Zane

My life has not been the same since the day I met this man.  In case you don't know our story, I'm going to briefly tell you how we met.  I worked at a radio station on campus at BYU-I.  After a few rough months of being engaged to a guy and then us calling it off, deciding I was going on a mission, doing the paperwork, etc.  I finally received my mission call May 5, 2003 and ran into the station to announce where I was going.  There was Zane (the new guy) and I didn't care one bit when introduced - in fact I brushed it off and continued my squealing to everyone else, "ya, hi!  ANYWAYS guess where I'm going?!?!":)  Needless to say, I didn't go on a mission - he's pretty persistent when he wants to be, and we were married later that year.  It's been the craziest 7 years, and definitely not easy.  There were many times I didn't think we'd make it another day together, but I'm so glad we've trudged through all the muck.  I honestly love this man and I'm grateful he's my partner now and forever.  He may not be perfect, but he's mine and honestly, who is?  We compliment each other's weaknesses and strengths and I think we both are better people because of it.  He is the best father I could ever hope for my kids - they know without a doubt how much he loves them and he is always willing to take the time to play - no matter how tired he is at the end of the day.  Happy birthday to my sweet husband!!  I love you forever.  Here are some pictures of Zane over the years.

Love this man!!

Princess is my hero

She found the camera!!!  It was in her hair basket under the kids' bathroom sink.  I'm pregnant - that's my only excuse.  :)

If you haven't already been...

watching the world cup, today's game should convince you of the intense AWESOMENESS of it!!!

GO USA!!!!!


And you really should start watching - it's the American thing to do.  :)

Picture free

I've lost our camera.  The playback button was broken anyway, but at least I could still take pictures.  It's gone gone gone.  Thank goodness I had already pulled off all the pictures before misplacing it!  Meanwhile many picture worthy activities have been going on that I guess I'll just have to describe.  *sigh*

We went back to Rexburg this last weekend to see our new nephew and Zane's mom before they all went to California for the summer.  Baby J is so cute - and I realized that I am NOT ready to have such a tiny FRAGILE thing in our lives again.  You forget how little they are - definitely sweet and cuddly, but I think I'll be grateful when we can get past the non-supportive head stage with our new baby.  :)  I was glad to see some old friends at the complex and we went to our old ward on Sunday.  I'll just add here that I wish we could just transport our baby-sitter wherever we move she is the greatest ever!  It was great to see everyone and I think it's crazy how much things can change even in just a 5 month period of time.  Wish we had more time to get in a "good" visit, but we had a lot of fun.

Speaking of fun - Cowboy did something pretty awesome and picture worthy.  One of the car dealerships was having a classic car show so we stopped by to see all the awesome restorations.  The fire department was there doing a fundraiser and had their ladder extended up all the way for people to climb.  Crazy high! Cowboy really wanted to climb up, so we asked and they fashioned a small harness for him and off he went!  I should tell you that he had not only a harness and rope, but one of the firefighters climbed right behind him in case he needed help since the rungs were pretty big steps for such a little guy.  Cowboy did AWESOME!  He didn't climb all the way (which is about 70 feet up) but they estimated he climbed at least 55 feet before coming down.  Not bad at all for a four year old!  :)  We were so surprised and proud of him.  Next stop - airborne school!  Princess would have tried it as well, but she had decided to wear a dress that day and we didn't think it would be appropriate for her to climb up showing off her undies to the world.  Drat that modesty!  :)

The kids are starting another round of swimming lessons and all are very excited.  Brother Bear will hardly let me hold him in the pool - he just wants to do it all himself and quite frequently dives out of my arms to kick and glide.  *Sigh* It makes for tiring lessons for mommy sometimes!  The other two are just as fearless and would stay in the water all day if it were possible, or if the weather would cooperate and they weren't shaking like leaves by the end of the lessons.

Princess is reading like crazy and loves to get new reading books at the library.  I'm so amazed with how well she does - she hardly has to ask me what words are anymore!  She got some eye shadow make up and lip gloss for her birthday and loves to play with it and feel like such a big girl.  She actually does a pretty good job with it too.  I love having her home all day this summer and am dreading the start of school already - I hate the idea of her being gone from home so long in the day!  She is super excited though, so I can't say anything.

I'm supposed to sign Brother Bear up for speech therapy, but am putting it off a little because of his explosion of words.  The only question is whether or not other people can understand his words like I can.  :)  We'll see.  I think I'm going to wait until after the baby is born to start taking him...maybe.

So that's our picture free update.  For all my photography guru friends, what camera would you recommend if we were going to save and get a digital SLR?

Professional clarification

I went to my PA today and got some clarification on things said at the hospital last Monday:  I'm fine, nothing to worry about at all, and basically whoever said anything else at the hospital was dumb.  :o)

Back to normal life and no more worrying!  Yay for me!

Oh and by the way, GO USA!!!  I haven't been able to watch much, but the parts I've seen are super great - love the World Cup.  :)

Gross praise

Odd title, I know.  You'll understand after reading.  Oh, and a warning: this post is graphic and not for people who get grossed out too easily.

I've said this so many times, but once again I have to sing the praises of a great husband.  I NEED to go grocery shopping in a bad way, so last night we went out to eat at a local bakery/sandwich shop we've never tried before.  Well apparently, I got a touch of food poisoning from the chicken salad sandwich (I'm hoping this throwing up isn't an every Monday trend).  I woke up at midnight put my hands over my mouth and RAN to the bathroom - but didn't make it before another wave hit me so fast I was stunned.  Seriously, I stood there in the doorway completely shocked that I had just sprayed such a huge amount of puke ALL OVER me (covering my entire face, hair, down my front, not to mention my hands), the carpet, the doorway, the guitar case, mirror, walls, bathroom floor.  You get the idea.  I was totally dumbfounded!  Zane was still awake and I just called out, "Zane?" as I went to the tub to wash off some of my face and then lost it again.  Literally this stuff was unreal!  I was COMPLETELY emptied of everything in my stomach and down to the dry heaving in less than 10 minutes.  And the unbelievable sour smell was something special.  So while I got in the shower to try and clean off my sweet husband cleaned up the entire mess, got out the carpet cleaner (which, just let me interject a note here: carpet steam cleaners are one of the best investments we have ever made and I would highly recommend one for every household with children/pets/people who puke  (o:), and he didn't even complain - just asked if I was okay and set to work.  Granted after all that, he came out and slept in the living room.  :)  Poor guy - I can't say I blame him one bit!

