butt-a

whipping cream and salt.

it's as easy as that.

directions:

whip cold cream until it separates.
this takes some time. be patient.
when you have some good separation of liquid (buttermilk) and solids (butter) drain the milk off and squeeze out the rest it with a rubber spatula.

add salt and mix well.
spread it.
eat it.
lick it.

refrigerate it.

warning:

do not trust your 2 year old to do the whipping.
even if she begs and points those baby blues right at you.
sure she may look cute with that wild mixer in her hands
and you may want to take a picture or two.
but she cannot be trusted.
she will need a bath.
and you will need a mop.



the end.

he did it

he turned 30.

we had balloons, and a banner, and a party.

i made a big fat cake and the girls helped with birthday hats.

his dad was here too.

he opened presents and was given a number of hugs and kisses from the adoring ladies in his life.



p.s. i'm so glad 30 Easy Days is over :)

little roo

we have been lounging on the weeds the past few days.
the weather is pretty much prefect.
so is this little spring peach.


30 Easy Days


"i miss you."


Day 27: A little email because I'm lonely after our vacation together.

Day 28: A mixed CD


30 from K on Vimeo.

Day 29: A video

going north

The drive from Phoenix to SLC is really beautiful.
It is also very long, but we left early (4:30 am) so we were able to cruise through the boring desert.

First things first: Burgers Supreme, a visit to Am, a stop by my old stomping grounds of the The Flower Basket (where I happened to catch Bonnie before she completely closed up the old building),

and an evening with the Utah Gardiners (yes, that is a gun in my daughters' pants).

The girls were so excited to see their cousins.
I'm not sure that we talked to Blondes for the few days we were there.
She was in heaven.
So was I.

We went swimming, played games, ate lots of good food, went shopping, the guys went shooting, we visited Wheeler Farm, and we all stayed up way past our bed times sharing way too many embarrassing stories.

I love my family.

11 of 18 grand-kids at the farm.

gotta love the farm.

30 Easy Days


Day 22: Icee for the road

Day 23: Party with Utah Gardiners. Yeah-ya!

Day 24: Shooting with the guys

Day 25: I study for my test on the ride home (yes, this is what he really wanted)

Day 26: I give up on 30 Easy Days for the day.

i'm here

we rolled in from utah last night.

we went to see my family.

i'll tell you about it later.

now i have to catch up on my studies and dress some polly pockets.

xoxo

i don't do this

but they make it look like i do.

the spring break bake

i guess today is st. patty's day.
darn.
i'm not wearing a spot of green.
i've been so excited that it's spring break i forgot that anything else existed this week.
no matter, i don't think i have a spot o' irish in me anyway.

by chance though, mae is wearing a little green on the new sweet dress i made her - yes, i'm going sewing mad.
hobby lobby has killer fabric.
i'm not sure what i sent blondes to preschool in.
she may be pinched.
poor girl - totally out of the loop.

i've also been going baking mad!

this is good because i missed about 3 days of the Easy project and was able to make up for it by baking fresh cookies and making homemade pizza (his favorites) yesterday.
i also baked my first 2 successful loaves of bread on monday - that were gone by the next morning. believe me i want more, but am scared to try again and have them turn out like bricks.

yes, i have thoroughly been enjoying my break, but we have our first Peds test when we get back to class next weds.
it has me stressed out of my mind.
it's like i can't enjoy my time off without feeling totally guilty for not studying.

yeah. i should go study.



hmmm...maybe after i make more bread.




30 Easy Days



Day 19: New T-Shirts



Day 20: Chocolate Chip Cookies (totally for him ;)



Day 21: Homemade pizza

escape

i'm horrible at keeping secrets.

especially ones that involve the element of surprise. i always tell. no gift remains a secret, no surprise goes untold.

...until this weekend.

when day 17 rolled around.

5pm: Easy comes home from work to an empty house.

5:06: I roll up, honk, and yell for him to hop in.

5:07-5:30: Easy goes mad trying to figure out what is going on, where the (older) girls are, and where we are off to, while I simply mess with him.

5:30: We roll up to the Mesa Marriott, where I jump out and check us in.



6pm: We wait to be seated at Tia Rosa's (best mexican food in Phoenix area). I think of just eating Little Roo that has tagged along - she is soooo tasty.

6:30: We eat way too much chips and salsa, drink Sangria, down some seafood tacos, and inhale a beef burro.

7:30: Shopping - I score a shirt and a new skirt while E scores nothing. I love his birthday!

8:15: We discover awkward teens at a venue sitting in silence all night long playing video games on fancy screens next to each other - strange. Apparently they also have a Monster energy drink bar - also weird since they are all just sitting there - staring at screens.

8:30: We watch Alice and are disappointed. I wanted it to be creepy-er, zany-er, and actually have a plot. And boy does Anne Hathaway bug.

11pm: We hit the sack and sleep in together for the first time in months - and enjoy our Roo for a few more peaceful hours before we pick up our monkeys.

30 Easy Days

Day 18: a memory book that contains stories from his closest friends and family

arizona sun

we are soaking it up.

13.14.15

30 Easy Days



Days 13 & 14: (yes this counts as two) Wash and Iron all his work shirts


Day 15: Leave a voice mail first thing in the morning at his office

warm pockets

Easy got a fancy new phone a few months ago.

It came with a mail in rebate.

Easy procrastinates.

He knew he would never turn it in.

Easy asks Hays to turn it in.

He says she can have the money.

Hays turns it in.

She waits.

Hays now has $100.

Her pockets are on fire!

a woman's opinion

i need an opinion...or more.

i spent sunday all sick, hot, snotty, and coughing with little roo by my side. E took the girls to church.

i started working on a skirt that has had me intimidated for the past week or so (patterns are scary).

he came home.

i continued to sew this scary skirt and finally finished it as the girls were going to bed, feeling rather proud of my invisible zipper (which was the most awful part, by far) and that it actually resembled the picture.

i put it on (hooray it fits!) and asked him about it.

he shrugs. he makes a little face. he doesn't like it.

i tell him that it is cute and this just means that he is getting old (30), but secretly i'm pretty unsure of it too.

here is where some of you come in: i'm determined to have a woman's advice before i just decide to shove the thing in the back of my closet.

maybe it's the gold??

dang...i should have gone with black.

nine. ten. eleven. twelve.

30 Easy Days

Day nine: goodbye to colgate




Day ten: An afternoon walk with all his girls (she rode her bike the whole way!)



Day eleven: I get up early with him (even though i'm too sick to move)



Day twelve: gourmet soda in the mail.

:)

brown eyes

when i was little my grandpa hyde used to call me "brown eyes" and then he'd attack my cheeks with his whiskers. i hated it and i loved it. he'd say "where's that brown-eyed girl?" and i'd make a run for it.

i can't understand why this dominant gene hasn't been so dominant, then again my dad is blue-eyed so i guess it's my doing.

roo has had me guessing.



but i think its safe to say that there's a new "brown eyes" in town.


30 Easy Days



Day 8: Painted

mother of the morning!

on the mothering scale i'd say that i'm about a 6.

i think i do an okay job. i'm trying to teach my kids good things. i try to get them to eat good food. i want them to be responsible and likable. i read to them and play with them. i smother them with affection and praise them for their good deeds, but i'm still pretty new at this.

and sometimes i fail miserably in my role.

like this morning.

i hate the thought of it.

after a long night of baby crying (she comfortably wants to nurse all night long and i'm trying to break her of that) and a cold creeping in on me (my throat is on fire!) i stumbled into the kitchen to grab Miss Mae some milk and yes i admit that i blanked out on the couch for a minute while Sesame Street played in my ears.

