Nerve gas follow up

The VX nerve gas was never lost. It was misplaced. Most everyone got to come home after an extra 15 hours of work on Thursday morning, and Josh was not 'allowed' to go to work. Yipee! Everyone is safe and we are all good!
Only  now I have a full-blown cold, Josh has a sore throat, Ashley sounds like a smoker with her congection and Ellie is grumpy. We all put on our jammies at 5:30 and are watching TV. Happy weekend!

I am SO glad you came home early sweetie!!!

TOOELE COUNTY -- Dugway Proving Ground, an army testing facility in Tooele County, is reportedly on lockdown.
The facility was put on lockdown since 5:25 p.m. Wednesday, though neither Army nor county officials have given any further information.
Dugway, which the Army calls "the nation's premiere chemical/biological proving ground," serves as a test facility for biological and chemical weapon defense systems as well as for Army Reserve and National Guard maneuver training.

Josh has several colleagues who are STILL at work because they are not allowed to leave. (most of the workers who do not live on base leave at 5:30).
My dearest sweetie left work early today to get a blood draw and so we could go to the girls' school event.
According to the rumors, a vital/deadly vial of something has gone missing and no one can go in, nor out, until it is found. So we are home and safe. We will keep you updated.

All done

Thanks to awesome friend Bugs (check out her feet in the photo after artfully arranging the quilt!) (who held said behmouth quilt during the sewing) the quilt has been bound and is on our bed! Here is a picture. Have a nice day

I quilted a whole quilt!

Yep, Josh said he might like a quilted quilt for our bed, more than a tied one. So I called up the shop here in town where you can go and use their big machine quilter for $10/hour and went Saturday afternoon!
As a note, it was a generally delightful Saturday, started out when daddy went with the girls to the emergency preparedness fair (while momma got to stay home). And it ended with a DATE (thanks again Kate!) to Cafe Rio (newly opened here in town - P.S. to my brothers, now we can have Easter-mas here!) and a side trip to wally world for cream to make creme brulee for dessert. Yum!

 Here is it! (lump under quilt is Ellie). At the shop, the ladies (picture to come, when I can get it off the cell phone) didn't think it would fit on the quilting frame (being a bit too big), but we worked it out. Then I wanted two battings (point of quilt: to be warm) and those barely fit on the whole thing. But in the end it all worked out fine! It is an sudoku quilt - just with fabric and not numbers. It is cute, huh?
It was SOSO nice just to basically be sewing along with almost one finger! I kept thinking of those lovely pioneer ladies, who spend months hand-quilting, who were practically turning over in their graves! This machine quilting could totally be addictive.
Also Bugs, Kate, and various other friends, small children, etc. and I finished the puzzle this week. And NO missing pieces! Wow.

Josh got home fine, even found an earlier flight. He is out teaching some class now, he is so cute. Tacos for dinner. Maybe chocolate pudding? (a Bluemlein family FAVORITE). Girls are going crazy with play dough.
Ellie and I had a lovely snuggle this morning and I told her stories about when she was a baby, and then we looked at her baby book. I am working on stuffing her up with love, so I also sneaked a bag of M&M's to church and fed them to her (ehheheeh). Last night she had spaghettio's for DESSERT (cold of course) and she asked me today if she could have more for dessert tonight (um, no).We are working on reading a LOT of books this week, after our dismal last week (for school, you count the number of books/minutes read and report it each week (so the reading program gets funding, I am sure)).
We are looking forward to a good week. Happy Sabbath!

Stuff going on around here

Well we are still here. Josh is off on a business trip until tomorrow night. Here are some pictures, with dialogue, because I am not sure when happened where, etc.

 When we joined the PTA at our school, we got a little card with some deals from local businesses. I needed some more allergy drugs, so I went to the new local pharmacy, where I had a $10 gift certificate with a new/transfer drug fill. I got all this stuff PLUS my drugs (free with a coupon THEY provided!) for only $1.45. Man, I LOVE being a smart shopper!!

 Ashley is getting to be more of a ham. She likes dressing up and still loves snuggle time. She has been getting up at 5:50 a.m. lately -AH! But she is so cute, I hardly mind.
We got these headlight/flashlights for the girls last year for Christmas. Recently, they went out on an errand 'after dark' and needed their headlights. Then they got interested in looking around outside. Then daddy came out with his red laser light and was flashing it all over the snow. It was greatly entertaining.

We are good. Had a delightful overnight trip to Provo Tuesday/Wednesday. Feeling a bit better. Excited daddy comes home tomorrow night!

