This year for Christmas

I figure it's not too late to post this. Isn't it Christmas until New Year's Day? These are amazing words to live by. As the new year is approaching and I am setting new goals and seeking ways to better myself, these words strike inspiration to my heart.

be
gentle
be kind
apologize
write a letter
keep a promise
forgive an enemy
give a soft answer
laugh a little more
express your gratitude
think first of someone else
seek out a forgotten friend
gladden the heart of a child
examine your demands on others
manifest your loyalty in word and deed
speak your love and then speak it again
dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust
take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth
mend a quarrel
forgo a grudge
encourage youth
welcome a stranger

Howard W. Hunter, 1994 Christmas devotional

Temple Square at Christmas!

We braved the cold on Monday and ventured to Temple Square with our little family. The kids were amazed. While we were there I realized that Taylor (me and Dave too) hadn't been there since he was a baby. Crazy! My mom, dad, Kristina, and her friend Melissa came along for the fun too. We brought along some hot chocolate. It was a great idea, especially since they knocked down Crossroads Plaza- the bookstore we used to buy hot chocolate in isn't there anymore...

The kids were super excited to see the temple, especially Taylor so I made sure to get a picture of him in front of it.


Kristina, gpa, Dave, Taylor


Gma, Taylor, Kristina, Melissa- As always, Taylor is being a poser!


Olivia seems to be the busiest, wiggliest, most curious child on the planet. She was ticked off most of the night because she was in a stroller. I let her out for a while and she was off! It was funny to see her tiny little body running in the swarms of people. She wouldn't keep gloves on so her little hands were bright red! We took her into the visitor's center to warm her up.


Proof that I really do exist!

Finally!

Finally, our very first real live Christmas tree!

Growing up my uncle always ran a Christmas tree lot out of my grandma's front yard. The lot isn't there anymore, but it's still a tradition for my uncle and cousins and whoever will go from my family, to cut trees on and around Thanksgiving. Dave has yet to go (darn U game) but we did go pick out a tree. It is so pretty and the kids love the idea of a real tree being in our house. Here are some pictures of the blessed event:

Loading up the tree




Bringing it home


After a few minutes in the garage cutting off the top and the bottom, Dave brought the tree in (insert Hallelujah chorus here)


After 4 trips to Target to "get more lights", we were done with the lights even though the bottom of the tree wasn't completely covered. I guess it really all works out because we can't put too many ornaments at the bottom with Livvy trying to eat them whole. She tries to sneak in for a "tree snack" every once in a while and I have to race after her. Little stinker!

Tree with flash on


Tree with flash off


Our tree really is so pretty. It's sad how impossible it is to capture the beauty of it with a picture.

I still have not decorated the fake tree yet. In fact, Dave haphazardly threw it in the corner and it is just waiting for me, in all my spare time, to put some lights on it and decorate it. Is it really the 11th already?

A fun visit

We had a visitor last Thursday- one of my favorite roommates from Ricks College- Marisa. She lives in Virginia and was in town for a wedding. She spent the day with me and my kids. She is brave. But really, once we had her in our minivan, what choice did she have?

Funny. Marisa is slightly vertically challenged. She is 4 ft 10-and-a-half inches tall (correct me if I am wrong). I don't bat an eye at it because I have known her a good 12 years or so now. (whoa, that's a long time...) Anywho, we picked her up in our van. Once we got to our destination, she jumps out to help Sara unbuckle her car seat. First thing Sara says to her "Why you so little?" It was so funny. I mean, she's not that little. I just can't believe she noticed.

We had a fun time hanging out with Marisa and dragging her all over town on our errands.

Taylor took this picture of us. I've never asked him to actually take a real picture of something important. He did a great job. We only had to do like 15 takes. No biggee. We were actually laughing so hard we were crying.

Don't we all look so fabulous in this one?

Thanks for coming Marisa! It was so fun to see you.

Where have I been?

Just so you know, I ask myself that question all the time. I also ask questions like:

• "Why aren't there more hours in the day?"
• "Exactly what is that growing in the toilet?"
• "I'm supposed to check pockets before I throw things in the wash?"
• "Why are my kids still awake?"
• "Why are we the only people in the neighborhood without a shoveled driveway?"
• "Why am I haunted on a daily basis by Sara's pee? Why?"
• "What did you say?"
• And again, "What did you say?"

Things have been a bit crazy around here. I have a million excuses. I'm still debating whether to spew them all at you or not. I think I will choose NOT and just say nothing at all. I find that saying nothing at all can be rather effective. So whatever. I've been busy. December has been crazy and it's not even half over. Bring it on!

mazeltopf!

We have this cute little (strong emphasis on the word little) tree in our front yard that we planted last summer. Well, with the last snow storm, this poor little tree darn near snapped in half. This is a picture of the tree before I went to bed. I was too cold to go out and shake the snow off it. When I woke up the next morning, it was bent way over and not shaking it was no longer an option. It is being quite resilient, especially considering that we have it strangled in Christmas lights. Go little tree! Now let's just see if it makes it through the winter. It's got it's work cut out, especially if it keeps snowing the way it has been. Love the snow!

And just yesterday Dave said, "Did you know blue is the color of hanukkah?" So, not only is this our little charlie brown tree, it is also our Hanukkah tree. You know, because we celebrate hanukkah and all...

A few things

• Livvy does not grasp the concept of tree skirt. She thinks it is a blanket, gathers it up, and toddles away to wrap her baby in it.
• Today Taylor and Sara were in a "me first" battle. Taylor said, "Mom, I want to be firster." I asked him where he came up with that word and he said "Oh, it's spanish"- in his duh don't you know anything tone.
• It's not so easy to water a Christmas tree.
• We already have 2 ornament casualities this year, thanks to Olivia.
• The pest control guy stepped on the lights I have running along my curbing. Sure they were covered by snow but still irritating that I have to go out in the freezing weather to fix them.
• My kids all have chapped faces and bums. What is up with that? I'll tell you what it means- no more baths around here...
• We went to visit Dr. Jackson today, our family dentist. The girls and I escaped unscathed while Taylor had some cavities and a couple wiggly teeth- lots to look forward to!
• I don't think I will be able to put gifts under the tree this year. Livvy is just a little too curious. And please, nobody suggest that I put a baby gate around my entire tree.
• Taylor is fascinated with the globe. He likes to point out Utah, Japan, Hawaii, and California.
• My van needs an oil change.
• I fed the kids icecream today at 4:30 p.m. They were helping me to clean out the freezer. That's the only kind of "clean up" I've ever seen them happy to be a part of.

Holiday Hepatitis

I think the concept of spreading holiday cheer is fantastic. But really, a smile and a nod here and there is about all anyone should be spreading. You can compliment me on the fine purchases in my basket. You can gaze adoringly at my ultra hip outfit (that I don't own...) You can even comment on my darling children. Unfortunately for me, the lady ringing me up at Hobby Lobby the other day did not get the memo. She was all too willing to share that which should not be shared.

I brought my big stack of card stock to the counter and told her how many I had. She said "I have to count them." Whatever- just get on with it because there are 65 sheets of card stock and 15 people in line behind me.

Let me just preface the rest of this situation with saying that I don't consider myself a germ-a-phobe. I can leave a public restroom without having to hold the door handle with a paper towel. I can walk around in a hotel room without socks on. I have even occasionally been known to share a toothbrush with Dave. Okay, that's kind of gross and I don't do it on a regular basis but desperate times call for desperate measures. I always say too much, don't I?

The first sign of trouble came when this employee opened her mouth and lifted her big fat thumb toward it. I was like "You ARE NOT about to lick my card stock". Freak. That is exactly what she did. Lick 1-2-3 Lick 1-2-3 Lick 1-2-3. This went on for quite a while because hello, I had a few pieces of card stock. If you would like to put me in a bad mood, just start licking my card stock. You work at a craft store for crying out loud! Figure it out. You do not, under any circumstance, compromise craft items about to be purchased by another individual with bodily fluid of any kind EVER.

I guess you're wondering what I did. Did I fly off the handle in a raging tirade? Did I smack her across the face? (That would have been so Hollywood. Love the drama.) Did I scream "You're an idiot, you paper licking freak!"? I would like to say that I did. I would also like to say that I demanded my money back and walked away in a big fat huff. Instead, like the pansy that I am, I stared her down with the dirtiest look I had the energy to give her. Which really, #1- I have no energy and #2- I was trying to manage Livvy and be angry. Not easy. But just so you know, I do have some pretty good dirty looks- I have been complimented on the faces that I can pull- I have a natural talent, it's effortless.

So whatever. I took my saliva soaked paper home. But don't think they won't be getting a phone call from me.

I really just wanted to post this to get you all excited to receive a Christmas card from us. Ha! For neighbor gifts this year, forget the "Merry Kissmas" with a bag full of Hershey kisses and "We whisk you a Merry Christmas" with a wire whisk attached. We will just be passing out Holiday Hepatitis cards- just spreading some holiday cheer. Please be sure to answer the door when we come by.

Feliz Navitoss!

I am very happy to make mention of the fact that it is the last day of November and I will no longer be a slave to my blog. Wootwoot!

Today we are going to pick up a Christmas tree and let the decorating begin! I'm excited (I think). Decorating is not a cost effective way to celebrate Christmas but really, most things "Christmas" aren't exactly cost effective. And no, I'm not talking about the true meaning of Christmas (I've got that figured out people) but more the retail holiday. It's fun all the same. I love to create a fun atmosphere for my kids. However, Taylor let us know this morning that Santa is not real. Apparently people sneak into our house and do his bidding. I had to set him straight and let him know that Santa doesn't come to children who don't believe in him. And now, wouldn't you know it, Santa is real again. Ahh to be 5 again.

Yesterday I was having blog dialogue with my sister-in-law Jenn about our world today and all the political correctness and "change the world for the minority" mentality. Not to mention, heaven forbid our little boys play cops and robbers and cowboys and indians, wielding the most dangerous weapon of all, their little gun-shaped hand. My sister-in-law Natalie sent this link to me. You need to click on the stoplight to get it to start. I love it! It's just so true and definitely how I feel. My favorite- Feliz Navitoss! Thanks Natalie!

Merry Christmas everyone! Let the festivities begin!

oops

I really didn't mean to mess up. Today I will attempt to post twice to make up for my mistake. In all my spare time, I didn't get a moment to post yesterday... Thanks for calling me out SUE! Anyway, here's a recipe for today. I made these things for Thanksgiving and they were a hit.

Rolo Turtles

1 bag mini pretzels (I used the square pretzels)
1 bag rolo candies
1 bag pecan halves

Put as many pretzels as you can on a cookie sheet (I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper). It's ok if they are touching, just don't overlap them.

Place a Rolo on each pretzel. Place in oven at 300 degrees. When chocolate gets shiny, take the cookie sheet out (usually 5 - 10 minutes - if the Rolos start to split, it's been to long. They are still salvagable, but won't look as pretty).

Immediately press a pecan half into each Rolo. Cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes or until firm enough to stack on a dish.

Alright, I'm off to re-write and re-assign parts for our primary program that was supposed to be Oct 28 but then they split our ward the week before (yes, we were ready, assigned, practiced, the works) and told us we had to do it on Dec 16. No, I'm not bitter...

