This week

Yesterday was busy, but fun. We dropped MJ off at school, then headed to the bank and postal store for errands. E enjoyed showing off baby brother and getting a sucker at the bank. After we got home, I decided I needed to give the horse her vaccinations and wormer, so we headed to the barn for that. I had told the girls awhile back we could give Zani a bath. Emma has been asking almost every day, "Zani, bath?!" So, I thought it was a good day to do that. It was another hot one. My friend dropped MJ off after school and she got to help me finish, which she was very excited about. I then put Zani back in the pasture by our house. The girls are happy to have her closer where they can feed her again and we can start petting and riding her. Emma kept saying, "Zani home, Zani home." 

After lunch and getting some more stuff done at home, we headed back to town for ballet. Carla and her mom were there so I enjoyed visiting with them. Usually I don't get to watch MJ dance, but today we got to sit in on practice. She did really well; totally focused and doing what Aunt Michelle (her teacher) asked. I think she has a natural talent for ballet/dance. She really loves it and talks about it and practices a lot at home. I did get a few pics that I'll post later. After that we headed to the park. We had about 10 minutes before swimming started. And I would compare our time there to speed dating (not that I've ever done that, but the experience resembled something I've seen on TV). The girls ran from one thing to the next, first the slides, then the merry-go-round, then the jungle gym, then the slides, then the swings, then the climby thing, then the slides again. Emma lost one shoe in between each stop. I had to pick up Jayten in his carrier each time they took off. Hopefully next time we'll have more time before class starts. But they seemed to have fun any way. Then we headed to the pool. MJ worked on jumping in, practiced her arms and had a lot of fun (her words). Emma really didn't want to participate, so she just sat on the steps. 

Today MJ's preschool toured a local veterinary clinic so E,  J and I stayed to do that with her. Then, we ran to Walmart for a few things. We had the whole afternoon at home, then had swimming lessons. Today was safety day for Mackenzie's class. The donned life jackets and spent most of the time jumping in the water then swimming to the side. It took Emma a little time to warm up tonight, but she did get in and spent most of the time jumping in and going under the water. 

Last night Josh called a couple times. I could tell he was bored as he called twice just to talk. The first time he had showered and was meeting the guys to go to dinner. The second time he was walking around the hotel. He gave me a guided phone tour. They are staying at a place that has a 50-lane bowling alley and a driving range where you hit the balls out onto floating pads. Tons of restaurants, etc. He said it would be great for just the two of us to come back down to sometime. Lots to see and do within the hotel; we wouldn't even have to leave it. While I'd rather be there with him; it was still fun visiting with him about it. 

Tomorrow is MJ's final Honey Bears session, so we'll do that in the morning then we have a few errands in town.

Just a moment in time

I grabbed a few quick pics of the kids on Monday. Not the best photos, but that wasn't the point at the time. (Sometimes I find myself getting so into getting the "perfect" shot, I miss the moment.) Anyway, the point was to capture this moment in time--an afternoon of fun. 

The weather was gorgeous! I mean absolutely beautiful. Warm, sunny, not windy. The kids and I had spent the day outside working on the yard, getting sprinklers and hoses working, weeding, etc. I do feel a little overwhelmed as it's a big yard and a lot to do to get it looking nice, but it was really good being outside and the girls were having a great time. Back and forth from the playhouse to the sand area, then to the patio, then to help me weed, then to set-up tball, then finally to sport bathing suits and run through the sprinklers. At first, they were just going to drag the hose around and water the grass. That worked for awhile, then they began to chase each other with the hose. Then the began to chase me. Oh the giggles we shared. Two little girls running around in bathing suits laughing hysterically as they chased their mother with a water hose. Can you just picture it? 

