Chocolate

Tonight, we made chocolate cookies (brownie cookies, to be exact) and then I decided that wasn't enough chocolate. I brought out my chocolate tempering unit and decided to dip those babies in chocolate! They became chocolate covered brownie cookies. YUM!

Little Texan Riya

Yesterday, I made Riya this dress from one of my old shirts. She was so excited to wear it today to church and she even got to wear her new boots with it! She has been working really hard to earn those boots with her tickets and this morning, she finally got them!  Look how cute my little (former) Texan is. :)

The Library

My kids love going to the library! Today we went as a family and got a lot of books. John finally got a library card and he checked out some books on various science things for him and Jayden to work on together. They both love that sort of stuff so it works out nicely. Riya has decided that she likes Fancy Nancy books. Emma just likes to walk as fast as she can all around the whole library. This little statue is in front of the children's section and Riya can't resist sitting on the bench to talk to them. Jayden wanted to pretend he was reading the book with them. :)
He is doing better today. Yesterday was a little rough again and he stayed home from school. We are hoping the weekend will help him recover for Monday.
He and John got their hair cut today and I decided to cut Jay's super short - as you can see! Riya thinks he looks "silly"! She makes it a point to tell John that too everyday since he shaved his facial hair. She must like them hairy. :)

Friday Night with Friday Night Lights

I love Netflix. It has saved us a lot of money and has given us a lot of entertainment. I began watching Friday Night Lights because it had all four seasons on it (currently, the fifth and final season is on TV). Tonight, I finished season three and began season four.
When I first heard about this show, I wasn't very interested in it but when I saw it on Netflix, I decided to try it. I was hooked pretty quickly. It has made me realize how much of a Texan I truly am. It captures the Texas craze for high school football so perfectly that I kind of miss it. I enjoy watching this show, late at night when John is playing his game online and the kids are in bed, and have some Texas indulgence.
In some ways, I really miss that place. I guess I'm really a Texan at heart.
*sigh*

Onions for Ears

Jayden is having ear problems again! Ever since he was a baby, he's had ear problems. In December, he had what we thought was a ruptured ear drum but when we took him to the doctor, he said it was fine and sent us away with some ear drops to "prevent infection". He's been mostly fine until Tuesday. He was in a lot of pain and acting weak (like he does when he's sick) so he stayed home from school. I sent him to school yesterday but when I picked him up, his teacher said, "He was kind of... like that." As she pointed to him while he was walking slowly towards me. At 2am this morning, I baked an onion for around 45 minutes, extracted the juices, put some in a dropper and began the odd but strangely effective procedure that I would repeat every two hours throughout the night. He would lay across my lap with the hurting ear pointed up and I would drop about two drops of warm onion oil in his ear. Then I would rub behind his ear all the way to his lymph nodes to help the oil get all the way through. The rubbing was sometimes painful but the drops calmed his screaming almost immediately and within a few minutes, he was relaxed enough to fall back asleep. Apparently, onions have a similar affect on inflammation as garlic oil does. I also read that putting a warm chunk of this cooked onion on his ear would help with the pain. As silly as it was, we tried it and he loved it - until it got cold. He started requesting it. :)
He stayed home again today - little sleep and painful ear would not do well at school.
I sure hope this ear problem goes away soon!! My little guy is in so much pain!

Institute

Our stake Patriarch is also the local institute teacher. He offers an institute class to young mothers/student wives at our church building on Wednesday mornings. I began going to this last semester and have really enjoyed it. We are studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year and its been really great! Today, we spoke about how church discipline works. It was a great discussion!

Recipe Declutter

I've been in a major slump with food lately. I don't mind the cooking but I really dislike figuring out what we are going to have each day for dinner, compiling the grocery list, finding the time to go (child-free) shopping and then unpacking all of the groceries. I don't know why I dislike this so much but I really do. Saturday shopping made me dread the weekend so I switched it to a weekday again - even though John is rarely home during the day and I REALLY dislike shopping once the kids are in bed. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks but I needed a major recipe overhaul. I think I'm the opposite of most people when it comes to dinner. I seem to try new recipes every night. I will occasionally throw in an old favorite but mostly, they are new. This has become too much of a headache. I'm overhauling my recipes. This picture is a result of my making a small dent in my hundreds (if not thousands) of recipes that I never use. Why do I need 10 recipes for lasagna when I only use 1? More decluttering is happening in our house. My brain feels more clear with everything I get rid of. Aaahhhh!

Washing Day

This picture is really how exciting my day was today.

