pizza for dinner

Just wanted to share a cute moment of Erik and the boys. I was gone at a Relief Society meeting and like a good wife and mother I pulled out a Digiorno from the freezer for Erik to make while I was gone. Oh, and the RS meeting had like 50+ people there, for a Visiting Teaching conference activity, even! Think of your own ward...your ward probably has about 3 times the sunday attendance/congregation population that ours does (it's not a branch, but it's pretty small) but those ladies really turn it out for an activity. "I love it!"

p.s. You wouldn't know, but "I love it!" was quoted because that is Dane's new trademark phrase. Whenever we say anything like, "okay boys, time for bath" or "who wants to play Don't Eat Pete?" or "let's go to the park", Dane responds with sincere delight, "I love it!"

Paris, Schmaris

The other day we had some new friends over for Family Home Evening and after a lesson and a few rounds of "Don't Eat Pete!" we had some fun treats. I found this recipe the day of and did not find it lacking in any way. Even if you accidently double the amount of cream cheese in the frosting. Remarkably, it's still good. Who knew? (I doubled the recipe and when I went to make the frosting I didn't have the recipe open on the computer anymore and couldn't remember if the number I was thinking in my head was the original amount or the doubled amount. It was the doubled, which then got doubled, which is actually quadrupled. Not a big deal when cream cheese is involved, I say. Anyway...)
Before the lesson and such we gave our friends a small tour of our new house. People here are always really interested in what each other's houses look like because there are so many little villages you could live in, so many types of homes (new home, old home, in the city, in the country, etc) that it's interesting to see what someone else chose for their family. when we were giving the tour, as I was showing the guest room (the empty guest room, mind you...we should be getting our household goods next Tuesday) I think I said something like, "and here's our guest room, this is if anyone ever comes to visit!"
I do realize that we've only been in Germany for 7 weeks or something like that, and haven't even been in our home for a month, but it's just so far away and it feels like it's been forever since we've seen all of you. These boys are changing so quickly and it's heartbreaking to me that I can't share that with you. I know that this is going to be a wonderful two years, but I'm not sure that being close to Paris is a good trade for being close to family.
Well, to be fair, I haven't made it to Paris, yet. So ask me if the same is true after that.

Reid is in an artistic awakening. He loves coloring more than anything these days and spends most of his time at the table with his twistables crayons (we love them, so great for traveling) and the latest coloring book. Of course, maybe that has to do with the fact that he only has a handful of toys, our backyard isn't finished yet so he can't play outside, it's been really rainy lately, and a dining table is one of the only furniture items we have. Either way, he's getting really good. Here is his rendition of Don't Eat Pete. I made the circles and asked him to draw faces and arms and legs and here's what he gave me:
I love it.
Mom, I'm pretty sure that the red one is you.
If you look closely you can see chocolate/saliva smears on it. Kids are so funny with this game because when the put an m&m in their mouth they put their fingers part way in, too. So then when the reach for another m&m they get drool everywhere. Cracks me up.

In other news, we finally have a stroller.
We had a double stroller when we came here but somewhere along the way it got busted coming on or getting off a plane. We tried to make it work, but it made life miserable.
I told you the story about going grocery shopping with it, right?
So, I ordered a new stroller and when they said the shipping estimate was 37-54 days I thought, "surely it will come sooner than that!"
The stroller pretty much said, "I'll come when I want to come, people! And don't call me Shirley!" (Mom, that joke was for you.)
I'm not able to get very far without some sort of a stroller. Imagine trying to take the kids for a walk on the sidewalk, four little boys, with no stroller.
That's why that no work. (Another joke for you, Mom.)
Now we've got some wheels and I'm excited to try them out tomorrow. I also have a new baby carrier so I can keep Henry strapped to me, put Alec and Dane in the stroller, and Reid can walk beside me. We could go a whole block like that! Now we're talking!
Henry and I gave it a test drive around the house. I mean, seriously people. Is he not the cutest?
I get weepy when I think about how much I love this little baby. He has just brought so much joy to our family. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place because I want you all to be able to see this little guy, but we're just so far away. I can't really just get on a plane with all the little ones, although I do try to figure out in my head how that would work. Logistically. To fly internationally with four children four and under.

