The "Johnson World" News

Update

2012-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

We had a baby!....a month ago. I have been great at updating this blog. Colton Tanner joined our family on Dec 27th. He has been a great baby and all the other kids love him, and they ask when we're going to have another one....really. Kids are so blissfully unaware of how much work they are. I am very grateful for the kiddos I have, but I can't even think of adding to this brew.

I am doing well in my recovery process and feel much more normal these last few days. I can't quite go out running or anything, but I do feel much better. The recovery took a bit longer than the last two. I don't know if it is bc it was a third c-section, that I am older, or that I had more kids to run after and was not able to rest as much....or maybe all of those factors played a part. But, now I've been back to cooking and shopping and doing lots of things that I've been behind on.

I need to put a more recent picture up since he has grown a bit. I'll try to put one up soon.

35 weeks

2011-11-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

I am 35 weeks, as of yesterday. I had a Dr.'s appointment this morning and I now have to go every week (yuck). I don't love going to the dr.. They are actually very good about getting me in and out, but I either have to arrange babysitting for Brooke or take her with me. It's all just a bit of a pain. For the most part I have been measuring further along than I am. Today they told me that I am measuring as if I were 37 1/2 weeks. She felt around and said that he felt like her was already a good sized baby, and that he'll be gaining about another pound and a half before her gets here. I had been feeling swollen lately, but the last couple days have been alright and I've had a little more energy, surprisingly enough.

This little guy will be here on Dec. 27th. Having a baby 2 days after christmas has kind of taken nesting to another level. It means that I am super simplifying Christmas. Stan brought all of our Christmas decor up from the basement and I had him take about 90% of it back down. We have our stockings up and our tree and that is it. No outside lights or decor. And it's all coming down on the 26th (if not the 25th, but I'll try to wait until the 26th). But I want this house cleaned of all the Christmas stuff so that I don't come home from the hospital to all of it.

I am quite enormous this pregnancy. People ask how much longer I have, and when I tell them they are always surprised, expecting me to say much less, as if I am supposed to have him tomorrow. Or they ask me if there are two babies in there. (That only happened once though...at the temple.) I have had a lot of discomfort thie pregnancy, but as huge and uncomfortable as it is, I still think it is better than the first trimester. So, 4 weeks from today our little boy will be here, and maybe we'll have a name for him....hopefully.

So that's the update. Sorry I don't have a picture. I skyped with my sister, amy, and she laughted when she saw me stand up. It's a little out of control is all you need to know. 2012 might be my year of starving myself and getting rid of all this baby weight. For the last 5+ years, I've had only 1 month of not nursing or being pregnant. I think I might give myself some time after this one.....maybe a LOT of time. 4 is a good number, right? I think so too.

Dear Blog.....

2011-11-16T11:54:00.001-08:00

I have not forgotten you. Yes, I know I have not written anything about Halloween, or Jake's birthday.....or anything for that matter. Here is my issue. I am always tired. I have a quiet time during my afternoon when it is just me and Kate. She is nice and doesn't complain if I nap on the couch. She will cuddle up with me or just play. It would also be a good time to blog, but my mind weighs my options (nap? blog? nap? blog?) and napping wins out. It probably always will. Then at night I am also super tired. This baby is sucking the life out of me. And at the same time making me bigger than life. Forgive my lack of attention to you. We did have some family pictures taken. Maybe I'll throw them on here once I get them. I can't make any promises though.

Youuu?? Meeee?

2011-10-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to put this video on my blog. (I take random videos mainly for Amy since she loves Brooke and lives in Hawaii now.) My last post was a video of Brooke, but I feel like I need to throw something on my blog bc I haven't been the best about blogging. So, my kids are not the earliest talkers in the world and Brooke is finally starting to talk a lot more recently. This is a video of the whole you/me thing she does. It cracks me up and we go on like this for a minute or two whenever she starts.

Tomorrow, I am having a bunch of family over for our annual pumpkin carving contest. I'll try to blog about that.

Brooke Singing Happy Birthday

2011-10-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

Brooke has taken a while to talk. She loves music and she loves to sing, although we don't understand her most of the time. However, this song I was able to figure out what she was singing and got a little video of it.

Our Treasure Hunt and Chest

2011-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

This evening the kids were wanting to do a treasure hunt. Their hunt involved digging in the backyard, which I was not cool with bc I did not want them getting all dirty...or digging in my backyard. So instead, we decided to go on a walk down to Huddleston Pond. Once we got down there I gave each kid a small brown paper bag to collect any "treasures" on our walk. Jake and Brooke barely picked up anything. Kate, on the other hand, filled her entire bag plus some extras on the side.

When we got home we sorted through all of their treasures (of which 98% came from Kate's findings) and made our very own treasure chest. We busted out the hot glue gun and assembled this thing of beauty. Kate thinks out chest is perfect, and Jake thinks it doesn't look like a treasure chest at all. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Excuse or Enjoy

2011-10-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Pintrest and came across some poems that I love. It reminded me that there was a Rudyard Kipling poem that I loved. I couldn't remember the name or what it was about, only who the author was and that I loved it. So, as to not lose it again, I am posting it on here. So, please excuse this post that does not really give you any information on our family life or what we're doing....or enjoy.

Recessional (A Victorian Ode) by Rudyard Kipling
God of our fathers, known of old --
Lord of our far-flung battle line --
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies --
The Captains and the Kings depart --
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away --
On dune and headland sinks the fire --
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe --
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard --
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.

Life Update

2011-10-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

The kids are in bed. We put them to bed closer to 6:30 tonight, a Saturday night. They played hard today, and they needed it...and I needed it. Stan is at the Priesthood session of conference. And I am here, on my couch, with college football on the TV.

I realized that my last few posts have not been that informative on our lives. I have kind of neglected this blog bc I have been much more focused on my recipe blog, which also means that I have been busy cooking. I am trying to keep a schedule, plan, menu, what have you. I really like having a plan. I like having all my ingredients on hand and not having to run to the store to get the 2 ingredients I need bc I have finally figured out what I want to make for dinner with the stuff I have on hand (minus those couple of things that I have to go to the store to get). Anyhow, the plan is: Sunday I make the plan, Monday I shop Wal-mart, I cook or eat leftovers all week, Weekend I go to Publix for a few sale items and any fill-in items I may need. - Stan is very appreciative of all my cooking. I don't mind it so much, pretty much bc I have a plan. So, that's one thing that's been going on in my life.

Another thing going on in my life is being pregnant. I am getting big. I am tired. I finally have one pair of pregnancy jeans that should help me through the next three months. This is my first winter baby and I haven't had to worry about preggo jeans in the past. I don't think any woman loves finding the perfect pair of jeans, but I always have huge issues. I am tall. They don't make too many maternity jeans in the tall area, and if they do, often times they are awkward on me. I ordered some from Old Navy, and they were too small. I found some Gap one on Ebay and they are great. Pregnancy is painful. My back often hurts, and there are other pains in other areas that I won't tell you about, but they hurt a lot. Although, there are ligament pains that I am used to being constant in other pregnancies that have not been that bad with this one, so that is good. It was those pains that made walking so horrible for me, but this time I can actually take a walk and it isn't too bad. I am just really slow.

I went yard-saling today with some pretty good success stories. I found a great glider that is usually super expensive for $20. It even reclines. I got some cute kid patio furniture for $2 that I might spray paint a cute color. I got some great shoes for Jake that are in great shape, but those actually ended up being too small. But hopefully baby boy can wear them one day, so I'll hold on to them for 5 years.

I made curtains. My house finally has 1 set of curtains. If you're friends with me on facebook, you can check them out. And thanks to Pintrest.com, I have made hand soap, made a soap dispenser out of a mason jar, made a prayer jar for the kids, have ordered cool lids that you can put on plastic bags (that probably doesn't make sense but they are cool), I've ordered jar sealer attachment for my foodsaver, then realized my foodsaver didn't have the port I needed, then ordered a new foodsaver off of ebay. (I saw that same foodsaver at a yard sale today for $5, and a part of me died.) Although, I got a good deal on mine too. I spray painted a cute shelf that is now in my living room, and it helps control the kids' book collection that is out of control. But I kinda like having lots of kid books around.

I took Kate out of the state funded Pre-K program and put her in at the Methodist church right down the street. This solved my huge problem of having to wake up Brooke, to leave early, to sit in carpool forever bc I have to be first in line bc I had to rush home and be at the bus stop when Jake got off...and that I often still missed. I would have to call my mom and have her hurry there to get him. It was frustrating. Now she gets out at noon, I put Brook down for a nap, and then I am home when Jake gets here. It is so nice when a solution is found that makes life run so much more smoothly. This is part of the reason I have my kids enrolled in 0 extra activities. I am sure I will have them in more things one day, but they are young. I love having them at home. It makes it much easier to have meals at home, have FHE, and have them in bed at the same time every night.

Are you still reading?? I am impressed if you have gotten this far in all my rambling. You must be a true friend. But chances are that if you are one of my true friends, that you already know close to 90% of all I have already said. But chances also are that if you know a lot of this stuff that I like you.

I love that it is cooler. It makes being pregnant a little more bearable. I have my door open as I type this and the temp outside is 58 degrees. It makes my toes a little chilly, which is 5000 times better than being hot. I LOVE it! What I don't love is that Clemson is beating Viginia Tech. C'mon Hoakies!

We took the kids to Partner's Pizza in between conference sessions today. It made me realize how much I enjoy my kids and that they aren't all toddlers anymore. They were silly, but not out of control and screaming. And a cup of water got spilled, but that was actually Stan's fault and not one of the kids. It was quite pleasant. And we went on the golf cart which was so nice since it was a little cooler.

Ok, so that is my life. I am behind on cleaning, and laundry. I am finally getting out the kids warm clothes. I lay on the couch a lot. Stan is my third and fourth arm and is over the top more helpful than I deserve. He really picks up my slack. Mostly, he is great at picking up and straightening up, which I relaly appreciate bc bending over for me suck about 1/2 of the entire energy I have in my body. Getting off the couch take up 75% of my energy. Ok, so not literally, I just have a hard time being as agile as I normally am.

I really am rambling. I'll be done now. 10 points to you for finishing.

Things are cooler when they get a new name...I guess.

2011-09-27T08:47:00.001-07:00

There is a trend out there that I don't quite understand.

What would you call this pattern?

A zig zag?

Nope.

It's chevron

Oh, you thought this was Chevron?

I did too.

And this?

You didn't just say zig zag again out of habit, did you? I told you, it's CHEVRON. Don't make that mistake in a group of girls. You'll be totally embarrassed. They'll like think you don't pintrest or something.

And it's everywhere. Everywhere. (Just check this site out if you don't know what I'm talking about.) It's like owls were last year. It is cute and go ahead and paint a nice chevron pattern on your wall, or make some art in this super cool pattern.

But you might have to repaint next year when chevron is out and my new pattern is the new thing. I'll see if it catches on. So this might just look like a lot of triangles, but it's not.

I call it citgo.

What I Just Made

2011-09-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

So the earlier post made me want to look for other purposes for all my Mason jars. I came across this idea. I just used the tools I had on hand and made this. It would be super cute spray painted a cute color too. I think it is the country girl in me that loves this kind of stuff.

