Naturally Green

Today in honor of St. Patrick's day, I challenge you to eat something green that you haven't tried, or haven't had in a long time. No, I don't mean green moldy food, or putting green food coloring in your comfort food. Try something that was meant to be green.

Here are some examples:
Broccoflower
Tomatillos
Asparagus
Spinach
Broccoli
Green Apples
Green Pears
Cucumbers
Peas
Spinach
Celery
Lettuce
Green onions
Green peppers
Green onions
Green olives
Basil
Parsley
Cilantro
Avocados
etc. etc. etc.

What was my choice? Broccoflower! I have never tried it. I have always gotten white cauliflower or broccoli. Today, I tried it. Was it good? Yes! It tasted pretty much like white cauliflower. This could be a colorful addition to salads or other dishes.

I was very tempted to try tomatillos. I've had them but have never purchased them or made anything with them. I found this recipe that I thought I might try. After reading the interview about my brother's hot dog stand and other taco stands, it made me want to try tomatillos. They weren't on sale so I'll have to get them later. :)

If you're squeamish about the green food, you can always disguise it, or blend it up. You could make herbed bread and it would be delicious!

Tonight I'll probably make "green pasta" as Oaklen calls it. We just had this Spinach Pesto pasta last week but I figure I should make again since it's St. Patrick's day and we have more spinach. Side dishes will include broccoflower, cucumber, celery, and more!

Happy green eating, I guarantee that you'll feel good.

Quiz - what did I just do?

Here's a quick quiz...

I just got done doing something and I want you to figure it out.

I wrote circles on a paper, then wrote these numbers in this order:
12, 3,6,9,1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11

Ezril's birthday review

Ezril's birthday has come and gone and below are a few pictures of his birthday.

In the morning we brought him downstairs and he got to see the fun birthday banners hung up. Then we put all our presents down on the floor for him to choose one. He scooted to the shiny gold wrapped one and he and his brothers enjoyed opening it. After breakfast we let him open two other presents, which were the two books his brothers gave him. Then after Salem got home from school he opened one more. Finally we had the family party that evening and he opened the rest of the presents. Thank you to everyone for coming!

He loves to play with balls. He throws them then scoots over to get them. He also loves to sit up high and throw them down, like down a step or down from the crib or bed. He giggles with excitement! I made his cake into the shape of a ball. When I brought the cake out, he was happy but when he actually got to get in to the cake, he wasn't so sure. He got upset (overstimulated) and ended up not eating his cake. Oh well. It was a big day.

Enjoy the picture collage. Click on it to view bigger pictures.

Red day

- This morning I got Ezril dressed in a hooded sweatshirt that is blue and mostly red.
- I got dressed this morning in a red sweater.
- Salem got dressed this morning in a red shirt.
- After Oaklen had his breakfast in his PJ's and played with his train and read a Clifford book, I convinced him to get dressed. I said "Oh you can look like Clifford today, do you want to?" and pulled out a red fleece shirt and red sweat pants.

Then I realized that we all were wearing red today. Does anyone else inadvertently dress their kids the same as them? This has happened on more than one occasion and I swear I never plan it.

My new baby

Now that Ezril is 1-yr old, I got a new baby...

Yeah! Darrell ordered this laptop for me for my birthday and it came today. He decided to surprise me with it today rather than wait 6 weeks. I'm very happy that he gave me the early birthday present. :) He was quite clever, I had no idea that it was coming. He told me not to be alarmed about a large purchase he made. He said that he ordered something from Dell for his friend at work so his friend could be secretive. Pretty tricky, I totally believed it!

I love it and I love him. Now I just need to set some rules so I'm not on the computer all the time. :)

Happy Birthday Ezril!

I can't believe it's already been a year since Ezril was born. What an amazing birth, you can re-read it here.

It's fun to be one!

E - Efficient. Ezril is small but his body is quite efficient.
Z - Zesty. Even though there are very few adjectives that start with z, Ezril really is zesty. (zesty - marked by spirited enjoyment.) He is well spirited and has a cute smile.
R - Random. I love Ezril's random smiles when you least expect them.
I - Interesting. Ezril is always interested in things. He has enjoyed reading books from day one.
L - Laugh. Ezril has such a cute laugh and when he gets in a funny mood he'll laugh for quite a while at some of our funny antics.

