Maybe We Are Normal After All

The other night I was talking to a friend on the phone and I hung up feeling like maybe we do have normal kids after all instead of feeling like we are extra struggling over here.

I often feel like "everyone else" has "regular" kids and I was given an extraordinary challenge. I thought I was the only one who was trying to figure out how in the world you are supposed to get kid "A" to time out and stay there while trying to care for kid "B" that was just hurt by kid "A".

I thought time out worked for everyone elses kids, why don't they work for my mine, I figured I must be doing them wrong...but what in the world do you instead. Time out is good for cooling off (sometimes), but it sure doesn't work for teaching rules over here. If it did we wouldn't still be saying "Don't touch the TV".

Once I decided to try something new and take a car away from Corbin every time he said The S Words, yes I mean {cover your kids ears} Stupid and Shut Up. But he didn't like the idea of his cars being split up in their "time out". So he got his car case and one by one said The S Word and then handed me a car "there you go mom". Once all his cars were back together he was content, even though he didn't get them back for days. Okay.... so he didn't quite get it.

I'm sure that on hard days I will still be feeling pretty alone. It takes a lot of energy to be consistent with your kids corrections/discipline. And when your tired it doesn't really matter if you know other moms have hard days too, all I care about is "when will this day end". But it is nice, when I'm feeling rational to know that all us moms have challenges.

I do know that as moms we are entitled to revelation about our children, and I know that I have been blessed in many ways to know what my kids need. But it can't all come at once, right, there is just too much for us to figure out. So I just keep praying and little by little I know that inspiration and comfort will come to help me. And I know that sometimes it can even be a phone call with a friend that makes me feel less alone.

Tip of the Week (not that I'm making this a weekly occurance)

My sister, Rebecca, casually mentioned something the other day that has changed my life. Well, at least the life of my left overs.

-re-crock-pot-

Ta da.....there it is. Sounds simple right..... You are all probably already doing this. But this was magic for me.

I had been planning on a roast for Sunday dinner and using the left overs a couple days later as taquitos.

So what do you do?.....recrockpot.

I tossed my leftovers into the crock pot a few hours before dinner with some broth and viola...juicy, tender, re seasoned shredded beef.

I tried it again this week. I turned left over baked chicken into -recrokpotted- shredded chicken tacos. (I'm sure there are applications that go beyond Mexican left overs, but my brain hasn't gotten there yet (smile).

No more dry boring left over meat over here baby. We recockpot!

Edward Cullen Has the Make'ns of a Great Hubby...

HERE is a link that my mom posted. It's an article that uses Edward Cullen as a map for what women are looking for in a man.

It's interesting.

If your interested, go on; click the link, I know you want to (smile).

Chocolate Crinkles

We just discovered Chocolate Crinkles!

Santa Corbin (which is how Corbin now refers to himself when he wants a cookie, because you always leave cookies out when Santa comes) wanted no bake cookies the other day. I wasn't in the mood so I pulled out my good ol' Betty Crocker cookbook to find a chocolate cookie.

These were a big hit over here. They tasted a lot like brownies, which is awesome. I have yet to make a batch of brownies that comes out edible with our diet restrictions around here. So we thought these were really fun. I may even try making them in a 8x8 pan and see how they do as a bar cookie.

Anyway, here is the recipe if you're interested:

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 t. vanilla

4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

4 eggs

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1c. powdered sugar

Mix sugar, oil, vanilla, and chocolate. Then mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 350º. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar: roll around to coat. Shape into balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake until almost no indentation remains when touched. 10 to 12 min.

My Notes:

***I couldn't let my dough chill because of the egg replacer I use, so I used shortening instead of oil (thinking that would make the dough firmer with out chilling)

***1 square of unsweetended chocolate equals 3T. of unsweetened cocoa powder + 1T. shortening (or oil)

***I also just used my cookie scoop and then rolled the dough in the powder sugar. I didn't worry about making perfect balls.

So there you go. A cookie with Santa Corbin's seal of approval!

