Mother's Day

We had a fun and eventful weekend! I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful, relaxing day! Since we were going to be out of town on Sunday, I got my annual Mother's Day breakfast in bed on Saturday. French toast is my absolute fav breakfast! Top it off with chocolate drizzled strawberries...mmmmm!

After breakfast, Rob and the kids cleaned the house and we headed down to South Jordan to see our newest nephew, Edward James Barton, who was born on May 3. So adorable!! And tiny! It's so hard to think that Trevor was that little just 4 months ago! He weighed in at 16 lbs. 2 oz. last week when he had his checkup!!
Then we went to Provo to have a BBQ and birthday celebration with Mary Anne! Happy 23rd birthday to my baby sister!! Jeremy and Clytie and girls were here from Albuquerque so it was fun to be with family this weekend that I don't get to see very often. We got to meet Lindsey for the first time. She and Trevor are only 6 days apart!

Saturday night we stayed at Cheryl's house and then on Sunday we had a Barton Mother's Day get together. Here is Grandma Barton with all 10 of her grandkids!

Landon with Grandpa B before we left to head back to Logan

If you give a boy a hammer

The shower in the downstairs bathroom had the same problem as the one in our master bathroom that we renovated last year - loose tiles that let water back into the wall, which leads to mold and rotting. The difference in this bathroom is that it is big enough we can actually do something nice to it, instead of just cramming the new shower in a tiny space. We're going to replace the carpet with tile and turn the shower into a shower/tub so it will actually be a full bath. So as I started demolition, Lando came in to help, so here he is in action doing some demo work in the bathroom...

Two Wheelin'

I took Brynlee's training wheels off of her bike two days ago and off she went. I held onto the back of her seat from our driveway to our neighbor's driveway and then let go and that was the end of my running! Now all she wants to do is ride her bike from the moment she's done with breakfast until it's time to come in for dinner....with little breaks for lunch and preschool :)

Mr. T

Our little man is 4 months old!!

Such big blue eyes!!

He's at the stage where everything that he is holding on to goes into his mouth. In this case, he kept grabbing his shirt, as you can see in the pictures below, which makes for a very WET shirt!

All the other kids wanted in on the picture taking fun.

He also likes to suck on his tongue. He makes the funniest noises and it keeps him happy!

Bertolli Frozen Dinners

A couple weeks ago Smith's had these on sale for $4.99 plus I had a coupon for $2.50 off. They are really yummy! It says "Dinner for Two" on the package but we fed our whole family plus there was a serving of leftovers....not that our kids ate a ton of it but still definitely serves more than two, especially if you add breadsticks or french bread and vegetables to complete the meal. It only takes 10-15 minutes to cook over the stove and voila...a cheap, yummy dinner is served. I forgot to post about them last week when they were on sale but I noticed they are on sale again this week. Here's the link for the coupon.

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!