happy leap day

It's February 29th!!

My girls found this little guy sitting in their cereal bowl{before the cereal} this morning. Happy Leap Day!! We only get to have this day every four years!!

I hadn't thought too much about Leap Day until I went to Kristi's blog last night and she had frogs and things about Leap Day. So I thought I better get our little frogs out of the toy bucket and tell the girls "Happy Leap Day".

Brenna will find a little froggy in her lunch today at school too. Emma Grace would have found one in her lunch but she is on a new kick of buying her lunch at school which is a really nice break for me!

This is why we have an extra day in the calendar every four years:
Leap years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the earth's revolutions around the sun. Using a calendar with 365 days every year would result in a loss of 0.2422 days, or almost six hours per year.

"march forth" is coming

We have a new tradition{this is our second year} in our family to celebrate March 4th. It's the only day of the year that is also a "command". So everyone in our family{all of my siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews} set goals to work on to help us MARCH FORTH. It's a fun way to celebrate making goals and teach all of the children how to set goals.

We start off with marching music, playing a marching drum, eating footlong subs, tracing the kids feet on a big white tablecloth{getting it embrodiered, of course}, and then telling everyone what our new goals are going to be for the next year.

By the way, I'm so excited that in 10 years{or more} I will have a big white tablecloth with my children's feet all stitched on it. One foot for each child for each year! How cute to watch them grow!!

This year the really fun part is that someone will win our GOLDEN BOOT AWARD for accomplishing their goals. Yep...it's a GOLDEN BOOT with a little bit of cash inside for fun. I have been emailing with everyone in our family to find out exactly what they did to accomplish their goals. And over the last couple of days everyone has voted for the two people that they felt BEST accomplished their goals. So Fun!! Everyone did great!! I now have the winners and I have the boots ready to go to the GOLDEN BOOT recipients on MARCH FORTH.

{okay, so the boots look a little cheesy and yes they came from a garage sell for a buck and are spray painted gold...this isn't the GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS!}

Here are a few of the goals that were set AND accomplished!! Wa-Hoo!!

Journal everyday*get completely caught up on scrapbooks*read the entire Book of Mormon*send out Birthday cards to every member of their family{80 something cards}*learn how to ride a bike without training wheels*read all of the American Girl Doll books*complete Visiting Teaching 100%*lose 20 pounds*compete in a Ballroom Dance Competition*run two half marathons{this is the sister-in-law who inspired me to start running}*begin a Masters Program*learn alphabet*learn numbers*Charlie's goal was "NO MORE BLOWOUT DIAPERS" and I'm happy to report he accomplished his goal!!

We'll find out on MARCH FORTH who our GOLDEN BOOT AWARD WINNERS are for this year!! And we'll see what amazing goals everyone has set for this coming year!! So look for a post on March 4th!!

scentsy candles

I think I'm in love again but this time with candles!!

My wonderful sister-in-law, Tara sells these awesome candles{Scentsy Candles} that I just can't get enough of. I've been meaning to do a post on them for months to let other people know about them because they are so great!!!

You just turn the candle on...no wick, no matches, no fires. It's a great thing!! And they have so many amazing scents!! You have to check them out!!

chocolate chip gingerbread cake

I got this recipe from my friend Liz Barrett. I really liked the way she made this cake into cupcakes and put a buttercream frosting{with cinnamon} on them. Or you can do the bundt cake. I don't really like making bundt cakes because I have a terrible bundt pan.
Of course, this is a wonderful recipe for the holidays but it sounded good for our Sunday dessert so I made them yesterday. :)
This recipe is from "Luscious Chocolate Desserts" by Lori Longbotham (Chronicle Books, 2004).

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread {Cup}Cake{s}

2-1/2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's, plus additional for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) package miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 cup hot water

* Position a rack in the middle of an oven heated to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.

* In a medium-large bowl, whisk together 2-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and pepper.

* Toss chocolate chips with remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a medium bowl.

* Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large, deep bowl, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula, for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

* In a 4-cup glass measure or small bowl, whisk together molasses and hot water. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with molasses mixture in 3 batches, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with spatula and beating just until blended.

* Fold in chocolate chips.

* Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is firm to the touch.

* Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

* Serve, lightly dusted with cocoa and cut into wedges.

* Makes 8 to 10 servings.

apricot chicken

I made this a couple of nights ago and my family was begging for more...they loved it!! Really simple to make and YUMMY! It's from the Southern Living Magazine{one of my MOST favorite magazines}.

