Blissfully Happy

From the Mouth of Babes

2012-01-30T07:52:00.002-07:00

I have recently been re-assigned in my church assignment. For the past three years I have worked with the young women (12-18) teaching lessons, participating/planning weekly activities, camp, conferences, dance, volleyball, basketball, etc. I now teach the 3-4 year old class (aka Sunbeams) on Sunday. (I'm actually still assigned as the YW Camp Director which I find to be the best of both worlds because I love Girls Camp!).

I have an assigned co-teacher and we rotate and teach the Sunbeam class every other Sunday. This allows us to go to our own Sunday School and Relief Society meetings every other week (blah blah blah opinion as to how it should go - however, that is how our ward does it, and who am I to question the inspiration and direction provided by those in the bishopric and primary presidency - so I'm trying not to mumble).

Anyway, I wanted to share a few of things that the kids have said in our January lessons so I can remember...

Teacher: What does it mean for you to be a child of God?
Sunbeam H: It means I'm Jesus' baby.

Teacher: What makes you happy?
Sunbeam A: When my mom is sick.
Teacher: Well that doesn't sound very kind, why does that make you happy?
Sunbeam A: Because it means she's having a baby and I'm happy when my mom has a baby. Do you think my mom could be sick again soon?

I Got An Email With $102 In It!

2012-01-11T11:53:00.002-07:00

Seriously - I really did - and it's awesome.

You see, we get our car insurance policy renewal information by email and I got our bill for our next 6 month premium that is $102 less than we paid last August! I have no idea why it went down and they clearly state that our next premium will be what we previously paid - but I am happy for the relief to our budget - even if only temporary.

Actually, I believe that shopping around for insurance is one of the best ways to reduce your monthly budget. "Because, as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance." (If you can name that movie we are GREAT friends :))

Anyway, I personally shop around and compare our insurance rates about once a year - or when I'm feeling strapped for cash. I can't do much about our mortgage payment (though I can tell you the going interest rate because I always keep track in case it would be a benefit to me) but I can save on insurance.

I know that some people love their insurance company - and truthfully - if all costs were equal we would go back to State Farm in a heartbeat because we love our agent (he still provides some of our life insurance and our ring policy) and they have great response times in emergencies (we flooded our basement twice and had a fender bender so we can speak from experience). But rates aren't equal and we have saved several hundred dollars a year by switching.

I have no loyalty to an insurance company - I have a loyalty to the hard earned money we have and how it affects my families bottom line. This was actually a really difficult lesson to learn - because I felt a sense of loyalty to an agent or a sense of responsible to help him keep making money. I felt that it was connected to friendship and insurance has always been a loaded relationship for me. But - I finally decided - to get loyal to my family and our finances.

So I shop around - often - I do the work to switch when the savings are great enough. And I love getting an email meaning I have $102 more to spend in February - maybe we will eat out after all!

Learning to Say Thanks

2012-01-09T07:46:00.002-07:00

My sister is the best person I know for sending notes, cards, thanks, etc. Rarely a holiday has past that I haven't received of her kindness and thoughtfulness. This isn't a virtue that I inherited but it is one that we want to instill in Addison. So, the Sunday after Christmas, we gathered around the table to make thank you notes for all the people that sent/gave Addison gifts. She did the painting and I wrote a quick little message. As she gets older, she'll be privileged to do both.

I saw a recipe online to make my own finger paint out of flour, water, and food coloring. And since Addison spent more time licking the paint then actually painting - it was good that it was edible. Oliver gave it a taste after she kept licking away and it didn't taste good at all...silly girl.

All I did was add about 2 tablespoons of white flour with a little water to make a thin paste and then added a few drops of food coloring. To make painting extra easy for Addison and her VERY short attention span, I taped a piece of waxed paper to the kitchen table and then every 15 seconds or so I laid a clean piece of paper over her work and "picked it up" creating 20 pictures in less than 5 minutes. I just kept dropping color of paint onto the waxed paper in between each picture and she kept eating and smearing. She was more than done after 5 minutes - but we got enough "works of art" to mail to everyone that loves her so much!

(Now if I could just get my act together and get them in the mail - that would be a miracle. I did buy stamps on Friday night so I'm hopeful. Either way - it's the thought that counts - right? Okay, I know, wrong - so I'm trying really hard!)

Too Good to Pass Up

2012-01-06T17:12:00.002-07:00

I wasn't going to share my awesome find from today - but then I realized that millions of people don't read my blog - and those 20 that do should are people I love and they should get a great find too. So, without further ado, I paid $2 for all of the tape below!

Awesome - is it not?!?

Anyway, Target routinely marks their Christmas stuff down to 90% off on January 6th. From some stores it is 70% on January 6th and then 90% off on January 7th. Don't ask why I know that - I'm just an idiot savant I guess.

Anyway, what most people don't know is that anything they got specifically for Christmas they mark down to 90% off - all over the store. So not only can you purchase picked over ugly Christmas decor - but also wrapping paper, bags, plates, cups, napkins, parchment paper that says holiday on the outside, plastic wrap, home decor pillows, and some years even TAPE!

The other secret is that it isn't marked as clearance and it isn't in the Christmas section. So, if you are in the mood to hunt the aisles of Target, there are some great deals to be had. This tape was in the Office Supply section where the tape always is - I just grabbed the ones that said gift or looked somewhat holiday promising and then went looking for a scanner to check. They were listed on the shelf sticker as $2 like always - but scanned in at $0.20! And who doesn't need tape.

I was actually at Target buying clearance shoes for Addison (this is the time of year that Target always clearances their shoe section) and just happened upon the tape. I started at the AF store and bought the above pictured tape and then had to go back to the Sandy Target to return a pair that didn't fit her and they didn't have any tape.

But, if you're out and shopping anyway, hopefully you score some twenty cent tape - and if not - hopefully you can remember my Christmas Clearance secret for next year!

2011 - Never Posted

2012-01-05T08:53:00.004-07:00

I have all these things that I wanted to post last year that I just never got around to. Like Addison's 1-year pics...Anyway, this week I'm going to try to get some things from last year captured.

Our big house project last year was transforming our master bedroom. The project was finally completed with Oliver's Christmas gift to me - so I guess you could say it isn't that old of a project. The first pic is what our room looked like when we bought it. Don't you just love the black curtains :) We have window seats in every bedroom in the upstairs and don't need the storage it provides in our bedroom so we decided to turn it into a reading nook instead.

This was Oliver's first time taking out walls, adding electric sockets, adding drywall, etc. I had some experience mudding/taping from my mission (I spent 9 months, 4 hours per week, volunteering for habitat for humanity in California as part of my mission service. I even fell off the roof (which is a story for another day) :) So between the two of us - and a little help from a neighbor - the new reading nook looked like this.

Then, I don't really have any pictures from the painting saga - which included Home Depot mixing the wrong color in the second can and me just thinking it was darker because it was wet. Then taking all the tape off just to have to re-paint. UGH! If you're OCD like me you can still tell in some spots.

