My Favorite Wall and Bread

I'm not much for fluffy decorations. I hate bookcases full of clutter. I hate clutter in general. This however, is my favorite little spot in the house. It's in the kitchen/dining room... just a small little wall. I helped a friend work an antique sale, and one of the things I received as payment was the iron coat rack. Which we don't hang coats on, lol. I try to update it every "season" with decorations. It's feeling very springy right now.

The reason I'm sharing this now... my birthday gift is hanging in the middle. I bought myself that cute striped apron. I've wanted to make one forever, but I haven't found a pattern I like... and then I saw this one, and it's the exact thing I was looking for, so I guess I'll make my own pattern from this (because obviously I need an apron for every season).

Also, I SCRAPPED. It's not done yet... but the page hanging there is Ryan and Evan. (For a close up, check out this post.)

And I don't think I've ever posted this... but here's my wheat bread recipe. (I have a LOT of favorite different type of bread recipes... this is the WHEAT one.)

4 cups warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 tablespoon dry active yeast

4 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup veg oil

1 tablespoon salt

Unbleached white flour as needed

Place the warm water, sugar and honey in a bowl, stir well to combine. Add the yeast. Allow to proof for 5-10 mins. Add one cup of wheat flour, mix well. Add oil and salt, then remaining wheat flour. The dough will be very sticky. Add enough of the white flour to make the dough easy to handle, but still soft. Knead for about 5 mins, then allow to rest and rise. When it's double in size, punch down and knead again for about 5 mins. Then allow to rise again until double. Punch down and knead a few times, then form into loaves or rolls. (This will make 4 small loaves or 3 large.) Allow to rise again until almost double, and then bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 mins. (The time varies slightly depending on the size of the loaf, but you're looking for a nice brown top... and if you let it rise enough, once it reaches that beautiful color, it will be done inside too.)

In case you needed a reason to smile....

Idiots

Hasn't the Government ever heard of PHOTOSHOP???

That is all.

(Because if I start on Sars... errr... West Nile... err... Bird... no wait SWINE flu, I might not stop.)

Unplug and Play

Well, here's the most successful unplugged activity we did this weekend (and it did involve electricity, but no tv or wii or jumping in the car).


We made pretzels!!! The recipe was courtesy of Smitten Kitchen . Evan had a BLAST... and was very proud of the scrumptious results!

The recipe was super easy, and totally interesting for a kid ... measuring, stirring, kneading, rolling, boiling, brushing, sprinkling, baking and EATING!

We halved the recipe, and it was gone within a hour of pulling them out of the oven!

Next time, I think we'll make a full size batch, and experiment... I think sprinkling with Parmesan cheese for some... maybe Cinnamon and sugar for others... And we'll definitely need some good mustard on hand!

Work Dreams

Yep... it's what's on my mind! I go back next week... and part of me is excited (wahoooo! adult interaction!) and part of me is dreading it (for obvious reasons and not so obvious).

I'm going back part time for a few months... and my dream was that the time I was suppose to leave came and went, and I couldn't get out the door... people were stopping me to ask questions.... then the elevators would only go UP... then the stairs didn't go past the second floor... and it just kept going!

lol Any thoughts as to what one of my worries is??

*sigh*

It's gonna be fine, but I'm a worrier by nature, so there's no talking myself down from it!!

Random Pictures

Okay, I finally had the grand idea to actually take the pictures OFF the camera!


I find it inappropriate that at 5 weeks, he's already HIDING from the camera.

Of course, this adorable cooing smile makes up for it! Again... 5 weeks.

And here's a picture from this morning... he's struggling so hard to find his thumb. Can you believe he's SIX WEEKS OLD???

And finally... we spent Arbor Day at Red Butte Gardens here in Salt Lake. Everything was beautiful! Evan and Gio ran and ran and RAN!

Early Childhood Swearing

Ryan is a sneezer... usually two or three in a row.



This is what it sounds like:



ahCHOO

ahCHOO

ahCHOO

Then the cutest little "coo" of frustration which sounds more like AKKKK-ooooooOOOOOOoooo.

I'm pretty sure it's a swear word.

