MY NEW NAME IS IN THE TITLE. DON'T LAUGH UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOUR NEW NAME IS. We all need a little stress-reliever! Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. Here is a dose of humor...
A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, post it as the title of your post. Include the instructions so everyone can play along!
The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants And the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...
So:
1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:
a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j =doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy
2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle
3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice
Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny.
Now when you POST THIS...use your new name as the title. And remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day. Put more laughter in your day.
I tag everyone!
Monday, March 31, 2008
What kind of Cook are you?
You Are an Excellent Cook |
 You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire... |
Pic of the Day #37
I discovered the virtual makeover at the Good Housekeeping website and have been having lots of fun trying new hair and makeup looks on myself. This is one of my favorites! If anyone else wants to try it out, you can at www.goodhousekeeping.com/makeover. You have to register for an account, but it's free.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
My day in the Nursery
This has been a nice Sunday. I actually did my hair this morning, and my makeup, so I felt like I looked nice today. That always makes for a good day. Zaylee was really upset when we left for Church because I wouldn't let her take her big, noisy toy phone. But she calmed down by the time we got to Church, and I had brought along a stuffed koala bear for her to play with instead. So that turned out okay.
During Sunday School, one of the ladies from Primary came in and asked me if I would help out in Nursery during the last hour. I said yes, so went downstairs after Sunday School to the Nursery. It was a lot of fun. There were about 8 kids in the room I was in, and several more in the other. Zaylee was in the other nursery. I helped to give the kids their snacks, and keep things under control, since there was only me and one other lady, and she had a baby with her. The kids were all pretty good, and really cute. At one point they knocked over the child gate keeping them in, and two escaped into the hallway. The other sister stayed in the nursery to keep the remaining kids inside while I chased the escapees all the way into the men's restroom. Luckily, we were downstairs, where there's only Nursery and Primary, so there weren't any men in there and I was able to get the little boys back to the nursery without too much fuss. What fun! It was neat to be in there for this week, but I'm kinda glad I don't have that as my calling and have to be in there every week.
The rest of today has been fairly relaxed. Jeff didn't feel well all day, probably the effects of fasting because now that he's eaten he feels much better. So I've been in charge of the kids. Zaylee took a nice long nap, and Thomas has been a huge ball of cheerfulness. He was grinning so big for so long, I thought his face would freeze that way. Lots of fun. So even though Jeff wasn't up to helping out very much, it was fine because they were so good today.
During Sunday School, one of the ladies from Primary came in and asked me if I would help out in Nursery during the last hour. I said yes, so went downstairs after Sunday School to the Nursery. It was a lot of fun. There were about 8 kids in the room I was in, and several more in the other. Zaylee was in the other nursery. I helped to give the kids their snacks, and keep things under control, since there was only me and one other lady, and she had a baby with her. The kids were all pretty good, and really cute. At one point they knocked over the child gate keeping them in, and two escaped into the hallway. The other sister stayed in the nursery to keep the remaining kids inside while I chased the escapees all the way into the men's restroom. Luckily, we were downstairs, where there's only Nursery and Primary, so there weren't any men in there and I was able to get the little boys back to the nursery without too much fuss. What fun! It was neat to be in there for this week, but I'm kinda glad I don't have that as my calling and have to be in there every week.
The rest of today has been fairly relaxed. Jeff didn't feel well all day, probably the effects of fasting because now that he's eaten he feels much better. So I've been in charge of the kids. Zaylee took a nice long nap, and Thomas has been a huge ball of cheerfulness. He was grinning so big for so long, I thought his face would freeze that way. Lots of fun. So even though Jeff wasn't up to helping out very much, it was fine because they were so good today.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Pic of the Day #36
We finally got out to Grandma's house and picked up the organ. I say "we" but it was actually Dad, Jeff, and Morgan. I'm excited to have it, and be able to practice and brush up on my organ skills. In college, I took organ lessons for several semesters and got really good. But without having the chance to practice, I've lost a lot of my skill. So this is going to be neat.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Pic of the Day #35
Hey Baby, Wassup?
I love the look on his face, the pose, everything! He's my cutie!125th post
Since everyone's keeping track of their specially-numbered posts, this one is my 125th, in case anyone's interested. And I've only been doing this since January. Wow. Does anyone else think I seem a bit addicted to this?
Anyway, today has been fairly uneventful, but not really boring. I had Zaylee in her cloth training pants almost all day. She ended up going through about three pairs. She was able to keep each one dry for a while, and went to the potty when I asked her to, but didn't really take any initiative in letting me know when she needed to go. We'll work on that. In the meantime, I either have to have her in diapers most days, or do our laundry more often, or buy more training pants, because we only have six pairs. At our current rate, that will last about two days. Well, we'll see how it goes.
We got our phone and internet hooked up in February, but never received a bill. It was one of those things that just pops up in the back of your mind every once in a while: "Hey, did we ever get a phone bill yet? No? Hm, I wonder when that will come." Today we finally got something from the phone company - a disconnect notice saying that if we didn't pay our bill by yesterday, our service would be disconnected! So Jeff hurried to call them in order to let them know why we hadn't paid the bill that we'd never received, and to go ahead and pay it. We were glad to get that straightened out. It was probably a computer error - they thought they sent the bill but we never got it. Anyway, the guy told Jeff when to expect the next bill, so we can look for it and call them if it doesn't get to us.
Jeff has spent a great deal of time on the computer today. He's working on a research project, studying the antibacterial properties of cinnamon (it's more complicated than that, but that's the closest I can understand it). He was working all day on researching and writing up his paper for the project. He's pretty exhausted now, and would probably burst out crying if I showed him a bottle of cinnamon right now. But yeah, cinnamon is pretty cool stuff. It can slow the growth of this particular bacteria responsible for many cases of food poisoning, and is also useful in controlling diabetes, something about insulin sensitivity. So eat your cinnamon!
Anyway, today has been fairly uneventful, but not really boring. I had Zaylee in her cloth training pants almost all day. She ended up going through about three pairs. She was able to keep each one dry for a while, and went to the potty when I asked her to, but didn't really take any initiative in letting me know when she needed to go. We'll work on that. In the meantime, I either have to have her in diapers most days, or do our laundry more often, or buy more training pants, because we only have six pairs. At our current rate, that will last about two days. Well, we'll see how it goes.
We got our phone and internet hooked up in February, but never received a bill. It was one of those things that just pops up in the back of your mind every once in a while: "Hey, did we ever get a phone bill yet? No? Hm, I wonder when that will come." Today we finally got something from the phone company - a disconnect notice saying that if we didn't pay our bill by yesterday, our service would be disconnected! So Jeff hurried to call them in order to let them know why we hadn't paid the bill that we'd never received, and to go ahead and pay it. We were glad to get that straightened out. It was probably a computer error - they thought they sent the bill but we never got it. Anyway, the guy told Jeff when to expect the next bill, so we can look for it and call them if it doesn't get to us.
Jeff has spent a great deal of time on the computer today. He's working on a research project, studying the antibacterial properties of cinnamon (it's more complicated than that, but that's the closest I can understand it). He was working all day on researching and writing up his paper for the project. He's pretty exhausted now, and would probably burst out crying if I showed him a bottle of cinnamon right now. But yeah, cinnamon is pretty cool stuff. It can slow the growth of this particular bacteria responsible for many cases of food poisoning, and is also useful in controlling diabetes, something about insulin sensitivity. So eat your cinnamon!
Lil' Lip Sync'r
Thomas was moving his mouth around in talking motion, and some of the motions made it seem like he was trying to sing along! Even without the music in the background, he just looked so cute and funny!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Another Laundry Day
Today being Thursday, we spent the day at Mom and Dad's house doing our laundry. Normally we do three loads, but today we had to do four, because of the cloth diapers. I am really glad that I learned how to store the dirty diapers properly. When we did cloth with Zaylee, we would fill the pail with bleach water and dump the diapers in there. By the time we were ready to wash them, they were stinking up the whole bathroom every time we opened the pail. But now that we put them in the pail without water and sprinkle a hearty amount of baking soda on top, there's almost no smell at all! I'm thrilled with that, and thoroughly sold on the deodorizing properties of baking soda. It's great stuff!!
I had a very exciting thing happen today. I recently found the e-mail address of one of my favorite high school teachers and sent her an e-mail. She was our drama teacher in Japan, and I absolutely loved her! She wrote back today. I was very happy to learn that not only did she remember who I was, but she has joined the Church and adopted a beautiful little girl. Exciting! In her e-mail, she asked for pictures and I realized I didn't have any current pictures of all four of us. So I gathered the family and we took some pics. I don't know how photographers can stand taking group pictures. It's practically impossible to get everyone looking good all in one shot! Here are some of our attempts.
