Cars Birthday Party

Jasper went to his first Birthday party by himself and had a great time.  We carpooled with Peyton and I snapped a few photos of the boys going in.

Rook turned 3 and had a "Cars" party.  Maridyn went above and beyond and planned a wonderful party.  They played a lot of fun games, including:

• Musical Tires
• Pin the Tire on the Car
• Junkyard Dig (in the sandbox)
• Car races (in the garage) 

They tried to break a pinata and had a lot of fun being "boys".

Jasper gave Rook two superhero capes.  The capes are reversible, and I put an "R" on one side of Rook's cape.  I do stars and/or lightening bolts on the other side.  I made one cape for Rook, and one for a friend to play with.  I put both capes in a little bag I made with an applique #3 on it.

Maridyn said that Rook loved the capes and slept with them the night of his party.

Happy Birthday Rook!

HOORAY for Banana Mini Muffins -- 100% Whole Wheat & Low Fat

I made these mini-muffins for my friends who ran the RAGNAR race and everyone has requested the recipe.

It is one of the few recipes where I can use 100% wheat flour that I grind and it still tastes great!

Here's the where the original recipe comes from.  I add All Spice and Cinnamon.

Banana Mini Muffins
4 T margarine (or butter), softened
¼ cup applesauce
2 eggs (or 2 T. Dehydrated Eggs +1/4 C. Water)
2 T skim milk
¾ Cup packed light brown sugar
1 Cup mashed banana (2-3 medium bananas)
1 ¾ C Whole Wheat Flour
2 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
2 tsp all spice (optional)
¼ t salt (optional)
¼ Cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)


Beat margarine, applesauce, eggs, milk, and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until smooth.

Add banana and blend at low speed; beat at high speed 1 to 2 minutes.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, all spice and salt; mix into batter. Mix in nuts.

Pour batter into mini muffin pan, . Bake at 350º F for 12-14 minutes.  ENJOY!

Thank You for Coming!

 Thursday  night I hosted our monthly recipe exchange at our home.  It was wonderful to see so many friends and have everyone in our home.

Our theme was: Tried and True -- Main Dishes that your family loves.  We now have a collection of great recipes to feed our families.

If you still want to email a recipe in, I am giving everyone a few more days to get something in -- as it will take me a little while to compile everything.

I appliqued a heart on flour sack dish towels for a thank you for everyone who came.  I tucked a little note with one of my favorite quotes in each gift.

“In the eternal scheme of  things, the most crucial and fulfilling thing you will do is to build a holy home and rear a strong family in love.”  Susan W. Tanner - April 6, 2003 General Conference

Where We've Been...

At Home!

I have been knee deep in MANY projects, including:

• refinishing 6 antique dining chairs (stripping, sanding, & staining)
  
• reupholstering and then reassembling the chairs
• sewing superhero capes, baby gifts, tablecloths and curtains
  
• hosting company (which we love to do)
  

I submit this photo as evidence of why it takes me so long to get anything done!  Can I just reassemble a chair by myself?????   Every time I get out my screwdriver Jasper yelps, "mine"!

Everyone says "You will miss these days".  At this point, if I never hear the word MINE again I think I'll be just fine.  :>

Laundry with Little Ones

I find it easier to let Jasper help with the chores than to spend my time stopping him.

It takes longer to get things done, but things work out well for the most part.

When I went to get the whites out of the dryer I gasped when I saw Jasper's red, white and blue swim trunks.

WHAT????

My head was spinning, trying to figure how they got in there.  All I can figure is that Jasper threw them in while he was loading the washer.

What a big helper!

Recipe Club at My House - Oct. 22nd

I am so excited to host my monthly recipe club in October.  Our theme is: Tried and True -- what your family loves to eat for dinner.

You know, the entree that your family loves; the one you make for guests because it’s always a hit.

Come hungry!  Bring us your best to share and sample everyone else's delicious dish. 

It will be on Thursday, October 22nd at 6:30 PM at our home.

It is technically a Relief Society meeting for ladies in my ward, but everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

If you can't attend, email me your favorite entree recipe and I will email you all of the recipes that people turned in.

Click on the flyer on the left for all the details.

Twirly Whirling

Mike was kind enough to entertain J out back while I made dinner.  What a nice break for me.  Not that I don't appreciate the help of my Sous Chef, but sometimes it is nice to just work alone.

Mike is such a great dad.  It is always such a happy time when Mike gets home.  Jasper loves to see him and play with him.  I honestly have no idea how single mom's do it - because I need my husband's help.

I just love these twirly sticks that I got at Toys R Us last month.  They are like kites on a stick.  They are also a lot of fun to use under a ceiling fan if it 's too hot to play outside.

Fresh from the Patch

Last Thursday Jasper and I tagged along on a field trip to Gilcrease Orchard hosted by my friend Nancy for her preschool class.

We drove out with Trisha and her 2 kiddos. We were the "sick-mobile", as I was sick and Jasper and Benjamin both had a runny nose. I was so happy to ride with Trisha and get to spend a few minutes talking and catching up.

There is something not very "fall-ish" about a 93 degree day at a pumpkin patch.

After Jasper picked the apples he wanted to throw them. I tried to explain that they were not balls to be thrown, but he did not want to listen.

Jasper was thrilled to have plenty of room to run free up and down row after row of pumpkins, tomatoes and apples.

When we got done running around the orchard we got a tour of the facility where they make apple juice, and then we got some samples to drink. DELICIOUS!

We bought a gallon to take home and enjoy.

