Surprise Party

This past week, my super thoughtful sister-in-law, Amber, arranged for Ryan, Liam and I to surprise Daniel (my brother) on his birthday since he was at a conference in Salt Lake. We got to his hotel about 10 minutes before he arrived and picked up the cake Amber ordered and had delivered. On a whim, I asked the front desk if we could surprise him in his room. They said YES! We went to his room and waited. Watch the video to see what happened...

Daniel opened the door to his room.  The room was dark except for a dim glow coming from under the drawn curtains.  There in the darkness was the silhouette of a small child. Was he imagining things? His immediate reaction was that the room had somehow been double booked and someone had left their child there.  He quickly shut the door and told some other conference attendees in the hallway that there was a small boy in his room.  One jokingly responded, "Oh, you can't do that..."  For liability reasons, Daniel determined that he couldn't reenter the room and proceeded to the front desk.  He slid his key to the man at the desk and explained the situation.  The man (knowing our surprise) told him everything was fine.  He confirmed that the room wasn't double booked and tried to reassure Daniel, pushing his key back to him.   Daniel, however, was NOT going back in that room. He began questioning his sanity and if he was seeing things.  Eventually, the manager had to come out and explain the situation. Daniel finally came back and we all laughed and ate cake.  We had no idea just how shocking our little surprise party would be!

 My cute little creepster...

Spring Update

I'm really good at blogging. OK, NOT! I'm just trying to convince myself or something. Sorry any faithful followers or should I say follower...

Here is a tiny update.
Liam is now 19 months and is our little explorer. His favorite place is "out tide."

Our latest adventure was on the river by our house. Liam fell asleep almost automatically, but we did get one shot that proves we were all there.

From now on, this blog will contain only family life. I'll be posting our crazy projects on the new sister's blog as it gets going.

The end... for now.

Baby Model

No. This post doesn't mean I'm blogging again... it just means I was bored. Plus, isn't this a great photo that Liam's Aunt Amber took!!!

Get ready, though, because we have a lot of fun summer things to post in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Homemade Peanut Butter Play Doh

Ok. So I am just not very dedicated to this blogging thing. :) I do have a somewhat good excuse. WE MOVED two weeks ago and WE ARE MOVING AGAIN this Saturday! It is kind of a transitional summer.

Even though life is busy, I thought I could jump online and do a quick post of a fun activity for summer- making homemade play doh. Admit it, you've eaten the nasty salty stuff. This recipe is the sweet, unhealthy, cavity-causing type :)

I was hanging out with my niece and nephew so we decided to make it together. They are the models for the photo shoot below.

Recipe:
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C light corn syrup (or mild honey)
1 1/4 C powdered sugar
1 1/4 C instant dry milk

1. Combine peanut butter and corn syrup in a mixing bowl.
2. Add dry ingredients, and mix well. (We used our hands at the end...it is just easier)
3. Divide mixture into four sections.
4. Roll each section into a 1" rope. Wrap in plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Cut in slices and enjoy. (This was way too long for excited kids... I think ours lasted 30 minutes in the fridge.)

Ta-da!





The ingredients












The finished blob














Ready for the fridge











Dinosaur

Liam's Laugh

Daddy's Boy

More and more I'm realizing that we could have named Liam "Ryan Jr." and been accurate. Here's why-

Liam is constantly staring at his dad. He is so captivated by his every move. When his dad laughs, Liam thinks he should laugh (it comes off sounding like a courtesy laugh...*huh*). When his dad talks, Liam stops whatever he is doing to look for Ryan.



Liam wants to be like his daddy so much that he even dresses like him. Ok. So I had some influence on this. The funny thing was that Ryan left in the morning before Liam and I even woke up so I had no idea they would end up as twins for the day.

I have to say that I highly approve of Liam's choice of role model. :)

Liam's Glass

The order is mommy, then bottle, then sippy cup right? Well, not for Liam. Whenever Ryan is holding Liam and goes to the fridge for some water, Liam starts to get so excited! At first, Ryan would just give him a sip out of his own cup, but the whole backwash thing didn't work out so well. We now keep a glass on the fridge for Liam.

