Poor Baby. . .

Ok. My friend just had a baby. They named him Shackleton Lawrence. C'mon. What are people thinking when they name their offspring? Don't they know that they name they bestow upon their child can either make or break them? Possibly cause them to come home with black eyes and bloody noses? Be made fun of all throughout their school carrers? Do they think that they, personally would have wanted to have been named such a name?

I know that you all have friends (and family!) that have given their children an unfortunate name. Let's hear them! (Then maybe I won't feel so sad for my friend's kid!!)

You should all check this out. It's a little video about President Hinckley that's really good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC0W0ZVI9ak

For all you Bloggers....

For a while, Ben and I have been saying that we wish there was some way we could somehow print our blog, since it is a type of journal for us. I actually came across a site last night (through blog hopping) that will let us do just that! I'm so excited about it! You can download your blog directly to the program and it will put it in a book for you. You can add and delete pictures and text, which I think is great. AND to make things even better, the pricing is pretty reasonable. Just to give you some idea, I heard about a girl who had put her blog in a book and it ended up being around 240 pages and it cost about $70. So, if you're interested, check it out! The site is: www.blurb.com. Just thought I'd share!

1st Birthday comin' up...

I was wondering if anyone had any fun ideas for Caleb's first birthday coming up in a couple of weeks? What did you guys do for your kids when they turned one? I am not looking for anything huge, but I thought it would be fun to hear ideas from you as to what we should do. It is during the week, so we're planning on just having a small family party with cake and ice cream. I can't wait to hear what you come up with!

HAIRSPRAY

We watched HAIRSPRAY for our family movie night last night and I just thought I'd put out a quick plug for the movie. I really liked it. It was a great story line and I loved all the characters and the actors who portrayed them. I also thought John Travolta did a great job pulling off a woman, which made the movie even better for me! I loved the message that being different was OK and that we shouldn't be ashamed of who we are and stand up for what we believe in. The music was great too! I now want to wake up every morning singing "Good Morning Baltimore!". By the end of the movie, I was dancing right along with them and trying to get K to dance with me (W and B fell asleep by the end). I probably am the last to see it, but if you haven't seen the movie, I definitely recommend it!

By the way, we found the redboxes out here too! Thanks Whit and Ben for the tip!

Girl Scout Cookies!

Just so that all of you know, Girl Scout Cookies are being sold RIGHT NOW! If you haven't had an adorable little girl come to your door, feel free to email me, and I'll get what you want from the girls in my troop. They are $3.50/box, but they are for a good cause. My girls have been saving up for the past 3 years for a trip to Disneyland, and this is their last ditch effort at raising enough money. So. . .look on the internet for what you want, and let me know! Thanks!

FYI: They are only sold for 2 weeks, so it goes by really fast!

Sisters Weekend

So, what's going on with the Sister's Weekend? Did we ever decide on a date? Is it for sure May 16-17? I just want to make sure so I can start making plans. It may seem early now, but May will sneak up on us so fast! Let's get planning! How much money do we need to bring? Where are we staying? What are we going to do? Should we start doing Sun Dances so it doesn't rain on us? What airport should we fly into? Should we coordinate to arrive at similar times? Just throwing stuff out there!

MISSING:

A box full of drawings, letters, and other interesting tidbits about our cousins!

Where's the cousin box? Want to get it going again?

CPR

So a really scary thing happened this week. On Friday I was with my stroller class when a young woman was jogging by (not with my group) and collapsed. She was not breathing and had no pulse. Luckily a woman in our group was a nurse and she started CPR immediately. It took 10 min. for the fire department and paramedics to get there and she still had no heart beat. It then took them another 10 min. or more to finally get a heartbeat. She was transported to a hospital and is still in critical condition. The cardiologist that examined her said that the women that performed CPR saved her life. It was a very scary event, and a great eye opener. I witnessed CPR literally save a life. I have been certified in the past but am not currently, and this event has inspired me to get CPR certified again. This woman was in her early 20's, you never know when or where you might need to use it. Especially having young children I would hate to have something happen and not know what to do. I encourage everyone to brush up on or take a CPR course- you never know when or where you might need it.
Also, when the incident first happened 4or 5 moms were trying to call 911 on their cell phones and no one could get through. I was at an emergency preparedness meeting once and was told that it is very difficult to get through to 911 on a cell phone- if at all, and that we should program in our cell phone our local fire or police department number for emergency purposes. This was almost a year ago and I luckily had programed our local fire department in my phone. When no one could reach 911 I called it and got right through. Someone was able to talk to me about what was going on, tell me what we should be doing, and get firemen and paramedics to us. Everyone should have a fire or police number on their cell phones for emergencies.

Yummy/ Easy Taco Recipe!

This recipe is super easy and is delicious as well!

Ingredients:
Roast
Big Jar of Salsa (We use the Pace Picante HOT salsa)
Corn tortillas

Taco Toppers:
Cheese
Shredded lettuce
Tomato's
Olive's
Etc!

Directions:
Brown the outside of the roast in a pan like you do when you make Mom's roast. Once it's done, put it in the crockpot and pour the jar of salsa all over it. Cover and let it cook on Low 6-7 hrs or on high 4-5 hrs. Then cut it up if it's not fally-aparty and serve with your fixings. We like to fry the tortillas just like you do for A. Theatta's enchiladas.

