Amazing Grace- Computer Controlled Christmas Lights

My friend Claire had this on her blog and I just had to copy it. It is so fun to watch!!!



Amazing Grace Techno - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Baby #3

I had my official 20 week ultrasound this morning. Everything seems to be going well so far. They double checked the gender and it's still a boy, so I guess we really need to start thinking of a name. We're real excited for this little baby to come and join our family. Ashlyn has even warmed up to the idea of having a brother.
My doctor is going to continue keeping a close eye on me and the baby though, since I have had problems in the past. I'm sure everything will be fine. In the meantime, it will be fun to have more ultrasounds.
Here is the latest picture of the babe. I thought I would preserve his privacy and not show the "it's a boy" shot, but don't worry Grandpa Gary, it really is a boy.

Our Yesterday

It was kind of a crazy day yesterday. Leah woke up, like normal, had a waffle for breakfast, sat and watched Elmo. Everything seemed normal so far. Then....she threw up. Uh oh. I can't have a sick kid today. I have a ton to do. Fortunately, and unfortunately, Paul woke up not feeling so great either, so he stayed home from work. Ended up being a great thing for me because I needed the extra hands. Even if they were sick hands. So it appears Leah has a little stomach virus. Hopefully it should clear up today or tomorrow. Ashlyn and I went to playgroup in the morning and made Gingerbread houses. Then I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, ran some errands, and took Ashlyn to her Christmas program for preschool in the evening. Poor little Leah continued to be sick all day, but at least she slept well. Gave us both the rest we needed. Here are some pictures from our day.

Getting ready to start our Gingerbread Houses


Making the house. Fun fun!!!


And eating the gingerbread house. We decided it was more fun to eat, than to look at for the next two weeks, while it went stale.


Ashlyn and her favorite little buddy Sebastian at their Christmas program.


Singing some Christmas songs (and one Chanukah song also. Afterall, we do live in Los Angeles.)


Sick, but still cute. And even smiling occasionally.

The past couple of Days

For Family night, we had some friends over. They brought a really cute hand puppet nativity story that we all got to participate in. Then for activity/snack, we made christmas shaped rice Krispie treats. It was quite messy, but kind of fun.



Then yesterday those same friends came over to play. Ashlyn and Leah had a blast. They played outside on the patio (for a very short time because it was quite chilly), then played with playdough, rough housed on the couch, and watched a cartoon. What a night.

Wetzel's Pretzel's

I don't know why, but these little things make me oh so happy. Maybe it's because they are soft and warm and chewy. Maybe it's because they are bread (my favorite thing to eat). And if you couple them with some cheddar cheese sauce and lemonade, they make THE PERFECT treat. I rarely go to the mall without getting one, and I think I will continue to eat them until the day I die.

Happy Birthday Paul

To my most FAVORITE (and only) husband. But he would be my favorite anyway. Tehehe.... Today is Paul's 30th BIRTHDAY!!! What a big day. We celebrated all weekend starting with dinner at Chili's on Saturday. Then last night we went to my mom's and had a little family party with Taco salad for dinner (Paul's choice). Simple guy to please huh? Then we had yummy Texas sheet cake (also Paul's choice) and opened gifts. This morning Ashlyn and I got up early and made Paul breakfast in bed. It was suppose to be a surprise, but my little cutie was so excited, she told Daddy what our plan was days ago. Oh well. It was the thought that counted, right??? Here are a few pictures from the grand event.

I was cleaning up after making Paul's cake and noticed the mark the spoon left on the counter. Apparently even chocolate smiles at the thought of being chocolate. Yum yum!!!


Getting ready to eat some dinner.


Paul modeling his new coat that my brother gave him.


New noise canceling headphones (so he can maybe get some stuff done at work, without interruption). He also got a new movie, the Art of Ratatouille book, and ITunes gift cards. Plus cash from his parents to buy what ever he wants. Yahoo for him.


Here's the cake. The girls had to help blow out the candles. Notice the two large PINK candles? Well, I forgot to bring some and these were the only two my mom had. So we said they represented each daughter. If you can see, I put a match down at the bottom of the cake to represent the baby in making. Don't want to leave anyone out.


Leah was definitely loving the cake. After it was all said and done, I think she ate two pieces.

