Wordless Wednesday: cookie cutter kids (at 5 weeks old)

Graciedotes

A morning conversation while Cori was getting ready for the day:

Grace: I really like that shirt Daddy.

Cori: Oh, thank you Grace.

Grace: I really like those shoes.

Cori: Thanks

Grace: I really like that belt, Daddy.

Cori: Wow. I like your attitude, Grace.

Grace: clutching her diapered bum You like my toots!?

During Jared and Sara's journey to and visit with us, Jared decided to grow that burly beard. Every morning, Grace would go downstairs, jump onto Jared in his bed and tug at his beardy hairs saying, "What's this stuff, Uncle Jared? Take it off!"

I've had a Mozart CD in the car that we've been listening to for the last few weeks. When we first started with it, Grace would make me skip through the songs until we found a "happy" song. No minor keys for this kid, or so I thought. One day she started crying for the "Little Einstein song." I didn't know what she was talking about and started scanning through the songs. We reached Symphony No. 40 (In G minor, no less) and the search was over. "We're on a mission, Mommy. Like the Little Einsteins."

We've been trying to tame the emotional outbursts not so unfamiliar to kids Gracie's age, and she's been finding new ways to emphasise her statements. For example, we have lots of conversations revolving around what she does/doesn't want. Yes she does...no she doesn't... sometimes she can't seem to make up her mind. When we're having misunderstandings in this way, and we're talking about something she does want, she'll say "I do, I do, I DOOOOO want more milk." She has also started telling us specifically how many of a thing she wants. So that we're clear, Grace will count the number out on her fingers. The best is when these techniques are employed together. Usually in a semi-frantic, on-the-verge-of-tears voice she'll say "I do, I do, I DOOOOO want 1-2-3 books, Mommy!"

Last night when I was leaving her room after good-night prayers, loves, stories and songs (quite the bedtime routine), she said "But mommy, I do want 1-2-3 songs." "We already had 3 songs, Gracie. Goodnight." I waited for her response. Grace thought for a moment. "But I DO want 1-2-3-4-5 songs!" It took her a minute to get the sentence out on account of the problem presented by her fingers that kept getting mixed up while she was trying to count on them.

Around the block, April 08

We had a wonderful weekend at District Conference (just like a Stake Conference). We ended up staying in Traverse City for a couple of nights. With meetings to attend Friday night, through out the day Saturday and Sunday morning it made sense not to make the 3 hour round trip 5 different times. Though we have a District President, the District is presided over by the mission President. He and his wife were staying at the same hotel and it was so lovely getting to know them better. It brought back a lot of memories and good feelings. Throw in shopping trips to Sam's Club and Target (Sadly, I had but 42 minutes in the land of 'good buys'. No shopping pour moi, but I got lots of cute things for the kiddos. And we have another trip South in a couple of weeks...)and you've got yourself one killer weekend.

We got home late yesterday afternoon. It was such a beautiful day--clear skies, bright green fields from our weekend storms, and a crisp breeze. We took a walk around our greater neighborhood area. It is so beautiful here. I don't know if I could ever get used to it.

I love

this stroller. I had looked at a lot of double strollers. Tandem? Side by side? I came across this one and stopped looking. Here's what caught my eye:

There is a speaker in the canopy with a jack for an MP3 player. Really neat idea. The sound is about what you would expect from a 1 inch speaker. I can't hear it very well when I'm on the move, but it's loud enough inside the stroller. Gracie thinks it is "weawy cool!"

The front tire has a swivel option. Usually, joggers have a stationary front wheel. It is safer that way for jogging. This one has a front wheel that can be locked into place for jogging, and released for other uses like... shopping. :)

The countryside is getting its Spring on. We try to get out everyday to see it.

My absolute favorite thing about this stroller--these two, side by side.

Wordless Wednesday: Bed Head

Conference Weekend Kitchen Keeps

Gastronomically speaking, the weekend of General Conference has always been to my family what Super Bowl Sunday is to others. We plan menus. We prep cook the day before. We mean business. Imagine, then, the fury of having me and my sister in the same kitchen all weekend long. It was delicious. I wish I could post all the recipes we tried, but I have a strange conscience for copyright laws. I try to only post recipes that I find on the internet, that I have from my family or friends or that I have modified and made my own. (Although I'd probably email you any recipe if you asked me for it.)But here are a couple of new things we concocted.

Put the Lime in the Coconut Cupcakes
This is a modification of a recipe we found in Gracie's Betty Crocker Kids Cook! book.

These cupcakes are spongy-moist from the jello. And the lime, lemon and coconut together will be a vacation in your mouth.

AND, my sister unveiled the wonder of using a pipe bag to frost cupcakes. I will never ever use a knife to frost again. Piping the frosting was so easy and about 100 times faster.

3 eggs

1 box lemon cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 box (4-serving size) lime-flavored gelatin

Coconut extract

Shaved coconut

Your favorite frosting

1. Heat the oven to 375. Put a paper baking cup liner in each muffin cup. Separate the eggs, putting the egg whites in the large bowl.


