Halloween FHE

So, today I wanted to do something a little more fun with Logan. I wanted to do this for a few reasons. 1) He seems like he really needs some attention, and maybe some one on one mommy time.He is always harrassing Avery, and I feel like I am yelling at him a lot, or sending him to time out. 2) I wanted to do something fun for Halloween.

I found some really cute and simple booklets to print off for Halloween. I glued the 5 little pumpkins pages on orange cardstock, and put the pages in page protectors to make a nice book. The "orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin" story, I just printed off the pages and let Logan color the pictures. We had fun, and it was fun to read them to daddy when he got home.

I also made some cookies. I let Logan decorate them with chocolate chips, and he had a good time. He sure likes cookies! We let Avery have some cookie too, and when I wasn't around, daddy put her on the floor to eat her cookie. What?? That's what high chairs are for! Unfortunately, it wasn't very smart to give her some since you can see her little face starting to break out. She has had some funny reactions to some foods on occasion. It isn't as bad as it used to be, so I am hopeful she will grow out of it soon. She loves to eat, and wants to eat everything!




After the cookies, we whipped out the pumpkins for the much anticipated carving. Logan had his very own little pumpkin, and I gave him a sharpie and told him to draw his face, and I would cut it out for him. He did, and it was such a great job! I slightly modified it, to allow room, but otherwise, his pumpkin's face he designed himself. He was sooo excited! He is getting really good at drawing all of a sudden.

Pumpkin Patch

I mentioned in a previous post about our trip to the Cider mill on Saturday. I now have pictures!

It was neat to go to the mill, and be able to get some fresh cider and cider donuts! Yum! The corn maze was Logan's favorite part I think. He kept talking about getting some corn. He was so funny! As soon as we entered the maze, he picked up two cobs of corn off the ground, and carried them around the entire maze. We actually brought them home. We had to convince him that it wasn't good corn to eat though.


Although the day was a really nice Fall day, it was a bit windy at times, so the kids had their hoods on to keep their ears warm. I tried to get a picture of the cute kids with the pumpkins, but you know how hard it is to get them to look at the camera? They are still cute!


Tony had baby carrying duty, since I had camera duty. I just loved seeing Avery with her daddy! They are so cute! Daddy put his hat on her head to give her some shade at one point, and she looked so cute I had to get a picture.Have I said cute enough yet?




Since we can't ever seem to get a picture of all of us together when we go out, I told Tony I wanted a picture of me and my kids. Again, it was good luck getting the kids to look at the camera!



It was a fun day. I love spending time with my family, no matter what we are doing. I am the happiest when we are all together having fun!

Recipe Blog

Ok, so I am getting a bit Blog crazy. I decided to start another blog solely about recipes and food. If you would like to check it out,you can go here. If you try any of the recipes, be sure to comment and let me know what you think!

Speaking of recipes, I am sure you may all remember my recent post about the Chili cook-off that won me third place? Well, I just learned a very amusing story tonight about the first place winner. If you would like to check it out, you can read it on my friend Dani's blog.

Today, we spent the morning at the Louisburg Cider Mill visiting the corn maze and pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, the patch had been picked over pretty good, so we ended up getting a pumpkin from a pile of pumpkins they had instead.Logan led us through the corn maze, and his favorite part I think were the two cobs of corn he took home with him. He carried those two corn cobs around with him the entire maze! I will post pictures later.It was a nice day!

Fire Map

so, I thought I would share a map with you all that shows where the fires have burned, where they are currently burning, and the evacuation areas so you can see where it is in relation to my parents home. There is a key on the right of the map, but light pink is where the fire has burned, red is obviously where it is burning, and purple is the mandatory evacuation areas.

Go here.

Zoom in to 50%, and then scroll down to show El Cajon. In the bottom left corner of square 1252, is where my parents live.So, thankfully they are right out of reach of the fire, but awfully close.

Halloween pillowcase

I finally made Logan's Halloween pillowcase yesterday. When I was done making it, I was very anxious for Logan to see his new pillow, but when I went to give it to him, this is what I found. I just placed the pillow behind him and took the picture. I love sleeping children.

So, I was really hoping that having such a fun new pillowcase especially for Halloween would make Logan more excited to go to bed. Ha! Not so. He still ended up in our bed last night. Twice. I know I am catering to this bad habit by not insisting he stay in his bed, but at 2 a.m. when we are all exhausted, it is much easier to let the child cuddle in between us (and kick off the covers, and turn around sideways and use one of us as a pillow, and the other as a kicking post) than fight with him about going back to his own bed. If Avery would cooperate, I would even be tempted to let her join us when she wakes up in the night. In my ideal brain, it would work out so much better for us all to be one big happy, cozy, sleeping family, than to stand in her room rocking her back and forth, and trying not to laugh as she thinks it is hilarious to stick her binky in my mouth. She is a funny girl.

Just to go on a bit of a tangent and talk about Avery, she is doing so many fun things these days! She is almost 9 months old. She is scooting around army style all over the place. She can get her knees up under her pretty good too, but has yet to learn to push up on her hands at the same time. You know how they say that babies at this age tend to wake up in the night because they want to practice their new skills? Well, that is what little Miss has been doing lately. She wants to be held upright, and then tucks her knees up and pushes against my chest with her hands and rocks up and down. If she were in the normal hands and knees postition on the floor, she would be rocking back and forth. Anyway, she does this for a bit, and then collapses into my arms or on my shoulder like she is so tired. Then immediately pops back up again and proceeds to practice her rocking...using me for her surface. I have to hold on tight or she will end up on the floor. She does this over and over for a while. When I try to lay her down in her bed, she then practices her clapping. She claps a lot these days and it is so cute, because she tends to yell at the same time, almost like she is saying "yay!" Se claps in the middle of nursing, eating, having her diaper changed, or just sitting and playing. She is funny to watch...especially with her huge grin while she is doing it!

The other night in the middle of one of her mid-night practice sessions, she was having a hard time letting me leave her. I layed her in her crib,held her hand and decided to sing to her, hoping it would calm her down enough for me to slip out. well, that plan backfired! She took that as a cue to join in, and started singing along. It was so cute! But not what the point was. Oh well...you just have to love the sweet little things. She is very vocal these days and has "dadadadadada" down to a T. She says "baba" "wawa" "tata", but not "mama" yet. We are working on it though.She also has two teeth now...her two bottom ones. Her hair is growing too. I really can't believe how fast time has gone.

An update on my parents situation. So far, they are still safe at home, with no signs of evacuation in the near future.From what my mom said this morning, the fire is starting to go back towards the direction it came from...so heading east again. If it were to head north, it would be in the direction of their house. Last night when talking to my parents, they were just watching in amazement as Mt. Miguel lit up with flames. You can see that mountain straight out our living room window. I guess to be able to actually see it, is bit more worrisome.

Some websites to check out are:

www.sdcountyemergency.com

www.10news.com

www.signonsandiego.com

San Diego is on fire!

