Olivia's Beaber

This is my my ragamuffin named Olivia.

She loves this beaver...or as she calls it...beaber.

His name is Justin. Justin Beaber.

5

My peach is 5 today!

at 3:18am

I am having a hard time with that.

I can't remember when she was a baby, how can she be 5?

Olivia the Destroyer

Birthday party was last night due to conflicts tonight.

Gettin' Back To Our Roots with Beer

When asked what he wanted for his birthday, my husband responded with "a membership to the Root Beer of the Month club." To which I laughed in his face. An online soda club costs about $300 so I thought maybe I would pick up a few different flavors some day and call it good.

Last night was the "day."

At the store I saw one flavor then another and decided to surprise him with a blind taste test and it turned out to be quite entertaining and started all kinds of conversation.

If you are in the mood to repeat...here's how it goes.

At QFC, I bought 7 different kinds of regular root beer and added them to the can of Barq's I had in my own fridge. 8 varieties for a total of $8.31. No coupons used. :)

I showed Rob all the flavors and then excused him from the room. I poured a little in each glass and then covered the bottles with empty boxes or bags, whatever I had.

I cut out slips of paper with a name of a root beer on it and as he tasted, sniffed and swirled each one, he chose which root beer he thought it was and placed that slip of paper in front of the glass.

One by one, I revealed the results and let me tell you, we were shocked. I have to say, it was not at all what we expected. The off brands were actually quite good and the more expensive stuff was almost undrinkable. We poured a couple straight down the drain.

Rob mixed them up, poured new glasses and I went through the same process. What I found most interesting was that we both chose our favorite by taste alone and it turned out to be the same brand once revealed. We did not anticipate that.

And our favorite was...

Drum roll please.....................

Teddy's!!!

One of the cheapest at 99¢ for 1 liter and yet had the best flavor. Hints of vanilla and solid root beer flavor.

As for the rest...here are our results.

DAD'S.

was.

awful.

We both looked startled when we sipped this one and I went as far as gagging. It was bitter and hovered on the edge of medicinal.

oops

In second to last place was Thomas Kemper. One of the pricier ones, it was very strong in the ginger flavor and NOT GOOD.

same fate unfortunately

Glorious Teddy dear.

Knocked our socks off.

He's a keeper!

Henry Weinhard has a lot of bark but not so much bite.

It kept it's foam but the flavor was just okay.

But, if foam floats your ice cream boat, more power to ya.

The Rivals.

A&W was more mild than Mug and to be honest...they both were different but on an equal playing field.

Die hards out there will probably sacrifice me for that comment but I have made up my mind.

They are both worthy of my root beer cravings.

Barq's is supposed to have bite and boy does it.

And the bite is painful. Very sweet in a non-sugar way.

It was a tad bitter and the aftertaste will kill you.

Watch out for this one...it has caffeine too.

This one surprised me the most.

This is Kroger Brand Root Beer and I thought for sure it would be cheap tasting. But....

It was really really good.

Nothing bad to say. Worth every penny of the 69¢!

You have to try this. We are hooked and plan to try orange sodas, diet soda comparisons and lemon lime.

This was a great release to a stressful day!

Self Help Books I Need to Read

If anyone knows where to get these books, I would like to read them...

