Saturday, December 29, 2007

Foosball

I'm thinking of investing in one of these tables. Just so my 7-year-old son won't beat me in a game, and for so many more reasons. lol! That is all.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!!!

Flat Sled
Get Funny Pictures at pYzam.com

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Chocolate and oreos...

is what my home smells like right now. I've been elbow deep in melted chocolate and crushed oreos. I've been making Oreo Truffles as Christmas treats for our neighbors. I found this recipe in my Kraft food magazine last year. These truffles are seriously so freaking good and easy! BEWARE: if you try one, these delicious morsels may never make it to their intended destination.

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 bag chocolate chips

1) In a food processor, crush oreos into fine crumbs.
2) Mix cream cheese in with oreo crumbs, blend thoroughly. Helps if cream cheese is room temp.
3) Form oreo mixture into 1 inch balls, place on plate and put into freezer for 1 hour. The firmer they are the easier they are to handle in the melted chocolate.
4) Melt chocolate chips and coat oreo balls. Place on a lined cookie sheet and place back in the freezer for the chocolate to harden.

This recipe is versatile too. You can experiment with different flavored oreos and flavored chips. I made this last year and did mint oreos and mint chips, peanut butter oreos with peanut butter chips. I also tried raspberry flavored chips and did a regular oreo center. It was very yummy! You can also double coat the truffle in the left over melted chocolate. You can get decorative with them too, for example, do a coating of brown chocolate and then drizzle white chocolate over. Whatever you do, people will be impressed. It looks like it took a lot of time, but it's really doesn't and it's sooo easy.

Helpful hint: drizzle a 1/2 tsp of olive oil into your melted chocolate so that it doesn't become chalky.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Happy Birthday Alisha!





Yes, we have two December birthdays in our family. Alisha's original "guess date" was on Josh's birthday. But she decided she wanted her own day. Alisha is a happy little girl who loves My Little Pony's, putting on imaginary makeup(and mommy's when she not getting caught), loves dancing, and is just a little people pleaser(which worries me sometimes). I wrote a little more about Alisha down below.

Preparing for Alisha's birth exciting for me. Jacob was only 6-months-old when we learned we were going to have another baby. So I was fighting a lot of conflicting emotions, but after Jacob's birth I knew I wanted to have a better birthing experience. I needed to. I researched a lot of different birthing methods, but the one that caught my eye was Hypnobirthing. I ended up doing a lot to get ready. I practiced my scripts faithfully and started reading up on my rights in the hospital. I coupled the Hypnobirthing with the Bradley method, because their birthing philosophy's, while a little different, were pretty much the same. The Bradley method helped Josh prepare to be my doula. I was confident that her birth would be a good one.

So her guess date came and went and I thought she'd never get here. lol! Josh's sister Theresa came out to spend time with us and add some extra help when the new baby arrived. So we were ready, just needed a baby.

At 4 p.m. on December 11th I noticed that I was having some regular birthing waves. What impressed me is that they weren't painful like they were with Jacob's birth. I dismissed them as Braxton-Hicks and went on with my day(which is a very common thing for hypno-moms to do, most don't even know they're in labor). Around 8 p.m. they were becoming more intense and closer together. I clued in and called Josh to have him come home from work(he had crazy work days), that is was "baby time". We hung around the house for a couple of hours packing bags and doubting whether or not we should go. Because don't most birth education classes tell you to come to the hospital when the birthing waves are 3-5 minutes apart? They became three minutes apart so we went. I still wasn't in any pain, just strong pressure sensations.

So, we get to the hospital around 11 p.m. I'm still in no pain. Into triage, no pain. The nurse checks me, I think I'm probably around 3 cm's. The nurse freaks out,"Holy cow, you're 7 cm's!". All hell(yes, I said hell!) breaks loose. Nurses start yelling at me and my husband about how it was irresponsible that we waited so long to come in. Everyone is rushing to get set up. By now I'm scared(no woman in labor should be yelled at) and yes, now I'm in pain. The classic fear-tension-pain syndrome was kicking in. 30 minutes after my arrival my water broke on it own. Hello! The flood gates hath opened! Nurses are running me down the hall in the gurney I'm on. They start asking me if I want an epidural, while another nurse is trying to start an IV. It was crazy. My dr showed up and ask if I wanted an epidural. Good grief, I had a birth plan, my dr had one, as well as the nurses. Did they not read the big bold print that said, "PLEASE DO NOT OFFER ME AN EPIDURAL!" Gah! 30 minutes later I'm getting a huge urge to push, and I dr's telling me not to. Hahaha! Guess what? I'm pushing and there's not a damn thing you can do about it! lol! I pushed for a good five minutes and I birthed my beautiful 7 lbs. 5 oz. 19 in. baby girl.

I was totally euphoric after her birth. I felt so great that I was able to walk myself to my post-partem recovery room, much to the dismay of the nurses. I went home sometime the next day. I just felt so good. Looking back, I realized that my labor with her was painless until I got to the hospital. When I became pregnant again with Miri, I knew that if I was in my comfortable familiar surroundings I would feel safe. And for me, feeling safe means painfree.

