Secret Recipe

I don't know who reads my blog. Some friends (thanks for your last comment Erika!), my sister-in-law, maybe just my mom. But I like to write and so when I figure out something to write about I put it on my blog. I know some blogs are like journals for some people, some are scrapbooks, some dedicated to recipes and a million other things. Mine is kind of a combo of it all. And today I am sharing a new secret recipe I recently fell upon by accident. Someone probably already figured this out but for me it's new so I am going to share.

The last time I made taco salad for dinner we had a bunch of leftover taco meat. And since my husband did not want to pack a HUGE bag full of everything that makes up a taco salad and take it to work for lunch I decided to pop the extra meat in a Ziplock bag and stick it in the freezer for another day. Yesterday, after going grocery shopping and spending my $34 in Smith's Rewards I realized I needed to make something for dinner that night. I wanted to get away from buying pizza every Friday and I didn't want the kids eating cereal for dinner 2 nights in a row. So I looked through my pantry to see what I had (and what I was not going to use for dinner the following week) and I came across everything I needed for chili. So I get going with the cooking and when I open the freezer to get out the meat I came across my bag of frozen taco meat. Why not? It's already cooked, it's seasoned and it might make my chili taste a little better. Well it did

not make my chili taste a little better, it made it taste a whole heck of a lot better! It was so delicious! The flavors, the spices, the extra kick from the taco seasonings. Mmmmm. Trevor asked for seconds and then literally licked his bowl clean, Colin even ate FOUR BITES. Yes, four! That is really saying something coming from that kid. So there you have it, my friends. The secret to super yummy chili is leftover taco meat.

Operation Monday Clean Day

Three weeks ago we had a holiday from school and I had a sick Colin. When he threw up that afternoon (in the toilet, thank goodness) I decided I needed to clean and get some germs out of my house. Well, I started cleaning and I didn't stop. I decided to just do the whole house in one day. I dusted (something I don't normally do and I'm not embarrassed to admit it), I swept floors, I mopped, I cleaned counters and mirrors and toilets, sinks and tubs. Then I vacuumed. Then I threw away crap and junk. Then I looked around and I loved what I saw. I had a clean house. The whole house all clean at once! When does that ever happen? The rest of that week I was busy taking care of a very sick Colin and then a sick Logan. We went to doctor's offices and other medical places for tests and I did not have much time for things like cleaning. So when the next Monday rolled around I decided I would do the same thing again. I decided that every Monday would be my cleaning day. In the past I would clean a little each day, but by the middle of the week (okay, by Tuesday) I would be tired of cleaning. Who wants to clean every day? I had other things I wanted to do. So with my new cleaning schedule I got to work. And what would you know, by cleaning the whole house on one day I feel like the house stays cleaner all week. It's easy now to just pick up here and there during the week, and do little things. And when Monday rolls around some of the things I cleaned the week before are still clean! What? Something stayed nice and neat for a whole week? Yes, ma'am it did. I'm happy about my new schedule, happy that after almost 8 years of being a stay home mom I am finally figuring things out. For me, this is really working and for now I am really loving it. And here are a few of my favorite things that help me get the job done (my NEW Bissell Vacuum that I love so very much; my Steam mop that makes mopping this nasty tile floor that I hate a little more bearable; and Method Multi-Surface cleaner in Pink Grapefruit - as Colin said, "Mmmm, that smells so good.")

3 years old

Logan recently had a birthday! Here are some things about Logan:

• he loves playing with cars - he will line them all up in a row, he makes them talk to one another and he loves taking his cars into the bath with him
• his favorite movies are Cars and Toy Story - he will watch those movies over and over again and never get tired of them
• he loves watching TV - he is a TV junkie and his favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George and Phineas and Ferb
• Logan loves going to Nursery on Sundays. He love, love, loves it
• Logan enjoys playing quietly by himself in the playroom while his brothers are at school
• he LOVES books and has to be read to every day - before he goes to bed he will sit and look at books in his bed until he is ready to fall asleep. Lately he likes to "read" on his own - he will say the words he remembers or tell what is going on in the pictures
• he is a super picky eater, but he does love cereal, yogurt, apples, cheese sticks, ham and cheese sandwiches, chips. All day long he says to me, "Mom, I'm hungry again."

