Happy New Year 2009

Bye Bye Nursery

Why am I so sad about this?  I knew it was coming.  Every Mormon mother counts down the days until her little darling baby can attend nursery.  It's the best Sunday of the year.  Well, my Nursery days are over.  next week my baby will be in Sunbeams.  (He'll probably only last 4 1/2 minutes, but still he is officially a Sunbeam.)  I am sad.  He is growing up.  He even tried to poop in the potty during Sacrament meeting.  I'm so proud.  And I just realized that for 7 months ALL of my children will be in Primary.   And then Summer will have a birthday and she will graduate from Primary and she will be in Young Women's and then I really will cry.  I want my kids to stay little for a while longer.  I'm not ready for this growing up thing.  well, I am ready for potty training to be done.  No more diapers, forever.

Which kid is this?

I realized as I was posting about Cole, that I had some pictures that looked similar.  This is a picture of Summer in 2000 (age 3) when we lived next to Cameron & Kim in Grand Blanc, MI.  School was cancelled along with just about everything else.  The coat still has a strip of masking tape on the inside with Summer's name and address.  Sierra does NOT have a snow picture wearing this coat because it doesn't snow like this in Mississippi which is where we lived when she was 3 

A white Christmas

It was too snowy to hit the after Christmas sales, so Cole and I spent the morning shoveling the walk and the deck.  When we were in the front yard, I was shoveling off the front steps and Cole was dragging the shovel across the front lawn.  He hollered:  "Mom, how is your winter?"  "My winter is good, Cole."  "Mine too. This is AWESOME!"

Then when we were in the backyard and I had gotten most of the patio cleared off, Cole said, "Good job mom, now let's shovel the grass." 

   

Straight No Chaser

While baking gingerbread cookies, wrapping gifts, and tidying up the nearly spotless house, we were watching the today show and this group was featured.  They sang  the 12 days of Christmas.  It was a hoot.  so, we downloaded the album from Amazon.  On a scale of 1 to 10 we give it a 15.  Merry Christmas.

You can read more about them and hear a clip of the 12 days of Christmas here

 

or check this out:

Lentil Soup

When we got home from vacation last week there was little on the shelves or in the fridge to use to meals so I got creative and found a recipe online.  sierra had just gotten back from the orthodontist and we needed something soft.  I searched for Lentil Soup and I found this recipe that was printed in the "Arizona Republic" newspaper from a restaurant called the Main Street Cafe.

6 c. water

1 c. lentils

1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. salt

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1/2 t. thyme

1/2 t. oregano

1 t. basil

1 T soy sauce

1 carrot, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

2 bay leaves  

In a large stockpot, combine water, lentils, rice, garlic, salt, bouillon cubes, thyme, oregano, basil, and soy sauce.

Bring to a boil.

Then add carrot, celery, onion, and bay leaves.

Reduce heat and simmer.

Covered, for 45 minutes.

Until lentils and rice are tender.

**the kids thought this looked gross, but it started smelling yummy and they loved it. 

Rick thought it needed some meat, maybe some sausage???

Our schedule for the week...

Sierra was wondering about practicing the piano if she didn't have a lesson this week.  WE had a little conversation that went like this:

sierra:  do I have piano lessons tomorrow:

me: no

cole: do I have nursery class today?

me:  no

Cole:  do I have music class today?

me:  not today

Cole: is today a Sam's club day?

me:  not today, tomorrow

hum, me thinks we go to sam's too much.

WINTER STORM WARNING

We've had so many days of snow lately, that I don't know when one snow storm ends and the next one begins.  Thanks to online shopping, I've not minded the snow so much.  It really puts me in the holiday mood since I spent the first 2 weeks of December in Hawaii.  ( you know I couldn't post something without a reference to the big vacation!!)  Anyway, on Friday I drove from my current hometown to my former hometown--a drive that usually takes me about 25 to 30 minutes.  This time it took me an hour and 45 minutes.  I avoided the freeway--too scary.  I think everyone else in the county did the same thing I did.  Plus, the BYU students who were finishing up finals and heading out of town.  And the crazy BYU fans who were headed to Las Vegas for a dumb football game.  And the usual friday before Christmas rush hour craziness.  But, all in all, I have to say that nearly every driver on the road was cautious and courteous.  I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the whole drive was.  Granted, it took 3 times longer than normal to get to my destination which resulted in us NOT making it to visit Rick at work.  He was basically off work before we got there, so we just skipped the visit.  Sorry to the 100+ other drivers that were involved in accidents on Friday according to UHP, but I was proud of my fellow-uptight-Utah drivers.