I am writing about this because I am worried to death about my parents, as well as other families I know in the area. This is so scary, and it doesn't look good at all. I thought after the Cedar fire four years ago, there wouldn't be another one that bad. It sounds like they are expecting this one to be even worse.Here is an article about it, and I am sure you can find plenty more if you google it.They ahve already evacuated 250,000 people, and are sending 1,000 firetrucks from northern California to help. Can you believe the magnitude of this?

This situation really makes me think about how important it is to be prepared.I have been telling my mom that she has some advance notice in this situation, so she has time to pack a few important things, gather their important papers, pictures, pets, etc. She has time to go get gas in the cars, and money from the bank. She has time to get her 72 hour kits updated and ready to go. She has time to pack the cars and be ready in case the call comes for them to evacuate. The time won't last long though if they don't do anything while they can. Back in 2003 when they were in this situation, I thought long and hard about what really mattered to me if my parents home burned down. It is the only home I ever knew growing up, so all my childhood memories are there. Of course there are a lot of things that I will be sad about losing, but only a few things that I told my mom to be sure to get. Family pictures and scrapbooks, and my wedding dress. I still feel the same about those things, but since the last fires, I have also lost my little brother, so his things would be important to save as well. It is hard to be so far removed from the situation, because I wish I could help! I would get every suitcase and box I could find and load up the things I thought were important, and be sure my parents were ready and prepared. I can't do it for them, just like no one can do it for us. We have to be ready, and we are the only ones who can do that for ourselves.

Right now, my parents home is not in the direct path of the fires, but it is always possible that it could be. The last time the fire came pretty close, on more sides of their home than one. I believe they were even told it would be a good idea to evacuate, but they didn't. It probably came about 10 miles away at the closest. They are on the outskirts of El Cajon, closer to Jamul where the Harris fire is burning. But on the other side of them is Santee and Lakeside which is in the path of the Witch fire. I feel that they will probably be ok, but you never know and I have to prepare myself for the worst possibility.

Please pray for them and everyone else who is and will be affected by this scary situation.

Halloween Trunk or Treat and Chili Cook Off

Tonight was our ward's Halloween Trunk or Treat and Chili cook-off. I signed up to bring chili. I have never made anything for a cook-off before, so this was new for me. And, guess what? I won 3rd place!The above picture is my prize. I am so excited! Seriously, I didn't think I would be so proud of myself. It feels good.

So, I didn't make either of the recipes I was thinking about. I went with a recipe for Pumpkin Black Bean Chili. I tweaked it a bit, and was pretty pleased with the results. I may fiddle around with it in the future to make it even better. Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
3 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb. ground turkey, browned
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
4 cups (2 cans) chicken broth
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1-2 tsp. salt (to taste)

1. Saute onions, yellow pepper and garlic in oil for 8 minutes, or until soft.
2. Stir in oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours, or high for 3 1/2-4 hours)

It was the missionaries who were judging, if that means anything. And there were 10 entries, so again I'm pretty pleased that I won 3rd place!



As for the kids and their costumes, Logan was a ghost and Avery was a little fairy.My friend Vicki had a ghost costume that her son wore when he was 3 that she let us borrow. My cousin sent a little skirt and wand for Avery, and I bought her some wings at Michael's. I made her flower headband this afternoon. I am glad I didn't have to spend too much on the kids Halloween costumes this year. Maybe one of these years I will get back in the Halloween spirit for myself, and get Tony and I some good costumes. I used to get into Halloween a lot more. I had fun.

Osage Orange...aka hedge apple

So, I was hoping to stump you all! I totally forgot about some of you who live in the area! I should have put a disclaimer for those of you who really did know what it is, to see what clever responses I would get from those who didn't know. Oh well. At least the mystery is solved!

Osage Orange trees are the winner! It is true. I have a hedgerow straight through my backyard. The nice thing is that it does provide a lot of shade in the summer. However, along with that it also does not allow a lot of sunlight in either. My bedroom feels so dark all the time. It's like I am in a tree house sometimes.

Anyway, I finally looked up some information about these mysterious trees, and they actually are quite fascinating! We have been cursing the darn things and making plans to remove most of them, but after telling Tony about their many benefits and features, he thinks they are great trees now! The main selling point for him is that the wood is great to burn, and rates second to coal in heat production. Of course anything related to heating, energy, and coal would be of interest to Tony.

I did find the natural insect repellent to be appealing, so I think I am going to go surround the perimeters of my house with them. I will find out if it really works!

If you are curious about these trees and want to learn more, you can go to this website. There are several great informative articles listed on this site.

Is it floam?

So, last year when we moved to Kansas, we encountered this very unusual object for the first time in our lives.It was really funny actually, because the first Sunday we went to church, there were several of these scattered around the parking lot. I thought it looked like balls of floam. I had never actually seen floam in person, but it looked like what I had seen on tv, and I assumed maybe the youth had an activity at the church with floam or something.It wasn't until I started to notice these things EVERYWHERE, including my backyard, that I realized it wasn't floam after all. What the heck were these strange things?





I know I have mentioned before that we have a lot of trees in our backyard. Well, it just so happens that it is basically a row of these trees all through our backyard.The weird thing is that when you look up in the trees, you cannot see these things at all! And then all of a sudden they are all over the ground. After all the leaves fall off the trees, then you can see them, but not before. Considering the size of these things,maybe I should start having Logan wear a helmet when he goes outside to play.




So, I have learned by now what these things are. Do you know what they are????

Eclipse

So, no pillowcase yet. I have very good reason, however. I borrowed Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer from a girl at church yesterday. I was up late last night, and finished reading it today. It was a rainy, stormy day, and perfect for reading all day! Ok, so now I am having withdrawal. I can't stop thinking about it! It is going to kill me to wait for the fourth book now. And even worse, they are talking about making Twilight into a movie, which won't be out until 2010!!!!why do they have to torture me so???

O.k. I am a grown-up. I can wait.(sigh....) This is a very intriguing series, and definitely part of my favorites now.I better go to bed so I can dream about vampires and werewolves now. Sweet dreams! (Do I sound like a psycho?)

Sewing projects

I feel like my life has been totally boring and unexciting lately, which is why I haven't blogged about anything. Last Thursday I hosted book group at my house, and I wanted to have somewhat nice looking Fall decorations. When I worked at Bath & Body Works, I bought quite a few Halloween tealight holders, and it seems that all my decor is based around candles. I need something new. I wanted something cute for my table, so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a fall floral bouquet, and some fabric to make a runner. I originally wanted to make a table cloth, but the fabric I chose isn't wide enough, so a runner it is. I made it really fast (for me anyway) that morning, so I would have it in time for book group. I am really pleased with how it turned out, and even more proud of myself that I made it on my own. Ok, I know sewing up a few hems, or seams or whatever doesn't sound too hard, and it really wasn't. I am just thinking of easy to sew projects for me to practice my sewing skills.




I also let Logan choose some fun Halloween fabric and I am going to make him a Halloween pillowcase for his bed. I thought that would be fun, and again something simple to make. I need to get it made like tomorrow so he can use it for a few weeks! I will be sure to post the finished project when I am done!

