Peep Pandemonium

The pictures posted below represent my most obscene collection. It's nothing less than shocking. I didn't know how seriously bad it was. I'd never had the entire lot out at one time until a few weeks ago. As I opened the first storage bin and began extracting one thing after another, embarrassment set in and I began to wonder how this collection had spiraled out of control. It started out innocently enough. About five years ago, a new take on an old product hit the store shelves: plush decorative Peeps! I was thrilled to see Peeps in a different form (other than pure sugar-coated sugar). I've always liked Marshmallow Peeps. Something comes over me - some kind of wonderful - each time I behold a newly stocked aisle of cheerful, colorful, symmetrical Peeps. I like the way they look on display, so crisp, so perfect. The epitome of orderliness. And they are so cute! Peeps chicks and bunnies standing at attention, preparing to make their silent descent into idling grocery carts. I admittedly don't like eating Peeps as much as I like looking at them. I loved eating them when I was a kid, especially stale. As I grew, I lost some of the appreciation I'd had for snacking on them. They just don't taste as yummy as I remember. So when the plush Peeps and other merchandise began appearing in stores I was instantly smitten. They were adorable! They were just the thing I needed . . . and so the madness began.

Warning: the pictures below are ridiculous.






Over the course of three or four Easter seasons I collected - okay, hoarded - all the cute Peeps loot I could justify. In my defense, most of it was obtained after Easter at markdowns of 50-75% off. And I mean it when I say I didn't know how much of it I already owned. I kind of had a hunch that maybe I'd reached my quota, but I literally couldn't make myself pass up a cheap Peep. As I accumulated new ones I'd toss them into storage boxes until the next year. Then for two years I didn't unload any of it at Easter because I didn't want the kids carelessly scattering it around the house. All the while whenever I'd see any on clearance I'd get some and tuck them in with my ginormous stockpile.

I think I got my fill of Peeps merchandise. It kind of makes me sick to look at it. I really, really didn't mean to collect that much of it. It just happened, I swear.

When I had the thought to take a picture of it all my first instinct was to leave a lot of it out, "accidentally", so people wouldn't know just how insane I am. But I couldn't do that. I didn't see any point in lying to myself and others about it. Afterall, it's not a current issue. I'm not obsessed with Peeps any longer. I'm over them. They aren't available in stores anymore. I think I bought them all. Nobody else got any and they are now extinct. I rescued three or more generations of them. They are safe with me. Safe and sound, home with Mama.

Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl - the girl who has every(peep)?

I found this t-shirt at Savers one year during the height of my Peeps craze. I was SO excited and amazed and I knew it was there just for me. It made my heart swell to think that I could have missed it completely had I not gone in there that day, had I not been browsing through the shirts that I normally don't bother looking at.

My big feet in my cute socks.

I just looked at the top picture again. You know? It's not as bad an obsession as I thought. . .

Makin' cookies

Oliver had a hankering for cookies. All day at church he was thinking of them. When I picked him up from nursery the teacher gave me his coloring picture and there was a cookie drawn on the bottom in crayon. I asked the teacher if he'd asked her to draw that, and she said he had, and that he was talking about cookies a lot throughout class time. =) Little cookie monster. I decided if he wanted cookies that bad I wanted to make his wish come true. So later that day after he woke up from his nap I told him we were going to make cookies. He was so excited! But he didn't want to wait for the finished product. He kept trying to eat the ingredients.



He liked helping me mix the dough.




Here's a "Ryan's-eye" view of our fun. Okay, he's not that tall... He lifted the camera way up high to get an aerial shot.

I might be the only person I know who doesn't own a Kitchenaid mixer. I don't know how many thousands of times I've made cookie dough in my life, but I've always managed to blend it with a little hand mixer. That explains how my arms got so incredibly ripped. =) If I had a Kitchenaid I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself while waiting for the work to be done for me. I'm not saying I wouldn't accept one if someone wanted to give me one, but I don't consider it a priority or even a necessity. More like a luxury.

Wearing the apron Ryan gave me the Christmas before last. He asked why I hadn't tried it on without anything underneath. I told him I had. He asked where he was at the time. "At school", I answered. What can I say, I was curious. So sue me.

Jane sampling a chocolate chip cookie.

Jane with a mouthful o' cookie - Cora with a kooky mouth.

What a ham.

Here's the picture that made the whole experience worth it...



The fact that this snapshot was not supposed to have a hand reaching into it makes it priceless. I was minding my own business, taking a pic of the (ugly) cookies, and from out of nowhere came Oliver's chubby little hand - making a perfectly timed appearance in the photo. I love it!

