Pie is pie, . . . right?

This morning while I was getting ready, Reese was doing her usual thing at the table which is talking to herself and her toys and carrying on an entertaining conversation.  We've already established what an animal-lover the girl is, and I'm pretty impressed at her memory for the more 'unusual' ones we mention- usually only once.  'That's a gemsbok, mom.  It lives in Africa.'

Suddenly her voice changes and I hear her exclaim - to me this time instead of the stuffed dog she was playing with -

"Mom!  There's a pumpkin pie!!!"

I gave one of those automated mom responses, you know- the ones where you answer, but you're really concentrating on the five or so bobbypins in your mouth and trying to get a stubborn piece of hair to just lay flat.

"Nope hon- not time for pumpkin pie yet,  but we'll make one for Thanksgiving, K?"

"No, no, no mom.  Outside.  The BIRD."

Now I was intrigued.  A pumpkin pie bird?  I'd never heard of that.  So was Ryan, and we walked to the kitchen where, just outside our glass door, there sat a magpie staring at us.

A Mag-Pie.


Well, everyone's bound to slip here and there I guess.  :)

The Book of November

It occurs to me that we never discussed reading The Help.

It was a stellar book- loved the humor, loved the urgency to turn the page and keep reading.  So well written, and a wonderful style to do it in.  I loved the changing points of view throughout.  It felt like a mystery, an action-thriller, and a history lesson all rolled into one.  Awesome.  

In fact, I wept as I turned the last page.  A sure sign of a great story. It's definitely on my favorite books list.  And now I can see the movie- the great part about always being a step behind is that it's probably bound for the cheap theaters in no time.

Huzzah.

One of my favorite parts was the 'interview' with the author in the last pages where she describes her own experiences as a white family with 'help' in Jackson.  I love fiction based on true stories!

We'd love to hear your thoughts too!

Well, this little book club has definitely gone through an interesting evolution through its first year.  Mostly we've been ambitious, overly busy, and consistently behind, but thanks for following anyway.  :)

Here's what we're reading this month. . . 

It's an beautiful book; it's poignant and honest and life-changing.  

We hope you'll pick it up, read with us, and join us December 1st for a discussion.

Storm a'brewin'

Last night Ryan and I went out on a real, live DATE to see a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest by the Actors from the London Stage on campus. 

It. Was. Phenomenal.

Background- the only  production I'd seen of this particular play was my own back in middle school (I played Sebastian, by the way), and as you can imagine the caliber was. . . er, lower.   Make that, much lower.  I had never counted The Tempest as one of my favorites, but these actors were seriously AMAZING, and it's climbed up near the top.  They did the entire thing with only five actors and no set but a small piece of stage and a few props.  Their talent blew us away; it was incredibly moving and then, in the next moment, made us weep with laughter.  

I absolutely LOVE that I married a man who will revel with me in my love (obsession?) for Shakespeare and all things literary.  That's when you know you're with "the right one"- when you can both be unabashed nerds together.  By evening's end, we were giddy with plans to attend the Shakespeare festival, the Globe theater in London, and even become actors ourselves.

It was that good.

So, if you're ever in a vicinity to see this INCREDIBLE company, do it.  You'll love every minute.

Yay for dating and nerdiness and standing ovations so well-earned.

Holy Halloween Costumes, Batman!

I'm sorry.  That title was pretty misleading since there will be nothing about Batman, Robin, or even a glimpse of Batgirl in this post.  But I felt, after a month-long fast from blogging, there was a serious need for punchy enthusiasm.  And how can you go wrong with a show that flashes fluorescent-colored 'Bams', 'whaps', 'biffs', and 'zowies' across the screen?

Anyway, here I am, bound and determined to ignore the guilty feeling inside from neglecting to document the happenings around this little den, and start fresh.  So to begin, here's our Halloween happenings- we had an absolute BLAST this year!  Reese finally got what was happening, made a friend and life-long fan of each bestower of candy, and even did the snorty laugh we taught her on cue.  (That may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that we told her in no uncertain terms it was the only way to get any candy at all.  Hmm.)

Without any further ado, I give you a family of Erkels.  Except that we're white.  And we didn't end the night signing  a TV gig.  Oh well.  You can't have everything.

On a side note here, the candy haul was much better this time around-- thanks to our patient teaching, Reese was able to bring in SEVERAL more pieces of chocolate than last year.  And, best of all, she happily handed them over in exchange for a few suckers.

