24 Weeks

This morning I went in for my 24 week prenatal appointment. Everything is still going great. I feel really good. For a while there I was exhausted all of the time, but for now I seem to be over that.
I can feel our little guy move all of the time and I love it! It is so neat. Jack has been telling me for a couple of weeks now that he wanted to be the first person to feel the baby kick. I laid down the other day while baby boy was moving around and had Jack put his hand on my stomach. Just a second later, Jack was being kicked. He laughed and ran into the living room where Nixin was and said "Nixin! That was so freaking cool. I was the first person to feel the baby move!" And as far as he knows, he was.
This past weekend was a big one in the baby naming department at our house. I think that we may have finally agreed on one. I would like to know what our family and friends think though before we make it official, so don't forget to vote on our poll!

Trampoline

About two weeks ago, Nixin asked me if we could count the money in his piggy bank. We pulled it down, along with Jack's, and started counting. Much to my surprise, my boys had somehow saved $150!!! When we came up with the final amount, Jack shouted "We have enough to buy a trampoline!"

We agreed that if they wanted to buy a trampoline with their money that we would let them. After much searching, we finally found the one. Chad and the boys put it up last night and the boys have been on it every free minute since. It is great to see them using their energy outside jumping around instead of sitting in front of the TV. I have learned by watching them today, that trampolines also make great wrestling arenas.

Tulips

Two years ago, our family moved into a wonderful house in a wonderful neighborhood with a wonderful yard. Seriously, our yard is the best. When I walked outside this evening, look what I saw! We have the most beautiful tulips.

I love spring!

My True Love

I know that most of you probably thought that Chad was my true love, and usually he is. But when compared with a fresh Dunford Donut right from the Dunford Bakery, the donut will always win :)
I know that I have a problem. I think that I crave these babies more than anything else. With the factory so close...well, that is trouble for me! And it is not any one donut flavor in particular. I love the chocolate frosted chocolate donuts, the white frosted white donuts (with or without nuts or sprinkles), the raspberry filled, pudding filled with chocolate frosting, or the apple fritters. Any will do.
When I stopped by there this afternoon they also had cupcakes! They were darling and the girl working there said that they were just as good as the donuts. I don't know how that could really be, but they must be some pretty good cupcakes. The best part is that they sell them for the same price as a dozen donuts. What a deal! I know where I am going the next time we have a birthday at our house. That is a much better deal than buying a cake from the store.
Mmmmmm! I LOVE donuts!
*In case you don't know where the Dunford Bakery is, their address is 8556 South 2940 West in West Jordan right behind the Jordan Valley Hospital. Go there soon.

Easter 2009

The boys woke up so excited. They knew that the Easter Bunny had been here. The carrots that they had left out were only crumbs now. But where could he have hidden the Easter baskets?

On to the egg hunt. We have a couple of good hunters on our hands. They found all but 2 of the eggs (I know that because I found them myself this afternoon!) and had a lot of fun doing so.

Do you think we have enough candy filled eggs at our house? They should last us a while!

The boys baskets were filled with art supplies. Immediately following the big hunt, it was very important to play with their new goodies. One thing that the boys found in their baskets was molding clay. Nixin wanted to play with that first. He opened it up, squished it around for all of 2 seconds and he said "This stuff really stinks!" and he started dry heaving. It was so funny but it may not ever get played with at our house again. The Easter Bunny knows for next time.

Everyone was hungry after all of the excitement, so we decided to make pancakes, bunny pancakes.

Following breakfast, we all got ready for church. It was at this time that I put away the camera and forgot to get it out again for the rest of the day. I wish I would have gotten pictures of the boys in their handsome church clothes, or of my family (Grandpa Bob, Patsy, Luke, Lindsey, and Chris) eating Easter dinner together. But I didn't. I should have also gotten pictures of the boys blowing bubbles or playing soccer in the back yard with uncle Luke or of our funny dog going down the playground slide all by herself and getting so excited. We had a lot of fun this Easter and made some good memories.

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs

At our house nobody cares for hard boiled eggs. We have made them in years past and they just go to waste. So, this year we went with a little bit different Easter Egg. I whipped up a batch of Rice Krispie Treats (using caramel vanilla flavored marshmallows) and we used plastic eggs to mold the treats into egg shapes. Then we dipped them in chocolate and decorated them. I loved doing this with my boys and the eggs were really yummy!

100% BOY

What a great day! I am sitting at my computer with dinner on the stove, fresh cookies coming out of the oven, the windows open listening to the laughter of my little guys playing in the back yard and everything looked great at my doctor's appointment today. I am happy.

I am officially half way through this pregnancy! I can't believe that when I say it. It is bitter sweet for me. I don't mind being pregnant, in fact, I usually quite enjoy it. This one has been a little different with the placenta previa and all of its scares, but over all I have felt great. Knowing that it will be my last go at it makes me a little sad. It is such a neat thing to be able to make a baby, I will miss so many things about this.

I had my 20 week ultrasound this morning. I love seeing the little baby! We had questioned the last ultrasound's sex prediction, but it was, without question, still a boy. I was shocked 6 weeks ago when I heard that news, but have come to be very okay with it. It will be great to have another boy in our home.

Everything else looked absolutely perfect with our littlest guy. It is amazing to me the things that the ultrasound can see. The little chambers of the heart, the spine, kidneys, stomach, diaphragm, blood flow through the umbilical cord, and not to mention all of the baby's features. We could see his little profile, his mouth opening and closing, his little arms that he loves to keep right up there by his face, his feet, and of course, the "boy parts". How amazing it is to be able to see those things.

Good news for me too. The placenta was a good 4 centimeters away from my cervix, so this placenta previa really does seem to be taking care of itself. Hooray!

Here are a couple of the pictures that were taken today:

Isn't he adorable? I can't wait to meet him :)

Farmer's Strata

My favorite website, http://www.allrecipes.com/, has come through for me again! Every General Conference Sunday, we get together for breakfast with our friends, the Hoggans. I made this strata and took it with us. It was AWESOME!


3/4-1 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 pound country style sausage*
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
10 slices white bread, cubed
1 cup cubed cooked potatoes
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
8 eggs
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 dash salt and pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; add onion. Cook and stir until onion is tender; drain. In a separate skillet, cook sausage until cooked through; drain. Add sausage to bacon and onion.
In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish, layer half the bread cubes, potatoes and cheese. Top with all of the bacon mixture. Repeat layers of bread, potatoes and cheese.
In a bowl, beat the eggs; add milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over all. Cover and chill overnight.
Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 65-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
* The original recipe called for 2 cups of chopped fully cooked ham. If using this, add to the bacon when adding the onion.

Our family has always had the tradition of eating what we called a "souffle" at Christmas morning breakfast. As I have taken on this cooking hobby of mine, I have learned that what we were actually eating is called a strata.

I have always loved eating this strata for breakfast, but the recipe really could have been better. I have tried a couple of different recipes and liked them, but this is the new keeper. It will be in our family for years to come as our new Christmas morning tradition.

Hot Chocolate Cake

I altered a recipe that called for coffee and came up with this delicious cake recipe. Ashley has suggested that I put it on my blog, so here you go!



1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup hot chocolate
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan.
In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

For Time and All Eternity

It was six years ago today that Chad and I were able to take our six week old baby, Jack, with us to the Bountiful Temple where we were sealed as a family for time and all eternity. I have spent a lot of time today remembering how special that day was for us. I am especially touched when I think of the little old lady bringing my baby into the room and placing his tiny hand on top of ours. What a strong spirit was in that room at that time. I know that families are forever and I am so grateful for my eternal family.