I always have to kick myself a little for making the cookies because when Oliver knows they're there he can think of nothing else! But he'd been requesting them for days, and I kept having to tell a very bummed boy that we had no cookies, so I didn't have the heart to let him down yet again.

A walk, lots o' rocks and an otter.

Last evening, Ryan and I took Oliver on a walk. The girls were playing at a friend's house and chose not to come along with us. I wish they would have, but they were having so much fun so I didn't make them. What a sweet mom I am...

Oliver was sauntering along at a snail's pace. He didn't want to be carried and he kept stopping every time he saw rocks. He's passionate about rocks. He brings them inside, carries them around, but mostly he loves throwing them in the water.
We were going to the river that is a short walk from us, behind the subdivision behind our apartment complex. That's the one thing I love about our location. It's so pretty back by the river.

Tightwall walking.

The second we got to the rocks he got right down to business.

Evidence that we were both there at the same time.

Winding up...

Words aren't necessary.

So glad Ryan had the camera handy to catch me brushing dirt from my seat.

I love his little pose. He looks as though he's deeply contemplating something. Probably rocks.

Wiping junk from his dirty hands. He can't stand being messy.

I saw a creature jogging (yes, it was jogging) on the other side of the river. It looked like a ferret, but I couldn't think of a reason one would be along the river, unless it was a runaway pet. After a minute of Ryan and making "wild" guesses at its identity, I said, "Maybe it's an otter!" I don't think I've ever seen an otter in person. The only thing I had to go by was the illustrated Otto the Otter featured in those water safety coloring books they give out at school. They don't have otters at the zoo, at least not that I recall. It was too long and skinny to be a beaver or a badger. I'm sure it was an otter. My camera would not zoom far enough to get a good picture of it, dang it! If you look closely near the shoreline at the center of the above pic below the two tall trees you'll see a small, dark figure. That's him! He was so cute.

It was very overcast. Here's the sun trying to peek through the clouds.

Having a little fun by the real estate signs on the way home.

I had a hunch it would come to this.

No comment.

This house always has a cardboard standup of Zac Efron in the garage window. The first time I saw it it scared the crud out of me!

Pretty flowers along the way. I promise I didn't pick any.

Mallards in the canal by our apartments.

Oliver didn't like riding up so high on Daddy's shoulders. He was a little freaked out. Or maybe he was just mad that it kept him from scrambling for rocks on our way home. Either way, he wanted down!

After we got done at the river we collected Cora and Jane and went home.




Classic sisterly love.

What a nice little adventure we had. I am excited for warm weather so we can be outside more.

Feeling Groovy

The latter part of our week was interrupted by a yucky tummy bug. It hit Oliver first, then me, then Cora. Thursday was my day to be out of order. I did not feel well and barely had the might to peel myself off the couch to do what had to be done. Luckily, Oliver was content to watch movies and play semi quietly all morning until nap time while the girls were at school. I had no appetite and was dizzy, bloated and had some chills. I had been up since 3am when Oliver had tossed his cookies in bed. I took him out on the couch and "slept" with him at arm's reach, bowl in hand, thinking he'd have more where that came from. He didn't end up doing it again, but it would have been handy to know that he was fine so I could've slept a little more peacefully. After that, I went all day feeling icky and then only lost it once right at bedtime, mercifully. Cora got sick that same night around midnight, so I was up helping her every so often until the wee hours of the morning. Only Jane and Ryan avoided getting ill.



Anyway, by Saturday we were all feeling much better. I always appreciate returning to my normal healthy self after being sick. We were all needing to get out of the house, and Ryan had some plans for us. He said it was a surprise. After lunch we all piled into the van, without the camera, unfortunately... I don't know what I was thinking.



It looked like we were on our way to Ryan's parents', but our destination was actually a few houses down on the same street, at his uncle and aunt's house. They pretty much have their own community of Lytles on that block. There are 7 separate households of Lytles, in 7 different houses within a few blocks of each other (all from 2 families; Ryan's parents' and Ryan's uncle's family). They all hang out together often, so they figured it would be easier to live by each other. I love the older houses in that neighborhood with their character and big, mature yards (Owyhee/Cassia/Kootenai area), so I don't blame them for wanting to snatch up houses there.



