Emily Paige Quinn

Here is my newest niece, Emily Paige Quinn, with her big brother, Andrew. She was born April 8th and was 8 lbs. 15 oz. Congrats, Amy and Jake, on your beautiful baby girl! We can't wait to see her in person in June!

One Tired Boy

As I was finishing my last post, I turned around and saw this...

So I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture. Yes, he is asleep. I could seriously have a whole scrapbook of pictures of my kids falling asleep in the strangest locations/positions. Then 5 seconds later, he fell over on the floor...still asleep...

Burn, Baby, Burn

Here was the not so fun part of Baby Animal Day. Since it had snowed 3 days before, I didn't think about sunscreen....fyi, this happens every year and you would think I would learn. The kids were in long sleeves and hats so they didn't get burned but since it was forecasted to be a nice day, I left my jacket at home. I guess that's what you get when your pasty white, fair skin that hasn't seen the sun in six months gets a little dose of sunshine!

Baby Animal Day at the American West Heritage Center

On Saturday we went to Baby Animal Day. Grandma and Grandpa Barton joined us along with Cheryl and Christie and their boys. The kids had lots of fun seeing all the baby animals, going on pony and wagon rides and of course the candy cannon!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

2.3 MILES

For those of you who don't know, I am NOT a runner or even a jogger. I am a walker. I love to walk for exercise and go 3 miles when the weather is nice outside. This is a pretty good workout if I keep up the pace, while pushing two kids in my double jogger. Lately, though, I've been pushing myself to run...okay, I'll call it a jog. The most I've been able to jog on the treadmill is about 2 minutes...I know, wimpy, but I really don't like to jog. On Thursday night, I decided I was going to walk 4 minutes/jog 6 minutes repeating the pattern for 60 minutes on the treadmill. And I did it! Then I did about 20 minutes of abs, arms, and leg work. A little suggestion...do not start this routine at 9:20 p.m. You'll be wide awake, laying in bed until 1:00 a.m. But boy did I feel goooood...my legs weren't feeling so great the next morning as I tried to get out of bed but it was a good pain! So tonight I needed to get a quick workout in so when we got home from a little BBQing at the inlaws, I decided to go for it. I went along my walking route, cutting out a little bit since it was getting dark, and then when I got home, I mapped my route on Google maps to see how far I had gone...2.3 miles! And I jogged the WHOLE way! Yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself. I think the farthest I've ever run without stopping was a mile back in high school. Top of Utah Marathon, here I come...okay, maybe that's a little ambitious. I'll try for a 5K first.

A funny little story about my jog tonight. I was passing some people walking their dog and the dog started barking at me. The owner said "Hey, knock that off. You don't bark at joggers. They are good people" That pretty much made my day...and it was right at the point when I really felt like walking, but instead I picked up the pace because hey, I'm a jogger now.

Tummy Time!

Trevor is not a huge fan of tummy time. He'll last about five minutes and then the frustration begins. After all, how would you like holding up this noggin?! It's in the 90th percentile while the rest of him is in the 50th...well, those were the 2 months stats. He's almost 4 months so we'll see if the rest of him is catching up to his head...I wouldn't doubt it if his weight is...the little hunk a chunk!

Towards the end, I couldn't even get a picture fast enough. By the time he lifted his head and I snapped the picture, he was already in face plant position!

No-Knead Bread

This recipe is originally from the New York Times (or watch the video), but I found it through my sister's friend Christy. The most difficult part is how sticky it is, but really takes very little time other than a bit of planning ahead. I haven't tried mixing anything in it yet, but I plan to - maybe some garlic or sunflower seeds. I bake it inside a 12" Dutch Oven, but it would probably fit in a 10" one pretty easily. I'd add a picture of it cut up, but once it is cut, it does not last long enough to get a picture.



No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf.

Green Drink....YUMMY!!

The Baby Catcher had an "Ode to Green Drink" post last week and since I had a bag of spinach I needed to use up, I decided to try it out this morning. I kinda made up my own concoction with what I had so here it is...

6 oz. bag of spinach

1 C. Naked juice

1/2 lb. strawberries

1 1/2 bananas

1 C. ice

I think mine was weighted towards the fruity side. Maybe next time I'll get braver and add more greens! Check out her blog. It has lots of good info about the benefits of greens in your diet.