GASP!

You may or may not know that I inherited a LOVE (yes, all caps) of chocolate from my Dad.

So, when I saw the DQ Blizzard of the month was announced as a CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE concoction... The Midnight Madness... I started to drool... and conspire.

My plan was to have Evan take me on a "date" to get an ice cream for my birthday. So we went... and I ate it... and it WAS incredibly good.

And then I got home and decided that I wanted to start counting points today to get my butt back into my favorite work clothes... so I started adding up my food for the day... egg beater omelet with spinach and feta for breakfast... strawberries as a snack... a lean cuisine for lunch... a Blizzard for a snack... HOLY FREAKING COW! 770 calories and THIRTY EIGHT grams of FAT for the SMALL. (Thank GOODNESS I ordered a small!!) That's 18 of my allotted 25 points for the day!

So while it was good... I could have eaten an ENTIRE Cafe Rio Pork Salad with rice and beans and creamy dressing for 18 points. AND THAT would have kept me going through dinner!

Lesson learned... check the nutritional info BEFORE eating.

Excuse me, is that a soap box?

Warning... I'm about to rant.

Lately, I have been stuck in a sittng position with very limited use of my hands. Unfortunately, I get B.O.R.E.D. Which leads me to channel surf. About the best thing I can find on during the day is Food Network, so I've been watching it a lot. The kicker was today's news though... their comments today forced me to pull out the soap box.

Almost EVERY show the host says something like "Your kids won't know it's healthy" or "This is a great way to hide the veggies."

Isn't that just playing into the problem?

I think, as a society we have a tendency to influence our kids into thinking vegetables are gross. That they SHOULDN'T like them. We tell them, "You have to eat this itty bitty tiny spoonful of green beans before you can have that BIG HUGE BOWL of ice cream!

Can't we be honest with our kids about VEGETABLES???

ie: Vegetables give you energy and make you strong. Eating lots of vegetables helps to keep you from getting a big old belly.

VEGETABLES ARE GOOD!

Did Evan eat asparagus the first time I put it on his plate? Not without thinking I was mean for not letting him leave the table until he DID eat that weird looking tree thing! That happened at least 5 or 6 times. One spear... one "I DON'T WANT THIS!" and one "It's good for you, EAT IT" and soon he was asking for them for his BIRTHDAY dinner when he got to pick the entire menu (which could have consisted of ice cream and candy bars if he had only asked).

My 6 year old regularly asks, "Mom, is that healthy?" about foods. I tell him the truth... and he's learning to make healthy food choices on his own... like asking for MILK and apples with his kids meal without my prompting.

Just be honest, be persistent, and they will grow up healthier.

End Soap Box Rant

"We Have A Situation"

That's Evan's new "phrase".

This morning, as we were getting ready for school... "Mom, we have a situation." (Honestly, this is how he sounds.) "See, the sun is REALLY bright at lunch time. And the situation is that you have to put on sun screen, but we can't put on sun screen at school... so that's the situation."

Honestly... where does he get this stuff???

Latest Read

I got this at the library a few days ago... I loved their first book (I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids), and this one was a great little read.

The person who checked it out before me dog eared this:

Note to husband: Dinner? Don't even ask. There is no
dinner. There will never be dinner. Just stop coming home
hungry. Unless you have a plan, there will be no plan. And by the
way... I'm hungry, too.

Oh, I couldn't agree more. I'm still giggling over it.

My favorite:

My one regret in motherhood is that I can't slap people.

(and the "people" I want to slap do NOT include my children... they don't know any better.)

So, if you want a good chuckle... and/or are feeling overwhelmed... I highly suggest this book... or I Was A Really Good Mom.

I can't wait to get a hold of their next one, I'd Trade My Husband For A Housekeeper.

Babies are so freaking cute.

I know that was in the grand design... so that we would put up with the poop and the throw up and the weird sleep schedules. But honestly, they are just so adorable.

One of my very good friends has a grandson that is just 5 days older than Ryan. She tends him during the day, and earlier this week, I stopped by to help her with her computer.

