Last Weekend

My brother came home!!! It was nice to see him. We met him at the airport and then drove to my parents house. It was so nice to see him again. He truly is one of my best friends. Emma kinda sized him up at the airport and then when we got to my parents she warmed up to him. He'staller and lost all of his muscle so he looks skinnier.

On Saturday my friend Shilynn and her husband Shawn and daughter Allyssa came over to my parents on their way up to Sequim. They were suppose to come visit us at our place this weekend but Jacob's grandma died so we will be going down to Utah this weekend.

We had a family dinner on Saturday night which was a blast. I love spending time with my extended family. Jacob and my uncles played a nasty trick on me. I'm very forgetful when I'm pregnant and went to go get some more juice and salad. When I came back I didn't see my cup so I asked where it was. They told me they didn't know so I went back in the kitchen and found a cup on the counter and filled it up with juice and came back in. When I got back there was a cup sitting at my place. So I went to go put the cup in my hand back and when I came back the cup was gone again. I was going nuts! I said which one is my cup!? Turns out my cup was the one that I had filled up with juice. UGH! I was so confused!

This weekend we are headed down to Utah for the funeral. We are leaving Friday and coming back Saturday. My family is headed over here Friday and is staying until Thursday next week. My dad and brother are building me a storage shed so we can get everything out of Linnea's room. We have no garage and therefore no storage. That will be nice! This next month is going to be busy busy busy! Hopefully the baby doesn't come early! I don't have time for it!

My computer is being funny so I can't move the top 2 pictures. The first one is of me and Shilynn with our cute little girls and the next one is of my cousins Lisa and Erik and the last one of course is Tyler and Emma.

So much to do!

I don't even know why I'm even blogging right now! My brother is going to be here in 23 1/2 hours! Emma is going to stay with my parents all of next week while I sub a couple days and do house projects the other days. Here is my to do list for the day:

• dishes
• wipe kitchen counters
• sweep floor
• mop floor
• clean out fridge
• sweep and mop front room
• vacuum piano room
• clean bathroom
• fold laundry (6 loads)
• pack Emma's bag for Mor Mor's house
• vacuum out the car
• fill the car up with gas
• clean my room
• clean Emma's room
• sweep and mop all other hard wood floor surfaces in the house (which is everything but the bathroom, kitchen and piano room)

GOTTA GO!

Family Home Evening

Family Home Evening is one of those things that I have had a hard time incorporating into my weekly schedule. It's hit and miss with us and I've made a goal to make it a regular part of our family life (as of today actually). Growing up our family home evening lessons consisted of my dad preaching about some gospel topic which don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful thing to discuss the gospel, but let's face it... no kid wants to sit still for 30 minutes while being lectured about something.

I digress.. the point is is that I've been searching for interesting things to do with our little family that will teach the gospel and that Emma will sit through and retain something. I found this awesome book at Far West Book called Book of Mormon Family Home Evening: Lessons that Teach with Treats. I haven't been able to find it in MONTHS. It's in the house somewhere and I can't find it. Anyway we did a few lessons in it before I lost it. It has great lesson ideas for nursery/primary aged kids with the added bonus of a treat that totally corresponds to the lesson. It was $9.95 and I think totally worth it. I'm sure they have it at Deseret Book too.

There are a bunch of books out there with lesson ideas for varying ages of children and even some for single people. I also found this list of 119 FHE ideas on the web. Some of them are pretty cool and others I would never do. The website has other cool things on it too including some lesson ideas. Google has tons of website that opo up when you google FHE lesson ideas. Some are great and some are not so great of course.

As for us tonightI haven't nailed down a lesson yet but I do have the treat. I call it dump cake but I'm sure it has many other names. Here's what you do:

Grease a 9x13 pan. Dump 1 or 2 cans of your favorite pie filling (mine is cherry) into the pan. Sprinkle one yellow cake mix over the top. Melt 2 cubes of butter and pour it over the top of the cake mix. Sprinkle some nuts over the top and also some shredded coconut if you want. Bake at 350 for an hour. You can also put whipped cream on top after it's baked.

