A Very Sad Day in Blog Land...

It is with great sympathy that I write this post. As you may or may not be aware, I have gone on a blog spree of posting every day for the month of April. Today is the last day of the month and so that means it's the last day that I will be posting every day.

It's been an interesting ride. Most days I scrounged up things to post. Most of those were not of any importance (yes, including all those Twilight posts), and other days were happenings that were very blog worthy.

I've learned some things during the last month...

1.) When forced to do it, blogging isn't all that fun

2.) Blogging every day puts a damper on my creativeness.

I think I will stick to blogging when I really feel it...when something touches me deep down in my soul...or when I have that urge to be the self proclaimed TWERD that I am...

I won't be gone too long :-)

A Little Malia Bragging...

Every Wednesday the girls bring home the "Panther Press" Newsletter from school. It's filled with information about the happenings at the school. Today's newsletter was extra special. It mentioned Malia not once but TWICE!

Once a month, the principal holds a special lunch called "Character Counts". Classmates vote on two students who show great examples of different characters like FAIRNESS, RESPONSIBILITY, CARING, RESPECT, CITIZENSHIP, and... Malia's favorite... TRUSTWORTHINESS which is what Malia was voted for! I'm so proud of my little toothless girl!


(Malia is slowly losing her teeth. She lost her first front one about a week ago and the other one is wiggly. The tooth fairy can't wait to come to our house again!)

The other reason that she was mentioned was because she received the PRESIDENTIAL PHYSICAL FITNESS MILE RUN HIGH SCORE... She came in 4th place out of all the 1st grade girls! Once again, I'm super proud of her. She is coming out of her shell and rockin' the Panther Press!

Contributors to my Madness

Sorry...it seems that everyone is contributing to my Twilight madness including my neighbor...Whoever did this, did it so well...you might want to cross your legs while watching or go to the bathroom before you watch...it's totally funny!

Taking It One Day at a Time

6:30am Wake Up
+
7:30am Take Malia to school
+
8:00am Take Patrick to the airport
+
9:45am Take Raya to the doctor
+
10:30am Take Raya to get an X-ray of her ankle
+
11:30am Take Raya, Ethan, and Carly to Big Spoon
+
12:00pm Put Carly down for a nap
+
2:20pm Pick Malia up from school
+
2:50pm Go back to the school to pick up Raya's homework
+
5:00pm Head to McDonalds for a very healthy dinner (NOT!)
=
ONE TIRED MOMMA!!!!!

The Yearbooks are In!!!!

So the 3 long stressful months out of my year spent on creating and executing an elementary school yearbook have come to an end and I have the final product in my hand. The book looks awesome!!! I've already received many compliments on it with most wondering how we are going to top it next year...

They obviously don't know that I won't be doing it next year...

Oh My...

Can I just say that I can hardly wait for New Moon to release on November 20th????? I mean seriously! Look at what it will be filled with:



Need I say more?

Weight Loss

I think I'm going to start a weight loss blog. Don't worry, I won't scare you with any "before" pictures here. Anyone want to start a weight loss blog journey together?

No This is Not Another Twilight Post...

I have this program that I use to create all sorts of video productions.



and it sucks! I am at a point where I think I might change. The problem is, is that I know this program in and out and don't know if I really want to take the time or have the patience to learn a new one.

I've filmed 5 plays in the past year and used this program to edit them and add some creative Rachaelness and even though I had problems with every single one, eventually I get it to work for me.

I just realized that the time I spend re-doing productions, brainstorming ideas on what to try next, and executing those ideas to see and hope that it works, could be used on learning a more cooperative program. After all, they all work basically the same.

So...if you have a video editing program and you think it rocks, please let me know. PLEASE!!!!!

My Friend Christine

I have been blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful women in my life. There are so many of them, that it is hard to blog about just one, but today, I am going to tell you about an amazing woman who I've been blessed to know...

Her name is Christine. This is a picture of her and her husband:


(No, that is not her real hair)

Christine and I have been friends since high school. We drifted our own ways shortly after high school only to re-connect and find that we had a whole lot in common. Both of us were stay at home moms, both had sweet baby girls, and both were married to computer nerds.

She has 3 beautiful girls who are around the same age as my girls. We have regular play dates and with the girls all being around the same age, it's a blast...except for Ethan who is often left alone.

I think Christine is such an awesome mom. I watch how she is raising her children and I look up to her and want to be like her in so many ways!

