Movie Recommendation

Several months ago Shelley recommended this movie and tonight we finally had a chance to watch it. We really enjoyed it and I think you will too. Thanks Shelley.

From the movie website:
When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens anticipates a big inheritance. Instead his grandfather has devised a crash course on life: twelve tasks (or "gifts") designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self discovery and forcing him to determine what is most important in life: money or happiness.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Jared, Sydney, Gibson and Easton Condie

I found IT....on ebay



Thank you ebay for helping me find IT. During the summer Gibson received a Fantastic Four "blue man" from his kids meal at Burger King. This little man is one of his favorites (takes turns with Buzz Lightyear) and during one of our trips home to UT in November, he lost it.

He has looked for it everyday since. He grabs the flashlight and looks, he has his toys help him, he misses blue man like crazy. He uses phrases like "I gotta find him", "Oh, blue man is lost and I'm sad" and "think, think, think- where could he be"(as he taps his forehead).

Well, he has seen Santa a few times this season and the only thing he has asked for is "Blue Man." So, I found one on ebay! It came with 5 others and for $10, I'm making my 3 year olds Christmas wish come true!

sick AND tired

Easton has been sick the past few days. After waking up in the middle of the night needing his pj's, sheet and blanket changed (again) I found him like this. Too tired to lay down!

Killer Caramel Recipe

My sister-in-law Jen starting showing up to some family functions with this caramel. Every time I eat more than I should. She brought it to Chana's bridal shower back in August and we were so stingy with it we didn't even put it out for our guests.

She gave me the recipe and I just made it. I'm ready to make my second batch since the first turned out so good! Jared, who is not a caramel fan even likes it!

As you can tell from the picture, I wrapped half of it and the other half I dipped in chocolate. Good both ways.

I got the recipe for the peppermint fudge from my friend Becky. So easy to make and so delicious. Click here for the recipe.

Still on the list to make is Almond Joys. This is a Condie family favorite and this will be my first attempt to make them on my own. Hopefully we'll get those made on Sunday so Jared can deliver them to co-workers on Monday.


If you have plans to make caramel this season you should try this recipe. Just check out the ingredients and you'll KNOW why it's so good.

One Year Ago TODAY........

Easton Thomas Condie was born at 3:45 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs 1oz.

He was the best Christmas present we could have asked for.


We're told he looks exactly like his dad.....lucky kid.

A few things about Easton:

He wasn't named for 7 days after he was born. We couldn't decide between Easton and Carson. I made two Christmas cards and two baby announcements last year...one with each name. Finally after 7 days we knew it was Easton.

He has 6 teeth.

He crawls like a monkey and jumps like a frog to get to you.

He rarely cries and is a great sleeper.

He picks on his big brother and much to Gibson's dismay, copies him.

He loves to play with cars, loves his blankie and makes his own waves in the tub by crawling really fast from end to end and then stopping in the middle to let the water splash on him.

He weighs almost 25 lbs, is wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 5 diapers. My siblings call him "The Tank"

We had a small party over the weekend while we had family in town. Easton loved to play in his cake but wasn't too interested in eating it. He got some fun presents- cars, trucks, a new hammer, bathtub rings, a tent and tunnel and money for his savings account.


This past year has been a blur, it went way too quickly. Easton is a JOY in our family and we love him from the moon to the stars and back! Happy 1st Birthday Easton!!

SNOW much fun!!

6:30 p.m.- I hollered at Gibson and he didn't answer back. After a few minutes I ran upstairs and couldn't find him. I checked under his bed and there he was FAST ASLEEP. He was exhausted from this weekend and this is why.........

My parents, my sister Chana and her husband Fred and my other sister Erin came up for the weekend. Chana, Fred and Erin arrived Friday night around 10:30, Gibson whom was so excited for them to arrive, went to bed about 11:30.

We received several inches of snow during the night and what better way to play in it than to make a snow family! Jared recruited the neighbors and they made 4 snowmen in honor of our little family of four. The snowmen were complete with coal eyes and carrots for noses. Too cute!


