My Proudest Achievements (for today, at least)

Here's to another lovely day of Spring Break! What exactly can a person be proud of on a day like today? Well--I believe I have found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that combines the flavor you want from using butter, but it has more of a fluffier texture like a shortening recipe. There is a TON of sugar in it, which never hurt anyone. This recipe won the "Best Chocolate Chip Cookie" title on the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown, a new favorite show of ours. You can find it here. After making three batches from three different recipes, I am proud to have found a winner.

Accomplishment #2? Getting Porter to take a nap. At my house. On my bed. With a total of 8 kids playing in the house (Porter being the 9th). Oh yes, this is major. Because Porter has not slept over here during the day since he was a baby, let alone on a bed (not a crib) with extra noise. The best part was that I laid down with him and got to watch him fall asleep--always a treat to watch a child transform into a peaceful angel. (Not that Porter isn't one while awake!)

So there you have it--doesn't sound like much, but when it's all you've got....well, you know.

Bigger than a bread box....

Yesterday the kids and I took a little field trip to the Schwebel Bread factory in Cuyahoga Falls. They offer free tours, so we decided to take advantage, despite the hours' drive. It was so much better than I expected! We got to walk right through the factory itself! We saw a huge lump of dough plop out, ready to be cut into loaf-size balls, we walked under hundreds of loaves cooling on the conveyor belts, we watched how they are packaged and made ready for shipping. And we walked away with ten free loaves of bread! You can't beat that! It was a fun experience and a great way to kill some time during a cold, wet, and gray spring break!

Portrait of the Artists

As a project this week, we bought blank canvasses and some paint. The kids created masterpieces to hang in the living room. Of course, they are not up yet, as I am still deciding how I want everything to go. But the paintings are truly unique works of art!

American I-DULL

I have to get some thoughts about American Idol off my chest. (Karen, we have got to talk this over face-to-face!)

You all know how I feel about American Idol. LOVE IT. I was excited when we got down to the Top 24 because there was so much talent and potential. Everyone was talking about how much talent this season had to offer, and I agreed. Surely by the time we got to the Top 12, someone would start to emerge that I would fall in love with, that I could get excited about, that I would become emotionally involved with, that I would passionately support by hitting the redial button on the phone for hours after the show ended.

But here we are, down to the Top 9, and I got nothin. I am incredibly underwhelmed with what I have seen so far. There are FIVE (yes, five!) contestants that at any minute could break open and become THE ONE for me: David Archuleta, David Cook, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson, and Brooke White. All of these singers are very talented and have personality and potential. So why do I find myself not caring? Why did the second Beatles week show seem like an eternity, and I was wishing for it to be over? And why, oh why, were there so many karaoke song choices for last night?!?!?!? We Will Rock you? Come on. Michael, do you not remember a certain contestant named Ace Young who sang that? Don't you think you should distance yourself from that greasy young man as much as possible? You have twice the charisma (not to mention looks) that he had--you don't need to stoop to his level. And Carly. Total Eclipse of the Heart? Really? Is that all you could come up with? Yeah, it sounded decent, but I think Jessica Sierra sang that one, and we all know what happened to her.

I think it comes down to song choice, as the judges always say. You can't do something that has been done before, but on the other hand, you can't do something we've NEVER heard of, David Archuleta. Are you kidding me? What is up with this You are the Voice business? I don't care how much you love the song or the singer...this is American Idol, not your senior high school choir performance. I think "Up With People" sang that song in this video:

Anyway, I guess that's enough ranting for now. I just love American Idol so much and by now I have a Constantine or Chris Daughtry or Blake Lewis to love as well. Come on, guys! My fingers are itching to dial those numbers! I don't want to settle for just feeling passionate about how unpassionate I feel.

Friends in the Friend

We had a fun surprise when we opened our Friend magazine this month...there is a picture of our old Primary from before the ward split, and all our kids are in it! The story of how the picture got into the Friend is on my friend Joan's blog. If you read it, I was the friend her daughter Terra was talking to on the phone! The kids were so excited to see themselves...a great memory of great times with great friends. Thanks, Joan!

My name is Amy and I'm a....

Porterholic!

I am seriously addicted to that kid. I start jonesing when it's been too long since I've seen him, and I go through withdrawls when I can't get in his face.

Like yesterday for example...I have had a cold, and using my better judgement, decided I shouldn't pick him up or touch his toys or sit next to him during church. So I pretty much sat there and stared at his chubby cheeks that were just calling to me to nibble on them. Saturday I even considered calling off the plans to have Easter dinner at our house, because I didn't think I could have him in the house and not kiss him to death. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of gal. Just ask the last batch of cookies I made.

