here she is..

introducing miss lydia laine thorne.
my newest little neice.
she was born late last night.
she is very sweet.










my kids all adored her.
okay, that wasn't the best picture, I think I had a better one, but hey, it has them all in there.







and the yawn.
babies yawning. love it.

happy valentines day!

breakfast









and lunch!
and a sassy little sideways girl.

I would show a picture of the heart shaped black forest cake we have every year on valentines day, but the cake didn't come out of the pan like it should, and when I loaded the whipped cream, and cherries on top, it split right down the middle, so now it is kind of a mess, but I know it will taste good!

love

I love sugar cookies.

I love any excuse to make sugar cookies. Valentines day, you bet!

Easter! sure.

Canada day? I have a cookie cutter for that one too!

and of course, Christmas.

so today, I cut and baked.

tonight, we will decorate.

maybe deliver some to some friends.

that would be a fun thing.

Cory's brother Brian, and his cute wife Jessica came over yesterday for supper. we haven't seen them in a long time.

they don't live too far away, but life gets crazy.

so anyways, they came, and we played. and it was fun,

and Sadie says your cupcakes are the best ever, Jessica!

I think her and Maggie finished them off at lunch time.

apparently the family members who I thought were coming for the weekend aren't. sad. it would have been fun.

once again. life. crazy life. gets in the way sometimes.

I went to the dentist this morning, apparently he just wanted a closer look at what needs to be done. just went for a cleaning -what, a week ago? so now I have to go in again next week for some work to be done. can't get enough of the dentist. we just switched from on in our town, to one in down town Edmonton. a bit of a drive, but so far, so good.

and that is my exciting life. for today.

not much..

wow.

just switched to the google thingy with blogger.

I really don't like technology that is confusing-

which it all is to me.

sad, but true.

well, I survived my two days of babysitting.

did get that table cleared.

I guess at her house they must clear it right after the meal,

and not let the food and dishes sit out all day.

ha ha.

two days of no school for the kids.

yikes.

I like school.

it is a good thing.

we have a long weekend next weekend too,

but some family members are coming to play.

yay, can't wait.

I think I will go sit in front of the tv for a while, and try to scrap a few pages.

have a day of seminary conference tomorrow. should be fun.

at least they always have good food!

Today.

okay,
here is where I am at right now-
and it's not such a good place.

one boy pulls out a bag of the white oreos out of the food storage closet,
asks if he can take some in his lunch,
pulls the package out- which by the way, shouldn't be open yet.
13 are gone!
yes, I counted.
I asked,
and nobody did it.
weird.
does that happen in anyone elses house?
'cause it happens here, alot.
freak. the white kind. I love those.
sheesh.

then, one boy decides he needs to be home sick.
great.

then the babysittee comes to me, when I am working so hard to clean up Sadies bedroom, that is in a constant state of post hurricane disaster mess, and doing a great job, making some progress, I might add, anyways,
sweet little thing comes to me and says- you might want to clear the table.

um, what?
yah, so my mature adult self says to her-
I might not want to .

nice.
mature.
yah, so that is where I am at today.
I think I need chocolate.
and lots of it.

important meeting

not really.
I have a little girl here that I am babysitting,
and her mom called,
I missed her call because I was, ahem, down on the computer,
and didn't hear the phone.
but I called her back,
and she was in a meeting.
that got me thinking.
wow.
a meeting
with adults
talking about important things.
not things like polly pockets,
and fighting with your brothers.
it's a whole different world than from where I am at right now.
and I guess that is okay.
I miss it, a bit.
not that I really had that.
summer jobs as a student.
and working at a crazy furniture place- they made stuff for motorhomes, and I got to use a spray gun and sprayed glue on foam, and fabric to the foam. good times! I would come home and get in moods where I would laugh histerically. we blamed it on the glue.
and that is the extent of my working life,
so I guess I really don't know what I am missing,
I just imagine, and in my mind it is probably way better than reality.
really, being home is great.
tv- even if it is kid shows all morning.
soaps all afternoon.
kidding. I am more into the cooking shows. ha ha.
naps if I want.
cleaning here and there.
that is the life!

true to my word..