Erin was working on making a hat.....She wasn't going fast enough so Jared decided to help....
What would a cold, snowy weekend be without a gingerbread house?? Gibson had a great time making the candy roof and I'm certainly thankful for Costco that sells Gingerbread house kits! Less work for me and still tons of fun for him!
Chana and Fred enjoying the antics of the children. We celebrated Easton's birthday while everyone was here (a post about that to come later) so the boys were filled with sugar and new toys. Oh, they were hyper!


Such a busy weekend and we LOVED every minute of it! We love when we have visitors. Thanks for enjoying the weekend with us! We love you guys!

tHriFt stOrE fiNdS

I'm not a huge thrift store shopper. However, on the AF base, we have a thrift store where we can consign our "treasures". So, I clean out closets and then head to the thrift store to consign them. This little practice has made me over $200 in the past 4 months. Not too shabby for things I no longer need (like my mom jeans.)

Usually I'm in and out of the store. I go in the back door and never look around. However last week, Gibson who watches a movie while I consign was being SO good that I decided to browse. I may not love thrift stores but I do love a few minutes of uninterrupted shopping.

Look what I found! Better yet...guess how much I spent!
$3.75 bought me 6 games and a little walker for Easton (which he LOVES.) It also bought me a Mr. Potato set. A few of the games Gibson won't be able to play for a few years but the kids in our babysitting exchange can!

This little .25 gadget has changed Easton's world. He can get around pretty fast and it's super light so when he runs into a wall, he can just pick it up and turn it and keep on going!
I must say, I was pretty excited for my finds!

a humbling sight

I had to run to Wal-mart this morning. I needed 2 items so I knew it would be a quick trip. As I turned into the parking lot I saw 4 fire trucks, a few squad cars, a few sheriff cruisers as well as ambulances, etc. All had their lights on and were parked in the fire lane directly in front of the store.

"Oh crap" were the first words that came to my head. Not for the poor individuals who were hurt or had a tragic moment inside Wal-mart but for me....I needed some things and Wal-mart is my only option.

I parked and walked in totally expecting police tape and someone signaling us to "keep moving" but instead what I saw brought tears to my eyes.

It was our local Shop with a Cop day for needy kids in my town. Everywhere I looked there were uniformed police officers, Air Force men and women and sheriff deputies armed with a shopping cart and a young child who was grinning from ear to ear. The shopping carts were filled with gifts for family members. Some kids had lists they were referring to and others were holding two items trying to compare so they could make sure and get the best present.

After they used their gift card to purchase all their gifts, they then went and had the gifts wrapped so they would be ready to put under the tree once they got home.

This really tugged at my heart strings. Jared and I are in no sense wealthy but I can say my kids have never gone without. My kids have everything they need to keep them healthy and warm. They have plenty of toys and usually are treated to a new toy every now and again "just because."

Seeing these needy kids today really made me realize how blessed I am and how blessed my children are. It made me want to do more for others in need, especially at this time of year.

So, I am going to find an angel tree and purchase something for someone else. It may be small but to the child who receives it, it might make all the difference this year.

So I'm challenging YOU to also do what you can for others. Forget those neighbor gifts and use that money to buy a kid a coat or pick up a name on your local angel tree and buy something small...if we all do something small, we'll make a BIG difference in the lives around us.

Easton's First Snowfall

We don't get a lot of snow in our little part of the desert. So little snow that we don't even own a snow shovel because what snow we do get is usually melted by the time we'd get out to shovel it!

So last night when it began to snow and actually stick to the ground, I was very excited! I was actually excited for my boys to get to play in it. They both LOVE to be outside so I honestly thought they'd love it.

Well one did. The other one......

Not so much.

He cried almost the entire time we were outside. He started to cry the moment I started to dress him and didn't stop until about 30 minutes AFTER I brought him inside.

I don't think it was so much the snow he didn't like but rather the fact that he couldn't move in his very cute snow gear.

I was able to get a few shots of him not crying-
If only I had a tissue that I could have wiped his poor nose.
This picture makes me laugh. Easton has a very distinct crawl. He doesn't crawl like most babies crawl. He crawls like a monkey with his head always up. So the pattern in the snow is not his "normal" pattern. This would be the "I can't move so I have to slither like a snake" crawl. Poor little man was so tired after only going that far. He was able to stop and enjoy the snow for a minute, crawling can really make a guy thirsty!

