Pine Nut Syndrome

So, for the past two days there has been a bitter taste in my mouth, and all food tastes bad. Even delicious butterscotch pudding tastes bitter and gross. I was a little worried about it- not wanting to have some sort of weird neurological disorder or just... bitter taste all the time. But today I was reading David Lebovitz' cooking blog (you know, the author of my favorite ice cream recipe book, "The Perfect Scoop"?) and happened upon this post about pine mouth, or pine nut syndrome. Anyway, it was perfect timing. Apparently pine nuts can leave a reaction that lasts for about 2 weeks where everything tastes metallic and bitter and terrible. It may be an awesome diet tool, although I tried to eat very healthfully today and even watermelon tasted sick. So, if you ate pine nuts at my house and now you have this problem (and you might not, as apparently not everyone that eats the same nuts will experience "pine mouth") then I am sorry.

Speaking of weird food related weirdnesses, ever have these problems with asparagus or beets?

Off to a Concert

As of 2 seconds ago, the majority of my household is gone to hear the local orchestra play some symphonic tunes. Here is a picture of them looking all Christmassy. Hopefully it is as fun as Paul has talked it up to be. Wish I could go too, but my 1 year old is in bed, and we are supposed to be resting.

More on Drugs

There's this local business near us that just opened up named "grace". We have a daughter named Grace, as you know, so we pointed it out to her. She gets excited every time she sees it. It looks like an upscale restaurant or boutique from the outside, so I thought that I would look it up online to see what it was. Maybe we could take our little Grace there and it would be fun for her. Imagine my delight on finding that "grace" was neither a restaurant nor a boutique. It is a medical marijuana store. So that's what that green cross means. I'm sure that one day she will ask what they sell there, and I'm not sure what to tell her when she does.

Nosmo King

Today when we were driving there were some people in a truck next to us that were smoking and flicking their ash out the window. Grace said, "Mom, I saw some people putting their smoke sticks out the window." So my kids learned a new word today- cigarettes. Oh, and two other new words- nicotine and tobacco. I'm glad that they can keep cracking down on smoking.

Lots of Kids

Here are some recent pictures of our kids and many of the other kids in our lives:

Clark with AJ- they're patient with each other

"Look at we found in the park, in the dark. We will take him home. We will call him Clark."

"He will live at our house. He will grow and grow. Will our mother like this? We don't know."

One Fish, Two Fish, by Dr. Seuss

P.S. Yes, I like him

Playing on the balcony

At the park. The big girls are looking over at the boys that had been chasing them.

At the beach in the water that may or may not be filled with e-coli.

It's tidepools when the tide is out.

Joy School kids coloring a mural

We have combined with the other joy school class so we have 8 kids. But look! They all fit on my couch!

See? 3 is fun.

Imprinting

The most recent time Sarah and I went to the temple, we noticed that a family of ducks had taken up residence in the reflecting pool in front of the main entrance. It was fun to watch the tiny little ducklings follow their mother around as she swam about the pool, imitating her every move. It was a useful reminder of how important our example as parents are for our children, and how much who they become depends on who we are today.

Yesterday it was nice to come downstairs and see both of the girls working on making a stromboli with their mother, and not just because I love stromboli! The girls had pushed up chairs next to the kitchen counter so that they could stand up high enough to reach. They get so enthusiastic about doing things that they know their mother likes. I am glad that my children have such a wonderful example to follow, and I hope that they turn out just like their mom.

Ode to a Mother

Here are some things that I did today because my mother taught me how:

1. I cooked dinner from scratch.
2. I wore clothes that I sewed myself.
3. I read to my kids before I tucked them in.
4. I sang with my kids
5. I prayed
6. I lectured my kids about cleaning their rooms and made them pick up the downstairs.
7. I made food my husband would like.
8. I cleaned the kitchen
9. I played the piano at church (she doesn't play the piano, but she did make my piano teacher teach me how to play hymns).
10. I made a picnic for my family.
11. I talked to my mom on the phone.
12. I curled my hair.
13. I let my kids cook with me.
14. I was happy.

I love you, Mom!