With a house full of boys your bound to have some gross comments. Tonight Jack tooted and it was a bad one. I said ," Oh Jack that smells horrid." "No mom it is not horrid, it's poop!" Got to love little kids innocence!!
It feels like forever since I last posted something, but man life has been crazy. The last wednesday in September Aaron and I were driving home from the mall, as we pulled into our parking lot, I said to Aaron, "I am surprised we don't have a calling yet." Aaron looked at me and said, "Never say that, cause it will happen." Well he was right. Not even five minutes after we got inside there was a knock on our door.
It was our Branch President and his first counselor. They asked if they could talk to us and extend a calling. I thought they were about to call Aaron because they talked to him first, but President Sivert said, "Aaron will you support Rachelle as the new Relief Society President?" This was all to familiar, three years earlier I had been called to be the R.S. President in our first married ward. I was shocked to say the least. We had been in the branch a little over a month, and I thought the Relief society President was amazing! It turned out she was moving to Idaho. President Sivert said that I would be sustained two Sunday's after General conference. Aaron replied, "Well President that should give us enough time to find another place to live."
Two weeks after I was called our Branch presidency was changed. Since our Branch has a lot of turnover rate our Branch President does not live in our Branch boundaries. This was also a shock, because now I had to give our new branch President all of the ins and outs, of the branch, and I was new too. Even though we are in a branch and not a ward, I think I am the busiest I have ever been. Aaron works till seven at night, so I do some visiting during the day, which means I have to find people to watch Jack and West, which is not an easy task. And then when Aaron comes home, I generally leave. I am so busy, but in my two months in the Presidency, I have seen many miracles. I am constantly reminded that our Heavenly Father knows us individually and wants what is best for us. I am so grateful for the patience and love He has for me, as I try to help His children. And I am so grateful for Aaron and his support, I am not home most nights and he is always willing to take care of the boys and the house.
On another note, West had his 15 month appointment yesterday. He weighs 20.4 pounds, and is in the 5th percentile for weight. Our doctor has ordered 6 different labs for him, she thinks he might be anemic, and wants to check thoroughly to make sure that everything is ok. We are also going to put him in a head start program, since he has no desire to walk, and is not really talking. We are not too concerned, but are hoping they are able to find something out about his weight.
I have not posted pictures for a long time, so here are some things that we have been up to recently:
Helping me "make" dinner. While helping me yesterday, he dropped my crock-pot and the bowl shattered everywhere.
Dad and Jack
He said he wanted to be a princess like in the movies, Oh dear!
Jack took this picture
Eating the chocolate of the spatula, and feeding West.
West took his pants and diaper off during nap time.So recently I have had three different people say that they saw this picture of "Jack and Yoda" on different websites. Here is one example, it is a Lego website.
http://legos.tumblr.com/post/1537374581/the-force-is-strong-with-this-one
I know it is a funny picture, but it is kinda creepy to see it on all of these websites, and know that I did not put it there. I guess I should find a photo contest to enter it into.
A couple of weeks ago we had our pictures taken by a friend in the branch, Emmalie Prigmore. She did a great job. We went up past Sundance, can I just say CAR SICK!!! Emmalie rode in the back with the boys on the way up, and I switched her on the way back. We both got car sick, and were out of commission for the rest of the day. Thank you so much Emmalie!!!!!! Here are some of our favorite pictures:
West put a huge handful of mud in his mouth before this picture.
My favorite family picture.
You guys know that I love to clean, yes love. Aaron says I use any excuse I can get to vacuum. I love it because I love seeing the finished project, and with two boys, it is a project!!! Well I have come upon a mess, that I can not defeat!!
We have linoleum in our kitchen, and it is a BEAST!!! I have had it in previous apartments, but have always been able to keep it clean. I use a swifer mop at least once a week, and about twice a month, I am on my hands and knees scrubbing it with hot water and soap. Two days after I scrub the floor, on my hands and knees, it is disgusting again! How can I tell? My boys knees, feet, and clothes. There feet and clothes are black, and I mean black. West's knees are also black. I am so tired of scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees!! I need help!! Does anyone have any advice, on how I can keep the floor clean? Please help!!!!!
