Fun before Freezing

With days of rain and cold it was getting hard to keep the kids in check. The other morning we heard the city horn go off two times, which means school is canceled for the day. I looked outside and it was cloudy, nothing else. By noon, however, we had a few inches of snow. This is what the kids did all morning... stare out the window... Boring!! We decided to bundle up and go play. Now, my kids don't have any boots or anything really fit to play in the snow, with the exception of a coat and hat. We've only needed boots and suits at my moms so they stay there. Oops. We found a few layers to last a little while.

The neighbor from downstairs came out with a sled and his mom was kind enough to pull the kids up and down the side walk. They had so much fun. This was Halle's first time really playing in the snow and she loved it. They certainly had winter rosy cheeks too.

We build an awesome looking, strange, safari, pear shaped snowman. This small man took a long time cause all the kids kept knocking it down when trying to pack it. We used a carrot of course and then malt balls for the rest. Hey, it's all I could find. Thanks mom for sending the candy. Halle kept trying to eat them with each one I put on.

We then were getting cold and went to go inside but the door was locked. I hate my door. The lock turns easily and I didn't have a key cause we were just a few feet away, playing in the snow. UGH!! Thankfully, the landlord lives two blocks away and my neighbor let me take the kids in the sled to get a key.

My 2nd thankfully, she was home!! She gave us a key and chocolate candy! What could be better than that. The kids jumped in for a long bubble bath to get warm. Payton is of course Santa Claus. I asked him what he wanted to ask Santa for. He replied, "I want his Santa coat." This is because he is of course an 'actor' and we got the kids Santa hats. I told him I didn't think Santa would let him have his coat. :0

Since all the kids were out of school, they were still outside playing when Andy got home from work. They kids went out for a very quick snow throw. Luckily, they decided it was too cold. I bet they are glad I made them wear a coat and hat unlike going out barefoot and half naked like they tried prior.

They snow is still here and it's too dang cold to even get my mail out the front door, let alone do my laundry downstairs. Burr....I was happy that they had a fun time though. It was nice to get out of the house and run around without even one spot of yellow snow.

That's the way the gingerbread crumbles.

I've missed a few fun events lately, like our ward Christmas party, which was actually pretty dang fun. They had an international Christmas so we had a ton of yummy food. I couldn't believe how much food there was, especially since normally they run out at our shindigs. Other than that, I can't remember a lick of what we've been doing.

I've been trying to get the kids to do a few Christmas projects around the house. Last Sunday we made the all-famous Ginger Bread House. Ours was a pretty sad house. It's probably the ugliest house I've ever seen. The kids helped a lot (last year I did it myself) so it was very unique. It was so much fun though. This picture of Halle is basically what she did the entire time. I think she put a few candies on but she ate most of them. Notice the cheeks full of sweets.


The house kept sliding down the icing because of course, we don't read instructions, (who does?) We didn't let it set before adding the candy which upset Andy since he wanted it to look like the picture on the box. Consequently, I decided to just throw the box away.
We've been stuck to our house quite a bit with colds, but mostly due to the fact that Andy has ended his Peds ER rotation of night shifts and is now doing OB-gyn. Fun, I know.

I'll let him write about that. :)
Thankfully, some of our friends have came over to keep us company.
Reagan and her son Jack brought fun foam to make Christmas trees and snowmen. The kids had fun for a minute and then she and I finished them. She and I had a great time though. The kids had more fun jumping on the bed. They actually made some cute cards though.
Some of you may be getting them for a Christmas card since they've since found more interest and it's become a daily project.




Payton takes it very seriously. I love the concentration. When he's not doing this, however, he is acting. For real. My kids are singing songs all day and acting out some movie. He goes back and forth from 'Polar Express' and his old fav, Larry from 'Night at the Museum'. Thankfully, we've had a break from his Botox routine of 'Christmas with the Kranks'.




Payton and Jack are so cute. Jack just had a birthday. We went to a gym called Playrobics and the kids all ran around for hours. It was awesome. Afterwards, they were so hungry they all sat down at the restaurant and ate without a fuss. I've never seen so many kids sit so good.
Jack also shared one of his Favorite Christmas Cd's with us and the kids are now addicted too. So much that I can't get them to GO TO SLEEP!!! They are too busy singing in their beds.....

MY NY...