I spent my day doing laundry. I know I've already posted a laundry picture but this is seriously what my day consisted of. I thought I'd show the wonderful machine that helps me with my laundry. I love my machines. "Why," you might ask, "did I have so much laundry if I've been doing the one load a day thing like my previous post suggested?"
Way back in Texas (not sure of the time frame but it has been at least that long), I used to do my laundry once a week. I would wash everything on Mondays and then not worry about it the rest of the week. We did it this way when John and I were first married and continued while we lived next door to my mom - before I had my own washer and dryer. It was easy. Somewhere between that time and last week, I decided it would be better if I did a load a day. That seemed much more simple. However, I really had a hard time washing, drying, folding and putting away every single day. Sometimes we would have baskets full of clean clothes folded but that would come unfolded when we needed to get something at the bottom of the basket. Sometimes we would have baskets full of clean clothes that weren't folded. I didn't like those times. Sometimes I wouldn't do a load one day, then two days, then three days.... etc. That would make getting the kids dressed kind of chaotic. I don't function too well if I'm not organized. So, I decided that I MUST switch back to my old ways of once a week washing. Today was the day. I washed 6-7 loads of clothes, folded them and put them away (mostly). Wednesdays have been designated to be my towel/diaper washing day and Fridays are sheets.
I guess everything won't be washed in one day but I do have 5 people living here - clothing is enough to do in one day. I don't want to do laundry ALL day long. :)

My Family Loves Me!

We have been doing Family Home Evenings on Sunday evenings this semester because John has meetings on Mondays. Today we used one of my packets (poor, neglected things!) about Loving Our Brothers and Sisters. We had two stories about loving our siblings and then we each took a turn putting on the crown and having each person tell us what they loved about us. We then drew names to see who we got to do random (and secret) things for this week! Riya was surprised twice tonight by her person - once when her toothpaste was already on her toothbrush and next when two of her stuffed animals were tucked into bed. This made her belly laugh so hard! It was pretty silly! Who could it be?? :)

Chicago

Today we went to Chicago! I took a bunch of pictures and couldn't decide which one to use so I just picked this one because it was the only one that showed all three kids. This is on the way - they are watching a movie in the van. Don't they look so excited?? :)
We had a lot of fun! We went to a park for lunch, a farm/children's museum for play time, the zoo for more play time and a yummy food place called Mello's for dinner. We had some of our good friends with us so it was double fun!

Things to remember from this trip:
1. Don't park your car in a possible tow away zone. (we didn't.)
2. Bring head and hand gear to stay warm when it is supposed to be in the 30s and you plan to be outside all day.
3. Chicago style pizza might be yummy but not wait-an-hour-and-a-half-to-eat-it yummy.
4. Small restaurants with small corners to pile 5 kids and 4 adults into taste super yummy and probably better than that expensive pizza anyway!
5. Go with friends. They provide much more entertainment.
6. Heidi - you can't have that shake. Not going to happen.
7. Jayden - you just have to walk. :)
8. Bring a baby carrier or a double stroller next time you plan to walk around Chicago. Otherwise, you will end up holding Emma and pushing Riya in the stroller while Jayden rides on John's back.
9. Get a sugar crystal pop. Indulge a little.
10. Riya's candy stick will last the entire trip to the zoo. She carefully licked and savored every bit of it.

Chocolate Popcorn!

I love popcorn! Yesterday I mentioned hate so today I must mention love. Everything must be balanced. :)
But seriously, I LOVE POPCORN! I can never get enough of that stuff! I worked at a movie theater when I was a teenager and my fellow employees told me how sick of it I would get. Every time I worked, I got an unlimited amount of popcorn to munch on and I kept waiting to get tired of eating it. It never happened. I think it made my desire for the deliciousness even stronger.
I have been making popcorn on the stove for awhile now and, while it may not be as healthy, it sure tastes better than the air popped variety. I don't care as much for microwave popcorn simply because all the additives make me cringe. It still tastes awesome, I suppose. :)
At our last craft night, one of the girls brought some yummy kettle corn. I came home and made some that night. It was so yummy. Then I made some more a few days later for my kiddos. They loved it too! A few days ago, I had a craving for something salty/sour. How about lime popcorn?! I tried it and delicious!!
Tonight, for family movie night, I decided to try chocolate popcorn. Basically the same as the kettle corn but I added 1/2 oz of milk chocolate with the kernels. The chocolate appeared to burn a little bit but it didn't taste like it! YUM!
I think I might go make some more...

