Fun with Son.

I've been trying to do different activities with Evan. I gave him 2 bowls of uncooked pasta and he had so much fun pouring the pasta back and forth, picking them out of one bowl and placing them in the other, trying to eat them (aaaghhhh!), and just plain throwing them everywhere. Jillane- you want pictures? You got it sista! The chairs are turned over because some little babe I know likes to climb on them and rock really hard, early tipping them backwards.

We will be painting later today....I'll post on that soon.

I have the best neighbors! A bunch of us were outside with the kids and this budget truck comes through our walk way deal and goes down this steep hill and gets stuck. So we called all of our husbands out and they rigged some jacks under and used their manly muscles to free the truck. Us wives got to watch. One of my friends just had twins and she has a 21 month old! Anyway, I got to hold one of her babies while her husband helped us and she was busy...I almost forget how teeny they are when they are newborns. One of our friends brought out some fruit snacks and red vines for the kids

"want to know how I got these scars?" (name that movie!)


This child loves to help me do the dishes. Except he has a tendency to put the clean dishes back in the dishwater..

enjoying squishing the watermelon

Enjoying some watermelon

 

We made Grilled Eggplant with Grilled tomato for dinner yesterday. We put Romain lettuce, onion, and I put dijon mustard on mine. Greg may have put ranch on his. We had a side salad. Num Num. Unfortunately, the store was out of wheat buns so you can imagine Greg's excitement that I actually bought white bread...

The Eggplant had some Garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and basil on it.

Something important

I'm talking politics. Nothing deep, just hear read me out.

First of all I will never, ever vote for someone that says it's ok to kill unborn children.

This election is going to be CRUCIAL for America. I only ask that you all do your research and really consider what will happen to our country if Obama is re-elected. I work with a lot of people that know a lot about politics. I'm sure your thinking, "what? you work with a bunch of doctors." Indeed, I do. These Docs know more about politics than I will ever know, but I have learned a lot from them. My manager is actually on the Utah legislature- that man knows what he's talking about.

I can tell you that health care will be horrible if Obama is elected. Just read what Dr. Manny says:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/28/dr-manny-what-obamas-health-care-speech-really-means-to-doctors/ You may have to copy and paste this in the url.

Ask people from Canada and Europe how their health care is working out for them. I know people and they say it's awful. 

You should watch this too.

http://www.videotruffle.com/2012/08/28/exclusive-navy-seals-release-boy-to-nobody-tv-spot-against-obama/

Obama wants to bring America down. He's a socialist. 

Why is it that most Military men are Republican? Think about it.  

Randy Bailey is a very smart man and he typed this up

His full Name is: Willard Mitt Romney
He was born: March 12, 1947 – He is 65 years old.
His Father: George W. Romney, former Governor of the State of Michigan and also ran for President
He was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

He is married to Ann Romney since 1969;
Th

e Romney’s have five boys who are all married and have children -- Tagg and Jennifer, Matt and Laurie, Josh and Jenn, Ben and Andelynn, Craig and Mary. In total they have 15 Grandchildren,

Education:
B.A. from Brigham Young University, J.D. and M.B.A. from Harvard University

Religion: Mormon -- The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints

Working Background:

After high school, he spent 30 months in France as a Mormon missionary. Each of his boys have also served Missions.

After going to both Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School simultaneously, he passed the Michigan Bar Exam, but never worked as an attorney.

In 1984, he co-founded Bain Capital a private equity investment firm, one of the largest such firms in the United States .

In 1994, he ran for Senator of Massachusetts and lost to Ted Kennedy.

He was President and CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

In 2002, he was elected Governor of the State of Massachusetts where he eliminated a 1.5 billion deficit.

Some Interesting Facts about Romney:

Bain Capital, starting with one small office supply store in Massachusetts, turned it into Staples; now over 2,000 stores employing 90,000 people.

Bain Capital also worked to perform the same kinds of business miracles again and again, with companies like Domino's, Sealy, Brookstone, Weather Channel, Burger King, Warner Music Group, Dollarama, Home Depot Supply, and many others.

