Farm Fresh

Dana has a cousin, that has a daughter, that lives in a house where she has a little farm going in the backyard. I knew she had goats but then I saw her post on FB that her goat had babies. So I thought- I have these kids that are animal lovers (well one really sticks out in my mind) and thought that might be a fun adventure for them. Anyway, she is so sweet and let us come by on President's Day.

She is a Renaissance woman! Her husband is away for work right now, she has 3 little boys, a bunch of goats and chickens, and a rabbit to take care of. You know, plus all the many other things that keep you busy in the house. I just think she's amazing. She is a true animal lover.

Here she is getting the newborn goats out that were born the day before, for the kids to hold. She's holding off the boy goat ("billy" goat right?) who kept trying to butt her. He is a very physical creature. We'll just leave it at that :)

So here are the cute babies :) The kids loved them as much as I expected. I thought they were super cute too.

The mommy's usually have twins so they have 2 newborn goats (they can already walk and were trying to run), and 2 that are 3 weeks old.
These are the 3 week old ones. They grow quick.

Sadie was nervous even with the chickens roaming around her feet. So this was her goat experience.
I got to hold a newborn one too.
She also let me buy a carton of eggs from her. The kids were having a great time gathering them. The chickens lay one per day and I think they collected about 9 during the time we were there.
Eli liked that they were warm. We've gone through all of them already. Each time Eli ate one he would say how it tasted so much better and fresher than eggs at the store. And the kids called them "chicken eggs" rather than "eggs" because they connected that they came from chickens.
We had such a great time visiting with them. The kids would've stayed all day if I would've let them. They have such a huge area out back for kids to just run around too that I was kind of jealous of that. But we make due with what we've got and try to get as much from our backyard as we can. We have been really enjoying our oranges this winter- they seem extra yummy. I never really did a winter garden but Eli brought this little cabbage plant home from school and soon it became a big cabbage plant.
2 days ago I pulled it up, cut the head out, and made...
...cabbage soup:) Emma was very skeptical when I told her what I was making. "Why would anyone name a soup 'cabbage soup'? Then it sounds so disgusting." (My favorite word when I'm making dinner). But she changed her tune after a few bites and ended up having 3 bowls. It was super good. I'll add the recipe in case you want to try it. I also have started going back to the gym so I'm feeling pretty healthy.
I did a "Zumba" class day before yesterday after the elliptical and I'm wondering when I'll be able to walk normal again. But I LOVED the class and will definitely be back. The teacher had me come up on the stage with her for one song! But at least she told the class it was my first time so hopefully they weren't too hard on me. I was smiling the whole time in there. I miss dancing so much. And now I have an outlet for it!

Kayci- if you catch this post by chance thank you, thank you for being so amazing and welcoming!

Cabbage Soup

3 T olive oil

1/2 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 quarts chic broth

1/2 t pepper (i did less)

1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 can italian style stewed tomatoes drained, diced

I added:

2 lrg peeled, chopped carrots

about 1 cup frozen sweet corn (the yummy organic Costco one)

In a large pot heat olive oil over med. heat. Stir in onion and garlic. (Here is where I added the carrots as well after about a min) Cook about 5 mins. stir in broth and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in cabbage. Simmer about 10 mins. Stir in tomatoes and return to a boil. Simmer 15-30 mins, stirring often. (I added the corn about the last 5 mins).

I also cut some rolls in half, buttered them, put parmesan cheese on them and broiled them for a minute.

A Happy Birthday for Eli

Last night I tried to re-gear up again for the 3rd and final birthday of birthday week. "Each child is special", I reminded myself. "It's not their fault their birthdays are all lumped together" (it's mine). So I trudged to the store, got Eli's birthday cereal of choice "Cookie Crisp" (clenching my teeth as I put it in the cart- why did I start that tradition again?), 2 more cake mixes for bringing cupcakes to his classroom, and the things I needed for burritos which is his favorite dinner. At midnight I remembered to hang the blue streamers down his door frame. Then I gratefully crawled into my bed- which is pure heaven every night.

