OCP, Favorite Girl, & Mocking-Gigi

{Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes}

Do you remember that one thing your mom used to make for breakfast that you just LOVED? 

I couldn't get enough of those Dutch Babies (aka German Pancakes).  Sitting {and most likely fighting with} my starving sibling as we sat waiting for them to come out of the oven...what a memory.  Ahhh.

Well, I think I might know what my boys may be talking about one day. 

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes.

The fact that the word "cookie" is in the title should give you just a little clue as to how yummy these bad boys really are.  Darn that Rachel Ray.  And curse that Pioneer Woman while I'm at it.  I wonder if they've factor them into the obesity problem in the US. 

You can get the printable recipe for these gems here at the Food Network website.  I promise you won't be disappointed.  And just so you know, the recipe called for raisins, but I didn't have any...so I improvised with chocolate chips.  Ah, curse me too.

{Favorite Girl}

I also remember so long ago--back during the summertime--I had a little boy.  Everytime caught one of these wishing flowers he always asked for one thing: To be able to fly.

{For those who may have read this next little experience on Facebook, forgive me for repeating it.  I've got to blog about it so it ends up in our family blog book at the end of the year!}

Approx day 9 of Kindergarten:

Me: "How was your day? Did you make any new friends?"

Ethan: "It was great!  There is a girl that sits behind that is really nice."

Me: "What is her name?"   Ethan:  " I don't know."

Afterschool on Day 12:

Ethan: "Mom, I told my favorite girl that sits behind that I love her."

Me: "Really? What did she say?"

Ethan: " She said: I know. You always stare at me."

Me:" What is her name?"   Ethan: " I don't know."

Picking up Ethan-Day 13:

Ethan:" Mom, I know my favorite girl's name!! Its Kaylee!"

Me: "Good! Which one is she?"  We looked around and I thought he pointed to this girl who looked really sweet and must of had a great personality.  But then there she was...this dark hair, dark eyed gal fixing her cute pink headband in her hair.   I get it Ethan.

Later that day...about once an hour:

Ethan: "Mom, what's my favorite girls name again?"

Me: "Kaylee."

Ethan: "Oh, right."

Last Friday...Day 15

Ethan: " Mom, I ran with my favorite girl today. She is as fast as my "super run".

The rest is to be continued! I can't wait to go and volunteer in Ethan's classroom tomorrow!;) I'll let you know how it goes!

{Mocking-Gigi}

And I thought you might like this.  My niece is a 6th grader...her 1st year of middle school.  Last week she told me that she was going to run for SBO. {Student Body Officer...we called is ASB...Associated Student Body...but whatever...you know what I'm talking about.}

I told her she needed to get a theme that would stand out.  This is what we came up with.  Some of you may appreciate this...

We thought it would be fun to play on the "hit the target", "I'll fight for you", etc.

How fun.  I hope she wins!

And by the way, I may be in the minority...but I liked the way Mockingjay ended.:)

{Yum}

And now let's get back on track.  Food. 

If you try this recipe you'll have to let me know how it turns out! 

And I had to post this picture with Ethan sticking a huge bite in his little mouth.  A memory in the making?

XOXO-Toad

To thine own self be true...

I'm the 1st to admit I can be a bit silly sometimes. Fortunately, Ethan doesn't mind my wild antics as I make faces through the glass at preschool or sing in the car like I'm the next American Idol.

I guess we all have our funny little quirks. Isn't it great? I may regret sharing a part of my "silly self", but I thought it would be great to post a few things that I've giggled about lately...

Ethan: "I can't forget my Valentine!" Um, I guess its hard to love others if we don't love ourselves...right? So, what did you get yourself for valentine's day this year?:)

Meet this cute little bird.

Oh, look! Its landed in its nest! I'm still giggling about this...just one of my little projects gone wrong.

And finally, meet this unlikely couple. Would you ever have put them together? She seems a little "stiff" while he looks like he's ready to fly onto the back of a Harley...

But she may surprise you!

{PS This is what happens at 1:30AM when I'm excited about a project I just finished. I get a little more silly than usual!}

She's an owl with many hobbies and talents...

Yes, she's quite inspiring.

I'd better stop now. You've seen enough of my silly side for one night. Now you---go---and be silly yourself.;)

PS I PROMISE I'm working on the owl pattern...if all goes well I'll share it on my next post!

A Nativity, Young Shepherd, & Real Livestock!

And you thought I was joking about the animals!