APRICOT CHICKEN

4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (16-ounce) can apricot halves, undrained

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lite soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten to 1/2-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle with salt.
Drain apricots, reserving liquid. Coarsely chop apricots.
Stir together reserved liquid, apricots, juice, and next 3 ingredients.
Combine flour and pepper; dredge chicken in flour mixture.
Cook chicken in hot vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium; stir in apricot mixture. Cook 3 to 5 minutes. Add onions, and cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro.

southwestern chicken soup

This is the EASIEST soup you can make and so yummy!! It is from the REAL SIMPLE magazine. We have eaten it so much this winter and my entire family likes it...well except Charlie who apparently thinks it's too spicy! He tries to wipe it off his tongue every time I give it to him. The leftovers are great too!

You should be able to double click on the picture and view the magazine page large enough but I will go ahead and type it out just in case.

1 12 oz jar salsa verde
3 cups cooked chicken pieces(deli rotisserie chicken works great!!)
1 15 oz can cannelloni beans, drained
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 green onions, chopped
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Empty the salsa into a large saucepan. Cook 2 minutes over medium high heat, then add the chicken, beans, broth, and cumin. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of onions, a dollop of sour cream, and some tortilla chips. For a soupier dish, use 4 cups of chicken broth.

my left hand

I am SO right handed. I don't do anything with my left hand. I think it's only there to assist my right hand. So once again my left hand got in the way. I was putting a new mop head on my mop yesterday and in the process I did this....

You can't tell from this picture but my left hand has been butchered from getting in the way when my right hand is trying to do something.
Here are a couple of examples but there are MANY more.

#1 My left hand was holding the fabric when my right hand ran over the end of my thumb with a rotary cutter. Yikes! That hurt! I spent a few hours in the emergency room getting x-rays to make sure it didn't cut into the bone, getting a tetanus shot, begging for pain medicine, and getting it wrapped up. They told me several times to make sure I kept it wrapped for several weeks and that it would not scar to bad. The first time I had to change the bandage, I had a nurse in our ward come over to help me{she offered}. She couldn't believe how yucky it was...me too! It made me a little sick to look at it the first week. And it killed to change the bandage too. Now I just have a left thumb that isn't completely there but no one would really ever notice.

#2 My left had was holding a pan of boiling sugar while my right hand put the cold water in the pan. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, the boiling sugar water splattered all over my left hand. Ouch! So now when I make my grandmother's Christmas candy recipe, I make sure to wear a oven mit. I had a total of 10 blisters on my left hand from that one. Fortunately only 2 of them left scars. By the way, this was only a couple of weeks after I stopped wearing a bandage on my left thumb from #1.

up to something {3}

Oh, Charlie! So last night it was time to get in the bath and I started the water. There was about an inch of water in the bathtub and I hadn't taken his clothes off yet. Before I knew it, I turned around and he was sitting in the tub playing. He was so happy and so proud of himself that I gave him some time to play in his clothes.

He has tried to climb into the tub before but never been successful. This time he made it! Boys are so different from girls!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe came from my really good friend, Marie. Every recipe I ever get from her is excellent!! This is one of our family's favorites. We almost never get tired of it.
If you like the Sweet and Sour Chicken from Pei Wei's or PF Chang's, you'll love this even more. In fact, I almost don't like theirs anymore because this is such a yummy homemade version of theirs. So try it!!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
cornstarch {enough to dip the chicken}
oil {enough for frying}
¾ cup sugar
4 tbsp ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove
pineapple chunks {fresh is BEST}
green pepper {cut in large cubes}
onion {cut in large cubes}
Cooked rice {enough to serve with the sweet and sour chicken}

Cut chicken in 1-2 inch cubes. Coat chicken in egg then cornstarch. Pour some oil in a frying pan and fry chicken until brown. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Pour over chicken. Bake covered 350 for 45 minutes. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Halfway thru the baking add pineapple, green pepper, and onion. Serve over rice.

playing the guitar

Todd loves to play the guitar for the children. Charlie loves anything that makes noise so this is a perfect fit.

Valentine's Day

Eliza's Valentine for her preschool friends.

Brenna's Valentine for her 3rd grade friends.{attached to a little notepad}

Emma Grace's Valentine for her kindergarten friends. {attached to a little notepad}

I haven't had time to blog anything about Valentine's day until now because we were having too much fun with my Mom in town from Kentucky. It was fun to have her here for Valentine's Day. She got to share in our Valentine's Fun! {pink heart pancakes, strawberries, muffins, gifts, paper hearts that led from the children's beds to the breakfast table}

We gave the children fun little gifts. Emma Grace got a horn for her bike{now we know exactly where she is on the street...the neighbors are so happy}. Eliza got a "whirl-a-bell". So cute! She loves to go really fast to get it to spin!! We made heart cookies with the girls after school. My favorite new topping for sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting is coconut{not in the picture, sorry}...yum...you have to try it next time you make them.
The girls all had a great time at their Valentine's parties at school. Of course, they{mostly Brenna} think they shouldn't have to go to school on Valentine's day....shouldn't it be a National Holiday?

my first 100 miles

I completed my first 100 miles for the year and it feels great. Now only 700 more to go! Wow...did I really agree to run 800 miles? What was I thinking?

