Ashlyn Leary, 3 Years Old

aka Ash, Ashie, Ashes

March 21, 2005

Height: 34 1/4 inches

Weight: 27 pounds, 8 ounces

Favorite Book: "Stain bears" (any Berenstain bears book)

Favorite Color: pink

Favorite Song: "Jesus Loves Me" (one she made up)

Favorite Movie: Baby Einstein

Favorite TV Show: cartoons

Favorite Food: macaroni and cheese, yogurt, chocolate cake

Favorite Game: memory

Favorite Toys: baby dolls and books

Favorite Places: "our little park"

Close Friends: Nathan, her brother

Hobbies: likes to look through books, play with her siblings, take care of her baby dolls, ride bike, bubble baths

What I want to be when I grow up: "Like Bert" (we read a potty book where Bert was big and went potty by himself and remembered to wash his hands; so now she tells me she wants "to be like Bert, tomorrow")

Personality: Has become very independent. Her favorite word is NO and can be very persistent about asking for something. She's the baby and she knows it and works it to her advantage. She knows she can get any or her siblings to do anything for her. She loves to read books and gives wonderful hugs. Has no desire to be potty trained.

Neuroblastoma Update: She had her last MRI several weeks ago which came back good with no sign of anything unusual. She was so brave when they did the IV and didn't even cry. I don't know whether to attribute it to her being older or to the child-life specialist who came in with a play doll and all the paraphernalia to do an IV and actually had Ash help her put an IV in the doll's arm. She was great! Our next appointment with Dr. Affify, her oncologist, is in a year.

Café Rio Salad Dressing

My neighbor shared this recipe with me this week. The first time I tried Café Rio I was not a fan. But since discovering their salad, I'm hooked. This is just about as good as the real thing.

Café Rio Salad Dressing

1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix

7 oz. salsa verde (Mexican food isle, Herdez brand)

2 med. garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c. mayo

3/4 c. sour cream

jalapeno pepper (I added about 1/4 of the pepper; add depending on how hot you want it)

1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

lime juice

Mix all ingredients in blender; add lime juice to taste. Chill ahead. Can be thinned with buttermilk if desired.
Salad Assembly

tortilla

lime rice (just add a little lime juice to your rice)

black beans (I use refried since I don't like black)

meat (I use shredded chicken; separate recipe below)

romaine lettuce

monterey jack cheese

guacamole/sour cream

crispy chip strips

parmesan cheese

Café Rio Chicken
4 chicken breasts

small bottle Italian dressing (or use half of a large)

2 t. cumin

2 t. chili powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook for about 4 hours in a crock pot. Shred chicken with a fork.

A random look into one of my days

just in case you were wondering why I haven't posted anything in over a week.

6:45 am

• crawled out of bed; didn't get to bed until after 11 pm last night, so that 6 am alarm came early, BUT I showered last night, so no need to this morning.

Before 10 am (in no particular order)

• family scripture study and prayer
• pancakes for breakfast
• got Kiersten off to school before 8 am for choir
• gave Ash a bath and did her hair
  
• got myself ready
• cleaned up the kitchen
• painted my toenails and Ashie's fingernails (I told her they looked pretty; she said, "No. They're fancy.")
• ironed half the clothes waiting to be ironed (didn't get to it last week, so I have a much bigger pile this week)
• made sure Kiersten and Erik had lunches
• checked my email
• started this post

10 am to 2 pm

• picked up Nate from school
• read my scriptures; I'm only a few days behind on my new Pres. Hinckley challenge
  
• looked for homes in our neighborhood on www.utahrealestate.com
• lunch of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, apples, raisins, oreo cookies, milk
  
• picked Kiersten and Erik up from school and headed to the dentist (they both had zero cavities and no braces for awhile; their mom, however, needs a crown on the molar I chipped eating one of Jake's caramel brownies)

2 pm to 6 pm

• our pediatrician moved into the same building as our dentist, so I killed two birds with one stone today; while Kiersten and Erik were getting their teeth cleaned I took Ash up one floor for her 3-year-old well-child check up; so convenient and she didn't even have to get immunizations
  
• put Erik in charge of dinner (he chose quesadillas, or fun cheese sandwiches as we call them)
• Kiersten and I went to Literacy Night at the elementary school; it was a read-a-thon with pizza and sprite for 3rd to 6th graders; I thought there was more babysitting going on than reading and won't be surprised if they don't do it next year
  

6 pm to bedtime

• home teachers at 7 pm; had to leave Literacy Night early, but this got me out of sitting on the hard gym floor
  
• book club at 7:30 pm; we discussed The Five Love Languages--another post for another day; next month's book is Mrs. Mike, one of my favorites; I would love to read it again, but I'm debating whether or not to with our next book club meeting being so close to our Ireland trip
• finished this post
  

Things I Didn't Get Done, But Would Have Liked To

• finishin (that's an Ashie word, along with blanklet, blanklie, coldin) the ironing
• find a substitute for our Valiant 9A class
• work on getting my new recipes online
• clean blinds
• put up my new coat rack in the laundry room
  

Wow! Was that enough for one day. As a side note, this was a somewhat atypical day. I stay busy but not usually running from one activity to another.

