Confirmation

The other day, I went for a doctor visit. I finally got to hear the baby's heart beat. This is always so exciting for me as I think it is for most. I can't believe there is a life inside me with it's own beat! It makes all the sickness worth it.

Low on energy= Little blogging! eventually life will return to normal again.

3 Strikes..........

We've done it again.......

Baby #3 arrives in June! We are so excited! Morning sickness is now setting in..... a good thing, just not so exciting. It's now an official announcement if I can blog about it.

Alyssa is really excited and hopes for a "girly boy". This way she says we can have a little of both. I am glad she is keeping an open mind about things! We are just hoping for a healthy baby!

Better Late than Never!

Labor Day Weekend, the kids and I drove to Pittsburgh to visit Shaun, Amy and the kids. It was really great to be with family for a much needed break. One last summer getaway before Alyssa went back to school.

For those that didn't know, Bryan left on the 4th of August to go to Detroit and then on to San Antonio until the 27th of September. After one week of finally having him home, I still get "stupid" just looking at him. He lost 25 lbs. while he was gone with a lot of hard work. He looks amazing! And he's all mine!!!! I am just really happy to have him home. I have never been so tried and tired in my entire life......physically, mentally, emotionally. Two months without him made me grateful that this was temporary! Thanks to all my wonderful friends for their endless support and help. Every phone call, dinner, time spent distracting my kids or helping me with them was priceless! Thanks again for everything! ....................More to come, I swear...................

Maria, Olivia, and Alyssa
Ezra and Mason
enjoying the pleasures of childhood!

Catching Bees with Honey!!

I haven't blogged in forever and I am horrible at keeping up with life let alone writing about it. I am excited to have a "fresh start"......again.......and blog with my cute new layout. Allison T. spent two hours designing my header on our blog for me. Thank you so much! It is very cute! Isn't she talented and sweet? I guess she knew that I needed a little something on there to make me buzz back to my blog and look at it often! It is late, but I am committing to "catching up" tomorrow.

Tagged

Rules Once Tagged:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5) Let them know they are tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger (who tagged you) know when your post is up.


Randomness about me:

1. I am afraid of the dark. I have been afraid of the dark since I can remember. When I was little I always slept with a light on in my room. Somewhere in the house, there has to be at least one light on. I might need to get up in the night and find my way. I wouldn't want to run into anything spooky.....such as a spider on the loose.

2. If going up a set of stairs with another person/people, I can't be the last one going up. When I was young, I use to leap up the stairs 3 stairs at a time to avoid the feeling of being chased.

3. I was a vegetarian for a good part of my life. I would not touch meat. The thought of how it got to the table made me sick, physically. Now, I won't pass up a good steak here and there. My body wishes I was still vegetarian, my tongue is grateful I'm not.

4. I get very nervous to introduce myself to people. It is something I have had to practice. For instance, having to visit teach people I don't know scares me to death. What am I supposed to say to them? It is intimidating to start a conversation with someone I have never met before. Practice makes perfect.....I hope!

5. The thought of picking my nose makes me sick. I have to use q-tips. Every night I clean out my nose with q-tips before I go to bed. It's as routine as brushing my teeth. I have to do it, even if my nose stays stuffy.

6. I hate the wind and not because it messes up my hair. I have always been extremely aware of my surroundings. I feel secure by knowing everything that is going on around me all the time (I already know I am paranoid...refer to #1 and #2) The wind really screws this up for me, I can't hear a thing when it's windy.

I tag: Elaine, Cally, Shilowe, Elsa, Christa, and Natalie B.!

Let's Go Down Memory Lane

Thanks for the cute idea, Christa!

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

ATTENTION! Cool info!

In case you didn't know........

Cally told me about a website that you can upload your blog entries to and they will print them and put them into a book. Like Snapfish/Shutterfly, etc., will do for your photos. I thought this was great since I love to journal, but with the beginning of this blog, I don't hand write in a journal as often. So, if any one can figure it out and show me what to do.....ALLISON TAYLOR, EMILY ANDERSEN, or anyone else that is computer program savvy.......let me know. I'm too visual/lazy to figure it out myself. Now that I have everyone's attention.....the site is www.blurb.com

G'night!

Have You Seen Me?

If you see this woman she is one year older today! Be sure to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Happy Birthday Nattie!

 

Mamma Mia!!

Bryan and I went out for my birthday a couple of nights ago. He took me to go see Mamma Mia. I am sure he would have enjoyed seeing The Dark Knight much more. So Bry, thanks for putting up with a theater of 90% women. I LOVED this movie and now the musical is on my list of things to see. Thanks everyone for making my birthday a special one! I am the luckiest 23 year old around.......to have such awesome family and friends!

