Hair and Tears

What a day! I have been so so tired today, so during Madison's nap, I put a movie on for Kylie and told her that I was going to take a nap on the couch and to wake me up if she needed anything. Then, I set the alarm on my phone for 30 minutes and fell asleep. So what went wrong you ask? For starters, Madison woke up extra early and Kylie decided to go open the door for her so she could get out of her room. Then, I am awakened by a cute little 2 year old saying "Mommy! Hair!" and notice that my 2-year-old now has a pixie haircut. I can't even tell you how upset that makes me. Kylie has been trying to act so grown up lately, so I'm sure she was just trying to be like mommy, but it didn't turn out so well for her. She also ended up taking a pretty big chunk out of her own hair as well. Maddi's hair was just getting long enough to really have fun with, and Kylie's hair is past her shoulder blades now.
Instead of reacting harshly, I put Kylie in the corner and called my good friend and cosmetologist Sariah to come rescue me. Not much could be done about Maddi's hair and it will take months till it looks good again, but Kylie recieved a very cute bob cut. She cried herself to sleep tonight because she wanted long hair like her aunt Lysee. Maybe she'll learn her lesson. GRRRRRRR!!! As for me, I am just spending my night trying to hold back the tears:(

My camera was in the van, so the lens was foggy when I brought it in to take pictures. Excuse the fog.

You can't really tell in this picture how badly butchered the back is, and the hole near her bangs, but it is pretty sad.

Mardi Gras Countdown!

Mardi Gras is just around the corner! To anyone in Utah, this doesn't mean much...in fact...you have to really search to even find any beads or Mardi Gras decorations. But....Terrence and I will be sitting at home on Mardi Gras dreaming of all the festivities and parties going on in Louisiana and wishing we could be there. I may get ambitious and make a king cake or something, but I'm just not sure yet. I decided to post every few days till Mardi Gras to summarize our wonderful 1 1/2 years of living in the south.
This picture was taken in Pensacola, Florida during Thanksgiving. I was 8 months pregnant, but it was so beautiful, and the water was so clear.

I miss crawfish so bad! You can't find it here in Utah, and if you do, you have to catch them yourselves and they just don't taste the same. Besides that....Utahn's call them cray fish. What's up with that?

Terrence became our master griller in LA and was always cooking yummy things for us there. One of my favorites was grilled guava tenderloin with papaya/avacado salsa. MMMMMMM!!!

One day when we had the sister missionaries over we went to walk them out to their cars and this little snake was right in front of the door feasting on a frog. It was pretty disgusting, but we somehow dared to get close enough to snap a photo. The entire back wall of the house was nothing but windows, and at night before bed, Kylie would count how many little bright green frogs were stuck to the windows. I even found one hopping around in the kitchen once. TALK ABOUT A HEART ATTACK. Who expects something like that? I have to say after living in the west your whole life and being used to skunks and deer lying on the side of road, it is quite a change to see armadillos, snakes, and alligators as road kill.

This is my daily shpeel on Louisiana. Keep tuned for more throughout the next couple weeks!

A New Favorite!

I LOVE to cook, and although this recipe is a little bit involved...it is so so yummy! It's the perfect comfort food on a cold winter day! This is also so rich with flavor, that you can really minimize the amount of salt you add and make it a "little" bit more heart friendly:)

Italian Chicken and Dumplings

5 Tb EVOO

2 lb. chicken tenders, diced into bite-size pieces

5 Tb. butter

12 lg. white mushrooms, sliced

1 c. shredded carrots

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 lg. onion

1 fresh bay leaf

salt and pepper

3 Tb. all-pupose flour

3 c. chicken stock

1 c. fresh basil leaves

a generous handful of fresh flat-leaf parley leaves

a handful of pine nuts, lightly toasted

a couple handfuls of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

zest of 1 lemon

2 (10-12 oz) packages fresh gnocchi

Heat a pot or deep skillet with 1 Tb. of the EVOO over med-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 3-4 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and add another Tb. of EVOO and 2 Tb of the butter to the pan. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes to soften the veggies, then sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 1/2 c. of the stock, slide the chicken and any juices on the plate back into the pot, and simmer until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, 5-7 minutes.

Place the remaining 1/2 c. stock in a food processor with the basil, parsley, pine nuts, cheese, and salt and pepper. Turn the processer on and pour in the remaining 3 Tb. of EVOO with the motor running.

Melt the remaining 3 Tb of butter in a skillet over med. heat and add the lemon zest.

Salt a pan with boiling water and add the gnocchi. Cook the gnocchi until they float to the surface, then drain and add to the lemon butter. Toss the gnocchi in the lemon butter for 2-3 minutes, until lightly golden at edges.

Remove the chicken from the heat, discard the bay leaf, and stir in the pesto sauce. Serve the chicken topped with lemon-butter dumplings in shallow bowls.

KITCHEN NAP!

Kylie has been so so sick the past two days. She had a burning fever last night and cannot breath enough to sleep with out the humidifier on full blast. Today she had to go to her Aunt Lysee's house while I did Joy school at our house without her, so when she got home...we did our own little joy school session and then I started dinner. I made a gigantic pot of Jambalaya because I'm taking some to a friend of ours whose husband is in the hospital. Well...Kylie decided to join me in the kitchen but was so weak, she needed to lay down and before long.............

she dozed off into a deep slumber. Poor girl. She's past the whiny stage and has drifted into the glazed over expression pure misery stage of her cold. I hope this doesn't last long...and hope it doesn't spread to the rest of us.

