Weekend Update...Scooby Snack Mutiny

Sunday...planted our Recession Garden. For details on what we planted click HERE. The kids are so excited to see what is in the dirt and I have given steen warnings not to touch or pull out any of the plants. They are super scared of the dirt nazi (that would be me).

Monday...laundry, laundry, laundy! And Mallory decided to sop up a puddle with her clothes. This girl loves a good puddle! The kids were so excited to water the Recession Garden and did a great job of sharing the watering can.

Tuesday...spent the day anxious about the Unplugging I was about to do. Soaked in as much internet, twitter and facebook as I could. Kids wouldn't take a nap and I thought about running away from home. We ate Subway at the park for dinner.

Wednesday....Unplugged! Looking back on our day...it was very nice to not have the distraction of the computer and the TV. We read more books and I felt calmer. We had a great time at the Ogden Nature Center and we are looking forward to many more visits there.


Note to self: Always watch where you are walking at the NATURE park. You might find more nature than you bargained for and STEP in it.

Thursday...Alex decided it was 80's day and was channelling Jen Lancaster! Doesn't he look adorable? He even brought out the teen angst just for me. I found out that my friend Loralee had her baby on Tuesday night! Yay Aaron is here!

Friday...another beautiful day in northern Utah! The kids are bored with watering the garden. I see no puppies in our future. Mutiny ensues when it is revealed that we are out of Scooby Snacks*. We drove to Layton to meet Calvin and had dinner at Red Robin. Then Mommy escaped for some retail therapy and grocery shopping and the kids and Daddy went to the park. Have you been to TJ Maxx lately? I got a super cute green straw handbag for summer, some sunglasses, a pair of underwear and a crystal goblet! It's almost as awesome as TARGET!

Saturday...In an effort to jump start my weight loss (which has been very slow) I am doing a juice fast today and a colon cleanse tomorrow. I had to laugh when I went to the healthy food store and the cashier's comment about my supplies was *brace yourself*! Now I'm scared shitless to death. I'm mostly worried about the sugar and caffeine withdrawals that I'm about to experience. Wish me luck!

Potty Training Update: In the words of Alex....Never, never, never!

Job Update: We have heard nothing from the Denver company. I'm bummed....but also frustrated because the cost of living (housing) is so much more in Denver than Utah and we would have to downsize considerably. I don't want to move to Denver and not be able to afford the lifestyle that I want to live there. Does that make sense?

Here is the backyard tree that I told you about a few weeks ago!



*Scooby Snacks...little gummy fruit snacks that the kids are addicted to.

Being in the Moment

I have to tell you that I was a little anxious going into this challenge. A large part of my day is spent on the computer/iPhone and I depend on them to provide me with entertainment, news, information and a CLOCK!

I realized this morning that I haven't worn a watch in years because I check the time on my cell phone which is always attached to me. I also realized that I run to GOOGLE a million times a day when random thoughts pop into my head.

I also check the weather and news from the computer. I felt out of touch.

I started my day by sitting down on the couch with my cold brewed Iced Coffee and my Jen Lancaster book Bright Lights, Big Ass and I read for about 20 minutes until my darling son woke up. He immediately asked for a show and I told him we weren't turning the TV on today. He thought I lost my mind. We put together a puzzle. Then we read books until his sister got up. Then we read more books after breakfast.

Finally it was time to head out to our activity for the day. Ogden Nature Center! We had a great time with our friends and saw birds and Deer and some turkeys. I am still trying to find an exercise calculator that will tell me how many calories you burn carrying a 23 pound toddler through the woods with a 45 pound Preschooler attached to your leg. Check out our photo montage....it's not very long.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Kids were tuckered out and took a good two hour nap and I cleaned the kitchen and read my book. Then....things went terribly wrong. Children woke up cranky and started fighting with each other. There was lots of crying...mostly from me.

At 5:10pm, I remembered that Calvin said he was going to be very late coming home. At 5:11pm, I made popcorn chicken for Mallory and poured myself a glass of wine and got into my new comfy pink jammies and slippers. At 5:19pm, I turned on the TV and went back to reading my book.

Lesson learned: I do need to cut back on my time on the computer. There are many other things I need to and would like to be doing. But I can't cut it out completely. It was nice to have a break and focus on the kids....that is where my main focus should be. I am a doer and I thrive on being busy but I need to take the time to be in the moment more.

And man! I missed my friends!

I'm Unplugged!

Today is the day! I'm unplugged from all my electronic devices for the entire day! No computer, twitter, facebook and television. I am also going to unplug my washer and dryer!

I will be leaving my phone on. I don't have a land line....so it will be on for hubby to call me and tell me he's coming home from work. And for emergencies. But I won't be accessing the internet from it. And no texting.

Instead, the kids and I have plans to meet our friends Monica, William and Kate at the Nature Center and we will plant some flowers and we will play! During nap time, I will read and work on my Vision Board. I can't wait to see how we do without all of these things that we depend on but probably spend too much time on.