Our Family Pictures

Emily Andersen was so kind to take the time to do our families pictures for us. I created a slide show of my favorites. I love candid shots. It's a good thing because Mason didn't always cooperate or he had his hands in inappropriate places! Makes for some good humiliation in years to come. Bryan and I laughed because we never had a family picture taken before Mason came, but there is one in the slide show that turned out quite nice with out him in it.....Little Stinker! So we made up for lost time too I guess. Enjoy! And thanks again Emily!

Mmmm......panadas!

I have a good friend from church (Consuelo) from Columbia. Every function we have she makes her famous empanadas. Being that I want to take some culture with us when we leave here, I asked her if she would teach me how to make them. She took the time to teach Elaine, Mallena, and I how to make them. What a labor of LOVE! They are very time consuming and delicious! When I made them with Consuelo they were awful....looking. I wanted to try making them by myself while it was still fresh on my mind, so last week for the 4th of July, I did! It was so much work, but it was so much fun. If you like to cook, it was great therapy! So, thank you Consuelo for teaching me how to make your empanadas while teaching me about your culture! Who knew I'd ever have any use for a yucca! This will be a tradition I pass on and hopefully keep it going in my own family!
The filling...Potatoes, cilantro, scallions, seasonings, peppers!


The SiZzLe.....of course they have to be deep fried!!


The finished product!


The Dip, less the mashed up avocado that goes in right before you serve it! OOOOHHH!!

Things we do at church.....

Alyssa and her friend Hailey put together this list. I LOVE this list and I think it is so cute! I thought about translating, but they did so good, I don't need to!

 

We're Alive

I know, I know, it's been FOREVER!! I don't feel like I have anything thrilling to blog about. Life is busy and my days are full, but not with anything terribly exciting to report. Alyssa is out of school for the summer so we will spend a lot of time at the pool. She also started Karate last week and is enjoying that. I will get some pictures of her soon. Bryan starts his rotations in August so the months ahead will be busy for both of us. I have been trying to get my life organized and finish little projects that I have started. Oh wait, I lied, I do have exciting news......I get a temporary tooth FINALLY on Tuesday! I am VERY THRILLED about that! I will take a picture of it when I get, assuming it stays in place! Here are some pictures of a few things that have kept me busy this last month. And I have good intentions of keeping up to date on my blog! Enjoy!


After one year, I finally got around to making these pillows for the front room! I love red!


Bryan and I had fun watching the kids enjoy the water at the zoo. Alyssa is fascinated by the water. This picture reminds me of how little she still is.


Mason's idea of "potty training". It was a miserable attempt, I will try again in the fall.


This is "Baby Bat". The mask is a potty prize. He did actually go in the potty, but I think it was to get the big prizes! He loves anything Batman!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I miss you and love you! I miss your grace, your stillness, your voice, your hugs! I did better today. This is the 6th Mother's Day with out you, and for the first time it was a little easier even though you are not physically here. I actually kept it together. In R.S. we sang "As Sister's in Zion" for the closing song. I can't sing that song without choking because I think it was written for you! But I did today and am grateful to my Heavenly Father for reminding me of his love for us through music, because I can hear you speaking to me in these endless times of difficulty. And so I smiled and listened, and I could imagine the sound of your violin and the way you would hold it. And I just smiled. I know you are happy in spirit and you miss us just as much. I wish you were here to talk to and to share a laugh, a smile, or a visit with me. I am reminded of you everyday and all of life's lessons you have taught me. You are my Angel! I love you. Happy Mother's Day!

Carol Beesley Moon.......She is so beautiful, inside and out! Smooches!


To all the women in my life. Thank you for the examples you are to me. Each day I learn how to be a better listener, a better friend, more laid back, more organized, and more kind because of the examples of motherhood I have all around me. And I am endlessly grateful to each of you for showing me what devotion to the gospel embodies. You have all taught me something! Thank you! And if you are reading this, that means you! Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Wow, I am really behind in the blog world, but this is worth blogging!

Alyssa is 6 years old today. She is such a fun girl to be around and we are so grateful to have her in our family. Some of the things I love most about Alyssa are:

-Her independence. She is certain of what she wants and she stays focused until she reaches her goals.
-She has a big heart! Whenever she senses sadness, she will make it better with a picture or a card.
-She has a strong spirit. With surety she said that if she ever died it would be alright because her Grandma Carol would take care of her.
-She is excited about learning. She loves school and especially loves to read. Many times she brings home more books to read each night than expected of her.
-She is a sweet sister. Despite their age gap, she loves to entertain Mason and keep him occupied. She rarely loses her patience with him.
-She is a kind friend. The head on Hailey's gingerbread cookie broke and she started to cry. Alyssa said, "Don't cry" broke the head off of her cookie and said, "look mine is broken too!"
Alyssa and Hailey


Daddy Daughter Date at a Phillies game!