Time really has flown by this year. I still remember thinking that West would never come, and now he is one. I took him in for his one year appointment and he weighs 19.4 pounds, which puts him in the 7th percentile for weight. He is in the 50th percentile for height and the 30th percentile for head circumference. His iron was also low, so we are giving him an iron supplement. It is crazy to me that he is so tiny cause he is a pig!!! He eats constantly, he is probably trying to make up for getting a slow start. Today he pulled himself up on furniture for the first time, it is fun to see him growing and coming into his own. Here are some pictures from his birthday cake, it was a lot of fun to watch him pig out!
So did Kaden
Yesterday in the car, I turned to Jack and said, "Your my cute little dude." Jack responded, "No I am a BIG cow, and you are a pig." If that statement had not come from a 2 year old, I might have been offended. He then started to moo, and asked me to oink, like a pig.
On a nicer note:
West wants so desperately to play and be like Jack, but most of the time Jack does not like West playing with "his" toys. When Jack "allows" West to play with his cars (most of the time I have to make Jack give West, some of his cars) West tries to play and do exactly what Jack does. It is a lot of fun to see them play and enjoy each others company.
Jack races his cars on the couch, now West does it too.
Last week we watched Spider-man, and ever since then Jack has been obsessed with super heroes. He runs around the house saying, "I'm a super hero, and I save the girl." He blushes out of control when when Spider-man kisses MJ. Well tonight we watched Spider-man 2, when MJ and Spiderman were about to kiss jack said," I'm a boy." He walked right up to me and gave me a smooch on the lips, and did not pull away for a second. He then got a smile on his face and said, "I kissed the girl." What a funny kid!
I have been without our computer and internet for almost three months, and boy has a lot happened!! We moved to Utah the end of June, even though Aaron did not have a job. His license to work in Washington expired the end of June, and we would have had to pay $300 to renew it, so we prayed and decided that we needed to move, even though Aaron did not have a job.
We had been looking for a Job in Utah since February, Aaron had 7 phone interviews, but nothing panned out. We moved into my brother and sister-in-laws basement the end of June. Aaron continued to have interviews, but nothing. It was really hard getting our hopes up, thinking that this was going to be the job, and then nothing. We had money in savings that we were hoping to use to get moved into our new apartment, but we ended up using almost all of it on bills, since Aaron did not have a job.
We had to be out of Brandon's basement by Aug. 14th, cause Amanda's sister was coming to visit for two weeks. On Aug. 6th, we found out that Aaron had been offered a job, with Wasatch Mental Health. After 11 interviews, and a lot of fasting and praying we were blessed. I am so grateful for Aaron's persistence. It was really hard on him constantly being told no, but he kept his faith. We went apartment shopping, that next week, and found an apartment in Orem. We used our last penny to move into the apartment. We have been truly blessed. These past couple of months have been really trying, but the Lord had truly blessed. AND after 1.5 years, WE ARE FINALLY LIVING IN OUR OWN APARTMENT. The elders quorum helped us move in, and it turns out we are in a Branch. In the middle of Utah. Last Friday Aaron and I were asked to talk, that coming Sunday. I am guessing we will have a lot of opportunities to speak, since there are about 45 people in the Branch. Even though it is small we LOVE our Branch.
OTHER NEWS:
This Dude:
is crawling and has popped two teeth!
He is so much Happier now that he is mobile
Is Potty Trained
This week has been a crazy week. I thought that Jack had already gone through the terrible twos, but boy was I wrong. Jack has always had a very strong personality, but lately it has been out of control. He has thrown some pretty impressive temper tantrums. Here are just a couple examples:
Tuesday we went to the store, and he did not get what he wanted, he cried all the way home, so he when to straight to his room when we got home. When I put him down he hit me, and tried to push me out of the way to get to the door before I closed it. He then proceeded to hit and kick the door while screaming, "Mom open this door." I had to go in three times before he would apologize.
Saturday he was playing with Mr. Potato and kept throwing it. We told him to stop throwing it, or he would go to his room. I went into a different room and heard poor Mr. Potato head hit the floor again. I asked Jack if he threw Mr. Potato head, and he said, "No mom, I did not throw him." Even though Papa saw him do it. That is the first time Jack has ever lied to me. I was shocked because normally when he does something wicked he confesses.
