A few good recipes- part 2

I ventured out and decided to try something new. It is FULL of wonderful veggies, and very low in calories, incase that matters to anyone. :)

Vitamix Tortilla Soup

3 C. chicken broth
1 roma tomato- halved
1 carrot- chunked
1 stalk of celery- halved
1 thin slice of onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 yellow squash
1 thin slice red pepper
1 thin slice cabbage
1 mushroom
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. taco seasoning
1/4 tsp. cumin

*for this soup, as is listed above, there are only 36 calories per 1 cup serving!)

Now, here are the extras. And while they add more calories, the make it wonderful!

1/2 C. cooked chicken
1/4 C. cooked black beans
1/4 C. frozen corn
1/4 C. black olives
6 corn tortillas- cut into strips or triangles, and baked at 350 until crispy.

Place all soup ingredients into vitamix and blend on high for 5-6 minutes until hot, then add in chicken, beans, corn, olives and baked chips and blend for 10-20 seconds again. Top with sour cream and avocados.

I give this recipe 5 out of 5 stars, and EVERYONE in the family ate it, including the kids! That is a huge success in my book! Lots of good veggies, and everyone ate it? YAHOO!! And, it took UNDER 10 minutes to make. And for any of you who might want to know, I LOVE MY VITAMIX- it was a WONDERFUL investment!

A few good recipes- part 1

So friends, I have spent lots of time coming up with recipes that fit my criteria, and here are a few of the recipes that I would recommend. One is new, and one is an oldie but a goodie.

Here is the tried and true salad that I have made many times, and LOVE!

GREEK PANZANELLA

Croutons:

Good Olive Oil
1 small loaf French Bread-cut into 1 inch cubes
Kosher Salt

Salad:

1 Cucumber- chunked
1 Red Pepper- chunked
1 Yellow Pepper- chunked
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes- halved
1/2 Red Onion- diced
1/2 lb. Feta Cheese
1/2 C. Calamata Olives (I use regular black olives)

Vinaigrette:

2 Cloves Garlic
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/4 C. Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/2 C. Olive Oil

Heat 3 T. Olive Oil in large saute pan (I use my electric skillet). Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt. Cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 5-10 minutes, until nicely brown and crisp. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in large bowl.

Mix together dressing in blender and pour over vegetables. Add feta, olives and bread cubes. Toss and serve.

This salad is divine! It is fairly simple, chop the veggies, mix the dressing, and then make the croutons. I like to serve it with greek slow-roasted beef sandwiches. (Roast, greek banana peppers, beef broth, oregano and basil, garlic and onion - in the crock pot)

Back to Basics

Well, as we all seem to do, every year about this time, I am feeling the need to rid my house of all the sugar, and all the junk food, and all the holiday goodies.

This year I have decided that I am not going to go crazy and throw out everything in my cupboards that isn't organic or gluten-free, or dairy free. I have done diets like that and they never seem to stick because I feel SOOOO deprived the entire time. So, here is my idea...just eat more whole foods. Healthy meats, lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Healthier sugars (like honey or agave), less dairy, no refined junk and more WATER, lots more water!

Here is my problem though. I have been searching online for recipes that fit my criteria, and I am not finding much. There are lots of recipes, but most of them seem potentially gross to me...I hate to waste my money on recipes that are most likely yucky. So, I am asking each of you for recipes that your family likes that are healthy, simple and incorporate lots of fresh stuff and lots of whole stuff. Please share what you like, and if you want, I will share what I find. I am looking for lots of comments here, so don't be shy...please!

Baby Pictures

Here are a few pics of Nathan with the kids, for those of you who haven't seen him yet. He's pretty darn cute we think. This first picture is my personal favorite.







Is there any doubt whether this baby is loved? I think adoration is a good choice of words to describe how his siblings feel about him.

Welcome Nathan

Well friends, we had a baby this morning!

Started labor at 2:00 last night, came to the hospital at 5:00, and Nathan was born just a few minutes before 8:00. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 inches long. He has lots of brown hair (though his eyebrows are white, so I imagine it won't stay brown for long) He is darling and we couldn't be happier with him.

