Us and Ruth

Baby 2's Blessing Dress

2012-01-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Babies Layette: Retro / Vintage Sewing Pattern 2629 Simplicity

I'm making the one in the top right corner. Ruth's was short so I'm sticking with that theme.

2012-01-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

Me and my Family at the MoTab Christmas Concert

Ruthie on Christmas morning at my sister Anneli's house. She's clutching the only presents she cared about that day, mini snickers bars:) She wouldn't even let them go to open presents.

Well I'm getting us ready to move. You may think it's a bit premature but when we move I'll be huge pregnant so I'm starting now. I've bought plastic storage boxes for baby stuff and such and things are moving from our closets to the D.I. pile. We don't have a D.I here but I still call it that.

Now that we know where we're going I wish we could just go. This is like slowly peeling off a band aid. I just want to rip it off!

The News

2012-01-12T12:47:00.000-05:00

I can now officially tell you all that we will be moving to Houston, TX to work for IBM at the end of April, almost exactly 1 month before the babies born.

Reasons why you all should come visit us:
1- Miller Outdoor Theatre-Pack your lawn chairs and your cooler, and prepare to have a relaxing good time at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Visitors sit on the hillside or take a seat under the polygon canopy to enjoy the weekly shows that start in the spring and run through the fall.
2- Space Center Houston-Space Center Houston of NASA's Johnson Space Center, allows visitors to study and understand the making of space history. Enter into the five-story plaza which features a full-size shuttle mock-up, complete with a flight deck.
3- Houston Zoo-Situated in the lovely Hermann Park , Houston Zoo is home to more than 4500 animals from over 800 species.
4- Bayou Bend-Bayou Bend is the former home of Ima Hogg, a famous philanthropist. Visitors can wander through 14 acres of woodlands and formal gardens, or check out the house that contains 4,800 various works of art.
5- John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science (The Health Museum)-The Health Museum was made to be interactive, create awareness on health education and cater to kids. Exhibits include a large walk-through view of the human body called the Body Pavilion. Discussions and interactive talk sessions also feature the pros and cons of smoking habits, the importance of a healthier lifestyle and many other workshops that educate kids.
6- Houston Fire Museum-History buffs will enjoy the Houston Fire Museum, which traces the history of Houston's local firefighters from the late 19th century to modern day. The special photographic exhibit, "Taking the Heat for 100 Years," allows you to follow the history of fire fighting from the early years when buckets were passed hand-to-hand all the way through to modern technology. Another highlight is the 1892 steam fire engine that stands side-by-side with the modern 20th-century pumper.
7- Houston Ship Channel Boat Tour-Just sit right back and hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…The Port of Houston offers a wonderful 90-minute tour of the Houston ship channels—for free! Perfect for a day of learning with the kids or to relax with a group of friends and enjoy the sights of the city. Passengers can view the channels from an air-conditioned room on board, and the first beverage is free—no personal food is allowed on board.

.........and more.

PLUS WERE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

...and there's a water park Mike keeps talking about that's supposed to be huge, and cruises leave from our port:)

A Few Funny Things

2012-01-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

-Ruth's panicked yells from the bathroom were to inform me she had pooped her bath and needed rescuing before they touched her (she was standing on her tip toes, feet together leaning as far away from them as she could)

-Ruth can peel a mandarin all by her self. However, that doesn't mean she'll eat it but she will vigorously bite each segment to get at some of the juice.

- I swear when I asked her to come put her shoes on she said, "Don't want to!"

-She does not like chocolate covered marshmallows..................strange kid.

What are we having Mike?

2012-01-09T11:53:00.000-05:00

First Dance Moves Caught on Tape

2012-01-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

Dance Party with DaD

2012-01-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

Snow 2

2011-12-25T16:56:00.000-05:00

A want.......to bad.

2011-12-04T07:37:00.000-05:00

This is the coolest thing ever!!! It's a cover for the iPhone. I would get it instantly but it doesn't have a hole in the bottom for the charger. ARGH!!!!!

Brown Sugar

2011-12-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

I may have posted this before but just in case I'm going to share it again. Some of you probably already know this but brown sugar is super easy to make!!! I hate it when my brown sugar dries up and hardens. I've done the piece of bread trick which worked okay but I didn't really like it. Then I read on a blog about making your brown sugar as you need it and I've never looked back.

1 Cup granulated sugar + 1 Table spoon molasses = 1 cup light brown sugar.
Throw it in a mixer on medium speed for 5-10 minutes and brown beautiful moist sugar appears. Be patient cause it may look like it's never going to happen but it will:) Now I make it fresh every time.

Bonus!! I now have molasses to make ginger snaps cookies with. Before I never kept molasses in my cupboard.

2011-12-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

For all you lovely people out there who check out our blog I want you to know that I know most of you can't leave comments. I don't know why and I haven't been able to fix it but I know you're out there keeping an eye on us:)

Food?

2011-11-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

Digging for pinnapple chunks from her jello. My favorite part is when she sighs.

2011-11-29T13:15:00.001-05:00

This girl wants to feed herself sooooo badly but I just don't think she's ready.

The sadness set in as soon as the star went on the tree. Just about everyday she requests for it to be taken down to be played with:) And though she doesn't need the Bumbo anymore it's still her favorite seat.

Mikey's ambiance. Beautiful!

2011-11-21T11:15:00.002-05:00

Um I'm a little bit excited for this movie!!!! Snow White & The Huntsman

Like Father, Like Daughter

2011-11-13T17:18:00.002-05:00

P.S.