Oh Christmas Tree...oh Christmas Tree

We actually put our Christmas tree and decorations up the day after Thanksgiving, but I forgot to post the pictures. The girls both helped decorate the tree and Ashlyn was SO excited to put the star on the top. So of course, Leah had to do it too.

The results are in....

The poll is closed and it was a close vote. 60 percent in favor of a boy and 40 percent in favor of a girl. Well, I had my appointment today and the Doctor says it's a boy. So unless it was a funny shot of the umbilical cord, it looks like we'll be getting a little boy after all. I still have a hard time believing it, but we are really excited. Now to think of a name????

Paula Deen does it again

Okay, so she has a least one stick of butter in everything she makes, but boy oh boy is it good. I've been looking for a great homemade Lemon Bar recipe for a long time. So when I saw her show yesterday, I had to try hers out. They are delicious. SO SO SO much better than the nasty box kind (sorry if you like those. It's probably because you've never had a real good one.) Anyway, here is her recipe. It's super easy. I halved it and made it in an 8x8 glass pan and it worked perfectly.

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
pinch of salt
2 stick of butter, at room temperature

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used the bottled stuff and they were still yummy)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make the crust by combining the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork to make a crumbly mixture. Form into a ball. Press the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour and lemon juice. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, when the bars are done baking.

I'm Grateful for....

X: Xerox Machines (A.K.A.-copy machines). They are such a handy thing to have in your house, especially if you are Mormon and work with kids in Primary. I use ours all the time.
Y: Ok, this one is a stretch for the letter, but Youthful looking skin products. You know...anti aging skin care. The older I get, the more grateful I am for them. Now let's hope they really work in the long run.
Z: Zoo. The girls love going and a membership there is the best deal in LA.

I'm Grateful for....

U:Ultrasounds (I should find out what this little baby is NEXT Monday. HOORAY!!!)
V: Violins (I played for one SHORT year when I was in 5th grade. I always admire people that can play an instrument.)
W: Water parks in the summer time, Wintertime, Winnie the Pooh (I loved him as a kid and my kids love him now), Wet wipes (they are life savers when you have little kids), weddings (particularly my own)

I'm Grateful for....

R: Rain (I miss it. We need it.) It makes everything green and clean and fresh feeling.
S: Seasons. Every season is great for a while. I'm glad they change. Right now I am loving Fall (wish it was a tad bit cooler here though, but hopefully it will be soon.) And See's Candies. Yum yum!!!
T: Thanksgiving Day/Time

I'm Grateful for...

O: Oreo cookies (yum yum), Open space (much desired here in Cali), and Osteen (town where I grew up)
P: Paul (for obvious reasons), Pumpkin patches (because they're a fun way to begin Fall time), Primary (it's my favorite place to be in church), and the piano (even though I can't play. I love listening to piano music)
Q: Quiet. If you have kids, you completely understand how wonderful quiet is. HA HA....

I'm Grateful for...

L: Leah (of course), Liberty and Freedom (even though Freedom doesn't start with L), Life, and Love
M: Music (good music that is). It's calming and helps me be in a good mood.
N: Nights out (girls nights, date nights, family nights).

I'm Grateful for...

I: Ipod's (especially video ipod's on long plane or car trips), ice cream because it's oh so yummy, and the internet because it's SO convenient and sometimes online shopping is the only shopping I get to do.
J: Jammies cuz they're very comfy and Jamba Juice
K: Kristen Bell because she played a perfect Veronica Mars (my favorite show, which I am still mourning the cancelation of)

Dresses from Aunt Rhonda

These dresses come as a gift from my Favorite Aunt Rhonda. She never had any girls (well, I guess she has 2 stepdaughters now, but they are older), but is the most girly person I know. So lucky me gets to benefit from her love of dresses and shopping. So thanks Aunt Rhonda. The girls loved wearing these to church. Ashlyn wouldn't take hers off all day.

I'm Grateful for...

H: My Highlander (SUV) and my Husband (who is the perfect man for me).

Super Leah

I think Grammy taught Leah this cuz I didn't. Anyway, she comes up to me with towel in hand and starts reaching for her back. It took me a minute to figure out what she was asking (since she doesn't use many words), but I finally figured she wanted me to make a cape for her. She ran around the house like this for a good 15 minutes. She was having so much fun. The photo is blurry because she wouldn't stop to take a photo, so I had to take her in motion.

