Like Father Like Son

This is how I found these two yesterday afternoon.

They are two peas in a pod :)

Cowgirl

 Ty took these pictures of Zoey at the little park near our house.

It was her first time riding on the cow!

Notice Zoey's light sweater and lack of heavy coat.

That is the beauty of a southern California winter :)

Ride 'em cowgirl!

Do Blondes Really Have More Fun?

Brownies have been popular for years.

Both the infamous BAKED brownie and the classic FAT WITCH brownie have made appearances on Oprah's "O" list.

 I have seen countless variations of the classic chocolate brownie; brownies with frosting, brownies with chocolate chips, brownies with peanut butter swirls, brownies with a layer of caramel, brownies with mint, brownies full of nuts, and brownies with a cheesecake topping.

I have made a lot of brownies.
There have been successes and failures.

According to THIS article on food trends for 2013 Blondies are the new Brownies.

Brownies are out Blondies are in.

Okay....I guess it's time to move on.

Today I am making these:
 

Brown Sugar Blondies with Toasted Hazelnuts from Climbing Grier Mountain

 Of course I am adding a large amount of chopped dark chocolate to the batter.

Baby steps.

I am not giving up on brownies, but I am willing to give blondies a try.

What do you think of food trends?

Would you try something new in your kitchen just because someone said it was the in thing?

The Little Man

Zackary said he was tired and needed a rest. He got himself in bed, but then he wanted a snack and the i-pad.

Now he sits happily under his blankets eating cheeseballs and playing temple run.

A Monday List

1. Ty spent Saturday enjoying a game of paintball. He left before 8 am and returned around 4 in the afternoon. He said it was the Disneyland of paintball. I am glad he had fun :)

2. The kids and I made home made peanut butter cups.

I used THIS recipe and tutorial from it's always autumn

 I used a tiny cookie cutter to cut out the peanut butter hearts.

We melted dark chocolate to use as the coating. They are really good!

3. We are about to purchase a 1/4 cow to stock our freezer with. We have done this for the past few years. I do feel like the beef tastes better than store bought, but I am really unclear about the actual health benefits of eating organic farm raised beef over store bought. Does anyone know???

4. I have been watching the Once Upon A Time series on netflix 

I love it :)

5. I made a doctor's appointment for myself this morning. The first non OBGYN appointment I have made in about 10 years. They gave me the first appointment they had........in May!

They wanted to know what days would work best for me and I laughed. If the appointment is that far out I am sure I can work my schedule around whatever they have!

Happy Monday!

Tagged

 

An old friend and running buddy tagged me in a post on her blog. I haven't done one of these in a long time and it was fun! The tag includes 11 random facts about myself and 11 questions given by my friend.

 

11 random facts about myself:

 

1. When I need to de-stress I turn on music and sing along really loud.

2. I choreograph dances in my head while I listen to the radio. The dances always look best in my head :)

3. I love reading from The Book of Mormon. When I read; I feel like I am home.

4. I don't want a dream vacation and I don't want to jump out of an airplane...I just want to sleep through the night.

5. I am really enjoying experimenting with hairstyling using Mia and Zoey as models.

6. I love exercise. Not the competitive sport kind of exercise but the jogging, walking, and running type.

7. My favorite shoes are my boots and my running shoes. I really dislike sandals. My feet are sad all summer long.

8. I love to clean and organize.

9. I really dislike driving. In my ideal world I would walk the kids to school, walk to the store, and have a chauffeur.

10. I cannot live without my chapstick. I hate lipstick, but must have chapstick at all times!

11. I believe that Chocolate conquers all.

 

 

11 questions from Annie:

1. Your pet peeve?
2. What's your favorite feature about yourself? (don't be humble... name one thing that is great about you?)
3. Do you bite, file or clip nails?
4. Do you lie to the dentist when he asks about your dental habits?
5. If you were an animal, what would you be?
6. Favorite movie quote?
7. If you had to eat the same thing for dinner for a week, what would you choose?
8. Which side of the Velcro are you most like? (The clinging soft or the catchy scratchy)
9. Favorite childhood cartoon?
10. Right now, would you rather have a mug of cocoa or a smoothie?
11. Do you have a phobia?

1. I don't know if this counts, but Wal-Mart always manages to make me angry.

2. I have great shoulders!

3. Mostly I just break them.

4. I am mostly honest.....

5. I hear koalas sleep an awful lot. That sounds good to me :)

6. "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

-Notting Hill

7. Spinach salad with strawberries and almonds, and a big loaf of crusty bread!

8. It depends on who I am with.

9. Beauty and the Beast

10. Cocoa

11. I have a fear of failing....at life.

It's National Peanut Butter Day!

