39 - 45

39. My favorite cake is yellow with chocolate frosting. And I don't mean fudgy chocolate frosting--Gross! I like milk chocolate from a can. I grew up with home made frosting, but after trying Betty Crocker's, I just can't go back. Sorry Mom.

40. I've been playing the piano for 21 years. That seems so long! I started plunking out tunes when I was about 4. Then I took lessons starting at 8-years-old and continued until I was 12-years-old. I used to be pretty good, but since I don't have a piano to practice on every day, I've lost it a little bit. Hopefully when Kasey and I have a house, I'll be able to get a piano and regain some of what I've lost.

41. I've worked 6 different places: Taco Time, Best Western, LCSC Library, LCSC Admissions Office (my shortest employment. I only worked there 3 days.), Arby's, and Dr. Allen, DPM (the best part was when I got to help with surgeries. Awesome!).

42. When I was little I wanted to have 10 children. Then after my first pregnancy, labor and delivery, I decided that 3 is a great number of children.

43. I love my iPod--even though it is technically Kasey's, I love it. My top 5, most listened to songs in December were:
Big Girls Don't Cry -- Fergie
Over & Over -- Tim McGraw & Nelly (So what if this song and the next are a few years old, I still love them.)
Light In Your Eyes -- Blessed Union of Souls
Accidentally in Love -- Counting Crows (This one is because of Makayla. She loves Shrek.)
What You Wish For -- Guster (A band my sister turned me on to several years ago. I love them!)

44. I'm the fourth child out of five in my family. I have 3 older sisters and 1 younger brother.

45. This one I think I may be stoned for, or boycotted and my blog will never be read again, but here it goes. I am not an animal lover. In fact, I'm so opposite that I'd go as far to say that I'm an animal hater. I will never have a pet--of any kind. I might make the exception of a fish. But fish remind me of cleaning the tanks in Mr. Hill's class when I was his T.A. So I probably won't even bend the no pet rule for a fish. Say all you want about how cute your puppy is, or how you have the best cat. Blah, blah, blah. It won't change my mind. I still hate them all.

This is probably a good place to stop now that I've officially alienated 97% or my 10 readers. So, if anyone is still talking to me tomorrow, come on back for my thoughts on New Year's Resolutions!

Kids Come Up With the Funniest Things

It feels like I've been posting a lot of stuff about Ellie lately. So today I've got a great story about Makayla. She says the most random stuff sometimes. It kills me!

Yesterday when I was cleaning, I found an old cell phone. Knowing that Makayla loves phones, I asked her if she wanted to have it. She took it from me and proceeded to dial the numbers. She covered the mouth piece and said, "You have to be quiet. I'm calling Aunt Wheezy." She started walking around the living room talking to my sister. I only overheard part of the "conversation" and it went something like this.

"This is Mary fair." (pointing to our nativity) "This is her baby, Jesus. Jesus lives in Texas. This is the angel. I really like angels. They fly up in the sky. Then they go see Jesus and Shell in Texas. Sometimes Uncle Charlie flies up, up, up in a airplane. And then he goes to see Shell in Texas, too. Aunt Wheezy, are you listening to me? Okay, good. My grandpa went to Texas, but he doesn't live there. He just lives in Idaho with my grandma. Just a second"

Then to me she said, "Mom, you have to be quiet. Okay?"

Back to the phone, "Sorry about that." She went on for a few more minutes before I heard her say, "Okay thanks for calling. Bye."

Suppressing a laugh, I asked her, "Makayla, does Jesus live in Texas?"

She looked at me like that was the dumbest question ever and said, "No, he lives in Heaven."

I have no idea where she comes up with most of this stuff, but she definitely makes me laugh.

I Really Don't Beat My Children

Ellie fell down today, catching her eye on the corner of a chair. Poor girl! I've never heard her cry so hard before. I dried her tears and a few minutes later this showed up above her eye.

OUCH!!

A dose of Tylenol and lots of hugs later, and she was all smiles again.

31 - 38

31. I love reality shows like American Idol and Survivor.

32. My birthday is in November.

33. I love to cook, but I also like having a little break now and then. Therefore, I think the best gifts are

34. gift cards to my favorite restaurants so that I can have a night off from cooking once in a while.