Conference Traditions

Where is Fall? It is not here, I can tell you. It was 87 degrees today, and I don't see hardly any colored leaves. I do not feel like Fall is here. I can't bring myself to get out my decorations, and I normally can't wait to put out my Fall/Halloween decor. I associate Conference week-end with the start of Fall. There is usually a hint of cool and crisp weather, and many leaves are already fall colors. This year is weird. Actually, I don't remember what it was like last year...we had just barely moved here.Maybe it is normal for Kansas. I don't know.

So, I have thought for a while about having some kind of conference traditions. I haven't started any yet, as I am still trying to think of what things would be best. Today we started off with a breakfast of Oatmeal pancakes. I made some homemade Pico de Gallo (salsa) and guacomole. We munched on it during the afternoon session.I like the homemade salsa and guac instead of a big lunch or dinner. Just snacks.Yummy. My dad used to make homemade scones with honey butter when we were young and I loved it. It wasn't for conference, but it might make a good tradition. I have thought about making scones and homemade root beer for Halloween. I probably wiill try it this year.

So, here is the Pico de Gallo recipe I made today.

Pico de Gallo

8 good-sized Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Tbls. minced garlic
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 large white onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
ground pepper to taste
optional jalapeno pepper, diced

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl.Add chopped cilantro, and jalapeno if using. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and cilantro until you reach the desired flavor.

I am loving these flavors lately. Yesterday, we had tacos for dinner along with this super yummy confetti rice recipe. That is why I made the salsa..I had leftover cilantro I needed to use. It seriously is sooooo good. It is served warm, but i snacked on it later straight from the fridge, and it was good cold too.

Tex Mex Confetti Rice

1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 small tomato, chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
2 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or (1 tbsp dried*)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until heated through.

So, let me know if you try any of these recipes. The rice is fantastic! Also, let me know if you have any conference traditions! I would love to hear what you do! And don't forget to share your winning chili recipes!

Chili wanted

So, I braved it this year and signed up to bring chili for the ward Halloween party. Last year they did have judges. I haven't heard about this year, but I am guessing there will be. I am trying to find the perfect chili recipe to make.

I was trying to decide between Maren's Cincinnati Chili, which has barbecue sauce and chocolate amongst the ingredients, or Andrea's Black Bean chili. I have both of these recipes from the Lafayette recipe group, and I know I have tasted Andrea's chili, and remembered it was really good. I don't remember if I ever tried Maren's, but I trust her recipes to be winners.

So, please give me your feedback about which recipe I should make, or if you have a winning chili recipe, please send it my way. Even if mine doesn't win, I want to make sure it isn't just your average chili. I want it to be gooooood!

Gracias.

Sing sweet myvindale

Logan has beed hooked on Cinderella lately. He wants to watch it over and over again. This morning after having watched it twice, he was singing along to "Sing sweet Myvindale". Huh?? What's a myvindale?I tried to correct him and tell him that it was nightingale, but he insisted that it was myvindale.Ok. then.If you say so Sir.

I haven't blogged this week because I was tryign to get my Enrichment night prepared for. It was on Wednesday. Now it is over, and I can relax a tiny bit. I have to get cracking on our Christmas enrichment which is the beginning of December. I will wait until Conference is over before I start in on that one.

So, Halloween is coming up. I always think I have plenty of time to get halloween costumes planned, but then it is always the last minute and I have nothing! I really want Avery to be a little fairy. I just think that she will be soooo cute! My cousin's wife has a costume her little girl wore last year, so they are sending it to me. That's a relief. Now on to Logan. I have asked him several times over the last little while what he wants to be and he keeps telling me he wants to be a ghost.Alrighty then! That seems simle enough. I do need to figure out how to make it so his head isn't covered, so he can see better, and so he can go to the church halloween party.I was thinking of getting a white hoodie sweatshirt, so his head would be covered, but his face would be visible. If anyone knows where to find one, let me know! Our ward Halloween party is on the 20th, so I only have a few weeks.I figure i will somehow transform a white sheet into a cape-like configuration to go on top of his sweatshirt. That's the plan anyway.

Avery is getting very mobile. She scoots around everywhere. I am going to have to make sure to keep my kitchen floor very clean!She tries to eat everything!We did discover however that she does not like formula. I had Tony try to feed her a bottle the other night while I was at enrichment. I guess she shuddered at it. He also tried to mix it in her cereal, and she wouldn't eat it like that either. I am surprised, since she seems to eat everything else. I thought she would take it no problem!

We are all getting a bit sleep deprived around here lately. Avery has decided to wake up twice a night, and Logan has decided that he doesn't like to be alone at night either, and ends up in bed with us. With Tony having to get up at 4:45 a.m., it really doesn't help with the sleeping situation at all. Needless to say, the days are a bit rough because of it.

So that's the extremeley interesting goings on in my life currently. I knew you would all be so interested, but I felt bad going a week between posts. I will try to do better.

Branson, MO!

So, we just got back from Branson last night. We were there Wednesday evening and most of Thursday. We saw 3 shows. Wednesday night Tony's dad, some friends of Tony's parents from France, Tony, Logan and I went to the Dixie Stampede. Grandma stayed at the condo with Avery, and had some good grandma/Avery bonding time. It was really fun. Logan was totally entranced. The show hadn't even really started yet, but the lights were shining everywhere, and he sat there with a look of awe on his face and said "Wow". This show was a dinner show, so they served you dinner while you watched. They had a really nice meal, but they don't give you any silverware, so you have to eat with your hands. Very interesting. The server came around first to ask us what we wanted to drink. Pepsi or Iced tea. Those were our options. Tony said "neither" and the girl laughed. I think she thought he was joking at first. She then asked if we would like water. Yes, please. So then, they brought us creamy vegetable soup, and a cheese biscuit. We used the biscuit to dip in the soup, and then drank it right from the bowl. It was quite tasty. Then, they brought our chicken. Tony's mom had been before and told us she thought the dinner was chicken, and you had to eat it with your hands. I was thinking like a drumstick, or a piece of fried chicken. I was definitely NOT expecting a whole chicken.It was funny. I had smuggled a plastic fork, because I knew Logan would have issues using his hands. He is funny like that. I tried to dig at my chicken with the fork, but it wasn't very successful. I just couldn't bring myself to just chow on a whole chicken with only my hands and mouth. Sorry...couldn't do it. I had to get a doggy bag to take it home.

The next item was a half a potato. It was baked and seasoned, and pretty easy to eat with your hands. I ended up eating Logan's as well. And his biscuit, and Tony ate his chicken and his soup. He wouldn't touch it. They then brought out a pice of pork tenderloin, and Tony's dad ate Logan's. Corn on the cob was next, and the server brought two for Logan, which he did eat. But not until we were all eating our dessert of an apple turnover. I got Logan's. Lucky, very full, me.

The show was great, and the stunts on the horses was really fascinating to watch. They had an ostrich race, and little pig race. They had some dancing as well, and overall it was a fun show. Logan really liked it, until the end when he was getting tired, and decided it was too loud, and had his hands over his ears. I am glad we took him though.

Thursday morning we all went to the Brett Family Singers. It was a good show. Logan was soooo tired, and was really fidgety and not interested in a lot of the show. There were some parts that he paid attention to. Avery was fascinated by it though. This was her very first show! She really loved the disco ball, and watched the lights going around and around. She fell asleep for part of it, and didn't get fussy until the end. Overall, it was a nice show, but not as entertaining as some.