Tip:
A good way to use the leftovers is to make Floutas! All you do is spoon some of the meat into a tortilla, roll it up, and use a toothpick to keep it together. Then fry it in oil and ta-da! It's ready! Just serve it with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc. (The tortilla's texture will be like a chimichanga) They are so tasty and have the perfect flavor from the meat! Enjoy!

Banana Cookies

This is my friends recipe. I haven't made them yet but they sounded good to me.


3/4 c butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 mashed bananas
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 c flour

Frosting
6 tbl brown sugar
4 tbl evaporated milk
4 tbl butter

For cookies: combine wet ingredients above in a mixer then combine dry ingredients in a second bowl and add to wet mixture. After all ingredients are mixed drop spoonfuls of dough on greased cookie sheet and cook in 350 degree oven until done. Frost cookies with recipe below:

For frosting: add ingredients to pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make a good frosting.

Recipies

Here are two new recipies I tried recently and really liked! I encourage you all to try them as well! I don't have pictures so just imagine they look great! :)

Oatmeal Pancakes:

1c oats blended in your blender until powdery
1 c white flour
1/2c wheat flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 eggs
2 c milk
2 T. brown sugar
5 T. butter
mix and cook!


Hamburger Stew:

1 1/2 lb hamburger browned and drained
1 onion browned
1 green pepper
2 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots cut into small pieces
1 qt. water
1 tbs. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbs. parsley
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 pkg. beefy onion soup mix
2 cans V8 juice
1 can corn (pour juice of corn and kidney beans in with it)
1 can kidney beans
6 oz tomato paste
5 peeled potatoes cut into fourths
Combine everything into a big saucer and cook on the stove

Recipes

So I'm in desperate need of some recipes, why doesn't everyone post a recipe from a meal they made this week (pictures of the finished product would be helpful), even if it's a recipe you think everyone already has. My family would appreciate it!

Friends

So I read an article (in a baby magazine) about the "5 Friends all moms need". I thought it was pretty interesting. The five different types were The Role Model- obviously someone you admire and want to be more like and has experience, the Twin- someone in your same circumstances that you can relate to (midnight feedings, tantrum stage, etc.), The Spur of the Moment Friend- someone who is willing and ready to go and do at any moment- especially when we just need to get out of the house and chat with an adult. The Rule Breaker- someone who doesn't live by the "how to correctly raise your children" book- definitely a good friend to have, makes you feel like you don't have to do everything by the book and your kid is going to be ok. And the Best Friend's Mom, the mom you end up connecting with and becoming great friends with through your children. There was also another needed friend- the childless one- this friend helps link you to your former life, gives you a break from 24/7 kid thinking and loves your kids without giving advice.
I hadn't thought of the importance of different types of friends before and how they can offer new insight and help in life. And although I don't think I "need" these exact 5 types of friends, I think that I really do need some and can be at least one of them to someone else. This also goes for regular life- with or without children. There is a purpose to friendship and you don't always have to have the "twin" friend to be happy, there are so many different people to connect with that can add substance, insight and joy to life. I LOVE FRIENDS!!!!

Twilight

I finally got around to reading Twilight. I finished the first two books in 1 week - now I'm just waiting to get my hands on the 3rd. After reading, I now know why it's such a hot topic! I am really enjoying them! So, just for fun the other night, I went to Stephenie Meyer's website, and found that they had listed the actors who were chosen to play Bella and Edward for the upcoming movie. Take a look here: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com (just scroll down and you will find the pictures).

What do you think?

As a little side note, if you haven't read the books, READ THEM!!

HELP!!

Alright ladies! I need your advice/help with 2 things:

1. We're trying to wean Lydia from the bottle. It hasn't been going so well. She won't drink milk in ANYTHING besides a bottle. Not even with a straw (her new fascination). So I need advice on how we could make the transition a little easier for all of us. Any suggestions??

2. So, this one is driving me CRAZY! Lydia has been having a really hard time playing on her own lately. She won't play anything unless Ben or I are there playing with her. Any suggestions on helping her become a little more independent? I know it's partly our fault, but we'll take any advice we can get. I'm looking forward to your help!!

Calling all those Decorating Guru's!

I wanted your opinions on how I should decorate our basement. It is a nice big open room. We have our computer down there and also my sewing machine. I want it to be a fun and inviting room for kids to play in with their toys and just a nice room to hang out in. I know the pictures aren't the best, but hopefully you'll get some ideas of what I can do. Eventually I would like to turn it into a TV room but we don't have the $$ right now to get another couch and stuff, so I need to do something else with it and make it functional with very little or no money. The pictures are taken from each side of the room to give you an idea of what it looks like. (By the way, excuse the mess and the entertainment center on the back wall is not going to stay there.) Thanks in advance!

Movie

So we just watched a pretty entertaining movie called Stardust
We didn't really know what to expect and at first were wondering what in the world was going on, but in the end, we loved it. It's one of those enchanted movies (it made me think a little of The Princess Bride), a little crazy, but a lot of fun. Watch it, it's worth the rental, and you just might be pleasantly surprised!

Welcome

Welcome to a new informative and hopefully fun blog. The more info the better, books, recipes, games, party ideas- adult and child, opinions, health, shopping, movies, whatever comes to mind. This is a blog about life, the craziness, the fun, the "I need to know" and whatever else you want it to be. So add your two cents and we'll see what we can create.