Bath Toys

I bet you did not know that Tampons make great bath toys!
It is especially great when you dump a brand new box into the tub! I let jake keep one to play with but i took out the other 13 or so that were floating around and swelling up in their applicator covers. He thought of a lot of ways to use it- including a surfboard for his real bath toy.
Maesyn was not too pleased. He had taken the box and all, so there was disintegrating pieces of paper all over the place- even in her hair. But she stuck it out until I got the kids washed.
As I type he is quietly shredding up toilet paper all over my bed- rather than taking that needed Sunday afternoon nap. It is crazy how some torn up soft paper can keep him occupied for so long. sweet boy. Loves his paper toilet products.

Sunday Morning Activity

I am an Artist. (or at least i try to be)
I have an A.A. in Fine Arts and a B.S. of Fine Arts in Art Education.

Although I am an Artist-I'm mostly a MOM.
As stated before, we don't go to church until 1:30pm on Sundays- so we try to make the most of that extra family time. The kids like to play with clay- but it is messy and I can't always get it out every time they want to play. Last night I decided that we would play with clay on Sunday Morning as a family. .. and so we did. (Nate's back is out- so he took the pictures and tried to clean up- but did not participate too much).
I did however get to make this Joseph to go with the Mary that I made a few weeks ago. They are hanging out with the mixer.

Ma Ma Mia!!!

As I type, my little Maesyn girl is in the bathroom putting on her makeup so that she can be ready to play "go fish" with me. She said that she needed to get ready and put makeup on like me. I explained that I hardly wear make up. So she began to tell me about how sometimes the "cheetah girls" wear makeup. I told her that the cheetah girls are bigger than her. She understood and said that they were bigger- like mommy. (i guess i am maintaining my youth somewhat if i'm being compared to a "cheetahgirl... but i never really want to be compared to a cheetah girl). So, as i finished doing her hair she broke into her latest song:
"Oh, ma ma mia, here i go again, my my, how can i resist you."
if you know where she got this from please tell me.
we are a bit disappointed that she knows who the "cheetah girls" are- but at least we balance it with her affection for "Death Cab for Cutie" and "Sufjan Stevens". Blast that Disney Channel at Grandmas House.

DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR of INTERNAL MEDICINE

Congratulations to Nathan Garner.
As of about 15 minutes ago Nate has a new job.
he is a division administrator over internal medicine- but we switched the post title to "of" so it does not sound too pretentious.
He was given an offer at his current company to take a salary position that actually utilizes his education (bachelors in business and Masters in Health Sector management- as if I have not mentioned that before). Hurray for us. Now, we are not rolling in the big bucks yet- so don't hit us up to take you out to dinner. In fact, Nate and I will celebrate this evening with a free pizza buffet that we got coupons in the mail for. However, this will give him great experience and it will be nice when he gets his next big job to say that he was with this company for over 7 years and worked his way up as he was in school. In May he will have his MBA and will be even more marketable- but we plan to stay put for a while.

So what do we have planned in our immediate future?

• Our house is up for sale by owner. We would love to have it sell soon, but the market is not great and we keep lowering our price. Once it sells then we will enter the great buyers market and hope to find a good house. Our original plan was to find a nice big house with brick and shutters that we could live in for at least 15 years. But reality is setting in and we realize that we don't need all of that size with our little ones (even the 3 more that we still want) and that the best choice is to look for a reasonable home that we can live in for about 6 or 7 years and afford now. When we are a bit more established we can find that nice big home- by then we will have bigger kids that need the space. Now our plan is to find the necessities. The first priority is a back yard and garage. Secondary is that we would like a 4th bedroom and a living room family room. We are probably looking at cookie cutter and stucco -but that is fine.

• I plan on keeping my job and keeping up my certification. With all of the budget cuts in Mesa Public schools I feel fortunate to have my great one day a week job (that happens to pay our mortgage and then some during the school year). I think I will do this for a few more years. Even when I'm not working at all I plan on keeping my certification up. If ever I need to go back to the work force full time it will be easier to get back into teaching if I am fully certified. (i'd rather not work full time-i'd rather be 100% home with my kids- but it is important to be prepared in case there is a need). Of course i'll teach my art classes at my house and try to make money in my etsy shops (once i have time to figure them out more and make things to sell.)