• How Not to Resent Your Newborn When You’ve Got Things You Want to Do Even Though You Are Pretty Sure It is Because You Are Just Really Tired
• How to Raise a More Considerate Child
• How to Function on 70% Energy Capacity
• How to Resist Punching the New CFO of the Family (a.k.a Husband)
• How to Help Your Husband Understand that Raising a Family Costs Money Even Though He Would Like To Stop Spending Altogether
• How to Keep Your Transmission from Going Out on Christmas Vacation
• How to Keep Your Child from Developing a Serious Attitude
• How to Get Out of Bed in the Morning When You’ve Been up 6 Times with a Baby
• Ideas for Presents for People with Birthdays Right after Christmas
• How to fold 1,500,000 Pieces of Laundry Every Day
• How Not to Eat All Carbohydrates In Sight
• How to Keep Your Kids from Biting Their Fingernails, Coughing on the Baby & Dumping Their Backpacks in the Middle of the Floor at 4pm
• How to Look at Your Naked Self in the Mirror without Crying
• How to Speak at an Intellectual Level Slightly Higher Than a 5^th Grader
• How to Find Time to Take a Nap Just Once This Year
• How to Feel Less Guilty About Slipping Your Child a Little Benadryl before Bedtime
• How to Make Cleaning Your Bathrooms a Priority
• How to Drink More Water and Less Diet Soda
• How to Go Through Less Than 14 Outfit Changes Sunday Morning
• How to Choke Down a Spinach Smoothie
• How to Thank Your Parents for EVERYTHING
• How to Recognize Your Divine Womanhood Even Though You Feel A Little Injustice during the Lonely Newborn Nights
• Creative Dinner Ideas When You Feel Like You Just Finished Cleaning-up Last Nights Dinner
• How to Get to Bed Before 11pm

See My Friend M?

This is my friend M.

She heard my subconscious cries for help one day. She brought me chocolate then stayed to listen. Then she just up and cooked dinner for my four embarrassingly ungrateful children...she who does not cook dinner...so she says.

Isn't she pretty?

I love my friend M!

Family Fotos

On the snowiest day this winter, I got excited about taking our annual family picture...sans coats. Enjoy looking at people that were freezing but were trying to pretend it was summer time.

Thanks to Lori and Melain for snapping this treasures.

This one probably should have been on our Christmas card...more us in a nutshell if you want the honest truth.

Bowling is Most Rewarding

I don't usually make it priority to attend my children's elementary school events since I have a baby in tow but a friend offered to babysit Olivia and off I went to Eden's bowling party. They turn down the lights, turn up the music and spin the disco ball.

She didn't know I was coming and when I tapped her on the shoulder she about went into orbit. Peels of laughter and joy erupted from her face as she would not stop hugging me. It has become one of my cherished memories as she was almost in tears with excitement.

If you bowl a spare or a strike, you get to write your name on the poster on the wall. All three of us got to practice our signatures.

The next day when Indy was surprised he handled it like a true man..."oh, hi mom."

Uh Oh Oreo

A favorite memory from 2003...Eden (6 months) vs the Oreo

had to be replicated...Tatum (6 months) vs the Oreo

Happy Birthday...You Have Lung Cancer

It was an absolute pleasure to see my grandmother.

Although I haven't blogged about our Christmas vacation yet, the most important part was saying goodbye to my grandmother.

She is 75 today! She made it to her 75th birthday!

She is dying from lung cancer.

A few weeks ago she found out that she would probably not live another year...and now it looks like she won't live another month. So grateful I live close enough.

This once vibrant woman exists only in my memories as now she lies in bed waiting for her turn. I have endless memories of visiting her down the lane. Too many to count. She raised 9 children, has 37 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren.

I took Tatum to meet her great grandmother for the first time. I kept a brave face but I was weak compared to her. Her face is full of appreciation, acceptance, understanding and courage. She smiled constantly.

We talked, she thanked me for coming, we both knew it was happening and why I was there.

I let her hold her great granddaughter and revel in days gone by, how she wouldn't see her grow up but I was wrong. She caught me off guard when she said "Rachel, I am not afraid of dying. I will always be with you." I sobbed on her shoulder. I am the oldest grandchild and I am honored to be so.

I laid next to her for a few minutes while she and my mother talked about pain medication. I had to go but said I would be back later.

I saw her a couple more times to bring her soup but then on our way home, I stopped in. I have my own family, I had to go. I brought the kids in and took one last picture with her. Rob took the kids to the car and I stood there, speechless.

I said "I love you." She said "I love you." And as I backed quietly out of the room just taking it in one last time, her face disappearing behind the door, I heard her whisper, "You will always be my number one." My favorite thing she says.

As we start our 9 hour drive home, knowing it is the last time I would see her in this lifetime, I am overcome. Rob rubs my arm and I bury my head in my hands. Why does it have to make your heart ache?

Luckily, I will see her again.

Happy Birthday grandma!!

Love yours always,

your Number One