The Perfect Summer Night

It's the perfect July evening. The sun is packing up and heading home after a long hot day trailing ribbons of gold behind it which sweep the ground like a child pulling his blanket off to bed. The wind decided to stay home tonight so the air is a nice warm constant 75 degrees - just like I like it. The grass is soft and cool beneath my feet. The kids are riding their bikes around the driveway and picking raspberries from the patch along the fence, and, gently rocking, I watch them. Then the faint sound of twinkly music fills the air and the children playing in the street fall silent.

THAT SOUND.

THAT GLORIOUS SOUND!

Children begin to appear from everywhere as if being coaxed from their hiding spots by a mystical Pied Piper. And then I see it round the corner onto our street.

The Sprosty's circa 1950 Ice Cream Truck. PURE BLISS.

So the kids (jumping up and down as if it's Christmas morning) choose these cheerful beauties.

And I go back to reading my book in this.

YEP. PURE BLISS.

Friends

We have entered into a new phase of life. This phase is called "having friends". Not friends for us, friends for the kids. Our kids have had friends for a long time, but it's been more of the babysitting, nursery, primary, library friends. Now Rachel has "Mom-can-I-play-at-so-and-so's-house-friends". Weird. My baby is growing up. The phrase I used so much in my childhood, "Can you play?" has become a part of her language. She has a couple of friends on the block and they come here to play or she goes there - - - and it has really thrown me for a loop. Not a bad loop, but a loop none the less.

It's like we've had to kick the parenting game up a notch. How long do you let your kids "play" at a friend's house? Am I the type of mother who other mothers feel safe letting watch their kids (because I don't care what you say - if they are playing at YOUR house YOU are ultimately responsible for what happens and you instantly grow an extra set of cautious ears when there are more little lives to look after.) Do others feel safe and feel the spirit in my home? Are my actions consistent with the teachings of the gospel?

Paul was watching the All-Star baseball game on TV downstairs and the kids and their friends came down to watch too. I instantly thought, "would their parents let them watch this?" Silly - I know - it's baseball! Chill out! But seriously, I felt the burden of the need to not only implement OUR family rules, but the family rules of the OTHER kids family too! I don't want to undo anything their parents have worked hard to teach them at home. Do their parents let them snack? Do their parents let them play in the front yard or just the back? What is considered appropriate behavior in THEIR home? Are MY kids bad habits going to rub off on THEIR kids and vice versa?

So then you start thinking about the kids in general - are they the type of kids I want my kids hanging out with? Then the whole agency thing comes into play. Then I bring myself back to reality and say, "Calm down. They're 3 years old. There really aren't "bad friends" and "good friends" at this point (at least none that we know) and this is the time where you can really influence them for good. Teach them HOW to be good friends and their friends will follow suit. Smoking and drinking are not on their radar. Sharing and hitting are. So you referee, watch from a distance, let them figure things out, and jump in to call a foul and pull a yellow card when you need to.

Then you stand back and let them play the game.

Walton Salsa

By popular demand the recipe for "Walton Salsa" aka "Cowboy Caviar" aka "Black bean salsa" is out. This salsa was first introduced to us by the Walton family - hence the name. It goes a little like this:

1 can black beans - rinsed
1 can white shoepeg corn - rinsed
2 tomatoes diced (romas work well because they have more flesh than seeds and hold their shape)
2 avocados diced
1 green onion chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped

combine all ingredients.

in a separate container mix...

one packet good seasons italian dressing mix (I like the Zesty italian but regular works fine)
1/4 cup olive oil (vegetable oil is fine too)
1/4 cup white vinegar (I've tried other vinegars and it gives the salsa an off flavor)
1/4 cup water

shake up the dressing and pour over the other ingredients mixing well.

ENJOY!!! (I'll post a picture later)

p.s. for the MOST DELICIOUS Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa recipe go HERE. I followed her recipe but I left out the hot sauce - after the cayenne pepper and the ancho chili sauce I thought hot sauce would make it JUST TOO HOT and I've got tiny kids to feed. It tasted great without it - sweet with a little kick at the end. I think this time I'm going to put a little ketchup or tomato paste in as a substitute for the hot sauce to thicken the sauce a little and give it some acid from the tomatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. It's a long process but the steps aren't hard and the result is fantastic. I had enough pork for 5 meals! I just pulled out what we needed that night from the crock pot and portioned the rest out into ziplocks and froze them. To thaw them out I just threw the frozen pork into a sauce pot with a little water so it wouldn't stick to the bottom and presto! Dinner in 5 minutes! LOVE IT!!

p.p.s. for the recipe for the RICE go HERE. When we eat this meal we layer tortilla, sour cream, Rio Rice, black beans, Pork, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and anything else you want. (Taste it before adding extra hot sauce.)