I even had Rob drink a glass before he left for work. He is the master of smoothies. Whenever we have yogurt in the fridge and bananas that are about to go bad, he'll whip up smoothies to go along with dinner. The kids love it and we play a game that they have to guess the secret ingredient(s). Some of the secret ingredients have included carrots, marshmallows, Trix, graham crackers, a slice of Banana Cream Pie, peanut butter... I think there was only one time that the crazy mix was nasty!

ThE BeSt BiRthDaY!

Whoa...a whole week without a post! Well, I had a good reason cuz I was playing in sunny Arizona! Last Monday (the 24th) I got an email from Delta with their weekend deals. They had flights to Phoenix for $69 each way (leave on Saturday, come back on Tuesday). So I told Rob I wanted to go to Arizona for my birthday. I made plans for Ashlee, Brynlee and Landon to stay at friend's houses during the times Rob was at work and they weren't at school and off I went with Trevor to celebrate my birthday in Arizona....only one more year of my twentys and then I hit the big 3-0! On Friday before I left, I got my hair cut.

Friday night we drove down to Salt Lake since my flight was leaving at 8:30 Saturday morning. We went to Rob sister's (Cheryl) house for some pizza, Perfectly Chocolate Cake, air hockey, and March Madness on the big screen.Trevor hanging out with Sponge Bob watching the game

On Saturday, I flew into Phoenix and Allyson picked me up. Trevor did SO good on the plane. He fell asleep during take off and slept most of the way. Since Peter's family had a family reunion in Mesa, we met David on the way to the reunion and he took me to Sushi Creek for lunch in Queen Creek. When I talked to David on his birthday, he said they went there for dinner and I told him I'd never had sushi. He told me next time I was in AZ, he would take me so I gathered up the courage and it was actually quite yummy....except for the Cherry Blossom...it had the raw fish wrapped on top and it was a bit much for me. When the server brought that one out, I told David....uh, I don't think I can eat that. I had a piece with avocado and shrimp on top but thought I'd gag if I ate the others so he kindly finished that roll up! My favorites were the Shrimp Tempura and California Crunch Roll.

Then we went to his new house and my parents and Allyson's family joined us for a BBQ and cake and ice cream. Trevor got to meet David and Noel's puppy, Jelly Bean.

I spent the rest of the weekend until Tuesday hanging out with Allyson's family. My nephew, Tyler, had a baseball game on Monday evening so it was fun to watch him play.

I had a BLAST! Thanks to everyone who made my birthday the BesTEst!

Magic Mouthwash

Ever heard of Magic Mouthwash?? I hadn't until the InstaCare doctor asked me if I wanted some to help with the pain. Um....sure? What is it? Is it a spray?? I really don't like sore throat sprays that numb your throat. He said he'd write me a prescription, but asked the nurse to whip some up for me to try before I filled the prescription in case I didn't like it. The nurse handed me the bottle and explained how to use it (gargle for 1-2 min or even swallow some to coat my throat). I tried some when I got home and ended up not filling the prescription. It ended up numbing my tongue and did nothing to help with the throat pain...maybe I needed to gargle better or swallow more...who knows...but I just hate that numb feeling. So what does Magic Mouthwash consist of??? A little Benedryl, some Maalox, a dab of Carafate, and Viscous Lidocaine...now I didn't write down the exact amounts so don't go trying to make this on your own! :)

Oh Brynlee, Brynlee

Just thought I would post a few conversations I've had with Brynlee the last couple days. This girl makes me laugh, drives me crazy, and everything in between. I really do love this girl!

Yesterday I was explaining to my kids that I was going to Arizona this weekend and was telling them who and when they would be staying with during the day on Monday and Tuesday when they are home from school/preschool and Rob is at work. Then Brynlee asked if I was going to go to my house (I assumed she meant where I grew up). I told her that I was going to be staying at Allyson's house. She then asked "Did she move?" "Why? Where did you think Allyson lived?" "Uh, Africa??" No, Brynlee, Allyson did not live in Africa.

Then this morning we were coming home from the library (I totally forgot to return the movie last Friday that I wasn't allowed to renew online since someone had it on hold and my overdue fines were adding up...I know a whopping 40 cents!), and I could tell that Brynlee was moving around in her seat a little too much to be buckled in. I can only see her head in the rear view mirror since she sits behind Landon, so I asked her if she was buckled. "Yep" was her response. That's funny because you don't really look like your buckled. I am, she says. Are you lying to me? No. So I came to a stop sign and turned around and sure enough she wasn't buckled. So Brynlee, what do you think your punishment should be since 1. you didn't clean up last night when I asked you to and 2. you just lied to me. Brynlee's response "Do the dishes??"

Oh Brynlee, Brynlee!

7 More Down, But Not the Fun Way

I realized just now that it's been 6 weeks since I posted about my great plan to lose the extra pregnancy pounds and I promised a report. Seven pounds in 6 weeks isn't too bad...about a pound a week...but it didn't really happen that way. It would be nice to say that I lost 7 more pounds by following this wonderful plan but to tell the truth, I followed it for the first 3 days and then life got in the way. I exercised here and there, but not everyday. I did try hard to drink lots of water and I do think that helped me not snack as much. I didn't lose anything the first 4 weeks and then I was "blessed" with a stomach virus and didn't eat much for 2 days. Four pounds gone! Then this last Saturday, I woke up with a sore throat...not too bad but it progressively got worse. On Monday evening I went to Instacare and they gave me the unpleasant news that I have strep throat. So I haven't been eating much the last couple days either. Three more gone! Now I wouldn't recommend this route but I guess I'll take what I can get.

My Little Easter Bunnies

Dyeing Easter eggs on Saturday night

Of course we can't make it through the day without Brynlee spilling something!

The finished product

The Easter Bunny left a treat for Trevor

All dressed up in their new Easter Sunday clothes
Don't you just want to eat him up??!

Brynlee Got A Barbie

Many of you may know what that means....Brynlee stopped sucking her thumb! When Ashlee was 3, she wanted a Barbie so we told her she would get one if she stopped sucking her thumb. She stopped when she turned 4. So it's kinda been the thing you get if you stop sucking your thumb (BTW, I forced binkies with the boys and Landon's was gone when he was 15 months old...much easier!) I bought this Barbie before Brynlee's 3rd birthday (it's the birthday one and comes with the crown) because she said she was going to stop sucking her thumb when she was 3. Well, 3 turned to 4, then it was by the time the baby (Trevor) was born, then it was by Christmas, then it was when she turned 5. Last week I started asking her in the mornings if she sucked her thumb during the night and she would say no. I noticed she wasn't doing it during the day either. Then the other day she said "Do you know why I stopped sucking my thumb? Because the soap in the bathroom makes my thumb taste yucky." Evidently the Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom Hand Soap that I put in the bathroom last week did the trick! I sure am glad she didn't figure out that she could just use another bathroom that had "normal" soap in it :)

Guilty as Charged

On the way home from the Aggie gymnastics meet last night, I decided to confront the suspect. So here's how the conversation went...

Me: So Brynlee, I found some things in the garage by the boxes. Do you know what it was?
Brynlee: What?
Me: No, I'm asking you....do you know what I found by the boxes?
Brynlee: What boxes?
Me: The ones that are in front of the van by the stairs.
Brynlee: Oh.
Me: So what do you think I found?
Brynlee: I don't know.
Me: I found some apples and pudding.
Brynlee: Oh.
Me: Did you put them there?
Brynlee: No (if you could just see her face...it was her "oh crap, I just got caught and I'm totally lying" face)
Me: Landon, did you put apples and pudding in the garage?
Landon: No.
Me: Ashlee, did you put apples and pudding in the garage?
(Now I knew the answer would be no because I never give Ashlee apples because she doesn't like them)
Ashlee: No.
Me: So Brynlee, you're not going to get in trouble if you did it. You'll get in trouble for lying to me but I won't get mad if you put the apples and pudding in the garage. So did you?
Brynlee: Yes.
Me: (thinking to myself, yeah, I thought so) So why did you put them there?
Brynlee: I didn't want them.
Me: When you don't want to eat something, just tell me. Someone else might want it or we can save it for later when you might want them. We don't need to waste food.
Brynlee: Okay.