We went to lunch at Olive Garden, and then Tony's parents took the kids back to the condo so Tony and I could go see a show by ourselves. We went and saw Six. It was FANTASTIC! It was such a great show! I was so amazed, and laughed my head off, and overall just felt really happy, and truly enjoyed the show. It was great. I am so glad we chose that one to go see. It was awesome. They are really all brothers, and there are even 4 more of them that don't perform with them. Their mom was told when she was 17 that she wouldn't be able to have children. Then she had 10 boys! Incredible. It was so sweet. They did a tribute to their mom (she passed away 15 years ago from cancer)and played a slide show. One of the sons wrote a song called 'Love times Ten" and they played that song during the slide show. It was such a beautiful song, and it made me cry.It really was a great show! I wish all of you could come to Branson and see it. Fabulous.

Now we are back home, and Logan is sick today, and Avery is catching up on her sleep, and I am being lazy. Our neighborhood is having their annual sale this week-end, so maybe when Avery wakes up we will go for a walk and see what kind of stuff people have for sale. That's our plan for the day!

Am I a bad mother?

So, I am starting to feel like I made a really big mistake. It seems like every other person that I know with a child the same age as Logan has them enrolled in pre-school this year, and I don't. I didn't think about it enough when it was time to enroll them, and I didn't think I was ready for that yet either. I wasn't sure if he would be ready either, but now that it is too late, I am really feeling like I need to get Logan involved with something. He needs it. He isn't a baby anymore, and I can tell he is needing "more" right now. I am worrying about how he will be come January when it is time to go to sunbeams at church. I taught sunbeams last summer. They were horrible.I do not want my son to be one of the horrible ones.Anyway, I just had to get this off my chest. I think it is too late to get him signed up for anything at this point, because I think they all go for the whole year, and not semesters. Perhaps I just need to make an effort to get out in the community and take him to story time at the library, or other fun things like that.I will think of something.

***** I need to add a clarification. Not ALL of the sunbeams I taught were horrible. In fact, most of them were pleasant normal 3 year olds. There were 2 horrible ones, and that seemed to make the rest of my memories of that class horrible. And I mainly say it out of amazement that 2 little 3 year olds could cause such grief. It is actually almost funny.

Some recipes to share

So, I feel like sharing some recipes. I have a new found favorite recipe. It is so good, I can't even tell you. I am not good at describing food like people on food blogs, but it is yummy!

Here it is:

PASTA, SPINACH AND CHICKEN SALAD
3 c. cooked shredded chicken
1 pkg. (12 oz.) rotelle pasta
1/4 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. salad oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped parsley
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onion
8 c. lightly packed, torn spinach leaves
Cook pasta, drain, rinse.
In small frying pan, combine 1/4 cup oil and sesame seeds. Saute until seeds are golden. Cool. Stir in remaining oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over cooked, cooled pasta and chicken. Toss gently. Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight. Before serving, add green onions, parsley and spinach. Toss gently. Serves 8+.

* I use bowtie pasta instead of the rotelle. I also used the parsley the first time I made it, but left it out the second and third times. I had the curly parsley, and I felt like the texture was a bit too rough compared to the other textures in the salad. This is seriously delicious. You will want to eat it all day!

I also made this really easy recipe for dinner the other night, that I thought I would pass along. it isn't gourmet, but it is pretty tasty.I fond it on this blog

Lasagna Soup

1 lb hamburger (I use ground turkey here)
1 chopped yellow onion
5 c. water
5 T parmesan cheese
1 can undrained corn
1 can undrained peeled tomatoes (I am using diced)
1 box lasagna hamburger helper
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS: Brown meat with chopped onion. Then in a pot, put water, parmesan cheese, corn, tomatoes and the sauce packed from the hamburger helper. Add meat and onion. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Then add the noodles and boil ten more minutes. Add a handful of cheese and spoonful of sour cream on top when serving.

So, let me know if you try these and what you think!

RYKA

Ok, my friend Christy mentioned this cool contest from Ryka where they are giving away 50 pairs of shoes and shirts a day for the entire month of September. So of course, I had to enter. I want a pair of running shoes! I was hoping that if I won a pair, then it would motivate me more to get crackin on my attempt to do the Couch to 5K program. Anyway, I went to get the mail today, and guess what I got? A shirt! Well, that's cool, but not as cool as the shoes. My friend Gigi called me tonight, and she won the shoes! She got the walking shoes, which retail for about $80! So cool! My friend Ginger also won a free shirt. Hers is Cool Carribbean, or Soft Sky and mine is like Rose Red, or even Purely Pomegranite, for those of you who refer to colors in Stampin' Up! colors. So, go enter to win while before the month is over! It can happen to you!

I am back!

I have been meaning to blog for several days now, but for one reason or another, I never got the chance. And then we had internet problems for the past day and a half, and I have felt like I had lost an appendage! My brother is right. I need computer rehab. When Tony came home tonight, and got the problem fixed, he described my excitement as one who was finally getting their "fix" after being in withdrawal. Ok, nice. Maybe I am a tad bit addicted to the computer. But I really had important business to take care of, and I couldn't do it without the internet!

I guess it was a good thing that we spent almost the whole morning at Chuck E Cheese's. We went for our playgroup. Logan had so much fun, and Avery slept in the sling, so she was happy too. Logan's little friend Dakota came over to play afterwards. She is my friend Hillary's little girl, and she and Logan play well together. I decided to walk her home instead of drive, so I piled the kids into the double stroller(Avery rode in the stroller, and Logan and Dakota took turns racing and riding) and we walked her home. She lives 0.6 miles away. I clocked it once on my pedometer.It was a good excuse to get some exercise, and it made Logan get some exercise too, which I think helped send him off to bed by 7:30 p.m. Sweet. I love it when he goes to bed before 8! He wakes up at the same time in the morning regardless of what time he goes to bed, so one hour earlier is great. Hopefully it will inhibit the whining. Sleep is a good thing.

So my little Avery is a little piggy! She seriously would eat anything if she had her choice. She has eaten graham crackers, club crackers, french fries, mashed potatoes, pumpkin bread, an apple slice (I know that was risky),dehydrated apple bits, cheerios, gerber wagon wheels, vanilla wafers,bread, gerber puffs, peas (real peas, not baby food peas) and she would eat anything and everything else within her reach if we weren't careful. I am so much more relaxed with her than I was with Logan at this age. Maybe that's why he is such a picky eater. She does have two teeth now, but they are barely poking through. It's good enough!

Avery's Photo Shoot

 

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen? I can't help but smile and laugh at how sweet she is! I love her sooo much! It is so fun having a little girl. I LOVE it! So, these pictures were taken at the end of her 6th month, rather than the beginning, but at least I could say she was still 6 months old! She turned 7 months old on Sunday. The photographer had been having a rough day, and when I showed up I could tell he wasn't very happy. Avery was so good, and just smiled up a storm at him, so I think it brightened his day. He told me thank you for having such a good baby.That made me a proud momma!Plus she is so darn cute, how could she not make you happy?

