Weekly Quote 3/28/11

"What cunning little heels." is from Little Women (the movie), spoken by Amy. Good job, Emily! New quote up!

Partners in crime

Oh, these girls. They always keep me on my toes. Since I've been extra tired lately, I've had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. The girls usually wake me up a few times in the morning, but then get busy playing and allow me to get more sleep. They play really well together (when they're not fighting), which has been so nice for me. Sometimes, however, they have a little too much fun. Here are some things that have happened in just the last week or so:

-While at my mom's, they were playing in the front room and pulled some petals off one of her flower decorations. Ada's justification: "We needed something to put in our soup."
-A few days ago I got in the car to pick Ada up from school and noticed that everything was askew. It's not uncommon for them to mess things up in the car before we get the chance to buckle them up, but this time they snuck in the car before I got out of bed and somehow broke the visor off on the passenger side. Big trouble for two little girls.
-The other day I was sitting at the computer while they were coloring at the table and I heard one of them say, "We're coloring Minnie!" I looked over and found them coloring all over a place mat (luckily it was on the back) and having the time of their lives. No more markers that day!
-Yesterday while I was cleaning up the kitchen they went into Ada's room and shut the door. When I went to check on them, I found an open box of dishwasher detergent and Kate scooping it into various containers from the kitchen set. I don't know how I didn't catch them sneaking off with that!

I've said it before, but two is a tough age for me. Kate is difficult in different ways than Ada was. She is extremely messy and loves to get into everything. My sister Angie stayed with us last week and admitted that she had an eye-opening experience dealing with Kate. She witnessed Kate hit and kick everyone because she hadn't gotten enough sleep; she had to deal with Kate playing with her sticky piece of candy instead of eating it; she discovered Kate in a puddle of water in the kitchen as she was trying to get herself a drink from the water dispenser on the fridge. (As a side note, she also got puked on by our baby niece as she was trying to feed her a bottle.) Kate is still a sweet girl and generally very agreeable.

Ada can be an angel one day and a terror the next. You never know what you're gonna get with her. She loves to play with Kate (though she's very bossy) but she also yearns for a friend every once in a while. I need to invite her friends over more often. I can't end this post without this delightful story about Ada: last night we had a tough time getting both girls in bed. We soon got into bed ourselves and as I finally got comfy and started clearing my mind, I heard Ada crying. After trying to ignore it and hope it would go away, I finally got out of bed to see what was up. Ada was standing in Kate's room facing her CD player (which was still playing) and bawling. As I walked into the room, I noticed the floor was wet. The girls listened to the same CD that night in their respective rooms and Ada's ended first. When she heard the same thing playing in Kate's room, she went in there very upset because she thought that we took her CD out to play in Kate's room. Apparently she was so upset that she PEED all over the floor! She got in trouble for being in Kate's room (she was very lucky that Kate slept through it all) and I had to struggle with her to change and get cleaned up so she could go back to bed. I then had to go back into Kate's dark room and hope that my scrubbing and spraying was getting all the pee out of the carpet. What a night!

Lots o' stuff

It's been quite a while since I've busted out a good blog post. I've totally slacked on my recipe posts, too. I will have to work on that. For some reason, I get in sort of a funk after the holidays end. January seems to be a big let-down for me. February is usually a little better, but this year that was not really the case. Not sure why. Part of it might be that we got a new niece (my sister Abby's first), but she was admitted to the hospital after only a few weeks with bacterial meningitis (in addition to a staph infection and a brain abscess). It was a tough week for all involved, and she's been home and thriving for a while now, but they're not out of the water yet. She has a PICC-line in her arm which helps her receive medication several times a day, and she still has to go to the hospital on occasion for further checks, including an upcoming CT-scan. Poor little baby!

We've had our share of fun this year too, though. Tyler and I recently returned from Vegas where we watched the MWC basketball tournament. Tyler then went to Tucson for the NCAA's. My sister Angie came to visit and stayed with us. I'm watching as much college basketball as I can.

Oh, and one kind of important thing: we're having another baby. Due around October 13. We had a little scare in February (the same week my niece was admitted to the hospital) when we were pretty positive that I miscarried. We felt lucky that we were home when it happened. I was told to take it easy for a while. Parents and friends were very generous during this. Then I had to go in for some tests because I was still getting positive pregnancy tests, and lo and behold--there's still a baby in there! We thought that I lost a twin, but it could have been a clot or something else. We don't know, but either way, we're extremely grateful and feel very blessed. I feel really good except that I'm always tired. I have a hard time getting anything done. The girls are excited, though I don't think Kate knows what the days ahead will entail!

