Little Brother

This morning I asked the girls if they would watch Jacob on my bedroom floor so I could finish getting ready for the day. This is what I saw when I came out. I almost got upset at Audrey for picking up her little brother when she's not supposed to, but then I saw how cute they were together and had to run and get the camera. So cute!





They are definitely brother and sister, are they not?

How Do You Find a Preschool?

Audrey told me how:

Audrey: Mom! We need to find a preschool for me!
Me: You're right! We do need to do that. Well, how do you think we could find one?
Audrey: We could follow the school bus!

What a smartey.

I'm So Thankful For Blogs!

My dear friend Megan said it best when she posted her Blogimony here. I must agree with her 100%! Please read and become converted:) (I should also add that blogs have made this whole moving transition a WHOLE lot easier!)

We Can't Wait!!

1 month and 3 days till Pysch Season 2 comes out on DVD, and 1 month and 13 days till Pysch Season 3 premieres on USA. This is the sole reason we have cable right now. Yeah!!

Apple Tree

We are so thrilled to actually have a backyard now! Well, I guess we technically had a backyard at our townhouse, if you can call a cement slab a yard. Anyhow, the girls have been loving the lawn, and I'm so excited to plant vegetables around the sides of the yard. Today we had a little FHE about gardens and then planted an apple tree. So fun! We hope to get a lot more done the rest of the week, and I hope to take lots of pictures. Right now the part of our house that looks the best is our lawn, so that's what I'm posting pictures of. Pictures of the inside are going to have to wait a little while, sorry!

New Callings

So yesterday Jeromy and I got callings. They called us, sustained us, and set us apart and gave us our visiting teaching/home teaching routes too. I was telling Jeromy that it's hard to feel part of a ward until you have a job. And he said that Pres. Hinckley said every new convert (which I kind of feel like lately) needs a responsibility, a friend, and nourishment by the good word. So two down, one to go. Oh, ya, our callings. We're on the activities committee. Cool, huh.

Lazy Excuses

I said I was back to the blogging world, and then I didn't do anything. I didn't post anything, I didn't read others' blogs, nada. I'm such a liar. I've also been pretty lazy around the house lately by reading instead of unpacking (in all fairness though I had just a few days to read a book for a book club).

But it's all about to change!! (Hint: This is my way of giving myself some motivation, if I tell people what I hope to do, then I have to do it or else I'd be lying.) I miss blogging so much and my friends even more, so I'm desperate to get back into it.

I guess I haven't been that lazy, actually. We've been to EVERY furniture store in a 30 mile radius in the last couple of weeks, and finally purchased a cute brown couch last night (it's a cloth sectional with feathers in the padding!). The sad part is it won't be here for about a month:( And we went to Jeromy's parents' house for Memorial Day weekend and had a lot of fun up there for 3 days.

To top off all of these excuses, Audrey has been learning the wonders of the internet. I was trying to think of things for her to do to stay out of my hair so I could unpack, and so I showed her the Wiggles website and all the cool games and stuff on it (and after a week of me getting sick of the songs, I showed her Playhouse Disney's website). It took her about an hour to figure out how to use a computer, and now she can navigate herself around those websites pretty well. Pretty impressive! Anyway, we only have the one computer unpacked right now and she's been hogging it. And now she's broken off the H key on the laptop's keyboard. It's a good thing I don't use that one much ;)

So there you have it. Lazy, full of excuses, and dying to get back into the swing of things. That's me. I hope I'm making sense right now, cuz I'm actually pretty tired. Well, I better go read others' blogs now!!

I'm back!!

I can finally blog again after not having internet, phone, or TV for a week and a half. Yikes! I hope I don't have to do that again. It reminded me how dependent we've become of the internet. Crazy. Anyway, now that I've got internet, I can finally check everyone else's blogs! Get ready to hear a whole lot of backlogged comments from me!

Well, we're all moved in and all unpacked! Just kidding; I wish we were all unpacked. My mom flew in last week and she was an amazing help! We got a ton unpacked and lots of stuff done, so now I just have the miscellaneous boxes of junk left that I don't feel like even opening, plus all the food storage. That'll probably take me awhile.

We are loving our new house! We've got a huge loft upstairs that all the toys are in and that's where I'm going to put my computer, craft stuff, coupon stuff, etc. in so I can do whatever while the kids play. I'm really excited about that. And it's really nice to have Jeromy home by 6pm every night, and he doesn't have to go to bed super early in order to get up super early to beat traffic. Yeah!!!

But alas, our ward isn't the same. We had such an exceptional ward in Provo, that I'm afraid it's hard to beat, or even match. The Primary consists of over 100 kids, so that's good, the girls will have a lot of friends. But the Relief Society only has about 20-25 women attending each week, and they didn't even introduce me the first week. I had to make that happen our second week. It's just strange. Hardly anybody has introduced themselves, so I kind of feel lost in the crowd (although our next-door neighbors have been really nice). Oh well, the church is true and they offer the sacrament and teach my children. What else do I need?

With that said, we miss all our friends like crazy!! Please come visit us if you can! I'm keeping my hairstylist and pediatrician in Provo because they're great and because then I'll have an excuse to go down and visit everyone. Love ya all!

Packing, Packing, and More Packing

My life consists of packing right now, and not much else. Although I've found a moment to blog a little, I don't have time to check everyone else's blogs :( So in a couple of weeks expect to hear from me on your blogs when I try to get current again.

We are all so excited to get into our new house. Tomorrow we close and then this weekend we move in. Everything is happening so fast that I feel like a whirlwind. Thanks to all who have offered to watch the girls so I can pack!! They are loving being able to see their friends one more time before we leave.

Yesterday was our last Sunday in our beloved Slate Canyon 11th ward. I tried really hard to not get emotional. It was hard. We've had 4 years, 3 babies, 2 jobs, and a ward split, not to mention many great and wonderful friends, all in this wonderful little area. It's hard to go, so lately I've been focusing on how exciting a new big home will be that's close to Jeromy's office, so I don't have to think about how sad I am. But I don't think I can hold it in much longer.

Audrey is pretty sad too. I wasn't sure how this move would affect a 4-year-old until we had a nice little conversation yesterday. Audrey didn't want to eat her dinner because she said she was tired. Exasperated, I sent her to bed (I thought just the threat would get her to eat, but she surprisingly and obediently went up to her bed). A few minutes later Jeromy went up to talk with her and he asked her what was wrong. She said she was sad because we were moving and she wouldn't see her friends ever again. He assured her that we will still live close enough to visit, but she was still sad.

So I went and had a little talk with her. I tried to cheer her up by telling her that she could write messages on the computer to her friends any time she wanted to, and maybe we could invite all of her friends up to the new house for a party once we get moved in. It cheered her up a little bit, and then she asked why we were moving. I told her that Daddy's work is kind of far away, and it takes him a long time to get home, but our new house is really close to his work, so he will be home faster. She was still sad so I thought I'd leave her alone for awhile.

A few minutes later she came downstairs and announced sadly, "I'm okay that we're moving now." I asked her why. She said, "I'm ready for Daddy Time." That just about broke my heart. I am so proud of her that she's so brave and selfless that she's willing to put the needs of the family above her wants. She constantly amazes me.

So thank you all for being wonderful neighbors and friends! Indeed it is hard to say good-bye, but I am so grateful for blogs and emails and phones so we can all keep in touch. And hey, it's not like we're moving that far away. We'll probably come down for various activities and such. And you are all welcome to come up and visit us anytime!!

We Found A House!!

Wow, they don't call it house-HUNTING for nothing! We really had to hunt this thing down and grab it before anyone else did. It's all happening so fast! We saw the house for the first time last Saturday, made an offer Tuesday, they officially accepted on Thursday, and we hope to close the deal in a week and a half and move in on the 3rd. Crazy!!!

So that means I have 2 weeks to pack, find renters, pick out appliances, etc. etc. (so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for awhile!). I really hope the kids are good for me so I can pack like crazy- knock on wood.

We are really excited for our new home. It's right next to Ikea (yeah!) and is only 3 years old (double yeah!) and HUGE (triple yeah!)!!! But the main thing that I'm looking forward to is seeing Jeromy more often since he can probably get to work in 10 minutes. Awe-some! And I can send the kids out to the backyard to play! We're all very excited. The girls were actually confused when we pulled up to the church today because they were hoping to go to our new church already. And they aren't understanding why it's going to take more than a day to pack all of our belongings. They are very anxious to get into their new home!

We have LOVED this place so much. It's been perfect for our little family. And we've made the best of friends here. We are definitely going to miss you all!! It's very bittersweet to leave. And it's happening so fast that it's hard to process it all. Like our realtor said, "Sometimes it's better to just rip the band-aid off and be done." We'll see if that's true for us or not. At least we can all keep in touch through blogging, right?

I'm very grateful that everything seems to be falling into place now. And very grateful for the 4 wonderful years that we've had here. Thank you!!

Handsome Jeromy

I didn't want Jeromy to feel left out. I love you too, hon!

Strong Jacob

A week and a half ago, Jacob rolled over for the first time!! Both directions on the same day!! Man, he's growing so fast. I love him!

Brave Audrey

Last night I had a planning meeting for my new calling, and I had to leave right when the kids were getting ready for bed. Apparently, Kierra had a hard time that I was gone, so Audrey tried to comfort her. She told me about it when I got home. "Kierra was really sad when you left, and she wanted a hug. So I was brave for her and cuddled with her so she wouldn't be scared anymore. I was brave, huh. And then you came home and we could hug you!" I love her!

Compassionate Kierra

We were watching a movie with our babysitting group kids tonight, and it got a teensy bit scary (a turtle flying through the air holding onto a garden hose). One little girl said, "Mommy!" So Kierra tried to comfort her, saying, "Oh, it's okay, your Mommy will be back soon" (rubs her back) "It's late, huh. She'll be back soon, huh." By this time she was completely ignoring Kierra and watching the movie, but Kierra had to make sure that she was okay. I love her!

It's Been A Sad Day

Last week is behind me! Yeah!!! With all the cleaning for company, entertaining company, preparing a lesson for a mini-enrichment class, and planning a surprise birthday party for my dad, I was pretty well beat by the time Friday night was over. Whew! But it's all over and now I can resume house hunting (ugh).

Here's a recap (I'm sorry this is quite lengthy, but I'm treating this sorta as a journal page):

My dad's brother and his wife stayed with us last week (from Tues. to Fri.) while they visited their son and his family who are attending the Y. It was really nice to see them. The girls loved all the attention!

On Thursday night, I taught a mini-enrichment class on food storage and how to start obtaining your three-month supply of everyday foods. It's a topic that I'm pretty passionate about, so it was fun to prepare for, albeit stressful and bad timing. I am really loving my new calling!

Thursday was also a big day for Jeromy at work. He gave a 7 hour presentation to their biggest client and pulled it off so well that the boss gave everyone Friday off (partly because Jeromy was able to get through everything they needed to, and partly because they had all been working past 10pm the whole week). Way to go, hon!