I told Calvin about this challenge and he rolled his eyes at me. I tried to explain to him that my *friends* on my blogs, twitter and facebook are like my co-workers. You all are the people that I talk with and that most times help get me through another monotonous day. If it wasn't for the internet...I wouldn't have any adult interaction. It is a lifeline for me and I love it. But it is possible to have too much of a good thing and I realize that.

Ironically, Oprah is doing a show about living without TV, Internet and Cell Phone. I won't be watching it...until tomorrow!

Tomorrow....I will be back with pictures of our day!

The Bachelorette ~ Get The Party Started!

I have been waiting oh so patiently for The Bachelorette: Jillian Harris Edition to premiere. Even my husband (who swears every single season that he is not going to watch this trainwreck show) was asking me when it was going to start.

A few months ago, I even did a post on my shopping blog about what I would wear if I were Jillian. I was thrilled when they showed her going shopping for her wardrobe! What a lucky girl!

I had the best of intentions for preparing to blog about this season of The Bachelorette. I was going to take notes and rewind lots of it to get quotes and I was going to drink wine! The first thing I did was trade my wine for an ice cream sandwich which kind of killed the mood for me. Then, as the guys were going introduced...I didn't like any of them. Except maybe that one guy that says he lives in Denver. But I only liked him because he lives in Denver. And the Billbro guy (real name GREG) was totally grossing me out! I almost threw up. And then the guy....the one that called her HOT TUB HARRIS! I would have sent his ass packing immediately!

Did you catch the breakdancing faceoff? I was kind of impressed that these guys could pull off these moves in their sunday best and that Jillian kicked off her shoes and tried to learn a few steps!

The show finally got exciting for me when the Fabulous Five walked in! Oh a twist! I do love me a good Chris Harrison Twist! The newcomers are Ed, Bryce, Reid, Tanner P, and Mike. I loved that Mike threw her a baseball and said, 'You are a good catch!' Totally loved that!

I was curious about why she kept Simon from England because the guy needed subtitles! How much fun will their conversations be? It was sweet that he wanted to make her a spot of tea....but I never did see her talk with him. Maybe the subtitle translator was tired from the introductions.

I have to comment about the First Impression Rose. My understanding is that you give it the person that most impressed you. Someone that stood out. Not the guy that froze up and couldn't speak. It's not called the Pity Rose!

During the rose ceremony....I couldn't help but laugh at Stephen (the lawyer from New York City) because his face was hilarious! He was obviously upset that he wasn't getting a rose and on his way out the door to the limo said that Jillian must not like AWESOME guys! LOL! Here is who she kept:

Dave~27 Trucking Contractor from Ohio *First Impression Rose
Jake~ 31 Airline Pilot from Dallas *gave her wings
Jesse~27 Wine Maker from California
Wes~32 Country Music Singer from Austin *singing guy
Mathue~ 26 Personal Trainer from Wichita
Michael~25 Break Dance Instructor from New York
Robby~25 Bartender from Houston
Ed~29 IT Consultant from Chicago
Reid~ 30 Realtor from Philly
Simon~ 26 Soccer Coach from England *thick accent guy
Kiptyn~ 31 General Contractor from California
Mike~28 Baseball Camp Owner from NY *good catch guy
Brian~ 32 IT Consultant from Atlanta
Sasha~ 27 Oil and Gas Guy from Houston
Julien~34 Restauranteur from San Diego
Tanner P. ~ 30 Financial Analyst from Dallas *foot fetish guy
Mark~ 26 Pizza guy from Denver
Brad~27 Financial Advisor from Chicago
Tanner F. ~28 Sales Rep from Denver
Juan~35 General Contractor from California *brought her wine

If you would like to read more posts or link to your post about this season....run on over to Mama Kat's.

Love & Sunshine

I like to do little things for people. I like to send cards, packages and get gifts for people....even when it's not their birthday or christmas. I love to send handwritten notes & cards to my friends and family and finding just the right gift for them. In this fast paced world we live in, sometimes it is so nice to receive a little something in the mail that you weren't expecting. It is so easy to do everything by email...the art of letter writing is all but gone!

Just last week....the kids' got letters in the mail from their Nana. They were so excited and Mallory wouldn't even let me read her's to her for a while. She was reading it to herself and when I asked what it said she told me, 'Mally Mally Mally Nana Nana Mally'. This is the same girl that pulled the Twilight book off my book shelf yesterday and was trying to read it. She amazes me.

A couple months ago my friend Denise at EatPlayLove had a post about Paying It Forward, she wanted to spread some sunshine! I'm all about the sunshine! In fact my favorite song of all time, the one that reminds me of Colorado and that I want played at my Funeral is Sunshine on my Shoulders by John Denver.

Last week I received my package of sunshine in the mail from Denise! She sent me a Body & Soul Magazine and a mixed CD of awesome music. It came at the most perfect time (at the end of a frustrating day) and lifted my spirits. The next day when I listened to the CD she made for me I was reminded of my special friendship with this wonderful woman. I felt so loved and happy!


So here is the deal...the first three people to comment on this post will receive a special package full of Love & Sunshine sometime this year. The winners in turn will need to post their own "pay it forward" for their readers and then they will post and the general loving project will grow and grow!

Weekend Update...Manic Housewife

Saturday & Sunday...What a great weekend! The kids got to spend lots of time with Nana, Poopa, AnJew and Bobert! The kids did great in the car (thanks to the in car entertainment system) and we came home all excited to try to find a job in Denver.

Monday...Calvin sent off a resume! I started packing and looking for a house. Already, you say? Yes. Already. This is how I roll! I'm motivated and excited. Thank god we don't have more boxes or half the house would be packed by now. Decide liquor cabinet needs decluttering and have a couple drinks in the middle of the day. Basil is coming up nicely.


Tuesday...A more detailed resume is requested from Calvin. I called the Moving company, cancelled my newspaper subscription and the plans for my recession garden. Got an awesome package in the mail from Denise at EatPlayLove. Mallory learned her ABC's and wants to me to Sing ON* Her all day long.


Wednesday...Trash Day! Failed to win the Colorado Lottery so I throw away half of our belongings when I realize that the housing market in Denver is out of control overpriced and we will only be able to afford a 2 bedroom townhouse. I made Apple Peanut Butter Sandwiches that were a huge hit.


Thursday...I realize I packed my underwear. Decide to buy new undergarments at Target the next day instead of unpacking it. Don't want to send the wrong message to the universe. Start working on my Vision Board. Make an Executive decision not to shop for food so that we don't have to throw anything out when we move. Kids have been eating lots of eggs, cereal, Spam and expired juice boxes. I unearth a package of mystery meat from the freezer and the kids immediately start making me a grocery list. We order pizza and Alex answers the door without his pants on. I am now THAT Mom.

Mallory wrote down what Alex said we needed

Friday....I text Calvin every 30 minutes asking if he has heard anything about the job. He eventually turns off his phone. Me and the kids go on our first outing to Target alone. Alex walks with me nicely through the entire store until we get to the bakery and he sees the Donut case. Throws huge freaking tantrum on the floor until a super nice Mom with 5 kids enlightens me to the FREE COOKIE stand! God.Bless.Her! Stop at Mc Donald's for crack Iced Coffee and find out they are marketing to children now. Mallory cheers!


Saturday...Weeded stupid flower bed in front yard and vow not to plant another f**king thing there because I can't keep up with the weeds. Buy some storage containers at Wal-Mart so I can continue packing organizing. Meet my friend Monica at the nursery to buy a couple tomato plants for now defunct Recession Garden and decide to plant an Artichoke plant in the front flower bed because it will grow 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. F**k You Weeds! Stop at liquor store and buys lots of wine.....

Potty Training Update. The plan to reward the boy with pieces of Thomas the Train crap has failed miserable. He refuses to go potty and when I ask him if he wants {insert Train Name here} he tells me that he has enough train stuff. So....a new shirt is being made.

Will NOT Poop For Thomas

* Mallory says Sing ON Me instead of Sing WITH me! It's so stinkin cute!

Summer Passports

I love blank notebooks. I have them all over the place with little lists in them. And I love my journals.....always on the lookout for the next one I will fill with my life story.

So the other day, I had an idea that I wanted to find two little notebooks with hard covers that would serve as a Summer Passport for the kids to document where we have gone and things we have done. You know I love to chronicle our lives and reminiscing is so much fun!

I had planned to go to Target and find the perfect notebooks and decorate them. But I never made it to Target (not even when I was in Denver) and I really wanted to get started so I did what I always do when I need something special and creative....I went to Etsy.

I was so excited when I came across these awesome travel journals that have a passport cover.
It contains 40 blank pages and each cover has an inner pocket for stashing paper bits, flat souvenirs, or ticket stubs. The title pages are covered in fabulous airmail stripes, and five reproduction vintage-styled travel tags are included to get you started. ~quoted from Spacedogs Studios

All of this for only $11! Perfect!

I can't wait to start filling these will all of our adventures, outings and trips! And I hope someday they will enjoy looking at them and remembering what fun we had together!

EDITED: I did get 2 of these....a red one for Alex and a pink one for Mallory.

Manic Martha: Cereal Postcards

It's time for another Manic Martha Moment with Manic Mother! Today I am pulling a craft idea from the archives. Last August, I became Manic and Panicked that the summer was passing us by and we hadn't done much of anything. I concocted something I called, Fun Extravaganza and we did fun crafts and activities for a couple of weeks until I burned myself out. LOL! Click HERE to see all of the stuff we did.

We love to send (and receive) Mail so I made some postcards from cereal and other boxes. Alex and Mallory colored on the back....we love sharing our artwork with our family!


All you need to do for this one is cut your cereal/pizza/snack boxes into 4 inch by 6 inch rectangles and with a Sharpie marker, draw a line down the center on the blank side. Draw a picture or write a message on the left hand side and the address of your recipient on the other side. And a post card stamp is only .28 cents!

By the way, did you know that postage went up 2 Cents yesterday? It now costs .44 cents to mail a letter!


I bought Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts last week. I like a lot of the ideas in the book but most of them fall under the category of things I'll probably never make. However, my taste in crafts tends to change every couple years and I always keep my Martha Books so I could end up making some of them. It also makes an excellent door stop!

EDITED: My sister spent the night with Jen Lancaster. Go HERE to check it out. I'm so jealous!!

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Have you ever been somewhere....and felt like you were exactly where you were supposed to be? A place where you can feel the energy and your body responds to it in a positive way? I suppose I feel a little like Jack from LOST and Denver is my Island.

I drove past our old house on Saturday. I do this every time I visit Denver but I never photograph the house because it looks so different....the big trees in the front yard are gone and there are now shutters and flower beds. I drove around to the park behind the house and I sat in front of the playground. When I was pregnant with Alex, we would walk around this park at night and I would imagine how much time I would be spending here with my children.

I plucked a sprig of Lilac and headed to breakfast with Denise from Eat Play Love at Blue Sky Cafe. I love meeting blogging friends and she is fabulous! Our conversation was fast and covered many topics. It felt like I was chatting with an old friend....not someone I had just met for the first time. We talked about my desire to move back and she encouraged me to do what I need to do to make that happen. We also came up with a Twitter Name for Calvin. NitNots!*
I'm so upset that I forgot to get a picture with Denise!

We visited a couple toy stores in our quest for Potty Training bribes materials for Alex. The plan is to give him a piece of track for each successful PEE and a train/bridge for each POO. I'm having a shirt made for him...

WILL POO FOR THOMAS!

My concern is that he will be so conditioned to receiving a toy for each potty experience that he will only potty at Toys R Us! DOOD! That's a 30 minute drive each time the kid has to crap!

We ate an awesome Sushi lunch at Mikuni in the Park Meadows Mall and the kids sat at the Sushi Bar for the first time. I stuffed myself and developed a small crush on my Sushi Master Jimmy. But isn't he adorable?

I couldn't wait for my date with Calvin! We saw David Copperfield at our favorite venue. The Buell Theater in beautiful Downtown Denver! Imagine our surprise when we drove up to our favorite parking lot and there is now a high rise building going up there! We had great seats and we made out like teenagers. David was already working his magic....

Calvin was looking at the playbill and there was an ad for WICKED and he said of all of the shows we have seen he would love to see that one again and I said, 'you really want to see it again'? and he said Yes and I said when is it going to be in Denver? He looked and saw October...the same time I have a trip planned for his birthday and he figured out that I had bought tickets! I'm so glad because I SUCK at keeping secrets!

The show was wonderful and I was hit in the head with David Copperfield's Balls! It is an amazing show! We walked along the 16th Street Mall to our favorite restaurant...Gumbo's! It was a beautiful night and we held hands and talked about some of our favorite times. We enjoyed a delicious meal and a couple glasses of wine and we talked about our future.....we both got tears in our eyes as we discussed how much we wanted to be back in Colorado and how happy we are with our kids.

And then the super models walked in. It was Prom Night in Denver and a group of teens were there for dinner. The girls were all tall, thin and tan! Wearing slinky gowns and tons of make up. Then I had a Oatmeal Cookie Martini.**

see how happy Calvin is to be in Denver?

We walked back to our car and pasted our favorite hotel. We thought about sneaking in for a quickie....
And this is when it hit me. This is where our story really began...this is where we fell in love and this is where we belong.

I am now on a mission...to get us back home....to Denver!

*NitNots is the dull character from Imagination Movers that doesn't like things to get too exciting.

**Oatmeal Cookie...Jagermeister, Cinnamon Schnapps, Baileys, Butterscotch Schnapps.Shaken and served with a Cinnamon Sugar Rim

this song came on as we drove back to my in laws house Saturday night.....

Oh my Candida
We could make it together
The further from here girl the better
Where the air is fresh and clean
Oh my Candida
Just take my hand and I'll lead ya
I promise that life will be sweeter
'Cause it said so in my dreams
The future looks bright
The gypsy told me so last night
Said she saw our children playing in the sunshine
And there were you and I
In a house, Baby
No lie
And all these things were yours
And they were mine
Oh my Candida

Candida...Tony Orlando & Dawn

Weekend Update...Milestones

Sunday...My gosh I had to rest!

Monday' s are always good for preparing for the week. It was a lovely day so I left the back door open and let some air in....and a giant bug that I STILL can't find. I put on my hat, in case it was to fly into my hair and then I couldn't see up to where it might be. I decided that ignorance is bliss. You know how we had lots of rain over the weekend? I somehow forgot about that and let the kids out to play....in the mud! My inner Kate Gosselin was all freaked out and we had to have bath time at 4:30pm and Mallory was mad at me because she thought she had to go to bed. Ever give a cat a bath? Ever give a 22 pound cat a bath? That's what it was like! When Calvin got home he had a heart to heart talk with Alex and they made a decision to take down the crib. Mommy cried.