Weekly Quote 3/21/11

"The tower, the tower! Rapunzel, Rapunzel!" is from Airplane. I didn't get any comments on this one, but I'm sure everyone in Tyler's family knew it. It's Tyler's favorite.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 2/28/11

"Christmas is carnage!" is from Babe. The girls watched it the other day and quite liked it. New quote up!

Weekly Quote 2/21/11

"Are you sensitive? Do you sense things?" is from The Watcher in the Woods, and old Disney movie. It's actually pretty scary. My sisters and I used to love watching this back in the day.

New quote up!

Christmas, anyone?

I figured that tonight would be a good night to blog about Christmas because 1) Tyler is working late again and 2) There is snow on the ground again. I tend to babble a lot when I blog, so I'll try and let the pictures speak most of the words.

Ada had a preschool Christmas program. It was adorable. Have I mentioned that she loves preschool?






Tyler's grandpa had a party and the girls had fun hitting pinatas, playing Bingo, and sitting on Santa's lap (okay, only Ada had fun doing that)







On Christmas Eve we had the traditional candlelight dinner at the Squires' house and played kid and adult versions of the dice game

Kate, at one point, walked across the prizes to attack Ada because Ada picked the prize that she wanted





Christmas morning was funny. Kate woke up way early and was not happy. We had to wait quite a while for Ada to wake up. Kate finally perked up once she saw all her presents

This about how she felt all morning


We have a tradition of reading the Christmas story together before we go see presents. Kate still isn't too happy


Finally, a smile!





The girls love their "Sleeping Beauty house" that Santa brought




Tyler really likes this present




We made yummy waffles for breakfast, relaxed a bit, and then went back to the Squires' to open presents



We ended the day at my parents', where we had our traditional Honey-Baked Ham dinner and opened presents. The little girls all had fun dancing together and singing

Weekly Quote 2/14/11

"Time will heal your wound."

"My wound?"

This is indeed from Emma. The anonymous commenter got it right. New quote up!

Random thoughts

-Jerry Sloan resigned yesterday. I knew he wouldn't be around forever, but I didn't quite expect it to happen in this manner. I'm not gonna lie; I shed a few tears as I watched the press conference and clips about Jerry. I'm a pretty passionate person, especially about sports and the Jazz. I have so many great memories about the Jazz. I remember my dad making me go to bed before games were over and my brother sneaking in my room to give me updates. I remember going to a handful of games, including a playoff game against the Spurs where I got to sit in the lower bowl. I remember when "John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals" and running around the block with my friend because we were so excited. I remember those two years of the finals, when even my non-sporty older sister got into the Jazz: her ordering a Jazz cake for the family; going to the airport with her to greet the Jazz after they swept the Lakers; her disdain for all things Bulls (even now that she's a Chicago resident). I remember my younger sister crying after the Jazz lost to the Bulls and saying that she didn't think she could ever be happy again. The Jazz were a big part of my childhood and I will miss Jerry greatly.

Here's a picture of Tyler and me with Jerry and Phil Johnson. My bro-in-law somehow scored some tickets to a season ticket holders-only dinner and he graciously game them to us. It was fun to meet Jerry and Phil and get their autographs.


-January is usually a very bleak month, but somehow I kept so busy that it flew right by. The highlight of the month was a visit from my sister's family. We watched BYU games, went to dinner, and had a tea party with the girls.

-Thank goodness for book club. It is a lifesaver for me. Last night was just what I needed; I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. I love all those ladies!

-Tyler works a lot. Sometimes I want to sell my girls. Thank goodness I have BYU basketball to keep my hopes up. I can't wait to go to the New Mexico game on March 2nd and the MWC tournament the week after that. Then there's the Big Dance. Good times are ahead!

Coconut Cupcakes

Here's the cupcake recipe we made for Abby's shower:

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

This makes a ton of frosting, so I halved it and still had plenty for the 36 cupcakes which I got (don't fill the paper liners as much as it says). We also baked these for 22 minutes and it was just right.

I made these again a few weeks after the shower. I wanted them a little more moist, so instead of the three sticks of butter, I put one stick of butter, 1/2 c canola oil, and 1/2 c sour cream. It worked perfectly.