We finally settled on this one. It had the least amount of goofy facial expression (Although, personally, I think my favorite is the second one, where Jeff is sticking out his tongue!).
Zaylee threw quite a temper tantrum tonight. She had potty time, went pee-pee and washed her hands, just like every night. But when Jeff tried to put her diaper on and get her in her pajamas, she threw a royal fit! She started fighting him and running back into the bathroom screaming, "I want potty! My potty!" I told him to humor her for a while, and let her sit back on the potty, thinking maybe she needed to go more. But after a while, it was obvious she was done and just wanted to play. So I tried to get her diaper on. Once more, she started fighting and screaming. Through a team effort, Jeff and I were able to get her diapered and jammied, all the while listening to her screaming, "I want potty! I want my POTTY!!! MY POTTY!!!!!" We put her on her bed and left the room. She ran to the door and kept screaming and banging on the door, trying to open it (she couldn't because of the child lock). After a while she quieted down, but I think it was just a breather because she started screaming again after a short while. Finally she calmed down enough for me to be able to put Thomas to bed. At this point she let us take her out of bed so we could have our evening song and prayer, and put her to bed properly. She hasn't made a peep since.
This was so out of character for Zaylee! She normally doesn't throw fits, or if she does they're much milder and shorter. I think it was just because she was so tired; she didn't get a nap today at all. And we haven't had a "normal" day for a while. Tuesday we went shopping and were out for a long time. Wednesday we went to the Temple and she spent the day with Mom. And today was laundry day. And she didn't get a nap on any of those days, unless you count falling asleep in the car for a few minutes. Anyway, we don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so it should be fairly normal, and we'll make sure she gets down for a nap. Poor thing!
I had a very exciting thing happen today. I recently found the e-mail address of one of my favorite high school teachers and sent her an e-mail. She was our drama teacher in Japan, and I absolutely loved her! She wrote back today. I was very happy to learn that not only did she remember who I was, but she has joined the Church and adopted a beautiful little girl. Exciting! In her e-mail, she asked for pictures and I realized I didn't have any current pictures of all four of us. So I gathered the family and we took some pics. I don't know how photographers can stand taking group pictures. It's practically impossible to get everyone looking good all in one shot! Here are some of our attempts.
We finally settled on this one. It had the least amount of goofy facial expression (Although, personally, I think my favorite is the second one, where Jeff is sticking out his tongue!).
Zaylee threw quite a temper tantrum tonight. She had potty time, went pee-pee and washed her hands, just like every night. But when Jeff tried to put her diaper on and get her in her pajamas, she threw a royal fit! She started fighting him and running back into the bathroom screaming, "I want potty! My potty!" I told him to humor her for a while, and let her sit back on the potty, thinking maybe she needed to go more. But after a while, it was obvious she was done and just wanted to play. So I tried to get her diaper on. Once more, she started fighting and screaming. Through a team effort, Jeff and I were able to get her diapered and jammied, all the while listening to her screaming, "I want potty! I want my POTTY!!! MY POTTY!!!!!" We put her on her bed and left the room. She ran to the door and kept screaming and banging on the door, trying to open it (she couldn't because of the child lock). After a while she quieted down, but I think it was just a breather because she started screaming again after a short while. Finally she calmed down enough for me to be able to put Thomas to bed. At this point she let us take her out of bed so we could have our evening song and prayer, and put her to bed properly. She hasn't made a peep since.
This was so out of character for Zaylee! She normally doesn't throw fits, or if she does they're much milder and shorter. I think it was just because she was so tired; she didn't get a nap today at all. And we haven't had a "normal" day for a while. Tuesday we went shopping and were out for a long time. Wednesday we went to the Temple and she spent the day with Mom. And today was laundry day. And she didn't get a nap on any of those days, unless you count falling asleep in the car for a few minutes. Anyway, we don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so it should be fairly normal, and we'll make sure she gets down for a nap. Poor thing!
Pic(s) of the Day #34
Camera Case, front and back
I finally got around to crocheting a case for our camera. I didn't use a pattern or anything, just threw something together, and this is what I came up with. The little design doesn't mean anything, I just meant for it to be a swirly. I originally planned on doing a flower, but thought that would make it too girly and Jeff wouldn't like it. And the swirl was easier. Anyway, I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and now I'll feel better about tossing the camera (gently) in the diaper bag when we go places, knowing that the camera, and especially the LCD screen, is protected.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
It's Been a Good Day
This was a really nice day. We started the morning by dragging out of bed, which isn't out of the ordinary for us at all. But after that Jeff and I got all dressed up in our nice clothes, and got the kids all dressed. I put Zaylee's hair in pigtails, which looks so cute!
After we got all dressed, we took the kids to Grandma's house (my parents) so we could go to the Temple.
We had a nice session, and I was so excited to be able to see Grandma Danes there as a worker. Being in the Temple with family is so wonderful, especially if you weren't expecting it!
After the session, we decided to finally use our $25 gift certificate for Red Lobster. We tried once before but were told there would be a forty to fifty minute wait, just to be seated, and we weren't up for that. This time, it being an early Wednesday afternoon, the restaurant was not busy at all and we were seated right away. This was my first time eating at Red Lobster ever. We ate so much food! I have decided that I really like Garlic Shrimp Scampi and Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I brought my camera in with me, but after snapping a picture of the lobsters out front (see my pic of the day), I was so involved in eating the wonderful food and having REAL conversation with Jeff that I didn't think to take any more pictures until we were done eating. So here's what our table looked like when we were done.
I decided that I wanted to be able to have a conversation with Jeff that didn't revolve around our kids or the food we were eating (though we did talk about that quite a bit! It's a habit with us to discuss our food). So we came up with questions to ask each other, stuff like "What are three things you want to do some day?" and "If a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?" We talked about Jeff wanting to go on a real sight-seeing road trip, travel to Europe, and write a book. I mentioned that I want to paint a large, beautiful painting. Jeff, if confronted with a genie, would wish for super powers. I would wish to be able to see myself as beautiful (how many of us, even when our husbands assure us that we are beautiful, are only able to see our flaws?). Anyway, it was really neat to talk about things that are important to us, things we hold dear, things we want to do with our life.
And I took some fun pictures of Jeff eating. For his sake, I'll only post the least embarrassing one.
Anyway, after we finished with our large and delicious lunch, we headed back to Mom's house to pick up the kids. Thomas was so happy to see me. He had enough to eat with the cereal and banana I left with him, but he's still a nursing baby and a momma's boy, and was so thrilled to look up and see me smiling at him!
I wanted to post this next picture just because it's so funny and cute!
We hung out there for a while, and then came back home. I tried to take a nap, but was only able to get a short one, because Thomas was wanting more Mommy time and attention. But anyway, it's been a really nice day.
After we got all dressed, we took the kids to Grandma's house (my parents) so we could go to the Temple.
We had a nice session, and I was so excited to be able to see Grandma Danes there as a worker. Being in the Temple with family is so wonderful, especially if you weren't expecting it!After the session, we decided to finally use our $25 gift certificate for Red Lobster. We tried once before but were told there would be a forty to fifty minute wait, just to be seated, and we weren't up for that. This time, it being an early Wednesday afternoon, the restaurant was not busy at all and we were seated right away. This was my first time eating at Red Lobster ever. We ate so much food! I have decided that I really like Garlic Shrimp Scampi and Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I brought my camera in with me, but after snapping a picture of the lobsters out front (see my pic of the day), I was so involved in eating the wonderful food and having REAL conversation with Jeff that I didn't think to take any more pictures until we were done eating. So here's what our table looked like when we were done.
I decided that I wanted to be able to have a conversation with Jeff that didn't revolve around our kids or the food we were eating (though we did talk about that quite a bit! It's a habit with us to discuss our food). So we came up with questions to ask each other, stuff like "What are three things you want to do some day?" and "If a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?" We talked about Jeff wanting to go on a real sight-seeing road trip, travel to Europe, and write a book. I mentioned that I want to paint a large, beautiful painting. Jeff, if confronted with a genie, would wish for super powers. I would wish to be able to see myself as beautiful (how many of us, even when our husbands assure us that we are beautiful, are only able to see our flaws?). Anyway, it was really neat to talk about things that are important to us, things we hold dear, things we want to do with our life.And I took some fun pictures of Jeff eating. For his sake, I'll only post the least embarrassing one.
Anyway, after we finished with our large and delicious lunch, we headed back to Mom's house to pick up the kids. Thomas was so happy to see me. He had enough to eat with the cereal and banana I left with him, but he's still a nursing baby and a momma's boy, and was so thrilled to look up and see me smiling at him!