So Friday was spent running errands for the big party (luckily, I had Jeromy there to help and wonderful neighbors to watch the girls- thanks again Wendy!), and getting the house ready for a new batch of company. My sister drove all the way from WA to make it just in time for the party (and I MEAN just in time- she got there a half an hour before my dad:). My dad had no idea! He showed up at the library expecting to take the girls to a cool puppet show. The library even put signs up and everything! He walked into one of their rooms to find: his brother and his wife, his sister and her husband, his mother, his sister-in-law and her husband, his in-laws, a few of his nieces and nephews, us, and even more surprisingly, his daughter and her children from Washington! It was great!! Happy 60th Dad!!!

Saturday was spent watching conference, going for a hike near Bridal Veil Falls, spending quality time with relatives, etc. etc. The guys went up to SLC for the priesthood session while us gals ordered chinese (one of my favorite family traditions!). My sisters and I even got to do a little shopping while Grandma watched all 6 grandkids. She's a trooper!

Sunday, more conference and hanging out.

On Monday, my sister and I took the kids to the Children's Museum at the Gateway up in SLC. They have a Sesame Street exhibit on The Body. It was really fun! We thought it was a little overpriced at $12 per person (over age one), but the kids had a blast.

Shelly and I went (with the kids, I might add, and yes, we're crazy) to Ikea on Tuesday. Loved it! They take your potty trained children for an hour for free! So we just had the babies and Kierra while we roamed the store. Then we picked up the other kids and had lunch at their cafe (yummy Swedish meatballs, mmmm). Awe-some! Then Jeromy took Audrey, Kierra, and my sister's 3-year-old home so we could go to Tai Pan Trading for awhile. And Cafe Rio for dinner! What more can a girl ask for?!?

So today my sister headed back home. And that is why it has been a sad day. We've just been kinda moping around all day because all the fun and excitement is over. It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for visiting, everyone!!!

My Day

2am: Go to sleep after spending way to much time on the computer (stupid, stupid, stupid)
10am: Wake up and feed kids, nurse baby, dress kids, talk to sis on phone, find necessary coupons for today's shopping
11:30am: Start getting kids in car
Noon: Arrive at Wal-Mart to get oil-changed
1:15pm: Pick up car, Jacob's still asleep, kids doing OK
1:30pm: Get lunch at "Old McDonald's"
2:15pm: Arrive at Costco
3:45pm: Get back to car after much whining and chasing, Jacob has fallen asleep again (thank you!)
4:00pm: Arrive home, put food away, change diapers, send kids downstairs to play, feed Jacob
5:00pm: Do dishes that weren't done all weekend, tidy up a little
6:00pm: Make and eat dinner, feed baby again, change Kierra again
7:30pm: Realize that Jeromy is not going to be home in time for me to go out again on a necessary shopping trip, start getting kids in car, top Jacob off
8:04pm: Drive by Staples (to use my $10 off anything $10 or more coupon that expires today) and read the sign on the door that says it closed 4 minutes ago
8:15pm: Arrive at Smith's to get prescription and deli meat deals, etc., deal with MUCH whining and yelling and hitting
9:15pm: Go to checkout with a screaming 4-year-old, crying 5-month old, and a scared 2-year-old, try to convince the checker that yes, I did buy that item so just scan the stupid coupon!
9:30pm: Get the kids and groceries in the car and pace the freezing cold parking lot talking on the phone with hubbie to calm me down before getting in a car of unhappy children (okay, child- betcha can't guess which one!)
9:45pm: Talk with Audrey and leave for home
10:00pm: Get home, unload kids and food, start getting kids ready for bed
10:15pm: Jeromy gets home and finishes putting kids to bed, feed and change Jacob
10:45pm: Have snack with Jeromy (who hasn't eaten dinner yet)
11:00pm: Jeromy goes to bed, I feed Jacob to sleep
11:15pm: Check email, blog, try to see straight
Midnight: Hilary, just go to bed already!!

Happy Anniversary, Hon!

Wow, 7 years! It's flown by! I really don't know what to say about how wonderful my sweet husband is. I think Shannon Hale was actually talking about my hubbie (except for the baldness and Star Trekkie stuff) when she said this:

http://oinks.squeetus.com/2008/03/an-ideal-husban.html

Thanks for the past 7 amazing years, Jeromy! I love you!!!

We're the Wishy-Washy Wilsons

(Say that 5 times fast)

If you ask us how the house hunting is going, the answer is different every day. It's so discouraging to look all over the place and not find anything remotely likeable AND affordable! So last week we heard a rumor that the ward had a calling in mind for me, so we thought long and hard about staying here because maybe the Lord needed us here for a little bit longer. By Friday, we were pretty set with that decision, so we took it to the temple on Saturday. Our answer: probably not a good idea: the kids need their dad around more often after all (plus they really could use a yard). And then Sunday I got a new calling (Relief Society Provident Living Specialist- I'm so excited!). So now we're back to the drawing board to find a house, and meanwhile I'll work hard at my calling until we find somewhere to move. And while all of this is going on (house hunting, organizing 2 activities per month, potty training Kierra, dealing with a baby who won't sleep more than 45 minutes during the day, etc.), my house is in shambles.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope everyone had their fill of corned beef and cabbage! Although, I think I've decided that it's not that great, it's just a tradition that I feel like I have to do every year to remember my Irish heritage. My poor cousins, we made them all a big corned beef dinner last night, and I'm sure that nobody really liked it. I didn't really. I'll have to make it up to them and have them over for something actually yummy.