I flipping love this cake! It's really good!

If you guys have a favorite FHE lesson/ activity or a favorite treat let me know! Hopefully today will be the first of many consistent FHE's to come in our house!

Hello, My name is Jennifer and I'm OBSESSED with...

LISTS!!! I can't do anything until I write down everything I need to do. I was just thinking about everything that I need to get done today and I was going to try and just start in on it but I realized I couldn't! Not without writing a list. So I want to know... are you as nuts as I am? There is another thing I need in order to do everything on my list... some loud rocking music! I can't work in the house unless I have a list and some upbeat music. So I've got my tunes blaring and am going to go now and start my list. Hope you all have a great day! (Never mind it's just after 11 and I should have half of my list done by now. It's one of those days!).

Oh MY Goodness! Amazing Soup!

I will start off this post with the best soup I've had in a while. I made it for dinner last night and Jacob and I loved it! I got it from my Taste of Home Magazine. It's called Holiday Tortellini Soup.

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 oz. pancetta or bacon, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (49 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 (9oz) pkg cheese tortellini
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree
8 oz. fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add pancetta. Cook until crisp. Add onion; cook 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add broth and Italian seasoning; bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook tortellini according to package directions; drain. Add cooked tortellini to soup mixture. Stir in tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese.

SO... I just used a regular pot instead of a dutch oven because I didn't' feel like dragging mine out. Make sure you use the oil. I didn't thinking it's bacon and it will grease the pot on its own. Well, it doesn't! I have the chicken base from costco that I use to make chicken broth and I just made up 6 cups of chicken broth. I also didn't use all the spinach. I just started putting it in and stopped when I thought it looked good.

Emma even tried it and liked it but she was throwing up earlier and didn't eat much. She said she liked it last night though right before she threw up again. (TMI?).

So yes my little girl is sick. We had some guys from the ward come over and give her a blessing last night. I went to Albertsons and bought Lysol spray, disinfectant wipes, children's pepto and some sudafed for Jacob. I've been going crazy washing my hands and wiping down and spraying everything Emma and Jacob have touched. Hopefully Jacob starts feeling better. He thinks he has some ear/sinus infection. He sounds like a bear when he talks and just doesn't' look good. I'm usually not this neurotic when people get sick but I really don't want to be sick and pregnant.

Jacob got 13 hours yesterday!!!! Things are looking up!

This coming Sunday I will write my last email to my brother before he comes home! I can't tell you how excited I am!

One Year Anniversary

Our last Christmas with Grandma, 2007. In the back: My dad, his brother Dave, their brother in law Timm. Next row: My brother Kaleb, Me and Emma my Aunt Sandra. Next rowish My mommy, my cousin Lisa, Grandma my cousin Erik, Grandpa. In the very front: my cousin Logan. Missing from the picture are Jacob and my brother Tyler

Today is the one year anniversary of my Grandma's death. I'm doing fine with it. I know that she is in a much better place than this and that she is with her parents and brother that died. She was such a huge factor in my life and I learned a lot from her.

I remember walking into her house during the summer and her not letting me in until I solved a simple multiplication problem. I had had trouble with them in 3rd grade and she wanted to make sure she was doing her part to help me learn them.

Her and grandpa would always buy Poulsbo bread (it came in an orange bread bag). I would always make a cheese sandwich for lunch when I would go over. The sandwich was miracle whip and Tillamok cheese.

Grandma and Grandpa would take my brother Tyler and I out to eat a lot (we spent a lot of time over at there house growing up since my mom worked) and she would always get on us to cut our food, take smaller bites, sit up straight, GET YOUR ELBOW OFF THE TABLE, slow down, are you tasting that food at all or are you swallowing it whole? I still hear her voice in my head when I eat reminding me of the proper etiquette.

I wish everyone could grow up with such an amazing influence in their lives. I love you Grandma.

Throolin Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Old pictures

We've always thought she was the perfect mix of the two of us. Now here's our proof!