2011-11-12T08:20:00.002-05:00

We are expecting a new addition to our family May 26ish:)

Am I Being Overly Dramatic?

2011-10-17T21:42:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning we'll be waking Ruth up at 5am for our lovely 6:30am flight. If all goes as planned Ruth will not sleep well, be cranky when woken up, fall asleep in the car just to be woken up again, cry the whole flight and go a whole day without a nap.

I'm planning on tomorrow being one of the worst days of my life then if it goes better than planned I'll be relieved and live to fly another day.

Have You Seen This? Tears of joy | ksl.com

2011-10-16T08:16:00.000-04:00

Have You Seen This? Tears of joy | ksl.com

So Much For Safety

2011-10-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

Punkins

2011-10-10T14:38:00.000-04:00

Pickin Punkins

2011-10-07T07:13:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite activities is an outing to the Farmers Market. We had yummy drinks, ate yummy old fashion candy, nibbled baked goods and ate at the seafood restaurant. Ruth and the punkins was the high light. I will post videos later.

2011-09-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

I replaced the quitters with a new improved fish. If this one gives up I won't be getting another just in case I'm actually committing murder.

2011-09-15T13:36:00.001-04:00

Another one gave up.

2011-09-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

One fish already died....it didn't even have a name yet. quitter. that's now it's name.

2011-09-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

Mike and I decided it would take to long to have a large family so we bought 3 fish today. We haven't decided on names yet but we love them like they were human.

Daddy's Shirt

2011-09-08T15:59:00.000-04:00

I Love the Lord - Be Still, My Soul

2011-09-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

Amanda reminded, when she came to visit, of this song the Men's Choir sang at conference a few years back and I love it. I tear up every time. It was one of my pre-Church activities today.

1 More

2011-08-29T13:42:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite video's of Mike and Ruth. I've been wanting to post it for ages but couldn't because of technical difficulties. She's 2 months old in this.....I only just noticed the swear word in the back ground sorry.

Video Dump

2011-08-29T13:21:00.001-04:00

Ruth's new Sunday outfit. Thanks Mom:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wStkRzg4k8

This girl hates shoes.......but she did better with them today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdYFfsxm6qY

Smart Baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tzxF2gbL40

Hacked

2011-08-27T08:55:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning to a post on this blog under my name that I hadn't written. It was titled "I Love This Man Even Though He Isn't My Husband" I didn't read it on the off chance it would be a virus so I don't know what was in it but I'm sorry if anyone else did.

Kelly

Great Find

2011-08-22T16:35:00.000-04:00

For months I've been looking for something to keep my current needle work in that wouldn't be an eye soar in my living room. There are obviously lots of options out there but I was looking for a GREAT price and I found it:) I went to the clearance isle at Walmart and found this large picnic basket sitting there just for me. The problem was it didn't have a price tag. Hoping for the best I took it to the check out with me. The manager happened to be close by and on finding out I had this basket she let me have it for $3 because she was sick of it coming up to the register and not being able to find a price for it. I love it!!!

GOOF BYE HAIR

2011-08-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

My wonderful friend Kristie chopped 9 inches off my hair today! Can you believe it was that long? 1 more inch and I would have been able to donate it but there wasn't a whole lot of it since I was close to going bald after having Ruth. Seriously! When it just kept coming out (women usually experience hair lose after giving birth due to hormone changes and other annoying things) I thought I was going to wake up one morning with bald patches. My pony tails were maybe the circumference of a dime...maybe smaller. It was the most pathetic pony tail you've ever seen on a grown woman.

p.s. I took these pictures cause Mike was scared of what he's come home to so a request was made for me to email pics. to him.

p.p.s. He says it looks thicker:)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!

2011-08-16T22:16:00.002-04:00

Amanda has been visiting this week (more on that later) which made it possible for us to go on a date for our anniversary:) AMAZING!!!!

To start off Mike and I both completely forgot about it! In fact Amanda was the one who told me it was my anniversary.....pathetic, but it was pretty funny to see the Oh Crap face when I said "Happy Anniversary" to Mike.

We broke protocol and took Amanda and Ruthie out for Anniversary Thai food. The constant moving and shifting of plates/glasses/utensils/napkins out of Ruth's reach kept us on our toes. SHE IS SO FAST! AND SNEAKY!! AND STRONG!!!

Ruth mourned at the front door while we were at a movie. Amanda said she would crawl over to the door and whimper like she kept expecting us to come back through it. I love that girl.

3 years:)

Ruth's 1st Walk in Shoes

2011-08-06T12:20:00.000-04:00

Dumbies

2011-08-05T15:28:00.001-04:00

‎"If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, they spend $75,000 a year, & are $327,000 in credit card debt. They are currently proposing BIG spending cuts to reduce their spending to $72,000 a year. These are the actual proportions of the federal budget & debt, reduced to a level that we can understand." - Dave Ramsey

Good Bye

2011-08-03T13:28:00.000-04:00

Mike and I decided it was time to get rid of Friar Tuck so we buzzed him off. We did it really fast before I had to much time to think about it........when I saw the hair on the ground I was soooooo sad but she actually looks really cute:) in a boy kind of way:)

2011-07-26T07:31:00.000-04:00

I asked Mike to get Ruth dressed yesterday and he found this.

2011-07-16T08:28:00.003-04:00

I bought an Astringent for my face in the hopes that it would help clear up my acne (which i only get in humid climates. thanks NC). It seems to be doing well but it makes my face smell like Maple Syrup. For 2 days I kept thinking, "Why does it smell like pancakes?"

Xbox Baby

2011-07-15T09:08:00.001-04:00

One of Ruth's favorite things is to open the tray on our xbox. So to prevent any breakage this is where it sits now.

New Blog

2011-07-12T13:28:00.002-04:00

Technically this blog is titled Us and Ruth meaning Mike, Ruth and Myself so I've decided to dedicate this blog completely to our family stuff. All my crafting and things that I do to pass the time will be on my new blog CowbellKelly. I'm not going to pretend to be a pro crafter in fact I'm definitely a novice but I do want to share my experiences with those who may be interested:)

Enjoy.

I want to do this.

2011-07-08T16:33:00.006-04:00

I would LOVE to remodel a doll house!!! This is from Sarah Jane, she's an illustrator that designs paper, fabric and embroidery patterns based in Provo UT (up above Timpview and the Temple). She redid this doll house to display some of her designs at a Fabric show. BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!! I recently bought some patterns from her shop on etsy.com and I'm so excited to make them for Ruth's room:) Check it out, you won't be disappointed!!

The Biz

2011-07-08T07:21:00.002-04:00

For all you women out there who have a man that games I have a little insight for you. Mike used to play WoW (World of Warcraft) during his leisure time....and any other time he could fit in. And while it was sometimes super irritating and the cause of occasional heated discussion, "I HATE that computer!!!!" :) I understood that Mike needed an outlet from the rigors of school. Well, Mike has since started playing Starcraft and other games he can buy online. SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!! His time on the computer is much more flexible. What I mean is with WoW he had to schedule times when he could team up with his buddies to kick some butt (some of which are on the other side of the country with different time zones ie it's 12am here and 10pm in Utah when they'd start sometimes.) and then the computer would be tied up for ages till they were done. If I needed it to bad or if I needed him to bad. But now I can have Mike back after only 10 or 15 minutes ( reading back I sound really ridiculous)

What I'm trying to say is that not all computer games are created equal and there are some out there that are more friendly for family life than others. It's just up to the men to find the one for them that works.

p.s. I wish I was more eloquent but I'm not.

p.p.s. Target doesn't open for 20 more minutes and Ruth is wearing her last diaper which she just pooped in. ug....

p.p.p.s. it's oddly satisfying that Spell Check doesn't recognize Starcraft or WoW as words:)

Chicken Enchiladas With Green Salsa | Real Simple Recipes

2011-07-02T11:22:00.001-04:00

This is one of the yummiest enchilada recipes I've ever eaten!!! The green salsa just makes it sensational!

Chicken Enchiladas With Green Salsa | Real Simple Recipes

The Happenings....

2011-06-30T07:53:00.003-04:00

Some of you may know that Mike's Bro. Dallin made it to the National History Fair in D.C. so AWESOME!!! We drove up and spent 2 1/2 fun filled days with him and Mike's mom Susanne. We ate, walked, played and chit chatted to my hearts content. Ruth struggled a bit with the ever changing locations/people and the lack of sleep, not to mention the fact that she pushed out a molar while we were there but on the whole she did better than I expected.......no diaper blow outs.

I've said this before but I'm going to say it again that I LOVE D.C. I love the big old building and the food and China Town and the History and all the people and I just love it. Everyone should visit at least once in there lives. There's a Newseum! A Museum of News! It may sound lame but it was really cool. There was a HUGE wall covered with the front pages of news papers from all over the country and world the day after September 11 and another one showing the news progression of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. And a section of Presidents and so forth. Really cool. If you've never been come stay with me and we'll go:)

Us at the host of the National History Fair the University of Maryland or Maryland State University. I forget which:)

Snack time for the kiddies at the Newseum.

While they snacked I took these. This is Pennsylvania Ave. topped by the Capitol Building.

Pennsylvania Ave.....the other way. Who knows what direction I'm pointing? That's the Washington Monument in the background which would put the White House this Direction.

Highlight's of the Trip:

1-Susanne taking us through the History board's searching for her favorites. Kid in a candy store.

2-Dallin navigating the Metro like a native!!!!

3-Ruth flirting with anyone and everyone on the train/the line/the restaurant/the store/the theater and so on.......

4-the WONDERFUL WEATHER!! It was overcast which drastically cut down on the amount of heat and it only rained once while we were already inside.

5-Fudruckers. Yummy Burgers, Happy Ruth.

6-Mike after eating a Burger, fries and two GIANT chocolate crepes wants a third.

7-Ruth, who weighs about 25 pounds, a back pack, a stroller and I navigating the Metro back to the hotel for her badly needed nap. Up and down, up and down the escalator's, half of which are broken.

8-Ruth giving Susanne kisses on her last night. It only took 2 1/2 days for her to decide to be nice.

9-The DC traffic jam that added 1 1/2 hours to the trip home about driving us MAD.

10- Me changing Ruth on the floor in the lobby of a Dunkin Donuts. "No changing table? What are they thinking!"

P.S. The bugs keep killing my flowers.

New Things...

2011-06-29T08:21:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I was DIEING for a new craft to do so I wandered around Joann's looking for inspiration and came across some iron on patterns. EUREKA!!!!! I believe I have found my new craft love. Embroidery. Obviously I'm very novice but all I can do is improve:)

This Raggedy Ann Onesie for Ruth was my first project. I had decided to make some kitchen towels (I'll post them later) as a wedding present for a friend so I practiced on this first which I'm very glad I did. I kinda want to take out the hair and redo it but we'll see.

