She's an Artist

Someday, she is going to make us millions.

"bagel bagel, yum yum bagel. yum yum pumpernickel, pumpernickel bread!"

Reese: Mom! What happened to the rest of my bagel? I wasn't finished, yet!

Quincy: [gulp]

"I not know..."

"I hear the secrets that you keep...when you're talking in your sleep..."

Oh how I've missed a good conversation with Aaron in his sleep...

Monday night-

Meg: Aaron, wake up it is time for prayers
Aaron: I can't kneel, I hurt my knee (rolls over. buries face in pillow)
Meg: You did? How?
Aaron: (dosing off again) Huh? Uhhh fishing. It hurts. I'm not kneeling on it tonight.
Meg: A fishing injury. Haha, seriously? How lazy does THAT sound? That's like complaining about a "Sitting Injury", or a "Taking a Nap Injury". How on Earth did you hurt your knee while fish---hey! are you even listening to me? You're asleep again. Wake up.
Aaron: We really need to wrap this up
Meg: What? Prayers? ... Aaron?
Aaron: ....zzz....
Meg: Aaron!
Aaron: I can't answer that at this time.
Meg:???? Ok. Did you really hurt your knee, or are you just asleep and have no idea what you are talking about?
Aaron: You're going to have to talk to the buyer about that.
Meg: Crap. Forget it
Aaron: It's a different category. Contact the buyer.

This is about the time my pillow hit the back of his head and he realized he was talking in his sleep. What really sucks is that when he goes to sleep he apparently starts out fishing, but then somehow ends up at work. Lame when work starts paging your dreams, too.
Wouldn't be the first time...

What the ?!

The following is a conversation that took place 2 minutes ago between 3 of Reese's Sweet Street People:

Reese as little girl: Mom, can I go outside and play now?

Reese as Mom: Not until you finish unloading the dishes and eat your hot dog.

Reese as little girl: Grandma, Mommy says I can't go play outside!

Reese as Grandma: Well, yes you can. But SHHHH don't tell her I said it is ok.

Reese as little girl: Mommy, grandma says it is ok. AND she said you are mean.

Reese as Mommy: Grandma, how could you do this to me?! You ruin everything!

For. Real.

"Smile like you mean it..."

Exciting Stuff

When Reese turned 3 it was December.
Too late to have started preschool that Fall.
She was bored, so I opened up a little Preschool Enrichment Program in my home.
She got to go to school, and I got to teach again.

I taught from January-June of 2008...the same time that I remodeled the bathrooms, and took a little break from blogging.

2 years later, we find ourselves in the same situation.
Quincy will turn 3 in December.
Too late to start preschool in the fall.

Sooooo...Young Learners Preschool Enrichment is open again! In September, I will have 4 Busy Bumblebees coming to my home once a week for preschool. I am so excited to teach again. I loved it before, and Reese really blossomed in those months we had school at our house. I hope to have a similar experience for Quincy.

Out of respect and privacy for the children in our class and their families, I won't be posting many pictures unless they are of Quincy alone, or I have permission from the parents, but I will blog about some of the activities we'll do that are a big hit.

I am so excited! Within 2 days of deciding to teach this Fall, I had 3 children enrolled. I still have one spot open, but I think our group of 2 boys and 2 girls is going to be really great, and really busy! I'm already gathering more art materials, puppets, books, sensory mediums, puzzles, props for theme boxes, and researching more fun activities to do with my little Busy Bees. HolleeAnn has been awesome to share tons of materials for our classroom. I owe a lot of my creativity and love for teaching to her. If you have young children, take a minute to check out her blog, and be sure to click the goldfish button on the right for some good stuff.

"Life should be fragrant. Rooftop to the basement..."

Question:
If my kid removes and hides her own diaper after she poops in it, does it count as potty training?

I'm just going to start a new segment on the blog and call it, "What's That Smell?"

Seriously? Another post with pics of a bunch of jars and Meg in an apron?

YES!

Jerushia and I made dill pickles today! Who knew homemade pickles we so easy? I got this recipe from my friend, Darcie. I don't think I'll ever go back to store bought without feeling slightly disappointed. These bad boys are freaking awesome. We sat around with a fork at Darcie's daughter's birthday party, eating an entire jar of her pickles. I just had to make my own.