So, Kayli, your designs by Kayli hair flower made it in the picture! I admit, I should have slid it over to the side so she doesn't look like a flower unicorn head, but oh well. too late now. It doesn't do her little curly sprout justice! But it was perfect for the photo!

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

Have you seen this? This is hilarious!I love it! It really makes me want to get 8 treadmills so I can re-create the choreography. It looks so fun!I am usually the last to see these things, so sorry if it has been overviewed by you all. It made me laugh. Enjoy!

Another first

I have to document this for posterity, so I apologize in advance if it is too much information.

Avery accomplished another "first" yesterday. She bit me. Ow! For a baby with no teeth, it hurt like the dickons. Of course it caught me off guard, and so I yelled really loud, and it made her cry.So, sad, right? But what about the momma in pain? I am afraid to feed her now because I keep expecting her to do it again. She did it 2 more times later in the day! She will be 7 months old on Sunday. I am not ready to wean her yet, but if she keeps this up I may have no choice! Anyway, she is still cute as ever. She actually may have a tooth trying to pop through, but I can't tell for sure. Logan was 7 1/2 months old when he got his first tooth, so I know the time is approaching. It really is amazing how fast time flies.

So, I went to an At Home America party last night. I really, really want to be able to decorate my house. I have some cute ideas now, but have to get things one at a time.

And I found something else really cool. Have you seen this site? You can totally download software for free that will format your blog into a book. You can then pay to have it printed out like a real book! You can also do this with recipes and other things. What a great idea for gifts1 Perhaps when I hit my 1 year mark with my blog, I will get it published. Then I can do it every year and have volumes. That would be cool. What an easy way to have a journal!

Picture Day!

I took Avery to get her 6 month pictures taken today. I had to hurry because she will be 7 months old in a week! I can't believe I let the month fly by! She is definitely growing so fast. She is really trying to be mobile, and get around where she wants to go. She tries sooooo hard to scoot, but really only ends up rolling around everywhere. When she has been working herself across the room, and I finally notice and react, she gets so excited and proud of herself! It is so cute! She is also working on sitting up. She can do it for a few seconds at a time, and is getting better and better. I am going to really make sure things are baby-proofed! She already managed to roll herself over to the entertainment center and pull dvd's and videos off the bottom shelf. I didn't have too many problems with Logan trying to put everything in his mouth, but I have a feeling Avery will. She thinks she needs to eat everything.

So, it was a pretty productive Saturday. I got several loads of laundry done,as well as various other household tasks.I prepared the grocery list and went grocery shopping, as well as took Avery to get her pictures taken. Overall, it was a nice day, and I am feeling pretty happy today. Here are the 5 things I loved about today.

1. It was actually a very pleasant evening on my way to the store and back. I drove with my windows down, and enjoyed the summer evening breeze! It was such a pretty night, and I loved seeing the sunset.

2. I loved listening to Logan just playing so contently by himself today. He was really wound up and wouldn't nap, but he stayed in his room, and I could hear him talking to himself and playing quietly.It made me happy.

3. I was proud of Avery when she got her pictures taken. She was soooo good, and smiled so big! The photographer had had a rough day, and he thanked me for having a good baby. I also heard people around me talking to each other about Avery's curl on the top of her head. I love that it does that!

4. I am grateful for Tony and how hard he works for our family and our home. He spent all morning mowing the lawn, and it isn't an easy job or a fast one! I think he was out there for a good 2 hours, and still wasn't done when he came in because the lawn mower quit on him. It is times like this when having a big yard is a drawback! But it looks nice now!

5. I am grateful for the quiet hours in the evening that I can have to myself, or spend with Tony after the kids are in bed.

So, now I am off to enjoy a little bit more of my quiet time before I hit the hay!

New Challenge

So, my friend Vicki (I hope you don't mind my mentioning this!) decided she was going to challenge me to not say negative things about myself. I am not sure how well I will do at this challenge, but I thought I would attempt something similar.I think I am going to try to post 5 things I am grateful for each time I post. I have a gratitude journal, and have written in it on occasion, but this might be a better way for me to keep myself finding the good things about my day, rather than focusing on the negative things. So, in the end, if I am looking for the good in things around me, perhaps I will not be so hard on myself. We shall see.So, here goes for today.

1. Lemon-berry slushes from SONIC. YUMMY! These are my new found drink addiction, and a very refreshing beverage choice for the hot, humid summer days (and nights) here in Kansas.I could drink a HUGE one every day and still want more. I love them!

2. Girl's nights. I appreciate having opportunities to get out of the house and socialize with my friends, and make new ones in the process.Tonight was our Relief Society sewing group, and I learned how to make a baby diaper changing pad. It has been good for me to start learning how to sew and make things for my home and family.I really appreciate the patience and kindness of the other women who help me along in my desire to learn a new skill.

3. Clean kitchen counters. There is just something about having the kitchen counters cleaned off that really makes the rest of the house not seem so messy after all.

4. BYU radio on Dish network. I just discovered that I had this yesterday! Hello! I hve only had satellite for 3 years now! Anyway...it has been nice to have this playing in the background today while the rest of my day was whirling around in chaos. I am just imagining that the mood could have been much worse had it not been for that underlying spirit.

5. My children. I love them soooo much it makes my nose tickle!Just thinking about their cute little selves brings tears to my eyes. I know this sounds totally cheesy, but it's true. Logan has such a cute smile, especially with his little dimple. He is such a cute boy, and is growing up so fast. I am truly amazed at how precious he is to me. And little Avery. She is soo sweet! She just grins up a storm whenever she sees any of us! It makes all of us so happy to see her because she is so happy to see us. I love her happy little self. She has such pretty big blue eyes too, just like her brother. They are the sweetest children, and they are all mine, and I am so lucky to have them in my life. I will probably have them on my list every time!

Close every door to me

The adventure begins...bright and early!

My life as I know it will be changing starting tomorrow. Bright and early, as a matter of fact. So early, I don't think it will be bright yet. We are talking approximately 4:45 a.m. early. My sweet slumber may be interrupted at about this time not by my children (although it might be them too), but by Tony. He will be making a regular routine of getting up in the morning around this time to prepare for his latest church assignment. If you haven't guessed it yet, I will tell you. Tony has been asked to teach Seminary. Oh the joys! He will be teaching the Old Testament to a class of 12 High School Freshman every school day for the entire school year.This means that not only will he be getting up so early to go teach early morning seminary beginning at 6 a.m., but he will also have to devote a few hours of his evening to preparing his lessons, and a big chunk on Sundays as well. I am saying bye bye to family time, and bye bye to my husband. He will be going to bed around 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Supposedly a calling such as this brings blessings, so I hope so. I am the one that will have to be patient, and that can be hard for me at times.

On the other hand, I do think it is exciting, and it will be a wonderful learning opportunity for Tony. Just think about how much he will learn about the Old Testament? My goal is to try to study along with what his class is doing, so I can also learn. We will see how that goes. I think I for sure need to purchase the "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" CD to get me in the mood for the OT. For some reason, ever since I have been thinking of the stories, I have had songs from this musical in my head.(Check out the YouTube video in my next post!It's Donny Osmond, and it's pretty awesome!)I just told Tony he should play it for his class, and he didn't think it was as funny as I did. How is he going to keep his freshman awake you ask? Well, this is pretty humorous actually. At their orientation, when he was introducing himself, he mentioned that he was on the Folk Dance Team at BYU.He told them that if they fell asleep, he would make them get up and do folk dancing in front of the class.I think that's awesome.

Anyway...I will keep you updated.

I need yummy recipes!

I love good party food. I always seem to find recipes that I want to make at my next get-together, but when it comes time for that get-together, I can't remember what I wanted to make! I am having a Stampin' Up! workshop tomorrow night at my house. I haven't done a workshop in a year! It's time to get back on the wagon. I have fun doing it, so instead of conning someone into hosting, I decided to host myself. Which means that not only do I have to prepare for all the demonstrations, but I also have to make sure my house is clean, and I have some good refreshments!

So, please! Tell me what I should make, and include the recipe as well!What is your favorite thing to eat at "get-togethers"?I will be extremely grateful! I will even send anyone who gives me a recipe a hand-stamped card! Just for me...especially made for you!" So, email me with your address! kerryjoyblack@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Super Cute Bibs!

My sister-in-law Jody gave Avery three of the CUTEST bibs EVER for a baby gift. She made them herself, and they were so pickin cute I had to show them to everyone I knew. I hardly wanted to bring myself to actually use them because I didn't want to get them dirty. Well, due to the shortage of bibs in my house,I had to resort to using them. I really, really love them. They are a bit too big for her still, since they were designed for about 9 months and up, but I am using them anyway.

This is why I think they are so great.

1. They are absolutely adoreable! Way better than the ugly, plain ones at Wal-Mart that say cheesy things on them like "mommy's girl", or "little princess". It isn't that I don't like my baby being labeled as those things, but I don't really need everything she owns to say something like that on it. Of course she is a mommy's girl,and of course she is a little princess! That's obvious.

2. They close off to the side, rather than in the back. One thing I have noticed with Avery is that she absolutely hates it when I am trying to put bibs on her and have to reach behind her head to put it on, or take it off. With the closure on the side, it makes it really easy to do both, and she doesn't throw a fit about it.

3. The closure is NOT velcro. Again, it is really easy to fasten and undo with the jeans button. I hate velcro. It is just cheap looking, and it ends up snagging everything in the wash.

4. They are nice and wide and long, so they cover every bit of Avery's clothes. Her brother introduced her to graham crackers, and I am very glad she had such good coverage with her bib. It was a mess! But not on her!

5. They are very well made. These bibs look extremely professional, and will not fall apart.

6. They are such a unique, original gift for anyone who is expecting. They for sure won't have anything else like it, and they will ooh and ahh over them, and I bet they would be their favorite gift. They have been one of my favorites for sure!

The point of my bib ramblings, is because my sister-in-law is now selling her awesome bibs on Etsy. Her gallery is suzieQdesigns. Go check them out!You will love them!

It's check-up time!

So, today was Avery's 6 month check-up. It turns out that my little piggy must have holes in her toes and everything she eats is falling out, because she has only gained 5 oz. in the past two months. She weighed 13 lbs. 10 oz. at her 4 month visit, and today she weighed in at 13 lbs. 15 oz. She is long though, so maybe her weight is just spreading out lengthwise instead of width-wise. Anyway...I guess I need to start feeding her more food. She loves to eat. She had graham crackers for the first time the other day,(thanks to her brother) and LOVES them! And bread. She is always reaching for everything we have in our hands. She even tried to drink out of straws. She is a funny baby. I can't believe how fast time flies.

So,on another note. Does anyone know anything about Lyme disease? I noticed some bug bites on Logan the other day (remember the clown noses?). Well, when I was getting him dressed this morning, the bite on his shoulder had a ring around it. I just happened to read an article in the July Parents magazine about Lyme disease, and became all paranoid and worried. I decided to take him with me to Avery's appointment and have the doctor check it out.I guess they can't officially diagnose Lyme disease without doing some tests, and actually it can be very difficult to diagnose until it is farther advanced, which by that point it can be too late to prevent. Anyway, the doctor agreed that the bite looked suspicious, so she prescribed an antibiotic.Unlike a normal run of antibiotics which lasts 10 days, for Lyme they have to take it for about 2-3 weeks. This will be fun. Thank goodness Logan is pretty good about taking medicine. I just hope we remember! I hope I am not being too paranoid, but I feel like I would rather be safe than sorry.And since the doctor didn't brush it off, I feel better knowing I am doing what I can to take care of my child. I never did see a tick on Logan, but we have so many trees and bushes, and lots of grass in our yard,so it wouldn't surprise me if he had gotten bit by a tick. Yuck! I am glad it is so dang hot that Logan isn't outside much at all anyway. He just happened to be outside with Tony this week-end cutting down some trees and digging up stumps.

So, that was my day! Another exciting day in the life of a mom!

Idaho

We spent the fourth of July in Idaho with my brother and sister and their families. This was after the parade in Rexburg with Logan, Avery, Carissa, Brynn and Cassidy.The best part of the parade was the chocolate milk they handed out to everyone. It was sooooo cold and actually refreshing. Who would have thought of milk as being a refreshing beverage in the summer? It is when it is ice cold!Yum! That's the way milk should be.



I took Logan to the fireworks in Menan with my sister-in-law and my nieces and nephews. Tony stayed home with Avery and my brother. My 16 year old nephew Carson had fun taking pictures of all the fireworks. He actually got some good ones!Logan fell asleep at the end though. How is that possible with all the noise?









These pictures are of us visiting my Grandpa Bowden. Grandpa doesn't like getting his picture taken, so this was the best I could get of him with Avery. The one of him with Logan was the best I could get of Logan. And the picture of the group of us is from left to right: Tony, Logan, Me, Avery, my niece Brynn, my sister Kristy, and her husband Kris.





We stayed over night one night at my sister's house. This is Logan and Brynn swimming in Brynn's little pool. It was sooo hot, but they had a great time cooling off, while my sister and I baked watching them.







We took a scenic drive out to Mesa Falls one evening with Logan. We left Avery at home with my sister. I had never been here before, and HOLY COW it is incredible!I have no words to describe it other than totally breathtaking, stunning, amazing, incredible, beautiful, awesome.

After visiting Idaho, we left from there to drive back home. What a great vacation!

Like a clown nose

We discovered some bug bites on Logan this morning. While he was looking at them he said, " It's like a clown! The bug bites is red like a clown nose!"

He is cracking me up!

I'm Pee Pee Man!

Just had to share this humorous story with you all. So, this morning I was encouraging Logan to go potty like a big boy, and as we were in the bathroom with him doing his thing, he tells me "I'm pee pee boy!" and I say,"Oh, you are?" and then he says, "No, I'm Pee Pee Man!" O.k. So, anyone have any suggestions as to how to make a costume for this? The life of a 3 year old!

San Diego

We left Blanding on June 20th and drove all day to get to my parents house by that evening.Here are some highlights from our stay in San Diego.