These Baby Booties will be a Shower gift in the future. The flowers came out of my brain:)

These were also pieces of an iron on pattern that I made into hair barrettes, they just need to be mounted.

For my next project I want to make a picture for Ruth's bedroom which is in dire need of some decor. I found this designer on a blog I follow and I LOVE HER!!!! I can't decide which pattern I'll use but it will definitely be one of hers.

2011-06-22T15:02:00.002-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH!!!! We celebrated her 1st Birthday on Sunday since Mike's youngest Bro. Dallin was in town and it turns out she doesn't like Birthday's so much:( Oh well. There are many more to come and I feel they will grow on her.

B-Day Cupcake Fail

2011-06-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

2011-06-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

2011-06-19T07:46:00.000-04:00

Occasionally Mom's have to let their babies misbehave so that they can finish making themselves ready for the rest of the world.

Scary Daddy

2011-06-19T07:24:00.000-04:00

linguine with Shrimp Scampi

2011-06-13T12:23:00.002-04:00

I made this the other day and it's one of my new favorites!! It's a Rachel Ray but I changed a few things. I bought a bag of frozen shrimp at Sam's Club about 2 months ago and made 4 meals from it which is how I could afford buying shrimp. Try it!!!!!!

Linguine With Shrimp Scampi

Veggie Oil

Salt

3/4 p. Linguine (I used half a box since it's just Mike and I)

3 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

2 1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic (4 cloves)

1 p. Shrimp, peeled and deveined, (about 16 shrimp)

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/3 C. chopped fresh Parsley, (I used Fresh Basil cause lets be honest Fresh basil is AMAZING!!!)

1/2 Lemon Zest

1/4 C. Fresh Lemon Juice (2 Lemons), -1 Lemon if using just half a package

1/1 Lemon, thinly sliced into half rounds

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (I didn't have any so I substituted 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper)

Drizzle oil in Lrg. pot salted boiling water. Add 1 Tbsp. salt and Linguine. Cook till al dente.

meanwhile, in heavy bottomed pan, melt butter and olive oil over med-low heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 min till fragrant. Add shrimp, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Saute till opaque, about 5 minutes, turning often. Remove from heat, add parsley (BASIL!!!) zest, lemon juice, lemon slices and pepper flakes. Toss with drained pasta in pot and serve.

FROSTING MANIA

2011-05-23T21:54:00.003-04:00

I made frosting from scratch for the first time tonight. I was so excited I didn't wait for it to cool before putting it on the cake so it was super runny, which is catastrophic when your so focused on scraping the bowl you don't notice it over flowing the pan! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! But it was good which made all us Anderson's happy including Ruth who got frosting by the spoonful from Mike:)

P.S. She's turning 1 year old in 4 weeks!!!!!!!!

Projects

2011-05-22T18:12:00.002-04:00

These were my project this week. A friend sent me to this site for some cute bow patterns that are super easy. Ruth hates headbands so these won't be worn till she has hair which is many, oh so many, moons away. Poor bald baby. Thats a lady bug on the red one.

2011-05-22T17:34:00.002-04:00

I finally finished The Ruther's Easter Dress and she weared it today:)

Ruthie's Swimming Suit

2011-05-17T15:12:00.002-04:00

This is her new Go To Face. It's hard now to get that cute smile or just about anything else besides this. We call it the Grimlin Face.

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

2011-05-09T08:32:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorites!!! It's a Rachel Ray Recipe.

3/4 pound chicken breast cutlets
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 teaspoons grill seasoning, (recommended: McCormick Montreal Seasoning) eyeball it
1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizzeria
Cornmeal or flour, to handle dough
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce, medium to spicy heat
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, a few generous handfuls
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Preheat grill pan to high.

Place chicken on a plate and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the chicken then season with grill seasoning. When grill is hot, add chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side.

Stretch dough to form pizza using cornmeal or flour to help you handle it. If you let it rest and warm up a few minutes it will handle even easier. Set pizza on pizza pan to the side and clean board.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce.

Remove the chicken from grill and thinly slice it. Add chicken to sauce and coat. Cover the pizza dough with the saucyBuffalochicken, cheeses, and scallions. Bake 18 minutes or untilcrisp

Note: I only baked mine for 10 minutes and it almost over cooked so keep an eye on it!!!!! And 2 Tbsp. of Chalula Sauce makes it just spicy enough without roasting my face and Ruth would eat it. And that McCormick Montreal stuff is a new staple in my kitchen. I use it just about every time I make chicken now.

Things That Happen......

2011-05-07T20:56:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Ruth and I were having a jolly time playing on the floor when I noticed her diaper and pants were sagging dangerously. So I pinched the diaper pants and gave them a good tug. A few moments later my eye started to water so I rubbed it with the same hand. Then I noticed a funny smell coming from my finger. My thoughts: Why does my finger smell? Did my eye make my finger smell like that? (Do another Good Rub STUPIDLY) What is that? It's kinda like stinky belly button smell? What have I touched recently? Wait.....AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Yes. I hadn't noticed that Ruth's diaper was full of poop and on my finger from tugging her diaper pants and I wiped it on my face. Vigorous washing ensued.

A Rant.

