Memories

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

3. Make sure and check below this for current posts. I've pinned this to the top of my blog for awhile so it doesn't get buried.

Lily's Third Birthday!

Lily's birthday was yesterday (July 28th). I can't believe she turned three! It really doesn't seem like that long ago that she was a baby. Oh well, we all have to grow old one day! Here is her birthday in pictures.

Making and frosting Lily's "Cassie" cake.

Two views of the finished cake

Lily with her presents

Chutes and Ladders. Daddy insisted on buying her this!

Her new birthday outfit. Too bad she won't be wearing the pants for two more months!

Grandma Lala and Papa Joe gave her a scooter

Markers and colored pencils for my little artist! There was a coloring book and a smock as well, but she didn't hold it up for the picture.

Ohhhh! What's in there?
It's a Strawberry Shortcake Doll!

I always have to get her something "boyish" so she won't be too girly! Actually, she loved my family's old school car garage at mom and dads house so we decided to get her her own.

Singing happy birthday at her "Dragon Tales" party. The party consisted of some of Lily and our friends coming over for cake and ice cream. Stupid me, forgot to take pictures. I only got pictures of her back blowing out the candles. Not my best picture taking moment!

Blowing out the candles!

Drool Anyone?

This was just too cute and too funny not to post it!

Our humble garden!

Since Russ and I firmly blieved that we would be moving in August we elected not to plant a garden this year. Now that we aren't moving I am really sad we didn't. However, for mother's day my mom gave us a cherry tomato plant. We have taken really good care of it and it has already yielded fruit! Lily really enjoyed picking the tomatoes and eating them! The picture of her doing it is not the best! Oh well, we have more to be picked!

At Tautphaus Park Again

Lily has been needing some extra attention since Allie was born. We have been trying to do some special things with her. I decided it would be fun to take her to Tautphas Park again. We got better pictures this time, including the famous "Coming out of the hippos bum" shot. (It was all Russ's idea!)

Coming out of the hippos bum!

Climbing the fish!

Almost there!

I made it!

At the playground they have these really cool musical instruments the kids can play with. I tend to see the adults always playing with them too :)

The "good" side of the hippo!

Cute Statue huh?!

Isn't she cute?

FHE a week ago

Last Monday we had a fun Family Home Evening. We went for a walk around part of the falls. We also grabbed a snowcone from The Caboose. I couldn't resist getting a few pictures of us by the falls. Can you believe this is the first time we have taken pictures of the falls and the temple? Geesh! You would think we hadn't lived here for two years! I would highly recommend this as a FHE activity!

Russ and Lily

Lily enjoying her slushie

Allie and Mommy

T.I.T.

I found these recipes last week and tried them out on Saturday. My husband really liked the quesadilla. He wants me to make it instead of my normal quesadilla from now on. Lily liked them too, so they are kid friendly. I really liked the rice. However, you must realize it makes A TON and it is probably a little too spicy for kids. I didn't give Lily any but I am sure she would have said "TOO HOT!" In general, I think this T.I.T. is well worth recommending. So here they are!

Fajita Chicken Quesadillas

1 pkg fajita seasoning mix
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp diced onions (I added more because we like onions)
tortillas
grated Monterrey jack cheese (Use whatever you have on hand)
black beans (I would use a full can)
1 can corn
La Victoria Green Taco Sauce or your favorite salsa (I used La Victoria Green Salsa. Yum!)
2-4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Dice chicken and cook in skillet until almost cooked through. Add diced onions and saute for 1 minute. Mix fajita seasoning mix with about 1/2 cup of water and pour over chicken. Stir and cook until chicken is done, and liquid has mostly cooked off. At this point you can use your food chopper to more finely dice chicken if you would like.

Place one tortilla on a plate, layer with cheese, chicken/onion mixture, corn, green sauce, beans and more cheese. Then add top tortilla. Make sure to have the cheese touching both top and bottom tortillas - that will help the whole thing to stick together well so you don't loose the yummy filling.

To cook: My preferred method is on the grill. Lightly brush one side with oil and place oil-side-down on grill. As that side browns, lightly oil other side. You might need 2 spatulas to turn the quesadilla, or one spatula and one set of tongs. The grill gives great flavor and a crispy edge to the tortillas.You could also cook them on the stove top in a skillet, or probably even in the oven, although I've never tried that. (We were not brave enough to try it on the grill, so we did it in our quesadilla maker. If you don't have one, you should go buy one at Target!)