I wanted to post this next picture just because it's so funny and cute!
We hung out there for a while, and then came back home. I tried to take a nap, but was only able to get a short one, because Thomas was wanting more Mommy time and attention. But anyway, it's been a really nice day.
Pic of the Day #33
It's a Red Lobster!
While Jeff and I didn't actually eat the lobster at Red Lobster today, I thought it would be fun to get a picture of the funny little critters.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Pic of the Day #32
Pizza - Mmm Good!
Sometimes you just gotta make some pizza. We made this incredible pizza using Michelle's pizza dough recipe on her food blog. It turned out great! The flavor was really good, and thanks to our pizza stone, the crust was crispy and evenly baked. We chose to make Canadian bacon and olive pizza - my favorite!D.I. Shopping Spree!
We went to D.I. today and found some pretty cool stuff. I've been wanting to get some pretty dishes so I can take better pictures of the foods I make. D.I. has a great assortment of fancy dishes, so I got several.
Here's a picture of all the stuff we got today. 15 dishes (including four sturdy plastic ones that Zaylee can use without fear of breaking), a pack of condiment dispensers, and a little nativity (I've adopted my mom's fetish for small nativities). The whole thing cost $10.
My favorites are these dishes with the fruit design. They're so pretty! There's two medium plates, two small plates, and two bowls. There were more, and I really would have liked to get as many of these as were there, but I didn't want to overspend.
Anyway, overall it was a fun shopping trip, and very productive.
Here's a picture of all the stuff we got today. 15 dishes (including four sturdy plastic ones that Zaylee can use without fear of breaking), a pack of condiment dispensers, and a little nativity (I've adopted my mom's fetish for small nativities). The whole thing cost $10.
My favorites are these dishes with the fruit design. They're so pretty! There's two medium plates, two small plates, and two bowls. There were more, and I really would have liked to get as many of these as were there, but I didn't want to overspend.
Anyway, overall it was a fun shopping trip, and very productive.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Our Resurrection Rolls
We made the resurrection rolls from my recipe blog this evening for Family Home Evening. They turned out really good, and worked just the way they were supposed to. Some marshmallow leaked out the sides of the rolls as they baked, but that didn't affect the finished product. They were perfectly hollow, and very tasty!
Pic of the Day #31
Our little herb garden
Here are our little planters, each one containing seeds for one of our favorite herbs. We're growing mint, basil, parsley, oregano, and chives. Here's hoping they all grow and taste great!A Good Day
We had a nice day yesterday. Since we had our Easter festivities on Saturday, Sunday was more relaxing, pretty much like any other Sunday. We'll be trying the Resurrection rolls from my food blog for Family Home Evening tonight and hope that they turn out well. At any rate, they should taste good! And then I can finally post the picture(s) with the recipe.
Last night we got a couple good things done. What better time to encourage new life than on Easter, right? So Jeff and I planted the seeds for our herbs in little planters. We should start seeing little seedlings in a couple weeks, providing we did it right. It was a fun little activity for the two of us to work on together. I'm excited to have fresh herbs. I realized last night that I'll be able to use them as garnish when I photograph foods for my recipe blog, yay!
The other thing I did was go through the kids' toy boxes. I've been meaning to do that for a while now. I had a big pile of things to throw away, another pile of things to donate to D.I., and then a couple piles of toys to keep, separated into toys for Zaylee and toys for Thomas. There was also a pile of stuff that really didn't belong in a toy box - a wallet, Easter eggs, a key chain, an old glasses frame, and then some toys that need to be returned to Mom and Dad. The result is a couple boxes with much fewer toys, a cleaner corner in the living room and the kids' room, and a small weight off my shoulders. It's nice to go through things and get rid of stuff. Speaking of, I really should go through the rest of the boxes in my room and get rid of stuff there too. I'm amazed that Sarah and Jon have already got all their boxes completely unpacked, while we've lived here much longer and still have boxes to go through. Either they're just really on the ball, or we're lazy and procrastinate too much. Probably both.
Today we've been fairly laid back. Jeff's spring break is this week, and we've spent the morning and afternoon doing pretty much nothing. Nice, huh? We're planning on getting some shopping done later, after Jeff and Zaylee have finished taking their naps. Plus we'd like to get out to the library some time this week. We've lived here in this town since August, and never been to the library, except for once. But that was to watch my siblings perform in a piano recital, so it doesn't count. We used to go to the library all the time before we moved, and are looking forward to getting back in the habit.
Last night we got a couple good things done. What better time to encourage new life than on Easter, right? So Jeff and I planted the seeds for our herbs in little planters. We should start seeing little seedlings in a couple weeks, providing we did it right. It was a fun little activity for the two of us to work on together. I'm excited to have fresh herbs. I realized last night that I'll be able to use them as garnish when I photograph foods for my recipe blog, yay!
The other thing I did was go through the kids' toy boxes. I've been meaning to do that for a while now. I had a big pile of things to throw away, another pile of things to donate to D.I., and then a couple piles of toys to keep, separated into toys for Zaylee and toys for Thomas. There was also a pile of stuff that really didn't belong in a toy box - a wallet, Easter eggs, a key chain, an old glasses frame, and then some toys that need to be returned to Mom and Dad. The result is a couple boxes with much fewer toys, a cleaner corner in the living room and the kids' room, and a small weight off my shoulders. It's nice to go through things and get rid of stuff. Speaking of, I really should go through the rest of the boxes in my room and get rid of stuff there too. I'm amazed that Sarah and Jon have already got all their boxes completely unpacked, while we've lived here much longer and still have boxes to go through. Either they're just really on the ball, or we're lazy and procrastinate too much. Probably both.
Today we've been fairly laid back. Jeff's spring break is this week, and we've spent the morning and afternoon doing pretty much nothing. Nice, huh? We're planning on getting some shopping done later, after Jeff and Zaylee have finished taking their naps. Plus we'd like to get out to the library some time this week. We've lived here in this town since August, and never been to the library, except for once. But that was to watch my siblings perform in a piano recital, so it doesn't count. We used to go to the library all the time before we moved, and are looking forward to getting back in the habit.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Pic of the Day #30
Here's the pie and the rolls Jeff and I made for our Easter dinner last night. They all turned out great!
Tales from the Nursery
Zaylee's nursery teacher told Jeff this sweet story about Zaylee. In nursery, she is always very quiet and sweet, playing with her toys and never causing problems. Last week at one point a little boy was crying, and the teacher was busy with another child. Zaylee put down the toy she was playing with, went over to the boy who was crying, and gave him a hug. She put his head on her shoulder, patted him on the back, and said soothingly, "It's okay." When he stopped crying, she went right back to her toy. How sweet is that?
Easter Outfits
Okay, so the kids didn't get a new outfit for Easter, but I did make sure they were dressed up nice and cute.
Here's my handsome little guy. What a charmer!
Zaylee refused to put down the little black stick, so I just took the pictures with it. She kept trying to run away. Camera shy?
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Busy Baking!
This morning has been pretty fun. We started off by hunting down our Easter baskets. I had hidden Jeff's in our cooler, under some plastic bags. I thought it was a good place because his lunch box is actually pretty much a mini cooler - it's plastic inside and everything. He found it eventually. Jeff had my ramekins hidden high in a kitchen cupboard, camouflaged behind all the vitamins and supplements. Zaylee's chalk was in her booster seat under her bib. She was so excited when she saw it. We had taped a chocolate bunny and some plastic easter eggs filled with jelly beans on top of the little bucket, and that just thrilled her.
As for Thomas, we pretty much just gave him the new pacifiers. Bad news with that - he can't stand them. The ones he had (we just threw one away because the rubber nipple was so worn) were Parent's Choice, and we've had them for a while. When we bought the new ones, we realized that Parent's Choice apparently doesn't make the same style anymore, and so we bought some different PC binkies, figuring that since they're the same brand, they'll pretty much be similar enough that Thomas won't mind. Wrong. They are very different. The nipples are much smaller, and apparently quite a bit more slippery, as he can hardly keep them in his mouth. We're debating whether to keep trying to get him accustomed to these, or just go buy some new ones to try and find some he will like.
After our Easter hunt and breakfast, we got busy getting ready for our big family dinner tonight. Jeff and I have been assigned to bring the bread and a pie. Jeff was in charge of the pie crust, while I made the cherry filling (no "open the can, dump in the filling, and bake" for me! I did use canned cherries, but turned them into actual cherry pie filling all on my own). He rolled out the bottom crust and fitted it into the plate, and I did the lattice top. As we baked it, I was extremely grateful that Jeff suggested we bake it set in a large pan lined with foil. The filling was a bit too filling, and spilled profusely out the sides of the pie. That could have been a huge mess! As it is, we have to get the goopy foil unstuck from the bottom of the pan, but at least the oven isn't coated in burnt, gooped-up cherry pie filling.
