President Uchtdorf

I went to the Relief Society Broadcast this past Saturday. President Uchtdorf's talk was amazing! If you didn't get a chance to here him speak here is a link to his wonderful talk.....Click here

I'm sure many of you felt the same way during his talk, like he was talking to you personally. He was truly inspired and I felt like he validated so many of the insecurities we feel as women, wives, mothers, and daughters of God. I found a couple printables that were really cute. I printed them out, framed them, and gave them to my visiting teachers and kept one for myself as a reminder of President Uchtdorf's comforting reminders and words of wisdom. I thought I'd share if you would like to print it out too.

Printable 1

Printable 2

May we always remember our own strengths and our own blessings God has given us.

A few of my favorite things

These are a few of my favorite things as of late......

Xavier loves this movie and I really liked it too. The soundtrack is great too. We've started listening to it before Xavier goes to school in the morning and I find myself wanting to get up and dance every time the music is playing. A little Samba anyone?

This was a new recipe we tried recently and it was so yummy I'm adding it to our favorites list.

Spinach Artichoke White Bean Crostini

Yield: 15 crostini

ingredients:

15 (1/4-inch thick) slices French baguette
Olive oil, for brushing baguette slices
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup artichoke hearts (from jar), drained and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a large baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Using a pastry brush, brush the baguette slices lightly with olive oil. Bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine white beans, artichokes, spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, and feta cheese. Stir gently. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

3. Spoon spinach and artichoke mixture onto the toasted baguette slices. Serve immediately.

We have had A LOT of rain lately and when I say a lot it's the most rain this area has gotten on record for the months of August and September. Xavier and I have found a new activity to enjoy together. Yoga. Xavier asks to do this every day during Gavin's naptime. It gets the wiggles out and is a great way to exercise even when we're stuck inside.

We've also tried Wai Lana's Little Yogis. In her DVD we did a lot of animal poses which Xavier really liked.

My new favorite workout DVD is this Cardio Core workout. It's a great interval training workout that includes core workouts too. I've tried a lot of Cathe Friedrich's workouts and love them all. She has a lot of variety and it kicks your butt. She's definitely good at shocking your body and most of her workouts are designed for those who workout at home.

The Kettlebell is another one of my new favorite workout tools. Jillian MIchael's has a few workouts using the kettlebell which are really great. You can even use a hand weight in place of the kettlebell and it serves the same purpose.

A couple things I'm looking forward to......

Although I don't think the movies have lived up to the books reputation, I still am looking forward to seeing this in theaters. I need a girls night.

I really like Coldplay's new single and I hope their new CD is as good as all their other stuff.

What are your favorite things right now?

Batter Up!

Our little G-man has been perfecting his walking skills the last few weeks and is now officially a full-time walker. That's not the only thing he's been working on. His second newest skill is swinging a bat.

I took this video a couple weeks ago when he was still a little wobbly with his walking. Before I had my camera Gavin had picked up the bat, put this little golf-sized ball on the baseball t and hit it dead on. Tim and I were stunned. Then of course I grabbed the camera hoping he'd replicate it, but not quite. It's still a cute clip. He sure loves hitting the baseball around. I guess it's from watching his big brother all the time.

I just realized he's even got his Tigers onesie on. Gotta show our Michigan love as much as we can. Who knows we may even have a baseball player or two in our future.......

First Day of Preschool

Our preschooler!

When Xavier woke up for his first day of preschool he was a little grouchy. (This was not the way I was hoping the day would start) And he had a big fat red mark on his forehead. I asked what happened and he told me he was exercising in his room last night. I asked him what sort of exercises he was doing and he demonstrated what looked like a butterfly stroke combined with his head face down moving side to side on the floor. Hence he got a rug burn on his forehead. Never a dull moment. Never a dull moment.

I was planning on making a special breakfast when Xavier's grumpiness quickly turned into tears. I gave him a big hug and assured him that I always got a little nervous for my first day of school too. After some TLC and a good breakfast to start the day he was in better spirits.

When we got to his school he saw one of his really good friends. I was so glad he saw a familiar face to help with his nerves a little bit.

And then there was another obstacle. Xavier's class is normally in the basement, but because we've had a ton of rain lately the basement had some minor flooding. They moved Xavier's class upstairs for the day. Xavier did not like this and insisted on going to the basement. I had to explain to him several times his class was upstairs just for the day. It took him a while to get used to another change he wasn't expecting. Then I gave him a big hug and said a little prayer that he would have a good first day.

After looking forward to this day for a couple weeks, I walked out of his school doors and instantly wanted to run back in and take him home. All I could think was what if he doesn't make any friends? What if he doesn't like his teacher? What if his teacher doesn't like him? What if kids are mean to him? My baby is getting too big too fast and I hated missing him for even one second or leaving him in someone else's care. Yet I realized that he needs to have the opportunity to take this next step in his development.

When I picked him up he ran up to me and gave me a big hug. I was so glad to see a smile on his face and to hear that he had a great first day at school.

Back to School

Twas the night before school started;

When all through the town

The parents were cheering....It was a riotous sound.

By eight the kids were washed

And tucked into bed

When memories of homework

Filled them with dread.

New pencils, new folders, New notebooks, too,

New teachers, new friends- Their anxiety grew.

The parents just giggled when they learned of this fright.

And shouted, “Upstairs! GO TO BED! IT’S A SCHOOL NIGHT!”

