Love this girl

Sienna just heard a song come on my computer and said, "Hey, mom, turn that music back on."  I asked her if she liked it and she said, "Yes, it filled my heart with joy."  Love that girl.  This is gonna sound so cheesy, but SHE is the one who filled my heart with joy!  (I can say that now, but  this morning we had a fun "run to my room, SLAM the door and hide in my closet & cry" kind of a morning. Brother who ruin your forts are just the worst!)

Merry Christmas!

 
Like all 18 months old, Luke just loves Santa.

So, I'm having blogger photo issues and just keep getting frustrated when I try to post pictures and they are all sideways, so I haven't posted anything forever.  I need to get it figured out so I can catch up on my kid updates.  Today I'm just going to post one thing that I don't want to forget. The other day I came home from a run and said how tired I was and Sienna said, "Ya, cause running makes your bones and your lips tired, huh?" So I asked her why she thought running made your lips so tired and she said it's because you go "hu hu hu"(making the sound of someone breathing heavily while running). So, obviously, when I push her in the jogging stroller, my lips must sound very tired.  That girl cracks me up! I love how kid's minds work!

Happy Birthday to my baby boy!

Can you believe Luke is already one year old!?

 

So crazy. I look at the scale and it makes me even sadder that he's one, definitely can't blame it all on the baby weight anymore. :(  Well, Luke to make a long story a little shorter, I took Luke to the MD on the day of his birthday party (Friday, June 22) thinking maybe he had an ear infection (he just didn't want to take a bottle and woke up crying in the middle of the night) and the MD thought he may have hand-foot-mouth.  Turns out he didn't (and I was skeptical the whole time since he didn't have the symptoms I ready about and he was happy, sleeping good, eating well, etc...) but I didn't know that until day 5 of being in isolation. Ugh. It was a long week!  We were going to have his party at our clubhouse and doing a pool party theme.  Then when I thought he had hand-foot-mouth, I cancelled his party.  I was already debating on cancelling the swim portion, since the Eagle Mountain fire made the air yucky, so it wasn't the worst thing. But I did spent a ton of money on food, treats, decor, etc...so that kind of stunk.  I still had my family come over, since there aren't any other children, so at least we got to do some sort of celebrating. And the boy got spoiled. Funny though, he was not the biggest fan of the cupcake. We had to basically beg/plead/force feed to get a good cupcake-destroying picture.  

 (***I have a tons of other pictures, but for some reason they are all posting sideways, even though I have edited them/turned them and saved the pictures. So frustrating. I don't have time to mess with it now, but I will this weekend)

A few fun facts about Luke...
-The boy still refuses to really hold his bottle or sippy.  Lazy boy...
-He still prefers to army crawl, though he can crawl and he will crawl in order to get up to his knees and to climb up onto some furniture or something.  He loves to cruise along furniture and behind the push toys.  I really think he may just go straight to walking and skip the whole crawling thing.
-LOVES his thumb and he LOVES his little lovey. The second you pull it out, he turns into a little cuddle bug.
-His favorite toy in the world is the remote control. He is his father's son! He and Dan totally fight over it. 
-His nose sweats, too--just like his dad. He gets little beads of sweat on the tip of his nose when he is hot or if he eats something a little spicy. It's so funny to see what things are hereditary.
-He is a happy little guy--as long as he is being held or has people paying attention to him.  He has definitely turned into a needy little thing.  It's a good thing he is super cute.
-He finally has some hair--took long enough!
-So far he is a super good eater and will eat anything. It makes me a little nervous, because it was this point that Sienna started getting picky.  The other day he refused to eat prunes for my babysitter. And he just decided he doesn't like the little puffs anymore. He prefers crackers or cereal.  I'll give him bites of what we eat and he seems to love it all--stuffed butternut squash, black bean burgers, watermelon, etc...
-He has the best laugh in the world. The sound of him giggling is by far my favorite sound. He loves to play chase around the ottomans and he loves to play peek-a-boo.
-Loves all boy toys.  He LOVES any kind of ball, especially Dan's football and basketball.  His face just lights up when he has one in his arms.
-Loves swimming, loves bath time, basically he just loves to splash! 
-Hates the car seat & the stroller and screams bloody murder when you have to buckle him in. He does the same thing when you lay him on his back to change his diaper or his clothes.
-Luke is a boy's boy. He just seems to prefer the fellas, especially his dad and his grandpa.
-Favorite words are mama, dada, ball, dog and quite a few other babblings, which we aren't sure what they mean. 
-Is still a great sleeper at night. He goes down pretty easily most of the time, as long as he has his lovey and his thumb. It's funny, though. He's a great sleeper at night and seems to sleep through any noise we make, but nap time is a different story.  If I go into his room to get something or to check on him, his head will pop right up. He still takes two naps, but it depends on the day how long he will sleep.