1.) Christine is very respectful when she speaks to her kids and even though she doesn't always get the same respect back from them, she doesn't lose her patience and beat them (hahaha)

2.) Christine is committed to her children's schedules. She is always driving them to dance or gymnastics and soccer and is very involved in all the behind the stage happenings in all of them (with a toddler in tow)

3.) Christine home schools her girls. Do I need to say more? Anyone who can homeschool their children and still love them, deserves a special award. (I am not saying that I wouldn't love my children if I homeschooled them, I'm just saying that I don't have the patience to do that)

4.) Christine is HILARIOUS...I love talking with her. She makes me laugh all the time!

5.) Christine and her mom are best friends. They do everything together and lean on each other for support. I am often envious and wish that I could have that same relationship with my mom and hope that I can have that with my girls when they are older.

I could go on and on. I am so very grateful to have her in my life. She is a very giving lady who I am so grateful to know.

Christine took both Raya and Malia with her and her family to watch as her older girls performed in Alice in Wonderland, a ballet. My girls enjoyed watching their friends perform one of their many talents.

This is Christine's oldest Jaimie who is Raya's age:



This is Christine's middle, Jenna, who is Malia's age:



This is Raya and Malia backstage with Jaimie and Jenna after their performance:



Thanks Christine, for taking them and for being such a great friend. I am so lucky to have you in my life!

Preparing For Tonight

I'm filming a play tonight. It's called Stone Soup. You know the story right? I'm excited and nervous but I've been here before. I just wish my head would quite hurting. It's hard to function.

While searching the Internet for some creative and enlightening things to share with you this day, I came across a website that seriously got me rolling in laughter. Now you all know that I am a Twilight Fan and that I even called myself a TWERD in a previous post... I am beginning to re-think calling myself that after going through this site. The title of the site...

www.twilightersanonymous.com

There was a link to that page with the top Twilight Blogs that I could search through. This is where I was rolling in laughter...Check out some of the titles for these blogs...

Edwards Meadow
Cullen Boys Anonymous
Twilight-Zone
Twilightning
What the Forks?!
Touched by Twilight
Volturi Guard
The Twilight Files
Bite of Twilight
Twitarded
Cullen Enterprise
Twerds
Twilightations
Singing Blood
Spidurmunkey

and my personal favorite...

Pillow Biters

These were just a few of the blog titles I came across. I only opened up two blogs to see what they were all about. Basically people stalking the cast and one even had a video of Jacob Black working out on set...like for 10 minutes...(no, I didn't watch the entire thing)...

So, I have two options now. 1.) sign up for twilightersanonymous.com and spend some of my free time reading all these cool titled Twilight blogs anonymously, or 2.) sign up for twilightersanonymous.com and spend some of my free time reading all these cool titled Twilight blogs and then blog about what I read...hmmm tough choice don't ya think?

All Eyes!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard how much Carly looks like Malia.



Just look at those eyes!

Coming Out of the Closet...Some More...

I don't think that I have mentioned that I am addicted to Twilight enough on my blog so I am dedicating yet another post to my unhealthy obsession...



You know that post I posted a long time ago that could quite possibly be a book? You know, the one that compared the book to the movie and my own personal casting for the lead rolls for the film? Ya, that one...



I broke down and bought the movie. I secretly counted the days until it was released on DVD even though I didn't like the darn thing.



It's been out for less than a month and I can't tell you how many times I've watched it...too many to count...(I got to watch something when I'm folding laundry).

I'm proud to say that I got my neighbor Jennifer (Hi Jennifer!) reading Twilight. She borrowed my DVD over the weekend. I jokingly said good-bye to the movie and watched it walk out the door with Jennifer. I knew it was in good hands.

I couldn't stop thinking about my DVD. Knowing that I didn't have it, made me want to watch it even more (I told you I have a sick obsession with Twilight)...I was relieved when Jennifer brought it back to me Monday.

I immediately put it in the DVD player and watched it to get my fix...The movie has grown on me. There are still a few parts that bug me, but that's what the fast forward button is for. Of course there are some really RAD scenes like the baseball scene and my personal favorite...Edward saving Bella from the group of drunk violators...I mean seriously, did you catch how that car whipped around and continued driving effortlessly?



I guess the reason for this post is to let you know that I am coming completely out of the closet...standing tall...being myself...Rachael...Rachael, the TWERD! (Twilight + Nerd = TWERD)...HAHA!

Love This

No, I did not write this, but it's total blog worthy AND it fills up one of my days!


Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida .

Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.

1. Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.

2. Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.

3. Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today ? Yes!

Think about this one:

1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

C O W S

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq . Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

T H E 1 0 C O M M A N D M E N T S

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians...It creates a hostile work environment.

Tonight

I'm just about to head to the store...by myself.

