Just a Few of the Reasons

I just have to say that I love my family so much! So many wonderful things happened today.

Alyssa and Ethan helped clean the toy room and their bedroom, and they played outside together so I could work on the laundry and cleaning the rest of the house. Brian came home from class early and I was feeling pretty sick, so he watched Alyssa while Ethan and I took a nap. (I know, a nap two days in a row!)


Brian went grocery shopping for me (yea!) and was very adamant that I be the one to unpack the grocery sacks. I found a Motherhood Maternity gift card on top of the eggs! While I was happily putting the groceries away (and dancing around the kitchen, rejoicing over the gift card), Brian took the kids out on the deck to throw those popper/snapper/firework things on the ground. Every time one popped, Ethan would giggle uncontrollably. It was adorable.










I asked Brian if he could make up a batch of Ranch dressing for dinner. Pretty soon Alyssa and Ethan decided to help him, and I turned around to see the whole family making dinner together. That was so fun!






And last, but not least, Alyssa and Ethan both helped me clean out the dishwasher. (Yes, I realize Ethan is not wearing any pants. He sat in the swimming pool today.) Ethan normally helps me clean out the dishwasher by standing on the door and handing me the cups. I thought he just enjoyed handing me things, but it turns out that he really knows that he's helping. He grabbed some silverware, headed to the drawer (which is over his head), pulled it open, and threw them in. What a helper!

Needless to say, it's been a wonderful day. I'd say that I want another one just like it tomorrow, but we don't have the money to be giving Carrie gift cards every day. I'll gladly take some help with dinner and Ethan's giggles as often as they're given to me, though.

A Most Welcome Surprise

I usually go grocery shopping on Mondays, but this weekend I made an emergency run to Safeway for milk and butter on Saturday night, and the chicken salad sandwiches that were planned for Sundays dinner were replaced with Brian taking a nap and the kids and I snacking on banana bread. So I got up this morning and decided that with dinner taken care of, we didn't need to go grocery shopping until tomorrow. But then I discovered that Brian didn't have class until one o'clock, and I ended up making the chicken salad sandwiches for lunch.

When Brian came home from his one o'clock class (shortly after two o'clock, talk about your easy day) we sat in the living room to discuss what to make for dinner. I mentally went through our cupboards and the freezer, but I couldn't come up with anything but spaghetti, which is a risky thing to make in our family. Alyssa only likes spaghetti half of the time.

To our surprise there was a knock on the door, and Debbi Burtlow stood on our porch with an uncooked casserole. She handed it to Brian, and I stood there with my mouth hanging open. None of us are sick. We're not in the hospital. Could she be delivering dinner to the wrong house? She explained that someone brought her dinner a while back and told her to pass along the pan by bringing dinner to someone else. Hallelujah! Dinner was on!

I decided that since all I had to do for dinner was to pop it in the oven, and since Brian was home to watch the kids, that I would take an afternoon nap. The nap was wonderful, and dinner was so yummy! Now we just have to figure out who to take dinner to once the pan is clean.

* * *

This next picture is just me bragging about the beautiful pie that Ethan and I made for Family Home Evening. I was going to make a pie using a jell-o salad recipe with cool whip and vanilla yogurt and raspberry jell-o, but halfway through mixing it together Ethan and I (oh, and my mom too, I was on the phone with her) decided to add chocolate pudding instead of jell-o. I was afraid that the raspberries on top would be too tart for the pudding, but it turned out delicious. I wish I would have added more raspberries!

I Am Turning Into a Blogger Nerd

I admit it. I am turning into a blogger nerd. I am so glad that Brooke showed me her wonderful blog last October, which inspired me to create my own. I love blogging!

I love looking at every one's blogs. I love keeping in touch with my friends and family, whether they're in Forest Grove or all the way across the country. Some days when I'm bored or lonely or just don't want to start the housework, I start looking at all my friends' blogs, and then I click on the links to their friends' blogs, until I'm reading about the lives of people I've never even heard of. Last night I didn't want to go to bed, so I clicked and scrolled my way down to the beginning of Tiffany Harker's blog and read the story of her blogging life. The only reasons I know of her is that she's Brooke's sister-in-law, and I've seen her in passing a couple of times at church while visiting Pasco. But even though I don't really know this lady, I really enjoyed reading what she had to say about her life and her family.

I love documenting special events from our lives, or even just writing about things that happen every day. I used to get email updates from one of my friends, and every time I read an email from her I would think about how boring my life is compared to hers. I thought that I never did anything fun and that nothing exciting ever happened to me. I was complaining to Brian about this when he said, "Carrie, we just had a party three days ago! That's not exciting enough for you?" After starting my blog I realized that everything is more exciting in print. When I blog about cleaning my house or spending time with my kids, those activities become a little more exciting for me.

I love posting pictures. For a long time I was hesitant to put pictures on my blog, because I thought it would take away the literary value of it, but I've found that pictures make blogging much more fun. I've even caught myself thinking, "Oh, I should take a picture of Alyssa getting her mouth washed out with soap so I can put it on my blog." I love showing the world how cute my kids are and how cute they look when they do the crazy tings they do.

I love publishing my posts. There's something about the word "publish" that makes a blog so official, and it makes me feel like an author. It's fun to think that my pictures, my thoughts, and my life are on the Internet for anyone to see (provided that they're not weirdos). I think Brian is probably tired of me constantly begging him to check out my newest post or asking him what he thinks of my new color scheme. I love scrolling through my published posts and I usually find myself thinking, "Hey, I wrote that" or "Isn't that picture so sweet?" I check my blog quite a few times each day, not only to see who's commented, but just to look at my published piece of work and marvel at the great hobby that blogging is.

"I'm Going to Look so Beautiful on the Blog!"

Today we played "Salon." We put a garbage sack around Alyssa (I couldn't find our smock) and chopped off about four inches of her hair. I had her call me Delilah and I talked to her as if she was a customer in the salon. I asked if that was her dad waiting in the other room and she told me a bit about him. It distracted her enough to keep her in the chair, but she still didn't hold still nearly as much as when we took her in to a real salon.


She loves her new haircut! She says she looks just like Abby from her Primary class, and she thinks that Abby is so pretty. She spent about five minutes primping in front of the mirror before she went to show Brian.

A Bouncing Baby

Yesterday we went in for our ultrasound. Everything looks great, and we're having a boy! Alyssa's been hoping for a girl, so she's a little disappointed, but she says she'll love a brother anyway. Ethan just had a great time sitting on Brian's shoulders and throwing himself backward.

We're excited to have another little boy! They can sing together for Ethan's missionary farewell, and then they probably won't see each other for four years until the younger one comes home from his mission, and then they'll sing for the homecoming. They can wrestle together and share a room and play sports together. It'll be so much fun!

Crunch! Crunch!

This picture is documented proof that Alyssa's hair is never done and that Ethan lives in either a Onesie or his pajamas until we go out in public. But it is also very cute proof that today we made snowcones!

Every time I'm pregnant Brian gets me a new ice crushing device. It's great because now I have an ice cream maker and an ice crusher and I used to have a super cool smoothie maker that broke after just a couple of times using it.

Well, Alyssa heard about snow cones from her babysitter and she's been asking for them ever since. Today we finally bit the bullet (or shall I say, crunched the ice?) and made them.

They were great! Here's the recipe I used for the syrup:

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 package of Kool Aid

The instructions said to bring the sugar and water to a boil, and then add the Kool Aid, but I added the Kool Aid right away before I could read that far. For a Red Robin size cup we used about 1/4 cup of syrup.

Anyway, here's to summer fun and many more days of snow cones!

Happy Father's Day!

There’s a man in our house with brown hair and blue eyes.
He’s tall and good lookin’ and just the right size
For hugging and playing and all the fun stuff,
Like rough-housing a bit, until he’s had enough.

He likes to cook, but it doesn’t happen much.
His favorites are meats, like prime rib and such.
He also makes caramels around Christmas-time
His omelets are great and his crepes, so divine.

