Christmas Dinner

For Christmas dinner, we had Kalua Pig, Panipopo, rice, pineapple/orange juice and macadamia nut chocolates for dessert. We've been making "Hawaiian" food for Christmas dinner for the last about 4 years. I gave up trying to make Chicken Long Rice about 2 years ago.

 

 

This panipopo recipe is simple and delicious. Panipopo is dinner rolls cooked in coconut milk pudding. I use Kehau Woolsey's recipe.

Use your favorite bread recipe (I used my Kitchenaid recipe)or Rhodes dinner rolls. Prepare coconut pudding by mixing well:
2 cans (13.5oz each)coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch

Pour mixture into a large foil pan or divide between two 9" x 13" cake pans. When dough has risen for an hour, shape into round dinner rolls (about 24). Drop into pan(s) with coconut milk. Let rise again for an hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Christmas Day

Hope you had a fun Christmas day. Our kids managed to get lots of stuff this year and J. did what he does every year in declaring this to be "The Best Christmas Ever" (he thought so until last night when the baby broke his ski ball toy.) A holiday spent with our family is the best ever and we are thankful for our blessings this holiday season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student of the Week

R. was the Student of the Week at his school the first week of December. He also found out he won the Thanksgiving turkey drawing contest. The assignment was to draw a turkey in disguise. His turkey was disguised as a turkey hunter. He's a pretty creative kid and we love him.

A Request for Traditions

This year we made up a new Christmas tradition. Every year a nearby stake centers hosts a nativity display featuring hundreds of nativity sets on display in their cultural hall as well as a kids' craft room and free photos of the family dressed up in Jerusalem-era garb. We all love seeing the beautiful and unique nativity sets. So this year we brought nativity-shaped sugar cookies and milk. After taking in all the nativities, we hung out in the van eating cookies, drinking milk, and listening to Christmas music. It was a nice evening, one we'll try to duplicate in the coming years.

When I was little we had two family traditions. One was making gumdrop-stuffed fruitcake (we called it "Jesus Fruitcake") and singing happy birthday to Jesus. The other was to dress up and act out Luke chapter 2.

Ben's family tradition was to draw names and exchange handmade gifts on Christmas Eve.

With the cold temperatures and heaps of snow, I'm looking for ways to distract my stir-crazy children. (I'll admit it, I'm a little stir-crazy myself!) Do you have any fun-at-home Christmas traditions I can adopt this year?

Twelve Days of Christmas

Warner Music Group yoinked all their vids from youtube, here's a link for their myspace video http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=748678

Completely Loving December!

1. I am thankful for the incredible joy the kids have in unpacking our Christmas boxes. They love the ornaments and I had totally forgotten that I got two new nativities (on clearance 75% off) after Christmas last year. Unwrapping decorations around here is almost as much fun as Christmas morning.


2. I am thankful that we have a limited gift-giving budget this year. It could have been the year for my boys to wipe out years of carefully frugal, perfectly merry Christmases. I mentioned before that R. (but really both boys) wants it all. My knee-jerk reaction to this extensive wish listing is to make my kids happy. But since that's not really what Christmas is all about, I feel good modifying these lists & throwing in some service to others while I'm at it.

3. I am thankful that S. is keeping her conjunctivitis germs to herself--so far. Sad that she got it. But nobody wants to be given pink eye for Christmas.

4. I am thankful that I got to sing a song with Tiffani for our ward Christmas Party. We sang "Will the Real Santa Please Stand Up?" It's a fun '70s showtunes number, not a salute to the Eminem. We dressed up in our jammies and held a dolly and a teddy bear. And Sam did a wonderful job accompanying us.

5. I'm thankful for loving parents. They know all too well how much our basement is costing us. They agreed they wouldn't, because "Early Christmas" came already, but they sent Christmas presents and some money, which Santa knows exactly what to do with. What a blessing they are.

6. I'm thankful for the snow. It makes the kids happy!

7. I'm not thankful for dead batteries (no pic, sorry!), but I am thankful that I remembered what was stored on a shelf in the garage. We just opened two boxes filled with the most amazing nativity scene from Ben's sister, Ali. The Gunters moved this past summer and didn't have room for all of their Christmas stuff so she offered it to us. We love it.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Such a Precious Little Sweetheart, Aww!

Precious. . . Little Sweetheart. . . Really?

Fooled you, didn't she?

Lately we've been seeing a drastic increase in the of number of messes made. Her favorite things to make a total mess of are:

(1) Dry cereal

(2) Cups of water
(substitutions permitted for any liquid in a cup)

What's sad is that C. will spill something and then grab a broom (for cereal) or dish towel (for water). "Uh oh!" she'll say with a grin. Then, like its a game, like she's cute, like what she spilled wasn't just my favorite Quaker granola ever, she swishes the chosen cleaning instrument around and walks away all smiles!

When the boys were little we put up a DIY picket fence along the opening from the living room to the kitchen (after R. used Hershey's syrup as linoleum/body paint). Keeping those stinker buggies, a fond nickname for my children, out of the kitchen is easier said than done when it's totally open to the living room. I'm discovering that open floor plans work best for those without toddlers.

DIY-ing another picket fence would curb some messes. But if you thought her messes only happened in the kitchen, have I got news for you! Did you know that toilet paper can unroll into toilet water very quickly? And did you also know that wet toilet paper carried around the house by a toddler sends disgusted shivers down my spine? Hold the phone, cowboy. Since when is shutting bathroom doors so difficult, people?!?

Need more proof, in the form of a mess-making collage perhaps, that she's not simply a stinker buggie, but a total stinker buggie?

Told you so!

Today's Etsy Picks

My friend from our Moscow days, Tanya Hansen, sells cool bags like this one (and cute aprons, too) on etsy! Her items are at lusciouslemon.etsy.com

Dude, OPEC is totally messing with my mind!

Funny times! On the way home we filled up the van for $1.62, cash only price. It would have been a lofty $1.72 to charge it. Ben gave the cashier $25.00 and had to go get change after he finished pumping the gas. Do you suppose OPEC will soon consider paying us when we fill up? Works for me!

S. was homesick and crying in Leavenworth. When Ben asked why, she said "Because I miss Hera. I'm afraid she's going to melt." Hera is our pet tarantula, who she has never seemed all that attached to. And by "melt" she meant "molt" which is when tarantulas harmlessly shed their exoskeletons as they grow bigger.

Lilly and J. were sitting together during sacrament meeting. They looked at the stamped property of "LDS FOOTHILLS BLDG" on the hymnal and asked me what BLDG meant. I told them it stood for building. J. then said; "Does LDS stand for "LIBERTY DOWNLOAD SECRETARY?" and we all got a little giggly.

I was going to attribute this next quote to R. but as I type I'm remembering that it was J. who said it. (The only funny things R. has said lately are lengthy additions to his Christmas wish list. We could spend a thousand bucks on him and it wouldn't quite cover the first half of his list.) So here's what J., who is into spelling, said in the van after finding out that he could have some gum at the rest stop; "S-W-E-E-T. All capitol letters. Three shout marks. Two underlines. Circle. Oh, and a sign pointing to it that says 'Yeah!'"

And while I'm writing about funny things, I should mention that after watching A Colbert Christmas, the phrase "I'm Delicious!" has grabbed hold around here. It's right up there with "Ginormous!" "Give me some of your tots!"and "D'oh!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a great feast day. We spent Thanksgiving with all of Ben's family except for big brother Chris who is still in Taiwan teaching and taking care of his dogs. We have a "Weenie Roast" planned for 3:00pm today, but it's rain/snow/slush-ing here, so I'll keep you posted. Nothing but 10 grandchildren creating enjoyable moments and conversations about everything under the sun, including facebook. (I hadn't been able to find Ben's sister, Jen, because she facebooks as "Jenny Vos" and she's been known to punch those who call her Jenny to her face.) Facebook will be cool for you in about a decade, Dave. In Ben's family I'm the youngest, so that's been fun!

I'm thankful for YOU!

Early Birthday Present

(photo by amylynnsmith.com)

Ben's 38th birthday is tomorrow and he's got the week off (I know!). We have some fun and surprising surprises planned to distract him for a while from his plans for a week of focusing on the basement. [Furnace update: We've got gas!]

But this afternoon and evening have been an early birthday present. When he got home from church at about 2:00pm (an eight hour day, in case you were wondering) he changed into casual clothes and has had a relaxing evening. No meetings, no phone calls, no nothing! Just a little reading, a little napping, and a little college ball. Hey, when did college teams start playing on Sundays?

Only Aaron (and Kim) had a better Sunday afternoon, I'd bet! My condolences to Scott (and JaNae). They reorganized the Elders Quorum in our ward. . .

Ever Do a Little Wondering/Worrying?

I won't mention exactly what provoked the thoughts, but I've recently been worried about how I'll teach my children, who will be teenagers all too soon, what I believe in as far as morality. All forms of media seem to want them to learn something else entirely. I want to protect my children, and all children, and help them make good decisions. How impossible is that?

I like this quote: "I think we should put more of our tax dollars into educating poor girls and boys, and give them information about contraception that can prevent unwanted pregnancies, lower abortion rates and help ensure that every child is loved and cherished. But I also think faith can fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and the sense of reverence all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy." President Elect Obama said this. Motivation for my worries aside, I always hear people saying that they'd never wish to be a teenager again. Is being the parent of teenagers just as bad? Or worse? I sure hope not!

I'm Amazing

S. woke up from her nap today in a very grumpy mood. I asked her if she wanted to paint her nails (she's got a black pinky from trying to work on the basement--she meant to hammer a real nail).

She grinned and took off running down the hall "Oh yeah!" Sometimes it's just too easy to be "the best mom in the whole wide world!"

Improv with J. and Uncle Steve

My Trip

I went to Cali this weekend. Saturday morning, Ben and C. showed up to surprise us at the temple!

Hanging out with my five siblings:

Worn out from all that sneaky traveling!

Cutie pie!

Photograph of C. by Amy Lynn Smith Photography check out more pics at her blog: smithdiaries.blogspot.com

Ten for Thursday

1. Halloween was a continuation of our family's salute to Uncle Steve. The boys picked out firefighter costumes! I attempted to intervene with a reminder that they were firefighters in 2003, but the power of Uncle Steve was far greater than the power of useless facts. S. alternated between her firehouse dog costume and her princess attire, but was happy as both. And C. made an adorable fire hydrant. One kid asked me if she was a blood cell, the nozzle contraption fell off, so I can't blame him. I'd never thought to dress my kids up as cells though--maybe we'll be DNA strands and various molecules next year, what do you think? Oh, and C. can now say "lollipop" and she does so with conviction. She'll walk into the kitchen, point at the shelves where the candy is and say; "BOB!" Too fun. Load 'em all up with sugar--I can't believe all the candy is pretty much gone! That takes true determination to eat so much candy.

2. I bought fake blood ($1.00) for the boys to have some fun with on Halloween. I was surprised at the reaction I got when I trickled a little along the corner of my mouth. I showed R. my oozing blood and he said; "I don't really like that mom, can you wash it off?" It was a mixture of disgust and fear. Does fake blood store well? Because maybe it'll be cool in a few years--I'll stick it in the Halloween box and see. Mmm, rancid fake blood. . . maybe not.

3. I found a new blog that's got some real potential. It's called "Being Frugal is Fabulous" and it's regularly updated with sales and promotions. Did you know there's a free Red Box rental coupon code every Monday?

4. I can't wait to see my family tomorrow! How wonderful to be able to celebrate with my sis and her hubby (their blog) when they get sealed on Saturday. Can't wait to see you all! Ben accidentally told me about his surprise plans for this weekend. He's going to take the kids to see Grammy and Papa while I'm gone. The van will be packed and ready to go when the boys get home from school. Fun! And more help watching the kids. Bonus!

5. We are THISCLOSE to having a working gas furnace. Terry came over yesterday to finish up with the "home runs" (fancy electrician talk--something about breakers) and hook up the furnace. We got the furnace and gas line inspected yesterday too. I spent way too much time wiring outlets and the getting wires into the rest of the can lights. I can't believe how much our basement is going to rock! Sorry, upstairs, but we hate you now!

6. I had a moment of extravagance the other day. When I was heading out the door I opened my tic tacs container and raised it to my mouth. I got eight tic tacs! Who needs eight tic tacs, I think to myself, this is crazy!?! But now what do I do now? I can't just spit them back into the container. I've got no choice but to consume them all. So there I am driving down the street in total luxury; sucking on eight tic tacs like nobody's business. Whoo!! Fresh breath and then some. I guess everyone deserves to splurge on occasion. I even did the math as I was heading down Pines Road "1 1/2 calorie breath mint" x 8 = 12 calories of opulence!

7. Back to real life for a moment. My house is a total pigsty, but at least I'm all caught up with laundry. I'm blogging at 7:00am so I can have the rest of my day for cleaning, packing, and grabbing essentials at the store.

8. Race matters? It does and it doesn't. I was not thinking that an Obama victory would be such an emotional experience for African Americans. I honestly didn't think of the election that way. Race was not an issue for me in my decision to vote for him; skin color has never been a big deal to me. I am brought to tears thinking of the opportunity I have to be a witness to this significant event in United States history.

9. I'm beyond thrilled with the election results. To wary McCain supporters, I say it'll all be okay. The campaigning since the conventions has been your run-of-the-mill mud slinging, but slinging doesn't magically make it true. As I told Logan, Obama's not REALLY a socialist, (liberal and socialist aren't interchangeable, regardless of arguments to the contrary) that's just what McCain's straight talk express tried when all else failed to pump up poll numbers. I'm certain the next four years will be aboveboard once the dust of negativity we've been forced to inhale settles. We have elected an intelligent person who will govern sensibly.

10. Related to #8 and #9, HOORAY for a return of eloquence to the white house! A president who can pronounce long words without the need to make up his own. Beyond pronunciation, Obama's speeches and leadership will inspire a new generation. My Brazillian friends who wonder how we could have elected #43 (twice?!?) will celebrate with us all. *INSERT ABSURD BUSH COMMENT HERE* "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —George W. Bush (video), Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (bonus, he said it in Nashville! ). The past 8 years can finally take their place in the history books, sorry historians, and we can move on.

BONUS QUOTE: "We as a nation have reached that mountain top. Because at long last the United States has fulfilled the greatest part of freedom. We have a president who is Hawaiian. For decades these proud people have been segregated from the rest of the nation literally on an island. Hawaiian kids growing up in grass huts thought their only choice in life was selling poi on street corners or carving tiki idols just to put mahi mahi on the table. Now they will know there are other options than trying to make it big as a ukulele player. They could be president of the United States. As Queen Liliuokalani said so long ago; 'Mele Kalikimaka. I have a dream.'" ~Stephen Colbert on election night 2008.

We VOTED, Did You?

S. is sticking with her decision to vote for Dora the Explorer, and the boys' school held an election today. It was a mock presidential election and a school student body election. (All of the first graders voted by gender--girls voted for girls and boys voted for boys--cute, huh?) Is the suspense killing anyone else? I yoinked this pic from USA Today dot com. An interesting tidbit: in Austraila, I think it was, you are fined $20 for not voting.

Trick or Treat from our Juvenile Delinquents

This year R. and J. are celebrating "Orange and Black Day" at school. Wearing costumes and/or mentioning the word Halloween are not allowed. Does the phrase "Bah Humbug!" transfer to other holidays? They wore black and I sprayed their hair orange. R. is lucky enough to already have black hair so he opted to incorporate both colors. S. took the picture of the boys. She didn't get a good first shot and this, her second try, evoked these annoyed expressions!

(R. has great gloomy teenager potential, don't you think?)

Here are some web cam Halloween pictures of the girls:

I'll post more pictures of the rest of today's festivities. R. and J. will be firefighters, S. will be the dalmatian firehouse dog, and C. will be a fire hydrant. Ben and I bought thrift store jammies and slippers and will be the people who they rescue from the burning building. And suggestions for creating fake billowing smoke are appreciated.

Two updates/tidbits:

First, S. went on her first field trip on Wednesday to the local fire station. She asked about flashover likeUncle Steve told her to! She said he answered; "It's when a fire goes KA-BOOM!" She also told "13 people counting the firefighter, who has a round head that's way bigger than my head, way bigger," that her uncle is a firefighter.

Second, Ben's church bag was found this morning in the bushes next door. Yay! So except for buying a new wallet, an annoying amount of credit card company calling, and replacing his license, not much damage was done. There was a check for $184.00 in his wallet that was cashed but I'm glad most of his stuff was found. Happy Halloween!

Numbers and Letters Tag

Numbers tag, you're it. . .

1 Thing I'm looking forward to:
hanging out with my family next weekend (all work and all play, right?!?)

2 Things on my wish list:
free maid service for life (so far I'm not learning to love housework)
a gourmet chef (although if my maid did the dishes, I'd probably love cooking)

3 Favorite restaurants:
Azteca (even J. likes the food there)

Subway ($5 footlongs make me happy)

Pizza Hut (delicious childhood memories!)

4 Things that happened yesterday:

I did housework (dishes and laundry mostly)

I held C. while she napped (love that!)

we ate tons of caramel popcorn (thanks Bev)

I drove J. and his friend to a birthday party

5 TV shows I love to watch:
The Office (love the real/unreal characters)
Super Nanny (boosts my mommy self-esteem & offers fun tips)
The Daily Show (because ALL news pundits need to be yelled at)
ER (on again off again with ER, but I'll watch the last season)
Random DVR-ed HGTV shows with a "before" and an "after" (gives me good ideas & hope for my own "after")

6 people I'm tagging:
Maren (because I like reading your blog)
Jamie (ditto)
Amy (ditto)
Logan (ditto)
Crystal (ditto)
and Rita (because you should totally start your own blog!)
_______________________________________________________
ABC tag, you're it:

A = ADVOCATE FOR: public schools

B = BEST FEATURE: smile

C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: my hubby

D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: children who grow up to be faithful, happy, and responsible members of society.

E = ESSENTIAL ITEM: running water

F= FAVORITE PASTIME: creating halloween costumes

G = GOOD AT: tickling kids

H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: bungee jumping

I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: 1/10th tithing, pay bills, and turn a Brazillian flavela (like a shanty town) into a self sustaining apartment/work building.

J = JUNKIE FOR: chocolate

K = KINDRED SPIRIT: R.'s birth mom

L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: Today is our anniversary--the 15th anniversary of my first date with Ben. We went to a Kahuku football game at Aloha Stadium, saw the movie "Cool Runnings" at Kahala theaters, and wandered around Waikiki's International Marketplace where Ben almost bought me a pearl (I didn't let him). I know!

M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: Playing outside with toddlers R. and J. and being amazed at how quickly they would take off running in opposite directions.

N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Assume I know everything.

O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: TV

P= PC or MAC: Former Mac, current PC

Q = QUOTE: No matter what you may say, it's your actions that speak for you.

R = REASON TO SMILE: I almost have a finished basement thanks to Steve and Crystal (Yay--the doors we ordered arrive today!) and Terry.

S = SORRY ABOUT: Offending others

T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: you!

U = UNINTERESTED IN: learning to ski

V = VERY SCARED OF: Boogeymen? I don't know. I guess those little "what ifs" in life like car crashes or kidnappers mostly.

W = WORST HABIT: Getting sidetracked

X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Goat Island?

Y = YELLOW OR PINK: Yellow

Z = I win.

Today's Etsy Pick

RubyFantastic makes this adorable onesie:Love, love, love homemade stuff! Isn't this such a great idea--I'm sooo stealing this one!

Swiper No . . . Swiping! :(

Someone broke into Ben's car last night and stole his wallet, electric shaver, and church bag. Cancelling credit cards was a pain (FYI you don't need continuous identity theft coverage "just in case" because you can sign up for $10/mo. identity theft protection at the time of theft and hold onto it for a month or two in case of later fraudulent name/ID usage.) But I'm most bummed about his church stuff. I had just bought him a cool bag and a new triple combination and bible.

A Good Book

I'm getting so excited for my upcoming trip. My sweet sis and her hubby are getting sealed and I get to fly there in November (thanks, Andy!). I will be a mom without children (thanks, Ben!) and am now wondering which book(s) I should bring for the flight.

Have you read any good books lately? Comment and convince me to read your latest favorite book(s) on my trip and I will declare you the Official Book-Recommending Champion of the World.

IMPROV Not your Run-of-the-Mill Shopping List

We got the tail end of this interesting conversation on video.

How Do I Love STEVE? Let Me Count the Ways

My brother, Steve, and his wife, Crystal, spent about a week and a half at our home. Steve is a master of all things construction and was willing (at first?) to spend his vacation time before starting a firefighting career finishing our basement! Isn't he amazing? We got a gas furnace and duct work installed right before Steve and Crystal arrived. Here's what's new downstairs (I'm dying to show off these photos):

Steve framed in two bedrooms (with closets), laundry room, bathroom, office and a secret passageway under the stairs into the living room. He made non-stop runs to The Home Depot where our line of credit and generosity from my parents was quickly spent. Here Steve is snapping off drywall.

He and Crystal put up drywall and I learned how the pros do it. I thought it was especially telling that when Steve and Crystal talked about their plans to build their own house, they'll have the drywalling hired out. I don't blame them one bit.
We also had generous help from Terry, Ben's co-worker slash former electrician. He helped us install 16 recessed lights, three hallway cans, and outlets everywhere.

Ready for my favorite room? Like I told Crystal this morning, this is the first time I've had a house with more than one bathroom the whole time we've been married!


Travartine (sp?) tile went in. Steve got me started and finished it up, but I helped a little with the tile install. Yay to me! The kids are checking out the new potty. It flushes!

So Funny!

I copied this from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3642825&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

LIFE OF REILLY
How much do you love football? So much you'd cut off a pinky to play it? That's what Trevor Wikre did.
by Rick Reilly

Buddy Bear
Wikre (No. 53) sacrificed his right pinky to play his senior season at Mesa State College.
You say you love your team? You say you're totally committed? Please. I'll show you commitment.
Meet 6-3, 280-pound Trevor Wikre. He's the starting right guard for Division II Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo. He loves football like wolves love pork chops. He'd do anything for his team. Two weeks ago, he proved it.
During a practice, Wikre, of Berthoud, Colo., caught his pinky on a linebacker's jersey during a sweep play. When he looked down, he happened to notice his bone was sticking out of his skin.
"Just tape it up," he told the trainer. "We got practice to finish."
Instead, they sent him to the hospital, where doctors told him they'd need to insert pins and reconstruct the ligaments. It'd need at least four months to heal. He'd be done for the season.
"OF ALL THE BODY PARTS HE COULD HAVE TAKEN OFF," SAYS TREVOR'S FIANCÉE, "THAT ONE WASN'T SO BAD. I FEEL KINDA GOOD ABOUT IT."
"No way," Trevor said. "This is my senior year. We've got to make this work."
"We can't," the doctor said.
"We can," insisted Trevor. "We can cut it off."
Cut if off?
"To have somebody tell you that you've played your last game of football, I just wasn't going to let that happen," Trevor explains. "I couldn't do that to my teammates. I'd take a bullet for those guys."
Or a bone saw. So he made the doctor lop off his right pinky. Problem solved!
Two days later, he was ready to play against Colorado School of Mines, only the doctors wouldn't let him. "Some stupid thing like the stitches would rip," he grouses.
And how do his teammates feel about his sacrifice? They hate him for it. Especially the ones who have missed games with injuries this season. "Thanks a lot for making us look like wussies," one said to him. The rest of them just kid. When Trevor does something good now, they hold up their hands and holler, "High four!"
Trevor only has one regret. The doctor didn't give him the finger. "I wanted to make a necklace out of it." It'd also be a great gag at Subway!
Feels odd, though. The finger that isn't there aches and itches. He wakes up at night to hold it against the throbbing, only to remember it's gone. It takes him longer to get dressed now. And it turns out you need your pinky to hold the remote—and handfuls of M&M's. But his biggest problem has been typing. "I look down and notice that all my p's are missing."
What's funny about this story is that Trevor doesn't eat light bulbs for breakfast, or ram his head through plywood. He's actually a level-headed guy. "He teaches me patience," says his mother, Kim. "He's the calm one. And it's like he told me, 'Mom, I'm not gonna be a piano player or a surgeon. I'm a football player. I gotta play football.' So I'm perfectly fine with it."
Well, except for the first time she saw his hand in a video on the Internet and had to leave work, sick to her stomach. "I can understand that," Trevor says. "She was happy I was born with 10 fingers and 10 toes and now I'm short one."
Life of Reilly Bonus Content
What can Trevor Wikre expect from a life without a pinky finger? We asked a hand specialist to find out.
But, hey, could be worse. As Trevor's fiancée, Traci, says, "Of all the body parts he could've taken off, that one wasn't so bad. I feel kinda good about it. I know that if he ever needs to sacrifice for our future, he'll do it."
What's off-the-charts unbelievable is Trevor's head coach, Joe Ramunno, did the same thing. He slashed his left pinky in a high-school shop class 29 years ago and insisted they cut if off rather than miss his senior season. "It didn't occur to me until afterward," Trevor says. "My coach and I had the same thing happen!"
High eight!
So, has it all been worth it?
"When I think about how much I love football, and my team, I just get goose bumps," says Trevor, who, big shock, wants to coach after he graduates. "To be able to play and hit people and not get in trouble for it? Man, it's a blessing. I love my team. And I'm a big believer in actions speaking louder than words."
Every pancake block now seems sweeter, every snot-producing hit more precious. And Ramunno says the team is playing "inspired football since Trevor did this." In fact, Trevor helped Mesa State clobber Colorado State-Pueblo, 26-3 this past Saturday, helping it raise its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record to 5-0.
"When you get a second chance at something you're so passionate about?" he says. "Man, your love for what you're doing just skyrockets."
So does the respect his teammates really do feel for him. "Amazing," says Mesa State quarterback Phil Vigil.
Personally, I think they should type him a little note of thanks:

Trevor,

We areciate you and hoee you don't miss your inky.

With resect,

Your als

Presidential Picks When You're Four Years Old

At the dinner table we were discussing the upcoming election. I was telling Ben about my friend who has decided to vote for Obama instead of McCain. S. adds her two cents: "I'm voting for Obama. . . I mean Dora." (from her fave Nickelodeon show). But just wait until she hears Big Bird's stump speech!

Because C. Stands for Cute!

When you find a bandaid, sit right down and stick it somewhere (she's whispering "owie!")
She's always perched on something.
Rock-em-Sock-em makes C. laugh!
See?
From this summer: Cousin T. (Ali and Ryan's 4th) is not smiling because she would rather not be photographed without her diaper--cousin C. is fine with it. They had gotten so muddy at the "beach" we had to hose them off!

Sa-tur-day is a Special Day

Saturdays that precede General Conference Sundays are the most special days of all, y'all. Now stop right there before you give me too much credit. Don't go thinking that I'm blogging about watching the Saturday sessions, because nope, that's not it at all. What I love about today is that today is "the day I don't have to get ready for Sunday." No bathing kids (so what if they smell funny, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), no laying out church clothes (they can wear the grubby clothes they've got on, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), no packing a church bag full of "quiet" toys and CTR 7 lesson materials (they don't keep babies quiet anyway, not that it matters, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), and no early bedtimes (what do I care if the kids are a little grumpy in the morning, I'm not going to church tomorrow!).

When I Did This in 1999, Ben Called Me a Boy

Too short?
Rudolph was pretty happy that I was taking pictures of myself. She wanted a piece of the "cheese" action. The simple joys of life. I'll have to hold on to this picture so when she's a horrid teenager I can remember how happy she once was.
Okay, so I just got off the phone with Steve and he's convinced me that it's just better to NOT CARE about the election. Know why he convinced me? The electoral college. Yup! And he's right, you know. Our votes don't count the way they should and I shouldn't have to spend my life wishing I lived in a battleground state. Your vote should count as one vote whether you're a republican in Hawaii or an undecided Floridian whose just punched a possibly-dimpled chad. Steve and I agree that the mudslinging and heated discussions don't deserve the effort exerted because the electoral college is lame beyone lame. So vote for whoever, see if I care. (Okay, I'll care, but I won't want to!)

Back to the very important debate topic of the day: How do you like the new hair?

Shark Attack in Kaaawa

I just found out about a shark attack from google news. We lived next to Crouching Lion for about a year so this is a little too close to home for me.

The link took me to the Ke Alakai (BYU-Hawaii's student newspaper). Nice new website. I also peeked at a story about plans to close the temple for renovations.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

I didn't think I'd fill up the "injuries" label on my blog so quickly!

One week and one day after C.'s stitches R. broke his left arm, the radius, at lunch recess on Monday. He fell off the monkey bars and landed on his hand. I almost didn't want to get his arm x-rayed because it's hard to tell if he's just being passionate. Dramatic reactions to injuries are R.'s forte. Do I take him in? Is he just being dramatic about the whole thing? Hard to tell. The school nurse told me he was crying for 30 minutes solid and didn't even notice that his elbow was bloody. So I decided to buy into the idea that maybe the drama was justified. And sure enough it was. So the fracture is called a green stick or slight taurus fracture because the bone bent, but did not crack. Wouldn't a gory picture go nicely here!?!

Ooh, the image of Dr. Pratt's leg with someone else's bone sticking out of it just came to mind. That was so unnecessary, ER writers!

The doctor said if he fell the same way at age 13, the bone would have definitely broken. Apparently young growing bones are harder to break or something. Either way, R.'s arm didn't need to be set so he has a fiberglass splint + ACE bandage instead of a cast with a sling. After the splint went on and the pain meds kicked in, R. was so excited about it all. He kept warning us that he'd bonk us on the head with his arm if he had to. His funny bone is intact for sure. He was the most popular kid in school today. (Does anyone else have memories of being totally jealous of the kid with the cast in elementary school? No jealousy from Dave, I'm sure.)

A big thanks to the lovely Mollie for being my emergency contact! I owe you one.

First Things First

Okay, so I have a lot to blog about. A broken arm, duct work, soccer. . . But this is way more important! Here's the egg-free cake recipe I've been telling people about:

Wacky Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift into bowl:
2 C sugar
3 C flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

add:
2/3 C oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP cider vinegar
2 C water

Mix well. Pour into greased pan. Sprinkle to with chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes.

So good. So moist (sorry, Maren). You know how yummy Costco chocolate chocolate chip muffins are? This recipe beats Costco's muffins!

Are You Kidding Me?

Memory lane . . . I was looking for some kids' books on Amazon and I wandered over to Jim Trelease's website. He wrote several guide books about what and why parents should read to their children. I'm a former librarian and lifelong bookworm, and his website is fascinating. (Better add "total nerd" to that description.)

He writes about an urban library. Tons of outdated material and no budget to replace them with new books. "Harry Potter? None. Gary Paulsen? One. Langston Hughes? None. . . . Not that the shelves were entirely empty. There were books on television (copyright 1955) and the telephone (1967), among others, that insult the young mind in search of reality on a printed page." http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch7.html#printaccess So sad. But ahhh, how those crazy 1967 copyright dates bring back memories of my Kaaawa School library!

So Trelease's assertion is that children succeed when they have access to print. Simple, right? I love Gary Paulsen's story. He had a librarian hand him a library card and a book. It changed his life. (Paulsen writes books like Hatchet, which was a favorite of my sixth graders.) Reading rocks.