Every year most Christian churches and/or congregations have some sort of Christmas Party or Nativity program. Tonight as we were getting for ours I vaguely remembered that the flyer invited everyone to "dress up" in clothing from the time of Christ's birth. So in a last minute frenzy I found some brown material, threw together a shepherds costume for Ethan, and off we went.

When we arrived I was surprised to see that not only did the majority of the people dress up, but the cultural hall {gym} was totally decked out with full size manger, village, trees, a sheep, a goat, chickens, and straw. These guys weren't joking around!

Before dinner our young shepherd and his little brother took a tour of the place...and loved it.

After dinner the live Nativity began. I only took a few pictures, because I got a little distracted. {Pictured below are the 3 wise men...portrayed by our Bishop and his counselors.}

Why was I so distracted you ask? Nope, it actually wasn't Aidan this time.

I'm giggling just thinking about it...

Right before the Nativity program began they were calling for Shepherds. Well, of course I thought Ethan qualified so I told him to follow some other kids so he could be in the program. A few minutes later I saw him wandering around--and the program was starting--so I took him around to another door and told him to go sit with the shepherds.

Now, in my defence I couldn't see who the shepherds were--but as soon as I sat down I realized Ethan was the ONLY child there. It didn't take me long to also notice that several of the Shepherds held papers in there hands which could only mean one thing...a speaking or singing part!

And there sat my little shepherd without a clue of what his mother had gotten him into...

Fortunately he was able to follow the other Shepherds around as they sang, visited baby Jesus in the manger, & went into the crowd to tell everyone that Christ was born. And yes, he did all of the above!:)

I love that kid. During the whole ordeal Bob and I just kept looking at eachother and smiling. I don't think many people noticed that he had joined the program, well except for the other Shepherds.;)

Afterwards all he said was that he sang softly because he didn't know all of the words & that the baby Jesus in the manger wasn't real. And dispite my distraction--The Spirit there was so special; testifying once again of the Divinity of Christ, his birth, and his sacred mission. {All of which I'm very grateful for.}

This will be one night that I'll always remember.

Win a Tilty & Here's a Moving Tip

Hello bloggers! Today's post will be full of fun, although its not the shortest post you've ever read.:) {Just hang in there.;)}

It will include baby item Review #3 & DRAWING, a quick moving tip {yes, we are moving}, & a bit about Phineas & Ferb.

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For those of you out of the loop, a few weeks ago I was asked to review some baby products for ABC4. They mailed me a bunch of baby products, I learned all about them, and then they came to do the segment at my house. So now I'm reviewing the items and giving some away to you! {For my past reviews you can click here.}

Quick Sidebar: The media is wild. When I agreed to be on TV I understood the segment would be me reviewing these baby products. However, the actual segment turned out to be me as a blogging advocate for postpardum moms. Go figure! {Yes, I was as surprised about this as you were. I was NOT prepared to be interviewed about myself when they came that day!} But hey, I got a bunch of free stuff and now I'm giving some to you too!:)

So, with no further ado I'd like to introduce the Tilty Sippy Cup!

Review #3: Tilty Sippy Cup

Rating: Thumbs Up {If you don't mind a little dripping.}
Cost: $5.99 for 2
Pros:
-The bottom is angled so your baby won't have to strain to get that last little bit of drink.

-Its clear so the baby can easily see how much fluid is left in the cup.

-BPA free and dishwasher safe

-No extra attachments {valves, straws, etc.} to lose.

-For more details you can visit the Tilty website.

Cons:
-It drips. However, it was designed this way to help toddler really get the feel for using a real cup & also to keep the baby from sucking so hard to get a drink. {Apparently the ADA says excessive sucking isn't so great for little mouths.}

-You can't find them everywhere. You can order them online though.

Overall:
I think its a good concept & Aidan did really well with it. I only put water in it though...I didn't want to have to worry about anything dripping out when he was done drinking. It was GREAT for drinking in the car though...they don't drown when you slow down or stop!:)

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Moving "Tip": Don't get a 24 footer!

If you haven't heard yet we are packing up and moving across town! This may come as a surprise to some of you, but this move has been anticipated since we bought this house 3 years ago. For those who want the skinny here you go...

With Bob *potentially finishing school in December we wanted to keep our options open, pay off some student loans, & prepare for the future! We have a GREAT family who is going to rent our house & we are going to move to Draper {into a place Bob's parents have} until we figure out where we are going to be. {BTW--Thanks Will & Claire for kicking out your tenants for us!} And no, we won't be moving back--renting out our house -instead of selling-was just a great option for us right now.

*He has 15 credits of really hard classes this semester and some professors are being pretty lame. {Yes, while working full time and running the computers for a local company.} Hopefully all will go well so he can be finished!