***This amount of ingredients made about six quesadillas.***


Fiesta Rice

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice (I used white minute rice)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn to pan; cook 10 minutes or until corn starts to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Set aside. Melt butter in pan. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, cumin, and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth, black pepper, salt, and diced tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally (Since I used white minute rice it took only 20 minutes to cook). Remove from heat; stir in reserved corn and beans. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 226(16% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.7g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 4mg; CALCIUM 52mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.5g; SODIUM 354mg; PROTEIN 6.6g; FIBER 4.9g

It is in!

I didn't feel like posting on Wednesday or yesterday so here is the end of my "raining" story. The Sears people got here at 1:00. Hurray for people being early! Anyway, the got the dryer into our neighbors house, and then took one look at the laundry room door and said,"Well, that ain't going to fit" (Yes, they said ain't!) I about started bawling. They measured the thing and said it was 2 inches bigger than the door frame. I started to freak out. We had measured that dang thing about 10 times just to make sure it fit. I called Russ and told him to get home right then. Luckily he was able to!

About this time, my owner showed up. She had a little bit calmer aura about her. She said she was willing to let us take off the molding so we could take our door out of the wall. That way the washer/dryer should fit through our side. So the Sears people hauled the washer/dryer out of our neighbors house and into our house. They then left. (They aren't allowed to take part in ripping things apart.) Our owner ran home and got some tools, just in case we couldn't get the door off the track. She wanted to cut it off if that was the case! After she got back Russ and her were able to get the door out without cutting it apart. (Oh darn! I was hoping for a regular door to replace it!) They did have to still take of the molding, but it was easy to get off. They did find what was jamming the door as well, so now it closes all the way!

Without too much more difficulty they got the washer/dryer in and hooked up. PHEW! We also won't have to take off the molding to get it back out when we move. With our newly closing door, both washer and dryer will fit through the door. Who knew that buying a washer/dryer could have so many problems involved with it! But, I got to do 5 loads of laundry at my house in the past 2 days. That makes all the problems worth it! :)

Russ wanted to show off how big the washer/dryers are in the inside. So the pictures were all his idea!

It is starting to drizzle!

As my friend Elena said, "When it rains, it pores." I hate that saying is true! As Russ and I started getting our apartment ready for the Sears people to deliver our washer/dryer we discovered yet another problem. We assumed that since our laundry room door is a sliding door, it would slide all the way into the wall, just like all our other sliding doors. Well, it doesn't! Of course it doesn't! Why would anything be that simple right now? So to make the process of getting our washer/dryer in even MORE difficult, we have to move them in through our neighbors door. I feel bad because we had to knock on their door this morning at 7:30 to ask them if this was ok. They weren't really awake yet. I am trying to take this minor setback in stride and say that it isn't raining, just drizzling. Will the rain ever stop? Hopefully, after today it will :) I'll let you all know if we manage to get the washer/dryer in and working.

T.I.T.

I forgot to get a new recipe for Try-It-Tuesday, so I am posting an old one that we love. I got the this from a magazine called Country Woman. Russ LOVES this dinner so much that I usually make it at least twice a month. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Fajitas

Salsa
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
4 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Dash of salt

Fajitas
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 flour tortillas, warmed
Shredded cheddar cheese (whatever kind you like)
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream

1. In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients to make salsa; set aside.
2. Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag; add salad dressing. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 15 minutes. Drain and discard marinade.(I don't drain off the marinade. I find if add the marinade to the pain, the chicken is jucier. You decide what tastes best to you!)
3. In a large skillet, saute onion in oil for 3 minutes; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute chicken until no longer pink. Return onion to the pan; cook and stir until onion is tender.
4. Spoon chicken mixture onto on e side of each tortilla. top with tomato mixture, cheese, lettuce and sour cream; fold tortillas over filling.

****This makes about five or six small fajitas. Russ and I usually eat two and Lily gets one. It is really easy to double or triple for larger families. Also, if your kids don't like the onions it is really is to pick out the chicken and put into the shell. Lily says the onions are "too hot", but she doesn't mind the ones chopped up in the salsa.****

Things I am grateful for!