I'm Grateful For...

F: Family (of course), fun and food.
G: Gym, to help keep me in shape (although I have been slacking since getting pregnant. I'll have to be better.)

I'm grateful for....

D: Ducks because they make Leah happy. It's one of the few animals she can say the NAME and the SOUND they make. She's a little slow in the talking department. But that's okay. We love her.
E: Email. It's a great way to keep in touch with people. I love it.

I am Grateful for....

Pay it Forward
What are you Grateful For?
This idea came from my friend Jamie, and I am paying it forward, too. This is what to do--each day of this month make a list of things you are thankful for that start with each letter of the alphabet. It's a great dinnertime activity with your kiddos. So these are mine so far:

A: Ashlyn and Autumntime
B: Beds to sleep in when I am tired
C: Candy (Hey it was just Halloween. It's on my mind.)

Here's the Pay It Forward Idea:I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. You may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. (so, you must have a blog to participate.) I can't wait to see who I will be giving to. To join, just cut and paste this on your blog and comment away. So get posting.

Couldn't resist

I couldn't resist posting this family photo because it isn't very often that we have one. Especially when we are dressed nicely for church. But thanks to Paul's mom visiting, we were able to have one taken. And what's even better is that Ashlyn is actually looking at the camera AND smiling.

Grammy's been in town

Paul's mom came for a visit, from Iowa, this past week. And despite a nasty cold and lots of traffic, we had a great time. Here are some pictures of what we did while Grammy was here. (Thanks for coming Grammy. We hope you had a fun time. We sure did!!!)

Here's the girls snuggling with Grammy.


We went to Noah's Ark at the Skirball. Ashlyn's FAVORITE place ever.


We went trick or treating and got LOTS of candy (from only a handful of homes. It pays to go to the rich homes.)


We built a tent. Well, Grammy did and Leah played in it.


We went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day there and the animals were quite active.



We went to Chuckie Cheese. Ashlyn's first time there. She loved it of course.


And last, but not least, we went to meet Daddy for lunch at his work.


We also ate out a ton and just plain ate a ton. Why does that always happen when people come to visit?

Oh....sorry...one more thing. I had another doctors appt. Everything is going well with the baby. I got to have another ultrasound, so that was fun. My wonderful doctor tried her hardest to be able to tell what it was, but the baby was in a bad position and it's legs were crossed. First she thought it was a girl, then she thought it was maybe a boy. So it still remains a mystery. Hopefully I'll have better news at my next appt. Here's a picture of the baby at 13 weeks and 4 days.

You know you're grouchy if....

1. You make your family change all their Christmas plans to accomodate you.
2. Your friend calls you after church to make sure she didn't offend you, since you snapped at her for no particular reason. Sad thing is, you didn't even realize you did it.
3. The counselor in Primary comes up to you all serious like and asks you if, "you're okay?"
4. If you yell at the lady in Walmart for not having enough check stands open.
5. Or if your brutally honest little 4 year old tells you so.

I think I'm going to rename myself Oscar and hide in a garbage can for the next six months, or how ever long it takes to have this baby. Whichever comes first.

As a side note, Ashlyn has named the baby for us. It's a great unisex name at least. Well, I don't even think it's a name, but oh well. She's named it Jella.

More Randomness

These are my candied almonds that I am SO SO SO SO proud of. Mostly because it took 6 tries of making them before they turned out candied and not crystalized. There is a difference. Thank you to my wonderful friend Jackie (who never reads my blog so she won't know I'm giving her a shout out) who taught me how to make them the right way.


This is our Family night pumpkin craft we made this past Monday. Looks cute huh??? Well, you wouldn't know all the fighting that went into making it. Leah wanted the glue. Ashlyn wanted the glue. Leah wanted to put the stickers on. Ashlyn wanted to put the stickers on. It was quite....fun??? Is that the right word. No...it was not what I imagined, but we made it and here it is. Tada!!!


This is my adorable 4 year old who I love love love. And this is her FIRST....yes FIRST bowl of cereal she has EVER eaten with milk in it. I know...I know. Hard to believe, but true. Despite the look on her face, she did like it. I did not force her to eat it. Gotta love her.