But YES, Bob is actually almost done with school! Although coaching football has set him back a few years, he has been working really hard to get his BA degree in computer science. I'm so excited and very proud of him. Getting his degree will potentially open some doors for his career as well as grad school. Moving now will give us some flexibility on when/where we can go to reach Bob's career & our family goals.

School is not cheap, especially when you have a wife and 2 kids to support. This move will help us pay off some of that debt that comes with school quickly, and open our options for grad school, more IT certs, or even adopting a baby {I would LOVE to.}

This move is really going to get us prepared for the future...whatever that may hold! The boys are so young that being in limbo for a little while shouldn't be too bad, & the schools down in Draper are suppose to be the best in the state. I'm sad to leave our house, but I'm excited for this next adventure in our lives!!

Anyway! Now for that moving tip!:)

If you ever need to reserve a dumptster for all of that trash when you move, the 12 footer should be fine. I wish I would have known that before they delivered this enormous trash bin the size of our driveway. I'm still laughing, and so are the neighbors I'm sure. I think we could take apart our entire house and it would fit in there!:)

When I dropped a load off at DI today I saw this...


um yeah. Even the dumpster at the DI isn't as long as the one we got!:) So if any of you locals want to get rid of some trash---or alot of trash--come on over! My dumpster is your dumpster. I'm still laughing.

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Finally, the end of my post. Let me introduce you to Phineas, Ferb, Perry the Platypus, & Ethan on this surfboard. Ethan wanted a Phineas and Ferb theme for his "family" birthday party Sunday night.

Sidenote #2: When he 1st starting watching P&F I wasn't too fond of it because of all the yelling Candace {the sister} does & how she treats the boys. But I decided to use it as a teaching tool & we talk about it...hopefully I don't get fired as a parent for it. Heaven knows I'm already out of the running for mom of the year!:)

So here you have it--

And it was a yummy end to a few great days of birthday celebrations! {I love boxed cake mixes and store bought frosting!} Love you Ethan.

OH YEAH! If you want to be in the drawing to win 2 Tilty sippy cups just leave me a comment and let me know!! Good luck!

Pipecleaners & Last Chances

{Pipecleaner Fun} ...a continuation of my last post of conference ideas...

Before I forget...here's one last "quiet" activity! I posted about it last May, but thought the pipecleaners would be another fun thing for this weekend! Here's a link for a "how to" for some fun creatures!. And the best part...you can pick pipecleaners up at the dollar store!:)



{Last Tball Game} What a fun season! Our last game was last night & even though it got a bit chilly these little guys were real troopers. Even Aidan had a good time riding around attached to me {Bob had to work, so we made the best of it.}

Being a "rookie" tball coach was great. My main goal was for the kids to have fun so they'd want to play again. Hopefully they did!


{Last Chances} When Ethan is doing something he shouldn't, I usually give him 1 warning and then he gets his "consequence" which is usually going to time out. Lately, when I give him his warning I'll say: "This is your last chance."

This kid is all heart. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he started thanking Heavenly Father for "last chances" in his prayers. Last night he said the sweetest prayer & here's few highlights:

"...thank-you for our clothes and socks, thank-you for Aidan that he can be good, please bless Grandpa Johnson to stay alive so we can see him one last time, thank-you for last chances, and for moms and dads..."

Gotta love these kids...no wonder we are suppose to "be like little children".

Run home!

The future of baseball lies in the hands of our little men...yes, little guys like these ones. But you have to start somewhere, right?

I think my mom has spent more time at the baseball and softball fields watching all of us kids play than she has grocery shopping over the years. Yes, that's alot. So sticking these 2 cousins into a "baseball camp" was a no brainer.



Today was the 1st day of camp & I LOVED watching this group of 4&5 year olds being "coached" by the local high school players. I tried to work with Ethan a bit before the camp, but taking guidance from mom and dad aren't too effective in our home. (Homeschooling is definitely out for us!:) So, I figured its just for fun and hopefully he'll have a good time and want to play more. But maybe I should have gone over a few things...

Towards the end of the camp I watched Ethan hit the ball off the tee and start to run the bases. I looked away for a minute to watch Trey on the other field and when I looked back at Ethan he was running to me. He had taken off his baseball hat and was scratching his head. I figured he wanted me to hold the hat for him, and said, "Did you come to give me the hat?" and he said, "No, the guy told me to run home."

I guess I should be glad he didn't try to run all the way back to Utah!:) Aw, Ethan. Love that kid.

