Thursday, September 22, 2011

I Got Told by a Two-Year Old

Kids really do say the funniest things and I always looked forward to the days when I could laugh at the crazy words coming out of my kid's mouth. Lydia's been talking for awhile and she's says some pretty funny things every once in awhile.

For example, she calls a swimming suit either a "swimming soup" or a "baking suit" (apparently she relates swimming with food?). She also entered that stage where she says the f-word every time you ask her what a duck says (we're still waiting for her to leave that stage, seeing as she still can't pronounce her q's).

Well, I have to say that lately Lydia has progressed from comical mix-ups and mispronunciations, to unknowingly cracking one-liners. And I'm loving it. I thought I would just share a few of my favorite.

Upon hearing me say "I'm a bad mother," Lydia promptly replied, "No. You awr a good mudder!"

I told her to leave me alone so I could go to the bathroom in peace and she said, "No. I'm not going to leave you alone. You're being mean."

Giggling to Brigham while sitting on the toilet she explained, "I just farted in the toilet. Big time."

Bending over with her little butt sticking up in the air, "Wipe my bum, Mom. Wipe my cute bum."

After kissing Ammon on his way to bed, "Goodnight Son!"

Watching me feed Ammon his baby food for breakfast, "I'm not gonna eat baby food for breakfast. I'm having waffles!"

Hearing the music of an ice cream truck while on a walk she said, "I hear something." I replied, "Yeah, that's an ice cream truck. When you have money to spend you can go buy ice cream to eat from that truck." Lydia smiled and said, "Yeah! And some cake!"

Oh she cracks me up. And she's going to keep me laughing for years to come, I can tell. There's nothing that can bring a smile to your face like a silly two-year old :)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Picture's Worth 1000 Words...

...and I think this one says it all perfectly! Go Cougars!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tomato Broil

Dinner at our house is pretty routine Our meals usually consist of either Italian or Mexican - with an occasional sandwich or melt thrown in.

Three words: cheap, fast, easy.

Sure I may change up the vegetable in the sauce with the pasta, or throw a new ingredient in the quesadilla's, but it's basically all the same. My husband doesn't complain, and in fact often thinks the meals I pull off are amazing. But I know better.

I've gotten some really nice cookbooks lately and a couple magazines subscriptions boasting delicious new recipes. And boy do they look tasty. However, as I was marking the ones I wanted to try I realized that I probably would never really cook them because they veered from the staple items I keep in stock. Also, some of the ingredients and food combinations are a little more venturous than what my taste buds are used to.

Thinking about it, I realized I want to know more about all of these dishes. Heck it's time to expand my horizon and try new things. So I've become resolved to, once or twice a month, randomly pick a recipe out of a cookbook or magazine, and no matter what it is or what's in it - cook it! And as an added bonus, I'll blog about it too!

Tonight was the first recipe and I actually got it off the back of my Italian cheese package. It wasn't a random pick, but I had all the ingredients and I had some tomatoes that needed to get used up. And that's how experiment Tomato Broil began.
Funny thing is, I HATE tomatoes. I love tomato sauces and can stand small bits of cooked tomatoes or the occasional THINLY sliced tomato on a hamburger or sandwich...but these things? GROSS. And yet, I had to try; I had made the commitment.
You aren't really supposed to scrape out any tomato but I really didn't want TOO much tomato-ness in mine, so I hollowed my tomato out until about half way down. I scooped a shallow dip in the rest so the filling wouldn't topple right off.

Next I mixed the filling.

Some Italian bread crumbs.

Some of the Italian cheese blend.
Then a couple teaspoons of Italian seasoning. (I know- lots of Italian. I guess this an Italian dish and therefore not venturing from my normal menu, but I swear I would NEVER normally make this. When I say Italian staple what I really mean is pasta)
Mix all of that together and start stuffing the tomatoes.
Until they are full/overflowing.
You were supposed to drizzle with olive oil after this. I don't know why because it didn't work out too well. The olive oil just ran off the topping and down the tomato into puddles on the pan. 
Oh well. Next you are to sprinkle with desired amount of black pepper.
Then you put them in the oven to bake for fifteen minutes or so.

I put mine in with some cornbread muffins so my cooking time was a little different.
And they come out looking like this. They looked pretty good...
...but I was still very skeptical of the whole tomato thing.
I knew we had muffins as back-up in case I just couldn't muscle it down.
And I'm so VERY glad we did have the muffins - because this is as far as I got. 
I could only eat half of the tomato and I was gagging the whole time. But half is really good for me. In the old days, I would have barfed after one bite.

However, if you like tomatoes, Brigham said it was delicious and scarfed down the two giant ones and the second half of mine and Lydia's (Lydia's reaction was about the same as mine and she literally gagged her half down as well...even though every time Brigham declared he loved it she emphatically said she did too. Her twisted up this-is-so-nasty-I-can-barely-stand-to-keep-it-in-my-mouth face told the truth).