35. I really don't like red or yellow cars.

36.Tetris is the only video game that I can stand. I dislike all the other ones. Granted, I haven't played too many video games, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like them.

37. Labor and Delivery with an epidural is the only way to go. I tried it once without--not great. Not even okay. It was horribly painful. Obviously. I'm all about the drugs!! I just look at the doctor and say, "Give me all you've got! Stat!" Okay, I don't actually say "stat." I don't even know what it means except "please hurry really fast."

38. One more. Before I had children I was completely organized. Now the best organization system I've got goes something like this, "I think I either put it in that pile or that pile, but I'm not positive. If you don't find it there, try the left pile of the second shelf of the computer desk." Now that's organization for you!

Let the Real Chasing Begin

My little Ellie has learned how to walk. It's so cute to watch her toddle around the apartment. I finally managed to get a video of her walking, as opposed to all the other attempts which turned out to be videos of her falling down a lot.

Anyway, there's no sound, but if there were, you would undoubtedly hear The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, or some other Disney Princess movie. Because unfortunately, they are the only movies we watch between the hours of 7am and 8pm. No other movie/show is acceptable to my 3-year-old. If you watch her closely in the background, you will see that she rarely takes her eyes off the tv.

Wait! This post is supposed to be about Ellie walking. Yay Ellie!


p.s. Please ignore the mess. I have better things to do on Kasey's day off than clean the apartment.

Writer's Block

I've been suffering from a severe case of writer's block lately. I remember a time, not too long ago, when I had to restrain myself from posting 3 or 4 times a day. Of course there were some days when I gave in and posted that many times anyway. Perhaps that was unwise as now I've run out of things to say. Which for those of you who know me, that seems an impossibility. I can usually talk forever.

But now I realize that I'm writing about having writer's block. So before this post becomes more boring (as if that was possible), I'll simply say, check back after Christmas for a post worth reading.

Merry Christmas to you all!

And I Thought the Ignoring Didn't Start Until the Teenage Years

This morning I was trying to get Ellie's attention. I kept repeating her name, but she was very focused on whatever it was she was looking at and had no interest in looking at me or listening to what I had to say. So I got right in front of her, two inches from her face and said, "Ellie, look at me." She put her little hand on my cheek, pushed it to the side and said, "Watch out!"

Pepper Steak/ Philly Sandwiches

A friend gave me this recipe for Pepper Steak this summer. It is so yummy! And not terribly difficult to make either. So, let's get started.

Start by thinly slicing 1 onion and 2 green peppers.

Cut beef into 1 inch strips. I used round steak, but it would also be good with sirloin. The recipe calls for 1-1/2 pounds of steak, but I cut it down to just under a pound for our family.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in large skillet and add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic. If you are using fresh garlic, mince 1 clove.

Once the butter is melted, add your steak.

Cook meat until it is almost done.

Set aside.

Reserve juices in pan.

Add your peppers and onions.

Saute until peppers are tender crisp and onions are just starting to get translucent.

Add beef back to the pan.

Put 1 cube of beef bouillon in with beef mixture. I prefer to use granules. They are easier than the cubes. If you decide to go this route, sprinkle & stir in 1 teaspoon of granules. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon corn startch, 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 cup water. I have a handy-dandy salad dressing shaker that works really well for mixing this up. If you have one, use it. If you don't, a bowl and spoon work just fine.

Pour the soy sauce mixture over the beef mixture.

Stir it until thickened. At this point you could serve the pepper steak over hot rice. But since I'm not a fan of rice, I like to turn it into a Philly Steak Sandwich. If you like that as well, proceed as follows.

Toast some hoagie buns, or subs, or deli rolls, or whatever you call them, under your broiler.

Top the toasted buns with pepper steak and cheese. You can use whatever cheese floats your boat. I prefer Swiss, but I've also used provolone and mozzarella. Last night I happened to use mozzarella since I was out of Swiss and my car was broken and I couldn't get to the store. But that's a story for another time. (or probably not since it's really not all that interesting.) Anyway, put the sandwiches under the broiler for 4-6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly.

This is the finished result. It is so delicious. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture.

Family Photo Shoot

We got our family pictures taken this weekend. Carrie did an amazing job capturing the personalities of my girls. And I love this collage that she put together. I can't wait to get it printed, framed, and hung on my wall.