Tuesday is when all the action seems to happen! We made a trip to Wal-Mart and Alex helped me remember what we were shopping for. He is sure becoming helpful! We decided to do a little craft project that required Glow In The Dark Paint. We have made a little tent with a sheet over the top half of Alex's big boy bed and we thought it would look cool with some stars painted on it. We also needed some more jammies for the little boy that is growing faster than weeds! He picked out a lovely Minnie Mouse NIGHTGOWN but I talked him into the Thomas PJ's. We came home, painted the sheet and then I decided to really get crazy and I got out the poster paints that we bought the kids for Christmas. They had a blast! And then Mallory, covered in paint...took off running up the stairs leaving a trail of green in her path!

Here is Mallory celebrating Jen Lancaster Day.


Wednesday I got the brilliant idea that I should try working out while the kids play in the basement. My home Gym IS in the kids' playroom afterall. It worked out great! I only had to jump off the elliptical a couple times to break up fights and I now have no excuse whatsoever to exercise. I should start shrinking any day now....

Thursday is a super busy day! We are getting ready for our trip to Denver, leaving early Friday morning. I asked the kids to pack a cloth shopping bag with toys they wanted to bring to Nana's house. Mallory was the first to return with her bag...it contained books and the coffee mug from her play kitchen. That's what I'm bringing too! Books and Coffee! Gosh I love this kid. Alex returned soon after with a building from his Thomas Train, Sam and some wooden blocks. I asked if this was all he was bringing and he said YEP. I said, 'what about some track?' Oh yeah he said and ran off. He returned with TWO pieces of track. Then I asked about trains. Oh yeah and off again. Then I said 'what about cars Alex, do you need any cars?' Oh yeah! He was channeling Steve Martin...it was hilarious!

Friday, we are on our way.....see you on Monday!

Time in a Bottle

I'm going to do something wild and crazy that I've been thinking about for a while now. I'm going to UNPLUG. Let me explain.....

I spend a lot of time online. I blog and read blogs, I twitter and facebook. I love interacting with other mom's on the internet and I frequently spend time researching recipes and crafts and I could spend a whole day on Etsy! My iPhone is never far from my reach and I feel lost when it is plugged in recharging. The other day...I went to Lowe's and realized I had left my phone at home...and I felt like I lost a body part!

This feels like a problem. An addiction that I need to get under control.

I sometimes think about all of the stuff I could be doing if I wasn't so attached to these things. I have so many books that I want to read and things I want to do and crafts I want to make.....

Summer is around the corner and there will be less time online because I have big plans for the kids and we will have a garden to water and there will be lots of walks and playing. My kids are so young and so much fun and I don't want to waste any time that I should be spending with them. Time is passing much to fast.....

And another wake up call? My daughter is always saying...Listen To Me! Perhaps I'm not doing enough listening and my attention is not where it should be....

It seems like the perfect time to start to wean myself from my desk chair....and my couch!

I read this post today and I'm taking the challenge. One day in May...completely unplugged!
On May 20th, I will unplug from everything....iPhone, Computer and TV. I will spend the day with my kids and we will enjoy the day free from distraction! We will photograph our day...and post about it on June 1st.

Who wants to join me?

Celebrating Jen Lancaster Day!

Happy Jen Lancaster Day!

I had this idea kicking around in my head a few weeks ago that May 5th should be Jen Lancaster Day. If you have been reading my blog for more than 5 minutes you probably know who Jen is and that she is my favorite author of all time. I have been reading her books for a couple months now and today her newest book Pretty in Plaid is coming out! What's that? May 5th is Cinco De Mayo? I think I can safely say that Mexico is not our best friend right now and we are much better off celebrating someone that doesn't give us the flu and make us die. Right?


I was so excited that I thought the whole day should be devoted to Jen and my quest to find her book. Find her book, you say? Yes. Here's the deal....in Utah, unless your book is about vampires....it is a little hard to find a funny, sassy book with cuss words in it. Dang it. See! I couldn't even cuss just then because I am in Utah. In fact, when my sister was here a few weeks ago....we searched high and low in Target for Such a Pretty Fat and finally found a copy on the bottom shelf.

Which brings me to my next order of business. I am going to put Jen's new book, Pretty in Plaid in front of all of the Twilight books other books at the store. So it's just a sea of Plaid! Good idea right? I want everyone to know how great these books are!

And because it isn't a party without a theme...I am dressed in Plaid & Pearls today! I even unearthed my Fauxberry purse from the closet! And when I return home with my prized possession...I am going to have a White Russian! It will be 5 o'clock somewhere....


I'm also going to let you in on a little secret....for years it has been my dream to travel to Chicago and meet Oprah. Like if I were on my death bed and you asked me 'what do you want to do?' I would say....Eat Fried Chicken with Oprah! This is no longer my last dying wish. Now, I want to go to Chicago and meet Jen Lancaster.

