Sometimes Being a Big Brother is Better Than Being a Superhero

Easy Ways to Clean Tough Areas

So, as many of you know...I'm a clean freak. Notice I didn't say I was a "neat freak." There IS a difference. If you come over to my house, 9 times out of 10, the floor will be covered in a layer of toys. That means it's not neat, but it IS clean. I'm all about making sure my house is CLEAN...especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. If my kitchen and bathrooms are clean, I can handle just about any other mess. But, there have a been a few areas in both these rooms that have really been bugging me lately...areas that I felt I couldn't get clean enough. And, I couldn't find a good way to do it. So here are the solutions that I've found that work...

Garbage Disposal

I have tried everything to clean my garbage disposal! I have bought all the special little balls, bags, fizzers & cleaners that are supposed to sanitize and deodorize it, but nothing seemed to work for me. Then, I found this EASY solution. At first, I didn't think it would work. It seemed too simple to work. I almost dismissed it, until Mike decided that HE was going to try it...and it ACTUALLY WORKED. I now do this once a week to keep my garbage disposal clean. Here it is if you are interested...

Pour one half cup of baking soda down the kitchen drain. Carefully pour one cup of white vinegar down the drain on top of the baking soda. Place the drain stopper in the sink to close off the drain. If you have a double sink, you should do this for both of them. The mixture will fizz and make a bit of noise or fizzing sounds. Allow this to work its magic for a few minutes while you boil some hot water. Use a full teakettle or medium size pot of water. Once this has boiled, pour it down the drain.

Voila! You have a clean, deodorized garbage disposal.

Then, in between my weekly cleanings, I do this little trick once or twice to keep the garbage disposal smelling fresh...

Grind some ice cubes in the garbage disposal to clean the cutting blades. Simply place several cubes in the drain and grind. If you want to add a little bit of scent, you can add rinds from any of the citrus fruits in the drain with the ice cubes. My favorite is lemon rind. There's just something about lemons that smells clean!

So, if you've ever found you have a problem with a dirty, smelly garbage disposal, you may want to try these solutions. They worked for me!

Ring Around the Toilet Bowl

I clean my bathrooms once a week religiously...even if a bathroom hasn't been used much & still looks clean, it gets the full treatment at my house...especially the toilets! I scrub those things like mad every week. But, despite that, we have developed slight rings around the bowl of each of our toilets over the past 5 1/2 years...a result of our LOVELY "west side" water that is chalked full of minerals, lime & other crap. Well, I have scrubbed at those things with everything I could think of...toilet bowl cleaner, bleach, etc. Nothing would touch them! Well, just recently I read that PUMICE STONES would take rings off of toilet bowls without scratching the porcelain. What??? Are you kidding me? That can NOT be true! I figured I might as well try it out. A pumice stone costs what...like $2. What have I got to lose? I actually found a pumice stone with a handle on it. I was super excited because that way, I didn't have to get my hands all the way in the bowl (that thought makes me want to throw up a little in my mouth.) Then, with my pumice stone on a handle, I set out to scrub some toilets.

The instructions said that you should clean the toilet first, then dump a bucket of water into the bowl in order to lower the water (as if you are getting ready to clean it again.) Then, dip your pumice stone in the bowl water and start scrubbing at the ring. Well, the thought of dipping a pumice stone into toilet bowl water also made me want to throw up, so I got another bucket of clean water to dip the stone into (something about this made me feel better. Yes, I know I'm bizarre!) and then I started scrubbing. I was AMAZED at how easily the ring came off. It only took me about two minutes for each toilet & they looked good as new when I was done! I was so impressed at how well it worked!

So, there you go. Maybe all of you already knew of these nifty little tricks...but I didn't. I love them! They are so easy & work so well, so I thought I would share my fabulous finds with all of you! Happy cleaning! --Lindsay

Adding Another Show to My Schedule

My schedule just got another show added to it. I will now be doing the KJZZ 9:00 pm show every Tuesday evening. For those of you who don't live in Utah, KJZZ is an independent station in Salt Lake that pays my station to produce newscasts for them. Sterling Poulson, our Chief Meteorologist, is also the conductor of the Utah Choral Arts Society. They hold their rehearsals on Tuesday evenings. Up until this point, Sterling has been leaving rehearsal early every week to make it back in time to do the 9:00 show. Well, about a week ago, he went to our news director and pitched the idea of having me come in to do the 9:00 show for him on Tuesdays so that he can stay for the entire rehearsal. My news director agreed to the idea & then pitched it to me.

