The Truth About The Fruths

Winter Wonderland

2011-02-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

Even though its cold I love all the fun we have together as a family in the snowy wonderland. I couldn't get all the pictures I want to download so this is it. But we built a "fort" and made snow angles and played with the sled. The bank closed and Brock got to stay home and enjoy the day with us. We love it when daddy gets to be home.

Pets

2011-02-27T06:39:00.000-08:00

Since we have been living in an apartment we are not allowed to have pets. This is totally fine with me. My children, particularly the oldest, really wants a pet. This morning while on the phone with grandma I hear the comment. "I really want a firefly but mommy won't let me have any pets. " I love it. It was a great day to start my Sunday morning.

Two Weeks?

2010-11-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

Two weeks. Two weeks was the deadline my friend Shanna gave me to update my blog and that was 4 or 5 months ago. I usually am great with deadlines and meet them. My deepest and truest apologies because I said I would and I did not come through. I want to blog more often, but it is getting pushed farther and farther down the list. I need about 8 more hours in a day. But here it is Shanna (assumming you still even check my blog), my girls' birthday cakes from 2010 as promised, just a little, okay, alot late.

Here is Meghan's we did a duck cake this year. She turned 2!

And here is Emily's Carousel Cake that she begged for for about 8 months.

I think they turned out alright if I do say so myself. There was so much cake leftover.

Now I am not promising anything so that my honor won't be ruined. but I will try to do a blog at least once a week. I hope that sounds fair my friend Shanna.

Family Home Evening in the Fort

2010-08-29T20:31:00.001-07:00

Over the summer the girls participated in the Summer Reading Program at the downtown library. They earned a voucher each to the Tin Caps that gave them each a ticket to get in, a ticket for a free meal, and a ticket for a free prize (cheerleader meeaphones). Our friends the Jones' and the Hansens participated as well and we cahsed in our vouchers at the same time so we could all sit togehter. We were on the third base line. I had never been yet to a Tin Caps game. Had been when they were the Wizards at the Coliseum but not at the new park. We decided to go on a Monday for Family Home Evening. It was fun. Here are some of those memories.

Getting close to bed time and hadn't eaten yet.

Happy, however, with the ice cream cone.

A LOT of junk food at this point.

Team Jones

Team Hansen

The Five Seasons

2010-08-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Depending on the location of your home the number of seasons you experience varies. Utah you see about two winter and summer. In Washington you also have two rainy and rainy. The east coast you get four with winter, spring, summer and fall. Here at the Fruth household we have Five. Winter, Spring, Summer, Canning, Fall.

So far this season I have done:

60+ jars of salsa

50+ quarts of green beans

25 quarts of diced tomatoes

5 quarts and 1 pint of tomato juice

7 pints tomato sauce

2 pints nectarines

We still have so much more to go.

Here are some pictures of our most recent session last Monday (the 23rd)

Start with some tomatoes

add two cute and anxious helpers

Here the girls are washing the tomatoes

(I love Meghan's face)

Meghan is in charge of squishing the juice out of the tomatoes

she needed a little assistance...

lots of clean jars

Tomatoes in the water bath on left, green beans in the pressure canner on right back and tomato juice in the front pot plus sauce in the crock pot off to the right. It was a busy day.

This wasn't all of it but that day I canned from 7:30 in the morning until 10:30 that night with breaks for annoying things like eating having to stop to go pick up Brock from work. On days like these I understand why my mom had us eat cereal or bologna sandwiches for dinner a lot during canning season. It was crazy trying to cook too.

All in all that day we did 14 quarts of Green Beans, 7 quarts of diced tomatoes, the juice, sauce and nectarines. Monday's usually are my most productive days of the week. Besides the canning I switched Meghan's clothes from 18 months to 2T, Emily and I washed the bay window inside and out, I put away the 4 loads of laundry that had been folded and not put way last week, cleaned and vacuumed the living room, and went to the tin caps game for family home evening. I even managed to play with my kids a bit.

This salsa was from the Saturday before.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.......

2010-05-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

...Is not just a Primary Song. It is now the new modesty song in our house. I went to the "How to talk to your kids about sex" class at the Stake Relief Society Meeting last Saturday and I loved it. Even though my babies are only 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 that talk will be coming sooner than I would like to think, so I took the class. One of the sisters said with her girls they play head shoulders, knees and toes to check to see if their clothes are modest. Hands on head- does the shirt come up? Hands on shoulders- are the shoulders covered so that you could enter the temple? and can you see your bra and etc.. in your sleeve because it is too big? Knees- does the skirt cover my knees and do you see your breasts while bending over? and Toes- does your skirt cover you behind or do you see your panties while bending over as well as breasts? I love it.

We are teaching our children young that modesty is important. Brock and I decided No sleeveless shirts or sundresses, We are discussing shorts (leaning towards knee shorts only), one piece swimsuits, etc... They are young but the scriptures say to teach them while they are young. Our philosophy is the younger they learn it the easier it will be to live it as they get older. It is sinking in I must say. Emily informed her grandma that she was not modest when she came over with a sleeveless shirt on. As always we are working on why we dress modestly and that even though other people don't, we still do.

Date Night X 2

2010-05-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

So a great friend of ours gave us a coupon for a free pizza from pizza hut, 2 super saver movie passes and provided her daughter for babysitting for Free! On Friday Brock and I went out to Pizza Hut and then we actually rented a movie. I of course have not seen it yet because I fell asleep before the opening previews were over. (Good thing we have it until Wednesday). The next day my dad came over and watched the girls for a meeting we had and Brock asked my dad if he could stick around so he could take his daughter out for a date. He did and we doubled with some friends of ours and saw Letters to Juliet. I loved it. It was cheesy, predictable, funny, and adorable. I think it will go into our personal collection and will make the "Project Movie" list.

I love date nights.

Two Girls and a Sleeping Bag

2010-05-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

So the girls found out that a slippery sleeping bag is tons of fun. Meghan would crawl on while Emily pulled her around the house. Then I would pull both and then Emily would take over.

Meghan hadn't laughed so long or hard in a long time.

Saving Time

2010-05-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Between being a wife and mom, serving in the Relief Society Presidency, serving as the Board of Directors at our Apartment Complex, being an assistant camp director for Girl's Camp, being Director of Marketing for our business and everything else life throws at you I am pretty busy.

I decided to implement a new strategy to streamline certain activities to save time and be more productive. I already plan my menu one month out. After getting my necessary groceries for the week I decided to take 1 hour and prep for the week.

I chopped all my fruits and vegetables for snacks so they would be readily available. I also prepped all the veggies I need for my recipes for the entire week so all I have to do is cook. I got the asparagus, corn on cob, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, onions, green beans and cabbage ready. The peppers, onions, and chicken are all ready for Cinco de Mayo fajitas, the grapes, watermelon, and strawberries are all ready too. So far I have only done two days worth but it has saved tons of time already. I will try this out and see if it continues to be helpful.

A Hill of Beans

2010-05-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I canned about 9 pounds of beans. I have about 7 more quarts and 5 more pints but they all wouldn't fit on the washer.

Discover Fort Wayne 2010-April

2010-05-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

My discovery that I would like to highlight for April is The downtown Allen County Public Library. They have amazing things to do all of the time.

*Babies and Toddler Reading Time

*Free movies in the theatre

*Rock the Plaza Music Concert Series

*A variety of displays and demonstrations

Check out their website for upcoming events: http://www.acpl.lib.in.us

The Best Workouts Ever

2010-05-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered some of the BEST workouts ever created.

The first is the weight loss yoga done by Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser.

I did this on Monday and still felt it on Friday.