Think I'll stop by Baskin Robbins on the way home...

I've got a long night of folding and putting laundry away a head of me...

Can't wait!

America's Funniest Videos

I spent a good number of hours yesterday going through old videos. I've always thought that the following one should be sent to America's Funniest Videos. Please excuse the annoying music and loud laughter, but you just might join in on the laughter...This video is of Raya at the age of 2 years old...

Silk Tie Easter Eggs

I know, I know, I should have posted this a long time ago...Please don't be mad!

Raya was at Activity Days last week where I learned of this great way of dying Easter eggs...

Basically, you get a bunch of old silk ties. I guess the thrift stores carry them for around $1.50, but I just raided Patrick and my dad's closet.

Next, you cut pieces of the tie large enough to fit around an egg.

Then, you wrap a raw egg with the bright side of the fabric toward the egg and put a piece of white cloth over the silk. The white cloth could be an old sheet, pillowcase, or in my case, a shirt that Patrick grew out of. Then you twist tie them so that the egg is nice and secure.







Place all your tied eggs in a pot filled with water and some vinegar. I'd highly suggest that you obey the laws of laundry and seperate the colors because it does bleed (especially the red).



Bring to a boil and then turn the temperature down to simmer for at least 20 minutes (a little longer if you plan on eating the eggs).



When you are done, let the eggs cool. Unwrap them and VOILA:



The pattern from the tie transfer to the egg and the best part of it all...no messy hands or die to clean up. Just throw everything away or use the silk pieces for another batch. It was so easy and not time consuming and the eggs were beautiful! I highly recommend this for all of you who have children or are children at heart next year when you die some Easter eggs!

Lost in Oroville

We headed up to Oroville yesterday to visit Patrick's family. His brother from Utah came out and so 4 of the 5 Durling sibling's were able to get together for a jolly good time. Let's just say that it was a full house.

My little guy Ethan got lost while outside playing. He ventured into some other people's house thinking that it was his grandma's house only to find it dark and quiet. He thought that everyone had left him. He walked outside and starting bawling. A nice neighbor lady found him and they were able to find us. No one knew he was missing until the lady showed up at the door with him. I felt awful. Ethan quickly came to me and buried his head in my shoulder and let out a very sad cry. Not the "I don't get what I want" or "I'm hurt" cry...the kind that breaks a mother's heart.

The kids had fun going on an Easter egg hunt at great grandma Olson's house. There were 196 eggs for 11 kids. Carly quickly got the hang of it. She enjoyed breaking open the eggs and finding candy in it, although she was a little ticked when mommy took the treasure away.



Great Grandma Olson's neighbors were trying to give bunny's away. Raya thought for sure that she was going to get one, after all, they were "free" and they came with a cage.

Dad and I said no, so she did this:

We had a great time visiting and arrived home just in time for the Easter Bunny to do his thing:


I guess Carly needs to eat breakfast before such nonsense...

Today, we were able to go to church and celebrate the real meaning of Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was great sharing with the primary children the real reason why we celebrate Easter and I was impressed at how much these little children know. Their parents have taught them well.

We came home to a house full of family for another Easter egg hunt. This time, the treasure inside was not candy but...money and pieces of silver.


Easter egg anyone?

Happy Easter everyone...

PS...anyone need a loan? I'm sure my kids can hook you up.

The Evolution of a Nickname

Carly Fox

Carly

Car

Carly Que

Miss Que

I think that posting everyday on this blog is really putting a damper on my creativness...hmmmm.

Sharing Time

Carly loves Titus! She gets so excited to see him and has no fear of him. Titus is very gentle with her and tolerates much! Carly is learning how to share...see below:

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

I wake up with a plan everyday with what I will be doing and about what time I will be doing it. Today I was planning on taking the kids out to the river for some spring time pictures only to look outside and see rain clouds filling the sky. I decided to take a chance and get all the kids dressed and head on down. As soon as we walked outside, the sprinkles started. I wasn't about to let all the hard work of preparing 4 kids for pictures go in vain, so I buckled them all in the car and began our adventure.

To my satisfaction, the sprinkles subsided and I was able to get some cute pictures of my darling Durling's.









The kids were able to teach Carly to throw rocks into the river:


And of course 90% of the pictures looked like this:

and this:


and then there was sweet ones like this:

and this:

As soon as we were done, the rain started and I am not just talking about sprinkles...Thanks goodness it wasn't THAT far of a walk to the car.

Editing these pictures has been fun. I've been playing around with Photoshop. I thought that these were kind of cool:



While editing the photos I realized that Carly's hair was a little crazy and that the poor kid had a huge bruise on her forehead...guess that's what happens when one learns to walk.

