Just couldn't wait

I still don't have my computer back, but I'm getting such a back log of pictures that I decided to post them. My lazy side said wait until you get your computer so you download pictures only once. My lazier side said if you don't do it now it will take you 3 hours to post them.

Sam and his cousins Adelle and Lilly attacking Uncle Hyrum. I think the red eyes in this picture are appropriate.
It's hard not to have Christmas cheer with such cute little elves!
The cast of the Clayton (etc) Family Live Nativity. All I can say is, kids are hilarious. I got a lot of video too, but that will have to wait (lazy). This was so funny...and there was a fairly minimal amount of crying.
Sam didn't want to be Joseph anymore. And he really didn't want me to take his picture.

Today was Emily's wedding, so there's still tons to post. Such a great day. Mike wants to go to bed though, so it will have to wait. We're so glad to have Charles in the family!

Turn up your speakers for some Christmas Eve FUN!

Dead

My computer doesn't work. We were having printer problems, so I tried to restart the computer (it helped once), but now we can't get it to turn back on. So frustrating, it's new. I would feel completely disconnected if I didn't have Mike's computer. I'll post new pics when I get my computer back. Yes, I'm that lazy. I'm not doing it twice.

We cooked a perfect turkey today in my amazing new oven. You stick the probe in the meat, set the desired internal temperature, and set the oven temp. As soon as the internal temp hits 100 degrees it displays the temp for you to watch, and once the set temp is reached the oven turns off automatically. You can't overcook it. We also used the bridge burner to make yummy gravy (no lumps) in the roasting pan. The meat was tender and moist. I even made stock for the gravy. Not bad for our first turkey. Now I'm going to use the leftovers to make soup. I have a recipe for homemade noodles that I'm excited to try.

I went to 20 minutes of church today. Will fell asleep at 11:30 and slept until 3:30. There was no way we were waking him up, especially since we were having Christmas with my family tonight. Mike and I traded off at church, and I ended up cooking all day. I also made a cake and bread, so I was very busy today. I'm exhausted. My present from my brother-in-law was the game Sorry (Simpson's edition). There was a mix-up and he thought he had Mike.

Poor Will hasn't been feeling very well. I'm sure it's because I've mostly been eating whatever I want lately. Tonight he puked all over my arm and Mike's leg at the same time. Car seat too. The smell on my sleeve is a good reminder not to eat any more cookies or toffee or chocolate dipped pretzels, or any of the other stuff I've been making all month. On second thought, I think I'll go change my shirt.

My thoughts right now are all very disjointed, which must be obvious. While I'm at it, there was a fun luncheon for my sis-in-law Emily on Saturday at the Salt Lake Country Club. Yum. I'm taking Eric and Renee to the airport tomorrow because they're spending Christmas in Idaho. I still haven't delivered the last of the neighbor gifts. They're sitting on the counter, lost in the cooking mess from today. I'm reading Eclipse right now, which is so fun. I also read New Moon (obviously), and a book called The Widow's Might. I saw it at the library and checked it out without even looking at it. Stories about how different women have handled widowhood. Still working on Life of Pi. I will finish it, but not until I'm done with the Twilight series. Disjointed would now be an understatement.

'Tis the Season

It's now 7:40 AM. I've been up since 5:19. Will was having some major gas issue or something, and after 50 minutes he was back in bed. I guess I was too, but then the alarm went off and Mike got up...so I did too. It's not even 8:00 and I really need a nap. I need to go inventory my new shipment of shirts that I have to embroider.

We have new neighbors!! We're so excited because they're our same ages, and they have babies! They have a 3 month old and a 4 month old, so at least one (maybe both, depending) of them will be the same grade as Will. They adopted a baby and then had a baby a month later. Talk about a surprise. They're so nice, we're excited to get to know them better.

Last night Sam and I went caroling with the Mia Maids for our YW activity. He was the loudest of all, mostly singing about trucks. There was also a lot of jumping. When Mike got home he asked Sam if he had fun caroling. Sam looked disgusted and said he'd been singing, not caroling.

SPOILED!

Tonight while I was at a girls night out dinner with my Clayton sisters (in-law) to celebrate Emily's upcoming wedding, Mike was busy being my own personal Santa. I came home to...

The pictures are pretty bad, but you get the idea. My very own double oven!!! It is SOOO nice, I love it. It has pretty much every feature. It even has a built-in meat thermometer. You stick the probe in the meat and the other end plugs into the oven, and then it displays the internal temp of the meat as it's cooking. How amazing is that? I've been talking forever about having double ovens, and I always drool whenever I see a nice oven (yes, I'm a major weirdo). This will be my Christmas and birthday present for at least 3-5 years, but I'm so excited! I have a convection oven! We'll be cooking a turkey for Christmas (a Costco employee perk, thanks Eric!), so now we'll be able to (hopefully) cook a perfect turkey. Yay!!! Mike wins the best husband of the year award!

Break a leg...or a head

Today was Will's acting debut as baby Jesus in the ward Primary Nativity. When I was handing him to the cute girl playing Mary, I accidentally hit his head on the side of the stable (it was an awkward hand-off). Will was a pro, didn't make a sound. He was a perfect baby Jesus, and half the ward told me how great he was. It was so adorable. Santa came at the end of the party and Sam was excited to sit on his lap. He was a little apprehensive at first, but he was very brave. The picture doesn't look very happy, but he smiled right after I took it, and even told Santa all the names of the trains he wants for Christmas.

My cousin Eliza is here for Christmas, but she's moving back from Ohio in a few weeks. She and her boys came and played all day yesterday.

These are our neighbor gifts this year...ginger snaps, toffee (Sam keeps calling it coffee), and truffles. The truffles are yummy but a pain, I think I'll dip pretzels for the rest of the plates.
And my goal for today is to decorate my tree!

Texting?

I took this before the storm was even over, and then we got some more snow the next day. We have ice all over the driveway because it warmed up the day after and then went below freezing again. So much snow!
Sam was jumping on his bed and they both laughed and laughed. I love hearing brothers laugh together. Probably not good to let him jump on the bed, but it makes them both so happy.
Will managed to untie the corner of the bumper (the rocking chair is right there and he loves to grab the ties when I burp him). This was how I found him after his nap...exploring.

BIG NEWS! Will takes a binky. 3 days ago he started sucking on the binky. I still can't believe it. I'm not sure if I like it though. Sam never took one, so he has straight teeth and we never had to wean him off it. It's so convenient when I just need a minute to finish what I'm doing, but I don't want him to become permanently attached to it. What to do?

I made toffee today (yum!) and I had a bag of toffee bits leftover from the last batch (sometimes it's fun to throw them on top with the nuts). Sam took the bag and a scoop he found on the counter and set to work on the floor. When Mike asked him what he was doing Sam replied, "I'm texting." He didn't even look up. It took quite a lot of vacuuming to get all the texting out of the carpet.

I bought Sam a little nativity to have in his room, and when Mike was putting him to bed Sam backed Thomas the Train up to the manger and said, "I'm collecting baby Jesus."

I love my Sam

Yesterday I let Sam have some Cheetos with his lunch (I know). He didn't eat them all, but looked done, so I asked if I could have one. He picked one up and held it out for me, but as I was about to take it he pulled back slightly and told me, "Say please!" I laughed and said please, and then he gave it to me. He repeated this process several more times, always prompting me to say please. It was a very strange feeling to have a 3 year old teach me manners, but I'm glad he's getting it!

Daily Adventures

One of the hats I made for the Garden Center. This new machine is so cool!

I love checking on kids after they go to sleep. You never know how you'll find them. Honestly, I never put him to bed with a blanket on his face. That's just his comfort. Sam's the same way.

I was cracking this egg for my banana bread and the shell broke, but nothing happened. The membrane pulled away from the shell, so the egg was cracked and open, but still sealed inside. Okay, sounds lame, but it was really weird. Almost rivaled the time I got two yokes in one shell.