I recommend a big batch of these:

Browned Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

from Freutcake

I made them this past weekend for a dinner with friends and I loved them. 

I may have to make them again today.

I am sending the kids off to school with peanut butter granola bars for snacks. 

Yay Peanut Butter!

Have a lovely day :)

Tuesday Things

1. Tuesdays that feel like Mondays turn into Fridays that feel like Thursdays and I am okay with that.

2. I found this quote yesterday and I absolutely love it!

I think we too often feel like the world is a hopeless place because of situations that are beyond our control. We need to focus on what we can make better on our own.

3. This Thursday, the 24th of January, is National Peanut Butter Day. I am so excited for an excuse to eat peanut butter all day long! I am already dreaming of baking peanut butter cookies from my Peanut Butter Obsessed Pinterest Board :)

4. I was inspired by this 25 minute walking treadmill workout

I set the kids up in front of the latest Team Umizoomi episode and treated myself to a mid-day walking workout.

To be honest I only made it 20 minutes before everyone came in and I had to stop, but it was super refreshing!

5. Zoey took a 2 1/2 hour nap this morning. It was delightful. I played games with Zack, cleaned bedrooms, and did lots of laundry.

I am hoping that we might get a repeat tomorrow!

Happy Tuesday!

Unplanned Supers

We went out for donuts  this morning. I wanted to do something fun on our Monday off. I didn't notice until we were on our way home that I had dressed all 3 of the older kids in Super Man shirts! I am sure everyone who saw us thought I had planned it.

My little supers :)
(notice Max does not look very happy. He was extremely annoyed that I wanted a picture. Oh well...sorry son.)

A friend gets baptized

Max's friend, Ian, was baptized today.

I wanted a few pictures of the boys together.

These kids are so sweet! I am so glad they have each other and that I get to be a part of their lives.

The baptism was awesome. I was so touched by the room full of our ward members and friends.

 Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is an amazing blessing.

Congratulations Ian!

(We are looking forward to August when it will be Max's turn!)

Birthday Cake

 Last night we had a little birthday celebration for Ty. I made bacon jalapeno dip, bacon cheddar bread, shrimp scampi, and this chocolate snickers bar cake.

( I found the recipe HERE)

It is slightly caloric.

Ty is the nicest dad and is always willing to share what's his :)

 Sharing will also make this cake less caloric.
(notice Ty's shirt! He totally matched his dinner!)

It was a happy night!

New Camera

We got a new camera!

I was taking a picture of myself with it...

 I looked down and noticed Zackary taking pictures of himself with the old one!

Such a cute little photographer!

Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble

I have been performing this song in my kitchen for weeks.
I love it :)

Looking forward to a long weekend!

After a week of doctor's visits, pink eye, driving the carpool, driving to lessons, chores, and homework, I am so very ready for the weekend. This weekend has me feeling extra giddy, because it will be 3 days long! 3 day weekends are the best!

I am planning to log a few extra hours of sleep each night, get in a few good workouts, and try out a few new recipes.

One of Max's best friends is getting baptized this weekend. He is the first in Max's class from church to turn 8 this year. I can't believe that this year is here already! I think Max is a great kid and I am lucky to have him. I am excited to watch him grow and do some amazing things this year :)

I still need to plan the music for primary this Sunday. I really enjoy singing with the kids, but sometimes I do get overwhelmed.

At some point I want to make this soup:

Beefy Nacho Soup from the recipe critic.

It sounds like something everyone in my house just might enjoy!

Have a lovely 3 day weekend!

Thursdays

Thursdays are good days. I can wake up on a Thursday and think..."One more day until Friday. We can do this!"

Thursdays need to be celebrated. 

Celebrated with chocolate chips and oats

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Flax! (from girl who bakes)

These cookies are full of good things and I think they would be a completely acceptable after school snack.

Happy Thursday!

Ty turns 32

 Today is Ty's 32nd birthday. 

 I wish he had the day off and we could party! He is working late so the celebration is happening tomorrow night. It will involve bacon, cheese, and chocolate cake!

I thought about listing all of Ty's wonderful accomplishments and attributes. There are many and the list would be long!

What matters is that I love him and I want him to have the best day.

Happy Birthday to my great love!

Tuesday Things

1. My boys have pink eye. I was able to get them in to see the doctor first thing this morning. I love this doctor because she has 5 kids of her own and seems to understand us well. She gave us double the drops for both boys, "just in case", the other kids end up with pink eye. I am so hoping the girls can avoid it, but I am grateful we are prepared!

2. In regards to #1.....my house is full of disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. I am washing sheets like mad and wiping down all surfaces.