It gets better. The other night we were eating dinner and I noticed Liam getting upset randomly. I finally realized he was getting mad every time Ryan took a drink. I got Liam's glass, filled it with water, and gave him a sip. He was fine the rest of dinner.

The Many Faces of Liam

If you haven't noticed yet, we have a very expressive child. Here are just a few of Liam's faces.

Yummy apple!

"Ok, people...who let aunt Paige feed me."

Yes, he actually poses when he sees the camera coming.

Daddy tickles him with the head massager.

I think this would be the definition of chillaxin' (terrible word..haha).

I had just taken his duck to put it back in his mouth where he had it. This was the response.

My favorite: No, he was not blinking. This is Liam's new smile. He scrunches his nose and squints his eyes when you smile big at him.

Chestita Baba Marta (Happy Grandma March)

Today is one of my favorite Bulgarian holidays- Baba Marta.
Just before March 1st, the streets of Bulgaria are full of stands covered in red and white bracelets, pins, and dolls. Tradition is that you give these tokens to your friends on the holiday and wear them until the end of the month or if you see a stork or a blossom. After you take them off, you tie the ribbons to the tree with the blossom or you hide it under a rock. It is then supposed to bring you health and luck and all sorts of great things. Fantastic, huh?! Here is a link to an article about the holiday.

http://www.sofiaecho.com/2005/02/25/643604_chestita-baba-marta

My awesome mom not only made bracelets this year, but she even made the authentic dolls (we have some Bulgarians that live in my hometown). Here is a picture.


I don't know about any one else, but I think this is a fantastic holiday. So next year if you are around me on March 1st, you'll probably end up with your own bracelet as a way to remember good ol' grandma March.

i taka eh! (and thats how it is)

Homemade Baby Wipes

Ok. For those of you who do not care about baby wipes STOP reading now! This will be completely boring and make me sound like a crazy mom. For the rest of you, join me in my madness and in the fun of diapering with this recipe I got from my friend Sheleena on how to make your own homemade wipes.


Here is what you need:
1/2 Roll- Bounty paper towel
2 C. Warm water
2 Tbs. Baby soap
1 1/2 Tbs. Baby oil
Plastic Container with a lid

What you do:
Mix the warm water, soap, and oil in a plastic container. Prepare your paper towel 1 of two ways.
1- Cut the roll in half and take out the middle cardboard. Place the roll into your water, shut the lid, and flip the container upside down. Let it sit for 10 minutes. You're done. (Pro- super easy and fast. Con- sometimes you can loose the beginning of the next wipe)
2- Tear off every sheet from a roll of paper towel (It sounds like a lot of effort, but it is not). Cut the sheets into four squares. Place squares in the prepared water mixture, shut the lid, and flip the container upside down. Let rest 10 minutes. (Pro- each sheet is already at a perfect size and you never have to find the end of the roll. Con- this method does take a little more time.)

Note: After experimenting a little while, I have pretty much stuck with the second method. It just works better for the type of container I bought (CD Storage Container). Also, if the wipes at the bottom seem a little too wet, I just add a couple more wipes in and they soak up the extra water.

Here is a little breakdown of savings in making your own wipes.

$15.77 for 16 pack or 98 cents for a roll.
Each roll gives you roughly 208 wipes (using method #2 above). That is 208 wipes for about $1.00!
You do have to factor in the baby oil and soap, but you use so little that it doesn't change the figures much. They are not as large as regular wipes, but many diapers don't need a full-sized, regular wipe in my opinion.
In comparison, you can buy a pack of 528 Parent's Choice diapers for 9.97 at WalMart. They are not as soft and you can already tell how much you are saving.

Probably the only better option (which I am not dedicated to diapering enough to do yet) would be to make homemade cloth wipes and wash them with your cloth diapers. My amazing friend, Carlie, introduced me to this option along with cloth diapering. Someday...

Wow! I just wrote a novel on diaper wipes. Never thought that would happen. Hope you enjoy this. Signing off.

Never Too Late for Valentines Cake

Only a couple hours left of Valentines. It definitely is not my favorite holiday (no cool costumes and too much pressure to buy unnecessary presents) so I make up for it by making yummy treats. Here is another quick idea to add to your heart-shaped recipe section and to your hips.

Spray a 1 inch tall pan and then put parchment paper down. Prepare a white cake mix (I did funfetti cause its Ryan's favorite) according to box and pour into the pan. Bake it until toothpick comes out clean. Flip it over onto a large cutting board, take off the parchment paper and use your cookie cutters to cut out the heart shapes. Transfer the hearts to a cooling rack with parchment paper under them. Once they are completely cooled, make a runny, powdered-sugar frosting and drizzle it over them. If your frosting is really thin, do two layers. Add some sprinkles and some love and Voila! You have the most incredible Valentines ever (hopefully)!

P.S. Notice the beautiful flowers I got from my hubby... ok, so I really like that part of Valentines!

Valentines Fudge

Happy Valentines! Well, almost! I just thought I would pass along this easy (yet thoughtful...of course) gift that you can make for your sweetie. Or maybe you can whip up a batch for yourself to show you how much you care. I got the recipe from a cooking class for beginners so it is practically a no-fail recipe!

Zip-Lock Bag - Fudge (1 ½ C.)

(Amounts in parentheses make a single serving in a sandwich bag.)

2 oz. cream cheese - (1 T.) 1/4 C. margarine - (1T.)

3 C. powdered sugar - (3/4 C.) 1/4 C. cocoa - (1T.)

1. Measure ingredients in a 1 gallon freezer zip-lock bag. Push the air out of the bag and seal well.

2. Squish the mixture to mix well. It will be dry at first, but will soon become fudge. It will take about 20 minutes of work.

3. Slit the sides of the zip-lock bag and roll the fudge between the plastic of the zip-lock bag to ½ inch (the thickness of a DVD case) and cut into squares for easy serving.

4. You may press in chopped nuts or coconut.

Here is the picture of the one I made for Ryan. This is the size of the single-serving recipe which you probably shouldn't eat in one serving. I sprinkled it with nuts and coconut and, of course, made it into the shape of a heart...clever, right?

Introducing Solid Foods

At his four-month appointment, Liam's doctor said that he was big enough to start solids and boy is Liam happy about joining the family for dinnertime.

DIY Lampshade

For Christmas Rosa Lee got me an awesome lamp base from D.I. for $3. It's a tabletop lamp with a swivel arm so that I can have enough light to do some of my drafting assignments at home. It is an awesome lamp in excellent condition. To buy a brand new lamp just like it would cost around $90... so we got a steal.

The only defect was that the finial had broken off and it's not a lamp that you can simply replace the harp and be done with it. With the help of Rosa Lee's brother, Daniel, we welded a new finial on top. Then we began the hunt for a shade...

We searched everywhere. Walmart, RC Willey, D.I. several times, Kmart, Bed Bath and Beyond... but no luck. Nothing in the size we needed had the right fitting. So... we made our own.

Here's how.

We bought two hoops from the craft store to create the form.
Then, we attached three wires to a washer in the center of one hoop. The wire is 19 gauge. I would recommend a more rigid wire, though. Also, a soldering gun would have been helpful.




Next, we cut an 8" strip of posterboard.







We cut a strip of fabric 9" wide.







We laid the posterboard on the fabric then hot-glued the edges of the fabric over the posterboard.






We rolled the re-enforced fabric around the rings to get the shape then hot-glued the end piece.






We hot-glued the rings securely inside.











And there you have it. An awesome, one of a kind lamp. And all for only $13.63!










So sexy...

Want to buy some boonedoggle?

When you live only 45 minutes away from the place where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed, you have to make a road trip. So we did! Last Saturday, we loaded Liam in the car and headed up to Preston. We made a quick stop at the Pepperidge Farm discount store (Tim Tam's $1.05 a package) and continued on to our destination.