I made it up to the husband and kids tonight by having everything green (huge hit)! We had green eggs (eggsaroneous, actually- Shelly we'll always be grateful for that recipe!), bacon (okay, that's not green, but oh well), pears, broccoli w/ Asiago sauce (thank you Costco!), green jello fruit salad, and green Kool-Aid. Oh, and Lime Chiffon for dessert. All on a nice green tablecloth with green plates, etc. and gold napkins. What can I say, I LOVE holidays!!


Kierra didn't like the whole "pinching if you're not wearing green" thing, so she was very quick to put a green shirt on. She was so stressed about it that she tried to find some green pants to go with it, just in case. Then the rest of the day, she would point at random things and say, "We don't pinch the couch, that's naughty, huh Mommy?" Yes, sweetie, that's naughty. But I don't think that quite calls for a time-out:)

Skincare

I need a new skincare regime. Any recommendations?

The Park

It's been getting so nice outside, so a few of us neighborhood moms decided to meet at the park this week. It seems like forever since we've been! As luck would have it, it was cloudy and kinda cold the day we chose to go. Oh well. The moms still had fun chatting! I wasn't all mean though, I made it up to the girls by having hot cocoa as soon as we came home.


Kierra tried to warm up in the stroller.

Salsa Stew and Avocado Salad

We tried a couple new recipes this week and everyone enjoyed them! The stew was actually called black bean soup or something like that, but I tweaked it a little and changed the name to Salsa Stew just for Jeromy (he has this weird thing about not liking soups but loving stews. Example: I told him that soup was on the stove for dinner and he said, rather sadly, "Oh. We're having soup for dinner?" and I replied, "Actually, we're having Salsa Stew!" He then said, "Oooooooh, that sounds good!" He's silly:)


Salsa Stew
(By the way this would be a good food storage recipe, minus the sour cream and cheese. I have GOT to figure out how to make sour cream and cheese with powdered milk!)

1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 C. salsa (use mild- I accidentally used medium and we had to dump a ton of sour cream in it for the girls, well, for us too actually;)
1 C. water
2 small cans chicken chunks
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. taco seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a big soup pot. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.

(Oh, and it was also really good the next day with grilled cheese!)


Avocado Salad
(I actually got this from my friend Johanna, but I didn't have all of the ingredients. She uses a packet of Zesty Italian salad dressing mix and fresh lemon juice, both of which I didn't have. Still good:) Also, olives might be a good addition.)

2 avocados, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 can black beans
1 can corn (or use the Mexicorn for more flavor)
About 4 squirts Ken's Steakhouse Lite Northern Italian with Basil and Romano salad dressing

Stir together and serve as is or with tortilla chips.

Storytime at the Library

Can I just say how ANNOYING some people can be!

I recently promised myself that I would try really hard to take the kids to the library once a week for storytime. They love it and it gets us out of the house. It was kind of a rough morning waking up late, finding clean clothes that match, and trying to get the kids out the door. You know, the usual. So I'm in a sour mood by the time we all get into the car, and then Jacob cried the whole way to the library (ok- so it's only 7 minutes away, but still). So I was trying to plan it all out: Take Audrey to her storytime class, find a seat on the comfy chairs and nurse Jacob happy for a few minutes before Kierra's class starts and I need to pay attention to her. Okay, go!

So I get Audrey to her class, find a comfy seat, get Jacob out of the stroller, and wait! Kierra where are you running off to!!! So I put the stroller behind my seat and put the nursing blanket on the seat to save my place while I try to catch Kierra who keeps running farther and farther away (sooo unlike her). I find Kierra on the other side of the library who says, "Leave me alone, Mommy," which usually means she needs to poop. So we head to the bathroom while I'm trying to figure out how to take her diaper off and get her up on the potty and wipe her, etc. all while holding an infant. Luckily, they had a baby bench seat thingy next to the pot complete with a strap. Phew! That'll hold him for a few minutes if he doesn't squirm too much. So Kierra does her business (yeah, Kierra!) and we go back to the storytime area right before they start. What do we find? The whole library is absolutely full, standing room only, and someone is SITTING ON MY BLANKET!!

How am I supposed to feed Jacob and keep Kierra close enough to me but where she can actually see what's going on? I'm so peeved and fuming. How could someone not see that I was saving that place? And then just sit down on top of someone's blanket? After a few minutes, she looks around and sees me standing beside the stroller and trying to keep Kierra entertained (because she can't even see what's going on and it's not like we can just leave because we have to wait for Audrey to come out of her class) and then she notices that she's sitting on something, so she KINDLY removes the blanket and hangs it over the back of the chair. Oh, thanks, don't overdo yourself. I've only got a hungry little boy to nurse and it's just so easily done while standing! LUCKILY, he was in good spirits and was just fine to be held. But what to do when I have to put him in his seat to go home and he's still hungry, so he cries the whole way home too? Ugh. Finally it was all over, and I was trying to show Audrey where we were without moving into the crowd, and in the process lost Kierra. Yikes! Get me out of this madhouse!! Did I mention that I can get pretty claustrophobic around crowds, especially if I'm stressed out?


Whew. Vent over.

I guess if I had been better prepared (i.e. had clothes actually clean and put away, kids fed and happy, etc.) before we left, the blanket incident would've just rolled off my back. Oh well. And the kids all enjoyed themselves, so all's well that ends well, right?

