What the Wednesday!

Yesterday, Hazel climbed onto my lab and fell asleep

This doesn't happen much anymore

It was Heaven

 Okay, so, last week I took my kids to Victoria's Secret

I really needed a new bra and it was the semi-annual sale

It wasn't until I saw the store and the semi-clothed women

That I second-thought my decision to take Cannon inside

Ooops

When Jarom got home, Cannon told him:

"Mom bought a swimsuit at the belly button store"

He he he

At least that's all he noticed

Never ever again will I take my son bra-shopping

Total hand-to-forehead moment

I have cut myself at least 4 times in the kitchen

Once on a can (ouch)

Once on a broken glass

Once with a knife

The other one I don't even know how, it just happened

The Hunger Games 

has a nail polish line coming out

It's by China Glaze

I love their polish

Mahogany Magic, Electrify and Agro are my favorites

Each color is from one of the districts

From the Amazing Beauty Website:

Luxe and Lush – District 1 (Luxury)
Stone Cold – District 2 (Masonry)
Riveting – District 3 (Technology)
Hook and Line – District 4 (Fishing)
Electrify – District 5 (Power)
Fast Track – District 6 (Transportation)
Mahogany Magic – District 7 (Lumber)
Dress Me Up – District 8 (Textiles)
Harvest Moon – District 9 (Grain)
Foie Gras – District 10 (Livestock)
Agro – District 11 (Agriculture)
Smoke and Ashes – District 12 (Mining)

You know how I said we were going to Philadelphia?

Well, we are actually going to Boston now

In March

I can't wait!

Any tips for Boston?

So, Downton Abbey?

Have you seen it?  

Because it's really good

We started watching it over Christmas Break

Jarom actually really likes it, too

He was mad at me for watching one without him

It's on Netflix, and PBS

Maggie Smith is incredible!

I laugh at her at least twice and episode 

That's all I got!

Have a terrific Wednesday!

What the Wednesday!

You know that book

The 5 Love Languages

Well, Hazel's love language is

reading her a story

Just one story is all it takes

 to become her best friend for the rest of her life

Kindergarten registration is just a few weeks away

I hope I don't cry

Cannon keeps telling me that he's not my baby anymore

It kind of hurts my feelings

Jarom's Grandma June passed away last week

She'll be missed

We went to visit her about 3 weeks ago

She was hard to understand

But she said "I love Hazel"

And gave her a little stuffed bear

It was the sweetest thing

It was actually a really nice time

To meet relatives on the Becar side

And be with all of Jarom's siblings

They are seriously a blast

We saw the Muppet Movie on Monday

Okay, so it was really cute

And the kids loved it

The songs were awesome

Plus, it was free!

We counted our gift cards and had $67

to the movies

Merry Christmas to us!

I could really go for a snow storm right now

I never thought I'd say that...

This news story about a food-allergy-related death

Scares the crap out of me

I'm so sad for the family

It's just horrible

Paula Deen has diabetes?

Shocking

Her children's cookbook featured a recipe

for breakfast cheesecake

Breakfast cheesecake... for kids

Seriously?

We're doomed

 Have a sugar-free Wednesday!

Christmas Recap

We traveled to California to celebrate Christmas with the Becar family.  I got strep throat while I was there and was rendered virtually incapacitated for the first 4 days of our trip.  But other than that, it was great to have the entire family together, especially when two members of the family are preparing for missions.

Becar tradition is to go feed the reindeer on Christmas Eve at Glen Helen. It was adorable and there were little shops and Santa even showed up to say hi. Then we went to Grammy and Papas to eat dinner and reenact the Nativity.

We also took some family pictures on Christmas Eve.

Since Christmas was on Sunday, we had the kids wait to open presents until after church.  They were so excited that Santa came.  Hazel loves her Calico Critters house and her giant magna-doodle is probably her favorite thing.  Cannon couldn't wait to play with his RC race car that does tricks and his Buzz Lightyear Operation game.  We had a great visit and a happy Christmas with the wonderful Becar family!

What the Wednesday! - (I'm back!)

We had a great Christmas vacation to California

It was nice to be with the Becar family

I got strep throat while we were there

Which was not so nice

But what do you do?

This morning, Cannon was talking to me

About how Mommies and Daddies don't have toys in their room

But they have a bathroom

And a little room full of clothes

He said "Mom, I'm so sad for you that you don't get toys"

Probably one of his best deep thoughts

This year I didn't really make any specific resolutions

Like I usually do

I just want to be happy

Not get mad/frustrated/sad about little things

Or compare myself to others

Find the happiness in my current state of affairs

And my tiny kitchen

Because, man, do I have it good

I read the entire Hunger Games trilogy last week

Started on Tuesday, finished Friday

I knew once I started I wouldn't be able to stop

I get that way sometimes

It was so good and so different

I have watched the movie trailer like 20 times

Augh! I can't wait!

