The Orchard Team Huddle

I never really liked to read, especially the books my teachers wanted me to when I was in school. I just didn't have time for it. I could think of a million other things I would rather be doing. I did find time to sneak in a V.C. Andrews book every now and then. I loved them but I must admit they were not the best books for a teenage girl to be reading (sorry mom! Nothing bad, just kind of heavy subject matter). I also have to confess that I did fake a few book reports back in the day (don't even think about it, Douglas!). You know, read the beginning, read the end and try to fake your way through the middle. The only times I really was grounded was when I had 2 weeks left in the term and no reading pages done. That just gives you a little history on my relationship with books. Even in my adulthood I haven't really picked up the hobby. I go through spurts. The first books I remember reading after I was married were the Work and the Glory series. I LOVED those. T...

I remember renting VCR's on special weekends when I was a kid.  My dad would lug this big padded bag into the house and get it all set up.  We didn't have cell phones, Ipods , computers, digital cameras, the list goes on.  Those things are all obvious things that make life so much easier.  Below is my list of simple things that I would not want to live without. 1.  Lysol Wipes.  They are in every bathroom and under every sink.  What a great way to do a quick clean up. 2.  Online Banking.  How great that we can transfer money without having to leave our house.  I LOVE this! 3.  While we are on the subject of money, Microsoft Money.  I manage our personal accounts, our business accounts and our credit card.  I balance them to the penny each month, input every receipt, categorize each item and print a report at the end of the year to give to our accountant. It is that slick!  I know there are probably better programs out there but I have used this for so long it would be hard for...

After weeks of "faking" it by army crawling and doing this weird inch-worm type thing Mason has mastered the crawl. Let's call his "official" day February 14 th . (This is the only baby book he has. He may want to know that date in the future!:)) He also took his first road trip and had his first sucker (this had to do with the road trip!). And also worthy of mentioning, Mason cut his first tooth on February 15 th . While I am mentioning his accomplishments let me add that he shakes his head no, says " na - na - na " when I am putting him in his car seat, shakes his head yes, likes to pull open his dad's shirt and pull his chest hair, says "ma-ma" and " da - da ", has started doing this bury-his-face shy thing if someone talks to him, refuses to drink his bottle because he would much rather have real food, squints up his eyes to provoke laughter, is almost impossible to change since he rolls and wiggles so much, takes 3 ...

*A great kid who gave us a reason to be together in St. George this long weekend. Being able to stay in a condo with Grandpa and spend time with him. *Dinner and a visit with Mike and Kim. We met them our first Sunday in church when we bought our first ever house. Finding out we lived in the same circle. Going for months or even years on end without seeing them but still having so much to talk about when we get together that it seems like they still live next door. Stockton having a weekend sleepover with his best buddy, Noah. *A day of sunshine, especially when we were prepared for rain. *The crack of the bat. The smell of the dirt. The first game of the season. *Dill pickle sunflower seeds. *Sitting by my best baseball amiga ever. Me and Roni cheering on our boys. *Having my sweetheart beside me instead of in the dugout where he has been for the past 3 years. *The knot in your stomach you get when your son comes up to bat. The ache you feel when he strikes out. The tears that come ...

It is getting to be that time of day where I start asking myself, "What in the world am I going to make for dinner?" This is, in my opinion, one of the naggiest parts of being a homemaker. I don't really enjoy my obligation to prepare something rather inexpensive, with a reasonable amount of calories and tasty! If any of you are in the same boat as me, here is an idea that may solve that dinner dilemma for at least one night! It has been my favorite since I was a kid! PORK CHOPS AND RICE Brown pork chops in as much butter as your diet will allow. I usually do about 2 Tablespoons. That only gives us each an extra 50 fat calories. You want to get that brown sludge in the bottom of the pan that comes from frying them up ( mmm ....brown sludge). While your pork chops are frying, slice one onion, tomato and green pepper into rings. Once your pork is browned, spread the veggies over the pork. Pour in enough dry rice for your family (I usually do 2 1/2 cups dry). Pour enough ...

Jr. Jazz is supposed to be fun.  It is for the boys.  Everyone should get to play and everyone should feel good when the game is over.  Unless, you play this guy's team! I would like to say he was this nicely dressed but he wasn't.  I woul d like to say he was even maybe a nice guy but he wasn't.  I would like to say I didn't let him get to me but he did! I should have known when the whole team was huddled on the bleachers drawing out plays before our team was even all there.  The little pre -game team jog around the court should have been a good indicator of what was to come.  They were doing ladders and some really intimidating looking warm up-shot things.  We were just there to have a good time, well, mostly! The minute the game started he was yelling, "Get your hands up" "where's your man?" and my personal favorite, "stay on #2, don't let him shoot"!  He was loud, he was obnoxious and he was really bugging me!  He was yelling a...

So here's a scenario for you. Take slightly less than a billion pictures over the course of a little over a year and then do nothing with them! Sound familiar? My latest project has been to get over a year's worth of pictures off of scan disk cards and files on the computers and turn them into actual, tangible prints. Each day last week I spent some time uploading files to samsclub .com. Once or twice I got logged out by my children but eventually I managed to get all of the photos there. Sending them to print was quite a chore. I would recommend not waiting until you have 585 4x6 prints and 16 5x7's. I should have only had 3 5x7's but due to the vast quantity of photos I was not able to find where I messed up and ordered 13 of one shot instead of one. Anyone want a great shot of Stockton dripping wet at Classic Skating on his birthday? These pictures represent such a great year in the Orchard family. They start with Christmas of 2007, into the New Year, baseba...

When I was a teenager I would make homemade cookies every Sunday for my family.  I would forgo the mixer and use my hands just to make sure I got the perfect texture.  I even made them for awhile when we first got married and then I stopped.  I don't really remember why.  I think it had something to do with love handles.  For whatever reason, I got out of the habit.  I tried a few times to make homemade again and they just didn't turn out like they used to.  Then I discovered the Betty Crocker bagged cookies.  I could get them on sale, they made the perfect sized batch and they tasted as good as homemade.  In fact, that is what my kids THINK homemade cookies are.  They have never known otherwise.  How sad is that? Last night I got the really insane urge to make a great batch of homemade cookies.  I would impress my family and show my kids what REAL cookies were.  I asked Russell to get a can of shortening out of the basement while I got the other ingredients gathered.  I cream...