Today was probably the worst yet. I told him it was time to take a nap and he needed to pick up his toys. He started screaming and throw a block at me. I again told him to pick up his toys and he tried to hit me. So I put him in his bed and left. I went back in to talk to him and he hit me again, so I left. He hit and kicked the door for a good thirty minutes, while I was trying to calm West down. He finally fell asleep. When he woke up I asked him to apologize and he said, "No," and would not look at me. So back to his room he went. I went in a couple of times to get him to apologize and every time he hit me. Happy Mother's day to me. Man where did my sweet boy go? If any one finds him please send him back.
Even though Jack has been a pill, the good times out weight the bad times. Here are a couple of pictures we took this morning.
Aaron and I love to cook, so we decided that we wanted to make a family cook book. It has taken me almost a year to finish, but it is done!! It is 158 pages long, with two recipes on each page. I designed my own format and am pretty happy with the way it turned out. When Aaron gets paid next we are planning on getting it printed. One of my friends Bekah asked from some new recipes, so I wanted to post some. I hope these help. My format did not transfer over very well, so I had to delete the notes. Enjoy!
CHICKEN SANDWICHES Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: NA Preheat Oven To: NA
Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts cooked
½ Cup mayonnaise
½ Cup Green onions
1 tsp. Fresh tarragon
½ Cup cashews
Bread
Directions:
Combine all ingredients and spread over bread.
Lime chicken is one of my favorite meals! We generally eat it with black beans and rice:
LIME CHICKEN Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 1 Hour Preheat Oven To: 375
Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 TBS. Olive Oil
2 TBS. Lemon Juice
¼ tsp. Thyme
Pepper to Taste
3 Lime Wedges
Directions:
Place chicken in lightly oiled baking dish. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, and pepper, brush over chicken. Bake at 375 for one hour, until chicken is done and golden brown. Set aside lime wedges for each piece of chicken. When chicken is done, squeeze lime wedges
PASTA WITH BROCCOLI Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 30 minutes Preheat Oven To: NA
Ingredients:
1 Head of broccoli, cut into florets 2 TBS. Butter
3 TBS. Olive oil 4 Cloves Garlic
½ tsp. Pepper flakes 1 lb. Spaghetti or linguini
¼ - ½ Cup Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook spaghetti according to pkg. directions. Meanwhile cook broccoli either by boiling or steaming. Drain and set aside. Just before pasta is done, melt butter with olive oil, add garlic and cook one minute, add pepper flakes and remove from heat. Drain pasta and combine with garlic/butter mixture. Add broccoli and “toss” with Parmesan cheese to coat spaghetti well.
These are the beans we generally eat with the Lime Chicken:
CUBAN BLACK BEANS Serves: 6
Cooking Time: 1 hour Preheat Oven To: NA
Ingredients:
15oz can Black Beans 2 Bay leaves
½ small onion, chopped Pepper to taste
1 tsp. Red pepper flakes Splash Tabasco
Directions:
In saucepan, sauté onion until translucent. Add remaining ingredients and perhaps a little water. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve over white cooked rice.
CHICKEN CURRY Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: 30 minutes Preheat Oven To: NA
Ingredients: Fruit:
1 ½ Cups cooked cubed, chicken Mandarin oranges
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup Bananas
¾ Cup Chicken Broth Pineapple
1 tsp. Sugar Apple
1 TBS Curry Powder Kiwi
½ tsp. Ginger ETC.
1 ½ tsp. Lemon juice
Directions:
Mix sugar and spice with half the soup, then add remaining ingredients. Gradually stir in the chicken broth, cooking over low heat. Add chicken and lemon juice. Serve over rice. About two cups cooked for this recipe and top with fruit.
This is also a favorite of mine. I generally double the spices, and cube the chicken.
MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN Serves: 2-3
Cooking Time: 20 minutes Preheat Oven To: NA
Ingredients:
2-3 Chicken breasts 1 TBS Paprika
½ tsp. Salt ½ tsp. Ground cumin
¼ tsp. Allspice ¼ tsp. Cinnamon
1 TBS Vegetable oil
Directions:
Cut chicken into pieces. In a small bowl mix all spices. Coat Chicken with spice mixture. In skillet heat oil over medium heat, and cook chicken, until juice of chicken is clear. Serve with couscous and green beans.