When Lily was born we weren't able to buy everything that you normally would for a baby. We used a lot of hand-me-downs or we just did without. With Allie I was determined to get a few of these "extras". We saved our money and these are a few of the things we got. I am so grateful that I now have them! My sister made Lily a beautiful crib set with bunnies on it. However, when she transitioned to a toddler bed it went with her. So we searched and found this cute jungle bedding. We are going to finally put in the crib this weekend. Watch for pictures of what our "nursery" looks like!
I was reading Stevie's blog one day when she mentioned a few must haves for new moms. One was a diaper caddy. I never had one with Lily, probably because I just never thought of it. Anyway she had a picture of this beautiful but expensive diaper caddy on it. She didn't use this one but she was trying to give a picture image of what she meant. Well, I fell in love with this, yet I knew I could never allow myself to buy this. One day I went to a boutique in town and I found this thing for about $10 less than the normal price. I told Russ about it and he said we could save some money to get. Before that happened though my mom bought it for me as her "congratulations on the baby" gift. I use this thing so much! It is wonderful to be able to tote everything around from room to room without a hastle!
With Lily my sister let me use her ten year old swing. It worked, but I really wanted to have my own. So yet again I researched and found a great deal on this Fisher-Price PowerPlus swing. It works really nicely, and Allie is starting to like it.
My mom gave me a wicker bassinet to use with Lily that she had used with me and my siblings. My sister had also used it with her son. I would have used it again with Allie but it was getting just a little worn out. We decided to invest in a pack n' play instead of a bassinet because we could take this with us anywhere we travel. It is working out very nicely to have it next to our bed.
When you live in an apartment with no hook-ups you just don't buy a washer/dryer. Now we do live in a place with them. Yet again we got a good deal on this Whirlpool Cabrio washer/dryer (Have you noticed I am all about deals) It won't be here until Wednesday, but I KNOW I will be very grateful for it. Oh by the way, I couldn't find a picture of the dryer. This is just the washer!

Jessica's Tag

I am: quiet when others talk
I think: about the future way too often
I know: one day I will grow up
I want: to own a house
I have:
I wish: I could get all my mommy chores done
I hate: when people make fun of others
I miss: my brother
I fear: not being a good enough mom to my children
I feel: hot, I should turn on the A/C
I hear: Lily playing with her toys
I smell: Spay 'n Wash on my hands, just had to clean up another poo-poo!
I crave: Dr. Pepper
I search: for a good book to read
I wonder: if I will ever have a clean house
I regret: dating before college
I love: my hubby and my girls
I care: what others think about me
I always: wear my seat belt
I believe: in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
I dance: with Lily
I sing: for the fun of it!
I fight: with my sister
I write: to express my feelings and leave something behind for my posterity
I lose: my temper very quickly! (Dang red hair!)
I win: sometimes
I listen: to others
I never: "stop and smell the roses" enough
I am scared: of losing a child both short term and long term
I need: new clothes
I am happy about: being happy. It has been way to long since I've been truly content.
I tag: anyone who hasn't done this and wants too. It is fun thinking about all these things. You should try it!

Enduring Trials

Many of you know how excited I was about the fact that we would be moving into a new apartment. We had our application in, and we had been given a move in date. Well, that isn't going to happen now. Last Wednesday we got a call from the manager of the apartment asking us about when Russell will graduate. We couldn't really tell them when he would graduate because his thesis is still in the works. It could be in December, it could be in April, it could be who knows when? The manager didn't like this answer. Apparently if Russ graduates in December we won't meet some of the requirements to live there. So the manager told us that our application was now denied. Needles to say I started bawling, and I kept crying for 45 minutes.

Shortly after this call I had to go to Wal-Mart. We were in dire need of milk and cheese. People probably thought I was nuts because I was bawling up a storm as I tried to get our food and get out of there. After checking out and heading out to the car, I somehow lost a gallon of our milk. I went back into the store, and asked the checker if I had left there. Nope. My milk was nowhere to be found. GREAT! Of course out of frustration I started crying again. As I got almost out to my car the checker ran after me and told me that he had found my milk. What a nice guy huh?! I guess it had fallen off my cart and been taken to the customer service desk.