It's great to be 8

Today is our 8-year anniversary, Happy Anniversary Darrell!

We made it past our 7-yr itch and have now entered our crazy 8's. I consider ourselves newly weds but I guess I can't say that after 8 years and 3 kids. It's been fun! :)

Here are some goofy pictures of us taken 10 years ago. We had just gotten a webcam set up on my mom's computer and had to test it out. Our courtship was bliss...

Happy February

I have been known among my friends to wish people "Happy [Month]" when it's a new month. Today I got a phone call from my friend to wish me a Happy February! :) It was so nice and I'm glad I've trained her to say that. :)

January flew by very fast, so here is a quick update...enjoy all the pictures, click on them to view larger versions.

Salem - His two front teeth came out on New Year's day. One while he was sledding down the hill. He walked back to the top of the hill and said "Hey, my tooth is gone!" Then later that day he wiggled the other one out. He had to write a letter to the tooth fairy to explain the missing tooth but assured her/him that he indeed lost 2 teeth. (By the way, is the tooth fair male or female? I've always thought that the fairy was female, but the Santa Clause 2 movie states otherwise.) He went skiing for the first time and  had a good time. Thanks Uncle Cabot for taking him!

Oaklen - He is still as funny as ever. Every day is an adventure for him (and me.) He is back in his Bob the Builder phase and is calling me Wendy. His imagination is quite cute. He started primary in January and has enjoyed it. His teacher is great, and his primary president is awesome! :) He still is always in the fridge and pantry. I happened to be holding the camera to go take a pic of Ezril and found Oaklen under the table eating to his heart's content. :)

I made my mom's cake, and let Oaklen lick the frosting off the beaters, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ezril - I can't believe he's already 11 months old today and it's interesting to watch how different each kid is. Ezril still does not crawl, he scoots along as he sits and is content with that. He has learned this week how to open cabinet doors and is starting his curious phase. He likes to stand while leaning on chairs and couches. He's just starting to cruise. He like his mega saucer and jumper and loves to jump. He babbles and has said momma, dadda, and other various baby words/sounds. He went swimming for the first time and loved it. He loves the water and baths. I call him my "little boy blue" because of his small stature and beautiful blue eyes.

Darrell - Darrell's company changed office buildings and it's been great all around. It's closer to home, and there is an on-site gym he can use for free. The desks, cubicles and computer hardware is better and it's got a great view out the windows. Darrell continues to get up every morning and run. He's very healthy and happy and a great example to all of us. He still serves as 1st counselor in the bishopric and still finds time to enjoy his guitar, children, wife and home.

Heather - I'm trying to keep my patience and temper on an hourly basis. I am a complainer by nature and it's a challenge for me to just be content and happy. :) (Thanks for putting up with me Darrell and kids.) I have cut back on eating sugar and only had one small taste of my mom's birthday cake for the entire month of January. (Although this may be why I've been ornery. :) ) It's not really a new year's resolution but just a "holiday-detox." I plan to continue this and only have sweets on a very rare basis. (Special occasions happen too often in our family, I can't use that as an excuse.) I still serve as Primary President in our ward, am the treasurer of the Utah Breastfeeding Coalition, and am a member of the school community council and PTA.

Urban Pioneer

If you want to get a glimpse of what the pioneers had to deal with, lug your big garbage cans out to the street during a snow storm. Geez that was tough work! I'm glad though, that I had a nice warm snow parka & hood with thick gloves and boots. I wouldn't have survived back in the good ol' days...

Merry Christmas 2009

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! :)

Spice up your life with Oaklen

Apparently Oaklen thought the dinner that I made tonight needed a little more spice...

It's ironic because I bought this huge container of Mrs. Dash and then regretted purchasing such a large container, thinking that I wouldn't use it up fast enough.

After dinner Darrell and Salem went to work on the laundry room/back porch. I went upstairs with Oaklen & Ezril to do bath and bedtime routine. After the bedtime routine Oaklen said that he wanted to go finish his food from dinner. I said "okay" since I had to put Ezril to bed and Darrell and Salem were still downstairs.Well, Salem happened to come into the kitchen to find Oaklen with a bowl full of Mrs. Dash (would you like turkey pot pie with your Mrs. Dash?) Salem grabbed the bowl and showed it to Darrell. Darrell didn't know what it was at first, then realized what Oaklen had done. He snapped this picture of the boys and now I'm blogging about it. :)

Oh the joy, there is never a dull moment when you've got Oaklen around.