Can I just say how much I love having my girl and my boy?  I feel so grateful that it worked out that way for us. Sienna is such a girly girl and Luke is such a boy's boy, so it's been fun to see how different they are.  Sienna still loves him most of the time (though that little booger bit him a couple of times a couple of weeks ago, have no idea where that came from).  She does occasionally get jealous, mostly when Dan is holding Luke.  It's funny to try to imagine my world without these kiddos in it.  It just feels like they've been with us forever.  Being a mom (though sometimes the hardest) is the best thing in the world.

Luke 11 months old, Sienna 3 1/2 years old

 

I can't believe my baby boy is almost one! So crazy.  Just thought I'd post a few little things about the rugrat. And, yes, this is going to be a crazy run-on paragraph.  Well, first off, my easy little dream baby is not 100% easy anymore.  He's still super smiley and super cute, so I guess he's off the hook a little.  Luke is just a determined and spirited little soul. He knows what he wants.  Luke is, generally speaking, a super friendly, happy baby.  He is definitely a little (ok, a lot) clingy, but I'm hoping it's just a stage.  I'll set him down with a ton of toys around him and sprint to my room to get changed or to do my hair, and within seconds-minutes that little guy has army-crawled his way into my room and is climbing up my leg to be held. Today Luke started bawling when I walked by him and Sienna pipes in and says "You mean mom, how dare you walk away from him!?"  So funny, because that's totally what Dan and I say. "What a mean dad, how dare you walk away from him for a second!".

He's super busy and squirmy and is just a typical boy--wanting anything he is not suppose to have (i.e. cell phones, power cords, remote controls, ANY electronic device).  He  LOVES any kind of ball. He HATES when you lay him on his back to change his diaper or when you put him in his car seat and he screams and cries, like you're torturing him.  He does the whole throwing his body, arching the back-tantrum, which always makes me laugh (does that make me a mean mom?).  Lately he's been throwing his head down on the ground like you have just broken his heart. This little guy is super dramatic.

***Not sure what happened to all the photos that I edited?  I rotated them all and when it uploaded into blogger, it flipped them back around. I'll have to try to mess with it later. Sorry!  Kind of annoying...

Luke generally prefers guys.  I guess he's just a "guy's guy". :)  He really likes Dan, but his favorite person in the world is my dad. It's so cute.  He army crawls as fast as he can whenever he sees my dad and once he's in his arms, he holds on for dear life.  He just loses it when someone else has to take him.  My dad loves it.  And the rest of us try not to be offended. :)

 

He is still a pretty good sleeper, especially at night.  He's a much lighter sleeper during the day and his naps have gotten shorter and less frequent. He's got a bunch of teeth and always seems to be teething, which has got to be rough.  He still has no desire to crawl, and is still slinging through the trenches, army-style. I love it. It's the cutest thing.  He gets around though.  And he's just recently started pulling himself up to standing position and moving from the ottomans to the couch.  He says "Dada" and "mama" and just started waving bye. He's not the most consistent on that one, we gotta keep working on that trick.  My babysitter Scarlett says that he says "Da" whenever he sees their dog. 