But below you can see the new paint color, the little reading nook, and mostly it was to document Oliver's gift of organization to me. We turned the wall when you walk into our room into our little planning area and we actually use it! Because our office is in the basement we weren't really using the calendar downstairs - but this seems to be working.

Also, I tried my hand at DIY artwork for the first time to finish off the wall space in our bedroom. I don't know if you've noticed - but big wall art is EXPENSIVE! So I bought a $9 canvas from Hobby Lobby and used leftover wall paint to paint toilet paper and wrapping paper tubes and make my own 3D art for above our bed. We love it!

Stay tuned for more missing documentation from 2011.

PS The guitar was Oliver's other gift to me (he got it as his white elephant gift from work) so I need to learn a couple of things apparently - because I know nothing about guitars at all!

For Women Especially At Christmastime

2011-12-19T11:43:00.001-07:00

“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.”
Marjorie Hinckley

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2011-12-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Get ready for action, adventure, and explosive entertainment like you've never seen it before! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to check out Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in IMAX theatres. You can watch the trailer here. It's already been showing in some theaters and I can't wait to see it. You can also "Like" IMAX's Facebook page for more details.

The information was provided by IMAX through MyBlogSpark.

Cousins Will Play

2011-12-16T11:54:00.002-07:00

After our tour of temple square to look at lights we went back to my sister's home for dinner. We had breakfast casserole out of the crockpot and it was tasty and had been cooking for 12 hours and was just ready for us when we got there - AWESOME - thanks pinterest!

Anyway, after barely eating anything all the kids were down and playing. They were running up and down the hall to Kyle & Aiden's bedroom and having a great time. Kyle takes up a little more room these days when connected to his feeding tube and you can see that Addison really wanted to go where she wanted to go. After yelling her need vocally but with no comprehension for Mr. Kyle she just gave him a two armed shove. Way to behave little miss :)

Kyle cried to his mom that Addison shoved him, and she did, and his nice mama gave him some explanation about how she's little and can't use her words and whatever. Must be hard being the oldest grandchild with nothing but little ones that have free reign and few consequences.

I'll have to re-read this to Addison when more kids come along and she can remember she already had her turn at being excused at naughtiness. The thing I love best about my sister is she just doesn't get too hung up in how the little ones interact - she just lets them figure it out themselves!

Here's her cute family showing our true family alliance!

*PS Yes, she graduated from the Y. But her husband is now a Ute and our mom was offering to buy her a sweatshirt - and who can turn down free? :) It really isn't a matter of school loyalty - it's loyalty to the pocketbook!

The Prison

2011-12-13T12:12:00.004-07:00

Our singing group was asked to perform our Christmas program for the women's RS Christmas activity at the prison tonight. I was excited for the opportunity to serve and to help. I hope the women felt the Spirit of the season and the love their Savior has for them - I sure did. It was palpable.

I was writing in my journal earlier this week and wrote: "I have a deep sense of love and respect for these struggling women - because we all struggle with some aspect of our lives - and their choices have just resulted in a very visual and outward consequence."

I don't fear them women in prison - though I know some do. I have done bad things in my life (nothing jail-worthy) and I have hurt people (even just their feelings or self-esteem or the like). The consequences of my personal actions might not be broadcast and publicly recorded in court transcripts - but I still have consequences to bare.

Then my good friend Meghann (whom I love so much more now that I have read her ENTIRE blog and feel like I really know her) pinned a quote on Pinterest that says "You are not the mistakes you have made". I truly believe that - and that is how Heavenly Father sees us. Now, since we are trying to be perfect and like him, it would be nice if we could "see" that about each other.

As we sang tonight I couldn't help but feel indescribably blessed. Some of those women must have come through rough time or grown in rough childhoods and I couldn't help but think - that could have been me. I spent over 11 years in the foster care system - I know rough times - what have I done to deserve the deliverance of God?

I own my home, married the man of my dreams, have a debt-free bachelors and masters education, a flexible job that allows me to be with our daughter, food on my table, and so many more uncountable luxuries. I know the Lord guided my path and protected my life to have come out so well. I feel saddened for those women and understanding of just how hard it is to fight against those temptations. They are not the mistakes they have made - it could just have easily been me - and I get it.

The greatest spiritual gift I was given was to be forgiving. I truly believe that one divine attribute that I posses has set my feet right and transported me to the fairy tale life I lead. I love the sinner - even the ones who have done so much personal harm to me and my family - but I just hate the sin. I can honestly say it's easy for me.

Serving at the prison has reminded me that repentance is real, we can be forgiven, and we are all part of a heavenly family and should love each other. I am glad to have found time this season to take pause and to really FEEL the meaning of the season and find quiet ways to serve and love.

May I look back on this moment when my life seems rough and my trial unconquerable and witness just how far I have really come and how the grace of God in undeniable in every facet of my life.

Best $20 I Ever Spent

2011-12-10T15:41:00.006-07:00

Okay - maybe not ever - but seeing how we paid $25 at the mall last year and only got a 5x7 and 2 3x5 - with no digital rights - we totally came out ahead. (Because we don't have digital rights to last years picture you have to come to our house if you want to see it.)

I have said it three other times since Addison was born - but we LOVE fotofly! If we ever move out of state then I am going to open Eric's out-of-state fotofly studio! This is the fourth time they've taken her picture and we are never disappointed. Starting in January Fotofly is going to have a permanent spot at Thanksgiving Point and shoot outdoor sessions. We might have to change it up next year and try something new (I sort of sound like an advertisement but I think the greatest honor you can give a small business is word of mouth referral.)

Anyway, without further ado - here is Addison with "Santa".

I can't decide which hugging picture I like better so you get to see both. Merry Christmas.

The picture of Addison pouting is when her dad is dressed up so we had to do a quick change and dress me up as Santa which resulted in the other shots. Addison loves her dad, but when she is in new situations or ones with too many people she is a total mama's girl.

Happy Surprise Birthday

2011-12-09T20:40:00.005-07:00

We celebrated Oliver's mom's birthday tonight with a little surprise dinner. She always does so much for us and we wanted her to know how much we love and appreciate her. She honestly didn't know anything about it which makes it a very successful night. The saddest part for her is that she thought she was coming up to pick up Addison for a sleepover. Luckily - Addison will have her sleepover tomorrow so it all turned out okay.

Tasha was awesome to come and help me with all the food preparation and Addison did her part by taking her two-hour nap. We had lemon parsley chicken skewers in fiesta lime rice salad(don't forget that I don't really follow recipes - so this is what inspired me but I made tweaks where I felt they were needed). I made fresh ground wheat rolls and we had melon. YUM!

When everyone was arriving and I was rushing to finish getting the food on the table we think that Addison could feel some of the anxiety. She wouldn't go to anyone but me and she was fussy. So this is the only quick picture I got while she cried in my arms before we sat to eat but I was pretty impressed with Tasha's and my work. (The one downside to having an open floor plan kitchen is getting everything served for dinner and having the kitchen all cleaned up. Luckily I am a tad OCD so when we sat for dinner all the counters were wiped down and all the dishes done.)

For dessert we had apple nachos (recipe here).

As Addison would say it was all very mmmmm.

Loving the Lights - For The First Time

2011-12-08T20:10:00.006-07:00

The lights at temple square are a big Utah Christmas attraction and we typically go every year. I personally have crowd anxiety and hate the cold - so it isn't my most favorite activity - until this year! Because Addison goes to bed between 6:30 - 7 we decided to head down to the square right when she got up from her nap at 4. We took dinner in the car, bundled Addison up in multiple layers on top and bottom, and took a co-worker of Oliver's that was in town from North Carolina. We arrived about 4:45 and it was deserted - nor were the lights on yet. What this meant was the Addison could run EVERYWHERE and she didn't have to be confined to her stroller or carried. She doesn't like either - so it was great for her to have space to roam and for us to calmly walk around following her general direction. We learned that the lights turn on at 5:00 and it was neat to see them light up. It was totally dark by 5:30 and so we got to enjoy the lights in the dark before the hoards of people.

Also, there was no line at the standard photo-op spots. Addison danced on the temple stone for at least 5 minutes and we didn't have to worry about a line of people waiting to stand in the same place. It was AWESOME!

Addison enjoyed pushing her stroller around and she couldn't get her mittens off because I attached them to her sweatshirt. She wasn't patient enough for me to help her get her thumbs into the thumb part of her mittens and so she just had sock-like coverings over her hands. She sure is independent.

My sister and her family came down to meet us about 5:30. We actually got a group picture with all but Aiden looking at the camera...how awesome is that?

Addison loves Kyle and he is enamored with her. He loves to hug her and be by her and "help" her and she resists most of his "help" But they did have a blast chasing each other and running all over. (Look how un-crowded the pavement - they could run quite a ways and the parents didn't have to worry because we could actually see them.)

I have to share this funny little story - Addison was running around (see first picture), she turned to come back to us and got confused because of all the jeans so she joined this group (see second picture). They thought she was so cute and started talking to her at which point she frantically looked around for us and came running back (see third picture). I just love how curious and independent she is.

After seeing the lights we went back to my sister's home for dinner and some visiting. I have another funny story to tell about Addison and Kyle but I'll save it for another post...for now you can enjoy how cute my nephews are.

For the first time in a long time Oliver was in charge of the camera for the beginning of our trip to the square. That means that there are actually some great pictures of me and Addison - LOVE IT! So I thought I'd share on more.

I am now totally committed to seeing the lights right as it is getting dark. It was so wonderful to be there before it was crowded and it was great to actually see the recorded Nativity. I've never been able to get close enough to see the Nativity and listen to it and so I was really excited that we were front and center with so few people around us. Oliver is a trooper and loves the square early or late - but I was so much happier with this trip. I can't wait to see the lights next year!

Luckily my blog doesn't have the large following and so I'm pretty sure my early visit plan won't be that widespread. But feel free to join us at 5 pm next year to enjoy the deserted tour of beautiful lights and still get your kids to bed at their regular bedtime.

Daddy Daughter Date

2011-12-05T09:40:00.006-07:00

Saturday morning I had a baby shower to attend, and while Addison would have been more than welcome, I liked having a break. The same morning, we woke up and Oliver exclaimed "we're out of milk, I guess we need Kneaders for breakfast". His world ceases to rotate when there isn't milk for cereal. I suggested that he take Addison on a Daddy/Daughter date - so off they went.

Our cousin Julie works at the Kneaders by our house (she's their baker, cake decorator, etc) and she just so happened to be working when they went in for French Toast. Addison loved it! As you can see...Oliver said she ate a ton.

Afterwards, they went to Home Depot, because Oliver and I are building Addison's Christmas gift. They happened to be having one of their craft activities (I have been trying to sign Oliver up to take Addison but he felt she was too little). Well, the people running the activity let them join right in and make a snowman napkin holder together. She was very focused on building her craft and loved it. They left before the painting phase started (mom will spray paint it at home this week instead).

Mom was so proud that Dad took pictures with his phone seeing how she like everything well documented and so she can peek at how cute Addison was building her first project. This was the first of many daddy/daughter dates. Addison is one very lucky girl!

Take 1

2011-12-05T09:30:00.003-07:00

Our church Christmas party was on Friday night - it was Addison's first encounter with Santa this season. Last year - at a mere 4 months old - she really didn't have much of an opinion. This year we started by walking over while everyone else was visiting with Santa and sitting real close. We waved, pointed, stood up, and sat down for at least 10 minutes.

When all the other primary kids had finished with their turns Addison got her goodie bag from Santa. She'd been eying them all night and was really happy to have a gift.

But then, mom slyly plopped her right on Santa's lap and it was frightening...

She lived through the terrifying experience and we will definitely try again this holiday season.

It's also awesome that Addison is too young to realize that I left her goodie bag on the table right where it came from :) I just don't need pencils and tiny erasers and stickers for her to "play" with (chew on).

Glad Tidings

2011-12-02T15:28:00.005-07:00

We had our "Night for Christ" concert last night and it went wonderfully. I've been singing with this group for about 3.5 years and it is a great and creative outlet for the talents given to me. It is nice to connect to other adult women, with common interests, that have nothing to do with our children. Don't get me wrong - we all love our kids (those of us that have them) but it is just fun to have a life outside laundry, work, house cleaning, kids, kids, and kids.

We're sad if you missed us last night (we were totally legit with a sound check and everything) - but know that we put on our "Night for Christ" concert every early December so you can see us next year too.

Eat a Bowl of Cookie Dough

2011-12-01T11:34:00.006-07:00

So you're on Pinterest right? And do you make anything from it?

I've actually been quite productive in doing what I see on Pinterest and that makes me feel good about myself.

This has been on there a lot lately...and who doesn't want to eat a whole bowl if raw cookie dough?

The awesome thing about this website is that most of her recipes are vegan (which makes them gluten free by default I think). You see my nephews are gluten-free, dairy free which maybe means they are vegan. My BIL's girlfriend is a gluten-free eater too. And the woman that inspired me to actually put some creativity into my blog design does the gluten-free thing too. So I've been changing up how I cook on occasion (because I got a girl pukingly sick after eating at my house because of my ignorance...yep, I'm horrible).

So, back to raw cookie dough, here is the recipe that I made - but you can see the original by clicking the picture above. I didn't make it dairy-free because I don't need to so here's how it went:

Cookie Dough Dip
-1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained)
-1/4 tsp salt (just less than)
-tiny bit over 1/8 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 cup peanut butter
-1/4 cup milk
-about 1/4 cup brown sugar and a squirt of honey
-chocolate chips
-3 T flaxseed (but if I didn't have it I would use oatmeal next time

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Now a couple of things, I don't really measure when I cook (pretty much not ever - not even to bake), I just add what looks good. So this is about what I did. I did have to add more milk to get mine to blend completely because my blender just isn't that great. Mine turned out kind of thin - but still spoon-able. I just added chocolate chips until it looked good to me - next time I will add a little less.

