Is It Really That Magical?

I've been wondering lately if Disney is all its cracked up to be. Then I realized that there are few places my daughter isn't going to learn bad behavior. I just wish Disney wasn't one of them.

We don't let Keara watch TV, but we do let her watch movies. So far, she's only seen about 6 movies, but she sees them over and over, so she knows them well. And I'm realizing just how much she is picking up from them.

Here's a snippet of what she's learned:

"Stupid" - The Santa Clause
"I don't care" - The Jungle Book
"I hate you" - Finding Nemo
"Leave me alone" - The Jungle Book
"You idiot" - Toy Story

Yeah, they portray stories with morals like friendship and loyalty, honesty, forgiveness, gratitude, etc. but they also show cruelty, rudeness, and talking back.

And, have you noticed that the majority of Disney movies feature single parents? Note: The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Dumbo, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause, Cinderella...the list continues.

Anyway, where do your kids find truly good entertainment without it being on TV? I don't like commercials or how quickly time passes with TV. It's easy to sit your kid down in front of a TV show and not realize that 5 episodes have passed before you know it. I prefer short, hour long movies where there is a distinct start and end. And I like the Disney stories, for the most part (though I'm realizing a lot of what I liked as a child are SCARY!).

Anyway, just my observations about movies.

Celebrate Keara

In the hospitalOne week old

2 months old4 months old7 months old10 months oldOne year old14 months old16 months old20 months old2 years old2 and a half

Almost 3 3 years old

Wow! Keara is now officially 3 years old! I can't believe it. In so many ways, it seem like she was just born. Yet in so many other ways, it seems like she's been around forever and like "it's only been 3 years!?"

I will post in a bit about her birthday party, but right now, I want to share a little about our Keara. It's harder to do a spotlight on Keara because very little is about milestone and more is about personality, preferences, etc. I'll do my best. If this bores you, don't read it~it's long!!

Keara

*is my best friend, biggest helper, source of entertainment, and so much more. She delights me (almost) all the time and is an amazing child to parent.

*has always understood the details about what we're talking about. She has an incredible ability to control herself and her emotions. She has rarely thrown fits and those she does throw last less than a minute.

*LOVES babies. She cannot wait for this one and begs to hold any baby she can. She has done that since she was a year old, even if it meant holding "babies" who were bigger than her.

*understands what it means to change your attitude and can do it immediately and choose to be happy.

*cherishes friends. I can see so much of my personality in her. She craves deep friendships with one or two people but really has little interest in being the center of attention. If there is someone with a stronger leader personality in the group, she will not take charge. But if she feels comfortable with the people she is with, she can be a great leader.

*is very shy...at first. She is polite and outgoing, but has a hard time warming up to strangers right away. But when she feels safe, she finds instant friends (especially with the wiser women in our ward.)

*feels great empathy for other people. You can see her heart reaching out when others are sad or hurting (unless its Taryn). She understands a lot about human emotion and does a great job helping people feel better.

*obeys VERY well. She is a great listener and obeys (unless she's in a bad mood or very tired).

*says some of the funniest things. Usually these things are because she thinks too much about something.

*Is focused and determined. She will decide she wants something and will NOT forget about it, no matter how hard you distract her. Thankfully, this never has anything to do with material things, like candy at the grocery store. But rather, it has to do with what she has for breakfast, or the outfit I told her 3 days ago she could wear, or what I told her we MIGHT do today.

*Likes to talk about what's important to her. Her latest thing was "Let's talk about it." She LOVED sitting or lying in her bed at night and talking about her day or how she was feeling or a question she had.