She took nearly 150 pictures so it was hard choosing a favorite. Here are some of the many that I love.

Thanks Carrie!

Oh the memories!

Last night I discovered the blog of a boy I knew in college. It's funny because Kasey and I had been talking about him earlier in the week. We talked about how hilarious this kid is and how much we miss having him around.

We met Eli August 2002. He used to joke around with us that we were his mom and dad away from home. And later when he wrote us letters from his mission, he started "Dear Mom and Dad."

We have some really great memories of Eli. Reading his blog, I realized that he really hasn't changed all that much in the 5 years since I saw him last.

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Today I made a layered bean dip. As I was making it, I remembered all the times that my friends and I cooked or baked together in high school. Some of the highlighted items were beef and bean enchiladas, layered bean dip, banana bread, and cheesecake. Oh the cheesecake. We had cheesecake a lot. That's because I make a killer cheesecake (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that before. It will be the topic of a future post: how to make a really delicious and not terribly difficult cheesecake--if you like that sort of thing.)

Anyway, here's a story about cheesecake. We all had Mrs. Pedersen for English the year that we had to do research papers. If you had Mrs. Pedersen during research you understand the shiver that goes through my body when someone mentions research papers. For me, it was the most intense 34 days (2 research papers, 17 days to do each of them) of my life. Each paper was 17 days, 14 pages, 12 sources, hundreds of note cards, little to no sleep, sacrificing every other class and the teachers understood. My history teacher planned a test and several students, myself included, panicked and exclaimed, "But Mr. Hillier, it's research!" And Mr. Hillier, having survived research papers with Mrs. Pedersen, said "You're right. Test next week."

The whole point of this little story is to get you to understand that the moment the papers were handed in, the class broke out in celebration. My friends and I decided that the best way to celebrate would be to bring a cheesecake, cherry I believe it was, to class and enjoy every bite knowing we had just survived the most grueling 17 days of our lives thus far. (Although I must say I've never seen the likes of those days in the 7 years since I lived them.) We were really mean and didn't share with anyone. We each grabbed a fork and dug in.

So it is whenever I make something that I started making in high school with friends that my mind wanders back to those times. And I smile at the memories and give thanks that I have them to cherish.

Whew! I'm still tired!

Yesterday I did some babysitting for some friends. I had little Mallory, who is one month older than Ellie, from 8:00am to 3:30pm while her mom substituted at the elementary school. Then Makayla's friend, Laney, came over from 2:30 to 4:00pm. It was like having 2 sets of twins. Let me just say, there was a little bit of craziness happening at my house.

Having 2 babies wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. And then I tried to go somewhere. Messing with 3 car seats and 3 kids totally kicked my butt. I was so exhausted just taking Makayla to preschool. I seriously don't know how anyone manages 3 children or more. You are all my heroes.

Needless to say, negotiations for another baby have come to a complete halt!

Need a good laugh?

I nearly fell off my chair laughing when I watched this.

Snow & Wind--a bad combination

Dressed like this, you may think my girls were ready to go outside and play in the snow. But you would be wrong! Here in Wyoming, where the snow falls sideways, we have to dress like this for a simple trip to the mail box. Three words: I. Hate. Wind.

24-30

24. One of my favorite meals is spaghetti with garlic bread. I only like homemade, though. I never order spaghetti at a restaurant, and I won't eat garlic bread from the freezer section.

25. I am 25 years old.

26. Favorite Actors, in no particular order: Christian Bale, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks

27. Least Favorite Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves

28. I make a killer cheesecake.

29. I enjoy doing puzzles: Jigsaw and Sudoku are what I do most often.

30. I think I'm a fairly uninteresting person and not remotely funny. I'm always so puzzled when people tell me that I'm funny. I just don't see it.

Lewiston is the coolest!!

Kasey and I really, really miss living in Idaho. This is just one of the reasons why.

Christmas Party

Last night was the annual Church Christmas Party. It was fun. We had a soup & dessert buffet. The local middle school performed several Christmas songs and of course, Santa came by for a short visit. Makayla was so excited when he came walking in. She didn't know that it was our bishop dressed up in red and white. Nor did she care that the elf was 6' 2'', not 2' 6" like all of her Christmas storybooks depict. She loved it!