He was an unpaid volunteer campaign worker for his dad's gubernatorial campaign 1 year.

He was an unpaid intern in his dad's governor's office for eight years.

He was an unpaid Bishop (Ward or Congregation) and Stake President (10 Wards or Congreations) the Church of Jesus Christ for ten years.

He was an unpaid President of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee for three years.

He took no salary and was the unpaid Governor of Massachusetts for four years.

He gave his entire inheritance from his father to charity.

Mitt Romney is one of the wealthiest "self-made men" in our country but has given more back to its citizens in terms of money, service and time than most men.

In 2011 Mitt Romney gave over $4 million to charity, almost 19% of his income.... Just for comparison purposes, Obama gave 1% and Joe Biden gave $300 or .0013%.

Mitt Romney is Trustworthy:

He will show us his birth certificate

He will show us his high school and college transcripts.

He will show us his social security card.

He will show us his law degree.

He will show us his draft notice.

He will show us his medical records.

He will show us his income tax records.

He will show us he has nothing to hide.

Mitt Romney's background, experience and trustworthiness show him to be a great leader and an excellent citizen for President of the United States.

You know what religion he is no question, and that he won't desecrate the flag, bow down to foreign powers, or practice fiscal irresponsibility.

I know he has the ability to turn this financial debacle that the current regime has gotten us into.
No one will like all the things necessary to recover from this debt, but someone with Romney's background can do it.

ON THE MINUS SIDE, he never was a "Community Organizer", never took drugs or smoked pot, never got drunk, did not associate with communists or terrorists, nor did he attend a church whose pastor called for God to damn the United States of America.

You should know the difference between the men running for America's top office.

Las Vegas

We went on a little journey to Las Vegas. I had been told by lots of people that it was dirty and and people didn't wear much clothing, but we didn't really think that. They must have cleaned it up a bit because people were constantly picking trash up off the sidewalks and there were definitely some scantily clad ladies but we had already anticipated that, but I had like the worst imagined in my head, but really...not that bad. Lots of fun family activities and lots of free things too! Before my pictures and video's and I have to tell a funny story.

When we were on our way there we stopped about half way to get gas and we heard this scraping noise, so we thought something was wrong with the car. We stopped at the gas station and this hispanic lady comes running over and she says, "I can fix that for you!" She repeats this like 5 times and then after I figured out what she was even talking about I said, "how much do you want for it?" and she was like 160, it's a good deal. bahaha. There is like this guard deal under the front of my car that just came unhooked. Greg thought she was just being a nice person (he ALWAYS gives people the benefit of the doubt.) but when I asked her how much he was like uhm..no! She kept asking how much money we had and we said we didn't carry any and then she was like "there's an ATM, sweety." I said "well I never carry my debit card" (it's not even activated) Then she kept trying to get us to tell her how much we had and she was like 60, I'll do it for 60. I got my tools over there I can do it. She was crazy. Greg finally just put her in her place and we were on our way after greg just hooked it back up. she was definitely just trying to make a buck...or 160 of them.

Our hotel was awessoommee! So, every hotel/casino is like a little city. They have restaurants and stores and every one has their own special thing. Our hotel had a Dolphin exhibit (the video shows the dolphin show!)and the Siegfried and Roy lions and a huge fish tank- Evan was in heaven. Our hotel-The Mirage- also had a volcano thing I'll show a video of. Evan kept saying, "wow, cool!" The Belagio has the fountains. Caesars Palace is it's own state, so it had tons! It was such a fun place to walk through- they had "talking" statues (which we were late getting to by 5 minutes...they happen every hour on the hour and we didn't have time to wait.) and a 50,000 gallon fish tank. The Flamingo had a natural habitat exhibit. There was so much to do and we had SO. MUCH. FUN! Evan LOVED all the lights and he was wired the whole time! He had a blast too. There is a lot that I didn't get pictures of and I wish I would have.