On a side note, it was snowing so badly that when I stopped at the cemetery to drop of a wreath at my dad's grave I couldn't tell which grave was his.  The wind was blowing terribly as it usually does at the Orem cemetery.  It was dark.  And the snow was drifted higher than my knees in some areas.  Summer and I tried to guess that general area which you wouldn't think would be that hard, but for some reason was couldn't get it exactly right.  I tried to makeout which flowers were already on the grave, but most everything was snow covered on all of the graves.  I made a guess at which grave was my dad's and tried to brush away the snow to read the name.  It was too icy.  So, I just gave the wreath a little toss before my toes froze off completely and ran back to the car.  So, to the loved ones of the grave on which I left a beautiful poinsettia wreath, I hope you have a Merry Christmas.  I'll get even with my dad sometime in the spring when I can actually make sure he gets his flowers.     

This is a picture of Summer feeding the fish.  The dive master was really cute with Summer and gave her a little bit of extra attention.  He had a bagel in his pocket and when they got down in the water he pulled the bagel out of his pocket and let Summer feed the fish.

Yes, that is my husband, firstborn, and a shark.  One of many.

How cool is Summer to be hanging out with a 100 year old sea turtle.  She didn't even realize it was there until it was pointed out to her and she was able to get sooo close.  

The dive master helped point out lots of interesting things to Summer, including this thing, whatever it is...

We have lots of cool video from their dives.  I may be able to post some cool video...if I finish the Christmas cards, laundry, vacuuming, shower,  

wedding crashers

this was on the last day that we were in Maui.  We went south a bit from where we were staying to makena.  there is a beach along there that is famous for weddings so we joined in on one of the celebrations right as the sun was setting.  It was beautiful.  The kids had fun looking for shells, crabs, and other treasures.  Rick was enjoying the near perfect photography setting.  And I was just enjoying it all.  Too bad we didn't discover this area sooner.  It was awesome.

   

The shoes I wore yesterday...

AND

I LOVE shoes and these are my current favorite.

Nan in Hawaii part 2

Wowee Maui

Did I mention that we took my mom with us?  It has been a lifelong dream of hers to go to Hawaii, so we took her with us!!  Besides, we needed a fulltime babysitter while we went off on our own every single day.  (those of you who know my mom even a little know that was NOT part of the plan.  The only time we left anyone with her was when Rick and I went shopping for a new wedding band for him and we took Cole with us, so she only has the girls for an hour or so)  Thanks mom.  

By the way, the reason that Rick needed a new wedding band is  because his is at the bottom of the ocean.  He lost it on one of the first few days while he was body surfing with the girls.  It was pretty loose because he's just recently lost 30 pounds.  The funny thing is that he doesn't even know exactly when he lost it.  We had to go back and look at pictures to see when it turned up missing.   I have been meaning to get Rick a new ring for the past couple of years, I just haven't gotten around to it.  Mostly because I wanted to surprise him and I didn't know what size his finger was so I just never did it.  Now I'm REALLY glad I didn't ever get around to it.  We had fun picking out a new ring for him at Tiffany & Co. and Rick is such a nice guy that he bought me a little happy there also.  THANKS, baby.

Now for pictures of my mom:

We're back

There's nothing that jolts a person back to reality than snorkeling and swimming one day and plowing the snow out of the drive way the next.  But, I have to admit that my own bed feels so good!!  Too bad that I didn't fall asleep until after midnight only to be awakened at 4 am with the delivery of my one missing suitcase.  And I'm still awake.  It's 7 am.  That's OK.  I'm getting a lot of work done.  Prepare to see a bunch of annoying vacation photos for the next few days.  We took over a thousand.  Seriously.  

Good to be home.

one more

This was beautiful, however I would not recommend driving the "road to Hana"
4 out of 5 memebers of our adventure group were sick in the first hour. One little boy had to wear his swimsuit most of the day because he lost his lunch on the road to Hana.

ADDED LATER:

This was taken in Hana.  (don't we look a little bit green?)  I think Rick was the only one who wasn't sick.  I kept feeling an upset stomach and my head hurt.  I kept loosening the clip in my hair thinking it was giving me a headache.  Then my headache got worse when Cole puked up his breakfast of Doritos and lemonade (it is a vacation afterall!!)  

off the edge and to the left is the black sand beach, which I thought was really cool! 