*Likes being comfortable. Again, a trait I see in both (well, even Braden too) of us. She finds what she likes and sticks to it. She has a hard time branching out. This is NOT the case with food, where she will still eat almost anything we put in front of her. But it is the case with things like movies. We don't let her watch TV, so she only watches DVDs. She wouldn't sit thru a movie until 8 months ago or so, and her favorite was Baby Einstein Baby McDonald. She watched it until it was so scratched she couldn't watch it anymore. Not in one day, but she refused to watch anything else. Then it was the LeapFrog Letter Factory, then The Santa Clause, then Cinderella, then Peter Pan, then Finding Nemo, then The Jungle Book, with a little Annie and Robin Hood thrown in. Each infatuation lasts until we FORCE her to watch something else. But when she is in on a kick, she will only watch that one video.

*is passionate and gets very excited about almost anything.

*is very flexible and is willing to go with the flow. We LOVE that about her.

*is an incredible nurturer. I don't think anything about Keara is as evident as how much she nurtures. This is a trait she was born with and has strengthened over the last 3 years. She sees dolls, not as toys, but as real people who rely on her for support and life. She cares for them in a tender way. She adopts pretty much any doll or stuffed animal as her child and will feed, clothe, diaper, burp, sleep, entertain, read to, and in all other ways take care of that child. She is aware of what they are doing every minute of the day and includes them in almost all her play. It has been a great way to teach compassion, empathy, forgiveness, apologizing, obedience, etc. She disciplines them and teaches them and it's fun to hear what she is teaching them. The trouble is, it started with 1 friend (meaning her dolls), and has since turned into WAY too many. She just got 3 more friends this weekend alone for her birthday. And since she truly sees each as her child, its very difficult to put them away in a closet after the bond has been made. She also nurtures Taryn and tries to take care of her, like washing her hair in every bath, getting her up from naps, reading to her, etc. But, sometimes (often), she doesn't nurture Taryn at all, especially when Taryn is trying to play with her friends.

*has 3 distinct love languages, I think. I need to read the book, but if I were to pin it down, I'd say quality activities, quality conversation, and physical touch. Interestingly, that's a blend of mine and Braden's. (And no, I don't think it's just because that's a blend of mine and Bradens that she has those. Taryn's is definitely physical touch and I think words of affirmation.)

*can be destructive or mischevious, if she wants to be, or if she's bored. (see pic below) Just so you know she's not perfect. But close...

A couple more random things:

*hates the thought of getting her hair done. She does great once she's finally sat down to do it, but otherwise hates it.

*loves being outside and digging in the dirt. But she HATES being covered in mud.

*loves to swim.

*loves pizza and rootbeer, mashed potatoes, ketchup, strawberries, shakes, green beans, oatmeal, and chocolate.

*apparently looks forward to being a mom, being a grandma, and driving!

As for measurements, which are fun to compare, she was born at 6 lbs 5 oz, 19 inches. She is now 24 lbs and I don't know how tall. She hardly grew in the first 2 1/2 years, but has sprouted like a weed since. She suddenly went from wearing 18 month pants to needing 3T for the length. She wears 3T shirts too because they need to cover her belly. A couple weeks ago, she could fit in a size 4 shoe, but now is getting blisters in a size 6. She's not gaining weight right now, but sure is growing bigger. She tells me everyday, "I'm growing up!"

We love Keara. She is the perfect first born and is so wonderful in our family. We appreciate her nurturing spirit and really look forward to putting it to work when she's older. She is SO fun and so enjoyable to just be around. We are so grateful for her good friends and grateful that so many of you know her well. If not, maybe this helps to get to know her. I just hope she can bless many lives in her lifetime. She is a huge blessing to me!

Getting Taryn up for a nap...AKA entertaining Taryn for mom
Helping make pancakes Bored during naps...we took all the boxes OUT of her room after this.
Getting Taryn a snack while mommy took a nap...yes, sprinkles apparently count as a snack. Reading with her friends

The TRUE Big News...

Okay, if today was April Fool's Day, it would make the previous post less hilarious. But imagine my surprise when my friend called at 10:15 at night in a shock that we were having twins. (Apparently the "lizard" part didn't sink in). What in the world was she talking about? So I checked my blog only to find that SOMEONE had posted a falsified post about my doctor appointment today. She was only 1/4 right.

No, we are NOT having twins. No, it is NOT a lizard. And no, it is NOT a boy! That's right folks. Apparently the mold is still good for one more go round and we're having another GIRL! I told Braden when I announced to him that we were expecting that it was a girl and Keara has never faltered from her belief that it was a sister. So we dashed his hopes of a boy.

The baby looks great, with everything measuring and functioning as it ought to at this point. She is very strong with these kicks, but not incredibly active yet. We got to see a 3-D ultrasound which was cool, but he said we should do it again in another 3 months when the picture will be even better.

So there you have it. I'm excited to finally know for sure, though I guess we've known all along. Any great names you have hidden around in your mind?

THE BIG NEWS!!!

I know you all have been waiting with baited breath to discover WHAT we are having!  So have we...and we had our Ultrasound today!!!  After we polled so many of you (thank you all 22 of you who responded) it was a close call, but the vote for "girl" eventually pulled ahead....as it turns out, you are all right....

We are having Twin Lizards...One is a boy, the other is a girl...Imagine our shock!!!

The Big Day is Almost Here

Tomorrow is the big day. My doctor appointment is in the afternoon, so check back tomorrow night or Friday for the details!

It's been interesting to see the results of the poll change as the days have gone on. First, it was heavily lizard, then boy, and now it is overwhelming for girl. We'll see...

Solution to Our Problem?

We just may have found a solution to one of our many challenges with Taryn. I've thought for a long time that her eczema is exacerbated by the detergent we are using for a few reasons. First, she's had eczema since she was a couple days old. That's too early for her to be allergic to foods. Second, even when we took her off the food allergens, she still had really bad episodes with eczema. Third, a few weeks ago, she broke out into a purple dot rash all over her torso which seemed to be contact dermatitis. Then two weeks ago, I put her in a dress I had bought from a yard sale without washing it before hand and she broke out into a rash all down her arms and over her body.

So, finally, we broke down and bought new detergent. People recommended Dreft, but when I did a little reading about allergies and Dreft, I found that most Dreft's are not free of both dyes AND perfumes. I wanted to eliminate both, just in case. So, I thought I'd try their Free and Clear, but when I went to the store, they didn't have any. I found Purex instead and took it to the front. The store was have a special on certain items and I was surprised when the cashier told me this $8 detergent was on sale for $2.50. So I got 4 more. In the end, I double checked and this particular detergent was NOT a part of the sale, but even the store manager told me it was. So, I got 5 bottles of this hypo-allergenic detergent for $12.50 instead of $40. Wow.

We started using it and washing everything Taryn touches and I am semi-surprised but very pleased to be noticing HUGE improvements in her eczema. It's not perfect by any means, but it is SO much better! We'll see if it lasts. She'll often go a few days with good and then a week of bad, so only time will tell if its really helping. But if so! I'll be so excited.

So You Don't Waste Your Time...

We found a tricycle for Keara! I am SO excited about it. But I don't have time or pics yet. I'll write about it after we give it to her on her birthday on Saturday. So, until then...

You Know You Live in Arizona If...

A week ago, Braden put nitrogen down on our yard to help it grow and turn green again. It's been a brown prickly mess all winter because our winter grass never really grew. You know its been too long since your daughter has had real grass in the back yard when you have the following conversation.

K: Mom! There's stuff in our grass!
M: What stuff?
K: That stuff right there in our grass!
M: (Seeing that she obviously doesn't have a word for it, I change tactics) What color is the stuff?
K: GREEN!
M: Um, no dear, that IS the grass!

So, THAT'S How You See Me!?

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church, Keara was in the bathtub and I was at the mirror. She was filling a bowl with water, adding her bath toys, and "making dinner". Here's our conversation:

Keara: Mommy, I'm making dinner.
Me: I see that.
K: Why am I making dinner?
M: Because you are such a great little mommy.
K: No, I'm a big mommy.
M: Oh, you are?
K: Yeah, see? My bum's bigger!