• Of course we want more kids- how else do I justify my want for a mini van? Just kidding. I'm sure they are in our future.. we just don't know exactly when. Probably sooner than later- but not too soon. I'm not so great at being a single mom- so having Nate around more often would make for a better environment for raising our kids. (meaning- i'm a little crazy- and need the support of my husband). I am starting to feel a small bit of hunger for a little baby.. we will see if that appetite grows. Maesyn and I even have a name picked out. She really wants a sister- so if we have a boy next she might insist we leave it at the hospital or trade it in.

So that is our plans in a nut shell. Be sure to congratulate Nate when you see him, and give him gift cards to take me out to dinner at restaurants like Carrabbas, Outback and Red, White and Brew. Thanks.

More on Arizona Fall

In Arizona you can swim well into October. I think my mom even invited kids over to swim after Thanksgiving dinner last year. Kids are more likely to swim in cold water than I am. In the hottest part of the year my in laws pool will be over 95 degrees and you don't really get a refreshing swim. My parent's pool has a deep end and tends to stay cooler in the hot part of the year. Now that our evenings are cooling down into the 80's the pool has been a bit cooler. Nate said it probably feels like summer pools in other parts of the country - where in the summer it actually drops back into double digits after dark.

Personally I'm done with swimming- but my kids still want to go. I'll see how many more months they will spend in the pool. I do know that people start swimming lessons in April here though. (it is still too cold for me- but my kids don't really mind).

more of maesyn's photography

as i mentioned before, i have enlisted my 4 year old maesyn girl to be my photographer- so if i'm feeling especially cute and no adults are around to take photos then she can photograph me. (yeah right).
she does a pretty good job and i am jealous that more of her pictures come out clear than mine.
after maesyn took this picture and saw it on the camera she said "cute". HONESTLY. she must really think women with mustaches are cute- so she must just love our beloved artist frida kahlo. as for my mustache... it is a freckle mustache. i thought it was a real mustache- that is the reason why they make cream bleach- for women to bleach their fine mustaches- but after a few good tries of the cream bleach i realized that all of my facial hair is fine and blond and that the mustache was just a collection of freckles. (on a side note- if my facial hair were coarse and dark and brown i would have some massive chops). sometimes i feel bad for nate. to me, the mustache is very apparent when i wear white. i wonder if people think... "poor guy, i bet he wishes his wife would do something about that mustache, has she heard of cream bleach?" my response would be "it is a freckle mustache."
so until i have some disposable income to get some laser therapy on the area i'll just have to try using more sunblock to avoid freckling. Oh, and i should probably wear makeup more often... it helps with the shine as well.

Here are two more that Maesyn took- she said she wanted to take a picture of my shirt- which was exactly what i wanted her to take a picture of... she is so smart and reads minds. You may or may not have noticed that I am not very voluptuous (as documented in my post about shopping for boobies). I actually like this a lot and find it to be a very attractive thing and part of my body that I like. At least when i am wearing new green long sleeves.
when you are deciding to leave comments it would be most appropriate to leave ones that say..."oh heidi, i've never noticed your freckle mustache"... or "you can hardly tell" or "i am a woman that can grow a full beard and shave my face daily". this will most likely make me feel better about myself.

Arizona Fall-more complaints...sorry.

Just a few days ago Fall officially Fell- but Arizona did not get the message. It was 108 yesterday. I really appreciate Arizona when my sister tells me about the Hurricane warnings in SC. And that time the tornado hit my parents town when they lived in Oklahoma and I was in college - it was nice to live in this state. I also don't mind that I no longer have to scrape ice off my windshield in the mornings or ice skate with my car through intersections thankful that a car was not coming the other way... But I really wish it were cool enough to merit wearing my new green long sleeve. I put it on today and had to bump the ac down a few degrees so i was not too uncomfortable. i'll probably take it off soon.

On a positive note- jake has decided to take up the very MANLY activity of playing with trucks and cars.

