you must chill... i have hidden your keys

Lloyd Dobler -the keymaster.... right on.

Sorry, I got carried away with movie lines - can anyone name it?

OK, so people, I stirred up a little fury passion amongst you, didn't I?

Facebook is officially a love-hate relationship. You either love it or you hate it.

I get it.

Lest you misunderstood me last time, let me just emphasize once again that I was looking for enlightenment...

Maybe you got distracted by my witty banter.

Those of you who love it, let me just say that I kept my page, I even added a picture of myself for crying out loud. I am really open to seeing what is fun about it.

But I don't understand the games, the bling, the poking and the very public comments for all the world to see. Why not just email the person?

Just wondering what makes it fun FOR YOU.

So, stop calling me an old fart (Fischer, you know I'm the funnest girlfriend you have!!! (yes I meant to say funnest)), and give me a little grace.

And for the love of all that is good and holy, if you have known me for any length of time, you'll know I'm not judging or calling anyone crazy.

Laugh with me okie dokie?

deja vu

Six years ago I bought an Old Navy 4th of July "2002" t-shirt for my one year old baby boy. He wore it with a cute sun hat I found on clearance at Baby Gap.

Yesterday I felt a bit of deja vu while watching my one year old playing in the kiddy pool on our deck.

Think they're brothers?

Thank God for hand-me-downs (and Clorox 2).

out with the old

I love having a husband who buys me things he himself enjoys owning. So I must announce:

PINK IS OUT:

RED IS IN:

Soon I'll be able to get all my blog comments right to my phone!

I feel so techno.

please enlighten me

OK, what the heck is the deal with Facebook?

I'm a thirty-something year old housewife and mother of four and my college friend sent me an email to see her Facebook page. So, after some significant hurdles of creating passwords and finding out who in my email address book might already belong to this teenage phenomena, I got to see her page.

MEANWHILE, pretty much everyone in my address book got an email saying I wanted to be their "friend." On top of all that, it was pretty much just MINUTES before the majority of them were responding.

Something's going on here.

My next door neighbor has a Facebook page - and she's 54 years old!!!

OK, I've been warned that I'll become addicted, but after perusing a couple of my "friends" pages I have to say...

I don't get it.

What's the attraction or addiction? Why has this flooded beyond teenagers who are growing up with no face to face relational skills, to real mid-life adults who have jobs, marriages, kids and mortgages???

Leave me a comment and tell me please... because as it stands now, I'm quitting dear "friends."

you just might be a redneck....

If you are hanging out with a dog that is chewing an elk hoof that happened to be laying in the yard.

If your three year old son has a fluorescent orange cast and is shooting a .22 rifile.

And this is what he's shooting at:

Yes, that is really what he was shooting at!!! We went down to Scofield this weekend to the hunting camp that Kenyon's friend and hunting buddy owns. The boys fished non-stop and Sauce caught his first fish ever - a 16 inch cutthroat (is that how you spell that fish?).

Proud as pie:

will you hold my hand?

Goodness gracious, does it get any better than this???

From splint to cast

After a week in a hard splint, Rufus got a full cast for his broken arm at the Primary Children's Hospital orthopedic clinic last week. Luckily, I asked for a waterproof cast so that I don't waste my pool membership this summer.

He got to choose the color cast and when they didn't have yellow to match the wrap he had on his splint, this is what he chose:

Yes, ladies and gentleman. My son is brainwashed, because if it isn't camouflage, then it has to be 5-mile, regulation hunting fluorescent orange. Three more weeks to go!

a time out

Sometimes your reason for needing a time out becomes obvious to everyone who might walk by.

bring the rain

My sweet niece will be coming out to meet us in a month or so. Isn't she cute? I love her already!

It's been a rough road for my sister Amy and her husband. After getting a little extra help to conceive a child, they got the wonderful news that they were expecting twins! Of course, we were all overjoyed and I even found myself a bit jealous, because isn't two babies even better than one????

Early on in the pregnancy, there were physical signs that Baby B might have some problems. An amniocentesis gave the definitive diagnosis that she had down syndrome. My sister and her husband took it all in stride, a bit grieved, but still bravely embracing these sweet baby girls into their family. Their two older daughters also continued to rejoice in expectation of their new sisters. One even dubbed them "Angel and Butterfly" (for Baby A and Baby B).