He’s a man with a passion for computer-type games
Whether online or offline, it’s all just the same.
He plays Kingdom of Loathing ‘cause he likes the puns
He “escapes” from rooms faster than almost anyone.

He loves to fish. Whenever we go home
He’s out on the boat, but he’s not alone.
With other men he grunts and he shouts
And brings us home fish that we refuse to clean out.

He’s as smart as a whistle and works hard all day
Learning ‘bout eyes, and if you ask him he’ll say
That he loves optometry and optometry school,
But when graduation comes, he thinks that’ll be cool.

This man in our house is a wonderful man.
He spends time with us and we’re happy he can.
He loves his family, which makes us all glad
And makes us very proud to call him our dad.

Happy Fathers Day Brian!

Pregnant Buns of Steel

Today I got out my copy of Buns of Steel Pregnancy Workout and exercised for the first time since week 5! I bought it when I was pregnant with Ethan, did it for a week and loved it, then Alyssa pushed it across the fireplace and made some serious scratches in it.

Well, I'm not happy with the weight that I've gained so far with this pregnancy, and I'm especially not happy with the blob-like feeling I get when I don't exercise, so I popped the kids in the car this morning and headed to Fred Meyer to pick up a Skip Dr to fix the dvd. It worked! Alyssa exercised with me, and Ethan just kept looking at us and laughing. I'm tired, but I feel great!

Crazy Fun Weekend

On Friday we had planned to get together with our friends, the Gennings, to have dinner, play games, watch our kids play, etc. On Thursday Jenny Gennings called to confirm that we were still getting together and she reminded me that this was the weekend that Brian's old roommate, Jeremy, was coming to visit. When Brian came home from school, I informed him that Jeremy was coming to stay with us, and he informed me that his other old roommate, Paul, was in town with his girlfriend and wanted to get together. So a dinner party set for Friday evening started out with seven people and after a few brief conversations, jumped to ten people. Brian thought that if we were all getting together we might as well call Drew, another old roommate who lives in Salem. When he talked to Drew, Drew said, "Great, my cousin Dave is in town with his family. He was Jeremy's roommate too, and would love to see him." Then Paul's sister called from Seattle, said she heard we were all getting together and was wondering if she could come too and bring a birthday cake for Paul. So all in all we prepared or 16 people to come to dinner on Friday evening.


Drew's family didn't show up, but we still had a full house, and we had a great time. Brian bought 20 large baking potatoes, that everyone cut in half, so we had about 14 left for hashbrowns the next morning. (We sent some home with the Gennings, too.) And we still have baked potatoes in our fridge. It was fun to see everyone and to meet spouses, children, etc.

On Saturday morning Alyssa had a Primary activity. They went to a retirement home and sang songs to the grandmas and grandpas. Alyssa was so excited for this activity for the whole two weeks prior to it. She was so cute singing all of the Primary songs. I was going to put a clip in her hair, but Jeremy was in the shower when we were leaving, so I didn't get to it.


Then we headed to Jenny Genning's vocal recital, then made a quick stop at McDonalds for lunch. Alysssa and I got our food to go, because we had to head into Portland to see the ballet Sleeping Beauty, Act III. This particular ballet was about Aurora's and Prince Florimund's wedding. It was a little boring. The scenery was beautiful, the dancing was beautiful, the costumes were beautful, but there was no plot whatsoever. The only plot line I could see was, "The king and queen come in and sit down, the court comes in, Aurora and Prince Florimund come in, various people dance for the king and queen, Aurora and Prince Florimund dance, ballet is over." But before Sleeping Beauty we watched the ballet Firedbird which was fun and exciting. It was about Prince Ivan making friends with the firebird, then falling in love with a princess and defeating the evil guy with the big bushy grey hair to save all the princesses. Alyssa and I both liked that one.

After the ballet we walked across the street to the bubble waterfall. Alyssa loved that! We played there for a little while, then headed to a hotel by the airport to go see Jeremy's nieces and nephews perform in an irish dance competetion, which is why Jeremy was in town. We showed up just as it was ending, then we went to IHOP for dinner and the Gennings' soccer game, which we missed. So we went to the Gennings house instead and played Nintendo games until way late.

Sunday was church, and on the way home we stopped at Brian's school to show Jeremy around, and Brian doing an almost-thorough eye exam on him. Then we went home for lunch, and Jeremy took off to go pick up his sister, her husband, and their six children to come stay the night at our house.

Just after he left, I was about to start cleaning our house from Friday night's party to be ready for Jeremy's family to come over, when I went in Ethan's bedroom and found this:


Yes, a naked boy with poop all over his crib. I cleaned everything up, stuck Ethan in the tub, washed my hands real good, then heard Alyssa call from the bathroom, "Mom, can you come wipe the poop off my bum? I didn't get it all." When I was done taking care of Alyssa, I told Brian that if any more poop happened, I was going to leave. Wouldn't you know that one of Jeremy's nephews went to the bathroom and put poopy toilet paper in the garbage can and left a chunk of poop on the floor. Guess who cleaned it up.

But overall, it was fun having Jeremy's family over. The kids had a blast running around the yard together, and Alyssa had so much fun having her first sleepover. We put the two girls in her bedroom, and she even slept on the floor with them!

Everyone left early this morning, and we are all exhausted. As soon as Ethan's down for his afternoon nap, I'm going down too.

Thou Hypocrite

Brian was going through my blog last night, and he was astounded by some of the things he found. "Do you mean that four people commented on me wearing the same socks twice?" I told him that he didn't have to worry because two of the comments were Tallia's and one of them was mine. Then he looked over at me. "Didn't you wear that shirt yesterday?" I looked down, thought for a moment, and nodded. Apparently I'm not the only one saving on laundry at our house.

Gock = Truck

I believe we have Ethan's first official word! When he was about seven or eight months old, he said "Atha" for Alyssa for about a week, but then he stopped. He says "Mamamama," and "Dadadada" all the time, but it doesn't always correspond to Brian or me. He babbles sometimes, but most of the time he points and grunts. While we're not concerned about his growth and develpoment, this is very frustrating to parents who have a little girl who was saying, "book" at nine months and correctly pointing out and saying "octogon" at about fourteen months.

Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when he pointed out the window this morning and said "Gock!" when the garbage truck went by. I wondered if it was real, because I couldn't get him to say it again, but then later this morning he pointed out the window and said, "Gock" again. It looks like the boy might finally start talking!

They Worked Just Fine Yesterday

This is Brian's first summer at optometry school that he's had classes during the summer. He's working hard and learning a lot, but there aren't as many classes, and they aren't as intense as during the school year. Some days he doesn't start until 9:00, and most days he's out by three. (On Thursdays and Fridays he's out by twelve!)

We've gotten used to waking up in the morning and just laying in bed until the kids wake up, then when Ethan gets loud enough (he sings in the morning) we pull him into our bed and he crawls all over us and gives us hugs. And Alyssa will walk into our room and say "Good morning!" in a cheerful voice. When I get up to get the kids breakfast, Brian will pull out his laptop to check his email and finish up any last minute homework. The whole point to telling you this, is that we've gotten "Summer Lazy" and our mornings are slow and unhurried, and it is so nice.

This morning I needed to start the dishwasher, because I forgot to last night. I asked Brian if he would be showering, so I could know when to start it. "Yes," he answered, "Of course I'll be showering." Classes started at eight o'clock this morning, so Brian ran out of time to shower. He ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth, then headed toward the bedroom where I watched him pull on the same socks he was wearing yesterday. I commented that he was helping save on how much laundry I needed to do by wearing his socks twice. "Well," he said, "They worked just fine yesterday, they'll do just as good today."

I hope he gets out early today. Our afternoons have become just as lazy as our mornings, and we desperately need to go grocery shopping and run some other errands. I love having Brian around so much, and I love that he's not constantly studying or practicing for proficiencies. I love summertime!