It's a really short shift (8:00-10:00 pm) & I figured my kids would be asleep for about 95% of the time I would be gone, so I accepted the offer. I'm actually kind of excited about it. I know Tuesday evenings will be a bit chaotic from time to time because of it, but it will give me another chance to get dolled up during the week, and get some more "adult conversation time"...all while my kiddos sleep (and while my husband likely works on one of his hundreds of projects that he always has going on.)

So, if you ever can't find anything to watch on TV during the 9:00 hour on a Tuesday night, you know where to go! --Lindsay

Soccer Season...Again

Here we go again...another soccer season. The most wonderful time of the year...if you ask Mike. One of the most stressful times of the year...if you ask me. My life is not my own during soccer season. It seems like we're always running from practices to games and then back again. Plus, Mike is ALWAYS the coach...which means I'm always the coach's wife (not a fun job.) Basically, I'm the one in charge of making sure everyone has correct schedules & jerseys, and I'm the one that fields all the "I have a question for the coach" & "Has the game been cancelled tonight because of the rain?" phone calls. Plus, during the games, I'm in charge of watching my other little non-soccer playing monsters while they "try to entertain themselves on the side of the field" (a.k.a. "run around like crazy lunatics.") Despite all of that though, I don't really mind it all that much. I would much rather have a totally crazy & chaotic life than a boring & dull one!

But, after this year, I may be reversing that last statement. See, this year, it's going to be TWICE as crazy & chaotic because I have TWO boys playing! Yep, that's right, Aiden is FINALLY old enough to play & he is ecstatic about it! He loves to play soccer, so the past few years have been torture for him as he sat on the sidelines & just watched. I'm glad he can finally play, but the next few months are going to be pretty crazy around this house with two of them playing. We have something soccer related (either practice or games) every night Tuesday through Friday for the next eight weeks. YIKES!!! Practice actually started several weeks ago, but our first games were held last week, so here's your recap...

Connor's game was held on Thursday night. Connor is in the U8 league this year and Mike is his coach...of course. This is the level where they introduce a goalie to the game. Connor played goalie for the first quarter. Here he is wearing the red jersey, which was obviously made for someone much bigger than him...


As he played, we realized that over the past several years, Mike has drilled it into Connor's head that you can NOT use your hands in the game of soccer...and that maybe he drilled it in a little TOO well. Connor kept trying to stop the ball with his feet at first. It was pretty funny...at one point, he had his foot kicked up in the air as high as his waist trying to stop an incoming kick. Haha! After Mike told him several times that he COULD use his hands as a goalie, he finally caught onto it & he wasn't too bad. Here's one of his good saves...

I zoomed it in so you can see the classic Connor "game face" (a.k.a. "his-mouth-open-so-wide-you-would-think-his-jaw-is-broken face.") If you've seen him play or work on his homework, you know what I'm talking about. I just consider it his version of "The Michael Jordan"...

While the game was going on, Aiden & Cohen sat and just took it all in. Aiden kept asking me the entire game when it was going to be time for his game. I told him his game was on Friday. After that, he kept asking me, "Is it Friday yet?" for the remainder of the game. Silly kiddo...

Connor sat out during the 2nd quarter, then went back in for the 3rd & part of the 4th...this time without the red jersey. He did great...

Good job Connor! You rock dude!

Friday FINALLY rolled around & it was time for Aiden's game. Here he is with his team & coaches, Nate Armstrong & Cameron Skinner (thankfully, they didn't ask Mike to coach both boys' teams...I was worried that's what they would do) doing a cheer at the start of the game. He's number 10 if you still don't recognize him with short hair yet...

Aiden did great, but I was really surprised that he wasn't more aggressive. When he plays with Mike, he is crazy aggressive...but not so much when in a real game. He still did good though. I love when the little kids play because they just run around in a big pack following the ball. Here's Aiden in one of the above mentioned packs...

During the 4th quarter, he came out of the game to get a drink. He didn't realize that when you come out of a soccer game for any reason, your coach sends in a replacement. As you can see from the following picture, he wasn't too happy about it...

But, a few minutes later, the game ended & he got a ding dong and a capri sun. Apparently, that made everything all better...

He had such a blast & is so excited for the rest of the season! Great job Aiden! You are awesome!

So, one week of games down...seven more to go. If you can't get a hold of me anytime between now and the middle of October, you might want to check the soccer field! Chances are that's where I'll be! --Lindsay

First Day of School

Today was the first day of the 2009-2010 school year for Connor and Aiden! I have such handsome boys! When did they get so big???

Connor stated 1st grade this year! His teacher is Mrs. Lamb. I have only heard WONDERFUL things about her from other parents & Connor loves her already! She is really tall (over 6 feet, I think) and super cute! Here's Connor (and Aiden) getting ready to head into the classroom...

Connor's classroom is so stinkin' cute! Mrs. Lamb has decorated it in a luau theme! She even has cute little wicker tables & chairs with brightly colored umbrellas all over the room. It was super cute! Yesterday, the school held a little "back to school" thing where you could go meet your teacher & find your classroom. While we were there, Mrs. Lamb let the kids pick their desks. So, Connor and a bunch of his friends (Colt, Gabe, Joe & Matthew) chose to sit by each other...heaven help Mrs. Lamb! :) Just kidding, they are all awesome kiddos! Here's Connor sitting at his desk by his friend Colt, waiting for the other kids to get there...

Connor said his first day of 1st grade was AWESOME! He had tons of fun & he LOVED eating lunch at school. I asked him this morning whether he wanted to eat school lunch or take a lunch from home. He thought about it for a second, but once he found out that one of the lunch choices today was corn dogs, he quickly decided on school lunch. And, apparently, it was pretty good! He said it was "the BEST corn dog I ever ate!" Oh yeah, and his chocolate milk was "the BEST chocolate milk I ever drank!" So, props to my friend, Danelle, and the other lunch ladies! You guys rock! School lunch has come a long way from when I was a kid & they shoved fish sticks down our throats at least once a week! YUCK!!!

I must admit that I have been torn today whether I like this all-day school thing or not. I DEFINITELY got a lot done during those six hours, but it was kind of sad at lunch time to look over at his empty chair & not see his cute little smiling face! Sigh...

Okay, onto Aiden's first day now. Today was Aiden's first day of preschool at Learning Dynamics!

His teacher this year is Mrs. Rodabaugh, who was also Connor's teacher when he was Aiden's age! She is one of the best teachers on this planet! I love this woman! She taught Connor so much, including how to sit still & listen for more than 4 seconds...I'm hoping she can do the same with "the Aidenator!" Some of the kids in Aiden's class were having a little separation anxiety as their mom's tried to leave...but not Aiden. He walked in and automatically started doing a puzzle & playing with toys. I tried to tell him "goodbye" and "I love you," but he was WAY too busy playing to even say it back to me (which is rare for Aiden...he is always my kid who says "I love you" like 16 times before he walks out of the house to go somewhere.)

He had a great first day & Mrs. Rodabaugh said he was "an angel child!" Whoa! Way to go Aiden! I tried to figure out what they did & what they learned about, but all Aiden would tell me is that he learned that "Mice-es (his attempt to pluralize the word 'mice') can go to preschool because they are quiet and listen to the preschool rules." Okay, sounds good to me!

While both Connor & Aiden were at school, I got to hang out with my little Coconut! We went to the grocery store & ran some other errands, then came home for naptime. I got so much done! Life is soooooooooooo easy with only one kid!

I'm so glad both the boys had a good first day of school! I can't believe they are old enough to be going to 1st grade and preschool! They should both still just be little tykes! Where has the time gone? --Lindsay

The Last Weekend of Summer

Well, the kiddos start school this upcoming Thursday, so this past weekend was our last of this summer. We made the most of it though. Here's what we did...

Timpanogos Hike

On Friday, Mike, Dan & my dad decided to hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos (almost 12,000 feet). It took them about 7 hours round trip, but they did it. That's about all I know about it, since I wasn't there. So, here are the pictures...

One of the many waterfalls on the way up...

Dan & Mike at the top...


My dad & Dan at the top...


My dad at the shack that is at the peak. Got to love Mormon graffiti...

Dan walking on the glacier...

Mike sliding down the glacier...

While the boys were on their hike, my sister Kristin and I (along with my 3 boys) were able to hang out. We just went shopping at a few places & then got lunch at MacDonalds. Sorry...no pics here since I was trying to wrestle my crazy little men all day!

Sleepover with Nana & Poppy

The next day, Connor & Aiden had a special day with Nana & Poppy and then got to have a sleepover at their house. They got to eat both lunch and dinner at MacDonalds & then went to see "G-Force."

The boys loved it, but said it was a little freaky at the end. In Connor's words, "Even Nana and Poppy got a little scared...that's how scary it was!" That night, they slept over & then went to my parents' church the next day. The boys love to go to Nana & Poppy's ward because (again in Connor's words), "It's awesome because they sing the 'Hello' song to US instead of us singing it to other people!" Silly kiddo!

Top of the Tram at Snowbird

Also on Saturday, while the boys were hanging with Nana & Poppy, I set a world record! You think I'm kidding, don't you? No, I'm serious, at least we're pretty sure I did...I set the world record for weather segment done at the highest elevation! Stupid world record, I know...but I did it! Here's a little background...my station has started to do weather live in various locations around the state just to showcase the fact that we live in paradise! Utah has so many beautiful & fun places, so each Saturday, I get to pick a new spot & do weather there live. I can also take my family along with me every once in awhile if I want too! (I think that's my GM's way of helping me see my family a little more with this new schedule.) They didn't come with me this week though, since half of them were hanging out with Nana & Poppy. Well, this week, we arranged with Snowbird Ski Resort for them to take me & my photographer to the top of Hidden Peak (11,000 feet) in their tram. My station has a wireless transmitter (it's basically a portable live truck), so we were able to do weather from 11,000 feet which is (most likely) a world record! Yes, the Guinness people have been contacted. Here's a picture that the PR guy at Snowbird took of me...

Notice that I have a coat on. It was only 36 degrees up there! I think it's the first time I've worn a coat and gloves in the middle of August before! Earlier that day, they had received 3 1/2 inches of snow!!! Most of it had melted by the time we got up there though. Here's a picture of what was left. Isn't it beautiful?

It was so much fun...so cold...but so fun!

Picnic on Gallivan Plaza

As many of you know, Sunday is a big night in my family! Everyone who can come, gets together to have dinner each Sunday night. Well, with my new shift at work, I can't go very much anymore. It's been kind of a bummer for me. So, on Sunday, my parents and Mike & the boys brought a picnic up to my work to eat dinner with me! Aren't they the greatest?!? We took the picnic out on Gallivan Plaza (a huge park right by my station) and stuffed ourselves silly! We forgot to take pictures, so I just found some random internet image of Gallivan Plaza, just to have a picture...

After dinner, we let the boys ride on Trax over to The Gateway because it's free from Gallivan Plaza over to that point. We got out & walked around a little bit, then rode it back. It was so much fun! Thanks family for bringing dinner to me since I couldn't be there! You guys are the best!

Haircuts All Around

We finished our long weekend with new haircuts for the boys. I know what you're saying, "Why is THAT such a big deal?!?" Well, first of all, it was Cohen's first haircut! Here's his before shot...

Here's the during picture...

And here's the after...

Doesn't he look cute? The gal just evened it out & trimmed the top a little bit. When Cohen was a newborn, he rubbed off all the hair on the back of his head, but the top kept growing like crazy...so basically he had a reverse mullet (business in the BACK, party in the FRONT). Now he's even all over!

Okay, the second reason this haircut is a big deal is because Aiden got a SERIOUS makeover! For the past few weeks, he's been BEGGING me to cut his hair short. He says that his shaggy hair is too hot & he hates to have it combed. In fact, he cries most days when I try to untangle it. So, I finally agreed to cut it short. He said he wanted his hair to look like Connor's. So, here's his before...

Here's the middle...

And, here's the final result (I'm crying a little as I type this)...

To be honest, I hate it!!! Sorry, but I just loved his crazy long curls! But, he loves it this way & that's all that matters, I guess! I just wish the girl had kept it a little longer. So, maybe in two or three weeks, when it grows out a little bit, I will like it a little bit better. We'll see...but he's still super cute regardless!