I have a family vacation to Milwaukee planned in July and we are going to Chicago for one day. My family doesn't know it yet but they are going to help me locate and stalk meet Jen! Oprah can suck it.

So you know what you need to do today right? Get out there and buy Pretty in Plaid! Heck just buy all four books because they are all hilarious!

What's Cookin with Mallory

Welcome to Mallory's Kitchen!

Mommy is very busy making lists and checking them twice getting ready for our trip next weekend so I told her that I would take over the blog for the day.

One of my favorite things to do is to imitate my Mommy in my play kitchen. She is a fabulous cook and I know she works very hard at finding great recipes and making nice meals for us which Alex refuses to eat and I like to throw on the floor.

Today I am making a really special dish that is so easy *even a cranky Alex could make it*. It is called Skillet Fried Burger Cheese!

This is the tricky part....are you paying attention?

It is all about the technique. You have to push the lettuce down like this into the skillet.

Awww....screw it, let's use the rolling pin to flatten the burger cheese. It needs to be very, very thin. Cook it like this for about 45 seconds and then serve it to your brother. Don't for get to make him do the dishes when you are done.

Enjoy!

Martha....look out!

Weekend Update...Singing in the Rain!

Last Sunday marked the first day of Potty Training. Any hopes of training both kids at the same time have been dashed! Mallory wants nothing to do with it. The good news is that Alex is so greedy in love with Thomas stuff that he will do just about anything to get more trains. He had a gold star day...going potty 4 times and wearing real underwear for a couple of hours.

Monday...more potty training that came to an abrupt stop when a ball of poo rolled across my living room floor. Major Potty Training Fail! The kids played with their dyed pasta. Next week I will introduce GLUE! I also discovered my new favorite thing...Cold Brewed Iced Coffee.


Tuesday...we went to the Union Station Museum and purchased a Season Pass. This pass will allow us access to the train museum, Ogden Nature Center and the Dinosaur Park for a full year. Also 10% off all items at the gift shop which had some adorable goodies in it. This special pass is a well kept secret that I am letting out of the bag! This offer is only good at the Union Station. We walked around a bit looking at the trains and the kids enjoyed their first Junior Mint in front of the fountain. Now we will have plenty to keep us busy this summer!


Wednesday... Potty training has been suspended until further notice. We were supposed to go to the Ogden Nature Center but I woke up with a migraine and it was a little chilly so we cancelled. That night, I went to dinner with my friend Loralee who is about to have a baby boy named Aaron! We spent four hours eating, talking and laughing! It was just what I needed....

I have very little recollection of Thursday. Why do Thursday's do this to me? I do know that I made a very good choice and turned down pizza and asked Calvin to bring me a sandwich from Subway! YAY me!

Friday...rain! All morning. The afternoon brought sunshine! We went out for iced cream and then the kids played in the backyard until bedtime...they slept like logs!

Saturday...MORE RAIN! I participated in the March of Dimes Walk with Monica and Kaycee and we were marching for Maddie Spohr. We were soaked! But we had a great time talking and walking and listening to The Band. I raced home in time to change out of my super wet clothes, pick up Alex and we went to our friend Haylie's 1st Birthday Party. He inhaled a pink cupcake and played with his girl friends. Then I raced home and dropped Alex off and went to get my hair cut. I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Have a great week!

The Year Ahead...May

The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.
- Edwin Way Teale

April got away from me. I know many of you Mom's understand that your brain wants to shut down and go into denial when your baby turns three. It is completely hard to imagine that 1095 days have gone by and this baby is now turning into a BOY. And the BOY suddenly doesn't need a nap and wakes up at the crack of dawn and can escape from his cage crib.

The good news is that SPRING is always a time of renewal for me. The snow melts away and I expose my super white feet to the sun and I realize I desperately need a pedicure and some new sandals! May brings hope and promise and planting of flowers and seeds! It brings fresh vegetables, grilled food and children playing in the sprinklers!

This is going to be a great summer! I can already tell. There is a big family vacation to Wisconsin planned. We have the kids signed up for Parent/Child swimming lessons, I bought a summer pass to the Union Station Museum which includes free admission to a nature center and a Dinosaur Park. I have started leafing through all of my books and torn out magazine pages looking for fun crafts and ideas for lazy summer days.

Melissa at The Inspired Room has inspired me to work on my goals again and it all started with her list of 20 Little Happy Things. Here are mine....

1. Cold Brewed Coffee
2. The Kid's playing and laughing together
3 When the UPS man brings me packages
4. Magazines in the Mail
5. Tweets from Martha Stewart
6. A fresh Subway Sandwich
7. Snuggling up with my husband to watch TV
8. Dining with a friend that makes me laugh
9. Sipping Red Wine
10. Laughing with my sister
11. Shopping for adorable clothes and shoes for my daughter
12. Getting Comments on my blogs (yes...I have 4 now)
13. When my husband is inspired...he's working on a new project
14. The first tulips of the season
15. Driving my new truck...thanks Big Poppa
16. Sitting in the Sun
17. Pour Some Sugar On Me...just heard it Wednesday night
18. Curling up on the couch with a great book...Jen Lancaster is my favorite!
19. Dessert!
20. Thinking about the future with my husband and children....The Best Is Yet To Come!

