My Little Buddies

Tonight, I got onto the computer for 10 minutes and I looked up to see this:

So... if he has all of the buckets, what did he do with the toys??:

And I'm lazy, so instead of cleaning it as soon as they went to bed, I watched 3 episodes of Nashville.  (I am late to the Nashville game... but if you're not watching it... you should be.  WOW.  The whole season is on HuluPlus).  Yup... still haven't touched it.  I couldn't be too mad at him... he was playing so nicely with toys and not asking for "TB" (tv), so I just let him play.

It started storming when he was going to bed.  That meant that it took an hour before he fell asleep.  I must have gone into his room to put his "blankets" back on him a million times.  He showed me that it was raining and I said, "that's how Heavenly Father waters the flowers!" and he looked at me and said, "Mommy said, 'no flowers pick!'"  It's true.  I said that Monday night at my aunt's house.  He always picks a huge flower to give to me when we're there... sweet... except it makes my aunt cringe.  He's so sneaky, too!  Right before he fell asleep tonight, he was singing.  I couldn't tell what he was singing, but I paused my show so that I could listen to the monitor.  I love that silly boy!

We had a good day today.  We went to the playground really early and even though it was overcast and a little humid, there was a cool breeze and we had a lot of fun.

I love that when Ruthie smiles at me, her big eyes scrunch all the way closed!  And I love that George always has so much fun on the swings!  Seriously--he could swing all day!  And he kept pointing out the triangles on the side of the swing!  He loves shapes!

Today was a good day.

Nu-Naks

Funny story...

George was a tired mess for the first few minutes of church this week.  When he found fruit snacks in my bag, we said "Fine.  But you have to sit nicely."  I don't usually resort to snacks in the first few minutes, but this was an exceptionally difficult day!  During the opening prayer, we hear "aah!  There's a nu-nak in my hair!  There's a nu-nak in my hair!"  We look over to see... a fruit snack stuck in George's hair... and him frantically trying to pull it out!  We couldn't help but start cracking up!  We had to pretend that we were very concerned while Steve pulled it out.  It left some residue that is actually still there.  He didn't have time for a bath last night and I forgot all about it during his bath tonight..... oops.

By the time Sacrament was being passed, he was going super-crazy.  Steve took him for a drive around the block and then carried him back in to the building.  He slept until the end of Sunday School (which, thankfully, was in the chapel thanks to Ward Conference).  It was quite a day.

(As an aside... tonight in the car, he had another pack of fruit snacks.  I heard him say "Hey!  Where'd go?  Nu-nak... where are you??"  He forgot all about it and kept eating the rest of the pack.  I looked back a minute later and it was stuck to his chin.  Seriously--how does he make them so sticky??)

Suggestions

It all started with a free trial.  One month with Netflix and I was hooked.  I always like when they suggest movies that I have never heard of (and I like it even more when these movies don't suck).  In between episodes of Gossip Girl, I have found a few things that I think you should all check out:

Sleepwalk with Me - A movie about a man's quest to become a comedian... and his crazy, vivid dreams that cause him to sleepwalk.

The Kennedys - Yup... the miniseries.  The one where Katie Holmes plays Jackie O.  I said, "eh, ok, Netflix... I'll try it."  I was hooked.  I wish it was longer.

The Science of Babies - A National Geographic documentary about babies.  They are amazing.  The first year of life is the coolest!  (Additional Advice:  after you watch this, Netflix is going to recommend "Little Man" about a premature baby.  You're going to be tempted to watch it.  Don't.  I couldn't make it past the 4 minute mark.  I had to turn it off).

The Giant Mechanical Man - LOVED this one!  Pam from The Office and Dr. Castellano from The Mindy Project are 30-somethings and aimless.  They meet while working at the zoo and are basically perfect for each other.  Really, who doesn't love Pam?  Watch it.  Now.

Downton Abbey - Yes, we finally caved to the hype.  And it's good.  We watched Season 1 on Netflix and now Season 2 is on HuluPlus.  If you like Gossip Girl, Dirty Sexy Money, The Kennedys, The OC.... basically any show about rich people and scandal... you will like this show.  The scandal is a little more... well, PBS... but it's still really good!

I'm looking forward to the other movies in my Instant Queue... and please leave your suggestions!  And let's keep them clean, people... I have parental controls on my account!

We Want More! We Want More!

This is my favorite commercial.  It made me laugh even when I was in a crummy mood... that's how you know it's a good commercial!  I don't even remember what the conversation was, but I used "We want more! We want more!" on Erin last week and we all had a good laugh.