Twilight Moms Website

For any current or future fans of the Twilight series books, you have GOT to check this website out! The description on the home page is hilarious!!!

http://www.twilightmoms.com

Awful Reading Habit

Do any of you have a hard time putting a book down even if it's awful? When I read a book, I have to read every single page for some weird reason. I guess I think the author deserves it or what if I miss something important and don't get all of the context?!? I don't know. I'll pick up a great parenting book that I think will help, but if the chapter that will really help me is chapter 7, well, I've got to read 6 chapters first even if they're of no use to me. By chapter 2 or 3 I'm beginning to think that maybe this book isn't for me, and so I put it away, full of guilt for not finishing. Yet had I just read chapter 7 it would've solved my problem!! Ugh. I only have myself to blame.

I'm reading a juvenile lit novel right now that I'm just not getting into, and I'm pretty easy to entertain! Only I'm half way through it. I figure I've invested so much into this book, I might as well see how it turns out, but it's almost painful to pick it up again. I have so many books on my "To Read Next" list that are just sitting there waiting for me because of this stupid book, so Jeromy is trying to convince me to just forget about it and get a different book. But I just can't. I'd rather drag on this torture even longer so I can feed this weird neurosis of mine. Ya, I'm crazy.

Honorary Mainiac

I just spent the last week in the state of Maine visiting a customer. I asked several people what they like to be called. The majority said they prefer Mainiac over Mainer or Mainian. It wasn't a conclusive study and I am not suggesting you should start every or any conversation with a native from the great state of Maine by saying, "Oh, so you're a Mainiac?"

While there I was able to experience freezing rain. When we woke up the next morning I found our rental van covered in a 1/2 in. of ice. We chiseled at it for a good half hour and finally got the two front doors and one of the side doors to open. My first ice sculpture... da da da da... a mini van.

We were able to have a little fun. We went to the the huge L.L. Bean outlet there outside of Portland Maine and shot some arrows in their indoor shooting range.



Being in Maine with the locals was a real treat. They took us to several fun and tasty Maine restaurants. I was able to enjoy real Maine oysters, mussels, clams, and mmmm mmmm lobster!


It wasn't all fun and games though, I was there on business you know...

Crock Pot Recipe Request

Does anybody have any fabulous crock pot recipes they'd like to share? It's so nice to get dinner done during the day when Jacob is having a sporadic nap, and then I don't have to stress as much when everyone is getting cranky in the bewitching hour before Daddy comes home. Please share!

To-Do List

Does anyone else battle with a mutant to-do list that just keeps growing and growing no matter how much you hack at it?

A New Toy

Jacob got a new toy this past weekend. He loves it, yet I think his sisters might like it more. Jeromy went a little camera happy with the new camera. Sorry. But can you blame him? Jacob's so cute!! So can you tell the difference between the old photos and the new? Oh, and excuse the nakedness, the doctor has assured us it's just a phase. And is it a rule that the baby stops smiling as soon as you turn the camera on?


"Help! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!"


"Ooh, what's that?"


"Are they done playing with me yet?"


"I'll just tune them out."

Cookie Monster

The other night we were having a calm dinner (strange, I know), waiting for Daddy to come home, and Audrey said this out of the blue:

"So, Mommy, what is UP with Cookie Monster on Sesame Street?!? Ca-RAY-zee!!!"

Leave it to Audrey to liven up an ordinary meal. She cracks me up.

Babysitting Club Puppet Theater

As a lot of you know, we are part of a babysitting club with some friends. We babysit 8 kids (plus little Jacob) once a month, and then have 3 Friday nights to ourselves while everyone else takes their turns. We highly recommend it! Anyway, these pictures are from our turn a few weeks ago. My mom made us the wonderful puppet curtain for Christmas and it was a huge hit with all the kids, especially when it was Jeromy's turn to do a show. Lots of fun.

Plus, I wanted to show the difference between our old photos (taken on my phone) and our new photos (taken on our new camera- yeah!). These are with the phone, the next post will be from the new camera! I know, you can't wait, can you?!



Digging for something, Kierra? Lovely.



The captivated audience.



The puppeteer.

House Hunting Update

Thank you all for your encouraging comments about our house hunting woes. I have such awesome friends!

We have been all over looking at houses this week. It's been crazy, and my disheveled house can testify. We've been having a hard time finding a neighborhood we like that we can afford and vice versa. It seems that the more we look, the pickier we get about what we want. And then when we can't find what we want, we almost feel like staying put for a couple more years would be okay (and a whole lot less stressful). We are really running out of time before our great quote isn't locked in anymore, but Jeromy is going to be gone all next week. So it seems that we are going to take a little break from home shopping, at least for a few days. I think it'd be good to sit back and ponder about it all before plunging in again. But I will let you know of any updates. Thanks for the love!

New Camera

Our new camera came in the mail today! I'm so excited that I can take good pictures now! So you can all be expecting some better pictures in the near future. Yeah!!!

I Am So Grateful For My Food Storage Today

Last night, right after everyone got in bed, Kierra came down to the kitchen looking for her sippy cup. She opened the fridge, realized she couldn't reach it on the top shelf, and went back to bed....without closing the door. So, after 2 garbage bags and 4 spoiled gallons of milk, I am very grateful for my food storage.

Does That Make Jeromy a Box of French Fries?

Kierra is trying to convince me that I'm a cheeseburger. She's playing with her toys singing a song, "Mommy is a cheeseburger, Mommy is a cheeseburger" over and over again. Should I take that as a compliment?