How smart is this?

2011-09-12T05:30:00.001-07:00

I picked up 6 boxes of Mason jars at a yard sale a few weeks ago (for $1 a box!) in hopes to can more. Today, I saw this! I have a Food Saver and all I needed was the jar attachment. How great will this be to store lettuce, leftover, and all sort of stuff. It will all last so much longer. Plus, who doesn't love the look of Mason jars? They are so classic. I don't think I am going to mind having these nicely lined up in my fridge and freezer.

Our Prayer Jar

2011-09-12T05:04:00.001-07:00

Our kids love saying prayers. Kate usually needs help and Jake will say the same 3 things each time and that's it. Yesterday, for FHE, we made a prayer jar. We put 2 different size sticks in our jar. The big ones are thing we are thankful for and the small ones are blessing to ask for. The kids pick 3 of each before their prayer. Jake wanted to be sure that he got the one that said he was thankful for school. Hopefully, this will improve our prayers and make them a little less repetitive.

Also, I am trying to knit.

One day, Kate saw an episode of Clifford where a lady knitted a scarf. Suddenly, she wanted me to knit her a scarf. I actually had on hand some yarn and knitting needles that I had picked up at a yard sale in hopes to someday learn. I grabbed my stuff and pulled up 'youtube' videos and tried to figure it out on my own. It wasn't happening. I was frustrated. Kate showed me that all I needed to do was wave my hands around a bit with the needles and yarn and that magically a scarf would appear. I had to explain that it wasn't quite as easy as it looked on Clifford. Luckily, my sister, Kristen, came over a couple days later and showed me a simple stitch. It is all I know, but it is a start, and enough to make a scarf for Kate. Now I just need to finish it so she can use it this winter. I don't have visions of become a great knitter. I just figure it is best to make things for my kids while they want me to, and while they're willing to wear them.

Funny

2011-09-09T04:54:00.001-07:00

Today's Project

2011-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

I picked this up at a yard sale for $2. At that time it was ugly and brown. I gave it some paint and glaze and now I love it. The little sliding doors slide really well, even after painting it. Cute, functional, cheap....it's how I roll.

Cruise

2011-09-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our cruise. It was a 5 night cruise to Progreso and Cozumel Mexico. I really wanted to go on a cruise before baby #4 comes. Cruise lines won't let you cruise past 24 weeks and I wanted to go after I was 20 weeks and no longer nauseous and sick. I had a small window to work with, but we found this little cruise that worked well for us. It ended up that my parents along with 2 of my sisters and their husbands also went with us. We had a great, relaxing week. The park that we went to in Cozumel was one of my favorite places ever. The snorkeling there was fabulous! Here are a few photos from the trip!

Breakfast on the ship before we head out to see Mexico!

Our first stop was Progreso. We got a ride on the local bus (being the only Americans on it) to Merida. It is a large city with great architecture. This Cathedral was amazing.

Then we went to a local Mayan restaurant that was highly recommended to us. I had the cochinita (roasted pork wrapped and cooked in banana leaves). It was awesome. There was a cute lady making fresh corn tortillas.

At dinner on the ship.

Chankanaab park in Cozumel. This place was amazing and had the best snorkeling right at the shore. Plus sweet little guys waiting to bring you any food or drink that you want. It was heaven. I had some great steak tacos.

Lastly, this was the picture hanging above our bed in our stateroom. Nothing says 'sleep well' like a weird guy hiding behind some bushes with a mask. Creepy.

My Favorite Sunbeam

2011-08-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

Kate is in my sunbeam class at church. It is actually 2 age groups combined, and Kate is on the younger end of the kids in the class. She cracks me up with the things she says and does. Here is a snippet from last week's lesson:

I am holding a picture of Moses.
Me: Who is this?
Kate raises her hand and I call on her.
Kate: Ummmmm, Joseph Smith?
Me: No, this is Moses.
Kate: Oooohhh....Let me try again.
Me: Ok. Who is this?
Kate: Joseph Smith?
Me: No, it is Moses.
Kate: Oh yeah! Let me try one more time.
Me: Ok. Who is this?
Kate: Joseph Smith!
I shake my head.
Me: No, this is Moses.
And I continue my lesson.

Then this week's lesson was on 'Love one another'.

Me: How does Jesus want us to treat each other?
Kate raises her hand and I call on her.
Kate: Ummmm, Moses!

Kids' Reaction

2011-08-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

Here is Jake and Kate's reaction to the news that we are having a boy. Jake is obsessed with this crazy hat lately, so please excuse his crazy look.

We're having a......

2011-08-15T07:39:00.001-07:00

BOY! I really felt like we were going to have a boy and I really wanted a boy. I have been right with each of our other children, and was very happy to be right again. It will be nice to even things out. We had our ultrasound this morning. Here are a few pictures. He was lying on his face, making it difficult to get any cute profile shots, but it was very definitive that he is a boy. He'll be arriving a few days after Christmas! We are very excited! Jake wanted it to be a boy, so it will be fun to see his face when he hears the good news!

First Day of School!

2011-08-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school for these guys. Jake is starting kindergarten at Huddleston and Kate is going into Pre-K. Jake rode the bus to school and I told him I would meet him at his school. When I got there to drop off his mound of supplies, he was at his desk already working on a coloring sheet. He did great! I was worried about how he would do getting off the bus, but they have a great system at his school. He seemed confident and happy....which calmed my nerves a bit. Stan took Kate to school on his way to work. He said she went right in, which I knew she would. The girl has been wanting to go to school for so long. I took both kids to their orientations last week which really helped to prepare them for today.

So, I know so many parents complain that time has gone by so fast, but I have to admit that I have looked forward to this day. Yes, I shed a few tears putting my little boy on the bus and I love my kids more than anything, but being sick and pregnant all summer with 3 little kids at home, I haven't been dreading this day. I know both of them are in good hands, and I love that I get a lot of one on one time with Brooke.

And in other news...Today, I am 19 weeks. Next Monday we have the 20 week ultrasound and get to find out what's swimming around in there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's a boy. It would just be nice to balance things out and have a change since the last 2 were girls. However a girl would be just fine...and probably easier since we have a ton of girl stuff. And a part of me would be very interested to see what girl #3 would be like, because Kate and Brooke have such very different personalities. Either way, we are excited to find out. Stay tuned to find out!

Salt and Pepper

2011-07-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

My son, Jake, loves noodles with salt and pepper. He will eat a bowl halfway and ask for more salt and pepper bc he loves the stuff. Today Jake wanted more salt and pepper on his noodles. I asked him to bring the salt and pepper over and a few minutes later I realized that he had just added it himself. There was a mound of it in his bowl. I refused to let him eat it. I rinsed the bowl and his noodles and added more salt and pepper. He then commenced to throw a fit. I couldn't figure out what his problem was, bc he kept telling me that I was supposed to add salt and pepper, which I had. Well, it took me a few minutes, but I realized that he was upset bc I put the pepper on before the salt and it is supposed to be "salt and pepper" not "pepper and salt". Then I went back, added a dash of salt THEN pepper and he was happy. - Will there be a day when I don't have to deal with such irrational behavior??? This kind of stuff wears me out.

Don't ____ Your Thumb

2011-07-21T14:20:00.001-07:00

I never realized until today that Kate doesn't quite say the word "suck" correctly. Just don't take any offense at the video please.

Mike and Katie get Sealed!

2011-07-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Stan's sister, Katie, and her husband, Mike, were sealed in the temple this past Saturday. Katie is very pregnant and was experiencing some contractions so they moved the date up, giving us a couple days notice. Luckily, we were able to figure things out so that we were able to attend. It was great to be there and to see them be sealed together for eternity.

Now, I haven't spent too much time around Mike, but it doesn't take much time to figure out that he doesn't get embarrassed very easily. I thought I didn't get embarrassed easily, but I have nothing on Mike. He has no hesitation in making a spectacle of himself, and I actually find myself getting a little embarrassed, and that doesn't happen very easily. For example: While outside the temple a couple asks me to take their picture. I suddenly see Mike's face all cozy in the picture right next to this set of strangers! Poor couple had no idea how to react and were nice enough to go along with having their picture taken with this crazy guy. It's all harmless I guess....just a bit odd.

Well, after the temple, we went out to lunch at Maggiano's and had a very interesting lunch filled with more of Mike's antics. He asked us if we dared him to get up on his chair and announce to the entire restaurant that he had just gotten married today. I wanted to crawl under my chair at the thought of it, but then I thought about it for a second and remembered that my phone had a video camera. At that point, I was totally on board with the idea and even encouraged him a bit. That was all it took. Two seconds later this is what happened:

The lovely folks at Maggiano's then brought us a bottle of wine and glasses. We informed them that we don't drink and they promptly brought us sparkling cider. It was nice to let all the kids join in on the fun of toasting. I told Richard that he should lead us in a toast. The place was so loud that I have no idea what he said, but here's the video anyhow...you know, in case you can read lips.

And then, when we thought that things had calmed down, a lady who was just at the restaurant eating lunch came over and offered to sing a song for Katie and Mike. Apparently, she is a singer in a band called the Sunlight Alchemists. I found a page of theirs on MySpace. Here's her cute song for the happy couple:

And thus concluded the crazy day. Congrats Katie and Mike! I am sure that the future will be filled with many funny (and interesting) memories!

Water Park!

2011-07-15T06:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Stan took a day off of work and we took the family up Lake Lanier Islands Water Park. It was perfect for the kids, and they had an amazing kiddy area that was great for Brooke. She was in heaven. Well, they all were. Stan and I took turns taking Jake down some big water slides which he loved. They also had a huge wave pool that Jake says was his favorite. There was even more to do there that we didn't get around to. We all had a long day in the sun and now I am sunburned.

Shun! Un-shun!

2011-07-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

For the time being, I am back on Facebook. I actually didn't miss it very much, but I was getting complaints from friends who use that as their main method to communicate with me. I also use it as one of my main ways to casually stay in touch with Jake's birth mother. I am not going back to scrabble (sorry Wendy). I also plan to use my blog much more for sharing pics and such. Which brings me to a little dilemma I am having with my camera. It's on the fritz. I'm so frustrated. I use my camera a good bit and can't figure out why it is acting all screwy. I guess I have the camera on my phone, but it's not that great....and I hate hooking it up to my computer.

So, while I am blogging, I guess I'll update my life a bit. I am now 15 weeks preggo, and I think I might be on the upswing from all the first trimester crud that I've been suffering through. I've done a few loads of laundry lately, so that's a good sign. I was sick for 18 and 20 weeks with prior pregnancies, and I am not in the clear quite yet, but it has been more manageable. I guess taking my anti-nausea medicine everyday probably hasn't hurt. I also have more energy, not as much as usual, but more than I've had.

Also new.....My sister, Amy, is expecting! She is very early, but it is cool to be preggo with her. Although, she's about to up and move to Hawaii. :( And, my brother, Tanner, is moving to GA! He is going to be starting a graduate program at Georgia State in the fall. I still haven't seen their little baby boy and really want to hold that little guy.