I feel as excited and anxious as I did when I was going to school. Call me a nerd, a bookworm, a teacher's pet, but I don't care. I loved school. I could be an eternal student if you could get paid to do it. There is nothing like a new backpack, a new outfit, new books, new friends, and lots of learning to excite me.

As Xavier begins his education journey I wanted to make sure he started it with positive energy. This year I started a new tradition. The back to school tradition idea came from my sister who has done it with her kids every year.

First I chose a theme: This year our family theme is charity. I feel that it is so important to create unity in the home and that charity is the key. So I framed a quote that we will hang to remind us of this theme.

The second thing we did was have a special back to school dinner. Let's just say the perfectionist in me always has the entire event planned out in my mind of how the evening will go. This one did not follow my plan. For dinner I made a spring mix salad with blackberries, strawberries, a little parmesan and a vinaigrette dressing. The main course was a crockpot cashew chicken with pea pods and bamboo shoots. The meal smelled delicious as it was cooking. Then the last half hour I was supposed to add the bamboo shoots. As soon as they were added a terrible smell started to circulate throughout our house. Tim kept asking why it smelled like a dirty diaper. Yeah, well, it was the stinkin bamboo shoots. They were pretty pungent.

In hopes of saving our dinner, we decided to go with it and eat the food despite the smell. After a couple bites Tim said that after being on a mission he could eat anything. Then I decided I couldn't take another bite. So, my "special" dinner took on a new meaning for "special"; meaning it was one of a kind.

Thankfully I had a bowl of apples to wash down the chicken and at least save our taste buds. Next year I'll just go with a regular family favorite meal instead of trying something new and fancy. (or in this case "special")

The chicken didn't seem to bother the kids because they didn't eat it. Xavier was complaining of feeling sick and didn't have much of an appetite and it turned out he had a fever to boot.

So not only did the meal literally stink, but Xavier felt crumby. All I wanted to do was make this night special for X-man. I guess I'm noticing a theme here. "Special". Maybe next year we'll go with making the evening fun! You can't go wrong with fun.

This little back to school subway art was the centerpiece of our table.

At dinner we talked about how exciting Xavier's pre-school year will be with new teachers, new friends, and some old friends from his class last year. Tim had to pose his serious intellectual face for us too.

It was hard to get a smile out of our sicky, but Tim managed to sneak a few jokes that got Xavier smiling.

After the chicken debacle Tim made us all giggle by using the apple slices as walrus teeth. I'm so glad that my husband can always make light of situations and help us all laugh.

Gavin liked it!

Our third activity was a Back to School Scavenger Hunt. I found a really cute one online, so I didn't write it. I'm certainly grateful to the person who shared it.

Xavier was super excited about getting his first box of 120 Crayola crayons.

Our last activity was Tim giving Xavier and Gavin Father's blessings. I was also given a blessing to help me in my role as wife and mother. This was my favorite part of the entire evening.

Despite the stinky chicken and Xavier feeling sick we had an enjoyable evening and a few stories to laugh about when we talk about this tomorrow. (Just a side note, we did this yesterday, Monday, so Xavier isn't going to school with a fever. He had all day Tuesday to rest and is doing well. So he will still be able to go to school tomorrow, Wednesday. I definitely wouldn't be sending a feverish kid to school even if it is the first day.)

Sweet dreams everyone. I'm off to bed. It's a school night for me too. I must get my sleep.

Rain Time. Fun Time. Nap time.

The weather here on the East Coast has been pretty crazy lately. I'm starting to feel like we live in Seattle with how much rain we are getting. During the weekend of hurricane Irene we pretty much stayed indoors most of the time. So we had a lot of time to be creative. Our project was to build a castle and fill it with knights. Voila! An afternoon indoors and keeping busy.

On one of the only sunny days in the past couple weeks we managed to get out and enjoy the weather. Our first stop was to feed the ducks by Bushkill Creek. Gavin was so excited I thought he was going to jump in the water and swim away with the ducks. He also started saying "duh duh" for duck.

There were so many ducks. I wish I would have brought more bread.

I have been trying to come up with some new imaginative play ideas for Xavier during Gavin's nap time. This was a current favorite of Xavier's.......Dog Show.

I was the MC. Xavier was the assistant.

Xavier chose some judges that consisted of dinosaurs and transformers.

We introduced each dog and its owner.

Next was four rounds of competition.

The first round was an obstacle course for Xavier's dogs to perform. Walking on a balance beam, jumping through a hula hoop, standing on a chair and sitting, running around in a circle and catching a ball in its mouth.

Then there was a round of dog "tricks" where each dog had to perform a special trick only they can do. Two of my favorites that Xavier came up with was the flying dog and the dog that could drive a car. Definitely thinking outside the box.

Third there was a grooming round. The dogs were being judged on appearance.

Last there was an obedience round where the dogs had to sit, stand, roll over, jump, stay, and speak.

After a brief intermission with dog bones and snacks the awards were given to each dog.

The dog on the right....Brody....won best in show! Bark! Bark!

I love this boy!

Gavin is quite the character. He makes us laugh all the time! He loves eating corn on the cob. After he was done he kept sticking it in his mouth to get us to laugh. It worked.

Gavin is usually laying in this shark basket and sometimes even has it on his head as a hat.

Gavin is getting so big so fast! He definitely keeps us on our toes, but keeps us laughing the whole way.