Potty Training Update

I thought I'd have lots of blog fodder when it came to potty training Josh.  But really?  He's been great.  Not nearly as bad as with Spencer, thank goodness.  (Seriously, Cole is lucky he was born.  Because I just about swore off having any other children after potty training Spencer.  Oh boy.)

Lance has been a rock star with this.  He's really done most of the work, mainly because Josh responds better to Lance in situations like this.  It took bribing Josh with playing Modern Warfare 2 to get him to go in the potty for the first time, but after that it worked pretty well.  (I know.  I know.  The methods are questionable, but you can't argue with the results.)

We had quite a few accidents the first day, fewer the second, and only two on Sunday.  And today?

An accident free day, ladies and gentlemen. 

You gotta love it.  Especially the black socks.  

Josh, you rock.  Thank you thank you thank you for once in your life being easier than expected with this.  I have a feeling Santa's going to be extra generous with you this year.

Cole Gets Into the Christmas Spirit

At Least Cole Thinks I'm Funny

Lazy Thanksgiving

For a few years we have hosted three other families in our home on Thanksgiving.  We always really enjoyed this because all of our family lives so far away and I couldn't see any point in making a Thanksgiving feast just for us. It was always a ton of work but a ton of fun.

But this year I got lazy.

Maybe it's the new-ish third child and the busy church calling.  Maybe I'm still getting over my bout with the flu.  (Seriously, I still don't feel back to 100% of my old energy level.)  Maybe it's because all three of my children have conspired against me so that one of them has woken me up just about every single night for the past two months.  Or maybe it's because I knew we'd be wearing ourselves out potty training Josh the next day.  (More on that later.)

Whatever the reason, this year I got lazy.  I was ready to serve my family turkey sandwiches and call it good.  Fortunately, our friends and neighbors, Angela and Shannon Polmateer, invited us over this year.  The Polmateers also have three boys, which promised, at the very least, an entertaining evening. 

I took homemade rolls, a veggie platter, garlicky green beans, pumpkin spice cake, and cherry pie.  Needless to say, with our food and theirs we had enough for 50 people, not the six adults and six children present.  (The Sister Missionaries were also there.)

Now of course I forgot to get a picture of everyone at the table. But I did manage to get this one of the four oldest boys just before we ate.

And then I got a bunch of all the boys (including the dads) wrestling after dinner.  Because after stuffing yourself silly what you really need is a good wrassle, right?

And I got this cute one of Austin holding Cole.  (Austin is great - he and Bolton pick Spencer up and take him to the bus stop every morning.)

This year I am very greatful for good friends like the Polmateers!

Best. Pumpkin. Cake. EVER.

No, seriously.  I've tried quite a few pumpkin cakes in my day, but this recipe is by far the best I've ever had.  It's soooo moist and delicious and fall-flavored.  (Can something be fall-flavored?  It can now!)

I originally had this cake at my Aunt Valerie's house in 2001.  I know the year because I wrote it down next to the recipe.  That's how life-changing this cake is.  Plus, I do that with all of my recipes.  Anywho, she had gotten the recipe from one of her friends and served it at one of our monthly family dinners and from that night on I was hooked.  I make sure to make this cake every fall.

It's just heaven, people.

But then again, anything with this amount of butter, oil, and sugar is destined to be good.  That's just basic physics.

I made one tonight for our Thanksgiving dessert tomorrow.  It's like a fine wine - it gets better with age.

Mmm... Yep, that's a streusel topping.  Oh man.

It's so great.  It's gets all crisp and crunchy and yummy on top, but stays so wonderfully soft underneath.  It's just great.

So here's the recipe.  If you have time, make it for your little pilgrims and pants-less Indians this year - they'll thank you for it.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Cake:
1 package spice cake mix
1 # canned pumpkin
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
3 eggs

Struesel Topping
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c flour
1/4 c butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine all cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix on low for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl well.  Mix on high for 3 minutes.
2. Combine topping ingredients with fork until crumbly.
3. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.
4. Sprinkle topping on batter.
5. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.  (Do NOT overbake!)
6. Devour.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

I've been feeling crummy today.  So has Lance - he even stayed home from work, which is unheard of.  While he nursed himself back to health with his computer, I went grocery shopping, the bank, picked up Spencer from school, tried and failed to take a nap, did laundry, entertained children, made dinner, bathed children, and heavily medicated myself.

