Ellie's Belly

Ellie has the cutest little Buddha belly, which she has recently discovered. Her new favorite game is to play peek-a-boo with her own tummy. She says, "Where's belly?" Then she lifts up her shirt as far as it will go and pats her belly saying, "belly, belly, belly."

Today while playing this little game, she discovered that she also has a belly button. She can feel it with her fingers, but she can't see it. But that doesn't stop her from trying. It's hilarious watching her twist and turn and bend in the effort to find that elusive belly button.

Hmm...I wonder if that's what I look like when trying to find my feet while 9 months pregnant. Although, I'm sure I'm not as cute as Ellie.

Chicken over Curly Noodles

This is what I made for Kasey and myself for lunch today.

(picture taken from this website)

It's so easy and takes less than 30 minutes. Plus, I didn't have to make a special trip to the grocery store because the recipe uses ingredients that I already had in my kitchen. How handy is that?

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
3 packages chicken ramen noodles
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil


In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce and garlic; set aside. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine bread crumbs and contents of two noodle seasoning packets. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.


In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.


Remove chicken and keep warm. Add peanut butter mixture to skillet; cook and stir until heated though. Drain noodles. Add noodles to skillet; toss to coat. Serve with chicken.


Those are the directions for the original recipe. These are the changes I will make next time we have this:

• reduce the amount of peanut butter by about 1 tablespoon
• add a pinch of sugar to the sauce
• pound the chicken to about 1/4 inch thickness for more even cooking
• add something to the noodles such as peanuts, green onions, water chestnuts, or broccoli

If anyone tries this, let me know what you think.

Three Years Going On Sixteen

Today I was tying up a few loose ends before the girls and I could go over to a friend's house. Makayla came into the kitchen wearing a sun dress from last summer. And while I don't mind her wearing it around the house, I don't want her to wear it outside (it's not that warm yet) or at a friend's house while she is playing.

I said, "Makayla, you need to put some pants on before we go to your friend's house."

"But I can just wear this dress."

"No you can't. Go change your clothes."

"Nooooo!! I want to wear this dress."

"Go change your clothes right now! You are not going anywhere in that outfit!"

After I said that I stopped abruptly and thought to myself, Wow! Now that's a conversation I didn't expect to have for a few more years.

Dinner Time at Our House

Ellie loves chili....

but only if she gets to eat it with her hands!

Birthday Card

Makayla and Ellie's cousin is turning 4 this week. He absolutely loves anything John Deere. While I was at the scrapbook store yesterday, I found these awesome tractor brads. They were my inspiration for this card that I made for him.

Another Personality Test

I got an email with a link for a visual personality test. I was a little skeptical at first, but I did it anyway. It was nice having a new twist on the same old personality test. I think it was fairly accurate of my personality and outlook on life. Why not try it yourself?

Chicken Pasta Salad--Oh Baby!!

Do you have a recipe that you love so much you can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days straight without getting tired of it? I do. And this is it.

Chicken Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my sister about 4 or 5 years ago, and I love it!! I made it last night so Kasey could take some to work this morning. I had it for breakfast this morning. I plan on having it for lunch. And it's very likely that I will forego our chili dinner tonight in favor of chicken pasta salad.

Here's the recipe:

6 oz cooked Radiator pasta

6 oz cooked Bowtie pasta

6 oz cooked Rotilla pasta

4 chicken breasts cooked and diced (I only used 3 and it was enough for me)
2-3 stalks of celery, diced

2-3 cups of grapes, halved (I always use 3 cups--my family loves grapes)

2-3 green onions (I left those out of this particular batch)

1 cup mayo

1-16 oz bottle Coleslaw dressing

Mix everything together and refrigerate for several hours. It's definitely better the second day.

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This makes a HUGE salad. So I'd recommend making it for a potluck the first time. That way if you don't like it, there are 50 other people to help you eat it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to sneak a forkful right now. Yum-O!!

I Can't Sleep!

I stayed up late reading like I always do. I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep (is that ever a conscious thing?) until Kasey woke me up as he was getting ready for work. So of course I stayed up to talk to him for a few minutes. But now he's been gone for 45 minutes, and I'm still awake.

