10 Things that Make Me Happy!

My friend Vicki tagged me to post 10 things that make me happy, and since it is Christmas Eve, what better time, huh? So here goes:
1. My family. All of 'em, but especially my hubbs and cute kiddo.
2. My super good kid! (This really is different from the previous one). So yesterday, we were in the car for 3 hours, airport for 5, plane for 2 1/2, and car again for 3. My kid is such a good kid!!! He thought the plane ride was awesome fun, and only screamed for the last 30 minutes of our car trip. Can't blame him though; he'd had a super long day, and it was late late.
3. Thunderstorms. We drove through a wicked one last night, and they make me happy, although a little nervous when the lightning is striking really close to the road.
4. Christmas! Nuff said.
5. The internet! I'm 2000 miles away from home, but accessing my website and keeping in touch.
6. Sweets. Nuff said again.
7. The gospel, and the temple. Nuff said again.
8. Mom's homemade chapstick. Can't live without it. No, really.
9. Sleep!
10. Smelling good.

I could keep going, but I've got to go break up a wrestling match between Ricky, Kyle, and 6 yr old cousin Blake. I wonder who's gonna win? Probably Kyle, because at this moment, he has the power of "stinky heinie" on his side. Merry Christmas everyone!

Ahhh, Christmas memories

I totally forgot that I had these pictures! I haven't seen them in a year, and I found them yesterday. The first ones are of Kyle's first Christmas when he was opening his presents. The next two are the ones every parent has of the first time their child sees Santa Claus. So sad! I can't believe how grown up Kyle looks now. I always thought he still had that baby face, but after seeing these pictures, I realize he has grown up so much! What a cute boy. We love him.

It's been a while!

I know, I'm a slacker. But I have some cute pics to post, and another recipe discovery!! First for the cuteness:

I took this picture right before church yesterday. Kyle is OBSESSED with Elmo, so he insists on wearing his slippers any chance he gets. Nothing says Sunday best like big red monsters on your feet!




This picture was taken probably over a month ago. Kyle had just gotten a haircut (which he hates, but he likes the bath afterward), and he was doing his evil face again. I can't figure out why he does that!

And now for some yummy. Last night I wanted something sweet and crunchy, and I thought that I might pass out without kettle corn, but the microwave stuff is totally sub-par. So, to those of you who have Stir-Crazy popcorn poppers (and I know several of you do), here is a recipe for homemade kettle corn that you can do in your popper.

Put the following ingredients in your popper, and pop like normal, but be careful! The melted sugar makes the popcorn way hotter than normal when you flip it over. Enjoy!!

1/2 c. popcorn seeds

1/4 c. oil (I hear butter flavored oil is the best for kettle corn)

1/4 c. sugar

Remember to salt it afterward!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Love to all!

Halloween and recipes!

Holy cow, I haven't posted since we moved! We love love love living in Idaho Falls. Kyle loves being closer to cousins and playing with them.


With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I would share pics of Kyle's costume. Last night we went to a little carnival, and he was the cutest kid there! My favorite part is the red underwear! Haha!


Now some good recipes I've tried recently. I know, I am obsessed with food. It's a weakness. First, I found a good one for carne asada marinade. Winco sells pre-sliced carne asada, which makes it totally easy:

3 lbs. flank steak (or carne asada meat)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon of each of the following: salt, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, and paprika.

Mix all together and marinate for 1-8 hours, then cook the meat however you like. I pan-fried it because it was easy, but it would be really good on the grill, too!


And now for Rosemary Chicken with White Beans. I love this one!
2 T. oil
4-6 chicken breast halves
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1 can Great Northern or other white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. rosemary
1/3 cup fat-free Italian dressing

In a large skillet, heat the oil and brown the chicken breast. Remove and drain (I always skip this part, because I'm lazy). Place the carrots, celery and beans in the bottom of a slow cooker and add the chicken. In a bowl, combine the salt, pepper, rosemary, and dressing and pour over the food in the cooker. Stir. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Enjoy!

