Michaels To The Rescue!

What do you do as you're running out the door to take your kindergartner to his last day of class before Christmas break? You remember you didn't get his teacher anything for Christmas. Shoot. Ahh, yes, luckily you've got a gift card to Michaels that's been sitting on your dresser since May that was supposed to go to his preschool teacher at the end of the school year. Awesome. You quickly write who its to and who its from and then you dismiss the "amount" since you can't remember how much is on it. As you're grabbing last minute stuff before walking out the door you see a plate of goodies that were supposed to go to Chad's work but he forgot. Nice! Tape the gift card to the top of the goodies and you've got the perfect teacher's gift. And now your kid's on her good list. Score! Now I'm just crossing my fingers the gift card still works!

Yesterday we made a snowman! Chad and Ethan were the master snowman makers and I was the master snowman making documenter.

Our Latest Christmastime Project

As we're preparing to make the gingerbread house, Ethan exclaims, "My dreams have come true!!"

Me: "Why?"

Ethan: "Because I get to make a gingerbread house!"

And with that kind of enthusiasm how can we not make that our new yearly tradition?? This year was made with a kit, maybe one year I'll actually try making it from scratch.

Thanksgiving in Cali. For Thanksgiving this year we spent it with Chad's family in Cali. It was so much fun to be with his family in the (pretty) warm California sun. The highlight for me, besides the Thanksgiving dinner of course, was doing some midnight shopping at the outlets. Unfortunately I only took 3 pics of the whole trip.

Ethan and two of his cousins on a carriage ride.
Ethan and his cousins at the park.
AND the best $100 dollar investment we've ever made - the portable DVD player.
For a long time Ethan begged us for a new suit for church. Here he is looking all dapper.

Calling All Mattress Owners!

You know you need a new mattress when:

• Your back aches everytime you get out of bed in the morning. (Check)
• Your shoulder aches from lying on your side. (Check)
• You find yourself falling to the middle of the bed. (Check)
• You spend much of the night tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. (Check)
• You need at least 2 pillows at all times - one for your head and the other as a body pillow. (Check)
• When you're both reading in bed you have elbow fights because there isn't enough room for both elbows. (Check)
• You've got 2 different foam pads on the mattress just to make it more comfortable. (Check)

We obviously need a new bed and we're hoping you can help. If you love your bed PLEASE tell us what kind it is and why you like it. THANKS!!

"I'm Just Here."

In the one second I had to meet Glenn Beck today at his book signing all I could say was "I'm just here." And then he laughed and said, "I'm just here too." Courtney had bought a book for him to sign and since I didn't (I'm a total cheapskate), I just followed her through the line. When he looked at me to give him something to sign, that's the first thing that came to mind. How lame can I get! No words of support. No 'I love what you do.' Nothing. I went blank. Duh. Even after that flub he was still willing to shake my hand. What a nice guy. Courtney and Maddie waiting in line.Me - before I made a total fool of myself

Guilty Pleasures

Crispy Chocolate Roll

10 oz Marshmallows

1/4c Butter

1/4c Peanut Butter

5 1/2c Rice Krispy Cereal

1 1/3c Chocolate Chips

3/4c Butterscotch Chips

Line cookie sheet with wax paper (I like to use plastic wrap) and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Microwave covered marshmallows, butter, and peanut butter until melted (2 minutes). Stir in cereal. Spread in pan. Microwave uncovered chocolate and butterscotch chips until melted (2 minutes). Spread on top of cereal mixture to 1" of edges. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Roll from short end. Refrigerate one hour and slice.

*editors note: I added the "Let sit for 10-15 minutes." It doesn't change the flavor but it makes it a lot prettier.

These are sooooo good. I love the crispiness of the cereal with the chewiness of the marshmallow with the added flavor of chocolate and butterscotch. They're my latest guilty pleasure treat.

For any carb addicts, like myself, you gotta try Garlic Spaghetti. I crave this sometimes and I just have to make it. If I make spaghetti and we have left over noodles I'll transform it into Garlic Spaghetti. I don't really have a set recipe but these are the ingredients. Its easy.

Garlic Spaghetti

Angel Hair Pasta Noodles

Butter

Garlic Cloves

Shredded Parmesan Cheese (not the powdery grated stuff)

Garlic Salt

*maybe some normal salt too

After the noodles are cooked and drained, I just put some butter in and mix it with the noodles until its melted. Then I'll add a garlic clove or two (depends on how much you're making). Then I'll put in some parmesan cheese and garlic salt to taste. If it needs more salt but it has enough garlic just add some normal salt.

Sometimes I'll crave this childhood sandwich. Its a meal that anyone outside of Lynette's family doesn't usually like but I just gotta have it sometimes - like I did today, for instance. We used to have this on Sundays a lot. Again, no real recipe, but its easy. I dare you to try it, but I don't guarantee you'll like it. In our family we affectionately call them Cheese Things.

Cheese Things

Bread

Cheddar Cheese

Onion

Mayo

Chili Powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, grate the cheese and some onion. Add mayo to your liking. Then add chili powder to your liking. Mix it and spread it on the bread. Stick it in the oven til the cheese is melted.

Potato Broccoli Soup This one isn't so much a guilty pleasure but I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for a good potato soup. My friend Katie posted a really good potato soup recipe on her blog, so I tried it. Its really good, its my potato soup recipe of choice now. Thanks for posting that Katie! Here's the link to the recipe on her blog:

CheesyPotatoandBroccoliSoup

I Cracked The Code

Every Halloween I try and figure out the best way to regulate the candy eating without Ethan getting sick and me not getting annoyed with him asking me ALL DAY LONG for candy. I've heard suggestions that I kinda like but haven't totally embraced, but yesterday I had an epiphany. I got it! I think I cracked the Halloween candy code this year (at least for this 5 year old).

This is what I'm doing: Every morning he gets to pick 4 candies he wants for the whole day and he puts them in a ziplock. He then gets free reign of that candy. He can eat it whenever he wants. He can eat it all at once if he chooses or he can spread it throughout the day. Genius! Why didn't I think of it sooner?? As he explained the plan to Chad and one of his cousins he got all excited when he got to the part when he can eat it whenever he wants and he doesn't even have to ask me. Voila, we're all happy. He has the freedom to eat it whenever he wants and I don't hear him ask me for candy all day. Today he chose to eat it all within 20 minutes after lunch but he never asked for more. I'm probably the last to know about this plan and now I'm wondering why nobody told me about it.I forgot to add these 2 pics to the Octoberfest post. All the kindergarten classes got to make these scarecrows. I think they're cute. Ethan named his 'Fire Nip' (it's the one to the right of him in the blue and white striped shirt).
Ethan's last day of soccer where they got a little trophy. His first one.

OctoberFest

I've decided that October is one of my favorite months of the year. Here are a few reasons why: its my birthday month, the leaves change colors, it's sweater weather, we get to do our annual trip to the pumpkin patch (I love tromping through the field of pumpkins in search of that perfect pumpkin), hot chocolate and cider, apple cinnamon Glade plug ins, carving pumpkins, and of course Halloween . Its not just a kids holiday you know - adults get to reap the benefits of Halloween candy as much as the kids do. Shh, don't tell the kids that. Below are some of our October festivities.On the hayride at the pumpkin patch. I love this picture cause if you look closely it looks like I have a third arm with a mind of its own. If only I were so lucky - I could get a lot done with 3 arms.Carving pumpkins with the fam. It was a fun night including pumpkin carving, roasting halloweenies (hot dogs) and smores over the fire, writing letters to Elder Chase, and drinking hot cocoa. My pumpkin is the bat - I dare say he's kinda cute.
A little friends costume party. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes, even if they only stayed in them for 5 minutes. These are just a few of the kids who we were able to bribe with candy if they got back in their costumes and gave us big smiles. They were super cooperative.
Post trick-or-treating pics of Ethan and cousins Rachel and Sam. Can you guess what Ethan was?

And of course the post trick-or-treating trading session.

The 80s Called, They Want Their Stirrup Pants And Acid Wash Jeans Back

Dear Fashionistas,

You've really done it this time and I'm shocked, no, I'm APPALLED at what you've done. When the 80s started coming back into style, I admit, I wasn't completely prepared, but with time I've come to accept it. The 80s aren't my favorite era but luckily I've learned to pick and choose what I'm willing to wear. Boxy sweaters and sweater vests, skinny jeans, pumps, flats, turtle necks with floppy necks, ruffles on shirts and skirts, mini skirts, parachute pants and cargo pants, knickers, t-shirts with pockets, penny loafers, shirts that are tight around the hips and baggy in the middle (not super flattering but cute nonetheless), pleated skirts, pegged pants with buttons or zippers, high waists, thermal shirts, plaid, pencil skirts, leggings under dresses and skirts, turquoise and hot pink colored jeans, leg warmers - those are all, well -- somewhat do-able. Now Converse, I'm really glad those came back and Vans - I had to consider accepting the slip-on Vans with funky designs, I wasn't sure about those coming back but I'm ok with them now. Trouser jeans and wide leg pants those are really cute. Puffy vests - I've had mine for 3 years and it still hasn't gone out of style - I thank you for that. I'm glad flares are out but thank you for keeping the bootcut. OH and wedge shoes, I LOVE wedge shoes, please don't ever let those go out of style again. For the most part you do all right.

BUT this time you've gone too far and I refuse, I repeat, REFUSE to fall victim to this fashion again. I admit I fell for it the first time around but I WILL NOT do it again. And I can't believe you would ever think that stirrup pants are flattering on anyone. And acid wash jeans?? How lame can you get. I don't care what you say, no one looks good in either of those. So I ask you to take them back. Just let them lye where they should - back in the real 80s. Oh, and while I'm at it will you just make ALL your pants and jeans in short, regular, and long?? And it wouldn't hurt if you lengthened the sleeves on long sleeved shirts. Us tall ladies out here are really suffering.

Sincerely,

A Disgruntled Shopper

CJane...You Had Me At Infertile

When going through a trial its always nice to know someone who's gone through or is going through a similar situation. It helps me feel that I'm not alone. That there are others who know EXACTLY how I feel.

Cjane is Nie Nie's sister. I think most know who they are. When I read on Cjane's profile that she originally started her blog to talk about her infertility, I was hooked. I went back and back and back, page by page (there's got to be an easier way) in her blog posts to find anything she had to say about her infertility. Psycho? Maybe a little. Then I came upon this post of hers and loved what she had to say. Read it here:

To All My Sisters Who Still Hope

Here are some of my favorite parts (in italics):

"In this I learned that giving control to the Lord sometimes feels like chaos. But not necessarily directionless chaos."

"...but there was no explanation for our situation other than Heavenly Father was in complete control. The same control that we (thought) we gave him by choice in the first place."

"Then, for the rest of the time that remained of the initial five years I swam in the cycle of stability, frustration, which lead to doubt. Close friends and family often had to question my seemingly lackadaisical approach. It was heavy on the spirit and non-existent on the body...When in these times the Lord would visit me with encouraging inspiration and I would start the cycle all over again."

"I needed to be able to say that my happiness was contingent on nothing. I had given my will to the Lord and His will was done. The hardest thing I had ever done. Or hope to ever have to do."

There's the matter of control. If there is anything I've learned these last 4 years is that I'm not in control of my life as I once thought I was. And in actuality this is a lesson I've needed to learn the hard way. HE is in complete control. So why is it so hard to give Him that, when in my heart I know He has it in the first place? How can I give something up that I never had? Why am I still trying to hold on to this perceived control? Giving my will to His is the hardest thing I've had to do and am still trying to do. In General Conference I was reminded that faith and fear do not coexist. So why should I be fearful in giving Him my will when He knows what's best for me and my family? It comes down to having complete faith in Him. Completely trusting Him. It seems so simple and yet it feels so hard.

"Something still grows inside a woman who doesn't conceive a baby. In her grows character that is consumed with confidence, humility and desire. A symbolic embryo that is hers to nurture and others to behold."

I love that quote because its so very true. Through infertility I've been stretched and pulled in ways I never thought possible. I'm different than what I used to be. And for that, I thank Him.