It's Raining Outside and I Can't Go Out and Play

We woke up this morning after a very warm weekend to a beautiful wet world. It's one of those rainy days that make you happy to stay in the house, instead of depressed that you can't go outside. And it smells so good!

Even before reading Christina's post I wanted to spend less time worrying about the laundry today (even though it does need to be done, and it will be done, I just won't stress about it) and spend more time playing with the kids. The rain outside makes it so much easier to do this, because then instead of running around the back yard like hooligans, Alyssa and Ethan will be contained in the house and we can play hide-and-seek and Candyland and all sorts of other things.

Our Computer Came!

Our computer was delivered yesterday afternoon, and Brian set it up when he got home from school. I've been on it all morning long, putting pictures on and finishing our Disneyland Journal Blog. I'm so excited to be connected to the outside world again!

Here's the site for our Disneyland Blog. Enjoy!

Having a Great Time in Hawaii

Yesterday afternoon Alyssa found some confetti in the cupboard, and she scattered it all around the deck. Some of it was stars and moons, but most of it was palm trees and star fish. She ran into the living room, telling me that I just had to "come to Hawaii." I went out on the deck to find confetti everywhere, and two kids having a great time. We hula-ed and "Woo-hoo!"-ed a bit, and that concluded my first trip to Hawaii. Alyssa stayed there on an extended vacation yesterday afternoon, and she's back there now, enjoying her breakfast in the sunshine.

Here's Ethan enjoying the waves. He likes to jump in the water with all his clothes on, but then he avoids the pool when he's in his swimsuit.

Alyssa lounging on the "Hawaii Mat" while Ethan hands her a palm tree

Ethan on the jet ski

Tagged by Brooke and Christina, So Here I Go

Move 'em all up, take off the first, add yours to the bottom.

1) Melissa
2) 4 B's In A Pod
3) Life According to the PRP
4) Brooklet
5) Carrie's Burden

Then tag five new.
I'm officially tagging:
1. Shaille
2. Kim
3. Erin
4. Nathan
5. Mike

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was finishing up my sophomore year of high school. I was newly-turned 16, and I had gone on my first date (TWIRP with the Draney boy, sorry I can't think of his name right now). Being sixteen, I was about to start my first year of being a counselor at Partners-N-Pals, which is the summer camp that Brian and I met at a few years later.

What were you doing one year ago?
One year ago Brian had just gotten out of school for the summer, and we spent most of that time partying in the Tri-Cities.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:
1. Peanut Butter M&M's
2. Ruffle potato chips (it's gotta be ruffles or they just don't dip right) and jalapeno artichoke heart dip
3. No-bake peanut butter and chocolate cookies
4. Ice Cream
5. Popcorn or Kettlecorn (Ron's Original, of course)

Five Songs You Know All The Words To:
1. I Am A Child of God
2. Most of the Songs from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack (Brian and I had a good time with that on the drive home last weekend)
3. Song 9 on the Exit cd
4. Pear Juice (It's a song that Brian and Alyssa made up together, and they sing it ALL the time)
5. Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5

Five Things You Would Do If You Were A Millionaire:
1. Pay off all our school loans
2. Buy a beautiful house out in the country with a ballroom
3. Travel all over the world
4. Hire a maid and someone to do our laundry, because I just can't keep up with it
5. Visit Disneyland at least once a year

Five Bad Habits:
1. Talking with my mouth full
2. Forgetting to say please to Alyssa or Brian
3. Planning for the future and forgetting to be happy with the present
4. Leaving the dishes for the morning (but I'm working on that one)
5. I like to be on time (good habit) but I get stressed out when we go places, because I'm rushing around beforehand to leave on time

Five Things You Like Doing:
1. Reading
2. Watching movies
3. Sewing
4. Painting (not artsy painting, I like painting the rooms in our house)
5. Cooking, especially desserts or new main dishes

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:
1. Stirrup pants
2. short shorts
3. Those clips from the early nineties that you used to bunch your shirt up on the side
4. And those scrunchy-type clips that you used on the back of your dress to show how skinny you were... or weren't
5. The peach dress

Five Favorite Toys:
1. Computer and Internet (Technically Brian's laptop right now, since our new computer hasn't come yet)
2. Digital camera
3. Sewing machine
4. Kitchen Aid
5. DVD player

Hundreds and Hundreds of 'Shrooms

This weekend we went to the Jacks' cabin to hunt for mushrooms. "Hunt for mushrooms?" you ask, "Don't you just pick them up from the store?" Nope, we search the forest for mushrooms, and then we eat them, and they're quite good. The first time I went mushrooming, I was worried that it would be boring. You walk around the forest, looking at the ground...and that's just about it. But when you find that first mushroom, and then another and another, you get so excited.

It's not just any mushroom we hunt for. The mushrooms we get don't look like your typical mushroom with the skinny stem and umbrella-like top with red and white polka dots. We look for morel mushrooms, which look like this:


Then we soak them in salt water to kill any bugs on them (which there weren't any this year), dip them in egg and flour, and fry them up. It's so yummy!

This year we were finding mushroom after mushroom and when we usually find 50-75 in one trip, this year we found well over 300. When someone would say, "I've got one!" you would then hear "two...three...four..." all the way up to nine or ten. Alyssa even found her share of mushrooms. She followed Grandpa Jacks around, and her job was to pick up the mushroom after he cut the stem, but sometimes she would point out another mushroom that he had missed.

Brian Makes the Best Ribs

Yesterday we invited some friends over for a barbecue. We had 80+ degree weather all week long, then Saturday it dropped to 65. We still ate on the deck, though, and it didn't really feel cold unless a breeze went by, which didn't happen too often.

Brian and I made his famous ribs. He's very good at finding ribs with lots of meat on them, and then he's really good at cooking them. I wasn't a meat person until I married him. In fact, the first time we wen t to Rodigio's when we were dating, I felt so sick afterward. Then when I was pregnant and needed iron, I think I out-ate Brian one time.

Another bummer with the barbecue is that we invited a family with children especially so Alyssa would have people to play with, and she came down with what Ethan had earlier this week. We thought that his fever was from teething, because he didn't throw up, but when Alyssa woke up feeling unwell, we knew it had to be something else. It was really weird how it happened, though. She woke up not feeling well and ate breakfast laying down on the living room floor, then she seemed to feel better. When she complained of a headache, I gave her some children's ibuprofen and she fell asleep for a while. She woke up saying she felt great, and she played with Ethan, and then played with the kids when they came over. She got really cold all of a sudden and started huddling in front of the heater (which she turned on) in the toy room. We sent her to bed, and she fell asleep. She didn't get a fever until later that night.

She seems to be feeling better today, and she's not as warm as she was last night. We're debating which of us will be going to general conference today to learn who the new stake presidency will be. We've got a whole pan of ribs leftover from last night, and I'm so excited for dinner. We know Alyssa must be feeling better, because she actually woke up this morning asking for ribs for breakfast.

I'm Blogging Again!

After writing the last post, I took a look at all my favorite blogs, and it felt so good! I started singing the "I'm Blogging Again" song, and Alyssa joined in, writing the chorus. She sang, "Blog, blog, blogging, blog," over and over again.

So I'm going to try to steal Brian's laptop more often, so I can stay connected better. I don't know how he'll stake to that, though; he uses it so much to study, play, and talk to his classmates. Even now, he's laying on the couch, looking so lonely. It's like I cut off a body part.

I asked Brian if it's possible to put our Disneyland pics on the laptop, even if it's temporary, so I can at least get them on my blog. By the way, we had a FABULOUS and magical time in Disneyland and I can't wait to blog about it!

Sweet Surprise

Wow! My last post was on April 3rd, and it's already May 17th! Our computer is broken, so right now I'm typing on Brian's laptop, which he doesn't hand over very often. So I don't know when my next post will be. We're working on fixing the family computer, though, so hopefully I'll get my daily access to the outside world soon.

Brian told me this morning that even though he was getting out of school at twelve, he would probably stay on campus to study. I was a little bummed about that, especially since everyone we call to invite over doesn't answer their phones. We're lonely! But he called soon after twelve and said he was not feeling motivated, and he was stopping on the way home for ice cream. Apparently, ice cream was too expensive, but "there were a lot of other things on sale!" Brian and Alyssa kept me out of the kitchen while they baked a surprise chocolate cake, complete with chocolate frosting and Hershey Kisses on top. Alyssa loves when Brian involves her in his surprises, and I love eating them.

I Just Love Being A Mom

Today has been a good day. I'm not trying to give too much information, but I threw up twice this morning before eating anything, and I've felt so much better today than I have on other days! I think there's a direct correlation to how much "gunk" collects in my stomach over night to how well I feel the next day. I think it helped to get it all out.

That being said, I'm going to tell you all how proud I am that I straightened up the living room, filled and ran the dishwasher, and helped Alyssa make a cake! I know none of those are huge accomplishments, and that put together it's still not a ton of work, but it took effort and I'm glad to say that I got things done.

The kids colds and coughs are getting better, but Ethan has still sat on my lap most of the day. It was so sweet when we went to the beach a few days ago and Ethan wasn't happy with anyone holding him but me. It felt so good to be "Mom." (I have to admit, though, that when Brian snuggled Ethan in his jacket later on, he was equally happy. So it's good to be "Dad" too.) And it's been so much fun just to sit and cuddle with him all day long, watching movies.

So with my few accomplishments, and the love of my children, I have found myself very happy being a mother today. And with the morning sickness not being as bad as it was with Ethan, I don't mind so much that I'm pregnant, and I find myself looking forward to the birth if this next child, instead of dreading my condition. I'm so excited to get another baby! I know it's not the timing that I had originally planned, but I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father has seen it fit to give us another child right now. I just love being a mom!

Looking for Bigfoot

Spring break was a blast! We stayed home the first part of the week. I felt sick, slept, and Brian was a huge help in taking care of the kids. We spent Wednesday and Thursday morning cleaning up the house from our "vacation" days, and then we went on our official vacation!

We spent Thursday through Sunday in a vacation house on the beach in Newport, Oregon with Brian's parents. We've done something with them for the last few Spring Breaks, but this year it was also my birthday present, and it was so fun!

We walked on the beach and collected shells, went to Georgie's at the Hallmark Resort for dinner a couple of time (fabulous view of the ocean, wonderful sourdough bread with whipped butter, really yummy Alfredo pasta, and the absolute BEST creme brulet (sp?) in the ENTIRE world), walked through a few lighthouses, went to the Aquarium, flew kites on the beach, and completely missed conference.

We made sure the house had access to cable or satellite before we went, because we planned on watching conference, but we didn't find the paper on how to work the television channels until just before we left. So we'll be very interested in the Conference Issue of the Ensign when it comes out.

We had such a great time, and I think we're all exhausted from having so much fun. The kids are sick with colds and Ethan was cranky most of the way home, but he refused to go to sleep. Overall it wasn't a bad drive though. Whenever I drive through the forests of Western Washington or Northern Oregon I always look through the trees to see if I can find Bigfoot tromping through the brush. I haven't seen him yet, and most likely I never will, but it's sure fun to look.

All Day Long

We drove along the lonely highway, checking in the rear view mirror, to make sure that Brian was still behind us on the motorcycle. Yep, everything's good. Suddenly, I saw a car parked on the side of the road, flames shooting from the engine. The owner of the vehicle was running circles around the car, obviously not knowing how to put the fire out. I pulled our car over, and got out. I silently thanked my stomach for not being queasy and my brain for not being drowsy. I got a sheet from the car and started hitting the flames with it. A police man pulled up soon, and helped douse the flames. Once the fire was under control the man's father came out from behind it to thank us for helping. He found a gun somewhere and was "jokingly" telling us to hand over our money. I told him I didn't have any money, but felt in my pockets anyway. I found a 60 dollar bill in my left back pocket, and remembered that it was left over from when we stopped for lunch. I handed it to the man. Alyssa was with me, and I was worried about her, so when Brian pulled up on his motorcycle, I sent her outside to be with him. I don't know why the police man didn't arrest the jerk with the gun, I supposed it's only because he was joking about the whole thing. He got our money anyway.

There's two girls in the ballet class who know what they're doing. Their parents have money, and they're wearing special leotards and tu-tu's, and the teacher likes them better than everyone else. I can't remember what I wore to class, but the teacher keeps referring to it as "something dreadful." At least I'm not sick, or drowsy. I sewed myself a new tu-tu. The teacher thought it would turn out lousy, and I wanted to yell at her that I've made dozens of tu-tu's for my daughter that were just beautiful! While sticking the last bit of lace onto my yellow tu-tu, I overheard the teacher telling the two girls how ridiculous the rest of the class was compared to them. I marched over to her with my new beautiful ty-tu in hand and revealed who my father was, and he happened to have twice the money as the other girls' fathers, put together, and I would be going to another ballet class, and taking the rest of the students with me. Proud of myself, I marched from the classroom.

Those are just a couple of snippets from my life yesterday. We slept in, and Alyssa and I made breakfast in bed for Brian. It was her idea, something she came up with when I asked her if she wanted to do anything special for Spring break. After breakfast, I put on "Magic of the Rainbow" for the kids and crawled back into bed. Surprisingly, when Brian heard what was on, he said, "I haven't seen this Barbie movie yet. I'm going to go watch it." This is what happens when grown men have daughters. I love it. So he got up with the kids while I slept all morning.

I got up and made potatoes O'Brien for lunch. They were supposed to be for breakfast, but I had forgotten about them. (Would you like some potatoes O'Brien, oh Brian?) Once lunch was eaten, I went back to bed again, and Brian and the kids watched Hercules.

The whole time I was sleeping I would have these dreams where I was so thankful to be awake and feeling good and alert, then I would wake up to find out that I had been sleeping. I slept all day long. It felt so good. I didn't take my Unisom this morning, though. The house is a disaster, and I just can't go back to bed today.

It's the Little Things

I don't think I'm going to get super-sick this pregnancy! I'm about six and a half weeks pregnant, and the morning sickness is still controllable and work-around-able. I feel so blessed, because I felt okay setting up for New Beginnings on Wednesday, and then felt rotten sick while heading to the doctors, then felt fine again during New Beginnings. Everyone says it's adrenaline, but the event really wasn't stressful at all. I think Heavenly Father is making it easier for me to fulfill my calling this time around.

Like I said, I went to see Dr. Andrews on Wednesday, and he set me up with the regimen of medication and vitamins they had me on last time. (I'm writing this down for you, Kim, so you can try it out when you get pregnant someday. I don't want you to die.) I take one reglan 30 minutes before eating my meals, and one at bedtime. I take one unisom (25 mg) in the morning, and two at bedtime. I take one 100 mg tablet of vitamin B6 each night, but I could also take 50 mg in the morning and 50 at night. And then I take my prenatal vitamin in the morning. That's a lot of pill swallowing! I just officially started yesterday, and it seems like I'm taking something all the time, but so far it's working. I had a hard time eating dinner last night, but the point is: I was able to eat, and keep it down.

Dinner last night was so good. I wish I could have enjoyed it a little more fully. Brian made prime rib sandwiches with caramelized onions and creamy horseradish sauce on ciabatta bread. So yummy! We were supposed to have artichokes with the sandwiches, but we both forgot about them until the last minute. Brian doesn't cook or bake very often, but when he does, he enjoys it. He was singing while stirring the onions, and he was singing while he was making the strawberry lemonade, and he was singing while he brought everything to the table. Such great service!

I tried to eat at the table, but found that difficult, so I moved to the couch. Brian brought my plate over, and he had cut my sandwich in half, for easier eating. "Oh, you cut my sandwich in half," I said, starting to cry, "That's so sweet."