Makes me Smile

Aahh, to be 4 again. School was so much fun, friends were really your friends, and eating and sleeping were such a bother. Ethan is no exception, & I love what runs through that little mind of his...

#1 While playing outside in the sandbox with a friend the other day, the boys decided they needed some water to build a sand castle. I turned it on so a little trickle (which, of course, was confused with tickle...:) of steady water came out. This wasn't enough for them. Here's the dialogue that took place...

Ethan: "Mom!"
Me: "What?" (I was sitting inside with the screen door open.)
Ethan: "I have an idea, we can work together to get more water!"
Me thinking: "That's great that they are going to help eachother to get what they need to done. Maybe we are actually getting through to him..."
Ethan: "I just need you to go and turn the water on so more will come out and I can fill this bucket!"

#2 "Mom, will you put that hot dog on a sponge for me?" (Evidently sponge=bun)

#3 Last week Ethan randomly (or so I thought) asked me to take off my shoes. When I asked him why he simply stated, "I think its so feautiful (beautiful) when you paint your feet." I never realized the impact painting my toesnails would have anyone.

And he's not the only one...


Hopefully Tanya (or Trey) won't mind if I tell this story. Its too funny.

Everytime we go to Oregon we always leave something behind. Last week Tanya had started to collect all of our little things into a pile upstairs.

As Trey (Ethan's 4 year old cousin) was gettting ready for school he grabbed something from the pile and put it on. Evidently he had picked Aidan's PJ bottoms and put them on as boxer shorts. (It must have been a sight...since they were probably a little tight!:)

Tanya explained that they were Aidan's shorts & Trey then looked at the pile. He saw a pair of Ethan's underwear that had been left behind and said,

"Why do people leave their underwear at other people's houses?!" Then he grabbed a pair of Travis' exercise shorts and said, "I bet these are Bob's underwear too!"

I start to giggle everytime I think about it. He makes a good point...people really shouldn't leave their undewear at other people's houses.:) Gotta love 'em.

I just can't get enough!

Yesterday I got together with a dear friend named Siri. We were talking and she said, "I know all mothers love their kids, but I can't imagine anyone loving their kids more than I love mine." I thought it was so sweet and true...doesn't every mother feel that way?

I never imagined in a million years that I could ever love little people like I love Ethan and Aidan. Every night I thank my Heavenly Father for being so blessed to have them in my life. I really just can't get enough of them!

Don't feel like you have to read all of this cheesy "mom" stuff...I just wanted to blog about a few little things so that I never forget them. I know one day when the boys are grown I will miss these "moments" dearly.

Aidan is nearly 8 months now and is a funny little guy. He's at this great phase where he can sit and amuse himself with toys (or Ethan), but he hasn't started crawling so I still have a life.:)

I love to put this basket full of toys by him and watch him go through each one, examine it closely paying special attention to the "tags", and then putting them aside to get the next thing he thinks is interesting and wants to shove in his mouth.
I also love how he waits for us to look at him and he'll flash this super smile and "say" something to us. I'm sure if he could talk he'd give us a piece of his little mind.:)

Towards the end of the day (usually right before bathtime) I love to give Aidan a biter biscut or some frozed blueberries in a little "net" thing and let him go for it. He loves it.

I can't get enough of this kid. I have to kiss him every chance I get.

Its amazing how 2 little guys can love eachother so much. Except for the day when Ethan was "play fighting" and kicked Aidan right in the head...they enjoy eachothers company. Well, Aidan is a tough little man--Bob loves that about him--and Ethan may have to watch his back one day.:)

Speaking of Ethan...This kid is so great. Every morning I love when he crawls into bed with me so we can cuddle before the day starts. He'll tell me about the "dreams" he has or whatever is on his mind.

The other day he pulled out this bike pump and told me that I didn't have to "pump" anymore because he's taking care of it.:)

Last week he wanted a friend to come over but it "wasn't a good day". So he asked me if it "wasn't a good day" because it was rainy outside. The next day was suppose to be sunny so he told me "tomorrow will be a good day!"

He STILL loves trains...his latest love is Geotrax.


Here he is at our garage sale selling brownies. He saves every penny he gets in his Nemo piggybank. Right now he is trying to save to buy more Geotrax trains since the helicoptor at Costco "costs too much".



Ethan has a great imagination...Can you guess what is pictured below?

This would be Ethan's puppy (the ball) on a leash (the yellow rope and back bag handle from a duffel bag) eating out of his dog bowl. Yes, the dog poops (Ethan loves that he can say it without getting in trouble) and no, he can't figure out how to get the rope off of Aidan's Jumperoo.

If we could just freeze time...but have babies be potty trained.:)