Last chance and new running shoes

So, this afternoon nate and i went on a little date to Last Chance. It is a little ghetto store where all of the nordstrom returns are housed and women line up early in the morning so that they can be handed lottery numbers in order to buy very expensive hand bags for a fraction of the cost.
We go there for the shoes- and nate needed some new fancy work shoes for the new fancy job that he is preparing to get with his new fancy Masters Degree.
So - we made out pretty well- he got some nice brown Ecco shoes and some nicer black Kenneth Cole shoes- and they were only $30 a pop- can't beat that. (he also got some nice khaki pants and 2 shirts)
Because I came to help him out I had to look for stuff for the kids and I. New Keen's (aka - camping shoes) for both of our kids and some white salt water sandals for the Maeser. I also made out with about 9 tops... yikes- but they were 35% off and who says no to cute little button up short sleeve cardigans for $3.88???
My running shoes have been long past their last run. (see below) So i decided to look for the replacements.
I am usually lucky to find my brooks adrenaline shoes for $70 on sale.  I've been wearing this shoe for years - i have 3 other pair in my closet that have been run through and have given away about that many as well- lets just say that i am devoted to these... but we are trying to tighten up until the new job is finalized so i decided i'd see what the nordy reject store had to offer- i came up with these great shoes: new balance 992. they are a stability shoe- and felt pretty good- so i'm giving them a try. and who says no to a $140 shoe that you can pick up for $19????
Now - i am still staying with my running shoe theme-you will usually only see old people and serious runners wearing brooks- they are not "lookers" when it comes to running shoes. These 992's will be sported by very old men-but they have a twist- because really sexy retro men will wear them too ( and when i say "sexy" i mean nate. he has a pair that he wears for fashion's sake). So I hope people will look past the sexiness of them when I am running and take me for the serious die hard that I really am.
by the way-you should replace your running shoes at about 400 miles- 

Whole Wheat Waffles

So after our healthful trip to the ranch market, maesyn said she wanted waffles for breakfast. "Ok, we will have whole wheat waffles" said I. i was sure to say it loud enough so that everybody in line was certain to know what a great mom i was- you know- buying fruit- feeding my children whole grains. don't want anybody to miss that.
On a serious note- it would simply be wrong not to share this recipe... it is a great way to use your food storage wheat- even though wheat lasts like 30 years so you have a while to rotate it.- it is not a super great food storage recipe - as you need milk, butter, and eggs- which are perishables.
These waffles are surprisingly light an fluffy and you don't need a wheat grinder.. just a blender like the one below.

1 Cup Whole Wheat

1 cup milk (plus extra if needed)
½ stick butter -
(i use less and you could even substitute some apple sauce for some of this- although i have not tried it yet).
2 eggs
4 tsp baking powder
vanilla and honey to add flavor
Blend wheat and milk for about 5 minutes or more until smooth-
i just test it with my finger for lumps - turn off the blender before you test. Add all other ingredients and blend until mixed
Bake in waffle iron.- of course.
(makes about 4 large waffles in my big restaurant style waffle iron)
then you will have one of these bad boys to serve up to your kids- and they will probably like it .

Ranch Market

On Friday morning we had a Dr. Appointment for Jakie Brother and then we headed out to the Superstition Ranch Market. It sounds nice and fancy because it says "market"- but it is not a farmer's market by any means. This is the place that you get CHEAP fruits and veggies. Lots of times I can get blueberries (in season) for like 1/5 of the price that they are selling at the super markets... now- i have to look through them to find the packs that are not moldy sometimes- and i have to eat them quickly- but what else are you going to do with berries... oh yeah- i freeze them too.
So- it was not a super great super cheap day at the market- but i got all of this for less than $10.
2 lbs of strawberries, 8 large peaches, 4 small sweet potatoes, an orange cauliflower, 2lbs of carrots and 4 ears of corn. still not bad.
Maesyn and jake were good so they each got to get 2 salt water taffies out of the bin candy. gotta love bin candy.

books book books

now that we have a real schedule we have been much better at reading with the kids... i know they say that you should read at least 15 minutes a day with your kids and i am pretty confident that we are doing that!!! hurray for good parenting nate and heidi!!!
jakie brother has his favorite book- if we only read him this book he would be happy...maeysn has even been helping me read it to him. she is so eager to learn how to read.
maesyn decided that this dragon tales book from the 99cent only store was her favorite- but truth be told it was just convenient when i was taking pictures of the kids holding books. i'd have to say that all books are her favorite- but she really likes a "beauty and the beast" where's waldo style of book. she is also good about reading scriptures at night. she finds her favorite stories and has us read them.