Back in the car Russell called me and said he had some apartments for us to go look at. We needed an apartment by the end of the month, since we had already given our 30 day notice to our landlord. We spent the a good 4-5 hours looking at apartments and calling on apartments. We went through everything in the classifieds and came up with nothing! Everything was either way too expensive or way to dumpy for me to resign myself to live in. So after a short discussion with Russell we decided to call our landlords to see if they had filled the apartment. We were in luck, they hadn't filled the apartment. We wanted a six month lease, but our owner said no it was too difficult to fill an apartment in the winter. However, she told us if we sign a year contract and then get a job out of state in January, she will let us out of our lease. :) I was relieved to have an apartment again, but sad because I was ready to move on from this place. To make ourselves feel a little better, Russ and I promised each other we would take some time and really "spring clean" and declutter our house.

Our first step in this process was to buy a washer and dryer. We hadn't used our stimulus check yet, so that is what we felt we should use it on. Friday, while out birthday shopping for Lily we stopped at Sears and looked at washer and dryers. We narrowed it down to two and said we would be the back the next day to buy one. That night we went home and looked at our laundry room and realized that we wouldn't be able to get either one of our choices into the laundry room. They were too big! I was so disappointed. Then Russ and I discussed some different washer/dryers that we hadn't looked at before. They would fit! We then remembered that our neighbors had a problem with their dryer working. We found out that they had the wrong plug and had to replace it. Which means ours would too probably. No washer/dryer. We decided we would just replace it if it was wrong. On Saturday we and bought the washer/dryer. The good news was that it had the right plug! Later that day we realized that our dryer tubing went into the floor and it needed replaced. Oh great! Now we have to have our owners here when we move in because only they can get into the crawl space where the tubing is.

We called our owners and they were fine with coming over to unlock the crawl space. However, they preceded to tell Russ that they were raising our rent because property taxes have gone up. Oh great! That is what we wanted to here. Anyway the point of this post was to let all of you know that we aren't moving. Also, we are really trying to stay positive amidst all these things going wrong. I think we are doing pretty well. Talk to me in a month, then a will let you know if we really did do okay, and if anything else goes wrong ;)

I've done it!

As of two weeks ago, I have officially lost all of my "Allie weight". Meaning I have lost all of the weight I gained while pregnant with Allie. I am so stoked! I hope I can keep it off! My next goal is to lose all my "Lily weight" before having another child. That is achievable right?! It is only 40 pounds. Yikes! That number sounds big. If I ever make it to that goal, I might think about trying to make it down to my pre-marriage weight. For now though I am so excited about my accomplishment and can't wait to get the ok from my doctor to do more exercise than just walking! (Leslie, I borrowed your picture....hope that is okay!)

Lily's pictures

I fell like I have left Lily off the blog for awhile. I don't want Allie to overshadow her, so here are a few cute pictures I have taken of her lately.

Lily loves to play her piano and sing. At this point in time she was trying to get me to sing with her. She is saying,"Sing mommy!"

I enrolled Lily in the library's reading program "Don't bug me, I am reading!" As one of her prizes for reading, she got this lady bug flyer. She is so proud of it!

Mommy take a picture of me! Since I have been taking lots of pictures of Allie lately, Lily has been begging me to take pictures of her. This was just a quick snapshot to make her happy, but actually turned out to be a decent picture.

Allie Update

I thought I would do an update post on Allie. Allie turns one month tomorrow! It is crazy how fast she is growing! Speaking of growing we went and did another weight check at the doctors last Friday. She had gained enough weight that we don't have to go back until her regular appointment! Yeah! we found out yesterday at WIC that she weighs 9 lbs 11 0z and is 21 inches tall. This means she is short and fat! Hehehehe!

Her belly button finally healed up. It took forever because the wound would clot and then when she cried she would break it open. Which started the healing process all over again. She was so pitiful looking when this happened. I felt so bad :(

Ever since the day Allie was born she was able to hold her head up for a short time. The nurses were quite impressed with this. She can now hold it up for quite some time. I talked to the doctor about if I should do tummy time since she can do this. He didn't believe me that she could hold her up head up. GRRRR! Well, we got a picture of Allie doing it. Maybe I should take it in to the doc and show him!

Other than that Allie is doing great. She sleeps most of the day. She is hardly ever awake. Maybe three hours at the most. I am sure when she finally "wakes" up she will keep me plenty busy. Here are a few pictures we have taken of her recently. Enjoy!

Chillin' in the swing

Look at those cheeks!

Sisterly Love

Happy 4th of July!

Just a cute picture

Sad moment for mommy as her baby goes from newborn diapers to size 1. She isn't a newborn anymore :(
Playing on daddy's tummy
See Dr. Hatch! She can hold her head up all by herself!

One month old picture