9 MORE DAYS!!!!

Well, it is official, as of Friday December 16th, my pregnancy woes will be over, and our long awaited baby Nathan will be here! They scheduled my induction date today, and if he doesn't come before then, the 16th will be the big day! YAHOO!!!

9 more days and counting down!

NO more BEDREST!!!

Well, I met with my mid-wife and was officially given permission to stop lying around in my bed and get up and live life again. You can only imagine my elation! As of Friday, I will be 37 weeks, which is considered full-term, and out of danger for baby if he is to come now. I have high hopes that baby Nathan will be here soon, though I think it would be my luck that he will still take his time, and won't show up for a few weeks still :) Though, it seems infinitely more bearable now that I am free to live, and move, and clean my house!

I have to tell you, for a while now, I have been wondering what it is that God is trying to teach me through all of this, and I must admit that I have been stumped for some time now. Patience is an obvious one, it would be near impossible to not automatically think of that one. But aside from that, I wondered why I was going through this. I was miserable, and uncomfortable, and feeling a bit distanced from all things spiritual. And then a few days ago, I had a revelation of sorts. I realized that what I have learned about service and Christ-like love from those dear friends who have served me these last few weeks is more important than the pain or suffering I have been facing. I have received overwhelming love and service like the Savior himself would give, from sweet friends who I know are suffering with their own hardships and challenges, and yet still found time, to come to my rescue. It is obvious that the Lord has worked through them to teach me the importance of service, and I certainly hope that I may serve others as they have served me, for I have truly seen the hands of God in my life. God has been good to me and my family and I am thankful. For those of you who have helped me and are reading this, I love you and I am so thankful for you.

Puzzle Blocks

I found this great idea on Pintrest, for these puzzle blocks. I thought it was so clever and decided that I was going to make one for each of the kiddies this Christmas. They all love to build things and my 2 older ones LOVE puzzles. So these seemed like a natural fit.

I underestimated the amount of time it would take to make, but still I am very happy with the finished project! And FYI- these were all made from the comfort of my own bed.

I think Logan will love this one. Here is a picture with each side of the blocks put together...and just so you know, this camouflage one took both Craig and I together, 10 minutes to put it all together :)

I think it will be a few years before Logan is actually using the puzzle option,

for now, they will just be for building :)

If you want to see how to make these, here is the link.

In her tutorial, she uses fabric, but I thought that scrapbook paper was a much easier option, and that is what I used. I was also thinking that an old calendar would be a great option too. And I didn't buy blocks, I just had Craig cut them out of some scrap wood he had in his wood shop, which made them EXTREMELY cheap to make.

Craft time

I have 2 little girls who love to make things. Ally especially loves to craft with me. Before being put on bed rest, I had lots of ideas for projects and Christmas crafts, though not many of them are conducive to resting, let alone being in bed. I did have planned to make ornaments with the girls. Last year I bought them their own little Christmas tree on clearance after Christmas. And I thought this year, we could make an ornament a day until it was all filled with stuff that they made themselves. I started gathering ideas on Pintrest, and I figured that was one thing that I could still do, maybe not in bed, but while "resting" at the kitchen table. :) Here are a few ideas, and how they have turned out.

The first idea came from Martha Stewart, and I will tell you now, she didn't make this one with children in mind. While they are darling, they didn't work so well.

We tried to make them like hers, but her mints were prettier than ours, and ours kept falling apart. (Now, I didn't have it in me to make frosting, so we used glue which probably didn't stick too well and then we put a cardboard wreath behind them to give it stability) Since I only had cardboard wreaths in one size, we used what we had and they were much bigger. My biggest disappointment with these, aside from the fact that Logan kept trying to eat them, was that they were sticky from the beginning! I tried spraying them with acrylic spray, and still sticky. Then I tried modge podge, and STILL sticky. Needless to say, they were fun to make, but will not be gracing the bows of our Christmas tree this year.

Todays ornament was much more successful. We all had fun making them, and they turned out really cute. Again, we used what we had, so ours were 2 inches instead of 4, and I just used whatever Christmas material I had. The pictures don't really do them justice, I couldn't get the lighting right, but they really are cute, and super easy to make. For directions, here is the link.

