Life Skills

It never seems too young to start the kids down the path of discovering their profession.

This year for Christmas Kaitlyn received a balloon making kit.
She has since mastered hats, octopus(s?) and swords - helpful considering all the octopus(i?)

Cason received a drawing book.
Interestingly enough, the first drawing our artist drew was of an artist. Maybe a bit of a self portrait?

From the looks of it, we can start hiring them out for parties in the very near future.

I Like to Look for Rainbows....

I love that Kaitlyn requested her birthday cake to be a rainbow, because of the primary baptism song. (More specifically, she wanted a rainbow with her and Rich standing underneath the rainbow - but mom isn't quite that savvy with frosting :)

Needless to say, she is very ready and excited to be baptised.

So, for those wondering...

Kaitlyn's baptism will be this Saturday - January 31st at 10:00 a.m. at our Stake Center.

To my beautiful daughter, on her birthday

"I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you
And if one door opens to another door closed
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile
But more than anything...More than anything...


"My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to
I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish


"I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you and the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get
Oh, you find God's grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take
But more than anything...Yeah more than anything...


"My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to
I hope you know somebody loves you and wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish

I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big"

(My Wish by Rascal Flatts)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAITLYN!

I can't believe you are eight years old. I'm so proud of who you are and all that you do. I could not ask for a better daughter than you. I love you so much and have so many dreams and wishes for you. I hope that you will continue to make good choices in your life so that you can experience all the joy that is meant for you. I hope you know that you're surrounded by people who love you and believe in you and would do anything for you. Never forget who you are! Never forget that you are loved!

Happy Birthday my sweet! Love, Mom

watch out Kashi....

It hit me this past week.
All those little grocery store price increases that have been happening for the past few months are really adding up.
I had my LONG list of grocery shopping last week and it seemed like every item I picked up had gone up in price. It really stinks! (why are the lyrics "we're not going to take it..." going through my mind at this very moment?)

As I stared at the granola bars, my choice was to spend $4+/box for the healthy bars that I prefer my kids eat or spend less and fill my children with corn syrup and preservatives and who knows what else - why is it that the unhealthy junk is always the cheapest?

That is when I determined that if I can make my own (delicious) homemade granola cereal, I ought to be able to make my own (delicious and healthy) granola bars. I came home and promptly searched for a recipe - LOVE the Internet at moments like that.

So earlier this week I made THIS recipe - with the only tweak being the addition of a whole lot of coconut. They turned out SO GOOD! I doubled the recipe and got 36 bars, but I will cut them a bit smaller next times and will get even more.

I love the domestic bliss that comes after a success like this - yeah for a healthy snack! yeah for an affordable option! yeah for me!

SEVEN months old!

These months seem to be accelerating. Where has SEVEN months gone?

Ty isn't even the same boy that he was one month ago.

In the past month he has....

started solid food - so far he hates rice cereal, had a terrible rash reaction to bananas, but loves beans, peas and squash

continues to suck his thumb, preferring to do so with a handful of my hair in his hand as he sucks

decided that he really likes Jake's sippy cup. And only Jake's sippy cup. The matching sippy we bought for Ty holds very little interest for Ty.

had his two bottom teeth break through

continues to crawl, faster each day

attempted to climb the stairs from the bottom -no luck with mom being game on that but he has climbed on top of a box of toys when mom wasn't looking

taken his standing to new levels (think something along the lines of "hey mom, look at me, just one hand!")

had his first goose egg on his forehead due to .... standing (or to be more specific, probably due to the fall that followed more than the standing itself)

Mom? What mom?

I'm officially obsolete!

I guess it's time to post my services in the want ads because they are no longer needed here. In fact, Kaitlyn told me a couple of years ago that she could get her own apartment except that she didn't know how to drive. She still isn't driving, but she seems to be pretty confident in taking care of herself, and others as it turns out.

This morning I went for my morning run, leaving before the kids got up like I usually do. When I got out of bed, I noticed that Cason was in my bed and Rich was not, but I didn't think anything of it and headed out.

When I got home, 4 miles later, all four kids were in the kitchen and there was a resounding "They're home!". To which I replied, "mom is home". Cason looked at me and said "where is dad?" I immediately started wondering that myself. The kids then proceed to tell me that they have looked everywhere and dad is gone and that they've been "HOME ALONE!" I'm thinking that there has to be a logical explanation, at the same time that I'm wondering "did I really just leave my kids home alone?"