SO that is what I mean by gross praise.  The situation was disgusting, but the praise is real and deserved!

Summer days

Two for one on posting today!  :)  Just wanted to post some pictures of the first day of summer.  :)  It's the first time it's been close to 80 in quite a while, so the kids and I had fun in our backyard after swim lessons.

Princess turns 6

Modeling her new dress and sandals

Cowboy's present to Princess

She wanted a My Little Pony sugar cookie cake

Happy birthday big girl!!

The fun and no-so-fun

I decided Saturday morning since the older two kids had been on antibiotics long enough and BB didn't show any sign of strep we could go down and see Zane's family for his sister's baby's blessing.  The kids did great with the trip in spite of the super quick turn around and it was fun to see everyone.  Unfortunately poor Zane was the only one of the whole family NOT there.  Oh well, I'm sure there will be more get togethers and lately it seems there is always one more baby to add to the bunch so the family pictures are never quite complete.  

All the cousins - the boys are taking over!

BB & his cousin G are 3 wks apart - Cowboy sure loves them!

BB thinks he should close his eyes when someone says "Look at me!"

Princess helping him open his eyes for the picture - so funny!

We were also able to visit with my sister and her family for a little bit.  I wish it could have been longer as planned before sickness, but it was nice for the amount of time we were there.  It turns out it was a blessing in disguise we weren't there for very long anyway.  We thought one of the nephews had food poisoning, but it turns out it was a stomach bug that I caught as well.   So Monday morning I woke up SICK - out both ends.  It was AWFUL.  I was incompetent of taking care of the kids at all so I called Zane and he came home from work to take care of us for the day.  By the end of the day I wasn't keeping any fluid down at all but I still didn't want to go into the hospital for iv fluids thinking I could make it to the next morning and just go in for an office visit.  However after my contractions kept coming every 3 minutes I figured I needed to get hydrated before the contractions actually progressed to something more so I had Zane drop me off (yay for living 5 minutes from the hospital).  However, I was really dumb and decided to go ahead and let them give me the cheaper Phenegren for the nausea in the iv instead of Zofran.  Such a bad idea!  I react to that so bad - it can cause restlessness, anxiety, etc.  So I had to sit through another bag of iv fluid unable to sleep or stay still or relax and starting to freak out that I was strapped to the monitors and iv.  Serves me right for thinking of saving money on the bill.  :)  The poor nurses had a hard time getting my iv started anyway - they had to poke me 5 times to try and get a vein that wouldn't burst or collapse.  My arms look fabulous!  :)  But I'm glad I went in then instead of the morning - I'd hate to think how hard it would have been to get one started after another 12 hrs without any fluid!  Yuck.

I did feel better about my ability to recognize the contractions after actually seeing that not only was i having them, but they were big enough to actually register high numbers on the monitor.  It made me feel like it wasn't just in my head.  :)  Because of all the contractions they went ahead and checked my cervix to make sure they hadn't made me progress before I left the hospital.  I was very happy that I wasn't dilated, but not so happy to find out that my cervix is super soft/thin which from what I understand from them means there isn't any more barrier to the contractions actually making me efface and dilate.  No one wants to hear a doctor say "well, at least try and keep that baby in there another month."  ?????  What are you supposed to think with that?  I've been pretty good at ignoring all these contractions up to this point - with the exception of those that made me have to stop walking or take my breath away.  But seriously, now how can I not become paranoid about these obnoxious contractions that I inevitably have 24 hrs a day?  *sigh*  Ignorance is bliss I tell ya!

So Zane picked me up from the hospital about 2 am and I was still super weak yesterday so he worked from home again.  I just have to say, I really have an amazing husband.  He took care of us all without a complaint that he was having to use some of the few vacation days he gets, I didn't even have to ask him to stay another day yesterday - he told me he was going to stay because I needed to get better.  He's wonderful.  There are times in a marriage when you question how much you love your spouse, or even if you still love them.  I can honestly it's true - love grows and changes over time.  I can't imagine life without him - he's truly my match and I love him so much more today than I did when we were married. I think our differences challenge each other - but in a good and growing way.  Love that man!  :)

Fevers

I'm all for immunizations - I just have this big huge reservation with the safety of injecting 7 + diseases in a poor kid at a time.  So I generally stagger my kids' shots.  Well, I've gotten so far behind on Brother Bear that I allowed them to poke him 4 times yesterday with a total of I think 8 different diseases.  Ugh.  Needless to say, I expected him to have a fever, etc last night.  Meanwhile, Cowboy was missing one of his Hib shots and even though the doctor just said he had strep, she thought it would be fine for him to have the immunization on top of it.  Against my better judgement I agreed.  POOR COWBOY.  Last night was terrible for the poor kid.  He was limping around because his leg hurt, his throat already hurt from the strep, and he had such a high fever - it was so hard to watch!  Zane was fuming when he read the immunization hand out and it said to NOT give a child who could be moderately ill this shot until they are healthy.  Nice!  Thank goodness for the priesthood!  We don't have any home teachers yet, so thankfully one of the guys we know in the ward was willing to come over and help Zane administer.  I'm so grateful!  Cowboy slept pretty peacefully the rest of the night and woke up with no fever, and no bad side effects.  Whew!

Brother Bear woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever, but thankfully his went down with some ibuprofen and stripping him of his clothes.

We are so blessed!  Both boys are up and relatively happy (although our bouncy Cowboy is quite subdued laying on the couch).  If I could just convince them that drinking is the way to get better faster!  :)  Princess healed so fast this time because she was able to understand that if she ate the popsicles and drank lots of juice and water that her throat would feel better.  Love that girl!  :)  She's a smarty.

Mommy and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Today is Mommy's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Well, maybe not that bad, but it's not a good Mommy day.  We've all had them, or will have them at some point, some of us more than others.  I am feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and very short tempered.  I feel like the perfume of my life right now is a mixture of pee and poop - on the bright side, at least no one is vomiting to add to that lovely mixture.  :P  I know it sounds stupid, but I swear I can clean the bathroom every day and it still smells bad!  I have a hard time not feeling angry when my 6 yr old still has some kind of potty accident almost daily.  I'm frustrated that I am now washing 2 sets of sheets that were all soaked in pee.  I won't even bother explaining this story right now, but Brother Bear peed all over the house yesterday and I can't find all the spots to wash them.  He wants to potty train, but I just don't think I can handle the extra mess right now.  Of course, I also hate changing his messy diapers that reek to high heaven.  *sigh*

Brother Bear has been at the receiving end of my yelling a few times today.  Last night he put a huge gash in Cowboys head swinging around a flashlight instead of cleaning up (he could have used stitches, but it's under the hairline, so we aren't too worried about a scar).  Today BB whacked Cowboy again in the head in the bath with a toy.  Needless to say, he may not speak much, but he is definitely a 2 yr old. He's been refusing to listen and hitting a lot lately.

I'm blogging this in an attempt to get out my feelings so I stop yelling at the kids today.   Really, it's not their fault that I am feeling frustrated.  I'm hormonally imbalanced, and already not sleeping at night due to the pregnancy.  I'm starting to think Zane is right.  He thinks this should be our last one - I'm not sure my family, or I can go through the mood swings and exhaustion again.  I just want my house to be completely clean today - all of it, and I want the energy to do it.  I'm not just talking regular cleaning - like washing all the stains out of the couch, shampooing the carpets, pulling out the fridge and stove, cleaning all the blinds and window sills, the outside windows, every little nook and cranny.  Yes, I am being completely unrealistic, I know it.  But these little things are influencing the whole irritation.

I'm not on the verge of a breakdown, just having a no good Mommy day.  This too shall pass, and I do love my kids, and I am grateful for being able to stay at home with them, but I think I'll actually be feeling more grateful another day.  :)

Jumping on the bandwagon

I refused to read the Twilight series almost until Breaking Dawn came out and I finally gave in and read them.  I liked them - they were different and I appreciate easy read books that don't have a lot of swearing or over-the-top love scenes, etc.  But the deal is,  I have this thing against following the "fads" of the reading/entertainment world.  I really don't like when the books I love are turned into movies because for the most part they are severe disappointments.  I don't like when everyone and their dog reads the same book.  Weird?  Yes, I know.

That being said, I've joined another bandwagon, and I really hope they NEVER turn these books into movies and Barbies like they have Twilight.  If you haven't already read the Hunger Games series, I'd truly recommend it.  They are totally unique and thought provoking.  So if you are a hold out like me, come and join in - I thought they were worth it.  But you should know the third and final book doesn't come out until August, so you may want to wait a couple months.  :oD

If you are ever looking for somewhere to live...

We love Boise.  We went there yesterday for a quick trip to the zoo and to see Grandma Great.  If you haven't ever been downtown to the greenbelt, you really should check out The Julia Davis Park.  The city is very bike friendly and we LOVE the big tree-lined streets throughout.  I'm a little biased of course, considering my mom grew up in the area and my grandma still lives there.  :)  One of the best parts of Boise is the Fanci Freeze  - they have an amazing concoction of hand-dipped ice cream cones (so many flavors) and they have what's called a "boston shake" - a shake with a sundae on top.  It's a little place that's been around for YEARS, and always brings a round of nostalgia when I go there.  I can remember getting bubblegum flavored dip cones there when I was tiny.  Yesterday was the first time I took Zane and the kids and it was still so good!  I was really tempted to try a roasted coconut and chocolate shake, but I have a really small limit on how much ice cream I can consume without hating it this pregnancy.  :)  So I "settled" for a small blue raspberry dip cone.  :)  Yum!

So anyway, that is my promo for the day.  We love Boise.  If Zane could find a company to work for out of Boise that would pay the same amount (or close), our lives would be complete - but until then, we'll settle for the 1 1/2 - 2 hr drive visits.  :o)  I looked up how much houses go for in our favorite area in Boise - needless to say, we have expensive taste.  Big surprise!  The least expensive house barely big enough for our family runs about $260 K.  *sigh* Someday, right?  I should add for my readers in more expensive areas of the country - I sigh at the price tag because there are a lot of good areas in Boise that you can get a good size house and yard for under $150K.

Besides, Boise's the home of the BSU Broncos - can you honestly ask for anything more??  hehehe.

Photo credits: resources.jobing.com/ files/2009/02/boise.jpg, http://www.joseandblancaphotography.com/WebPage-ImageGallery-Idaho.html

Oh Brother Bear

The things that make a mom happy are astounding.  This morning is a prime example.  BB came out of his room with a super stuffy nose and boogs and when I got a tissue - he actually blew his nose.  :)  This is a major feat for a 2 yr old who always sniffs instead.  Makes a mommy proud.  hehe.  Speaking of BB, he was eating his cereal sitting across from me and decided to blow his nose again - w/o the tissue and then promptly wiped it on his sleeve, smearing the goop across his face.  Ahhh...the life of little boys.

He has now taken to carrying a baseball around everywhere.  Never puts it down, with the exception of throwing it - but watch out if anyone but him goes to fetch it.  He sleeps with it, eats with it (although I'm trying to convince him that it's easier to eat if he puts it down), would probably bathe with it at this point and screams uncontrollably if it is ever within anyone else's reach.  At least it's a newer, cleaner ball.  :)

Oh Brother Bear, how you make me laugh.

New era of life

We have entered into a new era in life that will probably continue until the kids graduate from high school. I sat down and did our calendar for next month and put in all our appointments/activities/etc.  It's the first time (and most certainly not the last) that it's been so full - and we haven't even started the kids into any music lessons yet!  I'm starting to understand a little more my sisters' pain when coordinating their families busy schedules, and I'm grateful for my super easy transition stage.  :)

So what's going on in June?  Well, all 3 kids will start swim lessons M-Thurs (unfortunately for my large preggo self, Brother Bear's lessons are with the parents - eek!).  Since their daddy is such a swimmer, he wants to sign them up for 4 consecutive sessions so they will be totally swimming by the end of the summer.  We went ahead and got a pass for the pool so we could go anytime when Daddy was available too.  Princess is in t-ball and LOVING it!  I'm so glad.  She didn't really like soccer all that much, but I think she can tell that she is improving each week with t-ball and that makes her feel so good.  She has a great coach, so I'm thrilled.  Her coach is the principal at the high school and his wife teaches kindergarten at P's school - it's a great match.  So her practices are M-W evenings, and their games are T-Th evenings.  Cowboy will start his t-ball in July - thankfully!  :)  Zane was called as the assistant scoutmaster to the 11 yr olds in the ward, so he's gone every Wed and they've got their campout things in June as well.  Princess will have her 6th birthday this month, Zane's birthday is at the end of the month, and the kids and I will be headed to UT to see family the first weekend in June while poor Zane has to go to drill in Boise.  :o)  So much for school getting out and settling into summer!  hahaha.

For me, I'm dreading having to go to the doctor more often, even if it means the down hill side of the pregnancy.  Just one more thing to schedule in.  :o)  It really wouldn't be so bad if this office didn't take SOOO long for any check up.  Oh well!  Speaking of doctor's that's the other thing taking up our time in June - everyone has their check ups this first couple of weeks.  Maybe I'll finally get Brother Bear caught up on his immunizations.  Poor kid.

Speaking of BB, he just poured milk all over the kitchen - guess that's my cue to get going!

A most unproductive day

A note about cleaning days - I must start cleaning from the time I wake up and before I have a shower, or it just doesn't happen.  The boys had appts at the dentist and I figured since we were already out and about I might as well run a few errands I normally don't get to do.  By the time we got home it was way past lunch, I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was change into grubbies and clean the house.  So I didn't, but I need to - our dishes overfloweth from the sink and we have no more clean plates or bowls, there are 3 loads of laundry that need to be folded and put away, dusting needs to be done, and our kitchen floor is feeling a mite sticky...I'm sure I'll get the dishes done today, but everything else?  NADA.  *sigh* looks like Friday will be at least a half cleaning day and the rest will have to wait until next week.

My lesson of the day: DO NOT GET READY FIRST THING, OR GO ANYWHERE ON DESIGNATED CLEANING DAY.

:)  Just thought I'd share.

Counting blessings

I had a great reminder today, almost to the point of chastening, of how blessed we are as a family.  Even when things aren't exactly how we want or planned them, I still shouldn't complain.  My husband has a job in a turbulent economy, we live in a safe neighborhood, we are not going hungry like so many others, we are able to have children, we have our health, we live in a free country where I don't have to worry about a daily occurrence of a suicide bomber, and most importantly we have the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I could go on and on, and I think I will tonight in my personal journal.  I just wanted to state for the record, that I know I am incredibly blessed, and maybe if you are having a hard time right now in your life, take a minute and count your blessings and life may seem more bearable, and even downright great!  :)

Parenting...WOW

How do you instill enough confidence in your children to help them be successful?

I'm getting concerned about my Princess and would love any suggestions or advice you may have.  She has a friend who can be very sweet, giving, and nice.  However this friend can also be extremely manipulative and downright mean and rude.  I keep encouraging Princess to stand up for herself by either telling this friend to "stop" or walk away and not play with her anymore when she is on one of her mean kicks.  But so often I hear Princess pleading for forgiveness from this friend for something she didn't do (ie-I'm so sorry!  Don't stop being my friend.  Or please still invite me to your birthday."  If I tell them it's time to come in, Princess will ask her friend if it's okay that I said to come in - to which her friend will reply, "that's not very fair or nice to me!"  It drives me CRAZY that my daughter is cowering to this girl just to be her friend, and if I say no more playing with so-and-so, it just comes off as punishment to Princess.  What else can I do to help her understand that she cannot stand to be treated this way?  I worry about her tendency to follow someone else and not stick up for herself just to keep being friends.

Yesterday I overheard said friend speaking VERY rudely to Princess and getting in her face and yelling about something.  I went over to see what was going on and this friend was upset about some secret she said her cousin and Princess had and Princess wouldn't tell her the secret.  I asked P and she said she had no idea what her friend was talking about.  Friend kept insisting that a few days ago she knew that her cousin had told P a secret. ????  I explained that I was sorry she felt upset, but Princess didn't know what she was talking about and if she really wanted to know she should ask her cousin if he remembered what it was.  Then I continued and told her that she may not EVER speak to my daughter that way - I wouldn't let P do it to her, and she cannot do it to Princess.  Friend argued about it saying she just wanted to know the secret, to which I again said, "Friend, Princess doesn't know the secret - if you want to ask Cousin fine.  But DO NOT talk to my daughter like that again.  Do you understand?"  I then told Princess in front of her friend that if Friend wanted to be mean again, P should walk away from her.  I thought it may have helped to stand up in front of her, but again today Princess was bending over backwards.  *sigh*  It's not as simple as just saying, "You can't play with Friend again" due to the fact we are neighbors and friends with the other family members.  By the way, in defense of Friend's parents - they are very good people and not uncaring about how she behaves.