The second is Jillian Michael's (also from the Biggest Loser) 30 day shred.

Still felt this one for days later also
On Wednesday I went to my dad's to get the garden ready for planting. The tiller will not stay running so I am at a standstill until it gets fixed. In the meantime I mowed his lawn. The yard had gotten out of hand since he needed to also tune up his mower and the push mower won't start either. (what is going on with all of his tools?) Anyway his rider is not as beautiful as the one you see here.

It is like 150 years old and is by far the BEST ab work out I have ever gotten. Just sit up straight, engage core, and let the mower do the rest. It wobbles and moves you back and forth it even got my obliques going. (If anyone needs a good ab workout I am sure my dad wouldn't mind if you cut his grass for him.)

And one of the best ab, and upper body work out would be to hand rake my dad's yard. His 150 year old mower doesn't come with a bag or the ability to attach a bag. So I hand raked the 1/2 acre that is not covered with barns, house, or garden. I am using the clippings for mulch this year. So every 7-10 days I will be getting a good work out by helping my dad. What a deal!

I am also a HUGE fan of the website http://www.livestrong.com/ It tracks your food intake, water intake, workout, caloric intake based on weight goals and tons more. I love the loops feature. (You can calculate the length your walks or runs by using google maps). There is also a lot more. And it is free unless you want to pay for the Gold Membership. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Funny Pee Story-make that two.

2010-04-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was looking at houses with my mother-in-law. It happened to be a house where the water was shut off. Emily, of course, informs me that she has to pee. She can't use the toilet so I run out to the car, grab some Kleenex, run to the back yard of the house we are looking at and find a corner where the neighbors can't really see. I proceed to pull down her pants and hold her by the legs in a sitting position. We tried this a couple of times. I don't know if it was because it was cold or an odd position to be in but nothing happened. Fortunately the next house had flushables and she was able to hold it. I had flashbacks of my dad doing the same to me.

As I was writing this one I remembered one time when I was in 9th grade had been hunting for crawdads for Biology extra credit at the creek by our house ( yeah I'm a country girl). I had to pee so badly but someone was occupying the room I so desperately needed. So I thought I can just go in the back yard. (Again, no close neighbors, this shouldn't be a problem). I pull my pants down and squat. Everything went fine except I forgot to take one leg out and flip my pants to the side. It was pretty much the same effect as if I would have kept them on and peed. What a DORK!

Books

2010-04-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Books

Books are my passion. Some people love handbags others it is shoes. For me it is BOOKS!

I love everything about them. The way they feel, the way the smell, everything. I love that simple words can transport me to other worlds. I have gone on some of my most greatest adventures have been within the pages of a book.

This past Saturday I went to the Children's Resale at Grace Point Church on Mayhew Road. I Spent $33.00 and bought 4 things that were not books. I even found a couple for myself. I scored with Ella Enchanted, The Princess Academy and Sign of the Beaver. With the exception of a few teaching books the rest were for my girls.

Then I went to the Library to get some more books for the kids. I love Dr. Suess books and I love P.D. Eastman's books he writes under that label. I absolutely love Mercer Mayer (Little Critters) and the original Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Laura Numeroff is a recent find.

I regret that I don't get to read as often as I would like to. I can loose myself and my life in reading. When I grow up and get a house I am going to make one room a library with shelves from ceiling to floor. I am also going to have one of those ladders on wheels to get to all of the books I will have. There will be a big chase lounge and big comfy chair to read on. And I will have a big bay window with a seat in it and pillows to curl up and read.

I have passed this on to Emily. While most kids sleep with blankies and stuffed animals she sleeps with books. I love it. We started reading to her pretty much since birth. Why we didn't do the same with Meghan I don't know, but she is coming around.

Books make me happy!!

When Grandpa Comes

2010-04-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

When Grandpa comes we have a good time.

We love him so much. He plays babies with us...
...and builds furniture for our babies out of our building blocks.

How cool is he?

Play Hard...Sleep Hard

2010-04-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you play hard all day. You pass out in the car.

And then you won't even wake up when mom and dad are flashing pictures of you.
And you pass out on the kitchen counter waiting for dinner.

It was so hard getting her to wake up. Once she did it was just as hard getting her to go to bed.

The Sun + The Park = Family Fun

2010-04-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Good times on the Swings
I think she thinks she is on a roller coaster.

Big Sister Helping Out

First time slider

" The playground makes me smile"

Fun in Ohio

2010-04-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

For Easter Sunday we went to Brock's Dad's in Ohio.

Emily and Grandpa played "Three Musketeers" in the woods. He was Mickey Mouse and she was Packin Pete (Captain Pete) and put him in "jail."

Meghan and Grandpa

Emily usually feeds the fish but today she was looking for creatures and she found a bunch of ...

FROGS!

Meghan and Daddy playing in the woods. They were Donald and Goofy in the Three Musketeers Game

Nothing says relaxation like a hammock. There is just something about being in one that takes all your cares away and makes life serene and beautiful.

Playing on the swing

And testing out the Harley.

Hammock with Grandma Lori

Harley dreaming with Dad.

She looks so cool!

The Garden Gate of My Dreams

2010-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

On one of our 4 mile adventures we found this garden gate.

I love this gate. It is whimsical and adorable
It just needs a little of this..... and it would be perfect.

When I grow up and get a home of my own I will have a gate similar to this one.

The Country Kitchen (April 2010)

2010-04-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Country Kitchen here in Fort Wayne is a Confectioner's Dream Land. If I had $1000's to blow this is one of the places I would do it at. They offer all types of classes. Cake Decorating, Candy Making, Cheesecake making, etc... I saw on the sign that they are currently having one on how to make an edible purse. My current favorite thing is the Toddler Time classes that they do. We did one 2 Novembers ago and it was really fun. Each month has a different theme. We did April's and these are the "Fruits of our Labors" It was a "Digging for Dinosaurs" theme.

Dinosaur Island was made out of a cupcake that she got to frost, she mad the volcano out of an ice cream cone and red melting chocolate, and she got to make a dinosaur out of purple melting chocolate.
They made a dinosaur bone out of rice crispy treats cut with bone cookie cutter. Then she dipped it in white chocolate and put on white sprinkles.

Here is the pencil sucker made with a different and bigger mold.

Here is the finished product in full. We got to keep the molds and the class was about an hour long. Not bad for $9.00. I would highly recommend this class. Minimum age is 2. They also offer a kids one for older kids I think 5 and above. Give them a call to see what they have.

Just a Little Confused

2010-04-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or is any one else confused at the way our legal system tends to work? I was watching the news yesterday (not something I normally do because it is depressing.) Any way this lady could have been sentenced up to 20 years for leaving her cats along for a month with no food. That seems a little odd to me since I have watched the news and people who do things to little children or elderly people et. al. have gotten what appears to be a slap on the wrist and most defenatly less than 20 years. It is appalling really. Now don't get me wrong; I like animals and all, but the system seems a little out of balance to me.

Family Home Evenings

2010-04-02T18:44:00.001-07:00

There are times I wonder why we even have FHE. It is like those days you go to church and are wondering why you bothered to come since you heard absolutely nothing. Well tonight was one of those nights. It started off well enough. We had a coupon for a FREE pizza at Papa J's and got to order out. (YEAH. I didn't have to dirty my clean kitchen). Brock had treat tonight and he wanted to make Rice Crispies Easter Eggs. (What was that about a clean kitchen???) I must say though he did the clean up. We dipped some of them in melted chocolate chips and some in sprinkles. Emily loves sprinkles. On the rare occasion we get donuts she always wants a sprinkles one. Then she eats off the sprinkles and leaves 3/4 of the donut.

