Don't try this at home!

Ok, now that I have shared with you the disasters that my children have created this past week I will share with you the disasters that I created in my kitchen this week. My father has always loved trying new things especially when it comes to food. He has passed on this fearlessness (with food) to his daughters. I'm sure that my husband wishes I had a little more fear about food at times. This week was one of those times.
I had went to our local produce market here and got a great deal on carrots. When I got home I started thinking "What am I going to do with all of these carrots?" So, I made a carrot cake (See earlier post about the frosting...) The cake turned out great but I still had a lot of carrots. I found a recipe on the internet using a lot of root vegetables. It had good reviews so I thought I would try it. So, I had potatoes, carrots, turnips, and onions. They were to be roasted in the oven for 2 hours. For those of you who don't know...I do not have a sense of smell. The vegis were almost done and Katie comes into the kitchen with her mouth and nose covered saying "what is that awful smell?" Well I thought it was something else so I cleaned it up. Soon Katie comes back looking for the lysol! Now I know it is bad. So, I am lighting candles all over the house. It's storming outside but I crack the windows anyway. Jim comes home and about passes out from the wave of naseau that hits him when he walks in the door. Needless to say he was not very hungry that evening and I had to feed the kids in the basement. The next day I made a soup that I have made before but I substituted beef bullion cubes for the beef broth. I learned that you can not use the bullion in a 1:1 ratio and you should probably wait to add any additional salt. However, large quantites of salt will make your meat extra tender! The day after the soup incident Jim was still complaining that he felt dehydrated!
So, I pass my mistakes on to you. Easy on the bullion and beware of the turnip!

Tag!

Thanks Jenn!

I've been tagged so now I must share with you my 4th photo in my 4th album on my hard drive.

This photo was taken earlier this year. Ryan was having a cute moment. Boys are so different! Ryan is so stereotypical "all boy" and Nicole is very stereotypical "all girl" It is fun to watch them but when they get together it is all trouble. In fact now as I sit here I am wondering what I am going to have to clean up when I finish writing this post. This past week I made a new mom mistake. I decided to sit down for 10 min and eat my lunch at the table instead of swallowing up some of their leftovers as I rushed off to the next thing. The consequence: they painted the bathroom blue with toothpaste. It did however have a nice minty fresh smell!

I was very excited last month when I figured out how to lock the refrigerator. But the key to the new lock is that I have to remember to put it on! The day after the toothpaste incidence I forgot to lock the refrigerator and happened to leave them alone for 5 min. My two little monsters decided to paint the living room with frosting. The armoire got the worst of it. Evidently I need more practice at housecleaning! On the bright side Ryan has been very affectionate this week blowing very big dramatic kisses and even planting a few on my cheek. Very unusual for him and I loved it. They keep me busy but they are pretty cute in the process.

Rachel, Anna, Suzanne, Debbie- Tag, your turn!

What Daddy's do best!

We have a book that is called What Grandma's/Grandpa's do best. It was my inspiration for this blog. I asked my children "What do you love most about Daddy?" Here were some of the responses:

*"Well, he says yes to almost everything!" This was at the top of the list of GREAT things! Ha
*" He brings us sliced apples at night when we are going to bed."
*"He's soft and nice to lay on."
*"He's a Daddy! He's a good Daddy!"

I have added to the list of what makes my husband such a great husband and father.

*He gives tractor rides.
*He will jump into ice cold water so that Nicole can take swimming lessons and Mom can watch happily from the sidelines!)
*He coaches soccer and lets Katie play "striker" (even if she hasn't earned the position) just because he loves her.
*He buys donuts.
*He likes to snuggle and watch cartoons.
*He sings the sleepytime song like no one else can.
*He knows how to dance with a princess.
*He always puts everyone else before himself.
*He is a fantastic teacher.
*He has a testimony and shares it with our children.
*He knows how to listen.
*Best of all he gives lots and lots of love.

We love you Jim a.k.a. Daddy. Happy Birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa W.

It is funny how something so simple can jog your memory and send you in a compleatly different train of thought. I ran out of our usual tub butter this morning and so I broke out the stick butter. As luck would have it the toast came out a little darker than I usually like it. As I was buttering my darkened toast I was reminded of my grandfather. For some reason memories of my grandfather are closely related to breakfast. I remember my grandfather always getting up at the crack of dawn and making breakfast. He had a "seasoned" electric skillet that I'm sure would make most mothers today cringe. My grandfather made the best sausage and scrambled eggs with that skillet. He always topped off the meal with some blackened toast w/stick butter. This was one of the many things that my grandfather loved to argue with me about. He thought that toast should be black and I did not care for the taste of burnt toast. I loved my grandfather he was a hard-working man who loved his family dearly. Thinking of grandpa also reminds me of my grandmother. Grandma W. was a great cook and probably one of the happiest people who ever lived. I was about to say that I could not ever remember her without a smile on her face but there was that one time I was mean to my sister and I'm pretty sure she wasn't smiling then. I will always remember how my grandmother served her community, friends and family tirelessly. She was always giving of her time and talents. She always had something positive to say about everyone. Grandma always found the good. I am so fortunate to have had such wonderful examples in my life.

Nicole's Princess Party

January is Birthday Month!

January is birthday month at our house. Nicole's birthday was last week and Jim's is next week. We celebrated Nicole's birthday with a princess party. For Katie's 4th birthday I attempted to make a treasure chest cake and let's just say I ended up making an emergency run to the grocery store for a birthday cake. It did not turn out well. Since then I have always ordered a birthday cake for my kids. This year for some strange reason I decided to attempt making Nicole's birthday cake. I was surprised at how easy this cake came together. Nicole was watching me put the cake together. She was not very happy with me that I had put her new doll in the cake. Thank goodness grandma was there and convinced her that it was beautiful! Nicole had a great time helping me put the sprinkles on her cake and licking the icing out of the bowl! We put 3 star candles on the cake and blew out the candles numerous times. It was a big success. I'm not sure it will work as well for Jim's birthday??? I may have to come up with something new.

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas time. There always seems to be so much excitement in the air. There are decorations adorning almost every building. All of the stores are playing Christmas Carols It is hard to escape the enthusiam. Last year I taught the kids in our church a song called Picture a Christmas. They are practicing it again this year to sing in our sacrament meeting. I love hearing their sweet little voices and I love this song. In the midst of all the excitement and enthusiasm it reminds me of what Christmas is all about.

Picture a stable in Judea.

Picture a sacred silent night.

And can you hear the angles near and see the star so bright?

Picture the little baby Jesus.

Think of his life and words so dear.

Sing praise to Him; remember Him,

As you picture Christmas this year.

Picture the kind and gentle Joseph.

Picture the mother Mary dear.

And can you see so reverently the shepherds kneeling there?

Picture the little baby Jesus.
Think of his life and words so dear.
Sing praise to Him; remember Him,
As you picture Christmas this year.

Here is a link if you would like to hear it.http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=50&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=50&searchsubseqend=ZZZ