Oh yeah, the oven. As Jeff opened the oven to take out the little pastry strips he made with the leftover pastry, the handle fell off halfway. It has two places where it's attached to the door, and one of them came unscrewed. The head end of the screw is inside the door, covered with metal, and we can't get to it. Great. But at least the other half was attached, so we could still open the door and get the pie out later. Until Zaylee decided to pull the handle the rest of the way off. Now our oven is inaccessible. That should make it fun to do the dinner rolls later.
We have the dough for the rolls going in the bread machine (yes, I'm a cheater, but at least I shape the dough myself). When the dough is ready, I'll shape it into butterfly shapes. There was a link on Rachel's recipe blog for an article on how to shape dinner rolls. I printed it out and plan to have fun using this guy's tips on making beautiful dinner rolls for tonight. If we can get the oven open.
As for Thomas, we pretty much just gave him the new pacifiers. Bad news with that - he can't stand them. The ones he had (we just threw one away because the rubber nipple was so worn) were Parent's Choice, and we've had them for a while. When we bought the new ones, we realized that Parent's Choice apparently doesn't make the same style anymore, and so we bought some different PC binkies, figuring that since they're the same brand, they'll pretty much be similar enough that Thomas won't mind. Wrong. They are very different. The nipples are much smaller, and apparently quite a bit more slippery, as he can hardly keep them in his mouth. We're debating whether to keep trying to get him accustomed to these, or just go buy some new ones to try and find some he will like.
After our Easter hunt and breakfast, we got busy getting ready for our big family dinner tonight. Jeff and I have been assigned to bring the bread and a pie. Jeff was in charge of the pie crust, while I made the cherry filling (no "open the can, dump in the filling, and bake" for me! I did use canned cherries, but turned them into actual cherry pie filling all on my own). He rolled out the bottom crust and fitted it into the plate, and I did the lattice top. As we baked it, I was extremely grateful that Jeff suggested we bake it set in a large pan lined with foil. The filling was a bit too filling, and spilled profusely out the sides of the pie. That could have been a huge mess! As it is, we have to get the goopy foil unstuck from the bottom of the pan, but at least the oven isn't coated in burnt, gooped-up cherry pie filling.
Oh yeah, the oven. As Jeff opened the oven to take out the little pastry strips he made with the leftover pastry, the handle fell off halfway. It has two places where it's attached to the door, and one of them came unscrewed. The head end of the screw is inside the door, covered with metal, and we can't get to it. Great. But at least the other half was attached, so we could still open the door and get the pie out later. Until Zaylee decided to pull the handle the rest of the way off. Now our oven is inaccessible. That should make it fun to do the dinner rolls later.
We have the dough for the rolls going in the bread machine (yes, I'm a cheater, but at least I shape the dough myself). When the dough is ready, I'll shape it into butterfly shapes. There was a link on Rachel's recipe blog for an article on how to shape dinner rolls. I printed it out and plan to have fun using this guy's tips on making beautiful dinner rolls for tonight. If we can get the oven open.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Random Tag
I was tagged by Michelle for this random tag. The rules are to write 7 totally random facts about yourself, then tag two people. Here goes!
1. I bought short-hair accessories today - small clips, headbands - because all I had before was ponytail holders, which just don't work in my hair anymore.
2. We recently got permission from my brother Owen to use his really nice computer screen while he's on his mission (ours was burnt out and made everything look way dark). Come to find out, he wishes we had just kept his whole computer so he could have an excuse to buy a new one when he gets home - why did we spend all that money to get our own a couple months ago?
3. We just tried the limited edition (at least, I think they're limited edition) Vanilla Creme Hershey's Kisses, and Holy Cow! They are delicious!
4. I think I have a negative sense of fashion. I still have, and wear, a few articles of clothing that I wore in high school - about six years ago. They weren't exactly stylish then, but now they're dark ages.
5. I'm thirsty.
6. Most of my kitchen stuff (crock pots, food processor, silverware, serving spoons and spatulas, baking dishes, pots and pans, etc.) came from Deseret Industries. A few things (bamboo steamer, candy thermometer, pizza stone, cooling racks) I got for free with gift cards.
7. We have four phone books. I don't know why.
I tag Rachel and Calista (and I'm bending the rules here, but Jackie, you're tagged too!)
1. I bought short-hair accessories today - small clips, headbands - because all I had before was ponytail holders, which just don't work in my hair anymore.
2. We recently got permission from my brother Owen to use his really nice computer screen while he's on his mission (ours was burnt out and made everything look way dark). Come to find out, he wishes we had just kept his whole computer so he could have an excuse to buy a new one when he gets home - why did we spend all that money to get our own a couple months ago?
3. We just tried the limited edition (at least, I think they're limited edition) Vanilla Creme Hershey's Kisses, and Holy Cow! They are delicious!
4. I think I have a negative sense of fashion. I still have, and wear, a few articles of clothing that I wore in high school - about six years ago. They weren't exactly stylish then, but now they're dark ages.
5. I'm thirsty.
6. Most of my kitchen stuff (crock pots, food processor, silverware, serving spoons and spatulas, baking dishes, pots and pans, etc.) came from Deseret Industries. A few things (bamboo steamer, candy thermometer, pizza stone, cooling racks) I got for free with gift cards.
7. We have four phone books. I don't know why.
I tag Rachel and Calista (and I'm bending the rules here, but Jackie, you're tagged too!)
Pic of the Day #28
Haulin' in the Booty
Here's all the stuff we got for our Easter baskets - Jeff's lunch box, my ramekins, Zaylee's chalk, and Thomas' binkies. We'll put candy in/on each gift and hide them really well. Well, Thomas' will be "hidden" in plain sight on the floor or something, and Zaylee's will be in some obvious place in the toybox or something, but Jeff and I will hide each others' really good.Our Big Shopping Trip
Jeff didn't have any classes today (he was supposed to have a lab, but it was canceled). We decided to get out of the house and have a big shopping trip. The first thing we did was go to the mall. We looked at the birds and the puppies at the pet store, then paid a visit to the Burlington Coat Factory. This was my favorite part of the day. *Any males in the room please exit or stop reading* I bought nursing bras - yay!! I've been losing weight and getting smaller, so my nursing bras have been getting looser and looser, and the support I need has just been nonexistent. So I've been wanting to get newer, smaller bras. At the Burlington Coat Factory, they had them on sale, and I got 2 for $7.99 and one for $9.99. Great price, especially for nursing bras! So I was excited about that.
After the Coat Factory, we took a break to have some granola bars, and I nursed Thomas. It was about 3:00, and due to a late breakfast, we hadn't had lunch yet. When we were done we headed over to Wal-Mart. I wanted to spend more time at the mall, but we needed to get our shopping done at Wal-Mart so we could get home and get dinner in a timely manner.
I really like the idea of Easter Baskets done in the same manner as the Hiatts - Annette, Rachel, etc. So we're doing those special Easter Baskets this year, and bought those today while we were shopping. We decided this kind of last minute, so there's not really any secrecy between Jeff and I about what we got each other. Jeff is getting a lunch box/cooler thing that he can take to class, so he can bring a big enough lunch that will fill him up. He's been needing something like that for a while. I'm getting four 4-oz. ramekins so I can make yummy fancy desserts in them. Ramekins have been on my "want-to-get-this-for-my-kitchen-sometime" list for a while now. Zaylee's getting a little bucket of sidewalk chalk, and Thomas is getting new pacifiers, because his are wearing out. Even though we all pretty much know what we're getting, we'll have fun hiding each others' baskets really well.
Another fun purchase we made today was cloth training pants for Zaylee. I'm going to start her wearing those instead of diapers, taking her training to the next step. Wish us luck on that!