'Nother recipe

For dinner tonight I made a nummy recipe that I got, of all places, off a calendar I got from WIC. It's called Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad. Ricky wasn't thrilled, I don't think, because it is totally a chick meal, but I thought it was good. Here it is:

3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (15 oz.) can white beans, rinsed
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used a bit of dried)
1 (12 oz.) can water-packed tuna, drained and flaked

In a bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Add beans, tomatoes, and parsley; toss together. Gently stir in tuna. Serve on lettuce with crackers.

Random thoughts...

Plastic wrap. I know, I think about weird things, but I've been rather disappointed with plastic wrap lately, and I know I'm not the only one. That stuff just never sticks to whatever you want it to. But fear not, for I've recently discovered that the Great Value (Walmart brand) cheapo stuff works better at sticking to dishes than any other that I've tried. Woo hoo!

On a completely unrelated note, I saw this guy outside my window today sitting on the tailgate of a truck with a perfectly wicked hairdo. I knew I needed to get it on camera, so I ran downstairs, but as soon as I located my camera, he was walking away, so I didn't get a closeup like I wanted to, but I still managed to get some pics through the blinds downstairs. Michelle, I was thinking of you specifically while I was taking the pictures. You seem to appreciate random pictures more than anyone I know. Enjoy!

Movin' on Up

We're Moving!
We just got confirmation that we now have an apartment in Idaho Falls. Thanks, Val and Joe, for moving out just when we wanted to move in. Hope you kept the place nice (wink wink).
We will be moving sometime before the end of September, not sure what day yet. Any volunteers to help us? Pretty please? Haha. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but we are really excited for Ricky to not have to drive to IF every day, and for me to be closer to the peeps. Kyle will surely enjoy playing more often in Grandma and Grandpa's yard, too.

Updates

Lots o' fun stuff going on! Last week we went to Yellowstone with Ricky's parents, and Kyle loved being outside and having fun. He is coming along so well with his walking. In fact, yesterday he started to stand up in the middle of the floor without pulling up on anything. It is so fun to watch him figure it out!

He is soooo cute drinking out of a straw!

Hanging out with daddy in Yellowstone.

Such a bad dude. You can't see it, but his shirt says "I Love Mom." Nothing badder than that!

Playing in his fireman hat. Fortunately, we took this picture before he stomped all over the hat and crushed it to bits!

I got ambitious and decided to can apples on my own. It took me several hours, but it was very rewarding and all but one of the bottles sealed! I just hope they taste good. Thanks, Mom and Dad for the apples and jars, and thanks, Jessica for helping me through it!

And speaking of apples, Kyle loves them. Any time he can find one, he starts gnawing on it. He loves to sit under Grandma and Grandpa's tree and eat the ones that have fallen off!

Showing off his "see-food" apple.

This was so cute. Ricky got Kyle ready for church and then put him in the chair with scriptures. Kyle just sat there and read them until it was time to leave. What a good boy!

Well, that's all for now. Happy rest of the summer!

Brag Time

I just had to take a minute and brag about my sweet little boy. He is growing up so fast and good, and I just think that I totally lucked out with him. He is so smart, even though he's not walking yet (but he's close!). His physical therapist said that he has such good focus and attention span, she hasn't ever seen anyone his age who will concentrate on something like he does. Last Sunday was his first time in nursery, and he did sooo good! Ricky said that when he went to pick him up, he was standing on a chair and pounding on the table, laughing. So cute! (Yes, I know that the good behavior probably won't last, but I can hope, right?). He also talks so cute; he says: okay, mom, cheese, hi, bye, uh-oh, thank you, and yellow.

Yeah, as I type he is fake whining and biting me, but I still love him. Here are some cute new pictures of the goofy faces he makes, and I finally figured out how to record video on my camera, so I got a good quality video of him talking!

Goofy face

Working on our walking

He fell asleep while he was playing in Ricky's drawer.

He totally looks like his cousin, Blake, in this picture.