That's about all for now. We're just trying to get through this summer and the crazy heat. I'm kinda ready for fall.....but I think I have a while to wait still.

Kids Dancing

2011-07-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

My kids love to dance....if you can really call it that. They each have their own unique style, that's for sure. Here is a sample from the other day when they were getting down to the music from the Dora video game music, that you can't really hear, making their dancing all the more awkward.

Kate cracks me up with her dancing skills. She never picks her feet up off the floor and it kinda looks she is playing with an imaginary hula hoop. I was trying so hard not to laugh.

Jake saw me taking Kate's video and needed to show off his skills. However, it is still Kate who cracks me up with her commentary. She was watching Jake on the camera with me as I was recording him.

And, so as to not leave Brooke out...here are her skills from a couple months ago. I don't know how the youngest of my kids has the most rhythm.

Look Who's 2!

2011-06-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

My little Brooke is 2 today! Before she was born, all I wanted was a little girl with curly hair and chubby cheeks. I got what I wanted. This little girl keeps us hopping, for sure. She does not slow down and is constant trail of destruction. We have to keep a careful watch of what is within her reach, which, since she has discovered how to move the chairs around to reach things high on the kitchen counters, she is virtually unstoppable. This little girl is fearless, doesn't care if she were to get lost, has a death wish around pools, and is fond of the taste of dirt. She does best in a contained area with lots of toys. Occasionally, she will curl up on my lap and watch Little Einsteins with me. She gives great hugs and cute kisses. She loves to play, dance, and jabber. She has quite a limited vocabulary still, but does great at communicating what she wants. Brooke was dealt a triple dose of personality, is so silly, and makes the funniest faces. She makes us laugh all the time and we love everything about our little Brooklyn!

Twirly Rope?

2011-06-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

I am not quite sure what to call this. Kate got a jump rope at the dollar store. After my children proved to have absolutely no coordination, I think they had to improvise the way in which they could play with this toy. And we did try to play with it correctly. I would hold the rope with Jake so that Kate could jump. It just wasn't happening. I still don't think that Kate has jumped over this rope once. I think she is more likely to strangle herself before she learns how to jump rope. It looks like Brooke has a better idea about how to use than Kate does, but at least she seems to be happy with her new toy.

Busy Brooklyn

2011-06-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today we took the kids to Fernbank (or as they call it, the dinosaur museum). This is our 2nd year of having season passes there and the kids love it. Today we even watched an IMAX movie about surfing in Tahiti. It was pretty cool, and really made me want to go to Tahiti. Back in March, Fernbank reopened their kid area that had been closed for a year and completely redone....and really well. The kids LOVE it. Stan was watching Jake and Kate while I chased Brooke around. This is nothing unusual, but I thought I should probably record just how busy this girl is. Nothing holds her attention for very long. Here is a 3 minute video of her just going and going and me trying to keep up with her. One cool thing with this kid area is the fake river that runs through it. When you step on it, it makes ripples as if it were real water...quite a cool effect. I try to show it a couple of times, but couldn't stop too long because...well, I was chasing Brooke.

Side note: After Fernbank, we went over to the Dekalb Farmer's Market. On the way we saw a marquis sign at a church that read: Jesus Saves, Obama spends. Love church marquis signs.

Farm Envy

2011-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I would post this on my recipe blog, but I'll let my sister, Tricia, add it since she is the one who told me how to do this. See Tricia lives in nowhere Oregon surrounded by farm land. Her and her husband live in a house for free (seriously) and pay no utilities(seriously!), they have 3 pigs, 1/4 of a cow, never have to buy potatoes or onions, fill their gas tanks from the farm, and they are renting land to farm corn. I love to hear about her life! This is my sister who, I always thought, would end up living in a sky-rise apartment in some downtown area of some big city, where she could keep up with a fast paced life. Well, now she teaches math at a community college and drives a tractor from time to time. - Ok, but to get down to the real reason for this post....Tricia was telling me how they cut and froze some several hundred ears of corn and that it was soooo good. I had an "I want to live on a farm" tinge of jealousy, but then I realized that I can still get corn. So, I ordered 2 cases from a produce co-op that I help with. I had 102 ears of corn.

Stan helped me with this arduous task.

You boil the corn for 3 minutes then put it in cold water to keep it from cooking anymore. (A process known as blanching.)

Then you cut it off.

And bag it and freeze it.

I have 29 bags filled with corn.

This actually went a lot faster than I thought it would. Having an extra set of hands around really helped. Once the corn is shucked, the blanching and cutting goes pretty quickly. - There is a great sense of industry in tasks like this. I love it! I am so excited to have this all stocked in my freezer to make creamed corn with this winter!

Wet Super Heroes

2011-06-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

I love the rain. When it rains, we often go out on the porch to watch it. The other day the kids wanted to play out in the rain in their super hero capes.

One of my super heroes likes the rain and doesn't mind getting a little wet.

My other super hero is a little more fond of being dry.

This one finally came running back once the rain really started, but was already pretty drenched.

When the Planets Align...I get Bagels!

2011-06-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

You guys might hear a bit about this pregnancy, bc it has not been easy. The cravings are ridiculous. And, as I mentioned in my pregnancy post, if I don't get what my body wants, then it throws a fit. This fit usually involves me curled up on the couch trying not to puke. This morning I needed, more than anything, an Einstein Brothers asiago cheese bagel with cream cheese. I live in Peachtree City and the closest EB's Bagels was about an hour away. I ate granola. My body hated me. I layed on the couch for an hour. I got up and still had the craving. I felt like complete trash, but sometimes cravings make you do things even when you feel like you can barely function. I packed up 3 kids and golf carted all of us to Fresh Market in hopes that in all of their beautiful bakery goods, that they would have an asiago bagel, or some kind of cheese bagel. Nope. Nothing of the kind...ever. "It sounds good.", says the lady behind the counter. indeed. It sounds sublime. It is sublime! It is nowhere in my grasps. I load the kids back on the cart after they suck me into buying overpriced chocolate chip cookies that are...well, nothing close to what I make. Just sayin'. I take them to the park. I'm already out so I might as well let them run around.

When I get home, I call my mom. I know she is going to the temple tomorrow and maybe she can pick some up for me then. She answers. "Mom will you get me some bagels tomorrow." Mom: "Well, I am up here right now, you want me to bring you some?" She had to go up to Atlanta for a CPR certification class. It had gotten out early. She had already run her errands and an EB Bagels was about a mile away!! I want to almost cry. How absolutely serendipitous! She brought me 6. I have downed more than 1 already. She might have to buy me more tomorrow. My body is now leaping for joy. I feel soooo much better! I have energy, my nausea is gone, I got exactly what I needed! Thank you mom for being my lifesaver today! All is right in the universe...well, until dinner at least.

All this bagel talk reminds me of a certain episode of Community.

Facebook.

2011-06-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

How much can you really convey in a status?? I know, for me, there is a lot more going on than just, "Going to the park with the kids.", or some other lame one-liner. When I am on Facebook and I want to maybe share a status I sometimes rack my brain to find the one thing that is most worth sharing. Something that might cause people to want to comment, or really just validate what I had to say. - And then when it comes to reading other statuses...I don't really care that you and your girls all went out and had a great time. I mean, I do, I am happy that you're happy; I just don't need to use my time to seek out that information when it is not anything that I would have ever known otherwise. Facebook has become the great relater of useless information. So, I will be using my blog more. That way I can expound on the many things I have going on in my head, instead of trying to narrow it down to ten words or less.

And then there is the complaining. I won't give examples. But if you are going to send out a message for all your friends to read when they read their wall and you are constantly sending out negative vibes, well, I am just going to think that you're a negative person. There is no way that I would have close to the amount of interaction with people without FB than with. Chances are I will read 50 of your statuses before I actually go and hang out with you. So, in my mind, you're just a complainer. And that's probably not a fair assessment because, like I said, there's a lot more to me than my status, and that's probably true for you too.

And the showiness. I don't think it is really bragging, but FB can cause a person to be quite showy, myself included. Look at my cute kids in their cute Easter clothes. Look at our entire album of beach pics. I mean, seriously, if you were to come to my house, I'm not going to bust out our photo albums on you. For the most part, I do love seeing people's pics, but don't you think it is a bit unnatural? Do we really consider all of our friends when we nonchalantly post our pics for all of them to see?? Look at me, Look at me, Look at me!

It's a waste. I don't think I would need to use more than just the ten fingers I have to count the number of actual positive actions that FB has spawned. - Allison: Martha is trapped at the airport. Tiffany: I'll go get her!! - Such a great use of FB. Here is a need, and someone stepped up to help. If there was more of this type thing, then maybe I could justify staying, but 99.9% of it is a waste. Scrabble?: waste. Farmville?: waste. Family Feud?: waste. Those are just a few, a few that I personally got sucked into. - I often times think of a talk by Dalan H Oaks about "good, better, best". And even if I am sitting on a couch feeling like junk, suffering through the first part of a pregnancy, there are better things I can be doing than checking FB. And FB probably doesn't even reach the "good" status. I think it is what the general authorities would list as a distraction. A distraction from things that I could be doing. Because while I am just sitting, I could be reading a book, reading the ensign, playing a game with my kids, learning how to knit. Something, other than letting people's statuses and wall post conversations fill my sight. I think it dulls my sensitivity to my children and the spirit. It is a waste.

I sometimes think about people who I have a lot of respect for and who don't have facebook accounts. My friends Erin and Shelyse, who are both remarkable and busy mothers, who appreciate living in ignorance of all the "going ons" of facebook. I know that if I want to reach them, I am going to have to pick up a phone, even if to text, and have more personal interaction with them...and they're worth it. My brother-in-law Matt, who recently went through a divorce: I came to hate how his wife/now ex used FB in a public way during this time. He has talked with me about how he is glad he's not on there, and I don't blame him. - I lived many years without Facebook, and quite happily. I can't think of anything really enriching that has been added to my life because of FB. So, it had been evaluated, weighed, and discarded from my life. Hopefully the meaningless relationships can be replaced by an effort on my part to focus on the meaningful ones. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go play with my kids.

Kate Turns 4!

2011-06-20T13:38:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated Kate's 4th birthday. We had some of her friends over to play in the water outside. This was followed by pizza, cupcakes, and presents. Kate loved her birthday and since has asked to go to her birthday party again. Some of her favorite gifts were bubbles, a kite, a toy mermaid, and a Cinderella barbie. Here are some pics from the fun day!

Pregnancy Sux.

2011-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

I hate to complain. I really try to keep it to myself. But, I am horrible at journaling and this really needs to be recorded somewhere for some future date that an insane me might consider repeating this experience. So for all 2 of my readers, please excuse the negativity of this post. And, as a disclaimer, I am happy to be pregnant, I am excited for this little bundle of joy...but in the meantime...it really sux.

Dear future self, Here are a few of the things that you need to remember about being pregnant:

1. Brushing your teeth triggers the strongest gag reflex that you have ever experienced and 90% of the time leads to throwing up. Bc of this you are forced to brush you teeth before you eat a single thing in the morning. But once you eat your breakfast (which you try to delay as long as possible) you are left with bad aftertastes that you don't dare brush away.