I tried to go to bed, but sleep is evading me. So I'm blogging. Foolish, foolish girl that I am! I'm sure I'll pay for it in 3 or 4 hours when Ellie wakes up. But it almost seems better to be doing something than tossing and turning in my bed for an hour.

*Yawn*

Oooo!! I'm yawning, and my eyelids are drooping. Maybe I'll crawl under the covers and wait for sleep to slowly overcome me.

She Makes Me Laugh

Thursday afternoon-ish I had this conversation with Makayla.

"Makayla, do you want pizza for dinner?"

"Hmm...I thought we were having ice cream for dinner."

"No. We are not. Why do you think that?"

"Well, just because I need ice cream for dinner. We have some in the freezer. Here. Let me show you."

"That's okay. I know we have some in the freezer. But we aren't having that for dinner. How about pizza?"

"Oh, we have some of that in the freezer, too. I'll show you."

"No that's okay. I think I'll just order some on the phone."

"No thanks. I'll just have bread."

And have some bread, she did.

My Little Ellie Belle

She is so stinkin' happy all the time.

I just love her barely-there dimples!

The Easiest Macaroon Recipe Ever

I love to cook and bake. So when I come across a really easy and yummy recipe, I simply have to share it. This morning I was looking through my newest issue of Simple and Delicious and found a recipe for macaroons. I love macaroons but have never actually made them myself. This recipe, with only 3 ingredients, seemed too easy to mess up.

To make these oh-so-yummy macaroons you will need sweetened flaked coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and flour. How simple is that?!

Measure out 5 cups of coconut.

Then add 1/2 cup all purpose flour.

Last comes one 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk.

Mix it all together.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. It took 9 minutes for mine to look like this.

Remove to wire rack to cool.

I decided that I wanted chocolate on mine. You can't have macaroons without chocolate! Well, okay you can, but they aren't nearly as good. Since I don't have a double boiler, I went with what I had. I filled a saucepan about 1/2 way with water and put a metal mixing bowl on top. Heat the water until almost, but not quite, boiling. I'm not sure why, but that's what my mom told me, and I listen to my mother. I dumped in about 4 ounces of milk chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon of vegetable shortening.

Stir it until it's smooth and glossy like this. Since I'm not sharing this particular batch of cookies, I took the liberty of dipping my finger into the choclate. Mmmm!!

Then I drizzled the chocolate over the cookies as they were cooling. I would have prefered to dip the bottoms in chocolate and then drizzle, but I didn't have enough chocolate chips for that. Maybe next time.

Last time I tried to drizzle glaze on some cookies, I made a huge mess. So this time I wised up and put a cookie sheet under the rack to catch all the drips. Of course I didn't use a clean cookie sheet. I just used the pan that I baked the cookies on. I try not to dirty any more dishes than absolutely necessary. I don't have a dishwasher like I used to. *sigh*

The directions say to cool completely before eating. But I was far too impatient for that and ate them right away. Don't forget the milk. You're gonna need it!

The Simpson's Are Growing On Me

I never watched The Simpson's growing up, but Kasey did. He loves The Simpson's. He will randomly quote the show to which I will stare at him quizzically and say, "What?!"

When he found out that they were coming out with "The Simpson's Movie," he was beyond excited. But of course, he had to work, and we never made it to the theatre. After it came out on DVD, I rented it to humor him. I surprised myself when I sat down to watch it and laughed right along with him.

This is our favorite clip from the whole movie. And because we're kind of weird, we like to sing it randomly. It's a great way to break the tension after we've had a disagreement about something. Now Makayla even knows the song, and it's hilarious listening to her sing it. (If only my camera recorded sound. Then I could share.)



These quotes are the original reason for posting about the Simpson's. I read them on some random blog that I came across. They gave me a good laugh. Hopefully they will do the same for you. (If you aren't already laughing from Spider Pig.)

