I just blogged about Daniel and Noah, thought I'd throw in a few pictures and relatively uneventful videos of Liam, but heck, anything of Liam is good stuff!!!

It was General Conference today and Daniel's birthday. Here are a few pictures of the highlights of the day:


Daniel got new Vans, just like Noah did for preschool.


This was the new Gap shirt I got for Daniel. He wasn't convinced it was "cool", but I told him it was "so hot right now".


Daniel's Birthday dinner: pulled pork, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls and strawberry, spinach salad with blush wine vinaigrette and toasted almonds.


Instead of a cake this year, Daniel wanted my homemade chocolate chip cookies, so I made him ice cream sanwiches out of the cookies using mint chocolate chip, black cherry and vanilla ice cream.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Happy 30th birthday to Daniel! For his birthday he wanted to go to a Detroit Tigers (that's baseball for all of you out there like me) game. We had a blast. We got a babysitter and here's the breakdown of what happened:

We arrived at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit - ate hot dogs and chicken sandwiches, coleslaw (not good), chips and drinks then I went potty.

Inning 1 - ate cracker jacks and drank hot chocolate. Learned that our favorite player was Magglio Ordonez because the music he picked to play while he walked to the plate to bat was "You Know You Want Me".

Inning 2 - Daniel made friends with the loud man on his left (when I say "made friends" I mean he nodded and smiled while the man elbowed, joked, yelled and laughed at him about the game). Made Daniel run after a vendor guy selling licorice ropes.

Inning 3 - I asked if Daniel was hungry at all. He looked at me incredulously, said no and asked if I was, "no, I was just asking if you were" ... then I went potty.

Inning 4 - while we were at the bathroom, a couple had sat down in front of us at the game. The guy lit up a cigar and started smoking and we coughed and whispered to each other if we should say something about the fact that there were designated smoking areas for a reason.

Inning 5 - the guy in front of us got a few hot dogs and finished his cigar, phew! Only to light up again as soon as he'd guzzled down two hot dogs. I found a security guy, asked if there was a rule about smoking (there was) and the security guard came up to our section and mentioned the rule, and the cigar guy left.

Inning 6 - the Tigers were already losing 3 to 0 and this inning they allowed the White Sox to score 5 runs, yes ... we said FIVE. Daniel and I drowned out sorrows in nachos with peppers and two more hot chocolates.

Inning 7 and 8 - pretty uneventful, but fun to snuggle up next to Daniel.

Inning 9 - started to feel the effects of eating 2 hot dogs, chips, soda, 2 hot chocolates, cracker jacks, licorice, and nachos.

After the game - there were fireworks and they were good!!!!

Daniel is my favorite person in the world to spend time with. I'm glad he was born today 30 years ago.


I'm posing like the tiger is behind me ... see?




They have this carousel inside the ballpark and all of the animals to ride are tigers.
















We saw this after the game while walking to our car ... funny cuz the Tigers had just lost 8 to ZERO.
Go tigers!!! :)

Noah turns 4 in December and started his first year of Preschool this past Wednesday (September 30th). Noah has a late birthday and so he'll always be the oldest in his class and will attend two years of preschool. He has been soooooo excited to start school. He was a little bummed to find out that he wouldn't be riding the school bus to preschool, I would be driving him or we'd ride our bikes (it's about two blocks away), however, he was still pumped. We got him ready by buying him new Vans shoes, long sleeved shirts, jeans and ofcourse ... an Iron Man backpack.

Off we went to Preschool Orientation Day. I think it was kind of a bust. Nothing really happened. The teacher talked to the parents for about 15 minutes and I filled out Emergency cards and other paperwork while Noah did one thing: played with Thomas trains.

"Played" is probably to generous a word for what he actually did ... he horded Thomas trains for 45 minutes and made enemies with any kid that tried to interrupt his plans for Thomas and the "Frank cars" (I have no idea what frank cars are). I think they did one activity together, playing with a parachute in the middle of the room for about 3 minutes ... the rest of the time - hording Thomas trains. Anyway, we go again next Wednesday and it is not just Orientation, it's a full blown day of preschool without Mommy looking on, trying to force him to share with other kids.

We'll keep you posted !!




Noah kept doing these super serious faces ... it was very GQ, but I wanted a happy face and this is what I got:


Hands down, one of my favorite pictures of Noah to date.