Strong As An Ox

Just about every time the girls want Daddy to do something for them, he has them say please first, and then "You're as strong as an ox, Daddy" second.

Audrey just brought up a baby doll stroller from the basement for Kierra. Kierra thanked her as she was doing it, and Audrey replied, "I'm strong as an ox, isn't I? Oxes are boys, didn't you know that?" Well, Jeromy, I guess they think you're as strong as a boy.

We're Ward Snobs

I've heard from many that blogging can be a form of therapy. So I'm going to give it a try.

As many of you know, we're looking to move so that we're closer to Jeromy's work and so we can have a yard for the kids (okay, let's face it, a bigger house for all my stuff). We went looking at some houses on Saturday and fell in love with one. It's big, has a big yard, and a lot of extras. The kitchen is awesome, with black granite counters and cherry wood cabinets, brand new stainless steel appliances, and lots of storage. All of the bathrooms have gorgeous granite counters and beautiful brand new cabinets. The master bath even has a vanity. 2 closets (one of them a walk-in) in the master bedroom, a laundry shoot, brand new carpet, and a big food storage area for all my couponing trophies. But the best of all was the backyard. A huge deck with a built-in jacuzzi. On the other side of the deck, it's kind of circular with built-in seating, so it's perfect for a fire pit, with plenty of room for a grill also. Plus, a sandpit with a swing set, lots of trees, and a good-size lawn for the kids to run around. Ya, it was the wow factor throughout.


We can really picture ourselves in that house. So, we thought it would be wise if we went to that ward on Sunday to check it out before we went any further. That's what my parents always did when they were moving, so why not? In retrospect, it probably wasn't a great idea. First of all, what if the owners were there (luckily that house was vacant)? Or what if we offended somebody by saying that we were just checking out the ward, and then we moved in? Or what if we didn't like the ward but love the house? You can probably guess what happened. Our whole married lives (almost 7 years), we've been in wards that had mostly people our age, so we've gotten kind of used to it. This ward was an older ward; I didn't see anybody our age, which to me means that it would be harder (but not impossible) to make friends. I already don't look forward to starting over in that respect, and would just rather stay here so I don't have to go back to my comfort zone of insecurities. Anyway, we just weren't feeling it there. And now we feel like ward snobs, cuz the church is true everywhere, so what are we worrying about? And maybe the Lord could really use us there or something. Or maybe we could use a little humbling.

Maybe the best thing for my "therapy session" would be to list pros and cons:

Pros:
-15 minutes from Jeromy's work (instead of at LEAST 30 minutes- and his work is going to be getting more time intensive very soon)
-big yard with extras (did I mention the wrap around porch?)
-really nice kitchen
-2 stories with 4 bedrooms
-lots of storage
-room to grow in unfinished basement
-a garage!

Cons:
-Not in Utah County (so it has that bigger city feel- not a big feeling of community)
-Different kind of ward
-Older house
-No new furniture for awhile
-No toy room for the kids till we can save enough to finish basement
-Start over making friends (for me AND the kids)
-Oh, and the WHOLE house inside is painted PEACH, ilch
-No more babysitting group, i.e. no more dates for awhile :(

So I guess the question is would I rather have a bigger house, a husband, and no friends or a smaller house, no husband, and lots of friends. Jeromy will be uber busy both ways anyway. And if we stay we could afford to buy new furniture and finish the basement. Jeromy says I'll always have my virtual friends. Har har. He makes me sound like a video game fanatic. I love my husband dearly so the best way to support him would be to move as close to work as possible. So we're going to see a few more houses tomorrow to cover all the bases before we make any more decisions.

Sorry for sounding like such a whiner. I guess I need to just be grateful for this opportunity.

My Three-Month-Old

I've had some complaints that I don't post enough pictures of our little one. Sorry. When he's awake AND happy, I usually just want him all to myself and I don't think to get the camera out. Maybe that'll change when we get a brand spankin' new camera. I hope so, he's so adorable! This was taken on his 3-month birthday, on the 7th. Should we have a poll to see who everyone thinks he looks like? So far (and for the most part), my family thinks he looks like Jeromy and Jeromy's family thinks he looks like me. I'm the only one that will claim him by saying he looks like both of us! What does everyone else think?


This one was taken over a month ago, but I thought it was so cute that the girls were nice enough to share a toy with their little bro. I think what happened is that Kierra wanted to put Ariel down for a nap, and since Jacob was asleep in his chair, she thought he could use some company.

Twilight the Movie is Coming!!!!!!!!!!!

For any fans of the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, you need to check out her website. She just visited the set where they've just begun filming. She's just posted some pictures of the cast here. AWESOME (picture me singing the word)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I've got chills.

Food Storage Cookbook

For anyone interested in food storage recipes, this is the book to get! It's all about cooking yummy meals using things from your pantry (not including things from the freezer and fridge in case of electricity outages). The recipes actually look really good! I just need to figure out how to get a lot of dehydrated ingredients now. She also talks about how to make a 5 week menu to better plan and organize your year's supply. Anyway, it only costs $5 on bookcloseouts.com for anyone interested.

V-Day Cont.

I forgot to post this picture for Valentine's. We all got new throw blankets for Valentine's Day, and here we are breaking them in after dinner while watching a cartoon.