Things are getting a bit racy around here

When we first started our blog, we were "G" rated (please scroll to the bottom of our blog if you don't believe me). Apparently saying "poop" 9x and "punch" 1x are leading us down a deluded path of filth.

Rate your blog here

Just when I thought I had washed it all...

I guess I blog a lot about laundry. That should tell you something. I really think I am drowning in it. For those of you who came to my house for Thanksgiving and went into my bedroom, you can confirm that yes, in fact, I am drowning in laundry. So you're thinking- what can be post-worthy when it comes to laundry? Other than complaining about it, or patting myself on the back for actually being caught up (a rarety, I assure you), I don't think that it really is postworthy. That is, until I opened the dryer tonight.

I've washed a lot of things. Last week, for instance, I washed a disposable diaper. I don't recommend trying that one. Not pretty. Tonight I opened the dryer (don't ask me how I got this far without noticing anything) and the first thing that came out of the dryer was a brown blob- it fell on the floor- I ignored it. But then I started to notice an odor and as I'm pulling out more clothes, an even bigger brown blob drops to the floor. I pick it up, take a sniff (I know, what was I thinking?) and HELLO- poop in the laundry. This might insite a riot in some households but in mine, poop and peep, whether I like it or not, just seem to be something I can't avoid. Most people only have one shadow, I have three. I know, you are wondering about the poop (and if you're not, you should be)- it was hard as a rock. But really, where did this poop come from and how did I not notice it until it had finished baking its aroma into my laundry? We will never know people, we will never know. We pulled out all the clothes and sure enough, poop marks here and there around the barrel.

I'm sure at this point Dave was thinking "How the heck did Natalie just wash poop but more importantly, how many of my clothes have been compromised?" I just couldn't get past the "How am I going to clean poop out of the dryer?" Not to mention, "Where exactly did this poop come from?"

Anyway, for those of you who are now traumatized, I can only give you these words of reassurance- I live for bleach. We take strolls in the park, walks along the beach, all that kind of stuff.

I'm trying to think of a moral to this story. Really, I've got nothin'. It's easy enough to say "Don't throw poop in with your laundry" but then I would be the master of the obvious and that's no fun. Some things you just can't be prepared for and you just have to roll with it. So I guess the moral to this story would be- "Roll with it people, just not in it."

Gingerbread House

Tonight for our FHE activity we put together a gingerbread house. The kids had a fun time doing it- asking the whole time when we were going to eat it. They aren't so much into the idea of it being a decoration. We ate, we built, we conquered. Here she is in all her glory (and yes, she is a girl because a boy would never be this accessorized):


The kids showing off their hard work. Actually, they are just showing off. Period.

Happiness is...

Things that are making me happy today:

• My baby and her sweet kisses
• Sara being so snuggly
• Taylor being so smart
• Dave hiding Christmas gifts in the garage rafters for me
• Christmas dresses for my girls (even though Sara got glitter finger nail polish on hers- we don't even own glitter finger nail polish. Dang neighbor kids!
• A healthy family
• A fun Thanksgiving holiday with my family
• Down coats
• Photographs
• Christmas lights
• Cupboards to hide all my junk
• No mice in our house (knock on wood)
• Bleach- oh how I do love bleach
• online shopping and free shipping
• warm beds for my family to sleep in
• Christmas books, really any children's books
• Online coloring pages of all the things my kids love that I can print and bring to church
• Laundry that is folded and put away
• The Elvis guitar coin holder that Dave brought home from Big Lots- I'll have to post a picture.
• Spaghetti Squash- a little butter and s&p- I think I've died and gone to heaven
• Almost being done with my Christmas shopping!
• Holiday traditions

Thanksgiving place cards

These are the place cards I made for Thanksgiving. I stamped the cards for the kids and put buttons and brads on the adults. They turned out pretty good- not exactly as fabulous as I had hoped but it was late when I made them and I just didn't care anymore. Having name cards made everything a little less hectic when it was time to sit at the table. Plus, everyone loved seeing their face. So fun! Here are the ones I made for my kids:

game-'n

It's 1:40 in the morning so technically, since I haven't gone to bed, I didn't miss today. Forget what the date stamp says. Anyway, we just slammed out two games of Cities and Nights of Catan. Fabulous. We love playing Settlers of Catan and decided to kick things up a notch and get this upgrade to the game. So here we are, awake in the wee hours of the night, with my brothers, sister-in-law, and sister, having a Velveeta-arific time.

The next game on the agenda is Guillotine. A fun, yet less complicated, good time.

Happy Thanksgiving

We're having a fun day, stuffed full of pie and everything else.

Turkey Time

Let the holiday festivities begin! The kids and I have been working on some turkey napkin rings for dinner tomorrow. We just finished them up and I have to say they turned out better than expected. I mean really, they were constructed by a 5 year old and a 3 year old- and me too. So...without further ado, here is one of our turkeys:



And just for kicks- the whole flock:


Now I'm off to finish the name place cards... and some pies... and some jello. The punch is already in the freezer. Sweet. Oh, and the worst part- my house needs a cleaning overhaul. And that's just what is on the agenda for today. Hmmm.

Alphabet crown

Taylor earned his alphabet crown at preschool the other day. It was a proud moment to see him walk out of the school wearing that crown- I darn near started to cry. He knows all his letters and sounds. Pretty amazing. Because I'm tired, I will have to post a picture later.

