All in a day's work

So today I had an experience that every mother has. I had utter chaos for about 10 minutes. Here's the play by play...

1. While teaching a piano lesson...
2. Student needs to leave asap to get his mom to a doctor's appointment. (Extra pressure there to be punctual with lesson time.)
3. One of my children has an accident (#2!) in the downstairs bathroom.
4. Child tries to "clean up" mess and gets it ALL OVER THE PLACE
5. Logan is trying to get me to read him his homework assignment
6. Another child needs help with the Wii equipment
7. Trevor is not finishing his homework and needs constant reminding
8. Dinner was impending - I tried a new recipe tonight
9. My lesson plan for church was not ready
10. I'm sure there was something else, but I can't think of it at the moment

All I have to say is THANK HEAVENS Jackson was napping! That would have been a-whole-nother ball game.

It was the poop mess that put me over the edge. I find it very difficult when so many kids need my attention. I feel like telling them to make a line and I'll get to you when I get to you! Most of it was my own mental battles I understand that, but how do you cope? Does anyone else have moments like this?

Jackson, Jackson, Jackson...

Jackson was up to his same 2-year-old shenanigans yesterday...

1. He decided it would be super fun to swing a real baseball bat at whatever/whoever crossed his path. He was finally stopped when he hit the window (it did not break, thank Heavens!) and scared the ladies sitting in my family room.

2. Jackson loves to play with the keys. He pushes a chair up to the counter and helps himself to all our important keys - car keys, house keys, pool keys, gate keys - yes, keys we use and need! He thought it would be fun to play car keys. So he got the appropriate keys for the van and truck (How does he know which is which? I don't know - he's just a smart little cookie I guess.) I heard what he was doing and figured I'd rescue the keys in a few minutes and let him have his fun for the time being. When he came back in there was only one set of keys. Uh-oh.
"Jackson where are the truck keys?" I asked.
"In - nere," he replies.
"In there?" I ask.
"In - nere," he confirms.
We walk out to the truck and he points to the grill on the front of the car, "In - nere." Good gracious! How was I supposed to retrieve a key he stuck into the front of the car?! And how was I to be sure the key was actually in there? Was he was telling the truth? Well, I popped the hood (Jeremy was shocked that I knew how to do this. Thanks for your confidence sweetie.) and peered down towards the bottom. Ha! there is was! It was too far down in a space too tight for my arm to squeak through. I remembered that Jeremy has this cool extendable magnet stick thing and that's what we used to get the key out.

I was totally proud of myself for the genius solution I came up with for retrieving the key. Now I just need a genius place to store the keys so it doesn't happen again!

Kids say the darndest things #2

We're sitting at the dinner table eating breakfast burritos...

Logan: Lizzie will you please get me some water?
Lizzie: Sure!
Trevor gawks at this scene and says, "How did you get her to do that?"
Logan: Oh, she's my slave.
Lizzie: Yeah, I'm his slave.

I thought I was watching a Malcom rerun... it was almost word for word from an episode we'd watched a few days before.

Ward Fam September Bday Party

Sunday night we celebrated the Ward family September Birthdays. Grampa turned 80, Gram turned 78 (hope that's right!), Robb will be 40?, Sam will be 7, and Trevor turns 9 on Sunday. Look at all these happy birthday kids...



Trevor was stoked to find out only a few minutes before that we were having a party for him too! He sheepishly asked, "Will there be presents?"

Take a look at that expression - was he excited or what!?

Club Penguin

This website, hosted by Disney, is IT at our house these days. Trevor, Logan and Lizzie all have their own account and penguin. They spend a lot of time (almost every day) on the computer chatting, playing games and collecting items for their penguin characters. Parents, do not fear, this is a very safe environment for kids to stop by and have a little fun. No personal information is allowed to be shared and if you do you will be removed from the system. So, yes, it is SAFE.

They love to run next door and tell their cousins to log on and then run home to chat online with them.

Does anyone else clubpenguin.com?

The Big Eight-Zero

Today is Grandpa Burton's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday Grandpa! We love you and wish you all the best on your special day.

It will be a week of many firsts...

So this week at recipe exchange Karen did a demonstration on Eggplant Parmesan. I've always loved this vegetable - from afar. It is big. It is PURPLE. And my mom never cooked it when we were growing up. So this veggie is very foreign to me.

When we went to NY earlier this year I thought I'd get a little crazy and order food I've never eaten before. I ordered Eggplant Parmesan in one of the restaurants we ate at. It was ok. But this recipe that Karen made last week was WAY better than the one in NY. It was probably all her fresh veggies in the homemade sauce that made it taste so good.

Here is a picture of my first ever eggplant purchase. Isn't it the most beautiful vegetable you've ever seen?! It really is the most beautiful/exotic one out there. This should be Aimee's favorite food - it's the same color as her family room!


