You Know You live in a House Full of Boys when....

Andrew decides the best Mothers Day present they can give me is a huge dog pile and I have to be on the bottom!

Zachary whose vocabulary is not where it should be at 18mos- can make great gun noises and has the intonation and beat down to " We will, we will rock you, rock you!" and the Indiana Jones theme song! Nice.

• Uncle Jamie came to visit. The boys were so excited to have him come- it was like he could walk on water. Everyday they would ask," Is today the day?" I remember as a child the excitement around having an aunt or uncle come visit. Andrew is already asking when he can "verse" Uncle Jamie in Mario Cart again....
  
  
• Andrew's ideas for his Birthday party games went over much better than the games I could have come up with. Apparently hunting for 300 pennies in the backyard and throwing water ballooons at targets on the walls and eating hot dogs are much more appealing to five year olds. What do I know? Not much I guess.







• We went to San Diego for a few days over Spring Break. We hit LegoLand for a little birthday trip for Andrew and for the rest of our lego-crazed- children. Andrew was 4 mos. old the last time we went- it is made just for that 5-8 age- Ilove to see them having fun together!











Zachary spent the entire day jumping off curbs- he was quite happy and contented!

• My mom came to visit. I sewed a blanket- yes this is noteworthy for me. I enjoy sewing- but I just haven't made it a priority in the last few years. It was even a little girl blanket. I have NEVER made a little girl blanket. Go figure. I had just as much fun picking out the fabric as I did making it. I wasn't going to trek to Mesa ( to the good fabric stores) with Zachary in tow...so Joann's it was. They are still making the same dot and star fabric they did six or seven years ago when more of my spare time went into making quilts- just made me chuckle.


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  It's baseball season! Brandon has played under lights this last week- makes it seem just more cool. He's got a great bruise on his arm already...just one of those little things you don't think about when you get the kids pitching! The balls can get a little wild at times
  
  





• Zachary said "mo"--more--- the other day at breakfast. finally. we are now up to a whopping five words. He hasn't said a new word in three or four months so this was a big deal. And then we got "eee" for cheese Saturday. He doesn't drink milk, but devours cheese.






• Going to the Easter Pageant

• The Thrid Grade Egg Drop- Brandon created a contraption that actually saved the egg from being scrambled. He covered the egg in a cut out piece of egg carton, then put the covered egg in a cup of jello. The cup was then embeddeed into the foam and a parachute was put on top.

The Food Storage Report

I was asked to speak as part of the 5th Sunday lesson on "Fortifying our Families"- they had two sessions and I guess I spoke to long in the first one, so I didn't get to speak in the second one! Oh well. The following post is taken from my notes...



I am speaking as a representative of the 15 families who were originally asked by the bishop to participate in the 10 day challenge. When asked if we had a three month supply all of us would have said yes; twenty minuntes after being issued this challenge we all would have resoundingly said no we didn't have everything. It is all a matter of perspective and which sdie of the fence you are on!



We had a great representation of different types of three month supplies with in the families... 1) three months of #10 cans; 2) all dried/shelf stable items; 3) everyday foods; 4) a combination of all the above. Our family falls into the category of #3- everyday foods. We all made it- some better than others.



The following are areas which we felt merit some discussion:

MILK- Our family was fortunate that we had milk frozen in the freezer, which we drank. Obviously it wouldn't last 90 days, but when mixed with powdered milk- it makes the milk go farther. Some thought they would freeze whole or 2% because it would go farther. By the time you are on 100% powdered milk you might consider having chocolate syrup, Nesquick or some other flavoring to mix in. We have kids lets be realistic- we've got to get it down without a huge amount of tantrums! We mixed our frozen milk with powdered milk and made it the 10 days no problem. I did make a pitcher of 100% powdered milk for cooking- I went through 2 1/2 gallons in that 10 day period.



FRUITS

The Teuschers eat fresh veggies and fruit. I don’t do canned at all and occasionally do frozen. That is changing. We certainly missed having fruits and vegetables, and much to my kids dismay fruit snacks were not being counted as fruit.

Snacks/ Comfort Foods

How many snacks do your kids go through in a week- multiply that by 12 and you have a good amount of snacks. What are those things you can’t live without? Is it Happy Hour at Sonic? That sneaking bit of chocolate? Chips? There were ladies who went on an involuntary detox program because they didn’t have a stash of diet coke or couldn’t stop at sonic for the route 44; because we all know drinks taste so much better with Sonic Ice! In times of need we all crave something comforting- store it!!