I counted my nail polishes last night

I have 76 different colors

I'm surprised my family hasn't staged an intervention

Going to Philadelphia in March

Never been before

Anything we should do/see?

I mean, besides eat a Philly cheese steak, of course

Haze is so good about her allergies lately

Which is good because sometimes I'm not very diligent

Cannon left his grilled cheese sandwich too close to her plate

She pushed the plate away

And said "cheese samwich make me sick"

Such a proud moment

She totally gets it

You would think being vegan and all

That Hazel would be skin and bones

But we weighed her the other day

She weighs 30 lbs.

(which is somewhere between the 50th and 75th percentile)

Cannon weighs 40

I couldn't be happier with her progress

Take that, failure to thrive!

Have a thriving Wednesday!

Hazel-friendly Oatmeal Pancakes

I was browsing pinterest one day and came across some oatmeal pancakes.  I like oatmeal.  I like pancakes.  So, they should be good, right.  Wrong.  They are A May Zing.  They had tons of dairy in them (cottage cheese, milk AND eggs).  So, I actually combined a few different recipes and then vegan-ized them for Hazel.  So scrumptious!  Hazel inhaled six of these babies in 4 minutes flat.  Cannon is my tougher critic as he doesn't like most of my Hazel-friendly recipes - but he also gobbled down 6 of these leaving only 2 for me.  If you should feel so inclined as to try this recipe, please splurge on some real maple syrup.  Pretty please?  You won't regret it.  I'm thinking these with some sliced strawberries on Christmas morning.  Can't wait!  They're pretty healthy, too.





Dry Ingredients:

• 1 Cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Cup rolled oats (or you could use instant oats but rolled oats are so much better)
• 2 Tablespoons Sucanat (which is evaporated cane juice or you could use sugar)
• 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups almond milk with 1 1/2 tsp. of vinegar mixed in and set to rest for a minute (or buttermilk)
• 1/2 Cup rice or almond milk
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• Egg replacer for 2 eggs

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Then mix in all the wet ingredients and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so the rolled oats get moist and soggy.  You could at this point blend it in a blender if you want it smooth but don't add the baking powder to the blender or your batter will explode.  Personal experience.  But I promise you won't notice the oats if you let it sit long enough.  Spoon about 1/4 cup onto a hot griddle and brown each side.  Serve with coconut oil and maple syrup.  Enjoy!

What the Wednesday!

We woke up to a newly festive Christmas tree

Alphie got into Cannons underpants drawer

And put underpants all over our tree!

That naughty little elf!

I really really really

Want to learn Japanese

I can sing a song and say please and hi

 I'm almost there

Hazel told me this morning

"Perry is a platypus"

But it was the cutest thing I've ever heard

pwat-a-pwus

I've been making her say it every 30 seconds

Don't you love when 2-year-olds say cute things?

The Nightmare Before Christmas

It's more of a Halloween movie, right?

I mean, they talk about Christmas

But it's kind of scary for little kids

It was on as a Christmas special the other night

Cannon was loving it

Hazel not so much

She's terrified of witches

She talks about them all the time - it's pretty bad

I turned it off after the first song

She still had a nightmare

before Christmas

Jarom came home with this the other day

We lost the cow the first 24 hours we had it

Tore the house apart looking for it

Awesome

 I just love Christmas time

Everything about it makes me happy

And chubby

It has been SO cold this week

Like 30* as the high

Morel like 5* with the wind

But still no snow

It just doesn't feel like Christmas is really coming

Until we get a good snow

My back!

I think I did something horrible

But I just woke up on Monday with pain when I move

It's fine if I'm sitting or laying down

But getting to those positions is painful

It's like at the top though

Just between my shoulder blades

Today it's worse

Cannon jumped on me and I screamed

I feel like I'm 87

Help!!

Have a painless Wednesday!

What the, umm, Thursday!

Meet Alphie

He's our Elf on the Shelf

I found him at Thanksgiving Point's Emporium

The kids love him so far

They whisper little secrets in his ear

And they know he's reporting what he sees

Every morning we have to find his new hiding place

Oh, man, it's fun!

Hazel loves her some "guacaroni"

Which is actually just regular guacamole

She eats it with a spoon and begs for more when it's gone

Robin Hood has been on constant replay at our house

Ooodalaly!

Thanksgiving was pie-licious

I still have some chocolate silk pie in my fridge

And I swear it calls my name at least 3 times a day

Help!

Christmas just gets better every year

This year both of the kids know exactly what is happening

It's a lot of pressure, though

Seriously

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday

I'm about 75% done with Christmas shopping

Hooray for screaming deals!

Watch this

Is that not the most awkward thing you've ever seen?

I'm so glad Jarom and I kissed a few times
(heh heh, okay a LOT)

Before our wedding day
In front of everyone we know
I feel bad laughing
But it's just SO hilarious




I made the best salsa last night
 But I just kind of dumped stuff in the blender and hit pulse a few times
Now I'll never be able to make it that good again
Sad




 Have a happy Thursday!