Thanks, Keara.

Tricycle

WANTED: A tricycle for Keara

The problem is, I can't find one for a good price. I've been searching garage sales and, though I've found a STEAL on other items, I can't find a tricycle.

So, if you love garage saleing and you live in this area and in the next 2 weeks you happen to find a tricycle that would fit a 3 year old and it's cheap, call me! I just might BEG you to pick it up for us and I'll buy it!

It's getting to be a little ridiculous watching her ride on a baby scooter where her legs come up to her armpits...

So, How 'Bout the Weather?

Today was a beautiful day. We've really had a great spring this year, better than the other years we've lived here. There have been so many days where I've just had to say outloud, "It's a BeAutiFuL day!" These are park days, bike days, walks days, BBQ days, and almost swimming days.

It makes me miss home, and pretty much everywhere else in the US, because we are having their summer right now. Temps in the 70s and 80s, though our nights right now are cooler than Chicago summer nights. But there have been many days that I wake up feeling like I'm waking up on the balcony back home after having slept all night outside. And that's in the dead of summer. If only we could capture this weather and keep it thru August.

That being said, I'm becoming more aware of how much time is between now and the end of August. To be exact, there are 23 1/2 weeks left before the end of August. That's all. And the next 4 are going to go by very quickly as we get ready for another Farmer's Market I'm selling at. After that, the next 6 will go by very quickly as we look forward to a family trip (hopefully...TC, want company?) over Memorial Day. Then the next 4 will fly as we prep for the Moore Family Reunion. Then, the next 8 will DRAG as we enter July and August and I tick away at the calendar toward that due date.

But seeing it that way, I'm really looking forward to the summer. Not to the heat, by any means, though that means we get to go swimming a lot, but to the pick up in activities that happens. I'm really excited about the next few months.

So, if we can just keep this beautiful weather, at least thru the start of May, and even until the beginning of June like last year, I think this will be a great summer.

But, ask me again in about 16 weeks...

2 Great Meals, 3 Recipes to Share

Thanks to my Stuck in a Rut post, I got great ideas (see next post), so I put one into action last night. Then tonight, I made another dish that turned out great, so I wanted to share them with you. I wish I had a picture of all 3 recipes (2 meals, 3 recipes), but I only have a picture of one. Sorry!

The first is Indian/Thai curry. Braden LOVES curry, well yellow curry, and always wants to eat at Thai restaurants. Needless to say, we haven't been to a Thai restaurant in over 3 years when we went to the one next door to our little Provo house and there was a huge centipede crawling across the table. Anyway, when my friend suggested curry, I begged for the recipe and she said I could share it. Thanks Nicole!

As with everything we do, I am modifying this recipe a little bit because it made a TON of sauce, way more than we can ever use. The original recipe also called for 1 can each of cream of chicken and mushroom, but I hate cream of mushroom soup, so I did 2 cans of cr. of chicken. Also, it called for mushrooms as an option, which I omitted too. It also called for butter, but I used oil so Taryn could have it and I put in 3 tsp. curry paste instead of 1 tsp curry powder. And I put in carrots and potatoes. So, here's my final recipe.

YELLOW CURRY with CHICKEN, CARROTS, and POTATOES

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup onion, chopped

2 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup potatoes, cubed

3/4-1 cup milk (depending on your preference)
1 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

3 teaspoon curry paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet and sauté onions until tender. Add chicken and cook thru. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until tender. Combine all other ingredients in a saucepan and heat thru. Serve over rice.

Second, tonight I made another attempt at Pasta Carbonara/Primavera. I make this a lot and each time, there's some complaint about it. Not enough flavor, not enough sauce, not enough pasta. Whatever. But tonight, it turned out great! So I thought I'd jot it down, even if its just for me to reference later.

PASTA CARBONARA/PRIMAVERA

1 pkg pasta of your choice (but I wouldn't recommend spaghetti, linguine, or fettacine. Stick with radiatore, penne, rigatoni, etc.)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp pre-minced garlic)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 pkg grape tomatoes (or cherry, or roma chopped if you prefer), sliced in half

1/2 cup ham cubes (I used our frozen ham from a ham we bought at Christmas time but you can use thick lunch meat or ham steak or anything else. Sometimes we use bacon, but the ham provides more flavor and less fat)

3/4 cup fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1 inch strips

1/2 cup peas (optional)

Boil water in saucepan and prepare pasta according to directions.Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic, salt, basil and oregano. Saute and stir well. Add tomatoes, cover, and let simmer until tomatoes are tender and have released their juices (there won't be an overwhelming amount of juice...). Add more oil if necessary or desired. Add ham, beans, and peas and let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss with sauce until well coated.

It was so yummy! And no complaints this time! (Except maybe there's not enough leftovers!)

And third, with our pasta carbonara, I made a smoothie to help get more vitamins in. One of the best things that came from my trip to Chicago last fall was learning to make smoothies without milk! Duh, I know, but we'd always made smoothies with milk so I just didn't think about the alternative, except water, which I had done and didn't like. So, with Taryn's allergy, I was delighted to learn my mom's way. Her basic recipe is this: 1 cup juice, frozen bananas, frozen orange juice concentrate, frozen fruit. She makes a smoothie practically every day and each time it comes out different, yet totally delicious! She often will add powdered milk to get the calcium in there, but we obviously don't do that.

So tonight, I made the smoothie, but wanted to try sneaking in some zucchini...and it worked! It did taste a little "green" but it was sweet and Keara had 3rds, so at least I knew she was getting full servings of fruits and veggies for dinner. Here's the smoothie we had tonight. Nothing is exact, and everything can be substituted for other things. Add more bananas or less juice to reach your desired consistency. Also, add powdered milk, flax seed oil, wheat germ, or whatever odd things you want to to suit your fancy. I know fruits have a lot of natural sugars, but I love giving my girls a delicious treat that has no added sugar or any other added ingredients. Just straight fruit! I took the leftovers and poured it into our popsicle molds. Keara's so excited to have that tomorrow!

MILKLESS FRUIT SMOOTHIE

2 cups apple juice

2 frozen bananas

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup zucchini, grated

Blend it all up and serve!

The Best Post I've Ever Done

Wow! I am LOVING the response I've gotten from that post about meals. I wanted to share people's ideas so you could maybe get some for yourself.

Lemon Chicken & Rice
Black Eyed Pea something or other (served over rice with tomatoes, green peppers, etc...like Hawaiian Haystacks)
Banana Encrusted Talapia
Pizza
Lemon/Garlic Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes
Tostadas
Southwest salad w/ the tortilla strips
Creamed egg on toast
Shepherd’s Pie
Taco Soup w/ corn bread
Potato Soup
Stir-Fry
Asparagus Soup
Salsa Chicken
Burritos
Broccoli Soup
Mexican Vegetarian Lasagna
Roasted Chicken w/ mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus
Chinese Chicken Salad
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Noodle Soup
Baked Spaghetti
Chili and Cornbread
Tostadas
Corn Chowder
Spaghetti
Fondue
Bean Burritos
Black Bean Salsa Chicken
Mahi Mahi
Fajitas
Baked "Quiznos" style sandwiches
Sloppy Joes
Skillet Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli
Cashew Chicken
Tortilla Soup
Sloppy Joes
Curry Chicken
Apple-Fennel Stuffed Pork
Enchilada Casserole
Bacon, Tomato, Avocado Salad
Homemade Pizza
Quesadillas

Holy Cow!!! And that's only responses from a few of you. I'm impressed by the variety and quality of the meals in your homes! The best part about this list, at least for me, is that I can look here for inspiration and either suddenly crave a meal I see or at least see something that triggers a desire. Thanks SO much!

And if you see something here that you want the recipe for, I know the people, so I can get it for you!

Baby Blues Comic

A few of you have let me know you weren't able to click on that comic strip and get it big enough to read. So, here's the link. I think it's worth reading!

http://www.babyblues.com/archive/index.php?formname=getstrip&GoToDay=12/07/2008

And I Thought Water Was Free--Addendum

To clarify, since I'm getting quite a few comments on how people's water bills are higher and lower than mine depending on the time of year, my question arises because we are paying the bare MINIMUM. That means it CAN'T go lower than $72 per month. That's what seems ridiculous. It's only going to get higher from here on out with summer only a couple weeks away and Braden turning on the irrigation system again. But doesn't it seem a little high to have the minimum be $72?

Insurance Woes

Well, it looks like our insurance woes are over. After long drives, long waits, and a lot of saying, "this is ridiculous" and "are you kidding me?" we are all approved for insurance again. Because of my pregnancy, I was put back on as of a couple days ago and my insurance is now active. Braden and the girls are approved but their coverage doesn't start until the 1st of April. I am SO relieved this nightmare is almost over. I just pray they can stay healthy and accident free until then and that this doesn't happen again.

15 Weeks and 6 Days

That's how far along I was when I first felt this baby move! I was holding Taryn on Sunday night and suddenly felt a little poke. I thought it may have been something else, so we sat really still until, there it was again. On Monday night, I felt it again and was also able to feel it from the outside. Little tiny pokes, but they're there! This is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy.

I'm so looking forward to our big ultrasound in just 16 days. We'll know what we're having soon!

For Those of You Around Here...

If you live here in QC, I wanted to share something we've discovered. I've heard from a lot of my friends here that they don't buy produce at Walmart because it is lower quality. I buy all my produce there, but not because I think it's great quality but because I'm not willing to tramp all over to find higher quality. I've rarely been disappointed, though.

Anyway, the point is, if you are looking for a good price on bananas (which haven't been on sale in a LONG time), the Walmart on Rittenhouse and Ocotillo has theirs marked at 43 cents a pound all the time whereas the Hunt Hwy Walmart is always at 64 cents. Braden will sometimes pick up a bunch on his way home from work or I'll get some on my way back in from town. It's worth the difference of 20 cents a pound, and they're usually really good quality bananas.

Also, I've found that the strawberries at Walmart are almost always jucier, bigger, redder, and more flavorful than the ones I can buy at the other grocery stores. I've rarely been disappointed with Walmart's strawberries, as long as they're in season.

Just thought you might want to know.

And I Thought Water Was Free

Anyone out there who has Johnson Utilities for your water service, do any of you have a bill that is LESS than $72 per month? We are paying the absolute minimum with Johnson and yet paying about $72 for our water and sewer each month. That seems like stealing.

How about anyone else out there...what do you pay for water each month? Is $72 per month outrageous or is it just me?

Stuck in a Rut

I'm pregnant. You knew that. But I'm almost 16 weeks and I'm still not back to 100% when it comes to food. I can eat anything I want, except for sweets. They make me sick. But the problem is, I'm still at a point where I have to really, really, REALLY want what we're going to eat. So, just whipping something together because it's on the menu doesn't work. I can't create a menu until the day of because I don't know what I'm going to want. That's my problem.

I'm stuck in a meal rut. Not that I don't have 150 recipes to choose from that I normally would like, but because I've looked thru them 150 times in the last 16 weeks and need some additional information. So, could you comment and tell me the last 7 homecooked meals your family has eaten, or at least 7 homecooked meals you can remember having eaten, or that you'd recommend? I just need ideas. If I love the sound of it, I may be emailing you for a recipe, unless I have one. I just need ideas...

I'll do the same for you. Here's what we've eaten recently: Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas made lasagna style, Country Style Steak (see next post), BBQ'd hamburgers, Pizza Rolls, Chicken Chimichangas (not deep fried), 505 Pork burritos, and Grandpa's Pancakes. I really need NON-meat ideas, as you can see.

I've Got Dinner on My Mind

(you NEED to click on this comic to read it...it was an instant favorite)

The other night, I called Braden to try to get some idea for dinner. I told him I wanted Cinnamon Pork Chops with mashed potatoes, but we didn't have any pork. He asked about a bag of meat in the freezer and thought that was pork. So I told him I'd defrost it and make cinnamon pork chops. Well, as it defrosted and started bleeding red and turning red, I realized it wasn't pork. It was beef. Hmm...now what to make with beef? I turned to my trusty source, allrecipes.com and found a recipe I thought might work. Since I wasn't positive about the meat or the recipe, I was nervous to try the meal. But it turned out GREAT and actually was really good. Not a classy meal, but very homey and very easy. Also, a very good way to salvage mystery meat that has been in your freezer for who knows how long.

COUNTRY STYLE STEAK
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound cube steak, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups water, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat cube steak pieces with flour, and shake off the excess. Fry steak pieces in the hot oil just until browned on each side and there are some juices in the pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Stir together the onion soup mix and 1 tablespoon of flour; sprinkle into the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until it starts to brown. Gradually mix in the water to make a gravy. Return the cube steak to the pan, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cover, and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour.

Excellent served with mashed potatoes! We had RED potatoes, so we didn't skin them and made the best mashed potatoes we had had in a long time. Oh, they were so good. The girls downed the meal (well, Taryn doesn't like potatoes, so she didn't eat those) and loved it for leftovers the next day.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...

Well, it's not Superman. But Keara and I were playing with our Apples to Apples game this morning and I came across a funny joke.

Q: How does Batman's mother call him home?

A: Dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner--BATMAN!!

I thought it was funny...

Next Year, I'm Going to be More Specific

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a good day. Well, I guess overall it was a good day. See, when I thought about what I wanted for my birthday, I thought of a few things, both gifts and acts of service. Here was my list:

*Time. For me. Do something I want to do.
*Get my hair cut.
*Go on a date with Braden.
*Sleep in.
*Do something fun with my family.
*Enjoy dinner at Stacey's house.
*Get organized (more of a age 26 goal). So, get storage bins.

Well, I guess I should have either voiced my list out loud or been more specific. I actually did get everything on my list, except for the storage bins. Those seem in short supply. But I guess I needed to be more specific because here's what I really got:

*On Saturday, Braden watched the girls as I went to a baby shower and then to get my hair cut. I expected it to take 2 hours or so but it took 3 1/2 so I didn't get to clean up the house or make dinner for the baby sitter and the girls before going on our date. Thankfully, I had just gotten my hair done so I didn't have to shower, but on Saturday, I was home for 1 hour total between the hours of 9 am and 10 pm and the other hours were spent in a mad rush. (I cut my hair to my shoulders and got it colored...dark. Way dark. Way darker than I think I was ready for. But I'm sure I'll adjust to it and end up LOVING it.)
*We went to the temple and then out to dinner for our date. It was ward temple night so we had arranged with some friends to go out to dinner together after the session, but 2 of them ended up not being able to go to the temple. So, we had invited a bunch of others and thought we'd just meet up with them and arrange it there. We planned on doing initiatories and meeting the group in the Celestial Room, but when we got to the temple, their session was already over (they went an hour early...grr...) so we thought we'd missed that boat completely. Thankfully, we found one couple who had also done initiatories and waited for us so we went to dinner with them. I was so excited for my meal, but disappointed to find my burger was burned. So I asked for another one, but the second was dry. So sad.
*On Sunday morning, I did get to sleep in. I slept in until 9, I think. But that was after being up 4 times in the night with Taryn because she had an upset stomach. I could tell because she was gassy and her burps smelled like toots. I've had that before and I know how much my stomach hurt. Braden and I made breakfast together-homemade blueberry muffins and a fruit smoothie. Delicious. Of course, it was fast Sunday, so the girls and I enjoyed it while Braden was in the other room.
*Do something fun with my family. Okay, this really has to be seen thru the right eyes to be considered "fun". But I will admit I laughed a lot about it. We got to church at 1:50, for church to start at 2. There were 4 baby blessings so the chapel was packed and we had to sit in the gym. I HATE sitting in the gym. But oh well. As we were sitting down, the second counselor in the bishopric came up to me and asked me to lead the music as the chorister was not there. Sweet. I didn't have to sit in the gym! But after a couple minutes, the old chorister came in and I knew she had probably been asked by the new chorister to cover for him. So I started going back to our seats when the Elder's Quorum President walked hastily up to me and said, "Oh, did you hear?" Hear what!? Oh, just that Taryn had vomited ALL over the place. I go to Braden only to find him seriously covered in vomit. All over his shirt, tie, suit, pants, shoes, the floor, the hymn book, Taryn's dress and blanket, and the chairs. Wow. And it was all purple from the blueberry muffins and shake. Great. Here I am thinking, "Glad I was on the stand." Braden handed me Taryn as a few gals helped get paper towels for us and I mopped up the floor. Braden (who has a weak stomach) left to go change out of his now wet suit. Because I knew Taryn wasn't really sick, I just sat back down thinking it was over. No, Taryn had more in store for us. About 20 minutes later, in the middle of one of the baby blessings, she did it all again. But because of the way I was holding her, it just went down my dress and all in her dress so we didn't have the floor problem again. I just grabbed Keara and we went out, leaving my bags and everything for others to take care of. We went to the bathroom, took off all Taryn's clothes, wiped mine off as best we could, and went to the foyer to wait for Braden to come back. I anticipated it would take him about 30 minutes total to go home, change and come back. But soon, Sacrament was almost over and he wasn't back yet. I started panicking because I needed to be back in time for Primary. Finally, after a full hour (!), he came back. We raced home, I changed, left him and Taryn home to fend for themselves, and took Keara back to church. We got back during the closing prayer of sacrament meeting (thank goodness for 4 baby blessings and long testimonies!) so I got to Primary in plenty of time. Whew. I thought it was over and attributed the whole thing to Taryn eating some cheese on Friday. But when I got home and found Braden showering Taryn because she had thrown up 3 more times at home and in her crib, I thought it could be something more. She was still in a great mood and didn't act sick, though. Does that count as a fun family activity?
*We went to Stacey's for dinner and she made a FABULOUS meal for us. It was SO good. And my dessert turned out really well and was yummy. And we sat on the trampoline, looked for frogs, and looked at the stars. It was fun. Oh, and Taryn threw up a few more times at their house. (When we got home, we decided that it had nothing to do with allergies, but must have been food poisoning because it was so violent, lasted 5 hours, and then was done. She ate nothing yesterday but devored breakfast today and has been totally normal.)
*Today, my wonderful cousin, Kami, took the girls from 10-2:30 so I could get things done. I would have rather gone shopping or done something fun, but I spent the day cleaning the house and doing load after load of laundry, since we seemed to produce a LOT of laundry yesterday. It was WONDERFUL to have all that time and I am almost done with everything, but decided to take a small break to blog this.

So, I still have no storage bins. I would love to organize our baby clothes, but I have nowhere to put them. Maybe another day.

When I went to bed last night, I felt fulfilled and that it was a good birthday. Two years ago , Keara pooped all over her bed and smeared it on the walls and ate it for mother's day. This year, we got vomit. As my brother said, my girls reach deep within them to give me their best gifts. Or, as my sister in law said, I'm getting so old it makes Taryn SICK. Whatever the reason, I thought how fitting it was to be doing these things for my girls on important days because it reminds me of what is truly important in life--my family. Even my poopy, vomity, gross, and stinky family. I am so grateful to be where I am, doing what I am, with who I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But next year, I'm going to be more specific.