Little cheeser

Fake whining face

Chillin' with his quiet book

Coconut Dip

A few days ago we had a girl's day out with my sisters, mom, g-ma, aunt, and cousins and all the kiddos. FUN FUN FUN! and I had brought some coconut dip, so here is the recipe:

1 package of cream cheese
1 can of coconut milk (I see it in the Asian section of the store)
1 container of cool whip
1 container of marshallow creme
1 bag of flaked coconut

Beat the cream cheese and milk together. Add in the cool whip and marshmallow creme (use the marshmallow creme to sweeten, but I like things really sweet so I just used the whole thing), and add in as much coconut as you want. Serve with fresh fruit. YUM!

New Videos!

So I know it has been forever since I posted, but both of our computers crashed within 2 weeks of each other! Mine is non-recoverable, and thankfully, Ricky had a friend that managed to fix his. So now we are back up and running, just in time to post some super-funny videos of Kyle!

In case you were wondering, we are at the park, and yes, Kyle is in his pajamas. We had a lazy day on Saturday and never managed to get him dressed, but it doesn't really matter with kids, right?

Most of you have seen Kyle "break dance" but he is growing out of the phase, so I really wanted to get him on camera doing it... and I did! Here it is:

The next one shows Kyle saying "bye." It's his new favorite word. He says it to people at the store, at church, on Sesame Street, you name it. It's so cute!

Brillo Head

My son is a brillo head. Well, he was. We finally pinned him down long enough to buzz his head. Seriously, this kid is crafty. He is terrified of getting his hair cut, and he would do anything to avoid it. For instance, we had this fab idea of cutting it while he was asleep, every time he would fall asleep on Ricky's lap, I would walk in with the scissors, and his little eyes would pop open and he would start laughing. MANIACAL! Anywho, we just fought him and used the clippers. It doesn't look great, but at least it's (mostly) short.

Before


After

The collateral damage

Updates

A few things have happened recently that I thought I might like to share:

1. Ricky got a temporary summer job at the Site! Woo hoo! The extra money will be super nice, but we are most excited about him hopefully getting his foot in the door there and making some good contacts. We would love him to work there after he gets through school!

2. I just harvested my first veggies of the summer! I have a container garden on my porch, and I just harvested some lettuce. My beans are about 3 inches tall, and my tomato is going gangbusters with lots of little blossoms budding. Yay!

3. Kyle is cute as a button still. He sleeps through the night now! I didn't know if I would ever know what a good nights' sleep would feel like ever again, but dreams do come true. He still refuses to walk, but that doesn't stop him from getting up on furniture and basically being faster than me, even though he's on all fours.

Do you think I got where I am by dressing like Peter Pan here? Forget about it!

Kyle has these rockin' jammies with Peter Pan on them. It is finally warm enough to let him wear them, cuz they're shorts. I couldn't resist doing a "photo shoot." He's so funny!

He's doing his "mysterious model" face here.

Here is a funny picture I took a few months ago when he fell asleep on the living room floor. He loves his "pee-low!"

When I eat beans, I sit in my own little cloud...

So, we had some good Mexi food on Cinco de Mayo. I'm not sure why I celebrate it; just an excuse to eat more Mexican food, I guess. But I found these wicked good recipes for refried beans (Kyle's fave) and chicken tostadas with avocado salsa. SOOOOO good! I thought I'd share.

Refried beans:
2 lbs. dried pinto beans
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 beef boullion cubes (I used chicken flavor and it still tasted good)
1 T. salt
2 c. grated cheese
1/2 c. mild Taco Bell sauce (grab some from the restaurant, or they sell it in a jar at the store)

Soak beans overnight. Rinse and put in large crockpot. Cover with water and add garlic, boullion, and salt. Cook on high 6 hrs or until soft enough to mash. Drain off water about 2 inches below beans. Mix 1/2 beans with electric mixer and other half in blender until very smooth. Combine both with large spoon and add cheese and sauce.

