ROOM!!!! It's true, here's the proof!!!
  

• Every single person in our family (except Malachi) picked up at LEAST 250 rocks from the backyard in two hours or less. If only that were all the rocks. . . . . . .

• FINALLY!!! I, Aneesa, completed my La Leche League accreditation process and am NOW an official breastfeeding resource for the world. I knew you'd all be excited. :-) Now I'm going to work on getting some pictures together for you to look at.
  

It's JULY!!!!!

I am so excited I can hardly type. July is here!!! Hooray, it's time for the birthday month. Yes, it's true, four of the six birthdays in our family occur in July. So just know that I'm having a fabulous month celebrating, making cake, eating cake, breaking pinatas, and other exciting festivous (I know that's not a word but it should be) things. And I may not be posting them until long after they happen. But think of me and my small brood with excitement in your gray matter, nonetheless.

In an effort to balance out an earlier post, and lest you all are misled thinking I am a super peppy perfect mom, I have compiled the following NEW list:

Aneesa's Top Ten
Newly Discovered Pet Peeves

10. Using the chairs, bar stools, and various other furniture items as stools while the stool is in plain site.

9. Wiping hands along EVERY wall only after I have cleaned them.

8. Leaving the door to the outside open and letting in all the flies and cold/hot air.

7. Shrieking or Squawking

6. Booger Eating

5. Riding on the shopping cart on the SIDE or in a way that makes it off balance.

4. The sudden burst of energy that comes after every meal--and the accompanying running, chasing and yelling.

3. Toy Rescue Operations--also called Trash Fishing

2. The word "butt-head" also the words: Poop-Head, Stinky-Head, Booger-Head, Big-Head, Dumb-Head, Peanut-Head etc etc etc.

1. The sudden helpful attitudes that emerge ONLY after 9 pm.

Why You Should Never Own a Motorcycle

Malachi's Tongue

Isn't this the cutest tongue you've ever seen? All heart shaped and lovely? Well, it's genetic. It's called ankyloglossia and although it is endearing, if you ever have a child born with it, I would recommend getting it clipped in very early infancy. I waited too long, and now Malachi won't open his mouth for the Doctor. And he has an underbite, and doesn't talk much. Sooooo, today, we're visiting a Doctor in Logan to see if we can clip it with the help of Versed. Wish me luck.

Ahhhhh! How Cute!

These are pictures of the humanitarian project I did in December. Um, well, we were SUPPOSED to do it in December, and I picked up the KIT in December, but um, what month is it again? Oh well. At least I finished them, right? Last time I picked up a humanitarian kit in Relief Society, it ended up being cut up and used in a Quiet Book a year later. I never finished that teddy bear that some nice old lady spent all that time cutting out. So THESE, I completed. Whose keeping track of how long it took, anyway?


Humanitarian Dolls

California is Warmer

It's true. We will all tell you so--we had a great time visiting the state that Aaron has been spending his spare time in. The boys and I drove (yikes) across four states to get there, and arrived in time to see Aaron at work on the farm in Brawley, California, before spending Easter weekend (plus a few days more) in San Diego. We had a great Spring Break. I have posted a few pictures, and more are to come. Right now, I'm going to BED. Enjoy the preview!!!

LegoLand

Did you know that there WAS such a place? I hadn't even heard of it until a friend (thanks, Suzie) asked me if we were going while we were in California, so I looked it up. Lo and behold, there are Legolands all over the WORLD!! Who knew? Apparently Suzie did. Anyway, a few weeks after discovering that Legoland even EXISTED, I was checking out slickdeals, and came across a real snazzy deal, one too good to miss. Then I asked the boys if they would rather go to SeaWorld (incidentally, $300/family), or Legoland ($85 with the slickdeal). Without even telling them the prices, of course they all voted for Legoland. What do you expect from a boy? Who in their right mind would pass up any or all of the following proof of the gloriousness of Legoland? BEHOLD:


Of course, while we were in California we visited Washington D.C.
Doesn't everyone?

Gideon practicing his driving skills for the day only 10 years away . . . . . . . . .

Aren't the pirates great? And here is Malachi--almost life sized. He was 2 inches too short for the kiddy rides. That was some major sadness. Only take kids 32 inches or above to Legoland when you go. He still had a good time, but he really wanted to ride the cars. Overall, a roaring success. Legoland puts Lagoon to shame.