• I'm not impressed easily. Wow! A blue car!
• Well, crying isn't gonna bring him back, unless your tears smell like dog food.
• I don't hate your mother, I just won't be sad when she dies.
• Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'Sir' without adding, 'You're making a scene.'
• Trying is the first step toward failure.
• When I look at the smiles on all the children's faces, I just know they're about to jab me with something.
• America's health care system is second only to Japan, Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, well...all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!
• It's like something out of that "twilighty" show about that zone.
• It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.
• When I first heard that Marge was joining the police academy, I thought it would be fun and zany, you know like that movie..."Spaceballs." But instead it was dark and disturbing, like that movie "Police Academy."
• You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is "never try."
• Don't let Krusty's death get you down, boy. People die all the time, just like that. Why, you could wake up dead tomorrow! Well, good night!
• First you don't want me to get the pony, then you want me to take it back. Make up your mind!
• Now, Marge, don't discourage the boy. Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals. Except the weasel.
• You can't go wrong with cocktail weenies. They look as good as they taste. And they come in this delicious red sauce. It looks like ketchup, it tastes like ketchup, but brother, it ain't ketchup!
• Shut up, brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-Tip!

Have You Been Bit by the Twilight Bug?

I am a HUGE fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twlight Series. I'm so, so excited for the Twilight movie that is being released this December.

Kami informed me of a site that has been posting pictures of the actors as they have been cast for different roles in the movie. I looked at it and was mildly disappointed in some of the casting.

But then today, I found a picture of the Cullen family posted on Stephenie's website. I am so excited now! It's going to be a long wait until December.

All you Twilight fans out there--what's your reaction?

Need a Good Laugh?

I totally cracked up at this post about giving in to peer pressure. Maybe it's because my 3-year-old often acts the same way. All those lessons on sharing are starting to backfire, I think.

Hold the Peanut Butter, Please

Anyone want to take a guess at what these are?

I know you are tempted to say "2 heart-shaped sandwiches." But that is where you'd be wrong.

These, my dear readers, are "jamwiches." That's the new word Makayla is using to describe her favorite snack: jam only sandwiches "cut like a heart."

One Year Older and Taller Too

This picture was taken about 1 year ago. This is Makayla wearing Kasey's pajama bottoms. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "I'm keepin' warm."

Kasey still has those pants, and Makayla still puts them on. This morning when she slipped into them, I asked her what she was doing. She scowled at me and said, "I'm trying to sleep in my sleeping bag. Leave me alone!"

I wish I'd taken a picture of her this morning. Those pants that use to come up over her shoulders, now barely reach her armpits. I can't believe how much she's grown in just 1 year!

10 Things That Make Me Smile

I've said before that I don't have a creative bone in my body. No, really. It's true. If ever I do or make something cute, it's because I've stolen that idea from someone else. Today's post will be no different.

I'm stealing this idea from Natalie. She posted this same topic on her blog recently. I loved it. I thought it was such a great way to focus on positive things in her life. So now I'll tell you some of the things that make me smile.

In no particular order, of course. . . .

1. My husband. He is so funny once you get him to open up. But it's not only him cracking jokes or doing crazy voices that make me smile. Just seeing him walk in the door at night is enough to light up my world and bring out a smile in me.

2. My children. My girls are constantly making me smile. I love listening to hilarious stories that Makayla tells me and watching Ellie learn a new word or sign. But like my husband, just seeing them brings a smile to my face.

3. Sales. There's nothing like finding a good bargain on something that I need--and sometimes on things that I don't really need. For example, yesterday at IKEA I found some new picture frames that I absolutely love. They were lots cheaper than the 3 frames I was going to buy at Walmart and way cuter! Score!

4. Music. I've always loved music. Mostly I love to play it, but I also enjoy turning up the volume on the stereo and dancing around the living room with my girls.

5. Emails that are not junk. Opening up my Yahoo! mail and seeing a new message in my inbox is the best. It never fails to make me smile seeing a friend's name on the from line.

6. The sun. It just makes me happy. I especially appreciate the sun in the winter on those rare days when it peeks out from behind a cloud.