2. You can only handle eating the one thing that your body is telling you that it will accept. Be it wonton soup, bean burritos, pizza...you have no control over your diet and your body will make you suffer if you give it anything other than what it wants. This in turn makes you feel quite guilty for making your husband go pick up food for you from wherever you may send him.

3. That brings me to point number 3. Your husband hates you pregnant. He tries to be supportive, but with each child the load of his burden increases as you are left leveled on the couch unable to move at times....also making you feel very guilty.

4. You feel like crap. You are tired 99% of the time and want to do nothing but sleep. Your children have no respect for this and crawl all over you and make you get up every 3 minutes to fend for them, making it impossible to get any decent amount of rest to recharge your batteries. This also makes you feel guilty, esp. during the summer when you would love to be taking them to the pool everyday.

5. Your digestive system becomes stubborn, which makes things very uncomfortable. (sorry guys)

6. For some freakish reason your mouth starts to produce 5 times the needed amount of saliva. Being forced to swallow all the time makes you gag and you often run to the sink just to spit. (again, sorry guys)

7. Your freakish ability to smell everything within 2 miles of you. Everything smells 10 times as strong. B/c nothings smells good magnified by 10 (except safeguard soap) it makes you gag... a lot.

8. Bc you feel like junk all the time it sucks away 99% of your productive nature and the house goes to pot. Laundry does not get done and your 'to do' list becomes forever long.

9. The crappy part of your pregnancy lasts a long time. It was 18 weeks with Kate, 20 weeks with Brooke, and will still be a while with this one. And it goes by so slowly.

10. Things don't fit. Your belly gets bigger faster than it did with your first pregnancy. You're already tall making pants very difficult to find. Throwing in the aspect of an increasing belly makes it nigh impossible. (I might be spending this winter in skirts.)

11. Appropriately point 11....your feet. They get bigger. And they are already size....well 11. It makes shoe shopping even more horrible.

12. Dr. appointments. You now have to rearrange your schedule, get babysitters, so you can go to all your check-ups. They draw your blood til you have almost nothing left, make you pee in cups, drink high fructose drinks, and weigh you. And there's the waiting...

13. Holding and cuddling with your children becomes so difficult as you can not handle any amount of pressure on your abdomen. Even your covers at night give you cause to turn on your side as you can't tolerate them laying on your stomach.

14. Your husband feels like he can't even think of touching you...which most of the time he's right.

This is only at 12 weeks. This does not include the horrible ligament pain that makes simple tasks like walking quite painful. And, when you are very large the task of turning over in bed becomes a near impossible feat. At the very end your legs and feet swell, and things like bending, standing up, and such are quite uncomfortable. And so help it if you may happen to sneeze...those ligaments will seize up on you yielding you incapable of moving until they relax..and it hurts.

Then you're going to get sliced open and you are going to have a long recovery while having to care for a brand new baby and all your other kids.

It all passes. But for the moment...it really sux. But you get a sweet little child that you knew you were supposed to have. And that makes it worth it. But consider all the other stuff before doing this again.

Laura

The Gyro Bowl

2011-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a "Good Morning America Junkie". My day is filled with endless kids shows and when I get the chance I flip on GMA to keep in touch with what is going on in the outside world. There is one segment that they have from time to time where a consumer reporter will rate products that you see being sold on TV. I had never seen a commercial for this particular product, but when I saw it (and heard her give it a decent review) I knew that I needed to try it. It is pretty much a bowl that isn't supposed to spill. The commercial claims that is is 100% kid-proof. It's not. But it does a dang good job. It is so interesting to see my oblivious 1 year old tote this around the house with her snacks and it doesn't spill. If she chucks it to the ground, some of her cheerios come out, but most stay in. If you have a toddler, I would recommend this. My older two are amazed by it...and I kind of am as well. Here's a little promo for it so you can see it in action. I would give it a B+.

Things That Make Me Happy

2011-05-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

A little while back I shared a list of things that annoy me....not the most positive post. So, to keep things on a more cheerful note, here is a list of things that make me happy.

1. Waking up in the morning, sifting through my foggy mind to determine what day it is and realizing that it is Saturday.

2. An organized, clean home.

3. Every morning when my kids climb into bed with me for our family morning scriptures and they cuddle up to me and are half awake. They always prefer to cuddle with me than Stan. (I could do without their morning breath.)

4. Finding a great deal. I would say yard-saling here, but it is more specific than that. I can have a crappy yard-saling day that is a complete waste of time and gas. I love the search for the items I need and being able to get them at a great price. (I think I will be soon be writing a post completely on the reasons I yard sale.)

5. Throwing things away. I hate clutter...don't know if I mentioned that in the "things that annoy me" post. I love purging my house of unneeded items. Then on occasion, I hate that I realized that I chucked something I now need. It's still better to purge.

6. The things my kids say incorrectly like 'pattecillar' (caterpillar) and pasketti (spaghetti). I love incorporating new vocabulary into our family life that kids come up with. In contrast, I hate when parents speak baby talk and say things incorrectly on purpose to their children. Only kid spawned incorrect vocabulary is acceptable. However, I still say caterpillar and spaghetti.

7. The smell of fresh cut grass.

8. Huge rain storms. This is the very purpose I chose to build a house that has a big wrap around porch. I always go out there when it rains really hard. I love it. I can be having a bad day, but if it suddenly storms, it makes me so happy.

9. Having kids old enough that I can send out in the yard to play without having to watch them constantly. Sure Brooke comes back in with a mouthful of dirt from my garden, but I was able to have some peace and quiet...and maybe even get some dishes done.

10. I love having kids....not babies, kids. Kids are so much more fun.

11. Finally eating something that I have been craving and having it taste just how I imagined.

12. Going on dates. (Sorry Stan, spending time with you, prob should be much higher on this list. I am just listing things as the come, and I am not reorganizing.)

13. One on one time with one of my kids.

14. A good philly cheese-steak.

15. Holding my new born baby for the first time.

16. A good and inspiring church lesson or talk that makes me realize a way in which I can change and be better.

17. Cooking for people. And not having to clean it.

18. A good workout.

19. Sleeping children.

20. A really good book. (Most recently is 'Unbroken'. Read it! Seriously.)

21. Sewing. I want to be better at this. I love making dresses for my girls and seeing them wear them.

22. My kids noses. They have such cute little profiles, and there is just something about their little noses that I find myself staring at sometimes.

Best Theme Song

2011-04-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think I might start giving random "Laura Awards" to things that I deem that best in their category. So, for the first "Laura Award", I am sharing the best theme song for a kids' show. It goes to "Peep and the Big Wide World." Besides having a great opening song, it is also a very cute show narrated by Joan Cusack, who, I think, does a great job. She has a very distinct voice and does great narration. It's probably not my actual favorite kids' show. I'll have to think that one over for a future post.

Things That Annoy Me

2011-04-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking...What a great subject for Easter weekend. Ya, I know. But, here goes....my therapeutic blog post.

Things That Annoy Me:
1. Today a real estate agent called and said he wanted to show our house in 20 minutes. We cleaned up real quick, and Stan left with 2 kids while I stayed home with a sleeping Brooke. He never showed. Ever. I called him. I let him know that he is the worst agent ever. Ok, I may not have said that, but I wanted to. I was annoyed.

2. People who drive 15mph when the speed limit is 30 (and I would be driving 40), and I get behind them when I am in a hurry. (My zumba class doesn't wait for me.) And the driver takes every turn I am taking so I can't get around the fool.

3. Mary Kay reps that want to help me change my life by selling make-up. As sure as enriching as peddling cosmetics would be, I am not interested. I already have a friend that will give me her 50% discount, and I still don't buy from her....much.

4. Getting woken up in the middle of the night.

5. I get so annoyed that every song on the radio is about sex.

6. Smacking. Any mouth noises from someone eating food makes my blood boil. Close your mouth! This is seriously my biggest pet peeve by far. It will make me go from being in the best mood ever to wanting to inflict physical harm on an individual. :)

7. Unwanted invasion of personal space. I need my room sometimes.

8. Automated phone systems. Just give me a human to speak with, please.

9. Forgetting to buy something at the grocery store.

10. Having to go to the grocery store.

11. Shoe shopping. I have a size 11 foot. Nothing that big is cute. I'll never get to wear cute strappy sandals. Just getting something that will fit this foot is quite a feat....get it feat/feet. Aaahhhh....

12. Mumbling. Speak up! - Oh and someone trying to talk to me from another room. I am not yelling. Get in here if you want to talk to me.

13. Unloading the dishwasher. It's tedious...and Stan's job. I don't like it.

14. Competitive people. When it comes to games, I'll take you down before you know what hit you. But in life, if you need to be better than me, go right ahead...you win.

15. Unpunctuality. It's rude and inconsiderate.

Ok, that's all for now. Really, I was mainly annoyed by the driver and the real estate agent, but I figured I would give you a little more material. I'll try to post something happier next time. I'm not even in a bad mood....and this list was actually pretty difficult to come up with.

Spring Break Camping

2011-04-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

For spring break we took the family camping with my sister's family, and my mom and dad. We went to George L. Smith state park, which is beautiful. (I highly recommend it!) The campsites are directly on the lake and the lake is full of beautiful cypress trees that you have to navigate through with your canoe, or in our case, my sister's kayaks. We went for three nights. The first night there was a terrible storm. We knew it was coming and we were prepared. (Side story: My dad is a professional camper...seriously. We needed a tarp over our tent and there was one corner where we had nothing to tie the tarp to. So, my dad went and cut a huge limb and staked it into the ground with 2 other handmade stakes and tied our tarp to it. So the solution to not having a tree in a certain spot is to just put one there. It was quite impressive.) So, we lived through the horrific storm and constant lightning. It was so bad that all the maintenance workers from our park had to go over to another St. park close by that was all torn up from a tornado. The kids slept right through it. Night #2 was actually worse. A cold front had come in and it was cold. We had a space heater, but it went out at 3am and this is when Brooke woke up. After an hour of having her awake and Stan trying to fix the heater, I packed Brooke up in the van and found the closest Wal-Mart, after taking a wrong turn and adding about 40 minutes to the ride. I got there at 6am, just as it was opening. I bought an extension cord and a space heater. (The temp outside was a chilly 37 degrees.) My kiddos were sleeping well in the cold and were all bundled up, but I was still worried to death..b/c as a mother, that is what I'm supposed to do. I couldn't stop thinking about how their little noses were surely freezing. 3rd night we had a working heater and all slept well. We had a ton of fun camping. There was a great park there and we loved going out on the lake. The worst part, besides freezing that one night, was having Brooke with us. She is SUCH a busy body and was constantly on the move. If I looked away for a second she was walking over to some other campsite. Some of our neighbors got to know her pretty well. And camping right on a lake made me so nervous that she would want to get in the water. Luckily, that never happened. We have another camp-out planned for Memorial weekend next month down at FDR state park at Pine Mountain. It should be much warmer, so our only concern will be Brooke. The two other kids were in absolute heaven. Jake loves sleeping in a tent so much that he literally asks to go to bed as early as possible, and I don't discourage that. We had a really fun time and look forward to our next trip! Here are a few pics.