Journals...Journals....Journals

When I was about 13 years old, there was a woman in our ward who spoke in Sacrament meeting on "Pioneer Day" Sunday about family history and instead of focusing on the past, she talked about what we can do today to preserve our history. She has 8 children, and brought with her 8 journals to use as examples. In her talk, she read little bits of journal entries to the congregation and I have never forgotten her example to me. So...the one thing I have actually been good at (don't even ask me about my failure in the scrapbooking dept.) has been keeping journals.
When I found out that I was pregnant, I bought a journal and started writing in it. I wrote all my pregnancy symptoms, and my feeling throughout my pregnancy. I wrote about the first time I felt them move, and names I was considering for them. I wrote pages and pages about their birth story, and their time as a newborn. Terrence has put a few things in their journals as well. Their journals include first words, silly moments, vacation stories, all with dates, and times to back them up. I guess my reason for doing this mainly, is because I want them to know and understand how much they are loved. I want them to know about all the nights I stayed up holding my belly wondering about the person growing inside. I want them to know how many in depth discussions I had with them while rocking and nursing them about my hopes for their futures and how much they are loved.
I'm still not exactly sure when I will give them their journals. Maybe for their weddings, or high school graduations, but I do know this: having those memories written down has been such a blessing to me on the hard days. I know that there will probably be times in the future when they will feel forgotten or unimportant in the bussiness of family life, but someday....they will have a journal kept by a mother who loves them more than anything to serve as proof of that love.

A little birthday fun

I've decided that it's nice not having a lot of money sometimes. It forces you to be more creative in your celebrations. I feel like it means more when you have to take more time and effort in planning something special for someone, and this year the girls were able to get involved. Together we went to the party store and picked out some decorations. We decorated Terrence's car at work....

Then we used the left over decorations to decorate at home.

Then, with the girls helping to measure and mix, we made peanut butter fingers for Terrence and his co-workers to enjoy. Of course, Terrence couldn't wait to get to work before trying some, so they are missing a few pieces.

On Saturday, we went to Provo and had lunch with Ty and Danielle, and Elyse and her new man, and then we spent some time at Aunt Theresa's house with their family and Grandpa Mac. Then...(I know there is more) we went out for a light dinner at Zupa's (my new favorite place) with my Aunt Jo. It turned out being a great weekend, and I'm glad we were able to share it with family:)

Terrence's Birthday

This handsome little guy is my husband. I am so lucky that 25 years ago he was brought into the world by two pretty amazing parents. I can't imagine my life without him. I met him for the first time half way through my sophomore year in high school, and he was the best friend I needed at that point in my life. He helped me get through a pretty hard time, and it was his genuine concern and listening ear that won me over.

By the time the Sadie Hawkins dance rolled around, we had realized that we liked each other a little more than just best friends. Terrence is by far the most respectful guy I have ever met. He has treated me like a queen from day one. His parents are such generous giving people and have taught all three of their children the importance of selfless love. Terrence fortunately has learned from their example. He also grew up in a family where you were expected to pull your own weight and he was taught how to be a hard worker. Terrence is Mr. Fixit and if he doesn't know how to do something...you can bet he's going to learn. I guess that is why my parents loved him from the beginning. Terrence still credits his acceptance in my family to the hard work he and Todd put into re-shingleing my parents roof our first summer together.

Terrence has stayed by my side through everything. Even the highly embarrasing and awkward moments of growing up.

"Preference" Nov.2000

Being the manly man he is, he even humored me and took me to a couple of dances. (only a couple) Luckily, he didn't complain too much.

Terrence, Mark, Todd

The summer before our senior year in High School, my family moved to Denver (500 miles away) and I fully expected Terrence to want to date so he didn't get too lonely, but he wasn't interested. Terrence stayed up extra late EVERY night and talked to me on the phone. He even sacrificed his play money to visit me every other month. One of our favorite things to do was to read our scriptures over the phone and discuss the meaning and our view of things. It's probably a good thing too since our phone conversations lasted till 1:00 am and I had early morning seminary at 5:00am. At least I got some spiritual learning in my day since my mind was only half awake during seminary my senior year:)

Terrence loves to have fun! We spent a lot of time in the mountains and the desert on 4-wheelers and he always knew how to fix problems and made sure everyone who came with us had everything they needed. I'm also assuming that because he was "allowed" to take his Dad's nice truck, trailer, and 4-wheelers from the time he turned 16 on meant that he was pretty responsible as well. (also thanks to having such great parents.)

Best of all, Terrence has always known how to make me laugh! He never gets too stressed out and always keeps his head forward, looking to the future. He seems to have a clear perspective of what he wants out of life and helps our family to achieve it. He is a strong priesthood holder and example to me and our little girls. I am so grateful to have a husband who has strong values and goals.

And...as a Father, he has become a new man. I will never forget the way he looked as we welcomed our first baby into the world. He never seems too tired to read just one more story, or make one more round of "horsie" around the house. He is such a great Dad, and such a great husband. When he looks at the girls with such pure love and admiration in his eyes, I know that we're in this FOREVER. Knowing that I have a husband that shares that common goal makes all the hard times worth it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRENCE! I LOVE YOU!