I think what is boils down to is that I LOVE being an aunt. Porter is not my first. In fact, I was an aunt before I was a mother. I remember the fun I had with Tyler in the early days of my marriage. That boy brought me a lot of joy during a time of big adjustments. The other nieces and nephews, well...most of them were born around the same time as my crew, and I was entrenched in diapers and bath time and making up silly games of my own. It was hard to fully appreciate what it means to be "Aunt Amy."

Porter has shown me how wonderful it can be. I have been overwhelming him with love since day one. I do not (often) try to take his parents' place, but I could in a heartbeat. I do not fully comprehend what being his primary caregiver entails, but I have questioned Nate if he had given Porter beads before giving him a snack. I do not put Porter on the naughty step, but rather I let him get away with fun things. And I cheered when he cried as I was leaving the other day.

You know how addicts tend to have addictive personalities? Well, there happens to be another little one out there for whom I also have serious cravings. Miss Jenna Pants is severely habit-forming. Oh, how I would love to get my hands on that little girl--with the eyes and the walking and the silly faces. I fall off the wagon everytime I am around her!

I don't know how long my Porter bender will last. He may not put up with me and my desires for snuggling and tickling and chasing and kissing for long. (Goodness knows it's been ages since I've sat with Tyler on my lap!) But I do happen to know one six year old young man who still doesn't mind the occasional cuddle and back-scratch, so maybe I can weasel a few more years of out of this binge. And then there better be another niece or nephew on whom I can unleash my "Aunt Amy" love!

Happy Easter!

A Sweet Trip to the Science Center

Good Friday was just that...we headed down to the Science Center to see the Chocolate exhibit! We got to learn all about everyone's favorite treat, and even got a sample! I tried the 85% dark chocolate and found that I might as well have eaten straight cocoa powder. My advice would be to stick with a 45% dark chocolate. The kids preferred milk and white, of course...the more sugar the better!

The Shadow Wall

Becca and Leah on TV

Andrew at the pitching machine

Brooke admiring herself as a weather girl

Making the most of an icy situation

Yes, it did snow again yesterday, but the sun has been shining bright today, so Andrew and I went outside for a little adventure. Ok, so we just took a walk, but with all the ice and snow on the ground, we had no idea what we might be in for. Not too much going on on this bright, brisk morning, but we saw lots of animal tracks and really cool ice formations on the ground. As we walked down the wilderness that was Westwood Road, Andrew kept saying, "I like this adventure. I like discovering things. It's like nature." We ended up walking about a mile and got warm enough to take our gloves off. I think the fresh air did us both some good.

Andrew with the branches he found

Could it be? Is it possible? Signs that spring might actually be on its way....

Warming up with a cup of tomato soup!

A Good Read...

I just finished a book called "Three Little Words" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter. It is a memoir about Ashley's experience in the foster care system. She entered the system at the age of 3 and had 14 different homes in the next 9 years before finally being adopted. Ashley is only 22 years old and just graduated from college, and if you visit her website, you can see how amazing her accomplishments are and how she has overcome so much in her life. This book is a very easy read and paints a realistic picture of the foster care system without being innappropriate. If you are looking for something quick, easy, and eye-opening to read, I highly recommend this book!

Big Comfy Couch(es)

It has been a couple of weeks since Couch Purchase '08, and we are all adjusting nicely. It still seems like big furniture to me, but I am getting used to it, and to not having a piece of wood in my back when I watch TV. I love the color and the fabric, and we all think it is very comfy. I have some picture arranging plans in mind, but that won't be taken care of until Spring Break, so I will post the appropriate pictures at that time.

Got Ritalin?

Our son escaped today.

He's hypoglycemic and hyperactive. He's a hyper hypo. That's why he wears a helmet. His mother's a little overprotective.

For those who may not remember, this post was based on a Saturday Night Live skit featuring Mike Myers and Nicole Kidman.

The littlest fishies

One last media item from our swimming session yesterday--can you tell Andrew knew he was being video taped?!

School of Fish

Swimming Lessons

This is my first attempt at taking video with my camera and posting it on the blog, so I hope it works. This is Emma and Leah during their swimming lessons today.

These are a few of my favorite things!

While spending a lot of time in the house this weekend, I kept myself busy by taking pictures of things I love in my house. I was inspired by my friend Diana's blog, but I have a little different take on it. I end up being the one in the family who spends the most time within these four walls, so maybe that's why I am the one who does the most nagging about how it looks and how clean it is (or isn't). But as I took another look at the things I have around the house, I realized that these things bring me joy, and that they are out for that specific reason. Here are the things I love in my house....

I found this plant stand years ago at a garage sale. It has a marble top and it may very well be antique. The seller wanted $10 for it, which is a fortune at a garage sale, especially for a cheapie like me. I almost passed it up, but I am so glad I didn't. It is a perfect place for this beautiful plant from Glenn's uncle's funeral.

A couple years ago at an Enrichment meeting we were sharing our favorite books. One of mine is "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. Another sister (who happens to be our neighbor) did not like the book at all, and we laughed about our differing opinions. But a few days later, she brought over this little beehive for me. I love how she acknowledged my love of the book, and now I have a cute little momento to go with it.

I have had countless pictures drawn for me over the years, and I have loved them all. Many of them are decorating the wall down the basement stairs. But for some reason, this one, drawn a couple of years ago by Emma, has remained the sole piece of art on our refrigerator. I love how colorful it is, even if the outfits don't match, as Emma pointed out the other day. It is a wonderful reminder of how much Emma loves me!

Sister Myers, the woman we bought this house from, left many of her belongings for us when she moved out. All I will say is that we had a huge garage sale soon after. But she left a wood filing cabinet behind that I really do love. It serves as a table (or catch-all for junk) near the front door, and also doubles as a - wait for it - filing cabinet! I think it is a great piece of furniture. Maybe with the new couches we will put it to better use.

Another messy room in our house is the laundry room. Mittens, boots, shoes, socks, snow pants, scarves, vacuums, towels, swim suits...you know how it goes. But I love the color that I chose for this room. It is the only place I let myself go a little wild with color. Years ago I found these silver metal containers at Marc's, and I am so glad I got them back when the room was peach. I love these shelves Glenn put up for the laundry supplies and how the white and silver go with the blue. If you find me staring blankly at the walls in here, it will be because I am trying to find my happy place among the clutter.

I love Russian nesting dolls. I think this may be in part to a skit on Sesame Street. My mom has remembered this fondness, and has gotten me two sets--this one from San Francisco, and a Santa set when she was in Switzerland. I also love the hugs mirror they are standing in front of...a $2 garage sale find. Now that's a price I can handle!

This picture was taken one year when we went down to Tennessee. We went in November, so we weren't spending much time on the lake. We did a photo shoot, and I love how this one turned out. I look at it all the time and love my kids all over again.

I haven't always loved my bedroom. Up until this summer we had a pretty ratty quilt on the bed, one that had survived over ten years of marriage and kids jumping on the bed. I knew the colors I wanted--blue and brown, one of my favorite color combinations--but was having trouble finding the right set. You know, not too flowery or anything. I found this set at fell in love. I love that it even came with curtains! Glenn is not wild about all the pillows, but when it is all made up, the bed is gorgeous, admit it, Glenn. We have always loved our headboard...and it is a celebrity one at that! Next time you watch "Everybody Loves Raymond" (because I know everybody is watching the reruns) take a closer look at Debra and Ray's bed...it's just like ours!

Also in our bedroom are 3 posters of vintage New York photos that I found for $2.50 at JoAnn's (not even a garage sale!). I love how they look in there, and wanted to add our personal pictures from our trip to New York in 2006. I had this window in the basement forever, and it made a great frame for all our favorite snapshots. I love looking at this, too--brings back great memories of a wonderful vacation.

I don't want the focus to be on things-- you'll notice that there is not much value (at least monetarily) on the items I've listed. My point is that on those days I feel "snowed in," whether it is literally or not, I can take a fresh look around me and have warm and happy feelings. We may not have cleaned the kitchen or put away all the laundry or made all the beds, but I am surrounded by little things that can bring a ray of sunshine to those cloudy days.

Another Couch!!! By:Brooke Franklin

We are getting another couch tomorrow. The old couch is worn out. People kept on diving on it. (At least the kids!) I am going to miss the old one very much. It is very soft .

Now to the new couch. It is soft. It is green. It includes: a sofa, a love seat, and a chair. The chair is my favorite part of the set. It's very soft and is very cozy. I like alot. I am not saying that I do not like the other parts of the set, but the chair is very soft.

Back to the old couch. It will go in the basement. That will be the only time people can dive on it. (AT LEAST THE KIDS!!) We are going to move it in the basement for Family Home Evening tonight.

Andrew and I love the old couch. We're going to miss it. EVEN when it is in the basement. Boy, we will miss it.

