Family Goals

So at the beginning of the month we had a family home evening lesson on what we want our family goals to be this year. Now, we had some like paying off the baby, going on vacation, exercising more etc... But the goals that we are really focusing on are:

1. Having Family Home Evening each week
2. Reading the scriptures as a family daily
3. Going to the temple as often as we can
4. Making sure we have family prayer

I know these are what we should be doing already but we seem to put them off, especially since Mike has been working late and he doesn't have a set time of when to come home. I grew up reading the scriptures at 6 in the morning everyday with my family, and so I told Mike we would do that. . . he wasn't too excited for it. So we decided we would start off reading them every night and if we couldn't keep it up we would read them in the morning. Surprisingly we have been really good to not miss a night in reading them:) And we each have a pair of scriptures- yes, even Olivia has one and she is the one who keeps us in line with reading them. One night I was really tired and I was just going to say let's go to bed, and so I told Olivia, "k bed time" and she ran over and got the scriptures and brought them to daddy and me:) And then after scriptures she knows to kneel down and fold her arms. She usually will kneel down and fold her arms and bury her face in the ground, its so cute! Also with prayers if I forget to bless the food, she will fold her arms and start wining until I say the prayer:) I'm so glad these things are sticking with her. She really helps me to remember whats important. I think it's so important to start this early with teaching kids the gospel principles, or even what you believe. Even at 18 months its being engraved into her mind and its amazing how much they do remember, and how much they copy you.

Lately I have been saying "Gosh" when I get angry and I know its not a swear word, but its not a very pretty sounding word:) and its close to some other words... Anyways Olivia spilt something the other day and I was like "Oh gosh" and Olivia thought it was so funny and started just yelling "gosh, gosh, gosh" And lately she just loves to copy what mommy says. So after hearing Olivia copy "gosh" I really have been careful what I say and even what I have been listening too. So lately the new EFY cd for this year has become my favorite cd. I love church music, and not just listening to it on Sunday. I think it brings just a calmness and sweet feeling into the home. I'm just glad that Olivia is learning, and that we are at least teaching her to say prayers and read the scriptures. I think now a days its so easy to be casual with church things, and I just feel like its so important to do these things daily.

Crazy Day

So today is a crazy day- my little princess has gotten into everything!She found some markers and wrote all over her clothes, dumped out card games, and she decided to put some chap stick in her hair: (how can you get mad at this qt) mommy has been very patient:)

..." What did I do?" look

I guess the bath comes early today:)

Kevin's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my brother, Kevin! He turns 19 today! And he is leaving for the MTC next week! It's crazy that this will be the last birthday we see him for two years! I am so proud of him that he is going on a mission. I know his testimony will strengthen a lot of people. He is an amazing brother. We got him a journal, and a missionary quote book. I made him a card- I tried to draw him in a suit of armor. Its still hard to draw with my broken hand so I did my best. Olivia helped out with drawing with pen on it.

Baking With Mommy

So last night we decided to make a desert. I found this recipe for some Peanut Butter Dream Bars, and Olivia helped me make them.

I would only recommend making these if you want something very rich, and if you plan your time wisely to make them- which I didn't. They took a while to make because you have to bake different layers and let them cool completely and since part is brownie-they take a while to cook. But they turned out delicious! But very rich.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 box (18.2 ounces) brownie mix
• 1/2 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Whipped cream, chopped peanuts, chocolate-peanut butter candies and caramel sauce, to garnish

Directions 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line pan with foil, allowing sides to overhang; spray foil.
In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar. Mix in melted butter. Press crumb mixture into prepared pan. Bake until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
2. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cakelike brownies (adding 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup oil and 3 eggs). Fold in chopped nuts. Pour batter into crust-lined pan. Return to 350°F oven; bake until brownie is just set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
3. With electric mixer in medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add peanut butter and confectioners' sugar; beat until just blended (it will look lumpy). Add milk; beat lightly to loosen mixture. In separate bowl, whip 1 cup of the cream and gently fold into peanut butter mixture. Spread mousse evenly over cooled brownie. Refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Heat remaining 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just boiling. Remove from heat; add corn syrup and chocolate chips. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Pour glaze over chilled mousse and spread to cover completely. Return to refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
5. Run a small knife around inside of pan and lift out brownie. Heat knife under hot running water and trim edges. Slice brownie, rinsing knife after each cut, into 5 strips about 1-1/2 inches wide. Cut each strip into 5 pieces about 1-1/2 inches square. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with whipped cream, nuts, candy and caramel sauce.

Here are some pics I took of Olivia yesterday- the Dr. said to take her outside to help with her breathing so went out for a tiny bit- I hate taking her out in this weather since its horrible but it has seemed to help-





(I can't wait to really get to practice taking pictures with my camera)

Daddy's Girl

So this past weekend Olivia got really sick, and she is still sick, but getting better. I just wish I had her energy that she has even when she is sick. She is such a trouper. I'm so grateful for Fathers Blessings, and that Mike is worthy to give her one. He is such a wonderful father to Olivia. So she is a major mommy's girl, but her "daddy's girl" is starting to come out more. She is so cute with him at night. Always wanting to comb his hair, give him little back rubs, play hide and seek with him, and her favorite: she loves to sit on his lap and she will pick out the Nintendo, or x box game for him to play- usually either bball, car racing, any of his sports games. She becomes his little cheerleader:) It's so cute to see her wanting to play with her daddy.

Sweet Deals! My hand...and the pregnancy:)

So I love finding great deals on baby clothes and so usually I shop at Target and I'll hopefully get some great deals at the mall but lately I have been loving Kid To Kid.(I prefer the Lindon store to the Provo one) I love finding brand name clothes that look brand new! For this outfit I paid $5 and there isn't any stains or rips. They are like brand new.

