Food Storage Update

We've been working on being prepared for anything. It is a lot of work. We now have our 72 hour kits, almost have the 72 hour food kits done (I'm still buying the rest), almost have a full years supply of wheat ( we need about 5 more buckets). My arms are sore from carrying the wheat buckets. We have a full 1 year supply of random things like salt, and powdered milk. In the next year I should be able to complete our supply and have a FULL years supply of food. We have a good solid 3 month supply, but I really want the full year.
I am excited to have finally kind of figured all this out. I have decided to stop thinking about it and worrying about tings going bad and to just DO IT!It is actually easier to just do then to think about. I am no expert and still have far to go, but I think I have a good start!
Any one know the best way to store rice and beans? Buckets? I am scared of storing beans. We really don't eat many beans, and I have never made dry beans- I've only used canned beans. Any ideas? Should I go to the Bishops store house to do the beans and rice? I just don't feel like the Costco plastic bags of rice would store very well.

Imagination

Have I mentioned that Olivia has a very active imagination? Well- she does. At first I was worried that she had skitzophrenia, but I'm realizing it is normal to have imaginary friends.
She tells people about her "daughters" often. She has a daughter that is a baby, and one that is 15! She is always telling them what to do and apologizing for her daughters bad behavior. It is pretty funny.
Her favorite friend is "Deanna". (Dee-Anna) is always around. She is 3- and her hair color is always changing. Today it is purple. The other day Deanna bumped her head and it was bleeding. Olivia was crying for her. She had Dad give her a blessing. Jesus healed her and she was fine.
The other day Olivia claimed that her kitty was outside and she needed to go save her. It was stormy outside. Dad let her out to get her cat. Liv came back in, but then said "I have to go back out! I didn't get her!" I was some what annoyed and didn't want Liv going back out, so I stupidly told Olivia "I think your cat died. You don't have to go get her" I don't know what I was thinking. Olivia bursts into tears and ran to her Dad. Brett says "What is the matter!?" Olivia still crying like a maniac says "MY CAT IS DEAD!" Then I told Brett I was the one who gave her the idea. Brett fixed it all and said "I don't think your kitty is dead- I think she just ran away with a friend, so mom thought she died." That made Olivia content.
Sometimes these imaginary friends cause too much trouble around here. I guess I can't really just get rid of them though. I wonder when she will stop talking to all her friends and taking care of imaginary babies. It is such a weird idea to me. I don't think I ever did that.

Mad Face

Claire gives us this face all the time. We usually just laugh! I think I know where she gets it. I'm pretty sure I make the same expression quite often...

The IPHONE and other updates

Brett got an IPHONE (that his work is paying for) the other week. We ALL love it! I never knew it would be so fun. We can check the weather, browse the internet, play games, browse and take pictures all at the touch of a finger! The girls LOVE to play with it. Claire likes to browse the pictures (since it is simple to do) and Liv likes to draw and play some games. I kinda like the wikkihow that tells you how to do random things.

Liv stole the phone out of Claires hands.

Britta (my sis-in-law) is in town this week. She is VERY good at baking and creating, so I asked her to help me learn to make a cake. I have to make one for RS next week, so I needed to learn. My last test run that I did by myself a few weeks ago looked AWFUL! So- Britta came and taught me all the tricks. The cake was pretty, and tasted even better ;) It is REALLY yummy chocolate cake!

Here is an update on my bangs. I just cut them straight across (not so different as I have done this a lot, but that's okay) I will hopefully be getting a haircut soon. Maybe I'll do something crazy then!

The girl is silly

Got Milk?

As I sit here-Olivia is chasing Claire around tickling her with a duster. They are both laughing. Sweet. Just this afternoon while I was doing laundry- in comes Claire with a frozen ball of cookie dough. then in pops Olivia with one too. Liv thought they should have a little treat! It is funny to me that she gave one to Claire too. Then- as I am folding the laundry I am hearing lots of laughter in Liv's bedroom. I go in to see what is going on- apparently Olivia had snuck her friend "Susan" in her bed under the covers (so Iwouldn't take her away) Susan is our MOP! She has spent many hours dancing with the mop telling her how beautiful her hair is. (it is a libman mop)
Olivia- you can be so mischievous, but SO funny!

Your Opinion

So- I've been wondering a few things lately. I'm very bad at making up my mind sometimes.
Here are my dilemmas:

1- What should I do with my bangs? They are much longer then I usually have them and I need to do something!

wear them like I have for the last I don' t know- 7 years?

maybe I could TRY sweeping them over more. Although- I just don't think it works with my hair and large fore-head. It looks like a comb-over.

I could try growing them out. This is hard for me. I feel like I look older in a bad way, and I have a big forehead. It feels weird, but I could try. There is also just cutting them in a new style too. Any suggestions!?

My next dilemma:
The color of my walls and the color of the hutch. I am thinking of maybe doing a blue/green gray color for the walls and either a green or white for the hutch. Or maybe something else. I don't really know. Here is a pretty blue and green room I like, but I'm not sure if it is the blue I am looking for.

Wedding Dress

Liv and I thought we should try on my wedding dress! It was fun! It still fits me, and Liv is convinced it fits her too! ;)

Girls Playing Together

note the jewelry- they BOTH love to wear necklaces and bracelets.
Olivia likes to wear things on her head and the other day said "Mom, I look like Jesus! No, actually I look like Mary. Yeah, Mary, she's pretty!"

A Daily Occurrence

A picure is worth a thousand words... or maybe I'll just write them in for you ;)

The Crazy Lady

_ So yesterday we went up to Park City to buy Liv winter clothes for next year. It was a good trip. Anyway- so we pack into the car when Olivia says "I gotta pee!" Claire is crying because she hates the car right now and does not want to go for a drive. So I thought we would stop by the grocery store to go pee and buy a sucker to keep the girls quiet and happy for our 1 hour ride.
We were walking out of the store- I was holding Claire in 1 arm and Olivia was walking beside me holding my hand. We were walking quickly to get back to the car and out of the cold. That's when it happened. All of a sudden I hear a lady honk- so I look back wondering WHO she is honking at (it couldn't be me, I was just walking, right!?) Then, as I'm looking back the lady rolls down her window and yells "YOU A** HOLE, YOU SAW ME BACKING UP!" I gave her a perplexed look and giggled thinking "This lady is CRAZY!" Then I got scared and ran to the car to get away from her.
_ Apparently we walked past her parking spot that she was going to park in. I didn't know she was backing up to go into the spot. And no- her car was not even close to us when we walked across the parking spot. She was in the middle of the road. I thought maybe she went a little past a spot and was backing up to pull forward into a spot. Seriously- I have never had someone SO mad at me for something as simple as walking across a parking spot.
_ At first I laughed and just could not believe my ears! Then as I thought about it I got a little mad that the lady was screaming curse words at a mother with 2 small children. I still can not believe it. Luckily Olivia and Claire weren't paying attention, and since I didn't acknowledge her at all they didn't even know what was going on.

Latest Craft

old above- new below

I've been wanting to do a stap cover for my camera strap, but I have never done it. Well- when I came across THIS .I decided I had to make it! So, instead of a cover, I made a whole new strap! I do like it, but would rather not compare to the original (hers is so much better and more professional looking) That is okay though- practice and more patience will some day result in better outcomes!! Please don't blow it up and see all the mistakes!!! haha. Anyway- it is pretty cute, and I love the ruffle! Most of all I LOOVE that it is made out of flannel so it is SO soft. My other one would rub on my neck and give me red marks. Annoying!!

Legs

The girls like to enjoy a ride with legs out. Silly.

Claire thinks she can hop out of the bath when she wants. Little does she know if she tries harder she WILL flop out like a fish on the floor. ;)

Pictionary

Liv drew a family portrait. Can you guess which one I am? That's right the BIG huge fat blob in the middle! haha- Liv thought she was hilarious!

It's not a tumor

Tumor from Sarisker on Vimeo.

We watched Kindergarten Cop recently and Olivia LOVED the tumor line. She says it frequently now when she wants to make us laugh!

Claire is walking!

Claire Walking from Sarisker on Vimeo.

Now what I really need is to put a video of the girls dancing when they watch this video ;)

ZUMBA!

Ever heard of the new work-out craze Zumba!? Well- I had heard of it since one of my friends, Cecelia, became an instructor. I was skeptical that I would like it. I had tried other dance work-outs and I could never keep up as they would always move to fast. They usually frustrated me.
Well- when Alisha (my sister-in-law) came to visit a few months ago she wanted us to all go to a Zumba class together. So we did, and it was fun. I couldn't quite keep up and was a little lost, but it was an awesome work-out! So I thought to myself "that was so nice to have ME time!" So, I decided that I would go once a week just to get out and be alone. (without the girls!)
Let me tell you- the more you do it, the easier it is, and the more addicting it becomes. I crave it now and can't wait to go! I would love to go more, but I don't think it will fit in our budget or time schedule. Zumba is fun because you get to dance and lose control, you can yell out "OW!" and no one looks at you funny. You can let loose and get a very sweaty fun work-out. Plus, I learn some new moves for our home dance parties! haha! If you like to dance, then try it. It is $4 a class around here. So- not too bad really.

Jealousy

My little miss Olivia is very jealous of her little sister. Lately she has even started to try and act like a baby. Today she had 3 potty accidents (she has not had accidents in many many months now). She claims that Claire doesn't use the potty. For awhile she was hitting, pinching, biting Claire for no real reason. She doesn't do it much any more though luckily. She is ALWAYS looking for a way to get her baby sis in trouble. If Claire does ANY thing that Liv could possibly be in trouble for, she tries to punish Claire. It is VERY frustrating.
What should we do?
Olivia has special time with us, and I try REALLY hard to tell her constantly how cute/funny/unique she is.
I've tried to let her express her feelings to me about Claire, but she doesn't seem to understand. She always tells me she loves Claire. I think she really does love her sister a lot, she is just jealous.
So- how do I help Liv cope with her jealousy? Go ahead, lecture me ;)
The girls really do like each other and laugh at each other often- there are just some underlying issues!

This Girl

Claire is almost walking. She can walk for about 10 steps before she falls. She is still tripping over her feet. She walks with her feet pointed outward. Is that normal or you think it is a problem?
I've decided my sweet Claire has a temper. When she gets mad she gets REALLY mad! She is starting to be a little more picky about what she eats. She will throw her food on the floor, spit it out, and flail her little arms so I can't get the food to her mouth! Usually if we wait and try again she will eat.
Anyway- She is happy and healthy. We love her!

Panty Hose

Olivia has really been into getting different clothes on and modeling them for me. This one was the latest! She put on MY panty hose and shoes. Not only does she put them on, but she walks around strutting her stuff and will even dance (see pic below) She is so funny.