Happy Birthday, Ashlee!

Ashlee turned 7 today!

Ow, Charlie, That Hurt!

My friend emailed this to me. It's from You Tube and I laugh everytime I watch it. It's SO hilarious! I just love the little boy's accent! Gotta love kids!

Curry with Basmati Rice

On MLK day I was in the mood for something a little different to eat and actually had the time to cook something, so I made some Curry with Basmati Rice. I also made some Teriyaki chicken on the new Camp Chef grill, even though that departs a bit from the Indian theme. I could have just thrown the chicken in the curry, but I wanted to BBQ something. The chicken was just a basic teriyaki marinade. Here's the Indian recipes:

Vegetable Curry

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup cubed butternut squash
1 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 cup broccoli or cauliflower florets
1 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce

PREPARATION

Heat oil in large pot or Dutch oven. Add curry powder and cumin and stir for 1 minute until aromatic.

Add onion, carrots and potatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add squash, green beans and broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender and sauce has thickened. Serve with Basmati or whole grain rice.

Serves 4-6 [original recipe]

I didn't have squash or green beans, so I just left them out. In talking to one of the Indian programmers that work for me, he said that they never put broccoli in curry, so I guess you'll need to leave that out if you want to be more authentic. We happened to not have any onions, but I did have half a leftover shallot from when we made Dave's French Dip recipe, and that worked out great.

Herbed Basmati Rice

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons margarine
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Thyme sprigs (optional)

PREPARATION

Melt margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add rice; stir well. Add water and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in green onions, basil, and thyme. Sprinkle with cheese; garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Serves 4 [original recipe]

This is the recipe I used for the rice, but I didn't have green onions or the fresh herbs, so I just put in dried herbs. I cooked it in our rice cooker. Make sure you actually get basmati rice, not regular rice. Ooh, it definitely makes a difference and makes the house smell sweet. If you've been in an Indian restaurant, you'll recognize the smell right away.

Cereal, Cereal, and More Cereal!

Just call me the Coupon Queen! Smith's has their General Mills cereal on sale for 8 for $18, then takes off $8 when you buy 8. Plus, I had coupons (thanks Pinching Your Pennies for listing all the great coupon deals!) which made these CHEAP! The first time I went I used coupons from the Sunday papers and when I checked out, a coupon printed out for $2 off 5 boxes. So I went and got 8 more boxes and another coupon printed out. So guess what I did again...yep, got more cereal and yet another coupon! All together I bought 32 boxes of cereal...

• 4 Fruity Cheerios



• 6 Yogurt Burst Cheerios



• 2 Plain Cheerios



• 4 Curves



• 4 Oatmeal Crisp



• 2 Trix



• 3 Kix



• 3 Cocoa Puffs



• 4 Total

When I totaled what I paid on the 4 transactions and divided by 32, it came 77 cents per box!! SWEET! I told Rob I should just keep doing the little routine and see if the coupon still keeps printing each time. Maybe I should try for a year supply! :) I also got 5 boxes of different varieties of Life from Lee's Marketplace...but these weren't as good of a deal...$1.40 per box.

Smiley Boy!

Trevor is one month old! Time sure flies when your having fun...okay maybe when you're just totally out of it from lack of sleep! :) He does pretty good at night. He's up every 3 hours to eat but at least he goes right back to sleep. He started smiling on Saturday and Grandma Barton got to be the first recipient of his cute little smile! I tried getting some shots today.
His hair was a bit out of control so we decided to give him his first experience with the clippers when he was 3 weeks old. We mainly just wanted to even it out a bit since some was like 2 inches long and stuck straight up. We also trimmed up the back so he didn't have quite the mullet! Doesn't look too happy about the whole situation, does he?

Birthday Girl

Yesterday was Brynlee's 5th birthday. After preschool she got to go to Cold Stone and get a free Love It Size Signature Creation (sign up for their birthday club!) and she chose Birthday Cake Remix. This year was her year to go to dinner with mom and dad. Every other year they get a friend party or dinner with mom and dad. We told her she could choose to go wherever she wanted and guess where she chose...yep, good ol' McDonald's! Then we rented Ratatouille from RedBox (gotta love free codes!). Grandma and Grandpa Barton then joined us back at home for some cake and ice cream and opening presents. She got a scooter (since Landon inherited her 3-wheeled one this summer), a Barbie VW bug, and a new snow hat and scarf.

*2 Weeks Old*

It's hard to believe Trevor is already 2 weeks old! He had his checkup this morning and now weighs 8 lbs. 1 oz. ...little chunker! A neighbor who works in Labor and Delivery came over last night and I was telling her how big he looks and she said, "The funny thing is he is still probably smaller than some of those babies that were just born." How true...Ashlee was 8 lbs. 8 oz. so I guess he is still a "newborn" size...they just grow too fast!

