I rinsed the beans

Dear Family,

We're having 13 Bean Soup with turkey tonight.  I slow cooked the 13 "beans" in a liquid that included over a quart of the juices from the turkey bones that simmered overnight.   It's going to taste so good!

As you know, beans have a magical power that is collected in the water as they cook.  For the most part, this magic is considered black magic and in consideration for you, I took extra effort to drain and rinse the very heavy and hot pot of beans over the kitchen sink. 

I know how much you will appreciate this act of love because you have expressed many times your distaste for extra work (or any work) and undoubtedly know the sweat and tears I could have shed over the task.  But don't worry.  Other than temporarily  loosing vision through my fogged up glasses, it was no trouble at all!  

Thankfully, I did not shed the tears and exert the energy to avoid the extra time, because it would have made me more tired than just draining and rinsing the beans actually did!

So what all of this means is that you will have a nice dinner and your tummies will be full without as many severely unpleasant and embarrassing intestinal reactions.  All because I love you!

Or...it's a purely selfish move based on too much exposure to your delicate systems.

Either way, bon appetit!

Love, Mother

Saturn, by Sarah

This school we're in has the kids start doing research reports in Kindergarten.  I both love it and hate it.  Thankfully, they make them super easy and increase difficulty as they get older.

Sarah recently had to give a report on a plant as part of an astronomy unit.  She chose Saturn.  The report had to be her work and in her handwriting.  I helped her look online and she did the writing.  She also had to make a model of the planet.  I gave her some ideas, but she did 90% of the work.  (I think Daddy helped her cut the inside circle out of the transparency sheet.)

I think she did a great job!  Her teacher agreed.  :)

14 Days of Valentines 2016

Our tradition is alive and well.  This year was the 17th year to honor the holiday of love.  And it was the first year that Chad had a theme for his gifts to me.  He made everything a sign of some kind or included a sign in some way.

This sign hanging across the driveway was clever.

I didn't have a sign theme.  But I did make sure to fill Chad's truck with balloons.  That's kind of a tradition.

Joseph and Sarah helped blow up balloons for me.  It's a good thing they have such chubby cheeks to help them fill up nearly 70 balloons.  Yeah.  They probably get credit for 4 or 5.

I did make some truffle type things.  They were an interesting first time activity.  Thankfully, we have a lot of kids to help Chad eat them.  Except for Nathan, he tasted the minuscule amount of peanut butter in them and wouldn't eat any.

Chad did put a keep out sign on the bathroom door and had the tub filling for me.  I turned on the jets

to get the bubbles going.  Unfortunately, the switch to turn it off can't be reached from the tub, and it isn't on a timer.  So things got a little overwhelming for a while.  I finally got Chad to respond to a text and come turn things off!

But not before the bubbles got so high that they started spilling out of the tub.  I was laughing as I spit them out of my mouth and blew them out of my nose.

I did make a couple of signs myself.  I had the kids help me quickly cover the back of his truck after school one day.

Chad also got the kids in on the fun.  They made these little signs and he lined the driveway with them.

They looked a little bigger in person.  :)

When we lived in Las Vegas about 14 years ago, and I was only on the third or fourth year of Valentines, one of Chad's coworkers mentioned that I would not keep it up for very long...after a few kids came along.  I guess we showed him!  

Prayerful

Every once in a while, I catch glimpses of my children doing beautiful things.  I hope Leah's relationship with her Heavenly Father is always strong and growing.

Joseph's date with mommy

Twice a year, each Collett kid gets a chance to go out with mom or dad for one-on-one time.  We try to do something they choose, though sometimes they need a little guidance in choosing.  February was Joseph's month and my turn to take him.  He wanted to go mini golfing.  He was sure he'd never been because he couldn't remember our golf trips in Idaho.  There's a nice golf course in Cape Canaveral that is only $5 a person.  Because it's outdoors, it's best in cooler weather, which gives us about a 4 month window.

Time for a selfie with a photo-bombing gorilla!

This is a little golf dance that Joseph made up.  It's one of the few times he was detached from his shadow.