No, I was not in a bathing suit myself, which made it more funny as they were getting my clothes wet. Me in a bathing suit at this point would be scary. I can still here the laughter and see the mischievous look on Emma's face as she charged at me anytime I got close to her. And MJ was in the background egging her on. I look forward to more fun times this spring and summer. After they tired of playing in the water, MJ wanted to warm up on the patio. She asked for popsicles, but we made do with apples and crackers instead. I think we went through about 3 boxes of popsicles last summer. Oh, the childhood memories that brings back. Gota love pop ice. Good times. 

Jayten slept in his carseat outside so I could keep an eye on him. Plus that was the only place he would stay asleep for more than 5 minutes. His naps during the day are a little predictable. Some days he sleeps really well; other days not so much. Usually he is awake for awhile in the morning then sleeps on the way to preschool, then sleeps again in the afternoon. Sometimes he'll take really good naps then other days he is up about every 15-20 minutes. I have not pushed to get him on a real schedule, as the first 10 weeks have already been somewhat of a blur. If he needs me to hold him while he sleeps, then I would love to oblige. Although I feel I don't accomplish much during the days either, but I have to just let them be little. Soon they will all big so big. He did sleep from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30-6 a.m. a couple more times, including last night. That is definitely welcome. 

Last week the girls started swimming lessons. Emma was quite timid at first, but last night she walked to the teacher and got right in all by herself. She didn't even look back at me. She's doing much better. And Mackenzie is like a fish; she has always loved the water. Last night she kept going under and swimming underwater from one end of the little pool to the other. Her lessons are in the big pool, but they get to play at the end of it in the little pool. We have two more days this week and four days next week. There is a park right outside the pool, so I promised the girls a picnic dinner tonight before swimming. We have done lessons in February in the past and it was always cold and dark when we left the pool. It's nice to still have daylight when we leave now. 

Josh left this morning for Reno. He'll be there through the weekend for the Angus show. This is our first time without him since J was born, but I think we'll be fine. We'll, I need to keep getting ready for the day. Looking upward and forward to it!

Recipes

In an earlier post, I mentioned I fixed ham and funeral potatoes for Easter. It's kind of a tradition for me. Ham just makes sense as an Easter meal and the potatoes just go so well with it. And it was the "real" ham, bone-in spiral sliced. Great for leftover ham sandwiches or potato soup! Someone had asked why we called them funeral potatoes and why we couldn't use a more "positive" name. It got me thinking.

First of all, they were named by my dear cousin Kate. And she called them that because they were the potatoes served at all the funeral dinners we attended as kids. And while we may have been mourning the loss of our loved ones at the time, those potatoes do signify a lot of positive things for me. 

Growing up in a small town, and in a large, close-knit family on both sides, we did experience quite a bit of death. But, at the same time, we were surrounded by a lot of loving and caring people who came forward during that time of loss. Somehow that particular potato casserole recipe became a staple in our house-probably because they taste so darn good! I remember they would arrive at many other family holidays and dinners. 

One weekend when Kate and I were in college, we drove home to her family's house. When we asked what was for dinner and my aunt announced funeral potatoes, we both cheered. At the end of the weekend, I remember requesting to take the leftovers back to the dorm. We could just never get enough. 

When I fix those potatoes for my family, I am always flooded with memories of growing up, hanging out with the cousins, visiting my grandparents. So many happy, positive thoughts.

So while the recipe is pretty basic and you can probably find it in many cookbooks named something else, this potato casserole will be forever be known to me and my family as...

Funeral Potatoes (recipe given to me by my Mom who got if from our friend Bernice. She was like another grandma to my siblings and me.)

1 large pkg frozen hash browns, thawed (have used cubed, shredded and O'Brien*)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup  (cream of mushroom or celery also works)

8 oz. sour cream

2 cups grated cheddar

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups corn flakes

Mix all but corn flakes, put in greased 9X13 pan, sprinkle with corn flakes. Bake uncovered 1 hour at 350 degrees. You can also freeze this (w/o cornflakes, then add right before baking). *If I use O'Brien hashbrowns with the peppers and onions, I use green onions instead of white.

