THE GREAT OUTDOORS

My new best friend is..................................my parents fake grass. My kids are tired of being couped up in the house all day, and this week has been quite nice. So, since my parents have turf both in the front and backyard, the kids are able to go out and play without getting muddy and wet from the sprinklers (no need to water) The possibilties are endless: sleeping out under the stars without the bugs that come with grass, babies crawling around without dirt and soil entering their mouths (even though some really like the pine needles), green green green, and we don't have to mow in exchange for rent.

A LITTLE OCD

Notice a pattern here? I think that I would say that these foam letters that stick to the bathtub, have to be the BEST investment I have made. They get more "action" than any other toy in the house.Each bathtime, Jaisa grabs the first "victim" and an extra in each hand, as she preceeds to swim and crawl around in the bath. And if it falls out at all during the bath, she is in a panic to grab the same one as fast as she can and shove it back in there. OCD??? The reason I say "victim" is because I have had to throw away 1/2 of these things because the bite marks get too deep to chance her choking on them. She then will keep it in her mouth until she is dressed. When she finally takes it out, it is VERY WARM, and VERY COVERED IN SALIVA. She will then toss is to the side until the next bath, when it goes right back in.

Last night my brother and his family came over for dinner, and Tyson and Isaac had a great time like they normally do. They are one year apart, and play really well together. The imaginations that these two have is so funny. They started off the night, with Tyson finding an orange shirt for Isaac to wear, so that they could match. Then they put on matching back packs, and played "follow the Prophet" following eachother around the house, and singing the words to the primary song. At the end of the night, I had the wonderful idea, to let them have a spend the night. Not so wonderful. Here is why: Tyson goes to bed at 6:30-7:00 and Isaac doesn't usually go to bed until a bit later. So, I thought that I would let Ty stay up and they could play a bit more. I got them ready for bed around 8:00 and told them it was time to go in the room. They both started fighting about who got the superman pillow and who got the superman blanket. They both needed superhero blankets to "have superhero dreams." That arguement was quickley settled when I gave one to Isaac and one to Tyson. Next they asked if they could tell spooky, scary stories and I said "yes, but just for a couple of minutes." A couple of minutes turned into a couple of hours. They did not fall asleep until close to 10:00. They would giggle and laugh and when I would come in and check on them, they would tell on eachother, and blame the talking on the other one. What about sleep overs when we were younger? Didn't we fall asleep right away? As morning rolled around, they were bright eyed and ready to play, which was all fun and games until.............. I heard them chanting "we want breakfast, we want breakfast." Maybe we will wait a bit until we have another sleep over:) Fun for Tyson and Isaac, NOT FUN FOR MOM!!!!!!

Mint chocolate chip ice cream wakes up people's taste buds, and you do the same thing when you walk into a room. The chocolatey bits represent your sweet, flirtatious side, and the minty flavor represents your high energy level. You are smart, witty, and you make a great first impression. Your friends value your advice, because you tend to see things from a fresh new perspective

I love when Tyson is playing quietly with his puzzles. I DONT LIKE when little Jaisa grabs a piece and takes off with it. Or, when he is playing quietly with his tool set, minding his own business, when along comes Jaisa again and wham, she takes off with one of his "favorite" toys. Or, when I get books out for Tyson to look at and before we know it, there she goes, off to a corner ripping page after page while trying to swallow as much as she can, before I get there to sweep her mouth of any leftover paper particles.

The girl is going to get hurt.....very hurt. Up until the past couple of weeks, she has been easy to just plop down and play with her toys like a good little girl should. But not now! She has become terror and trouble maker :) She crawls to wherever Tyson is playing with his toys and grabs whatever she can get her hands on, taking off with it in her mouth to a "safe" destination. I have witnessed too many times, Tyson holding her down in a head lock or some other wrestling pose and have had to pry him off of her. And what does she do? She cries until I save her, ( ever heard the story of "The boy who cried wolf?") and then will stop and laugh as I scold Tyson and proceeds to take another toy. Is it really supposed to start this early? What am I going to do. She has no fear of him or what he might do to her and I think it just make her get badly hurt in the near future. Why can't she just play with her pile of toys and Ty play with his? And mommy hang out on the computer and chat on the phone all day? Is that too much to ask?