Miss Photogenic!

We love you Alyssa!! Happy Birthday!

Spring Break Fun!

Last week Alyssa had Spring Break. It started off by celebrating Mason's birthday Party on Saturday. He had a Disney Cars party. He loves Cars. Then on Saturday night Rob, my big brother, came down from New York City for the weekend. He treated us to a nice dinner in Center City. Bryan tried octopus and LOVED it. Alyssa felt special because the ambiance was so "romantic". She loved the pianist, who also sang vocals, and the waterfalls. On Sunday's the Philadelphia Museum of Art (famous in "Rocky") is free. Bryan, Rob, and Alyssa went to see the exhibits there. It was a short visit, but we had a great time, as always. On Monday we went to the zoo. Alyssa loved
getting her face painted. It was a beautiful day and we jump at the chance to get out in the sun. Friday we took another trip to the Crayola Factory with a group of friends to see how all the magic works! Thanks to Emily and Ryan Anderson for the recommendation. We loved it! Here are some pics of our great times this past week!

The Birthday Boy! 2 years old!


The Cake! Mason was so excited!


Alyssa with Randy and Hailey Hamilton


The Petting Zoo had goats and sheep. Mason would run toward them. They were very sweet animals and ever so patient!


Alyssa transformed into a beautiful butterfly!!!

Happy Easter!

It is a nice sunny day today here in Philadelphia. We are happy to be with great friends and are missing and thinking of our family and friends away from us! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Mason!

Our little guy is two years old today. I remember how excited we were when we found out he was coming to us. He is a perfect piece to our family. Mason is such a sweet and fun little boy. Here are a few things that make Mason, Mason:

-He mimics much of what he hears
-He loves Disney Cars and Thomas the Train
-He folds his arms and closes his eyes to pray at dinner
-He runs really, really fast, many can't believe how quick he is
-His best friend is "Snowman"
-He likes to hide by covering his eyes
-He has beautiful curly dark hair and is often mistaken for a girl..sorry bud.
-He grabs for your face to get your attention
-He will "scretch"! A twist between a yell and a screetch. It's aweful. But when he
gets our attention he may simply smile, or try to hand you something.
-He has a contagious laugh!

We love Mason and are so happy he is part of our family! Happy Birthday big guy!

His eyes were always WIDE open!

Great smile......a little mischievous

"I've got my binki, my sippy, and my Snowman......let's go Mom!"

Growing fast.....peek-a-boo, I love you!

Good Ride Cowboy!

Mason loves his zebra! It is real entertaining to watch, so I thought I'd share! Enjoy

Oh, how times have changed!

In Alyssa's class at school, the children come from several different cultures. Some of them include Russian, German, and all parts of the Middle East. Her teacher makes sure to include each culture in her lessons. The result: Alyssa can count to ten in Swahili, Spanish, and English. She forgot how to say the Russian version, however she can write it down on paper. Bryan and I were discussing how we could barely write to ten in English in the first grade! I am amazed by the things she learns and retains everyday. Children are sponges and never cease to amaze me.

The Kristal Column

This one is special for you Kris- "Beverly" is an enigma.

Enigma: mystery: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained; "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets".

...................and I couldn't agree more.

My advice, Kristal: Steer clear of "BEVERLY" and keep a close watch over those most dear to you. Good Luck.

Advice for Cally

It's time to give up on "Beverly"! Let her GO!!!!! It's time to move forward home-slice. Good Luck!
Love ya, Miss ya, Hug ya, Tricia!

High School Musical

I wasn't really sure what the big RAGE was about High School Musical until recently. With Alyssa turning six soon, I figure I better get with the times. My friend bought the CD for her kids and brought it to my house to listen to. I fell in love in an instant! So, tonight I went and bought HSM and HSM 2! The music in both of them is so fun and uplifting. It's great to have something I can sing to with Alyssa! She's a great little buddy!

20 Priceless Things I Love!

Thanks Bonnie for the great idea. Here goes my list, in no particular order-
(Note:After each mentioned thing, say, ".....and an ice cold Coke." That's inevitable.)

1. A good PHONE conversation with any one really. And, on occasion, they are even better at 1 am.
2. Alyssa squeezing my bum, one hand on each cheek, to my surprise! Then hearing her laugh to my reaction.
3. When Mason wants my attention and points to anything he's curious about, he softly says, "Mama", and pats me two times. If I don't respond in 2 seconds, its' a repeat.
4. A glassy lake, a cooler, a beach, a boat, and ski's. I don't even need the sun.
5. The call I get from Bryan between 12 and 1 everyday for the last eight years.
6. Back rubs!!!!!! Foot rubs!!!! Warm Baths!!!!
7. Music. Anywhere and anytime.
8. Holidays, Sundays, Birthdays, etc.....anything I can use as necessary reason to have company over!
9. Having conversations with Alyssa on the drive home from school.
10. Pictures of everyone I love. I love the comfort I feel in knowing I can't forget a face if I have a picture to see.
11. Getting "fun" mail. includes but not limited to: homemade cards from nieces/or nephews, a new magazine, cards at Christmas time and coupons!
12. Watching Alyssa using her patience with her little brother. She is so mothering. So sweet.
13. I might live to regret saying this one, but I like forwarded e-mails. Especially the ones with an uplifting message.
14. Coloring with Alyssa in her coloring books.
15. When Alyssa's at school the house is so quiet, sometimes too quiet. I find myself wondering where Mason is and often he will be sitting quietly on the toy room floor, looking at picture books in the corner.
16. Mason toting his friend, "Snowman" around with him everywhere. I think its sweet he finds him so endearing. He takes his little friend everywhere!
17. Bryan whistling at me every time we are in a public parking lot.
18. When a cashier at check out greets me or gives me recognition. Or, greeting them when they say nothing at all......it's fun to see their face.
19. The Gospel and the faith it sustains me with everyday to keep me going.
20. The opportunity to learn something new. A recipe, a skill, a way to approach an issue.

No more boredom

Last week I said I was bored, and this week I was struck by lightning, only in the form of 4 trips to the pediatrician and 2 sick kids. First trip, Alyssa had bronchitis. Second trip, chest x-ray for Alyssa showed that her bronchitis turned into pneumonia and it also showed she has suddenly developed Asthma. Third Trip, follow up for Alyssa. Fourth trip, spontaneously 3 hours after the third, Mason got a turn to go. He threw up 9 times in 3 1/2 hours. And today, they both have diarrhea. So, between doctor runs and "the runs" I am no longer bored. After a flop of a ward movie night(Alyssa just so happened to have "the runs" while we were at the church) , we thought we'd treat the kids to Chik-fil-A because they were cooped up all week. While at Chik-fil-A, Mason threw up on everyone's ice cream. So people, if you wouldn't think of this yourself, learn from me, Pinky (the not so smart half of the Brain), DO NOT TAKE SICK CHILDREN OUT ANYWHERE. I think the four people that showed up for movie night wouldn't have been too upset had I just canceled it. Oh, and never admit you are bored. Lightning strikes with out warning! And aren't they cute little lightning bolts?

Bored Anyone?

Yesterday I was so bored. I'm not sure how I could be bored with laundry to fold.....because I so look forward to folding laundry.........again and again and again. Then my thoughts started running wild. I thought, "google holds all the answers!" So out of curiosity, I googled things to do when you are bored. This is some of what I found. (www.urban75.org/useless/bored.html)

THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

Blink wildly and then close your eyes really tight for an interesting light show
(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)
See a variety of blobs, stars and flashes. Try to make out shapes and see if your subconscious is trying to send you a message (perhaps that funny shape is saying, 'send all your money to urban75.com'?)

See how long you can hold a note
(Amusement Potential: 4-20 minutes)
Not that much fun, but it sure passes the time. Play with a friend, or try to beat your own personal best. Inhale deeply and then try and make a noise for as long as you can. Earn extra points for making your partner laugh or ending on an amusing note.

Try to not think about penguins
(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)
This is especially hard, because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about penguins anyway.

Use your secret mind power
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Pick a passing by and try to use your mind power to command them do something, like drop their bag or knock into someone. The law of averages dictates that sooner or later one of your mind commands will come true, so you can convince yourself that you really have super human powers and waste even more time trying them out.

Pretend you're a robot
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Walk down the street with mechanical movements, adding 'zzzzzt' sounds with each motion. Pretending to have a motor broken in, say, your left hand can add at least 30 seconds more entertainment.

Scratch yourself
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Go ahead, scratch yourself now. Even if nothing itches, go ahead. Doesn't that feel pretty good?

Rate passers by
(Amusement Potential: 10-15 minutes)
Secretly award passers by marks out of ten as you go along, offering (unsaid) expert criticism over their clothing, hairstyle and footwear choices.

Repeat the same word over and over until it loses its meaning
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Pick a random word out of a magazine and say it aloud to yourself until it becomes a meaningless set of noises.

Pinch yourself
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
What is pain? Why is it unpleasant? There's nothing physical about it - it's all in your mind. Plus, after pinching yourself for awhile, boredom will seem nice next to being in pain.

Try to swallow your tongue
(Amusement Potential: 1-2 minutes)
There's not much to say about this one. It is possible, but really stupid.

Pretend to be a car
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Make appropriate revving noises in your head as you walk along and add a racing commentary as you pass strangers in the street. Use blinking eyes as indicators for extra authenticity.

Make Star Trek door noises
(Amusement Potential: 1-2 minutes)
Stand by an electric door to a bank or something and make that silly "Scccccccchwop" sound heard whenever people popped on to the bridge to hang with Captain Kirk.

Look at something for awhile, shut eyes, study after image
(Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes)
Another great time waster. It takes about 30 seconds of staring to create an after image, and the image is then viewable for about the same length of time. Fun to combine this one with pushing on your eyes.

Get yourself as nauseated as possible
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Best achieved by looking straight up and spinning around. Try to be so dizzy you can't even stand up. This is also entertaining due to the "makes boredom seem a lot better" effect (see "Hurt Yourself").

Invent a weird twitch
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Adopt a bizarre twitch (e.g. flicking your head irregularly, twitching with eye or busting out sporadic cough noises) and try it out when you go shopping.

Make a low buzzing noise
(Amusement Potential: 15-30 minutes)
Hours of fun in libraries! Keeping a totally straight face and looking nonchalant, make a low pitch humming/buzzing noise and see who reacts.

Of course, my favorite is Try not to think about penguins. They had several other ideas, so if you are bored enough to be inclined to ask the WWW what you should do, refer to the link above as I did. A little strange I know. But it was too funny not to share. Have a FUN DAY TODAY!!!!!

So Far, So Good

Given that it is the first Monday of the year, I can happily say that I haven't screwed up my resolution to have Family Home Evening. We did it! And it was fun too. Alyssa put together this beau-t-ful flower that represents the beauty around us when there is love at home! Very simple, easy to grasp lessons. I didn't do this alone, oh no......... I found a site that has many great ideas on it and wanted to share with everyone! It is www.ldssplash.com I also posted it under "websites to love". Hopefully I will be a frequent visitor. Check it out and have fun!
Our entertainment center made a nice "board". Maybe I will get motivated to laminate my lessons and do a felt board............maybe.

Kitchen Fun/ Happy Birthday KARI!!!!

I hosted a dinner for the Holiday's and wanted to pass along these cute ideas I found/stole. This first one is "Cheesy Snowman". Isn't he cute? My friend Patty made this for a birthday party. I loved it so much I had to make it. I revised it just a bit. I used all cloves instead of some cloves and some olives. I also dashed in some Worcestershire sauce too. Just to give it a different flavor. It was a hit. And the presentation is appropriate for the entire winter season.

Here is the recipe:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Celery, clove, pumpernickel slice, black olives, and carrot

In a food processor, combine cream cheese , 1/2 cup Monterey Jack, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Freeze until firm, 30 minutes. (I did this with my Kitchen Aid mixer)

Shape mixture into 3 balls; roll balls in remaining Monterey Jack. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

Just before serving, stack balls; secure with toothpicks. (I used shish-kabob sticks) Use vegetable peeler to shave celery scarf; pin with clove. Cut bread into 1- and 1 1/2-inch rounds; pin hat together with a toothpick. Push through far enough so the stick doesn't poke out the top. Punch dots from olives with plain round pastry tips, and cut end off carrot; press in place. (I used all cloves so I wouldn't open an entire can of olives.) Serve with crackers.

This next one, I was skeptical at first when I saw the recipe. I really wanted to make pineapple up-side down cake. But it seemed so boring. Until I came across this on allrecipes.com. It looked too good to be true, but I was pleasantly surprised when they came out looking like this:

I didn't present them nice, but they were as good as they look. The things I did different: I used jumbo muffin tins and I cut a section out of the pineapple slice so it would sit flush on the bottom. Whatever I didn't have in pineapple juice I made up for with water. I used the whole cherry, putting it in the bottom before I poured the batter in. Ooooohhh.......these were fun!

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 (20 ounce) cans sliced pineapple
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 12 maraschino cherries, halved

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter; mix well. Spoon into 24 greased muffin cups. Drain pineapple, reserving the juice. Trim pineapple to fit the muffin cups; place one ring in each cup.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oils and 1-1/4 cups of the reserved pineapple juice; mix well. Spoon over pineapple, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. Immediately invert onto wire racks to cool. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.