Many outfits of Gabe

Gabe, how I love how you are now old enough to dress yourself. I have actually waited so long for you to take on such a task by yourself. But seriously? you wanna wear that? Dont you want to wear something else?............no?...........(sigh)........fine.

Gabe was very happy with his pick for this outfit. Plaid and stripes always go together right?

Gabe loves to put any nice shirt with basketball shorts....I guess he takes after me and my nice shirts and sweats :)
Salmon shirt, red shorts....must be a match!
Yes, he was serious about wearing these.
He wasn't going to be going out, but it was pretty funny :)
Wearing dad's work boots

once again, Gabe, plaid shorts don't go with everything....especially plaid shorts that are 1 size too small
again with the nice shirt/basketball short combo
this was middle of summer last year....he wore these out back to play in the sandbox

Honestly, I look forward every morning when I go in his room to get him up and to see what outfit he has thought up for the day. Keeps it interesting. I love Gabe :)

Sweet Confections

So. I am in love with Cupcakes. Actually....I am in love with anything sweet.
My number one favorite?
Cheesecake
Then it goes like this....
Cupcakes,Brownies, warm cookies, pastries, and cake.

James also has his favorites....he is more of a connoisseur of eclairs and cream puffs and anything marshmallow filled or stuffed.

Gabe....he doesn't really like sweets as much as us, he likes muffins, and ice cream. He doesn't really like cookies or he say he does but will take a bite and leave the rest, same goes with all the cupcakes and cakes.

Nolan....I think he is more like his mom. Doesn't like to share, and loves his cookies and sweets.

So what am I getting at?
I have quite a few blogs that have to do with sweets that I go to and just stare in awe. I get a lot of great ideas from them and some recipes. I love to see how people are working with cake and the different ideas. I think sweets are beautiful and I get so excited when it comes to cakes and cupcakes.
So here is a list of my favorite dessert blogs

52 cupcakes
Cakespy
CupcakeBakeshop
Cupcakes take the Cake
Extra Icing
Simply Sweets
Spicy Icecream
Sweet Talk Flour Confections

And two absolutely adorable videos.
This one is adorable




This one is still cute....just a bit bizarre


Have a wonderful sweet tasting weekend!!!

Odds and ends and my crazy son

Well, this week has been super busy. Do I start every post like that? Anyways, with the end of the season TBall, last few days of school for Gabe, and the warm weather, there is just so much to get done and so much I want to do.

I will start with the weather. IT IS CRAZY! It starts in the 60s one day and then it is almost 100 degrees. Then 2 days later it is rainy and not getting over 70 degrees. What in the world?! I don't think I really got to enjoy the spring this year. I usually look forward to the crisp spring mornings to go walking. And we had barely any!! I am bummed. We did do a lot outside the past week. We have been going to numerous parks, playing in the sprinkler, gardening, and BBQing. Boy do I love a great BBQ!

Nolan outside on one of the really hot days

Next, Halfway through last week I got one of the cutest aprons I have ever seen from my wonderful inspiring cousin who is so darn crafty. The colors in the fabric are so much brighter in real life, the picture doesn't do it justice to how cute it is. She makes some of the cutest bags, aprons and she has another really cute blog also for mothers with daughters, although I have gotten some great ideas to do with Gabe :) Thanks Randi! I will call you soon!

Last week we also had a sleep out with Gabe. When we say sleep out we mean we made popcorn, smores, blew up sleeping bags, played mariocart then we moved sleeping bags into our room and Gabe slept on the floor and watched a movie while we fell asleep. Gabe had so much fun and now asks if we can have a sleepout every night. Also, I don't think that I have ever actually had a whole smore until our sleepout. And now I am hooked!! They are so yummy! I need to be careful to to eat too many!

This week I also got to do some new member visits for my calling which I had so much fun doing. And we also had a fantastic Elders Quorum BBQ/ Softball game which after the sun went down a bit and the heat went away a bit, it ended up being a whole lotta fun!!

So now we come to my crazy son. Gabe had his end of the year performance on Tuesday night. They did a play, sang some songs, and had an "open mic" so the kids could stand up and either tell a joke, do a dance, or sing a song. James and I knew this would be an interesting evening so we did a little bribery.....we would go to Sonic after if he sat up on stage nicely and did what the teachers tell him. Long story short.....it didn't go that well. Although he was darn cute up there and he was being "Gabe" the energetic, silly, entertainer that he is.

First problem....the teachers put him in the middle CLOSEST to the mic.....which it didn't take too long for him to figure out that he could say something quietly and it would still pick up on the mic for all to hear. First word said over the mic? COW-POOP. At this point I feel my stomach turning knowing that it is only 5 minutes into the show and he has just figured something out that he could have fun with.

Second problem....They put him by another little boy who is also very energetic and silly just like him.....what were they thinking?!?!? So between the two of them (mostly my son) there were words being said over the mic (diarreah, poop, bumbum, boogers, underwear, and his most famous word PINEAPPLE) Lots of stomping of the feet since he soon figured out that it echoed through the chapel. And lots of poking of the kids around him. He got talked to by the teachers a good 6 times...but that didn't seem to help.

It was funny.....just a little....I think it may be funnier when he gets older. Lets just say that he didn't get to go to Sonic afterward!!

May this be a warning to Kristen when you guys are figuring out the Primary performance :)

This is my new favorite picture of Nolan and my dad

I love this picture...this is Nolan's new "cheese" look.

And last...here is a new recipe that we have been making almost every week for the past 2 weeks because its is so darn easy and so yummy, and has very few calories. I found it off of my favorite site Allrecipes.

Southwest Chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (I used tomoatos with Jalepenos)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 pinch ground cumin

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Brown chicken breasts on both sides. Add tomatoes with green chile peppers, beans and corn. Reduce heat and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Add a dash of cumin and serve.

**Here is what I did. I sprinkled the chicken with cumin before browning. And added a tsp of minced garlic. Don't worry, it makes a ton of sauce as it cooks, which tastes great over rice. Also, I put cheese over the top and let it melt. This dish also tastes great the next day after sitting.**

not so nice looking legs

So I think I need a temporary restraining order on my kids.......

With the weather becoming so nice outside I have been excited to wear some shorts and capris. Shaving my legs this morning I realize how bruised up my legs are! I always know I have at least 1. Well, this morning I decided to count 1....2....3...4...5.... 5 bruises.

From what? I'm not quite sure. But I do know that they are 90% from Gabe and Nolan and 10% from my clumsiness. They like to run the car door into my thighs, run their play cars into my ankles, run their ride on bulldozer thing into my shins, use their books to get my attention by driving them into the back of my knees. This is just a few incidences that I can think of off hand of the some of the bruises I have gotten in the past.

After thinking for a bit on why I am bruising so much I started thinking that maybe they are marking their territory.....you know "this is my mom, don't touch" Maybe they are done out of love............okay, now I am just trying to make light of things.

But all in all at least when I am putting on my shorts or sitting on the couch and see my bruises on my legs, I can think of how much my kids love me and that I am very blessed to be in their presence when they only want me to read them a book or when they drive over my toes really hard with their car because it was "only a speed bump". But if they keep driving their toys in my legs any harder I may have to fill out some paper work for at least a 2 week restraining order to get my legs looking somewhat nice again............do you think they have paper work like that? (I am being sarcastic) :)

New Cakes

Well, I spent this last week doing two things, doing cupcakes with Heather and making a birthday cake for the neighbor's father's 90th birthday.

First the cupcakes. They were dark chocolate cake with a butter cream on top and the little 'B's" on top were stamped on fondant (thanks to Nicole for letting us use her stamps!) After someone was wondering what the B stood for....it can be for BABY or for BOY...its up to you :) The cupcakes were for a baby shower for a girl in our ward, it was a lot of fun and the way you want a shower to go, quick games, quick food, good friends :)

Then I made this Birthday cake. It was a lot of fun to think up. My Neighbor said her father loved fishing and wanted a fishing type cake. It was white cake with a chocolate ganache filling and was covered in fondant.

I know it looks a little bare but there were a few more elements to the cake too. There were two really cute oars to put in the boat and then there was the cutest fishing pole that I put a fishing line on and then my neighbor brought over her fathers favorite fishing lure to attach to it and then I dangled it off the side like it was actually fishing away. It was a really cute cake. It was one of the harder ones especially since Heather wasn't able to help with this one. I find how much easier it is with two people.

On another note I am excited for this upcoming week. I am excited to work on some church things, hopefully clean out the garden beds, and take the kids to the park! If all goes as planned....which is probably wont....this week will be GREAT! I hope you all had wonderful weekends and mothers days, I sure did!!! Did I mention how wonderful my kids and husband are? They are fantastic.....I love them so much and they made sure my mothers day was great :)

I started the week really looking forward to a week of nothing, but ended up with a week of lots of activities, fun, stress, and cake (pictures in a few days)
Just a quick run down, Nolan got his first bee sting (pictures to follow) Heather and I made cupcakes, I am currently getting ready for a cake to be made tomorrow, James is working out like its going out of style (he sure is looking good!!) and I had my first school Mother's Day brunch (video to follow) We spent a lot of time outside and went to the park a few times which were a lot of fun and I am so happy that Nolan is finally at an age that I can let him run and I don't have to be right behind him every step (like last summer)

Here are few pics from the past week and 2 videos that are hilarious that I wanted to share :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day!