So luckily we don't get too much snow here. I have a feeling we wouldn't get a chance to really enjoy it. Maybe when he begins to walk.

My Packing Secret.....

During the month of November we have spent more time away from our home than we have at home. This has meant living out of suitcases which I really hate.

So to make things easier (this really helped on those days I was away from the boys,) I packed all of their clothes in gallon size zip locked bags.

Each day I packed a complete outfit along with socks and underwear and "vacuumed packed" them. I labeled them G or E and on some of them included "LS" (long-sleeved) or church.

I included an extra zip locked bag with extra underwear and socks- just in case.

So each morning, all that had to be done was grab a zip lock bag! Their clothes stayed organized and I was able to keep track of worn clothes.

Simple but saved us a lot of time!

Being Grateful.....for little hands
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always grateful for the little hands that live in this home.

These little hands leave marks on the TV, computer screen, screen glassed door and washing machine.

These little hands throw food from their high chair and touch light switches with dirty fingers.

These little hands HELP me type on the computer and are used to propel a small body to follow me wherever I go.

These little hands carry toys from one room to the next and never back again.

These little hands roll the window up and down in the car...up and down, up and down.

These little hands INSIST on being independent and don't need any help getting dressed, buckling in the carseat or zipping up a jacket.

However, when I saw this little picture that Gibson made for me at preschool my heart melted. I got a bit lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. For it made me realize that these little hands (whether they are his or his little brothers) are not always going to be little.

So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for little hands. These little hands are my joy and I love them more each and every day.

I am also grateful for the other hands that live in this house. Jared's hands happen to be our lively hood. I am grateful for his skills and work ethic and that he goes to work everyday to "get bugs off teeth" and allow me the chance to stay home with the other sets of hands.

Gibson made a "I am thankful book" at school and listed the following three things. Toys, Shoes and Teeth. It seems as though he's grateful for his dad too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

TURKEY TROT RELAY



A few months ago, my friend Beth asked if I wanted to run in the Turkey Trot relay. She asked me around the same time several friends had just completed marathons so I was motivated and eager to run so I said "sure" ......that was months ago.

The Turkey Trot Relay consisted of 4 people each running 2 miles. 2 miles! That's it, 2 easy miles. Um, yeah. I nearly died. I hadn't trained AT ALL and I honestly figured that it would be easy and I assume it would be an easy task for someone who hates to run as much as I do. Well, we all know what happens when we Assume.

It was raining. It was cold. There was goose poop everywhere. (It was all over my calfs and back and I even had some on the front of my shirt from another runner who flipped it on me while they were running) It actually wasn't THAT bad. It was fun. I ran it 2 minutes faster than I thought I would (the winners were based on your estimated times not the first team to finish)and although we didn't win a turkey or any of the raffle items (cranberries, pies or egg nog) I'd do it again and next time I'll train just a bit...

Viva Las Vegas, baby!!


We just returned from an 11 day trip to visit the folks. We had a great time! The highlight of the trip for me (really the reason for the trip) was a long weekend in Vegas with 3 of my best friends from dental school.


Our 4 years in Cleveland would not be what they were without our friends The Koffords, The Wettsteins and The Scholzens. We celebrated holidays, visited The Smoky Mountains, Myrtle Beach, Niagara Falls, Cedar Point, and countless other venues together as friends. These three couples quickly became our "family" as we lived so far away from our own families.


Time has passed, distance has separated us but having a "girls weekend" was just what we needed! We picked Vegas since it was centrally located for the 4 of us and we ate, talked, shopped, received a little pampering and ate some more!


We started our weekend with a trip to the spa where we had every intentions of being there for a few hours, going out to dinner and then hitting Cirque du Soleil. Luckily we ate a bagel before we left because we ended up being there ALL DAY. I got a facial and a pedicure and it was heaven! Ignore the no-makeup in the photo, I had just had my facial!
Lynnette enjoying a pedicure.

