Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Trevor is 5 months and has figured out some new things. He is full of rolls, and not just those cute chubby things! A couple weeks ago he figured out how to roll over from his back to his stomach. He has also discovered his feet!

Don't mind the absolutely FULL diaper. Rob was changing him into his jammies and he was just so cute playing with his feet so I grabbed the camera. And I'm not quite sure why he has the beanie on his head. I came home and he was wearing it...who knows, the kids love it when he wears it so I'm sure they put it on him!

Lil' Preschool Graduate

Today Brynlee graduated from Rainbow Corner preschool. Her teacher, Mrs. Lee, is so wonderful! She is seriously like a grandma to all of the kids! Whenever she sees Brynlee, she kneels down to her level, gives her a big hug and usually whispers something in her ear. We LOVE Mrs. Lee! She lives just around the corner and is our Bishop's wife. She has been teaching preschool for about 20 years in her home.

Spiced Pita Chips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 whole-wheat pitas, cut into 1/8's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine olive oil and all spices in a large bowl. Add pita wedges and toss to coat, Spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, tossing once, or until pita is brown and crisp. Cool completely before serving.

I made these yesterday and sorry to say it, but Rob didn't get any. He wasn't feeling very well after work (allergies have hit him hard the last couple days) and when he finally got up off the couch around 9:00 last night, he called me (I was out walking with a friend) and asked if there were any more pita chips...oops! Nope, I ate them all! I ate them with hummus. For those of you who haven't tried hummus....try it! I tried it for the first time last Thanksgiving and it is really good. I think I always associated it with haggis so I was always afraid to try it...hummus, haggis, both don't sound very appetizing! Trust me, you'll like hummus...sorry, can't testify in behalf of haggis. That's not something I will be trying! You can buy hummus in the deli section at the grocery store.

"First" Lost Tooth

Brynlee lost her tooth today. I say it was her "first" tooth she lost because it's the first one she lost naturally! Her top two front teeth were knocked loose last summer and eventually got pulled by the dentist. A few days ago she told me her tooth was loose. I felt it and it was a little wiggly. Yesterday, she showed it to me and I could tell it was SO loose, but she wouldn't let me touch it. I was fine with that because I didn't want it coming out on Sunday since the Tooth Fairy wasn't prepared with the goods (I got cash back at the store today to be prepared)! So today she came home from her friend's house with a little plastic baggie...with her tooth in it!

P.S. After reading Mary Anne's comment I had to laugh because usually this Tooth Fairy leaves quarters! When Ashlee lost her first tooth, she came running into my room in the morning so happy that the Tooth Fairy left her a QUARTER! I figure like they know how much money is worth....they are in heaven with any money at that age! Then her friends would lose their teeth and be like "I got a dollar or I got $5" WHAT??!! So yes, Brynlee got a dollar only because I really had NO change at all and I didn't feel like asking the cashier for quarters!

Little Ballerina

Yesterday was the Cache Valley School of Ballet Spring Performance. We finally found something that Ashlee loves to do (after trying out soccer, ice skating, and piano...none of which she enjoyed much). After two years of piano, I let her have a break but I think I'm going to have her start again in the fall. But back to ballet, Ashlee did a GREAT job in her performance! Here are some pics...

I volunteered to be a parent helper so I had the camera with me backstage and Rob had the video camera for the actual performance.

Ashlee and the girls in her class playing "Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish..." with their feet while waiting for the performance to begin.

Back row: Ashlee, Naya, Satasia & Jasmine

Front row: Brianne, Iris, Erin & Allie

Naya, Ashlee and Jasmine

Pretty ballerina!

Brynlee and Ashlee after the performance

No Wonder...

As moms we go through a rollercoaster of emotions from day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute....

Before I was a Mom

Author Unknown

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

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!