Family

This weekend was bitter sweet. My family and I were assigned the job of going to Ogden and rummaging and dividing all of my grandmothers things. She is not doing very well and has decided to move into an assisted living apt. This one bedroom apt is obviously much smaller than her previous 4 bedroom home so we needed to clear it out in order to sell it for her. I had been dreading this job all week! I tried to think of every reason in the world that would allow me to sleep at night without actually having to do the job. But with no luck! I dutifully made the trek with all of the other family members and we tried to sort through the 40+ years worth of treasures that my grandma had lovingly kept. The worst part of this whole thing for me was the fact that she was there with us. She was happy to be giving her grandchildren all of her stuff but for me I HATED it. I was worried all day how she was feeling and if she was okay (I would of been an emotional wreck) She assured me many many times she was fine but I came home feeling very torn and sad. Before this post gets anymore depressing I will get to the point.

This weekend was a reminder of how little all the "stuff" we collect really means in the end. Not one person was there for the STUFF we were there helping someone we loved that means a lot to us. One of the few things I took with me was this sugar egg that as a kid I loved to stare into for hours. I was fascinated by this thing. I asked if anyone minded if I took the egg nobody did... but everyone said "can I look in the egg.... I used to love this thing" I am sure you've all seen one of these. This one has sentimental value for me and I'm happy to be entrusted with it. Even though it was an incredibly long and emotional day (for me at least) I only can hope that when I am old and need my family that they will all be there for me too. Family really is the only thing that matters in the end.

This is the egg from the outside. This thing is old and all made of sugar which means it's very fragile. I will try my best but I cannot guarantee it's safety in a house like mine.

This is the view from the inside. I couldn't get a good shot because the opening is so small and the camera wanted to focus on all the wrong spots (I know... I know... operator malfunction but I am still learning) But this is the little sugar bunny and you can almost see the grass and the flowers inside too. Aren't these things fun! I am sure you've seen them before right?

Sorry Honey!

So last night I went out shopping with my sister. (Just what the Dr. ordered ) I was not eating dinner at home so it never crossed my mind to fix something for dinner since after all I would not be partaking of the food. That would be the normal way of thinking right? WRONG! I have to tell this story because I thought it was so funny but I will most definitely be making my husband mad by doing so. Sorry honey....I thought it was too amusing to not share.

Feeding our kids is such a pain in the butt! Nobody likes the same thing and they all want to eat at different times etc etc....normally I put the smack down and say. Here's dinner eat it or not I don't really care (I am so mean huh!) But when I am not home sometimes I let more stuff slide. So Avery I gave some chicken nuggets and Dylan wasn't feeling well and only wanted a bowl of cold cereal okay.... easy enough. That leaves Michael and Haley to feed. This is a not a hard task. Haley will eat almost anything so I left daddy in charge and headed of to get ready to leave. Michael came in and asked what he should feed everyone. I told him Avery ate, Dylan wants cereal and he and Haley were on their own. He grumbled and stomped off to the kitchen. This is where he informed Haley she was eating cereal. She whined and said "Why.... like what did I do!? He declared.... mommy isn't helping me with dinner so you get cereal! Ahhhhhh....... nice to be needed isn't it (not really but let's pretend) So he dishes cereal for Dylan but used the wrong bowl. Now Dylan is crying because it's not in the RIGHT bowl. He didn't hear Haley tell him she didn't like that cereal so now she's crying too. He looks like his head might explode. In his defense moms know these things....like which bowls the kids like to eat out of and what cereal they like most (I know these things because I have been told them 17 million times. ) So I am ready to walk out the door, I figured I better not go if everyone was crying. A few little white "mommy " lies and all was well. I told Dylan that all the other bowls were dirty and in the dishwasher and I told Haley we were out of her cereal. There you go! Problem solved.... mommy is going to H....E..... double toothpicks for lying but at least nobody's crying right now! Welcome to life at the Cozart's : )

I'm so Excited!

I am booked and ready to go to Disneyland. We are big huge chickens and we never take our kids on vacation! Last year with Avery being under 1 it was just too hard. The years before that Dylan was young and had more than his fair share of emotional outbursts. So this year we are doing it!!!! We are booked and going BIG people. I decided to not be rational at all or sensible like all the other members of my family. We are staying at the Disneyland hotel.... complete with pixie dust sprinkling, mickey mouse wake up calls, Never land pools and white sandy beaches, character breakfasts and a nice big price tag for mommy and daddy! I don't care I am so excited I can't wait for vacation to come I want to leave now! I haven't been to Disneyland since I was a junior in HS I am sure that a lot of things have changed and I can't wait to see it with my kids for the first time. Plus today almost everyone at my house was healthy. Dylan is still getting over his yuckies but for the most part everyone is feeling better. Then to top off my really great mood I went out (without kids) to do a retail therapy. (New spring outfits for our Disney trips) Could this day get any better?

Freezer Meal Update

Wow.... I had no idea that everyone was interested in Freezer meals. I knew that I loved them and now my sisters were hooked, but for all I knew we were just the weirdos of the bunch. So this is how I do it. First I make a menu, I try and group things together as far as ingredients that may be alike. For instance we are going to have tacos and sloppy Joe's in this menu, so you would cook the hamburger for both meals at the same time and then season them differently. Then you would figure out which meals needed onions and chop enough for all of them at the same time. Then it's just a matter of assembling and putting things in their bags. You put everything you can in the freezer Ziploc bags then you squeeze the air out and they lay nice and flat in your freezer. Same with chicken dishes. I tried one of the new recipes I told you about last night and it was a HUGE hit. The pineapple pork chops! When I got home from the store the other night I put the meat in the bags with the marinade ingredients that way when you thaw them out they are nice and YUMMY! 5 or 6 minutes of cooking or grilling and there you have it! Gourmet meal with no work, serve with side of rice and salad and everyone's happy. This is how it went at my house last night. Even this one loved it!

He doesn't love anything so if it passes the test with him then most any child will eat it! Seriously he doesn't eat anything.




This one on the other hand eats most everything and she loved it too! Check out that face! I have never met a little kid that gets this happy over eating a banana!

The royal princess liked them too. She had at least 3 helpings ( I am beginning to think that she has a hollow leg) Seriously.... she is not that big... where does she put all the food?

So if a few of you really want to do some meals lets do it. Let me know when you want to and where and then we will make up our menus and shopping lists. I have 4 or 5 meals I haven't made yet so I would be happy to make them with you. (If you don't mind the everyday run of the mill meals I already did the "Fancy" ones) But they were easy and we could do those too if you wanted. Let me know! : )

It's Freezer Meal Time

I don't know how many of you know I do freezer meals. It makes my life sooooo much easier. You spend a couple hours cooking (preferably when your hubby can watch all the kids) I usually do these with my sisters and we can turn out about 10-11 meals for each family in a couple of hours. Then you decide what you want for dinner thaw and viola, it's done. The best part for me is not having to decide what to make. You just have meals pre -done it's almost like picking from a menu at a restaurant. I just made my list this morning and I am ready to try some new recipe's this time. I found this yummy web site that gave me some good ideas in case any of you are interested. http://lazydaygourmet.typepad.com/lazy_day_gourmet/dump_recipes/index.html I am using some of the recipes on this page (like the orange chicken, rosemary roast, pineapple pork chops, Beef chili) in addition to the ones I am already making. So if any of you fantastic cooks out there have any additional cooking ideas for me I would love all the ideas I can get.

SoooooOOOoooo Not FUNNY!

Okay, I finally had my nervous breakdown. I mean, one person can only take sick kids for so long. It is inevitable that I would crack, it was just a matter of time. As you all know we have been sick A LOT ! Avery is the current patient, she has had a fever for the last week, finally yesterday I figured out the the drops I have been putting in her ears have been numbing drops and not the antibiotic drops that I should have been putting in her ears. Of course I feel AWFUL! Because of my stupidity she has had an ear infection all week long that should have been cleared up in a couple of days! So now that I have figured out what was wrong I called the ENT (Ear Nose and Throat Dr.) I told the nurse what had happened. She GASPED... and says OH NO!!!! Can you be hear by 11:50? Well now I am in tears! I am just positive that I have done something horribly wrong and probably made her deaf for the rest of her life. ( It doesn't help that I am now sick too and feel horrible, plus I've gotten no sleep this week because of the sick baby....thus adding to the emotional state I am in! I mean what a horrible mother I am!) I proceed to tell my husband what has happened and burst into tears AGAIN. I need help.... like professional help. I am LOSING IT People! The weeks of tending sick kids and being stuck in the house has finally broke me!

Anyway so I go to the Dr. and have to admit my motherhood stupidity to at least 2 more people before the doctor even gets in the room, finally she come in, I explain again and she starts to laugh! She pats me on the shoulder and says "sorry, I'm not laughing AT you" I am guessing because of the shocked look on my face. She says it's just funny.... FUNNY?!!!!!! "This is SOoooooo not funny!!! Not funny even a little bit! " I said. She proceeds to tell me that I am the second person today that did this. (Okay, I feel a little bit better that I am not the only stupid mommy out there) She tells me no harm done, Apparently if she hadn't had so much gunk in her ears the medicine would have made her really sick like vomiting and convulsions. But no harm done she says! Great I feel much better now. Well, I guess her being so sick was just lucky she tells me! Thanks, I'll remember that next time.

Poor baby! I am sorry mommy is so stupid sometimes!

Questions for all you moms out there

I have two questions for all of you moms out there. One is totally superficial and the other actually I am asking the mom/nurse side of all of you. So I guess let's get that out of the way first. My little one has been running a fever for a week straight! What the heck!!!! It is the yucky kind too. Last night with a tsp of Motrin and tsp of Tylenol in her her fever was 104.2, this is after a bath too. I haven't had a baby (or child for that matter) with a fever that lasted that long. I am up early because I was up worrying about it all night. If you know me at all you'll know that my brain will go from the extremely mild to the really severe and back again worrying about what is the deal! It's probably just a cold right! But have any of you ever had any advice on this?

This leads me to my second question, which I feel stupid even mentioning now that I have a sick baby but this is what I was trying to decided before the fever spike last night. We are going to Disneyland in April, we will be staying in Oceanside at my sisters condo for most of the trip (Yippee thanks again Susie!!!!) But while we are doing the 3 days at Disney I am getting a hotel to cut down on driving back and forth. I want to stay at the Disney hotel and go BIG. But I have the option to stat at the double tree 3 miles away for an employee discount of 40 bucks a night. And ride the shuttle back and forth. So ladies that have been to Disney with (especially with kids) What do you think? Save the money and spend it on souvenirs and other fun things or do the Disneyland hotel (is it worth it)

There you have it. The two most pressing questions in my mind right now. Like I said I feel guilty about the second question now that I have a more important situation, but never the less I am still curious. Let me know..... share the wealth of knowledge.