Connor just went with his usual. I didn't even take a before picture of him because I was so busy explaining what I wanted with the other boys' hair (sorry Connor). You look totally hot, as always, dude...

So, that was our weekend! It was a fun one...now it's on to another school year! Sigh... I'm NOT looking forward to it! --Lindsay

Total Drama Island

Okay, so I have a confession to make...our family loves, loves, loves to watch "Total Drama Island" (and now it's sequel "Total Drama Action.") If you're not familiar with it, it's a show on Cartoon Network. It's basically a spoof on "Survivor" and other reality shows. It's a bunch of cartoon characters that get dropped off on an island and have to do all sorts of challenges & stunts, etc. and then one gets voted off at the end of each episode. It is a hilarious show! If you ever find yourself watching the real reality shows, you will laugh your rear end off watching this show!

Anyway, so the other night, we were watching the show when Connor said the funniest thing! Here's a little background from the show, if you're not familiar with it. This is Heather...


Heather is not a very nice character on the show. She's always being mean to someone or causing some sort of drama. Well, the other night, she did something rude to another character and this was the conversation that followed...

Connor: Heather is NOT a very nice person!

Me: That's right. She's pretty rude, isn't she?

Connor: Yep...in fact, she might be the meanest person in the world! Meaner than Aiden and me COMBINED!

Haha! I busted up laughing! I love that kid!!!

On a side note, but still related to "Total Drama Island," this is another character on the show...


As you can see, her name is Lindsay...even spelled the same way that I spell mine. Connor and Aiden always like to say, "Look...there's YOU mom" whenever she comes on. Yes, I guess there are quite a few similarities between us...the name, the blonde hair, the blue eyes, etc. Now, if only I had her boobs... --Lindsay

My Three Sons

My friend Amy took these awesome pics of my handsome men the other day. She is a fabulous photographer. You can click here to go to her photography blog & see some of her other great work. Here are some of my favorites from the photo shoot...

CONNOR

AIDEN

COHEN

MY THREE SONS

Great face Aiden...great face! But, doesn't this pic just capture all their personalities in a nutshell??? I think they turned out great! I love how she made some of them look like pictures that you just pulled out of a photo album from 1920. Thanks Amy! You are the best! {Hugs} --Lindsay

Roughin' It...7 Minutes From Home

Well, we went to our ward campout this past weekend...and, yes, that even included Cohen & me. I'm not much of a camping girl (okay, so I'm not a camping girl AT ALL), as most of you know...unless that camping involves a hot shower, comfy bed, internet access & AC. Basically, I need an $80,000 motorhome...is that too much to ask??? Well, apparently it is because Mike just laughed at me when I asked for one. I don't think he realized I was actually being SERIOUS! :) So, off to the ward campout we went with a tent & some sleeping bags. BOO!!!

Our ward campout this year was held at Willow Park again. It's a campground that is only about 7 minutes from our home. Quite a few people just came to eat dinner & s'mores and then went home to their cozy beds. But not us! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...we are a family of men...and therefore, we do manly things...like breathing in ashes from the campfire, sleeping on the rock hard ground, & peeing on trees. Uhhh...is this really my life?

The campground had pretty nice bathrooms though...got to give it some props for that. They were relatively clean (considering they were camping bathrooms) & had automatic flushing toilets. But apparently, there's not much of a dress code for the above mentioned bathrooms. I found out about this as I walked in the door to find a woman using her camp shower. This woman was EXTREMELY NAKED! What the??? No swimming suit, no underwear, nothing. Okay...

The boys had a blast though, and I guess that's all that really matters. Here's some pictures from the night...

Aiden & his friends, Aaron & Hunter, playing with sticks...because apparently playing with sticks is fun when you are a boy...

Connor & his friend Josh...

Cohen just soaking the whole experience in...

A bunch of kiddos listening to our friend, Brian Bangerter, make up songs about them...


A nasty looking bug that the kids found. This thing was HUGE! Ugg...I hate camping...

We finally all went to sleep around 11:30 pm. All of us slept through the night (thank goodness!) and then enjoyed a yummy breakfast the next morning. After eating, we all headed home to hot showers. And, you know what??? After taking a 20 minutes long shower, the whole experience didn't seem all that bad. In fact, it was kind of fun. Maybe I AM a camping girl. Or...maybe not...I'm still holding out for that motorhome! --Lindsay