Hmm.

Anywho, amongst all this I have also been enjoying the 5th book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. 

I just learned about these books a few weeks ago, and all I have to say is "WHY DIDN'T I HEAR ABOUT THESE SOONER?!?"  They are great.  True, I thought the first book borrowed a little too heavily from Harry Potter, but they really do get better and make their own story.  I highly recommend them.  (A movie is coming out this February and it looks great!)

I liked the books so much that I bought my own set, reason being that I would like to read these to my boys when they get a little older.  When I was young, but old enough for chapter books, my mom would put me to bed with a chapter or two out of some great books.  The ones I remember most are:

There were nights where she read until long after I was asleep.  And who can blame her?  The Little House books are fantastic.  (Have you read them lately?  I got something different out of them as an adult than I did as a child; still great, but interestingly different.)  Then the next night she would just fill me in on the details of what I missed, unless I put up a good fight and made her read it to me again.  To this day I can rarely go to bed without reading at least a few pages out of a book.  (See Lance?  It's my mom's fault.)

Anywho, there are lots of books on my list that I want to read to my boys when they're a bit older.  Some include:

What do you look forward to reading to your kids?

Josh's New Hobby

For once I don't mind a noisy toy.

Now if I could just convince him that mopping is just as fun...

Monster Cold

Despite my best efforts, Cole has nicely shared his monster cold with me.  (Which explains why he has been such a little monster lately.)

I can't breath.  I can't speak.  And I can hardly keep my eyes open now that the meds are kicking in.

I'll be back in a few days.  I'm sure you'll survive.  I might not, but you will.

Baby Goodness

It was a rough day. 

But at least I had a few moments to enjoy a little baby goodness.  The Beatles sang "All You Need is Love", but really all you need is some time with this little fatty and life gets better.

Oh man.  He is such a cutie-patootie, I can hardly stand it.  Seriously, I just want to eat him up all day.  *nom*nom*nom*

Pretty Things

One of the big differences between Lance and I is the fact that I appreciate pretty things.  I really appreciate good design. Sometimes (not always, as Lance might protest) I prefer form over function.

Sometimes you need pretty things just so you can look at them.  Boys don't get that.  I suspect we'd be living in a house of blank, white walls, with a GIANT entertainment system and bean bag furniture if Lance had his way.  Fortunately, he does not have his way in this aspect.  Which is why we have a few pretty things around our house.

Like this:

I picked it up at Target today.  I lurve it.

Actually, I bought one last week as a bunco prize.  And I almost won it - but Heather beat me in a last-minute bunc-off.  (Yes, it really was as exciting as it sounds.)  Sad.  But then I realized that I could buy one with the money I got from returning the prize I won last month.  Happy!  (Actually, if you want to get reaaaaallly technical, Gigi returned the prize for me.  And then she promptly bought it back at a much lower price because it was on clearance.  And we were all happy. :)

Anywho. I love the color. (The picture doesn't do it justice.) I love the style.  I love looking at it.  Sure, I have nowhere to put it now except where my fruit bowl usually goes.  But that's okay, because it's winter and my fruit bowl is rather empty this time of year.

I'm loving all of the bright reds that are in season this year.  I'm not loving all of the high prices that seem to accompany them, but oh well.  (The above was only $14.99.  I can handle that.  The $300 mixer below?  Not so much.)  Here are a few other pretty things I wouldn't say no to looking at in my home whenever I wanted:

I lust after this Kitchenaid mixer.  I know I already have one.  Doesn't matter.  I. Want. THIS.

I'm also lovin' the Le Crueset tea kettles.  Actually, anything Le Crueset would make me happy.  But I especially love this red tea kettle.  Oh sure, I have no need for a tea kettle.  But that's not the point of this post, now is it?

Finally, I love pretty much every single thing in the latest Crate and Barrel holiday catalog.  Seriously - it's all great.  But these are my favorites.

Cole's Thoughts Today*

*Or: What I'm Doing Instead of Writing My Talk for Church on Sunday.  Isn't Procrastination Great?