When most women think of NY they want to go into the City and get in the traffic, trains, buildings, Subways, Broadways, and Parkways on the Expressway and throughways. In fact there are many "ways" to get to NYC, but maybe the best way is not to go west at all, but east. I am not a woman (last time I checked) and hence have the tendency to flee from any situation where I'm obligated (I signed the contract I know) to carry the purse or a half eaten gummed hot dog and stuck carrying that huge stroller up those two flights of subway stairs. That's not me. The city is OK maybe once a month (at best), but it can be like herding hamsters when you have little kids. I prefer to go East--further on Long Island (FYI--nuclear fallout falls 10% per mile--hey I think about that stuff), and carry my 3.5 inch Mossberg Semi Auto instead of a purse and a stroller. They actually have country stations and 60 miles of Sod farms and beautiful Oak forests. Long Island remains somewhat warmer than the other parts of NY, thus enticing tens of thousands of Canadian Geese to winter here all year. Canadians can reach 12-15 lbs and people here hate 'em because they leave their huge droppings everywhere in the parks. There are actually companies that are hired(they drive Prius's and have this crazy EPA logo) to scare the geese out of your park, yard, or Golf Course or put this nasty stuff on your grass as goose repellant (pictured above left). There are better (and funner) ways New Yorkers...Guys like me who have goose hunted the dream hunt areas of Eagle Lake in TX for years with Dad, can continue the tradition of really scaring them and grow even fonder of NY. For most of y'all who don't know how goose hunting is done, I'll give you a quick talkin' to. In TX you usually haul 700-1000 wind sock decoys through the mud after driving a few hours to then sit in the mud and wait for the skies to come alive. It is a blast, we've done it for as long as I can remember. In Tx you shoot mostly smaller snow geese which can sometimes number 40-50,000 in a field, but with lots of hunting pressure, it can get quite tough to have them committ to landing within 40 yards, or with my gun--within 60 yards. On Long Island, it's not a well known thing and it's only about a 45 minute drive to reach miles of beautiful Sod fields, in this case right behind the big Splish and Splash Waterpark (you can see it in the background in the very first pic). And with no hunting pressure, the birds are let's say, very naive. It definitely makes for a more comfortable hunt. In fact I wore my Crocs (open heeled shoes)on this hunt. The temp dipped to about 28 degrees with a slight NW wind, perfect to get the geese moving. With just about 35 full body decoys put out in two groups next to(within 40 yards) a dug out box blind to conceal Me, Toby and my good friend Tom Casey from Long Island Waterfowling, we were all set up in about 15 minutes compared to the 2 hours it takes when hunting Snow geese in TX. The Geese leave their roost (home) at about 8am, fly down the riverbank to work (us) and hit this field by the hundreds. They see our full body Goose set up and hear the calling, and land---in my freezer...Long Island has a 3 bird per hunter limit. We don't use the dogs here, that would be just plain laziness. The season usually runs from Thanksgiving till Feb 7. We limited with 9 birds by 9:30am. The interesting part is always bringing home that many birds home to debreast without a shed or a yard, you can get some crazy looks from your tree huggin environmentalist neighbors...that garbage man sure was surprised I bet. While I was cleaning 'em the conversation went like this... "Dad, you killed it? Yes son. Did it hurt? No, son. That one's bleeding dad...I know son. So there are no more to feed at the park? Fortunately for us...yes, son." Anyway, so if you're only seeing 1 turtle dove or haven't seen any at all this year, chances are--they could be in season. Merry Christmas y'all.

Better watch out.

See these smiling faces. Yep, that's because the day after Thanksgiving we slept in and opted not to shop. Oh it felt so good! After finally deciding what to do we headed to Manhattan to check out the lights and all the crazy happenings. Our good friend Mike was here for the weekend and thankfully took some pictures with ALL of us in them. That is a rarity I must say. On a side note, the day after this pic, we watched ELF and Payton said, "hey, I was there!" He was pretty excited. (they have a snowball fight on this bridge.) In fact, he said to me the other day while watching 'Santa Claus', "Mom, so have we been to the North Pole yet?" "No honey, we haven't." "Oh, well we still need to do that."
It was a little chilly but the kids still had fun running around in Central Park. I wish I would have taken my camera when it was Fall time and all the leaves were gorgeous! Payton loves having his picture taken but it's hard to get him to not pose all 'model' like.??? He's the next Zoolander, what can I say. We call this Gold steal.
What awesome parent doesn't take their kid on the dirty subway, I mean come on. Actually it's just a joke we have but the kids think it's cool. Jazelle road the subway Payton will tell you.
This picture would be perfect if Andy just had a fluffy hat with on ball on top.
We saw, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and of course Santa. (the one ringing the bell on the corner) Payton only said, "I saw Santa." Later however, when we were of course threatening him to go to bed the conversation went like this...
"You better go to bed cause Santa will see you and put you on the naughty list."
"Mom, I already saw him in NY!"
"Well maybe he had to do a little shopping too." :)
"But I saw him in NY! He's not at the North Pole to see me."
"He's magic. He goes home just like we do."
"Are you kidding me! Fine! I'll go to sleep!"

Mr. Mom

This week has been just fabulous! Well, if fabulous includes everyone throwing up for 4 days straight. Just have to share a little love for my hubby who has been tired, caring, somewhat grumpy, yet mostly wonderful this entire week. The kids and I all got sick, actually, VERY SICK, and he took care of all of us. He stayed up all night cleaning up the kids throw up while I slept on the bathroom floor dealing with my own sickness. He went from room to room and then finally threw a big blanket in the living room and put us all in there to lesson the damage. He did loads of laundry, filled lots of juice cups, and gave plenty of hugs to help us get better. And any guy who can put up with watching Disney movies for 4days straight is a hero. Did I mention that he has this great quality that he can tell you what is wrong with you and why your body is reacting a certain way, the treatment, recommendations, reactions, etc. Made me want to throw my shoe at him! But I guess it's good to be informed. ??? I'm sure he was exhausted and I'm so grateful to him and all he does for us. You're the best babe.
Thankfully we are feeling much better and thank goodness for Lysol and bleach. I've cleaned all day and at least till morning we are germ free. Ha!

Just thinking...