Declutter - Master Bathroom

I hate clutter. Hate is a strong word but I use it unashamedly to describe how I feel about clutter. Somehow, even with my strong hatred for it, it still creeps in to our house and it takes me getting on a decluttering kick to be able to get it out. Peter Walsh has inspired me, yet again, so I tackled our master bath today. This is probably one of the least cluttered rooms in the house so I figured it would be a perfect place to start. I had my keep, garage sale and trash piles steadily growing and in about an hour I was finished. This is my garage sale/give away pile. It was pretty full. To give some perspective, that bag is one of those "bed-in-a-bag" bags for a queen bed. I also filled up a medium sized box full of trash. AAAAH!! It feels heavenly!
Thanks, Peter.

Love the Find

I love the thrill of searching thrift stores for a steal of a deal or something that is perfectly made for me (or members of my family!) that I couldn't find anywhere else. Tonight, after a meeting at church, I decided to stop by Goodwill and just check out what they might have this time. I found a cute pair of sandals that looked almost brand new but because I was in a hurry and the line was long, I decided against them. On my way to put them back, these babies caught my eye. NEVER WORN. SIZE 9. SIMPLY VERA by VERA WANG. PERFECT. For less than $5, I got some super cute, brand new shoes! While I was waiting in line, I browsed the racks close to me and found a cute top that seems brand new as well! Love to shop those thrift stores... almost as much as garage sales!

Just... Hold.... Still....

Today, I finally fixed Emma's hair in two "ponies" on top. She typically has just one on top of her head but her hair has been coming in so nicely that I decided to try two. She looked so stinkin' cute but she refused to let me take a picture. As is her typical style, she is all over me until I get the camera ready and point it at her. Then, all of a sudden, the DVDs are much more interesting than saying "cheese" for Mommy. Oh well  -  I got this shot of the back of her head which is partly what I wanted to show as well! Her hair has all of a sudden gotten pretty thick and wavy in the back. We love it! The red tint is also coming out more. I can't wait to see how it will look when it gets longer like Riya's.
If you look carefully, you might be able to see her two ponies...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is my Valentine. I love him. He loves me. That's why he lets me kiss him.
He is still sick though, so he gets a cheek kiss.
Loves!
Who was your Valentine?
(I have 3 mini-valetines as well - they let me kiss them too. Most of the time. I'm pretty lucky.)

I Heart You.

This is what we did for Jayden's Valentine's this year. In the picture, they are empty and opened. They are little pouches that we put Skittles and a slinky in that close with velcro. I sewed them all up after he wrote his name and colored in the designated spots on the hearts. Hopefully, they get lots of use storing little treasures and such. I got the idea here - and she's not kidding, it gets a little tedious. Oh well - Happy Valentine's Day to Jay's class (and  4 of his teachers)!

What's the Game?

Tonight was family game night. Jayden has a favorite board game that he's been itching to play for awhile so we decided tonight was a great time to play it. It was a lot of fun - as usual - and he won! Riya was on my team and we were the first ones out - thanks to John. He kept killing us! Then, Jayden took him out.
Anyone know what the game is??

Feng Shui for Dummies... or not.

I used to really like Feng Shui. Or, I thought I did. I just liked the idea that if you arrange your rooms a certain way, using these guidelines, "chi" will flow more easily through your house. I think I was intrigued because the arrangements always looked cute and "together" so why not? Worst case, your home is cutely arranged. Best case, you become wealthy because you are closing the lid of your toilet to keep from flushing your money away. Seriously... that's is one of the guidelines. :)
Anyway, it's been awhile since I've looked at anything to do with it but I decided to check out some books from the library about it. To see if I'm interested in decorating our new home with it's techniques. They had Feng Shui for Dummies on DVD so I checked it out and watched it on the laptop once the kids were in bed.  Hmmmm.... verdict? Maybe not. I do like some of the principles but some of it is a little to extreme for me.
Oh well.
Maybe we'll still arrange our couch in the "commanding position".

Is This the House?

We went to do a walk through of a house we've been trying to decide on for a little while. We really like it! It's only one story - most of the others we have looked at are two stories - but I see this as a stress reducer! No more having to worry about gate at the top and bottom of the stairs or of anyone taking a tumble down (I have done this 2 or 3 times since we've lived in our current place - it hurts!). Just space to roam. :)
Could this be the house?? We are waiting to find out a few things and then we might make an offer....
And - my stomach bug seems to be gone. Strange 24 hour barf-tastic feeling is gone! Jayden and John also went back to school today. Emma is still on the mend. Poor girl.

