10 on Tuesday

1. When I sit down to nurse Oliver he always plays with his own hair when he is sleepy.


2. Whenever Alden snuggles with me, which he asks to do - especially if I am wearing a house coat (yep I totally wear a house coat sometimes.... maybe not be the cutest but MAN is it comfy), he always holds my hand. But not just holds it, but we kind of rub our hands. It's hard to explain but he's been doing it with me since he was very small. And every time it reminds me of how he is my first little boy. And takes me back to when I first realized that he did it years ago.


3. Eli often will walk up to me, hug me and say "I love you mom!" It used to be that he'd always say "I love you TOO mom" even when I hadn't said it first. And when I tell him I love him too he gets to biggest grin in his face and then runs off to play. (My eyes look a little creepy in this...)


4. Lucy's language of love is giving gifts. But it is gifts she has made. Songs she has written, poetry, stories, pictures she drew. I totally get that about her :)


5. Since I am often (as in pretty much always) behind on laundry Alden has to go searching for socks in the morning (in my defense he has for YEARS hidden his dirty socks.... like behind to toilet and in other weird places so they often don't get washed and then I find a pile of smelly socks....) anyways, he often wears socks that don't even come CLOSE to matching. One day he was wearing one of Eli's and one of mine. I tell him to try again but he doesn't care and will try and sneak out of the house wearing mismatched socks.


6. I often wonder lately if Eli will ever sleep like everyone else. On the morning after an especially bad night with him I struggle to be patient with him. On those days I am even more grateful for the funny things he says that lighten our family up. He is a really hilarious child.


7. Oliver now army crawls. And I think he loves that he can do it. He is 8 months old today. Crazy!


8. My mom tested Lucy's reading level a couple weeks ago when they were out there for a sleepover. Grade four. She is in grade one. She is one smart cookie. And because I know how smart she is I wish she would realize it and embrace it. She acts like she can read things or talks baby talk or talks about how others are smarter. And I just want her to know that she is smart and not brag about it but be proud of it and USE those brains.

9. It's funny to think back to when I was a kid and I would image being a mom. It is way harder and way better than I thought. I'm so glad every day that I have these kids and that I have Regan with them.


10. Yesterday was the anniversary of Regan's brother's Ryan's death and today is Kelly's birthday. So we've got both of them on our minds.

Our Living Room

I've been waiting to share what our living room looks like for a while and well here it is.
I forgot to take a picture in the VERY beginning of moving in but the wall was this color first.... (behind Lucy and my mom at her b-day party)

and all we had in the room was this chair...

My brother Brad built it all for me :)

Shelves in as he fits them to the space - no fireplace yet.


At Christmas without a picture in the frame...




And this is it now...




As you can see I have one frame left to fill with a family picture - that are been taken this Friday. And I am changing out the sunset picture - it's too bright in comparison to the others.

Looking into the dining room from the living room

My plate wall & chalkboard



My friend Abby drew out a design for me.... and it was so perfect. I had not even THOUGHT of adding bookshelves and a fireplace. But I looooooooooooooove it. The house feels so much more like ME.

Spiritual Sundays

I believe that we are all children of a Heavenly Father and because of that that my children are in fact my spiritual brothers and sisters that have been loaned to me for a time here on earth. A time that I can try and perfect how to parent and how to relate and love other people better.

I believe that there is nothing harder or more rewarding that being a parent. It is a magnifying glass to my imperfections and weaknesses that gives me a chance each day to try harder and do better.

I believe that there are as many ways to mother as there are children. And that no one on earth is perfect at parenting.

I believe that our Heavenly Father knows our children better than us and that He will help us in our parenting as long as we ask, search and follow guidance from Him.

I believe that we all lived in a pre-mortal existence before we came to earth together and that we had distinct personalities and characteristics that we brought to this earth. Because of that my role as a mother is not to mold my children into what I think they should be, but to help them discover their talents and strengths and learn how to deal with their struggles.

I believe women are born with specific roles in relation to children, whether they are lucky enough to have children or not, that means that women are called to nurture, love and care (called mothering) for children. There are children all around us that need love and support and parents who need love and support.

I believe that these children of mine are sealed to me for time and all eternity through the power of the Priesthood through the ordinances from the temple.

I believe that there is nothing of more importance that I will ever do in my life than be a wife and a mother. Everything else is gravy on top of those roles.

Foto Friday: Our Year in Photos

Month 5 Week 2: Cousins.

For the second week of each month we'll focus relationships.

To know more about this project you can read my first post here.

Well the theme is cousins this week. And here are some pictures of the kids with their various cousins. They are pretty luck that they get to see cousins fairly often!! We have two sets living right in town with us - one set right on our street! I think at every family event I take pictures of the kids cousins. And they are mostly used to me just taking pictures of them.

I'll share some recent favorites.












You can see all my other entries for this project here

Go check out Brooke's over here!