We use these posts as a kind of journal so I figured I should write a little bit before all gets lost in time. The last 3 weeks I have been doing a Pediatric Emergency/trauma rotation in Brooklyn that has been at times like a fast and testimony meeting--sometimes a little slow and boring, then other times trying to detach myself so I don't look soft. And other times like testimony meetings in Texas where you're left wondering what the cotton pickin' heck just happened in here?
Most of the time it is asthma, croup, pneumonia and the diarrhea/vomiting or a few stitches here and there, broken bones,etc. But sometimes it's the kid who gets a 22 bullet (unfired) lodged in his ear or a toy truck fire engine antenna through the top of his mouth into his brain, swallowed a safety pin, or who's face lost a fight to a pit bull, or swallowed roach spray, or car accidents, gang fights, or not alive at all. Most are hispanic and no one else speaks spanish so I get funneled to being the guy up front on most. Those experiences when you're doing CPR for an hour and they ask if you're tired and you are but say you're fine and the mom is in the back of the room screaming not to stop, "save my baby!!" moaning and wailing...for the 2nd time tonight another kid in heaven for Christmas. When the night's over and you quietly get back in your car, slowly, and hit the Expressway and the roads are empty and quiet and get home and climb into a warm bed after going into each of the kids' rooms and giving them each a kiss on the cheek...and you wake up---and all is well.
I started reading Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" for the season and Payton said he wanted to go "feed the ducks down by the water too" like tiny Tim so we did today down on the Sound. These were mostly seagulls and Canadian geese with a few ducks, but with the sun out and watching him try to get the birds closer and closer and start pointing out the ducks from the seagulls...and then watch him get scared when they were fighting over scraps on his shoes...it was a calm moment to just sit back and think "Thanks Lord, for giving me these darn kids."
And all reading this with little ones, maybe sometimes impatient like me, frustrated with everything no one ever warned us about kids--then realizing that their Decembers at home are numbered... and you start taking every funny face, awkward question, tight hug, bit of astonishment, all of their little dreams, and for me this year, calling it Christmas.

Turkey Trot

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at our place. For the first time on Thanksgiving, I actually got up and ran 5 miles. My friend Cindy told a bunch of us about the local race and we decided to go for it. I actually didn't register since Andy had to work the night before, but with the thousand or so people they had, I just jumped in and ran it anyway. It was a good course with lots of hills. I'm very sore, even now a few days later. It felt good though and gave me the mental edge I needed to go home and eat my favorite...pumpkin pie! I think it should be a tradition now to go race on Thanksgiving.
Some of our good friends then came over and helped make some delicious food. We are so thankful for wonderful friends and family who show us such love and support.

Powder Fresh

Why is this kid so smiley and clean? Oh he's just being Payton 'Mo' Doodle. He's also just had the best time laughing and making a mess in his bedroom.
Andy and I were just laying in bed talking the other morning while the kids were playing. They were obviously having a great time judging by their screams and giggles of excitement. When Andy got up I heard, "Oh my Gosh!"
Now, if you should every come across a circumstance in your life where your neighbors cook Chim Chi and your trying to find a way to get rid of the disgusting smell in your apartment, may I suggest this: leave your kids alone for a few minutes with a bottle of baby powder. The one hidden behind the diaper stuff but not far enough away that your FOUR YEAR OLD can still see it and for some crazy reason be tempted to throw it everywhere!

There was a basket of laundry on the floor that needed to be washed so I figured they were throwing the clothes around. Nope... In case you wondered the room smelt nice and powder fresh. And much quicker than any candle could have released that sought after aroma. I especially love that there are hand and foot prints on the floor and bed. When the kids left the room, a trail followed. And when I changed Halle's diaper, a pile of white was left on the floor from her hair. They were like little walking Fabreeze's.

We had a quick laugh and momentary thought of, "should we let them do the rest of the house?" (Inner struggle) I decided against it. Hey, it could always be worse.

So Cute

This is how to put your child in time out. I'm only kidding people! Generally the kids like to play 'airplane', but we found they can go higher and farther the other way. :) Payton is in to trying to climb the wall. He was so excited that he 'climbed' up and touched the ceiling.

Halle LOVES her babies. She puts them in the high chair to feed them and gives them naps. Andy walked in to catch her changing a diaper. What a good littla mama!

This is just a random pic I have to show cause she's so dang cute! The kids are very excited for Christmas this year. It's going to be so much fun.

The kids are so cute when dad leaves for work. Kisses, hugs, and lots of "I love you's." Only wish I were a better photographer.

Happy ThanksChristmasgiving

Though Thanksgiving is yet another week away, we are just so festive at our house already. The kids have been watching a few Christmas movies since all the stores here have trees and decorations up. They keep asking if tonight is Christmas and I sadly have to tell them "No."
Everyday I wake up to hear, "Can we put up Christmas yet?"
"After Thanksgiving dear."
Well, Andy put the kids to bed the other night when I was at the gym. Payton was giving him a hard time and so he told him we could put up the decorations if he'd be good. So today I had no choice but to pull out the little fake tree we have. A week earlier isn't really a whole lot of difference I guess. But I don't want to take down the two cute Thanksgiving items I have. I just finished an Autumn wreath I made and was excited to put it up. Acutally, we don't have a lot of any decorations since we didn't really plan on being here originally for the holidays. But I must say our house is very interesting indeed with our Christmas tree, Christmas wreaths, angels, pine cones, and Autumn vines all mixed in together. I wonder what our Thanksgiving guests will think? Oh well. The kids are very happy and it makes me even more excited for Christmas. They are at such a fun age. We are teaching them the carols every time we drive. We'll show those Osmond's!
Thank goodness they aren't really into Easter yet. That would really be a sight.

"We"

I just experienced a frequent scenario that takes place in our home. No, it's not the kids crying for "2 more minutes" before bed but rather a famous quote by my sweet husband.
"Hey babe, 'we' need to do (today he said the laundry). "
Now, as much as I love my dear hubby this cracks me up because what men really mean by 'we' is you, aka, the wife.
It's used for numerous terms and instances such as laundry, diaper changes, dishes, cleaning, cookie making, having a baby, writing the newsletter, etc.
What generally happens is 'I' end up doing it and he watches the kids so I 'CAN' get it done. I'm ok with this.
I was trying to get dinner ready and the kids were really looking for attention. They wanted to play baseball. Yes, we're awesome parents and let them play in the house. The balls and bats are soft, who cares, it's freezing cold outside.
Andy pitched the ball to Payton just as I walked in and "smack," right in my forehead! It was a dang good hit, a line drive I should say. This time 'we' all laughed and by the time we were done playing, dinner was still not ready. So, we went out for a big dinner at Wendy's. Yep, the high life here in NY.

Primary Program

We had our ward Primary program today. While the kids are nice, they are terrible when it comes to reverence, obedience, you know, qualities one should use at church. The few weeks prior I kept thinking, "this is going to be a disaster." But, thankfully, the program was really nice and went smoothly. Honestly, I was a little shocked but very happy. Until of course we go back to class and they are jumping and running around crazy. UGH!!!!
I had a proud mama moment though. This is the first time to have my kids participate and it was so fun. Especially since they both looked so dang cute today. Payton had 3 parts to say and he wasn't scared at all. In fact, after each one, he sat down very confidently. It's just so good to hear him give a talk in church. Last year he wasn't even hardly talking at ALL and he has now came so far. He still has a long way to go but it gives us hope that things will continue to get better.
Halle came up with the Nursery to sing 'I am a child of God.' I was a little nervous because last week at practice she saw her friend Zanna and ran over and dragged her over to stand by her. While also shouting, "Hi Zanna!" Today she found Payton and tried to go sit by him but eventually gave up and went back to sing with her class. Being the feisty red she is, she of course told them all to move so she could fit. She then flashes a huge grin. Girls!

Cause we have to watch it everyday anyway

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And the Oscar goes to....

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Classic

When we switched our cable (so Andy could get BYU football) we got 4 months of free movie channels. So I've been recording a bunch of stuff I want to have for later. I love old movies and came across one I've heard of, but never actually seen. Well that's not completely true, I remember seeing about 10 minutes of it when I was like, 11.
Anyway, I actually had the kids to bed early so I watched "Barefoot in the park." It has Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. It's actually a cute movie and I laughed quite a bit.
Got me to thinking that I have seen probably only a hand full of the top 100 American Movie Classics. Yes, they have an official list. I've never even seen "Casablanca." So I decided I'm going to start watching a few more of them. My husband is so excited I know. (NOT)
In fact, he and Payton have already started watching Christmas movies. They insist we are going to put up our tree and decorations next week but I said, "Not until after Thanksgiving!" Payton does watch "Santa Claus 3 a lot though and is now acting out Jack Frost. If you've seen our previous posts, you can only imagine how interesting that is...

Enough movies for a while though. The Twilight movie comes out soon and I promised my mom I'd read the dang book. Apparently I'm some freak for not doing so already. Don't want to be a wandering non-vampiric (yes I made up this word) blurb who doesn't know anything! Ya know what they say about those people...(I can feel the glares of my mom through the computer. Oh the shame she has felt) Hey sweet, 'Roman Holiday' is on, HD too. Guess I'll start the book tomorrow. :)

Privacy Please

Well, we're finally gonna do it. I've decided to go to a private blog. Personal reasons of course but hey, it's my blog. :)
For those of you friends from school who check, you are always welcome to keep looking, just send me your email and I'll add you to the list. I have a lot of your addresses but in case I miss someone, don't get all offended. Just let me know. I should have most of the family addresses.
I'll leave it open another week or so and then we're sealing the vault! (did you here the dramatic music? I was picturing Lord of the Rings.)
Anyway, I have a pile of laundry to iron. Ugh, I hate ironing. Luckily once I do it, it will be done for a while. Andy is back to wearing scrubs this week. Sweet! Never thought I'd miss those things.

Why, thankyou!

I haven't really been in a blogging mood lately but today I received a phone call that cheered me up a little. My dog had puppies about 4 years ago. Nine puppies actually and we sold them all to wonderful families. Anyway, I answered the phone and I had no clue who the person was and couldn't really understand him. He finally explained that he had bought a dog from us and wanted to call and tell us how happy he has been. At first I thought he was calling to say he wanted his money back or something but he told me how great of a dog it was and that it was the best thing they'd ever done. The dog is smart and very well behaved. He also said that he is going to breed the dog and wants to give us one of the puppies. Well, that's a ways away but it made me so happy to hear that. It was sad to give away those dogs and it makes me feel so good. We often wonder about them and hope they are doing ok. I only know of one other puppy and that's because we gave it to a doctor we knew. It was the most beautiful dog I'd ever seen and I was really sad to see him go. He is a white lab and that doctor takes him to work and everything. Makes me miss my dog even more now. I can't wait until we're done with school and she can come live with us again. The kids miss her too. Anyway, just one of those rainy day stories that make you go, "Awe!"