I've strayed from the topic. Ryan had called earlier in the day to ask his Uncle Jim if we could borrow their tandem bike so he could take me for a ride. It had been years and years since I'd tried that. I can't even remember when it was or who I was with, but it was when I was a kid. I think. Dang fuzzy memories. I was excited and impressed that Ryan had thought of that fun little activity. Of course neither of us own bikes, so we were a bit unseasoned. Here's where I have to insert one of my favorite Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey... "Instead of a bicycle built for two, what about no kinds of bicycles at all for anybody, anymore? There, are you happy now?" Ha! I can't remember for sure how long it's been since I've ridden a bike, but it might be going on a few years, sadly. I'd like a bike. They've always been fun (especially that time when I was hit and knocked over by a slow-moving tenspeed)! I always had access to a bike growing up. I'd ride past boys' houses at night for a rush. I'm surprised I didn't get myself killed that way, riding in the darkness with no bike light or reflective clothing. I've digressed again. Anyway, since I'd been "away from the bike" for some time, my crotch was hurting after a few minutes of riding. Poor me. Ryan was steering and it was scary for me not being able to see where we were going. I had to trust that he wasn't going to crash. It felt like we were about to head into the gutter at any moment, and corners were a bit unnerving. But it was fun. Cora, Jane, Oliver and Hannah (Cora's friend) came along on the trip and played in Ryan's parents' backyard while we were tooling around the neighborhood. Ryan took each of the girls for a turn after I'd gotten my fill.

Then we went home for Oliver's nap and I went to the grocery store and also picked up a pepperoni and artichoke pizza, extra sauce for dinner. It was a good day.



Uh-oh ... I think I spoke too soon about Ryan dodging the yucky tummy bug. He just walked through and said he thinks he's getting sick.

Silent Choir

We had a Relief Society Birthday dinner this evening at the church. Wendy Doughty was in charge of putting together a so-called silent choir as the after dinner entertainment. I guess she was told to use "Give Said the Little Stream" as the song. It's the same idea as that video on YouTube of the silent monks performing "The Hallelujah Chorus".

So, long story short, I volunteered to be one of the eight participants in the little presentation. We practiced for a bit on Friday, then we ran through it a few more times right before the dinner started, so with that short allotment of rehearsal time I thought we did pretty well. I think everyone held up the right words at the appropriate times.

I hope this video works. It's recorded on my regular camera (not that I have any other kind of camera), and it does not allow for zooming and my friend couldn't get much closer. Plus the music wasn't loud enough so it's difficult to hear the words on the video, and it was too dark in there to see the words we were holding up. Other than that the conditions were just perfect. ;) At least you get the idea. It's hard to tell by watching this, but we all have matching pink bandanas tied around our mouths since we didn't have big monk robes with which to shroud our faces.

The theme for the night was Pretty in Pink. The R.S. President in our ward is serious about her decorating. She paints awesome murals and always makes things look gorgeous. I was going to take some pics of the gym in all its glory, but after the video and one other picture my camera's batteries were unfortunately depleted.

The collective startled outcry at the end was thanks to a strand of lights that came unhinged and almost fell on a table inhabited by innocent ladies. Did I do that? (to be read in an annoying Urkel voice)

The Three Amigas

I was so excited for Saturday to come. Maria and Renee (friends I've had since I was a teenager) and I went to a little class at Williams-Sonoma that was meant to school us on proper cake and cupcake baking. It started at 9 in the morning. That's kind of early for a Saturday outing, but I didn't have any trouble getting up, knowing how much fun awaited me. I am SO glad I have those two around. It hasn't been too long since Renee moved back here from Arizona, and Maria moved back here from Texas (each with her respective family).

The class instructor was a cute, petite, brunette girl who kept raving about cake and suggesting various spendy products that our cakes would likely be ruined without. The three of us provided plenty of hushed commentary among ourselves. =) There were 25 or so other people gathered for the class, and we all had to stand around the demo kitchen for the hour, watching and waiting for our chance to sample the yummy-looking cupcakes. We were so mad when the gal started cutting them into quarters. What a gyp! Maria really wanted a whole one.

After the class, we wandered around the store looking at all the overpriced kitchen must-haves. They had one pan I really liked that had multiple openings to create cutely designed petits fours, but it was $36. I love miniature things, cakes included. But I also appreciate mini prices. =) Then I saw a pink apron with an embroidered cupcake on the front. I drooled a little, but resisted the urge to buy it. It was kid-sized anyway.


These pictures were taken in January at Renee's baby shower. I wanted to take some new ones Saturday, but didn't get around to it. This'll have to suffice.