Now, the thing about this conversation is that it is not a new one. Brynlee and I have had conversations like this in the past. She has thrown away a granola bar that I told her she couldn't have (I knew she woudn't like it) but she got anyway and didn't like and I found later in the bathroom garbage. Eventually she fessed up when I told her she would get in more trouble for lying than for getting the granola bar I told her she couldn't have and then wasting it by throwing it away. So I guess she thought I wouldn't find it if she hid it in the garage instead of throwing it away. Hopefully she will learn her lesson this time....but if you know Brynlee, you're probably thinking what I'm thinking.

Food Stash...

I was in the garage today looking for a box to send a gift to my sister who is having a baby. We have this pile of boxes that need to go in the recycling container, but for the moment they keep piling up. The other day when I was in there, I noticed some apples on the ground but was busy doing something so I forgot to pick them up and throw them away and search out the culprit! So today I made another discovery....pudding! The person who I suspect is at a friend's house at the moment. I threw away the evidence (remember my mouse experience...hhhhmmm no wonder the little critters like our house) but I got a picture to show the proof.

Lego Maniac

Landon discovered the Rubbermaid tote full of the tiny legos in the closet the other day. Today he wanted me to make a blue car for "his guy". I searched through all the little booklets of instructions we have and luckily I found some for a blue jeep. Now I know this looks like an easy thing to make, but having to search through the bazillion legos for the right pieces wasn't easy. I think it took me an hour and a half to finish it!
When I handed it to him when I finished it, the two sweetest words came out of his mouth....thank you! It's so nice to hear that! It seems like when they're really little you keep telling them "say thank you" and you know it's paid off when they say it without the prompting! Such a sweet little boy!

TAGGED...again!

I was tagged by Stephanie aka The Baby Catcher! Since I already did this tag back in December, I decided to do the other tag that was also on her blog...so here goes another one!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the fun begin!

Okay so here are RANDOM facts about me you may not know.
1. I love anything chocolate and peanut butter...PB M&Ms, Reese's PB cups, Christie's PB bars....mmmmmm!
2. I love filling out forms.
3. My children's names are in alphabetical order by age....Ashlee, Brynlee, Landon, and Trevor. (Thanks, Stephanie, for this one!)
4. I am afraid of the open water...oceans, lakes...I'd much rather swim in a swimming pool. I was hyperventilating when we went snorkeling in Hawaii last year! It didn't make the whole breathing through the snorkel thing very easy! I spent more time laying on the beach while Rob enjoyed the water!
5. I've lived in 5 states (Virginia, Texas, California, Arizona, and Utah) and one other country (Korea). My family adopted my cool, hilarious, "little" :) brother David when we lived in Korea.
6. I have to read the obituaries in the newpaper everyday. I think reading about people's lives is interesting. Maybe that's why I enjoy blogging as well!

I tag Gena, Hydi, and Julie. Have fun girls!

Trevor is 2 Months Old

This is about a week late but Trevor is now 2 months old! At his well child checkup last Wednesday (the 20th) he was 12 lbs. 5 oz. and 23 inches long. I took some pictures of him tonight...

First, asleep in his carseat

Then he woke up so I thought I'd try to get one of him smiling, but since it had been 4 hours since he'd eaten, he wasn't performing well for me! Time out, must eat!

Happy baby with a full belly!

Awww, the only time it's so stinkin' adorable to have chubby cheeks and a double chin!

Monday Night Monopoly

For the last 3 Monday nights, we have played Monopoly Jr. for the activity portion of FHE. Ashlee has been the winner whenever we've played this game. She somehow manages to either get most of the "Free Ticket Booth" Chance cards or is the first to land on both of the Blue $5 spaces (making you pay $10 for landing on either one) and monopolizes the board. Brynlee actually got both of the blue spaces this time, but the game was cut short and she didn't get a chance to collect the $10 from the unlucky occupant of her space. Why was the game cut short??? Poor Landon started puking all of a sudden and did it like 4 times in an hour. He threw up the water he drank the first thing the next morning, but then after a little nap he was back to his normal self...color back in his face, jumping off couches and tormenting his sisters. Luckily no one else has gotten it!

CAUGHT THE MOUSE!!