Eeeww!

This picture is actually taken at my moms, but in our house, sitting down is the signal for Halle to jump on your lap for a story. I have never seen a child so in love with reading books. Of course I only have two kids but still, she loves it! I literally cannot sit down without her jumping on me with a book. We've even had friends over who sat on the floor and then she jumps on their lap too. I have to admit I secretly love it though. Payton wasn't really into books until she came along. We now have a nightly routine of story time before bed. I have had to start earlier and earlier because like most kids, they say, one more book!
We've been reading the book, "Everyone Poops." I don't know how many of you have seen this book but it's pretty funny. It's a little more........graphic, maybe, then I'd probably do but hey, kids gotta learn I guess. It actually shows people and animals pooping, (illustrations of course). Halle is so funny. She opens the book and goes, "EEEWWW!" She turns the page again and I hear, "EEWW, POOP!" Turn page, "Eeeww! EEWW!"
It's so funny. She talking so much and it's fun to hear all the things going on in her little head. Especially when she jumps in our bed and tells dad, "MY bed. Stop it dad!" She then waves him bye bye and blows a kiss. She is definitely a sweet, feisty red and I love it!

texan kids

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Halloween Fun

Halloween night we joined our friends for a party at their "mansion" of ghouls and goblins. This is us with our friend Cindy.

We have finally recovered from our Halloween weekend. I say recover because we ate so many cupcakes and cookies that I still want Andy to check us for sugar shock. Don't think I'll look at the scale tomorrow when I hit the gym.
We had a fun week though. My mom came out last Sunday night and the kids have been so happy to have her. Heck, we all have enjoyed it!
I'm sad to say that we didn't get to do any sort of pumpkin search of hay rides because my kids are just getting over being very sick and with the cold weather we stuck to mostly indoor activities. I did let them pick a few pumpkins out at the market though, yahoo I know! How lame! They didn't care though. We carved them basically to say we did it because the kids had no interest in it until we put the candle inside. Then they thought it was very neat.


We took the kiddos to the primary Halloween party and they had a great time. Halle didn't really understand the trick-or-treat part but she loved knocking on the doors.
Payton is of course a NY Giant and Halle is Strawberry Shortcake.
I found out that the Natural History Museum and FAO had big Halloween parties but with the cold weather I didn't want to have them walk all over the city. I felt bad we had to miss it but we had a great time hanging with our good friends. If only we could get dressed up more often.
On a side note, Payton said," it's time to do Christmas tomorrow!"

More Adventures

Quick update, Andy's almost done with his 4th rotation, he's at a hispanic Pediatric Clinic rotation in Richmond Hills, Queens. It's not so much of a scary area, even during halloween. The kids were actually behaving for this picture!!With the weather finally turning cold, we had to bring the kids in to his clinic with colds and for antibiotics. Andy said it was like it was 'bring your kid to work day' earlier this week because all the staff had their kids there sick. Halle was the first red head many of these mom's had ever seen...it was hi-larious. Lots of asthma, newborns, ear infxns, etc, with a little bit of scabies and lice to keep him wanting to scratch and on his toes. He's enjoyed the nice hours though for once and feels a lot more comfortable of how to handle the teeny ones. His next rotation is a Pediatric trauma rotation in Brooklyn. I'll update y'all on Halloween later, we had a blast!!

Good nights

The last few days my kids have been quite a handful, mostly because they've been sick. Luckily for them they manage to be all cute when it's time to go to bed. Just trying to get that last minute awake. Or as my kids say, "two more minutes." After the crying and dragging I lay with them for a minute and that's when they pull it out. "Mom, I love you. Mom, you're the best." Hugs, cuddles, laughs, sweet talks. If they could just be like that all day we'd have so much more fun. They really crack us up. I can't imagine our boring our life would be without them.
Tonight, Payton had a cute prayer. He loves to pray but in his prayers he basically blesses everything we've already done for the day. Now normally we pick up Andy from work but today he had a dinner meeting with drug reps at some fancy place. Payton's prayer went like this. "Dear Heavenly Father, we're thankful for this day. Please help us to make a tent and be safe. Please help us color and be safe. Please help us pick up dad and be safe. MOM!! We forgot to pick up dad!!" I reminded him we aren't picking him up since he took the car. "Oh, Amen."

Does that come in 'covers me' size?

Yesterday I made a quick run to one of the Halloween stores. It was a big store and I was enthusiastic that I would find what I needed in the rows of ghouls and goblins. I was looking for a hat for Halle's costume. I pretty much have everything else here around the house. I could not find a little pink hat! I decided to look at all the other costumes just in case I could find something for Andy. OK, what is up with all the costumes these days. I love getting dressed up but not like a Playmate. Even the Snow White costume was barely there! I left disappointed and looked online. Still, most of the costumes are pathetic. When you can't even find a modest Disney character there is something wrong with the world.
We have our ward Halloween party on Saturday if the kids are feeling better. Andy and I have to hand out candy so we need a costume. I may end up just making a hat for Halle. She's hopefully going to be Strawberry Shortcake. Don't need a wig cause she's got the red hair. :) Payton will be a football player and he's very excited. He keeps telling everyone that Andy is going to be a witch but Andy doesn't know that so we'll have to negotiate that I'm afraid.