sickness and help

so i came down with a cold this weekend... and i realized how great it is to have my family here for support and understanding. so here are some big thank yous:
to nate: thank you for doing like 3 loads of laundry this weekend for me and taking care of the kids when i fell asleep at 8pm on a saturday night... and thank you for cleaning up after dinner tonight.
to maesyn:thank you for telling your teacher "my mommy's body is sick" so that i could get more sympathy.
to jakie brother:thank you for acting like a huge 2 year old and only taking a 20 minute power nap so that you could be a terror the rest of the day and do crazy things like set a folding wooden chair from mexico up on the couch and then fall down... and then fall asleep at 5pm for an hour so that you could act like a wild man when it was time to go to bed.. (this was not at all helpful to a sick mother - but i think that he knows what does not kill me will make me stronger and he wants a strong mom)
to my mom: thank you for bringing my kids happy meals after i called you last night asking what you were having for dinner because i did not feel like cooking for my kids.. and then also watching my crazy wannabe 2 year old while i grocery shopped and bought 36 cans of campbell's chunky soup and 9 bags of chex mix with coupons for a grand total of $16ish dollars as well as earning 3 free year long subscriptions to good housekeeping... and then packing my grocery bags with a box of extra soft tissues for my nose.

names we go by

Although we all have our given names- we go by a lot of other names in this house- particularly the kids. I knew that we did it often- but it really came to my attention when i called jakie brother "jakles"- after mr bojangles- from the nitty gritty dirt band- and someone asked "what is his name?".. "Jake" i said. given name: Maesyn Gale Garner.
AKA- poodoo, poodoo ladie, princess of the poodoos, poodooolane, poods, bones, chicken bone leg, turkey bone, turkey
Given Name: Jacob Eldon Garner
AKA: Jakie brother, boy friend, jakie, mr. bojakles, jakles, jakelsteiner, brother bear
Given Name: Heidi Lea Garner- should be called "Mom or Mommy" by children
AKA: licous, heidilicious- called Heidi, and Heidi Lea by Maesyn and sometimes called "HIEEE" by jake. also called "Mother" but i think Maes says that to be funny-thus she is called "Turkey".
Given Name: Nathan Eldon Garner-should be called "Dad or Daddy" by children
AKA: Nate... sorry- not so creative. Called "Nate and Nathan" by Maesyn

Etsy shop now open

I've had a goal for a few weeks to open my Etsy Shop. When I finally had the time I came down with a cold. I went to bed at 8pm last night. This morning I decided i'd print away- cold and all. So between drinking air born, and gypsy cold care tea and sucking ricola... i was able to do this.
Rolling ink on the lino- my hair is air drying- it is not greasy... maesyn took this pict.

arrange work on the table to dry while jakie brother ate some butter bread
a few of the dragonfly cards
maeysn wanted to help so much, so nate had her stuff the envelopes
some of the finished work.

here is where you can find my stuff.

some days......

it really helps if i do this a few times...

everybody should try it.
(there is no reason for the knife-except for that my kitchen counter was messy - along with the rest of the house-thus the need for the peanut butter spoon dipped in a bag of chocolate chips)

sweet sweet boy

as i have mentioned previously.. jakie brother has decided to take on the attributes of a
2 year old
about 3 months early.

moments like these have convinced me not to give him away to the
gypsies.

maesyn is glad he is still around too.

Fall, Pumpkin Farms and Chili

my very favorite season would have to be Autumn- which is sad because i don't think we even have autumn in mesa arizona. we only have 2 season and they are called super hotter than he**- and then deliciously pleasant. so a lot of what I love about the fall only exists in my memories or are created on my own.
one part of growing up that I always remember and long for is Bishops Pumpkin farm in wheatland california. my dad was stationed at beale AFB for 3 years and we made annual Family Home Evening visits as well as school field trips to the pumpkin farm to pick out pumpkins. i try to recreate that with my kids by taking them to Mother Nature Farms here in gilbert (convenient located on baseline not far from Wal-Mart) to pick out a pumpkin- but it is not quite the same when it is still in the triple digits in October and the pumpkins are just scatted in a strawed off area. i got to ride out to the actual pumpkin patch on a hay ride and pick my own special pumpkin right off the vine.
here is Maesyn and Nate a few years ago...notice the fall like foliage strategical set up to make it look like it is autumn.