I've heard kids in karate build up their confidence and self esteem...

Besides wanting to help the confidence side of Princess, it is also coming out at home quite a bit.  She is lashing out at me and is really becoming this super angry child who screams and throws things at me and talks back like a teenager.  In fact it was SO bad the other morning that I even asked her if she treated and talked to her dad like she did her mom what he would do.  Her reply?  He definitely wouldn't like it and would probably throw her into a wall.  (He really wouldn't hurt her like that, but he's been known to give a solid smack on the buttocks when it's called for).  I don't want to spank her - it doesn't help the situation.  I can't just ignore it because truly, it's unacceptable and there is obviously SOMETHING going on.  I just don't know how to help her deal.  I keep wondering if I should take her into counseling to try and figure out what is going on.  I just really would like that to be a last resort due to $$.

Parenting...WOW.

Princess

Pics of the missing teeth.  They make us laugh whenever we see all the holes.  Good thing she lost her two bottom teeth last summer - she wouldn't be able to bite anything!  :)

For shame

Anderson Cooper has had some of the only media coverage for the tragic floods in Nashville in areas other than Tennessee. I am truly disappointed. A friend posted this blog link on facebook, and I wanted to share it just in case you haven't seen it yet.

Celebration!

You melt my heart and make me smile each and every day.

I can't imagine life without my sweet little boys.

It's hard to believe you two graced my life 2 and 4 yrs ago today.

Happy birthday to my cute little Cowboy and Brother Bear!

Beautiful reminder of my blessing in being a mother

Yummy "healthy" cookie recipe

The kids and I loved these! They weren't Zane's favorite, but he liked them too - they do make a spongy type cookie (he likes the flat kind). I got the recipe out of Deceptively Delicious - I checked it out of the local library. I think that is my new favorite way of looking at recipes. I can try them out without wasting money on a book and save space in my cupboard! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

¾ cup margarine spread (I used a half butter/half margarine mixture)

2 large egg whites

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 (15oz) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (I puree the chickpeas in a blender and added some water to make them a more creamy texture and easier to blend)

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional - I didn't use them)

¾ cup raisins (optional - I didn't use them)

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, or use parchment paper.

2. In large mixing bowl beat the sugar and margarine/butter with wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth. Beat in egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips. Add flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, mix on low speed until thick dough forms. *note* good idea to add chocolate chips last and I just mixed it with a spoon.

3. Drop dough 2 inches apart, bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set (11-13 minutes). Transfer to rack to cool.

4. Can store in airtight container up to 3 days.

Pictures!!!

Finally. :)

Dandelion bouquets and various other things

I love my kids - there is something every day they do to make me smile and feel grateful I can be home to witness it. Today's story: There is nothing quite like receiving a bouquet of noxious weeds from eager faced children. :) What do you say when they tell you to put it on the table like you do when you get flowers from Daddy? Of course the answer is a big smiley thank you - they are beautiful - and please wait while I get a glass with water - and then proudly place them as the centerpiece on the table.

Then there are the ever enjoyable sayings they come up with that make me just shake my head - for example, Cowboy's new phrase is: "Oh, that tickles my penis!" whenever we go over a bump or hill in the road.

I discovered a wonderful cleaning tip - if you microwave a bowl of water WITH a cut LEMON (about 3-5 min), it not only loosens all the gunk on the microwave so you can just wipe it out with a wet cloth, but it deodorizes as well - leaving it smelling fresh and clean. Then you can dump the water and lemons into the disposal and you've deodorized two things in one. :oD Simple yes, but I never thought of knocking the two birds out with one stone.

And finally, I'll share a recipe I found that I altered and we thought it was rather delicious. I'm not a curry fan, but this one is just right for us - and I love coconut milk!

Easy Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

Flour mixture: 1/3 c flour, 1 tsp each paprika and salt, dash of pepper

2-5 TBS vegetable oil

3/4 lg sweet onion

3 tsp curry powder

2 cans unsweetened coconut milk

1 can diced tomatoes (mostly drained)

3 TBS tomato paste

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into cubes

3-5 handfuls of fresh baby spinach (however much you want to have)

Jasmine rice

1. Cut up 1-2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast into cubes and toss into flour mixture - (I usually double to flour mixture and put in plastic bag to shake and coat chicken)

2. Put 1-3 TBS veg oil in skillet on medium and brown chicken pieces (once browned, I just leave them in the skillet and cover on low or off so they continue to cook on the inside)

3. While chicken is browning, add 1-2 TBS oil in lg skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt. Cook stirring often, until soft (about 7 min). Add curry powder and stir for another minute.

4. Mix coconut milk, tomatoes, and tomato paste in bowl, then pour into onions. Cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.

5. Add chicken, stir well and cook for 5-6 min until meat is cooked through (it will probably be already cooked, but a good 5 min is a good idea). Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted - about 3 min. You can add salt to taste, but we didn't really need any.

6. Serve warm over rice (jasmine is best).

Southern cravings

Next week we are helping out the youth in the ward by hosting a couple of them as missionaries in our home. The idea is we are to pick them up, give them dinner, and listen to the first lesson in "Preach My Gospel" as a family. They really wanted families to cook food from another country/region that the guys and gals might have if called to that mission. Being from the South most of my growing up years, I chose to pick Georgia as the area we would be. So I've been thinking about all of the yummy traditional Southern foods I could make for dinner and all I could come up with is Fried Chicken, collard greens, and Hoppin John. But when I made the inquiry on Facebook - YUM. I got a lot of ideas, and now it just makes me want to sit down and do a whole menu full of southern foods. And now I have a craving for KFC biscuits - it's the closest thing to the southern style we have in Twin Falls, ID. :D *Sigh* Is it wrong to feel homesick for an area you haven't lived in for a decade?