MY COOKIES WERE A HIT

I took the kids down to the little lake in my parents neighborhood. There had to be over 100 ducks, and from the look on their faces, they were very impressed with my sugar cookies. Even baby Jaisa was impressed (with the ducks, not so much with the cookies).

BUT I CAN COOK...............

I don't understand. All I am trying to do, is make sugar cookies to deliver for Valentine's Day! I tried 2 different recipes, and I ended up with hard, dry cookies that don't even resemble the cookie cutter that was used to shape them. How can such a great cook :), be such a horrible baker? With cooking, I get to add my own spices and am able to "be creative" with the ingredients, and I must admit that I am "the bomb" cook. BUT, with the exception of my dang good chocolate chip cookies, I cannot seem to master the art of baking. I think that because it requires precise measurements, I simply cannot bake a pretty cake or a nice loaf of bread. Why is it so hard for me to follow directions and not mess with the ingredients? I actually followed the instructions cup for cup and spoon for spoon with these sugar cookies, but they are more like hockey pucks. What to do with 3 dozen cookies? Let's just say that the ducks down the street will be eating well tomorrow:)

LIFE'S WHAT YOU MAKE IT, SO LET'S MAKE IT ROCK!!!!

Okay, so I will just go ahead and say it "I love Hannah Montana!" I have no way to cover it. I don't have a school aged little girl, that I can disguise my love for her with. When I watch her show, I have to watch along with Tyson (who Todd has forbid from watching it). Or get ready to turn the channel when Todd walks in the room. Why are her songs so catchy? Am I really a "little girl trapped in a older one's body" as Todd puts it? Is it bad that I almost went to her concert movie, pretending like I wanted to take my little sister, Lara? I had to talk her into going with me, so it wouldn't totally blow my cover. If anyone needs a "chaperone" to take them to a concert, I'm free :)

A WARM CAMPFIRE

I am always a little on the cold side. So, I decided to turn on this little space heater so that I could sit next to it and get warm. Before I knew it, Tyson had pulled up a seat ( or big plastic container) and was talking about how yummy his roasted smoshshmellows (marshmallows) were. I have no idea where he got the idea from. I certainly do not go camping. Not because of the being dirty part, but I am deathly afraid of wild animals and can't help but think that I might get attacked by a bear, mountain lion or crocodile. My family laughs at me, but believe me, there have been some close calls :)So when Tyson sat down and pretended that he was sitting in front of a fire, with a marshmallow on a stick and began to make up camp fire songs, I just had to get a picture. This might be the only "camp fire" he will ever see.

ANYONE FOR SOME POPPY COCK?

Last night, I learned how to make my first batch of homemade poppy cock (toffee popcorn). Staying with my parents for this short time, has advantages that I had not thought about. Like learning how to make my mom's treats and homemade breads:) I will include the recipe for this. It is so fun for kids to help out and it is YUMMY. This recipe is courtesy of my older sister Stephanie, and her mad skills in the kitchen.

POPPY COCK POPCORN

1 c. pecans

1 c. almonds

Bake in oven 15 mins at 300 deg (makes them crunchier). Chop into slightly smaller peices. Add to: 8-10 c. popped corn.

1 1/2 c. white sugar

1 c. butter

1/2 c. light karo syrup

1/2 t. cream of tartar

Boil (drop a small bit into cold water and see if forms a soft ball),then add:

1/2 t. soda

1 t. vanilla

Pour on popped corn. Press on buttered cookie sheet. Cool. Break up and store in baggies.