Isn't it interesting how food can have such an emotional effect on us? There are many recipes my mom always makes that I have started making for my family and they just always remind me of home. I also love starting new traditions with my own children. Emily at everydayMom talks about food nostalgia at this post.

Another recipe I have started making for Easter and some other occasions is Peanut Butter Corn Flake Cookies. MJ already thinks of it as an Easter tradition and I've only made them a few years! Plus, the potatoes and cookies kind of go together because they both use the cornflakes. If I make a batch of these quick, no bake cookies, then I use the leftover cereal for the casserole. 

Normally, I follow this recipe to the t. But I had to improvise this year because I had underestimated the amount of corn syrup I had left in the bottle, so after mixing them up, they were quite dry. Not one to give up on a recipe, I grabbed a half a bag of marshmallows from the cabinet and quickly melted them with some butter to make more stuff to hold the cereal together. Although, I only used a 1/4 of the half bag that was left-still not enough. So, I then poured the rest of the marshmallows in and repeated the process. They were still a little dry, but the flavor was there. Josh's brother loves these cookies and didn't notice a bit, so I guess they were a hit even it was a little crazy trying to make them. I promise, if you have the correct amount of the ingredients they are quite easy to prepare. So without any more rambling food thoughts from me, here is the recipe...

Peanut Butter Corn Flake Cookies

8 cups cornflakes

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

Grease 9X13 pan. Pour measured cereal into large mixing bowl. Heat syrup and sugar over medium heat. Stir constantly, just to boiling. Remove from heat, add peanut butter and mix until smooth. Pour over cereal and mix until coated. Press firmly into pan. Let cool. Cut into squares and enjoy! 

Thinking back, I think I probably only had about 1/4 cup of syrup. No wonder they were so dry to begin with!! 

Jayten's check-up

 2 days old
 1 month old
 2 months old

Yesterday was J's 2 month check-up. Our little guy is definitely growing! He weighed 13 lbs., 2 oz. and is 23.8 inches long. His pediatrician said he was just perfect. I don't worry too much about percentiles or anything as long as the kids are healthy. But just to compare, his sisters were only in the 10th for height and weight each of their visits. He's in the 75th! Looking back, MJ weighed 10 lbs., 4 oz. at her 2 month check-up and Emma weighed 9 lbs., 14 oz. Neither hit 13 lbs. until about six months old! 

He is smiling all the time now; it's so much fun! He is also starting to find his hands and sucking on them more. He had a plugged tear duct, but it must have opened because he woke up with no goopies Wed. morning. He also slept from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Monday night. Tuesday night he was up twice again, but last night he slept from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.! I kept waking up though to check on him. He received his shots yesterday, so I don't know if that has something to do with it. Hopefully he's just getting big enough to get through the night. He is taking a really long afternoon nap today, so I hope he still sleeps well tonight! Well, he just woke up and wants to eat. 

Easter

We had a very blessed Easter this year. We awoke to absolutely gorgeous weather. I don't remember the last time we had nice weather on Easter. It was wonderful. In years past, we've been hunting eggs in the house!

We made it to church nearly on time and walked into a standing room only service. I headed toward the other side to take our place standing at the back and fortunately saw friends of ours with just enough room at the end of their pew for us. So thankful for that! The kids did really well considering Mass lasted an hour and a half that morning. We got to see friends of ours have their children baptized, so that was really nice. Father had invited all the children up to the front during the service in order to give more people seats. My girls stayed with me, but after awhile, the temptation of watching another little girl walk back and forth from the back to the front was just too much for our little E. She kept saying, "I go?!" I was holding a sleeping Jayten in my arms and she took off toward the front. Fortunately it was right before Communion and not during the Homily or when it was silent. I quietly walked up the aisle to retrieve her and found her dancing and singing with outstretched arms. I did have to smile and as I looked around, I saw other people smiling and giggling too. As I started to take a step toward her, she headed a little closer to the altar. All the children were getting a blessing at the time so she wasn't really disrupting anything, but I wasn't quite sure what she might do next. Another friend spotted her and was able to scoop her up and bring her back to us. 