  

wailea beach

this is what I've been doing for the last week. We had wailea beach to ourselves. It's hard to blog with such distractions. please leave me a comment so I know who has found my new log address. Sorry about the switch. Have a good week and I'll talk to ya'll next week.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. 

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

A is for Apron

These are two of the many aprons that I've made recently.  Isn't Cole such a good little apron model?  Yes, that is chocolate on his face.  And yes, he turns 3 on Friday.  Where did the time go.  He was supposed to stay little for much longer than he has.  It was part of the deal.  

He figured out how to get the side down on his crib today.  I was in the shower and I heard a little rumble down the hall and then he burst into the bathroom and just laughed and laughed because he knew he was startled me.  I guess it's about time to graduate to the big boy bed.  Man, I hate to give up that crib.  Oh well.   

SCUBA

This past weekend while I was practicing making rolls and pies, this is what Rick and Summer were doing:

Because I'm an alumnus

I'm obligated to say this:

Go BYU.  Beat Utah.  While the rest of the state is glued to the television.  I am taking my little fam out to eat.  I hope you win.  I'll check the score when we get back.

 

Pecan Pie

This is Pecan Pie recipe that I use every year.  It came from my friend, Lora, who got it from a school teacher friend in Kirksville, MO.  I have lost this recipe before and I had to email all of my k'ville buddies one year while I was in Utah to get a copy of the recipe and save the whole holiday celebration.  I think it was LeAnn that finally helped me save the day with the recipe.  Thanks!!

i decided to post this recipe and I got out my recipe folder and I couldn't find the recipe.  I got a little frantic.  So, now it is posted here for me to always have access to my recipe.  Unless the power is out.  But, if it is I probably wouldn't be making a pie.

1/2 c. butterscotch chips

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1 1/2 c. pecan halves

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Scatter butterscotch chips and pecan halves into pie shell.  In medium bowl, beat together butter, sugar, corn syrup and eggs.  Pour over nuts and chips.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and then place a piece of foil over it.  And bake for remaining 45 minutes. Cool before serving.  Don't eat the entire thing in one sitting.

practice makes perfect

I don't ever remember being this excited for Thanksgiving.  Ever.  I have been practicing all week.  I have made butternut squash, rolls and today it was pie.  Apple Pie.  Just a mini one, but oh, it was good.  I have never made apple pie before and I have some soft apples and I just couldn't bear to toss them.  So, I made a pie with a new recipe for pie crust.  So yummy.  Wish I would have saved a piece.  No, I don't.

Eat your veggies

WHY didn't someone teach me about this wonderful vegetable sooner??
I love these little guys. We have been eating them a couple of times a week. I asked Cole what he wanted for lunch yesterday and he said Brussels Sprouts. I am not kidding. They're totally kid friendly. Perfect size for little fingers.
You can steam them or even microwave them. Season them a bit. Add some bacon. My mouth is watering. Go get some. They happen to be on sale this week at Sunflower Market.

 

Happy November

I am seriously loving this weather. I have it on my calendar to go for a walk tomorrow (short and easy--no running, bummer).
But, when it gets cold, wet and slushy I am looking forward to wearing these:

Family Home Evening

Several weeks ago we sat down for FHE and watched Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.  I know, I know, not a real spiritual FHE, but we were together and we had fun.  The following Monday we gathered in the Family Room for Family Home Evening.  Rick asked Cole what song he wanted to sing and without skipping a beat he started, du du du, du du du (if you can't tell, it's the theme song for Indiana Jones)  By about the third beat we all joined in and "sang" Indy Jones for family home evening. 

 

Now, all Cole wants to do is be Indy Jones, watch Indy Jones, sing Indy Jones... 

Time to Feast

Another one of my most exciting projects is putting together the menu for Thanksgiving.  Southern Living magazine puts together the most yummy recipes for their November issue.  I could prepare my entire menu from that magazine and Sunset magazine.  Sometimes it's tempting to try a bunch of new recipes, but I'm also torn with preparing the usual foods that we eat every year because of tradition.  I just want to fix tons and tons of food and then not cook for a month.  I could eat Thanksgiving leftovers for weeks--I guess that's a tradition in itself.  When I was talking to my mom about this a few days ago, she said that she would bring cranberries.  I think she might be the only one who likes cranberries, but if that makes it Thanksgiving for her then I say bring cranberries.  It's the same way for me with Pecan Pie.  I have been making Pecan Pie even since the Kirksville era.  I made one and my dad LOVED it.  He begged me to make one every year.  I still make Pecan Pie each holiday season and I think of my dad with every bite.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?   