Nolan's finger after being stung by a bee for the first time. It was a little nerve racking but then it was so cute since he is just in love with bees and couldn't believe that his dear friend would cause him pain. His finger swelled up like a sausage and after he calmed down he immediately went back outside to find his buzzing friends :)

Nolan and Gabe actually being loving to each other, even though Gabe has quite the grip on Nolan's neck. At the Mother's Day Brunch
Gabe just being a goof.




Mothers Day Brunch 2008

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Nolan was trying to say hi to a neighbor outside who was mowing their lawn so they didn't hear him being so polite and greeting him with a warm hello

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

new recipe anyone?

I know I have been posting a lot of recipes lately, but I have been finding so many yummy recipes that I just can't keep to myself!!
James has been dieting very strictly lately and has been losing a lot of weight. I have been trying my hardest to find good filling meals that he would enjoy but not feel guilty eating.
Judy (my wonderful mother in law) made a version of this a few months ago and James loved it, so I found one very very similar off of the Cooking Light website. And you wanna know what makes it even more appealing?! It only takes like 15 minutes max to make!!! Seriously!! and It only uses one pan!! No bowls, no multiple sauce pans.

Sausage and Spinach Soup

10 ounce sweet turkey Italian sausage
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained (I used one can of petite diced)
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups baby spinach (I used more like 5 cups because it really shrinks up and I like more)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil, and oregano. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls, and sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.

**From advice from Judy, right after I got done browning the meat I added a couple of splashes of Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing for a bit more kick and also so I wouldn't feel like I had to put any salt in the soup....and you really don't. She also served it with whole wheat noodles instead of the beans.**

Enjoy!!

What is my name?

What is my name?

I saw this on Lindsays and Alicias blog and thought it was hilarious...I am not one to usually do these things, but if I see one that is pretty funny, I will give it a try :)

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Destiny Passat

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Mint Samoa

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
K-Sau (not too hip)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
LeAnn Honolulu

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Sauka

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Orange Milk

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
James Tom

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Happy Milky Way......Dark

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Ann......just Ann :) My dad doesn't have a middle name!

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Byers Boston (that is actually kinda cute!)

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Winter Daisy

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Cherry Sweaty

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Waffle Cherry Blossom

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, weather element+ Tour")
The Baking Tornado Tour

Have fun trying it out!!!
I expect Erin and Becky to do this because you guys need something fun to post about :)

yummy

**sorry for no spaces....no matter how much I tried to edit to make some spaces between lines, it wouldn't let me! How annoying!**

Who loves these?!

Okay, I dont as much as other people, but who KNOWS someone who loves these?!

It has been about 6 years now since I found this recipe and fell in love with this recipe..... actually I think I more fell in love with how much more my husband fell in love with me after making them! They are really easy and scrumptious and usually don't last long after making them.

Oatmeal Creme Pies

(Cookies)

1 c butter/margarine

3/4 c Brown Sugar

1/2 c sugar

1T Molasses

1t vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1/8 t cinnamon

1 1/2 c instant oatmeal

Cream butter and add both sugars, vanilla and molasses. Beat in eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl mix flour, salt,soda, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and then stir in oatmeal till thoroughly mixed.

Place on parchment paper in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. They do spread some so don't put too many on the sheet. You also want to take them out when they still look a little wet in the middle, they will continue cooking after you pull them out. Let cool before filling.

(Cream Filling)

4 t very hot water

1/2 t salt

4 c marshmallow cream (2 7oz jars)

1 c shortening

2/3 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

Dissolve salt in the hot water in a small bowl. While letting it dissolve mix marshmallow cream and shortening in large bowl as best as you can (this can get a bit messy) mix in hot water and mix. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix till smooth.

I like to pipe mine in and squish the other cookie on top to make a nice looking cookie......but if I am in a hurry or don't necessarily need them to look nice (nobody is seeing them but our family) I will just spread the filling with a knife and put as much in as I want.

This is really one of James' favorites and now that I have posted it, I know he will ask me to make them.......Actually, I may just make them and he can take them to work so I can get a picture of how they look :)

Enjoy!!!