Hold your tacos!

I finally have a few minutes to write. Sweet! We've had some fun things happen lately. Not just all sickness going around thank goodness. The other week our neighbor from across the street had a garage sale. He's been pretty nice to us, visiting and such. We went over and got a little rocking horse for the kids. I kind of thought some of this stuff was a little high priced for a garage sale but oh well. The next day he still had a lot outside and came over to tell us just to take whatever we wanted. There were a ton of toys and so our friends helped us basically just take everything. He said he was just going to set it out for the garbage men so why not. We got a pretty good pile including a desk for Payton, a small TV with a VCR, ice-cream dishes, trains, a toy box, a book table, buses, and a car to drive. Sadly, I forgot to put it in the back yard the other night and someone stole it. I feel so bad for the kids cause they loved fighting over it. What kind of jerk steals a toy from a kids yard. Oh well. He's also given us several little tricycles we keep in the basement for cold days so I can't complain. Some of it I'm kicking to the curb but it was fun for the kids. Which reminds me. We always have to sit our garbage out in the morning because I've seen people going through it several times when I leave it out at night. If someone sits something out to the curb, it's generally gone within a few minutes. Maybe that's what happened to Payton's car, even though it was right by our front door. Glad we at least have a shredder for all our papers.
We also took the kids to see the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua. They LOVED it! They are both going around saying, "cause you a Chihuahua Mi hija!" and "hold your tacos!" Of course HSM 3 comes out this week and Payton is really looking forward to that. Have to wait till the nose dripping subsides though.
We went to our old apt today to get some mail. Don't know why they had to google our relatives to find us when they had us on file and I had called back in May when we actually moved. oh well. We got another government check but I'll have to shred it since they had already sent the one we supposedly didn't get. Too bad. Don't think they'll let me keep them both. Anyway, the kids saw "our other house" as they call it and got so excited. They wanted to go "home" but I explained to them we don't live there anymore. I think we all miss our 'old house.'
Our newest thing lately has been to have family sleepovers on Friday night. Of course we've only had it one Friday......but we Plan to have them all the time now. We blew up the mattress in the living room and pulled out the popcorn, juice, and every pillow we could find. Last weeks showing was " Little Mermaid." It was so much fun for us all to cuddle together. The kids were so good. It was cute, after the movie Payton gave me a big hug and asked, "are we a family again?" He got that line from Angels in the Outfield I think. They never fail to entertain us. It's Andy's turn to pick out this weeks movie. He always has crazy ideas. Heaven help us. :)

Quick update

We've all been on the couch this whole week. Andy and the kids are sick and I had a very bad sore foot. Don't have any clue what I did but after a week of nothing and icing, I can finally walk without wanting to cry. Andy is feeling better but the kids are getting worse. We've had no sleep the last few nights, mostly trying to keep Halle ok. She has a very bad cold and keeps choking from her coughing. Long story short, I haven't had much time to write. The kids argue over who gets to be held the longest since they don't feel well. We've gone through most of our movies so I hope they get better soon. Course I guess I could just go rent some. Well, it's almost midnight and Halle just came in to have me rock her again. I figured if I'm up I might as well do something instead of try to sleep and wake up every few minutes to hold her. It's nice to cuddle with the kids though. Can't do it forever.

Buns not made of steel

We officially re-started our 'we're getting back into shape' yesterday. I hurt my foot a few days ago and after my first day I officially cannot walk. Not because I'm sore but because there is seriously something wrong with my foot. Still trying to give it an official name but it hurts pretty dang bad. Anyway, because of it we decided to do the spinning class. We as is me, Andy and our good friend, Cindy. Funny enough, our Bishop was also in the same class. I've never done a spinning class before and I actually really enjoyed it. My legs don't hurt but dang my butt does. Andy and I can both hardly sit down. We need to take pillows to the next class. It's an hour of cycling and I mean we'd give Lance Armstrong a run for his money. We'd lose all our money of course but ya feel like your working hard.

Mom, I love this car

Last week we made a trip to Costco. I miraculously talked Andy into coming with me. (he hates the crowds) He had actually planned to just sit in the car but decided to come in with the kids. Somehow the car keys fell out of his pocket while chasing kids. We thought maybe he'd just left them in the car but after two random nice guys helped me get the car window down, we soon realized our original thought of 'their somewhere in Costco' quickly returned. Thankfully after the 4th time of asking the front desk if someone had found them, they answered yes. Sweet. We later found out we had broke the tracking on the window. It also rained all week but oh well. I took it to the dealer this week and they said it would take two days to fix because they had to order a part. I currently drive Andy to and from work so I have to have a car. They were very helpful and gave me a free rental car. I heard the guy say, "Give her the Uplander." I first thought it was an SUV and thought that was so much sweeter than a little car. If you know me you could only imagine my excitement when they pulled up with a gold mini-van. If you don't and you're imagining jumping, singing, dancing then you are sadly mistaken. Nothing against them or any of you fabulous people who drive them. Andy and I just don't like them. Don't take it personal. It was easy with the kids though and I didn't know what to do with all the room. All kidding aside, I was really very grateful cause the Dealer was extremely nice and helpful to us. Andy about died laughing when I picked him up from work. Payton said, "Mom, just tell dad that we got a new car."
It had a lot of gadgets including a DVD so the kids were so happy. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of us in the van. Yep... So when we had to take it back Payton said, "Mom, I don't want to cause I love this car." I have to admit, it wasn't as bad as I first thought it would be but we still won't be getting a van. And even if it says Mercedes, it's still a van!
We now have our little Cavalier back. Toys, dried toast, dents and everything...including a new set of extra keys just for and emergency.

