Hometown Favorites

Today's T-T-A is to tell about your Hometown Favorites.
Favorite place to:

• Grab Lunch: I don't have a car during the day but when I did I liked to take my kids to McDonalds or Arctic Circle or Burger King for lunch. I liked it because they have a playland that the kids can play on.
• Go for Date Night: Most of the time our date nights consist of ordering out from a restaurant and watching a movie at home after the kids are asleep. But my favorite place to go is The Olive Garden. We only make it there about 2 times a year and one of those is our Anniversary which is coming up this Saturday! So we get to go to The Olive Garden. I am so excited to get my Chicken Parmesan!!
• Pick up Some Creative Goodies: My favorite place to get creative goodies is Stampin' Up! It doesn't help that I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator because it makes it very easy to get online and place an order. I also like to get stuff at Robert's Crafts, Hobby Lobby, and PineNeedles.
• Keep the Kids Busy: Once again I do not have a car during the day so my kids will play at the playground just outside our townhouse or they will go to friends houses. I have a list of things I would like to do this summer so hopefully we will get another car soon!
• Get Wet: Down the street from where I live they have a little splash park. That is a lot of fun. We have also been to the Kearns Oquirrh Park Swimming Pool. That is a lot of fun because they have play equipment and a lot of other fun stuff!
• Buy a Treat: One of my favorite places that I don't get to often is Rocky Mountain Candy Company. They are opening one closer to where I live. I love the different caramel apples that they have. They are so Yummy!! I also recently tried the new Frosty Shakers at Wendy's and they are very good!
• Shop for Fun: I don't get there very often but I love to shop at the outlet stores in Park City. I also like to go to all the little stores at Gardner Village!
• Get some Fresh air: I love to get to the mountains. I am excited for the warmer weather so I can go hiking with my husband and kids.
• Splurge: I think that would also have to be Stampin' Up! and any other Scrapbook or craft store!
• Drive for a weekend away: It is usually only a Friday night get away, but we love to drive to Heber and eat dinner at Dairy Keen. It is so good. We go there about once every 2 or 3 months. Next time we go will probably be Memorial Day Weekend and see Thomas the Train. We can't afford to ride the train but the kids love to go and see it!

A Special Request

I had a request to tell the story of me getting hit by a car on my mission, so here it goes! At the time I was serving in Lexington, Kentucky which happened to be the only bike area for Sister Missionaries. My companion and I had gone to the University of Kentucky to meet with an appointment. We got there and waited for about 1/2 hour and our appointment never showed up so we went home. As we were riding our bikes home I was following my companion. She crossed in front of a parking lot and I followed her. A guy who was stopped at a stop sign and apparently didn't know that missionaries came in pairs started to go as I was crossing and I got hit. The funny thing is that this happened about a block away from the University of Kentucky hospital and I got on a campus bus to go there. The doctor who examined my injuries was a exchange student from Germany and reminded me of the doctor that Robin Williams plays in the movie 9 months. It was very hard to understand him. Anyway I ended up with a sprained ankle and some bruises and a welt on my arm. Another funny thing about this is that it happened during Zone Conference week and our Zone was the last zone to have their conference. I went to Zone Conference with my crutches and my air cast. The safety training that the car czar (as we called him) had been doing all week was on none other than bicycle safety. I had people in my district and some members sign my crutches and I still have them. It was an experience I will always remember!

Recipe Tag, I was tagged, and Life in General

I came across this on another blog and I thought it looked like a lot of fun. I really want to get everyone to participate because the more people that participate the more recipes that we will end up with. So what you do is post 2 recipes. I found 2 recipes, one that I have made and one that I want to try. The first one is "Super Simple Egg Foo Young." I made this for my family a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. My family liked it also. The second recipe is "Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese Banana Bread." I have not tried this recipe but it looks good and I want to try it. So here are the recipes!

Super Simple Egg Foo Young

1 Pkg Rice-A-Roni "Fried Rice"
6 eggs
1 T. Soy Sauce
1/2 t. Salt
dash of pepper
1 (16 oz) can bean sprouts, drained
1/4 C. sliced green onion

Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions. Beat eggs with Soy Sauce, salt and pepper. Stir in cooked Rice-A-Roni, sprouts and onion. Drop mixture by 1/2 cupfuls onto greased pan or griddle. Brown on each side.