Putting into a cave.  Very skilled puts are required for this hole but neither one of us qualified.  This might be one of the holes that Joseph got to start over again when his ball returned to him!

One last selfie.  It was a beautiful morning and we had the golf course to ourselves.  The fact that we are still smiling means that we had fun despite being horrible golfers!

Joseph didn't do too badly for his "first time".  But neither one of us got a hole-in-one.  Maybe next time.

The arcade had been very tempting as we passed through it on our way to golf.  I'm sure it's placement was no accident.  Joseph wanted to play some games, so I gave him the choice to spend the money on games or getting a treat together.  Guess which one he chose.

Ten dollars in quarters equals a lot of quarters!  It would have seemed less expensive if the games had taken tokens and not actual quarters.  But Joseph had a lot of fun and got a bit of a workout.  ;)

Our last cub scout!

Joseph turned 8 last November (yay!) and officially started Cub Scouts.  After watching his big brothers do fun things in scouts, Joseph was more than a little excited to get his own uniform!  I can't say I missed going to Pack Meeting, but now we're mostly all at the church anyway.  His older siblings don't join us because they are involved in their own scout or mutual activities.  And Daddy slips in and out.  But we do our best.

Daddy did get to be present when Joseph earned his Bobcat.  Big things are in store for Joseph!  :)

Sarah's painting

Sarah was invited to a birthday party last month (or the month before - I've lost track).  It was at an art studio and the kids were guided step by step through a predetermined painting.  These types of painting classes/parties are really popular in this area!

We were pretty impressed with Sarah's painting!  Her older sisters were fawning over her skills, which prompted Sarah to reply, "There were instructions!"  Haha.  She was just being modest.  It is a really cute painting and I'm sure much cuter that many of the other girls'.  (I can be a little biased as her mother!)

Though she exhibited some modesty at one point, Sarah was not above finding a place of distinction to display her masterpiece.  The living room had a very convenient tack in the wall and there her bees and flowers still hang!  But I don't mind because I really like it.  :)

Stand By Please

I do have a few drafts started (pictures uploaded) for upcoming posts.  I've been having some trouble finding time to write and post them!  But Valentine's Day is over, the kids are back to school after having a dying holiday off from school (it seems Martin Luther King Jr day ranks higher than Presidents Day), and life will be returning to the normal crazy levels!

Of course, there is a field trip, two dental appointments, a mini doTERRA class, three after-school practices, a stake meeting, and Odyssey of the Mind competition before the week is over.

And now I am headed into the school to help count coins coming in for a fundraiser they are hosting this month.  

:)

Birthday Boy is 14!

Nathan had a bithday this week (Tuesday) and had a nice couple of days celebrating. 

We opened presents and went to dinner on Monday but had cake on Tuesday.  We had to divide the fun because Chad had some appointments at the church on Nathan's day. 

Nathan got a few presents that will keep him occupied for a while in addition to a backpacking backpack that he wanted.

He's looking forward to being ordained a Teacher this Sunday.  He's getting older and we're counting on some growth spurts to help him look his age!

Happy 14th Birthday, Nathan!

Bedtime stories

Chad is a good dad.  He reads to the kids from a chair in the hallway every night that he is home.  He has 3 bedrooms of kids to reach, so he makes sure his voice carries.  He's gone through quite a varied selection of books!

Do you like our perpetual cement flooring?  I had hoped for new carpet by Christmas...before the 2nd pipe leak and more ruined flooring on the other side of the house.  That came right after the oven died.  We'll get new carpet after we re-plumb the house and restore cold water to the kitchen!

Revenge!

When the kids have to put the dishes away and they don't want to, they get back at me by throwing the forks in with the spoons.  Game on!  You don't want to play with fire my little sparklers.  I am the master at payback!  ;)  LOL  It's all fun and games around here...until someone has to do the dishes.

Clean Garage

Chad spent the day pulling out tools, bicycles, yard machines, and general junk to sweep out and clean up the garage.  Winter is the best time for this because the humidity is WAY down and the air is cool.  A breeze is actually refreshing in the winter and if you work up a sweat, it doesn't stay with you until your next shower.

The garage looks great and I can get out of the van without vainly attempting to suck in my gut.  Thank you, Chad.  I appreciate your hard work!

It looked like we were having a garage sale for a little while as our belongings were strewn about the driveway.  I'm surprised no one stopped to shop!

Pasta for Pennies

The school raises funds for leukemia research every year.  The kids bring home little boxes that reminds me of the UNICEF boxes I brought home when I was in school.

Last year, the school raised $3,000.  This year their goal is $4,000.

One year, Joseph taped his box to the front door for Chad to see when he came home from work.  When Joseph discovered some coins in his box, it became tradition to tape the boxes to the door.

And now there are three boxes taped to the door.  So if you happen to come by sometime soon, we wouldn't mind if you had a few extra coins in your pockets!

Why is it called Pasta for Pennies?  Because Olive Garden gives a free lunch to the class that brings in the most money!

It's a single sock epidemic

I cannot understand how there can be SO MANY socks without mates right after laundry is washed!  It's getting ridiculous and very irritating.

They wear them mismatched anyway, but I still want an explanation.  How can I trust their futures are bright if they can't control their socks?

Music on a Mouse Brain

We just completed science fair season.  Rebekah chose to watch fabric fade.  Leah ran mice through a maze.

Before the mice ran, they got treated to music, classical or heavy metal.  I really didn't like the heavy metal days and "i heart radio" probably thought I was schizophrenic with the flip flopping.

I was trying to help Leah as much as I felt was fair, but it was taking a lot of restraint!  It took several revisions as we learned what worked well and what didn't.  But just before we ran out of time, we settled into a good (enough) procedure.

Part of our struggle was to get enough feeder mice from the pet store to live long enough to start running the maze.  If the mice were to die during the project, her experiment would be void.

And while there were many things she could have done better, it was still rewarding to see Leah earn 3rd place in her category!

In case you were wondering, overall the mice completed the maze slower after listening to the heavy metal music.

Tough Love

I just deleted 4 videos from Daniel's phone.  Why?  Because he had recorded, in the dark of night, himself passing gas.

Not the silent and deadly kind, because that wouldn't be very useful video.  No. It was the loud and obnoxious kind.  Obnoxious is the pivotal word.

It had already been reported that he was going into the girls' rooms with his disgusting sound to annoy them.

When he used it in the drive-thru of KFC, I took possession of the phone.  Where do 15-year-old boys really come from?  And when does the dignity kick in?

What's the last bit of strange parenting you had to do?

Fifty States...Nifty!

Joseph has to learn the 50 states in school.  Ugh.  Joseph doesn't like to work.  He gets mad easily and without warning so it can be tricky to get much done.

We've learned 13 states so far...and they aren't the original colonies.   I guess that means we are a quarter of the way through!  I prefer the western states because they are big and fast to learn.

I also prefer the western states because the bugs are smaller.

If Sarah had $100...

Friday (the 22nd) was the 100th day of school for us.  The first grade really celebrates with t-shirts and snacks and games, etc.

One of their activities was to write what they would do if they had 100 dollars.  Here is Sarah's paper. The translation is below.  ;)

"A mansion with an 'S'."
"A beautiful dress."
"A beautiful crown."

I'm seeing a theme here.  Unfortunately, HRH was born to a common family.  I remember when Leah discovered her life wasn't royal.  It was very similar!   Lol.

I did see some interesting wishes on the worksheets of other kids, including lipstick, cats, and more money.  My favorite was the little boy who was going to get a gift for each of his parents and nothing else.  :)

My talent on display

I had the talent for FHE tonight and realized it this morning as we were getting ready for school.  So before we left, I chose a project and spent the morning working on it.  I plan on making a small quilt for a teacher at school and she loves owls, so this is "two birds" with one stone.

But the point of this post isn't to brag, rather to laugh.  I was nearing completion of the block and sewed on the beak of one of two owls.  Here it is.

And then I noticed that I didn't see the 2nd block I was working on.  Oh, here it is!  I sewed it behind the first one...right at the beak!  Duh.  I didn't want to spend so much time unpicking on this project!  But what a talent!  LOL.