A Few "Firsts"

Addie had her first day of preschool! Boy, is that girl pleased to be going (so is mommy!).... This is going to be good! She has a very keen mind, but has trouble feeling motivated to work on things--like her letter recognition & writing. Hopefully she'll be more motivated at school than she is at home! As long as we keep encouraging what she IS doing... :o) I'm excited for you, Addie! Love you, kiddo!

Mikey & Kelli had their first 'rainout' for soccer this last Saturday. We're hoping the games will be rescheduled soon, but so far there's no word on that. It sure made Saturday easier with General Conference! We were planning on watching it for an hour, pause, then watch the rest when we came back. It made for a much quieter afternoon!

I'm assuming this is a first, too: Taylor is rolling ALL over now (we definitely need gates up)! She'll spot something she wants on the far side of the room & it's a matter of minutes & she's rolled herself all the way over there & has the object in her mouth! She's especially fond of paper--if she's been in a 'paper-famine' (thanks to mommy who doesn't want news print showing up in her diapers) she gets a little crazy (shaking all over) when I hand her a board book--it's that exciting. :o)

I had put her in the middle of the quilt & went to grab the camera. When I came back, she had rolled off--about four feet away from where I put her in a matter of seconds! She also has this thing with her tongue lately--she sticks it out when she's happy. :o)

Taylor had her first piggy tails! I'd have to say they are the cutest I have seen yet! :o) (that was a completely non-biased statement). The pictures up above show her piggy tails the next day--and after a couple naps, too. A bit messy--but who has time to fix everyone's hair everyday?!

She also had her first green beans. Loved them! :o) Do I dare try peas?

She also had her first "loves" from a kitty. It was one of those 'fur real' pets--it purrs & moves its paws when you stroke its back. Of course, the paws tickled & made her laugh with delight! :o) Not to mention all the high-pitched meows.... She was in kitty heaven!

I loved this video of our little hungry Taylor:

It was like 'baby sign language' for 'feed me!' "Watch my mouth--this is what I want to be doing, Mommy!"

And who can resist a sweet video of Mark & Taylor playing before bed? I can't! So you have to endure. :o)

Mark & I had another first as well--it was our first time PAINTING OUR BEDROOM!!! Yes, Bonnie, we have finally painted!!!!! Yeah! We're not done. Our bedroom has the chair rail deal going all around the room (what's the deal with that? We don't have any chairs in our bedroom?! :o) It is a nice touch, though!), so we've only painted away the deep navy paint that was on the top half. Well--most of it. There's still plenty of dark blue spots to cover on the ceiling & framework. When we're finished with painting the bottom half (in 'golden crust') then I'll do the touch up. We're painting the bathroom, too...it needed it so badly! The biggest wall has the dark color you see in the picture (caraway seed) & then the rest will be painted with the lighter color. We decided to keep the paint pretty neutral in case we chose to change up our colors with a few different towels & new bedding. You'll notice, Mom, that I finally finished a certain project started long ago.... I'm very pleased! I'm also glad I didn't finish it sooner, since I ended up changing the color of the "Happily Ever After" lettering to match the rest of the room! (yes, I know it's not quite centered in this picture--I just fixed that!) I've been so excited about this transformation, that I've been painting all of our mirror frames, shelves & the bathroom clock to match--even the hardware in the bathroom got a coat of paint! I used an outdoor acrylic paint that is supposed to work on metal, etc. & then gave it a nice glossy finish. (yes, that was a silver cheap-o!) I'm hoping they last for a while--I'm assuming they should put up with a lot since they are supposed to be permanent, but if they don't, I'm only out the time for the experiment & less than $3 in paint! Cheaper than having to pay $10-$15 for a towel holder & still have to get all the other hardware to match! I'm itching to work on the silver hardware in the "Garden Valley" bathroom!

My birthday present is coming together! Thanks to everyone who gave $$ to make this birthday-bedroom-transformation happen!

We had another first this Sunday with a fun crockpot recipe--that I had to put into the oven & bake it on low since my crockpot has enough 'juice' in it to only heat up juice. :0( Christmas is coming, though! Cheer up, Joy! We all really liked the recipe & there weren't many leftovers--it tasted just like a Thanksgiving preview! Here it is:

Chicken & Stuffing

2 cans cream soup (one chicken, one celery)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried & rubbed sage

1/2 tsp. salt

Black pepper to taste

Mix well & set aside. Grease the bottom of your 5qt crock pot & add:

1/2 of a 6oz package of cornbread stuffing, drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp of melted butter, place 3 or 4 chicken breast halves over the stuffing, then top with 1/2 of the cream soup sauce. Sprinkle the other half of the stuffing over the sauce, drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp melted butter, place 3 or 4 more chicken breast halves on top of that, then spread the rest of the cream soup sauce over the top. Cover & cook on low for 5 to 7 hours. I baked it on 250 for about 3 hours (covered with foil).

Boy, did the house smell good! This recipe was easy & quick--I will be making it again! We served this up with some mashed potatoes--I learned how to make them a day ahead & have them still taste great & have great texture. The secret is in adding too much milk (make them soupy) when you are whipping them, then add in a few eggs. Pour them into a greased casserole dish & bake them up for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven when you're ready for them! They come out light & fluffy, as if you had just made them & had put them through a ricer to mash. :o)

Sorry--that was a lot of writing. I'm done! :o) Have a great day! Joy