We were a little surprised that Jesse's dad had dressed him in the SAME style of shirt that Ryan was sporting that day.

And of course, we had to take pictures of the two of them together... okay, honestly, I took about 15 pictures... but this one just cracks me up.

Judging from their expressions in this pic... Jesse will be the ultra cool one when they grow up (he's looking at Ryan as if to say, "Hey, what's up?") and my son will be the geek (notice the crossed eyes??)

Comparing the two of them, you may also notice the GIGANTIC hands of my boy. Their bodies are actually quite similar is size... even though Ryan is a good 4 lbs heavier. I think all of that weight must be from his hands and feet.

Seriously... you need to go buy this.

This is honestly the best ice cream I have ever ever ever had. Seriously. If you like chocolate... even a LITTLE... you need to try this. Tonight. Don't even wait for dinner. Don't even wait until you get home.... bring a plastic spoon with you to the grocery store.... you can decide if you want to pay first... but if it was me, I'd break into it right there in the freezer section.

Saturday "Adventure"

Saturday was my first time out with BOTH boys in tow. And wow. What a comedy of errors.... but I wasn't really laughing then.

First, Mark was going to go hunting pheasants with some friends... it had been planned for weeks. The boys and me were going to go to the grocery store. I figured that was a normal enough adventure for my first time out with them both.

THEN we turned on the local morning news and saw Jango (see post below) and of course, I couldn't deny Evan this chance... so I thought, what the heck... we'll just make a quick appearance and then run to the store.

We packed up the stroller and diaper bag, and headed over to the farm. I wanted to get there just as it opened so that the crowd would be less of a crowd.

Well, HA! All the parking lots were full, and the streets were full of cars. Luckily I drive a very small car, and I was able to squeeze in right before a turn lane started.

Ryan started crying, so I handed a bottle to Evan, and asked him to feed Ryan while I got the stroller out. The kid was screaming his fool head off and working himself into a frenzy.

The stroller would not cooperate... I couldn't get it to lock in the open position... I tried for like 10 mins... with strangers walking past my car wondering what was going on that was making a child scream like that. (Including a police officer directing traffic around the entrance to the farm that kept looking over his shoulder in my direction.)

Finally, in tears, I threw the stroller back in the car. I picked up the screaming one, and realized that the reason he was screaming is he had poop EVERYWHERE. I mean EVERYWHERE. Runny, yellow newborn poop.

Oh, and did I mention it was raining at this point??

So I threw Evan's car seat onto the curb, and started mopping up Ryan. Evan was dancing around on the sidewalk, wearing his clone helmet... a light saber in one hand, and a plastic bag holding a growing number of dirty wipes in the other. "MOM!! Hurry!! We CAN'T miss them!!" The whole while, Ryan's screams are reaching ear splitting decibels.... the police officer is luckily busy enough helping pedestrians cross the busy street and only has the ability to look over his shoulder in my direction.

FINALLY I got the boy cleaned and redressed... I bundled him up in my coat, and the only clean blanket I had.... and hurried Evan through the farm looking for the one and only tent that we had come to see.

Once Evan saw them, it made the whole thing worth it though... He was so excited, so ecstatic to see them that the stress melted away and I couldn't help but smile.

That was just one of the many things that happened on Saturday that made me come home and just want to curl up on the bed with my little boys and take a nap... which we did.... Well, Ryan slept, and Evan and I read a book together... but that was just as good.

OH. MY. FREAKING. HECK.

There are many reasons today called for Utah Swearing. I will blog about those another time.

For Evan though... this was the only reason:

That's my Clone Trooper there between Jango Fett and the Biker Scout.

We turned on the news this morning, and there was Jango...

There was going to be an Easter Fair at Wheeler Farm, and a bunch of guys from Star Wars were there to take pictures with the kids.

Not only did Evan get to meet the infamous Jango... but Jango gave him a high five... and then drew his blasters!!

Evan was in HEAVEN.

I kept accidentally calling this guy a Storm Trooper... I was informed NO LESS than 10 times that he was a BIKER SCOUT. Gee, Mom, get it RIGHT!