Fixing the guard thing

At The Mirage

At the Mirage

at the Mirage

In the Mirage

I felt like I kept getting pictures like this..."Evan look!" snap.

Evan was obsessed with this bear! He seriously had a 5 minute conversation with the coke bear in baby language. Everyone was cracking up at him. Except the lady taking his picture saying, "Mira! Mira!" Spanish for -look, look!

Caesars Palace

Flamingo's at the Flamingo.

He had a blast!

Daddy couldn't resist getting him a tiger from the gift shop. He roared all night.

This kid was awesome! We were walking the strip and saw him and stopped to video and tip him! 

Belagio fountain show

Dolphin show


Volcano show


Evan dancing in his car seat

A day in my life

I wanted to write this, mainly for me, so when my child is older I don't forget what my days were like when he was tiny.  It's long, so feel free not to read it :o)

Sometimes, Evan likes to wake up at 5am and then decide he really isn't ready to be awake. We had one of those days recently.

5am- I hear crying and pounding on his door. I go in and he automatically says, "cracker." We go to the kitchen and I give him a cracker, we lay on the couch, and I listen to his every bite. I love the sound of him eating crackers, it's the sweetest! After his cracker he falls asleep all snuggled in my arms. 7:45am I wake up to him pointing to my body parts (mainly all on my face) and naming them. I look up at him and smile and he gives me his "you caught me" grin. I sing our good morning song and he listens and does his little wiggle while sitting on me. 

We get off the couch and he starts telling me a story, of which I can't understand. I ask him if he wants pancakes and he repeats "pancakes" back. I start making the pancakes and Evan walks over, reaches up top the counter, and tries to turn the dial on the griddle. I quickly tell him not to do that and to go play with his toys until the pancakes are done. He says, "pancakes" again and then I hear one of the kitchen table chairs moving across the floor, I look over and he's already standing on it trying to climb on the table. I go over, pick him up, throw him in the air, give him a big kiss, and put him back on the floor. I flip the pancakes. Then I hear the chair again. He's back on it. We go through the same process. Pancakes are done. I get him all settled in his seat and cut up his pancakes and put the plate on his tray with his fork. He gets most in his mouth, but when he's done he flings them off his fork and laughs when they hit the floor. He's a sticky mess! We clean him up, change his diaper, and then we play. We stack legos, read a book or two, chase each other around, put some pandora toddler tunes on and sing and dance. I usually have him say different words and 2 word sentences because I can't get enough of his sweet little voice. About an hour after breakfast he says, "cracker peas!" (We've got our "p's" down now!) I go get him a cracker and he takes it and says, "tang koo" and then he takes off. After his cracker is gone I see crumbs all over the floor (this happens, I swear, 30 times a day) and just happen to look over and realize we were sleeping in a pile of cracker crumbs on the couch. I go get the vacuum and vacuum it all up. I look to see where he is and he has his T-ball bat and he's using it to try and swipe the tomatoes and zucchini off the table. About 8:30am he says, "ow si si?" It means outside. I hurry and jump in the shower and get dressed and ready for the day. I go get dressed and I don't hear him.  quiet Evan is a naughty Evan.  I forgot to shut the bathroom door and there he is playing in the toilet. I get him out of the bathroom and he usually throws himself on the floor because he's so mad! We play outside for 2 hours. We eat lunch- which has been a very difficult task lately. All he wants are bagels, peanut butter and jelly, cheese and crackers. He goes down for a nap at 11:30 and sleeps until 1:30. Depending on what he sees, he'll say "bapple" or "nana" and that means apple and banana. He gets one. Then we start it all over again, more play, more outside time, and more messes. Except this time we do some learning activities. Sometimes we color and hope that the crayons don't get ingested. Before we know it, it's dinner time. Back inside we go and start cooking dinner. He usually eats pretty well, but we are stuck in a picky stage. Sometimes he likes to help me stir things or sit on the counter and watch.
After dinner Greg and I sit and chat while Evan runs around. Bedtime is 8:30. We read, we sing, we pray, and the child sleeps.
This is the best job any woman can have. I'll take 50 messes a day over no messes. I'll take temper tantrums and a picky child over the freedom to go and do as I please. I'll take being woken up in the wee hours of the morning over sleeping in till 10. I'll take a house strewn with toys than no toys at all.
The joy this child brings me and my husband is just indescribable. We sure love this child.