I Breathed Out Of My Mouth Today

Is it bad to breathe just out of my mouth while exercising? Well, I couldn't help it, I had to out of pure survival. Rule #1 while exercising in a group setting: NEVER wear powdery perfume. Especially while wearing 10x the amount you're supposed to wear in any given situation, and ESPECIALLY not while exercising in the front row while the fans are blowing the scent to everyone and anyone behind you. Isn't that something we all just naturally know? Apparently, not all of us have learned that very important lesson.

In this world there are two types of people - low self monitors and high self monitors. All sociology majors should be familiar with these terms. Low self monitors are not as aware of their surroundings as high self monitors are. For example:

low self monitor: She wears way too much perfume while exercising and doesn't even think it would be making someone else nauseous or give them a headache. It doesn't even cross her mind of the offense she's committing.
high self monitor: Would never wear perfume at all while exercising because she knows there are many people who are sensitive to strong perfumy scents.

low self monitor: In a group exercise setting she walks in, sees a little bit of empty floor space and plants herself there. She never looks around to see how close the other people are to her. This would be the same type of person that is wearing too much perfume.
high self monitor: She is very aware of how close others are to her. She would never plant herself directly in front of someone because she knows that each person deserves to see herself in the mirror. She will make sure she strategically places herself so she's not too close to anyone else, knowing that if she were too close it would only be an annoyance.

(Can you tell I had an interesting day in my dance class today?)

low self monitor: This person stands way too close in any line. They don't give the person in front of them any space. They find themselves stepping on the heels of the person in front of them. Or in some cases their basket grazes the back of the person in front of them and they don't even notice.
high self monitor: This person always makes sure they're not in the personal space of anyone in front of them. They make sure they give that person AT LEAST 3 feet of space between them and they teach their kids to do the same.

low self monitor: If this person is lost they will stop in the middle of the road to ask for directions without looking or caring to see if any other cars are behind them.
high self monitor: That type of behavior would make any high self monitor crazy. If this person were lost they would make sure to pull over to the side of the road and then ask for directions. This person would never dream of stopping in the road, especially if other cars are behind them.

There's a little Sociology 101 for ya. There are MANY more examples. I won't even go into the low self monitor talker.

You Know You're An Adult When...

I'm 32 (almost 33) and I'm just now realizing that I'm actually a "real" adult. In numbers I've legally been an adult for 14 years, but even at age 27 when I was pregnant with Ethan I wasn't so sure I was old enough to have a baby. Then I'd realize how old I was and would reassure myself that I actually was old enough. I've always felt young and immature. I've never felt like I thought I would feel as a thirtysomething. Lately I'm realizing that I'm displaying a lot of real adult behavior and its a little scary.

• Nuts I actually find myself choosing to eat nuts in brownies, cookies, carmels, salads, and sauces. As a kid, any kind of nut in anything was not worth eating, at least for me.
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir Listening to this choir out of my own free will, not only on Sundays, but throughout the week is a sure sign I've reached adulthood. My mom listened to the MTC way back when and I was always so bored with it. Now I drive around all the time and blast it in my car. Ethan gets all annoyed when its playing and its not even a Sunday.
• Remembering Names Now that I'm calling my husband, kid, and pet by the wrong names, multiple times in one breath, I can safely say I'm just like my mom.
• Chatting Real adults will sit and chat for hours and actually call it a fun time. You know you're still a kid when you see adults sitting and chatting and wonder how they could be so boring.
• Sleeping I LOVE to sleep. Napping is a luxury that as an adult I only wish I could do everyday.
• Dessert You know you've made it to adulthood when you can eat dessert anytime you want (as long as your kids don't see you). When you're an adult you don't have to wait until you've finished your dinner. Ok so I caught on to that one as soon as I left the house.
• Forgetting This may be less of a typical adult behavior and more of my mom behavior, but I forget a lot. There are times I leave the house and have to come back multiple times because of things I forget. My mom did this often and I would get so annoyed. Now I get it - there are a lot of things to remember and keep in order as a mom.

I'm sure there are many more ways that make me a real adult but can't think of anymore right now.