This is Brooke Franklin speaking. See you later!!!

Lebron James by Andrew Franklin

I Like Lebron James and he plays good his age is 23 and he is kempedege agenst kobe bryant four mvp and the pishres are Like the sam dunk and i wunt Lebron to be mvp and kobe is 29.

A Toothy Fairytale

Once upon a time there was a teenager who needed root canals on each of her two front teeth. Her dentist suggested it may have been due to having braces, but her orthodontist got pretty defensive about this (he was worried about a lawsuit maybe?) and insisted it was because of the five years she had spent playing the clarinet. Regardless of the reason, the girl trusted her pearly whites to her beloved dentist, and the work was done.

Years went by, and with the passage of time, the girl noticed something strange. Whenever she saw herself in photographs, she noticed these same teeth getting darker and darker. It wasn't something she thought about all the time, just in the occasional picture. After a while, though, it began to bother her, and she wondered if that was all people could think about when they saw her smile.

More years passed, and while she had regular dentist appointments, she had not yet found someone she could trust as much as the dentist of her youth. Then a young, newly married couple entered her life. As their friendship developed, she discovered that the young man happened to be in dental school. Of course he noticed her teeth, and they talked about treatment options. It seemed far off, though, and was put on the back burner.

Eventually this young man graduated from dental school, trained with knowledgable dentists, and opened up his own practice. The idea of fixing this girl's teeth started to become more of a reality, since she had finally found someone in whom she could trust with her teeth. Appointments were scheduled, teeth were bleached, impressions were made, and two weeks of fluoride treatments ensued. And the day finally arrived.

The girl spent four hours in the dentist's chair, had multiple shot of novacaine, felt her two front teeth whittled down to stubs. She watched as her dentist friend designed her new teeth on the computer, and waited for him to add his artistic touch. At last she looked in the mirror, a bit skeptical about how big of a change there really would be. She was amazed, excited, and overjoyed to see the result. Her custom-made teeth were so natural looking and brightened her whole face. She was so proud of her friend and the work he had done. She left that office with a lighter step and stole several looks at her new smile in the rearview mirror on the way home.

So now this girl will no longer wonder what others are thinking when she talks or smiles. She won't cringe at pictures of herself and lament how dark her two front teeth are. And even though she may not always put on makeup or fix her hair (especially on days when there is more than a foot of snow outside and she won't be leaving the house for two days), she will now have the self-confidence that comes with a bright, beautiful smile. CinderAmy has found her Fairy GodDentist.

There's Snow Business like Snow...

Doesn't it seem like lately I've had a lot of posts that have to do with snow? Well, at the moment snow is what our world is revolving around. It has been snowing constantly for the past 33 hours. Church meetings have been cancelled for the weekend, Glenn has been out twice to shovel, just trying to keep up, our heater has been running all day, and most of the day it has looked like white-out conditions. To paraphrase the very excited weather people, this is a storm we won't soon forget. (This is the kind of thing our meteorologists live for...the Cali weather guys wish they could have as exciting a report!) Since this white stuff isn't going to be melting anytime soon, there could very well be more snowy pictures, so be prepared. Global warming, my foot!

Iron Chef Westlake

Tonight we took a page from the Chatterton tradition book and played "Iron Chef" with the kids. Their secret ingredient was turkey meatballs, and it was mine and Glenn's job to come up with a meal. In 30 minutes we made our version of Spanish meatballs (Nate will have to verify their authenticity) with a secret ingredient of our own--ginger ale (we were fresh out of white wine). The six of us sat down to a candle light dinner, complete with glass plates and glass glasses. The judges gave their approval to the meal, and we all toasted the snow, the love of our family, and meatballs.

A HUGE snowstorm and other stuff, By Emma and Leah, Typed by Emma

Today there is a HUGE snowstorm going on outside.We're expected to have 7-14 inches. At times like this we'd like to be in sunny, non-snowy California. But a wonderful thing about Ohio is that the weather changes in all of the seasons, although one time it snowed in May or June, according to our old and boring music teacher, Mr. Tinter. Mr. Tinter was a nut, especially about Elvis Presley. He had a big, cardboard, life-size cut out of Elvis! Every year, on Elvis' birthday, he lectured about Elvis' life, from his still-born twin Jesse, to how he died on a toilet from a heart attack. He lectured us on the same thing, on the same day, every single year!!! Mom doesn't even know who Jesse is(or was), and who needs to know??????? Mr. Tinter was our music teacher for 4 years, and this Elvis thing was getting pretty BOR-ING!!!!!!!!!! He was also Dad's music teacher when he was at Holly Lane, and the students back then probably had to hear it too! Come on, Mr. T., just because Elvis is your hero doesn't mean we have to suffer through a looooooooooooooong lecture about him! How many of you peeps would like to hear the whole story of Elvis' life? Raise your hand. Thank goodness for Miss Griffin! Well, we're getting waaaaaaaaay off topic. And we don't even have the time to talk about Mr. Pearson. We'll have to explain his case another time. For now, back to the snowstorm! The snow is piling up very high, and if Leah and I stepped in it now, it'd be up to our knees!The snowplows have plowed the streets, but who'd want to go out in such blizzardy weather conditions? The owner of a blue minivan with snow piled on top of it, that's who! (Seriously, Leah did see one just now.) The cars will only get more snow on them while they're parked! There are some cars at the church, so people are probably setting up for stake conference tonight. While Mom and Dad go to stake conference, Tyler will kid-sit us, but we might not even have stake conference! Right now Mom and Dad are putting the furniture back where they belong. Brooke and Andrew are playing school in the basement. Angel is sleeping in her box. That's just about it! See ya next time, peeps!

Ice Ice Baby

The only thing our recent ice storm was good for was making our trees look like they came from Tiffany's!

Note to Self--

Next time, don't take a nap at 7:45 in the evening. Just stay up a little while longer and go to bed at a normal time, like 9:45, 10:00. Don't fall into bed when the house is finally quiet (no matter how exhausted you feel) and wake up when your husband gets home from a meeting to watch TV with him. Otherwise you are going to be up all night, mind racing as you think about blog entries and American Idol, and your plans for the next day, and if you can handle another day of the house being torn up after the carpets were cleaned because you have to wait 48 hours to put the furniture back, or if any of this even matters because you are not sure if you'll even survive the next winter storm warning and the accompanying snow. Oh you'll sleep a little, because you'll remember a weird yet creative dream that if the details weren't so fuzzy could translate into an award-winning movie or book. But when it is time to roll out of bed the next morning, it will feel like you haven't slept at all. Trust me.

So I have been stuck in my own little head today and I am going to use this blog as a way of straightening myself out. I am starting to feel a little stressed out about stuff, but for some reason I don't think that anything is really that big of a deal. You know how it gets...things tend to get blown out of proportion when it's just you and the conversations you have with yourself, and then you kind of say, Wait a minute. Are things really that bad? Let's discuss....

Things I am stressed out about:

1. There's always this.....

2. Buying a new couch. I am meeting Glenn today at 11:45 to seal the deal. We have looked at a lot of places and I think we have come to a decision. But it is a big purchase that I want to be happy about for many years to come. So here is what we have decided on:

I like this set because of the chair-and-a-half. It also has a love seat. The color which is actually darker/more brown in real life goes nicely with our art work in the living room. It is microfiber, which was the only option for me. So there are a lot of advantages...but...am I going to like it next week? Is is too much furniture for the room? Is it too cheap? Or too expensive? Kill me.

3. Because of getting a new sofa, I need to call and schedule a carpet cleaning first. That is a pain. Glenn does not want to move the huge jumble of wires and equipment that is the entertainment portion of the room, I know, but it has to be done.

4. The school called me today to come pick up Emma because she has "pink eye." This was a surprise to me, seeing as how I saw no evidence of this before she left for school. Yes, her eye is red, but I see no gunk coming out of it. But she and Leah have doctors appointments this afternoon, so we'll see then. And besides, she is keeping Andrew busy this morning.

So what am I complaining about, anyway?


See? I knew it wasn't that bad. It's just when you start to think of all the little things like how you should be taking vitamins but are too lazy to sort them out into the little pill sorter thing so you just don't take them, or how you are so tired after spending an hour on the treadmill that will most likely NOT translate into any pounds lost at Weight Watchers this week, and how that same hour on the treadmill (along with the stresses related above) is making you so hungry that you just want to eat everything in sight but you don't on the off chance that you MIGHT lose weight at WW but in the meantime you are pretty grumpy and are living for the ice cream you are going to eat during The Biggest Loser tonight, and how there are a million other little things you have thought to do or should do or need to do and you are constantly rearranging the schedule in your head to make everything fit...........can you see how a girl might go mad?

In the meantime...I have to get Andrew on the bus. Only 30 minutes till Glenn and I kiss our tax return good-bye. I am sure it will be worth it next week when I am watching TV in ecstacy--no piece of wood in my back, clean carpets, healthy kids, and 5 pounds lighter.