After we made our treat we had our lesson while they "set up". It was the Easter lesson we made at this last Relief Society Meeting, the one with the eggs. I hid the eggs and then Emily found them and then we opened them one by one doing the lesson with it. All Emily did was keep asking about the eadible eggs, and take eggs away from Meghan. Meghan screamed and tantrumed the entire time because she kept getting eggs taken away from her. During closing prayer Meghan screamed the entire time because the eggs got put away and Emily cried too although I have no idea why. Finally I took the baby straight to bed and Emily went straight to the kitchen. Oh well there is always next Easter. I did have to laugh at the whole thing though, through clenched teeth of frustration. I am sure the spirit was there....somewhere.

A Little Cuban

2010-04-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

So I tried out this new recipe and it was so good I thought I would share it with everyone. I didn't think to take pictures. (Always a day late and a camera short it seems).

It is "Cuban Chicken with Mango-Avocado Salsa (4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinade:

1 tsp cumin seed

1 fresh red chili pepper chopped (I used a red poblano and only used 1/2 since it was so big)

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

5 tsp. lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 tsp salt

5 tsp. orange juice

Salsa:

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp lime zest

1 tsp honey

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 cup cold butter cut into pieces.

1/2 cup diced mango

1/2 avocado cubed

chopped fresh cilantro to taste

chopped fresh parsley to taste

Toast cumin seeds in dry skillet over medium high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes/ Place the cumin seeds, garlic, chili pepper, salt, olive oil, orange juice and lemon juice into blender and grind until coarse paste. Toss with chicken and place in fridge for about 2 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. Place into the oven and cook until the juices run clear, about 8 minutes. When the chicken is done, remove, cover with foil and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, lime zest, honey, and soy sauce in a skillet over medium high heat. Simmer until the orange juice has reduced to 1/3 of its original volume and is beginning to get thick and syrupy.Once thick remove from heat, and whisk int eh butter pieces one at a time until melted; set aside. To serve, place chicken on plate and sprinkle with mango and avocado. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with cilantro and parsley.

***NOTES****

My marinade wasn't what I would consider a coarse paste but more of a thick chowder consistency. I also didn't have the fresh herbs on hand to garnish with.

I served this with some Spanish rice, steamed broccoli and Homemade Lemonade.

The lemonade was from Emily's Sesame Street cookbook called C is for Cooking. It is Big Bird's recipe and was really good. Every week or so she picks something from her cookbook and helps shop for the ingredients and make the item for dinner. Here is that recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups water
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
Juice of 4 large lemons (1 cup)

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Roll the lemons on the counter with the palms of your hands pressing down hard with one hand on top of the other. Halve and juice the lemons. Remove the sugar syrup form the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside to cool completely. You can store the lemonade syrup in a covered container in the fridge for up to one week. To make lemonade place 1/4 cup of syrup in a glass, add ice if you like and fill with water or seltzer.

To make the rice I just cooked rice in my rice cooker but instead of straight up water I mixed water and tomato sauce to cook it in and then seasoned it with a cut up green onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. I didn't measure the spices it was by look and taste.

So give it a try. I guarantee you will love it.

The Tampon

2010-04-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

The tampon, a little invention designed to make the menstrual cycle a little less gross for lack of a better word. But did you know that they can be used for so much more. I bet you didn't. Since you have never lived in my house; let me enlighten you. Tampons (unused of course) can be used for:

* Sword fighting

* "Paint brushes"

* Make up brushes

* Roads

* They can be "people"

I walk in to the bathroom and the entire box has been dumped out and they were all opened. I started to get mad then thought whatever they are happily playing together. Em then brings two tampons to me and says, "mom the tampons are talking to you" and then makes up conversations for them.

There is something fascinating about Feminine Hygiene Products. Last year the pads were the most exciting "stickers" in the house. I found unwrapped and stuck all over the bathroom wall.
Note to self. Find another place to store those.

Conversations

2010-04-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the conversations I have with my child. The last couple of days we have very much enjoyed going on stroller walks. On one particular outing Emily began talking about going swimming. She says " we can take off our shirts and go swimming." I say well girls have to wear swimsuits so they can be modest. Boys can wear swim trunks with out their shirts." She says "why?" After much thought on how to answer this and not quite sure how, I say, " girls have breasts that they need to cover so they can be modest. That is why they wear swimsuits. Boys don't need to." Emily says, "dad has small breasts" (By the way in defense of my husband he does NOT have man boobs, but to a 3 year old he has breasts). She then says "when I get older mine will get big like yours mom." I end with,"yeah that's right honey, look! A squirrel."

Today while looking at houses with Grandma..... " mom it stinks it here. It smells like a museum."
How does she know what a museum smells like? The only one she's ever been in was the history museum at Christmas time and that house didn't smell like gingerbread.

Things you don't expect....

2010-03-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

You don't expect your 3 year old to flop down on your bed at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday and say things like, "Mom, I am sick and tired of making my bed."

Or when she looks at the back of the camera to see her picture and says, "thats not too bad."

The Cost of Beauty

2010-03-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Emily: Mom I swallowed my spit

Me: Do you want a drink of water honey?

Emily: NO! It will mess up my lip gloss

Snowman Envy

2010-03-07T21:39:00.001-08:00

We finally got the right snow at our house to make a snowman. Emily and I worked really hard and were proud of our snowman with grape eyes and carrot nose. (The little carrots sticking out are his arms. She pulled out my sticks and replaced them with baby carrots).

Then that afternoon Grandpa Brock took her out and built this with her.

I feel okay about my snowman because I let her be the architect. I am pretty sure Gpa did most of the work here....

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY BROCK

2010-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

A week before Brock's birthday I decided to throw him a birthday party. I actually wanted to throw an extravaganza but there were some key factors hindering this idea. So I settled for a family party. I made some phone calls and put my plan into action. The 27th of February (the Saturday before Brock's birthday) I had my dad get Brock out of the house. I think he took him home teaching. While he was gone I hurried up and made his birthday linner. That is not a typo. A linner is a late lunch; early dinner. He loves these really easy chili cheese enchiladas. His step mom brought a 7 layer Mexican dip and chips, his mom brought a vegetable and I made a salad to go with. Yumm-O!Then I decorated. Emily and I had made the sign earlier in the week for craft time. She painted and I stenciled. All the while the guests are showing up. When grandma got to the house I borrowed her car and picked up the balloon bouquet from The Party Outlet.

He didn't suspect a thing and was surprised when he got home. We all hid around the corner by the stairs and jumped out at him.
The girls LOVE to help open presents.

And here is his cake chocolate with chocolate frosting (his favorite) complete with 30 candles. Emily and I made it on Friday and hid it in the food storage closet.

We had so much fun. Finally we are both in our 30's.

Two girls and a blanket

2010-03-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

This is one of the girls' most favorite past times. They crawl into a blanket and get swung back and forth like a pendulum. I absolutely LOVE the giggles and squeals that go with it.

Emily Says things like....

2010-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

Most siblings will call their siblings cute little pet names like "sweetie, baby, peanut, etc...

Emily calls Meghan cute names like "you little ray gun," "you pokey little sharp knife," "you popcorn," "you little golf ball" and today on the way home from church she called her a "little skunk"

I say to Emily "you make me smile" she answers with " I love you too."

While chopping vegetables for dinner I say "Emily, will you take out the recycling?" She says with a huge exasperated sigh, "I have to do everything!" Really? You do?

Today in sacrament we are sitting in our pew. It is after the opening and brother Harper is doing announcements. Suzy (name has been changed to protect the innocent) and her family come in the pew behind us. Emily says to Suzy. "It already started."