So grateful and yet so tired

This week Jacob has been working 11-13 hour days! He only got 15 hours last week but this week he will have enough that that won't matter. He's going to have steady work for the next couple months unless the rig breaks (knock on wood). I'm so grateful that he is finally working and making some actual money!

On the other hand... Emma has become quite accustom to having him at home. He is so good with her and plays with her, takes her for walks, and is just really goofy with her. Between he and I, Emma always had someone trying to entertain her. This week has been horrible with her because Jacob has gone back to work. She is acting up really bad! She's colored on my new kitchen bench, mixed dog food with powdered milk and whole wheat, gotten into my hair gel and smeared it all over, dumped Annie's water out all over the kitchen floor, dumped all my yeast into the bowl when I was trying to make pizza dough the other night, gotten into the bandaids and placed them all over everything, thrown flour all over the kitchen floor and dog and sprayed spray and wash all over the laundry room (which I still can't figure out how she keeps getting it down from my hiding place).

Yesterday I had pretty much had enough. I was an emotional wreck. She woke up at 6 wanting pancakes and being quite the little bossy boss about it. Then she proceeded to be clingy and whiny the whole day and get into trouble as I was trying to clean/ do laundry etc. Poor Jacob came home to no dinner on the table, and a sobbing wife. I feel bad for him looking back on yesterday. I've been SUPER emotional lately and he's had to deal with it. Lucky for him he gets to go to work and take a break! I think I just need a vacation!

Anyway, I have just realized that Jacob does way more for me than I know. He is my other half and such a great support to me. This period of acting out with Emma should go away in the next few days and we will be back to normal again. We kept praying for more work for Jacob and have been blessed GREATLY. For that (and many other things) I am grateful.

My doctor appointment

Today was my 28 week doctor appointment. I've been dreading this appointment because of the glucose test that is standard with this particular checkup. I have been eating so much junk this pregnancy it's insane. With Emma I was a total vegetarian and didn't eat anything sweet. With this one I crave meat like crazy and sweets. Anyway, I drank the orange drink and went with Emma into the lab before my appointment. I was nervous about what Emma would think about them sticking a needle into my arm and seeing blood come out. She was totally fine with it. The lab tech let Emma touch the viles to see how warm they were and she thought that was pretty special. My blood sugar was 98! YAY! I passed!

Then it was upstairs to the doctors office for my regular checkup. They were running REALLY far behind. I got switched over to another doctor 45 minutes after my scheduled time. My blood pressure was 104/64 which I guess is good. I have no clue what the numbers mean. I always ask them if my number is good and they always tell me yes. I've gained 13 pounds so far which is 1 pound more than I gained with Emma. I'm thinking the meat and sweets have something to do with that!

Then we got to listen to Linnea's heartbeat. This was a really cool experience for Emma. She got really excited when she heard it. During her evening prayer before going to bed tonight she thanked Heavenly Father for letting her hear 'nea's' heartbeat. So sweet!

I have been looking through pictures of Emma when she was teeny tiny. I found one that I had forgotten about that I absolutely love:It's of Jacob and her curled up sleeping together. If I remember correctly it was a couple days after he got home from working on the oil rigs for the first time after Emma was born. Looking at this picture makes me so excited about having another little baby. I love how snuggly they are! With Emma I was horrible at determining what her needs were when she was crying and that was the most frustrating thing for me. I hope with this one I will have a better idea as to what to do. That's really the only thing I'm dreading about having a newborn again.

Anyway, that's how my day went. The countdown is on for my big little brother getting home. 15 days tomorrow!

My sneaky little 2 year old

So yesterday as Jacob and I were getting ready for church Jacob noticed Emma was being quiet. So he walked into the front room where he found Emma with a pen in her hand. He saw him and quickly put the pen on the table and clasped her hands together. Jacob told her to let him see his hands so very slowly she opened them. She had of course colored all over her hands. He brought her to me to have her show me and she went to unzip her pjs. Guess what... she had colored ALL OVER her belly. As we were both trying hard not to laugh we told her to go to time out. It's one of those moments as a parent that you know needs some sort of discipline but is so funny at the same time. Just thought I'd share.