A Police State

Zany girl as a flower

Despite how it may seem things aren't all coming up daisies around here. We are actually living in a police state. All the boys had been told no kindles until their rooms were clean enough was enough, the loafers. Archy came to me while I was loading the dishwasher and ratted out Declan and McCoy. I quietly crept to their room and threw open the door catching them in the act of being on their devices. They were grounded for a week from their devices as punishment. 

A half hour passes and Declan comes to me a rats out Quinton who is on his device instead of cleaning his room. His kindle joins he's brothers in the hoosegow as we call kindle lock up.  It's just really fun to say the word hooskow so that is my prefered term.  Let's just say there wasn't a lot of brotherly love around these parts today.  I may have offered rewards to anyone tipping me off to those parties who break the device rules resulting in my catching them at said naughtiness.

They look so sweet who knew that three of them would one day lose their devices for a week! 

The Napless Baby Thief

 McCoy has been collecting these little WWE wrestlers for three years now and he has amassed quite a few of them considering he is the only one who has been buying/receiving these. Although the toys are communal after opening them and anyone can play with them the ties remain if only in a vague sense.  He set them up and wanted me to take a picture of it.

McCoy carefully stacks the wrestlers using prop tables.

It held and didn't fall over.

Wee Archy didn't have a nap today and so he hit full slytherin mode and stole Zany's baby doll from her and she was chasing him around the house trying to get it back. 

Ha-ha I got the baby!

This really upset Zany and she cries loudly!

This photo shows her true feelings.

Suddenly it is a three way fight for the doll and Archy viciously pulls McCoys ear which makes McCoy cry. If your keeping track that's two people Archy made cry in as many minutes. I ask Archy why did you pull Coy's ear?

 He shrugs. 

I have to sort them out and have them make up.

Zany gets her doll back and is very relieved and cuddles it.

She is murmuring soothing words to her baby that I couldn't quite make out. 

After she has settled her baby down, she decides to share with Archy and gives the baby to him. Archy is not longer interested in the baby. He lays on the couch and soon falls asleep. Peace is restored!

Thank goodness it is Friday, I am so looking forward to the weekend. I am hosting bookclub this coming thursday so I have to get my ducks in a row and finish up several projects and do some real cleaning. Here's hoping I can sleep in just a bit though!

Family Recipe: Eddy's Red Rice

Eddy started making this Spanish Rice when we were first married. Over the years he has refined his recipe and it is now a family classic that accompanies most Mexican meals. 

Eddy's Red Rice 

3 cups basmati rice

3.T canola oil

Saute until rice is golden brown stirring often.

Add 1 cup chicken broth and 56 oz of a 64 oz bottle of Tomato Juice (Campbell's or V8) reserve rest of juice for later use. Bring to boil. Then simmer for 30-40 minutes on low, lid slightly off stirring occasionally. When rice is tender add remaining tomato juice and the juice of a lime stir well adding salt to taste. 

He prefers to cook it in a cast iron dutch oven and it is the only time we really use it;  I usually use my enamel cast iron dutch oven for most things.

Declan has always loved Red Rice since he was little and 

would often have several helpings if not, then a big bowl of it. 

Tasty stuff!

Have you noticed how big Zaynzley's hand is getting?

Just kidding. She is on Quinton's shoulders and he is feeding her a chip.

In other family news, a slytherin has struck again.  Archer was mad at me for not letting him play a video game so he took one of Zany's bows and threw it in the trash. Then he brought me over to the trash to show me. Well it was sitting right on top of a pile of Red Rice (which stains). I was less than pleased! 

Red Rice is really good just not on bows.

It's a Harry Potter World!

Gryffindor: bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry.
Ravenclaw: intelligence, knowledge, and wit.
Slytherin: passive aggressive, ambition, cunning and resourcefulness.
Hufflepuff: sweet natured, patience, loyalty, and fair play.

When I was at University (Arizona State), I was a English Major and was taking a Young Adult Literature class. The teacher suggested I read a british author who wrote a really good book and the sequel had just come out. It was Harry Potter.  So I got on the Harry Potter bandwagon fairly early.  I really enjoyed the series and one of the truths I have taken from it is the sorting of people into four categories or houses.   Here is how my family is sorted:
Gryffindor: Eddy, Declan
Ravenclaw: No one yet although people always try to put themselves in this house
Slytherin: Quinton Germaine (Papa), Me (Rhiannon), Ashlee, Quinton Carlton, Archer Carlton
Hufflepuff: Carol Germaine (Nona). McCoy
Zaynzley as yet unknown you have to wait until three years old to be sorted.

Today being Saturday everyone is home which is really nice until it isn't.  Today we had two Slytherins battling.  Quinton was trying to make Archer help clean their room and so took the ipad away from him. This made Archy really mad and so he went got a stepstool and took Quintons new game out of the Playstation 3 and threw it in the kitchen trash.  Quinton saw the stepstool by the playstation and was suspicious and saw his game was missing.  He complained about it so Eddy asked Archer where it was. Archer looked at the trash but wouldn't fess up to it.  While Eddy was looking elsewhere Quinton found the game in the trash and took it out, but then thought wait Archy won't get in trouble so put it in a different trash hoping a parent would find it.  His plan backfired when Eddy said It couldn't have been in that trash I already checked it.  So that was just one part of the drama we enjoyed today.  At one point four out of five children were crying at the same time. 
A few photo highlights of the day.

Guess who we found hiding first thing this morning?

Zaynzley got the Costco Croutons out of the cupboard
and didn't want to get caught.

Zaynzley saw the camera aimed at McCoy
and had to jump in for a photo bomb

Eddy grinding wheat forgot to put the bowl in
to catch the flour, flour goes everywhere!

McCoy decided to make a toga for himself, it wasn't long before Declan followed suit. Why are they dressed this way you may ask? I did. Answer "we are dressed like the gods because they don't have to clean their room. Good try boys!

Archy looking in trash for game

Tampered Evidence

"I found the game in the trash and saved it, but I knew Archy
wouldn't get in trouble unless you actually found the game in
trash."  it just so happened that Quinty tampered the evidence
after Eddy had already searched the bin in question.   BUSTED!!

Sweetly Napping (thank goodness)

Homemade pizza for dinner

I made this at Relief Society super saturday craft day you can
put a photo of bday person on last block