So by the time we finished up at the spa we were STARVING! I mean, withering away, need food NOW, starving! We went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and amazing enough we walked right in. Our waiter could see us wilting so he immediately brought us bread and an appetizer which we ate super fast. So fast that by the time our meal came we were stuffed! Oh, why didn't someone remind us that the portion sizes of Cheesecake Factory's entrees could feed 2 or 3? We totally could have shared our meals but we were too hungry to think. I didn't even have room for Cheesecake (sniff, sniff)


Of course we had to check in with the hubbies to make sure all was well on the home front. Laurie was laughing while she took this picture because she was on the phone too! Love cell phones and LOVE husbands who hold down the fort so we could get together!

We went and saw KA and WOW, it was amazing. I have seen Cirque du Soleil on TV but this was my first LIVE production and it was incredible. Loved it! I especially love the drunk guy in this picture with us.


What would Vegas be without a Buffet?? Well, it wouldn't be Vegas that's for sure! Lynnette insisted that we visit the Wynn and go to their buffet and I'm sure glad she did. It was so yummy! We sat and ate and talked for 2 1/2 hours! Oh, yummy.

Sampling the many desserts at the Wynn Buffet.

We went to the Bellagio and visited the Flower Garden. We had a small case of the giggles while we were there. I can't remember what we were laughing at or maybe it was "whom" we were laughing at.....


Laurie lives a few hours from Vegas and I drove down to her and then se was nice enough to drive to Vegas. She drives a minivan but sometimes I think she forgot. I think she thought she was either driving a sports car or an H2! That minivan has some getup and go power! We discovered the joys of Valet parking and here we are waiting for the minivan to be brought to us.


What would Vegas be without buying 1200 books? Laurie's husband is a pediadontist and they give books to all the children after their dental appointment so Laurie is always looking for childrens books. Well, we found 1200 of them! Good thing she had the minivan. We spent so long looking for books that once again we were starving! So we decided to grab a quick bite to eat and In and Out Burger (did you know they have a secret menu online? Check it out and the next time you go there you can get all sorts of things just by asking for the "secret" ingredients that us normal folk don't know about!)


It had been way too long since I had seen these girls and once we got together it felt like no time had passed at all. We all vowed that it won't be that long again until our next reunion. Lynnette, you're the organized one. Are you on that?

So Lynnette, Laurie and Zipporah. Thanks for a wonderful weekend. Thanks for some additional memories. Thanks for being my friends.

A new post is coming...I swear.

I always hate it when people don't update their blogs. I didn't mean to be one of them but a post is coming, I swear.....

We've been out of town, visiting grandparents, a trip to Vegas, coloring my hair and busy getting braces! So much to blog about and I will as soon as we get home.... so stay tuned!

We're not "lion" when we want to wish ya'll a Happy Halloween!!!

Question???

So Jamie made this post in relation to my post on mom jeans. After thinking for a while, I discovered I do have 2 splurges...hair care and face care.

That being said. I am almost out of my face wash and as I sit and stare at myself in the mirror, I wonder..."do I look my age," " do I look older than my age," " what am I going to look like in 10 years"-- Has the skin care system I've been dedicated to for years been working? Is there something better than I've been using and I just doni't know about it?

I mean you've all met people whom you just assume are older than you and you are flabergasted when you find out they are your age or even younger!!

I don't want to be one of those people..I want young looking skin FOREVER and I'm willing to shell out a pretty penny for face wash, moisturizer, serum or anything else that might make that happen.

So, my question to you is what skin care system do you use and LOVE? I need to know....I need to re-evaluate my skin care system before the "big" birthday comes up next year. I don't want to look my age, I want to look younger!!

Talk to me....what are your secrets and favorite skin care products?

You Go Time Out!

I got put into time out yesterday (twice) by my 3 year old son. It went something like this.

Gibson: "Mommy, come play with me"

Mommy: "Just a second, I'm dusting"

Gibson: "MAAMMy, come play with me"

Mommy: "Just a minute bud, I need to finish this"

Gibson: "I gonna count to 3 and then you get spanking and go to time out- is that what you want?"

Mommy: "what?"