Anti-Marriage

Ethan and Chad had this conversation the other night at bedtime:

Ethan: "I want to be with you forever."
Chad: "We will be together forever."
Ethan: "No, I mean, I want to live with you forever."
Chad: "Trust me, when you get older you won't want to live with us forever. Someday you'll want to live on your own."
Ethan: "No I won't...I want to be a nun."
Chad: "Why do you want to be a nun? Girls can be nuns and boys can be priests."
Ethan: "Cause I don't want to get married."

For some reason Ethan is anti-marriage. He was also anti-mission before because he thought he had to be married to go on a mission. Now that we've corrected that misconception he now wants to go on a mission (phew). I don't know what we've done to turn him off from marriage so much.

I'd like to think that its because he's scared to move out of the house someday. We were talking a while ago about him getting older, that someday he would go to college, and on a mission, and get married and he just about cried and told us he never wanted to move out. Its kind of a hard concept for a 5 year old to grasp.
Ethan, cousin Maddie, and Tido. I love this picture cause Maddie is scratching Ethan's back.

Stuff

Here's a little of what's been going on:

Sister's Weekend My sisters and I left our hubbies and kids last weekend and drove down to SLC to go to the General Relief Society Meeting. It was SO much fun. On Saturday we spent about 5 hours at IKEA, then headed to Thai Pan, went and changed and fought the crowds of women at the conference center. The meeting was amazing and the spirit was so strong. It was so cool to sing amongst thousands of other women. And although I hate to pick a favorite part, the best speaker that night for me was Elder Uchtdorf. There's no doubt he was very inspired. If you didn't get a chance to go that night, check it out here. I would recommend not just reading it but watching it. It was really powerful.I love this picture of us leaving and Maddie trying to get in the car.In front of Ikea where we spent most of the day and where we also ate breakfast and lunch. So far I don't have any buyers remorse. Yay for me!Courtney, me, Kathy, and Melissa before the meeting started.

As I said, the meeting was amazing and left me with such a peaceful feeling inside. I loved taking a walk after the meeting around the temple grounds, and since we didn't have anyone waiting for us we took our time and enjoyed the beautiful, warm night air. It was one of those perfect moments.

It was such a fun weekend with my sisters. Besides the shopping at IKEA and Relief Society meeting, it was so fun to have uninterupted talks, meals where you only worried about yourself, and getting to watch chick flicks late into the night. It was a weekend that any husband and kid would hate, that's why we sometimes gotta do it without them. I'm excited to go next year as we plan on making it a yearly tradition.

Nesting I'm back into nesting mode. I've kind of taken a hiatus from doing household projects for the last year. I got burned out after we moved into our house, but now I'm back at it. Little by little I'm going to finish up the projects I've been meaning to do - pictures on the walls, furniture, painting rooms, etc. That's a lot of the reason why I haven't been blogging lately.

Adopting We've now officially adopted Tido, or Titsky (Tee-t-skee) as I like to affectionately call him. We are having a very open adoption with his birthmom, Bonnie. She is welcome to babysit him or use him for breeding at anytime.

He's been really fun to have around. People have always mentioned how dogs are so cool cause they're always so welcoming when the owners get home. And its true, its fun to come home knowing he's waiting for us. He gets soooo excited.

Welcoming Our Newest Member

Yesterday was a very happy day for our family because we can now legally welcome Madeline into our family. Yesterday was her official adoption day! Yay!! Although she has been a part of our family in our hearts for the last year, we now feel relieved that she's here to stay. Courtney and Ray have gone through many rollercoaster rides and "baby mama drama" while hoping and praying they could officially be her parents. She is so adorable and we just LOVE her! Congratulations Courtney and Ray, we couldn't be happier!

Another Milestone

Ethan played soccer on Saturday. This may not seem like anything spectacular for most but for Ethan this is quite a big milestone. Although he has enjoyed playing soccer the last couple of weeks, he's been too scared to actually play when it comes to scrimmaging or actual games. He'll stand in the middle of the field and cry. As some may have noticed Ethan is a thinker and on top of that he's a perfectionist so he's been feeling like he's not good enough. Of course we encourage him as much as we can but we unfortunately can't just make him play (trust me, we've tried), he's got to make that decision for himself.