Early Morning Tea Party

2011-03-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Jake and Kate came into our bed early this morning. We told them to go downstairs and play. They went down and were soon back in our room inviting us to their tea party. These guys play so well together and they make me laugh all the time with the things they say. I love having kids this age. This is a very typical way for these two to play. Please excuse the nose picking and the tooting. It comes with the territory.

Kate in Primary

2011-03-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Tanner has been bugging me to blog, which I do need to do. So here is a little something.

Today I had to stay home from church with Brooke. Kate's primary teacher gave me a call this afternoon to tell me what Kate had said in her class today. The lesson was on baptism.

Teacher: What happens to you when you turn eight?
Girl in Kate's class: You get old.
Kate: And fat!

Her teacher was dying. She said that Kate was totally serious. That's my Kate.

My New Running Shoes

2011-02-17T10:04:00.001-08:00

I got these shoes yesterday. I have been wanting some for a while.

Pretty crazy looking I know, but I love them. I went running in them this morning, and I have to say that it is like nothing I have ever worn before. For more info on these shoes check out these links.

Vibram Five Fingers

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Stuff I Made

2011-02-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

I made these. I also did another pair of little shoes after I took this pic. I had not sewn in a little while and was missing it. The shoes were pretty easy and turned out super cute.

In Case You Haven't Heard...

2011-02-11T07:19:00.001-08:00

I discovered these.

They are just like the Girl Scout Samoas cookies, which happen to be my favorite. I purposefully did not order a single box of GS cookies this year, trying to be good. Then I found these. I might have 4 containers of these cookies in my pantry. (They were B1G1 at Publix.) They might be the end of me.

What Made Me Cry Today

2011-01-24T10:18:00.001-08:00

I used to cry a lot. My dad tells me that when I was a kid, he would wait for the day that I wouldn't cry. Even as an adult, I used to cry a good bit. It doesn't happen a whole lot anymore. I don't know why. Maybe I just have less to cry about. Maybe I have learned to let things go a bit more. I don't know. I am sure my husband is glad that I don't cry that much anymore. Then today the smallest little thing caught me totally off guard and made me downright sob. They were 4 small words spoken from my 3 year old, who I am sure has no comprehension of how it affected me. But first, I'm going to give a little back story. - Because I go to church where all but a few adults speak Spanish, I don't get much spiritual uplifting when I go to church. I struggle through sacrament meeting with my children, trying with all my effort to keep things under control, but inevitably find myself out in the foyer trying even harder to keep my kids reverent. I don't understand anything. Then I teach my primary class, which I love. The third hour is spent trying to keep 30something rowdy kids under control during singing and sharing time. Sundays are hard. Then at home, I try to have FHE and read scriptures with the kids. I am lucky if I get around to my own personal study as I am constantly swamped with the life of being a mom of 3 little guys. Now, this might sound like I am complaining. I don't mean to complain, because honestly it has all been fine. The point that I want to make is that in all of this, I don't get any lessons from anyone else. I don't understand talks, go to gospel doctrine, or relief society. My life is spent teaching children that Jesus loves them. I love that I get to do this. So, today I was sitting with Kate and she saw a picture of Jesus on the computer. She then told me something about Jesus, and I asked her what else she knew about Him. She replied that she didn't know and asked me to tell her. So, I told her some things about Jesus and ended with telling her that Jesus loves her. To which she replied to me, "Jesus likes you mommy!" ....I wasn't expecting to hear that. I couldn't get those few words out of my head and I realized how long it had been since I had heard anything like that from anyone else. It was a small little reminder to me that Jesus knows who I am. He knows my trials. And He likes me....my daughter told me. It will probably still be a long time before I really get to enjoy the feeling of being uplifted up by a lesson or a talk. But I know that teaching my children and the children of our little branch is important to Him. In all of this teaching and wanting these children to understand, I hadn't focused on letting them apply to me too. I always let them know that Jesus loves them. I forgot how good it is to hear those words told to you. So, whoever happens to read this, (hopefully you've heard this recently, but in case you haven't)...Jesus loves you!...and He likes you!

Kate's Prayers

2011-01-03T05:33:00.000-08:00

Kate has had a couple of prayers lately that were so funny, I had to record them on here.

1) The other night Stan was helping Kate say our family prayer. Stan would say a line for Kate to repeat, but Kate had her own way of repeating what he said. Stan would say something like "Help us sleep well." and Kate would follow with "sleep sleep sleepy". And thus the prayer continued. Stan would say something along the lines of "Please keep us safe."...Kate: "Safe safe safey". Each line picking the main word repeating it three times and adding a 'Y' to the last word. I probably should have corrected her, but I was trying so hard not to laugh, and it was just funny and cute. Hopefully, Heavenly Father will forgive our crazy family prayers.

2) Yesterday was Kate's first day of primary at church, so Sister Castro asked Kate to say the opening prayer in sharing time. I was sitting in the back thinking 'She is going to freeze and not say anything'. Boy, was I wrong. Kate gets up there and Sister Castro bends down to help Kate, but before Sister Castro can get one word out, Kate is already talking into the microphone jabbering out about a minute of stuff that sounds like "Tre tre tres, tre dos tres..." and this goes on for a little while. I didn't know what the heck she was doing until she jabbered out "tres cinco tres". Then it dawned on me...'Oh, she is trying to speak Spanish!" They don't even speak Spanish in Primary, but she was rambling off what few Spanish words she knew. It was hilarious! I guess she hears it in sacrament meeting and thought she had to pray in Spanish for all of Primary. Luckily, Sister Castro figured out what was going on and helped Kate say an appropriate prayer, in which Kate did just fine repeating.

Sandra's Farewell

2010-12-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is my very good friend, Sandra. Sandra was called to serve in the Spanish branch over 2 years ago. We were in the PTC ward together before that. Now, she is leaving me and moving to New Jersey. She lives about a mile away from me and I have loved having such a good friend live so close. Tonight was the Shenandoah branch's farewell to Sandra. It was actually a Relief Society activity, but it was more like a ward activity. The husbands drive the wives and then the kids have to come too, so every activity in the branch turns into a full branch activity. Tonight was my initiation. I showed up and there was a fabulous dinner. As long as someone has made tamales, it is fabulous. There were tamales... and lots of other great stuff. I love this branch, but if I hated it, the food would make it worth it. It is so good. And they make the best drinks. I had a long conversation tonight just about all the drinks that they make. I could go on and on about this....I won't, but man, they are good! - So after everyone is done eating, I get up and put on my coat. I am then informed that this activity is far from over. Now, we are going to dance. That's right....dance. This happens a lot apparently. You eat, you talk, and talk, then dance, and dance, and dance. This is a good combination since I needed to burn off all the calories I just consumed. But, this was quite intimidating. I figured that since I didn't have the excuse of having to get kids home, that I should stay and join in the dancing. The dancing consists of standing in a circle and shaking your groove thing any way you want. Mainly, is is the women who dance. Some men join in but it is mainly their wives. They are such a fun group and so nice. It really was a fun time. I don't think that I have been to many activities where they are 3 1/2 hours long and when I leave, things are still going strong. It is quite different than any other ward I have been in, but it is such a great group. I'm glad I had Sandra with me in this branch for a couple months to help me transition. I am so sad to see her and her family go.

Here's the dance party.

Kate

2010-12-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Kate is 3, and has been for quite a while. I am not the mom who tries to potty train an 18 month old. I would much rather wait until a kid is ready before I try to tackle potty training. I don't think anyone enjoys potty training, but I really get scared by the idea. I hate the idea of Kate having an accident and Brooke finding it before I do. I have not pushed the idea too hard on Kate. We have tried in the past, but gave up pretty quickly when things just weren't clicking. Well, we have finally gotten the hang of things and today was Kate's first day without any accidents. We have only been at this for about 5 days or so, and we are finally down to having only 1 kid in diapers. There was about a month or 2 of our lives when we had 3 in diapers. That was a fun time. So, I just felt the need to update my blog and this is the biggest thing in our lives right now, so there ya go!

Primary

2010-11-22T05:01:00.001-08:00

I am in the primary presidency in my little Spanish branch, but because the ward is so small, not all the callings are filled, so I also teach this class every week. They are so cute!

We had some visitors yesterday, so this is the largest my class has been (I usually have around 10-12). So, not many people may care too much about my little class, but I could seriously just take them all home with me.

Ok, since I am on the subject of the branch....I will tell you about our first ward social. This past Friday was the branch Thanksgiving dinner. I made a turkey, gravy, sweet potato casserole, a cheesecake, and brought drinks. I was in the kitchen a lot that day. The social is scheduled to start at 6:00. Being the punctual people that we are, we get there on time, and only the missionaries are there. We go into the gym and it is dark and empty. I guess we are the set-up crew! About half an hour later, people start to show up and we finally get to start around 6:45. This type of thing is perfectly normal in this branch. Everyone is late. Everyone brings a ton of food. They all stay late and talk forever. We had to leave early since my kids were melting and needed to go to bed. So being that we tend to be on time and leave early, I am sure people are going to think that we are weird. I am going to have a hard time adjusting to the laid back way this ward functions. I love punctual people. I think it is a sign of respect to be on time. Years ago, Stan and I even had categorized our friend's and family as to whether they were in our "punctuality club." I am just trying to illustrate here that this is something that I have always appreciated. The primary president in our branch is also someone who values this and is quite the type "AAAA" personality, so I pretty much love her. She told me that one year, when she was new to the branch, that they were having a New Year's Eve party, scheduled to start at 7:00. She was rushing to get there on time and frustrated that she was running a few minutes late. She gets to the church and no one is there. She sat with her husband (who is a a non-member) and waited, and waited. People started showing up at 10:00!! So, I am going to have to get over this side of me that wants everything to go like clockwork. I am sure they aren't going to change for me. But they are all very warm and welcoming. I love the people.....just not the lifestyle.

My Nemesis

2010-11-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

If the gym is my friend, then this is my worst enemy.

It's too good for words.

Kate's Bird Feeder

2010-11-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

The other day on TV Kate saw how to make a bird feeder out of a pine cone, peanut butter, and bird seed. She has been asking to make one ever since. Today, when we went to Kroger, they had a large display of all sorts of bird seed and bird feeders. They even had these handy little pine cones on sticks, since we don't have any good place to hang pine cones in our treeless yard. So I grabbed our supplies and when we got home, Kate was bounding out of the van ready to make her feeder.
Kate ready with her supplies.

Rolling her pine cone in bird seed.

Our finished product!

Stuck it in the wet ground outside.

The best part of this little project is Kate's song calling the birds to come eat from her pine cone. She is so funny with the songs she comes up with. She sings non-stop in the van. She makes me laugh all the time. This song's lyrics (in case you can't understand) are, "tweet tweet" and "eat the pine cone".

Announcing........