Tomorrow's post:

6:00 am: asleep

6:30 am: asleep

6:59 am: get up, still in jammies:

8:20 am: kids off the school, still in jammies

9:00 am: read a book by the fire (it's supposed to be cold and possibly rainy)

10:47 am: still reading

11:33 am: get Nate from school, possibly still in jammies

12:00 pm: lunch, watch noon news, since that's what we do every day

1:09 pm: heck, I may just stay in my jammies all day and read, read, read. I might venture out to the grocery store to buy some ingredients to try a new recipe called "Cafe Rio Salad Dressing", but the point is I don't want to do anything or go anywhere after today.

Out with the old and in with the new

OLD

 

NEW

Tyler surprised me for my birthday with a LightWedge. Yes, I thought the same thing. "What the heck is a LightWedge?" Well, basically a book light that will replace my flashlight I use at night when I want to read in bed. It's supposed to only shine on the page and not disturb those around you. I tried it in bed last night and it works very well. So now I'm very excited to try it on the plane and in the van.

_____________________________________________________________________

OLD

 
NEW

Character Flaws

Showcase homes, luxury cars, trophy wives, immaculate yards, flawless features, perfect families.

Why is it that I feel more comfortable around people who aren't superficially perfect and don't pretend to be so. Probably because I know I'm nowhere near, although at one time I wanted to appear so. It was exhausting. I guess all the above mentioned items are meant to hide from the world (i.e, your neighbors and family) the insecurities on the inside. But when someone is honest about their their true character, when they have bared their vulnerabilities to me and don't try to hide behind some facade, I can connect.

With that now said, I can connect to our van. Our van now has depth of character.

I was attempting to angle out of the garage and miss hitting our plumber's truck parked behind me, while watching in the side mirror to ensure I didn't hit any bikes. I didn't take into account the fridge on the other side and I'm afraid the fridge won. Not even hardly a scratch. All Tyler wanted to know is where the orange twine was.

(our old green van)

I'm sure, as with all flaws, it will get fixed one day. But for now (even though it makes 

me wince every time I look at it), I can give a sigh of relief that I didn't hit the plumber's truck and that the first ding (can I say ding; it really is more than a ding) is over. Sigh, wince. Sigh, wince. Sigh.

P.S. Does anyone know of a reliable autobody shop?

SMCU

Super Money Credit Union
Small kids = Little money = Large future dividends

Our Members

Mission
To teach our members how money works, where it gets spent, how to save, how to be charitable, how to budget, how to track their money via a check register.

Rules
1. The CEO (Dad) and CFO (Mom) will not pay for store-bought, after-school snacks anymore (fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.).

2. The CEO and CFO will pay for 4 school lunches; the other must be a home lunch. However, the member may take home lunch every day, thereby saving some money.

3. Chores will be assigned each Monday. The member has the week to complete the chores. If they are not completed by Saturday at 8 pm, a fine of $1 will be assessed and the member must still complete the chores.

4. Payment for practicing the piano will be $.50 for every 3 days of practice or 1 candy bar from candy bar basket.

5. Every Monday is payday. The option of direct deposit is available.

Services
1. The CFO will serve as the banker. Withdrawals and deposits can be made at any time.

2. Limited African foreign currency exchange is available.

History
Tyler and I wanted to experiment with a family credit union (bank is an indecent word at our house) to help our kids understand money. Erik Leary created the name and Super Money Credit Union was founded on Monday, February 25, 2008, in Stansbury Park, Utah, with four members and $27.53 in equity.

The paralysis of hard decisions

Decision #1: Counter tops. We've decided to replace the counter tops in our kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. Will we choose the wrong color? Should we replace the bathroom counter with a prefabricated granite counter instead of the quartz we are going to do in the kitchen? Do we pay to have the old counter tops removed?

Decision #2: Ireland trip. Do we extend our vacation and visit England? Are we brave enough to rent a car and travel the UK on our own? Will we return back to the States okay?

Why is it that hard decisions are hard to make? I think the fear of the unknown inflicts a temporary paralysis where you just have to leave those decisions on the table to revisit at a later time. And sometimes you simply must take that leap of faith and tread into the unknown. We've done so much vacillating between counter top colors that my eyes are a jumbled mess. And as far as being courageous enough to travel to another country BY OURSELVES, we try to teach our children to be brave, so I guess we'd better set the example.

But if those really are the hardest decisions one has to make in life, I'd count myself fortunate.