Then I lay there and thought about how Eli was turning 9 right then. How he was born at 12:02 am and all day while I was laboring we had wondered if he'd come on the 21st or 22nd. I thought about how he didn't cry right away and the relief and joy I felt when he did. And how he was the sweetest, easiest baby ever- so quick to smile and hardly ever fussy.

And just how much I love the boy he's turned into. Before I fell asleep I became excited to make his birthday great.

So here are the things the birthday boy got to do to live up his big day: I picked him up from school at lunch like I did Emma. He's was sooooo excited. Oh and this was after I brought in cupcakes and his class sang to him while he stood in front beaming.

(BTW like 6 of his classmates complimented my culinary skills by telling me how much they loved my cupcakes. I had to tell one boy 3 times that the name of the cake was "yellow cake". That cracked me up. Oh and keep this on the down-low because you technically aren't allowed to make your own stuff. They actually expect you to spent $25 on store bought ones, as opposed to 2/$3 cake mixes. K-back to Eli)
He chose pizza for lunch and asked right away if he could have a soda at the restaurant. I despise soda and my kids only get it at school parties or other parties when I have no control. Oh and when Dana gets it and they sip his. So immediately I said "no". But he played on my birthday sympathies and I gave in. So this root beer was for sure one of his favorite presents.
Daddy called him at lunch.
Our little sidekick had a fun time too :)
We went to Target next and they both got to pick out gifts with the money they got from grandma. I helped with Eli's which worked out since I hadn't really gotten him an actual present yet.
His teacher gave him a "homework pass" so he made a little set-up to get the complete experience of relaxing and playing the DS after school.
Aunt Mames and cousins came over and gave him a great gift. She always knows what to get them :)

(The cup contains a big, dead, hairy spider- a little something he got for himself).
We did the official song and cake over the weekend when my mom was here for Emma and Eli. It was a great weekend. We went to "Jump Street" for Emma and Eli's non-party year with everyone on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We'll definitely be heading back there this summer. Grandma sprung for lunch at "Fat Burger" on the way home. My mom is awesome...but that's worthy of it's own post.
Happy birthday bug! I love you so much! XO

"She'll be Leaving for the Day"

Are these not the greatest words you can ever hear over the PA when you're a kid in school? I thought that would make a great birthday surprise for our now 11-yr old Emma. And so fun for me too, to watch her speed walking toward me at the office with a huge smile on her face.

We were so outta there.

I brought her birth certificate along so she could get the free $10 to Joe's BBQ. I LOVE times I get to spend just me and Emma. She's so fun and sweet and old enough to make/understand jokes.

We had to get a box for almost all her food (while mine was no where to be found) because she was nervous. And when she's nervous her stomach is very uncooperative. She had decided to get her ears pierced awhile back and today was a perfect day to do it. My right ear actually closed up a while back because I never wore earrings, so we were in it together. It was so much fun and she was very brave. No tears :)
Next, she needed some new shoes. Since she doesn't like shopping we made it short and sweet. And lastly, the pet store where I heard many a "Ohhhhhh!"
Here we are showing off our new earrings.

She told me it was one of her very best birthdays :) And said thank you a bunch of times. She's growing so fast.
Can I maybe freeze time for just a little while?

I LOVE you sooo much big girl!

Non-Baby Turns 4

The celebration of our "baby" (don't say that word to her though) turning 4 officially kicked off birthday week yesterday. I stayed up late the night before switching out Valentines for some birthday decor and finishing up this little beauty with the help of Amy's sewing machine.
Are you as impressed as I am? The kids were extremely amazed...which I wasn't sure whether to take as a compliment or not :)
Sadie told me the night before when I offered to go get her birthday cereal of choice, that she wanted "the kind with balls". I thought "Berry Berry Kix" was perfect. In the morning I found out she meant "the chocolate kind" but she was still happy enough.
She was actually beside herself with birthday joy the entire day and consistently reminded everyone around her "It's my birthday!" with squealing delight.