One thing I didn't buy today was diapers for Thomas. It hit me today as I went to change his diaper that we are going through these diapers way too fast!! The cost is prohibitive, even though we buy the cheap-o diapers. So we've decided to have him in cloth diapers, at least for a while, to save some money. Michelle gave us lots of cloth diaper supplies that we never took advantage of, but I pulled them out today, and am pleased with these particular diapers and covers. We put Zaylee in cloth diapers for quite a while, and though it saved money, I really didn't care for it. We didn't get prefolded diapers (the ones Michelle gave us are prefolded - so much nicer!). Plus the plastic-y covers from Michelle are much nicer; they have Velcro and I can put them on in much the same way as a disposable diaper. Another difference between now and then is our method of storing the used diapers until we can wash them. We have a big lidded bucket specifically for this purpose. With Zaylee, we filled it with lightly bleached water, and plunged the wet and dirty diapers into that water. It started to smell bad after only a couple days, and when it was full, we'd have to dump out the water and wring out the diapers and then launder them - Gross! But since then I have learned a much better way of doing it. Now I just put the diapers into the pail, no water, and sprinkle baking soda over the diaper each time to control odor. So far, it's working (and smelling) much better. Anyway, I don't know how long we'll do the cloth diaper thing this time, but I'm glad we're doing it. I just shudder every time we have to buy a box of diapers, because they cost so much!
After the Coat Factory, we took a break to have some granola bars, and I nursed Thomas. It was about 3:00, and due to a late breakfast, we hadn't had lunch yet. When we were done we headed over to Wal-Mart. I wanted to spend more time at the mall, but we needed to get our shopping done at Wal-Mart so we could get home and get dinner in a timely manner.
I really like the idea of Easter Baskets done in the same manner as the Hiatts - Annette, Rachel, etc. So we're doing those special Easter Baskets this year, and bought those today while we were shopping. We decided this kind of last minute, so there's not really any secrecy between Jeff and I about what we got each other. Jeff is getting a lunch box/cooler thing that he can take to class, so he can bring a big enough lunch that will fill him up. He's been needing something like that for a while. I'm getting four 4-oz. ramekins so I can make yummy fancy desserts in them. Ramekins have been on my "want-to-get-this-for-my-kitchen-sometime" list for a while now. Zaylee's getting a little bucket of sidewalk chalk, and Thomas is getting new pacifiers, because his are wearing out. Even though we all pretty much know what we're getting, we'll have fun hiding each others' baskets really well.
Another fun purchase we made today was cloth training pants for Zaylee. I'm going to start her wearing those instead of diapers, taking her training to the next step. Wish us luck on that!
One thing I didn't buy today was diapers for Thomas. It hit me today as I went to change his diaper that we are going through these diapers way too fast!! The cost is prohibitive, even though we buy the cheap-o diapers. So we've decided to have him in cloth diapers, at least for a while, to save some money. Michelle gave us lots of cloth diaper supplies that we never took advantage of, but I pulled them out today, and am pleased with these particular diapers and covers. We put Zaylee in cloth diapers for quite a while, and though it saved money, I really didn't care for it. We didn't get prefolded diapers (the ones Michelle gave us are prefolded - so much nicer!). Plus the plastic-y covers from Michelle are much nicer; they have Velcro and I can put them on in much the same way as a disposable diaper. Another difference between now and then is our method of storing the used diapers until we can wash them. We have a big lidded bucket specifically for this purpose. With Zaylee, we filled it with lightly bleached water, and plunged the wet and dirty diapers into that water. It started to smell bad after only a couple days, and when it was full, we'd have to dump out the water and wring out the diapers and then launder them - Gross! But since then I have learned a much better way of doing it. Now I just put the diapers into the pail, no water, and sprinkle baking soda over the diaper each time to control odor. So far, it's working (and smelling) much better. Anyway, I don't know how long we'll do the cloth diaper thing this time, but I'm glad we're doing it. I just shudder every time we have to buy a box of diapers, because they cost so much!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
In the Leafy Treetops...
As I lay in bed this morning trying to decide whether to finish waking up or go back to sleep, my reverie was interrupted by Zaylee, emitting a series of happy, high-pitched squeaks, squawks, and squeals. I was going to go in and scold her for being so noisy so early in the morning (8:00, the nerve!), when I listened more closely. I realized she was merely mimicking the cheerful chirping of birds outside. Spring is here, and Zaylee was singing along with those who considered it their duty to inform us of its approach. Who could be mad at that?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pic of the Day #27
Well Looky Here!!
Zaylee wanted to hold Thomas on her lap today, so I sat her down and let 'em have fun. I have pictures of her looking tenderly down at him, one or two of him pulling her hair, but I thought this one topped them all for sheer goofiness.
Zaylee wanted to hold Thomas on her lap today, so I sat her down and let 'em have fun. I have pictures of her looking tenderly down at him, one or two of him pulling her hair, but I thought this one topped them all for sheer goofiness.Rain, Rain, Go Away!
The past two or three days the weather has been dreary. Lots of drizzly rain, clouds, very little sunshine. We've had the full range - from tiny sprinkles to light drizzle, to all-out rain, like what's going on right now. Why do I bother opening my nice, new curtains at all, if that's all I'm going to see? On the plus side, the grass and plants in our little yard are getting nice and green. We've got what looks like some flowers coming in. They haven't done anything remotely like blooming yet, but Mom says it looks like they could be tulips.
Last night went much better; I got more sleep than I have for a long time. Zaylee slept all night, no waking up. Thomas ate at 9:30, and I got to bed at 10:30, about an hour or so earlier than usual. He proceeded to sleep until 5 in the morning. After that feeding, I had a hard time getting back to sleep, I think simply because my body isn't used to getting long periods of sleep. Then we all slept until about 8:30, at which time I was able to get up fairly easily, without feeling like I still needed several hours more sleep. Nice! I hope nights like last night become much more frequent.
Last night went much better; I got more sleep than I have for a long time. Zaylee slept all night, no waking up. Thomas ate at 9:30, and I got to bed at 10:30, about an hour or so earlier than usual. He proceeded to sleep until 5 in the morning. After that feeding, I had a hard time getting back to sleep, I think simply because my body isn't used to getting long periods of sleep. Then we all slept until about 8:30, at which time I was able to get up fairly easily, without feeling like I still needed several hours more sleep. Nice! I hope nights like last night become much more frequent.
The Purse Tag
Rachel had a tag on her blog about what was in her purse, and I thought I'd do it too. I too don't carry a purse, so here are the current contents of my free, hospital-issue, uninterestingly black diaper bag.
Flap pocket - keys on key chain with my force multiplier (that mean-looking metal stick); a purple pen; stamps that we just bought that feature American Scientists.
Front pocket - small calculator, useful for comparing prices at the grocery store.
Main pocket - 3 Zaylee diapers; 3 Thomas diapers; changing pad; small container of wet wipes; small personals bag containing mirror, lotion, and two lip glosses.
Inner pocket - WIC folder; wallet; WIC appointment information sheet; 2 Wal-Mart receipts, from sometime recently (these usually end up in my wallet, but not always); granola bar; checkbook for my personal account that I never use; Thomas' shot records, because carrying them all the time is easier than remembering to put them in the bag every time we have a Dr. or WIC appointment; black pen.
Anyone else want to be tagged? Go for it!
Flap pocket - keys on key chain with my force multiplier (that mean-looking metal stick); a purple pen; stamps that we just bought that feature American Scientists.
Front pocket - small calculator, useful for comparing prices at the grocery store.
Main pocket - 3 Zaylee diapers; 3 Thomas diapers; changing pad; small container of wet wipes; small personals bag containing mirror, lotion, and two lip glosses.
Inner pocket - WIC folder; wallet; WIC appointment information sheet; 2 Wal-Mart receipts, from sometime recently (these usually end up in my wallet, but not always); granola bar; checkbook for my personal account that I never use; Thomas' shot records, because carrying them all the time is easier than remembering to put them in the bag every time we have a Dr. or WIC appointment; black pen.
Anyone else want to be tagged? Go for it!
What was in the Cupboard?
Shh, the baby doll's sleeping...
And you all thought it was a wet diaper! Zaylee's not that malicious!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Pic of the Day #26
Beginnings of a Garden
We went shopping this evening and bought gardening stuff and seeds. We have some ground at our apartment, and some that Mom and Dad will probably let us use at their house, so we will put it to good use. I'm especially excited about the herbs - I've never been able to cook with fresh herbs before, and I think I'll love it!
Terrible night
Last night was absolutely awful. In fact, it seems lately that every night is awful. I still haven't gotten adjusted to daylight savings, and go to bed around 11, sometimes later. Thomas wakes up to eat about that time, so I feed him, then go to bed. Here's how last night went (and most of my nights lately have been going something like this):
10:30 - Thomas wakes up to eat. I feed him, then go to bed. I don't fall asleep right away, as I never do.
Around 11:30-12 - I finally fall asleep.
1:30 - Zaylee wakes up sobbing. I go in to comfort her. As soon as I come in, Thomas wakes up, so I flip on the lamp to find his binky, comfort him and put him back down, and Zaylee crawls back in bed. Tentatively, I leave to go back to bed myself.