Mommy and Noah in front of the school.

Whole Wheat Waffles

Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.


Scrambled Egg Muffins
(i.e. Egg, Sausage and Cheese Muffins)

Ingredients
1/2 lb. bulk pork sausage (or bacon or ham)
12 eggs
1/2 C. chopped yellow onion
1/4 C. chopped green pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Beat eggs in a bowl ad then add onion, green pepper, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir in sausage and cheese. Spoon by 1/3 cupfuls into greased muffin cups or liners and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Syrup Butter

1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups maple syrup

Melt together and serve over waffles.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients
6 1/4 c. rolled oats (I use the quick oats from the dry pack cannery)
1 c. coconut
1/2 c. slivered almonds (or pecans, or whatever nuts you have on hand)
1/4 c. sesame seeds, unsalted (opt.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil
3/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
Dried fruit (opt.)

Directions
Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix oil and honey together and heat until honey is warm and runny. Stir in vanilla. Add to dry ingredients; stir until well combined. Spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes during baking. Cool on cookie sheets, and then add in any dried fruit you like (my favorites are craisins, dried apples, or apricots). Store in airtight container up to 6 weeks.

My friend Leslie is having her third baby. She has two girls and this next baby is going to be her first boy ... so ofcourse we had to throw her a baby "sprinkle" instead of a full blown baby "shower". I got the idea from my neighbor and I love the idea of a sprinkle.

It was way more laid back, small scale and people are only encouraged to bring small gifts like clothes and blankets, etc. It turned out so fun!

I planned and executed the whole thing pretty much by myself and felt so proud of my little shindig that I thought I'd post pictures!!!

Enjoy:


the invitations


the food table: I decided on a "waffle bar" (with the help of my awesome friend, Erin Griswold - love you Erin!!!) and then other Brunch type foods.


the menu


more of the waffle bar


"mock mimosas" = orange and grapefruit juice with ginger ale. I think if I did it again, I'd take out the grapefruit juice - it made the drink kind of tangy, a little too tangy for me.


my front room. If I were a cool friend, I would've bought all those baby clothe son the clothesline and given it to Leslie as a gift, but, alas, I am poor, so I just found the cutest Carters, Gap, Janie&Jack and Gymboree clothes I owned and hung those up.




The favors = cinnamon rolls with citrus icing.


Baby pictures of Leslie, her husband, Bobby and their two girls: Naomi and Stella, plus one pic of Leslie's mom holding her as a baby.


I'm not really into games for Baby Showers. They tend to last a long time and be a little laborious when it should be a fun, light party atmosphere, btu I felt inclined to do SOMETHING. So, I had Bobby, her husband, come over my house a few months earlier and I video taped his answers to a few questions .... then I had him put on a 35 lb. backpack on his stomach and then wear one of my old pregnancy night shirts and do a few things that we pregnant women have to do everyday - like shaving, tying shoes, getting dressed, getting in the car, carrying kids, etc .... it was HILARIOUS. Thanks Bobby for being such a good sport!!


the ladies. This is actually the worst picture of pretty much everyone (including me in the corner ... can you see me picking my nose??) but I needed to have at least one picture of who was there.

Last night (Saturday) I went to the General Relief Society Broadcast at church. It has been too long since I attended a church meeting and heard what was being said.

The only spiritual meetings I attend are Sacrament meeting for one hour on Sundays. The other 2 hours of church, I am serving as the music leader for the kids in Primary. Lots of work and no potty breaks :) Today I had to take Liam out 3 times because he was yelling/crying at or around me during my one hour of spiritual uplift for the week. Daniel was dealing with Noah's constant potty trips and requests for food and entertainment. Such is life as a parent.

But last night, I was able to sit down, and quietly listen to our church leaders speak to me about the importance of women and our roles in the church and at home. I did not realize how much I missed spiritual guidance and uplift until halfway through the meeting. I felt stronger. I felt rejuvenated. I felt like I could take control of my home again and do regular scripture study again and more fervent daily prayers. I felt like I could teach my children better and be more patient. I felt inspired to do more and be better. I felt stronger after the meeting. I think that is what I have been missing in my life lately - spiritual uplift. Last night I got a cupful and it felt so good.