Luke is a good little eater and seems to like just about any food we give him, maybe not in love with bananas? Can't tell just yet. He's loving table food.  Last week we discovered he does have Hanson in him after all--he LOVES Mexican food!  He downed pretty much a whole enchilada, rice, beans, the works.  I gave him eggs the other day and he completely broke out in hives and a rash all over his body, so not sure what that means for future allergies. I should've gotten a picture of him, his ears and face were just a little swollen, so he just didn't look quite like himself.  Poor little guy. Dan said it was like he was a really good imitation of Luke.   His MD just said not to give him eggs for at least another 6 months, so we shall see!

 

His eczema is still pretty bad. His body looks much better, but since he sucks his thumb he just rubs his little cheek raw, so he always seems to have this bad patch on his right cheek. We have found that Cetaphil cream, essential oils (lavender & melalueca (sp?) and a little cortisone cream occasionally seems to be the best concoction for him. We have to lather him up morning and night.  And we'll put aquaphor on his thumb when it gets super dry.  The dry air in Utah doesn't help either. I hope he grows out of it, it's got to be so uncomfortable.   Today he was such a handful at church and I realized I am in that new fun stage--just 7 more months until he goes to nursery and then I'll be able to sit through class, actually listen, learn something, feel the spirit....wow, what will that be like? :) 

And Sienna....she is still the world's best sister to Luke. She just loves him to pieces and can't get enough of him.  With as much as Sienna smothers and oogles over him, he's a trooper.  He did get a bit annoyed one time and bit her on the leg.  We've tried to use that as a good learning experience in terms of personal space. 

I tried to get a good picture of this, but it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  Sienna started to get a splash of "spreckles" across her nose. I love it. It reminds me of her Aunt Debi and her cousins Claire & Cassy.  So cute!

Sienna loves being outside and loves playing with her friends.  She loves drawing and coloring and loves arts and crafts.  Still loves her chocolate milk, still a super picky eater, still super cute.  She is taking dance class, which she loves most of the time. She's hilarious, though. My little girl has the worst attention span ever and just does not focus.  I don't know how many times a day I say the words "Sienna, look at my eyes" to get her to hear what I am saying.  She has a dance recital this week and I can't wait to watch her "dance" (stand around watching everyone else and occasional bust a move).

She is spunky and fun and likes to be silly. She, too, LOVES her daddy and totally prefers him to me.  Maybe someday I'll get a kid who likes me. :) We just started doing a reward system, since she was getting pretty tough, just not listening and having melt-downs over nothing.  We had her decorate a mason jar and then we have "fuzzies" that she can earn when her behavior is on-track.  She can also lose the fuzzies. When she fills up the jar she said she wanted to go to the Disney store and pick something out.  It seems to have helped, so hopefully it will continue to do so!

 

 

Back to School Gourmet Feast!

For the last few months my friend Kim & I have been working hard planning our "Back to School Feast" for gourmet club.  It's always so much work, but I love the night of, seeing everything fall into place and all your hard work paying off. It turned out really great. Kim & I agreed that this one went more smoothly than any other we've done, which was nice (no blown fuses, no skewers catching fire, etc..).  And since we served the school lunch tray, rather than doing all the separate dishes (appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert) and so much of it was plated at the same time we actually got to sit and enjoy dinner with the ladies, which never happens.  Needless to say, I'm glad to have it over.  When it's your turn to host, it's a crazy amount of work, but then every other month you get to go and experience an incredible evening hosting by incredibly talented women. I just love it. And I love everyone in the group, SUCH a fun group!  Anyway, thanks to all my friends/family who let me borrow stuff (the desks are my mother-in-laws, we borrowed tons of books from people, ramekins, the lunch trays, etc...). And thanks to Dan for trying not complaining when I made him try a bazillion different kinds of chicken and mac-n-cheese. I don't know if I'll ever make mac-n-cheese again. Oh, and thanks to Sienna and Luke for not holding a grudge on their mom, who has been an absent-minded mom the last few weeks!      