Thoughts

Like many of you, I have a few favorite blogs that I read/stalk. Today one made me realize something very helpful.
Like many adoptive moms, I have struggled with the idea of 'being a mom.'  I mean there wasn't any pushing/popping out of the child, no stretch marks (so you think), stories of all that birthing stuff. So in some ways I am not a 'normal' mom and although those moments becoming farther and farther apart, they still pop up once in a while. (which is fine, please do NOT feel like you need to edit yourself around me!)
Anyway, a few months ago when I was having those weird chest pains, I did the 'what if I died' thoughts. And I wasn't really worried about the dying or what would happen to me.
I was worried for our girls. Would they be OK? Would they take care of each other? Would have I've left behind be enough for them? (And I was worried about Josh, in a different way).
As this blogger pointed out (after a scary plane-landing experience when she thought the same things), ....realizing that, is when I realized that I really AM their mommy.
Dear Lord, bless Jules and Gwynn and let them know we LOVE their girls and our WHOLE lives are to these precious children.

Yuck

After more than 10 days of feeling crappy, I went online to do medical research. New self-disgnosis? The flu. Now I DID get a flu shot. Apparently, you can still get the flu after the shot, but it is less severe.
Which is fine. But now I am TIRED of being TIRED and HOT (well, obviously, I am not tired of being THAT kind of hot!). Unfortunately I have had the real-full-on flu two times in the past years, and it does take quite a few weeks to get all the way better. See, I thought I was on the good track yesterday, but NOT apprently today. We canceled a babysitting and are dumping a foster training (we can go later).
Look mom - I'm taking it easy!
From the couch, Ann

Isn't my blog pretty?

Man, I am moving up in the blog world - now I have a CUTE blog (thanks to seester Heather, see  her self-tribute below). Yah!

Here is what we have been doing lately:
(this is the SECOND time my cupcakes - from a fancy cupcake book- have turned out like this - AH! What went wrong? But they still tasted good- fyi).

 Have friends over for playdough time. It is great. I love it that our girls have so many
'best friends.'

I am feeling a bit better. Still strong desires to just lay on the couch.
Well, I am being ambitious and figuring up how fast we could pay off all our debt (but that call to the mortgage lady was a bit discouraging). Anyway, have a good Tuesday.

Isn't she lovely....

My sister Heather is the best sister EVER.  She lovingly helped me update my blog to be so pretty and fancy.  She even had to give her child a bowl of ice cream to distract her during a particularly challenging design time.  And even when Heather's own child does not recongnize this picture as being her mother and insisits it's Emma's Aunt Holly, Heather is still happy with her design effort on this very blog.

Thanks Heather, I really owe you for being my craft inspiration, the best thing that has happened to me.  Thank you doesn't seem like enough of a word, blessed sister Heather.

I (heart) getting my house back!

Yep, as a wise friend said recently, January is a great month because you get your house back! When you put away all that Christmas stuff, you really have a LOT more space and stuff!

We had to order a bag for the tree because the old box fell apart during the remodeling (aka: was used as a junk box).. So it finally came and Josh and I took down the tree and rearranged the living room - it is HUGE!
I am sure you are also thinking "how are you doing with that dumb virus? Still feeling good in the mornings and then crappy in the afternoons. So today our marvelous, fabulous, wonderful daddy: 1)took the girls and neighborhood kiddos to school 2) did computer volunteering with the preschool 3) took Ashley out for doughnuts and chocolate milk 4) AND let me lay in bed for FOUR hours this afternoon!!

I feel lots better (but still hot) and very pampered. Now he is making dinner! Ellie also tried a huge sucker and Josh got some great photos. Happy weekend!

Good or bad?

So today Ellie came home from preschool (after a five minute crying fit in the parking lot that we were not WALKING home from school - letting mommy know someone needed a lot of couch-time this afternoon with her blankie).
We had some food and Ellie was on the couch. I turned on the TV and Netflix. Then SHE got the remote, picked Looney Tunes (VERY popular, even on repeat #4,321) selected it and now they are watching Daffy Duck.
Is this GOOD?
Is this BAD?
Hum. We are ok, and sitting on the couch this afternoon, if you need us.

Happy New Year!!

Yes, it was a great start to 2011. Josh and I stayed up and watched "Veronica Mars" and were just watching the exciting second-season finale at midnight.
This morning I got up and was feeling all ambitious and organized. So I read my scriptures and exercised and made breakfast....and then took a nap!! Yep, I am bringing in a new year of a more relaxed and calm Ann. I am quite looking forward to it.
My head started hurting again this afternoon. Yuck. But fortunately, before that we made snickerdoodles AND peanut butter cookies - need to start the new year off with fresh cookies in the jar!
Here is the new more-relaxed me.