So, let's see how many of you actually take the time to read my blog and how many just look at the pictures. I'd like to announce my 3rd (and most likely, final) pregnancy. Yes, you read that right. I'm pregnant. Just about 12 weeks. I'm due May 5th. We're super super excited. Yay for us!!!

It's been a while

Paul occupied the computer all of last week rendering some stuff for his helicopter project, so all I could do was check my email basically. He's done now (I think), so I'm taking advantage of my time to get some pictures from last week up on my blog.


On Tuesday, I went with my ward (well okay, so only two other friends (Joelle and Sherry) from my ward ended up coming, but still) to Underwood Family Farm. It was lots of fun. The girls climbed the haybail, looked at animals, rode on the train, walked through the corn maze (unsuccessfully I might add. we had to come out the way we went in), and played in the sandbox. It was a beautiful day. We plan on going again this Saturday with Paul and hopefully get a pumpkin this time.






On Wednesday my friend Beth, and her little boy, came up to visit and we went to Lombardi Ranch. I guess it was the week for Fall Farms and Ranches. This Ranch had a scarecrow alley where schools and scout troops created and decorated different scenes from movies and tv.
We also went on a train ride and walked around and looked at the pumpkins and animals.
Ashlyn was a preschool if you are wondering why she isn't in any of the pictures.







On Saturday we went up to Bakersfield to watch my cousin, Chelsea, play volleyball. She plays for UVSC and was playing against Cal State Univ Bakersfield. It was a really fun game to watch, and I'm happy to say that they won. Afterwards, we went to Chipotle and ate some yummy food and visited with her. (She's the one in the back of the first picture and the one hitting the ball in the second picture. GO CHELS!!!!)

My Little Ashlyn

This is my little Ashlyn, who never, never, never sleeps during the day. Doesn't matter where we go, what we do, or how much I run her around....she just doesn't take naps anymore. Except, of course, during Conference. Maybe it was the soothing monotone voices of all the wonderful General Authorities (he he). Maybe it was the fact that Leah woke her up early that morning with her loud crying. Or MAYBE it was the fact that her Daddy was all warm and snuggly. She climbed right up and within minutes she was asleep. She slept there for a good hour. Got all wedged into the side of the couch and everything. Cute little thing.

Open Heart Surgery, three thousand miles, and one book

It's been an eventful past week. It all started last Wednesday afternoon on my way home from the doctors office with Leah. She had hand, foot and mouth virus. Poor thing. She's such a trooper. Hardly seemed bothered by it at all. I wouldn't have even taken her in (since it's a virus), but her foot looked infected. Anyway, that's besides the point of my story. I'm driving home and my dad calls me. He had just found out he had a major (rare) tumor on his heart and had to have open heart surgery in two days. WHAT??? Are you kidding me? This is serious. It was kind of a chaotic day. First I was going to Florida, then I wasn't. I didn't know what to do. His chance of survival was good. Very good. 95% even. So I decided to stay and make better arrangements for the next weekend. (It's not so easy to pick up and leave when you have two little ones). Friday morning arrived and his surgery took 3 hours. All went well. They had to remove a lot more of his heart tissue than anticipated because of the size of the tumor (which I'm told resembled a jelly fish). Things got a little scary at first and they had to put a pacemaker in. I decided I needed to be out there. So I flew out Saturday morning. By the time I got there (Saturday night), he was doing great. So great that he was getting out of intensive care. Well, what a relief. They took the pacemaker out and moved him to a regular heart surgery recovery floor. The next few days were spent back and forth at the hospital visiting and helping with what we could. It all went by so fast and by Tuesday morning I was flying home. My dad was doing so well that he was getting to go home that day also. He still has a good month or two of taking it easy and recovering, which will be extremely difficult if you know my Dad at all. He doesn't stop moving, which probably contributed to his quick recovery so far.

As a side note, I read Eclipse. Finished it on the last leg of my flight home, which I quite literally caught 5 minutes before it pulled back from the jetway. Guess that's what you get when you book your flight at the last minute. A tight connection. Anyway, the book was great. I thoroughly loved all THREE books and can't wait for the fourth one next Fall.