Dun da da DAAAAA!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, she did it!...AGAIN!!!

My amazing mother, Emily Watts, wrote another book you should all be DYING to get your hands on (I know I am). "I Hate It When Exercise Is the Answer" hits Deseret Book stores next week so be sure to CHECK IT OUT!

The premise of the book came from the idea of no short cuts, "diet and excercise", sunday school answers are STILL the answers and will ALWAYS BE the answers type of approach to life. There is no "quick fix" or "diet pill" or "spiritual steriod", but instead constant, consistant exercise is what yields the greatest results and greatest JOY. Exercising FAITH, SCRIPTURE STUDY, PRAYER etc. etc. strengthens our spiritual muscles.

So go get it. Read it. Tell me what you think about it. ENJOY IT!

AFRICA

My sister-in-law sent me this MOST AWESOME VIDEO. It combines one of my all time FAVORITE songs, "Africa" by Toto, and one of THE most incredible earthly experiences -
AFRICAN RAIN STORMS.

enjoy.

Learn'em Young

Lately Rachel has been complaining about wearing a seatbelt whenever we drive anywhere. The other day I finally snapped and said, "Rachel, if you DON'T wear a seatbelt the policeman will PULL ME OVER and we will GO TO JAIL!!"

Apparently that had quite an effect on her because this morning as we got in the car to go to the gym she said, "Mom, will you please buckle my seat belt...I don't want to go to jail."


Smart Girl.

Stethascopes aren't spoons...

Just in case you were wondering.






AI YAI YAI.

5 Years Ago Today...

I married my best friend.

I love you forever PJG.

Happy Anniversary!

List of 9 #9 I will unleash my inner "SUPER".

The other day Rachel came to me and said, "Mom! I can't find my prince charming doll. Can you help me find it?"

I haven't seen that doll in MONTHS so I said, "I'm sorry Honey, I have no idea where it is!"

Rachel: Mom that's why you have to FIND it!

Me: Honey I'm SORRY! It's LOST! I have no idea where to look!

Rachel: But MOOOOOOOOOM! I NEEEEEEEEEED IT!

Me: Rachel I'm SORRY! I am NOT SUPER MOM! I CANNOT SEE through walls! I cannot make your doll magically appear! I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS!

Rachel calmly patted my shoulder and reassuringly replied, "Mom you ARE SUPER! now. Come help me find my doll please."

They really believe that don't they? It's a pretty humbling feeling to be a parent and know that your small child really believes you have super human abilities. If you can't go to the park because it's raining, they know YOU can make it stop. If a favorite toy is broken far beyond repair, they know YOU can fix it. Super mom kisses really DO have healing properties, and if nightmares come to call only SUPER DADS can make them disappear. Being treated like a super hero really could go to your head, and still there is NOTHING more humbling than being a parent.

I think, maybe, in a small way that is how our relationship with our Heavenly Father is. He IS a Supreme Being and he IS omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent. And yet, because of that sometimes I forget that He's also my FATHER. And because he's my FATHER I can become LIKE HIM. As a parent, it would be easy for me to use my "super powers" to chase away bullies and do all their homework (which I hear gets pretty bad these days), and keep them cooped up in the house so they would never skin their knees or get stung by a bee or make a bad friend. But then they would never grow up. They would never become like me. And it would be easy for Heavenly Father to shield us from harm and wipe out the bad guys and keep us from struggling and even suffering. But then we would never grow up. We would never become like him. I remember being a kid and looking at my parents and other adults and just being blown away that someday I would know all they knew and be capable of acutally being an adult (I'm still working on that by the way). And maybe it becomes easy for us to forget our divine potential because we are such infants in comparison to our Heavenly Parents. But that's the promise.

And that promise brings me hope.

Especially on the days when I need to be "Super".


has anyone seen my cape?...

List of 9 #8 - I will follow the Prophet.

"May I share with you a formula that in my judgment
will help you and help me to journey well through
mortality... First, fill your mind with truth; second,
fill your life with service; and third, fill your
heart with love." --Thomas S. Monson, "Formula for Success," Ensign,
Mar. 1996, 2


I think I need to paint this on my wall.

If you haven't read the blog "Mormon Mommy Wars" you should - and not just because two of my cousins are co-bloggers there. My Heather O. has written a wonderful post with an even wonderfuller picture by James Christensen that you need to go there to see. Go there - seriously - you'll be glad you did. And because she expresses my sentiments exactly, I don't need to express them again!