New look with quirks

I'm so proud of myself that I changed my layout all by myself, but there are a few sidebar problems and there is no date in the box. We'll see if I can figure those things out by venturing into the html realm.
Let's see if I can ramble a bit about what's been going on with us. Amy has been off track for three weeks and goes back Monday. She has been busy talking, drawing lots of pictures, creating paper costumes for her Webkinz, and setting up comfy spots for reading. She has told me lately that I look weird and humongous. Oh, the honesty of children. Anna went off track last Friday. I'm sort of like an assistant room mom for Anna's class, and we had a fun class party with rice crispie pumpkins, ghost darts, Grab the Ghost (like Pounce), and giant Jenga. I think Anna's teacher must be very glad to be off now after that party! Anna really likes rubber ducks, and we have an order of 24 mini ducks coming soon. Jeremy also went off track last Friday. He has sustained several minor injuries since then, as usual. He had to give his first talk in Sacrament meeting last Sunday and he did a great job. He participated in the 24-hour-read-a-thon with me, although he slept and did other things, but read over 500 pages (I haven't gotten the exact count yet.) Kaylynn went to Universal Studios with Ashley recently and had a blast. She had a job feeding the neighbors dog while they were away for a week, which she loved. She has done a great job of getting up at 5:30 a.m. for seminary, although it's gotten harder for her as it has been darker later. The time change should help. She got a new cell phone that I am very jealous of, and you can usually find her texting someone. Yesterday she was even texting Ashley while they were talking on the phone. Whatever!
I have been doing who knows what. The read-a-thon was so much fun. I did stay up the entire 24 hours--the adrenaline and Mountain Dew Code Red helped. Dan even stayed up with me until about 4 a.m. (It ended at 5 a.m.) Together Jeremy and I read about 1600 pages, so that's a whopping $16.00 to send to the Perpetual Education Fund. It won't send anyone to college, but every little bit helps, right? Maybe next time (April!) we'll pledge more. There are mini-challenges every hour through the host blog, and I won three books! Some of the prizes were Amazon gift cards, and though I tried, I didn't win any of those. My favorite book of the day was Wednesday Wars by Gary S. Schmidt. It's one of the best children's/YA books I've ever read. Dan has been out of town a lot, coaching soccer, and helping out a lot with Prop 8 stuff. He's happy because he's growing a beard now because he's going to be in the stake Christmas play. No shaving for a month and a half! I'm not super happy about it. Kisses are a little painful--Dan has very sharp hair. He has a trip to Canada for two and a half weeks coming up, that he has to have a fire suit for. Exciting!
So that's a little bit about us lately. Hoping everyone else is doing well!
Happy Halloween!

Tag From Lorena

I wouldn't be posting if not for these tags! We've just been pretty boring lately--our lives revolve around school, church, homework, soccer, watching football and reading. Sometimes cleaning is going on, and working on a three-month supply of food. Some of us are doing something exciting and crazy and weird tomorrow--a 24-hour read-a-thon hosted by one of the book blogs I read. For every page Jeremy, Anna and I read, we are going to donate a penny to the Perpetual Education Fund. I don't know if it's possible for me to stay awake for 24 hours, especially since reading usually puts me to sleep, but it should be fun to try. I did the yard work today, am cleaning up the house, and got some snacks all in preparation for the big event Maybe I will take pictures--won't that be exciting? Pictures of people reading?
Anyways, here's the tag from Lorena's blog:

I am. . . Cleopatra--at least right now--Anna is put her costume headpiece on me.

I think. . . therefore I am insane.

I know. . . that there is a lot that I don't know

I want. . . a Blackberry type thing

I have. . . all that I need (except for the Blackberry . . . and a pool table . . . and a tummy tuck)

I miss. . . school.

I fear. . . earthquakes

I hear. . . Veggie Tales music

I smell . . . Taco Soup in the crockpot

I crave . . . crunchy things, then creamy things right after.

I cry . . . at predictable times evidently--my kids will look at me during certain parts of movies.

I search. . . for kid's shoes way too often.

I wonder. . .why I feel like crap all the time (sorry about the negativity)

I regret. . . not getting my degree before having children.

