Nathan walks and plays peek-a-boo

Grandma- this is a video- push play :)

Does this make me the crazy cat lady???

The church held a trunk-or-treat on Saturday and all the kiddos were cats.

Scary aren't they??

Not sure why, but Logan was not in the mood to have his picture taken. Oh wait! It's because he's 2!!

Ally with her friend McKenna.

Our new shoe bench

Last Saturday, Craig and the kinds spent the day in the garage building a much needed storage bench to store the kids shoes in.

Nathan sat in the old high chair and ate apples most of the time when he wasn't napping :)

Don't you love how it was cold enough for hats, but not shoes or coats....

Logan showing off his flaps.

Ally showing off her flaps.

After telling Logan to look at the camera for the 20th time, Daddy stepped in and helped.

Daddy's big helpers.

The finished project. Each child has a cubby with a shoe bin in it and they have a nice place to sit and put on their shoes. Thanks Dad!

Killing 2 birds with one stone.

Logan brings me an apple and asks if he can have it- I said no, because it was almost dinner time. I thought he was going to put it back.  5 minutes later, Ally comes to ask me if Logan is in time-out (our time-out stool is in the bathroom just off the kitchen). I said no- why? She replies that he is sitting on the floor in the bathroom eating an apple...

I guess he figured he might as well do the time, while committing the crime and kill 2 birds with one stone :)

homesick...

Oh friends.... I am missing home so much today...

Family pictures!!!

My favorite shot of the day :)

No wait, this is my favorite shot of the day :)

No, no, wait THIS is my favorite shot of the day :)

OK- they are all my favorites:)

Me and my girls

I swear this daughter of mine could be a model. She posed herself in all of these shots.

Sweet, sweet Livy!

Love this boy!

My sweet little Nathan.

Handsome dude!

Me and my boys :) These are the best kisses in the world!

This one makes me feel chubby, but the boys were so cute, I had to put it on anyhow.

This look like a Gap ad or something to me! And look at those eyes!

This is how I always want to remember Olivia- great big smiling face!

I can't see this shot and not smile... What a darling boy. I wish he would stay just like this forever.

What a cute bunch of babes!

Sweet love of my life :) I told Craig it looks like we have both gained 20 pounds over the last 10 years, OH WAIT- we have :)

Look at those eyes!!! Not sure where they get them from, Craig and I both have hazel eyes.

One of our family photo shots... just had to share this one... more to come soon :)

Happy Birthday Ally!

Happy Birthday to my sweet princess Ally. 

We couldn't love you more!

September 23, 2012

Craig? Is that you?

Put an OREO goatee on Nathan and he really does look like his daddy :)

Grubby

 Before I became a mother, I swore I would never have grubby kids...I was SO wrong. Considering this is how Logan looks 95% of the time. 

baby's first....shiner?

Since Nathan has been trying his hand at walking, he has sustained multiple head wounds :) Note the bruises on his cute little forehead... A few days ago, Logan- who loves to help Nathan- helped him into a face-plant on the corner of the coffee table. Still a cutie, even with a black eye :)

fogginess

Today I was dusting- obviously something I don't do very often :), and Olivia says-

"Mom, are you taking off all the fogginess?"

Hahaha! I had to try really hard not to laugh out loud. Bless her sweet little heart, she's a thinker :) And yes, if you were wondering, she is adamant about growing out those lovely LONG bangs.

The rains came down and the flowers came up...

Today while driving Ally to school, Olivia was in the back seat singing to her self. As I listened more closely, I could tell she was trying to sing one of her primary songs, 'the wise man and the foolish man'. The real words are, "the rains came down and the floods came up...the rains came down and the floods came up...the rains came down and the floods came up and the house on the rock stood still." Olivia thinks the words are "the rains came down and the flowers came up, the rains came down and the flowers came up, the rains came down and the flowers came up, and the house on the rock stood still."

She must be very confused by this song :) What do flowers have to do with the wise man and the foolish man and where they chose to build their house?