You might think my kids were worried by the prospect of waking up to no parents - but not so. I ask them to tell me what has happened and Kaitlyn and Cason (with huge smiles) explain that Jake got up first and went into Kaitlyn's room. They then went and woke Cason from my bed and then got the baby up. Once they determined that they were alone, Cason told Kaitlyn that she had to be in charge because she was the oldest. Together, Kaitlyn and Cason then took the two little ones downstairs where Kaitlyn proceeded to get everyone a bowl of cereal (including a bowl for Rich and I) and Cason proceeded to try to convince Kaitlyn that they could eat candy or cake but Kaitlyn told him that it was "way too early for that kind of sugar!"

In the end, we did find Rich - it turns out that when Cason had crowded him out of his bed Rich had gone to sleep in Cason's bed. I guess the kid's search of the house for their dad never included the top of the bunk bed :(

In the end I told the kids how proud I was of them. For their working together (i.e. not fighting) and for their smart choice to not eat sugar even when there wasn't a parent to tell them not to.

Hut, Hut, Hike!

It's never too early to start the kids in sports :)

Ty really seems to be showing some remarkable skills - he's quick on his feet and his speed is catching the attention of a lot of interested agents.

We'll keep you all posted!

Why I live in Vegas...

64 degrees in the middle of January!

My boys and I took a little In-n-Out Burger to the park today and just soaked in the sunshine and got all the winter drab out of our system.

I called Rich and told him that I may have to seriously reconsider ever leaving Vegas. Vegas may not have good education, good health care, or morals ~ but what it's lacking in those areas it definitely makes up for in perfect weather!

Hello!

I'm singing the HAPPY SONG and dancing the HAPPY DANCE!

After many months of putting it off, I am the proud new owner of a CANON SLR! It came yesterday and I immediately opened the box and started pushing buttons and taking photos! The kids must have sensed my emotional JOY because they were happy to oblige me in my spontaneous photo shoot!

Happy! Happy! Happy!

Goodbye!

This is really difficult for me. Goodbye's always are.

Especially when you have been there for me through so much.

When we've PLAYED...

when we've SLEPT...

when we've given BIRTH...

and the subsequent BIRTHDAYS...

when we've gone to VISIT family....

when we've had family VISIT us...

when we've celebrated the HOLIDAYS....

when we TRAVELED as a family....

from the state of ALASKA....

to the state of MAINE....

through too many of my children's FIRSTS to even count...

Words just don't begin to express what you have meant to me!

But the time has come to replace you.

I've held off for too long and the upgrades have finally enticed me.

I'm leaving you behind for something better.

I hope in time you will forgive me.

Most importantly, I hope we can remain friends.

Goodbye my dear, sweet digital camera! The past five years have been some of my happiest and I owe much of that to you.

a flock of seagulls

Remember these seagulls from Finding Nemo?

Do you remember what they say?

MINE!

How is it that one two year old can sound like an entire flock of seagulls?

He may not have many words, but Jake picked up "mine" yesterday and it turns out that "mine" cannot be said in singular....

it only works as "mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine...."

Time to make BROWNIES

I think by now, everyone knows that I have a bit of an infatuation with brownies. I LOVE them! If I could only have one dessert for the rest of my life, it would be brownies! As such, I'm always on the search for a new recipe and seldom come across a brownie that I don't like :)

I have recently discovered my favorite brownies of ALL TIME - they are sold at Fresh & Easy for $3.99 for four. Since discovering them I've been on a quest to find a recipe to recreate what Fresh & Easy has perfected.

I'm so happy to announce that I may have found just the recipe! (not that I won't continue my search) This recipe is from the back of a King Arthur flour bag - the name was "Best Brownies Ever". Let me know what you think...

Best Brownies Ever

1 cup butter
2 ¼ cup sugar
1 ¼ cup dutch-process cocoa
½ tsp salt (increase to 1 tsp if you use unsalted butter)
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs vanilla
4 large eggs
1 ½ cup flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just till it’s hot, but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on you brownies. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.

Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating till smooth; then add the flour and chocolate chips, beating till well combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies for 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out dry. The brownies should feel set both on the edges, and in the center. Remove them from the oven, and after 5 minutes loosen the edges with a table knife; this helps the brownies from sinking is the center as they cool. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

(If you truly want to recreate the F&E brownie, then sprinkle about 1 cup worth of mini chocolate chips over the top of the brownies as soon as you pull them out of the oven. They will initially melt, but then set back up, maintaining their shape.)