On Thursday after practice (having not played in the scrimmage game with his team) Ethan proclaimed that he would play in the 'real game' on Saturday. Chad and I had our doubts but we decided to keep him on the team a little longer and let him have another chance. Saturday came and I could tell Ethan was nervous. Even during soccer pictures he started crying and I wasn't sure he'd actually play. But on the way to the field his coach grabbed his hand and made him run along with the rest of the team. I don't know what he said but somehow, during 2nd quarter Ethan stepped onto the field, the ref blew the whistle, and he kicked the ball. And then he actually ran around with the team and did some really great kicks. It was a 'proud mommy moment' for me as I had to inconspicuously wipe away some tears (luckily I was wearing sunglasses). He did it! He concquered his fear and was actually playing soccer with the rest of the team. I was so amazed and so proud. I could see his confidence level rise throughout the game. He even made a goal, well sort of. He kicked it towards the goal and then a kid from the other team inadvertently kicked it in for him, but we make sure to tell him he's the one that made the goal. On the drive home he said, "Soccer is actually really fun!"

And here's the proof that he actually played:

I'm so proud of you Ethan! Go Dinos!

Ree-diculous!

babyhighheelsvideo

Can we say two sprained ankles? Not to mention dumb, ugly, and very unpractical.

That's all I gotta say about that.

Breaking News

He really does love us! About a year ago, Ethan made a very interesting decision for a 4 year old, he decided to stop telling us (along with everyone else) he loved us. The reason being, and I quote, "because I don't know what love means." Despite our best efforts to explain what love is, he continually claimed he did not know what love meant. Well, three nights ago Chad asked him if he ever thought he'd tell us he loved us again, he said he probably would but he wasn't quite sure when. The very next night as we were hugging him goodnight he finally did it, he told us he loved us! And when he told me he looked into my eyes and said, "don't cry mom, cause I hate it when adults cry."

Ahhh....A sigh of relief and a new chapter begins with many more 'I love yous' (we hope).

"Our Favorite Friends"

Said with a really low, throaty voice with a weird sounding accent. This is what our friend Heather called us as she was saying a blessing on the food at our apartment 8 years ago. In the prayer, she was thanking us for having them over for dinner but she forgot our names and in that low, throaty, weirdly accented voice that we talk in when we're together she said, "thanks to...uh...'our favorite friends' for having us over for dinner..." And the rest is history, we had a big laugh and have never let her live it down.

Needless to say Ryan and Heather are some of our best buddies and they came and visited us along with their 3 beautiful girlies over Labor Day weekend. The guys started out the weekend with a little tennis and Heather and I went and boogyed to a little Rage Against The Machine at the gym. It was soooo fun and Heather was awesome. (I'm the one in the middle and she's on the left - J/K)

We then headed up to the mountains an hour and a half away to find our camping spot for the night. We found an awesome spot right on the lake with our own private beach front. We kept wondering how in the heck we got such a perfect spot on a Saturday afternoon during Labor Day weekend. Apparently we missed the memo stating that we were in the windiest camping spot this side of the rockies. These are some pics from before we actually TRIED to sleep that night. Notice our happy faces (cause they weren't so happy in the morning).
We all (minus Ethan who is our champion sleeper who slept the whole night without waking once) tossed and turned throughout the night as the wind thrashed against our tents. Heather and Ryan had to re-stake their tent as their feet were being lifted off the ground from all the wind. They also took off their rain fly during the night to lower the noise level then had to turn around and put it back on once the rain, thunder, and lightning started up. Meanwhile Chad and I had a huge laugh at around 2:30 after neither of us had slept a wink as Chad called it "the night the wind blew" - which I have to say is not as funny now that I've gotten some sleep but in my sleep deprived state of mind he couldn't have said anything funnier.

The next morning we hurried and packed up because the temperature had dropped so low it was unbareable, at least for me who becomes totally disfunctional in any type of freezing weather. I spent the morning sitting in the car. We couldn't check into the hotel til 3pm that day so we had about 5 hours to kill. Since it was so cold and rainy we couldn't do anything but drive around, take a LONG lunch and then sneak into the hotel a couple hours early and go swimming. We were so glad to spend the second night in a warm hotel.

So the weather wasn't the best but we still had so much fun with you guys!! Thanks for the memories and the laughs! Next time we promise better weather.