"I love it when you're hormonal," Brian said. "I score points for the smallest things."

To Break the Monotony

Shaille' challenged everyone to post about the things they do to break the monotony of a boring, routine day. When we're feeling a little down because nothing exciting is happening, we play restaurant. My brothers and sisters and I did it a lot growing up. We would make menus for everyone at the table, and some of us would be waiters or waitresses, and as we got older, one of us would be the cook.

We haven't gone as far as making menus yet, but Alyssa and I have set up a restaurant in our house more than a few times to spice up our days. We make sure the front rooms are clean before Brian gets home, light a fire in the fireplace, light some candles, and use our "fancy" dishes. Instead of drinking our water from our Tupperware pitcher, we pour it into our pretty glass pitcher.

I suppose one reason we haven't made menus is that we've always played restaurant with a normal, everybody share type of meal. Like chicken divan, or spaghetti. Menus work best with omelets or hamburgers. That way the waitress (it will be Alyssa) will take the order of what you want on you hamburger, then I (the cook) will make it up, just the way you want it. Speaking of hamburgers, the Jacks family makes hamburgers better than any restaurant can make. And, boy, are they yummy.

Temple Miracle

Last night Brian and I were finally able to go to the temple. We haven't been since before Ethan was born; it's been so long. I was also able to wear the temple dress I started making before I got pregnant with Ethan. It's a simplified version of a wedding dress I saw in a magazine and fell in love with. I felt so pretty!

I'm five weeks pregnant, and so far I've been able to keep the nausea under control. I've discovered that if I take a Women's One-A -Day tablet each morning, it keeps the nausea down through the day. I've only had a few moments that were really bad, and luckily those have been at night time, so I could just lay there until it was over.

Yesterday I was determined to thoroughly clean the house and do the laundry. I woke up and scrubbed the bathroom, and put the whites in the washer. By the time the toilet was scrubbed and the darks were being put in the dryer, I was exhausted and feeling quite sick. I slowed down a bit for the rest of the day and although I wasn't feeling too bad, I wasn't feeling as good as I have been.

So after dinner Brian and I took off to the temple, and the minute I sat down in the endowment room, I realized that I didn't feel at all sick. I felt like a normal person! The good feeling lasted throughout the whole session and didn't leave until we were walking out of the temple. We were going down the front steps and I said to Brian, "I'm starting to feel sick again."

"Well, " he said, "You should go back inside and ask if you can live here for the next nine months."

It was a wonderful evening. I'm so thankful we were able to go to the temple and I was able to feel good and enjoy the spirit there.

Personal Progress Divine Nature #1

Last night for mutual we (the Beehives) worked on Personal Progress. I thought we would get through two or more of the shorter goals, but we had so much fun talking (about the scriptures) that we only got through one. We read "The Family: Proclamation to the World" and a few scriptures and talked about the divine qualities that we all have and how we can discover and develop these qualities.

Reading the proclamation on the family always reminds me of our divine privilage to be parents and to raise Heavenly Father's children. I think parenthood allows us to be like Heavenly Father and is the best thing to teach us to be like Him. We need patience, charity, love, devotion. We need to teach our children right from wrong, but like Heavenly Father does for us, we need to allow them to make their own choices. We also need to be good examples for them to follow.

D&C 121:45 says that we need to let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly so we can be confident in the presence of God. This really stood out to all of us, because it's the YM/YW theme for this year. It's such a beautiful idea: that we can confidently stand before God at church, in the temple, in the Celestial Kingdom if we are constantly thinking of good things and doing good things. Sometimes it's hard not to grumble about life or to think kind thoughts about others who are upsetting us, but I know that when we do it's a lot easier to do the things the lord has asked of us, and I know that it makes our Heavenly Father happy.

Rain + Dirt = Mud

It's been raining an awful lot over here. Normally I love the rain, but this year I'm almost sick of it. It's been so wet and so cold this winter for so long, that I can't wait until Spring.

On Saturday we all woke up tired and a little grumpy. Brian was still recovering from staying up all night Thursday to study for his Friday morning test. The kids had been cooped up for so long because of the rain, that they were literally bouncing all over the house. With wood floors, that can be pretty loud.

The second counselor in the bishopric called and left a message Friday night that we didn't listen to until Saturday morning. Apparently, their speakers for sacrament meeting had cancelled and they were looking for someone else. Sure, we said we'd do it, but by the time Ethan was not going down for his afternoon nap and Alyssa was singing "Angel of Music" at the top of her lungs, Brian decided he had had enough. He called Brother Spencer and told him we couldn't speak, and he sent the kids and me home for the weekend.

We packed our bags (We, meaning Alyssa and me; she had to bring all her essential, can't-live-without toys) and took off within half an hour. It's the first time I've driven the whole way home without Brian with me, and I've got to say I was pretty proud of myself. I navigated through Portland just fine. I stopped at the "Old McDonalds" in the Dalles, and got back on the freeway without any problems. I didn't miss the turn-off to go North into Washington. And to tell you the truth, with just one mom and two kids, we made pretty good time.

Every time we drive through the Columbia Gorge, I love looking at the cliffs and hills around us and watching them either turn brown or green, depending on which way we're travelling. It's so wet over here for most of the year, that everything is naturally green, and of course everything on the desert side of Washington and Oregon is brown. I've never noticed, though, how the rain smells differently.

Over here it smells wet. It makes a lot of sense: rain smells wet. The rain disappeared once we got to the Dalles and reappeared again around Arlington, with the distinct difference that it smelled like mud. You normally don't consider "mud" to be a good smell, but it smelled so much like the Tri-Cities that it smelled so good! Even though we were leaving one raining city and travelling to another raining city, it felt so much better to at least have a muddy rain instead of just wet, wet, wet.

Summin' Up My Birthday

We went to the Macaroni Grill for my birthday last night. I kept wondering why we keep going to the Macaroni Grill for my birthday through the whole meal. My chicken was good, but not that good. We paid 5 bucks for Alyssa's spaghetti that she didn't eat (and that leaked through the plastic container, soaked through the paper sack we were carrying it in, and spilled all over the sidewalk right outside a very expensive shoe store). Ethan picked up a plate, and dropped it on the floor. When it crashed, someone across the restaurant hollered "way to go" and clapped. I hope he thought it was a waiter dropping things. Alyssa refused to sit on her bottom and tipped her chair over twice. Overall, it was quite stressful, expensive, and not at all worth it until they brought out the opera singer with the cake. Emphasis here is on "cake."

It was a huge piece of chocolate cake with chocolate sauce dribbled all around it and quirts of whipped cream by the corners. I haven't had much of an appetite for sweets lately, but that seemed to be pushed to the side for ten minutes while we ate my cake. It was great.

On the way home we remembered that we should have gotten gas on the way out, because we were getting a bit low and our fuel pump acts up - actually, doesn't act at all - when the gas tank gets low. We decided that the gas station would be our first stop once we reached Forest Grove. The problem is that we didn't reach Forest Grove before having our car slowly lose power and coast to a stop. This has happened once before and we discovered, after having our friends tow us to a car shop, that all it needs to do is sit for a while and it will start right up. So we waited, and tried the engine, and waited, and tried the engine. Nothing.

Ethan fell asleep, so we covered him with a dish towel we had in the car, and Alyssa came up to the front seat to sit in my lap. This is when it got fun. Brian rolled down the window when the air got stuffy, and we listened to the frogs and owls outside. We sang "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid and a few rounds of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

When we realized the car wasn't going to start, we called the Claypools for the Cluny's phone number, then called the Cluny's to come save us. They were the ones who helped us out when we ran into problems before, and they had possession of the gas can we had bought. (We didn't think we'd need it again.)

So there were some lows and some highs yesterday. My mom and dad called at 7:30 in the morning before my dad left for work to sing me "Happy Birthday." Alyssa got into severe trouble for not listening and ignoring both the house rules and her mother. Ethan took a good nap, and I was even able to get Alyssa to lay down with me for a nap. Grandma Orton called to sing her version of "Happy Birthday." (Happy birthday to beautiful, smart, fun, loving, wonderful Carrie who is special and I love so very much...) And we spent a beautiful Spring-ish evening as a family, enjoying nature and a broken down car.

Morning Buddies

Here's my usual morning routine:
5:45 Alarm goes off, I get out of bed.
5:50 I take off to the gym.
6:00 Walk, run, stretch, sit-ups.
6:35 Head home.
6:45 Arrive at home.

We took our car into the shop yesterday for a new catalytic converter, so I didn't go to the gym this morning. While sleeping in, I discovered that this is Alyssa and Ethan's usual morning routine:
5:45 Still sleeping.
5:50 Ethan wakes up and calls out a couple of times.
6:00 Alyssa wakes up and starts babbling with Ethan. She sings to him, and from the bouncing we heard, she must dance for him too.
6:35 Alyssa goes to the bathroom. Ethan gets upset and starts to cry.
6:40 I holler, "It's okay Ethan, I'm coming!" and Alyssa goes back to Ethan to say, "Mama's home!"

I had no idea that they spent the morning hours "talking" to each other. When we first heard them this morning, I mentioned my surprise to Brian and he said, "Oh no, this happens every morning."

I'm so glad I moved them into the same room; it's so cool they can keep each other company each morning.I think even though there's three and a half years between them, I think they're going to be good friends.

Realizations

This morning it finally hit me: I'm pregnant. Ever since finding out on Monday I haven't really believed that it's true. I don't have any symptoms yet, and I've just been waiting for my cycle to start over again. Then I woke up this morning and it seems like the minute I walked in the door from going to the gym, I've felt this overwhelming sense of "pregnancy."

I tried to tell Brian how I felt before he left for school. I'm a little off guard, because I thought that I would have a couple more months to prepare for a pregnancy. I'm a little disappointed, because the biggest reason that this year was great to go to Disneyland was because I wasn't pregnant yet. We talked about possibly cancelling our trip, just in case I get sick like I did last time, but really Disneyland isn't the real issue here. We'll go no matter what, and I'll do my best no matter how sick I am. Brian suggested that I look up ways to prevent hyperemesis (getting very sick) on the Internet, and that should help me feel a little more prepared. I did that, and it boosted me up a bit. I found hyperemesis information sites and message boards, and I learned that a lot of other ladies have gone through what I have. Normally the only other people who understand me is my mom and Christina. I felt so much better after reading about other ladies' experiences and knowing that I'm not alone.

So I headed to the shower, and the minute I turned the knob, I felt exactly how it felt to shower when I was pregnant with Ethan. The steam made me sick, the sound of the water made me sick, the feeling of the water made me sick, the warmth of the water made me sick...everything about taking a shower, besides being clean, was repulsive. Although this morning, I guess I didn't feel sick, but I remembered so vividly how sick I was that I became terrified. Everything started coming back. All of the little things (besides the obvious constant nausea and vomiting) that I had forgotten: not being able to kiss Brian, not being able to brush my teeth, having a constant lumpy, sore throat, everything. And I started to cry.

Feeling a little silly, but still scared, I called Christina and she was able to help me calm down. "Don't stress about it. That will only make it worse. Try to stay positive." She was right. Those were the same things I had been telling myself before I dialed her number.

I'm not posting this looking for pity. I just thought that since this is what has been consuming my thoughts today, I might as well write it down. Brian gave me a blessing when he came home from school, and I do feel better now. I'm going to stay positive and do everything I can to try to be healthy. If I do happen to get sick, I have a good doctor who knows I'm telling the truth and not exaggerating my symptoms, and who will be able to help me get things under control as quickly as possible. So every thing's going to be okay, and now I can get on with the laundry and get through my day happily.

And I Am Happy Now

I believe that Spring is finally here. It's still dark and rainy, but there's a completely different feeling to the day. I'm not constantly turning the heat up or cuddling in a blanket just to keep warm. The daffodils in our yard are blooming, and the tulips are popping up. Our neighbor got out his rototiller and prepared the dirt in his garden yesterday. Everything is beautiful!

And my attitude has changed completely. My alarm went off at 5:45 this morning. Brian leaned over, kissed me and said "Good morning," then rolled over again and went back to sleep. I got up and went to the gym, and while I was running I was reading the article in the March Ensign called, "Joshua's Towers." Halfway through the article I started looking at the pictures, and they looked familiar. It turns out that the Grittons are in our old ward (from before the boundary change in January). I started hollering "Oh my gosh! That's so cool!" and told the girl running beside me. Yes, she's LDS too.

When I pulled into our driveway Alyssa's head popped through the blinds and she waved at me. It was 6:45 and the whole house was awake. Brian carried Ethan into the room when I walked in the door. We had cake for breakfast (not too healthy, I know) and I think something is wrong with me. I could only eat half a piece. It was too sweet for me. It's been like that for the past couple of weeks. I've had no interest in sweets whatsoever. I don't even think I'm going to want a cake for my birthday.

Brian is the only sane one in our family when it comes to breakfast foods. He had a very healthy cereal and then took a shower. Alyssa and Ethan sat on the recliner in the toy room and listened to a Standing Tall tape, and then I ushered them into the car to take Brian to school. Alyssa and I were very careful not to step on the slug crossing our sidewalk.

I'm posting on my blog right now, we're taking our car into the shop at 9:00, and I have visiting teachers coming at 10:30. After that I'm going to finish the temple dress that I started to make before I got pregnant with Ethan.

We've had a very routine morning, and it's going to be a very simple day, but the whole point of writing about it is that I'm happy. I'm so glad for Spring. I'm so glad to be a wife and mother. I'm so glad that we live in a house. I'm glad for everything.

Early Birthday Surprise

I don't know exactly how it happened (okay, I guess I do) but somehow yesterday morning I found out that I'm pregnant! We weren't planning on trying until after our big Disneyland trip, so we were quite surprised to find out that it happened last month. We're so excited, though. I'll be 11 weeks along for our big trip, so hopefully (we're crossing our fingers) I'll be feeling fine and things will go well.

It Was Worth A Shot

So recipe week went astray pretty quickly. Alyssa has some preschool games on the computer, and she did a pretty good job of tying up the computer during the daytime, and that's how Brian relaxes in the evenings. (Computer games, not preschool games.) I had plans to post a potato souop recipe, and the fabulous (according to Brian; I don't like fish) clam chowder recipe from Brittany, but none of that ever happened.

And the sad thing is that I had a few things I wanted to post about, but I wanted to wait until recipe week was over, and now that it is, I can't remember anything. Something to share though: I love our weather! It's finally sunny and warm. We haven't turned th heater on since yesterday! We've been playing outside all afternoon. It's wonderful!

Hot Chocolate

We woke up this morning to snow! The car was covered when I went to the gym, then it was recovered (I know, that's not the real use of this word.) when I came out of the gym. It's fun to have snow, but I want it to be Spring! Our daffodils have popped up and are almost ready to bloom, and there's snow on the ground! In the past few days, whenever I say, "I'm so tired..." Brian can easily finish it by saying, "...of being cold." I've been cold to the bones for so long, and I'm tired of it!

So, in honor of the snow, I'm posting our favorite hot chocolate recipe. We had Williams and Sonoma Hot Chocolate at the Genning's, so I went home and while looking for the recipe, found out that "hot cocoa" is made from combining water or milk with a powder, and "Hot chocolate" is when you combine water or milk with real chocolate shavings. So here it is:

3 cups milk
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, grated*
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg

We upped the chocolate to 2/3 cups. Milk chocolate would be yummy.

Beat the egg. (We used our Thunderstick. You want it beaten really really well, or it will be yucky lumpy.) Heat the milk in a sauce pan, whisk in the chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk in the egg and heat a little bit more to make sure the egg is cooked. Do not boil.

Marie Calendar's Cornbread

I've tried the package mix of Marie Calendar's Cornbread before, and it is very good and very yummy. It's better than any of the other packaged mixes, but if you have the time and ingredients, this recipe is even better.

3 c. Bisquick
3/4 c. cornmeal
3/4 c. margarine
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk

Beat margarine, sugar, eggs, and milk. Add Bisquick and cornmeal. Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. (I haven't made this for a few months, but I think it actually takes closer to 40-45 minutes.)

Gary's Chicken Enchiladas

This one's for you Megan! You don't know how embarrassed yet happy I was when Brian sat down to eat and said, "Wow, these are actually really good. I'm surprised." I know I had made them before and he loved them, so I don't know what he was worried about.

Anyway, these are the BEST enchiladas in the world. One of the secrets is the cream (or milk-I don't see a difference) that you soak the tortillas in. It makes it so they stay nice and soft. Very yummy.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 T vegetable oil
1 chopped onion (although I never use the whole thing)
1 10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
1 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes
1 10.5 ounce can of cream of chicken soup
1 14.5 ounce can of chicken broth
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1/2 pint heavy cream (or milk)
6 6-inch tortillas
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 10 ounce can of enchilada sauce

1. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch strips. Place in a medium bowl with desired marinade, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (I always skip this step. I boil my chicken breasts, then wait for them to cool and tear them up.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and onions until chicken is evenly brown. (I saute the onions, then add my cooked chicken.) Stir in the diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, stewed tomatoes, chili peppers, soup, and broth. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover skillet, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and juices run clear. (I just heat everything up until it's hot.)

4. Remove chicken from the skillet, and shred when cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, allow skillet mixture to simmer and reduce to about 2 1/4 cups. (I just scoop out the chicken and put it in a bowl, then I keep the sauce hot.) In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken and about 1/4 cup of the sauce and mix together to make a paste like mixture. Mix together with half the chopped green onions. Pour remaining 2 cups of sauce into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. (I just scoop enough of the sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. The rest of the sauce either goes in the tortillas or over them.)

5. In a second skillet, heat cram or milk over low heat, being careful not to boil. Dip tortillas in the warm cream, one at a time, to soften and coat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Top chicken mixture with some shredded cheese, and roll up tortillas. Place rolled tortillas in a baking dish, seam side down, and drizzle with enchilada sauce. Cover with remaining shredded cheese, and sprinkle remaining chopped green onions over the cheese. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Serve with tomorrow's recipe.

A Week of Recipes

So my blog has been pretty slow lately. All the excitement of Valentine's Day and our anniversary has died down, and life is back to normal. I'm not as "inspired" as I was a couple weeks ago, so I've decided to post some of my favorite recipes.

Of A More Intimate Nature

Alyssa, being a "real princess," loves pretty things. As we walk down the isles of any store, she'll point to anything pink, frilly, or lacy object and say, "I wish I could have that." She wears princess dresses as much as I will allow her to. She prefers to drink her water from a tea cup, and she has recently started climbing to the cupboard to be able to use a saucer, as well. She loves to be beautiful. When I do her hair, she'll go to Brian and ask, "Aren't I just beautiful?" and toss her hair from shoulder to shoulder.

Alyssa also loves my underwear and lingerie. When getting dressed for our date on Friday, I had Alyssa help me pick out my clothes. "What skirt should I wear?" I asked her. She kept pulling out night gowns and see-through robes, which wouldn't be quite appropriate for a church dance. I ended up wearing a jean skirt and green (kind of) lacy top. She wasn't happy with my skirt choice.

Last week she put on one of my bras and ran around the house singing, "I am Mrs. Nesbit!"

And yesterday when I was getting undressed for bed, she found my bra on the bed and held it up, examining it carefully. "Oh, Momma," she exclaimed, "I didn't know you had such a beautiful, pretty gold..." (it was cream) "...what do you call these things again?"

"Bras, honey," I told her, putting my fluffy blue robe on.

"I didn't know you had such a beautiful gold bras, Momma. Do you think that maybe, when you die and I'm just your size, that I can have your bras?" I told her that we would get her a bunch of pretty bras of her own when she was older. She can't wait.

The Best Anniversary Ever

After writing that title, I realize how much it sounds like a children's book. Anyone want to illustrate?

The Best Anniversary Ever
By Carrie Jacks

To Brian, the love of my life. You make every day exciting. Thank you for six great years.

(page 1)
I have a husband, and I just happen to think that he's the greatest husband in the whole wide world. Yesterday was our anniversary, which means that we've been married for six whole years. Sometimes Brian pretends to be funny and tells people it's twelve or seventeen, but it really hasn't been that long.

(page 2)
Brian and I were married on February 16, 2001--just two days after Valentine's Day. Normally we don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day, because our anniversary is just around the corner, but this year was different. Brian gave me roses, and I made prime rib for dinner. The next day, after putting the kids to bed, we set the roses on the floor, ate ice cream, and played games together. It was very romantic. All of this romance made us feel very in love, and set the mood for the best anniversary ever.

(page 3)
On our anniversary we kissed a lot, and hugged a lot, and laughed a lot. We said "Happy anniversary!" to each other all day long. We did a bunch of little things to make the day special, but we also did a couple of really big things, too.

(page 4)
We bought plane tickets to California. We're going to Disneyland! I've been wanting to go for so long, and Brian finally agreed that we could. We'll leave on April 30 and get back on May 4, and in between those dates we'll spend three glorious days in Disneyland.

(page 5)
We also went to a Valentine's dance called, "Taste of Europe." Along one wall they had three booths representing France, Germany, and Italy. They were decorated so well. There was a backdrop that looked like a German house and by Italy they even had a clothes line out, drying some one's laundry. Brian and I danced more than we ever have before.

(page 6)
We danced so hard, in fact, that we were so tired when we arrived home. We dragged our sore feet into the house and went to bed. We were so tired that we barely said anything before going to sleep, but I think that we both agree that yesterday was the best anniversary ever.

THE END

The First To Make Out on Valentine's Day

A little background first:

Brian is a night owl, and I am an early bird. Brian can stay up almost all night and feel fine in the morning. The nights that I convince him to come to bed with me, he says he just lays there for a couple of hours before falling asleep. I usually go to bed around nine--ten at the latest. When I wake up in the morning, I feel great and refreshed, and I love getting up early so I have a couple of hours to myself before the kids are awake.

Last night after putting the kids to bed, Brian and I played a couple rounds of Rummikub. Brian won both times, although I only had one tile left at the end of the second game. It was so much fun to play games together. At 9:30 Brian said, "We should stay up until midnight, so we can be the first to make out on Valentine's Day." He was joking, of course, so I just laughed it off. "You could have done it when we were dating." Yeah, well, when we were dating we didn't sleep and wake up together. I had to stay up until midnight to get my maximum Brian Hours. I didn't think I could make it to midnight, but if that was a challenge, I would accept it.

"What about all the single college kids that are currently making out as we speak? Surely they'll still be going at midnight."

"It doesn't count," Brian said. "You have to start on Valentine's Day." Okay, so the goal was to stay up until midnight. It was 9:30. I could stay up for another two and a half hours. So we started playing games on the computer. At 10:30 I was having serious trouble keeping my eyes open. I knew that if I stayed sitting in that chair I would soon topple over, asleep.

I wimped out and went to bed. I hit the pillow and was asleep in under three seconds. Pathetic? I know. I can't even stay up until midnight. I slept great, though. Last night was the first night that I didn't even hear Ethan all night long! I didn't wake up until the alarm went off at 5:00. While I had been so sleepy the night before, as I turned the alarm off, I was wide awake and ready to go.

It was a good thing I wasn't sleepy and stumbling around, because then I would have missed the beautiful bouquet of roses that my night owl set out before he came to bed. Maybe, just maybe, if I take a nap this afternoon and try real hard tonight, I can stay up long enough and plan some kisses just right so Brian and I can be the last couple to make out on Valentine's Day.

The History of Toilet Paper

No, this is not an educational article about when and where toilet paper was first made, or who was the first person to use it. This is a far more simple telling of the life of a single roll of toilet paper, whose last remnants are sitting in a "Kraft Easy Mac" box on my kitchen counter.

This roll of toilet paper was "born" just before Thanksgiving when I pulled it out of the bathroom cupboard to take on our trip to Washington. I think this was when we had everyday run-of-the-mill head colds, not the horrendous make-you-feel-like-you're-going-to-die colds that we all got after Christmas, so while it wasn't an absolute necessity to have tissues in the car with us for our four-hour trip, it was very helpful.

The roll of toilet paper began shrinking, as it was left in the car and taken again on our drive to Washington. It was stuffed into our diaper bag and brought into both sets of Grandparents' houses, and probably a couple of great grandparents'.

I pulled it out of the car last week and placed it on top of the microwave, where it has lived continuously up until yesterday afternoon. Surprisingly, after three bouts of family illnesses and almost constant teething and runny noses from Ethan, the roll of toilet paper hadn't shrunk all that much. It was still almost half full.

So Alyssa got ahold of the toilet paper yesterday and decided to wave it in the air and fling it around the room. This caused a huge ruckus and both Ethan and she were rolling on the floor with laughter. I let the kids have their fun for a while, and when they were through I realized that most of the tissue they had thrown on the floor was still clean, good toilet paper. So to make a long story short (too late, I know), I salvaged what toilet paper I could and stuffed it in the nearest empty box I could find: a Kraft Easy Mac and Cheese.

It wasn't until this afternoon, when I was reaching for some toilet paper to wipe Ethan's nose, that I realized the silliness of the situation: that our current "official" tissue box is an empty macaroni and cheese box filled with crumpled up toilet paper. It definitely does the job though, and it should count itself lucky. While most rolls of toilet paper hang in the bathroom until they're all used up, this roll of toilet paper has traveled all over the Great Northwest and is now retired and "living" in one of the warmest rooms in the house.

Eeyore Quote Goes Here

I am having just a "blah" sort of day. Nothing bad has happened, it's actually been a pretty good day. I'm just feeling..."blah." I'm so glad that it hasn't rubbed off on the kids. Both Alyssa and Ethan are sitting at the table eating their corn dogs, just laughing up a storm.

I guess it all started yesterday. Brian and I got into a fight that was one of those arguments that start over nothing and escalate to trying to one-up the other by finding fault with every little thing they're saying. It was absolutely ridiculous. We eventually calmed down and talked about things and worked it all out. Brian hates the working it all out part. He's one of those guys that like to figure it out on his own and come back and be happy, and I'm one of those girls that have to talk it out three or four times before I feel better about it. And actually, our talking it out was cut a little short (didn't even make it to the second round) so maybe that's why I've got the blues today. I haven't completely worked the argument out of my system.

It's so funny though. We don't argue that often, but we always have the life-altering, spouse-threatening fights right before holidays. Valentine's Day is Wednesday, our anniversary is on Friday. I can't think of a single New Years Eve since we've been married that we didn't get into a fight. I don't know if I feel extra emotional stress around these times. Not like the stress people get around Christmas, where you have to cook and bake and entertain and shop; but a stress where I'm evaluating who I am and where I want to be, or who Brian and I are as a couple and where I want us to be. If things in my life don't align perfectly with the way I want it to be in my mind, I start nagging Brian.

"We need to do better with couple prayer."

"We're not having regular family scripture study."

"Why don't you spend more time with me?"

"What are we going to do about this?"

I realize that we're not perfect. I realize that sometimes we're going to be on track with things, and at other times we're not. We have gotten very good at having Family Home Evening and family prayer, and I'm proud of that. We do need to keep trying to progress and improve ourselves, but we also need to congratulate ourselves on the things that we are doing right. I need to be able to set goals for our family without concentrating on every little thing that we're NOT doing.

So now Brian is at school and he has a super hard test tomorrow so he'll probably be studying non-stop until it's over. And I'm sitting at home trying to figure out how to get over this rotten feeling. Actually, I believe this is re-hash number three, so I am feeling better. I think I'll pop the sparkling cider that's on the wine shelf (yeah, we have these cute little square cubbies built into our cupboards. I'm assuming it's a wine shelf) into the fridge so we can make dinner a little more special. I think we'll even light candles. That should brighten things up around here.

He Loves Me!

Last night we went to a PAVA (spouse club for optometry school) Valentine's party. We almost won the "How Much Do You Know About Your Spouse" game. They had everyone who got more than 5 answers correct stand up. More than 10 answers? Everyone was still standing. More than 20? No one sat down. More than 25? All but five couples sat down. Less than 30? We all sat down. Stephanie counted down from 30 until all of the five couples were standing again. We all got 27 right. "We can't have a five-way tie," she said. So we did some tie-breaking questions, and Brian and I came in second place. He guessed that when I was younger I wanted to have 5 children, but in reality I wanted 6.

Then we played "Love Your Neighbor," and it was so much fun! At one point someone said, "No, I don't love my neighbor, but I love anyone who has been skinny dipping." After this I was terribly afraid that Brian would say that he loved anyone that has run across a bridge in their underwear. Yes, I have, and Brian teases me about it every time we drive over that cursed bridge. So three people after the skinny dipping person, someone stood in front of Brian.

"Brian, do you love you neighbor?"

"No," he replied. Here it comes. "But I really love...my wife."

Isn't Literacy Grand?

I love to read. Usually when I start a book, I can't put it down until I'm done. There have been days that the housework is left undone, the kids eat the easiest lunch to put together, and then they have to entertain themselves while eating it, because I'm back on the couch with my nose in the book. Then Brian comes home, everyone's hungry for dinner and I keep yelling, "I only have seven pages left, just let me finish!" But at this point, there are so many interruptions that those seven pages take a half-hour to read and by the time I get dinner going, we're all on our way to starvation.

Amazing things are always happening in books. Sometimes I wonder, "Why is So-and-So the main character? Why didn't they write the book about the girl she was sitting next to instead?" But the obvious answer is, that So-and-So is the person that experienced the exciting events to write about, and it's all made up anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

When I read a lot, I start thinking like a book. It might be a sign of insanity, but I start writing my life in my head. She dipped her hands into the sudsy water and retrieved the plate from the sink. Chopped lasagna noodles and melted cheese slowly slid off into the water. She wondered just how much of her daughter's dinner was actually consumed that evening. In my opinion, life sounds a lot more exciting than it actually is, when it's written down.

A Real Mom

Brian's parents gave me a big, blue, fuzzy robe for Christmas. I asked for one, because we turn the heat down at night, and because I was getting up all night long with Ethan. I have to say, that I love my big, blue, fuzzy robe. I wear it in the morning, after I shower, and right before bed. It's come in handy especially during this cold winter. We live in an older home, and when it gets really cold, the house never completely warms up.

Tonight I put on my robe as the kids were putting their pajamas on. I was carrying Ethan around and noticed his face was covered in snot. He's getting his molars, so this is not uncommon lately. I reached into the pocket of my robe to retrieve a tissue, and suddenly I felt very much like a mom.

I don't know why this was exactly, because my mom hardly ever wore a robe, and when she did she usually stole my dads. I guess I learned it from T.V. because I can think of a few T.V. moms in their fuzzy robes. Maybe the writers assume that that's what mothers do all day: lounge around the house, filling their robe pockets with tissues. They're only partly correct; we only do that in the mornings and late evenings.

Anyhow, I'm thankful for my robe, and I'm thankful for the tissues that I keep in it. Now I'm going to go do something I've been wanting to do for about a week now, which is something that I'm assuming most moms do at some time or another. I'm going to watch a chick flick and stuff myself full of chocolate.