in my daze i forgot about Roo laying on my bed. sleeping. and i forgot that she has been spinning on her back and rolling to her tummy for the last few days. when she begins crying i let her for a minute. or two. i'm trying to figure out if she really is crying amidst Elmo's incessant babbling. my head is a fog and i'm also trying to remember what cold medicine is acceptable to take while nursing. her crying is a little relentless though, so i go in.

but i can't find her.

you know where this is going, right?

i rip the comforter off the bed. nope. not there.

i run to the other side and yes, there she is down on the floor.

agh!

this is the moment as a mom when you hate yourself. at this moment i'm a zero.

she has a red blotch on her forehead and is pretty mad.

but immediately calms down as i cuddle her and check her pupils.

as i'm looking in her eyes she smiles - my guilt doubles. i love this baby.

so i do what a good mom would do (maybe one who is like a 9) and i kiss her sweet face, change her wet diaper, and let her comfortably nurse for as long as she pleases.

magic

the oldest tells me that she is sooooo bored.

play outside? no. with her dollhouse? no. with her sister? color a picture? clean her room? babies? zuzu pets? no. no. no.

she wants a friend. sissy won't do.

i tell her she can't have a friend and then she tells me that she wants me to play with her. but i have too much going on. a test to study for, a room to clean (yes my room is always trashed), and dishes to do. plus i just hate playing princesses.

but she is soooooo bored. and moping at my feet. tears welling up in those perfect green eyes.

silly me though. what is this??? i realize that we are sitting in the middle of a castle. and the princess is coming. soon! she will want to dance with her prince and have a feast and sleep in a freshly made big, beautiful princess bed.

the girl lights up.

i tell her to hurry.

the princess is coming! we have to clean this place up!

clothes into the hamper and hung in the closet. sheets and pillows are straightened. everything gets dusted and magically put into place for the big arrival.

she dresses. she dances. she eats. she sleeps. there is even a showdown between the handsome prince and an evil witch (that has nice hair).

and my room is clean.

Ha ha ha!

30 Easy Days

Day 7: Letters From His Ladies

i have skills

what a difference a block makes.

thank you block III! i'm reminded now of why i wanted to be a nurse. block II was brutal. was it ever!

still though, going in for clinical first thing is always amazingly awkward. we meet as a group for pre-conference and then disperse to our selected units we are assigned to. the past few weeks we have been on cardiac units which are not at all intimidating. we ask for the charge nurse and then there is an awkward silence as we stand waiting for someone to accept/step up. who's the lucky one to get the students today??? who is nice enough or brutal enough to take one??? some gladly accept. some begrudgingly. then we take notes through report and awkwardly tell the preceptor what skills we are capable/incapable of doing. most are kind and explain things. most remember that they were a student once too.

but there are some...some that will make your day hell.

it sounds like i'm exaggerating, but i'm not. it can be very big fish, little fish.

finally though! i feel like i'm not a burden. finally we are confident enough and skilled enough to lighten the load. finally, i'm feeling like i can do this. it's all coming together. i love it.

we have finished up all of our med-surg lectures and are moving onto pediatrics next week. i'm so excited!

30 Easy Days



Day 5: Manly Mags



Day 6: Fairlytale Brownies delivered to work

Day 3 & 4

three: a back rub after a long day

four: fresh baked apple pie (easy's favorite)

Don't kid yourself. Pie is actually really easy to make. I made the mistake once of doing my own crust though. Sure it turned out wonderful, but it wasn't worth it. Now I just buy the cheap ready to bake ones and save myself all the swearing.

Apple Pie

1 ready made pie crust
8 granny smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1/2 -2/3 sugar
1/4 c white flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt

take the nifty pie crust out of the fridge to get it close to room temp. heat oven to 425. mix all of the above together. yep all of it. get one of the pastry's in a pie plate and press against sides. trim excess. turn apples neatly into pie plate and top with the other half of the crust. cut slits in the top and flute the edges. cover edges with tin foil and bake for 40-50 minutes taking the foil off during the last 15 minutes of baking. cool for a couple of hours and enjoy topped with vanilla ice cream.