Not that the town is big, but we decided to stop at the local DI and ask for directions to the high school. Plus, we had to buy something from the place where Napoleon shopped! No, we did not buy an dance video!!






Proof we made it!










Oh yeah, the best part was that there was a junior basketball game going so the door was open.











I couldn't miss my opportunity for a gross side ponytail picture.






The only additions that could have made this trip better would be some tater tots and some chapstick... my lips hurt real bad! Gosh!

Christmas Break

Here are a few quick looks at Liam's first Christmas.








Liam wearing one of Ryan's outfits from when he was a baby.

















Cousin Kaylee with Liam at Grandma Wilkey's Christmas party. After the nativity was finished, she just sat there staring at him.
















Santa on Santa












Jolly, young St. Nick













Christmas morning. "Why are we up this early?"












Liam loves his presents












Liam stayed up to watch the ball drop. His New Years resolution is to gain even more weight.












Promise Rock in Cannonville

















Hiking near Bryce Canyon with a view of Powell Point













Sleeping in Uncle Nate's arms















Uncle Daniel teaching Liam piano

Rolls

I guess blogging is not my strong point. Here we are 2 months later and this is the first time I've even attempted a new post. This one is worth reading. I promise.

Liam is now 4 months old and weighs 19 lbs. 8 oz.. Normal right? I guess it is a little above the curve... ok, a lot! But does he look big? I guess so. As I was watching the little girl from upstairs she pointed to Liam's arm and said, "what happened?" She was referring to the extra roll in Liam's arm in between his wrist and elbow. I explained, "that is because he drinks a lot of milk." She then said that her little brother drinks a lot of milk but doesn't have that. I had no further explanation.

Two Months and Counting

Its hard to believe that Liam is now two months old. I have been meaning to make a post since his official two-month old day, but have been too busy entertaining Liam to have time for computers. Here's what we've been up to...

Halloween Party at Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's

Every year, my parents host a murder mystery dinner.
This year, the theme was mobsters. Ryan came up with
the idea for Liam's costume- our loot. The whole costume was about $2.50 to make. We used his pajamas that don't separate the legs. At the craft store, we picked up the felt and the fabric paint. Some hot glue and a couple safety pins later we had a costume. Though he looks like he is being tortured in this picture, he's actually just upset that he's wearing clothes at all. This kid loves to be bare.


Here's a picture of the whole crew at the party.













While in Cannonville, we decided to take Liam out hiking. Here is a picture of Ryan and Liam walking through Willis Creek.









Golden Spike National Historic Site and ETK Rockets

Can anyone tell me what picture is on the Utah quarter? If you said two trains and a spike, you are correct. Out of all the amazing places in Utah, the historic site of the completion of the transcontinental railroad was selected. Don't get me wrong. I think it is a very important place, but how many people in Utah can actually say they have been there? Well, we decided to drive on over to Promontory Point and check it out for ourselves.


We started off with a tour of the train engines. Even though the originals were scrapped, it is still interesting to see the replicas. If you want to see them actually running on the tracks, go during the summer season. (You can save $2.00 on admission if you go in the winter though..yay.)We then checked out the visitors center where there is a short film on the history of the railroads. Since Liam was still hungry, we decided to watch another film. We ended up with our own private viewing of "The Great Train Robbery," a film done in 1902. You can check it out at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7949193416885414135# .

We finally made our way out in the rain to the famous site. Don't ask why we are posed so weird.

If you want to know more about the national historic site, check out the official website http://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm .





We then took a little side road to the ATK rocket exhibit.

My Above Average Baby

Every mom thinks their child is above average, but really, Liam is...

At his 2 month visit, Liam weighed in at 15 lbs 5 oz (99th Percentile) and measured 24 inches long. The doctor says he is the size of an average 4 month old. Yesterday, the banker asked if he wanted a sucker. He was so confused when I said Liam was only two months old. Like a good mom, I ate the sucker for him.