Of course, I was thinking last night....what if we catch the mouse and Rob is gone on a campout...and what happens this morning?? Yep, I go into the kitchen to get Landon some breakfast and looky there...the MOUSE! I could tell (even though I didn't have my contacts in or glasses on) that the trap was in a slightly different place on the floor and that there was something dark on it. So I went to get my glasses and yep, it's the mouse! The other ones that we caught on the sticky trap died before we saw them, but of course this one has to still be alive, wiggling and squeaking...yah, I'm just about freaking out right now! I think I'll stay out of the kitchen until Rob gets home! Hopefully it will be soon, since a couple of the scouts needed to be home early this morning!

6.0 EARTHQUAKE!!

So this morning I was in my bed feeding Trevor and I felt like the bed was shaking. I was sitting up against the headboard, and I was moving from side to side. I looked up and the pull chains on our ceiling fan were moving slightly. Was I just feeling dizzy or was this an earthquake??!! I waited until Rob woke up and I told him I think I just felt an earthquake. I'm sure he was like....yah, okay, go back to sleep. Then I was on the treadmill this morning and turned on the TV to watch Price is Right and looky there....Breaking News, a 6.0 earthquake in Nevada that was felt in Idaho and Utah! CRAZY!!

Stromboli

I made Stromboli for dinner tonight, based off this recipe. I was looking for a calzone recipe originally, then stromboli fever hit me. They're really similar food items, just the calzone is a pocket, whereas you roll up a stromboli.

I used our favorite pizza crust recipe, Jay's Signature Pizza Crust, which is big enough for two pizzas. I made a full recipe of the dough and split it in half to make two stromboli. I used roast beef, turkey, and ham since that's what lunch meat we had, plus monterrey jack, swiss, and parmesan cheeses. Ashlee actually liked it, so that was pleasantly surprising. Some other recipes I found called for italian sausage, onions, peppers, olives, mushrooms, etc.

Roll out the dough about 12" by 10"
Layer on the meat and cheese, leaving about an inch around the edge
Sprinkle on italian seasoning
Roll it up (starting from the skinnier edge)
Set it seam-side down on a pan sprinkled with corn meal.

Brush on egg white or olive oil and add poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic salt, parmesan, or whatever you feel like on top. You may add some decorative knife cuts if you'd like. (I did and it kind of split open and oozed out, which isn't actually a bad thing if you like crispy dripping cheese like I do.)

Bake on a pizza stone at 375 for about 35 minutes (or just on the pan if you don't have a stone).

Serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce to dip it in.

P.S. Not quite so perfect!

After reading my Valentine's day post, I kinda had to laugh because it sounded like the day was so perfect....not quite so. So here's the uglier side of the day :) This is for my friend, Marci, who hates reading blogs that always talk about how great life is with perfect children and perfect husbands! These are the things I conveniently left out :)....

Hauling two boys around to 5 stores looking for a new snow shovel (and other little last minute things for dinner) since I broke ours while shoveling the 6 inches of snow on our driveway at 11:00 pm is not fun. Oh, and every store is sold out of snow shovels. Maybe I should be looking for a snow blower instead :)

Rob left to go to Ogden around 4:30 to pick up our van that was being fixed. We've been having problems with the transmission. He took it to a mechanic here in town and they quoted us $2700 to replace the transmission...yeah, I don't think so considering the stinkin' thing is only worth about $3000! So Rob called his uncle who works in the service department at a Dodge dealership in Ogden. He said he could do it for $1600 but when we took it down there on Monday night, they discovered that they only needed to fix a leak and fill it with transmission fluid. Yeah, we were really getting ripped off by that first guy! Uncle Craig did find some other things wrong when doing a general check over of the van but the final bill was only $1200 for fixing the transmission, exhaust leak, water pump, some clockspring thing that was under warranty from a recall, and some gaskets. I know "only $1200" isn't pocket change but it's better than $2700 to only replace the transmission.

Since I was left with the truck and had to take Ashlee to ballet, Rob took Landon with him and Brynlee went to a friend's house. So here's the fun I had with the truck...hold on, it's gonna be a long ride...
Since we never drive the truck, the recycling container and trash can and stroller and kids' scooters are parked behind it. Side note: 15 minutes until ballet lessons start and it takes 10 to get there... So I move those out of the way.
Get Trevor's carseat (without base) and Ashlee on her booster buckled in...not too easy since there isn't a whole lot of room to squeeze all that on the bench. Finally get everyone all buckled up and take the keys out of my purse...crap, the truck key isn't on my keyring. Try to get out but wait, the stupid door handle is broken so I roll down the window (no, it's not an electric window) to open the door from the outside (this is why I hate this truck!). Get the key and start backing out and have to manuever my way out of the driveway since the whole thing isn't shoveled (remember my store hunt above!) Reach up to close the garage door but wait, there isn't a door opener in the truck. Get out (again, roll down window, open door from outside), run into the garage, push the button, run and jump over sensors while ducking to miss the door. Okay, 10 minutes, we can make it right on time. I look at the dashboard and we are on empty...please, make it to ballet!

On the way we're at a stop light and I hear sirens. I look in the rear view mirror and a firetruck is coming. Since I was so frazzled I move over into the right turn lane to get out of the way and now have to go through the university. So since this is getting way too long I'll spare more details...end result, Ashlee was late to ballet. Off to the gas station...I make it there and fill 'er up!

Arrive home from ballet and remember I don't have a garage door opener...or a key to the house on my keyring! Text Rob to see if he is close to getting home (he has no minutes left on his cell phone so he won't answer it...another long story since he changed plans after the university changed their policy for paying for employees cell phones and now has to watch his minute usage) Decide to go to a neighbor's house since it is getting dark and cold (oh, and Trevor is crying because he is ready to eat!) Get a text back and they are about 25 minutes from home.

It is now 7:00 and the pizza still needs to go in the oven. Luckily it only took 10 min. to bake. The rest of the story is below....and I go to bed with the stress headache! I'm sorry this is WAY too long but I hope you got a glimpse into our not so perfect life!

Oh, and I've had a bit too much fun posting so much lately. It's my outlet and I feel like I actually get to "talk" with adults instead of being in my house all day with the little ones! I now need to go clean my house since my friend is coming from Boise with her 4 kids for the weekend....oh HAPPY DAY!!

Valentine's Day

When I was trying to think of something to do for Valentine's Day, I thought came into my head while in the shower yesterday. I remembered an answer to a prayer I recieved while listening to the Worldwide Training last Saturday. We've been losing our patience quickly with one of our children (who shall remain anonymous) and the "acting outs" (for lack of a better description and rambling on about what this child does) of this child was becoming more frequent and our tempers becoming shorter. While listening to President Packer read and discuss the The Family: A Proclamation to the World, this part touched me and I knew how we needed to deal with this child...."Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness". Now those were some pretty powerful words to me that morning. This child did not need our quick tempers and yelling but rather our love. I've been doing much better with my patience and soft voice and this stubborn child seems to be responding well....most of the time...after all, none of us are perfect! It was so interesting because before President Packer started reading the Proclamation, he even said that we've probably read this many times, but sometimes we can learn different things from it if we read it slowly and articulately (something to that effect). So that leads me to our Valentine's Day plans...I decided our home needed more love and so Valentine's Day was going to be a family affair.

Trevor gave me a great Valentine's present by only waking up to eat once at 2 a.m. and then slept until 7:30!

(Thanks, little buddy, for letting mom get a little bit more sleep!)

After I finished feeding him, I made heart shaped pancakes for the kids for breakfast.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon were pretty normal day to day activities...work for Rob, school for Ashlee, preschool for Brynlee, errands for mom and the boys. For dinner we had Papa Murphy's Take n Bake pizza (the new Chicken, Bacon, Artichoke deLite....yummy!), salad, and Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cranberry Cider.


Then for dessert we had Baked Hot Chocolate (a recipe I saw on Good Things Utah a couple weeks ago)...to DIE for!

After dessert we had a little "I Love _____ Because..." session. Each person had their own heart with that saying on it filled in with their name and everyone had to tell one thing why they love so and so.
I then put them up on a wall to remind us throughout the month that we are loved. I hope this helps bring more love into our home. We want all our family and friends to know that we LOVE you and hope your Valentine's Day was special!