Craptastic

Livvy is so funny. Always doing funny things whether she means to or not. I guess I wouldn't exactly call this funny but I'll let the situation speak for itself. We ate breakfast, I pulled her out of her chair, washed her up. A few minutes later Sara called out to me that Livvy needed her diaper changed. She toddled into the kitchen and peeeeyooooo- she definetly needed a diaper change. A couple minutes later I was able to track her down. She walked up to me and something didn't look right. As it dawned on me what was going on, I wasn't too thrilled to unzip the jammies and deal with the situation. Her diaper had made it's way down one of her jammie legs. The poo down the other. So yeah, not exactly a fun mess to clean up. Jammies and diaper both made their way to the trash and Livvy made her way to the tub. Yuck! What I'm trying to figure out is at what point this happened. I mean, one minute I was holding her and didn't notice anything being off and then suddenly we have diaper down one leg and poo down the other. It's a mystery I tell ya. It's days like this that Dave reassures me he would rather have his job than mine.

Chicken Alabama

Because blogging every day is more difficult than one might think, here is a recipe to keep me going. This is one of our favorites. We ate it for dinner tonight and as usual, the kids loved it. Always a bonus!

CHICKEN ALABAMA
4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
Pepper
5 Tbl butter or margarine
¼ cups chopped onion
2 cup chicken soup stock*
1 cup light cream
¼ tsp lemon juice

Coat chicken with mixture of flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Brown in 2 Tbl butter. Saute onion in 3 Tbl butter for 5 minutes. Stir in excess flour from coating chicken. Add soup stock. Cook and stir until thickened. Add cream and cook until smooth and thick. Add lemon juice; blend well. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake 1 ¼ hours at 325 or until chicken is tender. Serve over rice. I usually double the sauce

*Can use 2 bouillon cubes or 1 ½ tsp chicken soup base to 1 cup water

Mele Kalikimaka...or something

Today Dave and I were outside putting up Christmas lights on the house and in the yard. Here is Dave in action:


And the kids were in swimsuits washing bikes at the neighbors... Doesn't everybody wash their bikes in swimsuits in the middle of November? As long as icicles aren't forming, I think we're good. But really, in our defense, it really is a nice day today. I'm sure this classifies as bad parenting. Have you ever tried to pry a swimsuit off a head strong 3 year old girl? If so, this situation really needs no explanation.

Flashback Friday

Since Dave is going to the U game tomorrow, I thought I would flashback my little Livvy last November being a Ute fan! Whether she really is a Ute fan or not, I don't know. That's what being a baby is all about- parent's boss hogging you each and every day- usually to put weird hats on your head to take a picture.

We have a winner...

This is the book I chose for Book Club.

Getting real

Tonight I informed Dave that I need a get-away to the Grand America for his birthday. He said, "Don't you mean you need to take me there for my birthday?" To which I replied, "I don't make any money." It's true. Sure, we both have our roles that make our world go round but for me, that involves zero money production. I can incubate a pretty darn good lookin' baby though. I hold my baby incubating skills right up there with my bow staff skills, nunchuck skills, and computer hacking skills.

Later in the conversation I let him know that it would be nice to get flowers every once in a while. His response, "Can I email you some?" Ahhhh.... true love.

No space is a wasted space

How is your turkey feeling today?

We have a turkey hanging from our pantry door. Not a real one or anything. Just a dorky tole-painted one. As far as turkeys and their feelings go, our turkey is not a happy one. In fact, if you ask Sara, he is crying all the time. This is all because he knows he will be eaten on Thanksgiving. My kids ask me about it every day with great concern. It's really quite funny. It's hard to tell but I think they think we are eating that actual turkey- wood, paint, wire and all. I guess I should explain.

It's fun to talk with my kids and see the wheels turning up in their little heads. They know we eat animals but they are still slightly perplexed about it. Taylor was asking Dave the other day, "So, are people animals too? We don't eat people though." From his tone you can hear that he is actually trying to convince himself of this. It's funny. He's also trying to figure out what he is eating when he eats the yolk of the egg. I explain. He doesn't get it. He still thinks it's a chick. What a nut.

Sara has been quite concerned about pigs lately- I think it has something to do with the fact that she just watched Charlotte's Web. She asks (bacon in hand), "Do we eat pigs?" I tell her that we do (she really already knows the answer). She gasps. "Mommy, I like pigs. Can we have one for a pet?" Love these moments. I don't give dogs, cats, or even goldfish a second glance, so why would I even consider a pig? Of course I can't say that to her- I wouldn't want to break her little pet yearning heart. Instead I say "Honey, we can't have a pig because we don't live on a farm." I guess that makes all the sense in the world because we don't revisit the conversation again until the next day at breakfast.

Anyway, here's our turkey, who is crying because he will be eaten for Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for food

I love to feed people. It's just one of those weird things. This year we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house for my side of the family. Last year we hosted for Dave's side of the family. It's easy enough to feed people during this holiday because the menu is pretty much already planned. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy- that's all pretty basic. I know every family adds their own little touches- things that say "This is the Jackson Family Thanksgiving Feast". And so, today I thought I would drop a few recipes. You know, stuff that we are making that is traditional or extra yummy or things I am going to try for the first time. Yes, I do that all the time- try things I have never made before for a big crowd. Usually it works out well but not before I'm nearly dead from the stress of it all.

Nothing says Thanksgiving like a big batch of cranberry fluff. This recipe is one we always had growing up. Think it has enough sugar?

CRANBERRY FLUFF
1 pkg fresh cranberries- ground
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 ½ cups sugar
6 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pint whipped cream
½ pkg little marshmallows
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This Jell-o is a tradition in Dave's family. The topping has Cool Whip and cream cheese- pretty much you can't go wrong with this one.

