Three Women, One Man, and a Baby

No, it's not a new show about an alternative family. It just describes my recent trip. I had the privilege of visiting some former BYU roommates, McArthur and Neves, in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. I took Bronwen with me on her first cross-country adventure, and we left the male folk at home to fend for themselves. Here are a few highlights of our trip:

• A short but great visit with Rebecca, my cousin, and her two little boys. I took about 15 pictures of her two year old, Brandon, and not a single one was any good. Bummer. So you won't get to see anything from that.
• Bronwen and I alone with McArthur's car, trying to get from Alexandria, where Rebecca lives, to Reagan National Airport, where I was supposed to pick up McArthur, and Dylan (Neves' hubby). Apparently, one of the security measures in the D.C. area is that you are never really sure where you are at any given moment, nor will you reach your intended destination on the first attempt, even if you are a local! (And I thought, being raised in LA, "I'm a city girl! How hard can it be?")
• A drive out to the northwestern part of Virginia. If it had not been raining and grey, this would have been absolutely breathtaking. It was rather lovely anyway, but I didn't get any photos of this either, much to my chagrin!
• A shopping to trip to "Gabe's", a discount store akin to TJMaxx, but on a much larger scale. I've been hearing about Gabe's and drooling over the deals acquired for 16 years now. Now I know what I've been missing.
  
• Dinner at a fabulous little tavern in Upperville, VA.
• A visit to D.C.'s Eastern Market on Saturday morning to check out the international flea market, farmer's and fresh food market, and to enjoy a maple pecan french toast breakfast. Yum. There were many booths to explore with jewelry from all over the world, photography, textiles, and architectural remnants. We would have lingered longer if it hadn't been frigid (the weather report had predicted sunny and 50 degrees. Not once did we see those kind of temperatures.)
• A free concert at the Kennedy Center on the Millenium Stage. In spite of it being a standing room only crowd, it was worth it to see the Kenyan children's choir and acrobats who performed there. Bronwen made some friends while crawling around the floor under Kennedy's head. This brother and sister duo were so adorable and so into her--they cried when their parents finally said it was time to go.
• Another great dinner, this time at an Indian restaurant on Capital Hill, near McArthur's home. Since everyone else at our table had been to India multiple times, they knew the best food to order and delighted me with everything I tasted.
  
• Here's a shot of our charming hostess, McArthur. She always was the photogenic one.
• I prepped Bronwen ahead of time that she needed to be on her best behavior, as these friends have not yet made the jump into parenthood, and I did not want to be responsible for scaring them away any further. At the end of the weekend, they pronounced her a "false advertising baby," skeptical that all babies could possibly be as easy as she. Nice work, Bronwen! Our plan worked perfectly!
• The most miraculous part of the trip was that we didn't have any delayed flights, missed flights, six hour stints on the tarmac without moving, lost baggage, or screaming on airplanes. Our flights were pretty uneventful, which is a huge improvement over the last time I paid these friends a visit with baby Henry back in 2002. That was a nightmare (not the part where we actually got to be together, shopping for Neves' wedding gown--just all the traveling parts.)
• I left wanting more. Not only more of my friends, whom I see too little of these days, but of D. C. I spent the flight home dreaming up ways that we could move our family there for six months and explore all the city has to offer, then wander up and down that coast. Washington D.C. is a homeschooler's paradise, with all of the free educational places available to visit. Maybe we'll be able to swing it someday, somehow!

Anyway, I'm home now, and busy with laundry, Tiger Academy, laundry, preparing for Thanksgiving next week, and more laundry. Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon.

I'm Still Here!

Thanks for being patient with me as I neglect my blog. The past week has been a whirlwind as we settled into our Tiger Academy. I am still figuring out how to make time for me to do the things that are important to me (including laundry, blogging, and reading.) We are having a great time learning together.
I've also been getting ready for a trip this weekend that I'm really looking forward to. I'll tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime, here is something to keep you entertained and indoctrinated in the ways of organic food.



