Last night was a cold night. We had an extra blanket on top of our comforter and I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of Corky's sweats. I was as cozy as it comes. It felt great and I slept great. At about 4:30ish AM though, I had to re-adjust a little. Having so many layers sometimes makes that a little difficult, so I had to exert a little more effort to roll over. Enough effort that it woke me up.
Just as I was repositioning myself, I hear a "Ssssshhhhhh!"
I thought that Corky woke up from my moving around (which happens more often than not!) and I thought he was annoyed enough to "shoosh" me.
Only a second later I hear "Sssshhhhh" again. So then I thought maybe he was doing it in his sleep.
Another second and a 3rd "sssshhhh", I was getting annoyed. I roll over to ask "What's your problem?" When I hear it again and realize that I am making the noise. That is when I started laughing out loud to myself.
Who knew a couple of dry boogers from my own nose could sound like that!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
StoryTime, Halloween style.
Gracey and Emily absolutely love the story time at our local library. They do it in the mornings, 3 days a week. Gracey has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday, and we usually play at the park on Wednesday mornings with a bunch of friends, so she hasn't been in a few months. Emily and I have been going while she's at school and its been nice to do something fun with just Em, but I feel bad because I know Gracey loves it too. So we skipped the park yesterday to go to the annual "Trick or Treat in the library" day.
All the kids get to wear their costume, go to story time as usual, sing some songs, and then go trick or treating around the library. Then after all that is done, they end with a fun craft. I love that my girls get more use out of their costumes and they love that they get a jump start on their candy consumption.
Here is a video of the girls singing one of their favorite songs at the library. (its kind of long if you aren't an aunt or a grandma!) Maybe only family and close friends know that when Gracey is concentrating, her tongue is always out. Her tongue has been sticking out and moving around since she was literally only hours old. It makes us laugh constantly, but we also are trying to get her out of the habit without embarrassing her.
And I digress....
Here's the video.
All the kids get to wear their costume, go to story time as usual, sing some songs, and then go trick or treating around the library. Then after all that is done, they end with a fun craft. I love that my girls get more use out of their costumes and they love that they get a jump start on their candy consumption.
Here is a video of the girls singing one of their favorite songs at the library. (its kind of long if you aren't an aunt or a grandma!) Maybe only family and close friends know that when Gracey is concentrating, her tongue is always out. Her tongue has been sticking out and moving around since she was literally only hours old. It makes us laugh constantly, but we also are trying to get her out of the habit without embarrassing her.
And I digress....
Here's the video.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Bath Time Entertainment
I think Corky is a super cool dad!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Dinner in a Pumpkin
*Recipe at the bottom
Since Corky and I have been married, the Monday night before Halloween, we have had "Dinner in a Pumpkin!" We (when I saw "we," I mean "I") have carried on this tradition for 6 years in a row! I look forward to it all year. Corky likes the innards, but doesn't eat the actual pumpkin like I do. But trust me, it's so good!!
You find a pumpkin that stands pretty well on its own, but it doesn't need to be perfect. Clearly, mine isn't, but I did my best to make the lid as straight as possible. Notice the marker lines? I didn't want to cut away and mess up! Then you clean out the insides leaving a perfectly hollow pumpkin. (This is where you would paint it if you'd like. My kids would love that I am sure, but my kitchen was already a disaster....maybe next year.)
Then you fill it with the good stuff! Recipe to come.
Then you bake it and the pumpkin turns a deep orange/brown!
Then you invite your good friends over to join you in a pre-Halloween dinner, and with all the combos, you accidentally create a cute, yet simple table scape. Complete with "bone" breadsticks! (Sandra Lee would be so proud!)
And since you are celebrating Halloween, you let the kids practice wearing their costumes!!!
And now the recipe!