I wish. . . I had better self-esteem.

I love. . . eating dinner as a family--we laugh a lot.

I care. . . about the environment.

I always. . .do deep-belly breathing.

I worry. . . that I am doing all the wrong things as a parent.

I am not. . . an outgoing person.

I remember. . . when we got our Atari.

I believe. . . that my husband believes in Santa.

I argue. . . Me? Argue?

I write. . . rambly stuff

I win. . . books sometimes from book blogs. I just got a hardcover YA mystery called Creepers, signed by the author.

I lose. . . weight occasionally.

I listen. . . to audio books while doing housework.

I don't understand. . .why people litter.

I can usually be found. . . at home.

I need. . . more sleep than I get.

I forget. . . anything involving numbers

I am happy. . . when my kids do the right things.

Instant Pictures Tag

I have finally gotten my act together and downloaded photos to the computer. It turns out that the cardreader I thought was broken wasn't. I don't know where I got the idea that it was--I guess I just figured that since most things in this house are damaged in some way, that the cardreader probably was too! Anyways, I've done this tag from Lorena's blog. The instructions are to take the ten pictures right away in their current state. Even though I didn't take the pictures right away or even at the same time, I didn't do any special cleaning or straightening before I took the pictures. I just used strategic angles and distances:

1. The refrigerator--stuffed with Sam's purchases from that day.

2. The closet--actually has our clothes in it. They usually get hung up in the garage and never make it to our closet.

3. Self portrait--Woo hoo! What a hottie!

4. My favorite room--I just picked this one because it's decorated for Halloween.

5. The sink--from far away! I'm a soaker as you can see. I was lucky on the timing of this picture, because it usually looks ten times worse. This is the scariest part of the house for me.

6. The laundry "room"--in the garage. Pretty messy and surrounded by cobwebs.

7. The Toilet--the throne in all its glory, with the lid down of course. Some of my children are flush-challenged, so it can be scary sometimes going in there. Please do not enlarge photo.

8. What my kids are doing right now--Amy's the only one home and she's eating ice-cream and watching a Barbie movie.

9. Dream Vacation--this is tough because I want to go everywhere. But I'll go with Ireland:

10. Favorite shoes

Really cool blog

There are some things I get really excited about that make me feel the adrenaline surging within: Pirates of the Caribbean music, an organized closet, Steve Carell, All-American rejects, vegetable gardens, etc. I recently found a website about something else I get a thrill about, and that is cooking from scratch from the basics and other ways to make food FUN and convenient! (Can you just feel the excitement!!!!) Anyways, here's the link if you think you might like it, also:

Everyday Food Storage

A to Z Tag

A= Attached or Single: attached to Dan 15 years tomorrow. Sadly, he's in Georgia this week.
B= Best Friend: anyone who loves me even if they know me well
C= Cake or Pie: pie, especially banana cream
D= Day of Choice: Tuesday--the least busy day
E= Essential Item: lip stuff
F= Flavor of Icecream: Ben and Jerry's Banana Split or Haggen Dass (sp?) German Chocolate Cake or Dreyers Thin Mint Cookie
G= Gummy Bears or Worms: gag me with a spoon!
H= Hometown: Riverside, CA
I= Indulgence: reading too much, although I'm trying to cut down
J= January or July: January--I hate the heat of July
K= Kids: Alligator, Boloney Boy, Stinkerdoodle, and Miss Muffett
L= Last movie I saw at a theater: Get Smart (twice)
M= Musician: too hard to pick
N= Number of Siblings: 1 older sister
O= Oranges or Apples: love them both
P= Phobias or Fears: fear, loss of control
Q= Quote: I have several on the sidebar
R= Reason to Smile: Season 4 Disc 1 of The Office is coming from Netflix today!!!
S= Season: Fall
T= Tag: anyone
U= Unknown fact: I love documentaries.
V= vegetarian or oppressor of Animals: omnivore
W= Worst habit: so many . . . thinking out loud, compulsive eating, going to bed too late, scratching my nose . . .
X= Xray or Ultrasound: Having had two different ultrasounds recently, I would have to pick ultrasound. BTW, the pain in my side I was blogging about recently is due to a cyst on my kidney, not my gallbladder, which sounds like better news to me.
Y= Your favorite food: anything with a triple threat: fatty, salty, and crunchy
Z= Zodiac sign: Aquarius

