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!