Here is Logan on his jet ski in the pool!



Here is grandpa with Logan and cousin Kellen. They had so much fun together!



We went to the beach one day, and Logan and cousin Brynn had soooo much fun playing in the water. This was both of their first experience playing in the ocean. They had tons of fun!



Tony took Logan swimming every day,and sometimes several times a day while he was there. Logan inherited this fun swimsuit from Kellen. Logan referred to it as his "big tummy superman suit" It has padding in the top half, so it makes him look pretty buff. It's funny, but he loves it. he prefers this one over his shark suit.



Grandma and Avery. How cute! My mom and my sister had a fetish about putting bows on Avery's head every day. While I do like bows, I don't usually put them on her every day, so grandma and Aunt Kristy came to the cute rescue.




I think this picture of grandpa and Avery is so sweet! It makes me so happy.




Cousin Tawni held Avery in the jacuzzi for me so I could take Logan swimming in the big pool. Avery loved the pool! She was happy as can be!



California makes Avery happy! And everyone else too. We had a really nice time visiting grandma and grandpa, and seeing cousins, and playing in the pool!

I am so annoyed

So, I may have mentioned in previous posts that Tony gave me an Mp3 player for my birthday. It came in very handy on our trip. I downloaded some audiobooks to listen to. Anyway, the book I listened to on the trip was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.So, yesterday, I downloaded New Moon, which is the next book in the series. I was so excited to start listening to it, that I went to bed early. That's not normal for me. Anyway, after listening to it for about an hour and a half, I was very confused at what was going on. I felt like I had missed a huge chunk. Well, after some fiddling around with my player, I realized what the problem was. My audiobook had downloaded to the music section on my player which I happened to have programmed to shuffle. So, my chapters were playing in random order.I think the first 2 or 3 were actually in order, but after that, i was so lost. I just gave up! I am going to have to start over almost. I feel so dumb! Anyway, just thought I would share my really bright moment!

Blanding Highlights

Here are some pictures of the time we spent in Blanding.



Here is cowboy Logan riding "Chip". I am so surprised that he was actually willing to ride! He is sometimes afraid of animals up close. He had a great time. Uncle Dave led him around.





We had our family pictures taken up on the mountain after they had finished branding, so all the men had to clean up the "mountain man" way. Here is Tony shaving in the great outdoors.




We went to the Dinosaur museum in Blanding one day. I don't know who is more ferocious...Logan, or the dinosaur! Poor Logan had so much fun on this trip, that he didn't get much sleep. See the tired eyes?



Grandma Black was so smart one day. She moved the trampoline under the tree in the shade, and put the sprinkler under it. Then all the grandkids put on their swimsuits and jumped. Logan had such a good time. I think he was on the trampoline almost all day every day while in Blanding!





This one is of Aunt Marlene and cousin Tanya reading stories with Avery. It was so cute to see Avery really enjoying the story.She loves her cousins!




Look what Logan found on the sidewalk in front of Grandma and Grandpa Black's house! He was sure not to get too close though!

Hooray for Food!

Yeah! We are having great food success in our house, and I am very excited.

Avery is eating solid food really, really well. She gobbles it up so good, and doesn't even make faces or shudder! Logan shuddered at everything when he started eating solids. He still is a bit particular about his food choices.Well, last week, we managed to convince Logan to eat some rice, and he did it willingly! He hasn't eaten rice since he was like 18 months maybe.And tonight, believe it or not, he actually ate ham! I think I might pass out from shock! he has only eaten chicken and bacon up until now. We told him the ham was bacon ham. He pretty willingly tried it, and decided he liked it so much that he ate more! I am so excited! I have been getting so tired of him not eating the things I make for dinner. I am hoping this means we are well on our way to the child eating dinner like a normal kid.

And back to Avery. She has now eaten applesauce, pears, rice cereal, oatmeal, squash and sweet potatoes. She wasn't as fond of the squash, but she did eat half the jar. She eats full jars of all the rest though. She is a good eater!

Hooray for food!

Pottermania

I finished Harry Potter this morning. What a great series! J.K. Rowling is very clever and creative. And very, very rich too! I just read a comment from another blog about how cool it is that so many people all over the world(and such a wide variety) have all been reading the same book this week-end. That is really cool if you think about it. And the fact that on average (this is from my own view) most books are about 200 pages, and this one was 800! And still it could be read in just a day or two (with lack of sleep and getting very little else done)Truly amazing!

And now a look back to when my Pottermania began. It was the summer of 2000, and I was on tour with the BYU Folk Dance Team in New Zealand and Australia. We were on the bus so much driving from performance site to performance site that we would get really bored. Most people had brought a book or two with them, and then we would just pass the books around to read. I had a Nancy Drew book with me (I know, so grown up!)My friend Melanie happened to have the first Harry Potter. I hadn't had any desire to see what all the fuss was about, but for lack of anything better to do, I decided it couldn't hurt. It looked like a quick read. Well, when I finished that book, i could not wait to find out what happened next, so I bought the second and third books in New Zealand. Needless to say, Pottermania spread really quickly throughout our team. When we got home later that summer, the fourth book came out. Of course we had to go get it right away!What torture it has been to have to wait over the past 7 years for the rest of them! It is finally over though, and it has been a great ride.

Family Picture

 

This is the picture we had taken up on the mountain in Blanding. We had all been up there for the round-up, and all the guys had to semi clean up using the water jugs so they would look presentable for the pictures! I wish my kids had nice faces, but what can you expect from them? It's a good thing you can't see up close, because I bet you might spot dirt hiding in places on Tony and Logan!

5 Things....

I was tagged by my friend Whitney. I know I have yet to blog about my trip, or anything else for that matter, but I felt compelled to do this. Priorities, priorities!

Five things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Folk Dancing lots and lots. I was getting ready to perform at the Pioneer Day Sesquicentennial Celebration at BYU. (I had to keep this one the same as Whitney!)
2. Working at Sea World during the summer when home from school.
3. I had just finished my sophomore year at BYU as an English major. (that didn't last long!)
4. I lived in my cute little blue house on 300 East in Provo.
5. My roommate Sharon and I were hanging out with my cousin Steve and his roommates doing crazy things like going to Nutty Putty cave,the hot pots, and walking on the green pipe in Provo Canyon at midnight.(what was I thinking?????)

My To-Do List today

1. Go to our ward Mommy and Me playgroup at the play area at the mall.
2. Do laundry.
3. Do the dishes and tidy up a bit.
4. Take care of some Enrichment stuff for my church calling.
5. Not much else to be honest!

Snacks I enjoy

1. Edamame lately! I can't stop eating the darn things!
2. Quaker mini cheddar cheese rice cakes
3. cookies of any kind
4. chips and salsa
5. anything and dip (fruit and dip, veggies and dip, chips and dip, etc.)

Songs I know the Lyrics to

1. songs from the Celtic Woman CD (it's in my van currently)
2. Carrie Underwood "Jesus take the wheel"
3. "On my own" from Les Mis
4. Twinkle Twinkle Little star (it's Logan's favorite at the moment)
5. Come thou fount (I love this song!)