Current Fav's

So besides our recent candy addiction, we've had a few recipes that are our current fav's right now. Though my picture taking skills may not be the best, they are extra yummy. The first is TACO SOUP. I only recently tried this and we love it!
I looked through several recipes to and combined a few to get what I wanted so can't really give the credit to anyone in particular.
There are several different ways, so if you have a better one, then please share. :)

1 lb lean ground beef, cooked (whatever spices you generally use, I put onion in mine)
1-2 cans chicken broth
1 can tomato juice
1 can diced tomatoes (one time I tried it with the chili tomatoes, mild, and it was yummy too)
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 pkg taco seasoning mix, mild for the kiddos
1-2 cans whole corn drained
Brown beef with onion and drain all grease. Simmer all other ingredients about 15 minutes. I start it when I start the beef and then just add it.
Serve in bowls with cheese, sour cream and chips.

Ahh, we are so happy! Just a cute pic I had to throw in. They love the chips the most.

Ok, so this really isn't the best picture but I'm not a professional chef and it's dang good. These are two different recipes I got from our friends, Jeremy & Julie, and then the rice from Lourdes. They are generally made separate but last night they were a winning combo. So feel free to try them how you'd like. We've also combined the rice with the Taco Soup and it's dang good too.
For the CHEESE DIP, it's pretty easy. You can make whatever serving size you'd like. It's equal parts of Velveeta cheese, browned hamburger, and salsa. I'd still recommend mild for the kiddos. Unless you're serving a lot, don't make too much because I don't think the hamburger would be good in it reheated. It tends to get a more greasy taste that way.
Brown your hamburger as usual, good with garlic and onion. Cut Velveeta into cubes and slowly melt with salsa. Combine all and let heat thoroughly. Our friends brought this in a crock pot and it stayed warm all night. Well, not really cause we all scarfed it down quick, but ya get my drift.

RICE WITH CORN< SPANISH STYLE
Now, these were her instructions, not mine so you kind of have to taste and use your judgment.
3 cups rice, (I use whole wheat, I think she used white)
3 1/2 c water
1-2 can corn drained
salt
fresh chopped garlic
olive oil
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp goya adobo (look in the specialty aisle in Spanish cooking)
1 pkg sazon goya (Same aisle)
1 can tomato sauce
A few bay leaves
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and put the garlic and corn in pan for 1 min. Add tomato sauce and some salt, oregano, sazon goya and adobo for about 2 min. Then add water and bay leaves. Taste water to make sure it's slightly salty and add 2 more tbsp of olive oil. Stir and let sit 5 min. Once it boils, add rice and turn down heat. Cover about 20 min. uncover and stir. Take out bay leaves and make sure it's soft. Enjoy!

Say Chi

So our pesky old folk neighbors moved out last week. YAHOO!! I finally felt like I could breathe. Until our new neighbors moved in of course. They are very nice and so far we really like them. They just came from Korea and therefore they cook Kim chi all-day-long...........No kidding. It's like some cabbage thing they cook for a long time and has all sorts of yucky smells, mostly garlic?? I went down to do laundry and almost threw up. It's slowly creeping up our stairs and into the apartment. We are making a run to the store to buy them out of Fa breeze and Glade air fresheners. Hopefully it won't get worse than it already is. We were told by a friend who had a similar situation to try getting an air purifier to help. We'll see.
As I mentioned, though, they seem very nice. They have two teenagers, who seem like real good kids, and a three yr old boy. The little boy doesn't speak English other than a few lines to a Disney song. He is dang cute though and it will be fun for the kids to have a friend so close. They are noisy and I don't care a bit. Makes me not so paranoid if we make any noise. They are still in the process of getting everything in but we are excited to get to know them better. Just not ready to eat at their house yet.

Nope 'n NOpe 'n Nope

So...We've had a little back tracking in the whole, dropping the kids off at the pool, if ya know what I mean. Payton did so good for a almost two weeks and now REFUSES to go poop in the potty. He said, "take my toys back, I dont want a treat, Nope 'n Nope 'n Nope" UGHH I know he'll get there eventually, just doesn't seem like it right now.
On a side note. My dear husband is also complaining because I don't give him a treat or dance and clap when he poops in the potty. Guess I need to go buy some more stickers!

Check it out.

I was reading a friends blog and she had a link to a site that I just love. I wanted to pass it along and tell everyone to check it out. It is very helpful advice and easy step by step info for food storage ideas, etc. Some sites I've seen before can be pretty confusing but I really think this girl has a great blog. It's link is at the bottom of my blog called, Safely Gathered In. In the mean time, Happy Blogging.

F.A.Oh so fun!