2011-04-27T10:23:00.003-04:00

Why do people who push their way through traffic give you the Thank You wave? I mean they literally inch inch inch forward into a space that is obviously not meant for them, by being to small for their huge car, forcing you to stay put and block other lanes. Then they smile and give you the wave!!! It's like someone cutting in the middle of a line by nudging and bullying you out of the way and then smiling and saying thank you like you just did this big favor for them!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

On a happier note I declare that I LOVE dirt roads and paths!!! I love the sound it makes on the tires and on my shoes. I know that might be weird but it's such a happy yummy sound for me that it's almost therapeutic to hear it. I also love back roads. They're more fun to drive on and usually have less lights which is preferable. Thats one of the things that draws me to small towns. They also have less traffic or sidewalks which make it possible to walk in the street:)

Pics.

2011-04-20T18:55:00.004-04:00

I went to check on Ruth during her nap and this is what I found. She had fallen asleep sitting up:)

Back Pack Baby.

And a very helpful baby. Putting the power supply in the computer was no problem for Mike and his Side Kick The Ruthie.

The Biz

2011-04-16T19:28:00.002-04:00

I surf foodnetwork.com regularly for new recipes so today I went into my account, which is free and allows me to tag recipes I like, and organized them to coincide with my meal planning menu. I arranged it by day and type ie. Tuesday-Asian or Tuesday-Italian etc.

Now I can go to a specific day and browse like I would a cook book and makes the process faster.

Note: I never use an online recipe unless it's been rated by at least 50 people and has 5 stars, an idea I got from my sis-in-law Lauren, because I was sick of making stuff that ended up not being good.

We are currently in Wash. DC visiting with Mike's brother Rob, Mike's cous. Hunter and our buddy B. Stock. The weather is CRAZY!!!!! Tornado warnings and rain-rain-rain. This is now my 4th or 5th time here and I have to say certain parts of DC would be super fun to live in!!! The neighborhood Hunter lives in is kinda shaby chic. The Apts are super stacked and close but so cute with their teeny tiny plant yards and within walking distance of anything you could want. I would live there in a heart beat!!!! I will also say Maryland is beautiful state. Rolling green hills with farm houses a few acres apart is ideal and the area Rob's in-laws live in is just that and only 30 minutes from Baltimore.

Ruth has 7 teeth and crawls.

Interesting Article

2011-04-08T07:22:00.003-04:00

This is an interesting article a columnist wrote about her obsession with Mormon Mommy Bloggers. She's not LDS but she finds herself reading them everyday. Read it, it's interesting.

"I'm a young, feminist atheist who can't bake a cupcake. Why am I addicted to the shiny, happy lives of these (Mormon) women?"

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/15/feminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs

twin baby boys have a conversation - OFFICIAL VIDEO

2011-04-04T21:14:00.001-04:00

2011-03-29T15:02:00.003-04:00

Ruth now has 6 teeth. CRAZY!!! she also decided out of the blue that she hates baby food which really puts me down seeing as we have 3 boxes of it left. and to put salt in a wound she won't feed herself still. she'll gladly eat any solids Mike or i place in her mouth but she will not pick it up and eat it. in fact her favorite thing to do is flick everything off her tray onto the floor then lean over and play with it on the carpet. double fun because if it happens to stick to her clammy hands it must be swiped off. needless to say she has digressed.

Mike is working hard as ever at school and work (he's an RA for 2 professor's) and i think i'm accurate in saying his highlight of the day is coming home and playing with Ruthie. he can make her laugh and laugh. they seriously watch YouTube video's of WorldofWarcraft and StarCraft together regularly and she holds still most of the time.

i'm still couponing up a storm. yesterday i bought makeup and body wash at cvs and made a profit of 50 cents:) the meal planning has been going well, sometimes we're not impressed with what i make but for the most part it's good food. it just means i won't be making it again.

i'm feeling the lack of cable/satellite but mostly i really miss netflix. i just like the background noise and the variety. i go once a week to the library for video's but it takes 2 or 3 days to watch them then it's repeat for the next 4 or 5 days. i think i watched Bed Knobs and Broomsticks 4 times in one day. of course i wasn't paying attention but Mike protested it yesterday.

Up Coming Events: Rob's going to be in DC April 13 and through the weekend so we're going to hop up there and visit. hopefully we'll see Hunter and Lisa Anderson (Mike's cousin and wife) and B Stock while we're up there.

2011-03-29T14:50:00.002-04:00

Begging for food at dinner.

Another Change

2011-03-28T07:35:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking that during the summer we're not going to want hot cooked meals as much and won't want to cook oodles over a hot stove/oven so Sundays during the Summer will be Cold Salads.

Yesterday we had a Bell Pepper and Asparagus Tortellini salad with a lemon/Dijon Mustard Dressing (Better Homes and Gardens Anniversary Addition pg. 464). I made the dressing Saturday night, boiled the pasta and veggies in the morning, tossed it with the dressing and through it in the fridge. All I had to do when I got home was stir in the green onion and toasted almonds I had cut before Church which is at 1pm. Some adjusting will have to happen next year when we have 9am Church.

2011-03-25T14:38:00.001-04:00

I've got that 2 oclock feeling so bad right now. Napping would be so lovely but my kitchens a disaster and I'm baking pizza's tonight.

2011-03-21T14:45:00.002-04:00

So here is my revised Meal Planning Format (Original by Liz Edmunds, The Food Nanny). I'm planning my menu every two weeks.

