Easter 2010

I loved that General Conference fell on Easter Sunday this year. It was so neat to really reflect on the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior in addition to listening to so many amazing talks. I loved conference this year- it was definitely one of the best years I can remember. There were so many talks that I felt directly applied to my life. Maybe that's because there were a lot of talks about parenting and raising children and I feel that I have a lot of room for improvement in that area. Seriously, though, I loved it and have made some goals to be more patient, humble, and selfless, especially with my family. I'm so grateful for the gospel and the direction it gives me in my life. So, without further delay, here's a recap of our weekend:
We had yummy buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and then Oliver and Christian looked for their hidden Easter baskets. It actually took Christian longer than it took Oliver to find his basket. What can I say? I learned my hiding skills from the best: my dad. He used to hide our baskets each Easter and it would literally take us hours sometimes to find them. Someone would inevitably be in tears each year because they couldn't find theirs and my Dad was somewhat merciless- he wouldn't give in easily and tell us where ours was hidden and sometimes he couldn't remember (there was 11 of us after all).
Anyway, in between sessions we had an egg hunt in the back yard. Amelia was all over that and figured out how to open the eggs and the candy inside them before Oliver even figured out that there was something inside the eggs. That girl means business when it comes to chocolate.

Exploring the loot.

Oliver found the golden egg!

On a side note, Amelia is officially army crawling. She is in to EVERYTHING.

After the final session, we went over to the Alders for an Easter dinner. It was such a nice, beautiful day. Here's to warm weather!!!

Catch-Up

Why is it every time I look at my blog I feel guilty? I ALMOST just gave up on it all together, but then I remembered that this is my journal too, and we've had quite a few important happenings around here that I really should document. Sorry, I know these catch-up posts are a little boring...

It was Amelia's FIRST birthday last week. We celebrated by going to the park as a family. Then, I made some cupcakes and we sang "Happy Birthday" and opened presents that Oliver helped me pick out earlier that day (wrapped in leftover Christmas wrapping paper because that's how I roll).

Then, my mom came to town last weekend and we celebrated again, this time with Jacob because it was his birthday last week as well. We had dinner at El Pinto, a beautiful New Mexican restaurant in the old part of Albuquerque.

Outside El Pinto. I know, my eyes are closed. We're working with what we've got here.

The next night, we had glazed poppyseed bundt cake for Jacob, which is my all-time favorite cake. If you've never made this, do- now. You won't regret it.

It was so fun having my mom here. She's so fun and easy to talk to and is such a great listener and friend. Come back soon, Mom!!!

"Until next time, folks!"

Blast from the Past

Inspired by this post (my SIL), I decided I would do my own little "blast from the past."

The first time I saw this picture (which was only about a year ago) I was seriously struck by how similar Oliver and I looked. I also really like the pole-dancing move I was doing here.

Um, community bath anyone? The weird (and scary) part about this is there are 3 people in there with us that I don't even know. And this is not an illusion (though it may appear that way with the 80's-style bathtub and mirrors) but we were fully un-clothed.

I kid you not, my mom let me go out in public with this 'do. The 80's were not kind to us. But, wait, it gets worse...

Yep, that's me. Don't act like I'm not making this work. This is what I call the trifecta of 80's perfection: perm, mullet, acid-washed jeans. One word: h-o-t.

SUCCESS!!!

"Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand."
–– Bruce Barton

That quote could just as well have been said by Little Oliver, right??:) I had a mission companion who, EVERY time she came out of the bathroom, would throw her arms in to the air and yell, "Success!" It must be noted that most Filipinos (who live in the Philippines) talk very openly about their bowel movements. This was somewhat alarming to me at first, but that's another post for another day... now back to Oliver. Yes, he did it! He is officially POTTY-TRAINED!! Ok, not officially, he had a little- no, a BIG accident (for which both his underwear AND his jeans are the dumpster right now) during his quiet time yesterday, but all of his pee-pee's have made it in the toilet. And, here's the clencher: it only took half of a day for my 3 1/2-year-old to get it down. I am sooooo proud of him, as well as relieved that I no longer have to change my child's man-poo diapers (hopefully).

Now, on a MUCH lighter note, here's some of the pics we got back from Amelia's latest photo shoot with Liz Evans, photographer. Liz was commissioned to take pictures for an Etsy shop, Bowtique, that makes little girls' bows (I don't own any of these bows). So, she asked a bunch of moms in our ward to bring their girls over for a photo session. Excuse me if this is a little overboard, but I really can't resist.







Sidenote: Liz is an INCREDIBLE photographer. I was super impressed the entire session. So, if you're looking for someone to shoot you, your kids, or your family, I HIGHLY recommend her. She can be found here.

GIVEAWAY!!!

FYI: I am having a giveaway on my other blog, Peachtree Cooking for a FREE Demarle Silpat in honor of the launch of my new Demarle website! Go on over there to check it out and enter!!!