Sick Day

I guess filing our taxes made me sick? Or maybe it was something I ate? Or maybe it is a weird variety of the illness that has been shared between everyone in our home? Whatever the cause, I spent most of my day in bed - as much as I could anyway. I was up most of the night in the bathroom emptying out my stomach. I'll spare any more details than that. Blah.
Jayden didn't go to school either because he started feeling sick again last night. John didn't go to campus today because 1. I begged him to stay so I could rest and 2. he was feeling pretty icky himself. Emma is still trying to get over her version of this icky-ness. Today was just an all around sick day.
Heidi was such a lifesaver today - she brought us some yummy chicken noodle soup for dinner. Thanks so much for that! That was such an appreciated service! Seriously.
Sickness - leave, please. Really - you've been here long enough. We need a break! I think I need to bust out the Lampe Berger and burn out those germs from the air.

Taxes? Done!

(This picture was the result of me playing with my camera settings - it is the "cartoon" setting - what do you think?)

Today we got our taxes filed! Whew! There is always such a sense of relief when our taxes are done - now we just have to wait for the refund. That is the BEST part, of course (the receiving - not the waiting)! Ahhhh!

Back to School He Goes!

Jayden went back to school today! After being sick for 3.5 days and having 3 snow days, we kicked him out of the house today. :) Okay, not really - he was ready!  He came home with these two adorable creations - a pizza and a Chinese dragon. This picture doesn't show the whole dragon - it has pipe cleaner legs and a cute folded tail.
Love it!

K'Nex

Jayden got some K'Nex toys for his birthday from his Bird cousins and he decided that he wanted to build this dinosaur. This desire turned into having one of his parents help him figure out how to do it (it came with an instruction manual) which then turned into me making it while he found all of the pieces. :) He did snap in a few of the pieces - so I can't take ALL of the credit. It was fun and turned out super cute! He loves them! Thanks Birds!
Today, only Riya and I went to church - such a different experience going with just one little girl! She loved the mommy time and I enjoyed being able to pay attention for all 3 hours! Hopefully this sickness that is floating around in our home will be gone soon!

Present Time

Here's Jayden with his birthday presents. Today he felt like opening presents - but still not well enough for cake. Hopefully we'll be diving in to the cupcakes soon! They are patiently waiting in the freezer! :)
Happy Birthday part 2, Jayden!

Craft Night #2

Our second craft night of 2011 was tonight and in the spirit of Valentine's Day, we made these adorable heart blocks! This was probably the fastest craft we have done and could have made it an early night but we sat around the table talking until 10:30ish. So much fun! Love my craft nights!

Happy Birthday, Jayden!

Today our Mr. Jayden turned 7 years old. We started out the day so excited and he even got another snow day! What a great birthday present. We typically do the big birthday celebration with our family after the birthday dinner - then we do cake/cupcakes and presents. He was just enjoying his day off when all of a sudden, he came into our bedroom and fell asleep on the floor! This is very unlike Jayden - he almost never takes naps! I eventually had him go lay down in his bed but when it was time to eat his "favorite salty chicken and rice" for dinner, we woke him up and had him come down stairs. He ate the rice and then said he wanted to go lie down on the couch. He didn't want to do cake or presents. Poor guy. This was what he looked like on the couch, just before John took him up to his bed for the night. How sad to be sick on your birthday!
We love you, Jaydo Potato!  Happy Birthday!

Snow day #2

I got a few really cute pictures of this fun but I had to pick my favorite. This one is perfect because 1) it shows everyone except me, 2) Jayden's expression is priceless and 3) it shows the massive amount of snow (check out the pirate ship play toy in the background and that blue thing poking out of the snow is our sandbox).
We decided sledding would be fun but we couldn't get out of our driveway - much less our cul-de-sac - so we decided out backyard could be just as fun. Well, close enough. This was Emma's first real adventure with snow. She's been in the snow before but never really allowed to be let loose. She loved it! This picture is of John pushing Jayden on his snow seat down our tiny incline but the ground was so solid (snow/ice/snow - an ice sandwich pretty much) that he went flying down! They had so much fun doing this - despite the look of horror on Jayden's face! Haha!
We had fun tackling each other, running fast and then jumping to see how far our feet would go in to the snow, "sledding", and throwing sheets of snow at each other. Yep. SHEETS. No snowball making here. The top layer would just break into chunks!
Lots of fun!

Oh, Wally World!

So, what do you do when the town begins to shut down? You drive a few blocks to the nearest Wal-Mart and stock up (even though you went grocery shopping a few days before) because everyone else in town is doing the same thing. I didn't know how long we would/could be trapped in our home, so I just went to grab some milk, bread and diapers (who knows if we'll be able to wash our cloth ones - power might go out!). I decided to get stuff for Jayden's birthday dinner and cake as well - who knows if we'll still be frozen by then. I also decided that this was going to be a holiday of sorts so I grabbed a few extra treats for us. :)
We are prepared. Bring on the storm!