Success!

To follow-up with my deceptive recipes...I made these tortilla "cigars" for lunch yesterday (with carrot puree) and both of my kids ate them. It called for squash as well, but I didn't have any, so I doubled up on the carrots. Camden loved them a little more than Maddie, who was a little concerned about the inner filing. But, once she tasted it, she ate the whole thing. I thought they were surprisingly good. If nothing else, I am eating more vegetables!

Trying Something New

I recently got this cookbook from another generous friend (my ward is filled with them) and I'm so excited with the idea of it. I saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah (Jerry's wife) and was so excited to get this cookbook and try it out. For those of you who aren't familiar with it...she purees all sorts of veggies and puts them in recipes that your kids will eat. Great idea, right? I was never one to make my own baby food or anything like that, but I have been struggling with getting everyone (kids, husband, myself included) to eat enough vegetables. So, the other night when Ben was working and the kids were in bed, I gave it a try!

I just used the veggies I had on hand to start out with, which were carrots, broccoli, and butternut squash.
Last night I made her homemade Macaroni & Cheese (which includes the butternut squash puree)...and I thought it was so yummy! My kids, however, did not devour it like I pictured in my mind. I should have known that, since they don't really like mac & cheese normally. Weird kids, I know! I'm not giving up though. I'm thinking spaghetti pie next...

Finally!

Some of you may have noticed that I've been MIA, or maybe not...long story short, we have been without internet for almost a week! I should say it has been a blessing in disguise (playing with my kids more, getting other important things done)...but it hasn't! What a nightmare, I feel so out of touch. Anyhow...first things first. Ben took the GRE earlier this week and did great (at least we think so). He's been studying a ton and hopefully it will pay off. Good job sweetie! (We'll see if he's been reading my/our blog)

These are a few of my favorite things...

Silly Children:

We came across these fake glasses I used to wear. I'm a nerd, I know...but my kids had a fun time wearing them.

Gingerbread House Decorating:

Since Ben is preparing to take the GRE, he has had a few days off, so we took advantage and made a gingerbread house on Friday. Growing up, my mom would always make homemade gingerbread for the house. Oh my goodness...that must have been a LOT of work! I decided to go with the kit from Target. Just assembly and decoration tuckered me out and I was ready for a nap afterwards! Just another thing that makes me appreciate my mom a little more now that I am a mom.

The finished product.

Maddie's Swimsuit Modeling:

Ok, just had to post this picture of her b/c, well...it speaks for itself.

Our Budding Photographer

Like most kids, Maddie loves to take pictures. Usually I pick up the camera and find all sorts of pictures on there of her room, the bathroom, various walls...normal right? Well, just recently when she says a prayer she often includes such phrases as, "please bless me that I can take a picture," or "please help me to take lots of pictures." Is it too early for her to know that she wants to be a photographer when she grow up? Probably...but it's fun to see her so interested. Here is some of her latest work:

She thought she'd capture her great pedicure on film.

A nice close up.



Not actually one she took, but I got these all out of order somehow.

Who needs TIVO when Maddie captures shows on the camera.

There were many more pics of this particular Barney show, but I don't want to bore you with the pictures.


One of here usuals--her doll house.


She even captured Camden's favorite pastime lately...pulling all of the books off of the shelf!

Good Morning Maddie.

Every morning after we wake up, I ask Maddie what she would like for breakfast. She almost always replies "cereal" unless some muffins are lying around or I've had an ambitious morning and made some pancakes or something like that. So, then I ask her to pick out which kind she would like and this is the result:

Yes, she actually carries every single box out of the pantry and wants them all combined in the same bowl. I mean two or three...OK, but 7 different kinds! It gets a little interesting when you throw Golden Grahams in with Fiber One. Gross! She doesn't seem to mind one bit though.

Letter to Santa

Today we went to drop off Maddie's letter to Santa at the mall.

Here is her letter, in her own words...written by me. Luckily she's forgotten how she wanted one of those motorized Jeeps and an expensive pink guitar that she saw at Costco. It seems to change every week.

"Hey...save me a piece of that corn!"

John, Ben's brother, picked up an authentic Nacho Libre mask right in the heart of Mexico, while on a cruise there. What a great find! My kids were deathly afraid of it.

Maddie finally decided it was ok, once she was able to put it on herself.

Here is Maddie and Sydney (cousin) the other day. We told them to pose cute, and this was Maddie's interpretation of that.

Maddie loves to have storytime. Today she sat up on a stool and told us a great story about Christmas. She is obsessed with being on the "nice list" (I may have had something to do with that). So, this is her telling us all about Santa watching us, to see if we will be naughty or nice.