In the Kitchen

My aunt sent me a subscription to Fine Cooking last year and I love it. Today I decided I would try one of the recipes. I am just praying that it is finished in time and tastes good enough to take to our friends that just had a baby. We are making red-wine-braised brisket with cremini, carrots, and thyme. FYI- I didn't use red wine and cremini is a type of mushroom. I am excited to try this tonight because the vegetables in it are very hearty and it smells great. I love brisket but I've never had it in a tomato reduction. I'm just hoping it turns out okay. Brit, move to Texas. You can cook dinner and I'll bake dessert.

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Sienna was a huge help in the kitchen.

Her favorite job was taste tester and she loved wearing her apron.

Sadie woke up and I was in the middle of chopping tons of vegetables. To save time I gave her a bottle. I don't know why, but the past couple times she has had a bottle she insists on drinking it while laying on her stomach.

Save me a piece of that corn. -Sadie playing around before her bath yesterday.

Yesterday I asked Sienna to show me her undies so I could take a picture. She proceeded to take off her pants and undies to hold them up for the camera. Hence the waist up photo.

Did I Mention That Cupcakes Make Me Happy?

It was our dear friend Christine's birthday at work. I absolutely adore this girl and wanted to make something a little different. I thought it would be fun to experiment and try to make a homemade version of Hostess Cupcakes. When I made them last night they were good - but after spending a night in the fridge, this morning they were AMAZING. I apologize for bragging but they were delicious. Kels my baking buddy, you should try these. I used Devils Food cake, filled them with homemade whipped cream, dipped them in chocolate icing and added a buttercream swirl. I will be making these again this weekend so if you're nice to me, maybe you'll get a chocolaty goodness surprise. I love experimenting in the kitchen especially when I am successful. Thanks Christine for having a birthday to give me an excuse to make more goodies.

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They were very messy though...the chocolate drizzled over the sides of the wrapper. Oh well, I don't mind licking off some extra chocolate..

Sadie was just sitting on Allie's lap and didn't move a muscle. It was really cute. We love having Aunt Allie around to play with.

Happy

I am happy to report that we are all happy. There has been a lot going on lately but we are doing well. Here are some pictures of my happy girls.

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They love taking baths.

I could go on forever about this girl. Sadie is a ray of sunshine in our home.

Silly smile.

I had to put all three pictures because I couldn't decide on a favorite. This is her "I want that" face and right now she is wanting the camera.

Sienna, another beam of sunshine for everyone. She is a little character. Now she'll say, "May I please have a sucker, yes you may!" without skipping a beat. She also knows all of her ABC's and the sounds they make as well as her birthday and last name. I can't believe my baby is turning two next week.

Sienna trying to give Sadie-baby kisses after their bath. Sadie is quite fast now and wouldn't stay still. If you ask Sienna what her name is, she'll say "Sienna Shumway" but if you ask what Sadie's name is you will get "Sadie-baby", "Sadie-pie" or "Sister." I love it. These two really are such good friends. They tease each other often but both of them light up when they see each other.

Cupcakes always make one happy too. A few other things making me super happy right now are: 1. Being a mom- can't beat it. I love my girls. 2. I have the BEST husband. Matt supports me in everything I do. 3. I have a lot of really great friends that make me feel special. They are great examples to me and are so good to my girls. 4. I caved-I'm going to Utah May 13-20th. 5. Talking to my little brother. I'm glad we are friends and that he calls me periodically to tell me what is going on in his life. Please pray for the military, I want Kirk to come home safely to us! 6. My relationship I have with my parents and siblings. My sister and I have become really good friends over the past couple years. My parents are coming out in a month and we're all going to Bama to see Brit and her family. Then I get to go to Utah in May to see Jake and his family including their new baby girl. 7. Matt's amazing family. I cannot wait to see Dan, Andrea, Adri and Dana. We'll see Kyle in August and we are LOVING having Bryan and Allie so close. 8. Naps. I have two kids but they often take naps at the same time so I can blog, do laundry, shower or take a nap myself. 9. Laughter, it makes so many things more enjoyable and bearable. Not many things beat a good laugh. 10. Finally and most importantly, the Gospel. I have had the opportunity to make many wonderful friends since living in Texas. Many that are LDS and many more that are not. I am grateful for the testimony that I have and for the way my parents raised me. I have had many conversations with my non-LDS friends about why I am the way I am. One reason I am so happy is because I have the Gospel in my life and it is a very big and important part of my life. Nothing means more to me than when a friend compliments my lifestyle or asks me questions about what I believe. Sometimes I don't know exactly how to answer a lot of the questions thrown my way but regardless of the question, I always end up with a stronger testimony of what I already know to be true. Thank you to all of those around me that have been wonderful examples over the years and have helped me strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. Dad, thank you for being the best example to me of optimism and faith.

I Wanna Sucker, An Orange One

Sienna's favorite treats are suckers and she gets one when she stays dry and goes potty in the toilet. It just so happens that suckers might be Sadie's favorite treat too. This all started when Sienna was nice enough and slipped Sadie a taste of her treat.

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Can you see the grins on both of their faces?

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Sadie's eyes get so big when she is tasting something she loves.

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Sienna was so excited that she got to try mommy's sucker too.

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What can I say? I'm a sucker for cute pictures even if it means letting my 7 month old have a sucker of her own for a few minutes.

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This is hilarious. Sadie does this all the time to us when we're eating and she wants some of what we have.

Pay it Forward - Surprise!

The first five people that comment on this post will receive something from me. A lot of people that are doing this on their blogs are making the prizes but I am just leaving it as a surprise. I might make you something, I might give you something or I might just surprise you with something else. You can make requests if there is something from me you want- but no guarantees. The only catch is that you have to do this on your blog too. If you don't have a blog that is okay, I still love you and will come up with a surprise for you as well. After all, we all know how much I love surprising people. The only rules are that you have to do this yourself. If you don't have a blog or don't want to make anything- you can just do 5 acts of service/kindness. Also, I get the rest of the year to finish the SURPRISES!!!

Never Too Big

Sienna wanted to get in the jumperoo so we gave her a turn. We thought she would quickly realize that it wasn't as fun anymore now that she is older. We were wrong, she loved it and bounced for a good twenty minutes or so.

Kids and Computers

Sadie woke up from her nap as I was on the computer so I put her on my lap so I could finish working on my blog. She hit the keyboard twice and this is what happened.

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Why is it that kids can push one or two keys and it will do something to your computer that takes you hours to figure out? I thought it was so funny that I decided to leave it for Matt when he got home from his meetings. It was so frustrating because the cursor was upside down too. If you moved the mouse up, the cursor would go down, etc.

When Matt came home I had to run to meetings so I forgot to tell him about the computer. He figured out how to fix it and thought it would be funny to make the desktop sideways for when I got on again. This time it was really difficult to maneuver because to move the cursor to the left you had to move the mouse up. It was so confusing but pretty funny.

We have some exciting news! Matt and I put a pool in our backyard. It only cost $30,000.

Just kidding. Our neighbor put a pool in her backyard and she is paying the $30k. We're excited to play in it with them though. My neighbor is awesome. She has a 14 year old daughter and an 8 year old daughter and the three of them love the girls and take good care of them.