The bottom line then is that I hope you'll come to see us, soon. The guest room is ready, and this baby is adorable. Babies don't keep, so get a move on.

A new beginning

Well, we're here in Germany and we're slowly getting settled. We move into our home on Friday and within a few days our minivan should show up, and they tell us that our household goods will make it here eventually, too. It'd be nice.
Taking two years off from blogging means that I'm way behind. This blog was a nice history of our family and family life. I'm hoping to start things up again so that we can share with all of you loved ones what we're up to over here (with the intent to lure you across the atlantic to visit us) as well as to keep a record of our adventures here. The big things and the small things. We don't have our computer yet, and most of my Internet-ing is on the iPad, and that can get tricky sometimes. But I think I've figured out a way to blog from it now, so come back soon for more.
In the meantime, here are some cute pictures of some big moments in 2011.

Might as well put the third one on here, too. Also very cool.

Here's another cool one, I didn't cry, but it's pretty cool.

Warning, this will make you cry.

what's goin' on in the hiz-ouse.

Some of these pictures are a month or two old, but come on...like you care. Cute is cute, even if it's outdated by a month or so.

Here's Reid after breakfast one morning and he got out a little clementine cutie, one at a time, and counted them. It was really sweet.

Dane at breakfast making spit bubbles.
Erik with our boys, seriously, could they all be any sweeter? No, I don't think it's possible. It's easy to see where the boys get their good looks from. I hope that someday one of our kids will hit the jackpot and get Erik's blue eyes.

At this point Alec still had one goopy eye, but they are both clear now. He's had issues with both of his eyes and blocked tear duct drainage systems, or something like that. He was going to have to have a small operation where they put him under anesthetic and just kind of pop out the blockage, but luckily both tear ducts opened on their own.
This is what it looks like after bathtime. Pure crazy. Limbs flying around and naked babies trying to get free and then running around while we're trying to lotion them up and get diapers and pajamas on them. It's like the most stressful 5 minutes ever.
Reid's joy in life: making new combinations of Mr. Potato Head. He does it all the time and comes up to me with a new creation, and he's always so excited and proud. It's adorable.
Most mornings the boys all get to play outside and just goof around for a while. Sometimes it's a little chilly, so they have to wear coats and hats, but it's getting warmer.
Some indoor play. Here's Dane after one of their favorite scores, finding Dad's motorcycle vest.
Big smile from Alec.
Another appearance from Mr. Duck. He's still so into Mr. Duck.
The huz had a birthday two weeks ago and turned 34. I say, 34 never looked so good. He got some more camping equipment for the many campouts he has planned with the scouts, some handsome new dress slacks, new cologne (that one may be more for me...) and lots of slobbery kisses. From the boys, of course.

Here's Erik with his cake, a Martha masterpiece.
Reid can't wait for some cake! I used this cake recipe and this frosting. It was intense, but very good. Next time Erik requests a chocolate cake, I think I'll try a different cake but stick with the same frosting. The frosting was dense, glossy, and heavenly. Of course it was, the two ingredients are cream and chocolate chips. 4 cups of cream! Crazy.