My goals for this month are going to be pretty simple....I'm trying not to have two many balls in the air because when I do this I tend to drop all of them and they roll under the couch and it takes me a couple weeks to find them all.

Weight....I started a new blog to help me really focus on the task at hand. I feel like it is helping me make the changes that I need to make. I would really like to lose 10 pounds by the end of May when the swimming lessons start. I have a lot of work to do....

Cooking...I joined the Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks! I'm so excited to complete these challenges and learn more. I also bought a couple new cookbooks and I'm anxious to go through them and find new recipes.

Garden...Me and the kids have already started our Recession Garden and it will be in full swing once we get back from Denver next weekend!

The Kids...Now that summer is approaching I am making big plans! My goal is to see our friends for playdates a couple times a month, go to story time at the library, do crafts, go hiking and find all kinds of fun things for us to do.

Big Poppa...I have some plans in the works...can't really discuss them here since he occasionally reads the blog once in a while but I am getting some great ideas from Love Actually! Cher's blog is devoted to creative ideas for Romance on a budget. I have already gotten so many great ideas from her and the one that started it...send a sexy text to your hubby! I won't tell you what happened after I did this....I'll just saw it was GOOD!

Me Time...I am still struggling to make myself a priority. I feel guilty when I ask for time away from the house alone. Even though I NEED this time and everyone is in a better mood when we get this break. I must make time to exercise. I must have some alone time to regroup.

I'm looking forward to a great month! Head on over to The Inspired Room...she has a giveaway!

Dyeing Pasta

I'm thrilled that I now have an outlet for my wanna be Martha side of my personality! Manic Mother is hosting a weekly monthly post link up for us to explore our creative sides. Martha Stewart has been inspiring me for many years. I even have a little shrine next to my computer with my Homekeeping bible, my Cooking School book and the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. I often look to the picture I cut out of a magazine and think...What Would Martha Do? My posts will contain photos, kids crafts, some recipes and other fun things that I find to do. Just this morning I was inspired to make something!

My shrine to Martha....

I found this craft project last summer at Tutus and Turtles. My kids are ready to start really learning their colors and to count...Mallory can already count to 10! I tried to make enough of them so that we could do many projects with it. Click on the photos to make them bigger.

bags of green, blue, red, orange and purple pasta

Alex likes to line his up....

many different shapes to choose from

sort them by color, or not....

Dyeing Pasta

What you need:

food coloring
dried pasta (any kind)
lots of rubbing alcohol
ziploc freezer bags (to prevent leakage)

Directions:

1. Place noodles in ziploc freezer bags. Place bags on a plate or cookie sheet in case of leaks.
2. Completely cover the noodles with rubbing alcohol
3. Mix in food coloring, 5-6 squirts in each
4. Let the noodles sit to absorb color, as little as 30 minutes or overnight. The longer it sits the deeper the color.
5. Once desired color is reached, drain liquid (do not rinse) and dry noodles on cookie sheets.

Noodles can be used for sorting colors and shapes and making crafts. Let your imagination soar!

Why Only 11 Questions?

How fun! A *tag* from one of my favorite new bloggers! Vivienne wanted me to answer some questions and I love when people show an interest in me what I'm thinking so here we go....

1. What is your current obsession? Cooking, Baking, Blogging about Cooking and Baking and Cold Brewing Iced Coffee. I have been trying lots of new recipes, I just joined The Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks and I'm following a bunch of foodies on Twitter. I'm also obsessed with looking for new awesome restaurants in Salt Lake City that I will never visit because we can't take our daughter out to eat anymore because she misbehaves and we end up spending half of our meal on the *naughty curb* outside of the restaurant.

2. Which item of clothing do you wear most often? My black fleece pants from Old Navy. I love these pants....they are so comfortable and they stand up to several days of wear without needing washed. My sister says that I look like a burglar when I wear them because I tend to pair it with my black v-neck t-shirt, or black fleece pullover. This will have to change because it is SPRING now and someone will call the NOPD or Brother Horton if I walk around the neighborhood like that.

3. What's for dinner? Tonight I will be preparing a new recipe called Sticky Coconut Chicken. I will be slipping the tender breasts into a lovely coconut milk marinade here shortly and I will be grilling them later. Here is the rest of my menu for the week.

4. What are you listening to? Complete silence! The children are nusseled all snug in the beds as visions of Ice Ceam dance in their heads!

5. Say something about the one who tagged you. Vivienne at The V Spot....is my people! She is beautiful, funny and smartassy. I love that she ended up with her high school sweetheart! If you don't read her blog...you should!