Good As New

Broken tooth

Just like new!

Ashlee went to the dentist yesterday and she has a front tooth again. I think it looks pretty good...it even sticks out a little bit from the other one just like her real tooth did before it broke! She wasn't lucky enough to get her mother's perfect teeth (that one's for you, Mary Anne!) The dentist has mentioned before that she'll probably need orthodontic work when she's older. He made it shorter than the other one since it hasn't grown in all the way. I just hope it isn't too short and ends up being shorter when it does grow in all the way...but I guess they can fix that if that's the case. He said when she's about 18 and her mouth is done growing, they can fix anything that needs to be redone.

Shoveling Snow

Ashlee hard at work shoveling the driveway. When Rob went out to take pictures of the kids, Ashlee asked, "Do I get paid for this?"

Trevor is the smart one...inside, snoozin' by the fire!

Another Tooth Accident

Rob took the kids sledding today at Lundstrom Park. As they were heading up the hill to make the first run down the hill, Ashlee slipped and fell and hit her mouth on the icy ground. One of her front teeth (yes, they are her permanent teeth!) broke in half. Rob tried to look for it, but Brynlee came sliding down right where Ashlee had fallen. He never did find it. We took her to our neighbor who is a dentist and he said it didn't go to the nerve, and it wouldn't have mattered if we did find the tooth because they can't really glue it back together. He said to take her to our dentist tomorrow (or whenever they open again after the holidays) and they'll probably just put some tooth filler to make it the same length as her other front tooth. The one that broke hadn't come in all the way so they'll probably have to file it down when it comes in all the way to make it the same length as the other one. She doesn't seem to be in any pain. In fact, she ate soup for dinner and had a shake also so you would think that would be hot and cold enough to cause pain if it did hurt.

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe Christmas is here and a new year is fast approaching. I think our kids have been extra wild and crazy lately with the new baby and Christmas, but it's been fun. Here are just a few tidbits of what we've been up to...I think this is going to be the closest I get to a Christmas letter this year! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that the new year brings you joy and many blessings!

Ashlee will be 7 in January and is in first grade. She loves to read and draw. She started taking ballet lessons in the fall and absolutely loves it! We took her to the Nutcracker the day after Thanksgiving and she can't wait until she can be in it!

Brynlee will be 5 in January and started Preschool at Rainbow Corner this year. She loves to play with her friends and is usually at one of their houses every day of the week. This year all she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth! Her two top front teeth were knocked loose this summer by her little brother's head and again a week later by a friend's head at the pool and ended up needing to be pulled so she'll probably be wanting them again next year for Christmas. We'll see if they end up coming in sooner but I doubt it!

Landon is 2 1/2 and is an absolute fun loving boy! Mom is constantly telling him how funny he is. He makes crazy faces and says the funniest things that you just have to laugh and you want to squeeze him! He loves anything with wheels and took over his sister's scooter this summer. He loves his new baby brother, although we need to convince him that his name is Trevor, not baby Mason...maybe daddy will get his way and the baby will be called Mason...okay, maybe not!

Little Trevor Mason Barton is a wonderful addition to our family! He took longer than mom wanted to get here (he was technically born on his due date according to the midwife, although mom calculated it to be the 19th) but we are so glad he finally decided to join us in time for Christmas! There's not much to say about this little 7 pounder except that as you can see, he is an absolute doll!

The kids with Grandpa Claus!

New jammies on Christmas Eve!

Barton Family Christmas Party

The Barton family party was December 15. The kids and their cousins decorated graham cracker houses and exchanged gifts. It's always fun to be together with family.

Let it snow

All of our kids have been born on days that it has snowed (including Landon who was born in June). So we have been getting a ton of rain the past few days but no snow until finally this afternoon. Now there is probably 3 inches and counting. Above is our house all decorated with lights and the first real snowfall of the winter.

Kirsten and Trevor should come home from the hospital tomorrow.

Trevor Mason Barton

All cleaned up, posing for the camera.

Just moments after birth, snuggling with mommy.

While the nurse was giving him a bath, a shot of all his long hair in the back in a serious case of bed head.

New arrival

Born at 4:34 am, 7 lbs even, 20 inches long. It looks like we have another red head.

Trailer living during the holidays

I saw this trailer walking by the soon-to-be-defunct trailer park on campus. The other side of the trailer was more decked out, but I only got a picture of this side. I liked the look of the lights outlining the truck.

Just due it

It's officially the due date (or estimated delivery date / EDD). No sign of "baby brother" yet.

Favorite Childhood Christmas Treats

Just thought I'd share some of my favorite Christmas treats from when I was younger. For as long as I can remember, my family made goodie plates and went caroling on Christmas Eve. These are a few of the things we would make.

Magic Cookie Bars
1/2 C. margarine or butter
12 whole graham crackers, finely crushed
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 package chocolate chips
1 1/2 C. marshmallows
1 1/2 C. coconut
1 C. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish). In a 9x13 baking dish, melt margarine in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over margarine, mix together, and press. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top evenly with remaining ingredients in above order. Press down firmly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill thoroughly if desired. Cut into bars. YUMMY!

Peanut Butter Balls (from my Beehive leader, Crystal Young)
3 milk chocolate Hershey bars
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
1 cup (1 tub) Imperial margarine
2 C. peanut butter (1 18 oz. jar)

Melt chocolate in double broiler. Mix all other ingredients with hands in a large bowl. Shape into balls then roll in melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper and place in refrigerator.

Toffee
1 C. sugar
1 C. butter (do NOT use margarine)
2 Hershey chocolate bars
Sliced almonds

Grease 9x13 pan. Melt butter and sugar in a pan. Cook and stir constantly until mixture turns a caramel color. Pour into greased pan and quickly spread out evenly. Break up chocolate bars and place on top of hot toffee. Smooth evenly over toffee. Sprinkle almonds on top. Let cool and break into pieces.

This can be a touchy recipe, but it is very easy to make. You just have to make sure not to burn the toffee.

I've Been Tagged

A. I was tagged by my sister-in-law Christie, so here it is: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Five Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Graduated from Buena High School in May 1997
2. Off to BYU for my Freshman year
3. Loving living by my new little nephew Tyler who is now 10 and lives too far away!
4. Went on a trip to Vegas with my roommate Desa and friend Holly and won $1 on a quarter slot machine...did I mention I was only 18?!
5. Exactly 10 years ago I was probably finishing up finals at BYU and dreaming of a warm Christmas back home in Arizona

Five Things on my to-do list today:
1. Clean the family room and play room
2. Go to Standard Optical to pick up new glasses
3. Get on the treadmill (not for exercise but see #4)
4. Go into labor...okay, so it probably won't happen today but it sure is on my list
5. Wrap some Christmas presents

Five Snacks I enjoy:
1. Mint M&M's...okay so I just had a couple handfuls of these! I love Christmas time!
2. Bagels and cream cheese
3. Peanut Butter and crackers
4. Toast with cinnamon sugar
5. Apples

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire:
1. Pay off the house or perhaps buy a new one
2. Trip to Europe
3. Save for kids educations
4. Buy a new car...not a minivan!
5. Hire a maid

Three of my bad habits:
1. Biting my fingernails
2. Procrastination
3. Stressing about the things I procrastinate about

Five places I have lived:
1. Newport News, Virginia
2. El Paso, Texas
3. Korea
4. Novato, California
5. Sierra Vista, AZ

Five Jobs I’ve had:
1. Full time mom
2. Legal Secretary
3. Receptionist at Dr.'s office
4. Cashier at Wymount Creamery
5. Temp job at Walmart jewelry counter at Christmas time

5 Things people probably don’t know about me:
1. I'm claustrophobic
2. I get a little bit of road rage at times...sometimes my kids ask why I just said what I did to that stupid driver! Ooops!
3. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Utah State University with 3 kids!
4. I spend way too much time surfing the Internet and checking out people's blogs
5. I love to get massages but hate to give them!

Okay, this is sad but I only know 1 other person with a blog who hasn't been tagged with this yet! I now tag Mary Anne!

Our Little Elves

Check out our groovy, little dancing elves!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1180927558

What's for Sunday Dinner

I'm not usually much of a meatloaf fan, but this is one that is very yummy. Of course, everything's better with bacon!

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

~Glaze~
1/2 C. ketchup
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. cider or white vinegar

~Meatloaf~
2 tsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. hot red pepper sauce
1/2 C. milk
2 lbs. ground beef
1 C. saltine crackers, crushed (I just use bread crumbs)
10 slices of bacon

For the glaze, mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.

For the meatloaf, heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients. Mix eggs, thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worchestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crumbs and onion and garlic. Mix well. Place on a foil lined shallow baking dish and form into a loaf approximately 9 in. by 5 in. Brush with half of glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf is 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze and serve with meatloaf.

Playing in the Leaves

It's Autumn time, it's Autumn time. The leaves are falling down... We finally got around to piling up our huge mess of leaves in the backyard. Of course, this calls for some leaf jumping fun!

Where's Landon???

There he is!!

Happy Halloween!

" There's no place like home!"

"Just Follow the Yellow Brick Road"
"I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks.

I do! I do! I do! I do believe in spooks."

We're off to see the Wizard!