another favorite thing about the fall is the food... Obviously... i love food and cannot wait for it to cool down so I can start baking pumpkin and banana bread and cinnamon rolls. I also love CHILI and crave it all trough the summer. even though it was still almost 100 degrees outside i decided that we would have ourselves some chili this week. it was sort of on a whim- so not 100% from scratch... but still a nice fall celebration! my favorite recipe for corn bread is on the side of the Albers cornmeal box... fatty- but yummy!
happy Autumn to me...not officially.

jakie oh jakie brother

jakie brother will be 2 in about 3 months and he is breaking us in...
at his 18 month appointment he was a little behind on his speech. he was supposed to be saying 6-8 words with frequency.. but no.
i'm happy to say that at his 2year appointment he should be doing well. here are some of his words:
ice, jakie, mom, dad, cheese, juice, shoes, fishies, dogie, book, ball, thank you, please, Jesus, amen, ouchies, grandma, grandpa, and poop.. just to name a few

maesyn's photographer debut and the rag rug.

after my boss showed me some photos her grandson had taken i knew i needed to let maesyn have a go at the camera. and she did great!!! she and jake already take plenty of pictures on the camera phone so i figured she would do ok with the regular camera.
final touches on the rag rug. jake is being very helpful by sitting on my leg. i don't know if i would have ever gotten this rug finished without him offering to sit on my leg.
notice the laundry on my couch.. it often resides there... i don't want my towels to be free of wrinkles do i???.. they might get jealous of the clothes and linens. no oh no...

finished... thank goodness i'm not a toe model...

backyard.. oh back yard...

we don't have a back yard yet.. but if we did it might look something like this. jake and his friend.. sharing a few bites of sand.

"Tup Pops"

children of the 80's do your remember these??? feeling nostalgic and wanting not to waste anymore left over smoothies i searched these out last summer. i don't feel guilty if my kids eat a Popsicle for breakfast!

100% real frozen fruit!

Clay Class

I taught my first in home clay class yesterday. It was a blast. Here are Maesyn's little fingers hard at work on a pinch pot. LOVE IT!!!

house for sale

Our condo is for sale... any takers?

1:30 church

when i found out that we would be in the 1:30 time slot for church i was not thrilled. we would not get home until after 4:30 and i thought our day would be gone. we would come home and make dinner and after eating there would be little time for visits and what not.
but today i realized i really like this time slot.
we got up pretty early, the kids watched a church video and played with blocks
nate had one meeting (he has been out of the bishopric for almost a year now so we see him more often on sundays) and then came home to be with us
it is fast sunday- so i did not make breakfast for the family, but the kids had cream of wheat and raspberries and then played with blocks some more
after nates meeting he read some books with the kids, gave them baths and we put jakie down for a nap
nathan and maesyn made some italian herb bread for dinner (hope it turns out- i've had little bread luck these days)-
maesyn had bread and butter and tuna for lunch-with left over raspberries
i read over the gosple docterine lesson for this week
sunday clothes are ironed
dishes are being unloaded and loaded
maesyn's hair is done and she is ready for church
i have enough time to get my make up and church clothes on
we will be on time for church!!!...
now i think we had a pretty great day with our family so far
after church we will make dinner and then go to the anerson family- Family Home Evening.
i think most sundays we will enjoy our whole mornings together as a FAMILY
in the evenings will will probably have just enough time to do little visits with our grandmas before bedtime (hopefully)
1:30 church is not so bad-
i really love my sundays at home with my family

sometimes on a sunday morning......

sometimes on a sunday morning (the day that nate does not have to leave for work at 6:30 am and the only day i will not run) nate and i can get together for a little morning snuggle. (sometimes it is a family snuggle- but if the kids are still asleep then it is just a nate and heidi snuggle). nevermind that our two small children are usually in bed with us taking up 80% of the space... this just make it more necessary for a good tight snuggle. for a moment i can pretend that we are just newly weds and the only people in the world (again- never mind the two cute small bodies in bed with us).. i can look at nathan really close in his handsome morning face and give him a little smooch (closed mouth- morning breath)..and then..the morning TRUMPET. (also known as a rootie toot toot from your bumble bum bum bum, but loud-thus called a TRUMPET). ahhhh, romance- that is what we are all about!