August Reminiscing and into September

I loved Christina's idea of making a post resembling a Christmas letter, and so I am copying her. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all. Here's a recap of our month:

Amy
Amy started first grade the beginning of the month and she loves it. Anybody who knows Amy knows how enthusiastic she is about life, and first grade is no exception. I've been in her classroom helping out, and she is not afraid to raise her hand and participate which is very exciting for us quiet Zapalacs. She came home one day and said that she had made a "connection" between the motorcycles they were talking about in class and an episode of Monk that had motorcycles in it. She of course shared this with the class. Monk is a very important part of every child's education, isn't it? Amy is learning how to read, and she reads me a book every day and we are making a paper chain of all the books she has read (this idea I got from Tiffani--I'm good at copying, aren't I?). Reading is a very physical thing for Amy. During the course of one book, she usually rotates around the book clockwise a couple of times, even if it means reading upside down (does this indicate genius?--please tell me yes or I will have to get a prescription for Ritalin for story time.) She also makes so many comments and observations about the book that it takes forever, and I am constantly taking cleansing breaths to maintain patience. But really I love every minute of it.
Amy also started soccer. Before it started, she drew pictures about soccer, read books about soccer, made graphic designs from the computer about soccer, sang about soccer, dreamed about soccer, all while wearing her shin guards and cleats. Thank goodness it finally started. Dan is the coach, but I guess I can talk about that in his part.

Anna
Anna has started fourth grade this year, and although I think she's doing alright, she comes home every day saying it was the "worstest"day. So I ask her if she went diarrhea in her pants at school, because that was my worst day of elementary school, and if that hasn't happened she's doing okay. Since then she's been a bit more positive. She is continuing piano lessons and is doing awesome. Other than her constant head ache/stomache ache/leg ache problems she is pretty happy/googy/hyper.

Jeremy
Jeremy started middle school this year, and though he complains also, he seems to be excelling. He has a big group of LDS kids in all of his classes which is nice. He plays the trumpet in band, which he has before school MWF. He's not playing any sports right now, but manages to somehow invent his own within the battered walls of our home. He also went to the referee training so he may be reffing a game or two of Amy's. He went on a bike ride to the beach with the scouts and only came back with a little blood. He also got to go to a sleepover at his friend Joey's with his gang from Garretson, where they played water polo, hockey, dodge ball, and guitar hero while eating lots of cookies and homemade ice-cream. They stayed up until 3:30 a.m. and got up at 8:00 a.m.

Kaylynn
Kaylynn started high school yesterday, but that's not technically August, so I'll have to backtrack. Early in August, she went with the Sorensen gang to Arizona, and had a blast there. I missed her, but she was happy there, especially when eating the stew. Whoever has that recipe, pass it on please! She also loved being with baby Laney. Kaylynn finally had her birthday "party," which was a shopping spree with Ashely and Brandy. We went to the Ontario Mills mall, where they shopped while I sat and read, and we all had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The girls also got manicures and pedicures. Kaylynn only spent a little of her money the first day, so the next day they shopped again at another mall. She and I finally had time to spend together the last week before school started and we had a few movie days. We watched Legally Blonde, Sydney White(very funny), and Miss Congeniality. The last day we made a walking tostada while we watched our movie. It was yummy but I made myself sick! Now Kaylynn is in school and things are going well. Next week seminary starts.

Shelley
Shelley had a crappy month but that was her own fault so she can't complain. She also completed the referee training but would rather die than actually referee. She is currently learning all about how football works and actually paying attention to the election news. This does not mean that she likes either of the candidates. She is way behind on laundry and food shopping but her family has managed to have clothes on their backs and food in their tummies. She is currently trying to overcome her addiction to Diet Cherry Pepsi.

Dan
Dan has been busy coaching Amy's soccer team, installing windows for the front of our house, and constantly enhancing our media experience. He took a business trip to Wisconsin for a week, and got to drive a cute little Yaris. He is excited about the new football season, and about not hearing me nag about windows.