Grandpa Brock is talking to daddy Brock about the deer jerky he brought. Emily adamantly says "we don't say that word." Then I have to explain that we don't say Jerk but jerky is a type of meat (sort of) and that it is okay to say jerky blah, blah, blah.

She is the word police. She has yelled at grandma for saying gosh and stupid. And Brock who yelled out gosh after stubbing his toe. And me after yelling dang it when I couldn't take it any more. The list goes on. I apologize if she has policed anyone reading this. We are trying to teach her that other people may say things we don't. She's three.

Emily has her doctor kit out and is taking my blood pressure. I say, "are you a doctor Emily?" She says, "no I'm like a doctor." Oh, well, yeah.

I could go on and on. It is so fun to see what she will come up with next.

Fun times with my Sister

2010-02-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots of the girls playing together in their various forms of fun.

They love to play in the laundry basket.

I rarely get a picture where they both are smiling. Here Meghan is actually laughing hysterically while Emily clearly doesn't want to share the chair.

Helping "clean up "the utensils after banana bread baking

In this one Emily is so happy to give hugs and Meghan is actually screaming to have her let go. Can't we all just get along?

This is one of my favorites. I love that they love books and I love that they are enjoying them together.

2010-02-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

So Grandma got Emily this Princess bed set for Christmas and it came with a mask to sleep with. This is her a couple weeks ago. Well we haven't been able to find her mask and so tonight I had to get her a wet washcloth to lay over her eyes so she would go to sleep.

Thank goodness its what?

2010-02-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

We've heard the phrase thank goodness its Friday. Well let me tell you about my Friday last.

*Come home to Emily being awake at 10:30 at night on Thursday night. Just hanging out on her bed playing and reading books. At least she was enlightening her mind.

She doesn't go to bed until after 11:00. So why would she wake up at 6:30 in the morning on Friday instead of sleeping in? I don't know maybe because she is psychotic.

*Get her and Meghan around, breakfasted, etc.. Give Emily breathing treatment. (Both girls have been on them for 2 weeks. Well, Emily one and Meghan 2).

* Have a business training meeting at 8:30. Meghan refuses to be put down with out screaming her head off and Emily will not sit and watch a movie so we won't be bothered. I remember some stuff.

*Give Meghan breathing treatment. That is the biggest joke. It is like torture for both parties. Get frustrated and bawl.

*Baby goes down for nap a little after 10 and right after treatment.

*Emily and I bake 3 tiered chocolate birthday cake for Brock's surprise birthday party the next day.

*Meg wakes up from nap.

*Lunch.

*Try to get house cleaned and ready for people coming next day. Decide to wait until kids go to bed.

*Meghan crawls around screaming and holding on to my leg while I try to decorate cake all the while fighting back toddler "helping" fingers.

*Put both girls down for nap

*Have no recollection of what I did. Other than get things ready for that night. (Pack diaper bag, etc...)

*Run upstairs to two screaming children. Emily did not make it to the bathroom after her nap and Meghan just woke up grumpy (yeah, surprise).

*Clean huge puddle on carpet (where does she store it all?)

*Decide she should just get a bath. It's been a few days. Might as well do the baby too. Her antibiotic causes diarrhea. Bath should help with rash.

*Get baby out of tub and dressed in jammies. Its only 4:30 but I am being proactive.

* Go into Emily's room to realize she had peed on the bed too. How many bladders does she have?

*Run the linens and some other clothes down and start load in washer.

*Run back up stairs to screams of "Mommy". I enter the bathroom to see Emily holding a very soggy lump. " Mom, Meghan threw the toilet paper into the tub." I notice that she also threw in a tampon or two. Unwrapped even.

*Scoop up as much T.P. shreds out of tub as I can, let water out, refill tub and wash toddler.

*Get her dressed in jammies as well and decide it is time for dinner.

* Open fridge to get our thawed venison to make spaghetti. Exclaim "Oh Great!" and clean up deer blood that leaked through the Ziploc bags s it was thawing. Come on lets make some more durable bags please.

Decide we are just having left overs. Emily white chicken chili, Meghan cheese to help with the diarrhea. I'm sure she ate something else but I don't remember.

*Anna comes over a little after 6.

*Brock comes home a little after her.

*We throw the girls into family car. Brock takes the girls to my dad's while he visits the accountant to get the taxes done and Anna and I go out for a well deserved break from sick kids and crazy life.

*We ate at Carlos O' Kelly's and went to the Home and Garden show to which I had gotten free tickets (yeah).

*Kids were in bed when I got home. Snuggled with hubby, watched the Olympics and went to bed.

Whew!

Discover Fort Wayne 2010-February

2010-02-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

So our February Discover Fort Wayne was not very exciting. This month seemed to fly by (maybe because there are only 28 days?). We actually did just a dinner and a movie, however we did it for less than $20.00. First we went to Fridays for dinner. They currently have the special of an appetizer, main dish, and dessert for $12.99. We split, which was the perfect helping size, not too full; not too hungry.
After wards we went to the "sticky shoes" as we call it. To others it is known as the Coventry 13 $3.00 theater. The movie was cute. Not one that I would buy or ever rent again but at 10:00 at night was good enough.

Discover Fort Wayne 2010-January

2010-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

So our discovery for January was this great hill in Columbia City (about 15 minutes west). We went sledding with our friends the Fey's. Of course my battery died when I was about to take the picture of it. So once I get the pics from Jana I will be able to add the pictures in to this post. The hill was not too steep that it was hard to climb up but it was angled well enough to send you way out into the field before your sled stopped. It was so much fun and the cost was free. Try this out with your family.

A Valentines Story

2010-02-15T17:09:00.001-08:00

So I thought I would get crafty this Valentine's day and I went to Hobby Lobby (one of my most favorite stores) and bought a fake wood mail box and some cute scrapbook paper. I then covered the afore mentioned mailbox with said paper and this is what I got.

The black letters say Love Letters if you couldn't make it out.

Then every day until Vday I would put a love letter in it letting my sweetie know how much I love him and why. We decided to keep it up all the time. So when the flag is up that means someone has a love letter waiting for them.

This last Saturday I was out running errands and couldn't understand why the traffic was horrific. Then it dawned on me that the next day was Valentines and all the lame-o last minute shoppers were out trying to woo their intended with flowers (which die) and/or chocolate (which makes you fat). I was very put out. I mean I could have walked to office depot and Aldi's faster than it took me to drive for crying out loud.

I don't know if its just me but I am not HUGE into Valentine's Day. I think it is because everyday is Valentines Day for me. Brock does sweet things all the time with out hints or I want this or whatever. I know I am loved and appreciated everyday. So I guess I don't need a selected day of the year. Just me I guess. I am happy for all of you fellow bloggers who get into the day and get what you want.

My first time

2010-01-26T11:59:00.001-08:00

I know there will be many more of these conversations throughout my parenting career, however, today was my first of "I don't love you." and "I don't care about you anymore." I believe I also heard a "dangit" muttered while going up the stairs and a "shut your mouth" through the closed bedroom door. What caused all of these harsh words and hurt feelings? It would be the simple, "No Emily, you may not have a bottle to play with in the living room" I would hate to see what happens when it is something big. What or who is it that posses my sweet little angel and turns her into this little demon and how do I get rid of it?

Moving on Up

2010-01-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well little Miss is moving on up on the growth chart. She is now in the 45th percentile for height and the 15th percentile for weight. Compared to big sister who was always 75th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. I think Em is taking after Brock and Meghan me. But he thinks Emily will grow fast then stop like I did and Meg will hit a growth spurt. Only time will tell.

