Richardson Report

Ahhhh, it's been a crazy week. Jam-making - I won't tell you how cheap my strawberries were, as I'm sure everyone else in the world can get them cheaper.  But it was a good price for HERE and so I bought 8 pounds and the kids helped me make a ton of freezer jam and strawberry syrup.  Yum. Hannah's Band Concert - maybe I can get one of the songs off Josh's tablet and post it here.  It was fun. I know - she's so far away.  She looks adorable.  Like Minnie Mouse. Missionaries for dinner (four of them!) - Breakfast for dinner is always a huge favorite and it's easy to make a ton. Flying solo in the YW for three weeks.  I had to have a chat with the girls about some attitude/behavioral issues, but they seem to have taken our discussion to heart and things are going better. Finished several projects in the yard with Josh last Saturday and this past Saturday.  It's the first time in a LONG time we've actually had him home on a Saturday - much ...

Wow!  I cannot believe that we have a 15 year old in our family now.  One more year till the BIG birthday that kind of defines your teen years, right?  What a fun kid Hannah has been to have in our family.  I love to hear her play the piano and sing along. She fills our home with music with piano, singing, radio, whatever!  One of the things I appreciate about Hannah is that she is always willing to help where needed, whether putting little kids to bed, cleaning the kitchen, doing a quick vacuuming, or running (literally, as she can't drive) to Rite Aid for something, Hannah is a person I know I can count on to help me out with a smile. A couple fun Hannah facts:  *Little kids love her. She volunteers at the local elementary school and the kids adore her, as does the teacher who supervises her.  *She has her first church calling as chorister in Sacrament meeting. *She actually likes things like math and economics, but hates grammar. *Hannah can...

I finally had a chance to get photos uploaded from our camera.  So I'm going to dump a bunch in here for fun - it's basically all from the end of April, up through this past week. We had a week of absolutely gorgeous weather - warm and sunny, then it left and the fog has been thick, with pockets and peeks of sun periodically.  Right now, as I look out my window, the fog is misting by and it seriously looks like November.  I sometimes forget that it is NOT November, and in fact most of the world is enjoying a warm, sunny day!  It's so bizarre sometimes. We went for a walk after dinner one night and had a race.  I definitely didn't win. The favorite climbing tree Side note: the other day I stepped outside and found Brynne had constructed her own swing about 20 feet off the ground in this really tall tree that she likes to climb.  Just about gave me heart failure when I suddenly saw her go soaring through the branches way above my head....

It has been SUCH a long week.  I'm so glad that it's over. In general I'm feeling much better.  I usually feel fantastic in the mornings and then sort of peter out in the afternoons, but my nausea is so much less and I'm grateful for that.  I'm technically just past my three month mark, too, so I'm 1/3 of the way through! Natalie prays for me on a daily basis that "mommy can get better".  I'm hoping soon those prayers will be answered and we can do our regular fun activities on a more regular basis.  Here is a lovely picture she drew.   Many of you heard the story of Hannah's high school dance/dress.  This is the finished creation.  All I basically did was modify a shirt to make a jacket thing, and fix some hems and stitching in the dress.  If I'd had time, and access to a real fabric store, I could have made actual sleeves.  Anyway, she looked lovely and very grown-up and had a great time. If you can see these, you don't...

So I now get to say I am 12 weeks along.  This is the first time ever that a dating sonogram has worked in my favor and moved my due date UP.  Thrilling.  We definitely have a little peanut kicking around inside.  S/He was quite active during the sonogram and it was fun to see two little legs and two little arms tumbling around with a big head and a beating heart.  All the important things! However, I got to thinking - even though our car has seats for 8, we are going to be squished!  I can fit three kids in back, but if I put a carseat back there, it gets VERY squishy.  If I don't, the three kids in back have to learn to fly over the middle row in order to get out.  My kids are talented - but Hannah is taller than I am, so that seems a little much to ask!  Not to mention we are already finding it hard to pack everything we need for our long trips.  Soooo much as I hated the idea, it seemed like it might behoove us to look at upgrading...

A few years ago, my friend and sister-in-law Jelaire pointed me in the direction of a Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup recipe from the blog 365 days of slowcooking .  The link takes you to her recipe. It's a really great soup - especially nice when you want a meatless meal.  I've come up with a version that our family likes even better - and it's FAST. Basically it works like this: Using the same ingredients, I make the roux in my soup pot.  Then in the blender I combine half of the tomatoes, carrots, celery, chicken broth, and seasonings.  Blend thoroughly.  Toss in with roux.  Do again with second half of veggies, then add with roux.    Warm soup in pot.  Add half and half (or milk) and parmesan cheese.  Let simmer until ready to eat.  Done.  It's great when I need dinner on the table in 15 minutes.  The key for us is blending the veggies - we prefer creamy soups over chunky usually.  Oh, and this recipe feeds...

Yesterday was a busy day. Josh and I had made plans for him to take the day off work so that we could conquer Costco (since we were already out of town for the weekend).  Due to unforeseen difficulties at work, we were a little late getting out the door, but it worked out.  The kids stayed at Grandpa's house and kept him company. So while I'm wandering around Costco I come across a chicken coop that they have for sale.  I knew immediately that it was the very coop that we had ordered for our chickens (which was backordered).  What was also immediately apparent was that it was going to be TOO SMALL once our chickens finished growing.  Grrrrr.  The label on it says 2-4 chickens can happily live there, but I think they must mean 2 regular chickens or 4 bantams.  Of course, Costco was selling it for a bit cheaper (mean, a lot cheaper) than our local feed store.  But they weren't carrying the bigger size, didn't offer anything online, and we didn't...