I pulled out a project that has been tucked away for a long time.
my redwork snowman quilt.
man, I must have stitched them up a good 4 (?) or more years ago. then a few years ago had the great idea to make a quilt, started it, but didn't get far. well, this weekend this is what I did!




it is all sewed up. I need to piece a bit for the back, then I will pin it up and quilt it! then another project will be done! yay.
one of many.
but it is a step, right.

the patterns are from the Buttermilk Basin. don't go if you like stitching.
you will be hooked.
so very cute. love a lot of them. some of them are a bit too rustic- is that the word I am wanting? for me, but I like alot of them.
but that will be another project for another day.

thursday stuff

another photo shoot with a cute girl and a tutu. fun stuff. she is so willing to pose for me, that I need to take full advantage!

she is a sweet little thing.

well today we all went for a trip to downtown
edmonton and went to a new dentist. well, Cory has been going to him for a while now, and i actually went to him about 10 years ago, back when we had no coverage, and no money, and a really bad tooth, and he fixed it. so sweet. so anyways, we all went to him, and surprise, I get to go back next week. man. I had like 1 cavity my whole life, until I got married, and stopped going to the dentist for a while, and started having children. now I think at least half my teeth have fillings. sheesh.

okay, had a couple requests for the granola recipe- I sadly cannot tell you where I got it- off someones blog, while clicking from blog to blog, and could probably never find it again, but glad I wrote it down- so here it is!

bring these to a boil-
2/3 c honey
1/4 c oil
1 tbsp cinnamon

mix in large bowl-
1/2 c coconut
4 c rolled oats
1 c unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c oat bran
1/4 c sesame seeds
1 c chopped nuts
mix together with the boiled mixture. flatten into large pan, bake 325 for 10 min, stir it up, flatten it out, and bake another 10.
then I add raisins, till it looks like enough. not a huge raisin fan, just like a touch of sweetness. keep it in a sealed container- I just use an icecream bucket!
I use sliced almonds, and I didn't use the sesame seeds. and I just used quick oats, and they are fine. I got most of the stuff in the bulk section at the grocery store, but not the wheat germ. had to look hard for that and found it in the cereal aisle. make it, and enjoy! we do!- not my kids, they won't touch it- picky things that they are!

so my computer won't go to hotmail. why?
I don't know.
it is driving me crazy
I mean, I really want that junk I get-
hardly ever good stuff, but you never know, right?
so, if you are trying to email me- maybe! I cannot get in!!!
I will keep trying though.
crazy, I tell you.

and I didn't exercise this morning- my usual turbo jam
and I need to get myself geared up, and do it now,
but that is usually my thing I do right after the kids go to school,
and now it just doesn't feel right.
excuses, excuses.

tagged..

by Andrea to tell you 5 things you might not know about me.

1. I played the oboe in junior high band. I sometimes wish I still knew how to play it- they have a community band here that would be fun to be in! I remember when I was in band they had a night class for parents so they could learn too! who knows, maybe I can pick it up again!

2.clowns creep me out. always have, probably always will.

3. I made some homemade granola a couple of weeks ago. so yummy. Cory informed me this morning that it is his favorite! wow.

4. I have not been keeping up with my resolve to not start any new projects, but I will renew that resolve, and now not start any new ones, but finish the pile from before, and the new ones I have started since, before I pull out anything new!

5. I am starting to like green peppers, beans, and onions. as a kid- no way would I eat them, now I will. but still no mushrooms. no way.

I will now tag cory's cute cousin Kayli, and Jessica.

I was supposed to start babysitting two very sweet girls today, but the older one got the flu last night. sad. Sadie was looking forward to it! they adore Maggie, and I don't know that she adores them as much, but it will be good. just a few days a month. The kids don't have school today. I have no idea why. but Cory sounds sick- he is a bit hoarse, but feels fine, but is taking the day off because the people at work will think he is sick! nice job huh? so anyways, he took the boys to get some 2x4's to start doing some framing in the basement! hurray! so it is all good.

okay, need to get Maggie happy, clean one more bathroom, and make some more granola. fun day ahead!

hmmmm...

well, first off ,
what's a blog post with out a picture?

or a scrapbook page!
I haven't done many yet.
I have tried.
I sit
and look,
and look at my messy table,
pull out a few things,
and move on.
doing it this way,
it takes me about a week to do one page.
I am usually a 20 min. max. kind of scrapper.
hmmm.
in need of some inspiration.

well,
do you ever get in those moods that you walk through your house,
and it is a mess,
and you just want to toss stuff away?
I feel that way today.
I should get going on that!
we want to develop our basement-
and yesterday we went to my sister Andrea's house for dinner,
and saw her awesome basement!
the room! the niceness of real walls and doors.
ahh. that would be nice!

so anyways, in order to get working,
we need to clean it out a bit.
hard to get anything done with stuff everywhere.
I know all about it.

well, it is supposed to get colder here at the end of the week.
yuck.
we were spoiled the last couple weeks with above 0 temperatures.
now anything below 0 is just soooo cold.

okay. I am going to go fill up a box for give away,
and a bag of garbage, and won't stop until I am done!!

some pictures!

so, I am thinking if I ever want to be a pro photographer, which I do, I had better get to know my camera and my photoshop a bit better. so, I pulled out the back drop and played with the girls.
Maggie is quite the little poser. put her on the back drop, she lay down, and this is what I got.
she is too fun.