3. I am driving the kindergarten carpool this week, and while it adds a bit of craziness to the day, I love hearing those little 5 year old conversations on the drive home! Today the topics of discussion were peanut butter cups, pajamas, and hair.

4. It has been ridiculously cold here recently. I know the rest of the world is mocking us because it is much colder elsewhere, but I am freezing! Let the hot chocolate flow!

5. I leave you with this thought:

Right???

Weekend Call and Cookies

Ty is working today. I got everyone ready for church on my own. I decided since Ty would not be there to help, the I-pad would be :)

I packed a few snacks and we were on our way! (This year our church meetings start at 9 and we are thrilled!)

Last week the kids were sick so today was the first Sunday they were all in their new classes. Zackary was not happy about being in Sunbeams. He sat with me for the entire first hour. He did eventually go with his class for lesson time and his teacher said he did well. Mia seemed to enjoy her class. She is not picky as long as she has her friends! Max is turning 8 this year and his class had a special Baptism Prep lesson today. I am already planning on August 24th as a tentative baptism date for Max this year!

After church we came home and everyone was starving! I think I am going to have to do crock pot meals on Sundays because everyone was ready to eat a cow and I had nothing prepared. Mia wanted a corn dog, Max wanted a quesadilla, Zackary wanted a Nutella sandwich, and Zoey wanted a nap!

I am glad that their needs are still so simple and easy to meet. Everyone got what they wanted and everyone was happy.

I had been craving peanut butter cookies all day and I needed to make THESE:

4 Ingredient Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies from Culinary Couture

They were awesome. I ate two. 

When Zoey woke up from her nap she had some milk and then wanted oreos.

She still had her church clothes on and I didn't want her to cover them in oreo so this happened:

It is totally normal to eat oreos without any clothes on before you turn 2. Ask any mother.

Now Zoey is in the bath and the older kids are watching Tom and Jerry. We are hoping Ty can make it home for dinner later tonight. The weekends go by far too quickly! This week will be a busy one :)

Happy Sunday!

Saturday

 Ty is on call today. He started off at home with us and then got called in to work. Zackary had him read a quick story first.

 I got everyone dressed and ready so we could drive out to Redlands for a Target trip. I try not to do Target alone with all four kids and I try to not do Target on the weekends so I was a little nervous. I was supposed to return some socks that Ty didn't like and exchange them for socks he would like. I returned the socks and then we bought some pants for Max, a shirt for Zackary, tights and legwarmers for Mia, leggings for Zoey, a sweater for me, and Bananagrams! Forgot the socks....oh well!

 At home we pulled out the Bananagrams and had a little word fun. I helped Zackary spell out his name and a few little words.

 Mia and Max worked on their own.

 This is what Max came up with. (I know these are just scrabble letters, but why buy scrabble when you can buy a banana?)

In other news....the granola bars turned out really good!

They were a little crunchier than I thought they would be and next time I may bake them for a bit shorter, but overall a success.

Zackary thought so too!

Have an awesome Saturday!

TGIF!

Yay Friday!

Let's hear it for 3 days with no homework!

I love weekends :) 

Ty will be working until late tonight and he is on call all weekend so the kids and I are going to have lots of extra fun for him. I am sure he will appreciate the effort!

Mia has something fun waiting for her when she gets home. The newest Sofia the First episode recorded while she was at school and she has been waiting to see it since the first one came out in November! I am sure we will be watching it all weekend.

I wanted Max to have something to look forward to when he got home as well, so I picked up the new Ice Age movie while I was out this morning. I have some caramel corn for him too. It will be his own little one man party. 

In other news...I want to make granola bars. I make granola all the time, but I have never made granola bars. 

I am going to try THIS recipe from PW:

and then I am going to dip the bottom half of the bars into chocolate. (That wasn't even my idea! Check out the original POST!)

I have high hopes.

After movies and granola I am thinking we should get a little crafty. Valentine's Day is only a month away! Painting salt dough hearts all evening sounds grand!

Happy Weekend!

Zoey

This little girl loves her bling :)

She wears as many necklaces at a time as she can fit over her little head!

I love that she is so sparkly.

Mission Impossible (Piano/Cello/Violin) ft. Lindsey Stirling - ThePianoGuys

This is too cool!

Lazy Much?

All I really want to do today is eat granola and watch "Parenthood" on Netflix. And sit on the couch and put my feet in front of the space heater.

Who's  with me?

Monday and Stuff

The kids went back to school today. Mia was excited to see all of her friends. Max could have used a few more days and at least a few more hours in bed. I had to go in and wake him up several times this morning!

Zackary had speech at 10. This was the first session that I was really able to hear him making some progress. You never appreciate the "D" sound, until your 3 year old makes it for the first time!