7. Blogging. I'd be lying if I didn't say that it makes me smile. I love reading new posts and discovering new blogs.

8. "Me" time. The best kind of "me" time is in the evening after my family is in bed. I slip into my pajamas, mix up some hot chocolate and curl up on the couch with a good book. If I don't have a book to read, I'll pop in a chick flick that Kasey vetoes when we are watching movies together.

9. Grey's Anatomy. I know it's basically an evening soap opera, but I love it. I'm so glad the writer's strike is over so I can start watching new episodes. The next new episode is sure to bring a big smile with it.

10. Food Storage. I've given up on the excuse that I can't have a little food storage because I don't have room for it. So, I've taken to buying a little extra each month to add to my supply. I keep it under my sink, in my linen and coat closets, and even under the kitchen table if I can't find any other space. Just knowing that I can feed my family for a week if we had an emergency brings huge relief and a huge smile.

Denied

I'm sad to report that all requests to view Kasey's Hero video were promptly denied. He said he'd be too embarrassed. That's a funny reaction considering that he knew when he was making the video that people would see it.

So out of love and respect for my husband, I will not be showing the video. Sorry to disappoint!

My Valentine

Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought I'd tell you about the most romantic thing Kasey has ever done for me.

Our good friend, Paula, threw my bridal shower for me. It was lots of fun. We just had a BBQ at her dad's house, chatted and opened presents. Very casual. Very fun.

Near the end, Paula said that she and Kasey had a present for me too. Her dad brought a TV and VCR outside. She said their original plan had been to ask Kasey questions about me and see how many he could answer correctly. But Kasey openly admitted that he probably wouldn't know stuff like my favorite color.

Paula asked if we had a song. Kasey thought and thought and finally said that we like to make fun of Hero by Enrique Iglesias together. She said That'll work.

She then proceeded to film Kasey in 4 different locations singing and dancing to that song. Then Paula spent hours in the editing room at the college splicing the 4 videos together into 1 movie with Enrique doing the singing.

The result is 4 minutes and 24 seconds of the sweetest, funniest, most romantic stuff that makes up my husband.

The first time I watched it, I laughed. The second time I watched it, I cried. It was the perfect gift!

My aunt who attended the shower said, I wish my husband would do something like that for me.

Kasey's friends gave him a hard time about it. They said it wasn't fair for him to set the bar so high, because they would never do something like that. And now their girlfriends/fiances would expect the same from them.

I was thinking about it a few days ago and broke out the DVD. My reaction? I laughed and then cried. Amazing that it gets the same reaction from me almost 6 years later.

So there you go, the most romantic thing Kasey has ever done for me.

Do's and Don'ts with Babies

Thanks to Jodi for this hilarious link about how you do and don't take care of babies. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!

My Lost Brain Cells Have Returned

In recent posts I've complained very loudly about the weather here. What, you don't remember this post?

Anyway, this week has been so nice. Remember that "nice" is totally subjective. What is nice for one, may be miserable for another. With that in mind, I'll tell you that the temperature has been in the high 20s for the past 4 days. I wish I could say that it was 26 degrees Celsius, but sadly, we won't see temperatures like that until the end of June.

Right. So, it was 26 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday when I went to pick up Makayla from preschool. This is a vast improvement from the negative temperatures of last week.

As I was driving, I thought back to my high school days. The thing that I remembered was the shorts rule in my house. In the Spring, I was so eager to break out the shorts and enjoy the "warm" weather. But apparently I had no brain as a teenager. Imagine that. So my mom had to make the rule that we couldn't wear shorts until it was 25 degrees outside.

25 degrees!!

So although I've enjoyed walking outside and not having my extremeties frozen by the time I've walked 100 feet to my car, I don't think that 25 degrees is warm enough to wear shorts.

So thank you, mother, for watching out for me when I was too foolish to watch out for myself.

My shorts (or capris, rather) will stay safely tucked away in the back of my closet until June when the weather warrants such attire.

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Kasey just came home and told me it's in the 40s right now!! We are so going out for ice cream. I'm not sure I can take this heat any longer. (Is the sarcasm thick enough for you?)