Gibson: "1 2 3" {walks over, taps me on the back and then points to time out chair}

Mommy: dumbfounded and trying not to laugh goes to time out chair

Gibson: Walks over to microwave and pretends to fiddle with setting clock

Mommy: Thinks to herself "if he really makes me sit here for 1 minute for every year that I am, I could actually take a power nap and still have time to chip the paint off my toes"

Gibson: Walks over to Jared {who is keeping his back to me trying to keep in the snorts he's laughing so hard} and proceeds to tell him "don't talk mommy, she in time out"

It happened again today when I wouldn't join him at the fountain at the Mall. The sad thing is, he's saying it 100% correct. That's exactly what we tell him when he's getting in trouble and now, it's coming back to bite us.

At least we know he's paying attention!

Irish Twins!!

My brother Jason and his wife Jennifer welcomed their son, whom they named Cooper, into the world today!!

For those of you who may not know their story, let me give you a readers digest version.

Jason and Jen have been married for almost 11 years. They tried to have a baby for about 9 years. They had several failed attempts with IVF and decided to adopt. Last year on October 23, their daughter Addison Maline was born. They received the call late one night and early the next morning they were off to pick her up. They stopped at the store long enough to buy a book of names and a carseat! Addie has been the light of their lives. She has brightened their world and has quickly become the princess in our family.

Who would guess that when Addie was 3 months old, Jen got pregnant!! After 9 years of not being able to...BAM, newborn and morning sickness!

Cooper was born today, Oct. 22. Addie turns 1 tomorrow, Oct. 23. We officially have a set of Irish Twins in our family and we couldn't be happier! (I think it's very fitting that my brother have Irish Twins since he lived in Ireland for 2 years:)

Congrats Jason and Jen! I can't wait to see this little guy. Keep him little until I can get there!

Tomatoes + Peppers = Fresh Salsa!!

My neglected garden caught my eye the other day and it happened to be exploding with tomatoes. Ripe, ready to eat tomatoes.

Gibson and I got busy picking them and when we were done we had enough to make a fresh batch of salsa. I also found some peppers, zucchini and squash in the garden as well.

Every September/October when the tomatoes are peaking, my dad is in the kitchen making salsa. Yummy salsa. If you enter my parents house during the salsa making time you'll enter an oven (it gets SO hot in the kitchen) and you'll run into the sweet aroma of a batch of salsa simmering on the stove.

Now, since I had all of these tomatoes I called up my dad to find the secret to making a great salsa and as he gave me step by step instructions, I quickly realized why I have never made the kind of salsa he makes. Wow, what LOVE he puts into his salsa. I didn't have the patience to make his salsa so I took his ingredients and threw them in a pot, simmered and tasted and this is my version of salsa.

Since I had so many tomatoes, I decided to make 2 batches of salsa. One I cooked and simmered and the other was a fresh, chunky salsa from a recipe my SIL Jen gave me.

I have to admit I enjoyed the fresh, chunky salsa better. I think I made the other one too sweet for my liking and didn't use enough hot peppers but the fresh chunky salsa was yummy. Here's the recipe. My SIL calls it "Hot Nanny Salsa" (there's a story behind it but I'm not sure what it is), my other sister calls it "Moab Salsa" and I've heard it called a few other names as well.

Tomatoes, Can of Corn (drained), Can of black eyed Peas (drained), Avocado (cubed), onion (the recipe calls for green onion but I like red onion better), cilantro and Italian Dressing. Throw it all together, chill for a few hours and enjoy!

So this picture has nothing to do with salsa but I had to include it. PLEASE tell me this is not MY child eating celery from the garbage can......
Ugh. Such issues I have with garbage cans. I can't stand a little one that goes under the sink (I refuse to change it a million times a day), I can't stand to stick it in my pantry (yuck), so it sits at the end of the bar- out in the open for all to see. I had a stainless steel one that had a lid but couldn't stand that it was circular and couldn't fit odd sized things in it.

So, until I get my new house and can design my kitchen with a drawer that's large enough to fit a garbage can- I guess I'll have to be a little more diligent at making sure the food on the top of the garbage pile is fresh enough to eat:)

HOMEMADE OREO COOKIES

I made these twice last week for two different functions. I had forgotten how good they are!

Cookie

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix

3/4 cup shortening

2 eggs

Mix well and roll into balls and bake for 8 minutes at 350. Let cool completely before trying to add frosting or else the frosting will just melt out!

Frosting

1 8oz cream cheese softened

1 stick butter softened

3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Food coloring (optional of course)

Mix cream cheese and butter together. Add in powdered sugar until you get desired consistency.

Match up 2 cookies that are the same size. Add some frosting in the middle. This batch I rolled cookies in sprinkles for a little extra flare.

Makes about 15 cookies

I always double the recipe since they seem to go so fast! Enjoy!

mom jeans

mom jeans

So my jeans weren't THIS bad but yes, they are bad. I think I need to clean out my closests a little bit more often!

The GOOD news and the BAD news......

So I was looking for something to wear today as I was heading out to have LUNCH with some friends- so fun....I'm in the process of transferring clothes so my closet is a mess. I was digging to find some jeans and "Oh, I was wondering where these jeans were" I said to myself as I pulled a pair out of the back. "I wonder if I can fit into them"-- SO the GOOD news is.... THEY FIT!! Oh, insert happy dance.....

The BAD news is.... THEY ARE TOTAL MOM JEANS.... you know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that Stacie and Clinton from TLC's WHAT NOT TO WEAR tell you not to wear. They hit me above my belly button, are tight in the butt (not in a good way) and well, yes, they are slightly tapered plus they are a light denim wash. I swear they were in style when I purchased them.

My goodness, how long has it been since I've worn these jeans?? I remember when I bought them because I paid a pretty penny for them and we were in dental school so money was tight but I wanted ONE good pair of jeans and now, what do I do??? Do I wear them since I live in a small town and no one is going to notice since many of the town folks buy their clothes at our local Wal-mart or do I discard them taking my wearable pants down one (when in actuality I was excited because I had just increased my pant selection)??

I mean, I am a MOM so technically I can wear them and get away with it, right?

FaLL fUN

We love fall at our house. There's something about the smell when you first turn on the furnace, the warmth of socks on your feet and the crispness in the air as the journey to the car becomes a little quicker.

We love to kick off fall by going to visit a pumpkin patch, drinking hot cocoa and sampling autumn goodies.

We found a fabulous pumpkin patch/corn maze and had a wonderful time. The weather was a bit chilly but I quickly found the hot cocoa and kettle corn and Gibson and Jared got busy bouncing so we all warmed up.

The pumpkin patch had a kid area with all sorts of fun things to do. There were slides made from large plastic pipes, a watering hole where you could race ducks up and down some PVC pipe, a corn box (just like a sand box but made from large corn kernals), a mini track where you could drive tricycles around, a cow train and then there was the jumping pillow!


Gibson LOVED the jumping pillow and it was actually quite fascinating. It was this HUGE parachute like thing in the ground that inflated and you could jump on it. Gibson and Jared had so much fun. We tried to get Gibson to the other activities in the kid area but he wouldn't leave the jumping pillow!

Well it didn't take me long to go for the food. Yummy! Kettle Corn is the best and Easton enjoyed some fruit puffs while I ate the kettle corn and we watched the pig races.

Easton didn't seem to mind the cold. Both of my boys love to be outside and once Easton figured out that the hat wasn't coming off he enjoyed it! He ate hay and watched all the excitement going on around him.
We didn't bring this pumpkin home. Instead we brought home two very small pumpkins for each of the boys. Gibson enjoyed sitting on them and posing for pictures.
Near the end I had to let Easton out of the stroller since it was taking Gibson a while to decide to let go of the jumping pillow. Easton crawled right up to the goats and watched in amazement. What else is a little kid to do other than try and lick a dirty, nasty, goat gate?? Yuck! He quickly went back into the stroller once he started pulling that trick!
Happy Fall Everyone!

Talent and Inspiration...

I firmly believe that to be a better person you should surround yourself with amazing and talented people. I have been lucky in my 29 years to have met amazing people along my journey of life. Some of these people have been in my life for a time, some a season and others a lifetime.