I know you are wondering where I got those amazing outfits for the kids...

I'm pretty crafty. I usually can look at something and re-create it to fit my taste. I love all forms of crafty art but there is one thing that I wish I knew how to do and that is sew. I took a sewing class in 7th grade and made a pair of shorts. Sadly, that was the only thing that I have ever sewn. So, Patrick's cousin Evonne is a total super-mom. Not only does she work, she is a mother of 3 cute kids and she is always creating something. I am a faithful follower of her blog. She had posted some pictures of her cute girls wearing dresses and offered straight up on her blog to make some for whoever wanted one...I quickly took her up on her offer and with a few tweaks (like a skirt instead of a dress for Raya) and about a week later, I opened a package mailed to me from Utah with these awesome Easter clothes in it. If you haven't noticed Ethan's tie matches some material on the girls clothes too. It's pink and sure enough the first thing Ethan says to me is "Mom, is this a girl tie" I promptly replied "Girls don't wear ties and it's cool for boys to wear pink these days" He didn't seem to have a problem after that. After all, real men wear pink right?

Thanks Evonne...I am so excited for all the family to see these cute masterpieces you have made for my family. Can I hire you for next year?

A Minor Set Back

Before you get your panties in a ruffle...I can explain...

You may have noticed that I didn't post yesterday. There is good reason as to why. A few weeks ago, we switched our internet service because our other service would only work occasionally and if it did, was super slow. I had called numerous times and had people come to "fix" the problem to no avail. So we switched. When we switched we also switched our phone and cable so we got a complete package deal. Unfortunately there was an outage all day yesterday which meant that I had no internet...no tv...and no phone.

I knew that I had made a promise to blog once a day so I thought that after Patrick got home from work, I'd run across the street to my neighbors house to post something real quick, but that idea quickly came to an end when Steve, my neighbor, came over to ask if my internet, cable and phone were down too. I guess I could have called a friend of mine and had her log into my account and I dictate to her what to write, but let's face it...would you want that friend to be you?

It's dark outside, everyone's asleep, I don't know what time it is because I'm sleeping as well, and I hear the phone ring...Everything is turned back on! So here I am, like a dog with his tail between his legs...begging for your forgiveness and understanding...Rest assured my faithful readers...if this ever happens again (in the month of April), I will personally give you my internet providers phone number and you can prank call them all you want...just don't tell them you're me.

So Lucky...

I just finished cleaning up 95% of my house. I am debating whether or not to stay awake all night to enjoy it because we all know what happens when four little monkeys who are on Spring Break can do in just a short amount of time.

I was cleaning the toilets and felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude...I am so grateful to my boys, both of them, that they do not pee all over the place and if they do, they know how to clean up after themselves...How did I get so lucky?

Who Done It?

It is 1939, and we are in Hollywood. A select group of guests have been invited to the posh Bel Air home of producer/director Benny Sahlinsky for a screening of his new multimillion dollar epic, Come With the Rain. Until tonight, Sahlinsky has allowed no one else to see the film. The film began around 9:00pm, but guests arrived earlier for champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

During the film, an unexpected event took place. Just as the film was building to its final scenes, a Mopey Mouse cartoon appeared on the screen. The final reel of the film was missing. A search of the house has turned up nothing. The final reel included the two most important scenes in the movie, and it was the only copy.

Meet Benny Sahlinsky:

Producer/Director of Come with the Rain and primary owner of Mogul Films. Mogul hasn't had a hit since Incident at Owl Creek Ridge two years ago. Benny has bet the farm that this new movie will put Mogul films back on the charts and in the black. Until tonight, Benny and Mogul looked like big winners.

Meet Anna Flagelli:

Steamy, sultry, Italian sexpot with real box office appeal. She handles men like Roy Rogers handles his horse. Sahlinsky signed her to play the settler's beautiful daughter in Come with the Rain. Anna demanded and got top billing. But is she a good actress? Who cares?

Meet Gig Mack:

The He-Man star of over 20 westerns who hasn't had a hit since Incident at Owl Creek Ridge. About his latest film, Variety's banner headline read "Gig's Guns, Gals, and Guts Goes Glug! Glug! Glug!" Mack needs a comeback fast. For Come with the Rain, Gig took a salary cut and second billing, but nobody says he has to be happy about it.

Meet Henrietta Tyler:

The fly in everyone's ointment. President of DIM (Decency in Movies), Miss Tyler is doing everything she can to get Come with the Rain banned, cut, or censored. Somehow, her outrage seems more than merely moral. Anna Flagelli once remarked that Henrietta always dresses like she's between funerals, to which Miss Tyler replied, "Aren't we all, Miss Flagelli, aren't we all?"

Meet Mona Moans:

One of the most vicious gossip columnists in all of Hollywood. There was a time when a stroke of Mona's pen could make or break a career. Her column, Mona Moans, was syndicated in over 300 papers, but then she printed her "Great Garbo Scoop" which turned out to be a great lie. Now Mona Moans can be found in one Hollywood rag and a few tabloids in places like Toledo and Terre Haute. Still, she has her readers - and sources.

Meet Zaluria:

Sahlinsky's personal psychic. About two years ago, the mysterious and alluring Zaluria suddenly appeared on the scene from out of nowhere. She had an important vision about Mogul Films, which she revealed to Sahlinsky. As long as Benny remains a believer, Zaluria stays on the gravy train. She speaks with an unusual accent which seems to fade in and out.

Meet Vern Fleegle:

The best cameraman and cinematographer in the business, when he isn't drinking or chasing women, (which means he's the best about six hours a week). Throughout the shooting of Come with the Rain, for which Sahlinsky hired him, Fleegle has been on his best behavior, for the most part. This is Fleegle's second chance with Mogul Films. He knows he won't get another.

And last but not least...
Meet Woofy:

Errand boy supreme. Everybody loves Woofy, and woofy loves everybody and everything connected with the movies. His job as a gofer for Mogul Films is Woofy's idea of seventh heaven. He goes everywhere and has the keys to everything, but people seldom notice he's around. Eternally cheerful, but not overly bright, Woofy always seems to be humming or whistling an old movie tune.

So who did it?

Woofy recognized Henrietta Tyler from somewhere but couldn't figure out where. Turns out that Henrietta was once a beautiful actress named Tibby La Tour who had a secret affair with Producer Benny Sahlinsky. When Henrietta walked in on Anna Flagelli and Benny sleeping together, Benny kicked her out and told her she was a has been. The scorned and bitter woman left and went on a 3 month drinking and sleeping around binge. One night she was in a terrible car accident that burned a huge portion of her body. The public thought that Tibby had died and Tibby took this chance to re-invent herself and become someone different. She moved to Hollywood and became President of DIM, Decency in Movies. She was personally invited by Benny to screen this movie. Henrietta wouldn't have missed it for the world. She would have done anything to take down Benny Sahlinsky. Was Henrietta the culprit???

Zaluria turned out not to be a real physic but a Private Detective instead investigating Benny and Mogul Films. She had her sources which is where she got the information she provided to Benny to keep him a believer. Was Zaluria the culprit???

Anna Flagelli slept with every man in the room except for Woofy. Woofy was in love with Anna and he thought she loved him too because she would pat him on the head and kiss him on the cheek? She absolutely hated Gig Mack and Vern Fleegle hated her. Was Miss Flagelli the culprit???

Vern Fleegle was bitter about the "break up" of him and Anna. He accused Henrietta of the act in question and said it was because of her scorned heart. He didn't have much else to say except that he disliked Anna Flagelli and that he was the best camera man in the business. Was Vern the culprit?

Gig Mack was accused of being a Gay American Nazi. Turns out that he wasn't gay but that he was in fact a Nazi with branding tattoos of swastikas and crosses on his rear end. He spent most of the night defending his masculinity. Was Gig Mack the culprit???

Mona Moans jumped to the chance to view this film. It could put her back on the map. She held a grudge against Benny for leading her into a column that published that turned out to be a lie. She also would have loved to see Benny fail. Was Mona the culprit???

Woofy was in the production room hours before the guests arrived viewing his movie that Henrietta starred in. He was told not to go in there, but he had the keys and thought it would cause no harm. He let Vern in approximately at 6pm. Was Woofy the culprit???

Benny allowed no one to view this film. He edited it all himself and created a masterpiece to put Mogul films back on the charts. He knew that it would make millions of dollars in sales. He had it insured for 6 million dollars because it was just that good. Was Benny the culprit???

YES!!!

Not only was Benny the culprit but Vern Fleegle was also involved. Apparently Vern Fleegle was too drunk to remember to switch the tapes out during the last few scenes and so they were never filmed. When Benny found out, he staged a few things and had the screening party all as an act so that he could collect on the 6 million dollar insurance policy. Benny had put his last penny into this film and couldn't bare not seeing any money come from it. I guess one thing's for sure...Vern Fleegle won't get a third chance...

We ended the night doing this:

Rock Band...Super Fun...I love date nights...