My Little Supermen

My kiddos rock!

They had their flu shots today. After a busy morning at preschool for Spencer, and library lapsit and lots of errands for Josh, I thought I'd have to deal with two tired and hungry boys by the time we got to the doctor. Not a good combo for shots. Visions of legendary crying jags and a certain baby demanding to be held for the rest of the day danced in my head.

Boy was I surprised when Spencer barely even flinched when he got his shot. I was even more surprised when Josh didn't cry either! As we were getting him ready for the shot (lying him down, me holding his hands and the nurse holding his legs) I could see his thought process:

"Hey, what's going on? I don't want to hold hands, Momma. I want to play - specifically with that toy Spencer has right now. And what's with the lady holding my legs? I want to... Hey! Ouch! What was that? Oh, we're all done? Coolio."

Made my busy day soooo much easier. We celebrated with lunch at McDonald's with Lance - a treat!

On a bunko-related note:

I had the most bunkos and the highest score tonight. So I rock, too! (Sorry, Rachel, for taking away your bunko prize dreams.) I decided to take the high score prize, a gift card to TJ Maxx, since I already had the bunko prize, a pizza peel and cutter. I love bunko.

Socks for Dinner

I spent all weekend working on this:

It's a felt nativity that the kiddos can play with this Christmas. Each part is attached to the back with velcro. I started it Saturday morning at our RS Super Saturday, but didn't even get close to finishing it there. I knew I had to finish it this weekend or it would never happen. (It'd become a 'millennial project' - something I'd only have time to work on during the millennium!) I think it's cute, if I do say so myself. Almost too cute... do I really want my kids to play with (a.k.a. destroy) it? I'm already picturing the shepherd hanging out of Josh's mouth, covered in drool...

Other than that, it's been a little rough around here. Spencer's going through a phase where he acts and talks like a baby: crawling, whining, 'crying', pointing, etc. When I tell him to stop acting like a baby, he says "But Mom, I'm only pretending I'm a baby!" This morning I told him that if he's going to act like a baby I would have to treat him like one - starting with nap time. That got me a few free hours.

Josh is also being a handful. Besides getting into EVERYTHING, he has also started throwing epic tantrums over little things. How dare I stop him from turning the computer on and off, take the garbage can away from him, or, *gasp* change his diaper. The nerve!

On a different note...

This evening, during the middle of dinner, Josh decided to pull off his sock and throw it onto his dinner plate. It landed right in the sauce. Yeah, that pretty much sums up my life right now - as fun as socks for dinner.

Mmmmm... Buckeyes

Our ward's RS Super Saturday is tomorrow. We're supposed to take a family favorite Christmas treat, but I couldn't really think of one. (Except this awesome sugar cookie recipe I have, but it's just too soon for something that Christmasy.) In fact, I guess the only tradition I have concerning Christmas treats is trying lots of new recipes every year.

So I decided to try a new recipe that I've been wanting to try: Buckeyes. Not very Christmasy - but YUM! They look like a bit of work, but they're actually pretty easy and yummy. They're also fun for little boys to help mix, roll, and steal. And did I mention yummy? So here's the recipe. (I got it from the Nestle site.)

Buckeyes

2 cups creamy peanut butter, (not all-natural)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

3 3/4 cups (16-oz. box) powdered sugar

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

LINE baking sheets with wax paper.

1. BEAT peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in powdered sugar until mixture holds together and is moistened. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on prepared baking sheets. Freeze for 1 hour.

2. MELT morsels and shortening in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted.

3. DIP peanut butter centers into melted chocolate using a toothpick, leaving a small portion of the center uncovered. Shake off excess chocolate and scrape bottom of candy on side of bowl. Return to baking sheets; refrigerate until chocolate is set. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

The Cookware of My Dreams

I can't remember if I've blogged about this or not (and I freely admit that I am too lazy to go back and look), but all of my cookware has been falling apart lately. The set I got for my wedding was slowly committing suicide. It was time to get a 'grown up' set of cookware since I am a 'grown up'. (I also freely admit that I sometimes forget that I actually am a grown up. Every once in a while I'll get in the car and think "Cool - I can drive!") Anywho, after a month of testing and doing research and such, I bought the cookware of my dreams:

Behold! The Chantal Copper Fusion Cookware set! Avert your eyes, all ye who are not worthy! (Angelic choirs seeing and trumpets blaring.)