Marci's Peanut Butter Bars

Just so I don't loose this, I am posting it. They are delicious!

1 C. Butter

1 C. Sugar

1 C. Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

3/4 C. Peanut Butter

Mix until creamy.

1 tsp. Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

2/3 T. Vanilla

2 c. Flour

2 c. Oats

Press into cookie sheet. Bake at 350 (365) for 15-17 minutes

You can whip peanut butter and pour on top when it comes out of the oven, so it melts in, then top with chocolate frosting.

undercover boss...

Sometimes I feel like being a mom is kind of like being an undercover boss.

You're in charge, but no body believes you.

Homemade Yogurt

I have been looking for a good homemade yogurt recipe for YEARS! I finally found one that I wanted to try, and after several attempts, I think I finally figured it out! I used this recipe, as a basis and then tweaked it a bit...

I never liked to buy yogurt at the store because we could go through an entire 24 oz. tub in 1 sitting, and we won't even talk about the little cups... we would need 6 of those a day at least! It was just too expensive! You will be happy to know, the total cost, for 5 qts. of homemade, sweetened vanilla yogurt was approximately $2.50! That's a HUGE savings in my book. AND, it is delicious! My kids would never eat the yogurt that I tried to make before, but they literally gobble this up! I even eat it, and I am not a real huge fan of yogurt most days.

I won't go through the step by step of it all, with pictures and such, but here are the basics-

Ingredients:

1 gal. whole milk

1 c. half and half (because I had it and it needed to be used)

1 1/2 c. plain yogurt

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. powdered vanilla

In a heavy stockpot, heat 1 gallon whole milk and half and half to 185-195 degrees. (I think it matters what kind of milk you use- the full milk fat helps it to set up well. You could use milk with less fat-content, but I am not sure if you will get as nice of a texture. Plus, I think we should eat things as close to the way God made them as possible... He knows what He's doing - There is more to be said on this matter, but I will save that for another day, though this lady says it pretty well in this post:)

After your milk reaches 185 degrees, cool to 120 degrees- then add plain yogurt, sugar and vanilla powder and mix thoroughly. Pour into your jars, or plastic containers, and I put them in my dehydrator- I have and excaliber dehydrator and I love it, I just take out the shelves, set it to 115 degrees and leave the yogurt overnight. In this post, she gives other ways to do it, but this is the best way I have found. In the morning I put it in the fridge, well that is whatever the kids don't eat first, and let it cool and literally in just a few days I need to make more!

Now- I know that there are some of you out there who surely are saying- YIKES Megan! that's a lot of sugar! and a lot of fat! And yes, you are right, this isn't fat-free yogurt and my kids won't eat it if it doesn't taste good...so, for me, for delicious, cheap homemade yogurt it is worth it...however, I am thinking of trying some stevia to sweeten it next time, it has 0 calories, and comes in flavored liquids, so you could make lots of different flavors....I will let you know how it goes.

10 years of wedded bliss...

August 23rd, Craig and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. He surprised me with a wonderful date- dinner at a fancy restaurant, then a concert with Norah Jones at the Red Rock outdoor amphitheater, then a child free evening at a luxury motel! It was wonderful and I am very lucky to be married to such a wonderful man. He is still the love of my life, and I look forward to many many more years of bliss :)

Clap your hands!

Nathan learns to clap his hands :)

Thanksgiving in August

We were lucky enough to have my dear sweet sister-in-law and my 2 great nephews here with us for 2 weeks in August. We love them dearly, and we so thrilled with the time we got to spend together. One night, we decided to make a turkey, and as long as we were going to make a turkey, we might as well go all out! So, we made a whole Thanksgiving dinner- the only thing it was missing, was sweet potatoes, which I regretted after, but it didn't even occur to me, until it was too late :)

Ever since Valentines day, last year, the kids always ask if we can eat by candlelight, so we accommodated, and had Thanksgiving dinner, by candlelight in August. It was fun!