2010-11-15T08:36:00.001-08:00

My good friend, Kat, called me to let me in on a big secret that she's been keeping for some time now. This summer she had covered and lied to all her friends where she actually was. She informed me that she was really in New York shooting the Food Network reality TV series "Worst Cooks in America." Apparently, her husband Rick nominated her. She made cut after cut and was invited to be a part of Season 2's cast. The show airs January 2nd, and will be on Sunday nights at 9. I am so excited to watch and cheer on my girl! Go Kat!!

Here's a peek at season 2!

Jake's First Field Trip

2010-11-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Last week Jake was supposed to have his field trip to a pumpkin patch, but it was rescheduled due to rain. So, yesterday was our day to finally go. It was so cold, but we had a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how Jake interacts with his friends, and I was surprised by how independent he was. It was fun for me to watch him at a distance since he really didn't care too much that I was there. He was so excited to do everything and was at the front of the pack the whole time. Jake has two good friends in his class, Nadia and Carson (a little girl who really likes Jake). Carson told me how she loves Jake and how he is her best friend. She is super cute and is one of a set of quadruplets. On the bus she would sit and stare at Jake and try to hold his hand. She would always find her way to be at his side, as you'll see in some of these pictures. Jake was so excited to ride the bus and had a ton of fun going to the farm. The activities there included a hay ride, a corn maze, a bird show, a nature walk, a demonstration on pottery, a demonstration on sheering a sheep and turning the hair into yarn. Lots of fall fun!

Jake and Carson.

Cutie

2010-11-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of Brooke from yesterday. In case you were trying to remember what she looks like without blue hair.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T04:48:00.001-07:00

Here are our costumes for 2010!

Jake is 5!

2010-10-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Friday I took cookies to Jake's school to celebrate his birthday! Saturday night we had a party with Jake's friends. (This was after I got home from my 4am temple trip to Birmingham. It was a loooong day.)
Our party included pizza, making caramel apples, playing "pin the tail on the dinosaur, cupcakes, and presents. Jake had a blast and got his much anticipated dinosaurs that he has been asking for for months.

Big thanks to Amy for drawing a bunch of huge dinosaurs for me!

Week 3

2010-10-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

This Sunday in our new branch was a bit hectic. Brooke had not taken a nap before church so I had to take her out of sacrament and get her to sleep. When I went back in to the meeting Kate and Jake got into it resulting in Kate somehow getting hurt. I had to get Kate out into the foyer while holding a sleeping baby. Luckily, I was able to hand Brooke off and then settle Kate down and hold her the rest of the meeting. - After sacrament there was no nursery leader. I tried to get Kate to go to Primary, but she wasn't having it. I had to teach so Stan was in there with her and Brooke, but had to bring Brooke to me when he had to teach Elder's quorum. I went to check on Kate who had been left in the nursery by herself and she was hysterical and upset that no one was in there with her. I ended spending the last 40 minutes of church playing nursery leader for my two girls. We did snacks and songs. It was a crazy Sunday. - On Saturday, I woke up at 4AM to go to the temple with some sisters in the branch. It gave me the opportunity to be exposed to more Spanish and it was fun to get to know some of them a little more. I know that I am tall, but these sisters are more on the short side. I don't quite blend in.

Rock Ranch

2010-10-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we went to the Rock Ranch with the Corbridge family. Our kids play so well together and we had a fun time spending the day with them.

They have a ton of fun stuff to do there. This is me pedaling the kids around a loop.

Here is Jake on the, much anticipated, pony ride.

This was Kate LAST YEAR. Note the happy face. She wanted to ride the ponies over and over. I was anticipating a similar reaction this year.

This is what I got. She didn't ask to ride them a second time.
She wasn't feeling too well.

Luckily, they both loved the cow train.

The Best Game

2010-10-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jake had a cold last week and missed a couple of his games, and then they didn't have a game this past Saturday, so it has been a while since he has played. I was worried that he was going to go back to his old ways of sitting down and refusing to play. The best games that he had played to date involved me bribing him with treats between innings. Jake ended up being excited to go play. He scored two runs and did such a great job. The coach even game him the game ball at the end of the game. Jake was so giggly and happy about it. Hopefully, the rest of his games will go this smoothly. Also, Winnie took Brooke during the game so that I wouldn't have all 3 by myself, since Stan had to leave early to go to a meeting. It was so nice to sit an enjoy watching his game. This game gave a glimmer of hope that he may want to play more than one season of baseball. We'll see....

My Recipe Blog

2010-10-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to organize some of my favorite recipes and keep them in one place, I decided to make a blog. I have put on there some of the recipes that I have been making recently. I usually blog on here about things that I bake, but this blog will show you that I also cook. These recipes are tried and true by yours truly. Only recipes that I would score at least an 8 out of 10 will make it onto this blog. May I recommend the walnut crusted chicken. Hope someone out there will get some use out of this blog besides just me. Here's the link!

Laura's Recipes

Sweetness

2010-10-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

Kate and grandpa. I don't really have anything to share word-wise. Just thought I'd share these cute pics.

2 Sundays in.

2010-10-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

So here is an update for any who want to know about how our life in the Spanish branch is going. I have now been to 2 whole weeks of Sunday meetings. Today I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the primary presidency, which was my exact calling in the PTC ward. My first week there was a bit crazy. I was out in the foyer with all three kids by the end of sacrament meeting. Today we lasted through all of sacrament without leaving once. It would have been well justified many times throughout the meeting, but I made everyone tolerate a little noise from us. I don't think they were too bad though. It is rough with all three by myself. And it is hard to not follow anything being said. For instance today in sacrament meeting they announced a priesthood meeting this evening at the stake center. However, I did not know about it until after church when Stan told me. I thought maybe they were talking about a youth fireside. Anyhow, so things are harder but good. Sunday mornings are much more relaxing, but I feel that I am waiting to be able to get ready. I am sure that I will soon find a way to use this time, as I will be doing much in primary. Last week I went to gospel doctrine which I understood none of, but loved feeling the sweet spirit the other members. (I spent the last hour in the nursery with Brooke (not 18 mos til dec) b/c she was going crazy). -

Today I went to primary. Now before today, I had on good authority from at least 3 different sources that the primary was out of control. I was made to believe that it was a mad-house. Well, I was so surprised. The primary is easily half the size of PTC's with about 25 kids total, but boy do they sing. They are probably twice as loud and sound so good. The primary is done all in English except for the songs. I am very familiar with the songs they are singing this year and it touched me to hear them sing these songs in Spanish and sing them so well. I welled up in tears from these sweet kids. They are all so cute. I will teaching a class of about 10 kids. I am not sure of all their ages but I am guessing that they are about 4-7 or so. I sat in there today and absolutely loved it! I think primary will be a good calling to help me transition into this ward. Jake was given a part for the primary program (which is done in Spanish), so I have to work with him on memorizing that. I was very impressed by how on the ball the primary was. Its true that they aren't the most reverent, but I think I am going to fall in love with these kids. And the people there are all so sweet and have done a great job of making us feel welcome... and some of them even speak English. - So, minus the insanity of sacrament meeting by myself, things are great. I really need to learn Spanish. I know that there is much to learn from this branch, and I truly want to understand and build friendships here.

Brooke

2010-10-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Before you think I am a horrible mom for posting this and poking fun at my one year old daughter, I assure you that I think she is the most beautiful thing in the world. I absolutely adore her. And before you see the other pictures, this is the one that deserves the most attention, b/c she is stinkin' cute here....bruised head and all.

But that was Brooke's hair under control (which does not happen often. I just don't believe putting gel in a one year old's hair everyday of her life.) One day I will, but not this year. Unfortunately, her hair has a mind of its own most days. The hair coupled with her 99.75%tile head has made for some great pictures. After bath time and after she wakes up are when it gets crazy. I figured since I was compiling pictures of Brooke, that we would start at the beginning so we can see the progression of chub, head growth, and crazy hair.

Who knew that this little curl would only be the beginning of what was to come.

That's a bunch of curls. She is such a fun little girl. I love how in pictures with Jake and Kate where she looks so big next to her older siblings. The first two pictures of her with them had me and Amy in tears we were laughing to hard. Her faces are hilarious. Ok, now go back to the top and see her at her best.

And We Digress

2010-10-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures will tell you enough of how today went at baseball.

For Your Benefit

2010-10-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am what many people would call thrifty. And when you are thrifty and have gray hairs, you sometimes just grab some hair color at the store to cover those grays. I have done this many a time. I am pretty much a professional with 'at home' hair color. Well, my hair was growing out from some cute highlights (from when I had a moment of being willing to spend more than $8 on hair color) and my grays were coming in. Well, since summer is over, I figured I would color my hair back to my regular brunette. I grabbed the brand I normally do, but the box looked like it had been re-done or something and it came with a free shampoo sample on the front. I came home, put it in my hair for the regular 1/2 hour, but got a little distracted and it ended up sitting for 40 minutes. Before I ran upstairs to wash it out, I said "My hair is probably black by now"..but not really thinking it would be Well, I looked in the mirror and was shocked by how dark it was. I washed it out and, yep, it was as close to black as my hair has ever been. I was not happy...but I didn't cry either. I don't get too upset over these things. Then before I went to bed that night, I grabbed the box out of the trash and saw that this was supposed to be a 10 minute formula. It was on the 4x's as long as it should have been. Also, it is supposed to come out after 28 washes. I don't know if it will all wash out, but there is hope. I didn't see this because this info was blocked by that free sample on the front...and because I was too impatient to read the instructions for something I could do in my sleep. Here's the before and after. I am trying really hard in the second picture to look like I didn't just wake up...but I had..and it shows. Oh well. -- So the lesson for you here (bc I have already learned it for myself) is that it is probably wise to read the instructions. My hair is a lot cuter in the first pic... and not so cute now. I don't think that it is horrible, but I am far from in love with it. Shrug.

Baseball Games

2010-09-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

This is Jake before his first baseball game. He started off excited.

We got to the game and he participated for about 1 1/2 innings, and even got a hit! (his one time up to bat.)

But then he was done. He sat in the dugout and refused to play anymore. He wanted to go play on the playground.

Tuesday was Jake's second game. He played the whole game and even scored a run. Things are looking up and hopefully he will have a fun season after all.

Kate-isms

2010-09-30T05:35:00.001-07:00

Kate cracks me up with the things she says these days. Yesterday she went with me to the store on the golf cart. She loves to point out all the dogs. Then we saw some deer crossing the path. She then told me how she loves reindeer and dogs!

For halloween she told me that she wants to be a butterfly with a sword so that she can kill the dragon (which apparently will be played by Jake).

Kate is constantly wanting me to hold her while she cuddles up with her blanket. This morning she had three different blankets on her lap. I asked her how many blankets she needed. She replied, "I don't know. 1, 2, 3!". - At least she can count.

Also, yesterday on the golf cart, she was obsessed with being able to see the sun. She told me how the sun sees us and was following us to the store.

I am sure there are a ton more that I can't remember right now. I might have to add to this post over time.