*** And this is where I insert my own step - after cooled, cut the brownies, individually wrap them and FREEZE them. Freezing them changes the texture from cakey to fudgey - it's the perfecting step. Not to mention, there is nothing better than a partially frozen brownie to reward yourself for getting the kids down for a nap (or out the door to school, or down to bed... you catch my drift)
Enjoy!

A Quick Riddle

Question: What is messier than a 2 year old feeding himself noodles?

Answer: A two year old pretending to be asleep, thus feeding himself noodles with his eyes closed!

The key to stopping a behavior is not acknowledging it. I think I failed. I couldn't help but laugh every time Jake pulled this stunt at lunchtime, so I may have been part of the problem today!

Stand Up and Be Counted

Look at this rascal!

Why oh why won't he just stay my baby!

As if his persistent crawling wasn't causing me enough grief.

Now he is climbing and standing at every chance he gets.

This not only breaks my heart at the realization that this baby of mine is growing up faster than all the rest combined, but it's breaking my heart as my poor little guy goes through the bumps and bruises associated with the falls of learning this new skill.

Luckily for me, despite his fast course on growing up, he is still the best snuggler in town!

HUZZAH

For anyone that has gone to the Excalibur's Tournament of Kings, the word "Huzzah" will never be used again in conversation without the vision of men in tights, conquering the evil dark Knight...

According to wickepedia, Huzzah (originally huzza) is an English interjection of joy or approbation and has seen occasional literary use since at least the time of Shakespeare. According to last knights Merlin, it's a word divided into three parts:

1) said "huuu"

2) said "zaaa"

3) hands raised in the air!

Last night Rich and I attended the Tournament of Kings dinner show - something we've talked about doing since we arrived in Las Vegas 7+ years ago. It just so happens that this entire month there is a local's special going on so we were able to get 2-for-1 tickets. It seemed like it was time to finally go....

• In case you are wondering, dinner is part of the show.
• In case you are wondering, utensils are not.
• In case you are wondering, the horses are real.
• In case you are wondering, the fighting is not.
• In case you are wondering, at 2-for 1 it's worth it.
• In case you are wondering, at full price it is not.

My apologies...

....to anyone sitting near the Dougall's at church today.

We aren't the perfect family by any means, but we generally try to keep the kids reverent and don't frequently leave the chapel during the Sacrament meeting. I think we set a record today!

It all began at 9:00 a.m., when we were ALL ready for church. But due to the meeting time change, we had 2 hours before church began. Fast forward to 10:30 when I'm just about to go slip my dress on and get the baby up and I hear the cracking sound of a bedroom door BREAKING and three innocent faces looking at me ("we didn't do anything")

So then I'm in the middle of spackling the door when Rich comes home to pick us up for church and instead of finding us ready (remember 9:00 a.m.?) I'm frantically handing him diapers and shoes and children and we arrive at church during the opening song. As we walk into the building I tell Rich, "I don't have my bag, so no diapers or toys or food", but that's going to be okay because I'm only staying for Sacrament (Jake still has a cough and so he can't go to nursery so I was going to take him home for a nap).

We make it to the Sacrament before I get a whiff of Ty needing a diaper change. Quick check tells me that it's a leaker and can't wait. So I'm OUT to go get a diaper from the stash in the car.

I'm back IN to grab Ty from Rich and back OUT to change him.

I'm back IN with a fresh Ty only to have Jake point at his bum and say "poop". Really? Yes, really! I decide we can all live with a little odor because I don't want to be OUT again.

Kaitlyn and Cason then decide to have a battle for the newest Friend magazine, so Rich is OUT with Kaitlyn. When Jake attempts to follow them he gets his fingers stuck in the door and I'm quickly up and OUT before the loud cry comes (you know the one that follows the really long breath).

I stay OUT when Rich and Kaitlyn return IN and as I'm just about to take Jake back IN, OUT comes Rich and Ty!

I think at this point we do actually all end up back IN our seats for the rest of the meeting (?) but keep in mind that Jake still STINKS and has determined that since his parents aren't taking care of his "poop" he decides to tell the people sitting around us about it - as if they aren't aware of it on their own!

Needless to say, I was promptly OUT of there when the meeting ended, on my way home with a stinky Jake and a hungry Ty.