So I'm not a fan. Will NEVER make this one again. But it was super easy. And I ate the last ice-cream sandwich to make up for it and I feel much better now :)

So my experiment has began. Here's to hoping future recipes with be MUCH more appetizing.

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Baby Blues of my Baby Boy

 Do you see those blue eyes? Those gorgeous gorgeous eyes? Yeah...that's my baby :)

And oh how I love him.

 Do you see that shy smile? That gorgeous gorgeous smile? Yeah...that's my little girl.

And oh how I love her.

They both are growing up too fast for me.

Lydia has been long over due for a toddler bed and we finally got one for her. She loves her new "big girl bed."

Which means Ammon graduated to the crib. Thank goodness because he was getting uncomfortable in the play pin which meant long nights for mom.

We got the toddler bed, toddler mattress, and boy crib bedding all for forty dollars off of KSL. Score! And now Brigham and I have our room back to ourselves. Double score!

Most of the time it's wonderful but, sometimes when I go to check on them before I go to bed, my heart hurts that my babies are sleeping so far away from me...even though their room is right next to mine, AND we keep the baby monitor on.

Man I'm such a mom :)

I love hearing Ammon wake in the morning, look through the slats in his crib to see Lydia, and start squealing because he's so happy to see her. It usually wakes Lydia up but I don't mind because, after she shushes Ammon and bossily tells him to close his eyes and go to sleep, they usually laugh and babble at each other until I get them up.

However, naptime is a different story and I really DON'T like hearing them babble and squeal at each other for three hours. I finally had to stagger what time they went down so one could be asleep when the other one goes in to take a nap. They still wake each other up, but less often. It's a work in progress.
They sure love each other. And I sure love them.

And this baby boy is almost eight months! I've been bad at keeping track of his stepping stones so here's a brief synopsis, as of late. He's days away from crawling, can sit up on his own, is covered head to toe in eczema due to some dumb allergy, loves to clap, eat, and smile. He loves toys that he can shake to make noise, and any new texture that he can feel.
He's my massive little man with gorgeous blue eyes. And he's a momma's boy. I'm definitely ok with that :)

Friday, September 2, 2011

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year
With spiraling footballs
And bad referee calls
Let's give a good cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those rivalry games
And the BYU fame
When they vanquish the U
It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be tailgates for hosting
And hot dogs for roasting
And touch-downs out in the snow
There'll be old football stories
And tales of the glories
Of bowl games long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There be much pass-throwing
And hearts will be glowing
When the great Cougars score
It's the most wonderful time of the year



Oh how excited I am to announce that football season is here! I live for this time of year, and when it ends my life feels empty.

I love everything about football! I love both watching and playing. I love the players, the football spiral, the tackling, field goals. Everything.  I love that at this time of the year, there's usually some football game to watch, even if it's not BYU.

And I love my BYU Cougars. 

This is a picture of a cougar at The Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
And just like this cougar, my Cougars are going to be strong, ferocious, and AMAZING.

I have been a season ticket holder to the BYU games for the past six years. This year ends that streak due to money, kids, and babysitters. :(  It breaks my heart.  When the ticket-office called to see if I was going to be buying our regular seats this year and I had to tell them no, I actually got misty-eyed.
I just can't tell you what it's like to be part of that team spirit and cheer on my Alma-Mater. But, we'll make due at our house and just pretend that we are in the actual crowd. I'll still yell at the TV and give the players, coaches, and refs a piece of my mind. I'll still signal for first downs, sing the Fight Song, and do the Storm Trooper march. But I'll do it all in my living room with a piece of my heart at the Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Yes, I am a major fan. However, I am not the biggest fan EVER. I know this because I don't do some of the crazy stuff that the biggest fans do - but I sure do admire them and wish I were more like them.

This is my favorite BYU player of all time, Luke Staley. I wanted to have you guess who he is, but since his name is on the picture, my game is ruined.

He's followed closely by Austin Collie.

If you want to know where I got my team spirit from, check out these awesome pictures...
Best. Family. Picture. Ever.

Cheering on our team.

Notice how amazing I am at the Storm Trooper march.
 I am terrifying!
That comes with years of experience.

Our little BYU Cougar family

That's right it's a family affair.

The theme this year is Rise Up and we are all wearing the official BYU football shirt for the season (except for Lydia in her BYU cheerleader uniform, and Ammon in his baby Cougar onesie).

Just another reason why my family is so awesome :)

I am SO DANG EXCITED! One more day until the first Cougar kick-off. YES!

So get your cheering voice ready, rise up, and come join us to watch the beauty of the sport called FOOTBALL.