This was made a few years ago by Free Range Studios, a graphic design firm where one of my dear friends from BYU days, McArthur, is the VP. (Yes, I am obviously out to impress you with all of the cool people I know after my last post!)
Also, Tawny requested a low fat dessert recipe. Try this fabulous fancy chocolate souffle for only 152 calories on Cooking Light. Or, if you're in the mood for pumpkin, try this Pumpkin Carrot Cake recipe, also from Cooking Light. Sorry it has taken me so long, Tawny.

Friend, Mentor, Guru . . . Erin!

One of my dearest friends ever, Erin, (who has been mentioned in several past posts,) has been making a name for herself over the past few years by winning many, many recipe contests. She has been to the Pillsbury Cook-Off more than once and every time I talk to her she has just returned from another competition in a far off city.
Erin is doing a holiday entertaining blog for Rachael Ray this holiday season, and whether you love Ms. Ray or you love to hate her, you simply must frequent Erin's posts. She went live today and the first post is about her family's annual Halloween tradition, which is what inspired ours
(although we are crazy enough to invite nearly everyone we know, in addition to the random trick-or-treaters that come by). Wander over and see what she has to say.

Party Wrap-Up

So last night's party was a success. We figure that we had about 90 people come, a few less than RSVP'd, but not too shabby! We had plenty of food, although we did have Jared's parents run to the store for ketchup, then 1/2 an hour later for mustard (what can I say--I don't think straight under pressure--can you imagine how scary it would be if I actually had alcohol at my parties?)
I really realized how many people help make our annual event a success. As already mentioned, Jared's mom and dad are the ones who run to the store for everything we forgot, plus I think Dad made three trips earlier in the day between his house and ours with tables, chairs, a crockpot . . . you get the picture. Then, there was Christine, who offered to have the boys come over and play after naptime. I was sure that I'd be fine without her generous offer, but by 3:00 it sounded pretty darn good. Nancy showed up at 4:00 and said, "I've got an hour. Put me to work!" and proceeded to vacuum most of the house (I had only gotten to the family room so far) and to clean up Ian's room, which he had torn apart during his naptime. My wonderful sister, Alli, showed up about 4:30 with her arms full of decorations (which I hadn't asked her to bring but which made such a great addition to my two little decorations!) She is so good to think of the things that I don't.
We are so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends, and this annual tradition always helps us remember how wonderful that is.
Anyway, here are some pictures for you to enjoy. As you can see, Colonel Sanders attended to festivities (complete with his accent). So did my newest adorable nephew, Isaac, who came as himself.
Here are a few other party goers, enjoying their food, conversation, and other delights (like the train table, which was a hot spot!)
James was so in love, he wanted to share his Skittles with Bronwen. Thankfully, his mother intervened!
Henry felt so let down when the party was over. Here's where I found him when everyone had gone.Dad and Kimball were crashed in the living room at about the same time.
Hope you can make it out next year, dear readers!

Party Post Coming Soon

I can't wait to post pictures and a rehash of our Open House last night, however at the moment I can barely get to the computer for all the clean up that needs to be done! Not to mention that as soon as we finished family scripture study this morning at 7:30 am (which I had rolled out of bed for fifteen minutes previously,) my kids said, "OK, Mom! Time for Txxxxx Academy!" (I'm going to have to come up with a code name for our home school if I'm not going to disclose our family name on this site. In the future, I'll call us Tiger Academy, as the tigers are our chosen mascot.)
So, stay tuned. There will be pictures of our celebrity guest, adorable children, and more.