The Best Day Ever

2010-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was my best day so far this year. Too bad it was only the 5th day of the month. I got to sleep in until 7:45. It is mostly because Brock and I slept through the alarm and then our back up alarm (Emily) slept in so she didn't wake us up until then. He was late and rushed but hey I got to sleep in. I got my scriptures, Ensign article, and Church News article read, worked out, got the whites washed and dried (they got put away this morning), got the bedrooms picked up and vacuumed, had dinner in the crock pot so it was done no hassle. I worked out, stayed within my caloric intake goal, had a good team connect, had companionship study, played with my kids and watched Episode 1 of Cranford. It doesn't get any better than that. Today on the other hand isn't bad but its not as great as yesterday. Speaking of which I better go see what Emily is getting into I just heard her pulling the step stool around the kitchen floor.

What a Tasty Treat

2010-01-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

These are my new favorite things.

They are Breyers Pure Fruit Popsicles Pomegranate Blends.

There is Blueberry Pomegranate, Mango Pomegranate and Mixed Berry Pomegranate.

They are a great snack and for all my Weight Watchers friends they are only 1 point!!

Recently Called

2010-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

So I was recently called as the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. I should've know a new calling was in the works. That is how the Lord works with me. Once I truly love a calling and/or the people I work with I'm moved on to learn something new. And I truly loved my scout calling. But now I am over Enrichment. I am feeling a little overwhelmed especially now that it is an every month thing again. And all the ladies before me have done a superb job. But I read a quote by President Uchtdorf that really helped me feel better. Here it is...

"The Lord doesn't' expect us to work harder than we are able. He doesn't (nor should we) compare our efforts to those of others. Our Heavenly Father asks only that we the best we can--that we work according to our full capacity, however great or small that may be."

I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me to learn with this new calling. Hopefully one of them is the ability to balance all of the responsibilites and duties I have in all areas of my life. That would be most helpful.

My little Helper???

2010-01-03T18:01:00.001-08:00

Meghan has become quite the explorer these days well she has been for a while I actually was just able to capture it on film.Here she is helping to "clean out" the cupboard that has all of my baking supplies in it.

Here she is "sorting" the recycling. I love the "what did I do" look.

Discover Fort Wayne 2010

2010-01-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

This year 2010 the start of a new year, nay, a new decade Brock and I decided (well I decided and Brock consented) to Discover Fort Wayne. This is how it will work either on a date night or a family activity we will strive to discover things you can do for fun for $20.00 or less. We will be doing this in Fort Wayne and the surrounding areas. We will try to visit places and do activities that are specific to Fort Wayne. We or I decided to do this because you never really know how long you will be in a place and why not enjoy it while you are there. We picked $20.00 or less because we, like many, are on a budget or should be. Our family consists of 4 so depending on how big your family is it may be more or less. I look forward to this adventure. I will post as each activity takes place and if you find it to be intriguing try it out and let me know what you thought.

Can it be True?

2010-01-03T17:05:00.001-08:00

It is hard to believe that my little baby is 3 and is now a SUNBEAM!!!!! I am so glad that Jamie is her teacher. That will be a big help with the transition of leaving "Super Loop." It is crazy to me. I feel like I just gave birth to her and her she is going into Primary. I tried to document this day all cutie for the scrapbook and stuff. But she refused to take off the coat and ditch the balloon so there you go. I am excited to help her learn the theme for the year and see her in the program this fall and watch her grow and develop. Despite all the craziness and the headaches I get from her sometimes she truly is so wonderful. I love her so much and she brings me so much joy and happiness.

My Sweet Escape

2010-01-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

A wonderful (and really cute, I might add) Husband

A bath tub

Candles

A Good Book

What do all of these things have in common? Well as I was having a very stressful day with the children yesterday my most wonderful and perfect husband ran a tub full of hot bubbly water, lit lots of candles all over the bathroom and let me curl up to a good read to relax and melt away all of my stress. I came out of the baby's room after putting her down for bed and voila! There it was all waiting for me my very own sweet escape....

Snow much fun!

2010-01-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

This past week we decided to venture out and enjoy the snow we currently have. You never know with Indiana weather. It changes so often I thought we better have fun now before it either gets hot and melts or the rain comes and washes it away.
This was Meghan's first time playing in the snow.

My little angel.

The Hunt

2010-01-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

So last November (2009) Brock took a week off and went hunting in Ohio with his Dad. We took him to Ohio after church on Sunday so that we could have the car while he was gone. They went out on Monday and he got a doe. Then on Tuesday he got a buck or should I say Bambi. He was mad because the way the sun was it made it look bigger than it was up on the ridge. Two was the limit and he got two his first two days. Go honey!!! He came home for a few days and then went back to help process the deer. So we now have in my dad's extra freezer 28 quarts of deerburger and 5 quarts of deer stew meat and 1 gallon of roast type meat. That should last us a while. I'm not much of a deer meat eater but the need and desire to provide for his family won. If I mix it in with enough flavorings I'm sure it will be good. Actually to be fair I haven't had deer since I was like 9. My parents made dinner. We thought it was your average meat. I liked it until my parents told me what it was. So I will give it a chance. I am so proud of my manly hunter.

November in a nutshell

2009-12-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

So the holidays are upon us and it has been crazy busy. I obviously haven't taken the time to post. Well since it is almost Christmas I thought I should at least recap November. So here are the highlights of the month of Thanks and Giving.

Craft time with Emily. She made a VERY colorful turkey.
Gingerbread houses at the Jones' A tradition 2 years in the making.

Saw my friend Lisa in an amazing performance of Fiddler on the Roof.

Went to the midnight Showing of New Moon with all my girl friends.

And celebrated Thanksgiving. We went to Brock's mom's family at noon on and his dad's at 5:00 on the actual holiday and then got around to my family on the 3rd.

It was a great month filled with lots of fun things. It is never boring on the Fruth Frontier.

I love him because

2009-12-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

So anyone knows I am married to the most wonderful man in the entire world, nay, universe. I love him for so many reasons and i love him more and more everyday. But one of the reasons I love him is because he never ceases to make me smile. As I announce that we are having manicotti for dinner he proceeds to tell our children that "Mommy is a manihotti". Smile, warm fuzzy feeling, lots of love. I am so glad I have eternity to spend with this man.

Clever Little Girl

2009-12-20T21:16:00.001-08:00

So I was mopping the kitchen the other day and noticed that I the floor needed some attention along the baseboard. So I said "Emily, I have a special job for you." I got out the cleaning toothbrush and had her get along the baseboard while I did the rest of the floor. She did fairly well for a three year old. But the best part was that she was singing while cleaning. Not just any song mind you, it was "Cinderelly, Cinderelly..." Either she watches too many movies or just felt like a princess at that moment.

I Love It

2009-11-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

So tonight at dinner Emily and my dad were talking and he says to her that tomorrow they can go out and dig in our flower garden (He is going to help me finish getting it mulched and stuff before winter.) Anyway Emily looks at my dad with a gleam in her eye and a huge excited smile and says "you mean like dogs?" I laughed so hard. She is forever cracking me up.

3 years old already?

2009-11-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Wow it is so hard to believe that three years ago I was in labor for 12 hours; two of which were spent pushing and this little "thing", this tiny miracle, this blessing was brought into this world and has blessed my life. I get so frustrated with her just as much as I laugh with her and she makes me smile. She keeps me humble and teaches me so much about myself and life.

That was then...

This is now:

I love you Emily. You are my life.