Dill Pickles:
-Wash jars, and place lids in a saucepan filled with water on the stove top to simmer.
-Wash, dry, and slice about 12 large cucumbers (compliments of Jeru's garden=free!)
-Pack into quart mason jars (fills about 8)
-Add about 1-2 tsp dill weed and 1 sliced clove of garlic to each jar.

-Boil together:
3 quarts water
1 quart white vinegar
1 cup canning salt
-Pour boiling solution over cucumbers.
-Wipe rims of jars clean with a damp dishcloth and top with a simmered lid and ring.
-Wait about 30 minutes and you will hear a POP! as the jars seal themselves.
-If jars don't seal after an hour or so, turn them upside down.
-If any still don't seal, keep refrigerated and eat them!

Mmmm, I can't wait to grill up some burgers and throw one of these on it! Delicious.

"Because they like to say, 'SAL-SAH'..."

What to do with 30 Tomatoes , 7 Bell Peppers, 6 Jalapenos, and 3 Serrano Peppers all ripe at the same time?

Make 9 QUARTS of SALSA!

Things I learned:
Don't cut your thumb open on the first bell pepper.
Don't cut your thumb at all, you idiot.
Canning anything takes forever.
It is more fun with a friend.
It is even MORE fun with 80's music.
Canning while the husband is out of town is an excellent idea, because even if you start the process at 8:00 pm, you will be canning salsa until 2:30am and end up sleeping over in said friend's guest room with your kids.
BLT's with avocado are awesome.
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of canning salt. NOT to be mistaken with 1 cup. Oopsie!

Stay tuned for ROUND 2, where I make another batch (minus any salt), open every bottle of salsa that we made last weekend, mix it with the new batch, and re-bottle everything.
What a pain!
Good thing I have more vegetables.
And a good friend to do my canning with.
I actually glad I screwed it up, because now we get to play Suzie Homemaker again.
Thanks for your kitchen, Kasey!
I'm so glad you take everything I say 'with a grain of salt'.

QB

This morning Quincy returned to the kitchen repeatedly for strawberries. Each visit, she would take one, then go over to stand by the trash can to eat it. When I asked her what she was doing over there, she replied,

"I need to get these green hairs off of my sterbrrry! They's so yucky."

"Jealousy, turning saints into the sea..."

Jared, Aaron, Rob, Scott, and Jana-the photog who took all of these beautiful pictures!

Remember...

Aaron,
Remember way back when, before we any had kids, grey hair, or bags under our eyes?
Remember when we had matching fly boxes, and your lures were all stored away neatly in a sealed container and not tangled stuck in the upholstery in the seat of our mini-van? (it is still there, btw. You're gonna have to use pliers)

Remember being able to take a nap when we got home from fishing all morning?

Remember wading side by side in the , Salmon, Silver Creek, Boise, Big Lost (wait, we never actually found that one, did we?) Provo, and Trukee Rivers?

Remember how I had absolutely no clue what I was doing most of the time, but somehow managed to catch a fish EVERY single time?

Remember when I used to go with you?

Me too.
I miss you.
My waders are dusty.
Take me fly fishing when you come home.

In the meantime, have a BLAST with these guys:
Don't eat the french toast at Shorty's.
Get yourself a new Madison River hat, I'm keeping yours.
Wait, what am I saying?! Don't buy another freaking hat, you have over 30 hats.
I'm still keeping the Madison River hat.
Can't wait to hear some good fishing stories when you get home. I hope you are having a wonderfully relaxing time, that the fish are biting, tat the hotel has ESPN, and that you remembered to wear the waist belt on your waders, bug spray and sunscreen.

Enjoy your vacation. Enjoy the mountains. Enjoy time with your dad and brothers.

Get all the Dave O stories out of your system before you get home.
Don't fall in the river.
We love you,
-Meg, Pieces, Q, and Little Dude.

Reader Beware...Extreme Cuteness In This Post!