When Oliver stopped at home with his co-worker Addison and I were eating cookie dough and watching Veggie Tales (and I felt kind of guilty - like I'd been caught). They went to run an errand and didn't try it. Right before I left for YW I told Oliver there was left-over cookie dough in the fridge and then walked out.

This morning he was ranting about how great it was and how it would be awesome on top of ice cream. I then told him what was in it.

Oh, sweet victory, I love being sneaky!

I actually love raw cookie dough, so out of full disclosure, I want to admit that it does taste like raw cookie dough but the texture is a little off. Next time I will try to make mine a little thicker and I still haven't tried it chilled which might be better.

But we will be eating it for lunch again - maybe on top of ice cream - or as a dip for graham crackers. Yesterday I dipped apples in it and it was heavenly!

Everybody Poops

2011-12-01T11:23:00.002-07:00

and sometimes it happens at work...

Do women at your work hide in the stall and refuse to exit until the bathroom clears of anyone else after they've done their business?

I just find it comical.

Do you really think I care that you just pooped? Do you think I don't know (I can smell you know)? And do you think I don't recognize your shoes? We work at an engineering firm for heaven sakes - there are maybe 11 women who work on our floor and I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

So exit the stall with your head held high. Be proud. Everyone does it and no one cares.

And just to make it more awkward for you I'm going to stand at the sink, wash my hands five times, reapply lotion which I just washed off again, and watch you with your toes aligned to the stall door ready to exit giggling that you will wait and wait and wait until I make my exit.

Maybe you should sit back down because it's going to be awhile.

It just makes my day :)

Feeding Herself

2011-11-30T10:25:00.003-07:00

Addison pretty much exclusively feeds herself. She doesn't eat a whole lot sometimes and it is kind of game to figure out how to get enough food into her. Currently she loves eating anything that comes inside a container. Her tray is often filled with plastic baggies, little cups, small Tupperware, or anything else I can think of.

My motto: whatever works!

PS This is Addison pre fun skin condition. Go UTES!

Puree Pumpkin

2011-11-30T09:54:00.003-07:00

Remember how we grew our own pumpkins this year? Then remember how we picked them? Well they've been decorating our house since early October and when we unveiled Christmas it was time to use them up. I hate wasting stuff and I hate paying for canned pumpkin (all these pumpkins came from a $1 seed packet). Canned pumpkin is more than $1 for the 15 oz can and about $2 for the 29 oz can. So today I'm going to show you how to make your own puree.

Because I can.

First, it isn't recommended that you can puree and I think it's too much work to can chunks because it's hard to cut up and peel a pumpkin. So - the time efficient, and easiest way - freeze it. Start by rinsing your pumpkins (and feel good they are totally organic, come from you yard, and have no pesticides). Place as many as will fit on a cookie sheet and stab them with a knife. Then bake them at 275 until they are soft. If you forget them in your oven it's no big deal, the softer the better. I baked mine for about 2 hours but they were probably done after about 90 minutes.

When you pull them out of the oven the stem will just being falling off, they will be sagging, and the skin just peels away. I just used my hands to pull the pumpkin into two pieces. It is very easy to handle - like cooked squash. I prefer long baking to cutting and cooking in a pan with water hands down! I have done it the other way and it's hard to slice and gut the raw pumpkin, it ends up watery from the water needed to add to cook, and in my opinion it looses flavor. I don't like the steaming way either because I just want to deal with easy to handle pumpkin - so bake it, bake it, bake it!

Scrape out the seeds (and collect to bake if desired because they aren't stringy like raw seeds). Then add the meat to your food processor or blender. I prefer the blender but this is the batch I did in the food processor. Add enough water that it will puree into the consistency that you want. I added about 2 cups per blender-full.

In doing several batches I realized that it is easiest to put the plastic bag into a cup with the edges folded down and place it on the top of my scale. I then measured a cup (8 oz is a liquid cup and since pumpkin isn't liquid I first measured how many ounces it took to fill my actual measuring cup. You know a cup of flour would weigh less than a cup of pumpkin because a cup refers to spacial quality not weight...blah, blah, blah. With my water content it is about 9 oz of pumpkin per cup.) I poured 9 oz into each pre-labeled ziploc bag and laid them flat in my freezer.

After they were all frozen they stand up like a bookcase. I got 24 cups of pumpkin from 4 pumpkins. I was then kind of tired of the process and that is probably all we'll use before next year so I gave the other pumpkins away. Totally a money saver - not only for our family but enough abundance to share!

Notes:
- if you add too much water you can drain the pumpkin to the desired consistency using a strainer and then freeze it
- I freeze them in 1 cup amounts because it seems that most recipes call for 1 cup not a 15 oz can or 29 oz
- to use just thaw on the counter or in microwave and put it in stuff, the flavor isn't quite the same as canned so I spice my recipes a little more generously when using home grown pumpkins (it's because store canned "pumpkin" isn't actually pumpkin it is usually squash)
- we use it to make cookies, bread, pumpkin alfredo, waffles, or as an addition to oatmeal or cream-of-wheat - the possibilities are endless
- I don't plant baking pumpkins and I don't notice a flavor difference enough to justify the price difference - all these pumpkins came from one seed packet from the end cap at Smiths

Coming Up

2011-11-29T09:57:00.001-07:00

It's our Christmas Concert! Everyone is Welcome so please come!

PS Thanks Kara for the wording - I borrowed.

Day 5 - The End of the Chronicle

2011-11-28T19:38:00.002-07:00

This is the face that just breaks your heart - mom how many more days of this!?!?

We took Addison to the pediatrician yesterday and it turns out that she doesn't have hives. She has Erythema multiforme. The doctor took one look at her and exclaimed, "she doesn't have hives". Well isn't that nice - I've been trying to be patient and let them go away and not be some overly sensitive first-time parent and we're treating the wrong thing! AWESOME!

However, the facts on this new thing are that Erythema multiforme goes away on its own without treatment (in 2-3 weeks) - and there isn't much they can do for this either. Erythema multiforme is a hypersensitive reaction to an infection or medication that causes red, target-shaped or "bulls-eye" patches or sores on the skin. They start as red sores, hollow out to have a white blister looking middle, and then turn blackish-blue as they fade away (only to reappear (and appear, and appear, and appear) elsewhere).

It's not contagious - but it sure looks awful. And truthfully, if I saw a child looking like that in public I would think to myself that said child should be at home, cloistered, sequestered, and not infecting the whole world.

She is miserable, not sleeping well, not eating much, and who can blame her? I'm going to stop with the daily chronicle unless we have something new to chat about. Currently her hands and feet are so swollen and painful that she has a hard time picking things up and whimpers if she walks too much on her feet. This is supposed to end sooner than the rash so that's a good thing. Thanks for all your concern and hopefully we'll still get to do fun December stuff and she starts feeling better soon. If not, at least she's young enough to not have bad memories or feel like she's missing out.