Monday's: Sandwich's-there are soooooo many good sandwich's out there! Tonight we're having Artichoke and Basil Hero's.

Tuesday's: Italian or Asian-I do any every other week kind of thing. This weeks Chicken Satay Skewers w/peanut sauce and Sesame noodles.

Wednesday's: Fish or Meatless-which includes breakfast food. French Toast for dinner? Yes Please!

Thursday's: Mexican- If you've never made corn tortillas from scratch I recommend you try it. They're easier than I thought and SUPER GOOD!! Liz recommends using a gallon freezer bag with the sides cut off to roll the dough between which is how I do it.

Friday's: Pizza night! I make 2 pizza's each time. The 1st one's for dinner, since it's just Mike and I, the 2nd bakes while we eat and takes care of lunch for Saturday.

Saturday's: Grill night. We don't have a grill right now so I'm looking to get a Grill pan for the stove. Otherwise, this can be a date night or fend-for-yourselves night:)

Sunday's: Tradition/Comfort food. Make your Mom's or Mother-in-laws specialties.....or at least try. By now Mike and I have some of our own faves, Red Thai curry, Aussie potato bake etc.

Scary!!!

2011-03-18T15:10:00.003-04:00

B (Brian Stock) shared this with Mikey and I'm sharing it with you:)

Note: if ever you find yourself having a hard day or you're sad and need to smile just get on youtube and watch videos of funny babies.

The Beast Sleeps

2011-03-16T18:51:00.001-04:00

While I was washing bottles at about 5:20pm Ruth starts bouncing and going CRAZY!!!!! Thinking she's hungry I tell her I'll make a bottle as soon as I finish washing them. About 4 minutes later it gets quiet.

2011-03-15T22:15:00.003-04:00

I found this Nativity on etsy.com and I'm a little in love. I collect nativities and some day this will be mine.

2011-03-08T07:30:00.003-05:00

Ruth will hold your hand and guide the spoon to her mouth. She will put anything on the floor regardless of size in her mouth. She will chew on stationary objects. She will chew when you chew and want food when you want food. But she will not, will not put a Cheerio in her mouth. It can be handed to her or put on the ground and she will look at it and play with it and try hard to drop it from her moist palm but IT WILL NOT go in her mouth.

Today's Sweet Buy

2011-03-07T14:47:00.002-05:00

CVS Pharmacy

4 Baby Lotions

2 Head-to-Toe Wash

2 Baby Shampoo

1 Desitin

Each $3 on Sale

9 coupons for $1 off

1 Revlon Nail Polish (Spring is here. Let the Toe Painting begin!)

1 coupon $1 off.

Various CVS Bucks (CVS Money from previous purchases).

Total Money out of pocket for Purchase: $5.31...............and I got a free Umbrella Stroller.

Awesome.

What the Whats?

2011-03-04T16:02:00.002-05:00

Ruthie has cut 4 teeth before before her big front top teeth. Isn't that funny? She's gonna look like a doofy 7 year old with missing front teeth:) I've never heard of that happening before. She's on the verge of crawling. I can't decide if I'm pumped about that or sad. When she can crawl the crying will be able to follow me around the house instead of being banished to one room.

Mike is currently on Spring Break which I love. I don't even care if he's on the computer all day cause I just like having him there to chit-chat with unlike Ruth who just wants to talk about food, naps and how much she like her chew toys......okay I mostly don't care if he's on the computer all day.

I planted my herb pots today:) with Rosemary, Lemon-Thyme, Basil and chives. The smells on our deck are heavenly. I've also made a goal to have dinner at the table 5 nights a week and tonight will be night 5. I bought the Food Nanny's book when she came and spoke to the Stake Relief Society and I LOVE it. Her meal planning has help me immensely!!!! I used to get anxious and depressed everyday around 3pm knowing that dinner was coming and I either didn't know what to make or I was unimpressed with what I had planned. But now I'm a little excited and look forward to it. Mike and I are the only ones at the table but I really like the Family Dinner atmosphere.

2011-02-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

Who can drink the fastest?

Redemption

2011-02-18T14:21:00.002-05:00

I got 5 Simplicity patterns at Joann's today for $5. Approximate savings $70.

Shopping Fail

2011-02-16T14:43:00.003-05:00

So today Harris Teeter (a high end grocery store with a somewhat awful name) had an awesome deal on 2L Pepsi products so of course I jumped on that band wagon and bought 15 different bottles of diet artificial joy:) Much to my dismay when I took lunch to Mike this afternoon he informed me that he made a pact with himself that very morning to stop drinking diet drinks (he swore off of regular sugar drinks about 3ish years ago) for fear that his eyesight will go away.

Now I get to go back to Harris Teeter and return 14, I opened one, bottles of 2L pop.

2011-02-14T17:55:00.008-05:00

The new Look is 80's baby.

Cousin Myli helping Ruth show her amazing fashion sense

Sometimes I think Ruth more closely resembles a puppy.

Dessert night with my High School gal pals and an assortment of offspring.

?

2011-02-10T11:09:00.002-05:00

How is it that babies can be so funny and super obnoxious (I spelled that correctly on my first try:)at the same time?

-Case in Point-

Ruth: Mom pick me up.

Me: I can't hold you right now.

Ruth: Mom!! Pick me up!

Me: Ruthie I've got raw chicken on my hands.

Ruth: Mom!! Mom!! MOM!!! Pick me up Mom!

Me: I really really can't right now. Play with your toys!

Ruth: MOM!!!!! PICK ME UP!! MMMMMOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!( she was actually crying but this is what she meant.)

Me: OKAY OKAY! (pick Ruthie up)

Ruth:Oh Mommy I love you! Your shirt tastes so good!! Aren't you glad you picked me up so I could soak your clothing?

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

2011-01-30T00:08:00.002-05:00

Sink Baby

2011-01-26T20:31:00.002-05:00

2011-01-25T11:24:00.006-05:00

Sorry I have been away for so long but I've been playing:) This is our buddies Becky and Adam Johnson's little girl Mia. SOOOOO CUUTTTEE!! Becky's been practicing curling Mia's stick strate hair. Don't worry it looked better before, I fluffed it up for the pic cause I just couldn't resist.

She was also much loving Ruth's carseat which she fit in beautifully even if she is over 12 months old.

Our cute baby boy...rrr girl:) The Smirk.

Ruth's new coat makes me soooooo happy. I got it on clearance from Target and I think I really hit a home run. She seems to like it.

The hood is quite large but it does come off. This reminds me of Obe Won Conobee (I realize I'm spelling it wrong)

RAR!!!!

The Grandkids:)

2010-12-30T18:15:00.002-05:00

Emilee made the shirts and onesies for all the Grandkids and they turned out sooooo cute. My only sadness is everyone is bare foot except Ruth.

Left to Right and Oldest to Youngest: Olivia, Naomi, Bella (John and Emilee's), Quinn (Dave and Lauren's), Ruth (Ours), Maddie (also Em and John's:)

Christmas Vacation So Farth

2010-12-24T23:17:00.008-05:00

Despite the rain Disneyland was AWESOME!!!!!!!! We rigged a poncho over Ruth's stroller so this was how she looked through he head hole.

First time in a regular stroller.

Small World was SO pretty! The park really was decked in all it's Christmas finery.

The Fantasy Land Castle.

Ruthunzel

Ruth apparently didn't want Maddie holding her hand. Maddie's 2 months younger.

Vacation Starts Tomorrow!!!

2010-12-17T22:01:00.002-05:00

Well kids. I've been packing for 2 days, filled 3 suit cases, 1 bag, altered 1 pair of jeans, fixed a shirt, added stuff to some PJ's, made a Bundling Bag for Ruth's car seat, gave Ruth 4 shots:( and emptied my fridge. We leave for Christmas Vacation tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!! First week we'll be in CA playing at Disneyland with Mike's family then about 2 more weeks with them in Monticello UT. Then we're headed to Payson to play with my family. Mike's heading back to Durham on the Jan. 10 to start school and Ruth and I will stay till Feb. 2.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

2010-12-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

I didn't send out Christmas Cards this year so this is for all you people out there. Thank you all our Family and Friends for supporting us this past year in our move and the starting of our own family. We love you!!!!!!!

Notice.

2010-12-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

For those of you requesting pictures of Ruth I would love to oblige but our camera is M.I.A. :(

Are Violent Video Games Preparing Kids For The Apocalypse?

2010-12-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

Some of you may have seen this before but I thought it worthy of replay.

2010-12-08T07:12:00.002-05:00

Hallelujah!!!! (I spelled that correctly on my first try:) Ruth took 3 naps yesterday and went to bed at 6:30pm-6:30am. My sanity is slowly being restored. However. Mike stayed up approximately 36 hours strait so he could level up his character in W.O.W. and then proceeded to shove me off the bed all night. I finally got up and went to his side of the bed which actually worked but he did make some grumbly protests when I took one of the four pillows from him and some blanket. Apparently he just wanted my spot and all the pillows. This will be forgiven if he concedes to sleep on the couch if he ever attempts it again.

Heartache at the Anderson's

2010-12-06T17:33:00.003-05:00

Ruth absolutely lost her mind today!!!! She won't take naps, won't play on the floor pleasantly for longer than 5 minutes and insists on crying over EVERYTHING. She doesn't have a temp. and isn't paying attention to her ears so that rules out an ear infection. Her gums aren't a different color than normal and their still smooth so I don't think she's teething. PMS is also ruled out and she's supposedly past the Purple Crying stage. The only conclusion I can come up with is that her heart has been broken by a cruel infant boy. It must have happened at church. I saw Caleb eyeing her yesterday in Relief Society. It doesn't matter that he's 3 months younger than her. Mike's younger than me so I don't judge. And I can't confront him about it cause he's never alone.

Truthfully this has been going on for about a week..........save me.

2010-12-04T07:38:00.003-05:00

WOULD YOU PEOPLE BLOG ALREADY!!!! I NEED SOMETHING TO READ!

This excludes Molly, Brooke, Becky, Dari, Ashley, Debi and Emilee who have all posted recently.

Updates:

2010-12-04T07:23:00.002-05:00

Well....Thanksgiving was so great!!! The stuffing and pies were good, SO RELIEVED!!! The rest of the food was also tasty. For the first ten minutes of dinner all that could be heard was a chorus of, "This is great turkey!", "Who made the yams they are sooooo good.", "Who made the stuffing? I really like it.", "I love mashed potatoes. Good job!" and so on... and on....and on. We couldn't help ourselves. When you're normally not the one doing the cooking for a very important food consuming tradition and lots of other people are going to eat stuff they'd rather have their Mom make it puts a lot of pressure on a girl! So when it goes so well you have to talk about it for a lonnnnnng time:) The end.

