April in Review

My list for the month of April included:


Try a Vegan recipe See this post on my attempt at a vegan lasagne
Read 2 books I read 2 great books I recommend: 3 steps to a strong family, and Willpower is not enough
Pedicure
Temple
Deep Clean I cleaned under the sink, the cars, and the freezer
Pictures of kids See above :)
Food Storage I got a 10lb bag of salt, a 50lb bag of flour, a container for the popcorn and 20lbs of chicken breasts (my budget for food storage is usually only $20, but I found an AMAZING deal on the chicken I got 20lbs for $12!!-- the regular price was $36)
Read Bible
Make apron
Make Jake a blanket Didn't even think about this one!I guess it's because I still don't feel finished with the boys room, so I'm not sure what I want to do for it. But since we left Jake's blanket in Utah, he is in desperate need of a new blanket! He keeps bringing his giant comforter out of his room every morning.
2011 Blurb book
Swing set well we got a trampoline instead
Go to the movies We went to see "We bought a zoo" I don't recommend it with kids, it had lots of swearing for PG!
Go to the zoo We bought a zoo pass so we will be going there like every week this summer probably FYI: we found out if you buy a zoo pass they have a zoo reciprocity program where you can use your Idaho Falls pass at other zoos like Pocatello and Hogle, I'm so excited about this!
Front door decor I got something, but I hate it...not sure what to do about it....I should have known not to buy a green planter when my house is ORANGE
Stretch carpet-- so irritated I don't have this done yet. I called 3 different people, all referrals, NO calls back. Hoping my husband will take on this task.

Finish Handprints

Easy Apron

Number 15 on the 52 things to do in 2012 list was to make an apron. I really wanted a waterproof one, but the waterproof material at the fabric store is SO expensive. So I found a cute tablecloth at JoAnn's 50% off for about $4. This was so easy! I didn't even get out my sewing machine. I used an old apron as my pattern, cut it out and made my own seam/bias tape out of strips of old fabric I had sitting around and I used "mighty mend it"(a sewing glue). That was pretty much it! $4 isn't so bad for a cute little apron I can use and not worry about getting it stained(yes I have aprons that I worry about getting stains on. Weird?). Claire requested an apron and there was plenty of tablecloth left so I'm going to make one for her and we will have matching aprons!

Captain Jake

Three

This three year old is the biggest pain sometimes! He makes Sam cry constantly, he NEVER listens-- I have to repeat myself five times before he will acknowledge me. He's mean to his friends sometimes, he screams, he hates primary, he climbs up on the car when I'm not looking, he pees in the yard, he destroys things. HE IS SUCH A 3 YEAR OLD BOY! And he's going to be 4 soon. Which makes me a little happy and a little sad. Will I miss these days of torture because they come with the cutest smile in the WHOLE world, an infectious laugh and the funniest comments? I'm sure I will. So when he's driving me CRAZY, I will just have to look at this photo, and remember what's really inside that little boy.

Wistle

Jump

The kids opted for a trampoline instead of a swingset. Jake quickly learned how to do flips. Is this something to encourage?? He's landed on his head a
few times...

A day.

We had one of these days yesterday:

Sam cried/fussed for about 3 hours straight yesterday. Jake wouldn't listen to anything I said, Claire was tattling and the two of them fought like cats and dogs. It was one of those days when you wonder why you chose to stay home with your kids, why you have kids for that matter!
But then Sam fell asleep and we had a nice quiet dinner and FHE. Then the kids entertained us with a wrestling match, which I really need to post the video of on here some time. And then we went through the point and shoot and I found these:

A bunch of priceless video and pictures.

Claire's first Soccer game.
The kids finding their Easter baskets.
A silly family self-portrait.
Jake dressed in a funny little outfit (he didn't have pants on when I first found him).

And I remembered for like the millionth time, why.

Number 21

on the list was getting handprints taken of the kids. After quite a few failed attempts, I finally got some cute handprints that turned out how I wanted!

It feels good to get it checked off the list and I can't wait to hang them up..

Idaho Falls child portrait session

What better way to celebrate turning one than pictures in a tutu?? I can't think of any!

hummus and avocado toasts with roasted tomatoes

I pinned this a few months ago and it seemed like a pretty easy go-to vegan dish so I knew I had to try it. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE avacados???

I changed it around a bit. I used ciabatta bread and brushed with oil and rubbed some garlic on there. It made a yummy, crunchy base and on the top I added some sprouts for pretty. It was good, the roasted tomatoes add a lot to it so I wouldn't skip that, also I would put a thin base of hummus on so as not to overpower the avacados and so you have a good creamy-to crunchy ratio. Very good!

Easter

We had a great Easter, we ate ham and yucky salad. Jake cleaned up at the ward egg hunt. We watched the new church videos of Christ for FHE. We did our traditional egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpas house. The Easter bunny came, He brought scooters, but hid them very well and Claire was distraught thinking that he hadn't come. Church was so uplifting. The weather was beautiful! And I actually managed to get some cute pictures of the kids!!

My little poser.

Jake was devastated because Chris told him he couldn't ride his new scooter he got from the Easter Bunny to church. Then Chris felt bad and told him he could and he brightened right up! But just this once...

Another little preview...

from my sessions in downtown slc.

Salad

I was playing around with my camera and took a photo of dinner last night. We had a yummy salad with grilled chicken. There's something about having food on the grill that's just exciting. I threw in some avacado, parsley, carrots, spinach, and some tangelo's -- we squeezed them on top, then we put on the grilled chicken, it had a tomato basil seasoning on it. It was delicious. I'm so glad my kids like salad,it's probably because I let them douse it in ranch! But hey at least they are getting something green right? They are both as much in love with avacados as I am and I can't keep enough of them in the house. What better way to enjoy spring than a nice spring salad.

Time flies when you're having fun...

We couldn't ask for a better baby. He's on a great schedule right now, sleeping well. He's sweet as can be. We love him SO much!

Look what's popping up!

Number 25 on this

list was planting flowers from seed and they popped up 2 days ago!

I've also got my tomatoes, and peppers going. We didn't get too many peppers last year, and I hope I have figured out how to get them pollinating this year. I want salsa and chili rellenos!!

There's something about flowers that is so soothing, I love looking at them out my kitchen window.

Vegan Lasagne

We tried

this recipe for gluten-free vegan lasagne. The reviews said it was SUPER yummy. I was very skeptical it would taste anything like lasagne. The family wouldn't touch it. To my surprise though, I ate all of mine. The recipe calls for summer squash as the noodles, taste wise it wasn't bad, but it was too sloppy. The recipe overall was very sweet and Chris didn't like the sweet potato. But the cashew ricotta was awesome. Next time I make it, I will probably add real noodles and do a garlic/peppers/onion saute to add to the tomato sauce to give it more flavor and more substance. I need to revamp this a bit before I say it's a "Must Try".

Little Big guy

This is my little big guy. He wants to be big, he's always had this kind of serious demeanor.

We were looking at pictures from his 2 year birthday. He was big even when he was little.

Well he's growing and doing so many fun things right now that I want to remember.

1. Yesterday he came in the house with a ladybug, "mom I found a ladybug, I think I will call him Nacho". Then about 15 minutes later he came back in sobbing with big giant elephant tears "Mom, Claire smashed Nacho" he was heartbroken. I made Claire find him a new one. They couldn't find a new one so Claire got out her coloring stuff and drew and cut out a lady bug for Jake. Jake was pretty happy. I was proud of Claire for making it better.

2. Jake is READING!! Well, he's sounding out words. Claire has a few easy reader books from school with 3 letter words, and Jake is sounding them out, he has really caught on to it pretty quickly and I really think it's because he's got his Alphabet sounds down like no body's business. I can't believe my 3 year old is sounding out words. He just seems like he's so much older.

3. He LOVES Sam...to the point of smothering. He gives him a million kisses a day and makes Sam cry at least once a day because of his "loves". Sam seems a little bit afraid of him. It's kind of funny. He loves to hold Sam and make him smile. It seriously melts my heart that he loves his brother so much. I really didn't think he would be all that interested.

4. He loves to dress up and wears his snow boots EVERYDAY. I hid them and he climbed to the top of his closet and got them back down. He loves his boots.

5. He's got a few Favorite people. Our neighbor Chet is his buddy, "mom, Chet is so cool." And his Uncle Marshall. When we got to their house last weekend he saw Marshall "hey Marshall. You are so funny" He loves Marshall.

6. He is a fruit fanatic. He can empty our fruit basket in a matter of a few days. He is a fruit connoisseur. He's eaten 2 apples while we sit here.

I love my little big guy. DON'T GET BIG!!

Cousints

We were in Utah this weekend, hanging with family and watching conference. I had a couple photo sessions too. The wind was SUPER crazy, but we still got some great shots which I will post later. My logo watermark went the way of all the earth when the computer crashed and I have yet to make a new one-- on my to-do list! The kids always have such a fun time with "Cousints" they both call them. We stayed with Marshall and Tiffany and the kids were so good to play together. We had a little "grill party" with Marshall's Raclette and ate way too many Reese's Easter eggs.