2. And the dry cake mix, water, vegetable oil and gelatin to the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Turn off mixer. Scrape side of bowl with the rubber spatula then beat for 1 minute longer. Spoon the batter into paper -lined muffin cups until cups are about 2/3 full.


3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool the cupcakes in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before removing. Cup cakes should cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting them.


4. Take a batch of your favorite frosting--home made or store bought (white, vanilla, lemon, cream cheese, strawberry, maybe chocolate) and add the coconut extract in a drop at a time. The stuff is pretty potent, and the amount you will use will depend on what kind of frosting you are adding it to. Sara made a basic butter cream. It was so unbelievably yummy.


5. When the cupcakes have cooled, ice them and sprinkle with shaved coconut.


6. Enjoy. You'll want 2.

Deceptively Delectable low-calorie Fruit Dip
This is a super simple recipe I got from my Grandma Bettie years ago that she got at a weight-watchers-type group meeting. Its light and creamy and will stand up to any fruit you throw its way.

2 packets Dream Whip (powdered whipping cream, non fat, find it in the baking aisle)

2 single serving Yoplait key lime pie yogurt cups

Combine with an electric mixer 2 minutes. Serve with fresh fruit.

I don't have the nutrition info in front of me. But I'm pretty sure that the whole dip bowl is under 4 g of fat and under 400 calories. If you are able to find a nonfat, citrus flavored yogurt use it! Yoplait Light and Fit used to make a nonfat lemon yogurt. This is the one originally used in the recipe, but we couldn't find it. The lime was divine. Everyone will want to know how you did it.

Blessings

A wonderful trip to Nevada The funeral for my Great Grandmother was so beautiful. We had an easy trip out and back, a lovely visit with our immediate and extended family, and a few days of perfect high-dessert springtime weather.

My sweet mom who celebrated a birthday this last week. 31 already mom? You look great!

A busy schedule for the next few weeks. Crazy might be a better description. But the pace will keep me focused.

A Saturday at home which we spent working on our yard. Aside from the 4 bushes we planted last fall, our property has been completely void of any cultivated vegetation. We are the embarrassment of our subdivision. We're still weighing our options for getting a lawn in. And after the work we did Saturday, we now have another planter, 5 more bushes, 10 day Lilly bushes, 30 pansies and about 80 gladiolus bulbs planted. It should really start looking like something in a few weeks. Here are some shots of the before, after, and in between.

Grant Attack

So, after that totally terrible week we had with Grant, I feel like I've got a new baby on my hands. The poor little guy. In the course of 5 days, he had a mild reaction to an immunization and cut 2 teeth. So we struggled with an off again, on again low-grade fever, sleepless nights, and then a nice case of viral exanthum (a rash). Just a week later, he cut 2 more teeth. No wonder the little guy was such a mess. But now, he's a seriously happy boy. He's not as clingy. He plays by himself. He loves being in his walker or highchair. The little man was so good on our trip to NV. He slept through every night.


He has started sitting up by himself which has also helped his temperament a lot. He loves being privy to the action, if not the center of it. Its nice to be able to sit him up on my bed while I'm getting ready instead of listening to him cry because I'm not holding him. Also, it has made our meal times SO much better now that he is very content being in his high chair (you were right mom!).


From the time he wakes up until the late afternoon, this is pretty much what I get. Smiles and more smiles. (By the way, I know I'm not supposed to put stuff in the crib with him. But he won't take a binki, and like his sister, I can leave him happily in his bed to go to sleep by himself if he has a book and a blanket.) The evening is pretty much a crap shoot, but a bad night is easier to handle after a good day.

Grant is completely in love with his big sister. He is fascinated by her every move and laughs at just about everything she does. It is the best thing in the world to watch them play together. I'm a lucky mommy.

At his 6 month appointment, he was still averaging the same stats: 90th+ percentile for length, and 5oth percentile for weight. He is already popping out of his car seat. I used this car seat with Grace until she started walking. I can't believe how fast it goes.

He loves just about everything we give him to eat. We've got a couple of those mesh bag pacifiers that you can put ice cubes, or cooked veggies or fruit in. He loves it. Or Cori will just hold produce up to his mouth and he loves to sit and suck on it. Now that he's got 4 teeth poking through (two on top and two below), we're entering the fun Cheerio phase of parenthood. I swept the kitchen twice today.

Things that make him especially happy right now:

• when Gracie says "Achoo, baby Grant!" 49 times in a row
• being tickled. He's ticklish everywhere
• having books read to him
• reaching, and grabbing everything in sight
• watching Grace jump
• riding in the new stroller next to Grace

Food Storage Find

Maybe you're like me and have less-than-fond memories of your mom rotating her powdered milk storage. I don't really care for the real stuff to begin with. So when it popped up on my shopping list I found myself staring at my options (huge boxes that would make like 50 gallons) thinking what in the world am I going to do with that much powdered milk?

So I waited. Then, at Walmart I found a box of powdered milk packets. The box has 10 packets that make a quart each of milk. It was a bit more expensive ($7.24) at the onset to buy it this way, but perhaps cheaper than opening a huge box and not using it before it expires. I know I need more in our food storage with a toddler and baby on board. But this is a start.

Incidentally, I made some pudding last night. A large Jello pudding mix uses three cups (just a little shy of a quart) of milk. I think I'll use pudding to rotate our stock. :)

Visiting with Sara and Jared

We had such a great time with Jared and Sara. The pressure was on considering how far they had driven. But with these two, even watching the grass grow is a hoot.

Here is a taste of what we did together:

Jared grew a grizzly, manly beard.

Our first viewing of Nacho Libre. That is a ridiculous movie. I laughed. Really hard.

Dinner out at our fav. Chinese food place, followed by a $10 trip to the Family Fun Center arcade. Yep, the high life.

A trip up to Mackinaw City to view the bridge and eat the famous fish (walleye) and chips at the Dixie Saloon. The saloon is next door to the ferry port. I can't wait to get out to that island.

Sara and I made ridiculous amounts of food for conference weekend. We hooked a laptop up to the flat screen downstairs, and had another one set up in the kitchen for KBYU viewing. We cooked and watched and feasted in every way. Then, we flew kites in between sessions. It was a great weekend.

Speaking of cooking, I had Sara help me with some of our favorite recipes. Stuffed chicken breast Provencal over creamy Parmesan polenta and totally yummy curried fish soup.

Of course, there was the usual reading of many books and watching of other movies that usually accompanies spending time with my family. Jared gobbled through a 500 page book, and Sara started the Fitzwilliam Darcy series that I just finished.

We also spent an evening at Avalanche Bay, the indoor water park at Boyne Mountain. It was so much fun. We all took turns with the kids. Cori and Jared tore it up on the wave simulator. Sara and I went doubles on the big kid slides. Gracie l-o-v-e-d being in the water. She cried when we left.

Finally, they helped me survive what was easily the most difficult week to date of Mr. Grant's young life. I seriously would have lost it forever if they hadn't been around to help.

Saying good-bye wasn't as hard as I was preparing for because we got to see them again just a few days later. But now that we're home again, it feels a bit lonely.

Thanks kids for a fun week!

Wordless Wednesday: Spring at last

The Hub Bub

So, here is a shot of my drastic-I-need-a-change-in-my-life hair cut. Shocking, I know. It is pretty much the same hair cut I've styled for the last decade. But I did get it highlighted, and I love it. Why was I so afraid of getting it colored before? It didn't make a huge noticeable difference. But, it is enough of a change to make my hair more interesting to me. She chopped off a good 6 inches so now I feel like actually wearing it down once in a while. I had fallen into a fashion emergency habit of parting my hair and pulling it back into a bun right out of the shower.

This is our new piano. It's a digital Kawai. First, let me clear the air by saying there just isn't a digital product out there that can rival the feel and sound of an acoustic piano. But the digital had some pro's that were especially attractive to us at this stage of our family: price, as in cheaper; mobility, it is much lighter and compact than its acoustic counterpart; headphone options, I can practice during naptime; and we figure that we've got at least 2 more moves, probably 3 before we're settled anywhere long term. Moving a digital piano will be easier, cheaper, and we won't have to pay for tunings. There are some things I love about this model in particular. It has a wooden keyboard, and the keys actually work on a lever function. This makes it feel more like a piano as opposed to the light touch of an organ, or the heavy key action of other digital pianos. It also has some amazing voice options. I put it on harpsichord for Bach and other Baroque period music. I love the mallets for jazz and certain Rachmaninoff pieces. It has 5 or 6 different piano voice options to chose from. We've had a lovely reunion, my piano books and I.

Okay, and finally here are a few pictures of the book I made using Blurb. Sorry, they're not the best, but it will give you a general idea. I was really impressed with the final product. The book is nicely bound. The paper quality is super. The image resolution is amazing. Blurb just came out with a new version of Booksmart which is supposed to be easier to use than the one I used for this book. I haven't tried it yet, but the old version wasn't bad at all. There were a few things I had to figure out through trial and error, but the tutorials offered on the website were very useful in getting started.

Wordless Wednesday: Pooh Sticks, Fall 07

Some News

I'm back, kinda.

Sara and Jared left just this afternoon. Their departure was a bit premature but more on that shortly. We had a great visit, and I'll post pictures etc. ASAP.

My hair cut wasn't a crazy disastrous mess that has sent me into complete social seclusion. (In case any of you were wondering if that may be the cause of my blog negligence.) I had Sara take a little portrait and will show you my hair and my blog book very soon.

My sweet great-grandmother, Mama Jo, passed away yesterday afternoon. It was not unexpected. Her passing was quiet, quick and dignified. Sara and Jared had to leave today to make the drive back to NV in time for the funeral which will be this weekend. This means that we will also be making a quick trip back West in the next few days. (Which also means I'll be spending the next few days doing laundry, cleaning and packing rather than blogging.) I'm excited to tell you about Mama Jo. But it may be next week, or maybe the week after before I am able.

Just checking in, y'all. More soon.

Mt. Rushmore

A snippet from Jared and Sara's excellent transcontinental adventure:

"Jared, think like a founding father."


"Uh, okay... think regally."
"Never mind."