Chicken Tostadas:
2 T. vegetable oil
2 lb. chicken tenders
1 clove minced garlic
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, drained
1/2 c. sour cream

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken tenders and cook for about 10 min or until cooked through. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add green chiles and sour cream; stir well. Cook over low heat until hot.
Fry up some small tortillas and top with shredded lettuce, chicken cheese, tomatoes, and avocado salsa.

Avocado salsa:
3 T. oil (this was a bit much for me, you might want to tone it down)
2 T. lime or lemon juice
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 tomato, chopped

Combine all ingredients and stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least and hour.

dang turd buckets!

I just need to vent for a second. My car got broken into. The stereo got stolen, along with an emergency car kit from the trunk. I'm baffled! Why on earth would anyone break into a 20 year old car to steal a 7 year old CD player and some jumper cables? Little turds. I hope they rot.

Venting finished. Good day.

My Cute Tiny Boy

I know, I know. It's been a while. Sorry! But here are some cute pics that I had taken for Kyle's first birthday.

Happy Day for Me!

I got an iPod! I have been wanting one for a really long time, and we got more back from our tax return than we thought we would, so I decided to splurge and get one. YAY! The only problem is that I don't completely know what I am doing with it. I do have iTunes on my computer with most of my music on it, so I was able to get my faves onto the iPod. What I don't know is the finer points of using it, downloading songs, podcasts, etc.

Now, I know a lot of you have iPods, and I need some tips. Anyone have advice for me? Ooh, and can I charge it on a computer that doesn't have iTunes?

Thanks in advance!

Recipe for Lars

As per Laura's tag, I am putting one of our favorite recipes up for all to enjoy! Kyle loves this one, too, but mostly because it has beans in it, and he LOVES beans.

QUICK MEXICAN DINNER

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 envelope of Spanish rice mix
1 can of Ranch Beans (appetite pleasin'!)

While browning the meat, cook the rice according to directions. When the meat is browned and drained, add the cooked rice to it and add the beans (undrained). Heat through.
Use this like taco filling in taco shells or tortillas, and top with cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and whatever else you like. It makes a ton, and is really good left over for taco salads!

My little sinister boy

Yesterday I was playing with Kyle and taking pictures, and after I transferred them to the computer, I noticed that he was making this little devilish face a lot. I thought it was funny, and hopefully you do too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KYLE!

I know I'm a week late, but Kyle's 1st birthday was on February 6th. I can't believe he's so big already! We had a fun little party for him that evening with both sets of grandparents and some of his aunts and uncles and cousins. He had a little glum face the whole time. The only time he smiled was when we were singing "Happy Birthday" to him (he loves being sung to!).

He is so funny and growing up so fast. I know it sounds so cliche, but I really can't imagine my life without him. LOVE YOU, KYLE!

Preston trip and some cute pics

Ricky didn't have to work yesterday because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we didn't feel like sitting around, so we decided to go to Preston for a few reasons. We both love Napoleon Dynamite, and neither of us had been there. We just wanted to see the sights. Plus, what better way to celebrate MLK day than to commemorate the inter-racial marriage of Kip and Lafawnduh?

Well, it was fun. I was slightly disappointed because I wanted to get a shake at Big J's drive-in, but that didn't work out. First of all, Big J's isn't a drive-in (anymore...It may have been at one point). And secondly, it apparently had a fire and was closed for repairs. SAD! So we went to Arctic Circle instead, which was pretty good.

Our digital camera is on the outs, so I only had my cell phone camera, and I only took one picture, but it was the mother lode...NAPOLEON'S HOUSE! We came home and watched the movie, and it looks the same! Very exciting, but I'm sure the peeps who live there now aren't thrilled that people drive by all the time. Here is the pic:




Now for some really cute pictures. The other day when the weather was pretty nice, I decided that Kyle and I would walk down to the mailbox to get the mail. It's a pretty good walk, especially for a baby in the cold, so I made sure he was bundled up. We finally found a winter coat his size (sorta) and it is SO CUTE! Here are some pics: