End of February/Beginning of March!

Holy guacamole, pudding and pie. I am so behind! I used to be so good at this blogging thing, and now I only seem to get to it once a month, which is too overwhelming! I vow to do better! I had no interest in breaking all these pics up, so enjoy the smorgasbord!

The weekend after Valentine's Day, we finally got our official date. We went to Kenebec Cafe which is about an hour away, kind of in the middle of nowhere, in Colorado. Even though it's in the middle of the woods, it's a nicer place, with a small/fancy menu and huge wine list. :) It had been recommended over and over, so it was finally time to try it out! 

I think Trav got the steak and I got the salmon. The bread and oil they bring out at the beginning was super yummy. And we splurged and got dessert.... a berry cobbler. All of it was really good. But my cute date was even better. It must have started snowing after we went in, because when we left it was a winter wonderland.  We were slipping and sliding on the ice, just trying to walk to our car. Driving 25 mph, made it an even longer drive home, but I came ready with some Newlywed questions to answer! They sparked some fun memories reminded me again of why I love this guy so much. I can't imagine a better husband. Every day he tells me I'm beautiful and wonderful and that he's the luckiest guy to have me. He raves about my cooking and claims he could never pick a favorite because they're all his favorite. He thanks me regularly for everyday things I do around the house. He reminds the boys to tell me they love me and thank me for dinner or other things I've done for them. He is so helpful with the boys and probably bathes them/puts them to bed more often than I do. Every day he will tell the boys how much he loves their mother and how lucky they are to have me as a mother. He always puts me and the boys first over anything else. He's truly a family man and prefers home over any other place he could be. He's affectionate and sensitive to my feelings. He's so patient and easy going. He does the dishes! Can I go on??!! Any of the things he says could sound like a cliche, but they aren't when they come from him. He's so genuine and sincere when he says them, that I know he really means it. It amazes me sometimes that someone could think so highly of me or love me that much. It's humbling, really. And I couldn't be more grateful. He makes me happier than I ever thought I could be. I truly am the lucky one. 

OK, like I said, this is a random post...

One week, I caught the crafting bug! After putting away all the Valentine decor, I realized my Easter decor was lacking. So using a few ideas off Pinterest, I concocted this little number. 

And our sad, little couches needed some sprucing up!

Babies were joining the family, so I made a few blankets for Karen and Shelley's girls. 

And this little beanie was for Shelley's baby girl.

Back when Travis worked every other Saturday, he would also get every other Monday off to make it a 5 day week. So we decided to head up to Durango on one Monday to take the boys to the aquatics center. OK, really I just wanted to try out a crepe stand we had just heard about. It was supposed to be amazing and serve all homemade food and crepes. On the way home we were going to stop by a Mexican food truck in Aztec for dinner. We had heard it was to die for Mexican food. It was going to be a day of eating out of mobile carts and I was salivating over the thought of it! Well, guess what?! The crepe stand is closed on Mondays and the food truck was no where to be found! Waaaaa. Call the waaambulance, a hungry pregnant girl was extremely disappointed! My consolation prize was this tart from a bakery that was recommended in Durango. And you know what? It tasted rubbery and old. Sad day. It's also kind of sad when you realize that food makes or breaks your day! :)

I look disgusting, but that's not what matters, right? Weston's cute, head tilt/shy grin is one of my favorite things in this world. 

I think I've got some future NRA members on my hands!

Billy Madison anyone?! Something about chapstick with this one...

Also, if you'll note the sad state of affairs our couches are in.... We joked that it would be nice to have spray on leather to fix them. Well, I googled it out of curiosity, and guess what?! It's a real thing! I emailed one company pictures of our couches to get an opinion on which product to use and got the response that since they are bonded leather, they aren't worth it. *Shoulder slump* And here I thought I was this close to not having to buy all new couches. Learned our lesson. Don't go cheap. Or bonded.

The weather is barely getting to where we can go outside again! What does that mean?? Walks to the mailbox. So exciting. Well, it is with these two when you live in New Mexico and everyone has desert landscaping. Rocks are almost better than candy. And they are in EVERY yard. And even though they may look the same, apparently they're not. And each and every one must be touched and thrown. On every walk. 

Don't do crack. Especially at church. Or when old ladies are walking behind you.

A couple of weeks ago, I got on FB and saw that it was National Dentist Day! Uhhh, rats. I didn't even know this day existed! Luckily, we were at Big Bounce, which is right next to Hobbly Lobby. We mosied on  over to see if there was anything tooth related I could make into a treat to take to the office. Nada. Just weird looks from asked employees. So I settled on fondant. I made Travis's favorite carrot cake recipe and attempted a tooth to go on top. I guess it could have turned out worse. The boys thought it was pretty spiffy. We sure love our dentist!

This really deserves it's own post, but I'm going to try and keep it short. After 13+ years of stomach problems, doctors, specialists, testing and a colonoscopy, I am no closer to understanding why I have the issues I do. SO, I saw a dietitian nutritionist at a health food store. She looked to be no older than me, and didn't claim to be a doctor or have all the answers, but she had some suggestions. We talked for over an hour and I went home with some new ideas and a stack of papers to read. I learned about Intestinal Hyperpermeablitly or "Leaky Gut", which sounds a lot like me. And she counseled me on the dangers of  following a strict low fat diet. So many of the low fat options just hide more sugar. Ex: Skim or 1% milk. Fat is good for us and our brains, just not in saturated fats or processed foods. I need to focus more on eating healthy fats and get the whole "no or low fat" diet out of my head. If I can ditch the bowl of cereal for breakfast and opt for an egg with spinach, etc. I'll feel full longer and not have all the sugar spikes and crashes that make me crave food. The idea is to have consistent blood sugar levels. She, personally, follows a paleolithic diet, and recommends it. First, however I was supposed to do a one month "Elimination Diet". Go 30 days without any gluten, grains, sugar, dairy, or desserts. Just eat vegetables, meats, healthy oils and the occasional starchy carb like a sweet potato. And if I wanted to go nuts and have "dessert", I could have some fruit. I think I must have stared at her with a deer in the headlights kind of look. I kept thinking about bowls of cereal. And donuts. Suddenly, I NEEDED a donut. Now. After 30 days I could introduce one food back into my diet and see how it agrees with me. If it didn't, then I knew to eliminate it from my diet. I understood the concept, and even how it could help me. I know my body must not assimilate some foods well, I've just never been able to pinpoint which ones exactly. This is probably exactly what I needed to do. But how?! And what if all those foods didn't agree with me? How could I practice a paleo diet forever? Never eat at another family gathering, ward function, dessert night? No more eating out? What about vacations? It felt really overwhelming. And I probably shouldn't have let it feel that way, but even just a month of that seemed too hard to handle. 

So, I was talking to my mom later that week and telling her all about this, when she told me about an herbologist in Mesa named Harriet. She had seen her, as well as Shelley and many other family members and friends and came highly recommended. She is supposed to be able to heal your body by pinpointing what's lacking and recommending certain herbs/supplements to take. She also told me about a book called the Sugar Fix, that could help change my thinking about sugar and the impact it has on our body. So I made an appt. with Harriet and resolved to read that book and put the Elimination Challenge on the back burner. However, I have been trying to make a few changes. 

Instead of eating this for Sunday breakfast:

I've been doing more of this:

Here has been my lunch for the past few days and I love it. 

 And just while on the topic of food, another Pinterest fail for the record books. I have tried over and over again to make chow mein like Panda Express to no avail! This one looked the most like it, but tasted the least like it. :(

Also, while talking about food, here is my hungry little eater. It's funny how gratifying it is to watch him eat. He will just go to town on my dinners. If he doesn't eat, I know it's because he's not hungry. He doesn't turn away food when he's hungry. Collin, on the other hand, the worst eater. He just won't eat dinner. Period. He always asks me what's for dinner, but no matter what I tell him it is, he says, "I don't like that." I could make up a food and that's what he'd say. I'm so over it! We don't make him eat dinner anymore. Did that for too long. He has to take a "thank you" bite, but that's it. And he goes to bed hungry every night. He doesn't even care. Grrr!

My first speeding ticket. Dang motorcycle cops! What made me more mad, was that I wasn't thinking and was heading home a way I never go. I had just dropped off carpool and took a right turn through the neighborhood, instead or taking the main road. It's down a hill and then they reduce the speed limit! Grrrr. I was going 44mph in a 25. No shaking or crying this time. I was just ticked. 

Since we planned to be in Arizona over Collin's birthday, he was pretty sad that he didn't get to be with his daddy on his special day. To the point of tears and the saddest face you ever saw! It was kind of sweet. So we got him some Spiderman cupcakes and told him on Sunday that we were celebrating his birthday with Daddy. I even put up the birthday sign and made a special breakfast. At first he was confused. He thought it was his real birthday and that he was 4 and got so excited. When I burst his bubble and explained we were just celebrating early, so he could do it with Dad, he got kind of mad and pointed his finger in my face, accusing, "You tricked me!" But once he got the hang of the idea it was the best day ever. For family prayers before bed, he gushed, "And thank you so much for my fake birthday!"

A little scared at first of the sparkler candles. (only 3 were left... oops.)

 Then it was Weston's turn to be scared.

 How could you not love this face?! :)

Special Guest

Collin's preschool asked if Travis wouldn't mind coming one afternoon to talk to the kids about teeth! I think they were doing a learning segment on taking care of your teeth. Another class joined in too, so it was quite a group of kids! When the teacher asked the class if they knew who Travis was, they all yelled out, "Collin's dad!!!" Which made Collin beam/blush with pride. 

I posted some pics on Instagram and Shelley's comment was something about how it reminded her of a Full House episode! She didn't know they really did things like this at school! Haha, I totally agree. That's coming from Franklin schooled kids. :)

              

All the kids got a turn brushing the fake teeth and went home with a goody filled backpack, courtesy of Red Rock Dental. A little advertising never hurt anyone, right?!

The Ruins

Last Saturday we thought it would be fun to finally check out the Aztec Indian Ruins, just 20 min. from our house. I packed a picnic lunch in a back pack. I imagined we'd be doing some hiking, stopping to look at crumbled ruins in the sides of the mountains. Maybe see some hieroglyphics. 

Ahem. Not so much.

The ruins are actually very small. It's basically a contained village type area. We got a guide booklet that really told us nothing. I had so many questions! What did they use the big, dug out, circular rooms for? Why did each one have a hole in the bottom? Trav wasn't so curious. They were bathrooms with a toilet, he said matter of factly. :)

 We had our picnic lunch... not so much in the mountains, but on a park bench.

Again, with the questions! What an interesting room... but what was it used for?? 

Well that's easy. Again with history according to Travis... it's where they had baptisms! Of course!

I wasn't as convinced.

The boys were semi-amused. 

But at the end they filled out a little form and got Junior Ranger Badges!! What could be cooler? Now it was all worth it.

The Red/Pink Pants

 It takes me a while to embrace new fashions. I remember thinking I'd never wear capris.... too weird. I went years before buying gold jewelry again. (Isn't that what our mothers liked?) It wasn't until last summer that I attempted the bright colored, skinny jeans. And not until two weeks ago that I attempted them for my boys. 

In my defense, I ordered RED skinny jeans. They didn't look bright in the picture, they looked rather dark. 

Collin is always THRILLED to see a package in the mailbox. Even more so when it's for him. He pulled out the pants and I did a double take before grabbing the order form. Yup, I didn't mess up, it said "Red" on the packaging slip.

Hmmmm.

He slipped them on and did a little jig right there in the living room, with the sloppiest grin smothered on his face. 

They sure are tiny, little things. 

And hug his itty bity toushee so well.

And the jig continued.

I knew it was over.

 Even if I thought they were more pink than red, these pants weren't going anywhere. 

Travis is having a hard time dealing.

I asked him to stand still so I could take a picture.

Instead, I got:

this

this

 this

 and this,

long before getting this. :) 

I think I'll treasure the first group more, come to think of it.

(**Weston, also received an identical pair of pants in his size. He will have nothing to do with them. Nothing. Maybe he takes after his Momma. We'll give him some time. :)

I Mustache You a Question.....

The weekend before Valentines, our ward had an adult Valentines party. The YW provided babysitting and we had an Italian dinner in the cultural hall, followed by a game of real life Clue. It was entertaining to watch the two hosts grill the preassigned "suspects". Then off we went in groups to solve the mystery. We sat a table with some fun people and laughed the night away. A really fun night!

(Oh, the premise was, the bishop had gone missing. :)

I didn't get any pictures of the boys' gifts but a day or two before Valentine's, I had the boys decorate their own Cupid box, and they found little gifts in them a few different times before Valentines. Courtesy of the Target $1 section, mostly. They loved their stuffed owls, window stickies, book, chocolate, Valentine's plates, and the movie Tangled. 

Collin had fun writing out his name on all his Valentines. 

Trav got his own little surprise in the mail at work. I always secretly hope an embarrassing situation will ensue , but he knows my games and makes sure that doesn't happen!

 On actual Valentine's Day, I baked up a bunch of sugar cookies to take to Trav's office. I also brought balloons, and chocolates to scatter around their desk. I think he was most thrilled with the One Direction balloon. 

I wanted to decorate his car with post it notes on the windshield, but it was crazy windy, so I had to do it on the inside. A post it for every reason I love this guy. (But there could never be enough post its!)

I got flowers delivered for the first time ever. Very fun!

 That night we invited, Martin, the dentist Trav works with, over for dinner. I know that sounds weird, but we aren't doing our special Valentines dinner until next weekend. 

I made strawberry spinach salad, pink potatoes, heart shaped rolls (OK, or not so heart shaped rolls), creamy chicken, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It literally took me all afternoon to make it. Between that and the cookies, I was exhausted. It was a nice dinner with Martin, but I was stifling the yawns near the end.

The kids were already in bed when he left, and I took one look at the disastrous kitchen and knew it would look exactly the same, come morning. I was too tired!

Then, Trav pulled out a box. I was puzzled. I hadn't asked for anything and wasn't expecting anything. And we don't usually get each other presents without talking about it first. (Case in point, I made him pick out a watch as his "Valentine's present". His has been broken for years. That's usually how we work. We think of something we need anyway and dub it the current holiday's "present")

It was a Bosch blender!!!!!!! I was THRILLED. I have wanted one for years and years. We are currently using the same blender we've had since we got married, that my mom passed down to me. A blender from Target she didn't like. The bottom was melted down after being set on a warm stove and it leaked. Oh, and barely worked. I really couldn't have been more excited.

And then he pulled out another box. ???? A bottle of perfume I had mentioned ONCE that I wanted. It was a kind I had once before, and forgotten how much I loved until my sister got a bottle. I about fell over. I am so hard to buy for. I am so picky about presents. I usually don't want the money spent or I just want to make sure it's something I'll really use. The man did good. I felt completely spoiled. And suddenly, I wasn't so tired. :)

Two days before, I had organized our monthly Relief Society meeting around Valentine's Day and given a lesson on the 5 Love Languages and talked a bit about creative dating ideas. I had a packet for the dating ideas and one of the pages was this.....

So I thought it would be fun to do with Trav on Valentine's Day. You're supposed to put answers done that would describe your life in 5 years. We had to laugh when all our answers turned out to be completely normal and predictable. Minus the mansion and making peanuts. We sure hope he's not making peanuts OR  living in a mansion. We're pretty sad about missing out on that El Camino though!