Get married. Have lots of babies. Live in the moment and just be happy. 

Delish food

I can't get enough of this healthy food we are eating! 

This turned into...

This- I used spinach, monterey jack cheese, black beans, red pepper and onion and then threw them in a whole wheat tortilla. The wee one gobbled them up! 

This was a yummy little snack- Zucchini which I slice with my mandolin (sp?) with a minuscule amount of butter and some Parmesan  cheese and I broiled them until the cheese melted. So yummy!

This was surprisingly very yummy! Zucchini, corn, black beans, Parmesan cheese and a little bit of butter. I just  thinly sliced the zucchini (to make it like a pasta) and boiled it and then added everything else in. I was skeptical when I was making it and Greg even said, "it looks like a dog threw up on my plate." But then he said, "Yeah, this IS good!"

Santa Fe Chicken Salad and new laundry detergent

I have convinced Greg that we need to eat better, so I've been kind of doing a Mediterranean diet- Less meat more fresh fruits and veggies. That's not to say we won't eat unhealthy ever (because I love my white sauce made with heavy cream) but we will be having that stuff much less frequently.

So we made this today

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Salad
1 bag mixed salad greens (10 oz)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can black beans and corn, or 1/2 can Mexi-corn and 1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro

Chicken
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in fillets
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
olive oil

Dressing
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tablespoon grated onion
the juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients for salad in a large bowl, or on salad plates. For chicken, combine all spices in a little bowl, and sprinkle on both sides of chicken breasts. Preheat grill or skillet, Drizzle or brush with olive oil and cook until done.

2. For dressing, combine all ingredients, except olive oil in a large bowl. Whisk well. Drizzle in olive oil very slowly while whisking. Continue to whisk and drizzle slowly until all oil is incorporated.

We grilled our chicken and it was fabulous. In fact, we had 3 people come out and ask us what we were making haha! This website below is where we got the recipe from and she has tons more :o)

http://eclecticrecipes.com/sante-fe-chicken-salad

I made more laundry detergent the other day, but instead of using ivory soap I used Fels Naptha and I also added in some purex crystals for more smell. The cost of this stuff comes out to .03 cents per load. Cheap my friends. Very cheap and very good stuff :o)

Love of Bugs

My sweet boy loves bugs. He'll kneel down and poke at ants and say, "mama buh!" 

A few days ago we went to get the mail and then stopped at the park to play. I was reading some ad's while he was climbing and playing. Next thing I know I hear, "Wow, cool!" I look over and I think he's just playing with the cut up tires that they put around the play area so I go back to reading my ad's (you may not know this, but I have a really hard time clearly seeing things that are a little more than 5 feet in front of me without my glasses, and of course I never wear them unless I'm driving at night). All of the sudden I hear this chirp noise and I look over again and Evan has this HUGE beatle by the antenna laughing and saying, "mama! Buh! hahaha!" I FREAKED out, jumped up, and grabbed his arm and shook it until he released the monstrous creature. I've never seen such a huge beatle, ever! It's antenna's were the length of my index finger! and I have long fingers!! I was talking to a friend of mine at work and she said, "oh yeah those beatles that chirp? Yeah, they get even bigger than that!" 

WHAT!? 

This picture doesn't do it justice, but have a look

Did I tell you Greg was in Orlando last week?

He went for his job that he doesn't start for a year. He got paid to go to Disney World. I love his job.

Jared and Greg went through their undergrad together and Jared is going to work for Ernst and Young  in San Francisco! We are going to miss Jared!