Weekly Pot-pourri

Well, good news!!! We have survived week one of Lauren's engagement and we are all still alive!! Tempers have flared a bit, mom is stressed beyond stressed, older brother hates the idea, younger brothers are thrilled, and Dad? Well, Dad is smart to understand the inevitable and has been trying his very hardest to keep Mom sane. He even had the "money" conversation and didn't crack under that pressure. "A photgrapher costs HOW MUCH!?" "Subway can cater it for $5 a person." "Your yard is beautiful, can't we just pick the flowers?" Dad is our hero.

They got their temple confirmation and Skyler was so happy. Gotta love a guy who is that happy!

Winner of the cake contest? We will be having a conglomeration of #4 & #8 (kind of!) But in reality, she said she didn't care what it looked like as long as it wasn't chocolate. Whose daughter is she? Maybe one like this, with some pink on it and less bows and smaller flowers.

A work in progress.....stay tuned to the wedding cake drama

This is "Baby think it through...."my 8th grader brought him home this week for a night. This baby was programmed to cry every 2 hours and 56 minutes, all through the night. Jeff was thrilled, he thought it was great!! "Aaron", his baby ONLY cried 4 times during the night. I graciously offered to write the 5 page essay for him instead having to have this dumb doll come home. But, "Baby think it through" came home and his 'Grandma' went to bed. This is the kind of stuff that makes me think it through on the value of public education.

Tis the season to be sneezing...fa la la laaaaachooo! Usually by this time of year I am a miserable wreck. This year I am not. Why? My allergy regime.

This year I decided to spend money,
it's true...money does buy happiness!
I am so happy that I am not suffering. Here's what I do: At night I take one Zyrtec, (they are ridiculously expensive but worth it) they make you tired so you sleep well, (a bonus!!), drink an entire glass of water and put two drops of either Zaditor or Naphcon A in them. I think Zaditor might be a little better, but they make my eyes numb.
In the morning I take a Claritin and two more drops of eye drops and drink a glass of water. I have not sneezed once. I even was out in the yard all day yesterday and didn't sneeze.
My Dr. told me to do this as an experiment. He said that all his patients that take the Zyrtec/Claritin/lots of water combo have done really well. I also have pretty severe asthma so I have meds for that. It is working for me.

We suspended 11 kids at school on Friday. 2 were drinking, 2 were smoking wacky-tabaccky, 3 were off campus, 2 were fighting, 1 threatened a teacher that he would "take him out..." and one for her 5th dress code violation. This is the one that sent me over the edge. It was crazy and I was busy. She was sent in to the office (keep in mind I have no windows and I said she was SENT into the office...important to the story....) for wearing a top that was a little, okay a lot, on the hoochie side. This being her 5th offense, she was getting suspended for defiance. When her mom came in she started to absolutely ream me. "You are picking on my daughter, if I say it's okay for her to wear it then it's none of your business." (Remember, I have no windows, I didn't SEE her daughter til she was sent in.) On and on she went for 3-4 minutes and then she said....
"You're just jealous because YOU can't wear things like this so you pick on the little skinny girls. She's used to the fat girls not liking her, they're just jealous." WWWWWHAT the hay?
You know those times when someone says something and you THINK something and you don't say it? Well, THIS time I said it. "I'd rather be fat than mean" says I. Then I turned around, walked out of the office and went to my car and cried. Because that's why I do when I'm mad, I cry. I thought of this horrid woman and her equally horrid daughter, Lemon trees don't grow peaches.

Last of all: The Super Noodle Recipe. My kids absolute favorite. It's really Penne de Parma and here it is:

1 box Barilla Penne Pasta
1/2 C. Butter
1 C. Whipping cream
1 Can Chicken Broth
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Pinch of Red Pepper flakes
4-6 oz. Shredded fresh parmesan cheese (not the grated stuff from the can)

Melt butter, add garlic and saute'. When garlic is soft, add cream and broth. Let simmer on low-it will thicken slightly (about 30-35 minutes). Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, don't rinse. Add pepper flakes to sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Stir, put pasta in a bowl and pour sauce over it and toss with the rest of the cheese.

This is the basic recipe, you can add many 'extras', mushrooms, proscuitto, and sun dried tomatoes are a great combination. We add chicken and make a chicken penne pasta. Capers, bacon, fresh spinach, fresh basil, broccoli, asparagus are all great add-ins. It's like a lighter version of Alfredo and really versatile. Enjoy!! (Sometimes I will marinate chicken in an Italian dressing, grill it and cut it up in the pasta. It's awesome!)

Whew! This week's wedding group collaboration project will be posted on Wednesday.