A Post Full of Pictures

I haven't posted pictures in quite some time. Mostly it's because I've been too lazy to empty my card onto my computer. Well, today I finally did it. So here is a not-so-quick catch up from January and February. Starting with the most recent....

Today Makayla's class exchanged valentines. Little Wyatt got her a special valentine: this cute little puppy. Makayla loves that puppy and has named it Connie, after the lady at the movie store. Don't ask!

Last Sunday, I got up early to get the girls ready for church. On a whim, I decided to try Ellie's hair in pigtails. Success!! What is it about little girls and pigtails that I love so much? I don't know, but she sure looked cute!

This picture is so sad to me. Ellie fell and hit her head on the corner of the fridge. She immediately got a goose egg and a huge bruise. This picture does not do the injury justice. It looked so much worse in person. Look at her sad, puffy, red eyes. :(
I've never let Makayla bake with me before. Yeah, I know, I'm a horrible mom. Blah, blah, blah. But I was inspired by Mandy's post about her boy making muffins. So I broke out the mixer and ingredients and let Makayla help me make some cookies for her daddy.

We mixed them up, and I let Makayla scoop them onto the cookie sheet.

Then I remembered that I had some left over sugar cookie dough in the fridge. So I let her roll out the dough for those.
Cutting out the dough.
Enjoying a Devil's Food Cookie after a long afternoon of baking.

Speaking of baking, when I made my first apple pie the first week of January, I burned it. My second attempt was a week later. See how pretty it turned out? It tasted pretty darn good too. It only lasted 24 hours at my house. And that's because we were asleep for 8 of those 24 hours!

It's been 3 years, 8 months, and 3 weeks since I first saw those blue eyes. I still can't get over how much I love them!

Here's a close-up. Aren't they beautiful!

I love this super-cute wrap dress that Ellie got for Christmas. Purple is her color!

One morning I heard a crash in the kitchen. I went in to see Ellie eating cereal by handfuls. Apparently the girl was hungry.

Pet Peaves

I was greatly annoyed by two things this morning. That led me to think of my other pet peaves. I sat down to make a list, and here it is.

1. Mismatched socks. Both when people wear them or when I end up with mismatched socks while doing laundry.

2. Poor grammar. I'm even annoyed at myself when I don't know the correct usage or punctuation.

3. Vacuum lines on the carpet. I'm not sure why this bothers me so much, but it does.

4. Even worse than vacuum lines--foot prints on the carpet that I just vacuumed. I'm really glad that my current carpet doesn't show either.

5. People who take up two parking spots. Grrr!

6. Bathroom towels that hang unevenly. I tried to teach Kasey how to hang his towel nicely when he's done with it. But we eventually came to the conclusion that since it bothers me and not him, I should just straighten it myself. That works.

7. People who say warsh instead of wash. There is no "R" in wash!

8. People who talk during the movie at the theatre. Only at the theatre does this bother me. For some reason when I'm watching a movie at home, it doesn't annoy me. Hmmm.

I'm sure I have other pet peaves, but these are the only ones that I can think of right now.

Today's Topic: Toilet Seats

Kasey was looking at one of his favorite gun websites today. He started laughing, and I asked him what was so funny. He said that the same people who make the grip for his gun also make toilet seats.

WHAT??

He showed me the link to UltraTouch Comfort Touch Toilet Seats. I'm not sure what made me laugh more: the electrically heated toilet seat or the fact that you can detach it and toss it in the dishwasher. Eww!

Memories

Tonight I was reading through some things I've written about my girls. I came across this entry that made me laugh. It's dated September 28, 2007.

This morning I was changing Ellie's diaper. Talking to Ellie I said, "Oh you're
not poopy. Just wet." At that moment Makayla threw her arms in the air and said,
"It's a miracle!"

I'm so glad that I thought to write it down. Now 4 months later, I was able to relive that moment and smile about it. I want to be better about writing stuff like this down. And I hope in 10 or 15 years when I share this with Makayla, she will laugh also and be grateful that I took a few minutes to write down these precious moments in our lives.