Logan is such a fun boy to have in our family. He has a good personality, he is funny and smart and sweet. He loves his brothers and he is definitely a Mama's boy. It's so fun watching him grow up and seeing what type of boy he is becoming.

Snow!

Well, it wasn't really a snow day but it did snow for a couple of hours. And real snow. Not slushy rain. Big, fluffy white flakes. It started around 7:30 and lasted until about 10. It was fun to watch through the window at the white flakes coming down. And they were coming down pretty good. It didn't stick over here, but it was fun while it lasted. I drove the boys to school in it and then drove to the store. Logan loved it. He kept sticking his tongue out to catch the flakes like his brothers showed him earlier that morning. The boys liked looking at it more than being out in it and I realized that they are just like me. They don't like being cold. But it was still fun while it lasted.

Christmas Letter

I did not do a Christmas card this year. I am sorry. I hope our friends out there don't think we're ignoring them when they open their mailboxes day after day and do not find a card from us. This blog post will have to do.

These pictures are the ones we just got done. They are hanging on our wall. I love them and I love my friend Celise who came over and took pictures in our home in the attempt to get our boys to actually cooperate in front of a camera.

We've had a year of ups and downs and recently it seems like the blessings are pouring out on us. We have learned to appreciate the things we have and to stop worrying about the things we don't have. Our family is what is most important and we have been trying to just focus on that. Through the hard times this year, sicknesses, losing our house, struggling with money and other issues we have been through the Lord has blessed our family in so many ways. We always have enough for what we need and when times start to get difficult something comes along to lighten our load or help us to remember what matters most. We have 3 amazing boys! At times they are wonderful and loving and a joy to be with. At other times they are difficult and frustrating and demanding. But we love them no matter what. The Christmas season is always full of magic and wonder, peace and love. We're trying to teach our children to be like Jesus as we get closer to the day where we celebrate His birth. If we can have His peace and spirit in our home then we will have everything we need. Merry Christmas!

The house that built me

There is a song I hear on the radio that I just love. It's called "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert and of course I cry when I hear it. I pretty much grew up in the same house my whole life and so I can relate to that song. And I want for my kids what I had. A house where your roots got dug down deep. When Dave and I got our first house we knew we would not live there forever. We knew it would be the starter home, the one we started a family in and then moved along when we started to grow too big for it. And we loved that house. It was a good house. And we had fun looking for it. Our second house (pictured above) was supposed to be "the house." The one we raised our kids in, the one they came home from college to visit and home from their missions to. And we had fun looking for that house. I remember when we first walked inside we both got that "this is it" feeling and we knew that was the one for us. But things happened and that house is gone. And now we're looking again. Except this time it's not so fun. It's stressful and frustrating. There is a lot of waiting and unknowns and more waiting. And all of the houses we've looked at I haven't had that "this is it" feeling and that is really bugging me. I want the right house, on the right street, in the right neighborhood, in the right ward to raise my boys. But then I was thinking today and I thought it's really not about the house. Not really. I mean we want a house we like, one that fits our family, something we'll enjoy. But really, it's about who is in that house. The family we are, the friends who enter. That is what is going to build us, build our boys. Not the house, but the people who enter in it. Now all I need to do is just remember that and all will be well.

Thankful

We went out to lunch on Saturday with Dave's parents who were here in town visiting. When the waitress came to the table I noticed she was limping. I had just been to the foot doctor and got my foot all wrapped up so I wondered what was wrong with her. The next time she came to the table I asked why she was limping. She told us she tore a ligament in her knee. I mentioned it was too bad she had to work with a hurt knee and her response was, "The doctor didn't want me to come to work but I begged him to let me work. I am the only one who takes care of my kids so I have to get paid." At that moment I was so thankful for my husband. So thankful for the work he does for our family so I can stay home with our children and so thankful for his knowledge and skills that have always allowed us to pay our bills. We don't always have money for the things we want, but we always have money for the things we need. I have been reminded so often these past few weeks of how blessed I really am and it's something that I've needed. I love how the Lord knows what we need and when we need it. I love how He shows His love to us in even the smallest of ways and how those moments stick with us through the tough times to pull us through.