Halloween Fun

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, but you'll rarely find me donning a costume. As I sit here, I wonder what it is that I love so much about Halloween. The fact that it falls in the autumn, my favorite time of year, is definitely a factor. I love the excitement of children as they anticipate their costumes and all the candy that they'll consume. I love pumpkins and all the fall colors. And I love our annual Halloween party.
The last year that we lived in Whittier (2002), we decided to have a Halloween open house. We invited our friends from church, work, and school, and told the neighborhood to stop by for chili on Halloween night. It was so much fun that I promptly declared it a tradition. (My family will tell you that I am famous for declaring traditions after one time. I see no problem with it, if it's something you want to do again, but I do get a lot of razzing from my brothers and husband about this habit of mine.)
However, the first couple of Halloweens after we moved north were not conducive to an open house. The first year, we moved from an apartment to a house the weekend before Halloween, and we were still unpacking. The next year, we had a less-than-a-week-old baby. But by 2005, we were ready to introduce the Halloween Open House to our friends here. We printed up invitations for the first couple of years, and invited everyone we knew to stop by during the evening's festivities for hot dogs, chili, and homemade root beer. It was a hit! The first year, we had about 60 people come. By the next year, we had more like 80. This year, I just sent out evites and hope that word of mouth will reach everyone else.
So, if you don't live close enough to come to our party, maybe you should host your own. All you need is to make a pot of chili, drag your bbq out to the front porch, brew up some rootbeer, and get ready for guests! We do ask our guests to bring a treat to share, but even the year we didn't request it, many of them brought food along anyway. If you haven't gotten out invitations, you can just invite the neighbors in when they come by with their trick-or-treaters.
Last year, our boys decided to make their bedroom into a spook alley and they have been talking about it ever since! I love that they would rather be home at our party than out trick-or-treating (they do go to a church trunk-or-treat on the weekend before,) and that we can spend the evening with friends we love and with people we want to know better.
So come to our Open House or host your own. It's a great way to catch the spirit of Halloween fun. If only I had Morgan to decorate for me!

 Halloween Chili

• 7 lbs. good quality ground beef
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 yellow or orange bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 c. chili powder, or more to taste
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 3 14 oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, pureed in the blender
• 6 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
• 3 15 oz. cans corn kernels, drained
• 2 cans beef broth (you might not need all of it.)

To make this recipe, you need an enormous stock pot or two. It serves about 70 people, so cut it down if your party is smaller.
Brown the ground beef for about 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and continue to brown 5 minutes more. Add all the peppers and continue to saute until the meat is all brown and the onions and peppers are soft. Drain off as much of the fat as you can. Add chili powder, cumin, and cocoa powder. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and beans and half of the beef broth. Cook for 1-2 hours, simmering on very low heat, adding beef broth as needed to keep it from burning.
Serve with sour cream, chives, onions, and cheese on the side.   (Recipe from my friend, Erin!)

(Pictures are from Halloweens past and the last one is from our trunk-or-treat last weekend. Anyone who has tried to pose four kids in costumes before letting them loose on a party will sympathize with me--this was the best shot I got out of five attempts!)

Apple Hill Adventures

We have a place in the nearby Sierra foothills that we visit every fall. It is one of the things that our family loves about fall. We always plan to go together as a family, but most years we go three or more times. Any of our out-of-town relatives that visit in the fall always want to go there. So, in our home, Apple Hill is synonymous with autumn. We went up yesterday, as Jared's sister and her boys were in town, and the weather was perfect--plus we avoided the weekend crowds. Fun was had by all. Below is an introduction to some of our favorite spots to visit at Apple Hill, so if you don't care, just scroll down to look at the pictures and leave me a comment anyway!
Apple Hill is a group of orchards, ranches, wineries, and farms that have come together to market themselves as a tourist destination. Each place offers something slightly different, although in September and October you are sure to find many places offering pumpkin patches, corn or hay mazes, and even a petting zoo. Everywhere you go you'll find appley treats. The apple cider doughnuts at Rainbow Orchards are almost always our first stop. They don't make them until you order them, so they come out piping hot, which is good because it slows you down as you inhale them. Their apple cider is also the best because it is made on site (you can get apple cider at any of the farms, but many of them don't make it fresh on the premises.) Rainbow has a beautiful orchard that you can picnic in or wander and take pictures as we did last fall. I like to buy my apples (20 lbs at a time) here, even though they are slightly more expensive than Abel's (later) because they are nice quality, crisp apples.
We also like to visit Honey Bear Ranch, were they roast a pig outdoors everyday (my apologies to my veggie readers); the food there is wonderful--the owners used to be caterers down in the valley and moved to Camino for a lifestyle change. The kids like their watermill and koi pond; some times they have a kiddie craft table where they can make a peanut butter pinecone birdfeeder for $2 or something along those lines (since my kids are craft starved, they absolutely love that kind of thing when the opportunity comes up.) And their apples are organic!
Jared's favorite treat to have at Apple Hill is the walkin' pie at Kids Inc. It is supposedly a single serving pie although I don't think I could eat a whole one and I'm a pretty good eater if no one is watching! They have a pumpkin patch and a great hill for rolling down if you are so inclined. They also have a nature trail, though I don't recall the walk. It's been a couple of years since we we took it.
Plubell's Family Orchard is another spot we love to take the kids. I don't think we've ever eaten there, but they have a great pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, a nature walk that we enjoy, and tractors and tire swings for the kids to climb all over. (This is Gabriel, my nephew, on the swing.) They also have nice spots to picnic if you've brought your own food.
A popular spot is High Hill Ranch, although frankly I think that it's too crowded to be worth it. They do have amazing apple fritters, but as you can only eat so much in one day, there are plenty of other farms to visit. They have a stocked pond for fishing, a fudge kitchen, cider mill, and lots of other stuff, but it is always teeming with people.
Able's Apple Acres is always either our first or last stop. This is where I go if I'm in the mood for good apples that are inexpensive. They seem to run a bit smaller and a bit more picked over than Rainbow's, but that may be because they are a more popular destination. They have pumpkins but not much of a patch, pony rides, a hay maze, and a big hill for rolling down. Also some cheesey photo ops, if you're into that--which my kids are. No orchard to wander, but lots of good food including about a dozen varieties of caramel and fudge apples, some apple oatmeal cookies to die for, fudge, and of course (just like everywhere else) frozen unbaked or freshly baked apple pies. They also have several kiosks outside with various crafters and local artisans but I've never found anything at those that I even considered buying.(This photo was taken three years ago, on the last weekend before Ian was born, on our family outing to Plubell's.)
Needless to say, visiting Apple Hill every year is something our kids look forward to and I try to save some calories for weeks ahead. It definitely feels like fall there and we always come home with a big box of local apples and tummies full of things we shouldn't indulge in very often. I highly recommend it!

The baby who slept

Three years ago this week, we welcomed our third baby into the family. I had a great deal of trepidation in the weeks before Ian's birth, and none of my anxiety was about childbirth (after all, it was a scheduled c-section. What's scary about that?) My transition to two children, two and a half years previously, had been difficult for a number of reasons. But that post about Henry's first months is for another day. The point is, I was scared to death that I would have another baby who cried a lot, required me to change my diet dramatically, never slept, and that I would spend six months struggling with post-partum depression. Could I dare hope that this baby would be an "easy" baby, like those I'd heard about before?
Some of you will say that there are no easy babies, but I beg to differ. If you start off with a preemie who doesn't know how to eat and is easily overstimulated (and turns out to be on the autistic spectrum a few years later,) and then follow that up with a baby who has colic and wants to be held at all times, awake or asleep, then a third baby who sleeps a lot, eats quickly and greedily, and has an even temper is easy as can be. And Ian turned out to be such a child. Thank goodness that he was, because I still had my hands full with his older brothers.
Ian has continued to be a complete delight to his parents. We fiercely love all of our children, but it has been easy to enjoy Ian because he is almost always light hearted, rambunctious, hysterical, and the boy can sleep! By the time he was seven weeks old, he was sleeping 12 hours straight at night--that's without waking up to eat-- and taking two naps a day. He has also been so flexible in his schedule. Of course, you will say, the third child has to be flexible. You are always having to wake them up to pick up someone from school or go on a playdate. That is true, but not all children who have their sleep disrupted regularly do so without being miserable to live with.
Ian also seems to be about as typical as a little boy can be. He is into pirates and cowboys and trains and dinosaurs. He takes imaginative play to a level that I haven't witnessed with our other children. He demands that we sing to him before bed. His favorites: Sweet Baby James and Ragtime Cowboy Joe, although he does also request the "Dog Bites" song (My Favorite Things). And he makes us laugh every day.
So, as we celebrate his third birthday (with everything cowboy) this week, both Jared & I feel so grateful to have this little guy in our lives. Each of our children teaches us different things and in different ways. I think that Ian has helped us to relax and to relish.
Happy Birthday, little cowboy. We love you.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Today was the Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation in our ward. (A translation for those of you who are not LDS: The children, ages 3-11, presented a program of music and speaking parts that outlined what they have learned this year in their Sunday School classes. Hang with me--eventually you'll have all the lingo down!) The entire program was wonderful. It was simple and sweet and the kids spoke their lines well. The theme was "I'll Follow Him (Jesus) In Faith."
The last song that they sang was one that I sang as a child and taught to Primary children during the 5 years that I served as a chorister when we were newlyweds. And yet, today as they sang it, the simple but powerful message really hit me. This is one that we all need to remember and I pray that my children have internalized, as it will bless them all of their days.

Listen to the still, small voice
Listen, listen!
When you have to make a choice,
He will guide you
Always.

(Words and music by Merrill Bradshaw. Follow the link to hear the song.)
Thanks to the Primary children and their leaders for inspiring and lifting us today.

Faith, not Doubt

I've been thinking a lot lately about what polar opposites faith and doubt are. I suppose it started with my spiritual wrestling with God over homeschooling our brood. I had previously let fear keep me from doing anything more than talking about researching possibly doing home school! In my mind, I was actually researching, but deep down I was hoping that the Lord would point me in a different direction and that my research would be akin to Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac--at the last minute, the angel would sweep in and send my kids back to school. To my amazement, the more I looked into home school, the more potential that I could see for it to truly bless my family; and yet, I was still afraid.
Anyhow, last week when I felt an undeniable impression that homeschooling our children NOW, not some non-committal day in the future, was the right thing to do, I couldn't shake the fear. I have been heard to say all the same things that so many people have said to me in the past week: "I just don't think I could do homeschool;" followed by one of the following sentences:

• "I'm not organized enough."
• "My kids and I really need a break from each other."
• "I don't have the patience for it."
• "I really need that time while they are in school."

Guess what? Those things were all still true about me. The only thing that had really changed was that deep down in my heart, I knew that it was the best thing for my kids. (I'm not trying to preach that it's the best for everyone, but I knew that it was the best for mine.) So, I asked the Lord to take away my fear. And I immediately remembered the principle that fear and faith cannot coexist. I determined to focus on my faith in God. I have to trust Him. If He, in His infinite wisdom, knows homeschooling to be the path for my family to take, what do I have to be afraid of? Certainly it will require change, work, more patience than I currently have, and a healthy dose of prayer, but why should I fear those things?
Then yesterday morning as I was studying the scriptures, a strip of paper fell out of them. It was a quote from a lesson I had in Relief Society ages ago. It said,
"Remember, faith and doubt cannot exist in the mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith. Strive always to retain that childlike faith which can move mountains and bring heaven closer to heart and home." --Thomas S. Monson
Not only did this quote fit in with the theme of my musings of late, but I was struck with the last phrase: that faith can bring heaven closer to heart and home. Isn't that our goal as mothers (and fathers)? What better reason to cast out doubt and cultivate faith?
I love the term cultivate there, it reminds me of gardening (which is not one of my strengths, although I would love to change that.) Faith doesn't just happen. It's not that you either have it or you don't. You have to work at it, feeding it, watering it, weeding out the doubts and the other weeds that would attack your faith. It goes along with Alma's analogy in the Book of Mormon of faith being like a seed that will grow if nurtured properly.
I have felt so strengthened in the past week, since I made the commitment to follow the spiritual promptings I have been given to homeschool our children. I can feel my faith grow as I cast away doubt. And that faith is strengthening me and telling me that I, in my imperfect state, and take on this enormous challenge.
I am filled with gratitude and with the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows me, my family, our needs, my flaws, and that He is willing to work with me to help me overcome the obstacles to become the woman that He wants me to be.