I should be baking...or cleaning

...but I'm blogging. :) Both my boys are asleep and who knows how much time I have to myself. I should be getting some treats ready for the neighbors or cleaning up the mess from my baking adventure this morning, but I decided I'm a little overdue for some pictures. Chris is officially done with school! Wahoo! I survived the first semester of my program. Can I get a Woot Woot? Lame I know. lol. Since Chris works with Universities he is basically off for the next two weeks. It's honestly our favorite time of year because we get to just hang out together. I am completely and 100% done with my job, so now I get to just focus on being a mom and a good wife.
We are super excited for our first Christmas as parents and in our first house. I've had be careful not to go overboard on presents and decorations and I'll be honest I've probably spent a little more than I should have. Oh well.

Boston officially has two teeth and loves to bite everything! Here he is holding himself up while biting on our kitchen chair. When he was done biting the chair he couldn't figure out how to get back down to the floor and panicked. It was really funny.



Every year we go to my grandma's and make gingerbread houses. I think ours turned out pretty well this year. Chris did a great job of putting it together.


My big splurge was on those cute stockings. I bought 8 plus 8 stocking holders. Now I don't know if we will have 6 kids, but I figured just in case there are any surprises, or maybe if one gets destroyed or even if we have visitors we'll have enough. Then there is our tree. i was so worried that Boston would constantly be trying to pull it down on himself, but he's more interested in the train we have around the tree. And last is my cute cookie jar. Chris stole it for me from his work party. Whoever was sitting at the table didn't take it and I was waiting to find out if I could have it, and when I told him that I wanted it and that nobody was claiming but I was waiting around just to make sure he picked it up and walked out. Wow.


This is what happens when I let Boston try and feed himself. I have to give him an extra spoon and an extra jar so that he can try and feed himself while I sneak in actual bites in between. This day he caught on to my little scheme so I surrendered and gave it all to him. Probably not a good habit to get into on my part, but he's just so cute I can't help it.




This last weekend we went to Temple square with Chris's family. It was freezing, and Boston lasted for about 30 minutes, but it was totally worth it. It was super foggy and everything looked amazing. The pictures don't even do it justice.


So that has been our month so far. I LOVE this time of year. :) Happy Holidays!

Feliz Navidad!

I know you were all incredibly worried and wondering "what happened to them, has school finally go the best of them? Has Boston taken over their lives so completely that they don't have time for anything else? Will they still be sane for Christmas?"

In answer to all of your questions...Yes. Yes to them all. School has gotten the best of us, and basically we've surrendered to Boston. His stuff is constantly over the house. In the middle of the night when we get up to get his bottle (yes, I said we, Chris has begun to help in that department) we trip over some musical toy that always almost gives us a heart attack every time it goes off. As for being sane for Christmas, we think we will have time to recuperate from the insanities of life by then...so we'll be sane as we normally are, which probably isn't saying much. lol.

School has been crazy busy with projects due that were so big I had to go to my mom's for the weekend just so that I would have time to do them. Chris kept Boston home and I didn't see them for what felt like a week. We both have one week of the semester left, and Chris just has one week left all together. we are both so excited for him to finally be done.

Neither of us has had much time to really enjoy the Christmas season yet, but at least our Christmas tree is up. Luckily Boston is more interested in other things so we haven't really had a problem with him trying to pull it down on himself.

Well more updates to come and some pictures. :) It probably won't be until I'm done with the semester, but I felt I owed you all a little update.

October in Pictures

So I've got some catching up to do and some funny things have happened, but today I don't have much time to write, so mostly I will be catching you up through pics.

First, with Boston being one of the most active and opinionated children on the planet this is the only way we can get any cleaning done.



Chris turned 25 in October and requested that I make him a double chocolate Ghirardelli cake...from scratch (Natalie, you would love this one!). So I get on to his friends blog and follow the recipe exactly. The batter was super runny and the directions said that it made enough to fill two cake pans. Which it did. In fact as I was filling them up to the top I thought "Wow, this looks like a lot. I swear you're only supposed to fill it 3/4 full, but I'll do what the recipe says and just dump all of the batter in here." So 15 minutes after putting in the oven I smelled burning. I opened up the oven and saw that the batter was spilling over, so I grabbed two cookie sheets and stuck them underneath, but it was too late, with in 5 minutes my house was completely filled with smoke and my oven looked like a chocolate volcano had erupted (the pics really don't do it justice.)


if you want to see what the cake is supposed to look like and how to make it, click here.

There was no saving the cake. I had to start completely from scratch. I did, and saved the rest of the better which now know to use as a third layer. The frosting was a little melty and I now know to let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour before attempting to frost the cake.

Here is Chris blowing out his non-existent candles on his cake,(he hates candles. I made him do this like 6 times.
Our families came over and we enjoyed the super chocolaty cake and a wonderfully rich cheesecake courtesy of Chris's mom. Not good for someone like me who is really trying hard to eat healthy.


Boston loved the shiny bag and the tissue paper. Who needs to spend $ on presents when this is more entertaining?

Last of all here are some pics of Boston in his Halloween costume. He wasn't up to cooperating this day, and so these are the best ones I got. I might try it again when he's in a better mood.






So that was basically October in a nutshell.It really was an exhausting month, and we're glad that it's done.

I am now looking forward to thanksgiving, snow, soup and sweaters. :)

Thank you

I just want to say thank you to all of you who care about me. I am so blessed to have so many friends who expressed their concern about my stress level. :) I have great news. Heavenly Father heard my prayers (and yours) and things are so much better.
First of all, Boston suddenly started going to bed around 7! That's right 7!!!And he will only be up for about 15 to 20 minutes around 4:30am and then go back to bed until 8ish! AHHHHHHH! (heavenly chorus singing) Because of this blessed change of events I am now getting what I consider to be a full nights sleep! On top of that because my little stonian (nick name) is going to bed so early, I have time to do my homework and clean a little. It's been wonderful. He also suddenly decided that he doesn't like to be rocked to sleep any more, he just wants to be put down in his bed and he'll go to sleep. Brilliant isn't it? I think so.





Chris has also stepped it up. He'll take a night on the weekend so I can sleep straight through...well that's the idea...I still always wake up with Boston, and don't go back to sleep until Chris is back in bed, but it's only 20 minutes. :)
My sister Mary also got a job in Eagle Mountain so she moved in with us. It has been wonderful having another set of hands in the house to help with Boston or clean the kitchen. I'm loving it. It's not very good for her Social life, so we're encouraging her to go to the local singles ward but she's pretty hesitant about it.
I also got a new cell phone! My cell phone's buttons stopped working, and we got so sick of my phones breaking we decided that instead of getting a new cell phone on KSL, we would buy a completely new phone. It's really nice. It's a touch screen and a megapixel camera all in one. It's pretty cool. but mostly it's nice having a new phone. I feel so hip...which probably shows my lameness because I'm even saying that. lol.
School has slowed down a little the last couple weeks, it's still busy, but it's been a nice little break before things get crazy hectic again while we get ready to be in the school. I start my first semester in student teaching in November and for part of the day we will have 37 students in the class! But we met them already and they're pretty cool, also we have an amazing teacher with us.

California Love

And Here is a quick review of our trip to California. Drove to CA, Boston did pretty well, but has now discovered he hates his car seat. lol. We saw my cute cousin and her new husband and did a little shopping. We went to 6 flags with a group of friends. We all took turns holding Boston, and are so old that by 5 we were all worn out and decided to leave. lol. We also went to the beach where Boston enjoyed dipping his toes in the waves and Chris swam with a shark. No Joke. I was holding Boston on the beach watching Chris, our friends, and some surfers play in the waves. Suddenly the surfers get out of the water and I hear them say "Is that a fin?" as they point towards where Chris was. Sure enough there was a massive black fin with in 5 feet of my husband. I didn't know whether I should scream out shark or if I could just get their attention and get them to get out of the water. Luckily it disappeared after a minute and the surfers got back in the water and I still have a husband. With in 10 minutes the shark helicopters were flying over head, searching the area. They didn't find the shark. We stayed at a friends house which was wonderful. The only thing that wasn't our favorite was that this friend didn't believe in using the AC. Needless to say with the 3 of us in a tiny room it got really hot. We would have died if it had not been for a little fan that kept the air going. We woke up every morning to the sound of a construction worker using a jack hammer right outside our window. Lovely. Especially when we were up all night with a screaming child. :) Overall it was a wonderful trip. We did a lot of relaxing. So that is our trip in a nutshell. Super exciting, I know. :)

PS, I also had the most amazing Frozen Hot Chocolate in LA. It was heavenly!