Q: What on Earth could possibly be cuter than Baby Corbin?
A: Baby Corbin sucking his teeny tiny little thumb!

"Cuz It Takes Me So Long Just To Figure Out What I'm Gonna Wear..."

"How Do You Not SMELL That Peppa?!"

A great money saving tip to cut the grocery spending is to buy peppers in bulk when they are in season and on sale, then dice and freeze them. Nothing compares to the taste of fresh green peppers, but if you're going to cook them anyway, you can't tell the difference if they've been properly frozen.

We have a HAUL of green bell peppers in the garden. I picked a few the other night, and counted 12 more that would be ready to be harvested by the end of this week. I had hoped my tomatoes would ripen at the same time and I could use them in salsa, but everything seems to be on a schedule of it's own and the tomatoes are turning red only a few at a time. They are delicious, though!

Preserving Sweet Peppers:
Unlike green beans and other veggies, there is no need to blanch your peppers before freezing them!
Just wash and remove the stem, seeds and membranes.
Slice or dice peppers and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Jelly roll pans work nicely, because you don't have to worry about spilling peppers over the edge if you are clumsy like me and your tray tips a little.

Place in freezer for 1-2 hrs until pepper pieces are individually frozen.
Doing this prevents the peppers from sticking to each other in the bag later and creating one giant hunk of pepper.
Transfer to a ziplock freezer bag, label, and place immediately back into the freezer.

Using your frozen peppers:
Now you can reach in and scoop out any desired amount of pre-sliced bell peppers to add to any dish, any time of the year! Peppers stay pretty crisp, and even after being frozen they are still great for fajitas, pepper steak sandwiches, or this quick dinner:

I call anything that can me prepared from pantry/freezer items alone a "pantry meal", meaning it requires no fresh ingredients from the grocery store. I added some shredded cheddar and tomatoes from the yard to mine last night, but we usually eat it without the fresh ingredients.
We sort of came up with this recipe after eating Emily's fettuccine recipe. Aaron is not a noodle lover (I know-sad, right?) so I tried to make a healthier version of her delicious fettuccine using similar ingredients, but mixed with rice instead of noodles. We love it, and so do the kids. Enjoy!

Sausage Bowls:
1lb Lean Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
2 cups Instant Brown Rice
1 c diced bell pepper
1/2 c diced fresh mushrooms or 1 small can diced mushrooms
1-2 sliced green onions
1 TBS olive oil
oregano
garlic salt
italian seasonings

directions:
Brown sausage in oil
add peppers, mushrooms, green onions
season to taste with above listed goodness.
Cover for 1 minute to cook veggies to preferred texture, I like them with a little crunch, Aaron likes his overcooked, so I usually dish my serving out and let it sit on the stove another minute before he loads his plate.

Serve over cooked rice. If you are not a brown rice fan, use white, or mix one cup of each. The rice absorbs the oil and flavors from the meat and it is SO yummy!
Simple, filling, and delicious, and now you too can say,

"Ooooh, it smells like peppa up in here!"

2 Months Old

Baby Guy is two months old, today!

He had 3 shots today. I think I cried more than he did. It is just so sad to see your kid in pain. I think I cried again when I saw that it cost $480 for a well visit, 3 shots and an oral vaccine that he threw up all over the nurse anyway.
right before the explosion.
Once he threw up he was actually quite happy. I think the nurse was annoyed that I was snapping photos, but smiles are still few and far between, so I have to soak 'em up whenever I can.
Why hot pink band-aids?
This is the look he kept on his face while the band aids were applied.
2 Month Stats:
weight 12lbs 6oz...Hoss! (75th percentile)
height 22 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
head 15 1/4 inches
We just love having a liitle chunk to hold and squish! He goes to sleep on his own, eats well, sleeps well, rarely fusses, and melts all of our hearts.

He is perfect.
We love you Cheeto!

"Monday Monday..."

"Too Much? Uh, okay, then take back the tiara and let me hold the musket again..."

Or, perhaps I just watched too many episodes of this while I was pregnant with her:

"...Apagues La Lu-uz!.."

It feels like Q has grown 2 inches in the last month.
Which gives us reason #221 why my electricity bill has gone up.