Haircut

I had so much fun getting my haircut today! I was there for 2 hours (while my wonderful babysitter put up with a very cranky Jacob. Thanks again Megan!) so she could show me how to do many things with my hair. Boy, I needed it cuz I am very hair-dumb. She showed me how to apply serum and other goop, and how to do my hair with a flat iron, and how to rat my hair. Yes, rat my hair. I was very nervous about that part, but she promised that I would not have American Fork hair and she was right (my apologies to anyone that is from there- just pick a random city near you and insert where appropriate). She was such a great hairdresser that even if we move up to Sandy or some such place, I'm thinking about coming down here for my haircuts. I could tell her anything that I didn't like about my hair and she would show me how to fix it, and then I'd tell her I wanted to learn how to do some sort of technique and she'd show me how to do it. She even had me do half of my hair the way she showed me to make sure I got it right. Can we say AWESOME!

ANYWAY, it was so much fun and I'm so excited to play around with my hair in the next few days. I've been meaning to take a picture of myself for my goodreads icon picture, and now I needed a picture of how my hairstylist did it so I have a reference point, so Jeromy jumped at the opportunity and had a little too much fun. Mind you, this is late at night so my hair has gone a little flat and my nose is shiny. Oh well. I think I like the last one the best for my icon picture. What do you think?



For those of you that can't tell, this is my "I'm frustrated with my funny, smart-alec husband" look. I am NOT hopped up on something-or-other looking at pretty unicorns in the sky!


This is my all-too-familiar "okay, Jeromy, enough already, just take the picture" look. I just threw it in for kicks and giggles.


I didn't know he was taking this one (just like half of the ones we took), but I think it's the best. Ugh, I still hate getting my picture taken.

The Jungle Book

My friend Megan invited us to see the play The Jungle Book at BYU on Saturday. Surprisingly, it was only 45 minutes long, just perfect for little ones. They even had a question-answer session afterwards geared towards bullying. Kierra was absolutely enthralled throughout the play, loving all of the actors "pretending to be animals." Audrey, on the other hand, was terrified the whole time. The opening scene was a little intense with Shere Khan chasing baby Mowgli and his mom, so she got a little scared and told me she wanted to leave. But she braved it and watched the rest so Kierra could stay and watch. I thought it was really well done. It was also very refreshing to have a girls day out.

Audrey Learned a New Word

Me: Audrey, could you please put your markers away so we can eat dinner?

Audrey: UGH! (Stomps away)

Me: Why are you being so mean to me today?

Audrey: (Angrily with furrowed brows) Why are you being so glamorous to me?

My Age

This happened a few nights ago and I thought it was hilarious.

Audrey: Daddy, how old are you?
Daddy: Why don't you tell me. You know how old I am.
Audrey: I think you're 29.
Daddy: You're right. How old is Mommy?
Audrey: Um, I don't know, 56?
Daddy: No, try again.
Audrey: 90? (Smiling)
Me: Ha, ha, you're getting closer.
Audrey: 94? (Laughing) 99? (Uncontrollable giggling)

Bike Ride

As you know, Audrey got a bike for her birthday. Right now it is an indoors bike, seeing as how it is still icy outside and we don't have a yard...yet ;). Audrey is starting to get sick of riding her bike from the kitchen to the living room, getting off to turn it around, going back to the kitchen, getting off again to turn it around, and so on. So Jeromy took the girls to the church on Saturday morning so she could ride it in the cultural hall. She caught on very fast, and can now turn by herself and she goes pretty fast!

Showing off.

They also got to play a little basketball with Daddy.

Jelly Beans on the Brain

The girls picked out the big 4 lb. tub of Jelly Belly's to give to their Daddy for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure if they were more excited to give it to him or to have him share with them. Jeromy and I thought it would be best if he took it to work the next day, and so he did. When the girls woke up the next morning and I was getting breakfast together, Audrey noticed that they were gone and asked where they were. I told her Daddy took them to work to share with his friends. She was sad about it, but nothing more was said about it.

Then at lunch, Audrey offered the lunch prayer. She said the usual stuff followed by:

"And please bless Dad to drive home safe with the jelly beans."

Candy on the mind for sure.

Potty

I went to the bathroom earlier today and Kierra asked what I was doing in the bathroom. I told her that I went potty. She said, "Good job, Mommy! Now you get a lady-pop (lollipop)!" and then gave me a high five. Me thinks we've been overdoing the treats a bit.

Beads

Kierra just walked up to me with the most forlorn face. I couldn't figure out what was wrong till she sadly admitted that she stuffed 2 beads up her nose!! I can't believe that she did that! I guess there's a first time for everything, and that was definitely a first. I'm ashamed to say that the blogging side of me wanted to take a picture before going fishing with the tweezers. But she was pretty distraught so I didn't think that was such a good/nice idea (my crappy camera probably wouldn't have been up to the job anyway). It's a good thing she can count, otherwise it would've been near impossible to tell how many were up there. Come to think of it, it's a good thing she could tell me what was wrong because I couldn't see the beads till I knew what I was looking for. Wow.

Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

This pasta was absolutely delicious!! The only thing I'd change is mixing half of the mozzarella into the pasta with the pesto and parmesan, and then the other half on top like normal. We all loved it!


Okay, so the picture isn't that great. I definitely need a new camera (Jeromy would say it was user error. Pshaw!). I thought you'd be able to see the layers better, oh well. And I was kind of hoping that you couldn't see the burnt cheese on top, but I'm pretty sure that cheese is the only thing you can burn and it still tastes good. Actually, that was the best part of the dish. You can find the recipe here.