Score.

Carve it up!

We got ambitious with our pumpkin carving this year and decided to tackle actual pictures.  We finally settled on Monsters, Inc. as the theme.  I took Mike Wazowski (sp?), and Ry opted for Sully.

The kids just had fun hanging out around (and on) the table, playing in the goop and pumpkin seeds, and occasionally taking a bite or two.

"No, it's good, Mom.  I promise!"

Despite all his effort I take FULL blame for Ry's not working out. :(  I was the one that insisted we didn't need the special pumpkin carving kit, we had plenty of knives at home.  

He finally ended up swinging his pumpkin around and free-handing a very Headless Horseman type face instead- 

Well, you live you learn, right?  

Mike, fortunately, was an easier pattern to cut.

Autumn in Logan Canyon

A few weeks ago we decided to take advantage of the fabulous weather and trek up the canyon for a little morning hike.  One of our new-found favorite places is Tonys Grove.  Absolutely gorgeous!  They have a ton of hikes to choose from, so we opted for a fun little nature hike that circled the lake and had lots of "did you know. . ." markers.  They were Reese's favorite thing!  

We did a little climbing,

 plenty of exploring, 

and oodles of basking in the glory that is Fall!

Sigh.

Logan Canyon, I love you.

Favorite Things: Broccoli Slaw & 'Forget-me-nots'

Hello all!

Look at me- following through on a goal!  Hooray!  Ok, week two of favorite things includes food for tummy- and the soul! lol!

The first is this little beauty of a product right here-

Broccoli slaw.  It's awesome!  I'm not much of a coleslaw person, in fact I usually avoid the pungent little tub at fried-chicken-and-side picnics, but this particular mix is just stellar.  Maybe because

1- I know it's SO much better for you, and
2- I have used it in a myriad of ways--  none of them being a traditional slaw.  :)

We mix it into cooked ground turkey with a can of tomatoes and a little BBQ sauce for a way better version of Sloppy Joes, add it to stir fry for more veggie power, chop it fine and stir it into homemade meatballs or meatloaf for more flavor and vitamins, and it makes an excellent veggie omelette.  Awesome.  If you haven't tried it yet, then grab a pen and put it on your grocery list.  I usually find it by the bagged salad in the produce section.

Now for the 'soul food'.  :)

My other  favorite thing is the General Relief Society Broadcast.  I LOVE hearing from these amazing, inspired women twice a year.  Each of them gave wonderful talks about charity, appreciating our blessings and potential, and encouraged us to recognize and use our power for good.  One of my favorite talks was by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the first Presidency.  It is a wonderful talk for and about women, and how to find joy in the little things that are happening now.  It's a perfect reminder for me on a Monday to focus on what's important and remember why I do all that I do.  Prepare to laugh and be uplifted!  Listen to it here, or watch it here- Enjoy!

Somewhere between the cantaloupe and a box of Berry Blue Jell-O. . .

It's true I failed my first Drivers' Ed test, but at least I never crashed a car, which is more than I can say of my baby girl and a certain handicapped motorized shopping cart last Friday.

I've always been a real fan of those self-check out lines in grocery stores.   Finally I have control over the scanning/bagging speed when time is of the essence.  Lately Reese has been on a huge independent kick and so grocery stores are much more fun- usually with me walking alongside the cart, steadying her drunk driving as she plays 'mommy'.

This particular day, however, she was pretty chill.  I was buying only a handful of things- a melon, some jell-o, animal crackers- you know, the toddler staples.  Out of the corner of my eye  I could see her singing something 'princess' to the plastic M&M man at the end of the row and I figured she'd keep herself busy for the two or three minutes it would take me to finish.  And keep herself busy, she did.  Oh the curse of getting what we want!

Seconds later I heard the vroooom of a moving vehicle behind me and  turned to look in time to see her plow into the root beer extract display at the back of the store.

To say that I was shocked would be  horribly insufficient.  Floored?  Yes, but I'm still searching for a stronger word.    I dropped the bag of raisins I was holding and rushed over, whipped her out of her joy ride, and uttered no less than five hundred apologies while I cleaned up and finished checking out- faster than ever before!  I know I should have been furious or even humiliated and sick with remorse, but the look on my wild-child's  face was priceless.  Eyes wide, cheeks flushed, with her mouth opened to a small 'oh' as she stared at the Handicap Hot rod.  It was pure and unadulterated bewilderment.

'That was really fast, Mommy.' she whispered.

