Our Day

Today was another full day in the life of Jamie & Girls.

First, I helped with a Halloween activity in Jordyn's classroom. She LOVES when I come to her class and is very proud to have me there. It's flattering to me, and I try to soak it up because I know there will come a day where she will be embarrassed for me to be in her "world".

I brought Lexi and Peyton to class today. Jordyn's classmates thought that was pretty cool!

Lexi got to participate and even ate a cookie!

Peyton wanted to explore (and eat) everything

Jordyn is properly using "two finger spaces"!

Instead of wearing costumes to school, the Kindergarteners have "Pajama Day". Jordyn picked pajamas made for her by Gam.

These next photos may alarm you. But not to worry. It's not blood. I just have to complain about children's medicine being RED. What is up with that? Poor Peyton is sick. The whole deal - cough, cold and fever. So I gave her my favorite remedy: Triaminic Flu. It covers all bases for multi-symptom days like today. But why the heck is it the BRIGHTEST red you could EVER imagine? All medicines should be DYE FREE!

So, if your child spits the medicine all over the entire room (like mine) and if you are trying to do too many things at once (like me) and spill it all over.......then it looks like a crime scene!

Poor baby :-( *mom don't look*

But the medicine DID help her!

And then tonight was, of course, Halloween.

Finally.

We've had parties in dance class, school, and church, so tonight was a bit anti-climatic for me (but I'm sure it wasn't for the kids).

My siblings came over and we enjoyed pizza and Sonic happy hour beverages.

Pey was trying Tucker's wig on for size. She stayed home with mommy to pass out candy.

Tucker and Mike took the girls out for over an hour. It was cool - probably in the low 60's, so not too cold.

Lindy and I with the babies. We enjoyed hanging out at home while the boys took our kids out. Kristy and Ryan accompanied us too.

Desperation - But Not for Me

This was too funny not to share.

So, last night, Tucker was sitting next to me on the couch and I was showing him something on the computer. Well, sort of. He was watching sports highlights. So we were both a little distracted. You must also know that Tucker had been sending me innuendos [of the sexual nature] in abundance throughout the day.

So, after a few minutes of sitting by me, and both of us distractedly listening to eachother, he said "Alright! Let's go! Right now!" Seeing my hesitation, he adds "C'mon, it'll be part of my Christmas present!?".

And at THAT point, he had my full attention.

I, confused and a little annoyed, said "Are you SERIOUSLY THAT desparate? I mean, your CHRISTMAS present?? Wow, don't you think that's a bit extreme?".

He looked at me like I had two heads.

That's when I realized I was missing something. I was even more confused now.

He said "Wow. I was asking you to go to the Red Sox website and buy me the World Series Champion shirt right now, and that can be part of my christmas present".

It gave me a pretty good laugh, I have to admit.

It's MY Party!

It's MY birthday party day, and I'm ready for FUN, FUN, FUN!

I just want to touch the cake SOOOO bad...but mommy says "not till tonight, my pretty girl"

Finally, "tonight" came and (after some pizza and sliced kiwi) I got the pretty pink strawberry cake with a yellow frosting flower - made especially for me by my mommy!

Right away, I stuck my finger in it....

...and ate it! Yumm

Then it was time for presents! But since I am only "1", all the older kids were way more excited than I was. I must say, I got some cool presents!

One of the presents was a convertible-walker/scooter from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa used his rusty handy-man skills and put it all together for me (with the help of Lexi and Lyric).

So I gave it a try.....

...and, I know its hard to tell from this picture (ha ha), but I LOVED it!!! If you didn't know better, you'd think I'd been walking for months! (I'm still not quite ready to let go). OH, and mommy wants me to say: LOOK how Stinkin' CUTE I am!

My CrAzY mom even gathered everyone together for our "traditional" birthday picture! And I'm glad she did, because then I can remember who came! It was all of my great family, plus our friends Tiffani (with Seth and Tessa), Beth (with Dane and kids) and Kandelyn (with Rich and kids).

What a great birthday I had! THANKS everyone, for celebrating with me!! It's fun to be "1" and my sisters are so excited about it! Here's to a fun year!

Flashback Friday

This is my [now 5 1/2 year old] Jordyn Lyn when she was 6 months old, when we lived on 33rd South in SLC. I had this big idea and I bought the biggest pumpkin I could find!

In case you every try this, be forewarned: The pumpkin is REALLY cold inside....meaning the baby will hate it and will cry a lot! Lining it with a towel works great :-)

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

2006

2007

One year ago today, I was lying in the hospital 6 hours after giving birth to Peyton. From that moment, I knew she was an extra sweet and extra happy little girl. It is absolutely incredible that she was ever NOT in our family. What a little light she is in our home.

Happy, loving, cuddly, soft, smart, determined and strong baby.

Every single morning I get her out of her bed, I hug her and wonder (and I ask her) "How did I get so lucky to get a Pey Pey??".



I love you Peyton Jean!! Thanks for bringing SOOOOOOO much love into our family.

Happy Birthday Baby!

(party and pics to come tomorrow....)

TRUNK or Treat

Tonight was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. It was time for us to transform ourselves!

I cannot believe it's time for Halloween already....time sure flies!

And, as cute as the girls look, I think there will be a new rule next Halloween: No Princesses.

When it came time for the costume parade, I stood on the platform stage and announced my costume as "I am my mom....in 1965!". It was extra funny because my mom was right there. Although, that's not completely accurate....because she would have only been 11. Maybe more like 1969.

Check out my cute family.

I can't believe it....

...but my mother finally HAS A BLOG! I'm so happy!

She cracks me up. Check it out.......here.

Deceptively Delicious

I was sort of intrigued when I saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah recently. She has a book entitled Deceptively Delicious with recipes on how to "hide" vegetable purees in all sorts of food for her kids.

This is not a new concept. My life-long wonderful friend Tara Kim has a dad who cooks a lot. Ever since we were little, he's been "hiding" stuff in food. I remember there being zuchini....and who knows what else...in his pancakes. As a kid, it sounded a bit strange, but now I want his recipes!

I wanted to try some of Jessica Seinfeld's (I keep wanting to type Jessica Simpson) recipes not really for my kids, but for myself! And although it's not a new concept, she gives lots of recipes that she has tried and likes.

So, last night I went to work. Went to work on doing the purees. I pureed spinach (a HUGE costco bag yielded a little more than 4 cups puree), carrots and butternut squash.

Then I tried her brownie recipe! Not only does it have spinach and carrots in it, but it has VERY little butter and VERY little sugar.

I was a little nervous and skeptical, but I actually like them! I don't think I'd say they are my favorite brownies of ALL time, but they are really good...especially considering that they are "healthy". I sprinkled powdered sugar on top, which was a great touch.

Here's the recipe (I doubled it):

INGREDIENTS
Nonstick cooking spray
3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I added a little extra)
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I used butter)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.

A Big Sigh of Relief

First of all, my talk went really well Sat night. I was the first speaker of 5, and there were abut 300 adults there. They all seemed quite intent and focused....and I was very intimidated! Once I got into it, the nervousness subsided, but man, I was actually shaking beforehand! I think I conveyed the message I wanted to and felt happy about the overall experience. It was nice to have so many friends and family there supporting me.

Secondly, I am really enjoying this time of year. I love fall because its filled with anticipation of the holiday months of November and December. The only part that feels wierd is our HOT weather! This week it will be near 90 degrees, and that just throws off the whole holiday mood.

But we will persevere anyway and join in the fall festivities anyway. Yesterday we had Lindy & Mike with Lyric & Paxton over, as well as my teenage siblings Kristy and Ryan. We decorated and carved pumpkins, the kids glued feathers on a turkey, and we decorated (and ATE ATE ATE) sugar cookies.

I just can't get over how cute my little (or not-so-little) nephew Paxton is. He gets cuter every time I see him! He's got lots of chub and lots of hair!

Happy Family

One of my favorite parts of this phase of life I'm in is these pictures. Jordyn and Lexi constantly hand me pictures they drew for me - like several times per day. I try to really be appreciative because I know how much it means to them.

This is one Jordyn drew. It has our whole happy family, including Grandma. My favorite part is my hair. She colored it red and blonde because I usually have highlights. The girls are really obsessed with my highlights because then I have a little bit of both of their hair colors!

On another note....

As a mother, I find it so challenging to feel so many conflicting feelings, all at once. I feel so much love and nurturing toward these children....while at the same time feeling so often discouraged, tired and unsuccessful. I am having a ridiculously hard time with Jordyn lately, and it makes me feel guilty and helpless. Her behavior is totally stumping me. It's not worth going into detail because I'd probably write a book, but when my 5 year old is spitting, and yelling, and crying and slamming doors and hitting her sister.....very consistantly, I don't really know what to do. And the even trickier part is her dual personality. I mean, one one hand she is the most articulate, smart, happy, fun, focused and intuitive person. And on the other, she is acting exactly how I would expect a 2 year old to act.

OK, I'm not really complaining, I'm more venting. Hopefully its a phase and I'll look back and be like "wow, that was hard. I wish I wouldn't have gotten so worked up and realized it was just a phase...". Its just draining me lately and I am a fix-it person, so I get discouraged when I can't fix something! I'll keep ya posted.

Flashback Friday

Obviously, I love before & after photos...

Here is my sister-in-law Maren and I 18 months ago. I was 16 weeks prego and she was 26 weeks.

Here we are last weeks with the babies out-of-utero, Peyton and Brock!

Ugh, I look at this pic and I wonder....could I REALLY ever do the pregnancy thing again? That IS the question. At least I know "not now" is the answer ;-)

Today

Today Lexi asked me for candy at least 625 times. If you heard her all day long [and didn't know me better], you would think there was no other possible explanation for her persistant requests except that I must usually hand out candy like a walking pinata - and today she was going through withdrawals.