Already Late...

I don't even have any pictures from this year yet! So I thought I would add

the Christmas morning shot.

It has already been 2009 for over a week... and my Christmas stuff is still up. It's gone way past the point of fresh and festive, we have now hit droopy and depressing.

Not being able to put it away is making me a little crazy and I feel like everything around me is out of sorts.

However; I will look on the bright side.

I am lucky to have a husband with a job. (even though it's the reason he hasn't had time to get the Christmas tubs out of the garage for me).

I am lucky to have 2 boys. (even though it's why the ornaments on the trees aren't where they started and some of the branches are extra droopy)

I am lucky we had lots of family in town for the holidays (even thought it's why I'm still trying to catch up on the laundry)

I am lucky to have live in a time when medicine is so effective (Cooper had his first ear infection which is another reason why I'm a little behind in my life)

I feel blessed to hope for baby #3. {not to be confused with being chosen for baby #3... this is not an announcement, we are still not approved yet}. (even though it's totally stressing me out because I want to get all the paper work done this month and I haven't had much time to sit at the computer)

So even though 2009 and I have started out a little rocky, I have high hopes for us. I think this is going to be a great year.

Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas!

This year Corbin wants a bike, train tracks and a roller coaster. We'll see how Santa scores. When I asked Cooper what he wanted he said, "a daaaaaaa and a baaaabeeee". So I'm guessing he'll be happy with what ever he gets this year. To read more about Cooper our Little Christmas Baby click here.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night sleep...

a girl can dream can't she

Cuddles

I'm weak.

I try to be really consistent with Corbin's bedtime routine. Part of that is laying with him for two songs even when he asks for five,(he likes to have music on while he sleeps, right now it's the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time, nice classical sounding stuff...I'm holding my breath to hear what it turns into when he's a teenager eek).

Any way...I walk out his door even when he wants me to stay longer, I have already fought, and won, the habit of him needing us next to him to fall asleep I can't afford to give in. Now 2 songs is all he gets. Well, sometimes 3 if I lose track.

Tonight I was doing the dishes after laying with him, as I usually do, when he came out of his room. This too is part of the routine at least once a night. This time instead of being ready to fight sleep, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Mama, I need more cuddles".

And with those 5 little words I was his for two more songs.

Little Brother

Cooper carried this around for hours

Cooper kissing Corbin's picture

Cooper loves his brother.

Cooper misses his brother while he's away at school.

Cooper wants to have everything his brother has...even stitches and hospital bands.
Cooper thinks he is hurt when his brother gets hurt.

Cooper follows his brother around.

Cooper loves it when his brother makes him laugh.

Cooper watches everything his brother does.

Cooper tries to wear his brothers shoes.

Cooper shares chicken nuggets with his brother

Cooper wrestles with his brother.

Cooper is the perfect little brother for our Corbin.

The Great Count Down

The countdown has begun. The boys, well Corbin, is really excited about Christmas this year and so we are counting down in style. Well maybe not style but we are counting down in many ways.

First, of course, the traditional paper chain.

Second, a candy chain- one little starburst each day for both the boys. Now, Cooper is catching on to this one.For Family Home Evening we read the First Presidency's Message in the Friend. They tell us that this holiday season we should, "sing with joy, pray in gratitude and carry out good deeds". We have little pictures here to remind us of those 3 things...

and each evening we are writing on a little paper ornament what we are grateful for that day and one kind deed that the children did. Then we sing a song (with joy of course) and say a prayer including all the things we each are thankful for. It has only been a few days, but I really like this...it's a really nice way to end the day.

We are also going to wrap up all our Christmas story books and read one each night before Christmas, but I don't have 25 so we haven't started that one yet, and I haven't put them out either, didn't want to torture the kids with gifts they can't open for that long.

(I can't take credit for all these ideas, I got the candy and book idea from my friend Heather, and thank you to Hillary and CJ for coming over for family night and helping with the candy chains...thanks!)

My Boys

I have so many things to be Thankful for. Here are just 3 of my favorite.