Mommy Moment #4 (Trifecta)

2010-09-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today Stan and I had to go up to the church for a meeting so my dad watched the kids for us for a little while. When I got home, Jake had peed on the couch. He is completely potty trained! I don't know why he did this, but nonetheless it happened. I cleaned up the spot, talked to him, and tried not to make a big deal of it. Then a little while later I was in the middle of changing Brooke's diaper when Kate, who was sitting at the kitchen table, informed me that she had just peed. Sure enough there was a puddle on the chair and floor. Lovely... But even better is that since I was in the middle of changing Brooke's diaper, I looked down and she had, in that short exchange with Kate, left a little puddle on the floor for me as well. All 3...in one day. This might be the perfect definition of frustration.

And in other news. Stan and I had to go back to the church because he was called into the Shenandoah branch presidency. He is the 2nd counselor. They just called us today. I thought they were talking to us to hopefully tell us that Stan was finally getting released as the Elder's quorum president. When they told us the news I cried. I have never cried over a calling before, but I was so overwhelmed. Still am. Guess I'll be learning Spanish.

Adios!

Jake Sings

2010-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Jake sings a lot these days. He has learned several from school that are cute. I sat him down ant got some on video. This first one is one that we sing all the time.

A Bushel and a Peck

The Months of the Year

Little Fish
The last verse is 'giant whale' if you can understand...I couldn't.

Ram Sam Sam

Chewy Bubble Gum

ABCs

Hello Neighbor

Elephant Song- I have a link to the original a few posts back. This one is kind of long and we start off wrong....

And the Itsy Bitsy Spider, by Kate

Sick Kids

2010-09-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have this brother whose name starts with a 'T' and ends with 'anner' who is constantly telling me blog...and not about sewing. He wants me to share stories about my kids and stuff. Well, I guess I will share about having sick kids. Last night, when Stan and I were going up to bed, we went to check on the kids (which we almost forget to do). Jake was lying at the foot of his bed and in moving him back, Stan notice that he had thrown up in his bed, thus the reason he was at the foot of his bed. He never came down to tell us, he just went back to sleep. Well, we had to change all his clothes, bedding, sheets, etc. and in the process woke up Kate, who thought it was time to get up. Jake went back to bed and Kate wanted to sleep in our room. Then she wanted in our bed, but I finally made Stan put her back in her bed. She started crying...a lot, when I thought I heard Jake, I ran back in to see if he had gotten sick again. Well, now it was Kate who was sick. This is a sample of how the night and today have been, inclusive of Brooke waking up twice, but luckily not b/c she's sick. She hasn't shown any signs of being so. (knock on wood)

It is a good thing that kids are cute, b/c they make some nasty stuff, esp. when they're sick. Jake seems to be doing better and I thought Kate was too until...well, you know. - Stan was good enough to take the day and help out, esp. since I thought I was coming down with it as well.

There Tanner, something for you to read about.

Mas Vestidos

2010-09-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have posted a ton about sewing dresses. As much as I have blogged about them, there are dresses that I have made that I have not even put on here.....yet. I feel like I I should stop posting about them, but then again its my blog, about what I doing, which is sewing dresses for my girls. I made a cute blue and yellow one for Kate yesterday, then I left the pattern out on the table while I went to a church meeting. I thought it was safe and out of reach so that I could make Brooke's dress. I underestimated someone's ability. The pattern was torn to shreds. Now I am on the hunt for another pattern to make the second dress. I have to use this fabric. Ok, so the dresses below were pretty easy. I love the fabric. Also, I found this blog. Boy, it is one dangerous blog for me. Click on her 'categories' and then 'sewing'. I think I have said "cute" out loud about a million times.

There Comes a Time in Everyone's Life........

2010-09-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

When kitchen cabinets are irresistible.

Jake

Kate

Brooke

Done.

2010-09-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Before the pillowcase dresses, and before the other pattern dresses, there was this project. This was the very first dress project that I started. I was told that these would be very easy dresses to make. They weren't. I have definitely learned how to 'gather' though. The sleeves are gathered, the top of the dress is gathered, and the ruffle (dang that ruffle) is gathered. -- But as difficult as these dresses may have been, the difficulty was not what the big hold up was on the completion of this project. The hang up was caused by the taller of the following subjects.

See, I don't have a "craft area" per se. I have a very nice sewing cabinet, that was my grandmother's, that folds away nicely and looks like a simple table when everything is not being used. This little sewing table is in my dining room (that does not have doors to keep invaders out) and when projects are in full swing, I am completely vulnerable to sneaky little intruders. For the most part I am able to easily clean up all the ribbon, thread, and measuring tapes that they pull out (and I let them so that they will stay away from more important things...and b/c I can't lock them out of the room), but once in a while they can really mess things up. This was the case with these dresses. Kate had gotten her hands on the lining of the dress (that had already been cut, assembled, and pressed). I figured the project would be on hold for a day until I found where she had hid this necessary piece of my sewing project. Well, after weeks of it never turning up, I had to pull my pattern back out and redo a whole new lining. Once I finally did this, I got the rest of the project banged out that day (but not without some other bumps in the road). I have come to find that every project has a bump in the road. Whether it is sewing a sleeve on upside down, running out of bobbin thread, or not having the correct settings on the machine, there is always something that I learn with each new project. Maybe one day I will actually get good at this, but for the time being I am learning how to sew the hard way, and learning from my many mistakes. It is very rewarding though and I love seeing my beautiful girls in these cute dresses. And Kate loves them too!

Sorry for all the sewing posts. Other things going on in our lives: Jake has started T-ball. I didn't get pictures at his first practice last week. He has one tonight and I will be sure to take my camera. Also.....yeah, that's about it. I'll try to think of something else. I may have to start just making things up.

For Tanner

2010-08-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

This week, my brother Tanner wrote the following on my Facebook wall, "Blog something already. And not about pillow case dresses."

Here. Theses aren't made from pillow cases. I made them from a pattern. Happy?

Also, tonight the kids wanted to hear a song about elephants. I went on YouTube and found this song. Thought it was pretty cute.

Wendy's Farewell Dinner

2010-08-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

My very good friend, Wendy, is leaving this weekend and moving to Salt Lake. We have been great friends for many years. Our families have camped, rented cabins, gone to the beach, and have had countless dinners and game nights. It is hard to see these guys go, but know that they will have a great time being closer to family. Last night we got together with some good friends to wish Wendy farewell. Now we'll have another reason to go visit Utah.

Girls' Night

2010-08-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was leaving to go get my hair cut. When Kate saw that I was leaving, she was begging to go with me. I told her that I was going to get my hair cut and asked if she wanted to get her's cut too. Well, we called the salon and they said they could squeeze her in with me, so we had a girls' night getting our hair "did". This was Kate's first hair cut. She was very patient and loved it! She was very proud to come home and show daddy her hair cut and her certificate. She did not get much length cut, but they did a good job of cleaning it up and evening it out.

College Football Pick 'ems

2010-08-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've done it with college basketball, and now I'm doing it with college football. A weekly college football pick'ems pool is what's in store for this upcoming football season. The winner gets, as always, a dessert of choice from me! I might be able to ship some cookies to a winner who doesn't live close by. (No guarantee on their condition upon arrival). I have set up a group and have sent out invites, but anyone can join. So if you would like to join, send your email address this way and I'll send you an invite! Who's ready for football season????? Yeah, me too. And what better way to find interest in games that you have otherwise not cared a thing about?

Reigning champion.

Pre-K!

2010-08-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was Jake's first day of Pre-K. He goes 5 days a week from 8-2:30. Last year when I put him in preschool for 2 days a week, it was very challenging and he did not like it. I ended up taking Jake (and Kate) out of school and keeping them home with me that year. It was a fight that I just could not fight. I felt that this year he was really ready for school....and I was right. He has really enjoyed it so far. Stan drops him off at school on his way to work, and I think Jake really loves riding in daddy's truck and having that time with him. I have really been impressed by how well he gets up and gets ready in the mornings. He usually takes a while to wake up, but he has been very cooperative. This whole school thing has thrown our daily routines for a loop and we are still adjusting as far as naps for the girls, but we'll get in the swing of things soon.

Table Makeover

2010-08-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

I should have taken a before shot so that you can really appreciate this transformation, but imagine this table as being a dark 70's brown with very dark wood grain and not cute at all. I picked it up at a yard sale for $10, and that was talking them down from $15.

It looks blueish, but it is much more green in person. I spent yesterday evening painting this thing. It was quite a process of priming, painting, glazing, and putting on a clear coat. I am kind of in love with the final product and I think it looks a lot better in person. There is a website that has been my inspiration. They take cheap old furniture and make it into something that looks fabulous. You just have to make sure that the piece is in good shape and has good bones. My table is a Thomasville, solid wood table. The glaze makes the details pop. I also took off all the hardware and gave them a new look from the brassy color they were before. Now, I need to find something to put on it.

Weekend Transformation

2010-07-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

For months I have been trying to find the perfect color for my living room. I have been staring at this yellow for too long. I have bought different samples and painted swatches on my wall. None of them were exactly what I wanted. Well, yesterday my sister, Kristen, came to visit and we decided to get this room painted...finally. So, with a leap of faith we went to Home Depot and picked out a color that I had not tried. Once they put the sample on top of the mixed can of paint, I was not happy with how it looked, so I had them add some black to make it a little more gray. The end result was perfect.

Before:

And after:

Granted this picture also has new flooring, tv, and a few accessories to go along with the new paint.

Then this morning I went yardsaling with Kristen, and I found these great, distressed picture frames. The lady wanted $5/each and I did not think she would budge, but then she offered them to me at $2/each, but I had to take them all. No problem! Then I bought some mats ($2/piece at Wal-Mart). Enlarged some some of my favorite photos in B&W. And with a total of $34 later, my living room wall is much cuter!

Lorrin Playing with the Kids

2010-07-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

Fresh Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2010-07-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have made this a few times now and I can't get enough. It is perfect. You can find the recipe here. I usually try to make muffins with blueberries, but I am over-stirrer, and muffins are supposed to be lumpy and hardly stirred. I just can't leave it alone; I just love a smooth creamy batter. Well, I can stir and whip the crud out of the recipe and make a beautiful pound cake. Of course I make it in my Demarle bundt mold which makes it come out beautifully golden brown. Blueberries are still in season. (I have been getting mine at Wal-mart for only $1.25/pint and they are great. Publix has them for twice the price.) So, hurry and make this soon! You won't regret it!

Another Pillowcase Dress

2010-07-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

I really should be working on the two dresses that I originally started. Eventually I will finish them and post them on here. In the meanwhile, these are just too easy and fun to make.

Birmingham

2010-07-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we packed up the family and headed to Birmngham, AL for an overnight trip. Amy and Lorrin were nice enough to come at the last minute and watched the kids for us Saturday morning so that Stan and I could go to a temple session together. And if are counting, that means 7 people in one hotel room. Needless to say, no one slept too well that night. And it reaffirmed what I already knew, that sleeping in a room with all my children would be quite miserable. At least we got to go to the temple.

After our session we took the kids to the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham. We are members at Fernbank, here in Atlanta, and they reciprocate with McWane, so we were able to go for free. This place was so fun for the kids. There was a ton to do! They even had a Nodosaur, Jake's favorite (and quite obscure) dinosaur. Here are a few pics from our weekend.

We had a quiet ride home!

Someone has a Big Head.