More to come, if you aren't a crafter, sorry, my blog won't be very interesting to you in the next week or two.

Carving Pumpkins

Whenever Halloween comes, I am all about decorating with autumn leaves and pumpkins, and things that say FALL. I am not a big Halloween decorator- I typically don't like skeletons, and goblins and witches and the like. And most of all- I greatly dislike carving pumpkins. Not as a matter of principle, I simply don't like the mess, the goo, or anything about it. Craig however enjoys the artistic opportunity and usually carves a masterpiece. I on the other hand, take pictures :)

Not sure if you can tell, but the look on Ally's face lets you know that she is not a fan of the goo either, and actually, I was the one to finish gutting her pumpkin after taking this picture. She insisted on washing her hands immediately.

Olivia on the other hand, quite enjoyed the process...

As did Logan...who was most content to simply poke holes in his little pumpkin.

And just like any good toddler, he had to see what it tasted like. :)

Everyone with their finished projects.

Pumpkin Time

I often start looking through the pictures on my camera and think- WOW, it's been a long time since I downloaded pictures! Here are a few of the kids at the pumpkin patch just before Halloween.

Logan in the kiddie maze.

Craig with Ally and Livy picking out pumpkins.

Logan guarding the pumpkins. :)

Ally. What a happy girl! Her smile looks like a Jack-O-Lantern with all those teeth missing!

sugar and spice -part 2

Back in June I made a post called 'Sugar and Spice and everything nice?'. I was having one of those days when you wonder if your kids just might push you over the edge at some point in the very near future, and if what I am doing as a mother is really working. I re-read that post today, and just as I had thought, I can look back and laugh at the humor of the whole situation. Today I had an experience with that same sweet, darling 3 year old, and wondered again...Am I doing this right?

Last night, Olivia was in a cross mood and had it in her mind to be naughty, consistently naughty. After about an hour, I simply said, you can choose to obey, or you can choose to go to bed. She chose to disobey and was sent to bed. Mind you it was only 30 minutes before bedtime anyhow, so it wasn't as though she was banished to solitary confinement for hours on end. The theatrics and tantrums were epic. An outsider might think that she was being tortured or tormented. Anyhow, this morning, she was still stuck in that cross mood- you know the "why do I have to pick up my toys", and "why do you make me do chores", and "I don't want to eat that for breakfast!" mood. Anyhow, after a small scolding for her choice of words spoken to me, she said, "I wish I weren't a part of this family!" She then told me that she wanted to be a part of her friends family, because their mom was nice. I have to tell you quite honestly, that I was not yet prepared for an emotional blow like that. I figured I had at least 10 years before the teenage years were here and I had to worry about her not liking me.

So what do you do with a child who has to push the boundaries, who constantly needs to test your limits as a parent? I suppose in life we all like to kick against the pricks sometimes, and at times we all wonder why we have to have rules and boundaries. Life would be easier if we could just do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, without any consequences. Experience tells me that this is just a phase and she will grow out of it, but if any of you have experience in this department that you would like to share, I am all ears....

Bed Rest.....

Surely there are those of you who have experienced this before, and understand what I am going through, but can I just say, bed rest is NOT my favorite thing. I have officially been on bed rest now for 6 days, and I can quickly say that I am ready to be done!

Last Tuesday, I started having contractions every 4 minutes, and they continued all through the night until about 4:30 in the morning. I called my mid-wife's office and they said, "well, you probably should have gone to the emergency room, but why don't you come in to the office this morning." So I did, and here I sit/lay just trying to keep this baby in for a few more weeks at least. As of Friday, baby Nathan was 34 weeks, and still too early to come safely into the world. In 12 more days, he will be 36 weeks, and we can fairly safely rule out any lung/breathing problems. Another 7 days after that, and he will be considered full-term (at 37 weeks) and there will be no hesitation to let him come.