1:35 - I realize that my stomach hurts. Nausea is very hard to try to sleep through. But I shut my eyes and try anyway.
1:40 - Thomas is crying. I plug my ears and hope it stops. I still feel sick.
2:00 - After a while of not sleeping because I have my fingers in my ears, I unplug them and realize that both kids are wailing. I wake up Jeff.
2:05 - Jeff soothes Zaylee, I soothe Thomas. They finally seem ready to go down, so we leave and, again tentatively, go back to bed. As soon as I lay down, my stomach hurts again.
Between 2:10 and 3 - I can't sleep. I'm listening for the inevitable cries of wakeful children. I almost hope that I will throw up. If I'm throwing up, I can't be expected to soothe a crying child, can I? Right?
4:30 - Zaylee wakes up, whimpers loudly, then goes back to sleep. I'm stuck wide awake again. Stomach hurts.
6:35 - Jeff's alarm goes off. He turns it off, goes back to sleep, and leaves me awake. Again. My stomach is starting to feel better, but not much.
7:00 - Jeff finally gets up, which wakes me up after I've finally been able to doze off again. He goes about getting ready to go to class, keeping me awake.
7:30 - Jeff leaves for class. I get ready to be able to sleep. Thomas starts crying. Why can't I just get sick and take the day off?
7:35 - I feed Thomas, put him back to bed, and go back to sleep.
Between 8 and 10 - the kids wake, cry, go back to sleep, wake again, play, cry, etc. I drift in and out of consciousness. Finally at a little after 10, I force myself to drag out of bed. It takes two or three tries to do this. We start the day. Ironically, my stomach now feels better.
Another irony: Despite getting up 11 hours after going to bed, and Thomas going 8 hours between feedings, I still feel like I got almost no sleep at all.
This was one of those nights that elicits that dreaded outburst: "I hate being a mom! Can't I just stop?"
10:30 - Thomas wakes up to eat. I feed him, then go to bed. I don't fall asleep right away, as I never do.
Around 11:30-12 - I finally fall asleep.
1:30 - Zaylee wakes up sobbing. I go in to comfort her. As soon as I come in, Thomas wakes up, so I flip on the lamp to find his binky, comfort him and put him back down, and Zaylee crawls back in bed. Tentatively, I leave to go back to bed myself.
1:35 - I realize that my stomach hurts. Nausea is very hard to try to sleep through. But I shut my eyes and try anyway.
1:40 - Thomas is crying. I plug my ears and hope it stops. I still feel sick.
2:00 - After a while of not sleeping because I have my fingers in my ears, I unplug them and realize that both kids are wailing. I wake up Jeff.
2:05 - Jeff soothes Zaylee, I soothe Thomas. They finally seem ready to go down, so we leave and, again tentatively, go back to bed. As soon as I lay down, my stomach hurts again.
Between 2:10 and 3 - I can't sleep. I'm listening for the inevitable cries of wakeful children. I almost hope that I will throw up. If I'm throwing up, I can't be expected to soothe a crying child, can I? Right?
4:30 - Zaylee wakes up, whimpers loudly, then goes back to sleep. I'm stuck wide awake again. Stomach hurts.
6:35 - Jeff's alarm goes off. He turns it off, goes back to sleep, and leaves me awake. Again. My stomach is starting to feel better, but not much.
7:00 - Jeff finally gets up, which wakes me up after I've finally been able to doze off again. He goes about getting ready to go to class, keeping me awake.
7:30 - Jeff leaves for class. I get ready to be able to sleep. Thomas starts crying. Why can't I just get sick and take the day off?
7:35 - I feed Thomas, put him back to bed, and go back to sleep.
Between 8 and 10 - the kids wake, cry, go back to sleep, wake again, play, cry, etc. I drift in and out of consciousness. Finally at a little after 10, I force myself to drag out of bed. It takes two or three tries to do this. We start the day. Ironically, my stomach now feels better.
Another irony: Despite getting up 11 hours after going to bed, and Thomas going 8 hours between feedings, I still feel like I got almost no sleep at all.
This was one of those nights that elicits that dreaded outburst: "I hate being a mom! Can't I just stop?"
Monday, March 17, 2008
Paddy's Day Update
The corned beef and cabbage turned out so yummy. Jeff put in a whole head of cabbage, so there was a LOT of cabbage, but that's okay, we'll have the extra veggies and broth as soup tomorrow. We served it all on the beautiful platter Mom and Dad gave us for Christmas. We like fancy serving like that. Zaylee could not get enough of the corned beef or the potatoes. She probably had the equivalent of an entire potato, she just kept eating it and eating it. She did alright with the carrots, but wouldn't touch the cabbage. I got her to try a tiny bite by telling her it was bunny food and she was a bunny, but she didn't really fall for that after actually tasting the cabbage. Oh well, the fact that she ate everything else so well makes up for not wanting cabbage. When I was her age, I probably wouldn't eat cabbage either.
Here is Zaylee's picture that she colored for Uncle Owen, or Uncle Elder Danes as I wrote it for her to color. She had fun with it, as she always enjoys coloring.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Happy Wear-Green-Stuff Day, all! Zaylee must have some secret intuition or something. As I let her choose what to wear this morning, the first thing she pulled out was a bright green vest with a flower on it - how did she know? That of course reminded me that I needed to put on something green too. I think Thomas is the only one that didn't end up wearing green, but he doesn't seem to mind.
I wanted to make Irish Soda Bread for breakfast, but it was a bit late, Zaylee was hungry, and the bread would take about an hour. So instead we just had cereal, and I started the bread after breakfast. We ended up having it for lunch instead, with butter and freezer peach jam - yum!
Zaylee has learned that when watching a movie, it's more fun to dance during the songs than to just sit still. So, especially with VeggieTales, anytime a song starts, she jumps up and starts twirling and jumping and laughing. Sometimes I'll jump up and start dancing too, and she thinks it's so fun. I have fun too. This way I don't feel so guilty about letting her watch so many VeggieTales movies (she's already watched two today) - at least she's being active!
I have a fun FHE planned for this evening. Jeff and I will put together a letter for Owen. I'll draw some pictures for Zaylee to color for him. Once will say "I love my Uncle Elder Danes!" or something like that. We'll send them to him once we get out and buy some stamps (we ran out with our last bunch of bills we had to send). And we can talk about the importance of missionary work and supporting the missionaries.
I'm so excited for dinner tonight. We're having the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage, with more Irish Soda Bread. We have the corned beef on the stove right now, boiling and smelling so good! I love corned beef served with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
I just looked at the time. I need to get Thomas up from his nap and feed him. Sometimes he sleeps too much during the day and is awake half the night. Don't want that!!
I wanted to make Irish Soda Bread for breakfast, but it was a bit late, Zaylee was hungry, and the bread would take about an hour. So instead we just had cereal, and I started the bread after breakfast. We ended up having it for lunch instead, with butter and freezer peach jam - yum!
Zaylee has learned that when watching a movie, it's more fun to dance during the songs than to just sit still. So, especially with VeggieTales, anytime a song starts, she jumps up and starts twirling and jumping and laughing. Sometimes I'll jump up and start dancing too, and she thinks it's so fun. I have fun too. This way I don't feel so guilty about letting her watch so many VeggieTales movies (she's already watched two today) - at least she's being active!
I have a fun FHE planned for this evening. Jeff and I will put together a letter for Owen. I'll draw some pictures for Zaylee to color for him. Once will say "I love my Uncle Elder Danes!" or something like that. We'll send them to him once we get out and buy some stamps (we ran out with our last bunch of bills we had to send). And we can talk about the importance of missionary work and supporting the missionaries.
I'm so excited for dinner tonight. We're having the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage, with more Irish Soda Bread. We have the corned beef on the stove right now, boiling and smelling so good! I love corned beef served with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
I just looked at the time. I need to get Thomas up from his nap and feed him. Sometimes he sleeps too much during the day and is awake half the night. Don't want that!!
Pic of the Day #25
Here is the finished toilet lid cover. I didn't end up cross-stitching anything on it, I just wanted it to be done. It fits the lid nice and tight, and looks okay, plus I was able to make it with some stash yarn I already had, so it was cheap.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
More Fun Faces
I captured some really funny pictures of the kids making faces. I was attempting to get this one face in particular that Thomas makes frequently. The one I wanted is the third picture down, but I really liked lots of the other faces I got too. I love the faces babies make!
Zaylee saw me taking pictures and wanted to get in on the action. She's got some fun faces too.
Zaylee saw me taking pictures and wanted to get in on the action. She's got some fun faces too.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Yay for Poopies!
Yeah, that's a weird title for a post. But it's exciting for us, because Zaylee pooped in her potty for the first time today. Poop is a strange thing to be excited about, or to write a post about. But every little step she makes is a step in the right direction!
Pic of the Day #24
I haven't been crocheting much lately, but decided to pick up the yarn and hook again. Our toilet lid cover is old and falling apart. The rubber backing is flaking off and getting all over the toilet, which is just gross. So I threw away the old cover. I really like having a cover on the toilet lid, so I started crocheting a new one. This, to me, is better than spending $8 on a new one at Wal-Mart. I think I'll cross-stitch something colorful in the center when I'm done, to make it a little brighter and more interesting. Anyway, it's off to a good start and should be done soon. I'll post a picture of the finished product when it's, well, finished.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Stuff on the Kids
This is just a little post to let everyone know how the kids are doing, growing, fun stuff they've learned, milestones reached, etc.
-Thomas' rash has completely cleared and he is back to his usual cheerful self. Right now he's playing by himself on the floor, something he wouldn't do at all while he wasn't feeling well. Glad to have him back!
-Thomas has had his two bottom teeth for quite a while now. On Thursday the two top ones made their entrance. At the same time. Considering, I think that breaking these two teeth at once wasn't as much of a nightmare as it could have been. He didn't cry at night any more than usual.
-A couple weeks ago Thomas started crawling for real, up on his hands and knees. He will still do his pull-flop thing every once in a while, when he wants to get somewhere fast. But he is getting better and better at real crawling, so resorts to flopping less and less often. I'm glad he's learning, but I'll miss that little flop.
-We're still working on the potty stuff with Zaylee. I haven't been pushing her to perform on the potty. But she's learning that it's a good thing to actually get something in the little bowl. This morning I kept asking her if she was done with potty time, and she kept saying no. After sitting on the potty much longer than I usually have her sit, she finally got up and ran off to her room, her little bottom totally bare, so she could get dressed. When I checked, she had peed in the potty. She just sat there until she knew she was done, then got up on her own. Now that she's figured out how to actually produce something, though it may take a while, I'm going to try to encourage her to go more frequently throughout the day, and maybe get her to let me know when she needs to pee. Things are progressing well in this area.
-Thomas is getting some object permanence knowledge. Zaylee likes to hide in the kitchen cupboards, as was evidenced by the poll I did earlier. Thomas will follow her into the kitchen, then try to open the cupboard after she climbs in. He knows she's in there and he wants to play with her!
-Zaylee has taken a liking to hiding behind a corner and repeatedly poking her head out and saying "Boo!" She'll do this over and over again, even when there's no one there to peek out at.
-Zaylee has decided she likes to help set the table. When it's mealtime, she'll open the fridge and start grabbing foods to take to the table. This afternoon she set the table for lunch with ketchup and string cheese (we were having leftover enchiladas from last night). I've found she does better if I hand her things to take to the table, instead of letting her grab whatever. It's so great that she wants to help, and really cute to watch her try to carry stuff that may be a bit too heavy for her! I'm definitely trying to encourage her in this newfound helpfulness.
-She is also very sweet and empathetic. If she thinks you have an "owie" she'll kiss it better for you. One of her favorite new phrases is "Whatsa matter?" She gives hugs and kisses to Thomas when he cries. What a sweetheart!
-Thomas' rash has completely cleared and he is back to his usual cheerful self. Right now he's playing by himself on the floor, something he wouldn't do at all while he wasn't feeling well. Glad to have him back!
-Thomas has had his two bottom teeth for quite a while now. On Thursday the two top ones made their entrance. At the same time. Considering, I think that breaking these two teeth at once wasn't as much of a nightmare as it could have been. He didn't cry at night any more than usual.
-A couple weeks ago Thomas started crawling for real, up on his hands and knees. He will still do his pull-flop thing every once in a while, when he wants to get somewhere fast. But he is getting better and better at real crawling, so resorts to flopping less and less often. I'm glad he's learning, but I'll miss that little flop.
-We're still working on the potty stuff with Zaylee. I haven't been pushing her to perform on the potty. But she's learning that it's a good thing to actually get something in the little bowl. This morning I kept asking her if she was done with potty time, and she kept saying no. After sitting on the potty much longer than I usually have her sit, she finally got up and ran off to her room, her little bottom totally bare, so she could get dressed. When I checked, she had peed in the potty. She just sat there until she knew she was done, then got up on her own. Now that she's figured out how to actually produce something, though it may take a while, I'm going to try to encourage her to go more frequently throughout the day, and maybe get her to let me know when she needs to pee. Things are progressing well in this area.
-Thomas is getting some object permanence knowledge. Zaylee likes to hide in the kitchen cupboards, as was evidenced by the poll I did earlier. Thomas will follow her into the kitchen, then try to open the cupboard after she climbs in. He knows she's in there and he wants to play with her!
-Zaylee has taken a liking to hiding behind a corner and repeatedly poking her head out and saying "Boo!" She'll do this over and over again, even when there's no one there to peek out at.
-Zaylee has decided she likes to help set the table. When it's mealtime, she'll open the fridge and start grabbing foods to take to the table. This afternoon she set the table for lunch with ketchup and string cheese (we were having leftover enchiladas from last night). I've found she does better if I hand her things to take to the table, instead of letting her grab whatever. It's so great that she wants to help, and really cute to watch her try to carry stuff that may be a bit too heavy for her! I'm definitely trying to encourage her in this newfound helpfulness.
-She is also very sweet and empathetic. If she thinks you have an "owie" she'll kiss it better for you. One of her favorite new phrases is "Whatsa matter?" She gives hugs and kisses to Thomas when he cries. What a sweetheart!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pic of the Day #23
This is a picture of the enchiladas I made tonight. They were so yummy I had to post the recipe on my Fun Foods blog, and the picture here.
Today has been pretty long. We went over to Mom's house to do laundry. Jeff only stayed for a little while. He had a test today at 3, and wanted to leave at 12 so he could get there and do some serious studying. His lab / test goes from 3 until 6. Then he had the evening shift on the job shadowing, from 7 to 8:30. So he's pretty much been gone all day, and won't get back until about 9:30 tonight. That's alright. The kids have been pretty good, and will go to bed shortly. I got the laundry done in less time than usual. Our darks load was very small, so only had to go through the dryer once instead of two times (the dryer is pretty pathetic. Most loads have to go through twice, and it takes forever). I made some great enchiladas for dinner with our leftover roast beef. The recipe's on my food blog in case anyone's interested. The kids will go down for bed soon, and then I can get to work cleaning up the living room (no use trying while they're awake; they get everything out again right away), and doing the dishes. I'd like to have the place looking nice for Jeff when he gets home. He's probably had a much harder day than I have, and it would be nice for him to be able to come home to a clean apartment - here's hoping!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A Busy Day
This morning I was finally able to get my package mailed out to Owen. He was recently transferred, so I had to wait until we found out his new address. Once I called Mom and got the address, Zaylee and I went off to the UPS store. Zaylee was very helpful, insisting on carrying the box into the store for me. She's such a big girl. I hope that it gets there quickly. There's brownies and a loaf of bread, and I would feel so terrible if they got there and were stale! Well, I've sent him stuff before and it's gotten there okay. It's just that this time, it was all packed and ready to go, but I had to wait a day or two to send it. Anyway, it was nice to get out and have a little outing with Zaylee. The weather was beautiful, all we needed was a light jacket.
This afternoon Michelle called. Somehow we seem to be able to get more done while talking with each other. She cleaned out the boys' room and fixed dinner, and I did some more unpacking. We've had several boxes stacked in our bedroom waiting for some attention, but I haven't done anything with them. But today while talking with Michelle, I went through four or five boxes, and whittled it down to two boxes, now settled nicely in the closet. The rest of the stuff is either out where we can use it, or thrown away. That felt good. It's always nice to lighten the load, throwing away things that you really don't need and were just keeping out of habit. There are still several boxes left to go through, but the pile is much less formidable, and easier to get around.
While Jeff gave Zaylee potty time this evening, I cleaned up in the kids' room. I need to go through the toy box in there, and the one in the living room. I know they don't play with all the toys, and I can totally donate or throw away at least half of the toys we have, so I'll go through and do that soon. Not tomorrow, because it's laundry day and we'll be at Mom's house all day. But I will do it soon. After putting the kids to bed, Jeff and I cleaned up the living room too, so that looks nice. So now our room, the kids' room, and the living room have been cleaned up and are looking pretty good. Unfortunately, the kitchen is in sore need of some attention. I did a few dishes before dinner, so we could have dinner, but there are still lots more that need done, and the counters and stove are in a sorry state. I'm hoping Jeff will valiantly volunteer to do all the work and let me relax.