2010-07-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

And it isn't Stan.

Brooke had her 1 year check up and her head is in the 99.75 percentile. Add to that her big afro and the girl's head just looks huge! No wonder she still doesn't walk. She has to pretty much balance a bowling ball on top of that body. She is still a cutie and such a fun little girl! We love our Brooklyn...big head and all!

Pillowcase Dress

2010-07-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been taking a couple of sewing lessons from a friend. My goal being to make cute dresses for my girls. I have a project that is still in the works, but today I knocked out 3 of these dresses. They are simple and made out of pillowcases. Here is Kate wearing her's. She was asleep when I made it, so I didn't get to measure her. Sadly, the dress swallowed her whole (see 1st pic). I added a tie in the back (2nd pic)and it helped some. Then tonight, I made two more just like this. One for Brooke, and since I had extra fabric, I made a 3rd that is sized for an infant. I am not quite sure what to do with it.

P.S. - Denise Purdy (in the Whitewater Ward) is the one who has been giving sewing classes. We get together every other Friday night. The classes are from 7-10 and she charges $10 for the evening. She is looking for others to join our group. You can bring any project that you want. If you are interested, let me know.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-06-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I am a bit addicted to yard-saling. As soon as I pull myself out of bed on Saturday mornings, I hit the roads of Peachtree City looking for great deals. Here are my favorite most recent finds.

Here is a cute cabinet that I got for $10. What I love about it is that I now have a place for these dishes that we got for our wedding 10 years ago. I have had them hid up in my kitchen cabinets and never use them, but I love them. So, now they can sit in a cute cabinet and probably still never get used.

This is a nice little bench/storage area. The bottom tilts out and has a rack for shoe storage. I bought this for 3 whole dollars. When I bought it the bench had a broken knob and the fabric was torn. After about a $6 investment in some new fabric and some hardware, it looks much better.

Then yesterday I picked up this super cute wagon for just $6. The kids love it. I love it. Stan is not a fan. I have taken the kids on a couple of walks in it and we get tons of comments with it. Stan wants me to sell it, and I want to keep it. I think Stan might win though, since apparently this wagon goes for about $300-$400 on eBay. It is out of production and I guess it is hugely sought after for people with triplets. Who knew. I will be sad to see this one go. :(

Seriously, how cute is that?! They even have their own little cup holders.

Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have a new Demarle mini-loaf pan. Today I wanted to make some healthy blueberry muffins since it is blueberry season. Most people who know me have seen these pans and have shared my love for them. This mini-loaf pan is very cool. It is nice that I can bust out 9 mini-loaves in 11 minutes of baking. They slide right out without having so spray the pan and, as you can see in the picture below, it browns very nicely. I also used my mini-muffin tray and they also turned out great! I posted the recipe below.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe
* 3/4 cups low fat milk
* 1/2 cup natural applesauce
* 1 egg
* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1 cup whole wheat flour
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven 400ºF degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Blend milk, applesauce, egg in a small bowl and set aside.
Stir flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and pour wet ingredients into the well. Stir with a spoon just until the flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until golden brown; regular size muffins bake in 18 to 20 minutes, mini-muffins bake in 10 minutes.

I cut out 1/2 cup of white flour and added 1/2 cup organic rolled oats.

Kate is 3!

2010-06-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Kate's 3rd birthday. We had a little birthday party for her last night with a bunch of family and a couple friends. It was going to be a small get-together, but with Amy and Tanner here with their spouses, and then Karen was here with her family, as were Mike and Will. Well, we had quite a crowd. We had a dinner and then cake and ice cream. Kate got some bubbles, some dress-up outfits, a toy horse, and a zuzu pet (which I think might be her favorite). Since we had such a crowd here, we had a fun evening for playing werewolves (or mafia as some call it). Happy Birthday Kate! You are one special little girl!

Who's #1?

2010-06-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

I don't think that I am really a jealous type person. I am pretty content and don't ask for much, especially from my 4 year old little boy. He is a pretty great kid. He gives the best hugs and kisses and he is pretty dang cute. Being his mom and all that I do for him, I would hope to be pretty high on his list of favorite people (which I am), but I fall short of the top spot. Who do you think might hold this esteemed position? Stan? - Nope, think again. Kate? - Hardly. Brooke? - She's pretty up there, but again, it's not her either. Jake's favorite person is..........

DREW! That's right, Drew Pistorius.

The Pistorius family lived here in Peachtree City for a year, and they moved away about a year ago. And all this time later, if I ask Jake, "Who do you love?", the first thing out of his mouth every time is, "Drew!". Sometimes I am lucky enough to get a second mention with an.."Oh, and you too mommy." - Jake and Drew were best buds and loved playing together, which worked well for us, since we loved hanging out with Kinsey and David. I am amazed that over a year later Jake still remembers Drew so well. He always talks about Drew's trains and playing with him. Jake has yet to find anyone that he really connects with like Drew. We are keeping our fingers crossed that maybe one day we will get them back here in GA, but for now we will have to be happy with occasional visits. - Maybe one day I will be able to move up to that top spot, but I don't see it happening any time soon. :)

Is it just me?

2010-06-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

I hate the word 'besties'.

Disney

2010-06-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

We just took the kids to Disney while we were down in Orlando for Amy's wedding. We were down there for 8 nights and did 5 days of Dinsey. We did all 4 major theme parks and Magic Kingdom Kingdom a second time. Here are a few pics from our trip.

Jake and Kate outside the Playhouse Disney Live on Stage show.

This is a pic of our pool that we had at out townhouse. It had it's own private pool along with two larger pools within the resort. We spent a lot of time swimming and the kids loved it. They were asking to leave the parks just so they could go back and swim. It was so hot down there that we only lasted until around 4:00 each day. Then we would head back and cool off in the pool.

This pic was one of the best highlights for me. We got to Animal Kingdom when it opened and while we were waiting for our fastpass time to ride a ride we went on a little walk to see different kinds of animals. We were checking out the gorillas and there wasn't much to see, but just as we were leaving, a mom and baby came down and sat right on the other side of the glass in front of us. The lady who worked there said she had never seen the mom come this close with the baby. It was so precious.

This is how we got around. I think we will wait a few years to go back. This stroller did not make for the most peaceful mode of transportation.

On the carousel!

The kids actually did much better than I thought they would. They loved all the rides. Had it not been so stinkin' hot, it would have been much more enjoyable. Jake amazed me with how he did not get scared on the rides. He rode the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom twice as well as the Tower or Terror twice. Both of those rides are quite intense, but he liked them and asked to go again. It is good to be home after this exhausting week.

Daytona Beach

2010-06-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

While we were down in Orlando, we did a day trip to the beach. We went with Kendra and her family, and also with my parents. They decided that we should go to Daytona beach since it was more on their way home than any other beach. I had never been there and was surprised that you can drive on the actual beach there. This was not not the most appealing thing, however it did make it easy to unload all out beach gear. The downside was cleaning everyone off and getting packed up w/o covering the inside of my van with sand. I have decided that it is much better to stay in a condo on the beach than to do just a day trip. We did have a lot of fun while we were there. Jake, who used to HATE the sand, did such a great job. He loved the sand and the waves. Kate took a little while to warm up to the idea of getting in the ocean, but she ended up enjoying it as well.

Weddings

2010-06-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Back at the end of April I flew out to Utah for my brother's (Tanner's) wedding. I only had Brooke with me and stayed out there for a week with my good friend, Amber. It was a fun trip and a very nice wedding.

And these two finally got hitched.

Amy and Lorrin were married this past Saturday down in Orlando. We went down with the kids and had a week long family vacation to Disney World. We had a ton of fun and the wedding was very nice.

Amy and Tanner, along with their spouses, are having a joint reception here in Peachtree City next Saturday. I am sure there will be more pictures to come. I almost feel like this post is not needed since I already put all these pictures on facebook and anyone who reads this blog has probably already seen them all, but I have to blog occasionally.

10 Years

2010-05-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary! Stan and I were married on May 6th 2000 in the Atlanta, Georgia temple. These past 10 years have shown me that I could not have made a better choice all those years ago. Stan has proven to be a wonderful husband and father. 10 years down and eternity to go!

The Truth

2010-04-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a pretty honest gal and I keep it pretty real. So here's a little truth for ya. It's been one of those days. Most of the time 3 kids is not that bad, but when all 3 are falling apart at the seams it creates what I like to call "the perfect storm." It is in these moments when I have to brace myself and dig as deep as I can for that extra bit of patience and pray that I can find it. These "perfect storms" don't happen too often, but today the kids decided to make up for any loss of these they felt there may have been. Today I have been bombarded repeatedly by an array breakdowns and needs demanded to be met.

It was after so many of these today, that I figured I would get the camera out. Here Kate started crying after I finally refused to give her a third baby wipe. She just likes to play with them. Usually she is happy with one, but today she decided that she preferred to waste several of them and was not fond of the idea of me putting a limit on this activity. Although this incident started off with her being upset over wipes, I think this poor girl is just tired. (Probably from waking up at 5 in the morning.) The novel thing that happened here is that b/c I had a camera on her, she calmed down very quickly. After I turned off the camera, she instantly wanted to watch the clip of her on the camera, which she loves to do. This made her downright happy. So she went from screaming to happy in about 60 seconds. I might need to keep my camera handy in the future. This might be a solution for some future tantrums.

The Sweet Taste of Victory

2010-04-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Kelly Kartchner was this year's winner in my 2nd annual March Madness Competition. The prize for this competition is a homemade dessert of the winner's choice. Kelly knew what he wanted even before he was declared the official winner. His dessert of choice was a Mississippi Mud Pie. In my search for a good recipe, it was quickly apparent that many people have varying ideas of what exactly a Mississippi mud pie is. What I ended up making consisted of a layer of brownie, topped with a layer of melted marshmallow, then a layer of homemade fudge, topped with pecans. Bon Apetit!

9 1/2 Month Stats

2010-04-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I was a couple weeks late getting Brooke to her 9 month check up, but here are her stats as of today.

Height- 28.5 Inches (75th percentile)
Weight- 20.1 Lbs. (67th percentile)
Head- 18.5 Inches (98th percentile)

The girl has a big head. - Brooke is a very good baby. She is much more mellow than my other two were at this age. She is a lot less clingy, but I wonder if it is because she has 2 siblings that she sees all day, so she is happy watching them if I am not in the room.- She loves to crawl all over the place, especially into places where she can wedge herself and get stuck. She is a very ticklish little girl and will giggle and giggle. She has 8 teeth and I swear she is cutting more. They just keep coming. Brooke has definitely thinned out and is not as rolly as she used to be. Her older brother and sister adore her, especially Jake. We sure love this little girl!

Bouncing Brooklyn

2010-04-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

This post is for Tanner, who complained to me that I have not been blogging lately. I'll try to be better, and thanks for caring. I made this video just today. The song in the video is one that we sing almost every day. My kids even know the words.

Flooring Progress

2010-03-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the completed play room. Just the shoe molds have to be replaced, but there is a lot more flooring that has to go down in the rest of the house before we get to that step. And a pic of the foyer. Things are finally moving forward. I love it!