Every ultrasound showed that these girls were healthy and strong and that Butterfly so far lacked any of the major issues that can often come with her genetic disorder.

So when I got the phone call, I wasn't prepared... at all.

My sweet sister, still laying on the ultrasound table, choked back the sobs and I knew it was bad.

"Baby B is gone."

Heartbreak.

What started as a routine ultrasound to check on the girls' growth turned into the day that none of us will ever forget.

The day I would not wish on anyone.

I searched for words through my own tears. Nothing comforting or profound came to me, and I cursed the thousand miles that separates our homes. If we lived even in the same time zone, I would have been in my soccer-mom-mobile in a split second and on my way to her side - speeding tickets be damned!

Because hugging her and crying with her was all that was appropriate at that moment.

She was forced to wear a cloak of grief that I would take for my own wardrobe if I was able.

A handful of weeks have passed and our entire family is tip-toeing past the wave of grief to peek around the corner ahead to our sweet "Angel" who will be in our arms cooing, and smiling and making us laugh in no time. Amy and Terry are decorating her nursery in butterflies to honor her twin who's absence will be painfully obvious.

I was out shopping for a few things the other night and I found myself in baby stores finding adorable baby girl clothes adorned in butterflies.

I spent a ridiculous amount of money on butterfly clothes for her.

But clothes are the last thing that Amy needs. What she needs is something I can't give her.

She needs her daughter back. She needs her twin girls side by side. But from now on at every stage of Baby A's life, we'll be wondering what Baby B would have looked like or acted like.

She will always be missed.

I have mentioned before that the reason I started reading blogs was because someone brought my attention to a child with cancer. And one sick child led to another, and another and another.

Being exposed to people like this, or this, or this has molded me. I have changed into a mom who hugs her kids a little harder than before. I have been made aware of the preciousness of life, how it can change in a single moment and never be the same.

I can't explain away tragedies like this. I can't give my sister or any of these people definitive answers to why they are dealt suffering in this way.

The Bible tells us that trials build character and strengthen faith which is more precious than gold.

If anything, this hurt feels like a scrub brush to my heart. It has left a raw spot that has made life fresh and tender and each morning has a sacredness to it that I want to savor.

Our sweet little Butterfly will not be forgotten. And I know we can't have her back, so I will always be thankful for the open wound she left.

I will love more because of it.

Go Swishers Go! Go Swishers Go!

If it wasn't enough to be a single parent for four days last week and then have a sucky not too profitable garage sale Saturday morning, we went camping Saturday afternoon until Monday morning.

Tent camping, people.

Remember this little diddy?

Yeah, sold the broken camper in 11 hours flat. So, that would make us tent campers until further notice.

Luckily, we borrowed a tent because we quickly decided that we are shopping for a new pop up camper.

We're too lazy old to be climbing in and out of a tent.

We went with our good friends the Fischers who have a daughter english bulldog named Vidalia.

Little tip for light sleepers such as myself: Don't go camping with a bulldog. Poor girl has a deviated septum, and she snores like a 65 year old man with a beer gut.

What I can't believe is that Todd and Kate sleep with her every night!!!

On our first night around the campfire, we worked on a name for our little team - decided to call our group the Swishers.

Here are some highlights from our days in the wild wilderness of the Uinta mountains.

The whole gang:

This is how Squirt and I spent much of our time:

Hunter found a giant log on the shore of the little lake we stayed near... typical Hunter makes a boat out of it.

Typical Daddy, finds another use for it.

Jack and Vidy

Check out all the scenery:

boys and broken bones

What happens when you take a deck with broken railings and add a three year old riding his bike?

Oh you silly reader, don't ask silly questions like, "Why was he riding his bike on the deck?"

You get the boy riding off the end of a deck into a window well and a broken elbow!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, for the third summer in a row, a Sweeney boy has broken an arm. We have no preference for which arm, for we have broken both right and left. We have no preference for where the break is, for we have broken elbows and wrists. Also, we're not picky about the method in which we break arms, bikes are the preferred method, however, the monkey bars have aided us as well.

snow cones at day camp

My friend Erin and I took all our kids to the local farmers' market today. She has four, I have four. We treated them to their "once per summer overpriced snowcone" and took a gander around.

The kids wandered ahead to look at a booth selling seafood. The man in charge asked, "Are you guys at camp today?"