I saw the little brown lunch sacks, rolled twice and stapled, sitting under the Christmas tree. I immediately thought of when I was a small child, waiting eagerly to sit on Santa's lap to tell him what I wished for with all my little heart. Then Santa would hand me a candy cane, pat my little back, and send me on my merry way. I'd pick up my precious brown paper sack from the elf who was probably someone my parents knew. And they probably giggled to themselves that I was none the wiser, much like I did last night with Makayla. I'd take that little brown sack home where I'd open it to find peanuts still in their shells and those jelly orange slices coated in sugar. And some years, there was also a small orange. Mmmmm! Oranges at Christmas time. Well, that's a topic for another post.

These were my thoughts as Makayla brought her little brown sack over to me all giddy from seeing Santa. She asked if we could open it. I told her we should wait until we got home. After all, I didn't want to be responsible for peanut shells scattered on the gym floor. We came home and I opened the sack for her. I peered inside, my heart all a flutter with Christmas reminiscence, and what did I see? Candy. What? Where the heck are my peanuts and jelly orange slices?

*sigh*

So, I ate a chocolate to help ease my disappointment.

Albert Einstein was a smart guy

I meant my quote from yesterday to transition into this quote, also from Albert Einstein. No matter, I'll just post it today instead.

Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine
are still greater.

I credit this quote as getting me through all my math classes in college. As a bookkeeping major, I can assure you there were many.


And after I graduated, I kept this quote in my memory, but adapted it to other situations. When I struggle with challenges, I try to remember that no matter what my difficulties are at the moment, there are others whose suffering is still greater.

Who knew?

I always thought it was the other way around.

Reading for Intelligence

I haven't posted a quote in a long time. I came across a quote by Albert Einstein today that I really like.

If you want your child to be intelligent, read him fairy tales. If you want him
to be even more intelligent, read him more fairy tales.

I read to my children. I don't too often because it's something that Kasey likes to do with them. I kind of feel like it's a special thing he has with the girls. But since he is often still at work when bedtime rolls around, I step in and do the reading. I just read small board books. Which, don't get me wrong, is good, but I want them to love reading like I do. I sometimes don't feel like they will love reading by looking at Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb 20 times a day.

I read a list of books that a girl is reading to her 2-year-old: The Twits, James and the Giant Peach, and George's Marvelous Medicine, all by Roald Dahl. He's probably my favorite children's author. I've read his book many, many times. The Witches is my favorite by him. I've read it over 30 times. (yes I kept track) But I digress.

I really want to start reading "older" books to them. I don't think they are ready for Ivanhoe quite yet, but certainly I could read them something with more substance than Three Little Kittens. So, I'm making it a goal of mine to read them more advanced books. Even though they may not, will not, sit still while I read (there won't be any pictures to entertain) I think only good can come of my reading to them.

I haven't read children's books for quite some time. I've been reading board books for 3 1/2 years. So, I need some suggestions. What were some of your favorite books to read as children, or favorite books to read to your children now? I really need all the suggestions I can get.

18-23

18. My favorite words are fabulous, super, and wicked. My new favorite word, inspired by this hilarious post, is guffaw. I'm making it a point to use it at least once a week from now on.

19. My verbal pre-nup clearly states that I will never ask my husband to purchase feminine products for me. Which is fine by me. I can just see him getting the wrong thing, and then I'd have to go to the store anyway. It's just easier for me to buy it in the first place.

20. I never watched Sesame Street as a child.

21. I always wear nylons to church. Even in the summer. I'm weird that way.

22.I keep a dictionary on my desk and refer to it often. There's a lot you can learn from that book, you know.

23. I don't use conventional swear words when I'm angry. I prefer to use made up words. It helps me forget about being angry and makes me laugh instead. My made-up swear word of choice is "kraznocks." (Thank you Nicolas Cage for that one.)

Hot Soup for a Cold Day

I have a yearly subscription to a cooking magazine. I love browsing it and finding new recipes. Some are okay, some are pretty bad, and some are instant hits with my family. This soup is one such recipe. It caters to the pickiness of my husband and 3-year-old which works out well for me. Plus it's relatively inexpensive to make--a definite bonus for those on a budget.

