dinner story

i'll be the first to tell you that i don't plan meals very well. i'm grateful that spencer is really good about it. i can cook, but i'm not the best at planning ahead. i do pretty well when i have a menu-plan - don't ask why i don't do that more often. i do have my good times, however. sometimes i even plan more than just a main dish (i must admit that i usually just do a main dish).

today i had a great plan for dinner. three parts that didn't necessarily go together, but they were three things we had that i thought would be good. i was doing baked yams (bought them last week and didn't want them to go bad), pinto beans (we have tons and i've been wanting to try them for a while), and steamed carrots (i just got some today). spencer's last monday class goes until 6:30p and he found out this morning that he had to do research tonight at 7p. this afternoon i figured out when i needed to start everything in order for dinner to be ready by 6:30. the oven was set on timed bake for the yams. the beans were soaking on the stove. the carrots were peeled, cut, and in the steamer waiting to be turned on.

things were all going as planned and after benny got up from his nap and had a snack i hurried to get the boys ready to walk up to the creamery to get dessert for a family in the ward that just had a baby. spencer had said he'd go on his way home from class, but i was ready to go around 6. as i was crossing the street i saw spencer walking away from the creamery - he had gotten out of class early. after we got back i started the carrots and moved on to check the beans. as i was going to stir the beans i heard a crash and then benny start screaming. the steamer had fallen and all the carrots were all over the floor. i'm not sure if benny pulled on the cord or if the steamer just fell, but i have my suspicions... to top it off, the beans ended up taking a lot longer than i thought (i was about an hour off). tonight we had yams - and only yams - for dinner.

it's really not that bad, but when i had such high expectations, it's a little discouraging. i'm sure something like this will happen again, but i don't think that's a completely bad thing because it will mean that i'm getting closer to having real dinners on our kitchen table.

so, all of you reading this, help me feel a little better and share a "messed up meal" story of yours. :)

before and after

i've started walking again fairly regularly - whether i go or not is still contingent on andy's eating/sleeping schedule (because he's sleeping 8 to 9 hours/night it's easier to go). i'm really glad i walked throughout my pregnancy - it really helped me to be in good shape - and i'm glad i've been walking again - it's really been helping to get me back in better shape (not quite good shape yet).

the before picture (on the left) was taken 21 december 2007. i wasn't as big as i got by 6 feb. the after picture was taken 21 march 2008.

i'm hoping to keep up the walking as much as i can in the time to come. i'm really hoping i can make it work once we move to tulsa. our schedules will be so different then that we'll definitely have to work to make it happen.


i do make sure i go walking with both the boys. i don't have a picture yet, but try to imagine me pushing the stroller with benny in it and carrying andy in the baby bjorn. it works great and i'm sure it's giving me a great workout! we done that walk up to campus and even down to the park on center street. it works really well, so i don't think i'll be in the market for a double stroller any time soon.

new design

well, i did it. i finally changed the blog. i've been thinking about it for a while and did it last night. i can't remember who originally told me about this, but there's a blog out there (you can get there by clicking here) with all the instructions on how to change your layout. i don't think they're too hard to understand either.

our naked cowboys

it looks like benny and andy may have a future...

new pictures

just thought i'd post some new pictures that we've taken over the last little while. enjoy!

two tired boys. one can still sleep anywhere.

we still haven't told benny that we shared his spiderman couch with andy.

these two of benny just crack me up. he loves the back-pack and he just loves hats! i ask him if he's ready for school and he repeats, "school! school!" i hope he stays excited for it when he knows what it is.

this one reminds me a lot of benny.


my three boys.


after eating.


benny in his spiderman sweatshirt. i'm surprised his hood isn't on. like hats, benny loves hoods.


the first time we pulled the baby bjorn out for a family walk.
benny put it on and i'm still not sure if he wanted to ride in it or if he wanted to carry andy.


one of my favorites. i brought benny out and andy was on the floor (like he looks in the picture) and benny went straight to the blanket to lie down with him.
this makes me so excited to see benny as a big brother.

Thanks Sue and Jenny!

Thanks to Sue and Jenny for the gifts for Benny and Andy!

I have always been kinda morally opposed to dressing kids alike. I think it stems from those families (you know who I mean) that you see at places like Disneyland and Sea World where all of the kids (and sometimes the parents) are wearing clothes in the made-from-the-same-curtain style. You Von Trapp kids know what I am talking about.

Well, we figure that if we are going to dress our kids alike, it should at least be in something like this:

Sue and Jenny have always been the aunts who give the unique gifts, like the Kung Fu Hamster, or the Chuck Norris T-shirt. For anyone who has not learned about the legend that is Chuck Norris, you can read up on him here.

Chuck Norris puts the 'laughter' in manslaughter.


And yes, the marine in Chuck Norris' clutches has the last name of Sapp, but I am opting out of the obvious pun.

tag!

my sister bethany tagged me a little while ago and i've been taking my sweet time about it. so here we go...

the rules:
1. link to the person that tagged you.
2. post the rules on your blog.
3. share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5. let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. let the fun begin!

1. i have read 'pride and prejudice' almost once a year since i was in 7th grade. every time i read it i enjoy it and i find new things and gain new insights. if you haven't read it, you should - along with all the other jane austen novels out there.
2. i used to hate wearing pants (i think that came from growing up in las vegas). shorts were all i'd wear. when capris became popular i would swear i'd never wear them - i thought they were so weird. i'm not sure when it started, but i feel like i wear pants all the time - including when it's hot. i also wear capris.
3. some of my favorite clothes are maternity clothes. i do, however, only wear them when i'm pregnant because (thankfully!) they'd never fit otherwise.
4. i have all the words to 'where the wild things are' (story and pictures by maurice sendak) memorized - including where all the page turns are. it's benny's favorite book and there are days that i've read it countless times.
5. i love having quilts around. i love piecing them together myself and i love having them from others. we have a huge stack of quilts in our living room and i still plan on adding more. how many quilts is too many?
6. i was running out of ideas, so i kind-of stole this one from bethany, but it's true. i love to be outside. it's the best during spring/summer when you don't have to worry about it being cold at all. although i also love fall sweater weather when you can walk around breathing the brisk air. i'm also glad i walked so much over the winter before andy was born. it was so nice breathing the fresh air. i just love the fresh air and it makes me crazy when i realize at the end of the day that i've only been outside to throw diapers away.

i'm tagging heidi, jordyn, and lisa

"mommy"

this morning i was reading 'the incredibles' to benny and every time there was a picture of elastigirl benny would repeat "mommy" over and over again. then he started pointing to her and saying "mommy." apparently he thinks there's some resemblance.

what do you think?