Yeah, Camp Holycowthatsalotofkids!

packing for many

I've learned a few things this summer as I have packed for five of our six family members for several trips so far.

In addition to packing extra underwear for the three year old and extra bibs for the one year old, oh and did I mention not to forget all the kids toothbrushes when you are camping out in the wilderness away from any civilization.... I have a favorite little tip.

I like to have my kids share suitcases, but after about one day on any trip, the clothes get all mixed up and we all get frustrated finding what we need (hence why I won't share a suitcase with my husband). So, I use the Ziploc BIG storage bags. Not the gallon bags, but the ones that show a mom storing soccer balls and basketballs and the kitchen sink rollerblades inside (there are three sizes, I use the XL).

I pack each child's things in a big Ziploc and then put all of the Ziplocs into one suitcase. That way, we can always find what we need and there's no yelling fussing.

With the airlines now charging $$$ for checking extra bags, it now pays to pack fewer suitcases!

I also bring along one or two extra big Ziplocs for laundry or wet bathing suits, dirty hiking shoes, etc. They're totally reusable, so it is a worthy investment.

And that's what works for me! Now head on over to Rocks In My Dryer and find some more great solutions!

hoodoos and hikes

hoo-doo - noun
Geology. a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion
verb - Sweeney boys passing gas, i.e. "who hoodooed?"

Yes, we're still alive. I'm coming out of the fog of travel, holidays topped off with a sweet bladder infection and lovely pink eye.

We went on another road trip a week and a half ago (already?) to Bryce Canyon National Park and on to Las Vegas to tag along on another work trip for Kenyon.

Bryce Canyon was pretty cool - we highly recommend it. Different from Zion National Park, you start out on the upper rim of the canyon and hike down to the bottom and then up again. In Zion N.P., you start in the bottom and hike to the top and back down again.

Bryce is the top of the "grand staircase" of the Colorado Plateau. The bottom of Bryce Canyon is the top elevation of Zion N.P. and the bottom of Zion is the top of the Grand Canyon.

Our first hike was two miles and 1400 feet down into the canyon to a place called the "Hat Shop" where rocks remain balanced on top of the eroding hoodoos. Kenyon had the boys put rocks on their own heads for our own little "Sweeney Hat Shop." Well, the way down was a breeze, but the heat and exhaustion got to Rufus toward the end on the way back up.

Again, we were our own little scenic stop for many visitors. I don't think four children is particularly unusual, so it must be the gaggle of boys that draws such attention. Particularly, a group of elderly tourists straight from Italy stopped us several times to blabber in their native tongue. What we understood is "Ciao!!!" and "quattro???" Then they took pictures of us.

Here are our memories. Enjoy.

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse"

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

let him eat cake!!! - the photos

I promised pictures from Squirt's big day and here you go! I choose a "summer" themed cake because he is the first child with a summer birthday for our family. He was exhausted after a long day of being dragged around for his brothers' activities - completely nap deprived - but a good sport for cake nonetheless.

He chowed down, told us "all done" we cleaned him up and he went to bed!

the family staple

I have been reading "Rocks in My Dryer" for a while now and every Wednesday Shannon does a blog carnival called "works-for-me wednesday" where her readers leave a link with tips or solutions to everyday life. This week's theme is recipes with five ingredients or less.

The fewer ingredients the better is my theory! In fact, the more cans the better and if it has celery salt, it's out! (Erin and Ashley, that's for you).

Well, if you've been to my house for dinner, you've likely had this dish. I serve it as a one dish meal with yummy french bread on the side. I found it on the Kraft website years ago and we eat it a couple times per month.

Mostaccioli with Spinach and Feta

1 lb. mostaccioli pasta (or whatever pasta you like)
1 bag fresh spinach, torn
1 pkg. feta cheese with basil and tomato (I buy the block and crumble it myself)
4-5 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Cook pasta as directed on package, drain and return to same pan. Stir in a splash of olive oil (ok, the sixth ingredient - but does it really count if it is just a splash?)

Add spinach and crumbled feta cheese. Mix well and cover over the LOWEST heat for a couple of minutes until the cheese is slightly melted. Spinach will be slightly wilted.

Add tomatoes and onions, stir well and serve.

Now go over and see all the recipes at Rocks in My Dryer!