For example, there's my friend Amanda who was a surrogate with TWINS for her sister-in-law. There's Shelley who's eye for photography and willingness to teach is both inspirational and motivating. There's my friend Zipporah who's husband just returned from serving in Iraq. Of course I could go on and on with everyone who reads this blog. I am grateful for your friendships no matter if we talk on a daily basis or once a year. I am encouraged and taught by your actions, talents and spirit. Thanks for being YOU, thanks for being MY friend!

Another one of these amazing people I have met is the oh, so talented Becky Higgins. I met Becky when we both lived in Cleveland and have been lucky enough to keep in contact with her now that we've both moved and live in different states.

Becky has recently completed a new book and when she asked for pictures from many of her friends and family so that she could complete a layout for her new book, I of course submitted some.

I was so thrilled when she emailed me a copy of the layout she did for me, featuring my little angel Gibson! I am not a scrapbooker but it's one of those small things I wish I did. I wish I had the patience, creativity and eye for scrapbooking. I don't and until I find something that works for me, this is the only layout my son will have.

So thank you again Becky for including this layout in your new book. I just love it!

What I did today....

*Baked 24 potatoes for a Med Group Fundraiser
*Delivered 2 dozen cookies (I baked yesterday)and baked potatoes to fundraiser
*Put 30 miles on my car driving to and from base, to and from preschool and to and from relief society activity
*Loaded, emptied and loaded the dishwasher
*Paid a plumber a lot of $ to fix something I could have fixed but didn't know I could have fixed it until after I wrote the plumber a check
*Cheered as Gibson went #2 in the potty!!!! Yeah, no rinsing out underwear in the toilet for mom!
*Put away 5 pairs of shoes
*Vacuumed twice and should have vacuumed a third time
*Changed 6 diapers, 4 of them poopy
*Made 6 bottles, first one beginning at 5:30a.m.
*Read 150 pages of a book for book club
*Ate too much chocolate, didn't drink enough water and didn't exercise
*Picked up toys 3 times (remember I vacuumed or else I would have left them out)
*Went to RS Enrichment (ate more chocolate)
*Folded laundry
*Emailed and blogged a bit
*Found my kitchen table (yes, I am my mothers daughter)
*Talked to my sister, dad, MIL and my moms voice mail.
*Made three complete meals, and several snacks in between for two hungry boys

It seems like a did a lot today but WHY is my house a mess and I feel like I didn' t get anything accomplished?

DINNER at a Vineyard

I went on a date with my husband last night. No, really we did. I mean a full fledged, drop the kids off at a babysitters, all alone

In reviewing my memory, the last date we went on was back in July when we got a sitter and went to Harry Potter for Jared's birthday. I remember that because that was the last movie we've been to together since December 9th, 2006. (I remember the exact date because it was two days before Easton was born. My parents rushed up to be with us since my doctor told me she didn't think I'd make it through the weekend before I went into labor...well, I did. I was pregnant ALL weekend long and since we had a sitter, we went to the movie.)

Anyway, back to our date night. We just joined up in a babysitting Friday night exchange with some friends. Tonight was the trial run and I think it worked out just fine (of course I can say that because I wasn't the one left with 7 kids!) We were just going to go to a local bar for some greasy food and happy atmosphere:) but then we decided to be crazy and drive 20 miles to a local vineyard that has a restaurant.

The food was great, I got some HUGE tiger shrimp and Jared got a steak. Yummo! They served this delicious mini loaf bread and we ate two of them. We enjoyed every bite and definately got our moneys worth.

The vineyard is in a tiny, tiny town. It's one of those towns that as you drive through it, you know that the people who live there have been there for generations and that they know each other and depend on each other. Before we lived in our tiny town I wouldn't think I could do it but with access to on-line everything and a bigger city just an hour away, I think I could. (okay I really couldn't but hats off to those people who can. Such a simple way of life in so many ways.)

I mean really, you can tell it's a fine establishment because it's got that blaring neon OPEN sign hanging in front, right??

The food was good, the scenery was beautiful but the best part was hanging out with my man. Sadly enough we missed the boys but we enjoyed a nice dinner without food on the floor, spilled water or having to cut things into bite sized portions.

I'm going to look forward to our Friday night dates, just me and my man.