SO, remember these notes from grade school & junior high?  This is what we did for the invitation. I have one somewhere, so maybe I'll find the time to take a picture and post it.  Maybe not. :)  Anyway, we printed the invitation out on one-sided chevron-print paper that was blank on the outside and folded it like this and wrote the girls names in a child's handwriting and wrote "pull" on it.  Then at our last gourmet club, we passed them around like we were passing notes in class.  We thought we were pretty funny. :)

BTW, I need to remember how great Pebbles in My Pocket is in Orem. It's on state street, by the mall.  I went there just looking for scrapbook paper for our book garland and invitation and they now have lots of great party supplies.  They have quite a selection of smaller packaging, the stripey straws, bakers twine, all different sizes of cellophane and paper bags (the brown chevron & striped ones our take-home gift was in were only .25 a piece), skewers, picks, etc...I was able to get a bunch of things we needed there, rather than having to drive to SLC or buy online. So great! 

Oh, and I thought I'd post the page of links that we created to help give people some ideas for Back-To-School parties and teacher appreciation ideas, etc... There are so many amazing ideas out there, so I thought it'd be great to have a page of links.  Here they are! 

BACK TO SCHOOL FAVORITES

LUNCH IDEAS

http://easylunchboxes.smugmug.com/The-Best-Lunchbox-System/Yummy-Lunch-Ideas/10136835_YSuyb#!i=1045683182&k=kREfE

http://wendolonia.com/blog/bento-box-basics/lunch-box-idea-list/

LUNCHBOX PRINTABLES

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9OIvDtq7ASyOGQ3Yjk5OWQtMzI1Yi00ZTZiLWIyODQtZTk1MWU1MGJlZjkz/edit?hl=en&pli=1

http://kristendukephotography.com/?p=5412

http://www.4shared.com/photo/pTEIpsOE/schoolcards.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/ssCjA9tl/lunch_notes_final.html

http://jonesdesigncompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/lunch-box-note-cards.pdf

http://www.howdoesshe.com/wp-content/uploads/HowDoesShe_school_printables-1.pdf

AFTERSCHOOL TALK/SNACKS

http://imom.com/downloads/color-pdf/after_school_talk_conversation_starter_color.pdf

http://www.4shared.com/photo/pTEIpsOE/schoolcards.html

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/grab-go-snack-stashes-00000000000615/page2.html

FUN SCHOOL TRADITIONS

http://www.4shared.com/photo/NnkWWBHS/Dr_Seuss_Tag.html

http://www.chickabug.com/blog/2011/08/free-first-day-of-school-printables.html

http://www.make-it-do.com/kids-do/back-to-school-making-time-capsules/

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFTS

http://lisastorms.typepad.com/lisa-storms/2011/05/teacher-appreciation-week-part-3.html

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-summer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Eighteen25+%28eighteen25%29

http://itswrittenonthewalls.blogspot.com/2011/08/25-teacher-appreciation-sayings-and.html

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/04/subway-art-teacher-appreciation.html

http://befickle.blogspot.com/2010/05/teacher-appreciation-gifts.html

http://marcicoombs.blogspot.com/search/label/Teacher%20Appreciation

http://www.scribd.com/jeff-hadfield-6149/d/90896965-Tatertotsandjello-com-Teacher-Appreciation-Labels-Final

http://www.raisinglemons.com/holidays/best-teacher-in-the-world/

http://blog.thecelebrationshoppe.com/2012/04/30/free-teacher-appreciation-printables/

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2012/04/berry-basket-gift-idea-free-download.html

http://www.howdoesshe.com/wp-content/uploads/HowDoesShe_teacher_appreciation3.pdf

BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY PRINTABLES

http://www.scribd.com/doc/61132126/Back-to-School-Freebie

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/08/back-2-school-printables.html

http://sissyprint.blogspot.com/2011/08/back-to-school-tags.html

http://www.hwtm.com/index.cfm?page=albums/view_album&albumid=2594&photoid=31192

BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY (FOR ADULTS! J)

http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/08/diy-printable-a-back-to-school-party-for-adults/

I didn't even worry about breaking out my camera, since I knew that Annika (our blogger extraordinaire!) would be taking some great pictures, and I trusted that she'd get all the little details that I'd want, which she did.  She does a great job updating our blog, so instead of waiting to write my own version, I just thought I'd take the lazy route and re-post hers (otherwise it might be another 6 months before I got to posting this!).