Little Chef

Any of you seen Ratatouille by Disney Pixar? We got the DVD for Christmas for the girls. They love it. Especially Makayla. Since seeing the movie, she has taken to "helping" me in the kitchen. She makes comments like "Needs salt" and "Saffron would make this!"

Tonight Makayla came in the kitchen, pulled a chair up to the stove and started stirring the ingredients in the different pans. Then, in true Remy fashion, she started darting around the kitchen, grabbing her imaginary ingredients, and tossing them in the pan.

Here's a clip from the movie in case you haven't seen it.



This is the sort of behavior Makayla was exhibiting. It was really quite funny!

Enough With This Weather Already!

We had a really fun weekend planned. First up, a visit to the accountant. Now, a lot people don't think that's very fun. But since I was a bookkeeping major in college, I think going to see our accountant is great! Plus it usually means a big, fat check in my pocket, or at least a nice deposit in my bank account 10 to 14 days later.

Then, baking & frosting cookies with my mom for the girls. Makayla was so excited to help! And Ellie loves to lick the frosting off all the cookies before casually tossing them aside. Crazy Girl!

Laundry. Most people I know don't get excited about doing laundry. But since I normally have to pay to do my laundry, I get pretty dang happy, almost giddy, at the thought of doing 4 batches of laundry for free.

Tomorrow we were going to meet up with my friend, Veronica, and her family to go sledding.

After sledding, some shopping at Costco and Target. I love those 2 stores!

We got up this morning and packed up our car for the weekend. About 20 miles down the interstate, we came to a halt. Trucks and cars were lined up with no signs of moving. We called the road report and found out that the interstate was closed about 13 miles ahead of us. We reasoned that since our exit was only about 1/2 mile from where we were, it would be alright for us to drive along the shoulder to our exit. (I hope no cops are reading this entry. Oops!)

After we exited to head for my mom's house, about 130 miles away, the roads really took a turn for the worse. The wind was blowing and the road was solid ice. Kasey lost control of the car a couple times, so I made him turn around and go home. It took us 2 hours to make a 40 mile trip.

We were pretty bummed about our canceled trip. So Kasey took me on a date. I don't even remember the last time we went on a real date. Oh wait! Yes I do. It was to the movie I Am Legend. Then I had nightmares for a week!

Anyway, he took me to a movie tonight. We saw August Rush. I know it's been out for a while, but we rarely go out anymore, so we're behind on our movies. I absolutely loved it! What a great family movie.

Okay, so I thought I had more to say about it than that. Just go watch it. Or wait until is comes out on DVD and rent it from Red Box. It's much cheaper that way.

Getting back to the reason I started this post, I'm so sick of this horrible weather! I'm frustrated that Kasey took a day off of work so that we could be stranded at home. But I did get a date out of it, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Hope all of your weekends turn out better than mine. I know Janelle's will.

New Poll

I just read that Mitt Romney has suspended his presidential campaign. On my poll, 80% of you voted for him. Now that he is out of the running, who will your vote go to?

My Great Communicator

I would have given my right arm (or maybe my left, since I'm right-handed) to know what Makayla was trying to say to me when she was a baby. I pulled my hair out in sleepy frustration trying to figure out what the heck she wanted. Oh, the incessant crying!! It's a shock that I had the courage to try again with another baby.

You think I'm exaggerating. Just ask anyone who knew her as a baby. Seriously!

But this post is not about Makayla. It's about Ellie, my insanely smart, super-communicating 14 month old. She was seriously the BEST baby. She hardly ever cried. She cried so little that I thought something might be wrong with her, until my mom and mother-in-law convinced me that this is how most babies act. She slept through the night at 6 weeks. Heaven!

Now she is moving out of the baby phase and moving into the toddler phase. She is such a great communicator. I'm sure part of this is because this is my second time around on the mom thing. And part of it is because she has an older sibling to learn from. Whatever the reason, I am loving that I can understand what she wants.

Her sign language is coming along, and she can speak in 2-4 word sentences. My favorite new acheivement of hers is telling me when she wants her diaper changed.