--------------------------------
Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 Medium size pumpkin, hollowed out (make sure the pumpkin will fit in your oven)
Keep the lid of the pumpkin, you bake the pumpkin with lid on
1 1/2 pound ground hamburger
3 stocks celery diced
1 small white onion diced
1 small green pepper diced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine the hamburger, celery, onion and green pepper. Brown together in a large frying pan
Add
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
1 4oz can sliced mushrooms drained
1 can cream of chicken
2 cups cooked rice
Combine all the ingredients together and spoon into the hollowed pumpkin
Place pumpkin in center of cookie sheet lined with parchment- You will be cooking the pumpkin with the LID ON THE PUMPKIN
Bake 1 hour @ 375- Eat the inside of the pumpkin like squash
Since Corky and I have been married, the Monday night before Halloween, we have had "Dinner in a Pumpkin!" We (when I saw "we," I mean "I") have carried on this tradition for 6 years in a row! I look forward to it all year. Corky likes the innards, but doesn't eat the actual pumpkin like I do. But trust me, it's so good!!
You find a pumpkin that stands pretty well on its own, but it doesn't need to be perfect. Clearly, mine isn't, but I did my best to make the lid as straight as possible. Notice the marker lines? I didn't want to cut away and mess up! Then you clean out the insides leaving a perfectly hollow pumpkin. (This is where you would paint it if you'd like. My kids would love that I am sure, but my kitchen was already a disaster....maybe next year.)
Then you fill it with the good stuff! Recipe to come.
Then you bake it and the pumpkin turns a deep orange/brown!
Then you invite your good friends over to join you in a pre-Halloween dinner, and with all the combos, you accidentally create a cute, yet simple table scape. Complete with "bone" breadsticks! (Sandra Lee would be so proud!)
And since you are celebrating Halloween, you let the kids practice wearing their costumes!!!
And now the recipe!
Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 Medium size pumpkin, hollowed out (make sure the pumpkin will fit in your oven)
Keep the lid of the pumpkin, you bake the pumpkin with lid on
1 1/2 pound ground hamburger
3 stocks celery diced
1 small white onion diced
1 small green pepper diced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine the hamburger, celery, onion and green pepper. Brown together in a large frying pan
Add
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
1 4oz can sliced mushrooms drained
1 can cream of chicken
2 cups cooked rice
Combine all the ingredients together and spoon into the hollowed pumpkin
Place pumpkin in center of cookie sheet lined with parchment- You will be cooking the pumpkin with the LID ON THE PUMPKIN
Bake 1 hour @ 375- Eat the inside of the pumpkin like squash
Monday, October 26, 2009
Journal Entry (if you're interested)
Once a year, the primary children (ages 3-11) of the LDS church, put on a program dedicated to talking and singing of all the things they have learned in the last year. Yesterday at primary, I passed the kid's primary speaking parts out. Our program isn't until November 22nd, so I figured that 4 weeks out would be a good time for them to start becoming familiar with it. As I was writing this year's program, I felt that I was very careful to include every single child that is active in primary. I included plenty of parts for children who are less active, even inactive, just in case this could be an incentive for them to come to church more regularly. Another thing I watched closely for was to not give a child more than one speaking part. I wrote down all the children in primary and crossed them off the list as I wrote their part for them. Easy peasy.
I edited, I proofread, checked, and double checked. I felt the program was about as good as it was going to be.
Now to yesterday, there was a family that came to church that I hadn't seen before. I asked them right before primary, when I noticed they had primary age children, if they were new or visiting. The dad looked a little embarrassed and said they weren't new or visiting. So I asked their name, we'll call them Jane and Sara, and sure enough I recognized them from my role as an inactive family. I told them how great it was to meet them and directed the kids to their classes and sharing time.
While the children were in their lessons, I was cutting each part into little strips for the kids to take home. That is when I noticed I had written 2 parts for one of the girls in primary. We'll call her Sally. I felt a little dumb because I knew I had read and reread trying to prevent just that. So I was trying to decide which part was better for Sally when I got a pretty strong impression that one of these was suited for Jane and that I needed to send it home with her today, not just promise her a part next week. So I scribble out Sally's name and put Jane's instead. I also gave one to her little sister to take home.
And that was that. Church was over.
Last night I get a call from my friend who was substituting for Jane's class yesterday. She told me that after I had given her that speaking part, Jane leaned over and said "I hope this will be a good excuse for my parents to keep bringing me back to church!"
---------------------------
As I was talking to Corky about this last night, I just was so grateful. I was grateful for my error that happened nearly 2 weeks ago. An error that I thought I had done everything to prevent. I was grateful that this family decided to come to church when they had. I was grateful that I followed my first impression to give her the speaking part. I was grateful that this girl opened up enough to her substitute teacher and spoke of her desire to be back at church. And I am grateful for my friend who called me last night to tell me about all of this. I would have never known. It renewed my desire to love and reach out to the children that I serve.
I am once again shown that there are just some things that are completely out of our hands and are meant to be, even things as little as making an error on a paper. I feel humbled and blessed and I am praying even more diligently for this family that, without knowing, were aides in reaffirming my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father.
I edited, I proofread, checked, and double checked. I felt the program was about as good as it was going to be.
Now to yesterday, there was a family that came to church that I hadn't seen before. I asked them right before primary, when I noticed they had primary age children, if they were new or visiting. The dad looked a little embarrassed and said they weren't new or visiting. So I asked their name, we'll call them Jane and Sara, and sure enough I recognized them from my role as an inactive family. I told them how great it was to meet them and directed the kids to their classes and sharing time.
While the children were in their lessons, I was cutting each part into little strips for the kids to take home. That is when I noticed I had written 2 parts for one of the girls in primary. We'll call her Sally. I felt a little dumb because I knew I had read and reread trying to prevent just that. So I was trying to decide which part was better for Sally when I got a pretty strong impression that one of these was suited for Jane and that I needed to send it home with her today, not just promise her a part next week. So I scribble out Sally's name and put Jane's instead. I also gave one to her little sister to take home.
And that was that. Church was over.
Last night I get a call from my friend who was substituting for Jane's class yesterday. She told me that after I had given her that speaking part, Jane leaned over and said "I hope this will be a good excuse for my parents to keep bringing me back to church!"
As I was talking to Corky about this last night, I just was so grateful. I was grateful for my error that happened nearly 2 weeks ago. An error that I thought I had done everything to prevent. I was grateful that this family decided to come to church when they had. I was grateful that I followed my first impression to give her the speaking part. I was grateful that this girl opened up enough to her substitute teacher and spoke of her desire to be back at church. And I am grateful for my friend who called me last night to tell me about all of this. I would have never known. It renewed my desire to love and reach out to the children that I serve.
I am once again shown that there are just some things that are completely out of our hands and are meant to be, even things as little as making an error on a paper. I feel humbled and blessed and I am praying even more diligently for this family that, without knowing, were aides in reaffirming my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Family Pictures and plug
Almost 2 weeks ago, my little family travelled up to St. George for a really quick weekend. As you know, Christmas is coming up and we were in desperate need of a family picture for our holiday cards, and of course our home. We haven't had an actual photo session in over a year and a half, just snapshots here and there, and my girls have changed so much. I asked my older brother Jared to take some photos for us. I am so excited for them. They turned out great, even under the circumstances. Let me tell you about those circumstances...
First of all, Emily was a nightmare. She refused to look at the camera and whined and cried the entire time. Any picture of her that doesn't have the stink-eye, is because we were bribing. You can kind of tell in the pictures that she isn't too happy and that was frustrating at the time. Now though, it is funny. That is our Emily. As much as I wanted that perfect kodak moment, it just wasn't happening and now I can see the beauty of it all and her personality perfectly.
Second, the wind. If you know me, you know I hate the wind. Enough said.
And last, because of Emily's mood, the whole photo session was done in 15 minutes. I was positive that my brother didn't get a single shot and all the efforts were a bust.
Lo and behold, that was not the case!
My brother, at Jared Madsen Photography has mainly been doing weddings the last couple of years, but is now anxious to begin adding family sessions to his schedule!! I wanted to tell about his awesome new promotion. For the month of November, he is offering 2 families, portrait sessions for the price of one. If you know another family that wants some pictures done for the upcoming holidays, Jared will schedule you both for the price of one! It's a perfect deal for saving money AND getting some new great photos.
Now that my commercial is over (what can I say? I like my brother and I wanted to plug him!) I will just say how happy I am with these pictures. I can't wait to see the rest of them.
I actually love that you can see how stubborn Emily is. No doubt we will be able to look back and think "Yep, that's Emily!" And we will be able to look at these photos and say, "Yep, that's our Gracey hamming it up!"
Hopefully though as we look back, I won't regret the heels and skinny jeans.
First of all, Emily was a nightmare. She refused to look at the camera and whined and cried the entire time. Any picture of her that doesn't have the stink-eye, is because we were bribing. You can kind of tell in the pictures that she isn't too happy and that was frustrating at the time. Now though, it is funny. That is our Emily. As much as I wanted that perfect kodak moment, it just wasn't happening and now I can see the beauty of it all and her personality perfectly.
Second, the wind. If you know me, you know I hate the wind. Enough said.
And last, because of Emily's mood, the whole photo session was done in 15 minutes. I was positive that my brother didn't get a single shot and all the efforts were a bust.
Lo and behold, that was not the case!
My brother, at Jared Madsen Photography has mainly been doing weddings the last couple of years, but is now anxious to begin adding family sessions to his schedule!! I wanted to tell about his awesome new promotion. For the month of November, he is offering 2 families, portrait sessions for the price of one. If you know another family that wants some pictures done for the upcoming holidays, Jared will schedule you both for the price of one! It's a perfect deal for saving money AND getting some new great photos.
Now that my commercial is over (what can I say? I like my brother and I wanted to plug him!) I will just say how happy I am with these pictures. I can't wait to see the rest of them.
I actually love that you can see how stubborn Emily is. No doubt we will be able to look back and think "Yep, that's Emily!" And we will be able to look at these photos and say, "Yep, that's our Gracey hamming it up!"
Hopefully though as we look back, I won't regret the heels and skinny jeans.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I bet you wish I was your visiting teacher!!
Last Monday we went to our friends house, once again, to make a mess of their kitchen and indulge in some serious sweetness! We talked the missionaries into joining us for Family Home Evening since a) it was the night before transfers and b) the taller missionary of the two had NEVER HAD A CARAMEL APPLE before! Corky asked if he was communist. He said "No, I am just from Georgia!"
It was a fun night for all and Natalie and I were able to get treats done for the ladies we each visit teach. Not without including plenty for ourselves of course.
My teeth hurt just looking at those pictures! They were so good!
It was a fun night for all and Natalie and I were able to get treats done for the ladies we each visit teach. Not without including plenty for ourselves of course.
My teeth hurt just looking at those pictures! They were so good!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Hi-Ho CherryO!
We have had the game "Hi-Ho Cherryo" for almost two years. Would you believe me if I told you that not a single (tiny) cherry is missing out of the 40 that came with it? Well, believe it.
The trick?
1) A ziplock bag. 2) An O.C.D. mother that keeps the game high, monitors the game at all times, and counts after all the playing is finished.
And just in case you are curious, this is a great game for learning to count, associating objects with counting, and developing fine motor skills! But parents beware, landing on that pesky and dog that will eat your cherries will often times make it a VERY LONG GAME!! Just ask Corky.
The trick?
1) A ziplock bag. 2) An O.C.D. mother that keeps the game high, monitors the game at all times, and counts after all the playing is finished.
And just in case you are curious, this is a great game for learning to count, associating objects with counting, and developing fine motor skills! But parents beware, landing on that pesky and dog that will eat your cherries will often times make it a VERY LONG GAME!! Just ask Corky.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Bike rides.
I know that someday I will think how adorable it was when my 2, almost 3 year old could barely ride her tricycle. I am sure I will wish that I would have had more patience and not muttered so much under my breath. But let me tell you, our little walk/ride around the block today...it was death!
But I love her.
But I love her.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
You laugh now...
You laugh now, but you will thank me later!!!
I got some lean ground beef on a really great sale so I decided I was going to pressure can most of it. (That way I wouldn't have to use up a lot of freezer space.) With that ground beef, I needed to chop up about 6-7 cups of onions. I love to chop veggies, in a weird way I find it calming and usually I am okay with onions. Today though, I had to chop so much that I couldn't escape getting teary eyed. So teary eyed that I was seeing black...and physically couldn't open my eyes at one point. I tried freezing the onions because I heard that helps, but I was too impatient.
Corky got home for lunch during all of this and suggested that I use my swimming goggles!!! What can I say? I married a genius!
It was funny and we were joking about it, but the reality is that it completely did the trick!! Who knew that swim goggles were so multi-purpose? Keep that in mind next time your eyes are burning of onion!!
I got some lean ground beef on a really great sale so I decided I was going to pressure can most of it. (That way I wouldn't have to use up a lot of freezer space.) With that ground beef, I needed to chop up about 6-7 cups of onions. I love to chop veggies, in a weird way I find it calming and usually I am okay with onions. Today though, I had to chop so much that I couldn't escape getting teary eyed. So teary eyed that I was seeing black...and physically couldn't open my eyes at one point. I tried freezing the onions because I heard that helps, but I was too impatient.
Corky got home for lunch during all of this and suggested that I use my swimming goggles!!! What can I say? I married a genius!
It was funny and we were joking about it, but the reality is that it completely did the trick!! Who knew that swim goggles were so multi-purpose? Keep that in mind next time your eyes are burning of onion!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Halloween Kick-Off!!
It's official, the Halloween season is here. What better way to ring in the spooky holiday than to decorate Halloween cookies!! We went to our
friends house while the the husbands were at the priesthood session. The kids decorated cookies and didn't hold back!!
What do you do after you have indulged in way too much frosting, candy, and cookies? You try to balance all of that out and get pizza of course!
friends house while the the husbands were at the priesthood session. The kids decorated cookies and didn't hold back!!
What do you do after you have indulged in way too much frosting, candy, and cookies? You try to balance all of that out and get pizza of course!
Who needs a cat....
when your sister has the claws!
In a matter of 3 hours this weekend, Emily managed to bite Gracey's forearm, forehead (who bites a forehead?) and draw blood with a scratch on the cheek.
Seriously Emily, stop being mean!!
Friday, October 2, 2009
We are sad.
Our precious cat, Penny, has been gone now for 6 days! I am much more emotional than I ever anticipated being. I guess the better way to say that is I just wasn't anticipating us losing her so soon. She is only a year and half.
I let her out at about 4:00am last Saturday morning to go the bathroom. She likes to roam the backyard and neighborhood at night but is usually at the back door waiting to be let in at about 6:15 when we are eating breakfast. Saturday, we had to leave for Vegas at 7:30 and she wasn't there. I had a strange feeling, but I am also kind of a worry wart so didn't think anything more. I set her food out on the porch for when she came back. We came home that night, expecting her to be waiting for us, but she wasn't.
The first few days were the longest days for me. Any sound, any movement or shadow, I was sure would be her. I still find myself looking and hoping to see her at the back door.
We have put up fliers, made phone calls, sent emails, and Corky has gone to the animal shelter twice. We have accepted that she is probably gone for good but are so sad about it. Our neighborhood borders some acres of empty land and so my guess is that she roamed too far and may have been snatched by a coyote or something. I always knew it was a possibility but probably got too comfortable after living here for 19 months and NEVER seeing a coyote. Corky says there is a chance she just wandered too far away and couldn't find her way back and is now a stray. Or she might have been picked up by some crazy cat lady.
Luckily it has been far more traumatic and emotional for me than for my girls. They definitely miss her and mention it often, but I haven't seen any breakdowns. Not like the ones I have. The only time I have seen them cry about it is because I started crying first. As long as I can keep my brave face on in front of them, they do well. It's kind of silly really, it is a cat. Pets come and go and that is part of life, but I haven't felt so attached to an animal since my dog of 14 years passed away while I was in high school.
Want to know what I am regretting? Other than letting her out and trimming her claws the day before, is that I didn't write more about how funny of a cat she was. I took so many pictures of her but never posted them because I didn't want to seem obsessed...but I was. She was awesome!!
I have got to end this post! It makes my heart hurt.
Don't think I am weird if in the next few days I post pictures of Penny and my girls that I should have written weeks ago!
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