Trying New Things

I love trying out new things and ideas.

I found this cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld at the library this week:The concept is to sneak in vegetables into everyday foods. I want to try some of these recipes to try to help not just the boys to eat better but for J and I as well. The hardest thing looks like the beet puree....I think I'll try a few other veggie puree's in the recipes first and work up from there!

Friday Favorites!

This Friday kicks of a 4-day weekend for our family! (I LOVE extended weekends, they are the best!)

1. Finals ~ I hate finals, but it is so wonderful when I've finished a class! I have 2 Blessed weeks off before I start my last 2 classes. I have 1 more management class and then a class about the development for school aged children.

2. Rockets ~

The boys shot off rockets with J last week, it was so fun! L's 1st launch had his rocket stuck in a tree. Dad came to the rescue and cut it out for him and he was able to relaunch it where it got lost somewhere on the neighbors property. R's did pretty good too and we still have it, so it can be relaunched when we get a new engine pack for it.

3. Blessings ~ Heavenly Father has blessed us so much in so any ways. We just got orders for J's new job. For a long time it looked like we'd be stationed back on the East coast, which is a great place. However, moving would be hard because of our house here, and I didn't want the boys to have to switch schools yet. Finally, when J had to pick, no extending, no more waiting for the next list, a position opened up. With all his hard work he qualified and was accepted! So now we have a few more years here. My heart is full and I am very grateful that Heavenly Father knows our little family so well, I feel very happy indeed.

4. Help ~ I have healed up very well since throwing out my back. However, it made me realize a few things. I hate asking for help, its ridiculous sometimes the way I avoid it. I have report cards from grade school that show my lowest grades are in the section "Asks for help when needs it". I remember even as a kid thinking, "Well that's just stupid, why would they grade me on that?". S, my 'part-time daughter' said, "Bonster, you have the perfect excuse to ask people to do things for you and you still refuse, why?!". After she said that I told her I'd work on it.Some Help I'm thankful for:
J: the time off he took to take care of me, the kids, the house that first week. All the practices and games he took over when it was still to hard to sit for long periods.
M: Taking me to the hospital, cleaning my house, making me a heating pad, helping me ease into working out, driving me around, making me laugh so hard I had to take another pain pill!
S: For helping me do all my grocery shopping; this 14yr old saint has followed me around grocery stores w/the cart, putting all the stuff in it for me, loading and unloading the car all with a smile, I love that kid!
L & R: For loving me extra and doing more chores at home.
Ladies at church: They have substituted teaching my Sunday school and Wolf cub scout classes.

5. To-Do ~ Spring is around the corner and I'm so excited for the changing of season! This weekend we are getting some of our To-Do List done. We have inside and outside work planned. I am most excited for the upgrades to the box garden and mini-makeovers to the boys' bedrooms!

We Love Henry Winkler!

We have been listening to:

Niagara Falls or Does It?

by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver

This book is very funny, imaginative, and cute. We all love it! Hank Zipser is a great character that is easy to relate to. I love how Henry Winkler reads this story, he is awesome!
We are looking forward to reading more of these books; I love finding new book series!

Hearts To You!

Here's to thinking of those you love;

I'm very thankful for so many special people I have in my life,

Happy Valentine's Day!

B&N!

We are fans of Barnes and Noble here!
A new book is always very exciting :0)

I love it when the boys ask me to take them. It's also a standard for our date nights; J will always take me for a stroll in B&N.

Groupon had a special: 10$ for 20$ at B&N.

So during Saturday's date we got:

Calvin & Hobbes: There's Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson
R and I are big fans of these books.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
I remember my Mom telling me to read this when I was younger and I was not happy. But once I started I was hooked! (I guess I know where R gets his Eye-Rolling-Heavy-Sighing-Mom-You-Have-No-Idea attitude when I tell him to read a certain book!) J says he remembers reading this book and he said we have to make R read it...only R has to wait til J and I are done with it!

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
J really enjoys this authors work.

Jumper Cable by Piers Anthony
When I was younger I read every Xanth novel I could get my hands on, they were my favorite. I think its cool new stories keep coming out. Every once in a while its nice to revisit the land of Xanth.

Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai by Ryo Takamisaki
L is a big fan of Pokemon like his big bro. Recently his 2nd grade class has learned about Chinese New Year and a few things about Chinese culture. He thought the direction of their books were amazing. It was funny to see how excited he was when R brought out his Pokemon graphic novel; it reads backwards! He gobbled that book up and so we picked him up this one. Both R and L are sure liking it.

Friday Favorites

?Where do the weeks go?
Hello Friday!

1. Reading Olympics - The elementary school here does Reading Olympics every year. My boys have always been pretty excited about this. L is all about it this year. He hasn't always been the biggest fan of reading on his own. Each year he gets more confident and enjoys it more. This year I am loving hearing him read to me! Every day he has been reading out loud to me and it makes my heart smile!

2. Brothers - I love my own brother very much (and my awesome sister)! I also love seeing my boys be brothers! It makes the mom in me feel like winning the lottery when seeing them help each other, play together, and just hang out having fun together. They are so different from each other, can drive each other nuts, and can still have great times together.

3. Scrap Booking - I love the idea of scrap booking. I tried it out a few years ago but when started college it fell by the wayside. I kept mementos in a tub in the computer room.
Hurting my back opened a great time to start it back up. It was awesome to walk down memory lane looking through my boys' school papers and pics. I love them so much!
I have all their things out, I have to finish the organizing and then begin the assembling. We'll see how long this takes to get caught up on the past 4 1/2 years!

4. Military Discount -Michael's, the craft store, have a 10% discount for military on Wednesdays. I think its pretty cool when businesses give a discount for military. This week we were able to get a rocket pack for the boys at 45% off, can't wait to shoot them off!


5. Coupons - I love saving $!I had a ton of coupons this week and it was pretty fun seeing how much I saved on our groceries and house goods.