After Mass we headed home to prepare lunch dinner for Josh's family. (MJ calls it lunch dinner because it's too late for lunch, but before dinner. We were going to eat around 2). We fixed a ham, funeral potatoes (a whole other post), apple pie and corn flake cookies. Katrina, Barth and his kids, J&S and Joe joined us for dinner. They brought the side dishes. The guys enjoyed watching the final round of the Masters while us gals chatted and the kids played. Afterwards, Stephanie and I hid eggs for the girls to find out in the backyard. 

My folks get each of the kids a Longaberger Easter basket for their first Easter, so J received his this year. It's in the shape of an egg. Since he's not big enough for candy yet, I got Josh some Sports-themed Snickers bars for it. 

It was a very nice weekend. We have so much to be thankful for: family, friends, freedom and especially a Savior who died and rose again for all of us. 

Home Videos

Last Friday evening, MJ asked to watch a movie after dinner. Sometimes I let the girls stay up later on a weekend night and we watch a family movie. Because it was Easter weekend and we had spent the day playing games, reading and doing our Resurrection Eggs in celebration of Good Friday, I decided we would watch home videos instead. Plus, I had about five tapes sitting on my desk and a few weren't written on. It gave us a chance to reminisce. Oh my how we laughed. Josh even came in and watched with us. We started out with one from just about 4 months ago that included Christmas. We also went back and watched some from when E was about 10 months old. She was starting to walk and babble a lot. MJ was around 3 1/2. Then today I put one in from when E was born. MJ was 2. I came away with a few observations. 

1) I am so glad I decided to go back and watch these with the girls. I had done this once before when MJ was younger. Maybe even before I was pregnant with E. I remember she loved watching herself on the TV. E has started asking to watch herself on TV now too. How fun to go back and watch then share other memories with the girls. 

1a) I wasn't as behind in labeling the tapes as I thought either, just two of them needed to be figured out. Yeah for me! 

2) I have not videoed J nearly enough! When E was born, I think I must have taped her every day. And for every video, I have photos to go with it. Thinking back, I remember not wanting to miss anything about her as a newborn because it went so fast. Now I have a ton of photos of J, but he's already 10 weeks old! I'm going to have to do better. Of course, I don't want to miss anything with him, but I don't seem to have the time like I did before.

3) Managing three children is more difficult than 2, but definitely worth it. This is probably the reason for No. 2.

4) MJ was such a crack-up when she was younger. I think part of what made things she said so funny was the fact that she was so young to be saying them. She said such grown-up things. 

5) E's speech has developed so much even from just a few months ago. 

6) Whenever I'm videoing the kids or an event I always think, when will we ever go back and watch these? But, oh I am soooooo very thankful we have them. And I do think we'll go back and watch them more, especially as the kids get older.  

7) I do not like my recorded voice. Never have, probably never will. 

8) I talk a lot on the videos; sometimes probably too much, but I want to make sure I document what's happening, in case it's not obvious.

9) The camera (or at least mine, does add 10 lbs. or more) Just another reason to stay behind the lens. 

10) Our home videos will never win any awards for best picture, but they certainly are wonderful memories for our family. Oh and great material to pull out to show the girls when they are about 15 or so....

I can still remember a video of me line dancing to "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks and Dunn. I'm not quite sure how old I was, maybe middle school-at an age where I kind of thought I was cool to be dancing like that, yet also thinking, "Oh my gosh, is this going to come back to haunt me someday?"I always feared that video would surface some day to embarrass me, but luckily it has remained tucked away somewhere in my parents house. Let's hope no one gets any ideas. :)

My boots, my hat, my horse

Here's a little movie I put together of J Man. He received this adorable shirt from our great friends, the Shikes. These were several of his first real smiley photos. I decided to put them all together in a slideshow because they were all so cute!