Birthday Party #1

2009-11-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

So my baby is not longer a baby anymore. 3 years has flown by. She has actually been 3 a coupla weeks but I am a little slow on the update here. I decided it would be fun to have a friends party for her this year. I decided that I am not going to do that again until she asks for one or we have a house. Everything went fine and all it was just a little crazy having 8 kids and five adults in a 1200 sq. ft. apartment. Mainly in the lower level of that apartment halving the square footage. Thanks to my good friends who helped man the kids especially since Meghan decided it was time to eat while they were all there outside playing and thanks to my wonderful husband and great little brother for manning the kitchen the entire time. We went with a Fall Carnival (of sorts) theme this year. They decorated mini pumpkins, played games with pumpkins, ate home made caramel corn and hand dipped corn dogs and elephant ears. The guys did a great job. They tasted just like something you would get at a fair.

Birthday Party #2

2009-11-07T18:24:00.001-08:00

So Friday (actual birthday) we did some celebrating with just us. Emily requested tacos for her birthday dinner and chocolate cake. She is a 3 year old who knows what she wants.

Birthday Party #3

2009-11-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is the party with the grandparents on Saturday. There were a lot more pictures but I picked the top 5. Bubble wrap was the favorite gift until the tea set came out.

Brock partied hard. He fell asleep right in the middle of the festivities.

We made a pumpkin roll and cheesy potato soup in bread bowls for dinner

She now has big girl panties. Here she is donning the entire pack. I guess it will still work like a diaper if you put all 5 pair on. She has since learned they go on under the panties and potty training is going well. Yeah! Hoo rah!

Emily Says....

2009-11-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

So the two new recent things Emily has said that made me laugh are:

No Way Hosey (Jose)

We had a family home evening lesson on the sacrament. You know things we should be doing or not doing. What we should be thinking about and why it is important. So we are using the picture of the deacons passing the water from the Gospel Art Picture kit and I say, "Emily, the sacrament water is special water. Do you know why it is special water?" She nods ever so sure of herself and says "its chocolate water"

Trunk or Treat

2009-11-05T20:17:00.001-08:00

I like continuity and themes. So this year I was a flower done at the last minute right before we left for the party but you get the jest. The girls were bees and my super cute hubby was a bee keeper. I've already got next years planned. And Brock will do it wether he wants to or not.

Grandpa was an Argentine Cowboy.

Em is just a little excited about that candy.

Halloween

2009-11-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

On Halloween night my friend Pualani held the annual Hamman Family Halloween Party. It is usually just for the kids but it was a lot of fun. It is amazing to me how much joy and fun I can have watching my kids have fun. Here is a quick recap in pictures:

Wagon ride around the yard and through the side woods.
wow, little girl in the pink, don't look so excited.

Meghan having too much fun; as always.

The ghost pinata.

The mummy cheese ball I made for the party.

Time to relax

2009-11-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

The last load of laundry is in the dryer.
The Kitchen is cleaned from dinner.
Floor is swept.
Living Room cleaned and vaccuumed.
Menu planned for tomorrow.
To Do list done.
Email checked.
Husband at business meeting.
Time to blog or read a book or watch a movie or whatever I want.

Emily woke up yesterday morning with a fever of 101.5. Today it is gone and all that is left is a runny nose and bit of cough. She is still a little irratible. I can't tell if that is because she is still under the weather or if she is back to normal. Meghan is grumpy and clingy and jealous of Emily getting held a lot over the last two sick days. I think part of it is she is cutting a couple of molars. Life is good. I have a wonderful husband and two absolutely beautiful girls. Meghan is moving along. She walks if she holds on to her push toy and will cruise the furniure and or people when ever she gets a chance. She crawls so fast and goes up the stairs just as fast. Time to get out the gate. Well its been time for a while but I really should do it soon. Well Brock just got home and I'd like to get a shower before bed. (Didn't get that one done on today's to do list).

Sisters

2009-11-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

"Here Meghan let me feed you. I do it myself mom"
The look says it all

They really dig that baby Einstein.

Fun with Prayer

2009-10-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

Em is starting to expand her prayers now. It used to be that every prayer was "bless this food" with a hiss of "I don't need any help" or "I do it myself" as we would try to teach her to expand her vocabulary.

Since she has been branching out we've gotten some great prayers such as this one while she was blessing her food. "Heavenly Father, bless mommy and daddy and Meghan and mommy and daddy and mommy and Emily and this day, and the alligator comes and chomps our house and we throw him out the gate, bless this food, make us strong in the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

The other night for family prayer amidst the bless mommys and so forth she said "bless us to get on the website and be musketeers etc... "

It is so hard to keep a straight face sometimes and be a good example.

Brain Dead

2009-10-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

So I had this planner a "Mom's Plan It" planner to be exact. I got it at the Mom's Night Out that Anna and I went to about a month or so ago. Anyway. It was sitting on the dryer cerca the open washer and fell in unbeknownst to me. After each canning batch I would throw my towels and washcloths etc.. into the open washer and then do a load of laundry as needed. Well I went to get our my clothes to put in the dryer and voiala!!! Paper on everything!!!!

You can't really tell on Meghan's camo jammies complete with ruffle on the but. It just kind of blended in.

Here is the floor after shaking paper off every single piece of clothing.

The maintenance guys came out a couple weeks ago because our washer was leaking. It came through the wall into the living room, was leaking into the kitchen and boiler cabinet. I couldn't figure out why it would do this. Then it dawned on me as he was snaking out the pipe to the washing machine. It is probably that pile of paper from my planner that has been hanging out in the pipes. Since then we have had no more incidents and I have tried to keep things off the dryer or at least not near the open washer.

Here is brain dead number 2. I was making rice for dinner and in a hurry and while making the stir fry to go with said rice I kept smelling this burning smell. I lifted the pot that cooks the rice and the instruction manual was in between the heating element and the pot. (Note the perfect burn circle.) That was a close one.

Kidneys

2009-10-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

I thought this picture of my "kidney" tomatoes would be a great way to talk about Meghan's latest ultrasound update. Her kidneys look the same. The right one still has hydronephrosis (sp) and the left one still has reflux. We'll check her again when she is 18 months. Dad is going to do that one because they do the IV, Catheter and they strap her down to a table for an hour. That was fine when she was 4 months and slept through it but I won't do it at 18 months.

Bath Time

2009-10-11T20:17:00.001-07:00

My kids are so stinking cute! Here are some bath time shots.

This looks very conspiritorial to me.
" Mmm. I love to suck the bath water out of my washcloth."

" I love to just drink it from the bath toys"

"Hey Emily, can I get in too?"

Innocent?

2009-10-11T17:48:00.001-07:00

Don't let these girls fool you. They are not as innocent as they look. Cute yes, innocent no.
Here is a bit of their artwork. I was feeding Meghan breakfast downstairs while Emily and Danielle were getting along and playing happily upstairs (first clue that something was up). But I kept feeding Meghan thinking "how nice." Then I hear over the monitor "Black, blue, pink, black, yellow..." I think wow they must be sorting the bucket o balls. Then I think there are no black balls and Emily definitely knows black. (second clue) I decide to go up and they had gotten the "empty" old cartridges off the desk and painted themselves. They are very abstract but lovely.

They got their toenails painted pretty spot on.

Hope

2009-10-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hope, an amazing word. It means so much to so many people. Hope is something that has sustained people throughout the ages, hope in God, hope in times of peril, hope for a brighter tomorrow, etc... Well for me hope currently weaves through Four things. ONE I hope that Meghan does not wake up to night at 1:30, 2:30, or 3:30 which has been the common theme all week. TWO I hope that Emily calms down, goes to sleep and doesn't' wake up Meghan in the process. THREE I hope that the people who stole our gas tank off of our grill really needed it so that we could some how be of service to them unknowingly. And FOUR I hope that they rot in Hades!
I mean don't take the one sitting right in front of the grill (maybe they new that was empty), but lets go to the trouble of lifting off the grill cover and getting the tank off. At least they put the cover back on. Fortunately there was enough gas left in the empty tank to do our burgers tonight before it died.

Why Hello There

2009-10-10T21:53:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has really been like 5 weeks since my last entry. Why is that you may ask. Becca, what could you have possibly been doing? Well, see for yourself...

My most excited and biggest helper.

The spoils of my garden.

Thanx to Aldi's for that $0.99 sale on strawberries since we didn't make the pick your own season.

I have been a canning fool. We did something like 13 gallons of salsa, applesauce, green beans, dried beans, chicken, chicken broth, strawberry jam, I don't know what else. It is all a big blur. I actually have other things to blog about. I have done other things, but canning is usually done at night after the kids are in bed and by then I am too tired to blog. I can't seem to do it during nap time anymore since Meghan is the only one who takes one. Emily still needs one even if she doesn't think so. I have decided though it isn't worth the fight. Thanks to my friend Deb who faithfully checks my blog everyday even though I have done nothing with it. These 3 entries are for you Deb. I will be catching up over the next few days off all the other things we have been doing this last month or so.

Apple Sauce

2009-10-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

You start with a bushel of freshly picked apples
add one cute helper

and a lot of elbow grease

and you get a bunch of applesauce.

Sorry no pictures of final product. Dead battery and then everything was put away by the time I remembered to charge it and it actually got charged.

Family Fun

2009-10-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last night we had Family Night instead of on Monday. (Brock had a HUGE project to finish for class Wednesday). We had so much FUN. We made homemade pizza for dinner and then we made Caramel Apples for our Family Home Evening Treat. They set up while we had our lesson and then we gobbled them up! I love Fall!

Meghan enjoying her peas.Sorry honey no pizza yet.
Look at those cheeks; I just want to eat them. She is SO cute!

Mmm...so good.

Who's the mom?

2009-08-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Emily is so great here are her two most recent notable actions.

The other day she came in our room in the morning to let us know it was time to get up and get going for the day and said “mom, I hungry. My food is calling to me, ‘Emily come eat me’”.

Then today I said “Oh my gosh.” We are trying to teach her that “Oh my Goodness” is a much better option. Anyway because of my mistake she said quite sternly “You go in time out. Put your food down and go in time out. I set the timer.” She then started pushing buttons on the microwave. I helped her set the timer for 2 minutes. I went and sat in my time out (It’s only fair right?) She walks over with a most serious look and says “Why I put you in time out?” I said “because I said a word I’m not supposed to say.” She said “we say oh my goodness” and then gave me a hug and kiss and told me I could get out. How old is she really?

The Drive By

2009-08-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

You know you married a winner when while driving to an appointment he sees a garage sale and slows down so that I could look and see if there was anything that caught my eye. He would have even stopped but we were running late. What a stud.

All in a Name

2009-08-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

There is a reason why Always maxi pads are called Always. It is becuase you should ALWAYS use them. There is no cutting corners to save a few bucks. That is all I am going to say on the matter. Remember ladies Always....

Project Time

2009-08-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

I bought this House shelving unit frame thing at a garage sale for $1. I new I could do something with it. I decided to use it as our Family Home Evening Chart. I bought these letters at Michael's and with a little hot glue put together this little guy. I was going to paint it black, then paint the letters, but you know.... The section with out any words, Brock would like me to add conducting.

Here I am using a drill. WOW! I felt really empowered. They aren't called power tools for nothing.

Hammer and nails. Just call me Bob Vila.

Here is the "finished" product. I still have to add conducting and drill holes in the hearts for Grandma, Grandpa, and Guest (Brock's idea). The chimney holds the hearts for our next two children. (The "voodoo" rings says we are to have a boy and a girl next in that order). I had to put theirs up there now, because what if they don't make the same color paint as they do now. Everything has to match. Of course the girls name is still under negotiation. But I figure if Brock sees it a lot now, he'll agree to it by the time she gets here in 5 years or so. :-)

Pride and What?

2009-08-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

So I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This is the synopsis on the back cover:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—& the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty & arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—& even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism & thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.

So far this book has been great. It is a lot of Pride and Prejudice with a bit of sicko but funny sicko zombie stuff. Well, except for that one part that was gross zombie, but you have to keep reading to find out what happens. There is a bit of a twist where Charlotte Lucas is involved which makes for an interesting and comical read. The back jacket says "JANE AUSTEN is the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English Literature. SETH GRAHAME_SMITH once took a class in English Literature. He lives in Los Angeles.

I am so glad he did. He interjects a sentence here and there that makes me giggle and turn to the real P&P to see if that is really in there or if its just SETH. I am not yet done, but would recommend this to any AUSTEN fan.

I love to see the Temple

2009-08-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

I can’t tell you how sweet it is to hear Emily sing while in the car or playing or whatever. Her current favorite is “I love to see the Temple.” My favorite parts are “I’ve learned this truth while I am YUM” and “this is my sacred DUEY” She’s great

Blurb

2009-08-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

So Jennifer told me about this website blurb.com that will allow you to print you blog like a book, sans the videos of course. I am so excited so that is the only thing I want for Christmas well, I will be okay if that is the only thing I get; I want lots of things. So because of this I am using this as a supplemental journal/scrapbook. I am so glad there are clever people out there who think of these things and have the talent to put them together,

"It's coming Mom"

2009-08-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

We are still working on Potty Training. The real problem is that mom needs to buckle down and be consistant. Here is Emily working on it.

This one cracks me up. She is trying to poop so bad!

"I think it's coming"

Nope, but we'll try later.

New Food

2009-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

So we have been trying new food in our house. Here are some picutres capturing the moment

We go straight to cups. No Sippy cups here.
She clearly loves food and eating.

YUM!

Meghan currently likes: Avacado, Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, Puffs

Dislikes: Vanilla flavored yogurt

Is thinking about: Peas

New Food 2

2009-08-09T13:09:00.001-07:00

Here is Emily trying Liver for the first time. Thats right folks LIVER!

The Initial Bite
Chewing

Not so sure

Yep it's good. Of course what isn't when its dipped in ketchup?

Emily's Current favorites are: Vanilla Yogurt and Honey Nut Cheerios
(She would eat them all day everyday if I let her.)
She has tried and liked: Liver, Tuna Fish Sandwiches, and Baked Beans
She dislikes: Guacamole or avacado in any form

Meghan's New Look

2009-08-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

So Miss Meghan got glasses. It turns out she is extremely farsighted. But she is so cute even if she can't see.

Fashionably pink specs.

Here she is eating a Graham Cracker! Mmmm.

Night Out

2009-07-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Andy C.'s open house I saw some of our old friends from the singles branch. They were going to see Harry Potter and asked me to come along. It was a late, but fun night. There were three hilarious conversations that stood out in my mind.

1. When one of my friends arrived at our apartment some of the white trash/gangsters that sit in their SUV for reasons unknown to the world "moo-ed" at my friend. (That's not the funny part). She then looks at him and says "well aren't you the smartest animal in the barnyard." I had to laugh. I would never have thought of anything that witty. I would have just been mortified and consoled myself with something chocolate.

2. We are driving to the movie theatre when driving friend says I just recently got the Book of Mormon on CD so now I can listen to it while driving. Barnyard friend says "Can I burn that?" Laughter ensues. Isn't that funny. Lets break the law to burn the BoM.

3. While standing in the concession line( well, more off to the side while waiting for the others) I say to driver friend are you getting anything? She responds with "no, I have the junior mints you gave me." HELLO! Why don't you just announce to everyone that we smuggled in $1 candy from Wal-Mart.