Mike is just about finished with school to his, mine and Ruth's relief! One more semester behind us HURRAY!!!! He mentions every once in a while that the new version of WoW (World of Warcraft for those of you not plagued with this computer game) is coming out in a few days....which causes him to spontaneously salivate. The end.

Ruth is a crack up as usual. She now growls on a semi-regular basis and baby garbles to. LOVE IT!!!!! What I don't love is being woken up everyday at 6:30. There's no reason to set alarms when you have your very own rooster:) The end.

2010-11-29T17:06:00.001-05:00

I was looking up info on Baby Teething and came across this picture.

A Milestone

2010-11-26T23:34:00.001-05:00

Ruth rolled over on Wednesday and neither of us saw it. She started to cry so I looked over and she was on her stomach:) She was crying obviously cause she was stuck and needed assistance.

2010-11-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

Just a note: If you save the scraps from your stuffing ie. carrot ends/skins, celery leaves/ends/heart, onion skins with just a few more things from the spice cupboard you can make home made vegetable stock then freeze it for later use:)

My Thanksgiving List

2010-11-22T18:31:00.001-05:00

In no particular order:

1- The Internet-What did I ever do without foodnetwork.com, or Hulu for that matter?

2-Blogging-Being able to get regular updates from friends and family is awesome. I'm not much of a phone talker, never have been (not even for my boyfriends, pore guys. And there were many, many of them......I'm highly desirable.)

3-Coupons-We save money and I get to buy stuff I would normally have to pass over.

4-Baby Ruth-She makes me smile everyday. Does the FUNNIEST THINGS, cracks me up and has the best laugh ever!! Watching her learn and figure things out blows my mind.

5Michael-He works so hard at school!!! Just about every night I thank Heavenly Father for putting me in the path of a man who understands his responsibilities and wants to take care of his family in every way.

6-Craigslist-One year ago our apartment was empty except for an air mattress and a baker's rack. You think I exaggerate but I don't. Now our apt. has a couch, chairs, 2 desks, kitchen table/chairs, rocking chair, shelves, baby dresser and a mirror.

7-Sibling's/Parents Who I know have prayed for us over the last year. Prayer works. I've seen it.

8-Friends-Those were also things were didn't have in Durham 1 year ago. Now we have a friend network we can count on and we're not lonely:)

9-Scriptures-It's been a while since I've read the Book of Mormon. I started it again a few weeks ago and it's been amazing. I almost see it in a different way because of all the things that have happened in my life since I last read it from cover to cover. It's a true testament of Jesus Christ.

10-Fall/Winter- This is my favorite time of the year!!! Among other things there are so many trees in Durham and they've been lovely this Fall. In the winter the leaves all fall so I can see more........there are less trees in Utah blocking the view around you and though I'm used to it now I still miss it.

The Best Yummiest!!!

2010-11-18T13:31:00.003-05:00

This is quite possibly the BEST trifle on this earth!!!!!!! It's a Paula Dean recipe. You can sub. the Gingerbread for Spice Cake and definitely sub. the frozen whipped topping for real Whipping Cream.
Ingredients
2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanillapudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Directions

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding.Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

Monet

2010-11-18T13:20:00.008-05:00

So excited!!!!!!! I've decided to also make an Apple Pie for Thanksgiving:) My Mom makes the best freakin pie. Have I mentioned what a fabulous cook she is? Well, she's FABULOUS!!!!!!

I'm not huge into art but I can appreciate a beautiful painting. I looked Monet up online today and these are a few of my Favorites:)

Turkey for the girls and Turkey for the boys.....

2010-11-14T17:51:00.003-05:00

I have made the shopping list for Thanksgiving!!!! We're doing a Pot Luck with our friends like last year. SSSSOOOOO excited for the food! Last year it landed right in the middle of my morning sickness faze.....not so good. But THIS YEAR I am at my best hungry Thanksgiving self.

Mike isn't so much of a traditional Thanksgiving fan so he will be making some yummy Shrimp Kabob's for his and our enjoyment:) My assignment is Sausage/Apple Stuffing, Rolls (last year they were bricks cause I killed the yeast), and Peach/Candied Pecan Pie!

HURRAY FOR TURKEY DAY!!!!

2010-11-08T18:59:00.001-05:00

What does Pizza, Baked Potatoes and Calzones have in common? Ingredients!!!! I made homemade Pizza the other night and felt kinda guilty at how much I spent. I justified it cause we were feeding the Missionaries but when I figured out what to make with the remaining junk I felt better:)

Shopping List

1 can olives

1 carton mushrooms

1 Lrg yellow onion

1 gr bell pepper

1 pkg pepperoni

mozzarella cheese

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Betty Crocker pizza crust (super cheap and work great for me)

Pillsbury ready made dough (in the roll canisters like the Biscuits and Crescent rolls)

Potatoes (we already had these as I'm sure most people do)

Divi up all ingredients between the Pizza, Baked Potatoes andCalzones (1 roll made 3 med ones, 2 for dinner and 1 for Mike's lunch. 375 for 14 minutes but watch them, we dipped the calzones in pizza sauce). Very nice!!!

Sat-Pizza, Sun-Potatoes, Mon-Calzones.

2010-11-08T18:27:00.003-05:00

I'm totally listening to Kosy 106.5 right now and their playing Christmas Music!!!!!!! So Awesome!!! The only downer being the Utah weather forecasts and traffic updates.....mmmmm homesick a little.