25th Anniversary Dinner for Wayne and Rhonda

Geneva and I put together a special dinner for their anniversary. We totally surprised them. We served:

Cheese Biscuits
Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Orange Walnut Salad
Filet Mignon with Blackberries
Asparagus and Cashews
Pecan Crusted Chocolate Truffle
Lemon Squares

A Mom's Life

Okay, this Mom stuff is totally kicking my butt. I know, Vicki, laugh it up! I had it (and a hell of a lot more) coming. I'm sure Queen Karma is dishing it out. I was just too freakin' old to start having kids. And, of course, being the over-achiever that I am I had two at one time. Whoever says having twins is cheating is full of chocolate pudding. I am potty-training two, yes two, two-year olds; I have a 4 month old baby, and I live with my in-laws. (Which is not to say that they are bad people, it just adds to life's drama to live in a house with two other families.)

I have to say that I am glad the potty training hasn't been worse. They have peed their pants a couple of times. Madison refuses to poop on the toilet, but does kindly ask me for a diaper so that she can poop in her diaper. Porter came running down the stairs naked and yelling, "Mom, I have to poop!" I said, "Get in there!" He made it to the toilet. So all in all, I guess it could be worse.

I am also trying to exercise. I didn't realize just how easy it would have been to exercise without kids. Rhonda and I have been walking every time for about 45 minutes. Actually only 4-5 times a week. I have plateaued on losing weight so I decided to start walking briskly for less time during the day--with all 3 kids. So picture this walking down the street--a 200 pd woman with gray roots, pushing a big-ace stroller, walking with a gait... (due to my shorter leg, which is due to be breaking my leg at 3 yrs old playing duck-duck-goose. Yeah, true story.) I am pushing a double stroller with the twins sharing a seat and Lane in his own seat. We look like escape homeless people. All I can think about as cars pass is what my Dad used to say when "fat" ladies were walking. Every time we would drive past a fat lady walking, he would say to her (obviously she could not hear), but he would say, "You need to walk a little faster than that if you want to lose all the weight you're carrying around." Okay, not exactly that, but something like that.

Brant has been sick all week. He got a really bad sinus infection on top of having a cold/flu. He had to go to the doctor and get a Z-pack of antibiotics. He is getting better but has been laid up in bed almost every second he is home. He's still working, but struggling. I am so glad I was able to call Ron, my dentist brother-in-law, and get his advice about whether he thought it was an abcess tooth or sinus infection. His advice saved a lot of time and headed us in the right direction.

I have really learned to appreciate all of the help I get from Brant, since I haven't been able to get it this week. Monday night Geneva and I made a special anniversary dinner for her parents/my in-laws. We really enjoyed the cooking. We really did not enjoy have a total of 6 kids hanging, crying, or screaming for us while we were trying to do it. Kendall came and took my kids when their screaming became too much. However, I thought he took them upstairs to play with them. He put them in their room and left them there. When I was finished and famished I came upstairs to discover they had emptied an entire 46 oz. bottle of apple juice all over the carpet, bed, and their clothes. I dumped baking powder all over the messes to absorb the wet, sticky mess and cleaned it all up the next day. Including steam cleaning the beds and carpet.

We recently found out that the house we are renting is going into foreclosure. The owner has not made the last two months of mortgage payments. Therefore, we have to move AGAIN! I'm not excited, but I feel like there is something better on the horizon and that things will work out for the best.

So, that's all for my explanation as to why I haven't blogged in a while. My kids are great, my husband is great, and life is good. I am going to follow President Monson's admonition and enjoy every minute of it. This is life and I am going to LIVE it!

Great Recipe...makes cute kids

My kids are so adorable. I know no one will love them as much as I do. But, I just look at them and think how grateful I am to have stewardship over them for a short time of their life. It's such an awesome, incredible blessing. Wow! I feel so lucky. Their personalities are so different and they are each so special. I don't know what recipe we used, but it sure did make cute kids!

Healthy Food and Snack Idea

I came up with this really cool idea. Okay, I'm sure it's not totally original, but I have never heard of it. I used my veggie tray to make a fruit, nut, and veggie tray. The kids love it! Every time they want a snack or are hungry, I take it out. It's been great for me too. More good food and less junk. I got the idea because they just love a bowl of green beans, corn, or frozen peas. I thought, I don't want to destroy their desire by giving them processed food, i.e. white bread, macaroni and cheese, cereal, etc. So I tried this out and they love it. I have seven slots in my tray. Here's what we started with: 1: almonds, 2: raspberries and chopped apples, 3: cantalope and watermelon; 4: fresh green beans; 5: thinnly sliced and quartered zucchini and yellow squash, 6: bite-size celery with peanut butter, and 7: grapes.

I'll sleep tomorrow

I woke up this morning at about 3 am because Lane was hungry. I decided to go to the bathroom myself because I had drank too much water when I went walking last night. Rhonda and I go on a 45 minute walk every night. We use the time for emotional therapy as much as for good exercise. I am so thankful I have a mother-in-law who is like a good friend. I don't think that living with 3 families in one house would be as bearable if my mother-in-law wasn't so easy to get along and was such a great confidante. Anyway, I did my usual complaining to her last night.
So back to waking up at 3. I had this feeling--idea--mother's instinct or mother's constant worry. I'm not sure which. Anyway, I went in to check on the twins. Madison had her back cuddled up next to Porter. He was laying on his back with his shirt on and buck-naked from the waist down. Naturally, the bed was soaked in pee. His completely full diaper lay on the ground next to his bed. I groaned. I had just washed all of their bedding yesterday. And thankfully, do not put them to bed with out their plastic mattress protector. Believe me, the mattress would be yellow if not for that.
Just as I was crawling back to bed and dozing off, Brant's 4 am alarm went off. Lane, who was already moving a bit, decided to wake up with a full-on grin. I just thought about the bags under my eyes and how this wasn't going to help them. Luckily, Lane is so happy for quite awhile when he first wakes up. I changed his diaper and I knew I could put him back in his crib. So I did and started to fall asleep. Then, Brant kissed me goodbye and left. Just as I was starting to fall asleep, Lane starting making that sound he makes when he's uncomfortable. Like, "Mom, my pants are poopy are going to do something?" Sure enough, he pooped his pants. So I changed him. He didn't fall asleep and I eventually picked him up and played with him. I recited my motto, "I'll sleep another day." I tell myself that alot! About 5:30 he was ready to go back to sleep and so was I!
Unfortunately, the twins wake up at 6 a.m. I did bribe them with bottles and turned on Barney and squeezed in another 30 minutes of sleep. At 7 Lane was awake again. I got up and decided to log on and read blogs. I read one from a lady in our ward. Her blog is so fun to read. She had pictures of her 2 year old smearing paint (they had just painted the wall) all over himself and their carpet. She talked about how it was no big deal, because she had been reading another blog about a woman whose child had died on the way home from church. She choked on an apple the size of pea while in her carseat. It's very inspirational reading. Go to jacksonparkcity if you want to read it. I also started reading other links they have of parents who lost their children very young.
It overwhelmed me to tears and my heart filled with gratitude for having 3 precious little munchikins to take care of in the early morning hours. I look at them and am thankful Heavenly let me have the privilege of having stewardship over these sweet little spirits. Yes, they try me and sometimes I get frustrated. But in the big scheme of things, it's not so much work. They bring more smiles than tears. And, I can always sleep tomorrow.

Lane is my little Sweetheart

Lane is so sweet. I have really enjoyed having him for a baby. He is not just happy, but giggly all of the time. He's sleeps well, only poops once a day, and is just happy to be near me. So unlike the twins. It is so neat to experience only one child at a time. Of course, I loved Porter and Madison, but it is a new experience to get to be able to love a child so much--not just take care of their needs. He is a very content little man. Unlike Porter, who was so anxious to sit, scoot, crawl, and walk, he is content to just be. He's active and loves to use the walker, but takes all of the world in stride.

Great Grandparents Visit

The kids had their great grandparents visiting over the weekend. Tom and Dena Cox, Rhonda's parents, stopped by for a quick visit. It is so fun to have the gift of great-grandparents. I love that the kids have so many grandma's and grandpa's.

Madison...maybe partially potty-trained

Madison has been stellar in her potty training performance. Porter dropped out of the race and I didn't encourage him to get back in. I didn't want to deal with two of them and a 4 1/2 month old baby. Anyway, Madison has not had any accidents. Her exceptions of course are nap time and sleeping. I don't have that much faith. She wore panties to church and all through Sacrament Meeting. I was too afraid to send her to nursery with panties, so Brant put a diaper on her. She also has a very hard time pooping--every time. Or I should say she has bowel movements with much effort. She asked me yesterday if she could wear a diaper to poop. So, of course, I let her put it on. She didn't want to do that on the toilet. Mostly because she has to stand up to poop. I think we're on the right track! I'm so glad.

Madison (pictured above) was showing off her new underwear. She was thrilled and picked out the pink ones to wear--her favorite color.

Day Two

I'm writing this braless, in pajamas, and tired and it's 1:30 p.m.. Training twins is not easy. I didn't mean to do both of them. I tried to get Porter on board, but Madison wanted to do it too. I feel like I have been living in the bathroom. Porter did really well this morning at first. Then he got bored with it and told me he wanted to wear a diaper. The kids great-grandparents were visiting, so it was easy to give up on him. I still had Madison and that dang timer that would go off every 30 minutes. And oh don't forget my 4 month old baby.

Madison was awesome! She wouldn't always go when the timer went off so I just started asking her when she needed to go. She started running to me saying, "Mom, I gotta pee!" I would help her and she would say, "No Mom. I do it." They can both get their underwear off and get on the toilet without any problem. When it was nap time I put her in a diaper, but she wanted her underwear on over the diaper. A couple of times before falling asleep she wanted to go potty. Then, she realized this was a great way to get out of taking a nap. After several, "I have to go potty" I said, okay that's enough. Use the diaper.

Porter did get up before he fell asleep because he had to use the bathroom. I was like, just go in your diaper! He was very insistent and I realized I shouldn't stop him if he was willing. Thankfully, I didn't because he pooped in the toilet. Yeah! He did this twice. (He's got an amazing metabolism so he is a frequent pooper.)

They are both sleeping like little angels, so I have a break. Of course, baby Lane is awake, but he is so good. He has really been in to the political debates. Maybe that's because I have it on so much and he just stares at the lights.

So am I on track? Are they doing what they're supposed to? This is my first time, so I am hoping it will go well.

End of Potty Training Day 1

So, we did the every 30 minutes thing. I was just trying with Porter, but Madison was way into getting a potty treat. She would sit on the toilet and try to convince me she had peed just to get her potty treat. They get ONE smarties--not a pack--just one. She wanted it every time. Porter was doing really good all morning. Right before nap time, I slacked off a little and forgot to ask him if he needed to go to the bathroom. He wet his pants, but was not happy about it. I asked if he wanted to try again and he did. So we put new pants on. He did okay in those and started to wet himself, but stopped and ran to the bathroom. We did have an early morning success as well. Porter had just gone to the bathroom and then caming running to me saying, "Mom, I gotta poop! I gotta poop!" I said, "Well get in there!" He was very proud of pooping in the toilet. I put a diaper on him for nap time. He sleeps for about 3 hours and I didn't want to deal with a big, wet, bed. After nap time, I put a diaper on. His 3 pairs of underwear were dirty. We continued with going. He didn't do as well in the diaper, but both of them would run to the bathroom when the "Potty Timer" went off. We have two bathrooms right next to each other, so most of the day I had one in one bathroon and another in the other. I feel so tired today. Lane, however, continued to poop and pee in his diaper and we got no where with him! :) I would like to send them to Dona to get housebroken--just like I always did with my dogs. She can give them back once they are potty-trained. :) I guess it will pay off once the work is done. And, I guess for the first day, we didn't do so bad. I just have to keep up with it. I was hoping to have Brant home to help tomorrow, but he has to work! Oh well.

Potty-training Time!

I decided to just work with Porter, but Madison wants to join in. She doesn't want to wear underwear. She wants to wear her diaper. So, Porter has on cute little boxer briefs. He has peed in the toilet three times today and pooped in the toilet all by himself. Whoever thought pee and poop could get you so excited. Vicki has given me some training tips so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully, we will be out of diapers soon! At least 0ne out of my three, that is! And then soon, two out of three. What will life be like with out diapers! Any advice on potty training is appreciated.

Cute Quips

Madison and Porter are getting very talkative. They are learning new words. Madison is so studious. When I say a word she hasn't heard before she'll repeat it. Yesterday I said, "Don't get on the countertop." I usually say counter. She said, "Countertop. Countertop. That's a countertop Mom."
I asked Madison, "Do you want to be Mommy and I'll be Madi?" She said, "Yes!" I mimicked her voice and said, "Mommy, I want some juice!" She always says that. She thought for a minute, then looked at me and said, "I want some juice TOO!"
I asked Porter if he was my boy. He said, "No, Mom. I a man!" I have no idea where he picked that up.

Can you relate?

'Housework is a Woman's job' She'd been taught 'housework is a woman's job,' but one evening, Jenny arrived home from work to find the children bathed, one load laundry in the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the, and the table set. She was astonished!
Turned out that Ralph had read an article that said, 'Wives who work full-time and then had to do their own housework were too tired to have sex'.
The night went very well. The next day, she told her office friends all it. 'We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.' 'But what about afterward?' asked her friends. 'Oh, that ..., Ralph was too tired...' God is good.

Me and Lane

I get to spend some time with Lane in the afternoon while the twins are taking their nap. It has been so fun having just ONE baby. It's not that I love (the feeling of love) him more, it's that I get to love (the action) him more. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I was just so tired with the twins and trying to give them both love and affection, it was hard to give them as much as I have been able to give Lane. It's such a different experience. I don't have many pictures of the two of us together so I set my camera on the desk and set the timer.

Brant is taking welding classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I don't get to see him until later in the day. I miss when he is not home, because he helps so much with the kids. The twins love playing with him.

Spanish Rice

I have been looking for a good recipe for Spanish Rice for a long time and came across this one. It was very easy and tastes delicious! It makes a great side dish for Enchiladas.

Prep Time: 05 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
· 1 1/2 cups rice
· 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
· 1 cup plain tomato sauce*
· 3 cloves finely chopped garlic *
· 1/4 of a medium onion*
· 2 tablespoons oil
· 4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.
Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan!) Add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*If you don't have fresh garlic or onions on hand you can use the equivalent in powder form. Do not saute the powder, just skip that step and add the garlic powder and/or onion powder when you add the liquids. If you don't have tomato sauce you can use unseasoned stewed tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes with their liquid.