Things I would Buy if I was a Millionaire

1. I would take Tony to Spain, and I would love to go back to the British Isles
2. My dream house
3. new furniture for my new house
4. a new wardrobe
5. fun things for my kids

Bad Habits

1. I chew my nails
2. lazy
3. Critical of my body and what I look like
4. Not nearly as clean and tidy as I would like to be
5. Snacking on treats instead of healthy things
* I just kept 2-5 the same as Whitney. It's exactly me to a T, it is scary!

Things I would never wear again

1. peach lipstick
2. overalls
3. scrunchies
4. I can't think of anything else (not implying that my style is perfect or ever was, I just can't think right now)

Things I like to do

1. read
2. sing
3. make cards
4. Chat with friends and family
5. Hug and kiss my children's sweet little cheeks!

Favorite Toys

1. The laptop-my brother says I need computer rehab cause I am online all the time
2. Mp3 player-I am getting hooked on audiobooks! It keeps me on the treadmill!
3. My stamp stuff
4. My Kitchenaid mixer
5. My sewing machine (although I haven't used it much, I still think it is cool)

People I tag:

1. Heather
2. Christy
3. Linnea
4. Lark
5. Maren

Diagnosis please

O.k. I need to throw this out there in blog land for any experienced mother/child care-giver expert person, or anyone else for that matter.

What would you say the reason is for:

1. A 5 1/2 month old baby waking up in the middle of the night when they haven't done that since they were born.

2. The same 5 1/2 month old baby being fussy all the time when they haven't been this way EVER.

3. Again, said baby always wanting to be held, but still crying, fussing, wriggling, and grabbing/pulling my hair?

4. Also not napping as well as normal, or waking up too early only to be coaxed back to sleep?

My original thought was that she is hungry. I am nursing, but she just started on solids, so I am wondering if she is not getting enough when nursing anymore?She doesn't nurse as long as she used to at each feeding, but seems like she wants to eat more often. I don't want to get her started on bad habits that will be hard to break later (like not sleeping well, and wanting to eat in the middle of the night.)

Could it be a growth spurt? At this age when she has already been going every 4 hours between feedings and about 11 hours at night, could she all of a sudden really need to eat so much more often?

I mentioned this to my mom who suggested teething. Hmmm...??? Logan got his first tooth at around 7 1/2 months. Would she really be two months earlier? He was a pretty easy teether though, so I guess I am not sure what to look for if she is having more of a rough time with it.

So...any advice, suggestions, or other assumptions? I would appreciate any comments so i am not forced to give my baby to the neighbors. Along with her 3 year old brother who has also been driving me NUTS with his whining since we returned from our vacation. It has been a week now since we got home. I would have thought he would have been over it by now. Maybe I am just an ignorant mother who has no idea what's in store for her and has only been somewhat lucky and fortunate up until now. Or maybe I just need more patience.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Well, we are back! I don't know how happy I am about that to be honest.While living out of suitcases is a bit tiring, as is the lack of naps and a consistent schedule for the wee ones, it is nice to be free from the stresses of everyday life. I almost felt the weight of things settle back on my shoulders when I walked back in the door last night. How sad when I don't feel relief in my own home.

So, before I post about our adventures, I wanted to post about some interesting vacation observations.

1. Why is it that there are always shoes in the middle of the road? And only one shoe not both? It is something that I notice all the time and it is so bewildering to me. Who throws their shoes out of the car? And why? Or do they fall out when the occupants open the door? But why would they open the door in the middle of the freeway? And there are shoes everywhere in the road! Really...have you noticed? And also, why are there always shoes hanging from telephone wires? Come on people! Stop throwing your shoes everywhere!

2. Hotels are wonderful places. Especially nice ones. I think Logan would prefer to live in a hotel. He likes the swimming pool and the breakfast. Too bad Logan's blue blankie got left behind in Cheyenne. But the nice hotel people will be sending it in the mail. Can we make it until it arrives? It sure made the trip home a tough one with all the whining about " my bwue bwanket!"

3. Three things I wish they had where I live.
1.) IKEA
2.) Trader Joe's
3.) Bajio's Mexican Restaurant (Yummy-o!)

4.) Long car trips really aren't so bad with a mini-van. I have to say I traveled quite comfortably.And the kids were really good (with a few incidents here and there as expected)

5.)Logan can get tired enough to fall asleep while eating dinner, in the jacuzzi, and even while watching fireworks.

6.) There is a huge difference between lightly salted Edamame (yum!) and plain Edamame (yuck!)

7.) Did you know there are such things as deep fried avocados? And...a fried chicken sandwich with Krispy Kreme donuts for the bun. We went to the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, and those were some of the lovely food items available. My mom and I did try the fried avocados (pretty tasty dipped in ranch) but NOT the Krispy kreme chicken sandwich.

8.) Relaxing music can make a huge difference in a whiny child (or adult for that matter). We listened to this CD in the car when Logan was having a fit, and it calmed home down pretty quick. It was amazing. He said "This pretty music makes me happy like this!" And then he proceeded to sing "do do, do do" and move his head back and forth. Happy guy.Happy parents.

9.) Apparently, and I won't correct the sweet boy, but I look like Anne Hathaway to Logan. We were watching "The Devil Wears Prada" in the hotel, and Logan looked up from jumping on the bed to say "That's you! That's you mommy!" What a precious, darling boy.

10.) I tend to have more energy on vacation. Now that I am home I am exhausted!

I will post about our trip later once I get the pictures off the camera!

Vacation fun!

I am not able to post any photos yet, but wanted to take a second to write about our vacation so far. We have been having a great time!

The drive was not so bad. Logan was really good. Avery and I both came down with a cold,so she was more fussy than usual for her sweet self. It was sad.I was also deaf in my left ear from Denver all the way to Blanding. So annoying. As soon as we got to Tony's parents house, Tony unloaded the van, and then took Logan up on the mountain to camp with his family. I stayed at the house with Avery, along with Tony's sister Jody and her little girl Macy. We drove up the next morning.Logan had a blast! He had so much fun playing with all his cousins, and getting oh so very dirty. I almost didn't recognize the kid! He got to ride a horse, and he even rode on the four wheeler with Tony to help herd the cows into the corral when it came time to brand. He was quite the cowboy.

After the round-up, we hung out at Tony's parents house, and Logan spent almost all day long jumping on the trampoline. He also ran through the sprinklers and had a great time...as long as Uncle Andy's dog Ruby was nowhere to be seen.

We left Blanding on Wednesday and drove all day to San Diego. The kids were both really good for the long drive, and I was very proud of them.

My sister Kristy and her family have been in California as well. Logan got to play with half of his cousins here as well.We went to the beach, and Logan played in the water and found some shells. We also went to the beach at night with my family for a cook-out. Tony took Logan swimming almost every day, and Tony got a very nice sunburn as a souvenir of his trip. We had a chance to go to the temple as well, which was very nice, and long overdue! Tony flew back home Sunday, and we will be without him until next Tuesday when he will meet us to help drive home.For now we are just relaxing and hanging out at Grandma's house and having a fun time.

I will post more later along with pictures!