To make sauce, combine in pan
2 T. cornstarch
2T. Soy Sauce
2 cups of water

Cook until thick. Serve over Egg Foo Young.

Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese Banana Bread

3/4 C. butter softened
1(8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened
2 C. sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups All-Purpose flour
1/2 t. each baking powder, baking soda, and salt
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1 C. chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C. chopped, toasted pecans
1 T. All-Purpose flour
1 T. melted butter
1/8 t. ground cinnamon

Preperation
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, vanilla, and mashed potatoes. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8x4 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle with combined topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes our clean and sides pull away from the pan shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browing if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.


I was tagged by my cousin Ruth so here goes:

10 years ago I was working at a gas station, attending school at UVSC, being set up on blind dates and wondering if I would ever meet "Mr. Right"

Five Places I have visited:
1. Kentucky--I don't know if this counts because it was more than a visit. I served a mission there. I also served in Indiana and Ohio. I was there for 18 months.
2. Texas--Our family (my mom and dad, brothers and sisters) went there the summer after my 8th or 9th grade year to visit relatives on my mom's side.
3. Mexico--We stopped by when we went to Texas
4. Canada--We always went here when we went to Montana. We would just go across the border. It was a lot of fun. I love their toffee and their dill pickle potato chips.
5. California--I have been here twice. Once to visit one of my missionary companions and once after Jake got home from his mission. I went to Disneyland both times and had a blast!

Five things on my TO DO LIST:
1. Take Emma and Reagan to the Doctor
2. Finish Reading my book for Book Club
3. Make flower pens for my Scentsy Open House at Jamies
4. Clean my house
5. Get uninterrupted sleep tonight!

Three bad habits:
1. My Caffiene habit--something that may be hard to kick when I am pregnant with #4. I love my Diet Coke with Lime.
2. Staying in my Pajamas, sometimes all day long
3. Spending too much time on the computer

Five things you may not know about me:
1. I can't sleep without my body pillow
2. I love carmex but I only wear it at night right before going to bed
3. I was hit by a car on my mission.
4. I love to read, make cards, and do other crafts
5. I love to host parties and try to get free stuff!

Ok. So now on to life in general. Right now I am surprised that I am not falling asleep at this computer as I type. I have not had a night of uninterrupted sleep now for 2 nights in a row. Emma has been complaining of her ear hurting. Tuesday night I kept hearing her. She came into my room at 5:00 a.m. and I put her back in bed. Emma and Reagan both slept until 10:45 yesterday morning. Emma ate breakfast and then she fell asleep on the living room couch at 11:30 and slept on and off all day long. Then last night she came into my room every hour starting at 1:30 a.m. I did not get much sleep last night and feel very tired today. When I went to take her back to bed Reagan was awake and she had thrown up. I got her changed and Dave took care of the bedding. I tried to call the on call doctor at 2:00 a.m. and I waited up until 2:30 for him to call me back. No call, so I went back to bed. Of course Emma wasn't done coming into my room every hour. Anyway I am taking them both to the doctor today at 2:00. Hopefully I will get better sleep tonight. Uninterrupted would be nice. I hope Emma is feeling better by tomarrow because she is supposed to get her pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids. Maybe, I'll even get a nap in today!

OOPS....

My T-T-A post is after the Brian Regan video and not before. I did actually write the post this morning and not yesterday, but with trying to fix things I acutually messed it up. So you can either watch the video clip before or after the post. I thought it would be easier doing this than rewriting my post. Anyway, sorry for any confusion. I just didn't want my other post to get missed.

Brian Regan on Letterman Oct 2006

T-T-A Tuesday Tell All

Todays T-T-A question is:

What makes you Laugh?