This afternoon Michelle called. Somehow we seem to be able to get more done while talking with each other. She cleaned out the boys' room and fixed dinner, and I did some more unpacking. We've had several boxes stacked in our bedroom waiting for some attention, but I haven't done anything with them. But today while talking with Michelle, I went through four or five boxes, and whittled it down to two boxes, now settled nicely in the closet. The rest of the stuff is either out where we can use it, or thrown away. That felt good. It's always nice to lighten the load, throwing away things that you really don't need and were just keeping out of habit. There are still several boxes left to go through, but the pile is much less formidable, and easier to get around.
While Jeff gave Zaylee potty time this evening, I cleaned up in the kids' room. I need to go through the toy box in there, and the one in the living room. I know they don't play with all the toys, and I can totally donate or throw away at least half of the toys we have, so I'll go through and do that soon. Not tomorrow, because it's laundry day and we'll be at Mom's house all day. But I will do it soon. After putting the kids to bed, Jeff and I cleaned up the living room too, so that looks nice. So now our room, the kids' room, and the living room have been cleaned up and are looking pretty good. Unfortunately, the kitchen is in sore need of some attention. I did a few dishes before dinner, so we could have dinner, but there are still lots more that need done, and the counters and stove are in a sorry state. I'm hoping Jeff will valiantly volunteer to do all the work and let me relax.
Pic of the Day #22
This morning as I was getting Zaylee ready, I asked Jeff to "get Thomas a new diaper and put some clothes on him." And so he did.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Day in Pictures
I decided to take pictures of my day, like Rachel and Melinda did a while back. My day starts a little after ten, because Jeff stayed home today and I got to sleep in.
At about 10:15/10:20, the camera found Zaylee playing in the living room, Thomas playing in the kids' bedroom, and Jeff working on an exam online. I was eating breakfast and did not find that to be picture-worthy.
At quarter after 11, the kids were watching a movie together. Well actually, Zaylee was watching the movie, and Thomas was romancing Mommy and the camera. I was conversing with Mom on the phone. I needed to find out Owen's mailing address so I could send him some brownies and bread. Come to find out, he was just transferred, and we won't find out his new address until tomorrow. So I'll send them then. Jeff was still working on that exam.
Between 11 and 12, Jeff and I put together a pot roast to cook in the crockpot. Actually, it's Michelle's garlic and herb-crusted roast from her recipe blog, but we decided to do it in the crockpot instead of the oven, because Jeff loves slow-cooked roast. So, at 12:15, the pot was simmering and there was a great fragrance throughout the apartment. There's a plate on the pot because we broke the lid. The plate works for now until we can figure something else out. Thomas was taking a nap, and Jeff was taking a break from his exam, reading a book and enjoying a cup of cocoa.
1:15 - Lunch time! We had sandwiches, with all the fixin's. Zaylee was especially excited to eat, as is evidenced by her facial expression.
After lunch, Jeff got back to working on his exam, and was still at it at 2:20. Thomas woke up from his nap around lunchtime, so wasn't ready to go back down for another one. He just hung out, crawled around, and had a good time. The door knob is attached to the door that I dared not open at 2:20, because behind it, Zaylee was sleeping. Her naps have been rather hit-and-miss lately. She was actually sleeping today, so I didn't want to risk waking her up. Hence, the door knob I didn't dare turn.
Jeff took these pictures. I took a nap.
At quarter after four, Zaylee was finally up from her nap, though still a bit groggy. I started doing my hair, having slept in it wet last night. I wouldn't have bothered, but our Relief Society was having its RS birthday celebration this evening, so I wanted to look nice. Jeff, finally done with his exam, decided to unwind by playing a computer game. Those UFO aliens don't stand a chance against the Mighty Jeff!
I had to get to the church building early to help decorate the cultural hall. The roast was just about finished, but I didn't get to eat any until we were done with the decorating (It's a bit green because of the herb rub we put on it - yum!). The bag is one that I don't normally get to use. I crocheted it, and it's not really sturdy enough to hold up as a diaper bag. But I was excited to get to use it tonight, since I was leaving the kids, and all their gear, at home. Thomas was excited that I was holding him. Little did he know I was about to leave for the bulk of the evening.
6:25 found me at the cultural hall, finishing up decorations for the party. We put up balloons all over. The flowers were in a vase up front. I was the one who put them in the vase and made sure they were arranged so as to look nice. The cakes just looked so good, I had to get a picture of them!
I didn't take any pictures at 7:15. We were in the middle of the program, and it wouldn't have been appropriate to suddenly start snapping pictures. But it was a really good program, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the other sisters in the ward.
At right around 8:15, the program finished, and we all got to start snacking! We had veggie trays, cheese and cracker trays, and of course the beautiful cakes. I had a nice big piece of the white cake (as for my diet, at times like these I just sigh, think 'well, that was yummy,' and resolve to do better tomorrow!).
Nine-fifteen - the apartment is a mess, the dishes aren't washed, and Jeff is (still?) playing on the computer. I had a great evening, and instead of buckling down and cleaning up, I kick Jeff off the computer and BLOG!! The cleaning can wait.
At about 10:15/10:20, the camera found Zaylee playing in the living room, Thomas playing in the kids' bedroom, and Jeff working on an exam online. I was eating breakfast and did not find that to be picture-worthy.
At quarter after 11, the kids were watching a movie together. Well actually, Zaylee was watching the movie, and Thomas was romancing Mommy and the camera. I was conversing with Mom on the phone. I needed to find out Owen's mailing address so I could send him some brownies and bread. Come to find out, he was just transferred, and we won't find out his new address until tomorrow. So I'll send them then. Jeff was still working on that exam.
Between 11 and 12, Jeff and I put together a pot roast to cook in the crockpot. Actually, it's Michelle's garlic and herb-crusted roast from her recipe blog, but we decided to do it in the crockpot instead of the oven, because Jeff loves slow-cooked roast. So, at 12:15, the pot was simmering and there was a great fragrance throughout the apartment. There's a plate on the pot because we broke the lid. The plate works for now until we can figure something else out. Thomas was taking a nap, and Jeff was taking a break from his exam, reading a book and enjoying a cup of cocoa.
1:15 - Lunch time! We had sandwiches, with all the fixin's. Zaylee was especially excited to eat, as is evidenced by her facial expression.
After lunch, Jeff got back to working on his exam, and was still at it at 2:20. Thomas woke up from his nap around lunchtime, so wasn't ready to go back down for another one. He just hung out, crawled around, and had a good time. The door knob is attached to the door that I dared not open at 2:20, because behind it, Zaylee was sleeping. Her naps have been rather hit-and-miss lately. She was actually sleeping today, so I didn't want to risk waking her up. Hence, the door knob I didn't dare turn.
Jeff took these pictures. I took a nap.
At quarter after four, Zaylee was finally up from her nap, though still a bit groggy. I started doing my hair, having slept in it wet last night. I wouldn't have bothered, but our Relief Society was having its RS birthday celebration this evening, so I wanted to look nice. Jeff, finally done with his exam, decided to unwind by playing a computer game. Those UFO aliens don't stand a chance against the Mighty Jeff!
I had to get to the church building early to help decorate the cultural hall. The roast was just about finished, but I didn't get to eat any until we were done with the decorating (It's a bit green because of the herb rub we put on it - yum!). The bag is one that I don't normally get to use. I crocheted it, and it's not really sturdy enough to hold up as a diaper bag. But I was excited to get to use it tonight, since I was leaving the kids, and all their gear, at home. Thomas was excited that I was holding him. Little did he know I was about to leave for the bulk of the evening.
6:25 found me at the cultural hall, finishing up decorations for the party. We put up balloons all over. The flowers were in a vase up front. I was the one who put them in the vase and made sure they were arranged so as to look nice. The cakes just looked so good, I had to get a picture of them!I didn't take any pictures at 7:15. We were in the middle of the program, and it wouldn't have been appropriate to suddenly start snapping pictures. But it was a really good program, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the other sisters in the ward.
At right around 8:15, the program finished, and we all got to start snacking! We had veggie trays, cheese and cracker trays, and of course the beautiful cakes. I had a nice big piece of the white cake (as for my diet, at times like these I just sigh, think 'well, that was yummy,' and resolve to do better tomorrow!).
Nine-fifteen - the apartment is a mess, the dishes aren't washed, and Jeff is (still?) playing on the computer. I had a great evening, and instead of buckling down and cleaning up, I kick Jeff off the computer and BLOG!! The cleaning can wait.
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