This made my day!

My Midnight Delight

It's 12:24AM. Both my boys are asleep, and I'm sitting on my couch in the family room enjoying a minute to myself. I should be finishing my paper, but instead I'm watching Kate & Leopold and eating what I'm pretty sure is way more than a serving of Caramel Delight Slow Churned Ice Cream (you have to say the full name in order to get the salivating effect).
As I'm sitting here not thinking about the amount of calories I'm consuming right before I go to bed I look at my house. I spent 3 hours cleaning yesterday, and somehow today it's in worse shape than it was yesterday. How that happens I don't know. I'm doing my best not to let it overwhelm me. Good thing I can ignore it with this heavenly Caramel Delight Slow Churned Ice Cream.
This week has been an intense week and today has been a bittersweet day. I am taking 7 classes right now. 7. I'm so glad that my teachers all feel that they are the most important and the only class we should focus on. How do they know that I have no life and live to do their bidding? Lucky for them I'm flexible enough that bending over backwards in order to do everything they ask is super easy for me! Bless them.
I sat in all of my classes this week writing furiously in my planner everything that I needed to get done this weekend just to keep my head above water. After the first day I drove home and just burst into tears thinking about it all. Hey you wanted honesty, 12:30am is the most honest me you're going to get. It's interesting how ice cream and sleep deprivation can bring out the dark side isn't it?
On top of that Boston hasn't been eating well lately. At his 4 month appointment he was 13 pounds and he's supposed to be around 16. He's only gained a pound since his last check up. Come to find out my milk is drying up. I've been doing everything I can to keep it going. I'm drinking water like crazy, I have been trying to sleep more, I've been pumping, and I even bought that milk herbal stuff "More Milk Plus". It's absolutely horrid stuff by the way. I was still having to supplement with a bottle after each feeding. (On the up side because Boston has been having formula at night he's been sleeping a little better.) I really wanted to keep nursing him especially since it's supposed to be a bad flu season this year. I decided to ask Chris for a blessing. He gave one to me and I would like to say that it said that I would be able to continue nursing like I want, however, it didn't. He told me in the blessing that unfortunately right now with the stresses of school and everything I have to do I wouldn't be able to produce enough milk for Boston. He said to keep nursing to the best of my abilities but that giving Boston a bottle would be needed as well.
For me that was a sad moment. I have really enjoyed nursing and didn't want to stop. At the same time I felt like I could give him a bottle of formula finally and not feel so guilty about it.
And since we're being completely open and honest I may as well spit this next part out. I have gained 60 pounds in the last two and a half years. Yeah sure I had a baby, but about 55 of that 60 was already in place (namely hips, stomach, thighs, and wiggly under arms) before I even got pregnant. Now it's just complimented by stretch marks and saggy breasts and skin. I know I know WAY TOO MUCH information right? lol. Chris still loves me and Boston doesn't care, but it's something that I really care about. I keep saying that I'm going to do something about it...and then I sit down and eat ice cream at 12:30 in the morning.
Well I know I owe you an up beat post about California, and I'll get there. I just needed to vent for a minute and send all of this out there to the 12:30 am world. It feels good to just let it go. Maybe tomorrow I'll realize how ridiculous and semi-depressing this post is and delete it...or maybe I'll keep it.
Just to make sure that you all know that I'm really not completely down on life I wanted to let you know that I have also received some tremendous personal blessings and great experiences that have strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father is there for us when we feel like we are alone or at our wits end. He is a constant friend and there for us when we have those 12:30 Am moments and just need to get things off of our chest. We can each have a very individual and sweet relationship with Him. After all, Look at all of the many things that He has given me to keep me smiling and pushing forward through the exhaustion. A beautiful baby boy, a wonderful husband, blessings I probably don't deserve, answers to prayers, and this marvelous Caramel Delight Slow Churned Ice Cream.

Little Man

Just to tide you over until I can make a post. Here's a picture of my cute little man that Chris took. (Chris is giving me crap because I'm blogging and not studying so I have to make this fast.)A post is coming, I mean we went to CA, school started, Chris swam with a shark...ha! Now I've got you dying for more. Well you'll just have to wait until this weekend...or when I finish my three massive reading and projects due by tuesday! :)

That Time of Year

It's that time of year where Gardens are overflowing with squash and zucchini. Most people don't quite know what to do with all of the extra other than make Zucchini bread. Today I thought I'd share one of my mom's recipes that has always been a family favorite. Plus, I found a killer recipe for Chocolate chip Zucchini Bread. :) Enjoy!

Corn Zucchini Bake

1 giant zucchini, peeled, de-seeded, and steamed till tender
1 can corn, drained
1 to 2 cups grated Swiss cheese, depending on size of zucchini
4 to 6 eggs, depending on size of zucchini
1 to 2 tablespoons of minced onion OR about a quarter chopped onion, sautéed in butter
1 to 2 teaspoons salt, depending on your salt preference (but it definitely needs salt!)

Peel, de-seed a giant zucchini. Cut into big chunks. Boil or steam till tender… about 45 minutes to an hour. (I usually do this step the day before, or earlier in the day, and just let the zucchini set in the fridge.)

Drain all the water from the zucchini. Dump into a large bowl. Smash into a smooth mixture with a potato masher. Add 4 to 6 eggs (depending on size of zucchini), 1 to 2 cups of Swiss cheese (depending on size of zucchini), 1 can of corn, drained, and about 1 to 2 tablespoons of minced onion (or a quarter onion, chopped, that you already sautéed in butter if you prefer fresh onion). Add about a teaspoon of salt… or more. Be generous with the salt, but you can always add more after it is baked. Mix all ingredients together and dump into a greased 11x15 casserole dish, (or a 9x13 if the zucchini was not huge).

Topping: Mix
about 2 to 3 cups dried breadcrumbs
about a half cup of parmesan cheese
about a tablespoon of dried parsley
about a half a teaspoon of garlic salt
about a 1/3 cup melted butter.

Make more topping if you want more.

Spread topping on the zucchini mixture and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Better to overbake this than underbake (eggs need to be cooked till set firm).

Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

IF IT ISN’T DELICIOUS… SPRINKLE WITH SALT!!! That always does the trick!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (makes 2 loaves)

Ingrediants

3c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 c grated zuchini
1 c chocolate chips
1 c walnuts (i leave these out, but if you like them add them)
1 tbs orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I get two 9 by 5 loaf pans and you can grease them with pam if you'd like, but a cool trick one of my friends taught me is to grease the sides of the pan with butter and then sprinkle the sides and the bottom with sugar. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, Spices, and baking soda. In a large bowl beat eggs until ligth and fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating until well-blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, chocolate and zest. Stir in sifted ingrediants. Pour into loaf pans. Bake 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Chill before slicing. It yummy if you serve it with a little whipped cream.

Life is so Sweet

First of all, does anybody know how I can set my blog so that I can see who of my friends have updated their blogs without going through and having to click on them to see? I hope that makes sense.

So life is sweet because after 13 days of being without a cell phone we found it in my parents couch cushions.

It's also super sweet because I'm finally able to be home and be a mom...full-time. I'm loving it.

Life is sweet because I will be able to work a little bit from home to help bring in some extra money.

It's sweet because Boston is sleeping in his own room, not through the night, but in his own room and rolling over. Sweet.

It's sweet because we were able to bless Boston this last Sunday and have 50 of our family members over with only one minor glitch...we had no plates or cups for everybody. So we decided the ox was in the myer (did I spell that right?) and ran to Walmart.

It will be even sweeter when next week we go to California after a rough semester and get to spend time just relaxing as a family. :)

So that is why life is sweet. We're loving it!

Pioneer Day Swimming Adventure!

This is a long picture post, so I'll keep it short. For Pioneer day we hung out at a pool with Chris's family and some friends. Boston is a complete water baby and LOVED swimming...So much so that after an hour he fell asleep in the water! I was holding him, don't worry. So instead of telling you all about it, I thought I would post some fun pics form the day.



I love this one...not sure why.


Super Boston!


We thought it would be fun to put googles on Boston and get some cute pics. The following is a swequence of pictures of his reaction as they fell from the top of his head, got stuck over his eyes, and finally fell off his face. We were dying laughing!








Whew!


My Smiley Guy


Only a mom wouldn't notice that drool!


Uncles Showing off their Skills


I love the water dripping off Linley's Chin. (Chris's Youngest sister)


She wouldn't even go near the pool with out a life vest, and she wouldn't jump in without goggles.

So that was our fun day, pool, sun, BBQ, and Fireworks from the hill. Love it!