I asked for recipes and suggestions on Facebook, but if anyone hasn't read it there, I'm open to any new recipes on here too!

I did it

I converted over to a different scheduling system. I used to try and do something every day cleaning-wise, but lately (and especially after General Conference) I have been feeling like I need to do come up with a system that doesn't distract me from the kids as much. I've become a very observational parent, when I really want to be interactive. SO - not that anyone cares, but I'm posting my new schedule so it is in writing and I am more accountable to it.

Mon - Wed - Fri are designated KID days. So while Abby is in school in the morning, it's the "Mommy and Me" preschool time for me and the boys. These are also the soccer and sport days typically for their teams in the evening.

Tues is my grocery/household shopping day in the morning, and library day for the kids in the afternoon (and so I can get the books I need for preschool for the week ahead).

Thurs is now my cleaning day. I am not planning anything for this day, we are getting into our grubbies and this is the day we scrub the house, launder the bedding, etc. The kids can help, but this will be my one day that I CLEAN and if it so be that the kids watch movies and run around in the backyard all day, fine. Then I won't have to feel bad that my kids are taking second to my trying to get some cleaning done every day.

Obviously some things happen almost every day like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, sweeping. But this way our errands are done for the week and we can just enjoy Daddy on Saturdays. I'm pretty stoked about this new arrangement. I think it will work. :) Wish me luck!

Happy Easter!

What a great day! I can't think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection of the Savior than watching General Conference. I feel so blessed to be able to have it broadcast in my home. Lots of great talks - and all I needed to hear (no surprise there). Anyone have a very favorite they want to share?

I have to toot my own horn for doing a great job on breakfast this morning. Now for all those who don't know, we literally have cold cereal for breakfast every day. On special days we may have oatmeal or other things, but really, we are a cereal family. So this morning we had muffins, eggs, fresh pineapple, grapes, banana (for Cowboy), juice, milk, and yogurt. Yummy! I felt pretty proud. :) hahaha.

I'd love to post some pictures, but frankly we have LOST THE CAMERA. I'm tempted to buy another if I can't find it by the middle of this next week. Of course, as soon as I buy another one we'll magically find the other. :) Oh, one more note of specialness on this Easter - Princess lost her first top tooth today. :) She is simply adorable.

Hope all of you are enjoying your Easter Sunday and are able to take a moment and reflect on the tremendous blessing of having a Savior who loved, died, and most importantly overcame all-even death so we can live with our Father again. How grateful I am!

New home, new life

So we made it to Twin Falls. I have to admit, I love this place. It hasn't even been a week, but I feel like I could stay here for a long time. I love our house - not one we would necessarily buy, but it definitely fulfills our needs. The kids love having a fenced backyard, and the street we live on is very quiet and there are lots of kids their ages. The ward we moved into is so great - I met a lot of great people - very friendly and down to earth. Really, it just feels great to be here.

We are getting settled slowly, but surely. So far we have the playroom (eventually baby/guest room), Princess's room (mostly), kitchen and living room put away. Now on to the boys' room and eventually our room and bathroom. :) There are so many things we have just been packing around for years and I just want to purge! In between putting things away, I'm trying to clean the house (it's not gross, but definitely not what I consider acceptably clean).

Anyway, that is what's going on - Princess started a new school AGAIN. She is such a star trooper. I think this school will be a good one for her. Then the kids start up with soccer in a few weeks. Should be fun! :)

It's a

BOY

I'm completely surprised. I thought it was a girl for sure. Zane was right once again. :) What am I ever going to do with THREE boys???

Last chance

So I find out in an hour what we're having - any last guesses? :) wish me luck - hope the baby cooperates.

And the verdict is...

I have no clue. We had to reschedule the appointment for next week. What I can tell you is we are moving to Twin Falls at the end of the month and we found a house to rent! :) The kids and I drove up yesterday to look at some houses and go swimming with Zane. The plan was to drive back this morning and still go to our ultrasound - sadly, we had a flat tire and had to wait while Sears repaired it - by the time we left, it was just too late to make it to Provo. Oh well!

Some people are surprised with how early we are getting an ultrasound. Well, supposedly you can get a gender determination one as early as 15 weeks - it's recommended if it is your one and only main ultrasound to wait until 20 weeks due to the size and accuracy of the ultrasound. I found a place here that charges only $45 for the ultrasound and I want to "try" to find out before we move. Reason - if we are having a girl, I feel like we are done for a sufficient enough time (maybe forever) to purge and I have 3 HUGE rubbermaids full of boys clothes/toys I can pass off to my sisters-in-law and not have to move them. If they can't tell 100% then no big deal - I still get to see my baby and am only out $45. We'll have another one with the actual doctor around 20-21 weeks after we move. :)

Boy or girl? What's your guess?

I added a poll to the side of the blog - we find out what we are having on Friday at 1 (that is if the baby cooperates). Take a guess!

Saved by the doorbell

Hubby and I had a bad start to the morning. I had to get up super early and hit the DMV for a new license, Zane was staying home with the kids until I got home (thus being later for work) and was IMO, overly concerned about my time management for getting there. I resented his interference and nagging and was so irritated by the time I left that I told him where he could go as I slammed the door. I was still peeved when I came home and barely spoke to him as he left.

A while later the doorbell rang and I got a beautiful surprise bouquet of flowers and a very sweet and sentimental card (for anyone who knows my hubby, this is very unusual of him - he doesn't even bring me flowers for the birth of our children). Needless to say, he was quickly forgiven. :) He must have known he would need to save the day when he ordered them a while ago. haha.

A tentative plan

After much upheaval this last couple of weeks, I feel like we have a tentative plan in place that at least gives me a little bit of calm.

Zane will be leaving Tuesday (isn't he sweet to stay for my birthday?) and the kids and I will just stay put. Ideally we would stay until Princess was done with school, but I'm not going to box myself in with definitive dates. For now, it's right for us to stay and then make more decisions after a bit of breathing time. :) Whatever happens now, we will at least be together for the summer until the baby is born.