The first thing that came to mind was my kids. They say some of the funniest things. For example last Friday our family went to my parents house and as we were leaving my cousin Davey and his wife Mary stopped by. We talked to them for a little bit and then we left. As we were driving away Emma said "Why does Mindy look different?" I guess she thought that Mary was my sister Mindy. Dave and I had a pretty good laugh over that one. Another funny thing that happened recently is this. Last Saturday was a very busy day. So busy in fact that Reagan was in her pajamas all day long. At one point she had just woken up for a nap and I believe it was around 5:00 p.m. I said to her "Reagan have you been in your pajamas all day long?" To which she matter of factly replied "Yep." It was as clear as a bell. I just had to laugh. Then I asked her, "Should we just keep you in your pajamas at this point?" To which she again responded "Yep." Later that night we were eating dinner and I asked Reagan if she liked staying in her pajamas all day. I was trying to get her to say yes by shaking my head yes and Dave was trying to get her to say no by shaking his head no. This went on for about 10 minutes and Dave won. Reagan eventually shook her head no and seemed to have fun doing it.

The other thing that makes me laugh is Brian Regan. If I need a good laugh I put in one of my 2 Brian Regan DVD's and laugh out loud the whole time. I think that he is a funny comedian and he is very clean. That is a hard combo to find these days. Anyway, I am still trying to figure out the Youtube clip to get it on my actual post, but I do have a clip on there. So watch it after you read this and get a good laugh for the day.

Anyway those are just a few things that make me laugh.

Make Chores More Fun

Today an article on MSN caught my eye. It was entitled "How to make chores more fun for kids." My first thought was "I need to read this because all my kids do is complain and say I don't like to clean." Anything to make chores more fun is worth reading. The article listed 9 ways to Make Chores More Fun. They look like really good ideas and I am excited to try some of these ideas in my own home. Anyway here they are:

1. Hide treats, stickers, or pennies in, on or under knickknacks, then ask your child to dust. She gets the reward only when everything is dusted.
2. Post individual lists of chores kids can do (one for each child in your family). Whenever your child accomplishes a task, have her mark it with a sticker. Whoever has the most stickers at the end of the week gets the "Helper of the Week" award.
3. Play "Go Fish" with a basket of clean socks. Divide the socks among the players, leaving a pile to draw from. Each player, in turn, holds up a sock and asks another if he has the mate. If not, the asking player must take a sock from the top of the draw pile. When finished, the player with the most pairs wins.
4. Turn any socks that stay single into child-friendly dust mitts. Insert childs hand in dampened sock and use to remove dust from houseplants and furniture.
5. Have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of everyday items (newspapers, magazines, shoes, etc). Set a timer for 5 minutes, then have kids collect stray items throughout the house. The winner is the child who picks up the most (and returns to their rightful spots).
6. After dinner, do a "10-minute Tidy." Set a timer and have the family members scatter through the house putting away the clutter.
7. Appoint someone to be Inpector D. Clutter. Armed with a laundry basket and plastic police badge from the dress-up box, this person roams the house and puts stray belongings into clutter "jail" (the basket). To set an item free, its owner (Mom and Dad included) must do a chore.
8. Turn a bucket into a personalized cleaning caddy. Use permanent marker to write your childs name on it and have him decorate it with other drawings. Store supplies such as sponges, dustrag, and a roll of paper towels, etc.
9. Show them the money? Some experts believe allowance should be reserved for teenagers. School-aged children will easily get behind the idea that chores are something you do as a member of the family--not for money. They'll be excited just to show off their skill at completing a task.

There is also a website that you can go to to find age appropriate chores. You can link to that website by clicking here

I am so excited to try out some of these ideas. Hopefully I won't hear so much complaining when it comes to chores!

T-T-A Tuesday Tell All

I recently discovered a blog thanks to Monica's sister Erica called Tuesday Tell All. Every Friday they post a question and then on Tuesday you post your answer to that question. You can be put on their list also. Anyway today's question is:
For what activity would you want professional lessons?
I couldn't just think of one thing I though of three. The first one is because I am a big fan of "Dancing with the Stars" although this season I haven't seen a whole lot of it. I would love to learn how to ballroom dance. I really think it would be fun to take lessons from a professional and learn that form of dancing.

The second activity I would like professional lessons for would be country dancing. I do know some line dances and I kind of know the swing but I would love to take lessons so that I could be better. I love country dancing. I think it is so much fun.

