Look closely

Who's that sitting on my painting? This is my life, and I love it.

Princess is 4

Well I did it. I made my first themed cake in years. My poor children, I know.

I spent 3 hours on this castle for the Princess. I keep thinking it would look like something more after that long. But whatever. Here ya go. After starting it late on Sat night I finished at 2 am on Sun.











So you can see she was spoiled by loving family, as usual. Thanks everybody!

And all day she has been toting around horses, squooshing playdough, and wearing fancy shoes. Pretty neat being four.

Life rolls on...

Babies, birthdays, meetings, service, scouts, playdates, trainings, lunch dates, music practice, finding lost best friends, driving, shopping, school, doctor visits, and on and on.

What a week. I have been so blessed and my heart is very full. Life is good.

Weekend conversations

Randomness from my kids this weekend.


1.
Potter [yelled from the bathroom]: Bugs! I need some toilet paper. I'm all out!!
Bugs [playing downstairs]: Alright
Potter [five min later]: Puulllease! I need toilet paper.
Bugs [tp now in hand]: only if you say "I will never cheer for BYU again and I will always cheer for the Utes"
Potter: I will always cheer for BYU!!!


2.
Princess: Mom, do you know why I eat things off the floor?
Me: Oh, I hope you don't-
Princess: Because things are yummy!


3.
I made a delicious pasta salad to go with supper on Saturday. Ok, it was from a box. But it was good and I was looking forward to grilled hot dogs and pasta salad all week. At the dinner table the kids got excited when they saw it and loaded their plates. After several minutes I asked why no one was eating any. They replied "These noodles are COLD."

And I had tulips out already...

Called to serve

We all huddled around the laptop so we could get the news via webcam.




My baby brother Matt is headed on a 2-year mission. Where is he going?

Mozambique Maputo, and he will learn Portuguese. Cool, huh?



View Larger Map

His mission will also cover Angola, which is on the other side of Africa a couple thousand miles away. That will be a fun trip. :-)

Congrats, Matt. We are so excited for you!

Orange Creamsicle Dessert

Really good dessert to share from last week. FYI, I don't have a jello mold. I just mixed it in a bowl and served right from it. Kids loved it! In fact, it was gone before I could take a picture.

Jello Desserts

Orange Creamsicle Dessert

2 small boxes orange gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding

2 cups cold milk

2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained

2 cups prepared whipped topping, divided

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; stir in cold water. Chill until slightly thickened.Prepare pudding according to package directions using milk. Reserve 5 mandarin oranges for garnish. Fold remaining oranges, thickened gelatin and 1 cup whipped topping into prepared pudding.Pour into 6-cup ring mold. Chill 4 hours or until set.

Unmold onto serving plate. Spoon remaining whipped topping in center of ring. Garnish with reserved mandarin oranges.

Crazy Eights

Here are the rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Tag 8 others

8 favorite TV shows:
1. The Office
2. Lie to Me
3. 24
4. ER
5. Studio 5
6. Good Things Utah
7. American Idol
8. Law and Order

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Took Princess to preschool
2. Made dinner
3. Saw my sister and her little family
4. Went to parent teacher conferences
5. Went Visiting Teaching
6. Held my new niece
7. Helped kids with math
8. Walked around the block with my new stroller

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Finding out where my brother will serve his mission
2. Learning all about my new camera
3. Spring break
4. Having a backyard with grass
5. Enjoying the rest of the newborn stage
6. Watching my kids grow up with cousins
7. Seeing my tulips pop up
8. Easter

8 favorite restaurants:
1. Moochies
2. Costa Vida
3. Ruby Tuesday
4. The Roof
5. Olive Garden
6. Sizzler
7. LoneStar Steakhouse
8. anything chinese

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Children that are always healthy
2. That Strider could be completely finished with school
3. A comfortable house
4. Year's supply of food
5. My kids getting chores done without nagging
6. Sleeping through the night
7. A vacation once a year
8. A reliable, newer van

8 people I tag:
1. Ashley
2. Wendy
3. Jess
4. Kelli
5. Kristy
6. Rachael
7. Danika
8. Kodelle

Menu planning

Meals this week/Meals on hand

Spaghetti, salad, cheesy bread
Hot Dogs, pasta salad
French Toast
Hamburger Casserole, fruit salad
Beef Stew, rolls
Chicken Broccoli Braid, baby carrots
Potato Soup
Pork Chops, rice

Oh, the POOP

I preface this with an apology to those of you readers that are not the least bit interested in baby poop. Maybe you haven't experienced it, or maybe you just don't care.

If you've ever cared for a baby, though, you know the poop story.






You hold your sweet little thing, keeping their gaze and marvelling at the wonder of it all. They smell so sweet, their cheeks are so soft. You are so connected right now.

Then a sound breaks through the silence. There's a bit of an explosion of sorts going on in the trusty (we hope) diaper. Why are they grunting so much? It's just liquid for pete's sake.

Now this sounds high-volume. Panic begins to set in as you wonder what the next 10 minutes has in store for you.




Questions run through your mind. Is she wearing the name brand diaper right now or the cheap-o one? Did I put a onesie on? Who gave us this outfit? How expensive was it? Do I have time to soak the outfit and do a load of laundry before I go visiting teaching?

More explosive sounds. Now you have to deal with the dilemma of how to hold the child while she "finishes". You don't want to put pressure on the exploding area - what if you made it squish all over? Can't lie her down, same problem. So you decide on a strange under-the-armpit dangle while hoping for the best.

Periodic checks to see if the offensive substance is beginning to leak anywhere, and really wishing you hadn't worn your white shirt today. Sure enough, we are beginning to show orange through the blanket sleeper back.

Where to assess the damage? In the nice clean bassinet where you normally change diapers? Well, this is not a normal diaper. This is the once-a-week "tell daddy about it" kind of poop. Ok, still dangling infant (gotta keep the white shirt clean) you pass the hamper and see a dark colored shirt on top. Perfect. No stains. You lay baby in the bassinet but on top of the dark shirt.

Where to start? Sheesh, the more you deal with the legs and bottom parts, the more it will flow out the top of the diaper (curse Pampers). Remember that the little pink sleeper was a hand-me-down and not worth the trouble. After way too many wipes, wrap up the garbage and outfit together and throw in trash.

Get baby dressed in something cute and do it quickly. It's almost time for visiting teaching. And pray it doesn't happen again - at least not today.

Did someone let a Leprechaun in the house?

Uncle Matt is home

My little brother is home for just three days during spreak break before he heads off to another wrestling tourney. On Sunday he got to see the first baby born while he was away (my sister also had her baby the day before his flight got in).

First niece

Babies, babies everywhere.

My little sis finally had her baby! Many of you who read this blog know her, and know she was overdue and ready.

Well, Friday was the magical day. She had to be induced, but even with the pitocin she went unmedicated. So impressive. She had such control and a reverence about her.

I was honored to be there and witness the miracle. I certainly have given birth many times but I've never watched another baby be born. How exciting!

Baby Sugar
9 lbs 6 oz
22 inches long

So Strider and I now have a niece!

Someone hears me

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Mid-week ramblings

Random Tuesday stuff.


First of all, don't you just want to eat this child? Scrumptious.




Second, it better be a big bite. At 5 weeks weighs in at 11 lbs 12 oz.

Third, after a week of my sister waiting for me to stich these burp cloths for her, I finally did. I am enjoying sewing even more than I thought I would. They turned out really cute, even for a rookie like me.

Fourth, I ventured out yesterday before the snow hit for some fabric. So excited to see my stash grow. I didn't get really anything else done yesterday, but fabric is a priority, ya know.

And fifth, tell me this guy isn't handsome. This is my baby brother at his military ball over the weekend. He wrestles for Iowa State and is also there on an ROTC scholarship. This is his first college date, awwww. He has submitted his paperwork for a 2 year mission for our church, and any day now should hear where he gets to serve!