recipe- panang curry -per request

we are lucky to have a few asian supermarkets in our area- so it makes it easier to find a few of the odd ingredients . I currently have mae ploy brand panang curry paste and i follow the recipe on the back (sort of). some of the measurements are in grams- so i just guess. i like panang curry because it has a great flavor and is not too hot- but you can make it hot by adding more curry paste. I don't measure things exactly so just wing it - i guess. This fed 4 adults and 2 very small kids with left overs for a second meal. here it goes:

1 or 2 heaping tablespoons of curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
chicken breasts- 2 or 3 lbs max
meat tenderizer
olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
2 red bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
broccoli
zucchini
(you can use any veggies i guess- but this is what i like- and i use what ever bell peppers are on sale)
kaafir lime leaf
(these were way hard to find an i only found them dried at one asian super market- they even had a different name on the package- but when i compared them to pictures on the internet i confirmed that they were probably the same thing).
jasmine rice- steamed

chop the chicken into bite size pieces, sprinkle with meat tenderizer and saute in olive oil with chopped onions and bell peppers.
(amy read likes it with tofu- maybe i'll try it someday- tofu is cheap and i like cheap)
when chicken is cooked add coconut milk and curry paste as well as dried kaffir lime leaf- let simmer for a while.
(i like to really cook the crap out of the stuff i buy at the asian supermarket)
steam other veggies.
remove lime leaf
serve curry over rice and steamed veggies.
yum.

i love panang

so this is a kaffir lime leaf. they come in two sections and i found a whole section of one while making panang curry for my family. it looks like a heart. of course i had to take a photo, spend some precious time to put some lettering on it (i just realized I could do that in the photo editor that came with my camera- so expect to see more of it-i've seen it on other blogs and it is sort of cool ), and post it. how else would i be able to show off the fact that i feed my family a menu of ethnically diverse dishes?
(i really, really could not resit the heart leaf photo...too too too cute. now i just need to work on waiting to post until the kids are asleep.)
reality: i am cool
reality: i am poor/broke so.....
followed the new thai craze and went to several thai restaurants and love this dish.
realized that thai food places don't give you huge portions as do american restaurants.
realized i paid a lot for my small portion
know that i am cheap/poor
(if i were rich i'd also be cheap)
looked up the recipe on line
went to the local asian food market
almost died from the smell
bought panang curry paste, coconut milk and a gigantic bag of jasmine rice.
make panang curry at my house
have left overs
look cool on my blog

song

i got nate to sing for the blog. he is very good- even though he has not been playing for a while and forgot some of the words. My camera records in very low quality so i did not get the last part of the song nor maesyn's cute comments on how nate was "too loud."

Swimmer

Both Maesyn and Jake have spent a lot of time in the water this summer. Both took swimming lessons. Here is a picture of Maesyn in her goggles and a video of her jumping off the diving board and swimming.

Jakie has been learning to swim as well- he just wanted to hold onto his grandpa during this photo shoot- maybe later i'll get some good shots of him.

and here is one more of maes. she thinks it is so FUN.

once i learned how to make really good crust.....

my mom had some peaches at her house...she asked me if I wanted them and then proceeded to give me some other items she had picked up at the store... just the ones that I would need to make a fresh peach pie.

i took the hint and we invited my mom and dad over for dessert tonight.
on a serious note- more serious than the title of this post. when nate and i were dating his mom made the best strawberry pie... the crust was to die for. after we got married she taught me the recipe...it is not a family secret or anything... the best way to make crust is to be sure you use super cold water (ice it) and don't overwork your dough. my recipe is from the betty crocker cookbook and if you use it everybody will want to marry you.

Tomato Tomato

What a funny girl. Kids get hooked on certain things. I thought i'd never let mine eat hot dogs and Mac and Cheese... but some how they slipped through the cracks and that is what they LOVE. Thank goodness Maesyn also loves TOMATOES!!! This was her dinner.