Taco Seasoning

Last week, I went to make chicken tacos only to discover that I didn't have taco seasoning.  Boo.  I got on Pinterest and searched for a taco seasoning recipe.  I was surprised that I already had all the spices!  It's easy and delicious.  I hate to be one of "those people," but taco seasoning packets have a lot of other things in them, too... things that I think are preservatives but with names that I can't pronounce.  This way, it's just the spices (and since it makes the perfect amount, you don't need preservatives and anti-caking agents).

Anyway, here is the recipe:

1 T chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t onion powder

1/4 t red pepper flakes (optional, I think.  It really adds a kick.)

1/4 t cayenne

1/2 t paprika

2 t cumin

1 t salt

1 t pepper

To use with ground beef, add seasoning and 2/3 c water.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and let simmer for a few minutes (I let it simmer while I diced all the veggies).

Or, another recipe that I got from Pinterest (after having it at a friend's house), Chicken Tacos:

Taco Seasoning, 2 c. salsa, 2-4 chicken thighs.  Throw in slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Chicken will shred with a fork.  Make tacos.  I recommend not skipping the sour cream on these.  So delicious and SOOO easy!

Remember when I used to hate Mexican food?  I'll have you know that I am branching out.  I still don't like Chinese, though... and I wouldn't count on me branching that far anytime soon.

Sloth Bears

Most of our family was gone by Monday afternoon, but Aunt Erin and Uncle Mark stayed until Thursday.  It was so fun having them here to hang out with us!

On Wednesday, we went to the zoo!  George loved being able to walk around (something he only gets to do when I have help chasing him)!  We had a great time.  George kept talking about the alligators and I couldn't figure out why it was such a big deal... so I kept saying "Ok... look at the elephants!"  We didn't see the alligators until the end... and I remembered that there is a big brass alligator that he can climb on.

Somewhere in the middle, we saw the lions and tigers... and Sloth Bears.

(this is not my picture... just to give you an idea of what they look like)

Every other time I have been at this zoo, one of the bears has been sleeping and the other bear has been pacing back and forth on a wall.  On Wednesday, they were both pacing in a big pit right up against the path, but about 15 feet down.  George just had to see them, so he grabbed a hold of the gate and tried to climb it (it arched and went horizontal for a few feet).  Well, when he did this... he dropped his binky into the pit.  The bears walked straight over to it and started to play.  And then George stood there and watched them rip it to shreds.  He is still talking about it. (But also, he is still talking about a little girl who got a time out for taking Buzz Lightyear from him in nursery... two weeks ago.)  So, you can't see the bink, but here are the bears tearing it apart. At one point, one had it in his mouth and at another point, one threw it in the air.  You can imagine the years of therapy this is going to require.  I briefly considered taking the binky away altogether and telling him the bears took it... but I didn't want to ruin the zoo forever because he really, really loves it!

Rookie move, I didn't have another binky.  We stopped at Target on the way home.  Will I ever be done buying this kid binkies?  I swear we could have controlling interest in Nuk at this point.

Blessing Weekend

After only 7 1/2 months, Ruthie was finally given a name and a blessing at church on Sunday!  A baby blessing in our church is when the father (typically the father, although it can be any worthy priesthood holder... ie- grandfather or close family friend) takes the baby to the front of the chapel during Sacrament meeting to  formally give her a name for the records of the church and give her a father's blessing.  Other members of our family and close family friends stood with him.  It's a special day for babies and typically happens within the first few months, but nothing with Ruthie has gone according to schedule so far in her little life!  So, I am pretty sure Ruthie may be the oldest baby to ever be blessed! (Seriously.. her dress is a size 12 mo).  You can read more about our religion here.

It was a great weekend with family.  My family came out and Steve's parents were here as well as Steve's brother, Dan.  Our local family was around, too!  On Saturday, we went to a cook-out at my aunt and uncle's house.  They are so sweet and love to have people over for humongous meals!  We have been steadily chipping away at left-overs all week!

On Sunday, we just spent time together and had muffins and fruit for breakfast.  Church was at 12:30.  This is always a hard church time for George... but this week, he fell asleep in the car... and then slept through being carried into church.  I held him for a while.  It was weird to have him sleep in my arms, but also really sweet.  I don't get many chances to hold that silly boy these days!  Eventually, I put him on the pew and he slept all through Sacrament meeting.  We moved him out to the foyer so that we could get pictures... and he slept on the couch all through pictures!  Wow--he doesn't even sleep this well at home.  He must have been exhausted!

Here are some pictures from Ruthie's blessing day: