Halloween Fun

So the boys had a blast on halloween and they really got the hang of trick-or-treating except Ethan and Matthew kept trying to go into the houses when the people would open their doors. But Cameron had fun being Batman and Ethan was a ninja and oh so cute and Matthew was Elmo (2nd year, he really likes his elmo outfit). They got lots of candy and got to run house to house up in Canyon Place up 5th street. We go there every year because it's a nice culdesac and my sister's dad lives there so they know everyone on the street plus we can all meet at Bob and Pat's (my sister's dad and step-mom) and then we usually have dinner. Before we headed there we stopped at Brad's parents houses. After Canyon Place we headed up to my moms house and for the first year my mom actually had toys for each boy and cupcakes. (Usually it is a couple bucks and smooches.) The boys were exhausted by the time we got home which is great because they headed to Yakima to see their Step-Great-Grandma Howe so they went to bed at a reasonable time and was up and in pretty good moods when my mom got here to pick them up.

Recipe's I've tried

Okay so I have tried a few recipes but haven't been good at sharing my opinions. I tried the Italian Cheese Bread that Denaye had mentioned off of Tammy's Recipes (http://tammysrecipes.com/italian_cheese_bread). It was really good. I didn't have the rapid rise yeast so I used normal yeast and put it through the dough recipe in Karalee's machine. Instead of the oregano I used italian seasoning and added some cheddar cheese to the parmasan and mozzerella mix. It turned out terrific and Brad want's to have it every time we would have normally made garlic toast. Since Karalee took her machine back I sure hope my machine gets here soon. I have spaghetti planned for dinner this week and he wants that bread with it.
I also tried the chicken strips that Denaye said tasted just like Larry's Chicken. Oh yum!!! She was very right. They are sooooo good. The recipe is from Baker's Dozen http://bakersdozen.typepad.com/a_bakerss_dozen_daily_lif/2008/04/really-easy-rea.html and I made it with the italian bread crumbs like Denaye did and they were super. I didn't take pictures of the chicken but I did of the bread and I will post it soon. But i definetly recommend both of the recipes and they would probably even be delicious together. I've really been enjoying this cooking and learning new recipes and I am so thankful for you all sharing them.

In Memory of Mackenzie

This poem was on Jeff's MySpace page and is amazing. My thoughts and feelings put perfectly into words of how I know the family must be feeling (and even myself even though I didn't get to meet her.) (And just to let you know they confirmed it was SIDS and that she pretty much fell asleep friday night and died shortly there after.)So now here is the poem and if you are an emotional fool like me have a tissue handy.



How do we say goodbye?
When we’ve hardly said hello
To a girl so very young,
She shouldn’t have had to go.


Yet God chose for you
To go and be with him,
The loved one’s left behind
Will keep your memories within.


The echo of a laugh,
An image of a smile
Will warm the hearts of those you’ve left
Who must stay here for awhile.


So now you walk with God,
Your little hand in his,
And as he takes you in his arms,
Peace is what he gives.


Today we celebrate your life,
The little that we knew.
Privileged that he let us walk
A little while with you.


In loving memory of Mackenzie Lynn Martins
February 3, 2008 – October 25, 2008

V.
Clements ,2008

A setback in my faith

We have had a tragic loss in our "extended" family. Brad's step-sister's husbands niece (did you get all that?) Mackenzie Lynn passed away 10-25-08 in her sleep. She was just shy of 9months. She was a beautiful baby and will be greatly missed. I never got the chance to meet her in person but looking at the pictures on her mom's myspace page made me want to. It's times like this that shakes my faith so hard. How God could let something like this happen. I try to tell myself that he knows what he is doing but how am i supposed to believe this when something like this happens. I honestly just don't get how this has a purpose and how I am supposed to believe that it is all part of Gods plans. HOW CAN IT BE? I am so frustrated right now and so furious and really having a hard time believing that someone as loving and faithful as God is supposed to be; that he would let this happen. An innocent precious little girl who just barely made a mark on this world. How does this fit into a grander plan? I just don't get it. I keep praying but I know I am not praying with my heart. I want to be at peace with the idea that he had something better for her but I just keep thinking about Marissa (Mackenzie's mom) and her family and I can't even begin to imagine the pain and hurt and anger and brokeness they must be feeling. Marissa is only 18 and has to make funeral plans for her daughter. My heart goes out so much to her. Please pray for Marissa, Mackenzie, and all the family and friends of Miss Mackenzie Lynn that they will all be comforted through this very rough and heartbreaking time. And please pray for me that I will come to peace with this and believe that God knows what he is doing and that I can continue my walk with Jesus and that my faith will keep me strong in my journey. Please go hug your children and let them know just how much you love them. And keep the Harvey family in your prayers. Mackenzie Lynn 02-03-08 to 10-25-08

Horse-ing around

So at some point in the last month someone told Cameron against my will that he could grow up. I know I wouldn't in my right mind tell him he could and when I find the person that did I want to give them a swift kick in the rump. Okay so now to better explain myself. Cameron used to be my super hard child. He would scream, cry and puke at the dentist office. He would scream, cry and kick at the doctors office and it used to take two people to hold him down to give him medicine. Just last month he sat through his dentist appt with no tears and didn't even fuss when they did xrays. He sat through his doctor appt and didn't fuss through the ear or eye exam. And he is on cephalexin for the bug bite and he has been sitting and sucking the medicine out of the syringe like it tastes good or something. And at the beginning of the summer my nephew had a riding class at appleatchee so we went. When I put Cameron on Grammy Lynda's horse he went in to hysterics. Today he asked Grammy Lynda if he could ride and so he did from the barn all the way up to the areana and then around the arena when Matthew was done. He had a terrific time and now wants to go ride constantly. Lynda said she will round up another horse so he can do the lead line class in november. He is very excited. Well gotta go for now.

Pumpkin Painting

Matthew and Jennifer came over yesterday and painted pumpkins with us. It was so funny to see how differently each boy reacted to the experience. Ethan was really concentrating and not saying much. Cameron was bouncing between colors and smiling but not saying a ton. Matthew on the other hand wanted to use pretty much only green and was so excited and talking a lot and he was so animated as he spoke. Jennifer and I just sat back and laughed. He was so hilarious. But they all had fun and we got some good pictures so all in all is was a great time.

What do I do?

Okay so I am at a loss. I don't know what to do with the boys. Cameron is constantly picking on Ethan or teasing him and Ethan is constantly whining. It is so frustrating. I don't know what to do with them to get them to get along. I thought with Cameron going to preschool 3 times a week that things would be better at least those three days since they don't get to see each other all morning but things aren't better. As soon as Cameron gets in the car they start at it again. I get so frustrated I end up yelling at them and it makes the whole afternoon miserable for all of us.



Today I had to keep Cameron home because his neck is still swollen and I want to keep a close eye on it. Anyway so this morning they have been picking on each other and they have both been whining. Then Cameron was playing with a box and told Ethan to get in the "boat". Ethan didn't want to so Cameron started getting mean with Ethan about getting in. So I took the box away. Cameron throws himself down into a sitting position with his arms folded and starts whining and crying about wanting the box. I told him to go to his room if he was going to whine. So he headed to his room. Ethan started following him. Next thing I know Ethan comes back screaming and crying that brother punched him and he's holding the side of his head. So I call Cameron out to ask him about it. Imediately he starts telling me that the wall bonked Ethans head. So I ask Ethan if he fell against the wall and he says "no brother punch me". So I look at Cameron and he starts telling Ethan he is sorry. So I ask Cameron again if he punched him and he finally admitts he did. I asked why and he told me that it was because Ethan was following him and it made him mad. So I sent him to his room to think about it.



But I am at such a loss as to what I should do to help them get along. I try to engage them in play and such but they just end up arguing. If you have any ideas please share them I really want our time together to be enjoyable not a daily battle of trying to get them to get along.

Change in plans

Well I was all hyped up to go to Smallwoods Harvest today whether anyone went with us or not but Cameron had other plans apparently......Sunday we went up to the pumpkin patch in Malaga and had a blast running around finding pumpkins, taking pictures and the boys enjoyed the corn stalk tee pee.

So we had already played for about an hour, found our pumpkins, got pictures and were ready to go but Jennifer was on her way up so we hung around waiting for her and Matthew. Once she got there we went through the corn maze. We then headed towards the area where the smaller pumpkins are so Matthew could find a pumpkin. As we left the corn maze and headed towards the pumpkins, Cameron all of a sudden screams and starts crying saying that a bee stung him. (There were no bees flying around so who know what it was.) But he had a small red mark on the side of his neck. By the time we left about 30mins. later there was an area of puffy white skin right around the red dot but nothing more. Yesterday he got up and went to preschool and his neck looked fine.
Well by last night around 5pm his neck was swollen and red. He said it didn't hurt or itch and that he could breath and swallow just fine but it scared me so I called the pediatrician on call . Dr. Crawford was the Dr on call and he said that since kids' airways can become compromised so quickly that he wanted us to go to the walk in just to check for infection and make sure it wasn't anything serious. So we went. The PA-C there said that at his age and the 50/50 shot of it either being infection or just allergic reaction that they treat for both so Cameron is on Cephalexin 4 times a day for 10 days and Benadryl every 4 hours until the swelling is gone. He then drew a circle all around the redness and said that if the redness goes outside the lines then we need to get him in right away. So we stayed home today so we could keep a close eye on him. The swelling and redness hasn't really changed but it hasn't gotten worse so we are doing okay so far.
I am hoping to maybe go to Smallwoods next tuesday if anyone is interested in joining. I gotta go finish dinner so until next time take care and don't forget to listen to the one's you love the most.

Pumpkins

Okay, 1st to answer the comments from Brooke and Karalee, I would love some apples. I would really like to make applesauce with my mom and the boys (I think it may be fun.) and I love homemade applesauce. So if I can get apples that would be awesome. So on to my next request.....Brad, the boys and I are going to the Malaga Pumpkin patch tomorrow (Sunday) but I really want to take the boys to Smallwoods Harvest sometime too. So I am planning on taking the boys on tuesday and I know the boys would love to have friends go with us so I was wondering if anyone would like to go with us to Smallwoods Harvest on Tuesday. Please call me or email me and let me know. I was thinking of going up around 10:30 that way we can get home for lunch and naptime at a reasonable time. So please see if it will work for anyone and let me know. Talk to yall later. =)

Baked goods

Okay so I really have the craving for Apricot Fried Pies that my ex co worker made for one of our eat days. I chose to do it the semi-homemade way and had Brad buy pizza dough and apricot/peach preserves. But here is a recipe I found online.

Dough recipe is:
4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 c. cold water
Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with pastry blender (a fork works okay too) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle cold water (1 tablespoon at a time) evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball and chill.

Apricot Filling: (you can use jams, preserves or even jelly in any flavor that sounds good to you if you don't want to make your own.)
Place apricots in a medium saucepan; add water to cover. Cover pan and cook over low heat 15 minutes or until tender. Mash apricots, add sugar; set aside. ( I bet apple would be so yummy too but would probably need to add some cinnamon along with the sugar.)

Roll 1/2 of dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut into 3 1/2 inch circles. Spoon about a teaspoon of apricot filling on half of each pastry circle; use finger and moisten edges of circles with water. Fold circles in half; press edges together with a fork dipped in flour. Repeat procedure with the remaining dough. Heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375 degrees in a large skillet. Cook pies until golden brown, turning once; drain well on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Okay so I would recommend making the dough. The pizza dough is really hard to work with because it doesn't like to be rolled out. Other than that they turned out good. I definitely recommend them as an occasional dessert.

Wow..I didn't know he liked that!

So another nice part about being home with the boys is I am learning that Ethan likes things I had no idea he liked. Today I made chicken nuggets, green beans, and applesauce. I figured neither would eat anything except the chicken nuggets but am trying to be diligent on offering fruits and vegetables daily. So anyway Ethan is one of those weird children that eats all of one thing before moving on to the next thing. So of course he starts with the chicken nuggets. Eats all of those and then heads for the applesauce. I didn't know he liked applesauce. He ate his bowl, Cameron's bowl and then finished off mine. While he was eating the applesauce I got him to eat about 3 green beans before he very politely said "all done with those please put it down on that plate." He was so cute. But I have now found out within the past 3 weeks that he likes pears and peaches too. He even tried salad last night for me. WOW! so different from Cameron who won't even try things for us and definetly won't eat any fruits or vegetables. So another life's lesson learned as a stay at home mom...just because one kid won't eat it doesn't mean the other one won't. What have I learned? keep offering them fruits and vegetables at least maybe Ethan will eat it. Well gotta get some cleaning done Brad should be home in 30mins and I haven't done anything all day.

Live, Laugh, Love!!!

He makes me laugh!

Okay so Cameron just got up from his nap and came out and sat in the green chair next to me. Here is the dialogue that followed....
Me: So did you have a good nap?
Cam: Yeah. (still kinda sleepy)
Me: So...are you ready to go clean the bathroom for me?
Cam: No
Me: why not?
Cam: Because I am not the bathroom cleaning guy and I don't work in the bathroom. (then grinned really big.)

Oh he makes me laugh. I totally expected a "yuck" or "I don't want to" or something along those lines not "because he isn't the bathroom cleaning guy." Anyway just wanted to share. He made me smile and I wanted to pass that on. Later.

Housework

So all I have told myself I want to accomplish today other than washing laundry and keeping the living room/kitchen tidy is to clean the main bathroom. So it is now 1:29pm and I have taken Cameron to preschool, washed one load of laundry, picked Cameron up from preschool, fed the boys and put them down for nap, made mini cupcakes, and have done a few online surveys. Do you notice something missing??? Ah yes the bathroom. I don't know why but it just seems such a big task to take on and yet it is a pretty small space. So what's my problem? I have not a clue. I know I want to accomplish it and yet here i sit at this darn computer thinking to myself "cool I have 2 hrs before Brad is headed home....plenty of time." Which it is plenty of time but if today ends up the way yesterday did,....I will be cleaning the bathroom at 3:30pm when Brad should be on his way home. Oh boy...trying to be a good housewife is hard work. And Brad keeps saying it's fine but I don't feel like it is and yet the guilt isn't enough to get me off my butt and accomplish more than I absolutely have to. Oh bother, the life of a stay at home mom is hard. I give props to my girlfriends who have been doing this all along. Please pass on some of you words of wisdom on how to get the energy to clean my house and play with the boys, oh and get dinner started without turning into a vegetable on the couch at the end of the day. I just want to sit around and watch the boys play and do nothing all day but that obviously doesn't get anything done. I am hoping that once I get through this week where it is all so new that I will be able to figure out a routine so that I can feel like I accomplish what needs to be done. Now that I have whined to you all I guess I will go attempt to start the bathroom. Please don't take anything I said here offensive or rude I am simply venting my own feelings and if you don't like them then please don't read them. =) If you know me at all then you understand my constant badgering of myself to fit the mold that I will most likely never fit but will probably continue to struggle the rest of my life trying to fit. But hey at least I have friends that ignore that part of me. By the way thank you to all my girlfriends for scrapbooking saturday. I may not have accomplished much but I had a blast. Thank you so much for the laughs, the ideas, the terrific food and the relaxation. Oh what a great day it was!!!!!

Beginning of my blog.

Ok so Karalee and Brooke keep telling me I need to start a blog so here it is. I hope to be able to blog daily and with the daunting task of cleaning my house it may be my vent spot. We will just have to see how things play out but for now I gotta go. I still have half my kitchen to clean and 30 minutes till Brad gets home. AHHHHHH! Where did my time go? Anyway hope your day is going well and will write again when I can.