I am afraid no more. I am STOKED to try this recipe. It will be delicious!

Eggplant Parmigiana
Better Homes and Gardens

1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 eggs beaten
1/4 c. cooking oil
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
homemade tomato sauce or one jar of Italian red sauce
6 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese

Combine flour and 1/2 tsp. salt. Dip eggplant into egg then flour. Brown eggplant in hot oil about 3 minutes per side, adding additional oil as needed. Drain well on paper towels. Place half of eggplant in a single layer in a 10x6x2 pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 parmesan. Top with 1/2 sauce and mozzarella. Repeat layers. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

Serves 6

Homemade Tomato Sauce
1 Tbl. oil
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 clove minced garlic
16. oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Heat oil to medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and cook until tender.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer gently uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to desired consistency.

So that is new recipe #1 for this week.


New recipe #2 will be Heather's Thai Peanut Sauce. It has some crazy ingredients, but it looks soooo tasty.


Heather’s Thai peanut sauce

½ cup peanut oil
½ cup peanuts
1 slice fresh ginger ½ inch thick
2 garlic cloves
1 can sweet condensed milk
2 Tbs soy sauce
4 tsp fish sauce
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

1.Heat the peanut oil to nearly smoking in a sauce pan. Turn off the heat and add the peanuts. The peanuts should cook to a golden brown 2-4 minutes. If you burn them, throw them out and start all over again or your sauce will be bitter. You may have to turn on the heat again, but stir the peanuts if you do.

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peanuts to the blender or food processor. Along with 1 Tbs of the peanut oil and bend them to a rough paste. Add all the remaining ingredients except the cilantro and blend until smooth. If it is too thick add more oil. Stir in cilantro and serve

*** This sauce is amazing. You can serve it as a dipping sauce. It is great on chicken, shrimp, pork, and even tofu steaks. It is also a great base sauce for a Thai pizza too. You can freeze what you don’t use for next time.


New recipe #3 will be Italian Pepperoni-Cheese Puffs. I am least worried about this dish - which is not actually a dish - it is basically biscuits with pepperoni inside. But it is new none-the-less! I think the kids will dig it. Especially because they can dip them in pizza sauce. They love to dip. And Mr. Jackson's favorite food these days is PIZZA. I'm trying to see how many different ways I can disguise pizza and get him to try different things - even though they all taste like pizza.

Italian Pepperoni-Cheese Puffs

Better Homes and Gardens

1 ¼ C. water

1/3 c. shortening

1 ½ c. flour

4 eggs

¾ c. finely chopped pepperoni (3 oz.)

¾ c. finely shredded parmesan cheese (3 oz.)

2 Tbs. Snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets; set aside. In a large saucepan combine water and shortening. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.

2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Stir in pepperoni, cheese, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper.

3. Drop rounded teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Position the 2 baking sheets on separate oven racks. Bake for 15 – 17 minutes or until firm and golden brown, switching oven racks halfway through baking. Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat, as needed, for remaining dough. Serve warm. If desired serve with pizza sauce.

Makes about 40 puffs.

Who wants to try these new recipes with me? Let's be crazy together and try something new this week!

Soccer Logan (and Carter)

Logie man started soccer this week. He is so excited to have his own thang. (Trevor opted out of soccer this year in favor of cross country.) He gets to be on the same team as his best buddy Carter. There is also another kid from our ward on the team, Mason, but we didn't get a picture with him last night. These 2 boys have a lot in common. They both love soccer/kicking things, they both have the "no fear" gene which makes them risk takers, and they both LOVE chips!


Logan is an adventure seeker. So when he plays soccer - it is not just soccer - it is full body soccer. He dives, he rolls and he slides whenever possible. It is quite entertaining to watch. He is on the ground more than he is running. Why does he do this? Don't know. He hustles though, and the coaches notice that. He has always been a pleaser and will not disappoint them. We're looking forward to a fun soccer season! Goooo Team! (What was their team name again? I can't remember anything!)

Never Forget

We visited Ground Zero earlier this year. This is what it looked like in March. Click here to view the post from our trip.

Here is a picture of a plaque that hung in the temporary memorial.


Our lives changed forever on September 11, 2001. Never Forget...

"Is it time for my ballerina class, Mommy?"

Lizzie has been longing for her own activity since the boys started school 2 weeks ago. We talked about a dance class for a few days and she decided it was something she'd like to do. We signed her up and went to her first lesson today.
Lizzie was excited to pick out her own dance clothes and was even more thrilled that Target sold Hannah Montana leotards! The leotard was black so the tights and shoes had to match too. She was soooo excited about her new get-up. When she walked into the class she noticed something...
Everyone else was ALL PINK! She was not discouraged. She marched right in there and got to work.
Lizzie had a great time at her first lesson and can't wait to go back.