Were they hilarious stories? Maybe not to you. But I was there and it was 10:30 at night and I'd been up since 5:00. They were to me. And it is things like this that make me love my friends.

Emily-isms

2009-07-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

I have been working with Emily and her tantrums and when she is mean trying to help her work through them and to understand that we don’t act like that. One tactic that I have tried is to let her know that Heavenly Father and Jesus are sad when we do those things and we want to make them happy. A few weeks ago I had yelled at her for being in Meghan’s room and making noise and keeping her awake while I was trying to nurse her to sleep (this happens to be one of my hot buttons I am trying to work on). Finally after whispering and gesturing for her to go out in the hall for 10 minutes (at least it felt that long) I lost it and yelled super loud (yeah that is going to help the baby fall asleep) for her to get out. She did but it crushed her and she started bawling and closes the door. She lies on the floor crying and says to me through the door Jesus Christ is sad when you yell at me. I felt about that big.

Yesterday Emily was cuddling all over Meghan and as she does so says "Oh my darling one, my darling one." And then says "you're my best friend" Smile. It is those moments I cherish and treasure.

On the funny side: We were driving in the car and Emily was talking about skunks (we had recently watched the Curious George episode where George gets sprayed by the skunk like 3 times.) Anyway she blurts out "look out for its pew!" I was cracking up.

Birthday Celebrations

2009-07-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

So yesterday my friend JB turned a proud 32. We celebrated by taking her to dinner at Cebolla's and then going to Emily's for cake and ice cream. Carisa made the cake to look like Hogwarts which was great because afterwards we went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was so much fun. Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Here is everyone that celebrated with us
Here is a cupcake that Abbey made for Jennifer. Soooo Cute.

This Hogwars cake looks so yummy!

Wow! Where is Harry Potter this looks just like Hogwarts.

This is Jennifer being "surprised"

Click here to see the rest of the birthday pictures.

Visitors

2009-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend, Well Thursday late, late, night and Friday til Saturday morning we had some friends come in from out of town. Jesse and Laurie Newton and their son Logan. It was a good time and great to see them. We mostly just hung around the house. But Laurie got to experience "Tom's Donuts" Saturday morning. I think she was converted.

Logan and Meghan hanging out on the floor.

Logan looking so cool in Emily's Dora Sunglasses.

Here they both are competing for the lime light.

Laurie and baby Newton, Jesse, and Logan.

You Live Where?

2009-07-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

I just mailed a rebate to a city named Elk Mound in WI. I wonder how it got that name....

Knowing

2009-07-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to review the movies I watch and post them on my blog.
We Red Boxed the movie "Knowing" yesterday with Nicolas Cage. Based on a 5 star rating system all 5 stars being the top score I would have to give it 2 1/2 stars. It was not at all what I was expecting. It had a little bit of a scare factor but the ending left me so "huh" that I forgot that there had been scary parts. (No need to watch a cartoon afterwards). It had a very unique twist at the end that left me feeling kind of like "this is weird." I think I might have to watch it again to really get a feel for it but I am not sure if I want to. I am Nic Cage fan but I am afraid this was not one of my favorites? He did a fine job, but it was probably my "Expectations" factor and this ending was not what I was expecting.

Happy Family

2009-07-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ivory for this little story. Today in Nursery when she was doing the music time she said that Emily was laying on her back, knees up in the air, diaper hanging out with this blah blah air about her. They had just sang "We are a Happy Family" when Ivory ask "do you have a happy family?" Amidst all the yeahs our little Emily loudly proclaims "NO." Ahhh, its good to see that all my hard work has paid off. :)

Stinkin' Wildlife

2009-07-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

Don't know if you can tell but this is a picture of what used to be my broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.(all that is left is the stalks) It would appear that a big, fat,(and getting fatter) groundhog is gorging himself on my garden. He has even been brazen enough to move on to my lettuce, peas and green beans; although the damage to these has not been so extensive. I hope my dad either gets the sights fixed on his rifle soon or he pops off a lucky shot. He has taken to sitting at the bathroom window with his gun but has not gotten so lucky. He's come close and scared the poop out of the little guy. (literally just check out my garden.) My tomato plants have been safe so far (keep fingers crossed.) I did not invest the time and money to give this ground hog a years supply!!!!

Naptime

2009-07-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

This big stuffed dog seems to be Emily's choice of nap these days. I will tuck her in her bed but she wakes up here. At least she's napping still right?

Not a Baby Anymore

2009-07-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

My little Meghan is growing up. She isn't my little baby anymore but my big girl baby. Here are some recent photos of her.

Favorite Words

2009-07-07T19:42:00.001-07:00

My new three favorite words as a parent are "More Broccoli Please." It makes me feel warm and fuzzy as do "More Peas Please", I love Green Beans and "I don't want a hot dog. I just want corn on the cob" It makes a good balance for "I want Ice Cream for breakfast"

Which Jane Austin Heroine Are You?

2009-07-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

This was really fun thanks to Amber for the Quiz

Feel Free to take quiz here

The Common Thread

2009-06-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

What do John Wayne, Bugs, and Brendan Frasier have in common? Gardening. Yeah, crazy I know. My brother has this little DVD player that is like a "Boom Box." He lets me borrow it when I garden so that I can "watch" a movie while weeding and not be so bored. I watched "Rio Bravo" (see side bar) and "The Mummy" over the last couple of days while catching up on my 4 weeks worth of weeding. I also got 2 mosquito bites. Not bad considering. I love"Rio Bravo". It is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. My mommy was a huge fan so I grew up watching them with her. I also love Dean Martin and I like Ricky Nelson and they are his costars. They perform a song together while they are "hold up" in the jail. Here is the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBIKrDChgJc

Six Months Old Already

2009-06-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe how big my little baby is getting. She is so close to crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and starts "revving" She is soooo cute.

My Indian Warrior Princess

2009-06-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Grandma Let Emily use her make up again. It is the most beautiful war paint I have ever seen.

New Moon Trailer

2009-06-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to watch the first New Moon Trailer released yesterday.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=58185785

It looks good and I look forward to seeing more.

I do have a problem that Alices' and Laurent's hair looks different than the first but you know no one is perfect especially not in hollywood. I'll get over it.

Family Picture

2009-05-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Taken at Grandma's on Mother's Day.

Hymns

2009-05-31T18:32:00.001-07:00

I have learned something today that I never understood until I became a mom. Growing up in church I was always amazed that all these moms seemed to know every single hymn that was played in sacrament and never needed to use a hymnal. I used to be so amazed and in awe of these women. Then I realized it is because in your children's zeal to sing along and "read" along they have to hold the hymnal and they don't seem to realize that you don't turn the pages as you do so. So, in order to actually sing the hymns you have to memorize them because your toddler sure isn't letting you read the words.

Grateful

2009-05-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

So I learned a few weeks ago about something called a "Grateful Journal." The concept is that you write down 5 things every day for which you are grateful. I have tried to just incorporate it into my daily (uh....semi weekly/semi monthly) journal writing. I am not going to blog them every day but I felt like doing it today. So I am thankful for:

1. The new conference issue that has come out and the great article I read today with Brock during companion study. "Becoming Prvoident Providers Temporally and Spiritually" by Robert D. Hales.
2. The great Relief Society Lesson taught by Sister Newell today about the Roles of Fathers in the Home.
3. My husband who just rocked Meghan to sleep after a HUGH and HYSTERICAL fit so that I would not have to nurse her again. MY nipples are so thankful.
4. The fact that we have a home. Even though I get frustrated that I don't have the space I want right now. I am thankful to have a roof over my head.
5. Sister Loop or "Super Loop" as Emily calls her. Emily loves her and makes her nursery experience great.