Oh, and Obi Won (Not Pictured), thought Evan's Clone Trooper Helmet made him the BIGGEST fan of the day, and gave him a special trading card.

Blue Steel

My sister Sara has dubbed this:

BLUE STEEL

(Think Zoolander).

It's a common expression for Ryan... and his eyes are still that deep deep dark blue.

A few days ago, when were on our way to school, Evan says to me, "Mom, Ryan looks different." And he does. It's amazing how much they change after just 3 weeks! His color is so much better now... and he's filling out... not that my baby needed to get bigger, but he's just looking more full in the face.

And here's a few other random expression for your viewing pleasure.

This one is ALMOST Blue Steel... but more "thoughtful".

And this one... this is just, well... CUTE.

Friday!

Even though I'm not working, Fridays are STILL great.

First, Evan doesn't have school... which means I don't HAVE to get out of bed. (Regardless, I'm up less than 30 mins later than normal, lol.)

Evan is home. And I get to be entertained by a 6 year old wearing just his underwear and undershirt prancing around with a light saber.

Friday Fun Day is starting to take off again. Today, our friends are coming to dye eggs and PLAY. This will include an adult for me to talk to!!

And with that... I'm off to make my Jedi breakfast. (Mmmm, pancakes with fresh strawberry syrup!!)

Tis the Season!!

Strawberry Season!!!


I love strawberries.... fresh strawberries are rivaled only by fresh tomatoes as my favorite seasonal food.


I like them anyway I can get them... and my favorite way to extend the season a little is to make freezer jam. Because you don't cook it, it still has that cool fresh spring taste... and you can attempt to keep it for up to a year in the freezer... not that it EVER lasts that long!


Oh, and it's SIMPLE.





Just take 2 cups of crushed fresh berries... 4 cups of sugar (I know, it's a lot of sugar... but it IS JAM!). Boil one box of Sure-Jell in 3/4 of water, and stir it into your berries, and TADA!!! Done. (Well, you're suppose to let it set for 24 hours...)

AND if you want to make strawberry syrup, add 2 extra cups of crushed berries. (Yes, I learned this trick by NOT following the Sure-Jell warnings to use exact measurements!!) It's most wonderful on waffles and pancakes and crepes and french toast and pound cake and and and ... you get the point I'm sure.

2.5 Minutes

I had grand plans today. I made them as I tried to keep a 3`week old from waking up his dad at 4 in the morning,

I was going to start running again.

Some of you may not know that running is NOT my thing. I used to do track... in like 4th grade.

Up until about two years ago, I think that was the last time I ran.

Then when Mark started talking seriously about a baby, I started running (trying)... one of the things my doc wanted me to do before getting pregnant again. It took me until November to get to the point that I could run for more than about 30 seconds. It took until the following summer for me to reach my one mile goal... but I did it, and I felt great.

Well today I was all excited to run again. I got home from taking Evan to school, and SP was asleep in his car seat, so I put on my shoes, grabbed the monitor, and hit the treadmill.... for two and a half butt jiggling minutes.

And yes, my butt was jiggling. I'm pretty sure I located the exact location of those last few pounds I need to get rid of!

After about half a minute, the baby started crying... at 2 and a half... he was screaming his fool head off as if he was being eaten by a bear.

So... plan b was to do some exercises... while holding him. He put up with plan b for about 5 mins of leg lifts... but he drew the line at the sit ups. He's such a party pooper.

So now, I've been sitting on the couch holding him for the last 2 hours. I did get some breakfast though... Carnation Instant Breakfast is my friend. (And actually yummy if you add in a little yogurt and berries!)

What a Weekend!!

It was Evan's Birthday... and my parents came down.

Evan had a blast... the "hometel" (as Evan calls it) had a pool... so of course he and Grandma had a blast in that! They took him Birthday shopping, and he picked out a HUGE Star Wars Lego set. More about his b-day later....

Grandpa Steve and Ryan got to meet. And Grandma and Grandpa fought for cuddle rights! They babysat while Mark and I went to my beautiful friend Armela's wedding. We couldn't stay for the whole thing, but it was wonderful none the less!

AND it finally stopped snowing!!!!!! YEAH!!! It's suppose to rain later this week, but the white stuff SHOULD be done for the season... and tomorrow we're back in the 70s.

Okay... that's the quick update... now the pictures!

Evan had a whole weekend of Birthday. Thursday WAS his birthday. He took treats to school... and I got him is very favorite... Jr Bacon Cheeseburgers for dinner. But we wanted to wait and do his actual birthday dinner and cake when my parents could be here on Friday. BUT he got a package in the mail from Grandma Joyce and Uncle Brian and Aunt Casey, so we let him open that...

They sent him WII Lightsabers! Oh my goodness... and...

A new Wii game... that is ALLLLLL lightsaber duels! The kid was in HEAVEN.

Friday, Evan had a dentist appointment (100% perfect!!! YEAH!!), and then we went over to the HOMEtel to see my parents (they had gotten in late the night before). Grandpa and Ryan got some snuggle introductions... and then of course, Grandma had to have a turn!

Then, my parents took Evan, and Ryan and I headed back to the house to get ready for the Birthday party! I saved the cupcake decorating for the experts though...

Dinner was JUST what Evan had asked for... Sausages (brats) and trees (asparagus) and "those round potato things" (tater tots).

And then MORE presents... Star Wars was the theme, of course!

THEN on Saturday, Sara and Shane took him shopping for MORE birthday presents... and he came home with THIS:

OMG!! It talks... and it has a mic that he can talk into as well. It is the most hilarious thing! If you have a young Star Wars fan... this is the GIFT! lol.

That was the end of the birthday fun and games, but the kid made out like a bandit.

My adorable baby is 6... but STILL adorable!

How would you like THIS backyard...

You can see more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/07/garden/20080807-CLINGSTONE_index.html

Change of Subject

My dad says I've been talk about nursing a lot on here... so lets talk about poop instead today! =)

Ryan has exploded out of his last 3 diapers. This morning, the mess was horrid... and after I got his back, bum and legs clean and as I was cleaning off my ELBOW, he let go with the pee. It reminded me of my first humbling moment as a mom....

When Evan was just 4 weeks old, I was feeling pretty confident as a mom, and decided to take my cute adorable little boy SHOPPING with me. It was National Scrapbook Day, and Mark was busy with something, and I couldn't miss the sales!!

So we hit the first store, and all went well... Second... Evan started fussing and rooting, so I hurried and got what I had in my basket, and took him to the car to feed him. And while I sat in the car feeding my son and feeling like Super Mom I felt him fill his diaper. No worries... I was Super Mom. Other moms complained about taking their kids with them shopping, but they had nothing on me. I pulled the changing pad out, got the diapers and wipes ready, and then when the boy was done eating, I got down to business.

I opened up the diaper and realized this was no ordinary poo... it was runny... and there was a LOT of it. I started to clean him up, and realized that when I had lifted up his little bum, that had opened up the gateway for the sticky runny mess to run out the TOP of the diaper and onto his back. Crap. Okay... so I finished cleaning his bum, the inspected the damage... and started to cry. I sat in the back of the car, holding my crying son by his ankles trying to figure out how to get a onsie, covered in poo, off of him WITHOUT getting poop EVERYWHERE.

Me and my deflated ego went straight home.

Anyway... we're in that stage right now. At least now I know that the miracle of onsies is that you can pull them off over the head OR over the bum.

Back to present day:

The multi blowouts has led me to discover a disturbing fact. Ryan is in 3-6 month clothes already. He's 2 1/2 weeks old. Maybe the "3" is suppose to be 3 WEEKS to 6 months, lol. I guess the bright side would be that his body is catching up to his feet??

Pictures I promised yesterday:

First, I was trying to get a cute "newborn" picture similar to one I have of Evan... But someone would NOT wipe the grumpy face off. (He doesn't like the fetal position... see next set of pictures.)

Ryan likes to spread out...

And he's so freaking adorable when he does! These are his "2 week" pictures.

And the sling in use... I posted several months ago about making one... and here it is. Please ignore the bag under my eyes...

And this is what he looks like while being all cute and sleepy IN the sling.