I'm sure it was. I remember the rush that came with almost crashing my neighbor's riding lawn mower into the side of the house- I would have sworn I was going 80mph!

At this point the daggers being sent with love from the head checker woman caught my eye so we wrapped things up and headed for the exit.  I made sure we held hands this time.

'That was really fast, Mommy,' she repeated.   As we walked out the door and into the sunshine Reese said,

'Whew!  Mommy, my face is re ally hot.'

'Yes, my child,' I told her.  'that's a special emotion--  it's called call shame.'

One Sweet Kid

Today my baby boy turns one.  

I seriously can't believe how fast the time has flown by, nor can I  imagine life without that red hair or shy smile.

 It kinda blows my mind.  This morning when we went into the kids' room to get him up to sing before Ryan zipped off to French class, the two of them were giggling their little guts out playing Peek-a-boo through the bars of his crib.  

It was one of those times that thrilled my mommy heart.  It seems that the majority of my 'mommy posts' here recount the frequently frustrating and catastrophic bits of life that every mother knows intimately. 

But today
I am absolutely in love with being  Mommy.

Thank you, Sam, for joining us; we are blissfully  blessed to have you!  So much like your sister and daddy, but with your own sweet  flair.  

Happy, happy birthday baby boy!  We love you!

PS- Check out more of this gorgeous sunflower shoot at Melese's blog.  I love having such a talented photographer for a sister!

Favorite things. . .

I've been meaning for weeks to share a few  fabulous sites with everyone, and am finally here to do it.   The first is a fantastic site dedicated to planning, organizing and accumulating home food storage and was created by none other than my insanely-organized and brilliant sister, Meg.

My Food Storage Cookbook is seriously awesome!  She's included tons of delicious  recipes (please, please, please try the Chicken Cacciatore w/ Herbed Polenta- it rocked my world!), step-by-step instructions and how-to's on everything you need to know to plan easy-peasy pantry meals, a 3-month, or 1-year of food storage.  Not to mention some great links to all things foodstorage.  It's amazing, and if you're feeling overwhelmed by this particular brand of project (let's face it, who isn't?), you should definitely check it out.  Sign up for Daily Digests while your there to find out what's cooking each day!

The second is My Oatmeal Kisses, the creation of my very good friend who worked for five years as a Kindergarten teacher and now shares an endless list of fun activities to do with toddlers and young children.  I LOVE this site!  It's perfect for preschool ideas (she even includes the schedule and links she and a few friends use for their own preschool), or if you're just looking for fun, , educational, and cheap  things to do with your kids.  Check.  It. Out.  You'll notice the cute little button down the sidebar of our blog;  click it, and prepare to feel like you're five again- it's that much fun!

The last is Pinterest.  Oh my gosh!  I'm a total junkie who, to be perfectly honest, is just a tad freaked out that someone I've never met read my mind like that, and actually created a website to organize the chaos of my brain.  LOVE!


Well, those are my favorite things this week.  We'll see how I do at keeping this little 'weekly sharing time' going, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these AWESOME sites!

The Book of September

Hello All!

Alright folks, lets get right to it.  The book we've decided to read this month is. . .

I'm sure you've heard of the movie based on this book that just came out a few weeks ago.  We haven't seen it yet, but are excited to read the book we've heard so much about.  Hope you'll join us!  Let's finish by the last week of September and then discuss.

Happy Reading!

Time's Up!

Alright, it's the end of the month, or rather the beginning of a new one, and that means it's end of one Book Club era and the beginning of another.  So let's wrap it all up and talk about Young Adult Literature.  For August, the challenge was to read as many young adult books as possible- hopefully new ones- and report back.  Well, being the visual people we are, we plastered our accomplishments up on the wall for bragging- er. . . tracking.  Yes, tracking purposes only.
After the first week or so, this is what it looked like. . . 

The month wore on, and Ryan, being the sneaky man he is, decided to keep all his cards in his hand, ready to lay them all down at the end and wipe me out.  Sort of reminds me of playing canasty with a friend of mine and her dad when I was young.  He always creamed us.  

Anyway, last night, our board turned into this. . . 

.  

I had such aspirations of reading the entire Series of Unfortunate Events (that's the SOUE abbreviation there), but unfortunately- no pun intended- got the idea too late in the month and only made it through a couple before the buzzer sounded.  Ry and I also started reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy together (how have we never read this book?!), but didn't get through it all in time.
I guess we'll just have to finish that one this weekend!

Ok, so the absolute BEST part of this month's Book Club was finding making time for reading again.  With the craziness of life, I had sort of resigned myself to not reading as much as I would like until, oh I don't know, the kids were' grown up and left the house.  But in just one month I read a heap of books that have been on the must-check-out list for ages.  And some of them were AMAZING!  

My two favorites were. . . 

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

and

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

If you haven't picked these up, then you DEFINITELY should!  Both beautiful and incredibly moving stories that just become a part of you.

Ok, now it's your turn- what did you read this month?

And, ahem, I just want to point out something in case you didn't notice.

I totally beat Ryan!

HOORAY!!!

That's all. :)

Get Ready for September's Book-- we'll announce it tomorrow!

The Training of a Witch

I feel like there are certain areas in which I find myself forever in a state of apology and promise to be better, and this blog is no exception.  It's amazing just how much time can lapse between when you mean to do something and when that something is actually accomplished!  Oh well, someday I'll be a consistent soul, but for now I'll just tell you a funny story to get myself back up into the saddle and try to work my way back from there.

A few weeks ago we brought a favorite children's book home from the library- Heggedy Peg by Audrey & Don Wood.  I don't think we'd ever read it to Reese, but what with her recent witch admiration, I was sure it would be a hit- and it was.  Personally, I like to think my "Derr voice" was the clincher (demonstrations are available ONLY upon very sincere request.  Those outside the circle of Witchy Derr Women seldom appreciate the skill- I seem to recall a mission companion commenting that she's never actually heard a troll voice, but was fairly certain I was doing a perfect imitation).  When I'd finished the story Reese's eyes were glued to the page where the foul Heggedy Peg had disappeared, leaving only her gnarled cane floating in the river.  After a long pause, she declared,

"Whoa- that was a scary one!"

"But did you like it?"  I asked.

She looked at me and nodded emphatically, "Yes!"

That was the beginning of a week of witch stories, which thrilled me to pieces.  Fall is my absolute favorite and reading about witches, flying brooms and pumpkins helped ease the summer weariness.

As a result, our kitchen broom graduated from it's banished place in the hall closet to an almost permanent fixture in the front room and I've literally had to pry the thing out of her hands for meals and sleeping.  I noticed it cast aside this morning as she came to me with her little brow in a furrow and said,

"Mommy, I think we need to go to the store to find a new broom."

I figured I knew where she was headed with this.  "We do, huh?  A more witchy-looking one?"  Green plastic wasn't in the books.

"Yeah.  We need a new one."  She sighed heavily.  "This one doesn't fly."

In that last word her utter disappointment was plain.  She'd done her best, helped all she could, but despite all effort, the non-magical, un-witchified broom was beyond fixing; she needed the real thing.

So now, if you'll excuse me, we're headed out to start the search.

Trouble-maker No. 2

I remember laughing at the toilet seat lock scene in Baby Mama, thinking the lock was for insanely overprotective parents, but I'm feeling a shift in my perspective. I may even join the believers on this one.

I just discovered Sam holding onto the edge of the toilet, soaked up to the armpits and wearing a smile like he'd struck gold, water and bits of (unused, thankfully) toilet paper everywhere from his splashing.

What is it with kids and 'potty-ness'?! Poopy picassos, dunking toys in the toilet. . . I"m just at a loss here.

Oi with the poodles already- err, make that 'puddles'.

A Future of Fruit Loops?

Sam inherited these jammies from a friend in our last ward and only last night did we realize the connection- getting a good laugh in the process.

It's Toucan Sam!!

Tiana's Famous Beignets

For Reese's birthday she got this adorable little cookbook from her favorite Disney-crazed aunt and uncle (I can't say that I wasn't super excited myself). So the other day we decided to crack it open and give the 'house specialty' a whirl.

For Tiana's own recipe, click here

Mixing the dough

Patting a square

Keeping an eye on Mom's frying skills

(Sticky dough made our beignets look more like fried chicken than cute little pillows-

I guess we'll just have to keep practicing. ;)

PS- I just love seeing her in the little apron my mom made for me when I was her age!)

Time to dust with a little sugar!

This recipe makes A LOT!

But that's ok, 'cause this is one satisfied customer!

Thanks again Uncle Justin & Aunt Erin!

Here's Your Sign!

Driving through downtown Logan today we saw this:

I wonder if this little Cell Phone store realizes that the 'N' in this phrase is

a placeholder for the word

and not in.

Hmm.

So here's something funny. . .

Driving around the other day I found myself next to a U-haul truck on the highway. I couldn't help contemplating how convenient a "How's my driving?" sticker would be on this bad boy's bumper- Oh how I'd relish a call that would slap this guy with an extra fine when he dropped the weaving mobile home off in Tallahassee!

I let the scene play out in my mind as I made my way around him, and that's when this caught my eye:

It's only natural for a reader/person-who-likes-to-know-things to be sucked in by the phrase

"Did you Know. . ."

And that started my mind on something else:

What in the world were these people thinking

putting whole paragraphs of interesting, little known facts on the side of moving trucks?! Did they somehow miss that it's just that- a moving truck? Putting a less-than-skilled 'home trucker' behind the wheel wasn't enough of a threat, they decided to draw the well-intentioned 10 and 2 public into a wild-wheeled trivia game that would have whole cities weaving like a bunch of drunks at a demolition derby.

Oh, and how 'bout making the print really small- just to keep things interesting.

That's one hazardous game of Jeopordy- "I'll take deadly maneuvers for 1000, Alex!"

Luckily, this thread of thought took me away from the side of the truck in time to notice the bull moose closing in and the bulk of a 2 to 3-bedroom only inches from my side mirror.

I'm thinking some poor aspiring eye doctor that flunked out of optometry school

eventually found his calling as a graphic artist for U-Haul,

and this is his way of 'sticking it to the man'.

The August Reading Rainbow!

Hello fellow bookworms!

Molly here to announce/invite you to join us in this month's Badger Bookclub pick. Honestly I've been itching all year to get my preferred genre in, and what with school starting in the near future, there couldn't be a better time. And so, for this month, let's read books from the

Young Adult section of your local library. My all-time favorite ever is this one:

It is an amazing story- one that I never tire of laughing and crying through (you know it's a good book when they happen simultaneously!),

and if you've never read it you simply MUST get a copy asap!

Seriously.

Since we're going with the Young Adult theme that means fairly short, easy reads. So let's see just how many each of us can tuck under his or her belt over the next few weeks.

We had a good time with the patriotic competition, and I'm feeling like spreading the love.

Any takers? :)

Whoever reads the most WINS!

(Can't guarantee prizes at this point, but bragging rights will definitely be included)

Here are a few of my favorites, if you need some inspiration before

whipping out your library card--

Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

The Harry Potter Series (obviously) by J. K. Rowling

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Authors I love--

Robin McKinley

Roald Dahl

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lemony Snicket

There are SO many greats out there, so if I left out some that you know (which I'm positive I did) please leave a comment to share with the rest of us!

Now get out there and find your inner child!

Happy Reading!!!

Tangled Up After 4 Fabulous Years!

I cannot believe that our little girl is four years old!

Like all parents, I'm standing here in shock, thinking of the little button with the boxer eyes that wept brokenheartedly in the delivery room.

She is such an amazing girl with a zest for life that has us convinced she's going to be an overwhelming success at whatever she puts her mind to. Incidentally, she also inherited the stubbornness, er. . . determination to make it happen.

She's a wonderful big sister, a sweetheart daughter, and a first-rate people charmer.

Oh how we love her!!

This year we decided that it was high time we threw a little party.

Correction. I realized that despite the years, I had yet to throw an all-out, themed birthday party and was smitten with the idea of it. Despite Reese getting all the presents, I'm pretty sure I had the most fun!

We initially had a few activities planned- pin the hair on Rapunzel, a frying pan toss at a Mother Gothel- but after a long day of preparations, eating, chatting, and opening presents was exactly what the doctor ordered.

We'll have to save the pan toss for Halloween.

So, without further ado, check out Reese's Disney's Tangled party. . .

the Food. . .

the Friends. . .

. . .the Fun!

Thank you SO much to everyone for travelling up- and to those who were here in spirit!

And, as always, thanks to Mese and Kyle who made it look A-mazing!

Our Snuggly Duckling Menu Included:

Five-Star Philly Steak Sandwiches on Ruffian Rolls

I've Got a Dream dip w/ Vladamir Veggies

Max's Favorite Apples

Love Connection Lemon Bars

Flynn's Island Fruit Skewers

Killer, Bruiser & the Gang Brownies

Atilla's Cupcakes

And to drink:

Flower Gleam and Glow Lemonade

A Tall Drink o' Water