RASPBERRY JELLO
1 pkg large raspberry Jello
1 bag frozen raspberries
1 cup Cool Whip
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese

Defrost raspberries and drain the juice from them. Keep and set aside. Make the Jello using only 2 cups of water; add the raspberries to the Jello. Put Jello in refrigerator to set. Combine raspberry juice, cool whip, and cream cheese as topping. Once the Jello has set, spread the topping over it.
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This is a traditional Jell-o for my family. We eat it at everything. It's ridiculously delicious. I haven't decided which Jell-o I am going to make the for the big day. I should make the raspberry one just to throw my mom off. Muahahahaha!

PEAR JELLO
Dissolve 2 small packages of lime jello in 2 cups hot pear juice. Let stand until it starts to set. (or 1 cup juice and ice cubes).
Cut up bottle of pears in small pieces
Beat 8 oz package of cream cheese- will be a little lumpy
Beat package of dream whip and add all to jello. Set in mold and refrigerate.
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This is the roll recipe we use. They are more dense than fluffy which makes them perfect for turkey sandwiches. Plus, you don't have to cut them to insert your turkey because you fold them over before baking.

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS
1 pkg yeast
6 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt (heaping)
¼ cup melted shortening (Crisco)
¾ cup water
¾ cup milk
5-5 ¼ cups flour (dump in about 4 ½ - 5 cups flour and then put the rest in as you knead the dough)

Soften yeast in warm milk or water. Add 1 Tbl of sugar to the yeast mixture. Combine liquid ingredients. Start adding flour a little at a time, mixing thoroughly. Knead it until it is smooth and has an elastic texture (8-10 minutes). Cover bowl with a warm, damp cloth. Let it rise until it doubles in size (approx 45 minutes). Roll it out to approx 1/3 inch thickness. Cut in rounds with a cup or a cookie cutter (about 2 inches wide). Spread melted butter in the middle of the dough. Fold over. Pinch all the way around edge. Put on greased cookie sheet. Let rise till it doubles or triples in size (approx 1 hour). Bake between 375-400 for 15-18 minutes. Makes 2 dozen small rolls.
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This recipe is new. I found it while blogging. I liked this because you make it a couple days before Thanksgiving and throw it in the freezer. Wala! Anything you can do ahead of time is golden. We usually have cranberry juice but this might be fun to try.

ORANGE SLUSHY PUNCH
1 can (46 oz.) Pineapple juice
2 cans frozen Orange Juice
Juice from 2 lemons
6 c. water
4 c. sugar
2- 2 liter bottles of Sprite or 7-Up
Boil water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except the Sprite. Freeze. Before serving, add Sprite and "slush up." Serve.
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I also found this one recently and haven't ever tried it. How awesome would it be to have this simmering in your house all day. Wassail just seems so holiday-ish.

WASSAIL
2 ½ c. sugar
4 c. water
10 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1- 6oz can lemonade concentrate
1- 6oz can orange juice concentrate
1 gal. apple cider
Mix sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Add spices and simmer 1 hour. Remove spices. Add frozen concentrates and water that each calls for. Add cider. Serve hot. Makes 2 gallons. May also add orange or lemon slices as garnish.

That's all I can really think of off the top of my head. I don't do sweet potatoes so someone else is going to have to bring those if they think they are eating them. All the other Thanksgiving basics are just that, basic. We do add canned evaporated milk to the mashed potatoes instead of regular milk. It adds a little sumpin' sumpin' that is elsuperbo!

I don't enjoy pie all that much. My favorite is pudding pie with a graham cracker or oreo crust. I may have to make a little visit to Marie Callendars (or the freezer section at the store) because my family does love us some cocnut cream pie. I might come up with some appetizers or fun funky funk food to snack on. If I do, you'll be the first to know.

So what are you favorite holiday recipes?

wah wah wah

Today is one of those days when I wish I didn't have nablopomo as my goal because I have absolutely nothing to say. The well has gone dry.

Dave is at the U of U football game. I am irritated because there are 750 things that need to be done here. While he is off enjoying the bliss that is his life, I am home sitting in piles of laundry being emotionally tortured by his off spring.

Sara is hopefully asleep upstairs. I don't want to check. I don't want to be anywhere near her. She brought an empty bowl up to my room asking for peaches. Okay, fine. We head downstairs to fill it up with peaches but suddenly the bowl has become too heavy. Freaking drives me nuts. She moans and whines and cries that I won't carry this bowl that is just so heavy. I manage to distract her with questions and she soon forgets the bowl is heavy. We get to the kitchen. I put two peaches into her bowl. After closing the jar and heading to the fridge, I am informed that there are not enough peaches in the bowl and she needs more. Fine. I bring the jar back, open it, put another peach in. Now there are three. Sara is three. Three peaches in the bowl. Things are good. I go sit on the couch to read my book.

She yells at me from the kitchen that her bowl is too heavy and I need to carry it for her. I won't do it. She carries it herself. Don't be confused though, it takes her 5 minutes to get over to me because she is pushing her body and her bowl across the floor like a inch worm, whining the whole way. Once she reaches me, she asks me to cut them up. Fine. I cut them up. I guess I didn't cut them up enough because she wants them smaller. I explain to her that mommy does it that way and if she wants it done differently then she will have to do it herself.

Open can of worms here.

She of course flies into a raging tantrum. I inform her that if she can't stop crying she will go to her bed. After lots of crying, I pick her up, drag her up to my room, throw her on my bed, slam the door. Back down to my book. I hear slamming and pounding and screaming. She starts opening my bedroom door and slamming it. Olivia is sleeping in her bed so this whole tantrum/slamming doors situation is really ticking me off. I head upstairs, open the door, she starts screaming "pee pee" so I drag her to the toilet, throw her on it. By this point, she's not the only one screaming, especially after I realize she has already peed all over my room. I have definitely left nice mommy downstairs and I have pretty much turned into crazed lunatic mommy and Sara knows it. She is on the toilet seat, screaming bloody murder, face red as a beet (which really does look kind of funny with all that white blond hair standing on end), knowing that mommy is on the edge of losing it. I rip off her Jammie pants and wet underwear and throw them in the laundry. Put a pull-up on her. I throw her back on the bed.

She says "Mommy, I don't want to go to bed."
So I say "Fine, you stop crying and you can come downstairs."
Tears dripping down her face she says "Mommy, I all done crying."
Right...

Something clicked in her beet red little head and calmed her down. I don't know, maybe it was the stream of expletives coming from my mouth or the way I landed her little tooshy on the toilet seat. Either way, I turned around and went downstairs. I haven't heard from her since. I am hoping she is sleeping but with my luck she is decorating my walls with a box of crayons. I'm going to bank on the first option and enjoy my peace and quiet.

That's my day so far. To really appreciate the situations with Sara, you have to understand that just yesterday I cleaned up a puddle of pee on my closet floor and changed her wet underwear and clothes at least 3 times. The day before it was a puddle in front of her dresser. This whole peeing thing is going to be the death of me.

I haven't even started in on Taylor's fascination with peeing in the drain in the basement. I am sick and tired of my children and their bodily functions. I am drowning in pee here.

I'm done. My tangent is over. I guess that was a lot to say for someone who had nothing to say. If you got this far- ha! Happy Saturday to you and may all of your children pee in the toilet (I should write Hallmark greetings).

Flashback Friday

In Taylor's younger years, he had two loves (besides me and Dave, of course) - his mimi (binky) and his cici (blankie). He was accompanied by these two items wherever he went. Though the binky is now just a faded memory, the blankie still makes Taylor's world go round. Whenever he is hurt, sad, scared and crying, the first words that come wailing out of his mouth are "bwankie, bwaaaaaaankie." It began as a whitish blankie with quilted baby thingies all over it and tied with blue yarn. It has been loved into a grayish color and the quilting has definitely seen better days. If you hold it up, you can pretty much see right through it. It has been mended over and over. When Dave was younger he had a blanket that he loved as well. When it got so old that holes were wearing through, his mom folded it in half and sewed it together. Brilliant! Who knows- we may be taking the same path soon enough.

In this picture, he is laying on his happy, new, clean blanket.


This was Taylor's first haircut. He wasn't too happy about it so we brought in the reinforcements.


And here he is today with his "bwankie"

6 Facts or Habits about myself

Looks like I have been tagged by Heather. I usually avoid the "tag" as much as I ignore the forwards that tell you to read them and send them to 10 people. That's assuming a lot, if you ask me- who's to say I even have 10 friends. Right... So anyway, today I decided to live a little and I have to say, I'm game!

6 Facts or Habits about myself:

1. Habit the first- I pick at my split ends. It is probably the most annoying and awful thing that I do. It's even worse when I pick at other people's split ends. Seriously, I need psychiatric help. This is my most awful hide-me-in-a-corner-hanging-my-head-in-shame habit.

2. My whole life I have had straight hair. Super straight hair. I am not exactly a fashionista in the hair dept and it took me quite a few years to understand my hair and get it under control. And then finally, once things are under control, I get thrown a curve ball. Child birth and all those raging hormones not only delivered me a baby boy but also a new head of hair. I now am the proud owner of a super thick, super curly head of hair. It took me a good year or more to really figure out what was going on. We lived in Mississippi at the time so I just attributed the new hair on my head to humidity. Upon moving to Wyoming I couldn't help but notice that the situation wasn't changing AT ALL, getting worse, in fact. I would tell my mom and my sister (both owners of the naturally curly hair) about this strange new phenomenon but they didn't really buy into the magnitude of the situation. I started coming around a bit more often with us living closer and they started to catch on. So really, here we are, 5 years later, and my hair is a raging beast. People are amazed at how curly it really is. When I get my hair cut, my hair lady has a hey-day with the scissors thinning my hair out. It's a whole new world for me. I can't tell you the number of times people have told me how much they like my perm. A perm? Come on people, I haven't had one of those since I was 15. Do people get perms anymore? And grandma's don't count.

3. When I was a little bitty kid, I entered the Easter coloring contest at Albertsons and won first prize. It was a very proud moment for me and my big bad self. My mom even framed the picture for me.

4. I am uncoordinated. Not clutzy, just uncoordinated. Give me some credit here. Shortly after Taylor was born, while Dave and I lived in Mississippi, we took a step aerobics class at the AirForce Base. A few other people from his dental residency were taking the class as well. More people to shame myself in front of, right? Fast forward to the class, Dave is bouncing off his step like an aerobics professional. Here I am, can't figure out how to twist & pivot the right direction at the right time. Dave is trying to help me and participate in the class at the same time so of course we are drawing attention to ourselves. All eyes on the idiot at the back of the class who just can't get it together. And that brings me to another point, I hate that you can't ever really just hide in the back of the room during an aerobics class. Just when you think you're safe the instructor shouts "turn" or "right" or "left" and suddenly what was once the back, is now the front. It puts a girl to shame I tell you. Back to my story, so finally the instructor's helper makes his way over to help the disabled person in the back of the room. He tried to help me- my brain and my body just don't connect on that level. I know I eventually figured it out but it certainly wasn't during the first class. Nor the second. I mean really, as soon as I figured out one step, the instructor had the nerve to add a new step or change the direction. In the long run I had a good time. However, I did learn it's better for someone like me to stick with the treadmill and save myself the humiliation.