then she went of the back drop, and this is the picture I got. I love this one! so much fun. I need to do a shoot for Ben. I try to do a little one around their birthdays, but haven't done his yet. I want to do it outside, and now that it is warming up again, maybe we can do it soon!

what else is new? not much.
still loving the turbo jam. can feel something in my stomach area, so there must be muscles in there somewhere!
okay, I am off to veg in front of the tv, and do some knitting. fun stuff. oh, in the car today sadie asked me if sometimes dads stay home. I said yes, and she said that I should go to work and our dad should stay home! hee hee. somedays that would be so nice. adult conversations, no cleaning all day (because that is what I do, right?) Cory said we could do that, I would just have to get a job that pays as much, or more than his. hmm. I should get looking!
really though, I love being at home. so, I think I will stay.

christmas flash back.

This was the picture inside out christmas card that I showed the outside of a while back, but not the picture, so here it is!

and the doll,is now named Betty. Sadie decided that is what her name is now. hmm. interesting. she was knitted- from a book called knitted babes.

the girls room is clean!

that is a major thing around here. well, it gets cleaned every so often, that isn't new, we just have to see how long it can remain clean.

i removed the basket of little toys that was constantly being unloaded everywhere. that should help. I need to weed through all the little things and just keep the very favorites, and get rid of the junk. I think I am getting better at doing that. a little bit.

I must say, I borrowed my prego sister- see a few posts back, dvd of turbo jam. I LOVE IT. I am craving to do more of it. all day, I think about it. that is so not me. so very not me. I can feel my obliques. yes, I do have them. I was surprised myself. I have been doing a bit each day since Friday. ( I even did 10 min of abs on Sunday, shh. ) and I feel good. and want to do more, and want to eat less. I hope to see results soon! wow.

fun stuff. okay, I really want to make peanut butter cookies. If I do it now, they should be ready around home from school time and the kids will eat most of them, and I can just have a couple. right? self control. a hard thing for me!

Introducing...

Lilly.
another project-
done!

well, sort of.

apparently she needs shoes and underwear, and pajamas,
and a friend for Maggie.

what have I started?
and here I thought I was just finishing up another project.
ha ha.

but her dressis reversible
to a cute pink gingham.
that was a little trickier for me to figure out than it should have been.
but I did it.
and it's pretty cute.
just don't look too closely!

I wanted to name her betty.
Cory says- like ugly betty?
haha.
okay, she is funny looking,
but I was leaning towards the betty spagetti dolls that were at sadies playschool that had long arms and legs, much like Lilly here,
but sadie wants Lilly, so Lilly it is.
and her hair is pretty thin.
doll hair is tricky.
another thing I have much to learn about!

it's an epidemic!

isn't she cute?
my little sis.
due next month.
thinks she is so big-
but she's not,
I think I was that big at 5 months.
ha ha.

she's the first due,
then I have two sister-in-laws due in May,
another sister in June,
another sis-in-law in July.
crazy stuff going on!

not me.
5 is plenty.
lots and lots.

so, today Sadie was turning on the tv,
and brought the remote to me and asked me to find a kid show,
because "there is only human shows on."
I thought that was too funny.
human.
I think she wanted cartoons.
silly girl.

Dr. Jedkle and Mr. Hyde

so, Jed informed me a few days ago that he would be having pizza at lunch at the school on Friday. a class party? no.
apparently his name was drawn from the Listening Ears monthly draw and I quote"which recognizes students who listen and follow directions the first time they hear them."
what?
my Jed.
I am convinced the kid that is at school is a completely different kid than I see at home. he is the one that when you ask him to do something he will stand there and say no to you at least 3 times, and only move to do it, when you move towards him to make him do it. what a turkey.

so, I caught a tiny bit of Oprah yesterday. I wish I had written down what the girl I saw said, cause it hit me - hard.
she had had gastric bypass surgery and lost a ton of weight, and looked super cute- but apparently after you have that surgery you can't eat- ??? I wasn't too clear on that, but anyways, the girl was saying she was having a hard time still with food, because it was her friend, the one thing that was there. I could relate with that. how she said it made so much sense, and of course I can't remember exactly, but that is a bit how I feel. food is always there, makes you feel good, for a bit anyways.
I just need to get past that.
not eating just to eat.
eat meals, small helpings,
healthy snacks.
I will try.
but I know - easier said than done.

okay, today, I am finishing a quilt I started over a year ago- I don't even like it anymore, so I am going to donate it to the school, they are collecting blankets to donate somewhere- so that is my big plan for the day!! finish it, and maybe even drop it off at the end of the school day, if I can get it done by then!