Please tell me if you have a link somewhere for playing along and I'll add the links.

In the Kitchen: Orange Cookies

Isn't it funny how tasting or smelling something will bring us smack back in a memory. I am positive you have food smells and tastes that make you think of someone or a different time.

These are a flashback from my childhood. My mom baked a lot and these were one of the top choices. I love that they are so different from chocolate chip, love the orange icing and the softness in them. So tasty!


Cake platter from the Home Port and bakers twine from sweet estelle

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1.Cream white sugar and shortening; add eggs and stir. Add sour cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla; stir and set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add little by little to the creamed mixture and stir well. Add 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate, and 2 tablespoons orange zest. Drop onto greased cookie sheets by teaspoonfuls.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 10 minutes. Frost cookies when they are cool.

To Make Frosting: Mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 2 Tablespoons of the thawed orange juice concentrate, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 4 Tablespoons of melted butter, 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar or enough to make frosting of spreading consistency.


Bakers twine from sweet estelle , Cloth white napkins from Pier One, Paper Napkin from Superstore, and cute cardboard box from Le Box Boutique

Enjoy!!!

10 on Tuesday

1. Lucy had her dance recital. Wow am I glad that's all over. But she sure looked cute.....and so did her friend Lauren! (and YES that is crazy dark stage makeup!)



2. I am getting all caught up on my Project life. Someone asked how I find them time.... well I am behind - that means I didn't find the time yet ;)

3. Man you all are quiet!

4. I have been saving an old map for my house for a few years. (since me and a friend Jodie P bought them off an old fisherman in NS) and now I have one framed and hung in my bathroom. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.


5. I am going to do a little room fix up project on my own. I'm a little nervous but I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll show you when I am done.

6. Lucy on stage dancing.....

and her friend Mamie too...


7. I had a group of ladies over last week who all love to read and we talked about our favorite books. I added a whole pile to my goodreads list. MAN I have a lot of reading to do :) HA! If you like to read, check out my friend Clarissa's blogsite all about the books we read.

8. Lucy and her really good friend Lauren before dance.....


9. Eli's birthday is coming up in a month and I am thinking of ideas for it. He wants a superhero party. We'll see if he still wants that in a week :)

10. The light in my kitchen is so lovely in the mornings.

Dinner Club

Over a year ago I got invited to be in a dinner club. It is made up of people who love food :)

How it works: Couples rotate each month. The hosting couple picks a theme and prepares the main dish. All the other couples pick the other courses that go along with the theme and we get together and eat and eat and laugh. We get together once a month. Usually on the last Friday or Saturday of the month.

Themes we've had: Moroccan, Murder Mystery 80s, Halloween, Letter R, 100 Mile Challenge, Cajun Creole, East Indian, Man Night, French, Iron Chef - Lemon, Seafood, Finger Food, Mexican, Brazilian, Harvest, Nursery Rhymes, Martha Stewart, Kung fo Fighting and Literary Night

This past month we hosted and our theme was literary. So you had to have found the idea or food in a book that was NOT a cookbook. I have been reading a series of books by Louise Penny that take place in Quebec. And I thought of the theme because food plays a major role in setting the scene of the book.

For appetizer the Metz's brought Bruschetta. The drink the Edward's brought was Butter beer inspired by Harry Potter (it's not a kind of beer just in case you are wondering). (forgot to get a picture of both!)

Then the main course I did was Slow Roasted Lamb sandwiches on Rosemary Cibatta buns

Toppings for the sandwiches were Homemade Onion Marmalade, Mustard Aioli, smoked gouda cheese, argula and tomatoes


Then I made a favorite salad of mine to go with it.


hahaha Shawn...



Dessert by the Murphy's where Lonnie made sampita and krempita. Some fancy European pastries that she had written about in her journal when her and her hubby were dating years ago.


From a different dinner club...



FAQ about Dinner Club:

1. Do you make everything? Yes. Most of the time! One month someone made homemade ketchup, I tried homemade mayonnaise, Aioli, etc.

2. How do you pick your themes? Whatever strikes our fancy :) I think one of the best parts is picking out the theme! And no we aren't ruled by the theme. One month someone had the nursery rhyme theme and Regan ended up writing a nursery rhyme that went with the soup I made.

3. How many couples? Five.

4. Do you have the same people? Yes. It has been so fun getting to know everyone even better over the course of time. We did have some other couples that dropped out and a couple new ones that attend now.

5. Sounds like crazy food - ever have plain things? Nope. We all think that's kind of the point of dinner club. Fancy food most kids would hate on fancy dishes most kids would break.

6. Do you get tired of doing it? Nope! It's literally one of my favorite things we do as a couple. A couple people we know do a dinner club now but they go out to restaurants each month. That works for them and living in the city. We all love to cook and entertain! We play games after or chat. It's the best!