So, for the next at least 12 days, my boredom will continue, my house will stay messy, and I will thank Heavenly Father for all of the gracious service and help rendered to me while I focus on one single task, that of keeping this child from coming out too soon. Thanks to those of you who have helped, you have no idea how thankful I am for you!

Odd findings...

Do you ever walk through your house and think, 'how did that get there?'

Of course you rarely have to think very long before you realize that one of the children placed it there.

Over the last few days, here are a few of the strange finding I came across.

A sippy cup of apple juice on the floor in the bathroom, tucked almost behind the toilet...of course that seems infinitely better than a toothbrush in the same place which I found a few weeks ago.

A used bandaid stuck to the arm of the couch, almost (but not quite) hidden by the cushion.

A pair of tinkerbell pajamas on the desk in the office. Now mind you that the office is nowhere near either the laundry room or the bedroom of the princess who currently wears those tinkerbell jammies.

A pair of little pink panties on the stairs, and a few more on the floor in the toy room, because another of my little princesses need to have matching panties for everything she wears, including dress up clothes....so needless to say those panties are 1 of maybe 4 that we go through in a day.

3 small pieces of CHEESE in the bath tub. Apparently someone needed to take their snack into the bath with them, then got side tracked, and there under the cover of the bubble-bath marinated 3 small pieces of cheese, until the water was drained, and they crusted themselves to the bottom of the tub, patiently waiting for yours truly to scrape them off...

A stash of all the toys that are yellow, behind the chair in the living room, carefully left by my color co-ordinated child who only likes to play with toys that are the same color.

And just today, I found a measuring cup on the floor of the office, next to the recliner, and there is currently a toothbrush under the piano bench...

Is it any wonder that we could run ourselves in circles as mothers, day after day after day, just trying to have a tidy home? Though I have to tell you, I have chuckled to myself with each odd finding, and I suppose if we can learn to see the humor in all of this, life with be less about the cleaning up an more about the making. :)

The end of an era...

I walked into Logan's room this morning to find this.....

I always dread the transitioning to a bed. It is always a little unnerving when you know they can get up whenever they want to...but alas, I knew it wouldn't last forever...and I suppose it would be better now, before the baby comes and all. :)

Uncle David's visit

We were lucky enough to have a visit from my little brother David, who is currently stationed at the air force base in Biloxi Mississippi, come for a quick visit. We are proud of him and miss him a lot, so it was wonderful to get to see him. Olivia was especially happy to see him, she hardly left his side the whole time he was at our house.

This is Grandpa Redding, Olivia and Uncle Davie.

Apple Harvest Times

I always love this time of year, when the last of the fruit comes off the trees and the leaves start to fall. For the last 3 or 4 years, we have had the blessing of getting to spend a Saturday with our good neighbors and pressing apples into fresh juice. It is the most amazing juice, and we enjoy it all year through thanks to a REALLY big freezer :)

It occurred to me this year that I have never taken pictures of the process, and that with as much as my kids love it, it really should be documented, so here are a few shots of our apple

juicing day.

This year we turned about 15 bushels of apples into 41 gallons of fresh apple cider.

Craig and Logan (in his jammies) picking apples in the crisp early morning air.

The girls think that the best part of juicing apples is eating the apple foam that accumulates as you grind and press the apples. They were all sticky from ear to ear. :)

Here is a shot of our good neighbor and his wonderful apple press. And Logan, patiently waiting for more juice....

If you were wondering about this amazing machine, here is a website you can check it out at:

Happy Valley Cider Presses

Today's Pregnant moment

Well, I am sure that each of you could think of some silly thing that you did while you brain was on temporary vacation while being pregnant....but, I dare you to top this one!

Today I drove to Provo, to go to a chiropractor appointment. When I pulled into the parking lot, (just off of 500 West in Provo for those of you who live locally, for those of you who don't, it is a very busy street in a somewhat not-great part of Provo. (I know, I used to live around the corner from there years ago)). Anyhow, I unbuckled the kids, got them out, and started walking up the sidewalk. As I was walking away, I thought to myself, the van is making more noise than it should be while shut off....I wonder if it is over-heating a little...I will have to have Craig take a look at it when he gets home. Then, off to get my adjustment...

20 minutes later, I head out the doors, and reach into my purse to find my keys. But where are they? I am digging and digging and I just can't seem to find them. I am about to turn around and go back in, when I hear something. I can hear a car running....and guess who's it is? MINE. I had left the keys in my car....WITH IT RUNNING....while I was in the chiropractors office. I have to tell you, I said a little prayer of thanks to Heavenly Father, that it was indeed still there and not stolen in those 20 minutes! Thank goodness He looks out for us dingy pregnant ladies and the ridiculously silly things we do.

ranch dip and fajita mix recipes

I recently ran out of both Ranch Dip mix and Fajita seasoning, and since it was Sunday, I had to be creative. I looked online at some recipes, combined a few, and made some changes that I thought would be good, and here is what I came up with. Try them if you like, I think they are every bit as good as any mix you can buy.

Ranch Dip Mix:

16 oz. Sour Cream

1 T. Dried Parsley

1/2 tsp. Dill Weed

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

Mix all together and serve with veggies of your choice.

(I make all my measurements heaping, because I like lots of flavor. :)

Fajita Seasoning:

3 T. Cornstarch

2 T. Chili Powder

1 T. Salt

1 T. Paprika

1 T. Sugar

1 T. Chicken Bouillon

2 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Onion Powder

2 tsp. Cumin

Mix all together and store in air tight container. Makes the equivellant to 3 store bought mix packets.

( I have tried another recipe that I found online also, and while it was okay, this one is FAR better. The cornstarch thickens the sauce, and holds the flavor to the meat and veggies. I REALLY liked this one.)

Happy cooking! Let me know what you think if you try it!

Winter comes early.

Believe it or not, this is our backyard, just 5 days ago, Friday, October 7th.

They fore-casted rain in the valley and snow in the mountains. No one expected that we would get 6 inches of snow, and apparently, Mapleton was the only one to even get an accumulation of snow. (3 miles away in Springville, when I drove to the store, my van was the only vehicle with snow on it.)

I had to dig out all the winter clothes in a hurry because everyone wanted to play outside in the new snow.

Logan shoveling with daddy....isn't he cute!

Ally and Livy building a snowman together. I always like to post pictures of them where they are liking each other, seeing as how that isn't always the case.... :) They had TONS of fun together in the snow. It was fun to listen to them play and giggle together.

What you don't see in these pictures is all the tree branches in the neighborhood snapping off. It was kind of eerie to be out in the the still quiet of the snow and all you could hear was snap, snap crash! With all the leaves still on the trees (and still GREEN) the weight of the snow was too great. Our yard was full of fallen branches. A few of them bent the fence, and thanks to a great neighbor, those same branches didn't take out our power! It was quite the storm.

Prayer time

I giggle every time we pray, and finally decided to take a picture of Logan, folding his arms.

I am not sure where he got the idea, but when we say, time for prayer, fold your arms, this is what he does. Sometimes, he kinda closes his eyes, but mostly he just puts his hands on his head and looks at everyone else. It is especially cute when we have family prayer and we all kneel down. He has learned how to kneel down, but still, even though everyone else is folding their arms or hands, he still puts his hands on his face, or head, squints his eyes, and looks around.

He is so CUTE, and always makes us smile.

Waiting for the bath...

The bathtub wasn't holding water very well, it was half-way gone by the end of the kids bath, and then, the drain broke completely, and no water was going down at all. I forgot and told the kids that it was bath time. They all ran to the bathroom and stripped, and then I remembered that the drain was broken. The kids were needless to say a little upset, so I asked Craig to look at it, and he decided he could fix it fast. The kids were so anxious that they were crawling all over him while he was fixing it. I tried to get a shot of Logan laying on daddy's back watching him work from over his shoulder, but this was the best I could get.

There is actually another set of cutie-patootie buns hiding behind the door, but I figured that 6 year old naked buns might be cute, but she would likely not look back on that fondly when she got older. :)

Summer picnic with Grandma and Grandpa Laing

We spent a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Laings this summer. We took a picnic one day to a place called Big Rocks and as you can see, it is called big rocks for a good reason....

It started raining within minutes of our arrival, and rained for quite a while, so we built a fire and roasted hot dogs in the rain. The kids hid out in the rocks to stay dry.

Here is a rare shot of Craig and I together. Not the best picture of me, with my chubby pregnant face, but nevertheless, a picture of the 2 of us together needs to be posted. I love my hubby!

This is Ally with her cousin Shalyn.

This is Logan hiding out with daddy... Don't you love his cowboy boots and shorts. He won't go anywhere without them, or the binky for that matter.

When the rain stopped, Craig took the girls for a ride on Uncle Scott's 4 wheeler. Do you think Olivia liked it?

Here is Olivia, posing, and hiding from the rain.

Even with the rain, we had a fabulous time at the picnic and at grandma and grandpas house.

Ally update

Over the summer, all the kids learned to do more chores than we have previously done. I have learned that just because they are young, doesn't mean that they can't have chores, and learn how to do a really good job. Ally was my biggest helper, and my best cleaner this summer. She even learned how to clean the bathroom, all by her self, and once again, she does a pretty darn good job. :)

Allison had her 6th birthday in September. It was a fun day and she was thrilled with everything. She is such a sweetheart, and we love her dearly. Here is a picture with her sister Olivia after opening her birthday gift...bubble bath!

Ally blowing out her candles. I am not much of a cake baker, but cream filled cupcakes are a specialty of mine, so cupcakes it was....and they were super delicious. :)

(What a cute girl!)

Ally wanted to help dad mow the lawn, and here she is, in her dress and flip-flops, mowing the lawn, and doing a very good job I might add for a 6 year old. She turned the corners like an old pro.

Another first for Ally, she started 1st grade this year. Seeing as how she missed the deadline last fall to start kindergarten by just a few weeks, we decided to have her tested, and ultimately put right into 1st grade. She is a super smart kid, and is doing very well in school. She consistently gets 100% on her spelling test, she loves to read, and is reading at a very high level, and most of all, she loves being with friends and being social all day. School has been wonderful for her! We are so proud of her.

Silly Jammies

Olivia has a style all of her own. She likes to wear these jammies, that aren't really jammies. It is 2 T-shirts, one that is hers, and a bigger one that belongs to Ally. She wears one on top and pulls the neck of the other one on like a skirt, with the sleeves sticking out.

The other night, she was complaining that her skirt-shirt bottom was falling down. I said, "come here and let me see if I can fix it for you". I thought I would push the sleeves in and tuck them into the top of her panties, and then it wouldn't be able to fall down. When I was done, Olivia looks at me and says..."Mom that looks SILLY."

Like it wasn't before.... :)

No-no Logan

As many of you who have met my little Logan know, he can get into things faster than you can say, "Where is Logan?"...

The other day, I was at my friends house. We were in the other room, when I realized that Logan was no longer right there with us. I called down the hall and said, "Logan, what are you doing?". My friend Kyli says, "I'll go see what he is doing."

On her way into the kitchen, she hears Logan, who is hiding behind the counter, saying, "no-no, no-no", to himself. As she peeks around, there is Logan 2 seconds away from dumping out an entire jar of hot chocolate mix on the floor.

Does anyone else think it's funny that he was telling himself no? I guess it makes sense that he wouldn't listen to himself...he never listens to me when I say no. :)

By the way, this picture is Logan with Baking Soda all over him, the floor, and what you can't see is that it is all over the dishwasher, filling the dishwasher soap cup, and smeared all over the cabinets.

Ideas?

So for all of you ladies out there who have ever been pregnant, any ideas for the constant PMS-like hormone imbalance that seems to be a part of my daily life lately? My poor children are wondering 'were did mommy go, and who is this crazy lady who has taken over the house?' Any herbs, or ANYTHING that you found that helped?

Today's Ultrasound

Well friends- we had our ultrasound this morning....and to those of you who have been talking to me lately, you know that I was just sure that it was going to be a girl, and her name was going to be Lauren Grace Laing....

