Onion Rings and Powdered Donuts

What do dreams mean? I've had some funky ones the last couple of weeks. Every single night I have crazy, out of left field dreams. Here's just a sampling:

It was a joint mutual activity on a Sunday morning. For the activity, we were going to eat at an awesome ma-and-pop breakfast place. I thought, "But it's Sunday . . . .we shouldn't be eating out as a mutual activity on a Sunday!" But, the Young Women's president didn't seem to be concerned, so I said, "What the heck, I'm hungry and the food looks good."

After the meal, I had to go to the bathroom something fierce. So, I headed out to my friends mini-van I had borrowed. I knew that the front passenger seat turned into a toilet. But, on my way out, I spied a HUGE box full of donuts. I LOVE DONUTS! So, I grabbed this big clear garbage bag and started filling it with powdered donuts and onion rings. I was eating the donuts and onion rings ravishingly as I tried to stuff as many as possible into the bag. I kept thinking, "This is the best food invention! The greasy, salty onion rings go so well with the sweet of the powdered donuts! I'm on to something! I can't wait to have Neal try it!"

So, when people ask me if I have any feelings or dreams about my baby being a boy or a girl, I have to laugh. I dream it's a girl, but the way my dreams go lately, who knows?

Oh, Ginger, do you remember when you were beeping in your sleep and the next day you told me you dreamed you were a car with a broken horn? I still laugh about that.

Delicious and nutritious M.R.E.'s

Last night for family night, we were working on our 72 hour emergency kits. We thought it would be a good idea to have dinner from our M.R.E.'s (Meals Ready to Eat. The Army guys eat them). Actually, I wasn't too keen on making dinner, so the thought of bagged meals won me over.

Good news for all of those who wonder about what to feed the pet in case of an emergency. The Beef Stroganoff meal would be excellent dog food. Or fish bait, as Neal said. Serious. It was sick. It smelled like the beef gerber baby food. Remember that smell? NASTY! I had a few bites, drank my "Tang" product, ate the nut mix, and gave my cookie and apple sauce to Sarah. She thought the food was awesome! Probably because it was reminiscent of school lunch food, which Sarah eats every day.

Well, while Neal put the kids to bed, I went to my favorite drive-thru of late; McDonald's on D Street. I think I'm getting to know them on a first name basis. I brought home 2 big macs for Neal and myself. That helped wash down the beef barfanoff. I think that makes 3 big-macs in the last week. I think something's wrong with me.

Now THIS is a snowday

So, as you probably recall, a few weeks ago I ranted about Oregon and it's
"snow-day" school cancelations. Yesterday, Utah got hit with a crazy blizzard. It literally left people stranded. Here's a news article about what happened to some poor elementary school students. I don't know about you, but that would have been the COOLEST thing as a kid to sleep over at school. When my mom was a kid growing up in eastern Montana, they had to sleep at the school one night. She said it was a blast. But I think it would have been freaky, for it was before the day of criminal background checks and openness about child molesting teachers. But that's a whole other blog post. Enjoy the article!

Kids, teachers head home after being stranded overnight at Highland school
By Amy K. Stewart
Deseret Morning News
Published: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008 12:22 p.m. MST