Garden

I gained a whole new perspective on my garden. There is a difference when it is life sustaining. Our garden has gotten a great amount of TLC lately. Gardens are a necessity if you want to have any type of fresh produce. We were so fortunate to have lettuce and tomatoes ripe for the picking- it definitely helped with the carb loaded meals we were having.

Bread

I freeze bread and have about 8 loaves in the freezer- but that isn’t going to last us 3 months. The probability you will need to make bread is at 100%. Do you have a recipe you can make? Do you even have loaf pans to make it in? Practice now and find a recipe which is easy and fast and you know how to make. You don’t want to be experimenting in a time of need.


Eggs

Do you know how many eggs you use when you are making things from scratch or baking? Quite a few. You will need to find some kind of egg substitute whether it be knox gelatin or dehydrated eggs.

Water

Brian and I talked about how we could use this as a teaching opportunity for the kids. One way was to have them pump out water from our water barrels in the morning for drinking. For us in the desert water is just as important as food. If you have water barrels are they full?? Or sitting being a storage area on the side of the house? Do you know how to use your pump? Do you have a filter if needed? We do have a filter, but noticed very quickly on that it would be faster for us to boil our water than to use the filter. We just drink too much water.

I found myself getting dehydrated because it is so convenient to get water from the fridge. When I had to filter it, I just didn’t drink as much. Also, if you have dehydrated foods as part of your 3 mos supply or long term storage, you will need extra water for rehydrating the food and yourself- those foods will cause you to get dehydrated faster.


Fuel Source
- if power was out do you have another way to cook?

Personal Items/ Toiletries

Our family situation is different from the Cranes or Hartmans ( all have only girls). Toilet Paper is not going to be as big of a storage item for us! Ladies, feminine hygene products. Wouldn’t want to do without!!

Laundry Detergent

I do at least 8 loads of laundry a week; that is 96 loads in 3 mos- how much detergent do you have on hand. Yes I could ration it out and we can wear clothes multiple times, but you are going to need a supply.


Mental Switch

There needs to be a mental switch in the way we view a three month supply: a three month supply isn’t something you should switch to when an emergency or life changing event happens- you should be using it EVERYDAY. Besides produce and a few snacks our kids didn’t notice a change in the way we ate.

The Plan

I feel the biggest challenge the Teuscher family along with other families was “ A Plan” ---we didn’t have a plan of what we would eat when. Even with plenty of food- the absence of a plan left me in a bit of a stupor. How much easier would it have been to just pull out the menu and know exactly what we were going to eat when! Granted I generally try to have a 2-3 week menu already planned out. But for some reason I hadn’t gotten around to it when this started, so I had to plan with what I had stored. Somehow that was more difficult! So start with a plan.

A side note on The Plan: There are those who plan 10 meals and times it by 9. I would go nuts eating the same things over and over. Jenny ( my sister) mentioned to me there is a condition that people develop when they eat the same things over and over- soon their bodies start rejecting the food and they just won’t eat. This happens to many in the military and happens to Cameron each time he has been deployed. I don’t want that to happen so the Teuschers are doing closer to a 21 day rotation.

Remember this is food you eat everyday!!

Email me if you have other questions!

The Joy of being obedient

The bishop of our ward has asked fifteen families to live on their three month supply for ten days. We are one of the lucky ones who get to participate! When I say lucky I do mean lucky, not one ounce of satire. We have learned so much over the last few days that can only be done through actually being forced to use what you have. I am grateful that we have had a good supply of food and household items- their is great joy and peace in being obedient. That's not to say we won't have a few hiccups or painful moments! We'll let you know how it goes- there are some very valuable items everyone could learn from!

• The magical charm that water possesses as it drips out of the faucet, keeping Zachary occupied for those precious minutes while trying to throw dinner together.
• Enjoying the warm sun at the park for hours- while the kids play contentedly for hours.
• Finally getting crown molding up in the kitchen- though the joy was not quite there when we were trying to get it up ( that stuff is quite difficult to get the angles just right)
• Caulk- it covers the flaws of the above mentioned molding beautifully.
• Having a picnic and baseball game with the boys for FHE.
• A washer and dryer. Honestly for the amount of clothes that need to get washed- it seems like that is all I do- what would it be like if it all had to be done by hand??
• Going on a field trip with Brandon. The third grade classes went to hear Peter and the Wolf. They loved riding on the buses and they all yelled and cheered when the bus started moving- you would have thought they were going to Disneyland.
• Parent Teacher Conference Week- the kids were home an hour early- we seemed to be able to get homework/piano/sports fit in so much better with an extra hour in the afternoon. And truth be told, I kind of like my kids around.
• The M & D Management struck again.... this time with a note in the bathroom indicating if their was anymore toothpaste squirted out on the counter the boys woould be charged .50 for each offense. The counter has been clean for 10 days. Hallelujah.

The moments x2

Sunday slipped by me last week...hence x2.

• We drove to church today together as a family and drove home. This hasn't happened in two years. Maybe we will have to arrange for the Bishop to be gone a little more frequently.


• It was a rough morning waking up and getting everyone ready for church. " didn't you go get me new shoes.. I can't squeeze into these one more time mom!" " I am NOT wearing the blue pants!" " I can't seem to tie my shoes this morning, mom" ( just to name a few of the comments heard) Then Brian walks in ( what!!!) when is he ever home to help us get ready for church? All he says is, " go take care of getting yourself ready, I'll work with the boys." Joy. Yes, joy.
  
  
• We may loose a few battles with the road ( see Andrew's face), but we ultimately win the war.




• Cheesecake. Dawn made the most divine Toffee Carmel Cheesecake for Brian's birthday.



• The boys dogpiling Brian at the end of the birthday day.






• Celebrating a dear friends birthday this week. She has defied all medical history of a very rare disease- she should not be here and nor should she have a healthy baby. She has taught us of miracles and tender mercies, shown us of a mothers strength, taught us to find humor where it sometimes doesn't show its face, we have also seen a husbands tender quiet love and devotion in taking care of his wife. Our days stop briefly to savor the joy in our children and everyday moments because she has taught us this must be.




• Taking walks/runs with my two littlest. I had a few "Alameda moments" these last few weeks as we have been out. Andrew and Zachary are starting to interact more and having them both in the stroller takes me back a few years ago, when it was Brandon and Matthew sitting in the stroller and we were headed to Krusi or Lincoln park, or a walk along Shoreline, or around Bayfarm as the sun was setting over San Francisco, or through the Gold Coast. Life has changed a lot in the last few years, but I am grateful to still have these moments with my kids as we walk and go to the park- it makes it seems like life has just stood still.

The Moments...

Quite the historic week..

• Andrew sat and watched the inaguration with me and then proudly told his preschool teacher, " Miss Angie, did you know it was a very special day today? Do you want to know why? Barak Obama became the President of United States? Do you know why I know that? It's because there were no cartoons on today."


• We finally got the garden planted. I realized quickly on Zachary was not going to be on the preferred list of helpers for this project. I had to plant in two minute shifts- I'd dash outside when he was distracted and plant the squash... then here comes my little helper.... distract him outside with something....mad dash to plant the cucumbers....mama mama mama.... oh quick distract him again.... Now if something actually grows it will be a miracle, we have yet to get things to grow and we are going on year four here. But it is always fun to try.


• I put a sweater on this morning. I know many would give their right arm to go out in just a sweater at this time of year. But honestly, the January heat of 80 degrees is a little much, so I relish the days that I can put on one of my two warm sweaters!


• Skype... what more can I say when I can talk to my sister or the kids to their grandparents and we can see each other. Even Zachary will wave to Jenny on the computer now. It helps heal the miles and the time we don't see each other.
  
• Realizing Heavenly Father is aware of my needs ( even though at times I am not aware of it) I was released as Primary President in December- it had been 3 1/2 years, and I have really struggled with going to Relief Society the last month. I was called as a Temple Prep teacher in December ( which I really enjoy), but yesterday I was called to be the Stake Nursery Leader. I am very excited to be back in Primary! ( I honestly didn't think I would ever be at a point to admit this)


• Steam Cleaners. I love my steam cleaner. My floors for two minutes are spotless. I don't have to use chemicals and everything is comes out beautiful.


• Brandon scored a basket in his game.


• We made it through a dinner out with all the kids without it becoming a hair-pulling nightmare. Taking the kids out really isn't bad if we don't have Z-man, but he just adds that one-year-old-can't-sit-still element which frankly generally ends up in a frustrating outing and the glance between Brian and I of why-did-we-just-do-this-to-ourselves look.
  
• Brian's perspective. I generally have had enough of Zachary by 4:30- he is just whiny, clingy and screamy for a good part of the day. But Brian reminds me if this is the worst of my trials right now- then I should be one grateful mother. I agree.
  

Here's some pictures of the into everything 1 year old:

The moments

• Dancing in the kitchen with Zachary in my arms with the music turned up way too loud, his peels of laughter mixing effortlessly with the music and his little hands always trying to grab mine indicating his desire for one more polka around the island!


• Its 80 degrees and we went for a swim in Dawn's heated pool.


• Hopefully finding a reason why Brandon continues to get headaches and migranes more often than the average 9 year old. The prescription in his glasses needs a major change (even though he just got them 9 mos ago!)


• A gas powered leaf blower- we spent Saturday cleaning up the yard- all that muck that gets stuck in the rocks. gone. hallelujah.


• we didn't have to get up early and make lunches this morning. I am learning to love these days off more and more.


• The Cardinals won. We're proud to admit we are fair weather Cardinals fans just like the other 6.5 million residents of AZ.


• Watching the boys try to run their own football plays in the backyard.


• Matthew said he wanted to be Kurt Warner in response to our Table Topic for Sunday evening. ( What famous athlete would you like to be?)


• a loving husband who has taken care of me all week after passing on a nasty cold, which somehow exponentially got worse when I got it- and I just can't shake it.

Joyful moments

• Realizing some of the characteristics we are attempting to instill in our children are actually making it there. Andrew has been quietly doing nice things for others in the family this week. This child who can be a serious rascal also has an enormous heart and empathy at a young age. He came up to me this morning and said, " do you have to make your bed this morning?" Yes, I replied. " No you don't, " came his sweet voice, " I made it for you, so you know I love you."
• The goodness of my children's Primary teachers. We were able to have an enjoyable and intelligent conversation over dinner regarding what they had learned yesterday. Thank you Angie, Brad, Susan and Adrienne- what you teach stays with them.
• I recieved a package addressed just to me- usually packages are to my kids, especially when the return zip code is 11733 ( NY). Included in the envelope were two CD filled with some of the most glorious music, curtosey of my dad- the man who has the most diverse and extensive audio collection around. Magnificent sounds have filled the air the last two days. At times, yes I would even consider it heavenly.
• The three words every wife loves to hear, " Let's get takeout" --- what did you think I was going to say :-)
• Zachary's face when the washing machine starts- I wish everyone was as excited as he is about laundry. ( including me)
• Matthews quiet arm pump when he made his first basket in his basketball game.
• The faces of accomplishment as the boys learned to ride thier rollerblades down a hill.
• Two fabulous desserts I made for a Bishopric Dinner, curtosy of thepioneerwoman.com; it was very satisfying to actually make something that turned out right! The chocolate pie and Peach Crisp come highly recommended by our house!

Joyful moments

One of my New Years Resolutions is to keep a better record of what happens in our loud, noisy and fun house. So many times I tell myself -oh you should write this down.... ( yes I know we have all said this to ourselves many times) so in an attempt to keep this resolution... the following post and those to come over the coming weeks and year are mostly for me ( just so it is written somewhere)

• After sitting in NY traffic only going 10 miles in an hour and a half and haivng a panic attack in the back of the car thinking we were going to have to litterally run to get on the plane we found out the plane was delayed an hour and a half. We could feed the kids dinner and tire them out just a bit more.
• Zachary is trying to perfect the art of dunking cookies in milk. I found him trying to dunk his cookie in the toilet. Thankfully it was clean and the soggy cookie never made it to his mouth.
• Only three of us got the flu this week; not all six.
• Brian cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen floor. Enough said.
• I didn't have to plan or show up at the Primary Activity on Saturday, I could just drop my kids off like every other parent.
• Taking Brandon to the grocery store with me. It doesn't happen very often that we get to spend one on one time like that very often.
• Spending time with the Perkins on New Years Eve- we thoroughly enjoy their family and wonder why we get so caught up in the mundane that we don't spend more time together.
• Being together with my family- since it isn't a common occurance- it is good when it happens
• Seeing Dad laugh uncontrollably at the greatest Pax De Duex Christmas Present
• Watching the boys jump in piles of leaves they had raked up- thier faces were all aglow- red cheeks and huges smiles as they went soaring into the leaves.
• Playing in the snow.
• Realizing the magic of Christmas is still alive.