Last weekend we had another one of those mornings where we wake up and dad says, "Lets go to the city." We're not going to say no to that! I've now learned to shop so that I always have snacks to grab since Andy tends to do this a lot. We gathered the umbrella's and the kids had a great laugh watching us run to catch the train just in time. It was very exciting for them to ride instead of our normal routine of looking at it from the car while waiting for dad.
The kids and I also had our first experience of riding the subway. Luckily, I always carry Purel! I was also fortunate as to not see any rats either. I thought that was a huge plus. We had a short walk to our destination-F.A.O Schwartz. We've been past it several times and decided it was time to quit putting it off. This place is certainly spectacular. We didn't know where to look first. As you walk in, you see enormous, almost life size, toys. Giraffes, elephants, dinosaurs, you name it. Huge stuffed animals to fill your play rooms galore. Our first stop was, of course, the giant piano (you know, the movie BIG) Tom Hanks has nothing on us! And yes, we all should have one of these in our homes. And I thought the organ was difficult.

I asked this man if he felt like a celebrity. He looked at me and sternly said, "I am the most photographed man in New York." Oops! Maybe I should have got his autograph I guess. :0 We see candy, we just gotta get some. Old school candy I haven't seen since I was a kid. (Cloves used to sell them for a penny when I was little. Ah, sweet memories. Grandpa gives ya a quarter and ya load up on candy.) We found a gummy snake that was over a foot long. Delicious!

Story/music time. This was so much fun. Can't remember the name of the book but when I turned around. I was standing right next to David and Victoria Beckham. (And their kids, helpers, and 6 bodyguards) Those of you who don't know, he is a huge famous soccer player and she used to be a Spice Girl who now is just famous for basically never smiling and being skinny in high heels. ???? Can't really figure out why she's so famous. Anyhoo, it was a big deal at the store and oddly enough we just kept running into them. We didn't take pictures because it's weird to walk up to someone and take their pic. Plus they had their kids and I thought it would be rude. And no, they don't look better in person. See, if we could all only be air brushed.

This place makes Toys 'R Us look like a little toy box. It was so much fun just looking around and playing with all the toys. Even I wanted to be a kid again and play. We ended up buying a stuffed animal for Andy. A lab dog that looked just like Sherlock. The kids were happy to just play and then head home. If every store would just let us do that. I can't wait to see the set up for their Christmas display.

So Big!

Every single day we hear the ice-cream truck driving around. He drives up and down EVERY street. We could all hum the song for you. One day we were feeling nice and decided to let them get an ice-cream. The kids are sitting outside, patiently waiting for the truck. Today was the day that he mysteriously never showed. The kids were so disappointed. Luckily we had ice-cream cones inside the house and all was forgiven. Notice how Halle has her little pink purse. She HAS to take it EVERYWHERE! I have never coaxed her to bring it. One day, as we were leaving she just ran and got it. She has been doing it ever since. And if she can't find it she throws a fit and claims she can't go without her purse. "whe my pur!" Probably because I always have mine.
We checked out a local farmer's market, that turned out to be lame so we just played at the park. I thought Halle looked so cute with her glasses.
I just can't believe my little red headed blob is now so big and hanging on gyms at the park. Payton is talking a lot! And time just keeps on flying by. We will only be here another 10 months and when we first got here it seemed like forever. Luckily we have made some great friends and are enjoying the time we have in crazy NY.
This is a typical picture. She is always climbing or hanging on something. And next week she will turn 21 months! Crazy!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This Sunday is my Grandpa Huntsmans 99th birthday!!! Can you believe it! He doesn't look a day over 80, and still as sharp as they come. I am so sad that I won't be there to give him a big hug and a pile of 99 balloons. I wonder what I could send in the mail that I could send 99 of??? Hmm, I'll have to think about it. Anyhoo, I just love him so much. Besides the fact that he is gorgeous, he is one of the best people I know. He has the Huntsman trait of hissing when he laughes and you can count on him always saying, "yes sir" or "fiddlesticks". He can't remember but he taught me to play poker when I was just a little kid. I grew up with him as a father figure and I couldn't have had a better dad for real. Not because of the poker but because I can always talk to him. He used to take me everywhere when I was a kid. Rides in the truck with Grandma, eating mush for breakfast, watching Matlock, checking on the cows, or sharing stories and jokes. I love to hear his tales and trials of the 'olden days'. He has had a great life so far and we figure and can give us another 10 or so. He used to hold us down for spankings on our birthday. Do you think giving him 99 would be inappropriate? We'd probably get wacked with a cane. Guess we'll stick with kisses. We love you so much Grandpa!

Sherlocks Birthday

Today would be the 6th birthday of our dog Sherlock. Andy got him for Christmas the first year after we were married. It was a first dog for me and it took a while to get used to since I am allergic to dogs. He and Andy were best buds though. Sherlock was a hunting dog through and through. Andy took him to competitions and on every hunt he went. He was a good dog even though I yelled at him all the time for being so energetic. He could always find a way to get out of the yard no matter what we did. Sadly the day we moved to NY he got hit by a car. He had managed to get out the night before we left and didn't make it back. We were really sad but I was thankful that Andy didn't have to bury him. Since we were gone my uncle was kind enough to do it. We all miss Sherlock and I'm sure he's running around in dog heaven trying to find a way out. :)