Cheddar Ham Soup

2 c diced, peeled potatoes (1 large Idaho potato--I specified Idaho because no one grows them like Idaho)
2 c water
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c butter, cubed (the recipe says to cube it, but I never do. It just melts faster, that's all.)
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper ( I never measure S&P. I always eyeball it.)
2 c shredded cheddar
1-1/2 c cooked cubed ham (I usually buy a small package of John Morrell cubed ham, unless I already have some ham on hand, which is almost never.)

1. In large pan, combine potatoes, water, carrots and onion. Bring to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. (Simmer time depends on how big or small your vegetable chunks are.)

2. In a small pan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Add milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Stir into undrained potato mixture. Add ham and heat through.

I like to make biscuits or buttered toast to go with it, but this soup can certainly stand on its own. Yummy! I can't wait to have it for lunch today.

12 - 17

12. I love to laugh. Laughing makes me feel like I'll live longer.

13. My favorite way to unwind is a long, hot shower. I like to stand under the pounding heat until the water starts to turn cold.

14. I really don't care for baths, unless it's the first few days after giving birth. Then baths are the best!

15. I wear a size 8 shoe, which seems pretty big to me. But it must be a fairly common size because I can never seem to find any good shoes in my size.

16. I absolutely love to read. My favorite books are historical fiction, particularly about the Holocaust, and fantasy.

17. The first argument I ever had with my husband was about the way I fold his socks. It's such a silly thing to argue over, but it reminds me that anything can be blown out of proportion and helps me keep things in perspective. Maybe this is why I hate folding socks. (see #11)

Introduction to my 100 things

Sometime last week, I was reading blogs. Surprise!! It was one of those nights where Kasey didn't get home until 3am, and I had no intentions of going to bed without him. Again. So I was reading a recently discovered, fellow Bear Laker's blog. (Does that need to be hyphenated? Mrs. P would know that for sure.) Anyway, I clicked on a link from that blog, which led me to another blog of someone else with whom I went to high school. I continued clicking links of different blogs, reading bits here and there. Well, 3 hours (my kids were in bed. I didn't ignore them that long; although, some days....) and 5 blogs later, I discovered a blog that had something that I'm totally going to copy because I'm not creative on my own and simply prefer to steal others' ideas.

Anyway, back to the idea I'm stealing. It's 100 things about me. Which I sort of already started, but now plan to continue through 100. Like this other lady, I'm not going to overwhelm you with 100 things all at once, which would be tiresome for you and me alike. Rather, I'll break it up into smaller sections. The first 7 are here if you care to read them again. Or if you are new to this blog, you can read them for the first time.

8. I was married in Spokane, Washington.
9. My dad taught me how to take pictures. He's an amazing photographer, and I learned a lot from him.
10. I hate gift bags. I think it's the lazy way to give gifts. I much prefer to wrap presents with beautiful paper and lavish bows. Now, before you start getting all huffy puffy about this comment, remember that these are my 100 things. I don't mind if you like and use bags with tissue paper, but my personal preference is to wrap. I like it. It's relaxing for me. Kind of like number
11. which is that I love folding laundry, with the exception of socks. It, too, relaxes me and gives me time to reflect on things. It's really kind of great that I get time to think all while accomplishing a mandatory household task.

I think that's enough for today. I've now got my blogging fix for the day. Next up: Grey's Anatomy on ABC.com while Ellie finishes her nap.

Cake pictures

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Ellie eating cake for her first birthday.

Ellie's own cake

The cake we shared with guests

So, the cakes turned out pretty cool, but they are nothing compared to the cake I made for Makayla's 3rd birthday. . . .

I've got a big job ahead of me

No blogging for a whole weekend (that one from Saturday does not count as blogging), and I think I'm going through withdrawls. I've got the shakes and everything. So, prepare yourselves for an onslaught of thoughts from the weekend. First off is this incredibly disturbing, but also effect video from the Dove beauty campaign. It really affected me. Especially because I have 2 girls who I know will face this in the not too distant future. I want to teach them that beauty comes from the inside, but I fear that outside influences will make them believe otherwise. It's a very scary thought for me as a parent.

Cake pictures are oh so fun!

We had birthday cake today for Ellie. Pictures coming soon. . . .