Yesterday morning she toddled up to me, grabbed my finger and said Mama, dad-pah (diaper). Then she pulled me over to the diaper changing spot, layed down on the floor and started to fiddle with her zipper.

I was pretty amazed. I thought that it was, perhaps, a fluke. Then it happened in the afternoon and again this morning.

As crazy as this idea may seem, I'm thinking about pushing the potty training. I have her potty chair sitting out already. She loves to sit on it right before bathtime. And sometimes when we are in the bathroom getting ready, she points to the toilet and says I go.

Now I am fantasizing about having Ellie potty trained at 18 months. Wouldn't that be the coolest? It sure would beat potty-training a stubborn 3-year-old.

Who Are You Voting For?

I got this email and link from my sister today.

Answer 10 questions at http://www.votechooser.com/ and find out which presidential candidate is most similar to you!

She matched up 100% with the candidate she is leaning toward. I scored equal on the 2 candidates that I can't decide between.

Take the quiz and see how accurate it is for you.

Don't forget to take the poll on your right. I'm really curious to see who everyone else is thinking about voting for.

Superbowl Commercials

If you are like me, you think the best part of the Superbowl is the commercials. I found this website that has all the commercials from the Superbowl yesterday all in one convenient spot. So if you saw a commercial yesterday that you'd like to see again, or if you didn't watch the game and want to see the commercials for the first time, head on over. Some of them are really funny!

The Only Promise That Remains

I really LOVE this song! I keep trying to find it on project playlist so that I can add it to my blog, but so far I have been unsuccesful. This was the best I could do. It's from the performance Reba and Justin did on Oprah last September. (Oh yeah! Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom.)

A Giant Among Men

I've noticed that several others have paid tribute to this great man on their blogs this week. Now I would like to do the same.

Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Prophet of God, passed away earlier this week. I watched his funeral this morning with tears of sadness, of laughter, and of joy.

Sadness for my own loss. I never met him, but I always felt like I knew him. I am sad that I will never again hear him speak from the pulpit at General Conference or the First Presidency Christmas Devotional or any number of meetings. His quick wit and genuine love for people are two things that I have always loved about him.

Laughter because of the stories and remembrances shared during the celebration of his life.

And joy because I know that he must be so happy to be reunited with his dear wife again. I know he missed her. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he spoke of her following her death in 2004.

I love that President Monson called him a "giant among men." It was so fitting of him.

I think my sister summed it up best when she said, "the best tribute we can give is to actually strive to follow the words that he spoke and lived."

Good-bye President Hinckley. You will be missed.

Young Love

Makayla goes to preschool 4 mornings a week. There is this little boy, Wyatt, in her class that has a huge crush on her. It's so adorable. I can't get over what a sweet little boy he is.

Yesterday morning I took Makayla to class. As always, she hung up her backpack and coat and sat down at the table for craft time. Wyatt was already sitting, working on his project. As soon as Makayla sat down, he picked up his stuff and moved around to the other side of the table. He scooted his chair right up against hers and then sat down.

It was so funny!

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Everyday the kids have to check in and check out of class. This is done by taking their Dora backpack that has their name and photo on it and place it on the board. Inside the class to show they've checked in and in the hallway to show they've checked out.

Each day, Wyatt waits for Makayla to check out so he can put his backpack next to hers on the board. One day, Makayla put her backpack on the board, but the spot next to her was already taken. So Wyatt moved the other kid's backpack so his could be next to Makayla's. This happens every single day!

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On the way out of the school, Wyatt always tries to walk next to Makayla. Then they part ways with a See you tomorrow, or Have a good weekend.

For the past week, once we get into the car, Makayla has said to me He's my girlfriend. So I asked her Did Wyatt say you were his girlfriend?

Yes. I'm his girlfriend and he is my girlfriend.

I tried to tell her that he is a boy and therefore, a boyfriend. But she will not be convinced otherwise.

Kasey's not crazy about this whole situation, but I think it's adorable and find it a daily source of entertainment. Of course, I may not feel the same way in 10 or 12 years.

P.S. I had my ice cream, and it was totally worth 12 hours of work!