NEW TRICK

So Jaisa has a "fun"new trick. Right before her naps, I put her in this little chair to drink her bottle. About 2 months ago, instead of just laying there like a good little baby,she would twist and turn herself right out of the seat and go crashing to the floor below. Then, about a month ago, she learned to wriggle out and would actually land sitting up and smiling at everyone around. She thought that she was pretty cool!. Now, her new trick is as soon as I walk away, she throws her bottle on the floor, twists around and grabs onto the top of the chair, while trying to stand up. Once up, she then begins to rock so fast that she literally has to hold on for dear life. I's say it is similiar to watching someone trying to ride a bull (this I have done by the way!!!) This takes all of about 10 seconds. I cannot leave this girl anywhere without her getting into trouble. Let the good times roll.

A NEW PROPHET

President Thomas S. Monson is the new Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was just watching a little documentary on him, and it was mentioned that he was only 36 years old, when he was made an Apostle. How crazy is that? Give me a couple more years, and I will be that age. What an amazing man. He has dedicated his life to the church. And how exciting it will be to get to know him better, and hear him speak more often!

SUPER BOWL

Tyson loved the Super Bowl. He wore his bike helmet, pretending that he was a football player. As for the underwear, well............that is just Tyson. Our family party was fantastic.....NOT! Actually, no one was looking forward to the game, thinking that it was going to be a blow out. But much to our surprise and excitement, the Giants pulled through and made it an amazing game to watch. Partygoers pictured are: mom and dad Weston, and of course Todd. We tried to make it seem like a party by whipping out the diet coke and freezer burned frozen yogurt, just to add a little flare to the normal Sunday dinner, but as you can see, NOT that exciting:)

TODD'S GIFT TO LARA

So, Todd came home from a children's clinic that he had to attend for dental school on Saturday. With the help of going to Santiago, Chile on his mission, he can speak fluent spanish. Well, last year he attended the same clinic and brought my Down's Syndrom sister ( who is 28 years old) home a bright orange t-shirt that he had to wear to let people at the clinic know, that he speaks spanish. She was so excited and wears it at least 3-4 times a week. He came home on Saturday, and called Lara downstairs, telling her that he had a gift for her. She ran down the stairs and was so excited. He pulled out from behind his back the same exact t-shirt, minus ketchup stains, little holes from washing so much and a stretched out collar from putting on and removing EVERY day! She was beside herself and charged him with a big Lara hug. I have attached pictures of the shirt, Lara snuggling with my dad(which she loves to do), and me at Thanksgiving doing "superman" with her. Honestly, did you know that someone would be som happy with so little? Gotta love Lara!

BATH TIME..............NOT SO FUN!

So now that Jaisa is 9 months old, she likes to amuse herself in ways that I'm not really into. I have noticed that every night at bath time, she works her way over to the the plug, and kicks up and down until it "pops up", and starts letting water out. Thus, the picture of her sitting in the bath with no water. We end up filling the bath over and over again, because if I try to stop her, she flings herself back and forth, trying to get past me, and ends up under water and in a panick. Her new thing: she now tries to stand up on anything that she can, including very hard, slippery bathtub. As soon as she accomplishes letting the water out, she heads to the side of the bath and pulls herself up. She gets so excited, that she loses balance and nearly smacks her face every time. So, the battle is on! For some reason, I dont remember Tyson doing this. I think he was more into just splashing and making a mess, choking on the water that he would splash on his face. It is true what they say. Every kid is different, and I am realizing more and more each day.

COUNTRY OVEN WHOLE WHEAT

Why a loaf of bread you wonder? Well, I just thought that I would share with you the best packaged wheat bread you can buy at the grocery store. I discovered this about 6 months ago, when they were out of the one that I generally got. I decided to try this because it was only $2.00, and was really soft. Guess what? It stayed soft all week. Now if you read the back of the package, it still has high fructose corn syrup, BUT it has loads of other goog things and says that it is 100% whole wheat. Now, I don't buy anything else. You have to try it if you are looking for either a white bread substitute, since this is better for you :) or you want a wheat bread that doesn't get hard and yucky after just a couple of days. I usually buy 2 or 3 and freeze them, and they are still just as soft after they thaw out. So worth trying if you go through bread like crazy and want a cheap one that still tastes good.