Smile, it increases your face value!

I hope these make you smile...

Happiness is...Volume 2 Part 3

Happiness is...
* Ezril wiggling his whole body with excitment when we sing him the good morning song
* Darrell constantly wanting to get things done
* Darrell never complaining
* Oaklen's hiding place
* Eating a banana every day
* Ezril's smile when you don't expect it
* Oaklen praying by himself
* Salem reading to Oaklen & Ezril
* Oaklen "reading" the scriptures by himself - "And Jacob came into the house and killed them."
* Salem being in a great program at his school
* The front porch being done before winter
* Ezril getting excited whenever we pick Salem up for school
* Family Home Evening when everyone is happy and participating
* Ezril loving bath time
* Salem putting a note on the door for Santa, already!
* Christmas music in the middle of November (yes, I'm one of "those" people)
* Darrell, Salem & Oaklen having a fun time at the Home Depot Kids Club
* Salem not the least bit scared to do his part this year for the Primary Sacrament Presentation
* Watching our neighborhood squirrel scurry across the trees in the front yard
* Oaklen being self sufficient in the bathroom (except when he uses way too much toilet paper)
* Playing Candyland
* Having a warm coat
* Driving a nice van and being able to afford the gasoline
* Oaklen say "Mommy...ya know what?..." (In the middle of the night, in the morning, all the time.)
* The fact that my 6 year old boy still likes and wants to snuggle with me
* Dinners not made by me - they always taste twice as good when someone else makes them
* My boys learning how to "play rough" (Oaklen is finally old and big enough to take on his brother.)
* My boys remembering to pray for certain people who need extra blessings that day
* Being able to multi-task while wearing the baby sling
* Darrell and Ezril's striking blue eyes

* The boys having more fun giving out treats on Halloween than actually going trick-or-treating

Here is a glimpse of our beautiful porch. I'll post more pictures of the porch later.

* Salem's stories he writes for homework and the pictures that go with them.

I love the "wow" face that I have in this drawing. I'm so impressed with him sweeping the floor.

* Oaklen's motor going when he enjoys what he's eating (which is almost always.) (See video below)

This is Oaklen a while ago, but he still makes his motor sound whenever he is enjoying what he's eating.

It's Fall time but I haven't fallen off the planet

It's been over a month since I've posted, I'm sorry! I forget that I have a blog, I'm too busy reading other blogs and websites that I forget that I need to update mine! :)

Here's a quickie...

Here are a few pics from playing in the leaves last week.

 

I updated my food blog tonight with a fun Halloween recipe, check it out!

What's On My Dish?

I created a food blog a while ago and am finally going to announce it here. Go to What's On My Dish? to read recipes and other food related posts there.

Ihave a calendar of my family's menu in the side bar. I planned out my meals back in January & February and it was great! I stopped doing it when the baby came but now I'm starting it back up again. If any of you want to plan out your meals, the easiest way to start is to just write down what you had for dinner each night, then the next month you can get your ideas from what you had last month, or start adding new things.

A few times people have asked for a recipe from me and I didn't feel comfortable giving them my personal blog address with the recipe. Now I can give them my food blog address. Please feel free to give anyone my food blog address so that my personal blog stays unread by just anyone.

This food blog is dedicated to my first set of dishes (pictured below.) I loved the dishes but after 7 1/2 years, it was time to let them go. I have now gone to plain ol' white Corelle Ware since they go with everything and are kid friendly. :)

Visit What's On My Dish?

Ode to Oaklen - Sept 2009

Here's another round of Ode to Oaklen...

Imagination
I wasn't one of those kids with a huge imagination, so now as an adult I get to enjoy Oaklen's imagination.

Who needs toys when a 3-yr-old can do this?

Turn a paper bag into an organ
Use a foam block as an inside lawnmower
Make the laundry basket into Scuffy the tug boat
Use my bedspread as a human ball
Open and close the closet as a cuckoo clock
Use cowboy boots and a fire hat for a fireman costume with his "fire package" backpack.
Aboard the stairs to drive his airplane (with a seatbelt and everything)

I've heard him playing with his Bob the Builder & Wendy figurines. He speaks in narrative like: " 'Oh no' said Bob. 'I'm coming to help' Wendy yelled." I can tell he's used to to reading books.


My little munchie
He's still always trying to get into the fridge and eat. He's made quesadillas, waffles, and has cracked eggs all by himself.

Here he is one morning with a bunch of string cheese. I got up early to go to the temple and came home to see him awake, sitting on the couch, happily eating cheese. I managed to catch him when he was on his second string cheese.

Oaklen is pretty good at cracking eggs. He doesn't even get any shell in it. This picture shows that he cracked an egg and the yolk made a heart shape. Isn't life grand? :)
One Sunday morning I got up and heard Oaklen downstairs and knew he was up to something in the kitchen. I managed to get the camera as I approached him...I ended up making waffles that morning even though I hadn't planned on it.



Toilet Training
It's been a week since he's been using the toilet. We've had a few accidents but I simply can't be mad at him because he's always so happy. 30 seconds after I clean him up he's running around happy as can be.

Singing
He loves to sing and is often singing at any given moment. Many people smile at him while we're shopping, and say to me "Well, at least he's a happy kid!" His favorite song is How Firm A Foundation. The primary is learning it this year and even though he's in nursery, he has learned it since we, as a family, sing it all the time.

Here is Oaklen singing the first few lines of How Firm a Foundation:



Orange - He still loves orange. In nursery he always chooses an orange crayon and he has used up almost all the orange stars that they get to put on their scripture verse each week.

He loves to be orange man and wear his orange backpack:

Heavy Machinery - He still loves to watch the garbage trucks, street sweepers, excavators, trains, you name it!

Pencils - Whenever he sees a big jet in the sky making a white line, he says "Hey there's a giant pencil!"

Friday Frugal Tip - Clinique Pencil Sharpener

If you think that your cheap eye liner or lip liner pencil is no good, think again. Take a look at your sharpener; a good sharpener will make all the difference.

I found this gem:
The Clinique pencil sharpener. It sharpens the pencil perfectly, even the cheap wet & wild brand. I discovered this about 10 years ago and have had one ever since. Recently I got another sharpener that was included in one of my cheap eye pencil packages. I thought I'd use it for my back-up make-up bag. NO WAY! It ruined all of my pencils, and was hard to use.

Last week I happened to be passing the Clinique counter and picked up a spare Clinique sharpener. Did it break my budget? Nope, it's a whopping $1. Now that's a sharp bargain. Pun intended.

Ezril - 6 1/2 months

My baby is already 6 1/2 months old! We started giving him a little bit of solid food last week. His first taste was millet. It's a good first food for babies. (Just grind up the grain and cook with water.)

As we gradually give him food, his diapers will gradually loose their sweet "new-baby" smell. :( I'm savoring those last few wiffs. :)

He's quite a joy in our lives, he's a happy baby and is always sticking his tongue out as you can see in some of the pictures below.

Salem's 6th Birthday Review

I'm a little late posting this, but here is Salem's 6th birthday review. His birthday was on a Friday so we did many things with our little family on that day, then had a big family party on Sunday evening.

This is the sum of Friday's activities
* Breakfast in bed
* He got to open one present in the morning, it was a Darth Vader mask!
* We went to Sugarhouse Park and played on the playground
* He got to go to Toys R Us and redeem his $3 gift card from Geoffrey's birthday club. He chose two wrestler action figures.
* We went to the library and the librarian gave him a sticker and helped us find some books about birthdays.
* We got to meet Darrell at Olive Garden for lunch.
* We played with moon sand at home.
* We went bowling
* At the bowling place he opened a present and it was a fish bowl and goldfish crackers. It was a clue to where we were going next...
* We went to the pet store and Salem got to pick out two goldfish. He named them immediately: Zinner and Miguel.
* We brought the fish home. (Unfortunately Miguel died the next day and Zinner died on Monday. It's okay...we had funerals and talked about the plan of salvation, we even sang "I am a Fish of God.")



On Sunday evening we had a family birthday party. Salem and I had been making a pinata for this occasion for a few months. We made it out of paper mache so it took a while to dry and do another layer, then we forgot about it and finished it up a few days before his birthday. It turned out really cute.

Our friend Rachael posted pinata instructions on her blog and that's how we got the idea. Salem did most of the work and it was pretty easy. We decided on doing a spiderman head since the balloon looked like a head. What did we fill it with? String cheese of course! :)

Here are some pics from his family birthday party. I made a goldfish cake for him. Thank you family for coming and the fun gifts!

A Somber Occasion

Today marks a somber occasion for me and my family. It's the 20th anniversary of my father's death. September 10th will always be a dreaded day in my mind.

Last year for his birthday, I wrote a nice post about him. Go ahead and read it again if you'd like...I just re-read it and now don't know what to say. All of my memories are summed up in that blog entry. I prayed to Heavenly Father last night asking to bring forth some memories to my mind, I have faith that he will.

Here are some random things that I'll tell you:

* My dad's death was sudden; he was killed on a motorcycle, a girl was in a car turning left and didn't see him. We of course didn't' expect it.

* I always try to remember what we did the few days before his death, but can't remember hardly anything. The one thing I do remember is coming home from my friend's birthday party the day before and he and my mom laying on their bed watching TV. I came in and told them about the birthday party and stared at their bare feet. The day he died was on a Sunday so we went to church that morning and I remember him working on the motorcycle in the back yard later.

* I listened to "In the Living Years" on the radio close to the time of his death and now it reminds me of him every time I hear it. The new children's songbook had just been published and we (some primary children) sang "Love One Another" with the sign language for his funeral. Every time I hear that song sung in primary I get emotional.

* He was buried in his cub scout uniform since he was a cub master for many years. I often go to cub scout meetings now (for Primary) and feel weird seeing that green scout uniform. I'm not necessarily traumatized by it but does feel weird. I'll get over it.

* The night he died, and after everyone left, my small family went into my mom's room and said a family prayer. We weren't in the habit of saying family prayer so this one particularly stood out in my mind. We all knelt down, held hands and prayed. After the prayer was said we all cried to our hearts content.

* When I was told that my father died, I didn't cry. I'm sure I was in shock, plus there were tons of people there watching me and I probably didn't want to cry. A few hours later my neighbor (Miss Margene) took me into my room and just hugged me. She let me cry and it felt good to cry without anyone watching me. Between tears I said "It's like he's going on a mission and never coming back."

* When my best friend Tracee found out about it, she found a few random things from her room and put them in two bags for me and my sister as a gift. It was sweet of her to do that. When I saw her, she gave me a big hug, a real meaningful hug. I was always used to hugging people bigger and older than me so it felt nice to hug someone the same size as me. That hug is my most memorable hug of all time.

* A few weeks ago I remembered that 10 years ago I sent an email to many friends entitled "Cherish life." I went back to my old email address to find what I had written and I couldn't find it! I found a few replies from friends but couldn't find the original email. If any of you know what I'm talking about and happened to save that email, please forward it to me! Anyway, the email was talking about cherishing life and that you never know what you have until it's gone. This may sound morbid but I often think "what if this were the last time I would see [this person]? Would I regret something I did or said?" I try always make sure to hug my loved ones and verbally say "I love you." PLEASE don't hesitate to say I love you, it may be the last time.

* I have a necklace locket and in it holds a picture of my mom & dad. The picture of my dad was the last picture that was taken of him. It was up at our mountain property, he was in the background of the picture being taken of me, my sister and some of my mom's friend's kids. His face just happened to be the perfect size to stick in the locket. I'm glad.

* That next year after he died, I remember having a dream. I don't want to say it means anything, but when I think about it, I am happy, so I'll share it. Here is what I remember from my dream:

It was very bright and white, I was a little girl playing and waiting in a room with other people. I think my mom, brother & sister was there. The "camera" (my mind) took me out in the hallway to see my dad dressed all in bright white carrying a bag. I ran to the hallway and jumped up to give him a big hug. We both smiled because he was home.

That's all I remember, I don't know what it means. I'm not trying to prophesy anything but it's a fond memory. Here is a picture of he and I before I was baptized. I don't really like that we're not smiling but I like the "all white" picture.
* On January 29, 2002 I escorted my mom, and sister to receive their temple endowment. After the session, we were all sealed as a family. (Darrell did my dad's temple endowment a few years prior.) The phrase "Families Are Forever" always seemed incorrect for us. Now "Families Can Be Together Forever" is the correct phrase.

I love you Daddy!

PS - Darrell thanks for making waffles today. I don't know if you realized it or not, but it was perfect to have them today. I even found some old Mrs. Buttersworth syrup in the pantry to put on them. It almost tasted just like how my dad used to make them.