I love Maria's eyes! She looks just like Cookie Monster.

It reminds me of all the times Renee and I went to the photo booth inside K-Mart the year after we graduated from high school.

After the cake class we went to IHOP for a late breakfast. We had a great time talking about all sorts of stuff. My cheeks and mouth became sore from laughing so much. I kept thinking we were going to be asked to leave. I noticed that some customers came after we'd already been there a while, and they ate and left while we were just biding our time. I think by the time we paid it had been nearly 2 hours. I had a slight headache for quite a while after we parted because of the excessive chuckling. My favorite kind of headache. I can't wait to get together with them again! We bring out the fun in each other. I love it.

Double Date

On Friday, Ryan and I went on a double date with our friends, Rachel and Micah. We've been buddies with them since about the time Jane was born. We were in the same ward and lived in the same apartment complex.
It had been a few months since we'd hung out together, so I called Rachel on Thursday to see how things were going. She said she'd been thinking of calling me all week. Likely story... =) We chatted for a bit, then she said they had a date planned for the following evening, and asked if we wanted to join them. It sounded like a plan to me! We decided to go bowling.


I have such long arms it's hard to tell I'm the one taking the snapshots. What is up with my neck all the time? It looks so weird.

Ryan is too tall for me to get him all in the pic, even with my ape-like arms. His head got truncated, but at least his smile looks nice. He slouched accordingly in one of the shots, but it made him look like a double-chinned slob, so I decided to go with this one after all. I thought about having him take the dang picture, but changed my mind...

Ryan needs some photography lessons. Is that a person way over there in the middle of the frame?

Notice all the pins still standing in the background as I make the humiliating trek to retrieve the ball.

Gutter ball. It wasn't nearly as tragic as the blurry, disfigured expression on my mug.

Well, I guess my score was pretty pathetic. Bad enough to match the look on my face. I don't know if I dare even share that kind of sad information here. Okay, who cares? First game: 65, second game a whopping 84... Ryan got a 90 one game and something just over 100 on the other. I got one strike, and I didn't even mean to! It was a pleasant surprise. I like bowling, but I need some schooling and serious practice. It would be so fantastic if I could get the highest score in the history of bowling. Because I'm sure I could get some extra credit somehow...

After we'd sufficiently embarrassed ourselves at the bowling alley, we went to DQ for some cool treats. At first, Micah and Rachel suggested we go to Mcdonald's for soft serve cones. I am HORRIBLE at faking approval. If I don't want something, you'll know it. Even if I try to agree, nobody buys it. I made some snide remark about how it wasn't exactly gourmet. Ever say something before you think it through? Um, I do. I felt so bad for acting so rude! But they asked where I wanted to go and I answered apologetically, "Dairy Queen?" And then the unthinkable happened. Both Rachel and Micah, who have lived in Boise for years, admitted they had NEVER BEEN TO A DAIRY QUEEN!!! "WHAT?!" That right there eliminated any of the guilt I'd been feeling moments earlier. It was no longer a choice to be made. It was Dairy Queen or die...

Their first DQ experience. Rachel gave me her critique. She said the soft serve was better than McD's (no-brainer), but the fudge wasn't as good as McD's. Upon further investigation, it was probably due to the fact that Micah had mistakenly ordered it with chocolate syrup, not fudge. =) I didn't hear any complaints about the chocolate dip cone. And I haven't seen any of those at McD's.

I ordered a chocolate cherry blizzard. Mmmm... one of my favorites.

I worked at that very store (Glenwood) for 3 years from when I was 16. The thing I liked most about it was getting to create my own treats every day on break. I liked a lot of the people I worked with, but a lot of the time it was hard for me to deal with the stress of ice cream machines malfunctioning, angry customers, running out of crucial ingredients during rushes, etc. It was a constant battle with myself trying to keep my sanity intact. The thing that most kept me motivated was the sweet assurance of a Blizzard treat at lunch time. Vanilla (or swirl) soft serve with cookie dough, oreo, malt and chocolate cone dip all mixed together. Yum. That was one of my favorite combinations.

Anyway, it was a really fun double date.

The End

Cora's toast

One evening last week Cora wanted toast. I asked her what she wanted on it and she couldn't decide between jam, butter and cinnamon. Pointing to the toast, she told me she wanted jam on one side, butter in the middle, and cinnamon on the other side. Mmmkay, Cora... She was pleased with the outcome. Goofy girl. I can't blame her for wanting variety though. But I seriously don't know where she gets her indecisiveness! ;)