I really do love running which is absolutely amazing to me that I can say that. I love running when the sun is coming up. I love running with my husband. I love the feeling of accomplishment that you feel when you're done. I love that my body feels healthy. I love that I've set goals and been able to reach them.

morning hugs

I love morning hugs!! As soon as my kids wake up in the morning, we give "morning hugs".

We love, love, love to hug our kids!! Every morning before Todd leaves for work, all of the children give him hugs. This morning they all attacked him at once and I was able to catch it on "film"{okay, digital camera but how do you say that?!} I was ironing Charlies's shirt so the "big man" is showing off his diaper which makes the picture that much cuter.

classic father & son moment

I was so glad to catch this cute little moment of Charlie watching Todd shave. It's the classic "father & son" kind of picture. I'm so grateful to have a wonderful husband who is such an amazing example to all of my children{and not just because he shaves}. He is so kind and loving towards me and everyone he is around. He is always so willing to help with anything I need.

He is such a hard worker. And most of all he is dedicated to the Lord and His gospel.

up to something {2}

Charlie LOVES getting the balloons at the grocery store and everyone at the store knows it. As soon as he sees them he starts going crazy! Of course, there is no easy way of explaining to a 16 month old that the big shiny ones cost money...sorry Charlie!
After getting the balloon at the grocery store, Charlie was in heaven as he stomped in the water in our backyard from the recent rainfall. He was soaking wet and loving life!

playing in the snow

Okay...before I go any further on this post, I have to apologize for the horrible picture quality on these photos. I had my camera set to take pictures of stuff to put on craigslist and didn't change my setting for better pictures. Oh well!
We went to Williams, Arizona about 3 hours North of here for the weekend. Our GREAT friends, the Rolfe's, have a beautiful cabin and they have been so gracious to invite us to come play with them a couple of times.

The sledding was great! This is a picture of Marie and me at the bottom of the hill. What a blast!! Brenna took this picture of us but only after overcoming a mild sledding injury of her own.
Bless her heart! She was being so brave and hiked it to the top of the hill. No one realized that the part of the hill she was going to go down had lots of little jumps. She started down and began to gain momentum. She hit one jump after another and flew straight in the air and back down on her back. Once she stopped, she couldn't breathe and her back hurt really bad. She sat out for a little bit and then regained the courage to go again.
All of the kiddos were so excited to have a snowball fight. They prepared by making a snow wall and making a big pile of snow balls. It was "kids against parents" and we got creamed{that's the story they're telling anyway}. Emma Grace getting ready to go down on the tube!
Emma Grace chugging hot chocolate after sledding!! YUMMY!

up to something

Can't you just see it in his eyes? He's up to something....always! Charlie is a busy little guy. All day long he is looking for something to get into or something to climb on or a way to get another bruise on his forehead. My least favorite is his obsession with the toilet. Yuck! I have to lock the door to the bathroom sometimes. But that doesn't work out so well for the 3 year old that needs to hurry to the bathroom. So at any opportunity he is dipping his pacifier{disgusting}, dumping clothes or my notepad, or just taking a little swirl with his finger. When do they grow out of this?
This picture was taken while he was out on the back porch climbing on everything. It was raining that day so he went out into the yard to stomp in rain puddles, of course.
Today Charlie and I dropped Eliza off at Preschool and then went on a little walk with his little car. He sits in the car and I push him with the handle. When we got to the one small hill in the neighborhood, I pushed him really fast and then let go at the bottom of the hill. We were both laughing and he was giving me high fives and making his little noise that means "again". We did it several times. He's a little thrill seeker...watch out Disneyland!

guess how much this penny is worth...

... too much!!

This penny that is sitting in this dirty water came out of the back of my washing machine. It was clogging up the drain hose and had already made it's way through the pump destroying it in the process. You guessed it...because of this penny we had to buy a new washing machine.

The picture doesn't do justice to just how chewed up this penny became after going through the washing machines pump. I should have taken another but I'm feeling to lazy right now.

So from now on I will do a better job of checking for any loose change, any pens, and any polly pocket pieces that might do damage to my laundry or my machine.

The good news....I got a really great new machine!

gotta try 'em

It's not too often that I find new favorites in the cereal aisle or ice cream freezer but I found a couple and I have to share the discovery.

I'm addicted to this new Cranberry Vanilla Trail Mix Crunch and not just for breakfast. So good!

Todd and I have been eating the same Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream for the past...oh...6 years. We put our own yummy mix in's in it{oreo's, brownie's, warm chocolate chip cookies}. But I've discovered "Cyclone Chocolate Fudge Brownie". Oh my...so good. Todd tried it after I had already had some a few nights before and he agreed.

If you're reading this and you know Dr. Brimhall...please don't tell on me! {lol}