Well, once again, I was wrong....I have only been right once, and wrong now for the 3rd time! I should just assume it is what ever I don't think it is. Craig however says that he knew it was a boy because I have been so emotional! Funny how he never said anything, (probably by nature of the issue, he thought it might not be taken so well if he did say anything.)

So, now we all know. IT'S ANOTHER BOY!!!! I am open to names, though bear in mind, I lean towards names that either start with or have an "L" in them. I am strongly leaning towards Tyler right now, though Craig is still 'thinking about it'.

We are truly blessed. It is a good day.

Today, my oldest child decided to cut her little sister's hair.....I am still to upset to laugh about it...or to post pictures....perhaps in the next few days, I will be able to see the humor in it and post a picture of Olivia's new hair-cut, and her bangs that go all the way around her ear....

dinner time blues...

Tonight I decided to make my favorite childhood dinner. When you were a kid did you have a dinner that everyone got excited about when your mom would make it? You know, the one you always begged her to make for your birthday dinner? Well, mine was chicken enchiladas. And it was coincidentally, both of my brothers favorites as well. Our whole family loved them. Some of my favorite childhood memories are wrapped up in chicken enchiladas with root beer for dinner.

As I was making them, every taste test was just as it should be...it tasted perfect, and while it was cooking, it smelled perfect and oh so yummy!!! I was so excited to eat them. As we all sat down, do you want to know what my kids said? "Mom, I don't like enchiladas." and "what's those green things in there". Needless to say, NONE of the kids liked them....And none of them even wanted to taste, they did taste them and they did eat them...eventually...

I feel a little surprised at my disappointment. I was a little heart-broken over the whole thing. It's silly I know. Oh well. At least Craig and I thoroughly enjoyed them, and I for sure won't quit making them. Maybe by the time they are teenagers, and they know what good food is, they will wise up and decide to like them.

Sugar and spice and everything nice?

You all know, I am sure, that your kids can say things that are precious, things that are adorable, and things that are hilarious. And then they sometimes say things that make your blood boil...It is usually funny after some time, and we can all look back and laugh, but at the time, we wonder, 'what am I doing wrong?'

A few days ago-
Mom- Olivia, please don't do that.
Olivia- I can do it if I want to.
Mom- No you can't
Olivia- I can if you're not watching.

And yesterday morning at breakfast-
Logan spills his milk on the table, and Craig is standing by the sink.
Mom- Dad, can you toss me that washrag?
Olivia- Why do you make him do everything?

Sugar and spice- not typical, spit and fire- more likely. :)

Bless her heart, we love her dearly, spit-fire and all!

It's been too long...

So friends, I know it has been a long time. I must admit that the last 6 weeks have been challenging. I figure I might as well spill the beans, as a few of you already know..... I am pregnant... and well, between the morning sickness, and my lack of energy and inability to get off the couch, there have not been many picture taken, or blog posts posted, or even emails read. I seem to have turned a new leaf in these last few days, and I am hoping it is a sign of things to come. I am finally starting to feel better, and for the first time in more than a month, MOST of my house is clean, the kitchen floor has been mopped and the toilets have been scrubbed. I have also made a serious dent in the mountain of laundry that has not only been all over the laundry room, but also on the living room couch for the last 2 weeks. The kids have been asking me, "Mom, I am out of pajamas, are there any in the dryer?" Like I said, I am thankful to finally be feeling on top of things again. I have started excersizing again, and cooking again, and it feels good. So, next up on the list of things to do, is get caught up on my emails, blogs, and online banking.....If I have neglected any of you, I am sooo sorry it is nothing personal.

Tornado

For any of you watching the news about the tornado in MISSISSIPPI, not to worry, we are fine. The tornado hit quite a bit north of us, and mostly in Alabama and Georgia....Though it was SUPER windy yesterday driving home from Florida- I have pictures to post soon of the beautiful Florida beach.

One last picture

If you were ever curious what happens when you apply aerosol sunscreen in the wind, this is it. It has a lovely marbling effect. This is Craig and my brother David after we got home from the beach today. They are flexing thier muscles so they don't feel quite so silly :)