5. Back in my younger days I bought something 90 days same as cash. I didn't understand that "same as cash" didn't mean "send us cash". So me, like an idiot, packed $250.00 cash (or whatever amount it was- I can't remember exactly) into an envelope and shipped it off. Duh. I told my mom what I did and she kind of freaked out. So I called the guy and let him know to look for it in the mail. Luckily everything worked out fine but what a "duh" moment for me. Sometimes learning by doing is okay but in this case I wish the learning part would have happened before the doing part. Looking like an idiot is not something I particularly enjoy.

6. I love jalapenos. I like them in everything with the exception of maybe strawberry icecream. Okay, I'm being a bit extreme but I do love them. I love them in dips, appetizers, dinner, lunch, breakfast- you name it. So if you have a good recipe with jalapenos, send it my way.

I guess it's my turn to tag some people, which I hate doing. However, I'm going to do it anyway. So, I tag Natalie Monson, Katie, Sue, and Jenn. Ha! You all love me!

Olivia

My little Livvy is just darling.



Yesterday I pulled her onto my lap and put little dots of lotion on her arms and hands. We rubbed them in together. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. She giggled and giggled and wanted more and more. It was so fun to just watch her experience life and find joy in the smallest thing. Everyday with Olivia is like that.

We went to a 3-D movie last week and brought home the huge black glasses. The other day she put on a pair and thought she was hilarious. She scrunched up her little nose, giggling like crazy, and pulled them on and off and on and off.

If the shutters are open, she shuts them. If they are shut, she opens them.

She is patient and loving. She loves to give hugs. Not just pat, pat- smell ya later but real hugs where she squeezes you tight and buries her little face into your neck. She always likes to sit smack dab between me and Dave. She sits there looking back and forth between us giggling like she just got away with something we haven't quite figured out yet. She loves her daddy and it's fun to see her so excited when he comes home.

Lately I have been sending her on little errands to see just how much she really knows. I send her off to the garbage with a candy wrapper. I love hearing her little feet patter across the hardwood floor over to the garbage. She knows exactly where the garbage is but it's hidden in a pull-out cupboard. I love to hear her little grunts as she struggles to pull the drawer open. We also send her to find her binky. It's always so funny because you can tell before she even starts looking if she knows where it is or not. Sometimes she runs off and comes back with it right away and other times we get the "I was trying to tell you in the grocery store that I dropped it but you wouldn't listen to me" look. Love that.

She likes to have stories read to her. She will toddle up to me with a book and stand there waiting, panting, getting anxious. If she is ignored for too long she will speak louder and start patting you to let you know who is really the boss here and that it is most definetly story time.

Her vocabulary is expanding but not so much in a way that we understand. It's more baby babble than anything but she sure gives us a mouthful no matter what.

Livvy is just so innocent and sweet. Each day is a new adventure for her. She wakes up running. It's fun to watch her little face as she does just about anything. She soaks everything in, making each moment a learning experience. I just love her. She brings so much joy to our family.

10 things that get on my nerves

I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going person. Not much ruffles my feathers. Because I am posting everyday, I'm pulling all kinds of information out of the woodwork. So while all these items don't totally irk me or put me over the edge- they do cause me to pause, and think, whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

1. When people claim that Utah drivers are the worst drivers. Really. Have you lived anywhere else? Move to Cleveland for 5 minutes. And what's even worse is when people who have only lived in Provo claim that Utah has the worst drivers. Right... because 85% of Provo is from where? Not Utah. And no, I'm not saying that there aren't bad drivers here- there are.

2. Sara changing her clothes 47 times a day.

3. Insincere compliments/conversations. Why do people do this? Just don't say anything at all.

4. Legos- stepping on these can't be qualified as a good experience.

5. Plaque. Yes, I'm sure I have it in the deep dark crevices of my mouth. However, it isn't looming on my front teeth for the whole world to see. Don't people look in the mirror?

6. People who apply mascara while driving. Are you kidding me?

7. Eye boogers

8. Crying, whining 3 year olds (only because I'm listening to one right now).

9. Vandalism

10. Stating opinion as fact. Ugh.

It's hard to do stuff like this on the spot. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of my all time favorites.

a.k.a

Try this, you'll like it
1. My rock star name (first pet and current car): Tiger Sienna
2. My gangsta name (favorite icecream flavor and favorite cookie): Raspberry Sugar
3. My "fly guy/girl" name (first initial of first name and first three letters of last name): N Jac
4. My detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Blue Fish (I am SO not into animals. I can't be allergic to a fish, right? But is a fish really an animal? I don't know. I always get hung up on animal questions.)
5. My soap opera name (middle name and city where you were born): Anne Murray
6. My Star Wars name (first three letters of your last name and first two letters of your first name): Jacna
7. My superhero name (2nd fave color and favorite drink with “The” in front): The Red Water (lame)
8. My Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers): Don Louis
9. My stripper name (name of your fave perfume/cologne and your favorite candy):
Happy Starburst
10. My witness-protection name (mother’s and father’s middle names): R Scott

I'm not really a "favorites" kind of girl so this was hard. Take this for what it's worth and try it out, it's kind of funny.

Snickering at my Snickers

I love to eat frozen Snicker's bars. Lucky for me, my kids got 5 or 6 full-size ones from trick-or-treating so I tossed them in the freezer. Today I pulled one out to enjoy. Cracked it open with a knife and popped it in my mouth. I looked down at the candy bar and had to a do a double take. The bottom layer was green. My mind starts running with all the usual Halloween candy horror stories. My childhood fears of people injecting poison into candy bars and hiding needles in apples went through my head. I pull the candy bar out of my mouth, look at the wrapper, and whew, it's only Shrek green filling. Shrek green filling? Who's idea was that anyway? I prefer my nougat filling the color of well...nougat, thank you very much.

And yes, I really just took a picture of a Snickers bar. What is blogging doing to me anyway?

Because it makes me happy

Dave does lots of things that bring me joy and happiness. At the top of my list, mostly because I think about it each and every morning is the fact that Dave squeegies the shower when he is done showering. Seriously. Get out of town. Every single morning. Pure joy eeks from my heart every day when I see this tiny little act of service. There is nothing like a squeaky clean shower to say "I love you".

Book Club

I belong to a book club. It's the usual thing. We meet once a month, discuss, and eat. Our book club was only started a few months ago so we haven't read too many books but here are the books we have read so far:

• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale- I highly recommend this book. It's a fairytale story. A fun read- no smut to sift through. Dave read it too.
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier- I had to edit to add this one- forgot we read it till I read Jenn's comment. This one started out slow but I think was a good book. The writer is very descriptive and sometimes it's like "get on with it woman!" I mean really, who takes a page and a half to describe rododendrun bushes- I wanted to stick a fork in my eye at times...
• Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns- Okay, I admit, I didn't read this one. Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't find the time or the book. Oops. However, I went to the book club when they discussed it and it's kind of a hokey small town gossip story, if that makes any sense.
• Marley and Me by John Grogan- This is a dog lover book. Me, I'm not a dog lover so I say "meh". Sure I was sad when the dog died but it's funny that someone can write an entire novel about a dog. How entertaining is pooping, destroying, sniffing, and chasing... I was more into the interpersonal relationships in the book.
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer- addicting and fun read.
• Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy- we are currently reading this one and I haven't started it yet.

This month it's my turn to recommend a book for the next time we meet. I'm in a frenzy reading as many books as I can get my hands on so that I can recommend something good. Here's what I've read so far.

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger- I found out about this one looking online for book recommendations. Lots of the "F" word and sex stuff. I'm not so much into that. The story was interesting but the book didn't really leave me feeling uplifted- just kind of "that's depressing".
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls- Pretty good book. Some swearing because her dad is a drunkard but not too bad. I can't decide if I really like this book or not.
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin- easy read. I couldn't put it down (really, I read it in one sitting) because I just had to know how it ended. A couple "F" words and some sex (not descriptive smut though)
• Something Blue by Emily Giffin- this is the book right after Something Borrowed- The beginning of the book was a little harsh for my liking but overall, I liked it - same commentary as above.

Okay, so that's what I have read in the last week. I don't think I want to recommend any of these to the book club. So, my search goes on... I'm also thinking about doing one of these books

• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini- I read this a couple months ago and really liked it. It has some disturbing parts but that goes with the territory of the book.
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd- haven't read this in seven years so I need to re-read it.

Okay, there ya go. My literary tangent for the day. I know some of you are big readers. Help a girl out and PLEASE please PLEASE tell me what books you have loved reading. If you have read any of the books above, let me know what you thought of them.

Flashback Friday

Since this month is Taylor's birthday (November 19th to be exact) I would like to make my flashbacks all about him. He's an amazing kid and we are grateful to have him in our family. All these pictures are within the first two weeks of his life.

Taylor had a little bit of a rough start. He was super hot and not breathing when he was born. They whisked him away and I didn't get to see him for a couple hours. This is the first picture Dave took of him.

Being born right before Thanksgiving, how could I not buy him a turkey sleeper? This is Taylor on Thanksgiving. My mom was in town helping me out and she made us a big Thanksgiving dinner.

Taylor "putting up his dukes"

How can you not just LOVE the little outfits. Oh man, they kill me!

When he was still new and tiny, he used to always purse his lips. Being the first time parents that we were, we got a kick out of it.

Halloween Aftermath

Last night Dave gave Olivia a Butterfinger candy bar after the first house. No big deal (you would think). However, by doing that, he unleashed a monster. Last night she wandered around the house in her Care Bear costume, smothered in chocolate, holding her hands up to any surface she couldn’t reach and saying over and over “num num, num num”. Clearly an addict. This has carried over to today. And it doesn’t help any that Taylor and Sara have been sorting and dumping candy all day.

Taylor has been so cute with his candy. He really is a good little guy. He went through all his candy and picked out all the candy bars that he knows his dad likes (mostly Almond Joys) and set them aside for him. Seriously? He’s four. Who does that? Then, he handed me his full-size Snickers and Milky Way candy bars and told me that they were for me and Dave. He got one of our Halloween candy bowls and put mine and Dave’s candy in there. He then proceeded to load it up with tootsie rolls, Kit Kats, all his full-size candy bars (except for the Crunch bar- he loves that), licorice, Hershey Bars… you get the point.

Sara is all about her candy. She’s not about to sort and share. She’s a little candy nazi.

NaBloPoMo

It stands for National Blog Posting Month. Apparently it's all the rage in the blog world. Don't ya know? You can read about it at http://nablopomo.ning.com/. So I thought I would jump on board and give this a try. One blog every day this month. Can someone please enlighten me as to how I can put the word "here" in place of the actual html. I don't know how to do that. Thank you!

Trick-or-Treat

I just sent Dave and the kids out the door to go trick-or-treating! They were very excited. Livvy doesn't know what the heck is going on but she loves candy so once she catches on- watch out!

Off they go...


Here they are all suited up for the event:


Taylor marching in his school parade:


Sara is sitting with Taylor at his school program. They make witches brew (aka: rootbeer) and each class performs a song. It was cute! Sara started off the day as a witch but after she pitched her apples and caramel all over her dress when we got home, we opted to turn her into Sleeping Beauty.


Livvy went and hung out with Aunt Amy while Sara and I went to Taylor's school. She had a fabulous time helping them eat their pumpkin goo. She is just so cute. I can't even stand it!

ATTENTION

Those of you looking for a make up artist for your Heavy Metal Band, look no further. Sara is in the house! And you should hear her rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." A.ma.zing.