I can't figure it out. I think it's a way to get attention. Because after piano lessons I got the girls a See's Candy sucker (that was messier than heck but lasted them 45 minutes). As we were driving home, Lexi hands me her sucker saying she was done. Then, she started it for the 428th time...."Mom, can I have candy? Mom, can I have candy? Mom, can I have candy?". Each time I calmly said no. Then I moved on to NO. Then, before I knew it, I was screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO you just HAD CANDY! and STOP ASKING! She just sort of smiled and actually did stop asking after that.

I cannot believe how repetetive little kids can be. It's mind blowing. I do a good job of staying calm for quite a while. But the thing about me (a family trait) is that the sweeter I start to talk, the closer to exploding I am. So, if my kids hear me say "Honey, please stop saying that right now. Mommy is getting frustrated" in a really sing-songy sappy voice...they better watch out!

But being a mom does have lots and lots of perks. And I really do love it. No matter how hard it feels, I never DON'T want to be a mom. I just wish we had an alotted amount of times per day we could hit the "pause" button on life. Or even mute button.

Perks....like all the unexpected things that make me smile. When Peyton crawls into the room, looks up at me with the most beautiful smile and says "Hiiiiiii !". I could just eat her up. Or today, Jordyn asked Lexi if she could use her dry-erase number book. Lexi said "Sure! Just lick it the marks clean with your tongue when you're done, okay?". I laughed and handed Jordyn a paper towel instead.

I'm off to work on my Stake Conference talk. This Saturday is taking forever to come and go. My mom called me today and warned me that I should be prepared to get extra refining in the days leading up to my talk. The adversary has a strategy in all things. The last thing Satan would want is for me to feel prepared in my topic "Keeping the Spirit of Christ in my Home". Ha! I'm gonna stay strong and try to keep this peaceful feeling I've had about giving this talk [so far]. Wish me luck!

UK Pop - Dancing Happiness

Lately, if I need a little pick-me-up, all I have to do is listen to ANY of Mika's songs (here's his site http://www.mikasounds.com/uk.php).

It's disco-y, cheese-y, pop-y, happ-y, and totally makes you (me) want to dance and smile. You should try it.

I bought the album from iTunes, but you can get previews if you go to his site. Some of my favs: Big Girl (You are Beautiful), Love Today, Lollipop, Grace Kelly.....really, I honestly like ALL of them. Its totally worth downloading (I think it MAY have been $7.99).

Our Trip and a "Few" Pics

Whew. This is me, breathing a sigh of relief that we are back from our SPEEDY trip to Utah. No matter what we did, it was 12 1/2 hours. The kids did well, considering.

We were basically there for the weekend, which was fun AND crazy, but our motivation behind the madness was the baptism of our cute 8 year old nephew, Jaden.

Any amount of time we get to spend with Tucker's side of our family is wonderful. It is much too seldom.

Since I took 200 pics, I'll let the pics tell the story of our weekend.

Here's Jaden - such a cute, fun and energetic boy.

We laughed back when he was born because Maren (his mom) has dark skin and hair....and look how red his hair is! Little did we know there were so many more redheads to come....

The family is growing by leaps and bounds. We certainly can't fit around one single table annymore. Jeannine still manages to provide us all with a "feast"!

He got his wish.....Tucker loves his mom's "multi-colored" cake.

It was also our niece, Mallory's 9th birthday. Lynda Ann is so good at "whipping up" a cool cake.

Games, games, games

Tucker is always "throwing" the kids around (quite literally). This is our nephew Andrew 'floating' in the air.


Cute cousins, Hayley (Lynda Ann's 4th) and our Lexi

More cute cousins! Taylor (Maren's 2nd) and our Jordyn.


Just hangin' out at Maren's

Maren and and Greg's 3rd, Brock, is 2 months older than Peyton. (Their 3rd redhead). Seriously, you would almost think our family was in-bred or something with how many redheads there are! Anyway, these two babies were too cute all weekend.

More of Brock and Peyton. Can you tell they're related?

Gam let the girl's bake their own loaf of bread (which they treated like play dough for about 45 minutes). I didn't sample their extra-kneaded loaves.

The cousins all went to Some Dude's Playground where they have all sorts of blow up slides and stuff. So fun!

Lyndsy (Tucker's youngest sis) and her cute boy River (her first and only so far)

Me and my sis Carly! Carly and Alyson came and visited us, and it was SO great to see them! Look how good she looks! Like 6 weeks post-partum! What?

Cousins (from MY side) Peyton and Alyson

We also got a special visit from Karli and baby Kaiya! It was so fun to see Karli and to meet beautiful Kaiya! My visits with Karli are ALWAYS way too short. I mean, when we were roomates in college...actually waaaay before that when we were in jr high, we had the ability to find endless topics of conversation that were insanely interesting to us both. So, imagine now that we see eachother a few hours per year, it is NEVER enough! But it was such a highlight to get a short visit from Kar. Thanks for doing that Karli!

Lastly, I just have to say I will be glad when Pey masters the stairs. THIS is what I was paranoid of all weekend. It's funny - my girls think stairs are a Utah thing because EVERYONE has them there, and almost no one (we hang out with) has them here.

What a great trip we had with the family!

Oh, and those of you in UT. If you'll be around at Thanksgiving time, email me. We're coming back - for longer that time.