Dr. Seuss Week, Day 3

WaCKY WedNESDaY

The kids were surprised and thrilled to wake up to this...

Dr. Seuss Week, Day 2

Today we read and played Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat.

We made rhyming lists, cat in the hat snacks, fun pencils, and the kids made a hilarious (but true) list of things to do and not to do when Mom is out of the house. Then they cleaned it all up before I came home (mostly).

Oreo and Life Saver Cat in the Hat treat... yum!

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The "What To Do and To Not Do when Mom is away" Pictures

Do change a diaper.

Don't pee on the floor.

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Do babysit the kids.

Don't sit on the baby.

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Do play nicely with your siblings.

Don't punch them in the face.

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Do give hugs.

Don't eat too much candy.

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Do read books.

Don't throw forks.

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Do eat your food nicely

Don't catapult peas.

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Do follow Mom and Dad's list.

Don't make your own list.

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Do your chores.

Don't play with the vacuum.

Dr. Seuss Week, Day 1

I think next year I'll do a whole month of this. This is lots of fun. Thanks, Jenee, for the fun ideas!

Day 1 was Dr. Seuss' ABC book. We played scattergories with lists of ABC things we found around the house. We also made up our own animals...

Not Hawaii after all . . .

But Baltimore, Maryland is so much more exotic, don't you think?

Actually, truth be told, I think we are all more excited about moving near family than we were about moving to Hawaii. The fellowship I was selected for in Hawaii fell through because their program did not achieve accreditation, so I was tasked with finding another program. The Army will fund me to go to a civilian Addiction Medicine program, as the one in Hawaii was the only Army program. So, out of the 9 accredited programs left, I was accepted at enough of them that I had to choose- and it has been a grueling and very difficult decision. In the end, my #1 choice became the University of Maryland, so we will be moving to the DC/Baltimore area in 3-4 months! The fellowship is only for 1 year, but we are all very excited.

And we will just have to take a vacation to Hawaii some day- no problem!

a young BYU fan

Yes, I have about 20 more pictures of this cutie. I kind of went berserk with capturing cuteness.

Thanks Joe and Melanie for supplying the onesie!

Slow-cooker Lasagna and Cookie Milkshake

I posted this on our family's recipe blog, but wanted to share this with more readers... if they still exist!

(No pictures, the food was gone fast)

This was a hit tonight, so much so that I have to write it down for history's sake. Evelyn, our pickiest eater) had thirds! AND wanted more, but there was no more to be had.

Crockpot Pesto Lasagna (from Stephanie O'Dea's website and cookbooks)

Layer the following ingredients until you run out of ingredients:

Pasta sauce (about 1/4 cup at a time) - I used my homemade chunky tomato soup and it worked great

Uncooked lasagna noodles, and you can break them to fit your pot

Pesto sauce (you'll use an 8 oz jar easy)

Cottage or ricotta cheese

Handful of baby spinach

Parmesan/mozarella cheese

Start again with the pasta sauce (and end with it on top too)

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6.

Delish.

The crockpot has saved me this month. Because of our new baby, I thought ahead in January and planned out all our dinners to be crockpot dinners that I could start before the usual fussy evening time. It worked out great... especially with the unexpected surgery! I also chose really easy dump and leave dinners. This lasagna took me about 7 minutes to dump in the crockpot before a busy, busy afternoon.

And now, dessert. This was too good. I enjoyed it too much. Yum.

Cookie Milkshake

About 1/2 a blender of ice cream.

Crush up some old valentine cookies that still have their frosting on them and add to the blender.

Add milk to desired consistency.

Blend. I served these in the tiny shot glasses I got for Christmas. Everyone had seconds. I claimed the rest from the blender.

Presidents Day

The kids loved Presidents Day today! We had a lot of fun reviewing presidents and enjoying food...

Jonas made waffles with cherry topping today. That was gone before I could get a picture of it!