I am so thankful for Derek. He is a wonderful loving husband and fun affectionate Father. A gal couldn't ask for more.

I am thankful for Corbin and his great sense of humor.

I am thankful for Cooper and his sweet easy going ways.

I love being a wife and mom and I am so blessed to have a family that brings me so much joy.

HaPpy ThAnkSgiviNg!

Pot Pie

One of my favorite dinners to make when the weather gets cool is chicken pot pie. It's about the only time Corbin will eat vegetables, which is a bonus for me.

Now I have realized that photographing food is a lot harder than it looks in good pictures. So this really is tastier than it might look, so try to get past the blue pie pan, when I started dinner I wasn't planning on taking pictures of it. But I thought I might share it anyway.

Now this recipe isn't exact, I just throw things in, I don't know if you can really mess it up.

Here's what you need:

One pie crust for the top( I use store bought ones the come in the refrigerated section rolled up in a box)

1/4 c.Frozen chopped onions (a great invention)

+1 1/2 c Frozen veggies, I like peas and carrots, but you can use what ever your family likes.

+2 c.Frozen hash brown (the little cubed ones) That makes the pie nice and thick

1 Can of cream of chicken soup (I make my own version because of Corbin's milk allergy)

A couple spoon fulls of sour cream is yummy too

1-1 1/2 c. Shredded Chicken, I most often use about 1/2 a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but sometime I have left over baked chicken-what ever is easiest, that's the whole point of this dinner for me.

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour everything but the crust into a mixing bowl. It will be nice and thick and cold. Just mix until the chicken soup and sour cream are evenly distributed. Don't forget to salt an pepper, all the frozen veggies need it. Remember I'm just guessing with the measurements, you want the filling to fill up the pie pan. I only use a top crust, it saves about 800 calories for the whole pie and the bottom crust is yummy, but not really needed. Pour the mixture into a pie pan and cover with pie crust. Cut a few slits on top and bake at 400° (or the temp recommended on the pie crust box) for about 45min. or until the center is hot an you can see the sides bubbling.

We just scoop it out when serving, I don't try to cut it like a pie.

This would be good with turkey left overs instead of the chicken too!

I heart Suzanne

This is my aunt Suzanne. My mom's little sister.

Some people say that we look alike, which I have always taken as a compliment.

I have grown up wanting to be like her. As little girl I remember wishing that my hair was like hers and that I could drive a stick like she did ( I can still hear the click of her fingernails as she shifted and I liked that too). I remember her purple and white wedding bouquet and staying the night with her and eating oatmeal cookie dough.

We tease that we were supposed to be sisters.

It's funny now how we have things in common that I couldn't have planned. We both want our homes to feel like a beach cottage even thought she is in the mountains and I'm a good drive away myself. We both feel funner when our hair is short.

I love Suzanne.

I few weeks ago I took the boys up to Crestline to spend the day with her. We had so much fun walking around the lake and feeding the ducks. We had a picnic and played at the park. And completely wore the kids out. She even made special cookies that Corbin could eat. It was a beautiful day and Corbin still talks about going to the mountains to see Suzanne.

Thanks Suzanne for taking the day off of your life to play with us. It is so extra special to me that Corbin and Cooper get to love you too. They are lucky little boys.

3 little towels hang'n on the wall

So we have added an extra hook and hoodie towel in the kids’ bathroom. You see we have finally gotten our application for adoption #3 into the agency. It is only the beginning; we only have about half of the paperwork and running around done. We want to be approved and "waiting" by the end of the year. That's the goal at least.

So this is just the beginning of our thinking positively. And yes, that third towel is pink. This is not a requirement but is a fun thought....to have a baby girl next. But we can easily change it to yellow or red if another little boy comes our way.

So here is to the beginning of a complicated process that couldn't thrill us more.

Little dirt don't hurt?

Don't I wish that I mopped the floor yesterday like I had planned too.