Kim and Shelby came too. Jasper and Shelby are great buddies. We're so glad to have them as friends.

Thanks for a fun day!

"Big Boys"

My friend Brittany's boys refer to boxers as "big boys".

When Jasper and I were putting laundry away this afternoon Jasper wouldn't let go of some underwear that I bought him. I asked him If he wanted to wear his "big boys" instead of his diaper and he said YES!

Who am I to deny the wearing of underwear?

For a few hours today Jasper danced around in his "big boys" and was happy as can be.

For the last 2 months Jasper has had days here and there where he wants to sit on his potty, but nothing to get too excited about.

He plops down with some books or an old cell phone. I live it when he takes calls on the potty. He's a crack up.

My plan has been to let him run around our backyard sans bottoms this Fall. Maybe it's time to start now.

Green Machine

Admitting that until this week I have never made a smoothie with fresh spinach and kale in it may get me kicked out of the Vita-Mix users club, but it's true.

I've had my Vita-Mix for almost 3 years years, and just this week Jasper and I started making our own Green Machine smoothie every.

Jasper loves to load in the ingredients. He even claps for himself when he's done.

Yes, it takes five times longer to get our smoothie show on the road with Jasper loading things. But we have a good time in the kitchen each morning.

And the real bonus is that Jasper drinks that shake each day and asks for MORE!

The original recipe is courtesy of Joe Paul. Before you get too excited, I will warn you that it tastes very, um..."healthy".

Does anyone else have a favorite smoothie recipe that you're willing to share?

Here's my version in the order I load it in:
1 banana
10 baby carrots
1/2 cup of oats
4 heaping spoonfuls of yogurt
1 c frozen berries
5 ice cubes
10 frozen grapes
2 big handfuls of spinach
1 leaf of kale
1/2 cup juice
ENJOY!

Here's Joe's original recipe:
1 C juice (orange, cran-pomegranate or whatever)
2 handfuls of spinach
1 leaf of kale
2 or 3 spoons of yogurt (vanilla or plain)
1 c berries (blue or mixture) frozen
about 4 ice cubes
1/2 c of oatmeal
1 banana

p.s. If you are thinking about buying a Vita-Mix, the best deal I've ever found is at Costco.

Mike in Motion

Tonight I (which really means WE = Mike and I) watched our friends' kids so that they could go out to dinner and celebrate her husband passing the Utah Bar.

Let's just say that their baby girl was NOT HAPPY to spend a few hours sans her mom.

The only thing that ever stopped her from crying was Mike putting her in the football hold and literally running around our family room.

This photo is a little fuzzy because Mike is in motion.

Thanks for the rescue Mike! You're the best!

Sing, Sing a Song

Jasper and I love to sing songs out of our mini Children's Songbook.

My favorite is when he sings to me. Especially when he sings off the prelude music pages -- with no words on them.

Still

Last month Mike snapped this picture of Jasper being still...well, somewhat still.

This may be the first time that Jasper has ever laid on my lap in Sacrament meeting.

He helps lead songs, likes to sustain people, stands on the corner of our pew (his perch) to see what everyone behind us is doing and loves to take the Sacrament. But still he is not.

We have taught Jasper that going to church is a wonderful thing he really thinks that it is. On Saturday we always talk about how great it is that we can go to church the next day and then Jasper starts smiling and clapping for joy. We repeat this "hooray, we get to go to church" routine on Sunday morning.

If you don't like going to church, please keep it to yourself, as right now Jasper thinks it's the best part of his week.

Church really was great today. The highlight for me was Kim and Martin being confirmed members of our Church and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Mike was asked to participate and was excited to be a part of their special day. They sat behind us and I think they were glowing.

I thought it was a little ironic that the Gospel Principles Sunday School lesson was on missionary work.

Rachelle taught a great lesson about friendship. It has really made me grateful for my friends and all that they do for me. THANK YOU!

Happy Day

Today we were blessed to attend the baptism of Martin and Kim.

We met them last month when they came to church and became instant friends.

Kim has a sweet daughter who is 5 months younger than Jasper. We feel lucky when they sit with us at church. Jasper does a lot better in Sacrament meeting sitting next to Shelby.

We've had fun swimming and playing with them, going to their house for dinner and a missionary discussion. We thrilled to share their special day with them.

I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and Mike did his best to keep Jasper at bay.

Our friend Holly organized a nice buffet meal with dessert so everyone could stay and visit.

Jasper was thrilled to eat chocolate cake and was pretty much covered by the time we left.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from my talk.

"The Holy Ghost is the Comforter. As the soothing voice of a loving parent can quiet a crying child, the whisperings of the Spirit can calm our fears, hush the nagging worries of our life, and comfort us. The Holy Ghost can fill us "with hope and perfect love" and "teach [us] the peaceable things of the kingdom".

I love this quote because I feel like as a mom I can understand how soothing my voice can be to Jasper when nothing else can calm him.

Not Our Best Week...

This picture of Jasper sums up our week.

We've been down and out, but hope to be back to normal in a few days.

I've been under the weather with a bad cold that's included and incredibly stuffy head, cold, killer sinus headaches and even puking.

And Laryngitis. Whew!

Nothing like a "whispered yell" to warn your toddler of looming danger.

I went to the Dr. on Thursday and have been sleeping much better since they gave me some RX cough medicine. I am on the mend, but still only at about 70%.

Little J has had a bad ear infection for a week and a half, so he is not himself either. This is his first ear infection since he got tubes, and we are experiencing all of the interesting GOOP that drains from his ear now. Eeeeewww!