Holly and Kim put on such a fun "Back to School Feast" this Month. They hosted at Kim's new house and it was the perfect setting. Her house is beautiful and we were all glad to get to finally see it!

As we entered there was this darling old school desk. We were all dying at how perfect and how cute! Love the color.

The room was set all perfect for our "first day of class".

A darling chalkboard decorated with a book garland and an OLD school picture of each of us hanging. That was a good laugh for sure trying to pick out who was who!

There was another desk which housed our class pet.

So cute!

The table was darling. Super simple. Just books, globes, some chalkboards in frames and apples. It was perfect.

Our place settings rocked! School lunch trays to match the desks. For real. Loved it and loved the chalkboard name tag in an apple.

The menu was printed on a chalkboard and framed on the take home table.

The appetizer table was clean and simple and we all dug right in to the goods.

 If you want any of the recipes, you can find them on our gourmet club blog. Here is the link. http://www.slcgourmetgals.blogspot.com/

Apple Dippers with Toffee Caramel Dip

Chicken Nuggets

(Buffalo Chicken Bites)

Peanut Butter Sandwich

(PB and Nutella with caramelized Bananas)

Um, need we say more?!

Pizza

(Chicken Artichoke Pizza Puffs)

The Pesto Alfredo Sauce went with the Pizza Bites and it was delicious!

The blue cheese yogurt dip went with the chicken nuggets and it made them!

The Main Course was:

Ham and Cheese (black forest ham and swiss cheese drizzled with poppy seed dressing) TDF!

Fries (garlicky potato wedges with Rosemary mayo) Yum!

Mac and cheese (Beecher's "World's Best" Mac N Cheese)

Fruit snacks (fruit kabob drizzled with vanilla bean honey yogurt dip) Delish!

Juice Box (Mango Peach Pineapple Punc) to drink. Awesome!

After school snack was milk and cookies!

These darling little milk shots to wash down...

a toffee chocolate chip pizookie and vanilla bean ice cream.

Everything was awesome and we were stuffed to the brim.

We played a fun 80's fact game and the winner was Sunny. Amber won a lucky prize too and they each got a fun teacher appreciation gift. Here are some links to these particular ones, if you're looking for a simple, cute idea. 

Tumbler--http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/04/25/cute-saying-with-printable-and-gift-idea-teacher-appreicaiton/

Notecards--http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/04/18/teacher-gift-idea-free-printable-teacher-appreciation/

Apple dip--http://www.eventtrender.com/blog/2011/11/a-is-for-apple.html

 

Here is the quiz.  See how you do! I'll put the answers at the end of the post. :)

BACK TO SCHOOL QUIZ

1.       In the 80’s what did the game MASH stand for?

_______________ , ____________________, ______________________, __________________

2.       Name all five of the NKOTB 

_______________, _________________, ________________, ________________ , _____________  

3.       Fill in the blank….  Shot through the heart, and ________________________________

4.  1986 Billboard hits included “That's What Friends Are For,” “Invisible Touch,” “Papa don’t preach”  AND

A.  Eternal Flame
B.  Total Eclipse of the Heart
C.  Maniac
D.  True Colors

5.  What was E.T.’s favorite kind of candy? 

A.  Raisinettes

B. M&M’s

C. Reese’s Pieces

D. Whoppers    

6. “I feel the need, the need for speed” is a popular line from which film from 1986?

A.  Top Gun

B.  Breakfast Club

C.  Commando

D. Manhunter

7. Which of the following films won a Best Picture Oscar in the 1980’s? 

A.      Silence of the Lambs

B.      The Color Purple

C.      Terms of Endearment

D.     ET

8.   I ____ the fool

9.  Gag me with a _____

10.  If you _____ it, he will come

11.  Heroes in a half-shell. ______ power!

12.  What was the name of Michael Knight's car?

______________________

13.  Who was the head villian on "The Smurfs" and what was his cat's name? 

________________________ & ___________________________

14.  Name THREE of the six members of the Brat Pack.

___________________, _____________________, __________________________

15.  Name 5 muppets from “the muppet show”

_________________. ______________, _________________, _________________, _______________

16.  What were the names of the four Golden Girls?

_________________, _________________, ___________________, ____________________

17.  What was Michael J Fox’s name in Back to the Future

____________________________

18.  Name the four girls from the Facts of Life? (Bonus point if you can name their leader)

______________, ________________, __________________, ___________________

19.  Who was the teen heart-throb who starred in Growing Pains?

A.  Michael J. Fox

B. Kirk Cameron

C.  AC Slater

D.  Ricky Shroeder

20.  What was your favorite fashion trend from the 80’s

A. Side pony tail (with scrunchie, of course)

B.  Units

C. Stir-up pants

D. Banana clip

E. Pegged pants

F. Hammer pants

G. Big bangs

G. All of the above!

Take homes were these darling framed chalkboards

***We just bought dollar store wooden frames and painted the glass with chalkboard paint, so they were cheap! Then the little baggy has a piece of chalk and some school lunch printables. 

...And a delicious school lunch peanut butter bar. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

We had a great evening and as usual had some great laughs!

Thanks for a fun night back to the good old school days girls!

back row: Holly, Sunny, Kristy, Heather, Annika, Kim

front row: Shelly, Lindsay, Michelle, Amber

 

BACK TO SCHOOL QUIZ (with answers!)

1.                   In the 80’s what did the game MASH stand for? (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)

2.                   Who were the NKOTB?  Danny, Donny, Joey, Jonathan, Jordan

3.                   Fill in the blank….  Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame

4.  1986 Billboard hits included “That's What Friends Are For,” “Invisible Touch,” “Papa don’t preach” 

A.  Eternal Flame
B.  Total Eclipse of the Heart
C.  Maniac
D.  True Colors (1986)

5.  What was E.T.’s favorite kind of candy? 

A.  Raisanette

B. M&M’s

C. Reese’s Pieces

D. Whoppers    

6. “I feel the need, the need for speed” is a popular line from which film from 1986?

A.  Top Gun

B.  Breakfast Club

C.  Commando

D. Manhunter

7. Which of the following films won a Best Picture Oscar in the 1980’s? 

A.      Silence of the Lambs

B.      The Color Purple

C.      Terms of Endearment

D.     ET

"Terms of Endearment" was released in 1983 and won at the 1984 cermony. "Silence of the Lambs" (1991) won at the 1992 Oscar ceremony. "The Color Purple"(1985) was nominated at the 1986 ceremony but did not win. "The Breakfast Club"(1985) was not even nominated.

8.   I ____ the fool (PITY)

9.  Gag me with a _____  (SPOON)

10.  If you _____ it, he will come (BUILD)

11.  Heroes in a half-shell. ______ power!  (TURTLE)

12.  What was the name of Michael Knight's car? (KIT)

13.  Who was the head villian on "The Smurfs" and what was his cat's name? Gargamel and Azrael

14.  Name THREE of the six members of the Brat Pack.
Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe

15.  Name 5 muppets from “the muppet show”

Miss piggy, animal, scooter Kermit, Ralph, gonzo, the swedish chef, fozzie, beaker

16.  What were the names of the four Golden Girls?

Dorothy, Rose, Sophia, Blanche

17.  What was Michael J Fox’s name in Back to the Future

Marty

18.  Name the four girls from the Facts of Life?

Tudy, Blaire, Joe, Natalie & Edna Garrett

19.  Who was the teen heart-throb who starred in Growing Pains?

A.  Michael J. Fox

B. Kirk Cameron

C.  AC Slater

D.  Ricky Shroeder

20.  What was your favorite fashion trend from the 80’s?

A. Side pony tail/big bangs

B.  Units

C. Stir-up pants

D. Banana clip

E. Pegged pants

F. Hammer pants

G. All of the above!

Easter Sienna-ism

Yesterday I had a conversation with Sienna about what Easter is really all about. I said that it's just like Christmas--Santa and the presents are a lot of fun, but the true meaning of Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. It's the same with Easter. The Easter Bunny and all the candy and eggs are a lot of fun, but Easter is really all about Jesus. She pipes up and says, "Ya. And Jesus is way funner." Love this kid.