That's at least 8 or 9 inches (don't want to go outside to check for sure), and there's no sign of it letting up. I like snow, but this is ridiculous.

Food!

If you're in the mood for some fantastic ginger snaps, try this recipe. So yummy. She has tons of recipes that look awesome. I'll definitely be trying the buttery cinnabun cake. And this chicken recipe was great. She also has a fabulous recipe blog. I haven't eaten that much cheese since Will's allergy emerged. What a way to do it though! And if anyone can tell me what happened to the Pioneer Woman Cooks website, please share! I'm quite distraught, she had several recipes I was going to try, and now it's gone!

That boy

A boy in our neighborhood came by doing a fundraiser, so he was in our house for a few minutes. Sam talked to him and ran around for a second, but then went downstairs to where Eric was. After the boy left (Collin? there are 14 kids in their family, hard to keep track. btw, this family's last name is Herd. Really.), Eric came upstairs to ask who it was. He was curious because when Sam went downstairs Eric asked him the same thing and Sam said, "I don't know...the boy with the funny hair."

Will is taking his third nap of the day! Yesterday he only took one, and I was ready to pull my hair out. I gave him applesauce today. I should get some video...he shuddered with almost every bite, and he gagged several times. The gagging occured just as the food was entering his mouth, but then he was able to swallow it. (He did not choke.) I hope he starts liking solids soon. Maybe I should have Kimbur come and feed him. She fed Sam mashed potatoes when he was a baby, but he dry heaved a couple of times and then puked on her. I think my babies have serious texture issues. Sam, incidentally, will not eat mashed potatoes.

Samisms

The other day Eric was making french toast and Sam wanted some. Eric told him to ask me first, so Sam approached me and said, "Can I have some...waffle bread?"

Sam and I were reading a book that had some ocean animals in it. I pointed to the shark (with teeth showing) and asked him what it was. He thought for a second, smiled, and said, "A scary dolphin!"

One of Sam's favorite toys is his ambliance (ambulance).

Let it snow!

This was not even half way through our last snow storm. The little picnic table in the bottom right corner was almost completely covered. We got tons of snow...we had to shovel twice. We've even had our friends over a couple of times to sled down our hill. It's perfect for kids.

My newest job: embroidery! It's pretty cool, I need to take some pictures of stuff I've done. It's involved, but I've just about got the hang of it. Yesterday I made a couple of hats, and a cute little baby blanket. As soon as I learn the software I'll be able to do pretty much anything with it. I better hurry too, Mike has TONS of shirts for me to do.

Tagged by Kimbur

The rules when you are tagged:A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I love trying new recipes and improvising old ones. I look forward to the day I can eat a normal diet again. Cooking with cheese may not be healthy, but it sure is tasty.
2. I love to read. Currently I'm reading three books, but New Moon is ready for me to pick up at the library. As soon as I get it life will be on hold for a few days. Sam's favorite place to go is the library. We love books at our house!
3. I was my high school valedictorian. Actually, there were eight of us, but I spoke at graduation as the valedictorian representative (I was invited to speak, but then had to try out). I also spoke at my junior high graduation. I'm a nerd.
4. The only show I watch on tv is Heroes, but we usually miss it (it has to be on a Monday), so we watch it on the internet when we have time during the week. Other than that I really don't watch tv...not even the news. Well, last night I watched part of the Jazz game with Mike, Eric, & Renee. Go Jazz. Except I don't really care. Good game last night though, they won.
5. I love getting a good deal! There's always something great at the DI, and I love my 50% off at Robert's. I always shop the grocery ads, and I love my coupons. Can you say Cafe Rio Free Meal? (Sidenote: tonight I'm trying some Cafe Rio recipes that I found on a couple of recipe blogs. I have very high hopes. And most of the produce for it was even on sale at Ream's this week.)
6. I am so blessed to have a great husband and two fun, adorable boys. I love my family so much...life is good. No, life is great!

I tagged: Lori, Christine, Steph, Andrea, Beth