The 16th happened to land on a half day so we had her party on her actual birthday. She loves to help in the kitchen and was so excited to help make her cupcakes.
Emma was ever-so-helpful for the party: Cutting out paper crowns, drawing a Princess for "pin the crown on the princess", and helping clean. And she was extra sweet to Sadie.

They're 6 years and 364 days apart.
Here are the royal party guests decorating their crowns.
I got adventurous and made this cupcake queen from directions at familyfun.com. I planned on making one for each girl, but after the one taking 20 mins, realized that wasn't going to happen. She was pretty cute.

Sadie really liked her :)
(can you tell I'm having fun on Picnik?)

Dana put on his famous magic show acts.
The girls were amazed. Or possibly frightened in Lucy's case.
It was a great time- Sadie's very first "friend" party. Happy birthday to our little angel :)

Fun Cards

I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was so cute. So here are the kids' Valentine cards this year~

All 18 Of Them

One thing I'm really grateful for is my church calling. I truly feel privileged to be able to teach these young women. They are busy and talkative but so much fun and full of life and great ideas. This was my class today. There were 17 girls there- 2 absent and 1 visitor. I got to teach about a "change of heart"(perfect for Valentines Day). I loved the lesson and learned a lot from it myself. And although I'm not the greatest teacher ever I'm always hoping to convey 2 things. First- their potential in life and all the blessings that Heavenly Father is waiting to give them. Second- how much we love them as leaders. A bunch of them told me it was a good lesson even though I had like 3 brain freezes so maybe it's working!

Not pictured- the 3 amazing women I get to work with in Beehives. Plus the several other leaders in the other classes. I just love the youth program in our church so much and feel lucky to be a part of it.

New and Exciting Stuff :)

I saw this leaned up against Eli's door today. He had a sick day and Holly drew him a picture (per magna-doodle). He went to bed throwing up last night, felt good this morning but then got severe heartburn this afternoon and no sooner did we cure that, that he got a bad stiff neck. We were supposed to have a "date" tonight so when I put him to bed I told him his job was to wake up very healthy in the morning so we can go out tomorrow. He said he would try his best.

I love the bird on the girls' head.
To add to a great week, we successfully "re-homed" the geckos thanks to FB and Dana's cousin's son's wife's friends. You're awesome Jackie! FB can be quite handy sometimes which is good- to offset all the time I waste on there.

The kids all said goodbye and Emma said "This is probably the most excitement they've had for like 2 years."

I, for one, am quite excited to no longer have a forced connection to crickets. Hooray!

I finally checked out "Picnik" tonight and am really glad I did. Much faster than Elements :) Probably because it's way more basic but works great for my purposes.

Lastly, I love my blog more than FB. Blogs are like the long-term relationship and FB like the cheap thrill. In a way, ya know?

But if you like FB more, I don't think you're a tramp or anything.

Instant Messaging on the Magna-Doodle

In the hub-ub of making dinner, helping kids with homework, answering random questions, getting this or that for Sadie and trying to keep her occupied- late afternoon can feel a little chaotic. However, I do love this time because I get to hear about what's happening in their lives and what they're learning about at school.

A couple days ago Emma feeling like she couldn't get a word or second in, wrote me a note on the Magna-Doodle. I responded in kind. Sadie was our messenger and enjoyed having such an important job. Emma's getting bigger and loves having one-on-one time with me that's not always readily available. So we got to have our own little private conversation mixed in with the silent suspense of what the next message might say. At the end she wrote "You're the best, mom!" Which made my heart sing.

Yesterday Eli brought me the Magna-Doodle with a note on it.

I think I have a new favorite toy :)

P.S. Sadie told me 5 times yesterday "You the best mommy I ever seen." and gave me big hugs each time. It's been a great week to be a mom around here.