Candy Corn

Last week up at Oak Glen we found some candy corn that Corbin can have. All the store bought bags either have eggs in them or have been processed on machinery with milk, both no-no's for Corbin.

But that got me to thinking that if the fine people at Riley's Farm could find someone to make their's I bet I could find a recipe online.

I did, and tried it out this week. The hardest part was rolling and cutting the "dough". This blog had great pictures to go along with each step, and this site has a recipe using marshmallows, I'm gonna try that next.

This little treat was a hit with the kids. They don't taste quite the same as store bought but, Corbin couldn't believe his eyes when he woke from his nap to find a bowl full of his favorite treat.

Johnny Appleseed

Friday I took the boys up to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen to pick apples. It was a beautiful day, warm sunshine with a crisp breeze. We had a great time.

We picked apples.

And made wishes

We found a birds nest

Cooper tried to hide apples in this tree

We ate apples, I don't know what kind they are but they are sweet and crunchy just the way we like 'em.

The boys sat on a tracktor

And climbed on hay bales.

We also got to feed goats, run though a pumpkin patch, play in mud, climb big hills, pump water, eat a picnic lunch, find candy corn that Corbin can eat (no eggs), bump into a teacher friend of mine with two kids the same ages as Corbin and Cooper, drink fresh apple cider, dance on a little stage, and enjoy the fresh air. It was a great day... and the kids slept really well that night.

My Zoolander

This is Corbin's first official school picture. He was so excited to see it when we opened the big envelope it came home in.

We had practiced and practiced his smile in the mirror before P day. He knew that his job was to smile without a "scrunchy nose".
This is the smile I usually get in photos. While it does have personality I did hope for his soft smile in the school shot.

When he came home on picture day I asked him to show me how he smiled. He gave me a nice soft smile and said "no scrunchy nose!".

He did it.

I'm sure that some day I will miss his big scrunchy smile, but I do like having proof that he has more than one look.

Ahhhhh

We have cool air again! The air conditioner guy left a couple hours ago and the house has just reached a comfortable 75° (inside the house was getting into the 90's every day,urg). I think I will go turn on the oven and dry a load of laundry, luxuries I couldn't afford just hours ago. I may even blow dry my hair tomorrow!

Of course the heat wave is supposed to break tomorrow; we may even get rain on Saturday. Just our luck. But with a whole new system we should be cool for many summers to come.

I'm Mellllting

Our air conditioner has kicked the bucket. We were hoping it would make it through the summer, and I guess technically it did.

If only September brought with it a little chill. But we haven't been that lucky, the last couple days it's been almost 100° outside.

So I have stocked up on popsicles and the boys carry around squirt bottles cool off with. I'm hoping we'll have air up and running before the end of the week. Wish us luck.

We had a long night...

Derek is back to work, I don't think I've mentioned that. His knee is healed and he's back to patrol.

I'm sad to have him gone. The boys are too.

Corbin has a hard time with change. At the beginning of Derek's time home with the broken knee, Corbin would tell him that it was time for work. And wanted him to go like he usually did at night.

Now it's another story....

You see Derek would lay with Corbin until he fell asleep at night. It was a great break for me not putting Corbin to bed every night by myself. But let me tell you, I am paying for that one.

Last night was the first night with out Derek in a long time.

Things moved along smoothly, we did the whole routine that Derek started, play with race cars, play memory game, lay in bed and read books with a flashlight. Corbin was all calm and relaxed....

Until I got up.

First he started crying for "Mama", not "Mom" or "Mommy", "Mama" the way Cooper cries for me when he's hurt or sad. The way a sweet, helpless, little baby would call out. "Mama lay down with me, I love you, Mama, Mama". This kid has game.

When that didn't work he decide to try and get my sympathy by crying for "Daddy". The daddy who left him all alone with mean mommy, (the daddy who started this whole thing). That didn't work either.

I just kept putting him back in bed.

What started at 8:30 wasn't finished until after 11:00.

This morning when I woke him up for school, the first words he mumbled were "I'm sorry Mommy".

Melt my heart.