The last thing I would love professional lessons for I don't know if it is really considered an activity but thought I would put it in anyway. That is learning to play the harp. I love the harp and I love it when I hear it being played. I think that it is very beautiful. One of my dreams for the last several years is to learn how to play the harp. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to afford one and then I can start taking lessons.

Anyway that's it. I will be doing this every week so watch for the new posts on Tuesday and I will post other things on other days!

Health Updates

Yesterday Emma had her 4 year doctor appointment and Reagan had her 18 month appointment. Emma had to get 4 shots and Reagan had to get 1. Emma tried to be brave because as she said "I am 4 years old so shots don't hurt me anymore." Dave held her on his lap while she got 2 shots in each arm. He covered her eyes so she couldn't watch the needles going in. However, she still did cry but only for a minute or so. Then she was able to get a prize and a sticker. I held Reagan while she got her one shot and she cried a lot longer than Emma. However, Emma complained of her arms hurting for a couple hours after and Reagan seemed to recover quickly. The doctor recommended that we have Emma see a Speech Pathologist and call the Elementary School to set up an appointment. They also said they could recommend a preschool, possibly one that would help her with her speech before she starts Kindergarten. Anyway here are their stats:

Emma

Height: 39 1/2 inches (50%)

Weight: 35 lb. (50%)

Reagan

Height: 31 inches (50%)

Weight: 20 lb. 2 oz. (5%)

Head is in the 95% range. I don't know exact measurement because the papers are in the car.

The exciting thing is that now Reagan can sit in a forward facing carseat. We need to go and buy one this weekend. I think it's about time. Here is a cute picture of my 2 girls.

Emma's Princess Birthday Party

A few weeks ago when I asked Emma what kind of party she wanted for her birthday this year, she responded by saying "A Princess Party." I went to work looking on the internet and getting ideas to do for her Princess party. I wanted to make my own invitations and I found a really cute stamp on a website here. It wasn't scheduled to arrive until March 31st. Anyway then about a week ago I found another stamp set on a different website here. I took my chances and ordered it. Luckily it came by postal service and not UPS and I got it in the mail last Saturday and worked hard to get the invitations done by Sunday. I was up until 2:00 in the morning on Sunday working on them so I could get them passed out. Dave helped me out by cutting. Despite some problems printing the inside we got them done in time to pass out. Here is the outside of the invitation:

And here is the inside of the invitation:

On April 2nd, Emma's 4th birthday we took her to Cookie Cutters to get her hair done in a updo. I didn't have anything in mind for Emma's hair. We just said that she wanted to look like Cinderella. I think that the stylist did a really good job. Here is a picture of her in the process of getting her hair done and the finished product.

The party was held at my parents house. We bought some red plastic at the party store and had it leading up to the doors as the red carpet. At her party we started out by having the kids do a craft. I had cut out some crowns and the kids were able to decorate them with stickers. They were also given a coloring page of a castle and a princess to color. The kids had a lot of fun making the crowns and coloring.

Of course we had to get a picture of all of the kids wearing their finished crowns.

When the kids were finished with their craft and coloring, it was time to eat dinner. Dinner consisted of Chicken Croissant Sandwiches, chips, fruit salad, meatballs, and a spinach dip that was put into a bread bowl that was made to look like a carriage pulled by horses.

After dinner the kids played a game of Pin the kiss on the Frog Prince. Then Emma opened her presents. She opened them so fast and then threw what she opened she threw aside. She threw aside everything she opened but thisShe is pretty excited to go to Toys R Us to buy something with her $10. I guess she is a true girl and loves to shop.

For dessert we had Sherbet that was made by mixing Pineapple Sherbet with raspberries and bananas. We put the sherbet in a cup that was made by lining foil cupcake liners with melted white chocolate chips. We also had Rice Krispies cut into heart or star shapes.

All the kids were sent home with party favors. The girls had things like princess stickers, a mirror, a ring, bubbles, notebook and pencil, barbie fruit snacks, and some other things. The boys had Shrek stickers, Shrek ring pop, bubbles, Nemo fruit snacks, bubbles and other things. The kids really enjoyed the party favors.

All in all it was a really fun party. Here are some more pictures of the fun party.