Preparedness

I've been AWOL for a few days.  I have been working on a huge project:  I have been working on a big, huge master inventory list of food storage items.  It's six pages long.  

The other thing that I have been working on is this:

 

(I got this from an email from a local emergency preparedness business.  It sounds like good advice.)
Now that temperatures are getting colder it’s a good idea to plan for the winter season. Put extra insulation around the windows and doors. Make sure your emergency fuel supplies, the wood pile, kerosene, etc., are full and sufficient for an extended period of time. Have a supply of extra blankets and warm clothing. Keep the gas tank at least half full at all times.

This month our focus is on Important Papers and Financial Preparedness.
1. Take photos of your home, inside and out; furniture; cars and other personal property for insurance records. Keep copies in emergency kits.
2. Make a list and copy of all bank & savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, birth & marriage certificates, SSN, insurance policies, car title & registration, current family photos for identification, prescriptions and all other important papers.
3. Keep copies of paper work in a fire/water proof safe in your home. Keep a second copy in a safety deposit box or in another safe place outside the home. Keep a third copy in your 72 Hour Evacuation Kit
4. Add money to your emergency kits – small bills and coins.

Warning

It's a new month so I am warning you that I am being overtaken by some new obsessions:  Crocheting and Food Storage.  Now don't go thinking that I'm leaving some of my old obsessions for good (you know, gardening, canning, aprons).  I just like to keep my obsessions rotated--kind of like food storage.

Speaking of rotating food storage, I was on the eliptical machine the other day (my new best exercise friend) and I was watching Jon&Kate plus 8 .  Kate was feeling momentarily insane and thought it would be fun to make play dough for the younger kids--all 6 of them--which is really kind of like having Cole around for the afternoon.  Here was her recipe for edible playdough:

equal parts:

honey

powdered milk

peanut butter

  

and really it just tastes like peanut butter cookie dough...so I hear.  Maybe next time I'll use crunchy peanut butter...

And just to keep the record straight, last week I canned tomato juice, a ton of tomatillo salsa and some mustard relish.  As my green tomatoes ripen I am going to finish the harvest season with marinara sauce for freezing.

And just in case you wondered, the fall weather here has been wonderful.  It was all I could do to keep from turning on the air conditioner yesterday.  It was THAT hot.  But, not for long.

Trick or Treat

We had the "Street-O-Treats" out in front of our house this evening.  what  a great idea.  I think we bought our house just for this very reason.  Everyone from the surrounding neighborhoods comes to our street and just stands and passes out candy for an hour.  I stood in the driveway and gave away all of the yummy candy so it wouldn't come back into the house and tempt me. I'm on a diet, ya know.  Summer and Sierra could hold their own in the candy collecting frenzy.  Cole needed a little help, however.  Rick took him out to teach him the ropes, but he couldn't get Cole to hold the candy bag.  So, Rick looped it around his neck and things worked out just fine.  I hope you had a good one, I'm going to go take down all of the halloween decorations and enjoy a little kitkat.  whooops, don't tell anyone.

My Name is Earl

It's really Rick.  But, the girls thought he looked like Earl.  Not really a compliment.  

Notice the shoes.  They are vintage.  I can't remember what year, but Rick can tell you.

He was so proud of the velour shirt that he bought at Savers.  ohhh gross.  Check out the gold chain around his neck.  He found it at the bottom of my jewelry box.  I think I have had it since jr. high.  And if you could smell this picture, it would smell like cheap cologne that makes your eyes burn when he enters the room.  I think he's had it since jr. high, too. 

I love you Rick.  Thanks for dressing up.

Apron Swap

I participated in a Mom & Me apron swap.  I made 2 kid aprons and an adult apron.  They said they wanted something that was Christmas OR Valentines.  Perfect.  You know how much I love polka dots.  I think these turned out cute and I hope our swappers enjoy their holiday baking this year.  Thanks to Summer for being my model and Cole for being my sewing helper these days.

a little apron tidbit

So, I got up this morning and got ready for the day before I got Cole out of bed.  I had a few errands to run and places to go so I thought I was looking pretty cute.  When I went in to get Cole out of bed he was all bright eyed and bushy tailed.  He looked at me and said, "Did you already put on your apron today?"

I don't know if that means I looked like I was heading for the kitchen or if I just wear fashionable aprons.  Thanks Cole!

Mama called the dr. and the dr. said...

No more monkeys jumping on the bed

or running

or power walking

or skiing

or anything fun 

until after the holidays when she will call the dr. back and schedule foot surgery.

Cole