There were three layers and it was seriously huge. Ever since I was a kid and watched Pollyanna, I've always wanted to make a huge layer cake. It fulfilled a deep-rooted childhood Disney fantasy. Speaking of, Reid needs to see Pollyanna. He's seen the Parent Trap and Summer Magic, so he NEEDS to see Pollyanna.
Here are the boys enjoying a movie together. They love sitting here, each with a blanket, staring right into the TV. They last for about 8 minutes that way and then run around the room playing while the movie just kind of happens in the background.
Remember my spending hiatus? It's going pretty well, except for maybe my new obsession with Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics. Well, the obsession is not new, but the flood gate finally burst and I've been snatching up some fabrics on ebay. This is one collection of 6" charm squares that I didn't win, but wished I paid more attention to it and had won it. Look at that triangle pennant print in the bottom left! Perfection!
I did, however, pick up a little more than a yard of this gorgeous print, "Betsy" in green. This is probably my favorite, and will maybe end up as a dress someday. For my someday baby girl. I just hope she doesn't puke as much as Alec and Dane did/do, because puke doesn't belong on Liberty Tana Lawn. True business.
Lastly, have you seen this couch at Anthropologie? Like I would ever spend that on a couch, but come on, it's so beautiful! I can't even stand it. And imagine how lovely in a living room with our black piano and with my someday/dream house white glossy floors...

Then again, Alec puked all over our couch in the living room last night, and baby puke on a couch this lovely would cause me to cry for a full fifteen minutes...

So, I'll just keep this in my dream house file in my brain grapes.

sea monsters and candy hot air balloons.

A few weeks ago we took a mini family vacation to Monterey. One of the memorable experiences was Alec and Dane screaming in their pack 'n plays for about 2 hours both nights. It was excruciating. At home we pretty much plop them into their beds and say sayanora until 5:45 when the wake up. Not so much in a hotel in Monterey, apparently.

But another memorable experience, in a good way, was visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was fantastic, and while Reid didn't seem to be taking much in at the time, he's still talking about it. Like 4 weeks later.

One of my favorite parts was the Kelp Forest. It was really hypnotic to watch all this kelp float and sway while weird sea creatures swam around.

But my very favorite part, was the exhibit "Secret Lives of Seahorses." Seahorses are pretty cool little guys, and they had baby ones that were seriously the size of a parentheses.

But then, there was this cah-RAZY thing called a Leafy Sea Dragon, and it is the wackiest thing that I've ever seen in my entire life. I still can't believe that this is real. Sometimes nature is just too weird to be made up, you know? I don't even think Jim Henson could have dreamt up something this weird.

Reid enjoyed all the sea animals so much that when I started talking to him about plans for a birthday party, he informed me that he wants a shark party.

I'm like, "a shark party?"

I asked Erik what we could do for a shark party, and he suggested that we print out pictures of sharks and put them around on the walls. First of all, that's exactly the kind of "decorations" that a dude would suggest. Second of all, uh...nice. I don't think that's quite the mood I want to set for my three year old's birthday party. Sharks.

I'm trying to gently steer him towards a balloon theme. Pretty much just lots and lots and lots of balloons. All kinds of balloons.

Mostly because I want to make these from Bakerella. Come on, people! They're made to look like a huge bunch of balloons like on UP!
And for invitations I could use the Stampin Up! stamp set with the little candy cups to make something cute like this.

And if Erik really wants to, I'll let him print out pictures of balloons and tape them up on the walls.

one more time for emphasis.

Okay, so Reid and I (and the babies wanted some too, of course) shared the cookie before, but now they are all down for naps and I enjoyed one all on my own.

(what a rare pleasure...no little birds squawking at my knees for pieces of my food)

I think I need to express my undying love for this new cookie recipe, in case the last post wasn't convincing enough. It probably wasn't, because I had only experienced a quarter of a cookie's worth. But now, I am an expert, and I can say after 1.25 cookies that these are the BEST chocolate chip cookies. Ever.

A hint of butterscotchiness, chewy and barely gooey throughout, and completely satisfying.

Worth your time, people.

good to the last bite.

The other day I saw this on one of my all-time favorite blogs. We're fans of chocolate chip cookies around here, but I almost always make the good ol' standard Toll House Recipe. I was interested in how America's Test Kitchen would improve what seems to be a pretty tried and true recipe.

Boy Howdy, did they improve it!

It really is a superior, chewier, fuller-flavored cookie. It's also more work. Natch. But very worth it, I say.

Reid says so, too.

Here he is enjoying his last bite while we play outside.

go here for the recipe:
America's Test Kitchen

This is for William.

I love me some Barefoot Contessa. I'm pretty much a believer of the saying, "never trust a skinny cook." I think Ina (THE Contessa) is just heavenly.

Not like that Giada chick. Ugh, she's annoying. "Gee-AHHD-tha" (My aunt Glenna does a mean impression, well...not mean like in unkind, but mean like in it's awesome. Maybe a little mean (the unkind one), but I don't mind because Giada drives me nuts.)

Anywho, Ina is the bomb dot com. (Annie, what is that from? You better know that one.) I love that she's pretentious. She's the perfect amount of pretentious. But, say for argument's sake that you don't like that about her, well then hear this...

She:

-worked her way from a low-level government aide to a White House Nuclear Policy Analyst

-got her pilot's license in her mid-20's

-earned an MBA from George Washington University

-"flipped" homes as a hobby and then used the money to purchase her specialty foods store, Barefoot Contessa

-has written about a billion cookbooks

-has been with husband Jeffrey (was the dean of the Yale School of Management) since they met when she was 15!

-has a rad cooking show

so she's basically awesome and deserves to be pretentious, I say.

Click on this link to see some favorite Ina quirks, you'll love it.

the spending hiatus.

Not to be all doom and gloom and stuff, but I truly feel like we are on the brink of financial meltdown in this country. It seriously scares me. For some frightening enlightening, check out this movie I.O.U.S.A. (if you have netflix you can watch it instantly online). It's terrifying and captivating.

What scares me is that we used to be a nation of producers, and we are now a nation of consumers. Someday, I fear, our rainy day will come and we have a string of generations that not only don't have savings, but they have serious debt. What will our Great Depression look like in a nation of citizens that don't know how do acquire something without money? What happens when money isn't worth anything?

This is the bigger reason for me to want to buy land in Washington. I have this deep, burning concern/desire/inspiration to learn how to be more self-sufficient. I want to be able to take care of myself and my family. I want to buy land, in a place where things grow, and learn how to work the land. I realize that it sounds so "Far and Away", but that's exactly what I want. I want land. Land of my own.

I want the security that comes from having water from my well, food from my garden, milk from my cows, eggs from my chickens, etc. I want to know that if this monstrous government (and growing bigger by the day) fails me in a huge way, that I can take care of my family. That's what is concerning to me, that during the Great Depression, people knew how to get by with less. With next to nothing, actually. Our generation doesn't know how to do that. That's scary.

Erik and I have never been huge consumers, but there's definitely room for improvement. But more than reducing consumption, I want to shape how our family views things, how we see our needs and wants, and how to "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

Hence the spending hiatus. I like a blog called Simple Lovely, and she's done what she calls a spending hiatus a few times (click here to read all her posts about that) and I've always been interested in the idea. More than the outcome, I've been interested in her purpose and what she wanted to achieve.

Joslyn outlined her goals, and the one that really struck me was,

"We’ll spend even more time ingraining in our girls the value of things, how lucky we are and how quickly life can change…how to adapt."

That's exactly the goal. To really understand how lucky (blessed, really) we are and to learn to not take it for granted.

Stay tuned for how this spending hiatus plays out, what tempts me to buy it, and what I don't really miss.

this is the life.

I don't know how she does it, but somehow Kelly McCaleb knows exactly what my daydreams look like. Her tumblr is the most amazing collection of photos that all convey this feeling of warm, homey goodness. This is exactly the life I want to build for my family. A simple, uncluttered home and a simple, uncluttered life.

A life full of grass, sweaters, white walls with bits of color, fresh air, imperfect hair, comfy clothes and comfy couches and family togetherness.

So in case you're wondering what my dreams look like, this is it.

photos from +++++++++

If the soda thing doesn't work out...

then I'm going to open a frozen yogurt place EXACTLY like this one. I've never been there, of course, because it's in Berlin. But isn't it perfect? Clean, modern, streamlined.

I think this should be an and instead of an or. I'll open a frozen yogurt place AND have the soda business.

Now I'm thinking.

Check it out.

found on Black Eiffel