Valentine's Day

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it is so much fun to have holidays with little ones!! My inner child comes out and we have so much fun making decorations and fun foods together. Valentine’s Day was no exception. The girls enjoyed making Valentines for grandparents and cousins. I figured it wasn’t truly Valentine’s Day unless there were heart sugar cookies to decorate. So we baked a ton of yummy goodies, the girls drew to their hearts content, and I made some fun meals. For breakfast we had heart-shaped muffins. For lunch we had PB&G cut into hearts with cookie cutters. And for dinner we had Rachael Ray's Tomato, Basil and Cheese Baked Pasta (sooo good), lemonade with heart shaped ice cubes, heart shaped red jello, and parmesan broccoli all on pink plates with pink forks and pink cups. The girls even made a Valentine tablecloth out of butcher paper. So fun.

Here's my cuties and my hottie, anxious to eat.




Here's the ice cubes (the molds for these were super cheap at Target. Love it!). Don't you love the elegant tablecloth?



This is what Mommy and Daddy got the girls for Valentine's Day, courtesy of the Dollar Spot at Target. I love that place!

Milestones

We've reached a lot of milestones in the last week or so.

Audrey had her 4th birthday last Sunday. Grandma and Grandpa Wilson were able to come down for the festivities, as well as some close friends. We had Winnie the Pooh cake and lots of fun. I regretfully didn't take any pictures because Jeromy had the video camera out most of the time and I figured I could just put that on here. Alas, after several hours of trying to figure it out, we don't know how to put videos from our camcorder onto our computer. Yuck. Anyway, Audrey had a great birthday, having fun with friends and grandparents, and getting many fun toys from friends and family, and her very own Disney Princess bike complete with training wheels from Mom and Dad. I just cannot believe how fast she's growing up! She is such a little kid now. No more baby. It's been so wonderful when she helps me with the baby or other things, and even nicer that she can do a lot of things for herself now.

Another milestone is that Audrey has been fully potty trained for over a month now. She's even been keeping her panties dry at night. It's been awesome!! Ya, I realize that she was almost 4 years old at the time, but oh well, every kid is different (as well as every mommy). And now Kierra is showing some interest in being potty trained. So we'll see how that goes.

Jacob turned 3 months old! He's smiling and cooing now, it's so much fun! Audrey and Kierra compete to see who can get him to smile the biggest. He was particularly adorable during church yesterday. It's so hard to pay attention when you're holding such a cute, smiling baby!!

We've also lived in this house for 4 years now. We have loved getting to know so many wonderful people in this neighborhood, but feel like our house is shrinking and getting farther away from work. We haven't totally ruled out staying here for a little while longer, but we've started looking at houses already. It's very bittersweet.

So there you have it. Lots of things have been going on and the kids just keep growing up!

Stake Enrichment

We had our stake Relief Society Enrichment meeting last week. It was really neat. They offered a bunch of really interesting classes, two of which I was able to attend. The first was about cooking with food storage. Did you know you can make cheese and sour cream out of powdered milk? (By the way, I didn't get the recipes for this one, so if you have ANY to share, please send them to me!) The second class had some great parenting tips, one of which was rewarding your children for good behavior during the passing of the sacrament with goodies. This actually worked really well on Sunday; I hope I don't get lax about it this Sunday.

Anyway, one sister gave some suggestions about how to create some excitement in our everyday lives with our families. She gave some excellent ideas, but unfortunately, I can only remember two of them: have just a normal dinner but with candlelights, and have a Cat in the Hat bath complete with cake. We've created one ourselves. The last few times we've ordered pizza, we have a picnic on the living room floor while watching a video. The girls love this! So now I want to know what ideas YOU have for creating simple fun activities at home. I want to hear!

Another Funny FHE Prayer

It can be so fun to hear prayers from children! Last night at Family Home Evening, we had Audrey give the opening prayer. The end of it went something like this:

"Please bless Jacob,
Please bless our silly families,
Please bless our houses,
Please bless our guns."

Trying not to laugh, Jeromy said, "That was a, um, pretty prayer, Audrey."

She replied, "Ya, pretty."

I have no idea what familIES our housES she's talking about, let alone what guns. Where does she come up with this stuff?

President Hinckley

We are definitely going to miss this great man, but we're so happy to know that he is with his sweetheart now. It's been interesting to see how the kids have reacted to this news. Whenever Kierra sees a picture of Pres. Hinckley, she says in her sweet voice, "That guy died-ed, huh Mommy. Oh, that's sad." And I was amazed at how much Audrey understands about the plan of salvation. When we were watching some clips of his life, Audrey said, "But Mommy, I think he's gonna live again." This produced a great conversation about, "when Jesus comes again."

But the funny remark came when we were watching the funeral on TV. Audrey kept asking about the casket. And just about every time they zoomed in on the casket, she would run out of the room. We thought she was just bored and wanted to play in the kitchen. Finally, she asked, "He's not going to pop out, is he, Mom?" No wonder why she kept leaving the room, she thought a dead body was going to move around. Where in the world did she get that idea? Scary.

Rude Awakening

The girls have been going to bed so well lately (knock on wood). It's been wonderful! Well, tonight they went to bed on time, and everything was going well. It was silent up there for about 20 minutes when all of a sudden, Audrey screamed bloody murder, immediately followed by the sound of her fast pitter-pattering feet going into our bedroom. "What in the world?" we both said as Jeromy ran to find out what happened. Well, apparently, Audrey was half asleep when she turned over and opened her eyes, and lo and behold, she saw a face looming RIGHT above hers. Kierra's face. It scared the wits out of Audrey, who thought an intruder was staring at her in her sleep. Kierra also got spooked due to the yelling and running, when all she wanted to know was whether or not her sister was still awake. What a crazy night!