QT to Denver

We made a last-minute, quick trip to Colorado last weekend for my nephew, Gabe's baptism. My sister's family lives in the prettiest little town outside of Denver called Parker. We got there Thursday night and Gabe's baptism was on Saturday so we spent the time chatting, exercising, and cooking. It was so fun to be able to spend time with family and be there for this special milestone in cute little Gabey's life. Congrats Buddy!

My Mom reading to the little boys, Oliver, Gabe, and Hayden.

Amelia had an adoring fan club all weekend with all her cousins. Here she is with Izzy.

Oliver and Izzy loved jumping on the tramp together (maybe because she was the only one Oliver could keep up with on that thing).

The special boy, Gabe on his special day.

Hayden was always there when I needed a break from holding Amelia. He was sooo sweet with her and would just sit and hold her for like 20 minutes at a time.

Grandma and the Tubba Love.

Could this girl be any cuter????

Valentine's Week

The week started out great with a Valentine Cookie Exchange at my friend, Kristie's house. We each brought a couple dozen cookies, ate to our heart's content (and a little beyond probably) and then took about dozen cookies home. It was so fun to hang out with just the girls and to eat my favorite dessert!

Is your mouth watering? Because it should be. These cookies tasted every bit as good as they looked.

Kristie (the craft queen) made these water bottles with Valentine messages on them for the party.

Then, a few days later, I took Amelia to have her pictures taken by a girl that just moved in to our ward. She's an incredible photographer, as you can see. See her website here.

On Saturday morning when I woke up, Christian had spread little hearts all around the house with reasons why he loves me. Sooo sweet and fun to read. He's really getting good at this gift-giving thing. Then, he packed the kids up to come watch me run a Valentine 5K. Just so you know, I have placed 3rd for women in just about every race I've ever run here in Albuquerque. But, the curse was lifted I guess and I had a great race and I won 1st place for women! Yeah!!
That night, Christian put together a fun date night for us- doing all of my favorite things around town.

Sunday morning, I got up and made heart-shaped pancakes and buttermilk syrup. Christian had, once again, surprised me with little cut-out hearts all around the house that led to a very unexpected gift- a book I've been wanting:

Then, later that day Christian and Oliver decorated sugar cookies while I attempted to make heart-shaped pizza that ended up looking more like the silhouette of Jabba the Hut. Oh well.

It was such a fun week. I'm so grateful to be able to celebrate the love I feel for my kids and husband on Valentine's Day. Yeah, I know it's a big commercialized thing nowadays, but sometimes it's just nice to set aside a day to really reflect on the love I feel for my family. I have 2 amazing, wonderful kids that I love more than life itself and a husband that is so sweet, sensitive, caring, loving, hard-working, handsome, smart, and really funny. I love them all soooo much and that is all the mushiness you're going to get out of me on this blog...:)

Demarle Rendez-Vous!!!

Demarle Flower Mold on Perforated Baking Sheet

Remember when I told you all about some of my favorite Demarle products? Well, I am going to host a Rendez-Vous (party) at my house for anyone in New Mexico that would like to attend to show you all of my favorite cooking gadgets and explain a little more about the company and their amazing products. They have been used in such restaurants as The Cheesecake Factory, Subway, Ritz-Carlton and many more for years and years and were actually only available for commercial use until recently when they were finally released for use in the home market! Yeah!! Some of my favorite features are:

• They are completely non-stick, from the Silpat cookie sheet liner, to the trays and molds. You literally just "pop" everything out from muffins to cakes to quiches.
  

• They are a cinch to clean- simply rinse in warm, soapy water, shake dry, roll up, and throw in a drawer. No scrubbing needed!

• They help food retain moisture so everything is sooooo soft and moist!

• They have a lifetime warranty so you will never buy another loaf, bundt, or muffin pan again!

• They work in microwaves, freezers, and ovens.

• They really make simple cooking look like a million bucks- your family and friends will be amazed at the beautiful, fancy food you'll be able to create!

So, you are all invited to my home on Tuesday, February 23rd, from 6-8pm for my first official Demarle Rendez-Vous where we will cook, eat, and of course, have fun!

And, if you can't make it, I would be happy to host a party for you and your friends any time. Also, if you'd like to check them out online and/or place an order (they have a 30-day money back guarantee so you can try and see if you like it) their website is demarleathome.com. (My representative # is 8394 if you want to place an order.) Let me know if you have any questions or just want to know more!

A little chocolate can't hurt, right?

We're pulling out all the stops to try and get this not-so-little (11 months) girl to crawl. One thing's for sure, she's a girl after my own heart. Nothing motivates like chocolate.

Announcement! Demarle!

I am soooo excited to let you all know that I am now a representative for Demarle products! You might have heard of the Silpat, Roulpat, Flexipans, etc., etc. In my opinion, they have the most amazing cooking and baking products and are frequently referenced on some of my favorite cooking blogs, My Kitchen Cafe, The Sister's Cafe, Bakerella, Picky Palate and many more. Here's just a sample of some of the things I've been cooking up this weekend. For my full post on these incredible products and recipes for the cookies go to our cooking blog, Peachtree Cooking.

Silpat

Voila! Baked perfection!

Flexipan straight muffin tray