I Love This Man:

I have the best husband ever! Today I am loving him for the fact that when he comes home from work he never looks at the condition of the house and asks the dreaded question: "WHAT did you DO all day?!" Instead he gives me a big hug and a kiss and says "I missed you today." Then he goes and plays with our two kids. Which is another reason why I love him so much. He gave me these:

Zachary:

Katelyn:

Please sir, may I have some more??

Jingle Bells

Christmas spirit is overflowing in the our home. Here is just one of the many carols you might hear if you stop by our house this season. This one is sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells":

Katelyn: Tinkerbell, Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell all the way.

Adam: The Batmobile lost a wheel, and the Joker got away.

Absolutely beautiful ;)

Potty Training: One Poop Forward, One Poop Back

Last week we were browsing around Deseret Book when all of the sudden Katelyn gets the urge: "I HAVE TO GO POO POO!!!" I calmly head straight to the first worker to inquire about the restrooms. In the meantime, Katelyn takes off running frantically around the entire store (it's not that big), through each aisle and completing a full circle around the store, all the time muttering something about finding a bathroom and going poo. When she finally makes her way back to me she is in a panic. "Mommy, THERE ARE NO BATHROOMS!" Well, there was a bathroom and we finally found it. We both enter, and as Katelyn begins to pull down her pants she exclaims "That was CLOSE!"

That was the first time she told me in public to take her to a restroom. I was feeling pretty good about it, so the next day when I took her to the music store I let her stay in her underwear rather than a diaper. When we finished and I was getting her in her carseat, I caught a whiff of something in her pants. Uh-oh! "Katelyn, why didn't you tell me you had to go to the bathroom?" Her reply? "Because guitars don't have bathrooms." And how could I argue with that?

The Cutest Video Ever!!

Hi, this is Adam. I stole the keyboard from Dana!!!

Zach and I were playing and laughing together when zach started to laugh at me everytime I would say the word dada. Of course, I would say the word in a funny way. Then I started to try to train him to say dada, so he would say it before mama of course.

He started to repeat me a couple of times, but I wasn't sure if he really was saying that or if it just sounded like it. Anyways, Dana went a grabbed the video camera and gave it to me. We continued to practice and all the sudden Zach said it very clearly. His eyebrows are very expressive here; he was definitely excited and impressed with himself.

Katelyn Is "Sappy"--Can You Help?

Katelyn has this obsession with collecting pinecones, which she learned from her Grandpa P. Today after church she found quite an array of pinecones. But now her new Christmas dress is all sappy. Does anyone know how to get that stain out?? Is there any hope for the Christmas dress?

Zach is 6 Months Old!!

Here is our Littleman in all his bare-chested, thumb-sucking glory.

Tonight I Was Irresponsible

Thanks For Understanding, Babe!!

Now I Can Go To Sleep...

Dear Mom,

Dear Mom,

Do you want to come and take my kids for me? Not long...just maybe and hour or so. Long enough for me to take a nap and maybe drink some lemon tea. No, they're not being bad--just themselves, and I've been feeling a bit under the weather. So, if that's okay with you. I'll keep a look out for you. Thanks.

Love, Dana

P.S. You don't mind if Ming Ming comes, too, do you?

I've Still Got It

When I was younger, I mean probably not even in high school yet, I had these two anole lizards. They were sooooo cute. They were a vivid lime green, but they could also change color a bit, kind of like a chameleon. They were small enough that if you closed your fist around them their little head would poke out of one end and their tail would hang out the other, and they were so quick that if you put their face up close to a fly, they could snatch it up before it had a chance to spread it's wings. Sometimes I would let them eat flies like this, but usually I would feed them crickets that I caught at dusk in my backyard. I was good at catching the crickets.

Last night I had a chance to test my cricket-catching skills once again, and it turns out I've still got game! Katelyn has been having bad dreams lately, and I'm often up late anyway, so she and I were both awake for a midnight snack. Except it was more like eleven really. We were eating avocado and sourdough toast when all of a sudden Kate says "Mommy! A big SPIDER!" Well, it was really a cricket and we named "her" Katelyn. My first reaction was to be grossed out, but then I remembered that I was an experienced Cricket Catcher. I fearlessly grabbed my drinking glass and a stirring spoon, and after a few tries I had caught Katelyn the Cricket and we were able to have a good look at her. Isn't she cute!

After we took her picture we released her back into the wild. Then Katelyn the Child fell asleep on the dining room floor. So I brought her to her room. Finished her avocado sourdough toast. And went to bed with a sense of accomplishment.

Life...According to Katelyn

"Grandma, I know what we need to put out these fires. What you need is (are you ready for this?) WATER."

"Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a BABY."

P.S. This, my favorite park with the spinning things--this park is now burned down :(

We Are Safe...For Now

This is my neighbor, Wilson--Just kidding!

Well, you may have heard that we are dealing with bad fires down here right now. It's been a crazy morning, but at the moment we are safe. I'm pretty sure Jana is too. She was forced to evacuate several hours ago. The poor girl can't cut a break (they already lost everything about a month ago when hurricane Ike went through Galveston). Adam is also safe in a testing center somewhere doing tests and the like. I'll be glad when that's over. I just hope he can make it home to us tonight. And yes, I did react on the side of caution and loaded up our car with photos, our hard drive, 72 hr kits, water, clothes, etc. Better safe than sorry I figure. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check which way the fire is heading...

Dump Cake

As promised, for those of you who don't know what Dump Cake is (Mary Jo), here is the recipe in all of its fruity, buttery, cakey glory! And did I mention it's SOOOOOO easy?

You will need:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can cherry pie filling
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter (yes, the whole thing--or more if you like)
Some people like to add nuts but I think they're nutty. Just a little joke. Little.

Dump the can of pineapple (juices and all) in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread. Dump cherries on top of that. Sprinkle the dry cake mix (and nuts if you're nutty) all over the top of that. Cut butter into thin slices (which is easier to do when the butter is really cold) and place the pieces spread out all over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. It will smell sooooo good (as Grandpa P would say). I highly recommend that you eat it while it's still warm from the oven so that your vanilla ice cream (which goes great with Dump Cake) gets a little melty on the top.

Thanks for teaching me how to make Dump Cake Aunt Mel!! You're the best!

Vitamin Energy

How do you know that National Board Exams are drawing near in our home?

Our recycling starts filling up with these:

(they help Adam study)

GOOD LUCK BABE!!

P.S. The text on this post is in red because it stimulates your brain. Adam is wearing a red shirt on testing day.

Hey Grandma, Look What I Can Do!

Oops!

Let me try that again.

Well, I guess I'll keep practicing.

I love you Grandma!

Why I am Feeling Proud of Myself

As I recall (from when Katelyn was a baby) a good deal on baby food is about $.50 per jar. Am I right? Well, ever since I read that that tiny little jar of food is often watered down with up to 50% water (can that really be true??), and factor in all the creepies out there who tamper with the jars--and who knows what your beautiful babe is actually slopping down?! So this time I decided that I would try my hand (or blender) at making only homemade baby foods for Littleman Zach. Thanks to this dandy little book I found: "Baby and Toddler Meal Planner" by Nicola Graimes, it's been pretty easy going.

I love this book because it teaches you exactly how to prepare a variety of purees, how much to make, which ones can freeze, etc.
I love it because it has organized and detailed weekly meal plans with easy recipes for every day of your baby's life from 5 months to 4+ years.
I love it because it is British and they say things like "Weetabix", which I think really means "Cream of Wheat".
And I love it because I found it in the bargain books bin at the grocery store for only $3.99 (retails at 7.99 British Pounds, thank you very much).

So far we have made homemade rice cereal (I love the smell of the cooked rice), pureed carrots, and homemade applesauce (which smells even better than the rice, and afterwards you can drink the water you boiled the apples in--so yummy). We make a big batch, then portion it out into Ziploc baggies and keep them in the freezer. The portions are so small that they thaw out quickly when it's time to use them. Not to mention, you will feel like one of those moms who've "got it all together" (whatever that means). So...remember that $.50 that I used to spend on baby food jars? Well I just bought a bag of apples for $.69 per pound and made six servings of applesauce for Zach out of that one pound. Did I mention I love my book?



Now if I could only solve the mystery of this little book. It will be a beautiful day when Katelyn starts loving her veggies, too.

I'm Crazy For the Cullens

Day: Sunday

Time: Noon

Status: Driving home from church.

Thoughts: I'm hungry. What can we eat for lunch?

Answer: Pink frosted pumpkin birthday cupcakes. Of course! (I ate two)

Castles In The Sand

Lately it seems I can't get through my blog list without coming across a cutesy post about the leaves changing and the bundling up to go outside and the warm fires inside with hot cocoa and marshmallows. These are all things I love...along with warm scarves and coats and mittens--even earmuffs on occasion. And I'll admit that as I've sat in So Cal, sweating in the above 90 degree weather, I've been a little green-eyed. I've even tried to create an artificial Autumn for myself. Some Fall decorations here and there, bottles of Trader Joe's Spicy Cider (which I heat and sip from my favorite mug), cinnamon air fresheners (which I hope will give my house the illusion that some sort of pie is baking). Well, I've been trying real hard. But then I wized up and remembered that we have something that none of y'all have--The Beach!! We spent an afternoon watching Kite Surfers and building Castles In The Sand. We bought chocolates at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (my fav!!) and watched a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Jealous much?
The best part about building sand castles is demolishing them when you are done!
Katelyn thought so too.

HAPPY AUTUMN!

A Child's Prayer

Katelyn: Mommy, you say prayer first tonight, and I'll say it after you.

Me: Okay. What should I pray for?

Katelyn: Uhh...Katelyn, and Jesus, and Barack Obama...(pause)...and Daddy.

So I did. I prayed for them all. And...it felt good. God bless our nation.

Quote of the Day

"I'm an ice cream cone and you gonna lick me."

--Katelyn

Inclement Weather

Shebangin' Smoothies

I'm not much of a nail biter, but if I were I would be biting them right now as I wait for the election results. So to take my mind off of things I am going to tell you about the best smoothie ever that Adam made. A smoothie as good as this can only be named one thing: SHEBANG! Blend fresh watermelon, frozen strawberries, cranberry/raspberry yogurt, milk, and some pink lemonade concentrate. If your smothie ends up tasting shebangin, you'll know you got it right!

Trick Or Treat!

BOO!!

AAAAHHHH! What's that attacking Adam's arm!?!

It is important to get into character before going out on Halloween. Here is Katelyn practicing her "kitty faces" in the bathroom mirror. Scary claws!

Kate: I'm scared of all the monsters.

Daddy: Say "gastroenterologist" and you'll feel better.

Kate: Gastroenterologist.

Daddy: How do you feel?

Kate: Better.

Me and my boys:

The AfterParty

Hope you had a SPOOKY Halloween!