6. Favorite vacation spots? I have had the most fun at Disney World. Calvin and I spent our honeymoon there and we can't wait to take the kids. I have always loved my family's cabin in Northern Minnesota but I haven't been there in years. I loved Vegas with my hubby and I would do anything to be laying on a beach right now sipping Margarita's as long as I wasn't in Mexico.

7. What am I reading right now? I am reading Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster! Love it! Can't wait to read the next two. And I bought Twilight....

8. Four words to describe myself. Passionate, meticulous, funny, controling

9. Guilty pleasure? Buying expensive cheeses from the deli in SLC and enjoying them with a bottle of wine.

10. First spring thing to do? Pull Weeds!

11. What do I look forward to? I look forward to my kids getting a little bit older and being able to take them on vacations and experiencing things with them. I'm anxious to take them to Washington DC, New York City and to a beach. Being able to have an actual conversation with them and making sure they feel heard and understood and valued. A million firsts....

Now the game states I need to pass these questions on to others whose blogs I admire.

Bobbi at Bobbi in Lala Land
Jen at Harried Mom of Four
Monica at Moon Over Maize
Loukia at Loulou's Views

Winners and Cheesecake!

The winner of the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD is Jessica [Mommy]!

Congratulations Jessica!

Mrs. D was absolutely right! Scary Mark is one of the co-founders of DEVO!

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Do you like Cheesecake? I like it okay...I've never loved it until now! I recently joined The Daring Bakers so that I could work on my baking skills and because I love to eat! This month's challenge was a Cheesecake and it turned out so good that I wanted to share it with you. Well...not the actual cheesecake, but the recipe. It was much easier than I thought it would be. Click HERE to see my masterpiece!

Weekend Update: Spring has Sprung

This is going to be a new weekend feature to update our family and Calvin of what we have done all week. So...if the mundane details of our lives don't interest you....you have my permission to skip my weekend posts (i usually don't post on the weekends anyway) and return to our regularly scheduled programming on Mondays. I should tell you...this next week is going to be exciting! I will be announcing the winner of the DVD, Sego Lily will be announcing the 5 blogging finalists for their blogger contest (please let me be one of them) and it is time for another edition of the Connie Diaries!

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You may have seen in the news this week that Utah finally melted. Can I get a WOOT WOOT! We had been cooped up in the house for far too long and we were excited to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather so we went to the park THREE times and saw ALL of our friends.

Tuesday, we went to the park by our house and we met a super nice little boy named Garrett. He was also 3 yrs old and he was in love with Mallory. He played so nicely with the kids and was a joy to be around so I befriended his Mom. We had a lovely conversation and I thought things were going really well. I was really working it and thought she was liking me AND my mormon haircut and I suggested that we should exchange numbers so we could get the kids together to play and then....she abruptly ran to her minivan and left. I guess she really wasn't that into me....

Wednesday, we met Monica and her crew at another park and had a lovely time. We enjoyed some icey Starbucks Coffee drinks and chatted a little bit.

The kids had a great time playing and rolling down a hill and Mallory chased Alex everywhere. and then....I went down this slide and got stuck. This really helped to jump start my exercise routine and motivated me to eat a plate of vegetables.


Wednesday was also Earth Day so we celebrated by not turning on the air conditioner and we made these awesome Kabobs for dinner.

On Thursday, we met Shannon, Haylie, Sara and Sophie at the park by our house and I was hoping that Mom would be there so I could show her that I do have friends and people like me dammit but she wasn't there. We enjoyed Iced Coffee from McDonalds and I didn't get to talk to my friends much because Alex and Mallory were burned out from 3 park visits in a row and were crabby and some stupid boy growled at Mallory and pissed her off.

We also had a lot of fun playing in the backyard this week! The kids love to draw with the Sidewalk Chalk that Aunt Bobbi bought for them and Mallory was so cute....drawing little circles on the cement and then jumping in and out of them. Daddy taught her the word Hopscotch!

Alex just likes to jump!

He was a little miffed at sister about something but I was so thrilled that his outfit matched so well and I wasn't even trying....
Here is the tree in our backyard...the leaves are just starting to bud! I'm trying to document this tree because the leaves always sneak up on me.

We started our Recession Garden this week. We planted Mint, Chives and Large Leafed Italian Basil(seeds) in this metal container. This is going to be a summer project for me and the kids and they are very excited about it.

I am trying to encourage Alex to use the potty. So far he has wanted nothing to do with it so I decided to try bribing him. I told him that if he used the potty for TWO weeks...I would buy him another Thomas Train item. We spit in our hands and shook on it and then he spent the entire day pouring over one of the Thomas propaganda that comes with every single Thomas thing you buy. So far...he is only interested in figuring out what I am going to buy for him and hasn't started using the potty yet.

Today is Saturday and the cool, rainy weather has returned. Calvin and the kids are off at the pet store and I am enjoying some peace and quiet! Trying to decide if I should clean a bathroom or read a book.....

Have a great week!

March for Maddie!