HIGHLAND — As the storm finally broke and roads in northern Utah County began to clear early Wednesday morning, worried parents rushed to Ridgeline Elementary School in Highland to pick up their sleepy children.
The stranded students spent the night at the school, playing games and watching movies, and finally falling asleep around 11 p.m. as they waited out the blizzard-like conditions.
The school principal was at a conference in St. George. The teachers stayed up the entire night, eating snacks, talking, laughing and even singing "Kumbaya" in a circle.
Parents began to trickle in at 6 a.m. Wednesday to retrieve their children.
"It's been an adventure," said Rich Chiniquy, as he hugged both his daughters with each arm while walking down the school hallway.
Chiniquy was stuck for eight hours in his car Tuesday night attempting to reach his girls. He finally abandoned his car, started to walk, and got a ride home from police just after midnight.
"They're my kids. I had to make an attempt," he said. "It was worth the eight hours." Chiniquy then went to the school Wednesday morning using back roads.
About 180 people were at Ridgeline late Tuesday night. By Wednesday at 6 a.m. 100 were still there, including 65 students, 19 faculty, 13 parents and three small children.
Many of the students had gone out on the buses after school at about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday. Ten of the buses were stranded, then seven, and finally one bus with 30 children rolled back to the school at 9:30 p.m. — an almost six-hour trek to nowhere.
First-grade teacher Kristina Chidester said many of the children were scared and crying when they arrived back to the school after the long bus ride. "I just hugged them," Chidester said.
Chiniquy said, "I'm happy people were willing to spend all night here and take care of them."
Some parents said they believe Alpine district officials should have let school out early Tuesday and gotten the students home safe.
"I think the district has failed us and failed to respond to the needs of this school. I don't know if they were aware of the severity of the situation," said parent Vickie Iverson, who has a sixth-grader at the school. "As a parent, I am outraged that we would ask our teachers to work 24 hours nonstop, only to begin another contract day with no pay, no reward and no thanks," Iverson said. "The district needs to be held accountable for their decision."
Alpine District officials initially said Ridgeline would be open at 11 a.m. Wednesday. They then decided the school would be closed the full day Wednesday. "I'm going to sleep all day," Chidester said as she scraped ice off her car in the Ridgeline school parking lot at 8 a.m.
Cedar Valley Elementary School was also closed Wednesday. Four other schools opened at 11 a.m. Wednesday: Pony Express, Harvest, Saratoga Shores and Fox Hollow Elementary Schools.
Chiniquy said, "If you ever needed a snow day, today was it."
Parent Melanie Quintana says she thinks the district did a great job. The mom said she received two voice mail messages at home from the district: one when the buses were back at the school, and then another call to tell her to come pick up her children. Students also called their parents once they arrived at the school.
Quintana's son, Trace Pahl, 9, a third-grader, spent the night at the school. "I wanted to get him home but I couldn't," she said.
Neighbors brought quilts, blankets and sleeping bags to the school. The students slept in individual classrooms, separated by gender and supervised by teachers.
The school had emergency food of frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Neighbors also brought over water, cheese, crackers, fruit and cereal for the stranded group. The local grocery store, Kohlers, donated many food items. There were even toothbrushes for everyone.
Some neighbors who lived close to the school picked up children for other residents. "It's quite a community," said sixth-grade teacher Andrea Park. Many neighbors offered their homes to the teachers and students, but educators decided it was safer to keep the group all together in one place.
Every parent had an adventure to tell. Diane Hardy said she picked up her child at 4:15 p.m. and headed home. They didn't make it past the gas station at 5300 West and 11000 North in Highland, where they were stuck until 10:15 p.m.
They passed the six hours by playing games. They would go through the alphabet and come up with an item for each letter: something they wanted to eat or a place they wanted to go: Alfredo and Acapulco.
They finally turned around and stopped at the Wendy's restaurant nearby, where many people were stranded for the night. They decided the school would be more fun and comfortable, so they headed there and arrived at midnight.
They slept on the floor. "Actually, I didn't sleep very much," Hardy said.
"It was better than sleeping in the car," said Rachel Bischoff, 11, a fifth-grader, who was in Hardy's car.

Fun Saturday

We had a fun saturday. After the weiner dog incident and a good shower (you never know what kind of chemicals are in chinese toys these days), we went to the river. It was great! The sun was out, and Neal didn't go into work (finally), and it was almost 60 degrees! We had a blast. I think we walked about 2 miles, which is, embarassingly, a lot for my kids. I need to get them out more. Sarah did awesome, but about the last quarter mile, Kate kept plopping down on the ground and saying, "I'm so tired! My feet hurt! Dad, give me a shoulder ride!" But, as we always do with our kids, we said, "Peton's don't quit, and you can do hard things!"

By the time we got to our car, Kate must have forgotten about her sore feet. When she saw Sarah and Neal racing to the car, she said, "Mom! Let's race!" So, we raced to the car. Then I asked her about her feet, and she started limping again. "Oh yeah Mom, my feet are still sore. Check and see if they're swollen." I think she got the swollen thing from me because lately I've been asking Neal for foot rubs because of my swollen feet. So, of course, Kate thinks her feet are swollen too.

It was an awesome day. We really needed that time as a family. Sunshine even made it better!

Oh, and my girls aren't really trying to peek at their dad while he pees. They wanted to sneak up on him and scare him. Sarah said he might think they're bears, and Kate said she wanted him to jump so he would pee all over himself.

"My weiner dog popped!"

Saturday was a good day in Oregon. The sun was out and it wasn't cold. So, we decided to go down to the river and take a walk. We had a blast! But, before we went to the river, Sarah had a little catastrophy. You see, she had this little water filled weiner dog toy that was the toy of the moment (little did she know that Mom would throw it away after a week while she was at school. That's how all the free toys from fast food places "go the way of all the earth"). But, I didn't need to throw it out. It broke! But what was so funny about the whole situation was that it broke while she was in her room throwing a tantrum.

As any parent knows, while a child is throwing a tantrum, it's best to put them somewhere where the door closes, sit in another room, and wait it out. But with this one, she kept getting louder and louder. Then, I hear her screaming, "MOM!! MY DOG POPPED!" I kind of ignored her because I thought she was talking about a stuffed animal with a hole. Finally, I thought I had better investigate, for the screams kept amplifying. When I walked into her room, I busted out laughing. Her "made in china" water filled weiner dog had popped all over her! It even got in her mouth!




Well, as most parents know, it's not too good to laugh at a child in the middle of a royal tantrum. But too bad. I called Neal in, and he started in on it too. Finally, after trying to stifle her laughs and stay mad, Sarah thought it was pretty funny and decided to laugh.

Like I always tell my kids, that's what you get for throwing a tantrum!

The Neti Pot

So, I've been hearing about this "neti pot" thing for a while now. It sounds kind of interesting. Neal and Kate both get terrible allergies, so I think I might give it a try. Then, I found this great info-mercial advertising the wonderful benefits of the neti pot. It has a great demo from a slightly scary lady I think you will find amusing. Now, the trick is to convince Neal to try it. I could have a mess on my hands. If you notice from the demo, there could be a slight mess after use. Especially when the user bends over, shakes head from side to side and blows aggressively out of nose. Kleenex anyone?