Productive Weekend

2011-11-26T20:44:00.002-07:00

Oliver's parents watched Addison Friday night til Saturday morning so that we could finish our Christmas shopping. Not only were we able to finish all our shopping - but we spontaneously bought a live Christmas tree, lit it, and got it decorated. Having a few hours without the baby makes a world of different for our productivity. I love that our house is all decorated and our shopping is all done - now we can spend December focusing on the true things that radiate about Christmas.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful start to your season as well.

On A Happier Note

2011-11-26T20:31:00.003-07:00

I made something I saw on Pinterest (and it only cost $2)!

If you want some free evergreen just head to the Home Depot. In the fresh tree cut section they have a full cart of evergreen they just giveaway. When you buy a tree from them they cut off the bottom branches so that you can fit your tree in your tree stand - all those bottom branches that people don't want are yours for the taking. Yep, it's AWESOME!

In Case You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse

2011-11-26T19:47:00.005-07:00

We actually didn't think it could either - but we were mistaken. What these pictures don't show is that her skin is bluish-purple in between the places where she has hives. Mostly purplish-blue on her back, knees, and arms.

She is still has a wonderfully happy disposition and is playing, running, and laughing - she looks awful though and is kind of fussy late in the day. I would be A GAZILLION TIMES WORSE if I looked anything like this so I have no complaints at all.

The War Goes On

2011-11-25T20:16:00.002-07:00

Addison has been her happy go lucky self. As you can see, the swelling around her eye has diminished, and she's having no trouble getting into everything and playing and laughing and running. You can see how they have started to creep down her arm and around her wrist.

By the end of the second afternoon the hives were migrating all over her body and still holding on strong.

I gave her a bath to try to help with the itching and then lathered her up with calamine lotion. She's just been running all over and playing like a painted war chief.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better but we have been very blessed to have the happiest baby in regards to the whole situation.

Maybe It's Not A Better Morning

2011-11-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

Happy Turkey Day

2011-11-24T18:46:00.007-07:00

So our day started like all other morning. Addison woke up and ate an apple, a yogurt, and some cheerios. Upon realizing that her dad was eating without her she got back up to the counter to have her second helping of breakfast. (Which will be followed by a morning snack, first lunch, second lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner - but that's a post for another day).

Since I had already baked our cranberry apple pie for dinner (and that was all we were assigned) we decided to take advantage of the clear and beautiful morning and get our lights hung. Thanksgiving in the 50s is heavenly! Addison walked around the yard and talked to her dad who was up on the roof stringing lights.

She also spent a good 20 minutes following the neighborhood cat everywhere. She would talk to it and point at it and run after it - and couldn't understand why it wouldn't say hi in return.

It was after this fun time that I decided to take Addison in for a nap and I noticed that she was starting to get a hive on her neck. I went back outside to ask Oliver if he had noticed and he said that he thought he saw it when she woke up but wondered if I'd given her a hickey. It was just small on the back of her neck so I called my MIL and she said we could still come for dinner and she would look at it when we got there (she's a nurse).

Well it had grown and was spreading to Addison's armpits and back by the time she woke from her nap so we went up to Oliver's parents house, dropped of our Thanksgiving contribution, had Heidi take a peek, and then decided to take her to the kidscare. Well, there were 2 kidscares open on Thanksgiving in the Salt Lake Area - one in Bountiful and on in Murray. I called both and it was a 90 minute wait in Murray or I could make an appointment with no wait in Bountiful. So we headed to Bountiful and here is Addison waiting for less than 3 minutes in the waiting room - and a few pics of her hives when we got to kidscare.

The pediatrician asked if she'd eaten anything new, was on any meds, antibiotics, breathing weird, fever, new soap, etc, etc, etc. Nope to all of the above. So the only thing she could say is that Addison's body has developed hives in order to fight whatever virus she might have. She said that if they started itching she could take benadryl and if she started having a fever or any other symptoms to see our doctor. She said that we could go back to our family party because the hives weren't contagious as long as there were no sick people or brand new babies.

So we headed back to our Thanksgiving feast and Addison was her happy playful-self. She played with her 2nd cousins (from the Lyon side of our family) and had a great time eating and running around. I really can't tell you how wonderful the weather was! As you can see from the pictures the hives on her neck were starting to bother her and she kept scratching them. It's a good thing I had been inspired to cut all her nails that morning.

After playing the yard for awhile I tried to head out and buy some Benadryl for her but the grocery store had closed at 4 and then Walgreens closed at 6 - so we headed home because we had some in our own medicine cabinet. These last pictures are what Addison looked like right before she went to bed at 6:30 pm tonight. See how much worse the hives have spread on her back since kidscare?!? We'll see how she looks in the morning...but it is getting WORSE!

All things considered - we actually had a very night Thanksgiving. It's my favorite meal of the year - and this year didn't disappoint. It was great to see a small part of the Lyon family and I was truly thankful for the kidscare staff that sacrifice to be away from their families on such a special holiday to help out families in need.

There is always so much to be Thankful for...I can't even begin to list all of my blessings. But I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, family-filled holiday.

PS Yes, I made Addison's shirt - I'm going to make myself a button that says - "Yes I actually made something I pinned" :) I am thankful for Pinterest!

First Snow of the Season

2011-11-23T08:10:00.006-07:00

We had our first good snow of the season. You might remember Addison very first snow from last year - but this is the first time that she is actually big enough to "play". It wasn't very cold outside so we just put on her boots and jacket and let her go out. For the first several minutes she just stared at the white stuff on the ground and talked to it. Then she looked up and just laughed and laughed!

After awhile she lost her balance but she really didn't want to put her hands down. And because of the way her boots are different from all her other shoes, she couldn't bend her knees and ankles well enough to stand back up. Dad had the brilliant idea of moving her to the flat part of the lawn to play as opposed to the top of the hill - so she dusted off her hands as they walked. (It's one of her new favorite things to wipe her hands and dust them off and to pretend to put on lotion. She is just fascinated by how her hands work.)

Addison preferred to stand on the flat dry sidewalk and look at the snow from her comfort zone. When her boots got all white and snowy she kept saying "uh-oh". Oliver and Addison walked around the house and in through the back sliding door and she wasn't a big fan of walking in the snow. But she'll get used to it since it is a main part of Utah winter (Yuck says the mama).

Mama's Sick

2011-11-23T08:04:00.002-07:00

Addison doesn't watch much TV - in fact I don't know that she has ever watched TV at our house except Conference. I'm well aware of all the negative effects that TV can have on young children - but the biggest reason that she doesn't watch it is because I work until noon and when I get home I just want to spend time with her. I think that if I stayed home all day or if I had more children I might feel differently. Either way, the other week I was super sick and so I turned on a Care Bears movie from Netflix. She loved it! And I loved not having to do anything but sit with her.

Everything in moderation - that's our mantra!