So, I'm feeling a bit more like I can breathe. Thanks for all your positive support and prayers! It's definitely helped and been appreciated.

Stretched

I was commenting to my dad that I am taking comfort in the promise that the Lord will never give us more than we are capable of handling. He observed that was true, although the Lord does see fit to stretch us pretty far.

I'm stretched. Officially stretched.

Zane told me last night they want him up in Twin Falls this Tuesday. Today he said Monday (what an awesome birthday present for me).

Just call me Gumby.

Moving...*sigh*

We are great movers. But really, that doesn't mean I want to or even like to move all that much. I almost had my mental breakdown yesterday while looking for houses to rent online in Twin. Of course it didn't help that all 3 kids have strep, we are quarantined, and now guess who else is coming down with it? I need to turn in our 30 day notice to our apartments today...UGH. I am having a hard time reconciling myself to this move. I never wanted Princess to go to several different schools her first years of school. I just don't know what else to do. Things would probably be different if 1- I wasn't due to have another baby; 2- we weren't going to have to live without Zane for 6 months already starting in November.

I wish there was an easy answer. I don't want to go, and I don't want to stay. If I don't go, we will basically be choosing to live without Zane for over a year. Moving...*sigh*

Doctor Dilemma

Brother Bear has been sick for a while but I've been putting off going to the doctor. I really hate trying to find new doctors who are accepting new patients in a new area. So I've put it off. Well, now all three are sick and two are running fevers. Zane said I had to get them in to a doctor pronto this morning...I still debated until almost lunch time. Then I remembered a walk-in clinic I saw so we drove over there and had the kids checked out. Well, 3 cases of strep, 1 case of scarletina, 3 bottles of amoxicillin, and all 3 going down for a nap at the same time later - with no arguments I might add...guess my hubby was right. My poor kids needed a doctor. Now, if we can just keep this from spreading to Mom and Dad...

So, for the next 72 hrs we will be quarantined to our house (doctor's orders) - and I will be going CRAZY trying to entertain 3 already cabin feverish kids. By the way, did you know you are supposed to "quarantine" for 72 hrs if you have strep? I did not know this - I thought it was only 24 hrs after being on antibiotics.

Love this man

My hubby starts his new job tomorrow, thus starting our new life. I'm so proud of all he's done for us. He's always done whatever he can to ensure me being able to stay home with the kids and I am so grateful. He's a great daddy and always willing to stop and play when the kids ask. I'm so lucky to have him as my Valentine. Love this man! :)

Complete irony

Before you read this, you need to know that I honestly think the following is HILARIOUS. No joke, I laugh whenever I think about it.

Zane was supposed to start his job on the 22nd of the month and work on a project here in Utah. He got a call today - he starts this next Monday and will now be working on a project in...drumroll please...TWIN FALLS, IDAHO. hahahaha. Anyone else see the hilarity of the situation besides us?

The thing is, we truly feel and believe that we would not have been blessed with this job had we not taken the initiative and moved down here. It probably would have been easier to stay in Idaho, but who's to say things would have gone the same way?

So once again, we are facing the unknown. Do we all move up there for a temporary job? Do we meet in the middle somewhere and get Zane an apt by his job? When will we go? Who knows? But I have to say, in all of this I have truly seen the Lord's hand in retrospect and I believe this will be no different...except maybe the apartment choice. :)

By the way, I found out all this right after they finally cleaned out the garage for us. Complete irony, I'm telling you. :)

Yay! No, double yay! Who am I kidding?!?!

ZANE'S GOT AN OFFICIAL JOB!!!! YAY!!!!! We are so excited and thankful for all those who kept us in your prayers. He got the offer at the company that he really wanted to work for so he is just thrilled. I for one am relieved and SO happy!! :)

Settling in...sort of

After a long and thought out process, I decided to go ahead and enroll Princess in the local school. I was honestly toying with the idea of home school, but social needs won out in the end. She met her teacher today and tomorrow is her first day. She is super excited, so that of course makes me a happy mom! She also loves having her own room. Mostly because it's "peaceful" at night. :)

Cowboy and Brother Bear are doing pretty well. BB is attached to his dad's shadow CONSTANTLY and pitches a fit if he ever leaves his sight. Zane's a good sport about it though and I really think he likes being the favorite. Cowboy misses his old house, his baby-sitter, his church, and pretty much he says at least once a day, "I want to go back to my old house Mom." (I think he and I are having the hardest time).

This has been quite an adjustment move - in more ways than I thought it would be. Zane is way over me being sad about leaving Idaho and I think he just might blow a gasket if he sees me crying again or with red eyes. I don't care - it's been a hard move for me and I'll be sad if I want to darn it! :) Change is always good, and this move will be no different from the rest eventually.

Still no word on a job...still hopeful though. That's about it for now. We're still waiting for our garage to be ready so we can get the rest of our stuff from the old storage unit (the poor manager has no idea what she is going to face tomorrow if we don't get the stupid thing that was supposed to be ready last Monday, then Thursday, then Friday, then today...she'll have a stressed-out super hormonal crazed woman about to BLOW up). I can hardly wait.

We're here

I don't have a lot of time to update since we are accessing the internet at the local library for now, but we have arrived. I've cried a few times the last couple of days - never thought I would be super sad to leave Rexburg, but it has been a lot harder than I thought. Cowboy started crying Saturday night and was saying, "I don't want to go to our new house, I like our old house!" I have to admit I was thinking the SAME thing! Our apartment is fine - it has more sq footage which is nice, but not as much usable space (aka - closet organizers and PANTRY). Princess is loving having her own room, so that is a lot of fun. Zane's got his interview tomorrow - we hope everything will be alright and go well, so keep sending prayers our way!

That's it - we're safe, we're here, and we are slowly unpacking and adjusting. Utah County is probably the last place on earth we ever wanted to be, but I'm sure everything will be for the best. We've decided while we are here to hit a new temple every Sunday - should keep us entertained for quite a while. :)

Progress is good

Everyone PRAY. :) Zane's got a second interview Feb 2. We are praying not only that he gets a job with them, but that they will want him to start SOON. But 2nd interview is definitely progress.

So I am trying to do some type of major cleaning every day so when next week comes, we don't have to do a whole lot. These are the times that I wish both Zane and I were not raised to leave places nicer than how we found them. I was looking at my kitchen today after I cleaned the range hood and even without cleaning out the oven, it is still cleaner now than when we moved in. You would think that would make me relax, but no - too bad I have high standards of what is "move out clean."

Just to get everyone on the same page...

Check out my sidebar... :)

We're alive...still!

There's not a ton of new updates in our family. We are very excited Zane graduated and commissioned as an officer in December. We got to spend time with lots of family and friends, and the kids had a blast with my parents over Christmas. We are truly blessed. Princess was very happy to start school again after the holidays (she'd had enough of us), and the boys are as precocious and silly as ever. No word on a job yet, but we've decided to leap in and move to Utah in the hopes of finding something sooner and easier than we can in the 'Burg. So we will be official Utahns at the end of the month! Lots of prayers are being said here right now - for sure! :) Anyway, life is always adventurous and we are all going with the flow for now. I'm sure there will be more to update soon, but for now - that's all!

Christmas gifts

I've been trying to think of ways to get the kids involved with Christmas giving this year because they are getting old enough to understand giving to each other and I think it's a super fun part of the holidays. We decided to do a "Homemade" theme for Christmas this year, so everyone will give and get something homemade. I'm excited to get the kids ready for it - I even found some ideas for the boys to get involved in. :) Zane's not too sure about this whole non-buying thing (well, except for a few supplies) but I think he'll catch on soon enough! Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there that there are some fun ideas available online if you want to help your kids with some gifts this year! Just Google "homemade gifts for kids to make."

Our crazy life

Someday this up-and-down-and-all-around journey our lives are on will be over and we will be settled, right? :) Zane is waiting to see if any of the interviews he has had will pan out into actual official job offers, so we are playing the waiting game for a few more weeks. Meanwhile we are trying to do all we can on our side to make sure we are prepared and ready for whatever comes. It's been a struggle as some of you know for me to accept that we felt so good and sure about Boise, but there are just no jobs for Zane. Perhaps it's just not the right timing, but it just doesn't seem to be working out to go there. Who knows why we would feel right about it and then not? I questioned my ability to receive revelation among other things, but I recently just accepted that I did feel good about it, but it's okay if things change - I can't see the whole picture. It has been a process though for sure! So the two companies Zane has the biggest leads on are both based in Utah. Fun, fun!

Meanwhile the kids are just doing great! Princess is doing very well in school and loving every minute. She is reading more and more and still loves to do any kind of artwork. She is involved in an after school program two days a week and she loves it so much she can't understand why I don't have her in it every day. But I would miss her terribly - it's hard enough on the days she has it already! :) I'm glad she is doing well with it though, it makes me feel better about her adjustment to a full day of school next year - or the next few months depending on what school she transfers to. She is always helpful and can hardly wait until we have a place that can have a garden. :) She is making such good friends at school and still loves to dress up and play princess and pretend. She is also giving a talk in primary next week and is very excited (which for those who know her is a big deal). It looks like she is starting to come out of her "embarrassment" for being in front of people. I hope, I hope! Princess is also very diligent about homework - hope that lasts and she doesn't take after her mom and dad! :)

Cowboy is my sweet trial right now. There is something about that 3 1/2 stage that is so hard for me. He is no exception. It amazes me how he can be making me want to scream one minute and laugh the next with some funny expression or saying or look he gives. He is his own person that is for sure! :) In all honesty, the little tyrant melts my heart and is just a fun little boy with LOTS of energy and a brain that won't slow down. He is my boy that is addicted to the tv, but always trying to use the arms of my couches as horses. He puts down blankets then sits on top of pillows for his saddle and uses a jump rope as the reins of his horses. I'm very interested to see if he really loves real horses as much - we'd like to find somewhere that will give him riding lessons when he's old enough. :) He also LOVES Star Wars and is constantly pretending that he is Yoda or Annikan or Luke with his "light saver."

Brother Bear is officially in nursery now and starting to communicate so much more. He is still our big boy and now weighs 1 lb more than his brother so I'm having to practice safe picking up so as to not hurt my back. :D He is a joy though and loves to climb on everything, pretend sword and gun fight with his brother, and gets so excited about dogs and horses (like his brother). He crawls around on the floor growling and barking like a dog, and likes to tattle on his siblings. He'll come and grab my leg just chewing out about something and bring me to whoever is the offender and point and jabber.

Last night one of Zane's friends brought his baby over so we could watch her for a little while because his wife's work schedule overlaps his class. It was so fun! She is just a tiny little bundle and only 2 months. I'm not sure who loved having her here more - me or the kids. :) Brother Bear kept saying in a high voice "Baby, aww Baby!" and giving her kisses on her head. Princess wanted to hold her the whole time (I had to argue with her to get a turn) (: and Cowboy was the same as the other two, but not quite as hovering - he didn't have the patience to stick around as long. It makes me want to have another one, but don't worry - I should be able to hold off for a while until our lives get a little more under control. :o)

We are a little excited and nervous about the new step in our lives. We will be looking to buy when we move, so wish us luck! When we compared the differences in renting vs buying in Utah, the buying far outweighs the renting. Especially since rent is on average at LEAST a 100-200 more than a mortgage including the taxes and insurance. So we decided we should look into the buying and hopefully we can find something before the $8000 tax credit ends. Might as well take advantage of it while we can. :o)