Funny story, while I was pregnant with her we picked out her name. We had planned on naming her Angela, after Josh's older sister who passed away during birth. But sometime later Josh dreamt of a little girl who came to him and told him her name was Alisha. He wrote the dream down and we stuck it on our list. WELL, as soon as they laid this beautiful girl on my tummy, we saw that this was not Angela. Alisha was her and she'd named herself. It took us about a month to kick the habit of calling her Angela. lol!

Happy birthday baby girl! I love you dearly. I love your silly little laugh, the way you roll your eyes when you think mom is being ridiculous, your love of reading, and the way you sense what other people are feeling. I love that you are completely open to loving other people unconditionally and are always so forgiving. You are truly a precious gift to our family.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Happy Birthday Josh!!!




It's my sweet hubby's birthday today. We went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and had some yummy avocado eggrolls. Seriously, those things are sooo good! We made our meal complete by polishing it off with the best cheesecake in the world. We did some birthday shopping and ended our evening together.

I know everyone says this about their own husband, but I think my guy is truly a rare find. Josh is very different from other men and that is why I adore him. He is the most patient person I've ever met, and patience is something you need a lot of with me. He is so unselfish. Last week when he was having a bad day, instead of venting to me or throwing a pity party he took time to counsel me on my problems. He really does lead our family as a righteous priesthood holder.

Josh, I will forever be greatful that you married me. My testimony of Heavenly Father only grows when I think how he let this wonderful man into my life. He has blessed me greatly! Happy Birthday honey!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

My Crystal children - feeling blessed to be a mom

Well, I've changed my mind on keeping my children's name's a secret. I'd like to introduce them to everyone. I know I risk weirding everyone out, but keeping this in wouldn't be doing any favors. This is weird part of me, is mostly who I am. Yes, I'm weird, but you probably already knew that. lol!

The word Crystal children refers to the children that our coming to earth now to help usher in the Last Days. The more and more I read about these children, I can see them everywhere. Their large piercing eyes, the gifts they come with, the knowledge they can teach us, if we let them. They veil is thin for them, they have the ability to communicate in ways that are strange to us.

Jacob is my oldest. He is a bubbly boy. He currently loves, loves, loves Transformer toys. Jacob is very mechanical with hands. He can take things apart and knows exactly how to put them back together in the correct order. He's also high-functioning autistic. Most Crystal children are categorized into the group. What some parents don't realize is how blessed they are to have this child in there family. In my heart I knew when Jacob was staring off into space, I just knew that he was seeing things beyond the veil. Probably talking with angels. Last month Jacob told me about our wedding day, that he had been in attendance. I've no doubt about that, our intuitive temple sealer announced that our children were in attendance. Now Jacob has only ever seen my bridal picture, he described as very big, fluffy and bouncy. He's seen my husband in his black tux. But what he described to me totally left my jaw on the floor. He told me that my dress was very plain and small, I had been married in my temple dress. He also described our ceremonial clothes to a "T" and that his dad was all in white too. Wow!

Alisha is our next oldest. Alisha has the ability to sense what other people are emotionally feeling. She can also sense when something is wrong with someone in the family, who may not be present or physically next to her. She can read people, and she's super trusting which can be scary at times. Alisha was also my best friend in the pre-earth life. One morning as I was nursing her, she was about a month old, Heavenly Father granted me one precious moment to know and feel that the child I was nursing had been my companion in heaven. I saw for a moment two grown women in their prime walking hand in hand, and I could see me and I just knew that the other girl was Alisha. So yes, we have a very special bond.

Mirianna is our third. She is little miss spunky to boot! Miri is two right now. She is a independent self-learner, she just potty trained herself a few weeks ago and didn't want any help. She celebrates all her little accomplishments, like washing her hair by giving herself a swirly in the toilet. lol! She talks to imaginary people in her room, which I'm assuming are angels. They must be protecting her because she's a little dare-devil. I now know what my mom must've felt like when she first saw me flip off the couch. She has absolutely no fear!

Autumn is our fourth and last child. My pregnancy was very spiritual with her. I knew the moment I conceived her. My vibrations were so high that I could feel her spirit next to me just waiting for her turn on earth. She came to me a few times to tell me of her mission here on earth, the she would need help. She's vibrates to high sometimes that our electrical appliances won't work if she's in the room. lol! And most of the time she can't handle it, she'll start crying and pull at her hair. We've learned this cue with the TV. And now we are a TV free family. She's much happier. We just don't let her sit around the computer. She, Alisha, and Miri also have their own language. All Autumn has to do is say something in her baby language and Miri, who can talk quite well or Alisha, lets me know what and problem solved. It's just amazing.

So these are my children. I feely greatly blessed to be entrusted with such special spirits. They do bring happiness to me and I have a loving husband who is teaching me how to cherish their cute moments. I know most days are overwhelming, but the cute moments make up for it. I love hearing,"Mommy, I love you!". There's nothing sweeter than hearing the word "mommy".

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

I'm in heaven! I don't know what it is about the winter time. But when those stormy skies appear, the snow starts falling, and you start wearing your warmer clothes, I just feel so at home. I know some people get Seasonal disorders when the winter comes, I'm the opposite, I get it in the summer. Too much sunshine.

Well, now I'll start listening to Christmas music, it feels more appropriate. Time to get out the snow tubes and really enjoy mother nature.