2nd Cousins

2011-11-23T07:29:00.007-07:00

Oliver's grandparents host anyone in the family that wants to come and visit any Sunday at 5 pm - every single Sunday. Isn't that awesome of them!?! We headed up this past Sunday (it used to be more often before Addison and before 1 pm church). It happened to work out that all but 2 of the great-grandchildren were there. Our visits haven't seemed to line up lately that we are all there together and so it was great to have randomly all chosen the same Sunday to visit. Not only was it fun for some of the older ones to play together - but we had to take a moment to get a picture of the whole crew!

Addison (8/7/10) Finn (4/10/11) Isabelle (5/8/11) Olivia (5/8/11) Boston (early 10/11) Kael (8/20/08) Brecken (3/27/10)

Addison isn't the baby anymore...SAD!

Thanks Grandma!

2011-11-09T09:29:00.003-07:00

Addison's grandma bought her mittens and a stocking hat for Halloween. She had fun modeling her winter wear!

Winner Winner

2011-11-01T07:26:00.002-06:00

Michelle!

Cow Cute!

2011-10-26T10:54:00.006-06:00

Saturday the weather was gorgeous so we took a family bike ride to the nearby pumpkin patch to get some pictures of Addison in her costume. She was so distracted by everything else going on that she wouldn't look at the camera (much to mom's dismay) but she was adorable anyway. After pictures we put her back in her overalls to play and then I caught on camera what Addison has loved doing lately...RESTING!

She loves to back up to things and sit down, like a door step, a stair, or even these pumpkins. And she loves sitting on the ground and leaning back against the couch, wall, or even the pumpkins. This peaceful restful love of her lasts about 15 seconds before she's back to running and exploring and finding something else to "rest" against. LOVE HER!

Giving Away More Money!

2011-10-25T19:46:00.002-06:00

So I posted a giveaway for a Sam's Club just a week ago and only had four people enter. I hope to have more enter this give-a-way, but either way I'm going to brag about Sam's Club again.

We eat yogurt at our house pretty much daily. Oliver is a yogurt snob when it comes to brand - he will only eat Yoplait. I went to Sam's to check out their new expanded Yoplait yogurt selection at Sam´s Club and was quite pleased. Not only do they offer the traditional three-flavor pack that we are accustomed to, but they also offer 32 oz tubs, other variety packs, dessert Yoplait delights, parfaits with granola, gogurts, smoothies, and trix yogurt. I was quite impressed by all that was offered and, as you can see from the previous post, we are enjoying the yogurt around here immensely!

If you'd like to win a $40 gift card to Sam's Club to purchase your own Yoplait yogurt then leave a comment telling me what Yoplait product you want to try.

For an additional entry, tell me what you, your kids, your neighbor, your dog, or your dreams will be dressed as for Halloween.

I'll announce the winner November 1st at 7:30 am - feel free to enter until that point.

Disclosure: The Sam’s Club gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Sam’s Club and Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

I Can Do It Myself!

2011-10-25T19:33:00.002-06:00

Addison has decided that she can do most things herself...the only problem is she still kind of can't!

At least it makes for good stories, great pictures, and most importantly her personal development. We just love this girl!

Oh yeah - and Addison is really into kissing everything! Blowing kisses, kisses her baby, kissing random other children in the Costco parking lot, kissing newborns feet (we have been teaching her to stay away from their faces so she thinks you're supposed to kiss their feet). Yep - we just love her!

Halloween Outfit 1

2011-10-25T08:12:00.006-06:00

The YM/YW in our ward put on a Primary Carnival for all the kids every year. It happens on a Wednesday night and there are games and prizes and treats. The whole neighborhood comes and it is a lot of fun. Because we don't have a lot of kids in our neighborhood it isn't very crowded and the youth all dress up and man the games and love the little kids. This is our third year going (and Addison's second) and I think the youth love it more than the little kids!

Addison's Grandma and Grandpa took her to a princess party in September (a cancer fundraiser event) and so she wore her costume again to the carnival. She actually has another costume for Halloween - it just would have been a little hot indoors so we opted for the princess outfit. As it was, she could have gone without the long sleeves because she was really hot!

Oliver and Addison decorated her treat bag and she was ecstatic to put things in and out of it all night long! She didn't eat any of the candy because she doesn't know what it is yet (that's for mom and dad) but she did love putting it in and out of her bag and giving it to her daddy.

Her favorite game to play was the bone toss. The older kids were so nice to let her carry the skeleton hand around with her and interrupt whoever was playing at the time to put it in one of the buckets.

As an aside, I have come to realize that kids are born charitable and considerate and it is their circumstances and life situations that changes that. Every child stepped out of Addison's way, got down on her level to tell her how cute she is, and let her interrupt what they were doing so she could have a turn. Even the four and five-year-olds accommodated her wandering and just loved her. No one was upset when she walked right through the bow and arrows of when she pulled up papers from the cake walk. The kids even shared their treats and prizes with her and wanted her to feel included. I learned more about what the Savior meant when He said "become as a little child". It was a touching teaching moment that was probably not the intended purpose of the Halloween Carnival.

Addison still carries her princess wand all over the house and I love that she has no idea what the Reese's pieces are that she's holding in her hand. Really I do - she'll have plenty of life to eat junk and I love that she still prefers green beans, carrots, cottage cheese, and grapes.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I post pictures of her in her other Halloween outfit!

Wind In Your Face

2011-10-24T08:05:00.003-06:00

We went on a family reunion to Capitol Reef with Oliver's siblings and parents and had a great weekend (there will be other pictures to come). But one thing Addison hates is riding in her car seat. Oliver and I had to drive down by ourselves and we weren't looking forward to almost 4 hours of Addison in the car.

She did remarkably well seeing how she cries driving less than 2 miles to the babysitter's house most of the time.

On the way home I was driving and trying to find ways to keep her entertained and so I would roll the windows down in series and she thought it was the GREATEST to have the wind in her face! She would giggle and clap and laugh and wave her arms and we played the window game for more than 25 miles - AWESOME! This is what got her screaming "GO" and now she yells it at everyone and every thing.

We had a wonderful time on our long weekend vacation and can't wait until the next Family Reunion (with Nick sleeping somewhere else).

Still Remembering - Never Too Late

2011-10-18T21:09:00.004-06:00

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 fell on a Sunday. Every year, in anniversary of the attacks, Sandy City puts up a "Field to Remember".

The city puts up a flag of every victim with a small card attached telling their name, where they were when they passed, and a little about their life. It is a touching site.

After all the American flags for the fallen they put up a flag of every country that was effected by 9/11 - even Portugal lost some of its citizens (it's where Oliver served his mission).

We decided to go walk the field after church and spend some time reflecting. I had barely started my freshman year of college in upstate New York when 9/11 happened. We all have memories of when, where, what, etc. of that day and it is good to remember, celebrate, and be amazed the resiliency of our nation. I'm proud to be sister to an air force officer who has proudly served our country since before that time and been to the "sandy scary" places on more than one occasion.

Seeing how we live less than two miles from the Sandy field it's probably an event we will attend again.

God Bless America!

Happy 4th Anniversary

2011-10-18T20:33:00.006-06:00

Oliver and I decided to celebrate our anniversary (technically 9/27) by going to the circus (on 9/24). It was phenomenal and really fun. We both went once as tiny kids and neither of us remember going so we decided to give it a go. I have an in to order tickets for any Energy Solutions event so we were able to get discounted tickets with no processing fees (the fees alone saved us $26). AWESOME.

We went to dinner at a dine-o-round restaurant and my mom was staying with us and able to babysit Addison.

If you go an hour and a half early to the circus you can go down to the fairway and see all the animals outside. It is a way closer view of the animals than a trip to the zoo - it was actually really cool.

After touring all the animals we then we inside and were able to go down to the circus floor to watch some pre-show activities. The let the kids walk the tight rope, try on costumes, and the performers even helped them to perform little tricks. They also brought some of the animals out to do stunts and interact with the public. Rosie the elephant came and painted for everyone to watch and we also learned about some of her favorite foods. Rosie's most favorite food is fresh baked bread.

I was actually perfectly content after all the pre-circus fun, but I loved the circus too. It is long (like 2.5 hours) but they had great acts. It was also so fun to see the kids about young elementary school aged that were enthralled, thought the clowns were funny, and were old enough to sit that long. It is something we will definitely take our kids to but not for about 8 more years :)

Winner Winner

2011-10-17T07:47:00.002-06:00

I'm giving away $40 soon so hopefully more of my readers will enter. But for the magic of today...

YAY KIRSTEN!

(Just email me your address and I will have your gift card sent to you.)

PS You can enter even if you don't belong to Sam's and give it away as a Christmas Gift - or buy yourself a membership...

Give Back by Buying Pink

2011-10-11T20:01:00.002-06:00

This October, by making simple everyday purchases at Sam's Club, you can help support breast cancer education and research. Sam's Club stores began featuring exclusive pink packaging on September 19th on some of your favorite participating General Mills products in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Oliver and I had a chance to go and check out some of the products that Sam's Club is offering in support of breast cancer awareness as well as check out Sam's Club itself. We are fairly committed to a different big box store but were pleasantly surprised by several things.

- Sam's Club is not crowded (I went once at lunchtime and another time first thing Saturday morning)
- They sell one gallon of milk at a time
- They open earlier than other box stores
- AND they have crushed ice in their fountain machines :) Just sayin'

They're offering several general mills products in pink packaging as well as some yoplait goodness. I personally loved specially-marked General Mills Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies. YUM!!

Anyway - if you want to head over to Sam's Club and support cancer awareness that would be awesome. And I would love to support one of you in your endeavor. So enter now to win a $25 Sam's Club gift card.

All you have to do is post a comment telling me which of their favorite General Mills products are you most excited to see featured in the Pink Promotion at Sam´s Club?

For a second entry tell me your favorite Addison blog story and leave a second comment.

I'll use random.org to select a winner on Monday, October 17th. Good luck!

Disclosure: The information and gift card(s) have been provided by Sam´s Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Picking Pumpkins for FHE

2011-10-11T19:52:00.004-06:00

Going to the pumpkin patch with Addison would be fun - but she doesn't have the longest attention span. We decided to go to our backyard patch for FHE and pick our very own pumpkins. After a 30 second song, 10 second prayer, and 40 second lesson it was time for the activity part of FHE!

Addison had a wonderful time looking at all the pumpkins and backing up and sitting down on them. She is getting used to wearing her rain boots but it helped to have some extra stuffing of her footed pjs. We sure love how fun she is and how nice it is to be self-reliant! It was definitely a cheaper pumpkin patch experience as well...

The Baby Plays Along

2011-10-05T08:30:00.001-06:00

I found a picture of the baby playing too!

Auditioning for Emily

2011-10-05T07:34:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to learn a piano piece to accompany our YW for YW in Excellence and it is proving to take more time than I originally anticipated. Consequently, Addison has also been playing the piano regularly. She loves to play while I'm playing and she loves to have her baby play. She also loves to play directly underneath my right hand and try to do what I'm doing. It's awfully cute.

She isn't that familiar with the video camera - but she warmed up to it after awhile (and I figured out how to use it) and showed some of her talent.

Emily - if I promise to teach her to count and read notes - can you move closer and have her as a piano student? PLEASE? You could call this her audition tape...she'll be ready to go in 3 years!

PS I downloaded free .mov editing software that allowed me to clip off whatever portions of the movie I needed to - and it does a ton of other stuff but that was all I really wanted. It's called videopad. And no, videopad doesn't know I exist, I'm just giving them free advertising because it was seriously easy to use and did exactly what I wanted!

Go Beavers - An Equal Opportunist Cheerleader

2011-10-04T21:13:00.005-06:00

Addison is an equal opportunity cheerleader.

She loves the Utes because her mom graduated from there.

She hates the Y because it's just the thing to do.

The team she cheers most loudly for is Oregon State. Her Nana and grandpa met there and her Nana is a HUGE fan. Since Addison is an equal opportunist she was more than thrilled to receive an outfit and parade around practicing her cheers and other toddler moves.

She mounted the bench and then coped an attitude on her decent of the driveway.

She did a little stumble and somersault on her assent of the front lawn and she even practiced showing her cute little bum.

She then paraded around the driveway doing a little jig and sharing her vault of facial expressions.

Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail to old O.S.U. - GOOOO BEAVERS!

Ultimately, she became distracted from her cheer-leading practice, and decided to investigate the state of the fall flowers in our yard. She was quite distraught when I wouldn't let her eat the flowers off the purple blooming bush because they are swarming with end of life cycle bees that are in their mean phase.

After a *small* tantrum she was satisfied to be relocated to a bee-free bush to eat.

Nana Came and Went

2011-10-04T16:14:00.004-06:00

Our anniversary is September 27th and we just celebrated four blissful years together! My mom has actually be in town for 3 of the 4 anniversaries (see 1st, 3rd, 4th) we've had. So, like every other fall, we welcomed my mom into our home for a nice visit. We typically take a gazzilion pictures when she visits - but this time we were too busy playing, shopping, eating, baking, etc. The day before she left we did enjoy a nice drive up to Big Mountain and snapped a few quick pictures. I love fall - it is only the best season of the WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR!

I love having my mom come and visit, but my sister and I are trying to convince her to come and see Utah sometime other than September! I hope it's soon - regardless of what month it is!

Crispy Crock-Pot Rotisserie Chicken

2011-10-04T16:00:00.003-06:00

I love Rotisserie chicken - like the $5 kind from Costco. We have tried to cook whole chicken at home in the crock-pot on several occasions but I am always disappointed that it's soggy, oily, and falls apart into a bone-slimy mess.

Well - let me teach you the BEST FREAKIN' TRICK EVER!

Just ball up three balls of foil and put them underneath the raw chicken in your crock-pot and then cook on low! The drippings fell off into the bottom of the crock-pot, the skin was crispy, the meat was still fall off the bone tender, and I just rubbed some all seasoning salt all over the outside and it was yummy. You could shove some cloves under the skin or dress it with fresh herbs - but this was a Sunday "best use what I have on hand" kind of a meal. I picked up a "managers special" whole chicken the day before that was approaching expiration so it only cost $1.88 for the whole bird! Before church I used my little trick and just turned it on low - about 4 hours later we enjoyed perfect chicken.

Look at that crispy seasoned bird! I also chopped up potatoes from my garden and tossed them with a bag of carrots, olive oil, and a ton of this and that seasonings and let them slow roast in my over at 250 for the duration of church. I love coming home to yummy smelling, no work, Sunday dinner!

If you try it let me know! I will remember this awesome trick the rest of my life (which I originally read about in my Our Best Bites cookbook).

Best Event of the Year

2011-10-04T15:07:00.006-06:00

I love the State Fair. I took Addison last year but she was just tiny and so I was really excited to take her again this year - especially because she is so curious and excited and fun at this stage. We walked through all the animal barns and Addison pet goats, sheep, cows, and even a piglet. She loved watching the piglets run around and eat and kept telling us all about how exciting it was. Every time we let her out of her stroller she would take off running to see the next thing. Below you can see her running to better see the cows.

After perusing the animal barns we headed towards the children's farm area and made a quick stop at the hot tubs. Addison loves all things water!

I love the children's area where they learn all about the farming process. Addison probably didn't get much educationally out of the whole thing but she loved putting things in and out of her basket, sticking everything in her mouth, and milking the cow.

It was definitely a successful Fair year - we'll be back again and again and again...

PS We went to the Fair the night of the U vs BYU game and dressed appropriately to show our support. Go UTES!

Favorite Food

2011-10-02T11:23:00.003-06:00

Addison's favorite food is green beans. These pictures were taken in August - but shows a common scene around our house. She'll sit on the counter with a can full and watch while I cook, clean, do dishes, unload the dishwasher, or whatever.

And this was the first time that Addison sat up at the table instead of in her high chair. She wasn't eating in her high chair but the minute I put her up at the table and let her get her own beans out of a baggie she finished them all off! Yep, she's just a little strong willed. And nope, I have no idea where that attribute comes from. ;)

Working With Mom

2011-10-02T11:04:00.003-06:00

Addison loves to play with the laptop and "help". But sometimes she will sit beside us and work on her own laptop while we work on ours.

Pioneer Day Camping

2011-10-02T10:28:00.010-06:00

We packed up to go camping for Pioneer Day weekend (July 22 - 25). As you can see - you have to take a whole lot more stuff once you have a baby! This was actually Addison's very first time tent-camping, which is my favorite kind of camping.

Addison loved sitting in her tiny camp chair and playing in the river. It was FREEZING but it didn't bother her and she didn't even mind crawling through the sand. I love Robeez shoes and that they work like water socks on little babies. After the days of mud and fun were over a quick bath in the "kitchen" sink was a necessity.

My sister and her family were able to join us for two nights and Addison and Aiden loved sitting across from each other at the picnic table. And they both loved that they could find a snack later on underneath their high-chairs. :)

We put out a tarp and let the kids play. Addison was just starting to take steps when we went camping and so they were mostly content to play on the dry tent.

We didn't hike far but Holly tried out our hiking pack and loved it!

We can't wait for next summer when we can go again.

Just Tell It Like It Is

2011-09-18T16:55:00.003-06:00

When people come to our house we make every effort to have it feel nice and inviting. We work to make it clean, decorated, child-proof, and whatever.

But then we're busy, we work, we have callings, responsibility, then there are all those family things that you try to squeeze into the one-day weekend and it seems like there just isn't enough time to actually live in a house like that all the time.

In an effort for this blog to reflect the state of our house right now, I present to you a typical Sunday afternoon:

Do you have those days where your toy bins look like this:

Because you family room looks like this:

And the kitchen looks like this:

And that is milk that has been forgotten for more than a day...

Yeah, we're not put together all the time either. Good thing it's Sunday, the day of rest, and I can think about dealing with it all tomorrow.

Subscribe & Save

2011-09-15T07:50:00.003-06:00

So - I'm turning into an online shop-a-holic. Since I have a 1-year old child I have no real desire to go to the store with a child that hates her car seat and is independent and wants to walk everywhere I have been buying my GROCERIES online - and I have to say that I LOVE IT!

I have decided that I personally hate coupons. I feel like it takes up too much of my time and printer ink. Plus, it's horribly frustrating to go the store and have them be out of what I have a coupon for because some woman before me bought 20 bottles of mustard and I only wanted 1! I've tried various grocery sites over the years and am responsible for my families meal planning, making, and grocery shopping. I have stopped cooking from boxed items and I make most things from scratch. I'm not able to buy everything online for a good deal but I buy several non-perishable grocery add-ons through Amazon.

I stop at the grocery store about every 10 days to buy milk, yogurt, and produce. I stop at the lds cannery about once a month to add to my staple items and then I watch sales for other things and stock up when their cheap. In watching sales and learning my prices I have learned that Amazon is sometimes wonderfully competitive to good grocery store deals. Plus, Amazon offers 3 things that the grocery store doesn't - no sales tax, free shipping to my door, and I know if it's in stock without leaving my bed!

In addition, my husband takes a lunch to work just about everyday. Oliver is a creature of habit and has been eating PB&J since 1st grade. That coupled with a piece of fruit, some carrots, a Yoplait yogurt, and a treat make a complete lunch. The treat part is where Amazon comes in (if I was a better wife he'd have homemade cookies or something to take - and he does maybe 2% of the time - so it's the other 98% we're discussing). I have been able to buy cheez-its for $1.50 per box, teddy grahams for $.28 per package, organic fruit snacks, organic crackers, etc. I also buy Kraft Mac&Cheese (because nothing else is as good) for $.48 per box.

The other benefit to amazon shopping, if you aren't going to coupon, is that disposable diapers and wipes are cheaper than anywhere else! They come to my door, I can get one delivered the next day if I'm in a pinch, and I don't have to wait for a Costco coupon. I'll admit that diaper deals are better with coupons and rite-aid rewards, blah, blah, blah but as previously disclosed that's just not for me. We also do cloth diapers 95% of the time and I just need a box is disposables for when we camp or vacation and so I'm interested in convenience. I can get Huggies, delivered and with no sales tax, for cheaper than Kirtland brand with a coupon. That is success!

Anyway, shopping on Amazon has actually lowered my monthly grocery bill even further (which I didn't think was possible) because I'm not tempted to buy other stuff at the store because I just don't walk down any of the aisles. I walk the perimeter and out! It has also added to my food storage (I bought a 12-pack of Skippy Organic PB (Oliver is a PB brand snob) for $1 a jar) and now it's just waiting when I'm ready. If you don't have storage space then maybe this route isn't for you - but I LOVE AMAZON GROCERY SHOPPING!

Salmonella Resistance

2011-08-31T14:01:00.003-06:00

We believe that it is imperative to develop a strong resistance to salmonella early in life.

What better way than licking battered kitchen utensils?

No children contracted salmonella in the making of this post.