a fishy tale

just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a little tank...
ha ha.
well, this is our fish tank.
we acquired it from a family that was moving,
they were trying to get rid of it,
they stopped feeding the 2 fish, so they wouldn't have to move them,
but they were hardy fish and wouldn't die. so Jack and Cory brought the fish and the tank home.
so , thus speedy and frank became members of our household.
then, later, Cory and the kids thought they needed some friends, so they bought 5 of those cute neon fish. they lived happily for a while, then mysteriously, one by one, they perished, till there was only one left.
then , Jack decided he would like a fish for his birthday, and all the kids tagged along, and they came home with 2 snails, and 3 fish. oh, and that nice brown log. fun stuff.
things were good , then speedy had some gouges on his side. he was being attacked, and we had a suspect. so we let it be for a bit, then yesterday we noticed he was hurt on his other side too,
so out of mercy, Cory and the boys flushed poor speedy (against my wishes) then, when they returned to the tank, General Joe, the suspect, was turning on another little fish, so Cory decided he should get his due reward and he got flushed too.
and that, my friends, is the sad and painful story of our fish.

yah, so..

that whole, no new project thing, yah, well, I started and finished this cute pink hat in 2 days.
at least I finished it, right?
that has to count for something! but I will not start any new ones until I finish 2 old ones. deal? I'll post them when they are done. to show you all!
so, some ladies in my ward are doing a biggest loser thing- in regards to weight loss, that is. and I thought, heck, I could use some motivation! yah, right.
I have exercised a bit more than I normally would have. but I just cannot stop snacking.
no
self
control.
none.
really need to work on that.
so, apparently a big storm is heading our way.
supposed to get 6? I might be off- inches of snow tonight.
supposed to go down to -35 on Thursday.
fun stuff.
I think I will get some buckets filled with water,
for our food storage and all.
makes me realize how behind I am in that too.
sad stuff.
sheesh. I am a sorry person lately. I need to get my butt in gear, stop eating and get doing those things I need to do.
but aren't they cute?
okay, off to fill buckets, and do a load of laundry!
happy Tuesday!

well...

first off, sorry for the sideways pictures. not too sure how to fix that. or put the pictures in the right order, so hopefully this will make some sense!! anyways, these are my girls eating the nose of the snowman we went to the feild by the school to make the other day.

this is the project that I really shouldn't be doing- see previous post all about finishing old projects. I just can't do it! I can't. I need to start another one. a sweater that will take me months, I am sure, but isn't it cute- or er, handsome! and easy! I'll probably start it today. instead of finishing another project, like I should. sheesh. I am pitiful.
this is the snowman. before the girls ate the nose. with no eyes or anything. just a nose. poor fellow.
and this is what the outing turned into- a snowball fight, as every time we step out the door , that seems to happen. so much fun.

a quilt. some goals.

here it is. the cutest quilt-

thanks to Kelly McCaleb.

she has a great eye for color. wowsa. love it. thanks, girl.

I want a boy one now!for no particular reason, except they are so stinking cute! the one side closest to these words wasn't finished being bound yet. does that make any sense? but now it is done. and that silly girl finally did get pants on but not until much later in the day. she is getting quite the personality.

so, last night at FHE we talked about resolutions.

so I will share a few of mine, to maybe help me get on with them! maybe! so, I want to clean my room up- didn't get it all done yesterday (Shame) and keep it clean. I think this problem has been mine since childhood. time to overcome!

I want to be more organized. Cory said that is too vague. I need specifics, but that's all I can give you. I want to be more organized. if I knew more, don't you think I would be there? a bit at a time, and I will get there.

I want to fit in those jeans. I will, I will. more exercise, less chocolate.

scriptures. every day. even a bit. but some, everyday.

simple, right? no problem. I need to get going, cleaning, organizing, treadmilling, reading.

oh yeah, and I want to finish a few of the projects I have laying around. that quilt is done! yay, on to the next one!

Happy New Year!

what a weekend! started on Friday night, with a girls night- just my sisters at my moms- no kids. we worked on our own projects, watched some Facts of Life, and had a good time. - Friday afternoon Maggie had her first haircut. cut a bunch of the mullet off. still cute! gotta let that top catch up to the back!
I also got my hair cut short. fun stuff! Saturday I worked on a baby quilt that has been lying around here for a while. hopefully today I can finish the binding, and I'll show you all. it is pretty cute!

Sunday night, in my mom's town they did some fireworks. if you look hard you can see Jed standing there watching. the snow there was so deep, and the kids could walk on top, but every once in a while they would fall in. so funny.
okay, I need to go clean my room. clean it so clean! and It WILL STAY CLEAN! resolution! then the girls room. then , I am going to exercise and eat healthy! I have a pair of jeans I have been holding on to that I am going to fit in! soon. but first I must deplete my supply of chocolate. then no more. really. okay, maybe just in smaller amounts. hmm. off to clean.