After speech I took advantage of everyone being out of the house for the first time in weeks. I started in the kid's bedrooms and did some cleaning. I filled a few DI/Goodwill bags, which I love doing. My kids live in fear of me getting rid of everything they own. If I threaten to throw something away, they know I am serious :)

I honestly love throwing things out!

After bedrooms I moved onto the kitchen. We haven't been to Costco for a big shopping trip since before school got out in December and we are out of lots of our staples. Ty will be home tomorrow and we are planning a Costco run so today I cleaned out the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I want to stock up on great snacks and little meals for the kids.

 I am going to try a bunch from THIS article.

Sometimes I lack creativity in the food department and need a little help.

I hope Monday is treating you well!

We say goodbye to Christmas Break!

The kids go back to school on Monday. Christmas vacation went by too quickly! I loved the holiday fun and the lazy mornings. I always worry after a break like this one that it will be difficult to get back into our routine, but it usually works out alright. Soon the carpools, lessons, and speech sessions will begin again. I know the kids will be glad to see their friends again. Mia has been asking for the last few days when she gets to go back to school, so I know she is ready!

I had a lot on my list for today, but I have already crossed much of the have-to's off! I wanted to clean a few of the bathrooms, mostly the boy's bathroom. I think little boys would do better in outhouses......

I also wanted to get music planned for tomorrow. It is the first Sunday of 2013! New year, new songs, and new Sunbeams!

Now I am off to meet my mom for some shopping and the baby shower for one of the girls I grew up with!

I hope Ty can handle the kids while I'm gone.

Happy Saturday!

Cookies for Picky Eaters

We made these Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies from Yummy Mummy Kitchen.

I like to have cookies like these around, because I deal with a few very picky eaters. This morning I couldn't get Mia to eat any breakfast. She told me she was feeling dizzy and I knew it was because she was hungry! She said she would eat a cookie and just like that she was happier and she felt better :)

Thank you cookies.

 

Happy Friday!

Play-Doh Bakery

 This is a favorite pass-the-time activity.

I pull out the play-doh, muffin tins, rolling pins, and throw in some birthday candles for decoration.

 They love it. So much more fun than regular play-doh.

Happy Little Bakers.

Movie Matinee

 Ty left this morning for San Diego. His youngest brother is graduating from the Marine Corps and Ty will be joining his parents for all of the festivities over the next two days. The kids and I are holding down the fort at home. We decided pretty quickly that we needed to have a movie matinee with snacks and drinks.

 I used all of my jars and filled them with popcorn, red vines, oreos, swedish fish, and chex mix. I even bought the tiny cans of root beer as a special treat. (We never buy soda so of course the kids LOVE it)

We set up a concession stand and divided up some monopoly money for the kids to use to purchase snacks.

 Max was pretty excited about the rootbeer.

He took over the concession stand for me. He started charging hundreds of dollars for everything. Good thing it was just play money!

 Zackary is a swedish fish man. Just like his dad :)

and the movie of choice: ParaNorman

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve was grand! We dropped the kids off at a friend's house (Thank You Friends!) and then we were off.

Ty and I have a hard time getting out on dates. Partly because of his schedule and partly because of the kids and the ongoing quest to find babysitters. When we get a chance to run away alone for a little while it is a big deal!

We started the evening with dinner. We were craving chips and guacamole so we settled on a little mexican place nearby. They made us fresh guac at the table! Guacamole with fresh salty tortilla chips is a serious weakness of mine!

After dinner we stopped in at Best Buy, random I know, but we are in the market for a new camera and we really wanted to pick one!

We decided on this Nikon:

 We didn't end up buying it last night, however, because I need....I want the red one :)

Ty is going to order it online. Thanks babe! (happy new year to me! I can't wait to take pictures of my kids that are not all blur.)

After camera shopping we ended up at a friend's New Year's Eve party. We only got to stay for a little while before we had to leave and pick up the kids but it was nice to be a part of the craziness for a while.

The kids ended up having a great time without us and they were all sad to leave, but they were all exhausted and ready to come home and go to bed. Ty and I stayed up and pretended to be adults.

This morning the kids and I watched the Rose Parade. Then we went to Mcdonalds to play and to get Zack a cheeseburger. He loves cheeseburgers as much as he loves pancakes. If he ran the house there would be one or the other at every meal.

Ty is at work but we are hoping he will be joining us at home before too long. In the meantime I want to get on top of that goal to eat more cookie dough.

We are making Browned Butter Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

from The Cooking Actress

                     Browned Butter, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chips, and Sea Salt.
                                                           All good things!

Happy New Year!