For any mere mortals who don't know about the cookware, here are the basics:

• A copper plate is fused into the carbon steel core, resulting in a pan that heats very quickly and evenly without leaving any hotspots in the pan.
  
• Features one of the most stick-resistant surfaces without any type of chemical or nonstick coating. (Enamel coating)
  
• Short helper side handles create an ease in transfer and weight balance.
  
• Durable, stick resistant, never fades, and is dishwasher safe.
  
• Backed by a lifetime warranty and is perfect for all stove tops, including induction.

I've already used several of the pieces tonight and...

LOVE IT!!!

Fifteen years ago this 'grown up' would have never thought that she'd get so excited over some pots and pans!

X-Rays or...

... postmodern art?

Yeah, we're kinda weird like that. But Lance has access to all of Spencer's x-rays, so I had him print them up. Then Spencer and I made them into a collage to hang in his room. (It looks bigger that it really is - it's only about 18 inches across.) It's very manly; I mean, how cool is it to have your own x-rays on your bedroom wall when you're three/almost four? (Answer: very.)

Spencer LOVES it. He's likes to point and say "There's my arm! And there's my leg! And there's my elbow! My elbow is broken and it hurts. Look at it!" And then he waves it and takes a good swing in your direction and you have to jump out of the way or risk being walloped with his day-glo green cast.

I was hoping it would be a sobering reminder of the pain he'd been through. Perhaps get him to be a bit more careful in the future. No dice. Just today, 24 hours after having the cast put on, I caught him:

• Jumping from the love seat to the couch and back again (over the armrests, of course!)
• Using a plastic storage box as a 'skateboard' down the hallway
• Trying to skate in his socks in the kitchen
• Trying to balance on his behind on the thin back of the couch
• Several other things I can't remember exactly; all I know is that I spent most of the day yelling at him to stop and be careful...
  

I guess I should just give up; he doesn't quite seem to understand the concept of self-preservation. Perhaps I'll have to make a collage of the medical bills and hang it up in the office.

p.s. Here are my favorite/scariest x-rays. They're the ones of the bones he literally snapped 18 months ago. I had nightmares and the biggest guilt trip for months after the accident. But now that I'm over it, I find it amazing that he went through that kind of pain and didn't freak out any more than he did. That kid's Superman!

Utah Trip - Part Five

Our last few days in Utah were nice. We enjoyed the nice weather outside and the views from Dad & Susie's house.

Spencer learned how to rock out with Uncle Kevin and Guitar Hero III.


Josh decided that eating cut apples was for wimps, and that it would all or nothin' from now on!


Josh also decided that if anyone were in the kitchen (especially Grandma Susie) he needed to be there, too - right in the middle of things.


On Monday it was my brother Kyle's 27th birthday. All of my grandparents came out and we had a nice dinner.


Spencer showed off his mad nursery rhyme skills.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We ended the evening with a picture with my Burgoyne grandparents. The first one didn't go so well - Josh decided it was time to play peek-a-boo and Spencer was... I don't know what Spencer was doing, but it wasn't cute.

But the next one turned out pretty good.


All in all, a good trip!

It's All Just A Little Bit of History Repeated

We went to the orthopedist this morning - the same orthopedist we saw 18 months ago. He decided that Spencer does indeed have a crack in his elbow. He said that if Spencer were older and could be easy on his arm we'd be okay. But given Spencer's history and the fact that he seems to trip over dust particles, we decided to put put his arm in a cast. Oh joy.

So we were went into the cast room - the same cast room we were in 18 months ago.

And Spencer chose to have a bright green cast - the same color he chose 18 months ago.

And now he's in a full arm cast - same arm as 18 months ago.

At least this time it will only be for 4 weeks. (And not 8 like last time!) ((It would have been only 3, but they pushed it back because of Thanksgiving. So now it's the week of my birthday. Good timing, Spence.))