We also made a President Tree (enchantedlearning.com) and several peanut butter pretzel log houses.

PS Yes, that is Evelyn licking peanut butter off her peanut butter covered hand. Totally my child.

Feathers

Feathers

A Fable By Mom

Long ago there was a family of birds.

The father bird was a loving father and hunted for worms for his family. He worked long and hard hours to find the best, juiciest, plumpest worms for his wife and children. He left early in the morning, since the early bird catches the worm. He would come home in the evening and feed his family his catch of the day. Sometimes there was not enough for the father to eat, but he shared his worms willingly.

The mother bird had a lot of little birds to take care of in their small nest. The little birds had been lovingly cared for while still in their eggs. The mother soon learned that the eggs were easier to take care of than the birds, since the birds cheeped and pecked and tried to fly out of the nest all day long. They also ate a lot of worms! She planned activities and tried to teach them to not peck at each other or fly before they were ready.

One day, the mother bird noticed an errant feather. The feather was poking out of the oldest bird’s body at an unusual angle. She tucked it in, to find out that it kept poking out in the oddest ways. She was not used to feathers looking like this, so she told the oldest bird to be still. Using her beak, she plucked the feather right out.

“Ouch!” said the oldest bird, and rightly so, for the mother had plucked a precious feather from his body.

The next day, the mother bird noticed more feathers sticking out, and not just in her oldest bird. She plucked and preened.

“Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Ouch!” “Wah!” cried the little birds.

That night she chirped her concerns to the father bird. He reminded her that as the birds grew, they would molt and change their feathery ways. The mother bird impatiently gazed at her little birds and wondered how she could speed up the awkward-looking and seemingly endless molting.

The next day, she found more feathers. She plucked, preened, and forced the molting to move along faster than nature intended.

When the father bird came home, he found a mother bird tired from the day’s plucking. He also found 8 featherless, naked, and crying birds. They were not just hungry for worms. They were hungry for loving attention instead of the pecking and plucking they received each day.

The mother chirped her sorrow and apologies to the little birds. She had been so impatient for the growing and molting to be over that she forgot to enjoy the small fuzzy feathers, even when they stuck out at funny angles.

The father huddled his family close. He kept them warm with his own feathers while hugging them tight.

They waited for feathers to grow back.

MORAL: BE CAREFUL HOW YOU PLUCK AND PREEN YOUR LITTLE ONES

"S"elebrating Six Weeks!

Sleeping

Slinging

Swinging

Snuggling with sister

Strong pose

Sideways "Superman" pose

Snuggling with siblings

Sucking

Smiling (as close a picture as I can get, since they are swift smiles!)

Gideon's Blessing

I am so thankful for this new little guy in our lives. We love him so much, and everyone who meets him is instantly in love as well. His blessing focused on Heavenly Father's love for him, as well as family who loves him. What a wonderful reminder to focus on love. When we remember those who love us, our returning LOVE defines us and makes us who we are.

What should I call This blog post?

Strangulated blog post?

Incarcerated blog post?

Stupid painful hernia blog post?

What to do if you feel like you're going to die from pain...

Oh I know! "How to lose 12 inches in one hour!"

This was my Tuesday experience: an ER visit and emergency surgery to correct the strangulated hernia and cut out twelve inches of dead small intestine. Ouch. Now I am recovering from a second and more invasive abdominal surgery. Two in 5 weeks! Lucky me.

Thank goodness my dad and Jeanene were here to help me get to the ER and to take care of all the kids including five week old Gideon. They've gone home, Gideon is finally and after a lot of hassle rooming in with me. The kids are being cared for by ward members.

I guess the April half marathon is out for me...

Want to see a gross nose tube picture? Here I am, post-surgery glory!

I think I'm supposed to learn patience and how to be still this year. Previa, csection, hernia... Do I sound old or pathetic?!? Both?

I am blessed. I really am. I am trying to be grateful so I can find joy in this journey.

Come what may and love it.