I have found the cutest clothes there and haven't paid like anything for them. Before New Years they had their fill a bag for $5 sale and I got some really cute clothes- mostly boy ones but actually ones I really liked. I could stuff about 21 items-that included a coat- It was a steal! Now, I love all the name brand stores, but why go spend between$20-$30 dollars on one clothing item- from some stores or even that much on an outfit when I can find the same thing and pay only 5 dollars or less sometimes- not saying every time I go I find things I want but lately I have:) at least with girl clothes... Girls are so fun to dress!

So Olivia is wearing out her shoes so I needed to buy some for this year and I found these ones:

I got these fur boots for $5 at old navy just barely they should fit her for next winter

I got the pair above and below for $11 total. Payless was having a sale over the weekend and I was so happy to only spend that much total and they will fit her for a long time.

I found the silverish slip on shoes for $2 at kid to kid and they are like brand new- shoes are the harder thing to find new at Kid to Kid but I lucked out:)

I love shopping for Olivia but I make sure I find great deals- sometimes I splurge but I know how fast children grow so any money I can save I'll take it!

Now an update on my hand:

I got the cast off on Tuesday. The bone is aligned perfectly but I can't bend my fingers I try, so it's not completly healed. So I have to wear another brace for two weeks straight and not do any lifting or work with my hand- Do they not know how it is to take care of a 18 month old...- and then after the two weeks I can start to take it off and do hand exercises but still wear it most of the time. The hope is to be able to bend my hand and make a fist with no pain.

Update on pregnancy:

So I am 24 weeks(6 months for those of you who don't want to count) and I'm feeling great. The baby is moving like crazy! I love it! So I forgot that you can't do as much work or you'll over do it and these past two days I have really over done it. Since I broke my hand I haven't kept up with the house work but now that I have this other brace on its easier to do stuff just since its not so big- it helps a lot more with Olivia- But so I have been cleaning and organizing and I can really tell in my stomach that I need to take it easier. I really don't want this baby to come any earlier than he needs to so I am not going to worry about my house being spotless :) It's enough work keeping up with Olivia.

Happy Friday:)

So Today has been a pretty good day. This morning as I was getting ready, I noticed Olivia was being quieter than usual. I looked over to her and she was trying to get herself dressed. It was the cutest thing. Usually she goes right to asking me for help, but today she wanted to try it all by herself- mommy ended up helping a little:) She has been amazing help with me with my broken hand. This past week she comes and tells me when she needs her diaper changed, and then she'll go lay down so I can change her and she will hold still the whole time:) She is just a growin up so fast.

Craft for the day:

My mom asked me if I would make some headbands for a girl who is having a baby to give her at her baby shower. So I made one today for her. I think it turned out so adorable. The pictures can't really do it justice. I would have taken a picture of Olivia wearing it but I don't want to stretch it out at all for the girl who is getting it. I love it! I love big headbands on little girls. My problem with making them is after I make them I want to keep them-I guess you should like the work you do:)

Ward Basketball

So I am still the YW sports coach for my ward, and last night we had our first game. I thought they might release me from this calling because of my broken hand but I was wrong. At least I am actually in charge this time,but now I don't think I would mind having someone help out. Anyways we had 5 girls show up- and you need 5 to start- and the other team it looked like they had 15 girls but I didn't count them. My girls played awesome. We have some amazing bball players on the team. We won 38 to 8... or we were 36 but still it was a pretty big blow out. If you had watched this game I don't think you could have watched a game with more jump balls than this game had! So I decided before the game that I wouldn't argue with anyone-like how it was with volleyball, and last years bball. I held my breath the entire game- Its stressful to be a coach, and I don't want to get stressed out especially being prego. I was pretty amazed though by how much we did win by. They played hard and awesome.

18 Months Old!

18 months! Can you believe this cutie is 18 months! I sure can't. We haven't put her in nursery yet, so we will see how it goes on Sunday. Olivia is so funny lately. I love her silly personality, always keeping us entertained, and mommy busy with house cleaning:) She is going to be so cute with a little brother.

Stylin' Miss Olivia

I think these are the cutest boots! And I thought the outfit Olivia is wearing today was really cute. Little girls are so much fun to dress.

I am really excited we are having a boy. It gets me thinking a lot about boy clothes and just how much fun it is to shop for girls. After we found out what we are having I went and bought an outfit. It took me a while to find something I liked. I really like the button- up shirt look, and polos. I wish there was a Hollister baby store:) I thought this outfit was pretty cute though:

We will probably end up dressing him like Mike in Hurley, Fox and Billabong shirts- as well as a little preppy look in there as well:) I guess we will see.

Curled Ribbon Clips

So I didn't have any purple clips for Olivia since I don't buy her many purple outfits. But I have to have everything match so I needed to make one. So here is how you make the curled ribbon clips:

Supplies: Wooden dowels, ribbon, hot glue gun, string, scissors, clips, oven

1. Pick out your ribbon- I ended up not putting the star ribbon in the clips

2. Wrap ribbon around wooden dowels- I tied the ribbon on the ends to keep it on but most people hold it on with clips

3. Pre-heat oven to 250' bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

4. Cut ribbon to length of how big you want it:) I cut mine to make two mini clips

5. Since my hand is broken I couldn't take pictures of how I tied it. I took two of each color for each clip, so 8 pieces total and tied them with the string in the center of the ribbons to hold them together. Then I glued them to the clips with a piece of ribbon wrapped around the middle to secure it.

Final Product: